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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Boeing Under Scrutiny After Another Crash; Ethiopian Airlines Crash Kills 157 People; Another Border Battle; Fox News Condemns Jeanine Pirro; Punch On the Pitch; Trump Budget Will Seek $8.6 Billion For Border Wall; Photos Of President Trump With Li Yang Emerges; Captain Marvel Shatters Box Office. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired March 11, 2016 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: Two plane crashes in five months, now some big questions for Boeing over a new model jet many Americans fly. We're live at the site of the latest crash.
DAVE BRIGGS, CNN HOST: Declaring a national emergency, spend billions, then get Congress to pay for it, that is just part of the president's new budget setting up a new battle over the border.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEANINE PIRRO, FOX HOST: Omar wears a hijab. Is her adherence to this Islamic doctrine indicative of her adherence to Sharia law?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: And a rare rebuke of one of its own stars, Fox News now condemning Jeanine Pirro, the questioned whether a controversial congresswoman's beliefs oppose the U.S. constitution.
BRIGGS: And a soccer fan in England, runs on the field and sucker punches a player in the head. Wait until you see how Jack Grealish responded. That is some frightening video, something must be done. Welcome back to "Early Start" everybody. I'm Dave Briggs.
DEAN: Hi, everyone, I'm Jessica Dean it is 31 minutes past the hour. Boeing is facing serious safety questions following the second crash of a new 737 in the last five months. All 157 people on board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Nairobi died Sunday morning when their plane went down shortly after takeoff, 189 lives were also lost when a Lion Air flight crashed in late October. Both of these flights involved brand new Boeing 737 Max 8 planes.
BRIGGS: There is no evidence that the two incidents are linked, but if one issue caused both disasters, Boeing might have to be very quickly implementing modifications to its planes. American and South West operate dozens of them here in the United States. This morning Ethiopian airlines is grounding all Boeing 737 Max 8's. So is Cayman's airlines and China's City Aviation authorities suspended all domestic flights using that Max 8. Boeing now delaying plans to unveil its huge new 777X jetliner this week.
DEAN: And Sunday, the Ethiopian Airlines crashed eight Americans were among the 157 people killed and 19 of the dead were United Nations staff members.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TEWOLDE GEBREMARIAM, ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES, CEO: We don't know the cause of the accident. We will comply with all the international regulations as an airline will be fully supporting and cooperating with the investigation and we will know the exact cause.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Robyn Kriel joining us live from the crash site in Ethiopia with the latest development, Robyn.
ROBYN KRIEL, CNN AFRICA CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, rescue workers have just started to put items into bags. Every now and again, we hear a hush sort of fall over the crash site behind me, the machines stop workings as they bring a body from the wreckage. So they are still finding bodies here at the crash site which spans about half a kilometer in a sort of cavernous area, which is a large field surrounded by hills.
It has been about just more than 24 hours since that plane crash, the Ethiopian Airlines flight 302. And you mentioned some of the United Nations people are on board that flight, there were humanitarians, there were authors, there were -- people passionate about working in East Africa with refugees, with youth, with the environment and it's really indicative of as I said, the type of person, the type of humanitarian that you would find 35 different nationalities, you mentioned eight Americans.
And we do understand that there will be a forensic experts coming from several different countries including Israeli and including the United States to try to help the Ethiopian disaster recovery -- disaster recovery unit including their police, they've got their forensic team here as well as the Kenyans, they are all trying to help identify their countrymen and I'm guessing eventually bring them home.
[04:35:06] DEAN: Some heartbreaking work there, Robyn, thank you.
BRIGGS: All right. To politics now. President Trump will deliver a budget proposal this morning, his first under a divided government. He is promising to balance the federal budget, all be it in 15 years by slashing spending for education, health, the environment, foreign aid and other nondefense items. It's a plan lawmakers will likely ignore as the nation's debt reaches record heights. High on the president's agenda, White House official has confirmed that he will seek $8.6 billion for that Southern Border wall.
DEAN: The budget proposal has an additional $3.6 billion in military construction funds to pay back the money Trump redirected using his executive authority. White House correspondent, Boris Sanchez is traveling with the president and has more now from West Palm Beach. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Dave and Jessica, in the proposed budget, President Trump is asking all federal agencies to cut 5 percent of their spending except those agencies related to defense. The president asking for a $35 billion increase in defense spending over last year, including $8.6 billion for his long promised border wall.
This is actually the first time in Trump's presidency that the administration is requesting funding for the border wall from different sources. The president asking for $5 billion from Customs and Border Protection and an additional $3.6 billion from military construction funds at the Pentagon.
Democrats are not happy about this budget. The congressional leadership and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Minority Leader, Chuck Schumer, put out a joint statement and the write quote, President Trump hurt millions of Americans and caused widespread chaos when he recklessly shut down the government to try to get his expensive and ineffective wall which he promised would be paid for by Mexico. Congress refused to fund his wall and he was forced to admit defeat and reopen the government. The same thing will repeat itself, if he tries this again. We hope he learned his lesson.
Democrats are essentially daring the president to try to shut down the federal government again. It would be the third time in his presidency that the federal government is shut down over the issue of immigration. Dave and Jessica.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DEAN: All right. Boris, thank you.
The Senate is preparing to vote this week to reject President Trump's national emergency declaration for border wall funding. Four Senate Republicans say they will vote to past the resolution of disapproval. The Democrats will need a lot more Republicans to flip on the president if they hope to overturn his expected veto. As CNN's Kaitlan Collins reported last week, the White House has been quietly threatening Senate Republicans not cross the president, warning that those who do -- those who do not fall in line will face consequences in the 2020 election.
BRIGGS: It seemed like the 2020 Democratic hopefuls were everywhere at south by southwest in Austin, Texas this weekend. In a last night's CNN town hall, South Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, called for generational change in America. At 37, Buttigieg is the youngest candidate in the race and he had harsh words for fellow (inaudible), vice President Mike Pence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Vice President Pence would be a better or worse president than President Trump?
PETE BUTTIGIEG, MAYOR OF SOUTH BEND INDIANA: Oh. Does it have to be between --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Politics is about choices, man. You know that.
BUTTIGIEG: I mean, I don't know. It is really strange, because I used to at least believe that he believe in -- I disagreed with him ferociously on these things, but I thought, well, at least he believes in our institutions and he is not personally corrupt.
How could he allow himself to become the cheerleader of the porn star presidency? Is it that he stopped believing in scripture when he started believing in Donald Trump?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: In her town hall last night, Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii focused on foreign policy, but the Iraq war veteran would not say whether she believed Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad is a war criminal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TUSLI GABBARD, (D-HI), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think that the evidence needs to be gathered and as I have said before, there is evidence that he has committed war crimes, he should be prosecuted as such.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But you're not sure now?
GABBARD: Everything that I have said requires that we take action based on evidence. The evidence is there, there should be accountability.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: To be clear, evidence has been gathered and the U.N. has concluded Assad was behind in April 2017 chemical weapons attack.
BRIGGS: There was a Texas sized buzz for native son Democrat, Beto O'Rourke, even though he hasn't officially declared, O'Rourke appeared for the unveiling of a documentary about his Senate race against Ted Cruz. He has teased a 2020 run, but did not reveal timing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. BETO O'ROURKE, (D) TEXAS: We got to be a part of this amazing thing in Texas over the last two years, and it continues. And we are so excited about what you're doing, Rhonda, what you are doing, what so many other people are doing and we just want to continue to be a part of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[04:4005] BRIGGS: Take a look at the latest, CNN, "Des Moines register" Iowa poll. Joe Biden still undeclared tops all Democrats at 27 percent. Bernie Sanders is just two points back with the rest of the field well behind. DEAN: Fox News condemning remarks from one of its own top hosts last
night. Jeanine Pirro on Saturday questioned whether Congresswoman Ilhan Omar's religious beliefs run counter to the U.S. constitution.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEANINE PIRRO, FOX HOST: Think about it. Omar wears a hijab which according to the Koran 33:59 tells women to cover, so they won't get molested. Is her adherence to this Islamic doctrine indicative of her adherence to sharia law which in itself is antithetical to the United States constitution?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Pirro's comments came at the end of the week of controversy for Representative Ilhan Omar, it began with the Minnesota Democrats suggestion that Jewish money is behind congressional support for Israel. Omar has drawn criticism from all quarters, but Fox says Pirro went too far.
BRIGGS: The network saying in a statement, we strongly condemn Jeanine Pirro's comments about Representative Ilhan Omar, they do not reflect those of the network and we have addressed the matter with her directly. Pirro herself did not quite apologize, but offered this explanations. I did not call representative Omar un-American. My intention was to ask a question and start a debate, but of course, because one is a Muslim does not mean you support the constitution.
DEAN: The controversy around Omar cast a cloud over Democrats all last week and the GOP took notice. Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney was one of 23 House Republicans to vote against a resolution condemning hate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. LIZ CHENEY (D), WYOMING: It was clearly an effort to actually protect Ilhan Omar, to cover up her bigotry and anti-Semitism by refusing to name her. The Democrats have yet to take any action to remove her from her committee. And they've got a real problem. I mean, the extent to which they are now abiding by anti-Semitism and enabling anti-Semitism in their party is something we watch them struggle with.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: The resolution against hate started out focused narrowly on anti-Semitism, it was been gradually broadened all through the week to include groups across racial, ethnic and religious spectrums.
BRIGGS: A surprisingly bad jobs report came on Friday, after 101 consecutive months of job growth. The U.S. Economy added just 20,000 jobs in February. That is the fewest jobs gained since September 2017. The unemployment rate fell to 3.8 percent, as fewer unemployed people were looking for work.
The Labor Department suggested that furloughed workers returning to work after that government shutdown also contributed to the lower unemployment rate. Here is what White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said about the report on Fox yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KUDLOW, DIRECTOR, U.S. NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: Let me say on that number on Friday, the payroll number from the establishment survey was only 20,000 very fluky number. It has a lot to do with the government shutdown and the timing of jobs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: When looking at the report, economists say you need to consider at least three months of data to conclude that that is a trend for real. It is also important to remember that the numbers will be revised over the following two months potentially by a significant number.
The higher unemployment rate can actually be a good thing, the numbers may be a sign that the economy is running out of available workers there have been fewer unemployed people than open jobs since June 2018.
DEAN: The former massage parlor owner who watched the Super Bowl with President Trump reportedly arranged for Chinese business leaders to attend a fundraiser. Did that violate campaign finance laws? That is next.
[04:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRIGGS: New details about the former massage parlor owner linked to a high profile prostitution case involving Patriots owner Robert Kraft. On Friday "the Miami Herald" reported Li Yang attended a Super Bowl party with President Trump this year, as he cheered on Kraft's Patriots. Now the Herald says she arranged for Chinese business leaders to attend a fundraiser for Mr. Trump, pointing the possible campaign finance violations. More now from Kaylee Hartung in Palm Beach County, Florida.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAYLEE HARTUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Dave, Jessica, it turns out the photo of the former owner of this day spa and President Trump at a Super Bowl watch party was just our first glimpse into Li, or Cindy Yang's proximity to the president. She tells the Miami Herald she is no longer in the spa business and she is not charged with any wrongdoing in connections to the human trafficking investigation of the spa, but it's her new business that's now raising eyebrows.
The Herald says, she is running a Florida-based consulting firm. A firm that promises Chinese investors it can introduce them to America's political elite, namely Donald Trump and members of his family. So the spotlight shifted from that Super Bowl watch party to a night in December of 2017, a paid fundraiser for Donald Trump in New York City. That night, Yang did what she is advertised to do, she arranged for a
group of Chinese investors to attend that event. She told a source at the event, who told the Herald that she identified herself as an official with the national committee of Asian-American Republicans and in reference to this group of Chinese businessmen at the event, she said they are all my guests.
Now, there are campaign finance laws in this country that guide who can and can't contribute to political campaigns. Foreign nationals are allowed to attend campaign events like this one, but they can't pay their way into the event. We've learned that in the days leading up to that event in 2017, Yang contributed more than $5,000 to Trump's campaign, more than $23,000 to Trump's victory political action committee.
[04:50:01] Given the laws that we have in this country, it would be illegal if a foreign national were to reimburse her for paying their way into the event. Dave, Jessica.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRIGGS: A lot still to come on this one, Kaylee, thank you.
Julia Ruth Stevens, the last surviving daughter of baseball legend, Babe Ruth has died. She passed away in an assisted living facility in Nevada after a short illness. She was 102 year-old. Steven's son, says his mother was the biggest fan of the Babe and he says fans like to chat with her about it, because having lived so long, she was the only one left who could really do it. Julia Ruth Stevens is also survived by her two grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
DEAN: A soccer fan in England arrested for running on to the field and punching a player in the head. Take a look that. It happened during the 10th minute of the match between Aston Ville and rival Birmingham city. You can see the fan run toward for baller Jack Grealish from behind and sucker punch him.
The fan was taken into custody by security and escorted the way. Grealish had the last laugh though he scored the winning goal for Aston Villa and leapt into the stands to celebrate following the match. An apology from the Birmingham City squad. Its memes sends the fan who attacked him has been barred for life.
BRIGGS: That could have been a lot worse.
DEAN: That's really scary, yes.
BRIGGS: Good to see Grealish come through them. Ahead, another win for Marvel with Captain Marvel, Disney's Marvel Studio's latest super hero flick crushing it at box offices around the world. CNN business has those numbers next.
[04:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DEAN: Venezuela's self-declared interim president Juan Guaido expected to call for a state of national emergency in a special session of parliament today. He says 17 people who have died in Venezuela's massive power outage were murdered by the government of President Nicolas Maduro. All work and school activities suspended today. CNN's Paula Newton has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Dave, Jessica, good morning. The first thing you are going to notice are the lights behind me. That is such good news. This city, this country is beginning to recover, but it has taken quite a toll and quite a cost in lives and also those personal everyday struggles that we've spoken about so much here in Venezuela.
Let's deal first with those hospitals. A lot of them had backup power and generators that were already broken, they really struggled to try and get through this blackout without losing more patient. A lot of the hospitals staff just literally camp in the hospitals throughout the last few days and then there were the struggles that we saw on the street, from people that just needing food, water, anything to try to get them through the next few days.
Now, the hydro system here, the electricity still remains highly compromised, although the power is starting to come back on. Many realize that it could go out just like that again. And with a country that is struggling so much already, people are actually quite terrified about what may happen next.
This issue has become a political football. The opposition saying that the government is to blame. The government saying that the opposition really was coordinating with the United States to try to sabotage this electricity system, but many people that I spoke to said today look, we don't want to talk about politics, we need to survive and we need to get through the next few days. Dave, Jessica.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRIGGS: Thanks, 4:57, a check on CNN Business. Global markets are mixed amid growing concerns over global growth. Asian markets closed higher, European markets opened lower as trading begins there. On Wall Street futures are lower, stocks staged a late day rally on Friday, but still fell for the fifth straight day after a surprisingly low jobs report and a sharp drop in China's exports. The DOW fell 23 points, the NASDAQ and S&P 500 each fell slightly.
America is about to steal Saudi Arabia's energy exporting crown. The United States will surpass Saudi Arabia later this year in exports of oil, natural gas liquids and petroleum products like gasoline. A new report from an energy research firm Rystad notes the milestone would make the U.S. the world's leading exporter of oil and liquids that has never happened since Saudi Arabia began selling oil overseas in the 1950s.
U.S. oil production has more than doubled over the past decade, all- time highs. United States now pumps more oil than any other country including Russia and Saudi Arabia.
And finally, Disney's Marvel Studios latest superhero film was unstoppable in its worldwide box office debut this weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Superior.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Superior it was. Captain Marvel made an estimated $455 million bucks globally opening weekend. The film starring Brie Larson brought in an estimated $153 million in North America. Captain Marvel, the first Marvel film to be directed by a woman and the first to feature a female superhero in the lead.
Captain Marvel, marvel's 21st film. Every marvel movie has come in at number one in the North American box office in their opening weekends.
DEAN: those are amazing stats.
BRIGGS: It's an incredible one. I saw it Friday and they have all been terrific. And we all wait for end game coming soon. That will shatter all those records.
DEAN: Maybe you've seen the trailer too.
BRIGGS: I'm pretty excited.
DEAN: All right. "Early Start" continues right now.
BRIGGS: Two plane crashes in five months, now big questions for Boeing over a new model jet many Americans fly. We're live at the site of the latest crash.
DEAN: Declaring a national emergency.
END
