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Southwest Flight Forced To Turn Around After Bird Strikes; NTSB On Site At Another Train Derailment In Springfield, Ohio; Protests Over Atlanta Police Training Site Turn Violent, 35 Detained; Biden Faces Dem Blowback Over Stance On Rescinding DC Criminal Code; Biden Reaffirms Support Of DC Statehood Amid Debate On Criminal Code; King Charles Invites Harry And Meghan To Coronation. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired March 06, 2023 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST: Yes. The flight was headed to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, but returned to Havana, Cuba, where passengers, thankfully, evacuated safely.

CNN's Carlos Suarez is following this story.

Carlos, do we know what happened?

CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Victor and Bianna, we are finally hearing from some of those passengers on board that Southwest Airlines flight.

Now the cell phone video from inside the cabin of the aircraft really captured the terrifying minutes onboard that flight shortly after the airplane, that 737, took off from Havana, Cuba, on its way to Ft. Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport.

The passengers we talked to said it was anywhere between 10 to 15 minutes of what you are taking a look at there, that cabin filled with all of this smoke.

According to the airline, all of this happened right after takeoff when that aircraft hit a number of birds. One of the birds appears to have hit the engine, which caused it to catch on fire. The other bird apparently hit the nose of that aircraft.

So the decision, of course, was made to bring the airplane back to Havana's international airport. Once it was on the ground, all the passengers were able to get off safely.

Now a number of them boarded flights earlier today and arrived at Ft. Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport late this morning. You can see there, a lot of them hugging their family members.

They all describe just these heartbreaking moments on board that aircraft.

Here is just what one passenger told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANET ABBOTT, SOUTHWEST AIRLINES PASSENGER: There was a big boom. And we said, what happened? And the smoke started coming into the cabin, and they just said stay in your seats.

And we had to start breathing, you know, put our heads down. And try to get the oxygen out but no oxygen masks came down. So we had to keep breathing. In our masks, heads down. People were screaming, not knowing what to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SUAREZ: Just incredible stuff there.

Southwest Airlines says it is looking into the possibility that, because of that fire on the engine, the aircraft itself did experience some type of engine failure - Victor and Bianna?

GOLODRYGA: Horrifying listening how that passenger was describing the frightening moments were like. Thankfully they're all OK.

Carlos Suarez, thank you.

Today, in East Palestine, Ohio, soil is being removed under the tracks of last month's derailed train disaster, a process that the EPA says could take up to two months and produce additional odors for residents living near the site.

Norfolk Southern, who owns the train, is making a new set of commitments to those affected, financial assistance while the soil work is under way. A plan to pay for damages incurred by rescue crews and a scholarship fund for high school seniors.

A union chief tells CNN that the company is aware that workers on the site have experienced health issues, but they haven't received any official reports.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Meanwhile, investigators are arriving today at another Norfolk Southern train derailment. This one on the western side of Ohio. This is in Springfield.

The fire chief says 20 of the 212 train cars careened off the rails. Four tankers were identified with nonhazardous materials. But two tankers contained residual amounts of diesel exhaust fluid.

GOLODRYGA: Now, at first, a shelter-in-place order was issued for residents who live within 1,000 feet of the site.

CNN's Jason Carroll joins us live from Springfield.

Jason, how did this happen again?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, that's the question that a lot of folks here in the state of Ohio are asking themselves. And perhaps, Bianna, we will get some answers when the NTSB holds its briefing just about half an hour from now. I want to set the scene from where we are right now, just where the

derailment happened. I think you can still see right over my shoulder one of the cars, which is still on its side, has not yet been removed.

This latest derailment, of course, happening on Saturday, just about 5:00 p.m. There was video from someone who was inside his car when he captured these trains just as they began to derail. And 28 of 212 cars ended up derailing.

Again, state officials saying there was no release of any hazardous materials, although the train was carrying some hazardous materials, some of those cars including propane and ethanal, but the cars were not involved in the derailment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLES PATTERSON, CLARK COUNTY HEALTH COMMISSIONER: Technicians will continue to be on site to ensure that there isn't any contamination that has been missed.

There have been multiple sweeps by multiple teams of technicians, hazmat and Ohio EPA to ensure that there is - there aren't any chemicals present in the soil, air or water that would harm the public here in Clark County.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: Again, NTSB is here on site, scheduled to hold a briefing just about half an hour from now. Hopefully, we'll get some answers.

[14:35:02]

A lot of folks here wondering how in the world this could have happened again.

Guys, back to you.

GOLODRYGA: Jason Carroll, keep us posted. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Up next, to Atlanta, where dozens of people were arrested at the construction site of a controversial police training center nicknamed "Cop City." Police say vehicles there were even set on fire.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Over the weekend, in Atlanta, protests at a police and fire training facility turned violent.

At least 35 people were detained after a construction vehicle was set on fire. Protesters threw bricks and rocks and fireworks, Molotov cocktails at officers.

There have been several clashes throughout the past two years over the construction of a $90 million, 85-acre law enforcement training campus.

[14:40:08]

GOLODRYGA: "Defund the police" advocates have been arguing that the facility will result in more officer-involved violence against minorities. They nicknamed the project, "Cop City."

And environmental advocates argued the site should, instead, be protected green space.

CNN's Nick Valencia is live in Atlanta.

Nick, what caused tensions to really boil over at this particular protest?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, hey there, Victor and Bianna.

According to activists who I spoke to, this all started as police started clearing out a music festival taking place there in the area. According to activists, police began to indiscriminately arrest those who were just there, they say, to enjoy music.

This week, though, had been billed by protesters to be a "Week of Action," protests and festivities with things kicking off with the music festival.

According to police, things took an ugly turn when protesters turned agitators and they started throwing rocks, bricks, fireworks, Molotov cocktails at police.

And 35 people were initially reported to have been detained. We now can report that 23 of those have been charged with domestic terrorism charges.

This has become a ground zero of sorts. This proposed police and training facility has been dubbed Cop City by its opponents.

And it's become a place where activists not just in and around the Atlanta area but nationwide have come to air their grievances against police.

A robust coalition of activists, which includes climate activists, who are against this proposed training facility because they feel it will have a detrimental impact to the environment.

Now earlier, I spoke with Kamerra Franklin. He's a national activist who says we should expect civil disobedience to continue this week.

He's also taking exception with what police are saying about these outside agitators.

This is what he had to tell me earlier. He said, "The language being used by police, calling those arrested 'outside agitators' is meant to separate protesters and meant to criminalize and detach a movement from its home-grown origins."

We should mention, however, of those 23 that have been charged with domestic terrorism, just two of them are from Georgia. As mentioned, Franklin says civil disobedience will continue this week

with March 9th being the day they asked for the nation for planned action - Bianna, Victor?

GOLODRYGA: All right, Nick Valencia, thank you.

BLACKWELL: Thank you, Nick.

VALENCIA: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: The rift in the Democratic Party over D.C. crime legislation is growing. President Biden is facing blowback after announcing he will not veto the GOP-led legislation to rescind a controversial change to the criminal code in the nation's capital.

Critics of the legislation question if it's too soft on crime. Actually, it's their allegation.

The chairman of the D.C. council is now attempting to withdraw the legislation after it became clear the Senate intends to nix it.

However, the president is reaffirming his support of D.C. statehood, renewing the debate over whether the district should be able to govern itself.

Let's bring him up now. Josh Burch, the co-founder of "Neighbors United for D.C. Statehood" is with us.

Josh, good to have you.

You called the president's backing of the bill a betrayal and a gut punch. Why do you think he's doing it?

Why do I think he's doing it?

JOSH BURCH, CO-FOUNDER, "NEIGHBORS UNITED FOR D.C. STATEHOOD": Why do I think he's doing it?

BLACKWELL: Yes.

BURCH: Politics. Politics is about perception. And he doesn't want to be perceived as being supposedly weak on crime.

I think there's been very little discussed about the substance of the crime bill. It's just more sort of catch phrases for the general public.

BLACKWELL: So, you say that he doesn't want to be seen as weak on crime. The weak on crime narrative from Republicans is not new. And here just a month ago, this was the White House position on this. The White House opposed this and another D.C. bill.

It says - I'm going to read it here, a statement from the OMB there. "This taxation without representation and denial of self-governance is an affront to the democratic values on which our nation was founded." Your view on the timing? Because initially, as evidenced by the

Democrats in Congress, they just were pretty sure that the president was going to oppose the change of the criminal code.

BURCH: Yes. I mean, I think, from his past statement just a few weeks ago to what happened last week, it's a complete 180, one I don't understand.

I think, being perceived as being weak on crime, I think we have an issue with the president being weak on democracy.

If he truly believed in statehood, he would stand up for the right of the people of D.C. through our elected officials to enact legislation. That's what this law did.

I think the stated bill has two core components. It gets autonomy for the people of D.C., the 700,000 of us live here, work here, raise families here. But it also gets us equal representation in Congress.

And I think he is betraying at least one of those two fundamental principles by turning his back on us.

BLACKWELL: If you say he's weak on democracy or he is weak on democracy, do you believe that he is genuinely in support of D.C. statehood and home rule?

[14:45:97]

BURCH: You know, I call myself a cynical optimist being a statehood activist.

I do think the president and members of his party do believe in D.C. statehood.

But I think one of the real problems that we have in the District of Columbia is we have no elected member in Congress, voting member in Congress, who can call us their constituents and who - they have to respond to.

And because we're not anyone's constituent in Congress, they can turn their back on us whenever they want to. That's what happened with the votes in the House, potentially the vote in the Senate, and with the president himself.

They don't see any sort of political loss by turning their backs on the people of D.C.

BLACKWELL: Well, even ones' closest friends, certainly, political representatives, they don't do what each constituent would have them do 100 percent of the time on every issue.

Is this enough to unmoor you from the president's camp, to lose your support?

BURCH: Well, one, you're assuming that I supported the president. So, be careful there. You know, D.C. statehood is a nonpartisan, civil rights and voting

rights issue.

In the recent past, we have had support exclusively from the Democratic Party. We expect the Democratic Party to continue to support us.

We also expect the Republican party, the party that claims to be for small government, to also support D.C. statehood, to support the right of American citizens who pay federal taxes to have representation in their government. So, it is a nonpartisan issue.

Is my - this definitely hurts my opinion of the president. I definitely look at him in a lesser light than I did two weeks ago.

I felt like he could take a strong stand and say, no, I support statehood. I support the right of the people of D.C. to enact their own laws, and I'm going to veto this legislation.

He chose not to do that. And then he chose - he said he would sign it.

So, yes, still is a betrayal and gut punch. And I do question my support for the president after he turned his back on us.

BLACKWELL: Josh Burch, thank you so much for joining us.

BURCH: Thank you for having me.

GOLODRYGA: King Charles has invited Prince Harry and Meghan, the duchess of Sussex, to his coronation in May. The question is, will they actually go? We'll discuss.

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[14:52:03]

GOLODRYGA: So we now know that King Charles III has, indeed, invited his son, Prince Harry, and his daughter-in-law, Meghan, to his coronation in May. But whether the Sussexes will attend is still anyone's guess.

BLACKWELL: After confirming that they received the invitation, a spokesman for the duke and duchess issued a statement saying, "A immediate decision on whether the duke and duchess will attend will not be disclosed by us at this time."

CNN's royal historian, Kate Williams, joins us now.

Is this all for show? And if you're not going to go, right, just say so. Or if you are going, say so.

KATE WILLIAMS, CNN ROYAL HISTORIAN: Well, we haven't got long for the coronation right now. It's really only two months.

And my sources tell me there's a lot of uncertainty in general about the guest list. Things really haven't - there's a lot to work out, not in the least

because people that went to the queen's coronation, 8,200 people, their families can't go to this. It's only 2,000.

So I think there's uncertainty in general over the confirmed guest list.

But certainly, I think, in this country, there have been - in the U.K., there have been endless speculation about whether or not Harry and Meghan will go to the coronation or not.

I'm grateful for the clarity. They have been invited. I've always said they would be invited. They have been invited.

I'm pretty sure they will come as well. Certainly, Harry will come. And I would pretty much be very sure Harry will come.

But of course, what will be significant, if Harry comes and Meghan, too, they won't have a large role. It will be about William's role and Camilla's role. And Harry will be more of a spectator.

GOLODRYGA: What made you certain all this time they would, indeed, be invited?

WILLIAMS: I was certain. I think for two reasons. Firstly, because blood is very important to Charles. This is his son. His second son. He's still very close in line to the throne. He should go to the coronation.

He's not a disgraced member of the royal family or abdicated like Edward VIII, and George VI took his place. And when the queen took the throne, he wasn't invited. This is very different.

Charles loves Harry a lot. Also, if Harry wasn't invited, that would be the only conversation that Harry had not been invited. It's very important that Charles wants unity. Charles will invite Harry.

And of course, this is tied up with the moves about property in which the Sussexes have been told that Frogmore Cottage, their house in which they lived here in Britain.

There was all kinds of conversation how much had been spent on it and they suffered for that. And they've been told to move they can keep it until after the coronation.

But I think there are a lot of power moves going on within the royal family about property, about who goes to the coronation. And if Harry comes to the coronation, questions about where he's going to sit and what role he's going to play.

These are questions that will be before them to give us a definite answer to the public definite answer to the public about whether they're coming.

[14:55:06] BLACKWELL: So after Harry's book was released and then the documentary series featuring Harry and Meghan, are there real conversations between the Sussexes and the king or with prince of Wales?

WILLIAMS: There aren't a lot of huge conversations, no, between Harry and the king and the prince of Wales.

Really, when it came down to it, he had a relationship with the queen and Prince Philip. And now that both of those members of the royal family are gone, there are much fewer bridges. There aren't bridges really between the family.

And we know there's been a lot of - well, quietness in terms of not answering text messages, not answering calls between Harry and the king and Harry and the prince of Wales. There is a frosty relationship.

But when it comes to it, Charles really loves Harry. He really wants him there. Charles has been waiting for this job for a very, very long time. He's the longest-serving prince of Wales.

And this is his moment that he has long wanted. And he wants both sons to be there. Because, if they're not, it doesn't matter what Charles does, the glamour, music, all the conversation will be, Harry isn't there.

And that's been thanks to a rift, which Charles has not helped to sort out.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, King Charles waited for this coronation his whole life, in a sense. This is the first coronation in 70 years.

WILLIAMS: Yes.

GOLODRYGA: Kate Williams, thank you.

BLACKWELL: Two United planes clip wings near the gates of Boston Logan, just the latest in a string of airline incidents. We'll have more of this ahead.

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