Return to Transcripts main page

Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Mourners Queue For Miles To Say Goodbye To The Queen; White House: Tentative Deal Reached To Avoid Freight Rail Strike; Teen Who Killed Alleged Rapist Ordered To Pay Family $150,000. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired September 15, 2022 - 05:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:31:03]

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Right now, thousands of mourners in London queuing for miles along the River Thames to pay their respects to their queen, Queen Elizabeth II. The late monarch is lying in state at Westminster Hall. Her subjects filing past her coffin silently for more than 12 hours now.

CNN's Scott McLean joins us live from London. Just an amazing scene. Tell us what you're seeing.

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Christine.

Yes, I'm seeing a queue like I have never seen before. It varies -- it fluctuates in length between two and three miles. We've been trying to keep track of the end of it and every time we set up to do a live shot it just keeps growing and growing. And really, it stretches almost to the other side of central London.

You know, Christine, the London mayor said yesterday that he expects hundreds of thousands of people to pay their respects and to file past the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II. And he described it like the London marathon, the London Olympics, and the last couple of royal weddings all in one just because of all of the people and all of the pomp and pageantry around this event.

And, you know, when you talk to people, they're happy to wait. A lot of people have been bracing for waits that are 10-12 hours. The folks in this line up here have maybe been here, they say, for about three hours and they started over the London Bridge, which is maybe about 2- 2 1/2 miles from here.

One woman -- I asked about why she was here and she was near tears. It was like an emotional experience to -- for her to even think about what Queen Elizabeth meant to her.

Officials have also been telling people not to bring their children because it -- you know, it's difficult to have a child in a lineup for a really long time. But they brought them anyway because, you know, one man told us that look, it is very likely that a child born today will never see a queen in their lifetime.

So, this is the lineup right now. It sort of fluctuates as to -- as to how quickly it's moving, but eventually it will go across the bridge to the houses of Parliament here. And ladies, I just wonder why it was so important for you to be here in this lineup.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Basically, because she's been on the throne longer than I've been born, and she's always been there for us. She's what makes Britain great really, I suppose.

MCLEAN: And where have you guys come from?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've come from Kent -- Deal.

MCLEAN: So just outside of London?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it's two hours on the train this morning because we got the slow train.

MCLEAN: Wow.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, yes.

MCLEAN: So, people are making a really long trip to come here. Sorry -- excuse me, ma'am. But everyone that you meet here, Christine, says that it is well worth it.

Ma'am, I'm just wondering why you've decided to come here today.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Respect for the queen.

MCLEAN: What does she mean to you as a British citizen?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's just very respectful, I think. Just a lot of inspiration for the country and everybody else. So I think that's why. I've got me chocolate.

MCLEAN: Yes, that's OK.

Ma'am, just wondering how long did you expect to wait in the line this morning?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I expected 10-plus hours. So, I've been three hours.

MCLEAN: Three hours is a lot better than --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I expected to wait a bit longer than what I have done.

MCLEAN: Yes.

And look, Christine, some people have told us that they expected to be in this line for 20 hours. Obviously, if they're here for three to this point and maybe they're another hour or two to get there, then that's a pleasant surprise for them. But people certainly are -- they have the supplies and really, the willpower to stay in this line as long as it takes.

ROMANS: Scott, I've got to tell you. You've got to love how the British can queue, you know? I mean, everyone waiting their turn so -- I mean, the British never really know how to wait in a -- wait in a line, as we would say in the U.S. Queue is what you would say in the U.K.

MCLEAN: Yes. Well, an orderly queue, they really love. And this one has got to be the mother of all queues.

ROMANS: Exactly.

All right, thank you, Scott. Thank you so much, and we'll keep watching.

[05:35:00]

Join CNN from London as the country and the world remember Queen Elizabeth II. The state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II live Monday here on CNN.

All right. Abortion rules just changed in two states. That's next. And a comic book hero causing controversy in the Middle East.

(COMMERCIAL)

ROMANS: All right. If you're just joining us, President Biden announcing moments ago a tentative deal to head off a freight railroad strike.

[05:40:00]

I want to bring in Phil Mattingly with the very latest. And Phil, we got this -- about 5:04 am eastern time we got this alert from the White House -- a statement from the White House that they had a tentative agreement. What more do we know, and how high were the stakes here?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I'll start with the last question first, which is the enormity of the stakes almost couldn't be described when you think about the repercussions of a potential strike or lockout that was set to kick into gear as soon as 12:01 am on Friday.

You think about how goods across every single economic sector are transferred, Christine. More than 30 percent of the freight in this country moves via freight rail. That could have all gone down completely. We've seen over the course of the last 24 hours the cascading effect of Amtrak shutting down long-term service. You talk about ag or how chemicals are transferred. All of these types of issues, we're already seeing effects that would have only grown in a significant manner should this have gone much further.

Now, you mentioned that the statement from both the Labor Department and from President Biden came out just after 5:00 am. The talks -- the actual negotiations that were happening at the Labor Department started at 9:00 am yesterday morning. So, about 20 hours of negotiations as they look to hammer out this deal.

Now, the key element here that we don't know is what exactly did the union leadership sign off on with the rail industry to get this over the finish line. We know -- and we talked about this, Christine -- that the really critical element -- the really huge point of dispute over the course of the last several weeks and certainly, the last 48 hours was related to time-off benefits -- scheduled benefits, particularly for an industry that's been extraordinarily short- staffed.

The union said repeatedly that they believe that they didn't have the ability to go to medical appointments, or didn't have the ability to deal with family emergencies due to the way the schedules are structured right now. That was something they thought was a necessity. That was something that the rail industry has not agreed to up to this point.

How that -- the details of that are incredibly important. Here's why. This still needs to be voted on and ratified by the unions themselves. So what we're dealing with right now is the union leadership will take this agreement back to each of their union members. They will vote to ratify it, and then we'll see where this goes from here.

However, one key component of this -- there's not a cooling-off period. So even if that vote is taken back and it fails, there will be another several weeks of cooling-off period. So when you talk to sources that are involved in this process, they make clear there is no imminent shutdown regardless of how that vote goes. Obviously, all parties are very pleased that there is an agreement -- a tentative agreement.

One thing I would note. President Biden, who has been following this very, very closely over the course of the last several weeks, not in an effort to, as I've been told, put any thumbs on the scale, particularly for a president who is so close to the labor community -- more dispute out of a recognition of the severe consequences of this not coming to fruition. A deal, that is.

The president actually called in to the negotiations last night around 9:00 pm. I think that would have been 12-13 hours. Too old (PH) to become a 20-hour day. And in that call, some of the details of which read out it was making very clear of the stakes -- of the repercussions.

About how big this would not just for the U.S. economy and not just for the politics of the moment. Obviously, a lot of people have been cognizant of the fact the midterms are only eight weeks away. But how much this would matter to individual people on an everyday basis, whether it's getting good at the stores, whether it's groceries, empty shelves. Whether it's the ability to get medication, health care -- those types of things. Public safety. All of those were at stake here.

And there was a broader point the president made when he called into that meeting last night, Christine.

ROMANS: Yes. You just can't overstate how high the stakes are here and were, and how important it is to avoid this shutdown.

Thanks so much for that, Phil Mattingly. Nice to hear from you this morning.

All right, 43 minutes past the hour.

A GoFundMe has been set up to support an Iowa teenager who has been ordered to pay $150,000 to the family of her alleged rapist who she stabbed to death. Seventeen-year-old Pieper Lewis, a victim of sex trafficking, was sentenced to five years' probation and ordered to pay restitution to the family of the man she killed when she was 15 years old.

A legal expert says the judge was bound by Iowa state law.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT RIGG, PROFESSOR, DRAKE UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL: And I don't think the judge had any choice but what's mandated to issue that order for restitution.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His hands were tied?

RIGG: His hands were tied. The only way to change that would be to have the legislature enact a new restitution statute that wouldn't incorporate the $150,000.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The GoFundMe, started by Lewis' former teacher, has far surpassed its goal of $150,000. As of last night, more than $250,000 had been raised to help this teenager.

[05:45:00]

All right, Indiana's near-total ban on abortion goes into effect today. The new law provides for a few narrow exceptions. Abortions will be only allowed if there's a serious health concern for the mother or her life is at risk. Also, if there's a lethal fetal anomaly up to the 20th week of pregnancy. And in cases of rape or incest, but then only up to 10 weeks.

And a judge in Ohio has temporarily blocked that state's 6-week abortion ban. The decision restores, for now, access to abortion for up to 20 weeks of pregnancy. The ruling also puts plans to close the only abortion clinic in the Dayton area on hold.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sending two planes filled with migrants to Martha's Vineyard. And how Starbucks plans to reinvent itself, next.

(COMMERCIAL)

ROMANS: All right, let's get a check on CNN Business this Thursday morning.

[05:50:00] Looking at markets around the world, Asian shares mixed. Europe has also opened mixed. And on Wall Street, stock index futures are ticking higher here after the White House announced a tentative railway labor agreement averting what could be a catastrophic strike.

Stocks finished the day slightly higher Wednesday after posting the worst day for all three indices since June 2020. Investors still reeling from stubbornly high inflation numbers. But we did see wholesale prices fall for the second month in a row.

It's been a volatile year for stocks. The Dow is down nearly 15 percent, the S&P 500 down 17 percent. The Nasdaq -- a 25% decline there for the year.

Gas prices, though, still continue to retreat, now down to $3.70 a gallon. Jobless claims and retail sales data will be released later this morning.

Starbucks has the need for speed, unveiling plans to get new equipment to help baristas prepare complicated drinks in seconds. Also in the works, a more reliable mobile app with new rewards. And new employee perks to discourage them from unionizing. The company plans to spend up to $3 billion on this Starbucks reinvention.

The founder of sportswear brand Patagonia giving away the $3 billion company to help fight the climate crisis. Yvon Chouinard founded the company in 1973 and now he's giving it away. Patagonia's privately- held stock will be owned now by a climate-focused trust and a group of nonprofit organizations. Under this new structure, any profit not reinvested in the business will go toward fighting climate change.

Chouinard figures that amounts to about $100 million a year, depending on the health of the business. Chouinard says instead of going public you could say we're going purpose.

Ahead, Vice President Kamala Harris looking to raise her profile. That's on "NEW DAY."

(COMMERCIAL)

[05:56:12]

ROMANS: All right. Two of the NBA's biggest stars say the suspension and fine for Suns owner Robert Sarver's reported racist and sexist behavior -- the fine doesn't go far enough.

Andy Scholes has more in this morning's Bleacher Report. Hey, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Christine.

So, yes, many people are not happy that Suns owner Robert Sarver received just a 1-year suspension and a $10 million fine, including LeBron James.

LeBron said the league definitely got this wrong. He tweeted, "I love this league and I deeply respect our leadership, but this isn't right. There is no place for misogyny, sexism, and racism in any workplace. Don't matter if you own the team or play for the team. We hold our league up as an example of our values and this ain't it."

Now, Chris Paul, who has played for Sarver's Suns for two seasons now, followed up that by tweeting he's "horrified and disappointed" and that "This conduct, especially towards women, is unacceptable and must never be repeated." He went on to say "I'm of the view that the sanctions fell short in truly addressing what we can all agree was atrocious behavior."

Now, the independent investigation done on Sarver concluded that he engaged in hostile, racially insensitive, and inappropriate behavior repeatedly during his 18 years owning the team. But his behavior was not motivated by racial or gender-based animus.

And NBA commissioner Adam Silver says that was a key factor in delivering the punishment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADAM SILVER, NBA COMMISSIONER: I don't have the right to take away his team. I don't want to rest on that legal point because, of course, there could be a process to take away someone's team in this league. It's very involved and I ultimately made the decision that it didn't rise to that level. But to me, the consequences are severe here on Mr. Sarver.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Now, Serena Williams, meanwhile, may not be evolving away from tennis just yet. The 23-time Grand Slam champ saying on "GOOD MORNING AMERICA" yesterday that her sister Venus isn't done yet and wants her to keep playing. And Serena added she may just take the lead from another legend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SERENA WILLIAMS, 23-TIME GRAND SLAM CHAMPION: I mean, you never know. I always say -- I've just been saying that, you know, I think Tom Brady started a really cool trend, you know?

So I feel like tennis has given me so much and I feel like there's no way that I don't want to be involved in tennis somehow in the future. I don't know what that involvement is yet. But I do know that I love the sport so much. I love the game. I love -- I love everything about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: All right, we'll wait and see what next year brings.

And finally, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel got a Gatorade shower in the locker room after picking up his first win on Sunday. It turns out that's a pretty rare sight -- not the Gatorade part -- just taking a shower. Yesterday, he admitted to reporters that -- well, his hygiene was a little lacking when he was an assistant coach with the 49ers. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE MCDANIEL, MIAMI DOLPHINS HEAD COACH: And I used to be able to really push it from game day to almost Wednesday without showering. Now, that would be obvious. I can't hide.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Yes, you've got to talk to the media now, Christine. You can't hide. I mean, did you ever get involved in breaking news and just go three days without showering?

ROMANS: Never, never, never, never, never.

SCHOLES: Some people love their jobs a little too much.

ROMANS: Yes, I guess so.

All right, Andy Scholes. Thank you so much.

SCHOLES: All right.

ROMANS: And thanks for joining me. I'm Christine Romans. "NEW DAY" picks it up right now.

[06:00:00]