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FAA Auditing Collision Risks; Fight Over Ballot Drop Boxes; Osama Siblani is Interviewed about Arab-American Votes; Competitive House Races in New York; Boeing's Financial Crisis Could Hit the Economy. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired October 16, 2024 - 08:30   ET

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

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[08:31:44]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: New this morning, federal regulators are launching a new probe into near collisions at 45 of the busiest airports in the country. Officials say the audit will drill down on risks at each airport, including identifying potential gaps and procedure, as well as recommendations to improve safety.

CNN aviation correspondent Pete Muntean has more on this.

You are also a pilot. You are well aware of all the things that can - can cause these problems. But give us some sense of this, because that number sounds like a lot.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Sara. You know, this is significant because it shows that this industry-wide issue really has not been licked just yet. The FAA says it will audit these 45 busiest airports in the U.S. for the potential of these near collisions on runways. They're known officially as runway incursions. Been reporting on it since the start of last year. And the headlines have really been emerging coast to coast. The catalyst at New York's JFK in January 2023, an American Airlines flight bound for London taxied in front of a Delta flight that was already accelerating for takeoff. Nobody hurt in that incident, but investigators said the pilots of the American Airlines flight were distracted by paperwork, essentially got lost on the ground.

But the list really goes on here. Austin, Boston, Burbank, Reagan National Airport outside D.C. in June. And the most recent incident just last month in Nashville. The tires of an Alaska Airlines flight that was taking off blew out when the pilots had to slam on the brakes when a Southwest Airlines flight taxied out in front of them. Now, investigators say that they're still doing interviews in that case. The FAA says it's audit here will really drill down on the risks that are baked in at each airport. Remember, might not always be pilots who are entirely at fault here. Could be something a bit more structural. And the FAA wants to know if there are gaps in procedures or issues with equipment. Maybe there's a process at the airport that's causing problems.

Investigators have been concerned not only about the design of some airports, but also the lack of early warning technology. Thirty-five airports have technology that alerts air traffic controllers of these impending collisions. But remember, there are about 500 airports in the U.S. with commercial service. The NTSB has said that technology saved the day in that JFK collision I talked about earlier. And NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy's told me she wants to see it at more airports.

Of course, a lot of eyes here on this new audit, Sara. And the FAA says it will be finished sometime next year. A lot of people looking forward to this.

SIDNER: Yes, it seems like that technology would be really important. It's only in 35 airports when you've got hundreds of airports across the country.

Pete Muntean, thank you so much. Great to have you this morning.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, new this morning, a federal investigation underway in a key battleground state after a city's mayor was caught wheeling away a ballot drop box.

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[08:38:57]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: So, this morning, conspiracy theories are swirling over ballot drop boxes in battleground states. In Wisconsin, a year's long fight over drop boxes has sparked a criminal investigation.

CNN's Sara Murray went there to find out what is going on.

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NANCY STENZEL, DROP BOX PROPONENT: We are fed up with politicians using conspiracy theories. No matter which party you support, drop boxes are safe, they are reliable and secure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) secured the box.

SARA MURRAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're waiting for this city council meeting to start. And on one side we've got people who are in favor of the drop box. On the other side we've got people who are skeptical about the drop box. They want it to go away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You'd better step - you'd better step away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's wrong (EXPLETIVE DELETED) (INAUDIBLE) on politics. Like, I can't even -

MURRAY: And the cops are here to keep the two sides separate.

MURRAY (voice over): The battle over whether ballot drop boxes are safe is playing out across the country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no one monitoring that box.

MURRAY (voice over): Here in Wassau, Wisconsin, tension is building after Mayor Doug Diny put on a hard hat and wheeled away the city's drop box.

[08:40:06]

MAYOR DOUG DINY, WASSAU, WISCONSIN: This is a hot button item. The agenda was changed late last night.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not (INAUDIBLE). It's not proper.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Point of order.

DINY: What is your point of order?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My point of order is, your out of order.

MURRAY (voice over): After Diny wheeled the drop box away, the city clerk who administers elections reported it to local authorities.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The state justice department is now investigating the city's mayor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ballot drop box security is an issue on which he campaigned.

CARRIE MAROHL, WASSAU RESIDENT: I am very embarrassed for our city.

JOANE LEONARD, WASSAU RESIDENT: This is just one more example of the deep state right at work in little Wassau.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Arguing about a box its dumb. And it's decadent.

MURRAY: Wisconsin has been battling over where you can return your ballot for years. In 2020 they had drop boxes. In 2022 they weren't allowed. In 2024, the makeup of the state supreme court changed, it's more liberal, and now drop boxes are back.

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We want to get rid of fake drop boxes. They're a fake.

MURRAY: I'm Sara Murray with CNN. Could we just -

DINY: Hi. Do you mind if I come around front.

I brought it inside because it was - it was unsecured.

For all I know, you know, somebody could have grabbed it, thrown it in the river. Now we would have a real crime on our hands.

MURRAY: Some of those people are saying that you might have done something illegal in moving the box. Do you think that -

DINY: No, absolutely not. No.

MURRAY: Have you heard anything about all of these, you know, investigations that may be related to this.

DINY: No.

MURRAY: No, you haven't heard anything.

DINY: No.

MURRAY: Do you regret moving it?

DINY: You know, there's a saying that dogs don't bark at parked cars. I've had to get attention here from time to time to upset the status quo.

MURRAY (voice over): Now that the drop box is in us, it's secured to the ground, locked and emptied by officials daily.

TRUMP: These drop boxes are fraudulent. They're for - they get - they disappear, then all of a sudden they show up. It's fraudulent.

MURRAY (voice over): Drop boxes have become a magnet for misinformation. The issue came up again during Trump's rally in Juneau, Wisconsin.

MURRAY: So, how did you end up on onstage at the Trump rally?

SHERIFF DALE SCHMIDT, DODGE COUNTY, WISCONSIN: Really was just a call up from the - the president.

I have something very important I think you're going to want to hear. In Dodge County, in this 2024 election, there are zero drop boxes for the election.

MURRAY (voice over): Sheriff Dale Schmidt successfully discouraged some municipal clerks from using drop boxes. But a handful remain in Dodge County despite his warnings.

SCHMIDT: If we have an area of the law which is constantly being subverted, we're going to find ways to put roadblocks in the way of individuals that are going to break the law.

MURRAY: So, you're suggesting that, you know, the ballot boxes are constantly being subverted and there's just - there is not proof to back that up.

SCHMIDT: There is the appearance that it is - that it is occurring, and we are making sure that it's not going to happen.

MURRAY: But you are not an election official. So, why should your doubts about the election set the tone for how this whole county should vote.

SCHMIDT: Because I have to investigate the crimes that happen if they happen. And my efforts - MURRAY: If they happen. But they haven't been reported yet.

SCHMIDT: Well, we have election law violation that happens just about every time around. So, when election law is violated, I have to investigate that.

MURRAY (voice over): In a county Trump won by 30 points in 2020, Schmidt says the local community is with him.

SCHMIDT: But I'm very well supported by our constituency here. Do I answer to the rest of the country? No, I don't. I answer to my voters here in Dodge County.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: And our thanks to Sara Murray for that report.

This morning, the Arab-American Political Action Committee and Arab- American News, both based in the crucial battleground state of Michigan, have decided to endorse no one for president. They announced their decision to withhold their vote, saying neither Kamala Harris nor Donald Trump deserve them.

With us now is Osama Siblani, the editor-in-chief of "The Arab American News."

Thank you so much for being with us. Let me ask you this question. What do you think a Donald Trump presidency would mean for Arab Americans and Muslim Americans?

OSAMA SIBLANI, PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, ARAB AMERICAN NEWS: Well, first of all, what does it mean to America? And we do not believe that it means good. We have been hearing from him. We've been hearing from his campaign. We've been talking to them. They've been talking to us. And we have been hearing the former vice president rallies and all the stuff. When someone says that immigrants poison American blood, we are immigrants. We are a nation of immigrants. How do you vote for someone like this? How do you cast a vote for someone who doesn't see your vote and does not respect your presence?

BERMAN: How do you see the difference between what a Trump presidency and a Harris presidency would be?

SIBLANI: Well, frankly, like I said first about the former president, Donald Trump campaign, the same applies to Kamala Harris, the Vice President. We have been trying to reach out.

[08:45:00]

They have reached out. And we have been talking to the campaign for the last probably four or five months for the same campaign, actually, with President Joe Biden.

And we did not see anything that brings to our attention the interest of our community and what's happening overseas. Our homes, our friends' homes, our families overseas are being killed by American- made bombs. And we should -- we have been trying to say to them, please stop this war for 12 months. And 43,000 right now dead in Gaza, 2,200 in Lebanon. Thousands have been injured, 100,000 in Gaza and over 11,000 in Lebanon. Total destruction of homes and properties.

And every facet of life in Gaza and now in Lebanon. What are we going to vote for? Who are we going to vote for? The two main candidates have been ignoring our need. And therefore, we have decided to ignore them and not to vote for them.

BERMAN: So by not endorsing, though, are you saying there is no difference between what a Trump presidency and a Harris presidency would be?

SIBLANI: Eventually, you know, as far as foreign policy, I think both of them are the same. Domestically in here, we have been trying to reach to Kamala Harris. Let's remember one thing. President Joe Biden, when he was running for president in 2020, we voted for him. He got almost 70% of our votes in this state. And we have given him all the support.

And when his wife, Jill Biden, showed up in here and him and his vice president candidate at that time, Kamala Harris, we supported them. We have interviewed Kamala Harris. We've interviewed people from his campaign. And they said, we will have a seat around the table. We don't have a seat around the table. We don't have a seat in the room. We don't have a seat in the building, in the neighborhood, in the city, in the country. And therefore, why would we? And we voted for him because we were voting against Donald Trump.

Now, are we going to vote for him again, which is his vice president. Also against Donald Trump? It doesn't work this way.

BERMAN: It is interesting because both the Biden campaign and the Harris campaign were criticized by the right, by Donald Trump and his allies, or Donald Trump's allies, for meeting with you, correct?

SIBLANI: Well, they are criticized. And also, we have been meeting with them. They were here last week, Friday and Saturday. And they had their convention or some kind of meetings here in downtown Detroit.

Let me tell you, Mr. Berman, first of all, we are Americans. And anyone who criticized a candidate for meeting with Arab Americans, you know, they are not really, they don't understand what country we live in. We live in a country of nations of immigrants. And therefore, I don't understand why would they object to meet with Arab Americans. And that is very disturbing.

BERMAN: Osama Siblani, we appreciate your discussion this morning. Thanks so much for being with us. Be well.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: So, the worker strike at Boeing is now threatening to have major ripple effects on the broader U.S. economy. How supplies across all 50 states could soon feel the impact. And Victoria's Secret pulls out all the stops for its annual show. But when it came to one performance, one journalist reacted this way, the models could have been naked and no one would have noticed.

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[08:53:01]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHER, MUSICIAN (singing): I can fee something inside me say I really don't think you're strong enough, no. Do you believe in life after love?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: That's the performance that made one journalist say the models could have been naked. Everyone was watching Cher.

But that wasn't what truly happened. so, we're seeing this for the first time in six years, Kate Moss, Gigi Hadid, and Tyra Banks all took to the runway for the first time in a very long time. For Tyra Banks it has been 20 years. Those are just a few of the ways the brand was looking to recast the show after its six-year hiatus.

Germany's biggest airline, Lufthansa, was hit with a record $4 million fine for discriminating against Jewish passengers. The Department of Transportation made the announcement on Tuesday, which stems from an incident in May of 2022. The airline blocked more than 120 Jewish passengers from boarding because of what they said was misbehavior by some of them. It is the largest penalty ever issued by the federal agency for a civil rights violation. Lufthansa tells CNN that they have, quote, "fully cooperated" with DOT authorities throughout its review process.

All right, police say nearly 100 people are dead in northern Nigeria after a crashed tanker exploded Tuesday night near locals who had gathered to retrieve the fuel. The death toll is expected to rise. Authorities say the driver lost control and the tanker flipped into a drainage ditch and leaked fuel before blowing up.

And a Florida couple, who were warned about an approaching tornado during Hurricane Milton, tracked down the woman who they say saved them and their children. The St. Lucie County coupled found the woman through Facebook. They returned and reunited and greeted each other with a huge embrace. Michelle Westfield explains what it was like at the moment when the twister was approaching and Brandy Clark reversed her car and yelled out for them to seek cover.

[08:55:02]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE WESTFIELD, WARNED BY STRANGER: Her tires were squealing, and she was just taking off backwards, running to the house. I hear her scream, get in your house. And I'm like, oh, my God, this is bad. No sooner than he shuts the door behind me, I got my kids and we're

still standing in the middle of living room, and my house just started shaking. It was the craziest 15 seconds of my life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I'm truly blessed. I mean, right there, it's all - it's all -

WESTFIELD: It's all in front of us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's all messed up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Wow, what an ordeal. The women say they plan to stay in touch and will continue the special friendship over some barbecue, John.

BERMAN: All right, this morning, control of the House of Representatives could come down to the state of New York, which is pretty interesting given that New York is about the furthest thing from a swing state. But the House might swing here.

CNN's Annie Grayer is here with the latest on this.

Good morning.

ANNIE GRAYER, CNN REPORTER: Good morning.

Yes, so, New York might be a - might vote blue in the presidential, but these races in Long Island, in Westchester, in central New York really are going to be - are so competitive and going to be determined by a razor thin margin. They're currently represented by Republicans. Republican Congressman Mike Lawler, Anthony Desposito, and Marc Molinaro. And these Republicans flipped districts from Democrats two years ago. They are trying to show that their wins were not a fluke because they know the national implications here. Whoever wins these races is likely to determine who controls the House of Representatives next Congress.

And in my conversations with them, when I went to their districts, they very much pitched themselves to me as moderates who were willing to work across the aisle and even create distance with their own party. Congressman D'Esposito said to me, you know, he gets criticized for not being conservative enough. And that's because these Republicans are walking a very thin tight rope. They know that their districts are home to more registered Democrats than Republicans. Their districts voted for President Biden in 2020.

But they also are part of the Republican Party. They support former President Donald Trump. They support House Speaker Mike Johnson, who I'm' told is coming to their districts in the coming weeks. And their Democratic challengers are doing everything they can, John, to show that these Republicans don't reflect the values of these Democratic- leaning districts, specifically on the issue of abortion. The Republicans don't support a national abortion ban but have taken in some votes in the last Congress that their Democratic challengers point to that poke holes and raise questions about what line - where they are lines are for what they do and don't support. And I talked to a number of voters across these three districts. And, John, it really is competitive and a toss-up. I mean it's really going to be critical, these final weeks. And both sides know it and are pouring in millions and millions of dollars to try and make their case.

BERMAN: Don't I know it. I try to watch football on Sundays and I see a lot of political ads from these candidates. One footnote here, New York takes some time to count, so we may not know control of the House becomes of these races for a few days.

Annie Grayer, thanks so much.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: So, the Boeing workers strike is now into a second month. And we're also now getting a real look at how costly this thing could be, turning into a multi-billion-dollar problem for the company and one that now could soon have ripple effects on the wider economy.

CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich is tracking this one.

And, Vanessa, what are you seeing here in terms of the broader impact that this strike could be having?

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Some good news for average Americans. This is not going to impact us likely very much at all. Right now we have the major facility in Seattle, Boeing's facility shutdown. So, airlines are not getting their planes that they've had on order. That could mean you could see some higher prices as this extends, but right now we're actually seeing falling airline prices because there's not as much demand. And a lot of these planes that airlines are waiting for are newer planes to replace older planes.

However, there is going to be an impact and there is already an impact on the broader U.S. economy. One estimate suggests that just a month of this strike means $5 billion in losses for Boeing, for workers, for suppliers downstream that are impacted by this.

And Boeing says themselves that they are an economic generator of $79 billion to the U.S. economy. They sort of produce a downstream effect of one 1.6 million jobs and Boeing themselves are in really dire straits financially. They just took out a loan essentially from several banks for $10 billion. They're trying to sell $15 billion of stock and debt. They just announced layoffs of 10 percent, 17,000 of their employees over the next couple of months. But this is a company that's almost too big to fail. They are one of two suppliers of passenger airlines in the world. They are not going -

[09:00:00]

BOLDUAN: You put it that way.

YURKEVICH: They're not going to go under. They're the number one exporter here in the U.S. They are in financial trouble, but they're not going away anytime soon.