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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Dayton, Ohio Hit By Two Tornadoes; President Trump Returning To The U.S. From Japan; American Climber Dies On Mt. Everest. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired May 28, 2019 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:30:52] 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: Short-term research for a long-term problem. Is the White House trying to mislead the public about climate change?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RIZZA ALEE, MOUNTAIN CLIMBER: It has become a death race there and people are pushing themselves who are not even capable of doing it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: A death race there. A traffic jam at the world's highest peak as an American is now the 11th climber to die at Everest this year.
ROMANS: All right, if you're feeling burned out at work you are not alone. Burnout is now an actual medical diagnosis. All right, doc, what are you going to prescribe for that?
Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: Well, I checked it out.
ROMANS: Yes.
BRIGGS: Rest, exercise --
ROMANS: OK.
BRIGGS: -- sleep, mindfulness. I highly recommend some meditation myself.
ROMANS: Oh, OK.
BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs, 5:31 Eastern time.
We start with the dangerous weather out there. The tornadoes keep on coming. At least 449 reported in the month of May.
The largest 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 and officials are asking citizens to conserve water.
One Dayton resident tells CNN he looked up and realized he no longer had a roof.
Sixty-four thousand customers are without electricity. Snow plows were brought in to move debris off the streets.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSHUA THOMAS, TORNADO SURVIVOR: I heard the whistles so I thought the train was coming through. I told my fiance get inside the tub and next thing I know, windows was breaking and I heard a lot of debris flying around and just stuff crashing. And there's glass just everywhere back there right now. But it's really terrible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: All right. So far, no reports of injuries or fatalities in the Dayton area. A local church was badly damaged, its steeple and roof winding up in the street. The tornado hitting when children were inside.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You'd 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 underway right now.
We're 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's devastated. Trees are down on almost every street in the town.
BEN SMITH, TORNADO SURVIVOR: Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: That was the terrified voice of Ben Smith, an Iowa State meteorology student who captured footage of a possible microburst there in Yorkville, Illinois.
And take a look at this hail storm pelting the Chicago suburb of Oak Lawn, just part of a much broader outbreak throughout the Midwest.
CNN's Pedram Javaheri live in the Weather Center. Hi, there.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Christine. And, you know, it's incredible to hear that no reports of injuries coming in.
ROMANS: Yes.
JAVAHERI: To see this particular lineup of thunderstorms that spawned several tornadoes within a 30-minute period in an area home to 800,000 people -- that's the Dayton Metro region -- incredible.
And the pattern really unchanged going forward, at least the next 24 or so hours, so we expect the thunderstorms to continue. Some rotation certainly possible with these thunderstorms.
But you notice upwards of 52 reports of tornadoes, easily the greatest stretch of tornadoes in a 24-hour period in the past couple of weeks that we've seen active weather.
In fact, you go back 12 days -- that's how far back you have to go until there was no reports of tornadoes. And in that 12-day period, 329 reports scattered about 17 states across areas of the South- Central states into the Plains and eventually, into the Midwest.
And, of course, the Dayton tornadoes the most recent significant tornadoes across this region. So, incredible to hear potentially no damage -- no injuries, I should say, across the area. No significant injuries at least because we know tornadoes at nighttime are twice more likely to cause damage and cause death and injuries as well.
[05:35:03] But you take a look at radar signature here. We saw a debris ball on the radar signature coming again shortly after 11:00 p.m. local time. And that indicates, of course, debris was lofted into the atmosphere.
And with that, oftentimes you will get additional injuries depending on how large the debris itself is. But, damage done.
We know across this place and across areas of Montgomery County, 97 percent of the county still remains without power at this hour. And the pattern continues here with showers and thunderstorms finally beginning to taper off, but we expect an additional round to develop across the same regions, working its way into the next 12 or so hours once we get daytime heating building into this afternoon.
BRIGGS: OK, Pedram, so it continues. Thank you, my friend.
Much of the waterlogged Plains and Midwest bracing for yet another round of heavy rain. The Arkansas River in Tulsa, Oklahoma near a record crest.
The River Spirit Casino Resort in Tulsa has been closed almost a week because of flooding. Water has overtaken the pool deck, the tiki bar, and spa. The casino says more than 1,600 employees are still getting paid throughout the closure.
The Tulsa County Sheriff's Office posted these photos showing dramatic flooding.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt says his state is not out of the woods yet. The president says he spoke with the governor from Japan, vowing assistance.
ROMANS: Climate change is a long-term issue but the White House says it only deserves short-term urgency.
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 change as worst-case scenarios. And scientists warn it will present the public with an incomplete and falsely optimistic picture.
President Trump has already rolled back environmental regulations and pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Accord.
BRIGGS: The president is wheels up from Japan on his way back to the United States this morning. He used a Memorial Day address aboard a Navy ship to thank the troops, but also questioned advances in technology, asking sailors if they preferred steam or electric-based aircraft catapults.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, steam has only worked for about 65 years perfectly. Steam or electric, ready? Steam?
U.S. TROOPS, TOKYO JAPAN: (Cheers).
TRUMP: Electric?
U.S. TROOPS, TOKYO, JAPAN: (Boos).
TRUMP: There always coming up with new ideas. They're making planes to complex you can't fly them. We all want innovation but it's too much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: That sure sounded like a shot at Boeing.
But the big takeaway from the president's trip to Japan is North Korea and Mr. Trump's efforts to get Kim Jong Un to denuclearize. The president increasingly isolated, siding with Kim over his own national security adviser on North Korea's recent rock launches.
John Bolton was noticeably absent from the state banquet in Japan. Trump told CNN's Pamela Brown, Monday, he does have confidence in his national security adviser.
All right, let's go live to Washington and bring in Zach Wolf, digital director for "CNN POLITICS." And I guess after four days of pomp and circumstance in Japan, the president called it an unforgettable trip. But the very unforgettable headline is that the president siding more with Kim Jong Un than his own national security apparatus.
ZACHARY WOLF, DIGITAL DIRECTOR, CNN POLITICS: Yes. It kind of shows how isolated he's become on North Korea. He's sort of painted himself into a corner. Essentially, he's all in on figuring out how to work towards denuclearization.
The problem is after those two summits with Kim Jong Un and working and dispatching his Secretary of State and all of these other people to try and get this done, nothing's happened.
So, while the facts seem to be working against any sort of movement towards a deal, Trump keeps saying well, things are fine, things are fine. A couple of short-range missile tests, that's no problem -- which everyone else on the planet seems to be concerned about except for him.
BRIGGS: And not just all in on denuclearization but all in on the personal chemistry with a murderous dictator and siding with him against Joe Biden, who served this country as a vice president and now his chief opponent in 2020.
And it's interesting because, Zach, Biden has not commented about all this but his opponents are forced to out on the campaign trail -- listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is 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.
MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Kim Jong Un is a murderous dictator and Vice President Biden served this country honorably. It's just one more example, though, of the way that 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 the strategy, not with him doing foreign policy by tweets or lying to the American public and saying that there's nothing to worry about.
[05:40:07] SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENT 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)
BRIGGS: So, Zach, is Joe Biden winning by saying nothing at all?
WOLF: Yes, why even engage if you're Joe Biden? You have your rivals out there defending you for you. That's like the perfect position to be in.
ROMANS: Yes.
WOLF: I think -- I think most people -- you know, most Americans are not going to -- not going to think that Joe Biden has a low I.Q. because Donald Trump says it, and they're certainly not going to agree with the North Korean dictator about it. So, I think Trump is out on his own on that one.
ROMANS: Let's talk a little bit about this "New York Times" reporting that the Trump administration is hardening its stance on climate change and how do you think this is going to play. I mean, so the White House wants the national climate assessment to only reach out to 2040, not out 100 years. So, really, short-term research for what is a long-term problem.
We know that among Democrats -- you've written about this. Among Democrats, this is a top -- at least polling -- is a top issue. We just looked at this number -- this NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. For Republicans, it's been at 15 percent for like --
BRIGGS: Since 1999.
ROMANS: For a generation.
What is the -- what are the politics here?
WOLF: You know, as with everything in this administration you have to look at it through the most political possible lens. And in this case, Trump feels like doing more to undo the underpinnings of doing anything about climate change isn't going to hurt him amongst that base set of supporters.
And he doesn't run his campaign to try to get Independents to vote. He runs his campaign to try to get every single possible conservative and Republican to vote for him. So, he's not really worried about the middle of the country, he's worried about that core bit and getting them out and getting them excited.
And working against climate change or working against doing anything about climate change is going to excite those people, regardless of what it does for everybody else.
BRIGGS: Our polling here shows 96 percent of Democrats want climate change addressed. The question really is on the 2020 Dems. Will they force this as an issue in the upcoming election?
ROMANS: Yes.
BRIGGS: And one has to believe it may finally factor in.
Zach Wolf, good to see you, sir. Thank you. ROMANS: Nice to see you, Zach.
WOLF: Thanks.
BRIGGS: All right.
An American climber has died on Mount Everest, which brings the death toll to 11 this year alone. Sixty-two-year-old attorney Christopher John Kulish, of Colorado, died Monday after reaching the top of Everest. His family says he died doing what he loved. Kulish is survived by his mother and younger siblings.
There are growing concerns about overcrowding at Everest. Last week, crowds of climbers got stuck in a long line of the summit. Most people could only spend a matter of minutes at that 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 who are not even capable of doing it. They do it -- they try the summit and they -- instead of summiting, they kill themselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Tourism officials in Nepal say any suggestions that the deaths are related to heavy traffic at the summit are baseless. The 11 deaths this year match the total of the two previous years combined --
ROMANS: Yes.
BRIGGS: -- so something is increasing.
ROMANS: All right. A hiker rescued after 17 days in the Hawaiian wilderness in public for the first time since the ordeal. We'll hear from her, next.
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[05:47:40] BRIGGS: Burnout at work is real. According to the World Health Organization, it's now a legitimate medical diagnosis. It even appears in the WHO's handbook.
The symptoms include -- sound familiar -- 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.
ROMANS: Wow, it's an actual diagnosis.
All right, let's get a check on "CNN Business" this morning.
Let's look at global markets. You see Asian markets closed a little bit higher and European stock markets opened a little bit lower.
Where are we heading on Wall Street? Barely moving. Oh my gosh, that's hardly anything here. I would say this is treading water.
Stocks lost some ground last week on looming trade war fears. The Dow for the week down just shy of one percent, but that's the fifth- straight weekly decline. The S&P 500 lost 1.2 percent on the week. The Nasdaq fell 2.4 percent.
Trade tensions will stay at the forefront and we've got retail earnings rolling into another week and that could show us just the extent of the trade war. Gap, Abercrombie & Fitch, Costco, and Lululemon are among the companies delivering first-quarter results.
Investors will also be looking at key reports this week for any signs of an economic slowdown. We're going to get the second reading of first-quarter GDP. That's released on Thursday.
In the race for electric and self-driving cars, Renault is considering a merger with Fiat Chrysler. If completed, the merger would create the world's third-largest carmaker and reshape the global auto industry. It's the latest example of how automakers are looking to more partnerships as they face the pressure of a quickly-changing industry.
Renault is already a member of the world's biggest auto alliance with Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors. It's not clear how a merger with Fiat Chrysler would affect that alliance.
All right. A young man's first shave is a milestone and for transgender man, Samson Brown, it was memorable for several reasons.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, don't be scared, don't be scared. Shaving is about --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Brown shared the experience with his father in an ad for Gillette. The video shows Brown standing in front of a bathroom mirror as his father coaches him.
Gillette shared the video with the caption "Whenever, wherever, however it happens, your first shave is special." It now has close to one million views.
[05:50:02] You know, Gillette had another socially relevant ad earlier this year. It's the "We Believe" campaign -- remember?
BRIGGS: Yes.
ROMANS: It addressed issues like toxic masculinity, sexual harassment, and #MeToo.
BRIGGS: So, do you think that means it's time for me to have one of those special shaving moments with my son?
ROMANS: You have had not had -- you have not had a date with your razor in way too long.
BRIGGS: Perhaps it's due.
ROMANS: We'll be right back.
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ROMAN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel says there is work to be done to counter dark forces finding mainstream support. Merkel sat down for an exclusive interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour one day after nationalists failed to live up to a predicted 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 her handling of the refugee crisis.
[05:55:00] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR, "AMANPOUR": There are people who say that, you know, it was a great Germany under your chancellorship but these dark demons have risen again.
ANGELA MERKEL, CHANCELLOR OF GERMANY (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: Merkel says there is not a single synagogue nor school for Jewish kids in Germany that does not need police protection.
Recently, German Jews were warned not to wear yarmulkes or school caps in public because of a rise in anti-Semitic attacks.
Monday, a German newspaper published a cutout school cap on its front page urging readers to show solidarity with the Jewish community.
ROMANS: Interesting.
All right, Facebook says Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg intent to defy a summons by the Canadian Parliament and will not attend a hearing in Ottawa later this week. The decision could result in both executives being held in contempt.
They each received a formal request to appear at a meeting to examine Silicon Valley's impact on privacy and democracy. Instead, Facebook will send its head of public policy for Facebook Canada, along with its director of public policy. BRIGGS: A number of measles cases in the U.S. in 2019 has now grown to 940 in 26 states. That is 60 more reported cases than just last week and just 26 shy of surpassing the 25-year high of 963 in 1994.
Maine and New Mexico are new to the list of state's confirmed measles cases. Maine becoming the fourth state in the nation to prohibit people from opting out of immunization for religious or philosophical reasons, joining California, West Virginia, and Mississippi.
ROMANS: Some forms of medical marijuana can now be brought on commercial flights. The Transportation Security Administration updating guidance to permit an FDA-approved pediatric epilepsy drug containing cannabis.
A TSA official says airport screening is primarily focused on security and threats but it anything illegal is discovered during screening the TSA will refer the issue to law enforcement.
BRIGGS: The hiker who was rescued after 17 days in a forest in Maui making her first public appearance since the ordeal on Monday. Amanda Eller sitting in a wheelchair because of leg injuries. She greeted dozens of well-wishers and thanked the people who found her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMANDA ELLER, RESCUED HIKER: I didn't know what I was doing. I didn't know what I was getting closer to.
The only thing that 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 just a girl that got lost in the woods and you guys, like, showed up hard. Like, this is like true aloha. And I've lived here for four years and I've never experienced anything like this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The 35-year-old yoga instructor survived on berries, river water, and -- well, by all appearances, pure grit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEX TREBEK, HOST, "JEOPARDY!": He needs to risk enough -- $58,000. That looks pretty good to me.
JAMES HOLZHAUER, "JEOPARDY!" CHAMPION: Not the record.
TREBEK: Not the record, no -- $130,022 and now, a 28-day total of $2,195,557.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Not a record, but more than enough for James Holzhauer -- his 28th straight "JEOPARDY!" win. The $130,000 just shy of the single- game record he set just last month. Holzhauer closing in fast on Ken Jennings -- that "JEOPARDY!" record of more than $2.5 million.
BRIGGS: A very familiar grin --
ROMANS: Yes.
BRIGGS: -- to audiences across the country.
ROMANS: Have a great day, everybody. Thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. Here's "NEW DAY."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THOMAS: The next I know, windows was breaking and I heard a lot of debris flying around and it's really terrible.
BRIGGS: Two tornadoes ripping through Ohio overnight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All 77 counties in Oklahoma now under a state of emergency.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's nothing like when you can see that devastation in person. It's just unbelievable.
ALEE: It has become a death race there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The two governments that run the mountain really aren't regulating the industry at all.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Nepalese government is saying that to say that this was due to the backlog is baseless.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you run out of oxygen above 26,000 feet, there's a deadly consequence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It's Tuesday, May 28th, 6:00 here in New York.
And we do have breaking news. A harrowing night in Ohio. Several tornadoes touched down in the Dayton area. It's still dark there or the sun is just rising. We're told there is significant damage.
The city of Celina, Ohio, about 60 miles away, was also hit hard by a tornado overnight.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: There is extensive damage. Highways and roads are covered in debris, as you can see a little bit in these dark shots that we have on our screen right now. Dozens of tornadoes have been reported across multiple states from Colorado to Indiana.
END
