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New Day

Warren Unveils Student Loan and College Plan; Moulton Announces Presidential Bid; Biden to Announce Run; Sri Lanka Bombings Victim Identified; Florida Deputy Under Investigation for Violent Takedown; White House Hosts Easter Egg Roll; Tiger Attacks Zookeeper at Kansas Zoo. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired April 22, 2019 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00] MJ LEE, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Raised by being the policy candidate.

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): Look, policy is personal. It touches people's lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: Now, we are on campus at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire. Should be a pretty good setting for Senator Warren to test drive this new proposal.

And the CNN town hall tonight could also be a good opportunity to see how her other -- the other candidates in the field react to this new proposal.

John and Alisyn.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: I predict college students will like it.

JOHN AVLON, CNN ANCHOR: You think?

CAMEROTA: Yes, that's my bold prediction.

AVLON: That's a focus group of one, but I think she's on to something.

CAMEROTA: Yes. Thank you, MJ.

AVLON: Good stuff. Love that we're talking about policy and tonight big news out of the heart of the granite state.

But first, breaking news, Congressman Seth Moulton of Massachusetts becoming the 19th -- count them 19 -- Democrats to jump in the presidential race. And CNN has learned former Vice President Joe Biden will announce his bid this week.

So joining us now to discuss, our CNN political analyst Josh Green, national correspondent for "Bloomberg Businessweek," and Jonathan Martin, national political correspondent for "The New York Times."

J. Mart, let's begin with you and pronounce it that way because we've got a candidate from Massachusetts in the race. Forty-year-old Seth Moulton. A lot of folks have seen this coming almost since he entered Congress. A lot of high hopes invested with this young congressman. Tell us a little bit about him.

JONATHAN MARTIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, he's a military veteran, Harvard undergrad, somebody who has been looking for an opportunity, a very ambitious guy, won in a primary, ala Beto O'Rourke, and sort of came to Congress that way. So he is sort of entered Congress as something of a disruptive force. So he's not afraid to shake things up.

And he -- to that end, he kind of made his name in D.C. in the last year or so being one of the sort of crusaders against Nancy Pelosi, and, obviously, that did not go well. She, of course, is still speaker of the House.

And I think he does not see his future in the House. There's no opportunity right now in the Senate in Massachusetts. And so he's sort of looking for the next place to go. And, obviously, a campaign for president gets you a lot of press coverage and a lot of potential upside. And so here we are, number 19.

CAMEROTA: So -- and this week may also have another incoming candidate, and that is Joe Biden. Somewhere around midweek we are told that he will jump in, Josh.

AVLON: Yes.

CAMEROTA: And so it's 20 candidates for 2020. There's a nice symmetry, I think, to that. But at what point -- and, listen, we've interviewed most of them here on the show. They're impressive people, and each in their own way have an impressive -- different credentials, but they're smart, impressive people. But 20 candidates is a lot to accommodate. At what point does it start getting whittled down now -- is it -- is Joe Biden the tipping point?

JOSHUA GREEN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I don't know if people are going to drop out just because Biden gets in. You know, I think we're going to have a process over the summer as debates begin, as these town halls go on and as some of these lesser candidates try and figure out, can we raise enough money to remain viable?

I don't think that will be a problem for Biden, at least not initially. He's going to get into the race in -- at least according to polls, will immediately be a frontrunner and will undergo a lot of scrutiny. We'll see how he fares.

But for right now, if you're someone like a Seth Moulton, there's really no reason not to get into the race, to try and get some of this attention, build your brand, get your issue out there and see if it connects with Democratic voters.

AVLON: But only in 2020 is lacking a statewide option is the White House seen as a person -- perfectly viable alternative.

GREEN: Yes. AVLON: J. Mart, put on your --

MARTIN: It's true, though. I mean they -- there is something to that, guys, that the media incentives to run for president now --

AVLON: Yes.

MARTIN: Outweigh a running a losing state-wide campaign. There's no question about it.

AVLON: So -- but put on your historical lens --

MARTIN: Yes.

AVLON: Because one of the things about this kind of a crowded field is that raising money does kill campaigns.

MARTIN: Yes.

AVLON: Around what time, to Alisyn's point --

MARTIN: Right.

AVLON: Might we start seeing candidates and campaigns drop out, the field start to winnow, even before Iowa?

MARTIN: Yes. It's a great question. You know, historically, candidates dropped out because of money. Is that different now because of the capacity to raise money online and because there's less of an urgency about getting on network TV, which, of course, is the biggest money drain for candidates historically. And we just don't know yet because we're entering this new era. And that does concern, John, a lot of Democrats that there is no natural mechanism to winnow the field before Iowa, you know, outside of just sort of your own dignity, if you're not kind of moving anywhere in the polls. So I think all the incentives are for these candidates, in an uncertain race, to stay in for as long as possible to see how this thing unfolds.

And, by the way, there's a precedent for this. It's called the 2016 GOP primary.

AVLON: Yes.

MARTIN: Nobody wanted to drop out and they all kind of wanted to see where this thing was going.

Now, once you have Iowa, that will sort of, I think, thin a lot of folks in this race.

CAMEROTA: You know, speaking of history, there was another, I think, notable moment this weekend. And that was on CBS, Mayor Pete Buttigieg sat down for an interview, a kind of a get to know the candidate interview, with his husband. And, you know, it is -- I think it's just worth noting the sea change that has happened in our culture.

MARTIN: Yes. [08:35:08] CAMEROTA: You know, I remember, Josh, it was probably 17 years ago, I guess, that I was reporting in Vermont on civil unions and they were controversial.

AVLON: Yes.

CAMEROTA: And other states didn't know what Vermont was doing and were watching very closely. And there was a whole take back Vermont fight against civil unions. And now the idea that this is so commonplace that you just sit down with your same-sex spouse and talk to a network TV show, that's remarkable.

AVLON: It's amazing.

GREEN: Yes, it was. I mean these -- these kind of gauzy, soft focus interviews with the candidate and their spouse we all know are -- have been a rite of passage in American politics for decades. And what was so striking about the Buttigieg interview was, it was exactly the same routine, only here they were discussing a same-sex marriage. I think the fact that Buttigieg has generated so much excitement -- I was in rallies with Elizabeth Warren up in New Hampshire this weekend, and Buttigieg's name would come up unprompted among all sorts of people.

MARTIN: Yes.

GREEN: You know, the fact that this kind of tradition can apply to a candidate in a same-sex marriage I think shows how far our culture has come toward embracing and accepting that. It really doesn't seem to be a detriment to Buttigieg's candidate in any way that I can see. And I think in a lot of ways it's an advantage. It's something that sets him apart from other people, makes clear that he's part of this new generation. That's a basis for what his campaign is trying to push.

AVLON: Sure.

GREEN: And by all extent, from attention, to money, to social media following, it's working so far.

AVLON: And -- and --

MARTIN: Yes, I was going to say, guys, real fast --

AVLON: Go ahead.

MARTIN: I was in New Hampshire last week as well and there's no question that among a lot of Democratic primary voters, it is more of an asset.

GREEN: Yes.

MARTIN: Just talking to people after events, they do bring up his name and they do mention the fact that he is gay and that they package that with his youth to sort of cast it as, you know, an exciting, new generation type candidacy.

AVLON: It's the candidate of generational change, and that becomes a signifier without making that big a deal about the fact that he happens to be married to a man. An extraordinary moment.

CAMEROTA: Josh, J. Mart, thank you both very much.

MARTIN: Thanks, guys.

CAMEROTA: We have to tell you about this big night that is ahead on CNN.

AVLON: Yes. There's a big night ahead.

CAMEROTA: There is. Set your alarm clock, John Avlon. I know you're a late -- you go to bed late anyways --

AVLON: I do.

CAMEROTA: So you'll be able to catch some of this. Five Democratic presidential candidates in back-to-back town halls in New Hampshire tonight. It begins at 7:00 p.m. with Senator Amy Klobuchar, followed by Senator Elizabeth Warren, who's announcing that new education plan. Then we have Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Kamala Harris and Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

AVLON: The aforementioned Pete Buttigieg.

CAMEROTA: Correct.

AVLON: All right.

Now we're just learning about one of the 39 foreign nationals killed in the bombing in Sri Lanka. The latest in a live report. That's up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:41:48] CAMEROTA: All right, we have been following breaking news all morning because we've learned the identity now of an American citizen killed in the Sri Lankan bombings. Government officials there say they believe an international terrorist network is likely behind the coordinated Easter Sunday attacks that killed nearly 300 people and hurt more than 500.

And CNN's Ivan Watson is live for us in Colombo, Sri Lanka, with all of the breaking details.

What have you learned, Ivan?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Alisyn.

First, I'm going to get out of the way and let you see the bomb squad -- the Sri Lanken bomb squad here working on a suspicious vehicle. And they've blown up one other car in this immediate vicinity in the last couple of hours. So we can watch that as I bring you the news of the tragic death of an American named Dieter Kowalski. He's from Colorado, works for an education company called Pearson. And he is one of the victims.

And we can see the person laying what looks like a fuse there from the bomb squad.

He is one of one of just a staggering amount of victims from Sunday's terror attacks with a death toll of at least 290 now and more than 500 people wounded. More than -- more than 30 of those killed on Sunday are foreigners because three luxury hotels were targeted, popular with tourists. And then, of course, three churches. And we're standing right next to a catholic church. St. Anthony's Shrine, one of three churches in three separate cities that was targeted during Easter services, the holiest day of the Christian calendar. So it was Christians and foreigners who were clear targets of this coordinated attack.

Now, the Sri Lankan government have published parts of an internal memo where they had information from a foreign intelligence service suggesting that a little-known Islamist organization called National Thowfeek Jamaath, which had previously been blamed for doing little more than defacing a Buddhist statue, that it was planning suicide attacks on catholic churches the Indian High Commission, the embassy here in Colombo. And the government has apologized for not taking steps in response to that warning to better protect places like St. Anthony's Shrine, where so many innocent civilians died on Sunday.

Anthony and John.

AVLON: Thanks for that reporting, Ivan. Our condolences go out to his family.

Now, a south Florida deputy is now on restricted duty and ordered to surrender his gun and badge after a viral video showing deputies pepper spraying a teen before his face is slammed into the ground and he's punched in the head. Broward County sheriff is promising a thorough investigation.

CNN's Nick Valencia live in Ft. Lauderdale with more.

Nick.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

It's being called a case of police brutality and it was all caught on cell phone video. In an incident from last Thursday, you can see a Broward County sheriff's deputy pepper spray a local high school student in the face. And as that student appears to walk away with his hands to his face, moving away from the deputy, the deputy follows him, slamming him to the ground. A second deputy is seen jumping on that student's back, slamming his face further more into the pavement, and then punching him in the head.

[08:45:07] We want to warn you, some may find this video disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh!

(INAUDIBLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: Two teens were arrested and charged that you see in this video, and deputies are defending their actions, saying that they were in the area doing a proactive patrol because of recent fights in the area. In fact, that there -- there had been a fight just the day before. And this incident recorded on Thursday, they say they felt outnumbered, estimating about 200 students surrounding them. And they say the teen left bloodied in that cell phone video took an aggressive stance.

Now, the sheriff in this county, in Broward County, is taking this very seriously. And over the weekend he met with community leaders saying that he's committed to accountability.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF GREGORY TONY, BROWARD COUNTY: Accountability will be held, not just for sake of when we are right, but in the cases where we may be wrong. And so over the next few days, this may take some time for us to look thoroughly into, but understand that we will be transparent and if folks need to be held accountable, it shall be done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: Activists and others are calling for the officers to be fired. Even high-profile athletes like LeBron James are weighing in.

Meanwhile, Alisyn, the mayor here in Broward County is calling the incident unacceptable. He, too, is calling for the officers to be fired.

CAMEROTA: Nick Valencia, that video is appalling. Obviously we'll see what the investigation reveals.

Thank you very much.

All right, so, in just moments, President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will host the 141st Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House.

CNN's Kate Bennett is there with a preview.

This is always a great event, Kate. What are they planning?

KATE BENNETT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is a fun event. You know, this weekend, the president tweeted he's never been happier. He also tweeted against the Mueller investigation. We don't know what kind of mood he's going to be in when he gets out here with the first lady. But certainly the first lady's been planning the Easter Egg Roll for several months her staff told me ahead of time. And this -- about 30,000 or so people are expected here today. The South Lawn feels pretty full. There's a lot of activities. There's the, you know, the Easter egg roll with the wooden spoons. That's going on now. Actually a -- White House producer Betsy Klein (ph) tells me there's

74,000 eggs here today between the dyed eggs and the eggs on the stick. These are two of the commemorative eggs for this year's Easter egg hunt, the treasured props that people get when they leave here today. So it's pretty special.

And there's some things this year that are different. There are a couple of Be Best elements, a reading nook that has a place where the first lady will tell a story. There's also a spot where people can mail nice letters, Be Best themed kind letters and notes and postcards to loved once. So we'll see the president and first lady here pretty soon. But the sun's coming out. A nice day for the 141st Easter Egg Roll.

Back to you, John.

AVLON: A message of kindness on the White House lawn. We'll take it, 74,000 eggs and all.

Thanks, Kate.

All right, next, a shocking attack at a zoo and what led a tiger tackling his handler as guests looked on, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:52:23] CAMEROTA: A zookeeper in Topeka, Kansas, is recovering after a tiger she took care of for years attacked her. The zookeeper suffered multiple lacerations and puncture wounds.

Joining us now is the director of the Topeka Zoo and Conservation Center, Brendan Wiley.

Brendan, thank you very much for being here.

First, just tell us, I know that she was in intensive care. How is your zookeeper doing?

BRENDAN WILEY, DIRECTOR, TOPEKA ZOO AND CONSERVATION CENTER: Well, you know, Alisyn, we're blessed to be able to say that she has actually been moved out of intensive care late yesterday afternoon. She's still recovering at a hospital. We're not sure how long she'll actually be there, but we can't say enough thanks for everyone that has sent their thoughts and prayers.

CAMEROTA: So what happened on Saturday morning?

WILEY: Well, you know, we're still putting some of the pieces together. The short of it is she was in the same space with a Sumatran tiger. That should not have happened. The tiger simply did what a tiger would do and took her to the ground. Very quickly someone at the zoo saw that, was able to get that information to another staff member who triggered our emergency protocol, and within ten minutes three additional zookeepers had that tiger secured in an indoor area which allowed medical personnel to get to our keeper. CAMEROTA: But, I mean, when you say that she was in the same space as

the Sumatran tiger and that shouldn't have happened, hasn't she worked with this tiger for two and a half years? Why -- wouldn't they have shared the same space before? What is different about Saturday?

WILEY: You know, all the work that we do with the tigers at our zoo is done in what we call a protected contact situation, where there's always a barrier between the tiger and our zookeepers. We have a system, if you will, for tiger management, and that system's built on different processes. And somehow Saturday morning one of those processes failed.

We're doing an internal investigation. We're going to identify which process kind of let our system down. We're not at a point where we're pointing out blame on a person --

CAMEROTA: Yes.

WILEY: But we know we need to correct a process so that this never happens again.

CAMEROTA: Yes. And I don't mean to cast blame on anybody, I just want to understand it, because we're looking at pictures of the tiger and we're looking at the tiger's habitat. And so are you saying that somehow the zookeeper was in there with the tiger which had never happened before?

[08:55:02] WILEY: That is correct. That tiger should have been secured in an off exhibit holding area before the staff person was in there.

CAMEROTA: So how did the zookeeper get away?

WILEY: You know, that's the really miraculous part of this story. We have a number of different staff to work with our animals that build this trust relationship. And when other zookeepers, as part of the emergency response, arrived on the scene, they were able to, first of all, just stay calm, defuse the situation. They were able to simply show that tiger his daily meat and encouraged him into an off-exhibit holding area that -- where, you know, all this positive reinforcement training occurs. And, miraculously, got him in there in a quick time which allowed emergency personnel to start attending our injured staff person.

CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh, that is remarkable. And we're so grateful for the outcome.

Brendan Wiley, director of the Topeka Zoo and Conservation Center, thank you very much. Obviously we'll be following this to figure out what changes are made after this. Thanks for sharing it with us.

WILEY: Thank you, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: All right, CNN's breaking news coverage of the bombings in Sri Lanka picks up after this very short break.

We'll see you tomorrow. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END