Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
New Lawsuit Filed Against Norfolk Southern; Vance and Zeldin Heads to East Palestine; Crews Begin to Remove Wreckage of Jet from the Potomac; Trump to Pause Tariffs for One Month. Aired 10:30-11a ET
Aired February 03, 2025 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:30:00]
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news. A new lawsuit filed against Norfolk Southern alleges for the first time that people died because of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio that happened two years ago today.
38 cars derailed, sparking a massive fire that took days to get under control. The lawsuit includes seven wrongful death claims, including that of a newborn baby, as well as allegations that Norfolk Southern and its contractors botched the cleanup, and that government agencies failed to warn people of the health risks.
Now, that report comes as Vice President J. D. Vance and new EPA Chief Lee Zeldin are heading to East Palestine right now. That community still has not recovered economically, and environmental concerns remain to this day. One mental health study of those affected by the crash found a third of participants suffer from PTSD.
In an ironic twist, before the crash, Netflix actually shot a film about a train crash that was filmed in parts of Ohio.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Life is good, Jack. I hope it lasts forever.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's watch a sitcom or something.
CROWD: No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTINGLY: And my next guest was an extra in that movie before living the real-life nightmare in East Palestine. Ben Ratner joins us now. Ben, thank you so much for your time. I want to start with what do you want to hear from Vice President Vance today?
BEN RATNER, LIVES IN EAST PALESTINE, OHIO: I think it would be key for the new presidency to hold Norfolk Southern accountable and keep the promises that they put in place in the previous year. Keep those going. There's already a few things that have come off the plate or off the table, so to speak, that we were looking forward to and helping move the town forward with a new emergency center that's now not -- no longer in place.
So, things like that, correcting that and making sure that, you know, holding them accountable in the long-term would be important.
MATTINGLY: You know, Ben, the crash was never labeled a federal emergency, something residents had made very clear they wanted. During Trump's campaign, which had a very prominent stop in East Palestine, he promised more help. A fellow East Palestinian resident, Misty Allison, wrote in Time Magazine, and quote, "They, Trump and Vance, gave us hope that even in times of partisan division, leaders could come together to support those in need." And now, they can, quote, "address the critiques they lobbed at the previous administration and direct -- directly make good on their promises."
What's your -- especially in the community, after what the community has been through, your faith that politicians at a government can make good on promises here?
RATNER: I speak very highly -- or think very highly of Misty, and she was able to put that a lot more eloquently than I could. I feel like, that is the point. This needs to be an above partisan situation. This company is owned by, you know, multi companies that are, you know, controlling large portions of this nation's economy, and they need to be held accountable. And sometimes I feel like our politicians are too scared to step to the table and do that.
MATTINGLY: There have been settlements. Have you or do you know people in the community who have actually seen some of that money yet?
RATNER: I personally have not for about a year or so. I just kind of put my head down and focus on my friends and family and things that I can control locally and really tried not to pay a lot of attention to the chatter and just -- that was one of the things was, you know, doing the paperwork for the lawsuit, but I'm not dependent upon anything like that. I know these things are, you know, a mirage in some ways. We'll see if anything actually comes of it.
MATTINGLY: Why do you think they're a mirage?
[10:35:00]
RATNER: Just, again, the size of these kinds of companies and who they're owned by, and Norfolk Southern is a conglomerate of, you know, hedge funds. And you know, one of the companies itself is valued at a billion dollars in this company -- or a trillion dollars, and Norfolk Southern is valued at $5 billion on its own.
It's a lot of economy and a lot of business that goes into keeping this company and companies like it going and there's too much -- like it's a David and Goliath situation. We're a town of 5,000 people. And just hopefully, you know, we're not forgotten about in the long-term.
MATTINGLY: What has it -- helped people understand what it's been like to deal with insurance companies and state agencies, with the federal government, kind of the Byzantine nature of the system that exists here. RATNER: Yes, I think a lot of people don't necessarily, until it touches them, personally in their lives, they don't really understand the way things are connected, the way that money and politics affect their day to day. It's just something, in some ways, that has become entertainment for a lot of people, the tie in with social media and the way people are just kind of addicted, in a way, to new stories and new information. And there's money to be made and ads so that people are constantly clicking.
And the divisiveness that came from this is, in some ways, worse than the health fallout environmentally. I think it's more how people are impacted. The community has been impacted and fractured in a lot of ways that I hope that the next year or so we can work to repair.
MATTINGLY: Can I just quickly, before I let you go, tell people about the community? What should people know about East Palestine outside of this accident and tragedy?
RATNER: Yes, the community has a proud history of manufacturing and is a really tight knit place to live. I've lived there since 2007 and owned a house there since then. And I feel like, you know, after the first year of recovery, we're now looking for ways to rebound, the people who had that have decided to stay. And I think a good call for people to band together would be to turn this environmental disaster into something that could be an environmental positive.
You know, if we can work to bring down our, you know, carbon footprint in some ways, if we could band together and have better business community or better economics for the town than we had before by using the this negative for positive and trying to get East Palestine on the map as, you know, a place that is unifying people and hopefully, that can happen in the next coming years.
MATTINGLY: Certainly, share that hope. Ben Ratner, thanks so much for your time. Appreciate it.
RATNER: Yes, thank you, Phil. Appreciate it. Have a good day.
MATTINGLY: Well, crews have begun to remove large sections of the American Airlines jet and army helicopter that collided over the Potomac River last week. What the NTSB is revealing about its ongoing investigation. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:40:00]
MATTINGLY: We have breaking news on the news that has been rattling markets throughout the morning. You see Claudia Sheinbaum, the president of Mexico, on your screen right now, just now announcing that after a phone call with President Trump, there has been an agreement to delay the 25 percent tariff that Trump slapped on the country. It was expected to take effect at midnight in just about 12, 13 hours from now, that has now been delayed for a month in exchange for Mexico, according to Sheinbaum, sending 10,000 members of its National Guard to help secure the border, as well as a U.S. commitment to help and work on trafficked high-powered weapons. Now, we are still waiting to hear from the White House about this.
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had a call this morning with President Trump. Did not say anything about any delay. He's expected to have another call this afternoon. We will continue to monitor the breaking news. This is obviously a critical potential delay being announced by the Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, again, in exchange for 10,000 members of Mexico's National Guard going to help secure the border in exchange for the U.S. helping or working on the issue of trafficking high powered weapons.
So, you can see the president right now taking questions, giving answers. We're going to continue to monitor that. We will continue to keep you posted on what we hear from the White House in the wake of that call. Again, those tariffs were expected to take effect at midnight. They were put on by Donald Trump this weekend. It was a pledge that he made weeks before he took office, 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico.
Until, in his team's view, the fentanyl crisis that he campaigned on, that has been such a horrific experience for many Americans over the course of the last decade, was gotten under control, until the deaths stopped with the threshold that his aides laid out in a background briefing to reporters over the course of the weekend. Obviously, we have seen the market reaction to that. The scale of these tariffs certainly isn't something we saw in the first term. Now, according to the Mexican president, at least Mexico's 25 percent tariff will be delayed a month in exchange for border security measures. Again, we will keep you posted as we learn more information about this breaking news. Critical market and economy breaking news related to the White House and its two biggest trading partners.
Also, this morning, five people remain hospitalized after Friday night's crash of a medevac jet into a Philadelphia neighborhood. At least seven people were killed and 22 injured when it went down less than a minute after takeoff, all six people aboard the jet were killed, including a pediatric patient and her mother. Investigators recovered the cockpit voice recorder as they try and figure out what happened.
On Washington, the NTSB says it will release black box information later today from another crash from the Army helicopter that collided with an American Airlines flight last week over the Potomac River. One specific focus will be the helicopter's altitude at the moment of impact. Investigators are also studying the voice and data recorders from the America Airlines flight.
[10:45:00]
Also, today, America -- Army Corps of Engineers started recovering the plane wreckage from the Potomac River. This was moments ago. During as recovery continues, you can see parts of the plane being pulled from the Potomac. Now, crews have recovered and identified the remains of at least 55 victims.
I want to bring in Chad Kendall. He's a former airline pilot and FAA chief instructor in the Department of Aviation and Aerospace Science at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Chad, thanks so much for joining us. The release of the black box data that we're expecting today, is it a surprise that the NTSB would be releasing that at this point?
CHAD KENDALL, FAA CHIEF INSTRUCTOR, FORMER AIRLINE PILOT AND ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, METROPOLITAN STATE UNIVERSITY: No, as the NTSB continues their investigation and a very active process here with both recovery and investigation occurring at the same time, and that the NTSB is going to share information as they receive it, you know, so that way, as they're continuing -- as they're going through the investigation, they're trying to put together what caused this action to occur. But not surprising, the NTSB is providing information as they received it.
MATTINGLY: As you've kind of followed the investigation, what you've seen over the course of the last several days, what question would you most like answered at this point in the investigation?
KENDALL: I think as we're seeing information come in specifically about altitude information, altitude for the jet aircraft, altitude for the helicopter, altitude that the air traffic controllers were seeing on their radar scope. Now, that's something that's part of this investigation. Certainly, communications from air traffic control to the helicopter are part of this investigation at this time. And the NTSB is going to be using all of this to determine causal factors.
MATTINGLY: You know, to that point, the three black boxes being recovered, how integral is that to kind of reaching the conclusion here in the investigation?
KENDALL: Very integral part of the process. NTSB looks at everything. They look at operations, they look at communications, they look at procedures that are occurring. They're looking at communications. And so, while we get one part of the puzzle, we need every part of the puzzle, and certainly, that is a part.
MATTINGLY: Chad Kendall, thanks so much. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:50:00]
MATTINGLY: The countdown to Super Bowl LIX, it's on. We're just six days away from kickoff between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles in New Orleans. CNN Sports Correspondent Carolyn Manno joins us now with more on the lead up to the big game.
CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Let the hype begin, Phil. Get your menus ready. Get everything in order this week. The teams arrived in New Orleans yesterday, ahead of Sunday. They're going to have a very full week of activities prior to kick off as they usually do.
The Chiefs' touchdown in the big easy without much fanfare. Patrick Mahomes and company looking to become the first team to win three straight Super Bowls business as usual for them. One of the pilots on the Eagles' plane hung a green and white flag out of the window reading go birds. Philadelphia hoping to win its second Super Bowl in seven years. Right now, the Chiefs are a one-and-a-half-point favorite going into Sunday's game.
And elsewhere, Phil, the NBA trade deadline isn't until Thursday, but we have already seen what is arguably one of the biggest trades in league history. This was wild. Late Saturday night, news breaking that the Mavericks were trading their superstar, Luka Doncic, to the Lakers in a three-team deal which also sent Anthony Davis to Dallas.
Luka arrived in L.A. on a private jet last Saturday. The five-time all-star, one of the most impactful players in the league, but he has been sidelined since suffering a calf injury back on Christmas Day. So, the 25-year-old releasing his first statement about this across his social media platforms yesterday saying, quote, "Seven years ago, I came here as a teenager to pursue my dream of playing basketball at the highest level. I thought I'd spend my career here, and I wanted so badly to bring you a championship." He then went on to say, in good times and bad, from injuries to the NBA Finals, your support never changed. Thank you not only for sharing my joy and our best moments, but also for lifting me up when I needed it most.
This was shocking, perhaps even to Doncic himself, Phil, he's largely been viewed as one of those franchise players in Dallas that is essentially untradeable. So, it's very unclear now when he's going to make his debut with LeBron James. And the Lakers are scheduled to play tomorrow night against the Clippers. We shall see. And I think we'll continue to learn more about the details of this in the next couple of days.
MATTINGLY: I can't. I can't with this trade. I've been trying all weekend to get my head around it. I'm like every NBA player watching their reactions on the benches when they were told the information. My face is their faces, basically. Carolyn Manno, thanks so much for the report. We appreciate it.
Well, keeping our homes clean is a necessary chore, but recent research suggests many cleaning supplies could actually be harmful. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more in today's Chasing Life.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta, host of CNN's Chasing Life podcast. Something you may not know, a lot of those cleaning supplies in your house may have some surprising impacts on your health. The nonprofit Environmental Working Group found that more than 2,000 cleaning products in the United States might contain chemicals linked to asthma, cancer, and chemical burns.
[10:55:00]
Now, this doesn't mean you necessarily need to start throwing everything out of your cabinet. But here's a tip, next time you need to replace something, spend a minute looking for this, the EPA's Safer Choice label, or checking their online database. Also, you know, remember that things like vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice, they can also be used for cleaning. And finally, regularly vacuuming and cleaning surfaces, that's obviously important not just for dust, but also for removing those toxic chemicals, which can build up in that dust.
Don't overdo it. How much and how often you're exposed matters. So, it's important to use products as directed, and you can hear more about how to optimize your health and chase life wherever you get your podcasts.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:00:00]