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Kavanaugh Accuser Lays Out Terms To Testify; Woman Shoots Six At Rite Aid Facility In Maryland; Florence's Impact Still Being Felt In The Carolinas; Cleveland Browns Win! Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired September 21, 2018 - 05:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:31:18] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Why didn't somebody call the FBI 36 years ago? I don't think you can delay it any longer. They've delayed it a week already.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The president wants to get moving on a vote for Brett Kavanaugh. His accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, says she will testify. What kind of terms she needs to see to make that happen.

DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: The president dismissed Intel concerns about releasing classified documents, but he's reconsidering his latest order after foreign allies voice concern.

ROMANS: A Florida student with a pilot's license boards an empty passenger jet. How did he get past security and what was his intent?

BRIGGS: And the sweet embrace of victory, 635 days in the making. Top draft pick Baker Mayfield gave Cleveland fans something to celebrate.

And, Christine, because it's 2018, you've got to put it in Trump terms. For the first time since Trump took office --

ROMANS: Wow.

BRIGGS: -- the Cleveland Browns are in the victory column.

ROMANS: Free beer.

BRIGGS: Good morning. Free beer for Cleveland.

Good morning, everybody. I'm Dave Briggs.

ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. Nice to see you all this morning. Thirty-two minutes past the hour.

Christine Blasey Ford is ready to speak and has some terms here. Lawyers for the woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault when they were teens -- those lawyers tell the Senate Judiciary Committee their client is prepared to testify next week. They want the committee to offer quote "terms that are fair and which ensure her safety."

BRIGGS: Sources tell us Ford's lawyers and the committee staff held an hour-long conference call.

The date of the hearing remains the biggest holdup. Ford's attorneys ruled out Monday, the original date, and suggested Thursday instead.

They also made clear that at no time during the hearing could Ford be in the same room as Kavanaugh.

ROMANS: They made two other requests -- that Kavanaugh testify first and they want the committee to subpoena alleged witnesses, including Mark Judge, who Blasey Ford says was in the room during the alleged assault.

A Senate staffer called these two ideas non-starters for Republicans on the panel.

A spokesman for Sen. Chuck Grassley says the Judiciary chairman remains committed to providing a fair forum for both Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh.

BRIGGS: After days of restraint, President Trump's patience may be wearing thin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Why didn't somebody call the FBI 36 years ago? I mean, you could also say when did this all happen, what's going on?

To take a man like this and besmirch -- now with that being said, let her have her say and let's see how it all works out.

But I don't think you can delay it any longer. They've delayed it a week already.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Sunday, Professor Ford told "The Washington Post" she didn't report it 36 years ago to her parents out of fear she could be in trouble for being at a party with alcohol.

Kavanaugh has strongly denied the assault accusations. The White House released a letter from Kavanaugh last night in which he said he would be at the planned hearing.

ROMANS: All right. Let's bring in political economist Greg Valliere, chief strategist at Horizon Investments. Good morning.

Clearly, the White House would like to be talking about the stock market and the economy --

GREG VALLIERE, POLITICAL ECONOMIST, CHIEF GLOBAL STRATEGIST, HORIZON INVESTMENTS: Yes.

ROMANS: -- and all these other things, but the Kavanaugh Supreme Court nomination, which looked like it was a lock a couple of weeks ago, now really in jeopardy here.

What -- how does this play out? How does this play out for the president and for midterms, more importantly?

VALLIERE: Well, first of all, I think the Republicans have the votes. That's the most important point. It's going to be very close.

You'd have to say, though, this could be let's say a Pyrrhic victory for them because even if they do win the confirmation, I think a lot of female voters who are the key constituents in the upcoming elections are going to be turned off.

I think it's one of many reasons why the House is likely to flip back to the Democrats.

BRIGGS: But the optics here will be interesting.

VALLIERE: Yes.

BRIGGS: Here are the terms that Christine Blasey Ford's attorney has laid out for any hearing -- they hope which is on Thursday.

[05:35:05] Safety -- she, again, has had death threats, as has the judge.

Questioned by senators; not a lawyer.

Cannot be in the same room as Kavanaugh -- we mentioned that.

That Kavanaugh must testify first and then she gets to finish.

Are these terms reasonable? And how do you expect that Republicans will handle them, including the request that Mark Judge, the other man she says was in the room that night, testify?

How do you expect them to handle this and how politically dangerous could this be for them?

VALLIERE: I think Grassley realizes that and I think he's going to bend over backwards to accommodate the request -- the demands from her and her attorneys. So I think they'll try to show that -- some impartiality.

But again, I think it's sort of a lose-lose for the Republicans. They're probably going to get the confirmation but I think politically, it does not help them.

ROMANS: The president is showing some restraint on this subject.

BRIGGS: Sure.

ROMANS: And then last night at that rally with the crowd cheering behind him.

He said why wasn't this reported to the FBI 36 years ago? So it seemed like -- I don't know, he's changed -- there could be some risks for him there. Somebody around him has gotten to him and told him to be restrained on this, until last night.

VALLIERE: Yes. And I think you've got to say, to be fair, the timing of all of this is really fishy. You know, Dianne Feinstein sitting on it -- you know, 36 years ago. I mean, the timing at the very last minute to bring this out I think does raise some issues.

BRIGGS: OK, let's talk about the economy.

VALLIERE: Yes.

BRIGGS: And we were led to believe that this trade war between the United States and China could be devastating for our economy. Not so much.

The S&P 500 and the Dow both at --

VALLIERE: Right.

BRIGGS: -- record highs.

What's happening here, Greg?

VALLIERE: You know, it's really funny, Dave. You get China retaliating, the market goes up. You get the Kavanaugh story, the market goes up.

Every time you get a development that you think could hurt the markets, the markets go up. It's an extraordinary story.

You know, in my world, in the financial markets there's -- we're close to euphoria right now because --

ROMANS: Yes.

VALLIERE: -- GDP, in the quarter that's going to end in about a week or so -- GDP could be another four percent number.

ROMANS: Yes.

VALLIERE: The labor market's strong, corporate profits are strong.

The only wildcard here guys that I would just point out. Next Wednesday, the Fed will raise rates. They're going to raise rates again in December. We are now on a path for consistent rate increases --

ROMANS: Yes.

VALLIERE: -- to cool off an economy that could be getting too hot.

BRIGGS: Yes. ROMANS: The president talking about jobs. Yesterday we saw that jobless claims -- applications for jobless claims saw the lowest --

VALLIERE: Yes.

ROMANS: -- in 49 years or something.

And the president released this Twitter sort of message about the economy where he talked about jobs -- listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're creating jobs like never before so it's very important that China open its markets to our farmers and everybody else because right now they're closed, largely. And yet, our markets are open to them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: What I hear about that trade war is that the president and people around him believe this is exactly the right time to be doing this because any kind of downside in the American economy will be absorbed by how strong the economy is.

You heard him say we're creating jobs like never before and we ran these numbers. I want to show you jobs. Under this president, yes, 3.7 -- almost four million jobs so far.

But look, I think 2018 is going to be a great year for job creation. But look at last year. We have created jobs like this, Greg, right?

VALLIERE: Yes, yes.

ROMANS: We've had -- we've had 10 years of great job creation.

Does the president really get all the credit for right now?

VALLIERE: Well, there's always hyperbole in whatever he says. But you have to give some credit for -- to Ben Bernanke, to Janet Yellen --

ROMANS: Yes.

VALLIERE: -- or the business cycle is moving, as it always does.

But if you're going to take a trade war this is not a bad time to do it. And will it add a tenth or two to inflation, maybe? Will it detract a tenth or two from economic growth, maybe? But what a great time if you're going to take a trade war.

Again, the only wildcard is we are -- we'll be talking in the next few weeks, I'm sure, about interest rates going up, about the whiff of inflation --

ROMANS: Right.

VALLIERE: -- starting to come back into the economy.

ROMANS: Greg makes a point that there are Democrats and Republicans -- suburban Republicans and rural Democrats who agree with Trump on trade on this, right? They agree that Trump should be tough on trade.

VALLIERE: There's a pervasive feeling that the Chinese don't play fair. That they steal our stuff, that they don't open their markets.

I think Canada's different. I was in Toronto yesterday. I think picking on Canada is slightly different.

But, China has a villain and has a lot of support in both parties.

BRIGGS: All right. Greg Valliere, good to see you, my friend.

VALLIERE: OK.

BRIGGS: Have a great weekend.

VALLIERE: You bet.

ROMANS: All right, 39 minutes past the hour.

It now appears President Trump may not release those documents related to the Russia investigation at the urging of several close allies. It's a stark reversal just days after his unprecedented directive for the immediate declassification of some documents, including the application for surveillance on former Trump adviser Carter Page.

Here's what the president is saying now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're moving along, we're working along. We're also dealing with foreign countries that do have a problem.

[05:40:00] I must tell you, I got called today from two very good allies saying please, can we talk?

So it's not as simple as all that and we do have to respect their wishes, but it'll all come out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: The White House did not immediately say which allies the president had spoken with.

Trump supporters claim, without proof, that the FBI wrongfully obtained its warrant for Carter Page and is hiding information that could discredit the Mueller probe.

The decision to publicly release the records prompted an outcry the president was potentially jeopardizing critical intelligence sources.

Some breaking news. Just moments ago, police say three infants and two adults stabbed by a

female employee at a home daycare in Queens, New York. The suspect then turned the knife on herself.

A female infant in serious condition. Another girl and boy and both adults all in stable condition. The suspect slit her own wrist and was also transported to the hospital.

Police say the daycare was in a home. They are unsure if it was licensed.

More details as they come in, ahead on "NEW DAY."

ROMANS: All right.

A 22-year-old student pilot faces criminal charges for allegedly hopping a security fence at Orlando Melbourne International Airport and boarding a passenger jet. The suspect, Nishal Sankat, is a student at Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne.

A maintenance supervisor and a technician who were on the plane -- they caught him, they held him down, they removed him.

Sankat will be charged with trespass on airport property, burglary, and attempted theft of an aircraft. Investigators do not know his motive. He was not armed.

The FBI responded, remember, to a similar incident last month when a ground service agent stole a turboprop passenger plane at Seattle's Tacoma International Airport and crashed it into an island.

ROMANS: All right. Three deadly shootings in just 24 hours. The latest -- police are asking why a woman opened fire at a Rite Aid distribution center.

BRIGGS: And a week after Florence slammed the Carolinas, pollution is flooding into the Atlantic, and rising waters still pose a danger for some communities.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:46:12] BRIGGS: Police are searching for a motive this morning after a woman killed three people and wounded three more before fatally shooting herself at a Rite Aid distribution center in Maryland.

The ATF and Baltimore FBI are assisting in the investigation.

This just a day after two other shootings -- one at an office complex in Wisconsin; another at a municipal center in Pennsylvania that left a total of seven dead.

CNN's Brian Todd with the latest from Maryland.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Dave, the sheriff of Harford County says this shooting began outside the building and then moved inside. Sheriff Jeff Gahler says a total of six people were shot, three of them were killed, three remain hospitalized. The 26- year-old female suspect is also dead.

According to law enforcement, they've really not ascribed a motive yet for this attack. But law enforcement sources tell CNN that the suspect was a 26-year-old temporary employee of this facility and that she was a disgruntled employee.

Our sources are telling us that after she opened fire inside this facility, the suspect shot herself in the head once. But that didn't work and she shot herself in the head a second time.

According to a Rite Aid official, this was a massive facility in Aberdeen, Maryland -- a Rite Aid distribution center where about 1,000 people work.

According to law enforcement, law enforcement officers arrived within about five minutes of when this shooting started, but law enforcement officials' tactical teams did not have to use their weapons -- Christine and Dave.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right, Brian Todd. Thank you for that, Brian.

A full week after Florence hit the Carolinas, the storm's impact is still being felt.

Take a look at these satellite images -- polluted floodwater carrying sediment and debris from the Carolinas into the ocean. You can see the water changing from light blue to dark blue as the material is dumped into the Atlantic.

BRIGGS: The death toll from the storm now up to 41 across the Carolinas and Virginia. Thirty-one of those deaths in North Carolina.

The state's governor, Roy Cooper, says nearly 74,000 people still don't have power.

While rivers in North Carolina have crested and are falling, several in South Carolina are still rising.

That's where we find Nick Valencia in Conway, South Carolina.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Dave and Christine, this has been described by residents here as a slow-motion disaster. As hard as some of the residents here have been hit by Hurricane Florence with flash flooding, city officials warn it is only going to get worse. And it's not a matter of it, but when.

This river behind me, the Waccamaw River, overflows. It was already about four feet past the flood level with the expectation it's going to go perhaps up to 21, maybe even 22 feet and crest on Monday or Tuesday.

In fact, city officials here were going door-to-door. Over 900 homes were knocked on to try to warn residents to evacuate now while they can.

Some of these areas I mentioned were overcome and inundated by flash flooding from Hurricane Florence and that flash flooding receded long enough for residents to go inside to some of their homes and collect their belongings. Because as I mentioned, city officials say that more flooding is on the way -- Dave Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right, thank you for that.

Now let's get a check on "CNN Money" this Friday morning.

What trade war? Global stocks higher today after Wall Street closed at records. Both the S&P 500 and the Dow hit record highs. The Dow up more than 250 points for its first record since late January.

Wall Street unfazed by the escalating trade war between the U.S. and China. Investors still expect a compromise and the U.S. economy is strong. In fact, claims for unemployment benefits just fell to the lowest level in 49 years.

And folks, companies are making a ton of money with their lower tax rates and that is what drives stock prices -- how much money companies are making.

Freezing your credit is the best way to protect against identity theft and starting today you can do it for free.

Last year, Equifax had that breach, remember, that exposed the data of 148 million Americans.

[05:50:00] Congress now requires agencies freeze reports for no charge. Previously, you had to pay between two and 10 bucks.

A freeze restricts new lenders from accessing your credit report. That stops identity thieves from using your info to open credit cards or take out loans.

Alexa, please pop my popcorn. Thanks to Amazon, you can now talk to your microwave. Amazon just introduced an Alexa-enabled microwave that responds to commands -- figures out how long to cook your dinner.

And it's not just microwaves. Amazon also expanding the reach of its voice assistant to many home products, including coffeemakers, room fans, wall clocks -- even your car.

But can it take care of your kids? No.

BRIGGS: Sign me up for that. Could we push one button for popcorn or potato or whatever?

ROMANS: Dave is skeptical.

BRIGGS: I'm just not that lazy.

All right. Ahead, it's been 635 days since the Browns won a football game. Fortnite was not yet a thing. Your kids not might believe it -- before they won a football game.

ROMANS: And, Trump wasn't president.

BRIGGS: Trump was not in office.

ROMANS: Fortnite wasn't a game.

BRIGGS: We'll have the latest for you from Cleveland, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:55:30] ROMANS: Police charging a man with murder in the stabbing death of a Washington, D.C. woman -- a woman who was jogging Tuesday evening. Based on surveillance footage -- surveillance footage, authorities say 23-year-old Anthony Crawford stabbed 35-year-old Wendy Martinez.

Police tracked down Crawford in a park after what police say was an unprovoked attack.

Wendy Martinez was recently engaged.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTINA MOORE, FRIEND OF WENDY MARTINEZ: Wendy should have been shopping for her wedding dress on Friday. There's a hole in our hearts that will never be replaced.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: There's no word whether Crawford has an attorney yet.

BRIGGS: At least 57 Detroit public schools have tested positive for high levels of copper, lead or both in their drinking water. Test results for 17 more schools are pending.

Last month, the district had to turn off the drinking water in all school buildings because of elevated lead and copper levels. The city's water department blames aging plumbing systems.

Lead consumption can be harmful to children, causing impaired cognition, behavioral disorders or hearing problems.

ROMANS: More than 66 tons of ground beef being recalled after a deadly E. coli outbreak. Eighteen people were sickened and one of them died.

The company, Cargill Meat Solutions, says the beef was distributed nationwide. Officials say the recalled meat was produced June 21st and there is concern some of it may still be in consumers' freezers.

The beef was produced under a number of brand names, so for a complete list please see our story a cnn.com.

BRIGGS: Rap mogul Suge Knight facing decades in prison after pleading no contest to voluntary manslaughter. Knight was accused of a deadly hit-and-run in January 2015. He allegedly ran over two men after a confrontation on the set of "Straight Outta Compton."

Knight is scheduled to be sentenced October fourth. Prosecutors are calling for a 28-year sentence. The defense had argued Knight was defending himself because one of the men had a gun.

ROMANS: Disney CEO Bob Iger says fans can expect a slowdown in the "Star Wars" franchise films. The company is still stung by how the "Solo" spinoff underperformed at the box office in the spring, released just a few months after "The Last Jedi."

Iger tells "The Hollywood Reporter" it may have been a little too much too fast and led to "Star Wars" fatigue. He says they'll be more careful about volume and timing.

"Star Wars: Episode IX" is due for release December 2019.

BRIGGS: The last time the Cleveland Browns won a football game Fortnite was not yet a thing and Donald Trump had not yet taken office. It was December 24th, 2016.

ROMANS: Wow.

BRIGGS: But now, Cleveland's in the win column and top draft pick Baker Mayfield is the man they can thank, energizing this offense late in the first half -- even catching that 2-point conversion.

The Browns outscoring the Jets 18 to three in the second half. So after a tie and a tough loss, Browns fans can finally celebrate after a 21-17 victory.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BAKER MAYFIELD, QUARTERBACK, CLEVELAND BROWNS: The best part about it was that we were here at home. You know, you got to feel the energy of the crowd -- how badly they wanted it as well. We've got to play for each other, but at the same time, the city does deserve it.

It's definitely up there for me. I've got some great memories but, you know, I'm just getting started.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: A bright future for Baker.

Following through on their free beer promise, Bud Light unlocked fridges at 10 bars around Cleveland. My assumption is they did not last long.

It looked, Romans, like almost a Super Bowl-like win across the city -- one win.

ROMANS: One win.

BRIGGS: But, one win --

ROMANS: Good for them. You called it.

BRIGGS: The first since Christmas Eve 2016. I did -- I did call it.

ROMANS: You called it. You called it.

BRIGGS: I will take credit for that.

ROMANS: All right, thanks for joining us. Have a great weekend, everybody. I'm Christine Romans.

BRIGGS: Yes, fall starts tomorrow.

I'm Dave Briggs. "NEW DAY" starts right now. We'll see you next week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have entered negotiations. The chances are much higher that she is going to testify.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Professor Ford doesn't want to be questioned by outside counsel.

SEN. MAZIE HIRONO (D), HAWAII: The Senate committee makes the rules. They have bent over backwards. They are intent on getting Judge Kavanaugh onto the Supreme Court come hell or high water.

TRUMP: To see what's going on is just very, very sad. Why didn't somebody call the FBI 36 years ago?

SEN. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE (D), RHODE ISLAND: As soon as Democrats get gavels we're going to get to the bottom of this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is NEW DAY. It is Friday, September 21st, 6:00 here in New York.

And there are new developments in the Kavanaugh Supreme Court confirmation. Christine Blasey Ford could testify next week but it will not be on Monday.

Ford's lawyers are laying out the terms their client wants before telling her story to senators, even if the FBI does not investigate her claim that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when --