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FAA Urged to Reassess Airline Seating; Protests Across the U.S. Regarding Immigrants; A Look at Age and Parenting; Kim Cattrall Reprises Role. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired June 01, 2023 - 08:30   ET

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

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[08:31:48]

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Airline seats back in the hot seat. Two Democratic senators calling for the FAA to reassess whether the size of seats on planes are, in fact, too small in the event of an emergency. There's new legislation from Senators Tammy Duckworth and Tammy Baldwin urging the FAA to conduct more cabin tests with, quote, realistic conditions.

CNN's Pete Muntean is joining us live.

This isn't really about comfort so much as they say it's about safety, Pete?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Erica. You know, more seats onboard an airplane, the airlines got to make them smaller. But with more seats, it makes it harder for the airlines to evacuate a plane in the case of an emergency.

I just spoke to Tammy Duckworth about this and she says this is all about safety, even though the unintended outcome here could be a federal regulation that makes it so that airlines can't make seats any smaller.

Here is the rub. Right now the regulation -- sorry, the average seat size is about 31 inches onboard a plane. It's called a pitch. That's the leg room from your seat essentially to your knee. It was about 35 inches back in 1960. But since that time, men are the example here, they've gained about 30 pound on average according to the CDC, they've gotten an inch taller. So, the FAA looked at this back in 2019. They did a mock evacuation. And they figured by doing this they only -- a sample of people who were over 18, under 60, no kids, no car seats, no carry-on bags. So, Duckworth says it is long overdue to redo this experiment. And this bill would do exactly that.

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SEN. TAMMY DUCKWORTH (D-IL): It is very much long overdue. The standard that the FAA is using was set in the 1960s. And the fact of the matter is air travel has changed a lot since the '60s. There are a lot of folks onboard, for example, with carry-on luggage because we can't -- many people can't check their luggage anymore because there's additional fees. The FAA doesn't test -- do these tests where they include carry-on luggage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MUNTEAN: Of course, the airlines would really chafe at this. More seats on board a plane means they can charge less. Although, of course they would say that if there are fewer seats onboard, that means that fares would go up, Erica.

HILL: I'm sure that is what we would hear.

It's so interesting - so let's - let's say this happens. When could we actually see any change? I mean would they have to reconfigure all the planes that are already in operation?

MUNTEAN: You know, the regulatory change takes a lot of time here. The good news is that the FAA really answers to Congress here and it's going through its reauthorization process. The FAA gets told by Congress essentially how much money they can spend from the federal government. And so Congress has a lot of power. And so they could force their hand here to cause them to put into place a regulation keeping it so that seats don't get any smaller, Erica.

HILL: Interesting stuff. We will definitely be watching.

Pete, appreciate it, as always. Thank you.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Now to this. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' policy on immigration sparking protests across the country. The so- called day without immigrants is taking place in six cities in Florida, also cities across California, Colorado, Texas, Minnesota, Illinois, South Carolina as well. Latino business owners, many of them banding together with black, indigenous and other allies are banding together for a day of strikes against DeSantis' crackdown on undocumented immigrants.

[08:35:08]

Carlos Suarez is live in Florida with more.

This is across - you're in one of the cities where this is happening really across the state. What's their message to the governor and I think, most importantly, what are they hoping to achieve, a change in policy, legislation?

CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think they're trying to highlight the economic impact that the immigrant community has on Florida's economy. We are in Immokalee, Florida. That is a farming community to the east of Fort Myers where we're told hundreds, if not thousands, of undocumented workers are set to take part in a work stoppage event throughout the day here.

Now, yesterday, we were in West Palm Beach where the own of a Mexican restaurant there told us that he has lost a third of his staff, a third of his workers have quit, most of them were undocumented workers, and all of them, he said, are moving out of Florida because of this new immigration law.

Here is a part of our conversation where he got a little emotional describing the impact that this new law is having on his workers and on his business.

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VICTOR PRADO, OWNER, EL MARIACHI MEXICAN RESTAURANT: I come in this country 23 years. Working. Working hard. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to open - to open the restaurant with my partners. And then we are not criminal.

I feel bad because I open the restaurant five years ago. I losing my business for one law. It's not fair.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SUAREZ: He said he's losing his business and that he is closing today in support of Florida's immigration community.

Several businesses, restaurants, even the catholic church out here has said they are going to close in support of immigrants across the state of Florida.

This new law goes into effect in July and it does a number of things. It requires some businesses to expand the use of the e-verify program. That's a federal database that employers have to use to check the immigration status of their workers. Some hospitals across the state of Florida are now going to have to ask their patients about their immigration status. And it is going to make transporting someone in the U.S. illegally into Florida a third-degree felony.

Poppy and Erica.

HARLOW: Carlos, thank you very much for that reporting.

HILL: This morning we are learning more about the victims and the loved ones impacted by that partial apartment building collapse in Davenport, Iowa, over the weekend. Branden Colvin is one of five people who remain unaccounted for. His son, Branden Colvin, Jr., has been sleeping outside the building ever since it fell on Sunday. His mother says her son just can't leave the area.

Now, Branden Colvin Sr., had recently moved into the building and was living alone. Family members say they last heard from him on Sunday morning, and they remain hopeful he is alive. Colvin's cousin describes him as a great person and father.

HARLOW: Thinking of all of them.

Happening today, extreme heat forcing some schools to close in at least two states. Officials in Grand Rapids, Michigan, canceling classes today and tomorrow with temperatures set to reach the 90s. The Grand Rapids Public School District serves 14,000 student. Some of its schools don't have air-conditioning. At least 40 public schools in Pittsburgh also shifting to remote learning today because of those high temps. Officials there recently announced that schools without sufficient air conditioning systems will shift to remote learning when temperatures hit above 85 degrees.

HILL: Robert de Niro and Al Pacino, legendary actors, long-time friends -

HARLOW: Yes.

HILL: And now both welcoming new babies. So, when it comes to parenting, especially dads, is age really just a number? Harry Enten is here with this morning's number.

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[08:42:56]

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AL PACINO, ACTOR: Want to play games. OK. (INAUDIBLE). Hold on. OK. Do you want to play rough? OK. Say hello to my little friend!

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HILL: Al Pacino, that was 40 years ago, by the way, as the iconic Tony Montana in "Scarface." Now Pacino, at the young age of 83, about to say hello to another little friend, his fourth child.

HARLOW: Ha, ha.

HILL: Ha, ha. We are just full of funny moments this morning. With his 29-year-old girlfriend Noor Alfallah. Age may just be a number for many. Is this true, Harry Enten, when it comes to relationships, specifically parenting relationships?

Our senior data reporter Harry Enten, who has a persona stake in this morning's number.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: I do have a little bit of a personal stake. We'll get to it a little bit later.

All right, this morning's number is 53, because that is the age gap that we're dealing with in this relationship. It's a little over 53 years. That's why it's 53 plus a little bit more.

And I was just interested, how common is an age gap that's 53 years? So, this is the spouse age gaps in the United States. And we'll break it down by getting wider and wider in the age gap in the relationship.

Look, about 10 percent of relationships are ten years plus. You get to 30 plus years, you drop down to about 0.5 percent. So, less than 1 percent. You get to 50 plus years, look at that, 0.05. And let me give you an idea. We're dealing with such a small sample size, it could be somewhere in that area. But it's basically very, very, very small.

And the other thing to know about age gaps is that they are, in fact, becoming smaller in this country. So, the average male/female space age gap now is just 2.2 years. You go back about 50 years ago, it was three years. You go back to 1920, about 4.4 years. So, the age gaps have shrunk in half on average.

HARLOW: So, also congratulations to Pacino and his buddy Robert de Niro because they're both having kids a little bit later in life.

[08:45:02]

What can you tell us?

ENTEN: Yes. So, what about fathers newborn ages? OK, the fathers' ages for newborns in the United States, OK, age 40 plus, about 14 percent of the fathers of newborns are about age 40 plus. You go to age 60 plus, look at that drop down to 0.5 percent. You go down to age, 80 plus, again, look at this small percentage. We're talking the smallest of the small, 0.03 percent. And, again, that's just an approximation. It could be even smaller than that.

And the other thing that I'll note is that mothers in this country, we just got a new report, they're also becoming older, age 40 plus. The share they make up of newborns, back in 1992 was just 1 percent. It's now 4 percent. Now, under age 18, that's dropping from about 5 percent in '92 to about 4 percent in 2022. And then the other thing I will just note is --

HARLOW: Oh, I love this picture.

HILL: Oh, look at that.

ENTEN: My personal stake in this. My father was age 60. My mother was in her 40s when I was born. And I'd like to think I turned out OK.

HARLOW: Stellar.

ENTEN: Thank you.

HARLOW: Stellar.

HILL: I like that this is on the full screen. Me. I'd like to think that I turned out OK.

HARLOW: Best picture ever. I hope -- I hope mom's watching.

ENTEN: She's not.

HILL: Very cute.

HARLOW: Thanks, Harry. Thank you, Harry.

And just like that, Samantha Jones has returned to the city. What we're learning about Kim Cattrall's upcoming cameo.

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[08:50:34] KIM CATTRALL, ACTRESS, "SEX AND THE CITY": Relationships have been on the decline since women came out of the cave, looked around and said, this isn't so hard.

SARAH JESSICA PARKER, ACTRESS, "SEX AND THE CITY": OK, so you don't need a man, but do you still want one?

CATTRALL: Oh, honey, I want more than one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Oh, she's back! One of the key characters from "Sex and the City" making a much anticipated return, Kim Cattrall, who plays the sex-positive powerful publicist Samantha Jones is coming back for the second season and the reboot of "And Just Like That" on HBO. It is especially surprising after she famously told "Variety" last year that she declined to join the cast amid rumors of in-fighting.

Joining us now on this and other CNN entertainment reporting that she has is our friend Chloe Melas.

Good morning.

CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: This was the story that broke the internet yesterday evening. OK, it's all anybody was talking about. And I'll tell you why. You hit the nail on the head. Kim Cattrall and Sarah Jessica Parker, they just don't get along. And we know that when they were filming "Sex and the City," for all of those seasons, that there was a lot of drama behind the scenes.

But you've seen that with other shows. We know that maybe some of "The Golden Girls" didn't get along. And I know the horror of loving your favorite celebrities on screen, sometimes they aren't the best of friends behind the scenes. So, for Kim Cattrall to return is a big deal for all of us who loved the show.

And I've got to say, "And Just Like That," she's back. OK.

HARLOW: "And Just Like That."

MELAS: So, here's what we know though. I have a little bit of scoop. So, we know that this was filmed in March. It was one scene. Reports are claiming it was her in a town call but that her name was not on the call sheet.

HILL: Oh.

MELAS: She didn't interact with any other - any other members of the cast. She was in. She was out. I just want to know how much she was paid.

HILL: I want to - you know what, even more than that, I want to know what the conversation was that made her agree to do it.

MELAS: I mean fans have been wanting her to come back. We know that the creator of the show has been wanting her to come back. And she had said, you know, it was bizarre that -- the way that she was sort of -- her absence was addressed in the first season. So, it premieres later this month on HBO Max. And so it's going to be a scene that we're all going to be waiting for.

HILL: Yes. Absolutely.

HARLOW: Two other really serious headlines dominating the entertainment world this morning also that you have reporting on.

Let's begin with Danny Masterson, the actor in "That '70s Show," found guilty of raping two women.

MELAS: Yes. So, this actually came after the jury deliberated for six days. They were hung on the third count with the third woman Jane Doe. We have not heard anything from Danny Masterson or his legal team. But what I can tell you is that this comes after a mistrial. These same charges, we saw him face them in court and it was a hung jury before.

So, I do want to read to you what one of the women is saying, Jane Doe number two, telling CNN, I am experiencing a complex array of emotions, relief, exhaustion, strength, sadness, knowing that my abuser, Danny Masterson, will face accountability for his criminal behavior.

You know, we had a reporter in the courtroom, Aly Rosenbloom (ph). We know that his wife, Bijou Phillips, left the courtroom crying as he was led away in handcuffs. He has a hearing in August. No sentencing date has been set just yet. But we know that he could face 30 years to life in prison.

HILL: Wow, that is a lot.

And really quickly, we only have about 15 seconds, but no charges for Armie Hammer?

MELAS: Yes, after more than a year of a Los Angeles Police Department investigation, the Los Angeles district attorney announcing yesterday that they are not bringing rape charges against Armie Hammer. He took to Instagram to say that he is grateful and that now he has to begin the process of rebuilding his life and his reputation.

HARLOW: We appreciate your reporting, Chloe, on all that. Thank you very much.

HILL: Nice to see you, Chloe. Thank you.

A missing climber rescued from Mt. Everest in an operation that's being described as not only very rare but almost impossible. It is a truly remarkable story. Poppy's favorite story of the day.

HARLOW: It is my favorite story of the day.

HILL: Stay with us. We're going to tell you how it happened.

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[08:59:00]

HILL: A missing climber narrowly escaping death on Mt. Everest. A Napoli Sherpa was guiding a client to the Everest summit when he spotted the climber who was clinging to a rope. Now, that person was shivering from extreme cold in an area that's known as the death zone because temperatures there can drop to minus 86 degrees. The sherpa hauled that climber down some 1,900 feet over a six hour period.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): In places where it was rockier, we could not drag him. We had to carry him on our backs with difficulty. It was important for us to rescue him, even from the summit. Money can be earned anytime. Left like that, he could have died. We have saved his life by quitting the summit.

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HARLOW: Wow. Wow, wow, wow. The climber was eventually air lifted down to a base camp. A government official says this sort of altitude this high of a rescue is very rare and almost impossible. The climber has not been identified, but is back home and safe, we are told, in Malaysia.

[09:00:01]

And that is my favorite story of the morning.

HILL: And with good reason. That's a great one. And a nice way to end this morning.

You have the day off tomorrow, my friend. You enjoy.

HARLOW: I have the day off to enjoy my daughter's first play tonight at seven years old.

HILL: She is going to nail it. Tell her I said to break a leg, please.

HARLOW: Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Erica will be holding down the fort tomorrow. And I will see you Monday.

"CNN NEWS CENTRAL" starts now.