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Thirteen-Year-Old Causes Crash that Kills Nine People; Tornado Watch Issued in U.S.; Gas Prices Impacting Farmers; Headlines from Around the World; Schwarzenegger Makes Plea to Russians. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired March 18, 2022 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:30:00]
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Was behind the wheel of the truck that crashed into the van carrying the University of the Southwest men's and women's golf teams.
CNN's Pete Muntean has the story.
Pete.
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: John, these incredible findings from the NTSB come not even 72 hours after that head-on crash. That University of the Southwest van was hit by a pickup truck that swerved into oncoming traffic. And investigators now say the driver of that pickup was a 13-year-old boy because they found his body behind the wheel.
The NTSB says his passenger was 38-year-old Henrik Siemens. Both were killed Tuesday night. Note that in Texas you must be 15 years old to hold a learner's permit.
Seven people died in the university van. They were members of the men's and women's golf teams, along with their coach. They had just left a tournament in Midland, Texas, and were headed back to campus in New Mexico.
Investigators say some of those in the van were not wearing seat belts. The NTSB sent 10 investigators to the crash site. They found most of the wreckage heavily burned. But they now believe the left front tire of that pickup truck failed. They think that is what caused it to dart across the center line and into the path of the van. NTSB vice chair Bruce Landsberg said the total of nine people killed in this crash are some of the dozens killed on our roads each day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRUCE LANDSBERG, VICE CHAIRMAN, NTSB: On the highways, 100 people a day. Every two days we are killing the equivalent of a Boeing 737 crashing. Now, just think about that. That's what's putting this into perspective. And it's long overdue that we start to do something about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MUNTEAN: The University of the Southwest is a private Christian university. Total enrollment, 1,200 students. Administrators say every one of them is now grieving. Two students survived the crash. And administrators say both are still hospitalized. A university provost says their recovery has been steady, but, John, it will be very slow.
BERMAN: Oh, what a tragedy.
Pete, thank you so much.
The breaking news this morning in Ukraine, the western city of Lviv, just miles from the Polish border, hit by Russian missiles. We are live near the scene, coming up.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Wheat prices are at a nearly 15-year-high and great for farmers, but higher gas prices cutting into profits and their bottom lines. How some farmers are dealing with bills as high as $4,000 to fill up, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:36:43]
BERMAN: A tornado watch has been issued for parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama this morning.
Let's get right to meteorologist Chad Myers for the details.
Chad.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: John, could be a violent day today across the deep south. Certainly, the potential for tornados. Farther to the north, on up into Kentucky and Tennessee, the Ohio River, could see very large hail.
Now, the potential for tornadoes is down here to the south. And we already have a few severe thunderstorm warnings going on. But the hail up to the north and the severe weather down here with the potential for tornadoes of EF-2 or greater, 10 percent depending on where you are in this area. There is a chance that you could hear, see or even feel a tornado warning today.
There is going to be a lot of wind with this. Your house may be shaking a little bit. Time to get the pets, the cars, the people, your family, anything you want to be inside, be protected, it needs to be inside today, all the way from Cincinnati all the way down to the Gulf Coast.
And then, by noon, this thing runs toward Atlanta, Georgia. And then, later on tonight, offshore.
This is going to cover a lot of ground. We're going to get more than one of these tornado warnings, tornado watches, severe thunderstorm watches or warnings as we make our way all the way through the afternoon hours. And there's even a potential for some severe weather tomorrow.
All because of this. Look at D.C., 78. That's the warm side. And then the cold front comes in and you cool down. Warm and cold don't mix, just like oil and vinegar.
BERMAN: All right, Chad. I know you're watching it very closely. Thanks so much.
MYERS: Thank you.
KEILAR: Rising prices for gas, oil and crops all hitting America's heartland farmers right where they live. And Russia's invasion of Ukraine certainly hasn't helped.
CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich live for us in East Morristown, Indiana, this morning with this story.
Vanessa.
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Brianna.
Well, the American Farm Bureau out with new numbers projecting that farmers can expect to spend 6 percent more this year just to plant their crops. That's on top of a 12 percent increase that they were seeing last year.
Now, farmers are always hopeful for a strong crop, but rising gas prices, energy costs and this war in Ukraine is throwing any profitability they were hoping for into flux.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
YURKEVICH (voice over): Every day, up to twice a day, like clockwork, Josh Everhart makes this trip hauling corn and soy to the grain elevator in town. But the constant hauling of crops for his four trucks and record gas prices makes even the shortest journey feel like a slow burn.
JOSH EVERHART, EVERHART FARMS: You don't want to see the bill.
YURKEVICH (on camera): You don't'? What does it look like?
J. EVERHART: When you look at it, you're like, oh, no.
YURKEVICH: What is it looking like?
J. EVERHART: Well, I mean, 1,000 tank is $4,000.
YURKEVICH (voice over): Gas prices hit a record last week, but are dropping slightly, yet still above $4 a gallon nationally and here in Indiana. Even steeper, diesel, which fills these tanks, at nearly $5 a gallon.
CHRIS EVERHART, EVERHART FARMS: It's astronomical, but -- but, you know, it's part of doing business. YURKEVICH: Chris Everhart, Josh's father, says inflation has pushed
prices up on just about everything on their farm. But commodity prices have risen too. This month, wheat rose to its highest price since 2008.
C. EVERHART: I've never seen anything like this in the wheat market.
[06:40:01]
YURKEVICH (on camera): For only the second time in 25 years, the Everhart family planted winter wheat, 165 acres of it, to try to capitalize on rising wheat prices. But, it's a risky bet.
C. EVERHART: Well, they're a lot higher than they -- than we ever anticipated them being. But so are inputs.
YURKEVICH (voice over): That's fuel, seed, fertilizer and labor. And Russia's invasion into Ukraine is only pushing prices higher.
PHIL RAMSEY, RAMSEY FARMS: This is uncharted territory.
YURKEVICH: On Phil Ramsey's farm in Shelbyville, he says he's spending $500,000 more to plant his crops this year. The only thing softening that blow, the higher price he'll hopefully get for his wheat, soy and corn.
YURKEVICH (on camera): How much does what is happening in Ukraine impact you here on the farm?
RAMSEY: I'm happy that the prices are going up. I am not happy about the situation because even though they're a competitor of ours, it's kind of like playing sports, you don't want to see somebody on the other team get hurt.
YURKEVICH (voice over): And fertilizer has become their biggest expense because it's made from natural gas, which has also risen significantly. A key supplier, Russia, has stopped exporting it.
YURKEVICH (on camera): How much more does it take to fill up those bins behind me this year compared to last year?
RAMSEY: Today's cost is $60,000 more per tank. I have four tanks. That's $240,000.
YURKEVICH (voice over): And those prices are much slower to come down, compared to the volatile price of crops.
C. EVERHART: And we just lose money when that happened. It's only happened a few times in my farming career. But this one's totally different than any that I've been through in 43 years.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
YURKEVICH: Now, farmers are typically very optimistic people. They have to be. But they say this year it feels a little different with these economic challenges. They say they're stressed this year, particularly because of all of the economic uncertainty, more stress this year than at the height of the trade war with China. And, Brianna, the Everhart family, whose farm we are on right now, along with other farmers across the country, will be seeing in a few months when they harvest whether all of these extra costs that they're putting into their crops end up paying off.
Brianna.
KEILAR: Yes, look, best of luck to them with their winter wheat. That's telling you something, as you said, that they're planting it this season.
Thank you so much, Vanessa, for that report.
And new this morning, 320,000 Ukrainian citizens have returned home to fight since the Russian invasion began. In the meantime, thousands of Russian troops have been killed in Ukraine. What we're hearing about morale on both sides of the fight.
BERMAN: Plus, Arnold Schwarzenegger, his direct plea to the Russian people and Russian soldiers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:47:10]
BERMAN: So, a new example of the Ukrainian mayor kidnapped by Russian forces. It happened right here in the eastern part of the country.
CNN has reporters covering all the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: I'm Salama Abdelaziz in Lviv.
The mayor of a village just outside Kharkiv was abducted by Russian forces, that's according to Ukrainian officials, who say Viktor Tereshchenko was taken from his workplace into police custody simply for doing his job.
It comes one day after another Ukrainian mayor, the mayor of Melitopol, was released in a prisoner swap.
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Sam Kiley in Kyiv, where the local administration is delighted by recent information that some 320,000 people, mostly men, have returned to Ukraine. That's in the context of nearly 3 million people who fled this Russian invasion to neighboring countries as a consequences and are now living as refugees. But there has been a steady flow of volunteers coming back to try to join the fight alongside foreign volunteers and, of course, the resisting Ukrainian armed forces.
Coming at a time, this new statistic, that British intelligence is saying that the Russian advance is stalling and suffering very severe logistical challenges as a result of continued Ukrainian attacks.
NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: I'm Nada Bashir in London.
And in Moscow, Russian authorities have extended the detention of American basketball star Brittany Griner for at least a further two months according to Russian state media. Russian authorities say the two-time Olympic gold medalist was arrested in February at a Moscow airport on allegations of drug smuggling. The U.S. State Department has said it is closely engaged in this case and is in frequent contact with Griner's legal team. They say they have repeated requested councilor access and are pressing for fair and transparent treatment.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: All right, new attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine.
Plus --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, FORMER CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR: Your lives, your limbs (ph), your futures are being sacrificed for a senseless war condemned by the entire world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: A deeply emotional statement from Arnold Schwarzenegger, directed right to the Russian people and Russian soldiers.
Stay with us. Our special coverage continues right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:53:43]
KEILAR: In a somber video message, former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger calling on Russians to recognize propaganda and to speak out against the war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, FORMER CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR: You see, Ukraine did not start this war. Neither did nationalists or Nazis. Those in power in the Kremlin started this war. This is not the Russian people's war.
You're also not being told the truth about the consequences of this war on Russia itself. I regret to tell you that thousands of Russian soldiers that have been killed. They have been caught between the Ukrainians fighting for their homeland and the Russian leadership fighting for conquest. Your lives, your limbs (ph), your futures have been sacrificed for a senseless war condemned by the entire world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Let's talk about this now with the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, William Taylor, and CNN national security analyst Beth Sanner. Some really interesting things that he says in this, including that
his father was part of the Nazi army, that he went to war pumped up basically on propaganda, which he says is what the Russians are doing, and he also pays tribute to his childhood hero who was a Russian body builder, I believe, right?
[06:55:02]
Tell us why this matters, and whether you think that a lot of Russians are going to see it.
WILLIAM TAYLOR, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: Well, Brianna, I think it does matter. I think Schwarzenegger appeals to the same kind of Russian that President Putin appeals to. And he will -- Schwarzenegger will have credibility with Russians, for the reasons that you said about his father was a Nazi. He -- when he talks about Ukrainians, not having done anything to deserve this war, to merit this war, to provoke this war. The war is unprovoked, as Schwarzenegger says, that's the message that really needs to get through to the Russian people. And I think he can get through to them.
KEILAR: Yes, there's so many millions of views. You would expect that some of them are Russian.
BETH SANNER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Yes, I mean, one of the things I think is really a juxtaposition with what Putin said on Wednesday during his speech. So, Schwarzenegger says, you know, these are my heroes. These are the patriots, the people who stand up against this war. And Putin says the opposite. He says, anybody who doesn't stand up on this war aren't patriots. They are the scum and the traitors. And we know who they are. And we're going to go through self-cleansing to get rid of them.
KEILAR: How do you think this does get through, just sort of logistically? How would Russians be able to view this?
SANNER: Well, they can view it on Telegram. So that is still -- it's the only really major social media outlet that's open. I haven't heard that it's been pulled town from there. So, they can see that.
And, of course, people in the Kremlin and some parts of the government are still up on Twitter. So, they are seeing it on both accounts, both the government and the people can see this.
KEILAR: It's really interesting. So, we're looking towards a meeting here -- or not a meeting, a call between President Biden and Xi Jinping of China. And I wonder how you think, Ambassador, that call is going to go or should go.
TAYLOR: So, I imagine, Brianna, that this will be a tough call. I imagine that President Biden will make it very clear, all the arguments that we've just been talking about, how this is an unprovoked war, this is an unjust war, and that the Russians are totally isolated in the world and that China has a stake here in a resolution of this war. So -- and Xi, President Xi, may be able to get through to President Putin. President Xi is clearly the senior partner of that relationship and -- to Putin and President Biden will encourage that, I imagine, that kind of pressure of thought, information that President Xi can give to President Putin that others can't.
KEILAR: China really has some considerations to weigh here, right? What's the calculus?
TAYLOR: So, if they are seen -- if the United States sees China as aiding the Russians in this unjust war, they can impose sanctions, either primary or secondary sanctions. And President Xi knows that. He has a lot at stake in that relationship -- economic relationship. Beth and I were just talking that the -- that the Chinese are the single largest investor in Ukraine. So, he's got a lot at stake here.
KEILAR: What do you think?
SANNER: Well, he has also 10 times the amount of trade with the U.S. and Europe that he does with Russia. And he has latched his relationship here not on only on a falling power but now on a rapidly falling power. So he knows that.
But -- but China also has bigger goals here, too, strategic goals. And that is challenging the western-led order, challenging the U.S.-led order. And Russia was his main partner in crime in this endeavor.
And so we are -- you know, he has something to lose by -- he -- we're not going to see China flip on a dime. We should not expect that.
KEILAR: Sure.
SANNER: But we are seeing very subtle changes happening.
I was just telling Bill that the censors in China have now said, no pro-Russia anti-Ukrainian messages, no pro-Ukrainian anti-Russian messages, but do not downplay the China/Russia relationship. So they're not going to do that either.
KEILAR: It's -- that is quite the needle to thread. And, look, I think the question, too, is, does Xi, even as he tries to challenge the U.S.-led western order, is this the vehicle, this war that Russia has created that he wants to do it on? Because to Beth's point, we're seeing him distance himself from Russia a little bit here recently.
TAYLOR: Which is a good sign. He did not support -- Xi did not support Russia in the security council or in the general assembly. They abstained. They did not indicate that they were in support of Russia there. So, I think there is this thread, this needle to thread so that you don't have to -- you don't have to indicate a support.
KEILAR: All right, we'll be watching this call. I know you will be very closely. Perhaps no major pivot. But even little movements, right, are going to mean a lot as we watch this.
Beth, Ambassador, thank you so much to both of you.
NEW DAY continues right now. [07:00:00]
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
KEILAR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. It is Friday, March 18th.
