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Six People Killed in Hudson River Helicopter Crash; Could Tech Companies 'Scrape' Web to Help ICE Track Immigrants? Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired April 11, 2025 - 06:00   ET

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

DON RIDDELL, CNN ANCHOR, WORLD SPORT: -- 18 over par score of 90. That was more than twice as bad as the next worst score here on Thursday. He had a very, very difficult round, and I'm sure he can't wait to get back out here on Friday and try to do a lot better. That will have been a really painful experience.

[06:00:20]

Back to you.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Don, and thank you for joining us here on EARLY START. I'm Polo Sandoval, in for Rahel.

CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: It's Friday, April 11. Here's what's happening right now on CNN THIS MORNING.

China retaliates overnight, raising tariffs on the U.S. again. So, who's going to blink first, Xi or Trump?

Plus --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER, WIFE OF MAN MISTAKENLY DEPORTED TO EL SALVADOR: I want to know if he's OK. I just want him back with me and the kids.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: We're learning that the Trump administration is now ordered to get a mistakenly deported dad out of a mega prison in El Salvador. But how?

Also, a surprise trip. The president's foreign envoy just arrived in Russia. What we're learning about this visit.

And --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: River traffic, be advised. You do have an aircraft down Holland Tunnel. Please keep your eyes open for anybody in the water.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: A helicopter plunges into the Hudson River in New York, killing everyone on board. Was this aircraft safe to fly?

It's 6 a.m. -- it is 6 a.m. here on the East Coast. Here's a live look at New York City, where the NTSB is actually going to be looking into what caused that deadly helicopter crash.

Good morning, everybody. I'm Audie Cornish. I want to thank you for joining me this morning.

And we're going to turn to the breaking news out of China, because they are raising retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. imports to 125 percent.

And overnight, China's Xi Jinping addressing the escalating trade war for the first time. According to Chinese state TV, Xi said China is, quote, "not afraid."

His comments come as President Trump raises his tariffs on Chinese goods to 145 percent.

We have CNN's Marc Stewart joining us now from Beijing. Marc, this is -- we're hearing directly from China's leader here. What's the indication about how far they'll go?

MARC STEWART, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Audie, what's interesting is not the fact that China has retaliated yet again. It's very much part of its foreign policy.

It's the fact that China has now said it's going to set a threshold, a ceiling, that it won't raise tariffs any more than what we have seen today, up to 125 percent.

But also saying that, if it needs to fight back further, it has countermeasures that it can use.

The other thing, which is very interesting is that if we look at some of the statements that were getting from China's Ministry of Commerce, the office that is responsible for raising the tariffs, it's almost mocking, making fun of the United States for raising the stakes, the numbers in all of this, so high.

Let me share with you a statement that came out late today here in Beijing. A spokesperson saying that "This is nothing more than a numbers game with no real economic significance," going on to say, "This is a practice of weaponizing tariffs as a tool of bullying and coercion, turning itself into a joke."

So, China standing very resolute, saying that it will fight back, but it's not going to get into the -- into this numbers game.

The other big headline of the day is that we're also hearing from Chinese leader Xi Jinping. He was meeting today with the Spanish prime minister, and that's where we have now heard his first remarks, really, since this tariff war has escalated to such a high level. You mentioned the headline phrase that China is not afraid. He also

went on again to say that there are no tariffs in a trade war and that China will stay focused and concentrate on itself.

He also made reference to the fact that China and Europe are both global economies, and that they are supporters of free trade. Yet another jab at the United States.

So, Xi Jinping has now spoken.

A lot of people have also been bringing up this idea about a phone call between Xi Jinping and President Trump. In fact, it was over the last 48 hours or so that we heard from the secretary of commerce, Howard Lutnick, suggesting this happen.

But, Audie, this is not something that China will likely do. The Chinese government really prefers on having back-door diplomatic conversations before raising it to a level where Xi Jinping and Donald Trump would have a conversation.

CORNISH: CNN's Marc Stewart in Beijing, thanks so much.

Now we want to turn to immigration politics here, because the man who was deported by mistake to a notorious prison in El Salvador. Well, the Supreme Court is telling the Trump administration to bring him home.

[06:05:08]

In a unanimous decision, the justices ruled that the White House must facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. But the court stopped short of mandating his immediate return.

This decision is being taken by both sides as a victory. Garcia's lawyers saying, "the rule of law prevailed. They need to stop wasting time and get moving."

The Trump administration claiming that the ruling, quote, "illustrates that activist judges do not have jurisdiction over foreign policy."

Now, in the meantime, Garcia's wife and family are left wondering when they're going to see him again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER: We're very hurt. My kids ask daily, "When is dad coming home?"

My husband is not a gang member. He's actually an amazing father, an amazing husband. That's who he truly is.

The last time I spoke to him was March 15 when they were about to board a plane. And since then, I haven't heard from him.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CORNISH: So, here's where things stand this morning. It's going to be up to a lower court to clarify a previous order mandating Garcia's return.

Joining me now to make sense of all of this: Akayla Gardner, White House correspondent for Bloomberg News; Andrew Egger, White House correspondent for "The Bulwark; and Hyma Moore, former chief of staff for DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison. Y'all, welcome to the -- the group chat on a Friday morning.

Sorry. We're starting with some pretty dark news, but, Akayla, I want to start with you. The White House at first was kind of joking about the way they were shipping people off and fighting the courts.

After this moment, what kind of messaging are we seeing about what the courts are saying about due process and what needs to happen?

AKAYLA GARDNER, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, BLOOMBERG NEWS: We still have yet to see the White House respond about this specific case, but I think what stands out to me is this really follows a major victory that they had on Monday, where the court upheld their use of the Alien Enemies Act, and still --

CORNISH: Or at least didn't get in the way of it.

GARDNER: Yes.

CORNISH: Yes.

GARDNER: But now we're seeing with this case, as that order said, there is due process for individuals. And I think that's what we're seeing here -- and I think we'll continue to see -- is more people bringing individual cases.

Because in that particular case with the Supreme Court, they said grouping these migrants together was not the right way to go about this, criticizing the ACLU.

So, I think we're going to continue to see more individual cases. But the White House originally said this was an administrative error.

And yet at the same time, they've doubled down and said they believe he is a gang member. So, I think we're going to continue to see the White House and the Justice Department really pushing back on this idea.

CORNISH: They're calling it a clerical error, but I'm under the impression that the head of El Salvador, the president, is coming to the U.S.

He's been very -- like, he lets them run around taking photographs and bringing cameras into the prison. So, obviously, they have some sway.

How is the argument holding up, do you think, as people talk about this online, about why they can't bring him home? ANDREW EGGER, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, "THE BULWARK": Well, that's

-- that's what's been so unusual about this case, right? Is that you almost have this situation where -- where lawless or extralegal action breeds lawless or extralegal action.

There's this very unusual setup where -- where President Bukele is essentially functioning as the White House's jailer for these people. But -- but at the same time, the administration argues that, because El Salvador is a sovereign nation, that limits the amount that they can actually be compelled to -- to go and ask to get a guy like this back.

And so what you -- you -- you get what, on its face, would be a very straightforward Supreme Court ruling. Yes, he deserves due process. Yes, you need to give it to him.

And instead starts to implicate some of these national security conversations like, and that's where you get into the -- the parsing out between facilitating his return and effectuating his return.

And it does give the -- the White House a lot of room to -- to kind of say, well, you know, we're -- we're going to do what we can to get him back. But it's this very strange split screen where -- where they have been ordered to try.

But -- but it's not at all clear what -- what enforcing them, really trying, would look like.

CORNISH: You know, one of the things I'm interested in is way back when, during Trump won, when their big deterrence policy was separating migrant families at the border, and Democrats spent a lot of time saying, look at these children. Children are in cages.

That did not necessarily move the public against Republicans on immigration policy. The president still enjoys good kind of polling numbers around policy. So how do you talk about this now?

HYMA MOORE, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF FOR DNC CHAIRMAN JAIME HARRISON: Look, I mean, I think we've talked about this for a long time. I think Democrats --

CORNISH: But effectively.

MOORE: -- Republicans, independents, I think -- no, you're right. I think -- but I think most people are OK with immigration reform when you talk about it in ways of making the country safer and making processes for people to become legal citizens, a better process.

But I think this is Donald Trump. This has been embarrassing for the country. This is not about him having good immigration policies. This is about the United States government making a mistake.

And we've seen a lot -- a lot of incompetency over the last couple of weeks. And this proves that I think Donald Trump, while he does have a lot of support around getting people out of this country, making it safer, he does not have support to just go into people's homes and rip them away and take them away and put them in El Salvador.

[06:10:13]

And so, I think Democrats --

CORNISH: Or Louisiana.

MOORE: Or Louisiana, right?

CORNISH: What we've been talking about, with students who are on student visas that have been revoked. I think that number, according to the State Department, is more than 400 visas have been revoked.

And, you know, when I think about how Marco Rubio has been talking about this, I want you guys to hear, because I think it sounds like a very kind of common-sense response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: A student visa's like me inviting you into my home. If you come into my home and put all kinds of crap on my couch, I'm going to kick you out of my house. And -- and so, you know, that's what we're doing with our country, thanks to the president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: I don't know where it takes us, but, like, that's a laugh line in the room. And I think, in the heat of the protests over Gaza, there were a lot of the public that just felt like they were very upset with these students.

Now, all this time later, how is it coming across? I don't know what it's like in "Bulwark" land, but like, how is it coming across, to yank student visas, ship them to Louisiana, and throw away the key because of something they said?

EGGER: And I think that gets at it. I think it depends what you mean by these students, right? Because there were a lot of scenes of -- of disorder, chaos, you know, potential lawbreaking that were taking place.

CORNISH: Yes, and they were charged.

EGGER: Last year. And that's -- that's exactly it. And this is a completely different thing. I mean, we're seeing people who -- who have been -- essentially had their -- their legal presence in America vaporized because of a perfectly kind of polite and cogent op-ed that they wrote in a -- in a student paper, just arguing that the administration ought to -- ought to participate in the BDS movement, things like that, things that are a far cry from -- from, I think, that potentially more commonsensical reaction against some of the disorder that we saw last year.

But -- but the -- the administration is using kind of the -- the memory of that the atmosphere of that to -- to push the door far wider open than -- than I think a lot of people.

CORNISH: Group chat, stick around, because we are just getting started.

Coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, we're going to bring you more news about that deadly helicopter crash in New York City. We have new details about the aircraft, the company behind it.

Plus, back on U.S. soil overnight, a wrongfully detained Russian- American ballerina finally arriving home.

And auto tariffs not part of President Trumps 90-day pause. A former Michigan lawmaker joins me to talk about what that means for his state and the industry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you try and get this car in the next month, it's going to be, like, an increase of 5 to $7,000.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:16:56]

CORNISH: We're learning more about that helicopter crash into New York's Hudson River. All six people aboard were killed on Thursday afternoon.

And I'm going to warn you, because the video of this is disturbing.

Spectators watched in horror as the chopper dropped from the sky and splashed into the river upside-down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: River traffic, be advised. You do have an aircraft down Holland Tunnel. Please keep your eyes open for anybody in the water.

Please keep your eyes open. You guys see anything in the water, please let us know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're just circling over Holland now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Killed in the crash, Agustin Escobar, an executive with Siemens based in Spain, along with his entire family, and the pilot.

Polo Sandoval has the latest from New York.

Polo, I want to start with the investigation. I know it's still very early, but what are we learning about the company involved? SANDOVAL: That video that you shared with viewers, it is disturbing,

but it is extremely important here, as investigators essentially try to piece together this investigation to try to determine exactly what happened.

And I say the video is crucial, because in it, you can see what appears to be the rotor of that aircraft also come off. And you see that aircraft basically plummeting down towards the Hudson River before it crashes here.

Now also important will be the trail or the track of this -- of the helicopter. By the way, that is the highlighted rotor that comes splashing down, as well. So, there's a big question there as to what caused it to detach from the aircraft. There were some also other materials that appear to be falling from the sky.

But -- but let me get you that track that this helicopter took yesterday. According to investigators, where we heard the NYPD basically say that it was just before 3 p.m. when that helicopter was wheels up from a helipad in Lower Manhattan.

And what it did, as you see there, basically traced a route that's very familiar for sightseeing helicopters. It heads West and circles the Statue of Liberty before it begins that Northerly path, essentially tracing the Manhattan skyline.

And it wasn't until it reached the George Washington Bridge that it turned back where it came from, and then initiated that Southerly path.

And it wasn't until a few minutes later, at about 3:15, 3:16 p.m., that 911 calls began to come into the NYPD of that aircraft crash that took place just off the New Jersey shore.

So, investigators right now are trying to piece together the evidence. What they can certainly confirm is that it caused the deaths of not just the pilot, but that executive that you mentioned, as well as his wife and their three young children vacationing in New York City. Went out for a sightseeing tour, instead ending in tragedy, Audie.

So, a lot of questions, and the investigation here by the NTSB is just getting started.

CORNISH: CNN's Polo Sandoval with those details. Appreciate it.

Ahead, on CNN THIS MORNING, talks between the U.S. and Iran are set for this weekend. And Tehran is laying out red lines that it doesn't want Washington to cross.

Plus, is the federal government going too far with their high-tech tracking devices?

And good morning to Arlington, Virginia. Here's a live look at Reagan National Airport, where two planes clipped wings on the runway. That is now under investigation.

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[06:24:25]

CORNISH: Is the Trump administration turning to big tech to track down undocumented migrants? A new report from 404 Media shows a government contractor developed a web scraping tool called SocialNet.

It searches and maps out an individual's publicly available online data. And it turns out it can get access to your data throughout just about any app out there.

Joining me to discuss is Nabiha Syed, the executive director of the Mozilla Foundation, which has been pushing back on this kind of surveillance for some time.

So, Nabiha, I want to talk about this. I know people have mentioned contractors like ShadowDragon. They are data brokers that get things that are publicly available. Or are the companies cooperating in sharing some of this data?

NABIHA SYED, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, THE MOZILLA FOUNDATION: Good morning.

So, this is publicly available information. And here's what we know. The government uses these data broker companies to amass data from websites you know, love, and visit for your private enjoyment.

So, if you're open to work on LinkedIn, or you're actively following with your username, a subreddit on mental health, or you're searching something cute on your public Etsy, you wouldn't think that someone is tracking you or really following what you're doing. But the data brokers are doing just that.

Take that private information and combine it with what we know the government can already collect about us. Our Social Security information, our tax information, all kinds of things that you give for a very particular purpose.

And imagine it in a singular profile. That is a very rich snapshot of everything that you do. And it can be used for anything.

CORNISH: Now your nonprofit is calling on some of these companies -- you mentioned Amazon, Etsy, Google -- to push back. But what would that even mean, right? There's already just this huge marketplace for data, just with advertising.

So, would they be saying we stop at sharing with who?

SYED: We -- we demand more robust privacy measures here. We don't want this type of sharing. All these businesses depend on trust with their consumers.

So, we are asking these companies to say, listen, you are fracturing the trust we have with people who want to use us to look for work, who want to browse privately. Don't use it in this way.

CORNISH: So -- SYED: That's why we have 20,000 users who have said we -- we demand something different: more robust privacy protections, more robust legislation. And that is really the sort of groundswell that Mozilla Foundation has been working on for decades now.

CORNISH: So, how are you feeling as you're reading this, reporting about the different ways that the government is interested in using A.I. or surveillance tools like this to scrape in the areas they're concerned about, meaning people they think might be undocumented, or what we've heard most about: students with -- people on student visas who had been protesting the war in Gaza?

SYED: In so many ways, these are the privacy nightmares that advocates have been warning about for 15 years, right? Since the Edward Snowden disclosures, everything that we said could happen is now actually coming to roost.

So, we think of this as a moment, really, an activation moment for the American public to say this is enough, right? We've allowed the expansion and the intrusion into our private data for so long.

We now have very tangible examples of harm. And this could just be the beginning. This is a moment, really, to crystallize that energy and say enough is enough.

CORNISH: Nabiha Syed, executive director of Mozilla, thanks so much for your time. Thanks for waking up with us.

SYED: Thank you so much.

CORNISH: Coming up, will the Menendez brothers be released today? A judge in California is actually going to make a decision in their bid for freedom.

Plus, RFK Jr. calling for radical changes at HHS. What does that mean? What is he preparing to do?

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