Return to Transcripts main page
Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Search for Health Care Plan; Twitter's Big Change; Trump: No Russia Probe If I Appointed Barr; $768.4M Powerball Winner in Wisconsin; Baseball's Season Begins Today. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired March 28, 2019 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:00] DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: AMC Theaters reported that "Endgame" ran 182 minutes, or just over three hours, before deleting that information. If it is anywhere close to that, it would be the longest film Marvel Studios has ever produced. The previous "Avengers" sequel "Infinity War" ran roughly two and a half hours. Disney is not confirming length of the movie. "Endgame" premieres April 26th. I cannot wait.
EARLY START continues right now.
(MUSIC)
BRIGGS: The White House is scrambling to get a health care plan ready. Republicans bewildered after the president relaunched the battle that cost them the House.
JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: Twitter with a major policy shift. The tech giant will start adding context to offensive tweets from officials, including the president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our new Attorney General Bill Barr -- had he been there initially this all would have not have happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The president all but admitting he wanted control of the Russia investigation from the start.
DEAN: And who do you know in Wisconsin? Well, they could be very rich this morning. One winning Powerball ticket in the $768 million jackpot.
Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean.
BRIGGS: Good morning. I'm Dave Briggs. Thursday, March 28th, 5:00 a.m. in the East.
If you won, are you here?
DEAN: Am I here? Right here? BRIGGS: You're not here, right?
DEAN: I also live in Wisconsin.
BRIGGS: Are you working again?
DEAN: Yes, kind of whatever you wanted.
BRIGGS: If and when I win. We start though with your health care.
Even Republicans appeared bewildered by President Trump's promise to make the GOP the party of health care. Deep divisions over the Affordable Care Act that bogged down the party two years ago still remain. And according to "Axios", House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told the president that the decision it renew efforts to kill Obamacare made no sense, especially after Democrats routed Republicans in the midterms in part over that issue of pre-existing conditions.
DEAN: Right now, the White House has no plan for replacing the Affordable Care Act if a decision by a Texas judge to strike down the law is upheld. But the administration insists that there will be one.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARC SHORT, CHIEF OF STAFF TO VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: The president will be putting forward plans this year that we hope to introduce into Congress, Wolf. But the reality is that the court decision is likely not until the summer of 2020 by the time it would reach the Supreme Court. We don't know how they would rule.
The president has said repeatedly he would not sign any law unless it protected preexisting conditions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: So, President Trump has repeatedly promised protections for preexisting conditions, but he keeps backing plans that would eliminate them.
BRIGGS: The president will tweet and now Twitter will add its say. In a major shift for the social media platform, Twitter will start labeling tweets from officials that violate its rules. Twitter's head of legal policy appeared at a "Washington Post" sponsored event in San Francisco. The social media giant is still refusing to remove President Trump's more questionable tweets saying that they are in the public interests. But next time the president sends an offensive tweet, it might be accompanied by a note providing more information.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VIJAYA GADDE, GLOBAL LEAD FOR LEGAL, POLICY, TRUST, AND SAFETY, TWITTER: There are other types of content that we believe have -- are newsworthy or are in the public interest that people may want to have a conversation around. But today, when we leave that content on a platform, there's no context around that and it just lives on Twitter and people can see it, and they just assume that that's the type of content or behavior that's allowed by our rules.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Even though your rules say no bullying.
GADDE: Exactly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Twitter will still remove tweets from anyone with violent or threatening content. The president regularly uses the platform to attack political enemies, even sharing images of his foes behind bars.
The president has also gone after big tech itself claiming it favors Democrats.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I'm able to get the word out through my social media because I have great social media. But I'll tell you, it's much tougher than it should be. I deal with Twitter. It's not right the way they do it.
And it seems to be if they're conservative, if they're Republicans, if they're in a certain group, there's discrimination -- and big discrimination.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: And there are growing concerns the president's Twitter behavior has influenced politicians on the local and state levels as well as abroad.
BRIGGS: President Trump is heading to grand rapids, Michigan tonight for his first campaign rally since the Mueller probe wrapped up. The president has already given his first TV interview since Attorney General Bill Barr delivered a summary. Barr effectively clearing the president of collusion but not of obstruction.
In the interview, a winding 24 minute chat with Fox News, the president railed against the Mueller probe, calling it an attempted takeover of our government.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Our new Attorney General Bill Barr is a -- is a great gentleman and I've heard about him for years. He's a great -- he's a great man. Had he been there initially this all would have not have happened because what's gone on there is a just a disgrace to our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[05:05:03] DEAN: The president says if he had made Barr his first attorney general instead of Jeff Sessions, there would be no Mueller report, as much as admitting that he wanted to control the Russia investigation. The Mueller probe started partly because Mr. Trump fired the first person investigating Russia interference, James Comey. The former FBI director yesterday weighed in on Robert Mueller's decision to punt on the obstruction question.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES COMEY, FORMER FBI DIRECTOR: The obstruction piece confuses me. The purpose of the special counsel is to make sure that the politicals, in this case the attorney general, doesn't make the ultimate call on whether the subject of the investigation, the president of the United States, should be held criminally liable for activities under investigation. And so, the idea that the special counsel wouldn't reach the question and hand it to the political leadership doesn't make sense.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff sticking to his claim there is evidence of collusion even if Mueller could not prove the crime of conspiracy. Schiff wants to hear directly from Bob Mueller.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA), CHAIRMAN, HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: He is going to have to come in and testify. At what point that takes place, whether that before or after we get the report or the underlying evidence may depend on how much Bill Barr stalls in providing that report to the public.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: On that point, House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler says Barr will not commit to releasing the full Mueller report. House Democrats have set an April 2nd deadline.
BRIGGS: Senator Cory Booker trying to sell voters on the idea that he is the candidate that can beat Donald Trump. During CNN's town hall last night, Booker criticized the president's policies and personal attacks and also challenged fellow Democrats on the issue of reparations or compensation in some form for the descendants of slaves.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Can I tell you why I'm frustrated by the reparation conversation is because it is being reduced to just a box to check on a presidential list, when this is so much more of a serious conversation. I've got the only legislation I think in the entire Congress that Columbia University says would virtually eliminate the racial wealth gap, something called baby bonds, which means that every child born in America would get a bond on their birth, $2,000 placed in it, and during the time every year of their life, depending on their family's income, they would have more money placed in it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Booker also embracing a key part of the Democratic debate, the Green New Deal. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOOKER: This resolution of bold vision is what we need and we come from a country that put forward bold visions like the president who said we're going to the moon. Folks attacked him and say, well, wait a minute, that sounds irresponsible, what kind of rocket. No, people leaned in and said I'm inspired by that vision, let's make it -- go from a vision and dream to something real that we can implement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: The 2020 presidential hopeful pumped the brakes on impeachment talk and instead, Booker says President Trump will be sent packing from the White House through the electoral process.
And a 2020 note for you, a new candidate will enter the race today. Who is it? You will find out this morning live on "NEW DAY".
Breaking overnight, a shooting rampage in Seattle leaving two on people dead and two others critically wounded. Seattle police describe the killings as a random senseless act. The incident unfolded when a gunman tried to carjack a woman. She was shot. She is now in critical condition.
The gunman then set his sights on a crowded bus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARC GARTH GREEN, DEPUTY POLICE CHIEF, SEATTLE POLICE DEPARTMENT: The suspect then opened fire on the Metro bus, striking the driver. The driver was able to back the bus up and turn it around and get it out of the area where it is currently -- where you see it right now -- to a safe area. We were able to get aid to him and the passengers on the bus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Police say the gunman then carjacked another car shooting and killing the 50-year-old driver. A high speed police chase then ensued. The suspect colliding with another car, killing that 70-year- old driver. After a brief standoff, officers took the suspect into custody.
DEAN: A South Carolina fifth grader is dead after being injured in a school fight. Paramedics found RaNiya Wright unconscious in the nurse's station at Forest Hills Elementary in Walterboro. She was airlifted to a medical center in Charleston where she died two days later. A special ed teacher at the school says bullying has been an issue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My child personally had went through it on two different occasions to one point where she had to switch schools. Being an educator, I think our students should be put first in all situations. (END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: A student has been suspended while the investigation is under way. It is unclear whether that student was involved in the fight.
BRIGGS: Somebody in Wisconsin has a lot of extra cheddar this morning. The one jackpot winning ticket in Wednesday, $768 million Powerball drawing was sold in Wisconsin. The jackpot is the third largest in U.S. history and Powerball's second biggest ever.
The winning numbers: 16, 20, 37, 44, 62 and Powerball is 12. For everyone who missed the Powerball, there is a Mega Million jackpot tomorrow, 75 million bucks. Enough to make ends meet.
DEAN: Just enough to get by, $75 million.
Well, no deal times eight. British lawmakers cannot agree on a Brexit plan even as the prime minister says she will quit just to get the job done. We're live in London.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Order, order. Order. I'm finishing. Order!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Order!
The United Kingdom hopelessly deadlocked over Brexit. Lawmakers failing to agree on an alternative plan, to the plan being pitched by Theresa May.
The prime minister even offering to resign in a desperate attempt to save her deal.
[05:15:05] So what happens now?
Let's go live to 10 Downing Street and bring in Nic Robertson this morning.
Nic, if she were, in fact, to resign, how would that help them reach a deal?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: The idea was that she has lost so much trust in her own party that the way to get the party to do the thing that she wants them to do, which is to vote for her agreement as far as she's got it with the European Union right now, the so-called meaningful vote that she's lost so horrendously twice, the fact that she lost their trust, she was saying, look, you may have no faith in me now, but I'm willing to step out of the way for the next phase of Brexit because you know what? You're only seeing phase one here, this is the phase, the divorce phase. The next phase, the future relationship is all to come and she's saying, I will step out of the way and let somebody you trust more do this part of the negotiation for you.
But it doesn't seem to be working. There are still hard liners who are holding out. There are still her political allies from Northern Ireland who are saying absolutely not, they can't vote for this because it essentially means Northern Ireland becomes less a part of the United Kingdom. That's the red line they won't cross.
And those votes from yesterday, the eight votes that were supposed to get clarity on what would be popular opinions among the MPs for a new kind of Brexit plan, nothing got full support. A couple of ideas emerged slightly ahead. They may get talked about Monday next week.
But the real question right now today is will Theresa May try to force her vote through. And I think at the moment you have to say it looks unlikely she'll succeed. So she may not take even that chance. The clock is ticking. Deadline 12th of April in all this right now.
BRIGGS: What a mess. Nic Robertson, live for us in London this morning, thank you, sir.
DEAN: Five confirmed cholera cases have been reported in Beira, Mozambique. Two weeks after Cyclone Idai ravaged the South African country. Nineteen hundred malaria cases are also being reported. The death toll from Idai now stands at 468 in Mozambique, with more than 1,500 injured. Hundreds of thousands are affected in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi. The death toll is expected to rise as recovery crews do their work.
BRIGGS: New cars sold in Europe will have to be equipped with speed limiters starting in 2022. The European Union agreeing to you new safety rules that require intelligence speed assistance systems. They can be temporarily overridden by the driver. Some automakers already have GPS or cameras that detect posted speed limits and make sure drivers adhere. Most safety experts are applauding the new measures but some are raising concerns about drivers becoming complacent and less focused on the road. Hard to imagine that becoming a bigger problem than it is already in texting and driving.
Ahead for baseball fans, opening day is like New Year's Day, or, heck, Christmas for some of us. For a pitcher who learned on the mound he made the team, it was something else.
Coy Wire has the "Bleacher Report", next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:22:33] BRIGGS: March Madness tips off tonight with four games. And if you think it is all about the guys on the court, you're wrong.
Coy Wire tells us about that in the "Bleacher Report."
Good morning, my friend.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Top of the morning to you, Dave. You know, there is so much work that goes on behind the scenes for a team to succeed. So many people contributing to make sure that the performers perform at their best. The lights come on, Dave, the producers and others.
The Michigan Wolverines, they have their team manager.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're really just asked to make the court and the paint for our team's walk through. But come tournament time, we like to get a little extra.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're just spit balling ideas and we said what is the half court logo. We tried to copy that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably took like 2 1/2, 3 hours I'd say.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: Michigan's managers are dedicated group of fellows. They crafted the perfect practice floor in the hotel ball room just for the walk-through. They don't have to look good, but they make it that way.
Here is how the action breaks down today. Gonzaga/Florida State kicking things off at 7:09, followed by Tennessee/Purdue. And then the late action, Wolverines and Texas Tech and Virginia/Oregon.
Yesterday, the International Olympic Committee announced they recommend adding break dancing as a new event to the Paris 2024 Games. Look out, Dave. I know you're moving and grooving right now.
OIC president Thomas Bach says it would make the Olympics more gender balance, younger and more urban. A final decision will be made by the OIC's executive board by next December. So get your popcorn ready for potential popping and locking for gold at the 2024 Games.
Now, the 2019 MLB season gets under way this afternoon, with all 30 teams in action on opening day. Some players weren't even sure if they would be on the roster like the Padres pitcher Chris Paddack. He got pulled out of the team's last spring training game, but check out this moment right there, a little chat with manager Andy Green telling Paddack he'd be on the opening day roster. That is a smile that would light up San Diego.
And while you root for your favorite teams, there are a few new ballpark menu items like the Braves blooper burger. It has four burger patties, a foot-long hotdog and chicken tenders all on the sandwich.
[05:25:03] Yes, your face says it all, Briggs. It is covered in cheese sauce.
BRIGGS: All right.
WIRE: Held together with Texas toast, 26 bucks gets you candy popcorn on the side.
And don't forget about the Red Sox introducing a New England twist on a classic sandwich, the LBLT, it's got fresh lobster meat on it with the bacon and lettuce.
BRIGGS: OK.
WIRE: I see you starting to drool a little bit.
BRIGGS: Yes, you may have me there. All right.
WIRE: The gut buster from the Texas Rangers, a two pound chicken tender. It is called the foul pole and it is a giant hunk of meat. Want to see you roll into CNN Center with that.
BRIGGS: And price tag and/or calorie check?
WIRE: I do not. I'll get that and tweet it out.
And Jessica, I hear you over there giggling. You haven't had your breakfast yet, I know. She's hungry too.
BRIGGS: I think you need more of a bucket of sauce. I don't think those little containers will do it. But I'll try that.
Coy Wire, me, you, Arlington this coming season. Thank you, my friend. Happy opening day.
Jessica?
DEAN: That is a lot of chicken, guys. All right. Thank you.
Well, the president's Twitter account is his megaphone. And it will start coming with footnotes from the tech giant. Twitter will be weighing in on offensive tweets from officials.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
