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Acting FAA Administrator, Billy Nolen, Appeared Before Senate Commerce Committee to Address Aviation Safety; Twitter Data, Privacy Practices Investigated by FTC; Florida Governor DeSantis Lays Out Agenda in State of the State Address; Senate Committee Hears Testimony from Senior American Officials on Global Threats; Study Warns of Increase in Child Opioid-Related Deaths; Home Environment Accounted For More Than 65% of Fatal Child Poisonings. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired March 08, 2023 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: The acting chief of the FAA is on Capitol Hill right now.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR AND NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Being grilled by lawmakers. This, of course, after it comes after an alarming string of incidents in the sky, also a number of close calls on the ground, which we've been following, including this plane that actually clipped the wing of another plane on Monday in Boston. Safety concerns on runway is a major, major topic and the line of questioning today. CNN Aviation Correspondent Pete Muntean is monitoring all of this for us.

So, Pete, what are we hearing this morning?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: You know, this hearing is really specifically focused on the reforms that the FAA has made to how they certify aircraft after the 737 MAX disasters that killed more than 300 people abroad. But it is so interesting that these close calls on runways are already coming up. Senator Ted Cruz is a ranking member on the Senate Commerce Committee, he just said that since the last time acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen was on the Hill on February 15th, there have been three more of these close calls on America's runway since. We're averaging about one every 10 days now.

[10:35:00]

Look at the breakdown, JFK, Honolulu, Boston, Austin, Burbank. We have just found out about an incident that happened in Sarasota, we found out about that on Monday, but it happened back on February 16th. These incidents range in cases where the airplanes come very close to one another. We are talking in hundreds of feet in some cases which is very scary to some safety advocates.

I just want to point out here that this is so interesting because there's been so much change in the aviation industry, and I want you to listen now to Dennis Tajer of the Allied Pilots Association, that's the union that represents American Airlines pilots. He points out that the system in aviation right now is really stressed to the max. There have been a lot of retirements and a lot of new people coming in, as well. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DENNIS TAJER, SPOKESMAN, ALLIED PILOTS ASSOCIATION: It's a system under stress. The FAA sees it. The FAA administrator said, I need data and let's have a meeting, a safety summit. The data is right behind me, it's happening out there. These incidents, things that we've been talking about well over a year ago are starting to show up on a flight deck and in operations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MUNTEAN: That FAA Emergency Safety Summit happens only one week from now. We will see, as this hearing unfolds, what else comes up about these close calls, these near-misses on the runway known as runway incursions, Jim and Erica.

SCIUTTO: Nice name for something a little scary if you experience it yourself.

HILL: Yes, that's for sure.

Pete, appreciate it. Thank you.

SCIUTTO: The Federal Trade Commission has confirmed a wide-ranging probe into Twitter's privacy practices. The agency looking into whether Twitter under Elon Musk violated a previous settlement that requirement to protect user data, like yours and mine.

HILL: CNN's Tech Reporter Brian Fung joining us now. So, Brian, bottom line here, did Twitter expose user data?

BRIAN FUNG CNN TECH REPORTER: Well, that's a great question. That's exactly what the FTC is trying to get to the bottom of. It's a really rare move for the FTC to acknowledge an ongoing investigation like this. It really doesn't happen very often if at all. And it really comes after the disclosure of about a dozen letters that the FTC sent to Twitter asking for information about its privacy practices. Those letters were disclosed in the house staff report that was released yesterday.

Let me just go -- run through a couple of the things that the FTC has said to have asked Twitter about. Among other things, its staffing changes after Elon Musk took over the company, slack messages that involved Elon Musk or about Elon Musk, details about the company's Twitter blue subscription service. Even the office equipment that Twitter was reportedly trying to sell off as part of its cost-cutting measures.

Really, a wide-ranging set of topics that the FTC is interested in. And it all goes to these concerns about whether or not Twitter may have lived up to its obligations as part of this settlement to protect users' privacy. The report itself from the House is this, you know, staff report created by the subcommittee intended to look at whether the U.S. government may have weaponized against, you know, members of the -- of conservatives or, you know, members of the public. In response to that report, the FTC said in a statement that, protecting consumers' privacy is exactly what the FTC is supposed to do. It should do come as no surprise that career staff at the commission are conducting a rigorous investigation into Twitter's compliance with the consent order that came into effect long before Mr. Musk purchased the company.

Now, again, you know, we're talking about allegations that Twitter violated its agreement with the U.S. government. Stemming from allegations from Twitter's whistleblower Peiter "Mudge" Zatko who said that the company was not, you know, doing enough to protect user privacy and in fact allowing employees to gain access to, you know, live user data and make changes to live Twitter products on the fly and this is all part of a big you are picture, Jim and Erica.

SCIUTTO: Brian Fung, thanks so much.

Well, Governor Ron DeSantis has poised to show Floridians and the country just how far he will go to turn that state into a far more conservative one. How his agenda is expected to dominate debate in the GOP-controlled state legislature coming up.

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[10:40:00]

HILL: Happening right now, the nation's top intelligence officials are on Capitol Hill addressing global threats that the U.S. is currently facing.

SCIUTTO: The heads of the FBI and CIA will answer questions from lawmakers, as well as the director of National Intelligence who, just moments ago, emphasized tensions in particular with China.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AVRIL HAINES, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: And given that background, perhaps needless to say, the People's Republic of China which is increasingly challenging the United States economically, technologically, politically, and militarily around the world remains our unparalleled priority.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: CNN's Natasha Bertrand has been monitoring it. And Natasha, that's been a consistent theme for a number of years, that China is America's number one national security challenge. I wonder what else are they focusing on today?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, China was a really significant focus of DNI Haines' opening statement there. But she also outlined a number of other issues or threats that really face the United States at this moment. Of course, she talked a lot about Russia and its invasion of Ukraine. She reeled some interesting details about what the Intelligence Community believes the trajectory of the conflict actually is. [10:45:00]

Saying that she believes that -- and the Intelligence Community believes that if Russia does not initiate a mandatory mobilization and identify substantial third-party ammo supplies, they will likely not be able to continue their offensive there. As well as threats posed by, of course, North Korea and Iran, two major threats that the United States believes will continue to pose significant challenges to the U.S. over the coming years.

But this is really an opportunity, a rare opportunity, for the public to hear directly from these intelligence leaders. Not just about the things that we see necessarily in the headlines every day, but just about the broad array of threats posed by this kind of rogue countries. And also, you know, just apart from that the origins of COVID-19, right? Those are going to be -- pose significant questions to the intelligence leaders today, of course, along the same lines with the threats posed from China and the inability for the Intelligence Community to have a direct window into that.

So, there's going to be a lot of threads that the intel leaders are going to be asked to pull at today. And, of course, there's going to be a closed session with a classified setting (ph) that the lawmakers are also going to hear from. But this will really present an opportunity for the public to hear them in an open setting for the first time in a year.

SCIUTTO: No question. And the trendline to China, certainly alarming. Natasha Bertrand, thanks so much.

HILL: Also following developments in Florida today where Governor Ron DeSantis is throwing his support behind kind of rush and new proposal that would ban nearly all abortions in the state.

SCIUTTO: In the coming weeks, the Republican leader reportedly gearing up to show Floridian, the entire country, really, as he mulls a potential presidential run just how far he is willing to go on several far-right conservative issues. CNN's Leyla Santiago, she's in Tallahassee with more.

Leyla, I wonder, what is the governor saying about the state bills? And give our viewers a sense of exactly what he is lining up here.

LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, let's talk about, first, the abortion bill that Erica was just talking about and what the governor said yesterday during his state at the state address. He was quick to say that we are pro-family, we are pro-life in the state of Florida.

So, absolutely speaking to support this bill. And let's talk about what that would change. Currently in Florida it is 15 weeks, this would change it to six weeks, and does have exceptions for rape or incest, but Democrats will be very quick to point out that at six weeks, many women don't even know they're pregnant. So, they are calling this sort of an all-out ban and call it very extreme and dangerous. So, abortion is one thing that's on the table that Governor Ron DeSantis is signaling his support for. And then there's also education which is absolutely been a big part of his platform, sort of, calling for the fortifying of parental rights and bills that really align with what he has said over the last few days as he's promoted his recently released books. We're talking about books that would take away diversity and equity inclusion initiatives on college campuses that would ban any sort of requirements of teachers to use preferred pronouns for students and would expand the voucher program. Listen to what else he said about education.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): We must continue our momentum with K through 12-education by increasing teacher salaries, enacting a teacher's bill of rights, providing paycheck protection for teachers, expanding school choice, and fortifying parents' rights. Our schools must deliver a good education, not a political indoctrination.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANTIAGO: And here's another line that we need to pay attention to in terms of what you can expect from Governor Ron DeSantis. He finished that speech that you just heard right there by saying, you ain't seen nothing yet. So, you should expect for him to continue saying that as he lays out what else he's looking to put on his platform for what could be an expected announcement soon, uprise of a presidential GOP nominee.

HILL: Yes. More to come, Leyla. We know you'll be keeping a very close watch on all of it and bringing us those updates, and the more to come. Appreciate it, my friend. Thank you.

Well, still to come this hour, an alarming new study on young children and opioids. Why researchers say, the number of children under the age of five dying from overdoses is soaring.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:50:00]

HILL: A growing number of victims' deadly opioid overdoses are children under the age of five. Let that sink in for a minute. Those findings come from a new study on accidental poisonings.

SCIUTTO: CNN Health Reporter Jacqueline Howard joins us now with more details. Jacqueline, how does this happen? How do children under five get poisoned by this?

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: I know. It's so disturbing. But this new study shows that it's a consequence of the ongoing opioid epidemic. The more people who have opioids in the home, the more likely a young child might come across that and become accidentally exposed.

And this new study also says that when you look at that time period 2005 and 2018, opioids were the most common substance contributing to fatal poisonings among this age group, kids five and younger. It was followed by then over the counter pain, cold and allergy medications, and then illicit drugs. But that 47.3 percent, Jim and Erica, that's what's really, really troubling here. And pediatricians are watching this trend closely.

HILL: So, as they're watching it closely, where is this happening? You mentioned more opioids in the home? Is it just at home?

HOWARD: That's it, Erica, in the home. 65 percent of these deaths occurred in the home according to the study. And this was also shocking, over two-fifths, 42 percent were in babies, kids younger than one.

[10:55:00]

So, again, Jim and Erica, this is a consequence of how we're seeing the opioid epidemic impact our youngest kids.

HILL: Oh, that's awful.

HOWARD: yes.

HILL: That's just heartbreaking.

SCIUTTO: Uh-huh.

HILL: And actually, and incredibly important, too, to get that information out there. Jacqueline, really appreciate it as always. Thank you.

Well, sorry to end on that down note. How about this? How about a note of appreciation. Thanks to all of you for joining us today.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

HILL: I'm Erica Hill.

SCIUTTO: Well, done Erica. I'm Jim Sciutto. "At This Hour" with Kate Bolduan starts right after a quick break.

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