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NTSB Chair On The Latest In Alaska Airlines Investigation; Texas Blocks U.S. Patrol As Border-Ukraine Funding Stuck At Standstill; Dean Phillips Ramps Up New Hampshire Campaign To Challenge Biden. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired January 18, 2024 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00]

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: And this comes as the National Transportation Safety Board is still trying to determine whether bolts were even installed on the door plug that blew out.

The chair of the NTSB, Jennifer Homendy, joins us now.

Am I right in that? Are you still trying to determine that or do you have an update for us this morning?

JENNIFER HOMENDY, CHAIR, NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD: That's right. Now, our on-scene work in Portland has been completed.

HARLOW: OK.

HOMENDY: We've moved the door plug and the components back to D.C., but we still have a lot to work out.

HARLOW: You are going to brief House lawmakers right after this. It's closed -- it's a closed-door -- you're going to have a closed-door briefing with senators. I wonder what you're going to tell them.

HOMENDY: Yeah. So, meeting with the House and we have had a similar meeting with the Senate. Their focus, rightfully, is ensuring the safety of the flying public. And also, asking the NTSB what the breadth of our investigation is, and ensuring that we have what we need to conduct our investigation.

HARLOW: Yeah.

HOMENDY: And so, we'll talk about everything from how the door plug was manufactured and its structure based on a diagram that we sent out publicly, all the way through production and quality assurance.

HARLOW: So, can we talk about production and quality assurance because here's what we know, right? We know that this part of the fuselage was made by a company named Spirit AeroSystems in Malaysia. They had spun off actually from Boeing about 20 years ago. Then it goes to a supplier factory in Kansas. Then it goes to Boeing in the state of Washington. And I just wonder if outsourcing -- you know, having things from here and here and here and coming together -- do you have any concerns about how these planes are coming together now? Is that a question? Because Jon Tester -- as you know, the senator from Montana -- said they need to figure out what caused the problem because it may be systemic.

HOMENDY: Well, that will be part of our investigation. When the NTSB conducts an investigation we go very broad and we're very meticulous. We don't start to narrow until we begin our process of the investigation. And so, we will look at everything from manufacture through delivery and past delivery. What Alaska even did with the plane --

HARLOW: Um-hum.

HOMENDY: -- after they received it. Because there could be work that was completed then, too, and we'll want those records.

HARLOW: The FAA has grounded all of these 737 Boeing MAX 9s until they deem it safe to fly. But I'm really interested, Jennifer -- just what do you think? I mean, what's going to tell you they're safe to fly?

HOMENDY: For the NTSB, our entire mission is to determine what happened, why it happened, and to prevent it from happening again. We believe we need to know that to ensure safety.

Now, the FAA -- they're the regulators.

HARLOW: Um-hum.

HOMENDY: They focus on regulating safety in our skies. I will say we have an incredible safety partnership. I think the FAA administrator has taken bold, decisive action. We've been in constant communication. I've also been in communication with the secretary. And rightfully, their main focus, as is ours, is on safety and not rushing through this.

HARLOW: OK, that makes total sense. I just wonder are you 100 percent certain that the NTSB can determine exactly what happened here? Do you see what I'm saying?

HOMENDY: Yeah.

HARLOW: Because if you can't pinpoint it then can these planes ever fly again?

HOMENDY: Absolutely. We have incredibly high-skilled workers from our labs to our investigators and we are very comprehensive, very meticulous in our work. We cannot rush through this --

HARLOW: Yeah.

HOMENDY: -- which is what we've been emphasizing, because you want to make sure we are getting the right answers to get to the right solutions. That's why it takes time.

HARLOW: We have just a couple of days in the middle of all of this for lawmakers to reach a deal to avert at least a partial government shutdown. You're a government agency. What would a shutdown do to this investigation?

HOMENDY: It would stop the investigation. Now that the planes have been grounded and we have the evidence that we need, according to the law, there would be no imminent threat to life or property. So the law would prohibit us from continuing the investigation and we'd have to pause. And even a long-term, full-year CR (continuing resolution) would put us in a very difficult position as an agency.

HARLOW: Jennifer Homendy, thank you. We look forward to hearing more after you speak with lawmakers today. Thanks.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, after a critical meeting with President Biden, House Speaker Mike Johnson pouring cold water on more potential Ukraine aid and a border deal. We're going to be live on the ground in Ukraine and at the border to discuss that impact next.

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:38:23]

HARLOW: "Texas will not surrender." That is a quote from the Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton echoing William Travis at the Alamo. Paxton saying the state will continue to block the U.S. Border Patrol's access to a public park near the southern border that Texas took control of a week ago. And now, state authorities have begun arresting migrants there, charging them with criminal trespassing.

MATTINGLY: Now, that comes as House Speaker Mike Johnson told CNN any deal on border security will be dead on arrival in the House after he met with President Biden and other top lawmakers yesterday. And lawmakers insist aid to Ukraine must be tied to any border deal. You see why there's a bit of a problem here.

CNN has reporters on the ground in places to talk about the impact of inaction on Capitol Hill. Let's begin with Rosa Flores in -- live in Eagle Pass, Texas. Rosa, the immediate impact of what's happening in Washington as you see it on the ground, how would you describe it?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, here in Eagle Pass, it means more razor wire like the one that you see behind me in a public park where people normally go and try to enjoy the river. They can't do that anymore.

But it's not just border communities; it is also cities like New York, and Chicago, and Denver that are seeing a huge influx of migrants. And so, Phil, really, it's municipalities having to do the patchwork for the federal government because the immigration system is broken.

HARLOW: Can you talk, Rosa, about the arrests that we just mentioned that you learned more about overnight? Because this is this battle between the federal government, which has jurisdiction over immigration, get in there, or is it just state patrol that is handling it now in that park?

[07:40:05]

FLORES: You know, Poppy -- and that's what's fascinating because this is Texas just upping the ante.

First of all, they took over Shelby Park. They put razor wire like the one that you see behind me. And now, they are arresting migrants for criminal trespass. And you've got to think about it like this. Border Patrol does not have access to that area, which means the state of Texas is determining the outcome of what migrants have to face first.

In this case, according to Texas DPS, single men and single women are being arrested for criminal trespass, so they have to deal with a state charge first. Families and children are turned over to U.S. Border Patrol.

Again, this is the state of Texas determining the outcome because Border Patrol is not in that area. And that just speaks to this sparring relationship between the state of Texas and the Biden administration.

And we're trying to figure out what's next because the deadline given by DHS to Texas to give access to Border Patrol was yesterday. That expired. We're waiting to see what the next move is by DHS -- Poppy, Phil.

MATTINGLY: Fred, over to you -- our senior national correspondent Fred Pleitgen. Fred, I'm really glad we have you on the show right now because yesterday, a U.S. senator cited your piece on Bradley fighting vehicles to underscore the difficulties the Ukrainians are having right now. How they're trying to respond and not having any idea whether more aid is coming. On our show -- was talking about your piece.

What are you seeing on the ground? How are Ukrainians responding here?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, it's a huge concern for the Ukrainians -- the fact that this U.S. aid -- it's not clear whether or not there's going to be more of that military aid. And you can see that really transcends the entire battlefield here in Ukraine.

You'd be surprised if you go to the frontline areas how much American gear you actually see there. It's not only those Bradly infantry fighting vehicles, it's anything from cars, trucks, Hummers, MRAPs. Everything that needs to stay in the fight.

One of the areas, guys, where I've really seen a big impact of all this already is we're at one of the most active frontlines here in Ukraine, a town called Mar'inka, where the Russians are constantly trying to assault.

And we were with an artillery unit that has a U.S.-provided M777 howitzer and they said that because of ammo shortages they are only able to shoot about half as much as they used to be able to shoot. They said before, it was 50 to 60 rounds they were able to fire per day. Now they say it's about 20 and in the best case, 30. So already, a big impact happening there.

And if you listen to the president of this country, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he said that, of course, if the U.S. doesn't provide further aid it's going to weaken Ukraine. There could be some gains for the Russians even though the Russians are also losing a lot of people on the frontlines right now.

But it certainly will mean that more Ukrainians are going to get hurt and more Ukrainians are going to die on the battlefield but possibly, also in places like where I am right now in the cities of Ukraine. Because, of course, one of the things that we have seen over the past years is attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukrainian cities. One of the things that's preventing that is, of course, air defense provided by the allies but, first and foremost, by the United States.

And if missiles, for instance, for air defense systems are not going to keep coming to the Ukrainians, it could have a massive impact on the civilian population here in this country.

So there's a huge concern among civilians here in Ukraine and among the military as well. The folks that we've been speaking to say that the U.S. aid that they're getting absolutely key to keeping them in the fight and for holding the Russians off, guys.

HARLOW: And getting more of that aid contingent on getting a border deal where Rosa is, at the center of all of it.

Rosa, Fred, thank you very much for looking at the very real impact of this funding fight in Washington.

Well, next week, the Republican primary in New Hampshire not the only one to watch, at least according to Dean Phillips. Andrew Yang is here to discuss why he is backing Phillips' campaign to unseat Biden as the Democratic nominee.

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:47:41]

MATTINGLY: Well, this morning, Democrat Dean Phillips set to hold events in New Hampshire for his longshot campaign to challenge President Biden. Not just Republicans; Democrats as well. Remember, Democrats in the state hold their primary next Tuesday.

But President Biden doesn't appear to be worried. He has no plans to travel to the state and is actually going to North Carolina today to talk about his economic plans.

And perhaps more importantly, Biden is still polling far ahead of Phillips and other challengers despite not even being on the ballot in New Hampshire. Nearly 70 percent of Democratic voters say they'll write his name in. That's according to the latest CNN poll.

Now, Biden didn't file in the state because the Democratic National Committee, at Biden's behest, changed the rules to put South Carolina and its primary first.

Joining us now is 2020 presidential candidate Andrew Yang. He is supporting Dean Phillips and will be hitting the campaign trail with him in New Hampshire today. Appreciate your time, Andrew. It's always great to see you.

You said earlier this week in an interview that it's a matter of whether Dean Phillips can get big enough fast enough to really kind of have an impact on this race. What creates the big enough and fast enough, and is it possible before the primary?

ANDREW YANG, (D) FORMER 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, AUTHOR, "THE LAST ELECTION": There's really one factor, Phil, and it's if people hear about Dean Phillips on the ground here in New Hampshire.

We have a poll that was released that said that Dean's at 28 percent in New Hampshire with about 50 percent name I.D. When people find out that there is a 54-year-old, three-term member of Congress running against Joe they get excited.

So, the question is whether New Hampshire voters will tune in. I think they will, and I think Dean is going to put up a surprisingly big number on Tuesday.

MATTINGLY: What is surprisingly big for you? Like, what's the threshold here that you think he needs to hit to really have a chance to move this forward?

YANG: I was talking to our CNN colleague S.E. Cupp and she set the threshold at 30 percent. She said look, if he gets above 30 percent that is undeniable. I think he's going to either come close to that number or maybe even push past it.

But even my driver, on the way to the office today, said there's another Democrat running that's not Joe Biden? And what he said is what we're all thinking, which is Joe Biden is a good man and has been a fine president, but he should step aside for the next generation, particularly because polls show the president losing to Donald Trump by eight points in Georgia, eight points in Michigan, nine points in North Carolina. I think that's why he's heading to North Carolina, Phil, because his numbers are crumbling across the board in the swing states.

[07:50:12]

MATTINGLY: You know, to that point, if you look at the -- particularly, the Democratic electorate but also the electorate that gave Joe Biden the victory in Georgia in 2020, it makes him competitive. It makes Democrats competitive in North Carolina. The cornerstone of that electorate is African American. It is a Black electorate. That's what wins in Georgia. That's what gives Democrats -- particularly, in urban areas -- a chance in North Carolina.

Why is Dean Phillips -- a white guy from Minnesota who doesn't talk a ton about these issues -- why is he somebody who can do better than Biden in those states? YANG: If you look nationally at Biden's approval rating it's been declining in all groups. As one example, he's losing to Trump among Latinos, which is a traditionally Democratic constituency. And the same polls that show Joe Biden losing to Donald Trump show a generic Democrat winning over Trump by six, seven, eight points.

MATTINGLY: Right.

YANG: And if you think about it Phil, it's common sense that if you had a fresh, 54-year-old, non-polarizing figure, all of a sudden, most Americans would say hey, I'd prefer that over Trump. You know what I mean? That's the matchup.

Unfortunately, Joe Biden, right now, has a lot of baggage associated with him -- from his age, from inflation, and from the fact that many people look back fondly on the Trump economy, rightly or wrongly.

MATTINGLY: I wanted to ask you. On Saturday, hedge fund investor Bill Ackman endorsed Phillips and said he'd be sending a million dollars. If you talk about name I.D. that's pretty critical to a super PAC supporting his campaign. Ackman obviously very critical of DEI on Tuesday. He said he expected Phillips to remove the reference to DEI from this campaign site. A reference was later removed and replaced by another framing.

He was asked -- Phillips was asked about this by our Brianna Keilar yesterday and this is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN PHILLIPS, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe in diversity. I believe in equity. I believe in inclusion. But what has inclusion done for the Black community in this country? What have -- what have both parties done to close the racial wealth gap? I want to take it a step further. I made that change to restorative justice. If a donor came to me and told me to do something, I would tell the donor to go pound sand.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: The idea that he made the change and it just happened to correspond with Bill Ackman saying what he said and asking what he asked on Twitter after giving a million-dollar donation, you understand why people might be a little skeptical of that?

YANG: You know, if you spend time with Dean you understand he cares very, very deeply about these issues. It's why he's proposed and signed the Medicare of All bill which, by the way, would help families of color disproportionately. He's for a baby bond of $1,000 for every American child which, again, would help communities of color disproportionately. Dean is about solving these problems for real --

MATTINGLY: Yeah.

YANG: -- in real life for American families. The enhanced child tax credit. Lift millions of kids out of poverty.

That's why Dean is running and I'm pumped to make that case to the folks not just here in New Hampshire but in South Carolina and Michigan in the days ahead.

MATTINGLY: Andrew Yang, we always appreciate your time. It will be fascinating to watch this play out. Thirty percent, according to S.E. Cupp. But I think you're co-opting that threshold so I'm going to attribute it to you as well. Andrew Yang, appreciate your time, sir. Thank you.

YANG: Come to New Hampshire, everybody. Democracy in action. This might be our last shot at upgrading from the rematch that none of us wants.

MATTINGLY: Daunting.

HARLOW: No lack of enthusiasm there from Andrew Yang. A great conversation, Phil. Thanks for that.

So, Buffalo, New York no stranger to snow, but the latest forecast projects winter weather that has even the biggest Bills fans on alert.

MATTINGLY: It must be Wolf Blitzer.

And Donald Trump's presidential immunity appeal slows down sentencing for some of the January 6 convicts. How Trump's challenge could impact some of those convictions as well. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:57:42]

HARLOW: So at least 40 people have been killed in nine states. This is following back-to-back winter storms. The threat far from over. It's called lake-effect snow, which is very dangerous. Those warnings are now in place for over a million people in western New York. Thirty million people across the United States facing these winter storm alerts as well.

Elisa Raffa is joining us in Buffalo. People know how to handle snow there, so when it's potentially an issue for them it's really saying something.

ELISA RAFFA, AMS WEATHER ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Oh, absolutely. They were getting two to three inches in 30 minutes at some point yesterday. Snowfall rates could continue to be two to four inches per hour.

And the weather service says that's calmed down from what it was yesterday and the overnight as that snow band just continues to kind of wallop Buffalo and the north and south cities. It just keeps oscillating up and down. But, I mean, we drove in last night and it looked like a winter wonderland.

Still no trucks allowed on I-90 because they're concerned about some of the road conditions.

The Sabres are playing tonight because they couldn't get through the snow yesterday. And schools have been closed again. The Bills have a game on Sunday and we're hoping and thinking those fans can get out there and do another round of shoveling.

But some of these snow totals have been insane. We're talking three to four feet. I have my little trusty ruler here that's taken me through multiple snowstorms across the country. We're in a drift right now but I lose my ruler just about in a drift. We're in about a foot of drift right now.

And for some other places up near Watertown, my ruler would do no justice. You need a yardstick for some of those totals that have been 20, 30 inches in some places like Wacawana (PH) and Senaca, and then up towards Watertown. Just incredible what some of these totals have been.

Now, I want to show you the radar and you can see both bands that are continuing to pump over Lakes Erie and Ontario. Because we have this cold arctic air that's coming across the ice-free and relatively warmer waves, and that's what pumps the moisture into the cold air and gets all of that snow just right on shore of the lakes.

And when you look at that snow depth you can see that the -- where's those two bullseyes are -- just the totals that are just racking up in feet. Just incredible to see this much snow in such a short amount of time. And this is their second round of it.

And if we look at the ice extent on the Great Lakes, it is well below average for this time of year.