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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Former Vice President Biden To Enter 2020 Race Today; John William King Executed In Texas For Hate Crime; Sir Lanka Terrorists Were Monitored By Intelligence. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired April 25, 2019 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:31:02] MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN ANCHOR: The 2020 race in for an epic shakeup. Joe Biden gets in today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're fighting all the subpoenas. Look, these aren't, like, impartial people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump vowing not to back down to Democrats. Two more aides now refusing to testify, including immigration hawk Stephen Miller.
KOSINSKI: The execution has been carried out for man behind one of the most horrific hate crimes in American history.
BRIGGS: And how does zero screen time sound for your kids? New guidelines would seriously curtail how long children spend in front of screens. It's a problem that just plagues every parent watching right now.
KOSINSKI: It would increase whining and crying time.
BRIGGS: This might be true as well.
Welcome back to EARLY START on a Thursday. I'm Dave Briggs.
KOSINSKI: I'm Michelle Kosinski. It's 31 minutes past the hour.
The list of Democrats running in 2020 jumps to 20 today and the new name is, indeed, a big one. Joe Biden will announce his presidential bid this morning.
The former vice president rallied donors and supporters on a conference call yesterday. He offered a brief review of his campaign's message, saying the soul of the country is at stake. Biden underscored the importance of a strong fundraising performance, too, right out of the gate.
BRIGGS: Yes. A source tells us the Pennsylvania native will hold his first campaign event in Pittsburgh on Monday, then he'll hit the road to the early votes state of Iowa, South Carolina, and New Hampshire.
Biden's decades in the Senate, eight years as V.P., and high name recognition put him at the top of recent polls, but he faces a Democratic Party far different than the last time he ran for office. Progressive issues front and center, not foreign policy.
KOSINSKI: Sources say Biden's team thought about releasing his announcement video yesterday but they were warned it would be a bad idea to draw attention away from a 2020 forum focused on women of color.
Several candidates already in the race appeared at the She the People event. Here are some of the highlights.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will have a woman running mate. To me, it's really clear that we do that.
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Women of color are our heart and soul of the Democratic Party and heart and soul of our nation. They're critically important.
BETO O'ROURKE (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We also need an equal rights amendment ratified in this country so that no woman can be discriminated against on any basis whatsoever.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why should women of color choose you as the nominee for president?
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Because of my track record my entire life of focusing on women of color.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: A focus on women yesterday prompting speculation that John McCain's widow, Cindy McCain, and their daughter, Meghan, would endorse Biden, a longtime friend of the late Republican senator. But, Cindy McCain denied that speculation, tweeting, "Joe Biden is a wonderful man. However, I have no intention of getting involved in presidential politics."
Let's bring in Nathan Gonzales, editor and publisher of Inside Elections and a CNN political analyst. Good morning. Good to see you, sir.
KOSINSKI: Hey, Nathan.
NATHAN GONZALES, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, EDITOR AND PUBLISHER, INSIDE ELECTIONS: Good morning. I didn't -- I didn't get drafted in the NFL but I appreciate you having me on still.
BRIGGS: Still waiting for your call, just like me. We'll keep waiting for that call.
Joe Biden's call comes this morning in this online video we're expecting shortly.
KOSINSKI: Yes.
BRIGGS: And we keep saying, as we just did, that the party has moved so far to the left since he left the stage, but I keep wondering if the party has moved so far left how is Biden entering as the clear front-runner?
GONZALES: Yes. Well, I think first of all, Democrats love Joe Biden. I think, particularly, they love Vice President Joe Biden.
I think what will be interesting as he steps, once again, into becoming a presidential candidate, how that shifts because one of the downsides of being a front-runner is that the other candidates are going to have to cut him down. He's going to be the subject of either some covert or attacks because he's one of the front-runners.
But I think what's most fascinating about Joe Biden and getting into this race is that you're right, he no -- demographically, he no longer fits the Democratic Party. Ideologically, he no longer fits the Democratic Party. But if he is the candidate who is viewed as the most likely to defeat President Trump, then that could smooth over some other areas where he doesn't line up --
[05:35:08] BRIGGS: Yes.
GONZALES: -- neatly with this party right now.
BRIGGS: I guess my point is I think it's just the loudest voices in the room that have moved so far to the left. If Biden's party has moved too far left he would not be the leader, so I guess that's the point I'm trying to make. I don't think we can just settle that debate by saying it's moved left.
KOSINSKI: Or couldn't it just be familiarity and his appeal to --
BRIGGS: It could be just name recognition and familiarity.
KOSINSKI: Yes. And what about all the Independents or people who might have voted for Trump last time around looking for something else. Is Biden the clear appeal at this point to that group?
GONZALES: Yes. Well, I think if we -- if we look at primaries overall and we look at primaries at the Senate level and the House level, the people who vote in primaries are often the most ideological -- either the most conservative on the Republican side or the most liberal progressive on the Democratic side.
And I think that plays -- you know, Dave, to your point, whether -- even if a majority of the party isn't shifting to the left, it's still the most likely primary voters, I think, are shifting to the left. And so that's why that's an important constituency to have in kind of capturing the heart and soul and the minds of the Democratic Party is important, but it's combining that mind with the heart. Where do they feel like they are ideologically? But defeating President Trump, I think, is the most important priority for Democrats and that's where things are going to get more complex over the next year.
BRIGGS: I can't help but wonder if he's going to campaign on defending Obamacare and fixing it, and signaling that he's not necessarily moving left on that Medicare for All.
But a lot of questions will be answered over the weekend.
Let's turn to the man who occupies the Oval Office and who Biden could be taking on and that's President Trump, who is defiant, stonewalling Congress on all fronts. And here's what he said about that yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We're fighting all the subpoenas. Look, these aren't, like, impartial people. The Democrats are trying to win 2020. The only way they can luck out is by constantly going after me on nonsense.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Here now, a reminder of all the things the White House is stonewalling from Congress, the latest at the bottom there. Stephen Miller won't testify on immigration.
But, Nathan, this is on all fronts an assault against Congress' duty as a check -- their oversight.
But is the tone that the president wants to set? Is this what we will see for the next two years, really an 'us versus them forget about' policy?
GONZALES: Yes. I think this is what this president and this White House has been -- the tone that they've had.
BRIGGS: Yes.
GONZALES: I think it's the tone they're going to have for the remainder of the administration.
KOSINSKI: Yes, he's relishing that fight.
GONZALES: Yes, and I think it's no surprise because this is what the base wants. I mean, this is -- they like it when the president is defiant toward the media and defiant toward Democrats.
But I think where things get tricky is that Democrats aren't really talking -- they have this investigative power and they have the subpoena power, but in the campaign they don't talk about the president as much because Democrats are already unified in defeating the president. They don't have to bring it up all the time -- and he's the fuel.
So as far as a campaign message, you're going to hear Democrats talk about health care because that's what helped them in the 2018 elections. That's going to be the forward-looking message that you'll hear from the Democratic Party.
BRIGGS: All right, Nathan Gonzales.
KOSINSKI: Thanks, Nathan.
BRIGGS: Good to see you, sir.
GONZALES: Thank you.
KOSINSKI: Well, the Boy Scouts of America now says it believes more than 7,800 of its leaders sexually abused children. New court testimony shows that number is nearly 3,000 more than previously known. It includes scout leaders and scoutmasters across the country.
The abuse happened over the course of 72 years. More than 12,000 alleged victims have been identified.
The Boy Scouts, in a statement, say they sincerely apologize, adding, "At no time have we ever knowingly allowed a perpetrator to work with youth."
BRIGGS: A man who carried out one of the most disturbing hate crimes in the country's history has been executed in Texas. Forty-four-year- old John William King, one of three suspects convicted for the murder of James Byrd, Jr.
In 1998, King, Lawrence Russell Brewer, and Shawn Berry picked up Byrd and drove him to a secluded area. There, they beat him, spray-painted his face, tied a logging chain around his ankles and dragged him behind a pick-up for nearly three miles.
Byrd's death led to new hate crime laws passed by Congress and the state of Texas.
Byrd's sister, Clara, releasing a statement saying, "King showed no remorse then and showed no remorse tonight. His execution tonight was just punishment for his actions."
KOSINSKI: Murder charges have now been filed against the parents of 5-year-old A.J. Freund after the little boy's body was found in a shallow grave about 10 miles from his home in Crystal Lake, Illinois.
[05:40:00] Andrew Freund, Sr. and Joanne Cunningham reported A.J. missing last week. Police interviewed the parents again after obtaining new information from cell phone data.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES BLACK, POLICE CHIEF, CRYSTAL LAKE, ILLINOIS: Once presented with the evidence obtained by investigators, both Joanne and Andrew, Sr. provided information that ultimately led to the recovery -- what we believe is the recovery of deceased subject A.J.
To A.J., we know you are at peace playing in heaven's playground and are happy you no longer have to suffer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSINSKI: A.J.'s parents are expected to appear in court today. His mother's attorney hasn't responded to requests for comment and it's not clear whether his father has a lawyer.
BRIGGS: Investors found out just how much the 737 MAX crisis affected Boeing in the first quarter. Earnings fell 21 percent in the first three months of the year, reporting a revenue of $22.9 billion. Boeing reported a $1 billion increase in production costs connected to the MAX 8.
The company also pulled its full guidance for the year, saying it would revise its projected earnings for 2019 based on the 737 MAX grounding, quote, "Due to the uncertainty of the timing and conditions surrounding return to service."
Boeing's deliveries were also affected by the 737 groundings. The company delivered 149 commercial airplanes in the first quarter. That's down 184 from last year.
Boeing has continued to build the jet even though it's halted deliveries, but production has been cut back from 52 a month to 42. Boeing execs said they cannot say when deliveries can begin again.
Meanwhile, testing continues on the plane's software update.
And they're far from out of the woods. There's also some complaints of a whistleblower to "The New York Times" --
KOSINSKI: Right.
BRIGGS: -- about the Dreamliner built in South Carolina.
KOSINSKI: Yes, the resonation of this --
BRIGGS: It just continues, yes.
KOSINSKI: -- to see it going. I mean, it's big.
Five houses raided overnight in Sri Lanka following the Easter attacks. CNN's Ivan Watson spoke to Sri Lanka's prime minister. He joins us live, next.
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[05:46:46] KOSINSKI: Breaking overnight, Sri Lankan police have raided five houses they say are connected to terrorists in the Easter Sunday bombings that killed at least 359 people. CNN has now learned one of the hotel bombers had previously been arrested, then released.
All Catholic services across the capital of Colombo have been suspended until Monday over security concerns.
CNN's Ivan Watson has just spoken with Sri Lanka's prime minister and joins us now live in Colombo, Sri Lanka. So much to talk about there. How much did he address the obvious intelligence failures? IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is staggering. What we're hearing about is almost a systemic intelligence failure with staggeringly fatal results.
Just take a listen to an excerpt from my conversation with the Sri Lankan prime minister.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RANIL WICKREMESINGHE, PRIME MINISTER OF SRI LANKA: They are middle- class, upper-middle-class, well-educated -- educated abroad. That is surprising because they've been looking at other places for possible ISIS connections.
But these people are also known and they were being monitored by the intelligence.
WATSON: They were being monitored so much.
WICKREMESINGHE: They were being monitored by the intelligence.
WATSON: Some of the suicide bombers.
WICKREMESINGHE: Some of them, yes.
WATSON: And yet, they were still able to carry out these deadly attacks.
WICKREMESINGHE: Yes, the attacks -- they said that they didn't have sufficient evidence to take them in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: So the prime minister was saying that some of these suicide bombers were being watched for hate speech but they didn't have enough evidence to bring them in.
That's not entirely true because CNN has learned that one of the suicide bombers who attacked the Cinnamon Hotel up the road from where I'm standing right now was detained by security forces at one point and then released under political pressure from one of the country's governors.
And that has to do with the profile of these terrorists. You have a family of spice merchants -- two brothers who were suicide bombers from the Ibrahim family.
And their father, Mohamed Ibrahim, is currently under arrest -- under investigation for aiding and abetting these terrorist acts. And one of those brothers is one of the people who was detained and then released.
So you had warnings coming from so many different levels, from Indian intelligence outside, from moderates -- Muslim leaders here in the country, and some of these people who had actually been detained before. But some of these families were wealthy, they were politically connected.
The prime minister telling me that he may have actually met the father of the spice merchant at one point at some kind of social event, which gives you a sense of what level of society here in Sri Lanka some of these deadly terrorists came from -- Dave.
KOSINSKI: We can only imagine how that's going to affect the families of the victims. Thanks, Ivan.
BRIGGS: Terrific interview there.
Investors continue to watch earnings around the world this morning. Asian markets closed down, European markets pointing lower.
On Wall Street, futures are barely moving. Stocks ended Wednesday lower, just one day after the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq finished at a record high. The Dow closed 59 points down. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both fell slightly.
[05:50:04] Earnings are still the biggest focus on Wall Street. Ford, Amazon, and Starbucks just some of the companies who will report their first-quarter results today.
KOSINSKI: How much screen time is healthy for young children? Well, in some cases, that would be none.
The World Health Organization issuing strict new guidelines on screen time for little kids. They say never for children under 1-year-old and rarely in year two. Those two to four years old should spend no more than an hour a day in front of a screen.
The WHO drew on emerging science about the risks screens pose to the development of young minds.
Disappointing to parents who think they're giving their kids a leg up by introducing them to technology.
BRIGGS: I think the parents are just trying to get a few moments of silence and to be able to eat dinner in peace.
KOSINSKI: That could work, too.
BRIGGS: That's what I remember, at least.
KOSINSKI: It sometimes helps.
BRIGGS: Let us know what you think about that on Twitter.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRIGGS: An Alabama police chief says he's disgusted by video that shows an officer cursing and threatening a woman during a traffic stop that turned violent.
[05:55:05] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POLICE OFFICER: Put your hands behind you. Here you go. Give me your arm.
JHASMYNN SHEPPARD, ARRESTED: Sir, please don't, please don't do me like this.
POLICE OFFICER: Put your hands behind you.
SHEPPARD: Sir, please.
POLICE OFFICER: Are you serious?
SHEPPARD: Sir --
POLICE OFFICER: Have you lost your freaking mind?
SHEPPARD: Sir, please, please, please.
POLICE OFFICER: Give me your arm. If you bite me you're going to lose every one of your (bleep) teeth. You understand me?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Twenty-two-year-old Jhasmynn Sheppard was accused of leaving the scene of an accident Friday and the Tuscaloosa officer began trying to handcuff her seconds after, requesting her driver's license. Another officer arrived moments later.
Sheppard telling CNN officers, quote, "Made me feel like I wasn't even human."
Local media report the officers are on desk duty pending an investigation and will face a disciplinary hearing.
KOSINSKI: Severe weather in Texas has turned deadly once again. A mom and two kids were killed when their car was swept away.
Search and rescue operations are underway now in St. Augustine, Texas. Mayor Leroy Hughes tells CNN there is no power. Hughes says he lost his home. The National Weather Service had issued a tornado warning for the area late Wednesday.
Severe storms are also now moving east along the Gulf Coast.
BRIGGS: Abigail Disney stepping up her criticism of executive pay at her family's company just days after calling the paychecks of Disney's top brass, quote, "insane."
The granddaughter of co-founder Roy Disney is suggesting a major redistribution of executive bonus money. She says half the bonuses should be given to the bottom 10 percent of the company's 200,000 employees.
Six of Disney's top execs, including CEO Bob Iger, collected stock awards and options worth a combined $62 million last year. The median salary of a Disney employee, around $46,000.
In a "Washington Post" op-ed, Abigail Disney says she believes executives deserve bonuses but the people who contribute to Disney's success also deserve a share. The Disney Company says it has made historic investments in its workers' pay and benefits.
KOSINSKI: McDonald's is targeting a new demographic, but not on the menu. The fast-food giant is teaming with AARP to attract older adults to join its massive workforce.
Right now, just 11 percent of workers at McDonald's are 50 and older. McDonald's tends to attract those younger, but unemployment is historically low right now.
They are piloting the program in Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, and North Carolina with a national rollout planned for this summer. McDonald's hopes to fill some 250,000 jobs.
BRIGGS: All right. Tonight is the night "Avengers: Endgame" makes its premiere and ahead of its highly-anticipated release, Stephen Colbert's team found some similarities between the blockbuster and the Democrats' 2020 field.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, CBS "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT": The world has changed. None of us can go back. We watched as everything crumbled. It's going to take a special team of people to undo the damage done by earth's greatest threat -- no, not this power-hungry narcissist, this power-hungry narcissist -- to take him down.
The Democrats have assembled a group of every available person in the universe, including Kamala Harris, Julian Castro, table stander, the amazing Hickenlooper, the incredibly qualified candidate but is a woman, Rosario Dawson's boyfriend.
Also, maybe ant man and the wasp, and this wasp, and this wasp. Mayor Pete Buttijudge, Buttigiegg, Buttigog -- he's doing well. Stock photo of a politician, infinity bones, boat garage, boot gravy -- ah, I'm going to get this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Eric Swalwell, a stock photo of a politician.
KOSINSKI: Yes. I want this to be the genre of political ad that we actually see --
BRIGGS: Yes.
KOSINSKI: -- for the next year.
BRIGGS: I'm with you.
KOSINSKI: Like, let's just do it this way.
BRIGGS: As for "Avengers," though, I saw it. It's outstanding. No spoilers.
KOSINSKI: We know, Dave. You like it, we know.
BRIGGS: That's right, that's right.
KOSINSKI: Thank you very much.
BRIGGS: You're welcome.
KOSINSKI: And thank you for joining us. I'm Michelle Kosinski.
BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. Here's "NEW DAY."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Joe Biden formally announcing his candidacy for 2020 today.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You'll see Biden at his best. He believes he's the best candidate to face Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are in a party that loves the idea of a fresh face.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That will be a challenge.
TRUMP: We're fighting all the subpoenas. These aren't impartial people.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Their strategy is to run out the clock. We haven't seen an attempt by any administration to defy Congress in this way.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is partisan now. He's in a good position to defend with that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It's Thursday, April 25th, 6:00 here in New York.
And major political news breaking right now -- or as Joe Biden would say.
END
