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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
More Damaging Tornadoes in the Midwest; NYT: Trump Hardening Assault on Climate Science; Mount Everest Death Toll Up to 11; Burnout Now A Medical Diagnosis. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired May 28, 2019 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:20] DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: Another burst of tornadoes punishes the Midwest. Ohio and Indiana hit hard overnight, and more flooding could further devastate Oklahoma.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The White House renewing an assault on climate science. A stunning report in "The New York Times" shows a White House moving at odds with science.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RIZZA ALEE, MOUNTAIN CLIMBER: It has become a death race there. And people are pushing themselves, we're not even capable of doing it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: A traffic jam at the world's highest peak. An American is now the 11th climber to die on Everest this year.
ROMANS: And if you're feeling burned out at work, you're not alone. Burnout is now an actual medical diagnosis.
Good morning, and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: How are you feeling?
ROMANS: I feel a little burned out.
BRIGGS: Just thought I'd ask.
Good morning, everyone, I'm Dave Briggs. It is Tuesday, May 28th, 4:00 a.m. in the East.
We start with the severe weather. The tornadoes just keep oncoming, at least 449 reported in the month of May. The latest target, Dayton, Ohio, two tornadoes touching down there Monday night, three miles and 30 minutes apart. Dayton has lost power to both water plants and pump stations. Officials are asking citizens to conserve water.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSHUA THOMAS, TORNADO SURVIVOR: I heard whistles, like a train was coming through. I told my fiance to get inside the tub. Next thing I know, windows was breaking, I heard a lot of debris flying around and just stuff crashing, and glass just everywhere back there right now. It's really terrible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: So far, no reports of injuries or fatalities in the Dayton area. A local church was badly damaged. The steeple and roof winding up in the street, the tornado hitting when children were inside.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have to say it's an act of god that there were no injuries with the young people that were inside the church, even though the church received structural damage, that can be replaced.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The city of Celina, Ohio, was also hit by a tornado last night. Seven people were hurt and there is significant damage. Mayor Jeff Hazel tells CNN affiliate WHIO power is out to the entire city with door-to-door checks right now. We are also getting reports of considerable damage in Pendleton, Indiana. The Pendleton Heights High School now serving as a shelter for those who have been displaced.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The whole town is devastated. Trees are down on almost every street in the town.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. Holy crap.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: All right. That was the terrified voice of Ben Smith, an Iowa state meteorology student, who captured footage of a possible micro burst in Yorkville, Illinois.
And take a look at this hailstorm pelting the Chicago suburb of Oak Lawn, just part of a much broader outbreak throughout the Midwest.
Let's bring in CNN's Pedram Javaheri live in the weather center.
Wow, May has just been wild.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It has been. You know, unlike any we have seen in recent memory at least when you take a look at the number of tornadoes and severe weather reports in recent days. And, Christine, you take a look, 46 reports of tornadoes just in the past 24 hours.
As you mentioned, it's the month of May approaching 500. In the last 12 days, we have had tornadoes each and every day, covering an area about 17 states, that's 321 tornadoes in a 12-day span, really an incredible set up and most notably in the past few hours out of Dayton, Ohio, the metro population approaches about 800,000 people across this region.
So, certainly, when you see a tornado shut down in an urban environment and a high population zone, really an area of concern, even a debris ball signature, another area of debris estimated to be several thousand feet high like we saw with tornadoes crossed portions of Oklahoma. Anytime you see that, you know quite a bit of damage on the ground, officials reporting you have to use a snowplow to remove debris off I-75 there, with all the damage that's been left in place and even into Montgomery County where Dayton is located, 97 percent of the county without power. So, again, it speaks to the amount of damage potentially left behind with this particular line of active weather.
Thunderstorms this morning finally to taper off. The story now transitions to heavy rainfall, the flooding concern that remains in place and more on that here in a little bit as well -- Christine, Dave.
ROMANS: Thank you so much for that.
BRIGGS: All right. Thank you.
Much of the water logged planes in the Midwest bracing for yet another round of heavy rain. The Arkansas River in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is near a record crest. The River Spirit Casino resort in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has been closed almost a week because of flooding.
[04:05:05] Water overtaking the pool deck, tiki bar, spa, the casino says 1,600 employees are still getting paid throughout the closure. The Tulsa County sheriff's office posted these photos showing dramatic flooding. Oklahoma's governor saying the situation still could get worse and they're not out of woods yet.
ROMANS: All right. President Trump wheels up from Japan and on his way back to the United States. He used a Memorial Day address aboard a Navy ship to tout his administration's defense spending and to question advances in technology. He even asked U.S. sailors if they preferred steam or electric-based aircraft catapults, the president suggesting the new technology was too costly and less reliable.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, steam has only worked for about 65 careers. Steam or electric. Steam? Electric?
They're always coming up with new ideas. They're making planes so complex you can't fly them. We all want innovation, but it's too much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Huh, that was interesting. Sounded like a shot at Boeing, perhaps, but the big take away from the president's trip to Japan is North Korea and Mr. Trump's efforts to get Kim Jong-un to denuclearize.
The president finding itself increasingly isolated, siding with Kim over his own national security adviser when it comes to North Korea's recent rocket launches.
Let's go live to Tokyo and bring in CNN's Ivan Watson.
Ivan, good to see you, my friend.
Is this a good cop/bad cop dynamic, or is the president just siding with Kim Jong-un, or is there an actual fracture?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's really tough to tell. It's very clear that president Trump is doubling down. He is all in on his personal diplomatic initiative with Kim Jong-un, and he's willing to overlook things that -- like short range ballistic missile launches, that took place less than three weeks ago from North Korea.
And as a result, you had this strange situation wherein this very restricted bilateral meeting where there were four American and Japanese officials in the room -- the Japanese prime minister, his national security adviser John Bolton, the White House national security adviser, and President Trump. President Trump was the only one in the room that does not publicly believe that those missile launches were violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions. And so, he said that on a stage next to the Japanese prime minister.
This was a visit that was celebrating the alliance between the U.S. and Japan, high on symbolism, low on real concrete substance. The White House did not get a trade deal with Japan that it had wanted in the run up to the meeting, and while they were showing the strength of their alliance, there were cracks there such as how do you define a short range ballistic missile launch, and President Trump endorsing Kim Jong-un's insults of Joe Biden, a former U.S. vice president and rival to President Trump, but not at least publicly endorsing the North Korean's slamming of his own national security adviser, Bolton. We heard President Trump say he still stands by Bolton for now -- Dave and Christine.
BRIGGS: And those trade talks expected to resume after July elections. But you're right, no huge take away from this trip abroad.
Ivan Watson live for us this morning in Tokyo. Thank you.
ROMANS: All right. President Trump took the side of Kim Jong-un over Joe Biden twice. First, he did it in a weekend tweet, misspelling the former vice president's name, while attacking him as a low I.Q. individual, and he stood by his remarks on Monday, drawing criticism from the 2020 Democratic contenders.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's just one more example of Donald Trump proving that he cares about Donald Trump, first, last and in between, and not protecting the interests of the United States of America.
PETE BUTTIGIEG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Kim Jong-un is a murderous dictator, and the Vice President Biden served this country honorably. It's just one more example of the way this president tries to draw attention to himself by saying things that shock the conscience.
SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Obviously, we have a crisis in North Korea, and we need to absolutely deal with it with a strategy, not with him doing foreign policy by tweet or lying to the American public and saying there's nothing to worry about.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We don't want a war but nobody should be believing that this guy has anything in terms of his values with the United States. We don't need to be praising Kim Jong-un.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: So, Biden has not commented. He returns to the campaign trail today. A teacher town hall in Houston this afternoon will be his 12th public event since entering the race.
[04:10:01] By contrast, Bernie Sanders has held half that many since Saturday.
BRIGGS: The Trump administration hardening its assault on climate science. According to "The New York Times", the president is planning to limit climate science projections and federal studies to the year 2040 instead of the end of the century. The move effectively eliminates reporting on climate changing worst case scenarios, and scientists warn it will present the public with an incomplete and falsely optimistic picture.
ROMANS: And this appears to be an effort to influence a conclusions of the next national climate assessment. The Trump administration has reportedly proposed a new climate review panel headed up by William Happer. Happer is a physicist known for defending the virtues of carbon dioxide and has compared demonizing carbon dioxide to Hitler's treatment of the Jews.
BRIGGS: An American climber has died on Mount Everest. That brings the death toll to 11 this year. Sixty-two-year-old attorney Christopher John Kulish of Colorado died Monday after reaching the top of Everest. His family said he died doing what he loved, Kulish survived by his mother and younger siblings.
There are growing concerns about overcrowding at Everest. Last week, crowds of climbers got stuck in a line of the summit. Most people could only spend a matter of minutes at the summit without extra oxygen supplies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEE: It has become a death race there because there was a massive traffic jam and people are pushing themselves, we're not even capable of doing it. They try to do it, they try to summit and instead of summiting, they kill themselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Wow. Tourism officials in Nepal say any suggestions that the deaths are related to heavy traffic at the summit are, quote, baseless.
ROMANS: All right. Burnout at work is real. Just ask your doctor.
According to the World Health Organization, burnout is now a legitimate medical diagnosis. It even appears in the WHO's handbook. The symptoms include feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion, increased mental distance from a job, or negative feelings about a job, and reduced production at work.
Doctors are urged to first rule out anxiety and mood disorders before diagnosing workplace burnout.
BRIGGS: Trying to diagnose it. You're just tired.
ROMANS: I'm a very happy person.
BRIGGS: You're never burned out.
ROMANS: Never.
BRIGGS: Just a little bit tired. Nothing wrong with that.
ROMANS: No.
BRIGGS: Ahead, a CNN exclusive, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, what she says about the European election and, quote, dark forces going mainstream.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:17:21] ROMANS: All right. U.S. markets back open today, Monday, provided a break for investors as they braced for another volatile week. Last week, stocks posted several days of big declines. The Dow suffered its longest weekly losing streak since 2011.
Investors are growing increasingly worried the U.S. China trade war is here to stay. Trade tensions will remain at the forefront as retail earnings roll into another week. Major retailers are starting to worry the trade war will affect businesses and hurt customers.
Kohl's, Home Depot and Walmart have all said tariffs will lead to higher prices on some items. A handful of retailers report earnings this week, so expect to hear more about the tariff danger. Gap, Abercrombie & Fitch, Costco and Lululemon are among the companies delivering first quarter results. Investors also look at the key reports this week for any signs of economic slowdown, the second estimate of first quarter GDP. That comes on Thursday.
BRIGGS: German Chancellor Angela Merkel says, quote, dark forces are finding mainstream support in her country and other parts of the world. And there is work to be done to face up to them. Merkel sat down for an exclusive interview with CNN's Christiane
Amanpour one day after nationalists failed to live up to a predictive surge in support in the European elections. After 13 years as chancellor, Merkel has shouldered a lot of the blame for Europe's populist wave because of the handling of the refugee crisis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: What do you answer to the people who say that, you know, it was a great Germany, but these dark demons have risen again?
ANGELA MERKEL, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): Germany can and will not uncouple itself from developments we see all over the world. We see this in Germany as well, but in Germany, obviously, they always have to be seen in a certain context, and the context of our past, which means we have to be that much more vigilant than others.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Recently, German Jews were warned by a leading government official not to wear yarmulkes or skullcaps in public because of the rise of anti-Semitic attacks.
ROMANS: All right. Nineteen minutes past the hour.
A hiker rescued after 17 days in Hawaiian wilderness in public for the first time since her ordeal. We'll hear from her next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:24:25] BRIGGS: The baseball world is mourning the loss of Bill Buckner. Buckner carved out an impressive 22-year career that included a batting title and all star game appearance and more than 27 hits. He was scorned for decades by Red Sox fans and the media because of a Mookie Wilson ground ball that went through his leg in game six of the 1986 World Series. The error may have cost Boston the title.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Number 6, Bill Buckner!
(CHEERS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[04:25:00] BRIGGS: Buckner there was finally welcomed back to Fenway Park in 2008 after the Red Sox won two world championships. The team and its fans fondly remembering the late first baseman.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A generation may have only remembered that moment in game 6 of the 1986 World Series, but the truth is, he was an extraordinary player, worthy of discussion for the Hall of Fame. And without question, he was a Hall of Fame gentleman.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Buckner was battling Lewy body dementia, surrounded by his family before his death. He was just 69.
ROMANS: All right. The hiker who was rescued after 17 days in a forest in Maui making her first appearance since the ordeal in Monday. Amanda Eller sitting in a wheelchair because of leg injury smiled and greeted dozens of well-wishers in an event organized by her family to thank the people who found her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMANDA ELLER, SURVIVED 17 DAYS IN MAUI FOREST: I didn't know what I was doing. I didn't know what I was getting closer to. The only thing I could do was trust.
I had nothing else to go by. I didn't have a compass. I didn't have a phone. I didn't have a shirt. I'm a girl who got lost in the woods and you guys showed up hard. Like this is true aloha, and I have lived here for four years, and I have never experienced anything like this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: By all accounts, she's lucky to be alive. The 35-year-old yoga instructor survived on berries, river water and by all appearances, pure grit. She's still recovering but plans to share her harrowing story of survival at a news conference later today.
BRIGGS: Very much looking forward to that.
An astounding 449 tornadoes now reported this month alone. Another damaging round overnight, devastation in Indiana, and cutting off water in Dayton, Ohio.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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