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Deadly Tornadoes Tear Across Several States Overnight; Netanyahu Approves "Plans For Action" In Rafah, Gaza; WSJ: Cockpit Seat Mistake May Have Caused Boeing 787 Dreamliner To Suddenly Plunge. Aired 11:30a-12p ET
Aired March 15, 2024 - 11:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:30:00]
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WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, rescue crews are desperately searching for survivors after very powerful storms and tornadoes ripped across multiple states last night.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh my, God. Thank, God, it didn't hit my house. Something -- (INAUDIBLE)
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BLITZER: In Ohio -- in Ohio and Indiana, at least three people were killed, and dozens hurt. CNN's Whitney Wild is joining us now live. She's on the ground in Winchester, Indiana for us. Whitney, you're there in a town where local officials say a tornado touchdown last night. Tell us what you're seeing.
WHITNEY WILD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, what is so true about storms like this is when you come out on scene, you see how clearly selective they are. Let me show you one house here right in the heart of where the storm hit. That house has some damage, but it is still standing. I make sure you will -- see next to it.
Wolf, this next door, this was a house. Right now, you're looking at the subfloor. There's water throughout the basement of this home -- throughout the subfloor of this home. Debris is simply scattered everywhere.
And let me show you where this house, which was according to family members we spoke with earlier, lifted basically out of the foundation here and thrown clear across the street, Wolf. That is where that house is now. And we spoke with family members who walked us through what happened.
They said around 8:00, the woman who owns this home, their mom, was inside and she called, and she was hysterical. She couldn't get through to 911. She called her kids to say please come get me. The house has fallen on top of me. Fortunately, she walked away OK. The family has spent hours this morning trying to dig out. Wolf, fortunately through all of this destruction, all of this damage, there are so far -- officials are saying there are no fatalities. But there are at least 38 people who are injured, Wolf.
BLITZER: Our hearts go out to those families over there. Awful, awful, horrendous pictures indeed. Whitney Wild, thank you very much for that report.
And to our viewers, you're in the CNN NEWSROOM. President Biden just weighed in on Senator Schumer's significant criticism of the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. We're going to tell you what he said. Standby. That's next.
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[11:39:19]
BLITZER: We're getting some new reporting out of Israel this morning. The prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu's office now says he has approved -- and I'm quoting now. "He has approved plans for action in Rafah," the southern city in Gaza where an estimated 1.4 million displaced Palestinians are currently sheltering.
CNN's Jeremy Diamond is joining us now from Jerusalem. Jeremy, what else is the prime minister's office there saying?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, following a meeting of the Israeli security cabinet, we're told that the Israeli prime minister has now approved the plans for action in Rafah as it's being described. That includes both a plan to evacuate the civilian population from Rafah, where some one-and-a-half million Palestinians are currently living, many of them displaced from other parts of the Gaza Strip.
[11:40:08]
And the second part of this, of course, is a major military offensive into what the Israeli prime minister has previously and repeatedly described as Hamas's last bastion. But there are not many details, Wolf, about exactly what this dual plan actually will entail, how feasible it will be. We heard earlier this week from an Israeli military spokesman, Daniel Hagari, who told us that they are preparing to create humanitarian enclaves, as he put it, in central Gaza to be able to accommodate those displaced Palestinians from Rafah. That will include food, shelter, field hospitals, all in partnership with international partners.
But again, very few details about the feasibility of that. And the secretary of state, Tony Blinken, is now saying that the United States has yet to actually see those plans from Israel and that the feasibility and seeing the details of those plans will be crucial to know whether or not Israel should move forward with this operation, Wolf.
BLITZER: Amidst all of this, Jeremy, sources now telling CNN that talks on a potential Gaza ceasefire are moving, in what the source describes as a positive direction. What do we know?
DIAMOND: Well, Wolf, there does seem to be some momentum as Hamas has now submitted a new counter-proposal. That includes some specific numbers of the -- numbers of Palestinian prisoners that it would like to see released as part of this deal in exchange for those Israeli hostages. But those numbers are still higher than Israeli officials would like to see them.
And in a statement about this latest proposal, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office indicating that it still finds Hamas's demands ridiculous. So, there is still clearly a lot of gap to be bridged here. But the Israeli government intending to send a delegation to Doha, Qatar to pursue those negotiations. We will see what comes to them, Wolf.
BLITZER: Yes. We'll be anxious to get the word. All right. Thanks very much, Jeremy Diamond -- Jeremy Diamond in Jerusalem for us. Appreciate it very much.
Meanwhile, President Biden is meeting with the Irish Prime Minister over at the White House this morning. And he just commented on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's very forceful criticism of the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Our White House Correspondent Priscilla Alvarez is joining us right now. So, what did the president say, Priscilla?
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the president weighed in on this for the first time saying that he was notified ahead of time by the Senate majority leader's staff that he would give those forceful remarks yesterday on the Senate floor. And then going on to say and acknowledge that the Senate majority leader did have serious concerns. Take a listen.
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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Senator Schumer contacted my staff -- my senior staff, he's going to make that speech. And he -- I'm not going to elaborate on the speech. He made a good speech. And I think he expressed serious concern shared not only by him but by many Americans.
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ALVAREZ: Now, in that brief meeting that we were in the room for, this -- the Irish Prime minister also said that one of his top priorities going into this meeting was to talk about the situation in Gaza, calling for a ceasefire. When he said that, President Biden nodded and said he agreed. Of course, the president has said that there should be a temporary ceasefire for more assistance to get into Gaza and for the hostages to be released from Gaza.
So, the -- that is going to be looming over this meeting, a meeting that is usually an annual stuffed full of celebrations with a crystal ball or a crystal bowl of shamrocks and also with fountains dyed green. But in this situation, Ireland, of course, a place where the Palestinian cause runs deep where they see parallels with colonialism, and oppression and something that the two of them will be discussing at length today.
BLITZER: They certainly will. Priscilla Alvarez at the White House, thank you very much. Let's discuss what's going on. Joining us, CNN political commentators and hosts of the podcast Hot Mics. From left to right, Alice Stewart and Maria Cardona.
Maria, Leader Schumer's speech made a lot of waves here in Washington and a lot of waves in Jerusalem as well.
MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes.
BLITZER: What do you make of President Biden now weighing in?
CARDONA: You know, Wolf, when he made that speech, leader Schumer, you're right, he made a lot of waves. He is, as you know, the highest- ranking elected Jewish leader in the United States. So, he comes at this with a lot of credibility. A lot of personal stake in this.
And so, I think what he expressed is a lot of the frustration that is going on in this country with our elected leaders, even within the White House about the direction of the war that has being prosecuted by Israel. That's not to say that either Schumer nor Biden are wavering in their support of Israel. They are not. That had -- that has been solid from the beginning. But it is to say that all of the images and the horrific news that is coming out of Gaza is having an effect on not just the public scrutiny in the United States but worldwide on Israel.
[11:45:09]
And part of what Schumer and I believe President Biden are doing both publicly -- not more publicly, but also privately from the beginning, is trying to nudge Netanyahu to say, look, this has Israel's reputation on the line. We understand that you all have absolutely the right to defend yourselves and you should, and we're at your side on that. But you have got to understand the way that you prosecute this war matters. And I think that was the bottom line of both Schumer's remarks, as well as President Biden's.
BLITZER: Yes, very interesting indeed. Alice, listen to how some of Schumer's Republican colleagues reacted to his forceful speech yesterday. Listen to this.
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SEN. RON JOHNSON (R-WI): What is leader Schumer doing injecting himself in Israel politics? Again, I think he's just beyond the pale.
SEN. JONI ERNST (R-IA): I'm very upset. I don't think that leader Schumer should be inserting his ideas and throwing them at Israel where they are in the middle of a war. We should be on the side of Israel. We should be showing support for Israel. We know that Hamas has to go.
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BLITZER: So, Alice, what's your take?
ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I agree one hundred percent. It's very hypocritical for Democrats who complain about foreign interference in elections to call for the regime change in Israel. And look, it's quite clear that Joe Biden has a real problem on his hands when it comes to Israel and his Jewish vote.
And when you have Schumer out there talking about a regime change, that's -- that shouldn't happen. Israel is our ally. And we should be their ally all the time, not just when it's convenient.
And look, Democrats and Jewish people, specifically Democrats in this country, they don't have an anti-Bibi problem. They have an anti- Israel problem and an anti-Semitism problem. And that's what needs to be addressed. It's not Benjamin Netanyahu. And now's the time more than ever to stand with Netanyahu and -- democratically elected leader of Israel, who has been there for us. And to try and point -- paint this any other way is absolutely wrong.
And you have Joe Biden, who has leader Schumer out there calling for the removal of Netanyahu. And on the other side, you have the far-left saying let's have an all-out ceasefire. He's got a real problem. And that Jewish voters in the Democratic Party are saying what is Joe Biden's policy? He has to hurt his cattle here on this issue because this is going to be a tremendous issue in the 2024 election, and you have far rights on both sides on this issue.
And the most important thing is we need to show support for Israel. Israel had a right to defend themselves. And their enemy, it's not Bibi. Their enemy is Hamas and extreme terrorism. That's what we need to keep in mind, first and foremost.
BLITZER: All right. Alice Stewart and Maria Cardona, we'll continue this conversation to be sure down the road. Thank you very much.
Meanwhile, we're learning new details about why a LATAM Flight suddenly plunged earlier this week. It might have been due to a mistake in the cockpit. We've got new information we'll explain. Stay with us. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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[11:52:39]
BLITZER: This morning. New reporting from the Wall Street Journal says a cockpit share mishap by a flight attendant might have caused a Boeing 787 to plunge while in flight. That, according to U.S. industry officials briefed on preliminary evidence from an investigation of the incident, which left 50 passengers injured.
CNN Aviation Correspondent Pete Muntean is joining us right now. Pete, this raises a lot of serious safety questions. What exactly happened here?
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: It's important to note, Wolf, that this investigation is still beginning. And Boeing tells us it's working on a statement. But if this account in the Wall Street Journal is accurate, it is a significant new target for investigators.
The account goes like this. The pilots of LATAM Flight 800 were being served a meal while in a cruise flight. Two sources briefed on this investigation say a flight attendant pressed a switch on one of the 787's electrically powered pilot seats. That slid the seat forward and into the controls causing this plane to drop.
This flies in the face of what passengers said that pilots told them that their cockpit displays went dark and that they briefly lost control. This is what a 787 cockpit looks like. You can see the switch in question on the backside of the seats near the headrest.
It moves each seat fore and aft on an L-shaped track. And when the seat is all the way back, it allows the pilots to climb into the seat without having to climb over the center console there. The control column is in front of the seats. That's where the yoke is.
The controls on the airplane. It sits in the center between their legs. So, you can see how sliding the seat too far forward creates a bit of an ergonomic issue. Push forward on the control column, the nose goes down. So, now this account in the journal is starting to make this incident make a lot more sense.
What will be key here are the black boxes. The flight data recorder gets thousands of streams of data, notably the position of the control column. So, investigators will be able to tell if it got pushed in a linear way like these powered seats operate.
They'll also be able to glean a lot from the cockpit voice recorder. Those have very sensitive microphones in the cockpit that pick up ambient noise. So, if there was a scuffle with the cedar, somebody's shouting, hey stop, they should be able to hear it.
The pieces are really coming together and what sounds like it's far from a Boeing issue but as simple unintentional incidents. And the plane-maker reportedly putting out a memo to airlines that fly the 787 pretty soon reminding them to be extra careful around this switch, Wolf.
[11:55:11]
BLITZER: Yes, be careful in that cockpit. Pete Muntean, thank you very much for that update. Appreciate it very much.
And to our viewers, thanks very much for joining me here in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. I'll be back later tonight, 6:00 p.m. Eastern in "THE SITUATION ROOM." Right here Monday morning, 11:00 a.m. Eastern.
Stay with CNN. "INSIDE POLITICS" with Dana Bash starts right after a very short break.
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