Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

U.S. Team Advances in World Cup; Oath Keepers Found Guilty of Sedition; Deadly Storms Hit Southeast; House Passes Bill to Avert Rail Strike; House Democrats Introduce New Leaders. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired November 30, 2022 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[13:00:00]

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): I now yield to my good friend, an amazing colleague, the incoming House Democratic whip from the commonwealth of the great state of Massachusetts, Katherine Clark.

REP. KATHERINE CLARK (D-MA): Thank you. Thank you, Hakeem.

Good afternoon. I am so honored to be here with our leader-elect, Jeffries, and caucus chair Pete Aguilar. It is truly humbling to be the next whip for the 118th Congress and to...

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: Hello. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York. We will continue to monitor this press conference, but history made in the House today.

You just heard from Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, who will be the first black leader to lead one of the parties in either chamber of Congress. Democrats just chose Jeffries, a representative from New York, to succeed Nancy Pelosi in the party's top spot in the House for the incoming Congress

And CNN's Melanie Zanona is joining us at the Capitol.

Melanie, Jeffries is breaking a barrier here that has been up for centuries in Congress. This isn't just symbolic, though. How is he going to reshape things for House Democrats?

MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Yes, it is definitely a new era for House Democrats. Aside from being the first black leader of any party, Hakeem Jeffries is also going to be the youngest leader at age 52. I know it doesn't sound that young, but around here it is compared to the previous leaders in Democratic leadership.

Hakeem Jeffries, as leader, has promised to also give junior members more say in the legislative process, give them more opportunities to be involved in writing bills, and to give them more opportunities for high-profile positions. That obviously is a nod to some of the frustrations that have been pent up in the Democratic Party for many years.

But a big part of Jeffries' job as minority leader is going to be beating back against the GOP investigations and potential impeachment proceedings into President Joe Biden's administration. He does not have a very good working relationship, if at all, with Kevin McCarthy, who's in line to become speaker next year. They have had somewhat of a contentious relationship in the press.

So we will see how that relationship plays out. But there are going to be moments when they need to work together because McCarthy will likely be working with a razor-thin majority. That means he's going to be leaning on Hakeem Jeffries to supply him Democratic votes for things like funding the government or raising the debt ceiling. That's going to be a huge fight.

But it's also important to point out that Hakeem Jeffries had the blessing of his predecessor, Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Hakeem Jeffries was part of her leadership team. And my colleague Daniella Diaz reported that they hugged today during this internal closed-door leadership election during the speeches and that another member, Gregory Meeks, stood up and said the passing the baton is the most important part in the relay race.

So that is the mood inside the Democratic Caucus right now. And it was a really important passing of the torch moment from Pelosi to Jeffries.

CABRERA: OK, Melanie Zanona, thank you for your reporting.

Let's get to the other big headline on the Hill, Congress making its move to prevent a devastating blow to the economy just weeks before the holidays, the House holding votes to block a crippling railroad strike, all this at President Biden's requests, despite objections from some of his labor allies.

Here's why keeping trains running is so critical for so many Americans. Experts say, if they stopped, supply chains would halt, prices on everyday goods would surge even higher than they already are, and millions of commuters wouldn't have rides. Bottom line, the U.S. economy would lose an estimated $1 billion in just the first week.

Let's get the latest from the Hill.

CNN chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju is joining us.

Manu, some unions have set this deal on the table that was reached back in September doesn't go far enough. They want more paid sick time. Lawmakers today are trying to get them more. What's the status?

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they will have that votes in the House to add more sick time.

But it almost certainly will not get to the president's desk because of the process that is playing out here. Now, in just a matter of moments, we do expect the gavel to come down and then to call the vote. They will have the votes to pass the tentative rail agreement from September that does not include the paid sick time. That was a tentative agreement to avert the strike at that time between the railways and the industry. They -- and the workers. They will have the votes. In fact, right now,

there are 287 who have voted in the affirmative. They just need 218 to pass it. And 79 Republicans so far have voted for it. It is still ongoing. And, so far, nine Democrats have voted against it.

Now, that is just the agreement without the sick leave. Then there's going to be a vote to amend that agreement to include guaranteed sick leave. That is going to go over across the Capitol to the Senate. And that's where things will change. And in the Senate, you need to have an agreement between all 100 members to set a vote. They don't have an agreement yet.

But one senator is demanding an amendment to allow for the sick leave to be included as part of this package. That senator, Bernie Sanders, he says he will not agree to quick passage of the agreement until he gets that vote. But it almost certainly will not have the votes to be adopted to the agreement, which all means that, at the end of the day, when it comes time for final passage of the final agreement, it will not include sick leave for these railway workers that they have been demanding.

[13:05:15]

Ultimately, though, they are still trying to get the votes in the Senate to pass this rail deal to avert a strike and get that done by this week, but without a sign-off from all members of the Senate, they can't do that. So that is what's happening right now behind the scenes as they're working through concerns of various members.

In fact, at the Senate lunch, Democratic lunch right now, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg are trying to urge Senate Democrats to get behind it. And Democratic leaders and Republican leaders believe, ultimately, senators will support this, despite some of their concerns, because of their fears here, if they do nothing, the alternative could be a disastrous impact to the U.S. economy, but that I the reality now that lawmakers are confronting -- Ana.

CABRERA: OK, thanks for explaining the sausage-making for us, Manu Raju. We will keep watch there.

My next guest says he's deeply disappointed by this move, by President Biden's decision to force this deal through Congress. And joining us now is Peter Kennedy. He's the director of strategic coordination and research for the BMWED union, representing roughly 24,000 track maintenance workers.

Peter, thanks for joining us. I know this issue of sick leave is an important issue for you. But we -- if we can put the graphic back up, I want to show our viewers the deal as we know it that was reached back in September, a deal reached by the majority of unions previously, although I know your union was not one who signed off on this, but it does include an immediate 14 percent raise with back pay to 2020, a 24 percent pay increase by 2024, $1,000 annual bonuses for five years, no health care cost increases.

This includes the biggest raise in 50 years for union members. Are you letting the perfect be the enemy of the good by rejecting this?

PETER KENNEDY, BMWED RAILROAD WORKERS UNION: Thank you for having me on, Ana.

Absolutely not. Look, we appreciate the recommendations of the Presidential Emergency Board, but, frankly, it was long overdue. Railroads have made record profits year after year, quarter after quarter, and they have went around the country bragging about it, all while their services have just deteriorated.

And those profits came at a time when the economy has faced numerous challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic. And these workers were put out there in harm's way and kept the country running. And it made very clear during the pandemic that railroad workers need and deserve paid sick leave.

Now, I want to address something very quickly. Health and welfare, you said that there's no increases to that. The health and welfare costs are going to go up $100 a month for our members. And that's a substantial increase, by the way.

But I also want to address one other thing about this, because the implication is that these workers are getting huge raises, and which, again, they're respectable. I heard Senator -- I'm sorry -- Congressman Graves during the debate, saying that railroad workers make $130,000 a year, they make $160,000 a year.

Well, that's just a lie. A railroad worker makes $85,000 a year at the end of this contract. That's what they bring home, which by -- or -- I'm sorry -- $80,000 a year. That's still $3,000 less a year than shills like Graves received from the railroads in political contributions.

So it's pretty rich for a guy who makes $174,000 a year to get up there and rail against people that are trying to make his country run, that are trying to make his state move and get goods to the customers and to the people out there. It's just ridiculous and despicable. And, frankly, it's offensive.

CABRERA: You sent us a chart dealing with the sick leave issue, because I think a lot of people are trying to understand what kind of days off do these workers have.

This isn't an official document, but it does explain how sick days work. And it is eye-opening to me, at least, zero vacation, only one personal day in the first year and, again, no sick leave, only five vacation days and one personal day leave if you have worked between one and two years, and still only 10 vacation and one personal day if you have worked two to seven years.

So I'm curious, what do people do if they're sick?

KENNEDY: You want to know what they -- well, first of all, railroad workers, the majority of them have zero paid sick days. So that chart illustrates that very clearly.

CABRERA: Right.

KENNEDY: And we didn't get that paid personal day in the first year until this PEB recommendation came about that we fought for.

But, that aside, how it works when people are sick is, they're forced or they're cajoled by the railroad to come into work ill. And so, many times, railroad workers come in ill. And if they call in sick, guess what? They get penalized. They get disciplined. And some folks even get fired.

CABRERA: What kind of discipline?

KENNEDY: They get issued demerit points. Even people who have a doctor's appointment are issued demerit points right now for missing work.

And the reason why is because the railroads, along with Wall Street, have decided to run these operations for solely the benefit of profit. They have cut 45,000 workers from the work force in the last seven years. So there's nearly 100,000 workers left right now to run the freight rail system in this country under virtually the same rail traffic that existed prior to all these deep cuts.

[13:10:10]

So when somebody calls in ill, the reason why the railroads won't let them take off is because they don't have anybody to fill that void. They don't have any extra bodies to take up the slack and keep the operation...

(CROSSTALK)

CABRERA: Stand by for just a moment. Forgive me for interrupting.

Just in, I want to get to Manu Raju, big development on Capitol Hill.

Fill us in, Manu.

RAJU: Yes, they just passed, the House did, the bill to avert a rail strike. That's just passed by bipartisan vote in the United States House. By 292 to 137 was the vote.

There were 79 Republicans who voted for it. There were eight Democrats who voted against it, so largely bipartisan. Now, this essentially would implement that September rail agreement between the unions, some of the unions, and the industry. It does not have the paid sick leave that the labor unions have been demanding.

The House is about to vote on an amendment to include the paid sick leave, but because of the process the House is using, the Senate can essentially ignore the paid sick leave provision and then pass the bill that does not include it, simply implementing the September agreement that was reached between the two sides.

So, it was expected -- this was expected to happen in the House, expected also along party lines, with some bipartisan support, but dozens of Republicans did vote for it. Kevin McCarthy, the Republican leader, as he walked into the chamber, told me he was going to vote against this plan. So it's uncertain whether it had much support among top Republicans, but it did have 79 Republicans who voted for it, and Democrats who voted against it, fewer than 10.

Eight Democrats voted against it, as the rest of the Democratic Caucus voted for it. So, this passed the House today. The question now is, how quickly will it pass the Senate, as Democratic leaders are pressing to get it done tomorrow in the Senate with bipartisan support, and the expectation is, they will get there, but they still need to reach an agreement to schedule that vote -- Ana.

CABRERA: OK, Manu, thank you for the latest.

Let's bring back Peter Kennedy now, again, representative of one of the unions that was against this deal.

You just heard it passed the House, likely to pass the Senate, no paid sick leave. What's your reaction?

KENNEDY: Well, my reaction is that there's still a lot of work to be done here.

There's supposed to be a concurrent resolution to that resolution or that bill. And, look, it needs to pass. Railroad workers deserve paid sick leave. This country would not function without these people. And we need to get this done. This is not a Democrat or Republican issue. This is an American issue. This is an issue about protecting the economy, about protecting the railroad workers, and about protecting our supply chain.

And so if they can pass a bill to put us back to work, then they can also pass a bill that makes sure that we have basic protections when we need it most and when we're most vulnerable.

CABRERA: We know President Biden has called himself the most pro- labor or pro-union president ever. And so I know he wanted this. He wanted Congress to take action like we just saw.

You don't agree with it. Is he the most pro-union president ever?

KENNEDY: I think President Biden is the most pro-union president ever, based on my experience.

But one thing I want to point out here. I don't think he really wanted Congress to intervene. What he really wanted was the parties to reach a voluntary agreement to avoid this sort of crisis, this sort of standoff. And the fact of the matter is, the railroads, and their utter arrogance, they refused to engage with us in any sort of meaningful way.

And if they did, if they did engage with us meaningfully throughout this round, guess what? We would have never needed a Presidential Emergency Board. We would have never needed Congress to step in. We would have never needed President Biden to make a public statement like that. And so all this comes down to is the bad actors, which are the

railroads.

CABRERA: Peter Kennedy, I appreciate your perspective. Thank you so much for taking the time. Thank you for having me on.

CABRERA: Good luck to you and your union workers.

Officials say at least two people are dead in Alabama after severe storms ripped across the Southeast. There are reports of at least 30 tornadoes, and the damage is extensive. We have images out of Mississippi, a steeple blown off a church, a grocery store also damaged. And it is the same county where you see an uprooted tree fell right smack in the middle of a mobile home.

And take a look at this from Greene County, Alabama, the roof, the walls ripped right off this apartment building.

CNN's Tom Sater joins us now.

Tom, the threat isn't over yet. What are you seeing?

TOM SATER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No, it's not, but it is dwindling. And this is very good news.

I mean, if you live anywhere from parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, even into Georgia, you can hear the sound of chain saws and generators, because it was a widespread event. What we have left is just a little line making its way into northern areas of Florida. It's losing its punch. Still some wind damage is possible.

When you look at the overall picture -- and, again, two fatalities, as you mentioned. On November 4, we had two fatalities in a major outbreak. In fact, this is the second one, very rare -- 30 reports of tornadoes, but over twice as many warnings.

[13:15:00]

Men and women in the National Weather Service extremely busy, as well as first responders, firefighters, and law enforcement. Not all the damage you see there was from tornadoes, a lot of wind reports 65, 70 miles per hour. Numerous communities, such as McComb, Mississippi, had three warnings. Columbus, Mississippi had three warnings as well, Montgomery, Alabama, a few.

This is what's left. Remember all that snow that fell in Buffalo? It won't be as much, but the lake effect snow system is still in full force here. So, again, powerful winds continue to brush areas to the north. Could have some flight delays and, in fact, expect it. Notice the temperature gradient really dropping.

The next story, the next system. Seattle broke a record, Ana, in November going on two weeks without any measurable rain, and they got one to five inches of snow. It's rare. And they have got another one knocking on the door a couple of days later. Crazy November.

CABRERA: No doubt.

SATER: Two fatalities, just like the beginning of the month. Terrible.

CABRERA: What a shame, yes. Tom Sater, thank you for tracking it all.

It was not a tourist visit, and we have the historic verdicts to prove it. For the first time in nearly three decades, a jury has found Americans guilty of conspiring to overthrow the U.S. government on January 6, and more could soon join them.

Plus, the United States survives a must-win match in a geopolitical pressure cooker to reach the knockout round of the World Cup. But its star player suffered a big injury in the process. We have the details.

And killer robots? San Francisco just gave an OK for police to use them on the job.

Stay with us. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:20:49]

CABRERA: For the first time since 1995, a jury has found Americans guilty of conspiring to overthrow the U.S. government.

And a short time from now, Attorney General Merrick Garland will deliver remarks on that historic conviction, which found two leaders of the Oath Keepers, far right extremist group, founder Stewart Rhodes and associate Kelly Meggs, guilty for their involvement in the January 6 insurrection.

Now this marks the first time a jury has agreed that elements of the Capitol attack were part of a preplanned effort to overthrow the government and to subvert the Constitution. It's a major win for the Justice Department, even though it was a split verdict on that top- line count. Three of the defendants were found not guilty. All five defendants were found guilty of obstructing an official proceeding.

Let's break this down with defense attorney and former federal prosecutor Shan Wu.

Shan, first, what message did this verdict sent?

SHAN WU, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I think it sends a message that the Justice Department is capable of pulling together such a factually complex and comprehensive investigation and getting a conviction out of it.

In that sense, Ana, it was a must-win for them. To have had a string of acquittals on this would have been disastrous for them. And I think it sends a message to the other Oath Keepers awaiting trial and to the Proud Boys that there is real jeopardy here. They have shown now that they can convict people. So I think there's a deterrent effect, for sure. CABRERA: So, let's talk more about that, because there are two more

seditious conspiracy prosecutions in the works, one involving members of the Proud Boys, as you mentioned, another far right group, plus numerous other January 6 cases.

If you're a federal prosecutor working those, how does this outcome now factor into your approach?

WU: I think there's a lot of talk about how this seditious conspiracy is super hard to win. I don't know that's actually true.

It's very rarely brought, for, thankfully, good reasons. But it's partially a question of DOJ not having had a lot of practice with these kinds of cases. And I think you can take some lessons out of the acquittals here and the convictions. I mean, there was a uniform conviction by the jury on the obstruction of the official proceeding.

So, as a prosecutor, I might take from that, oh, that concept is a little bit easier for the jury to grasp, and I would want to make my presentation of seditious conspiracy more akin to the obstruction one, to make it more easy access for the jury.

CABRERA: Sedition and that obstruction count both carry 20-year maximums, but a judge could choose to exceed that or go below, of course.

What factors do you think this judge will consider when he issues sentences?

WU: The sentencing guidelines that will guide them, to some extent, will take into account things like criminal history. I think, in Rhodes' part, he may have some sympathetic factors with that. But I think the core issue of concurrent vs. consecutive sentences, Ana, usually goes to whether the judge thinks that the two convictions are really arising out of the exact same actions.

So if it was just the seditious conspiracy and obstruction, likely, I think those could be concurrent. But there's some other charges, including obstruction of justice, and those could be run consecutively.

CABRERA: OK, well, we will see, because I know the sentencing is expected to happen in the next 90 days.

Thank you very much, Shan Wu, for being with us.

WU: Good to see you.

CABRERA: It is a moment eight years in the making. The United States defeats Iran in a must-win World Cup match supercharged by intense geopolitical tensions that have very real life-or-death implications for the Iranian players and people.

And that pressure is unlike anything we have seen in recent sports history. But the U.S. and its star player, Christian Pulisic, were up to the task. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Weston McKennie. Dest making a big run. It's meant for him. Dest has snuck in behind. Dest into the middle.

Pulisic scores!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Pulisic laying it all out there literally and ending up in the hospital with a pelvic contusion.

The U.S. now advances to the knockout round, essentially the sweet 16, for the first time since 2014, where they will face the Netherlands, the eighth best team in the world.

CNN sports anchor Don Riddell is live in Doha.

[13:25:01]

That must have been electric, in that moment and at the end of the game.

And so now, focusing forward, Don, the head coach of Team USA spoke with CNN this morning. What's he saying about this win and, of course, the big question mark regarding Pulisic and his condition?

DON RIDDELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it was just an extraordinary game to be a part of, Ana. I have never experienced anything like it, when you consider the buildup and all the tensions and then the atmosphere inside the stadium.

It was deafening. I was close to the Iranian fans. It was just a wall of noise. I went to bed and my left ear was still ringing on the pillow. The only time they went quiet was when Pulisic scored. And that was such a huge, huge goal. The Americans had to win that game. And they're now into the round of 16.

And this is where things get really, really interesting. They need Pulisic back. They're not scoring many goals at this tournament. They have only score two. If it wasn't for him, they might not be in the knockout round. They would love to have him back.

The mood music sounds like he's probably going to be OK. But they're not quite saying that just yet.

This is what Gregg Berhalter told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREGG BERHALTER, HEAD COACH, U.S. MEN'S NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM: He seems to be doing good. I just spoke with him a couple minutes ago.

And we're going to see what he can on the training field tomorrow. And, hopefully, he will be -- he will be ready for the game against Netherlands. But in terms of his contribution to the group, I have said all along, when one of your most talented players is also one of your hardest workers, you know you're in a good spot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIDDELL: And, obviously, Pulisic would love to be back, Ana. It will be the biggest game of his international career, if he can make it.

CABRERA: These guys, all of them on Team USA, seem to be such stand- up people.

Of course, there are very real concerns now for what happens to those Iranian players. CNN has learned their families were threatened after they didn't sing the national anthem ahead of that first game they played. What could they be facing back home?

RIDDELL: I mean, it's really, really difficult to know, but the menace is real.

The team left this evening. They will be back in Tehran shortly. Of course, Iran is just on the other side of the Persian Gulf. It's a very short flight. Not all of the players will be going back to Iran, though. Many of them are based in Europe. But I think the concerns are very, very real about what will happen to some of those players, because there were definitely moments in this tournament where their behavior, admirable, though it would be from a Western point of view, was not what the regime would like to have seen.

CABRERA: Don Riddell in Doha for us.

Go, Team USA. Thanks so much for that report.

A man allegedly catfishes a teen online and then kills her mother and grandparents. And now family members of the victims are speaking out.

And the city of San Francisco just gave police an OK to use killer robots. The chief joins us ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:30:00]