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EARLY START

Germanwings Jet Crashes in French Alps; Not Thaw in U.S.- Israeli Relations; Cruz Will Sign Up for Obamacare. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired March 25, 2015 - 04:00   ET

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


[04:00:16] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now: an intense search to recover remains of those onboard Germanwings Flight 9525, crashing into the French Alps, 150 people on board. Investigators now examining the plane's cockpit voice recording, trying to figure out just what went wrong.

Live team coverage breaking down the search, the investigation, and the mourning begins for those killed.

Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans. Wednesday, March 25. It is 4:00 a.m. in the East. Welcome, everybody, this morning.

This morning, the cockpit voice recording black box has been recovered. And investigators are trying to figure out just what caused that crash of a Germanwings Airbus 320 in the French Alps, 150 people onboard. Everyone, everyone on that flight from Barcelona, Spain, to Dusseldorf, Germany, presumed dead including two babies, a German school group.

The cause a mystery this morning. Germanwings said the plane descended from its cruising altitude for eight minutes before radar was lost -- radar contact was lost and the plane slammed into the mountain. Now, crews are struggling to recover bodies and wreckage from the snow-covered, high mountain valley where this plane went down.

I want to bring you the latest this morning from CNN's Erin McLaughlin, the recovery staging area about six miles from the crash site.

Good morning, Erin.

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Christine.

Well, that recovery effort has resumed this morning. This after it was suspended in the overnight hours due to difficult conditions.

But, you know, earlier, we saw some four helicopters land in the field just behind me which officials have been using as a staging operation for the air efforts. Those helicopters have flown off, presumably for the crash site. We've heard from a spokesperson for the interior minister say that the crash site has been secured and that he said that if all goes well, they hope to helicopter into place police later today.

Now, that crash site has been problematic for officials. It's in an extremely remote location, accessible primarily by air. The terrain there described as difficult and the wreckage strewn across a wide area. Local officials saying the plane had been completely obliterated, so this is going to be a very slow and painstaking process, officials say.

Now, we're also hearing this morning from France's interior minister talking about the black box that had been recovered yesterday. He said that it was the flight cockpit recorder. He said that it had been damaged, but they hope to have that recorder fixed in the coming hours and working -- Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Erin McLaughlin for us -- thank you so much for that, near the staging area where they're trying to do that recovery. Thank you.

Passengers aboard Germanwings Flight 9525 came from all over Europe, as well as a handful from South America, Asia and Australia. Nearly half of them, at least 67, were German. The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, says the crash has plunged Germany, France and Spain into, quote, "deep mourning". Today, she will travel to the crash site.

Sixteen students and two2 teachers on that flight were returning to the town of Haltern near Dusseldorf after a week at a foreign exchange program in Spain. Now, that city, Haltern, is in mourning.

CNN's Rosie Tomkins joins us now from Dusseldorf with the latest.

Just heartbreaking, Rosie.

ROSIE TOMKINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Christine.

We're here at the airport where the flight, of course, was intended before the crash took place. And it was here that many of those families came on Tuesday, yesterday, when they heard news of the crash in search of answers only to have their worst fears confirmed to find out that their loved ones were onboard. So, terrible scenes here and across Germany, people mourning.

They did set up a crisis center here at the airport to help those family members deal with the trauma. There have been psychologists on hand to help them deal with the tragedy that they're suffering. Meanwhile, the airline has also offered to fly family members who would like to go to the scene or near the scene in the region of the French Alps, just so that they could be nearer to the crash, nearer to their lost loved ones.

So, the airline, they're doing what they can to support the families affected, and meanwhile, the nation in mourning. You mentioned those 16 school students tragically lost. That town you mentioned, Haltern, where the school is based, it's just 80 kilometers north of Dusseldorf. And that town of course, feeling the tremendous impact of that lost. Two teachers also were on board. The mayor of the town appeared yesterday. He spoke in public and was

visibly very shaken and emotional, talking about a town in shock. He said you could feel it everywhere.

[04:05:02] Also, has emerged these two opera singers on board. They were also from the Dusseldorf region. They had been performing a series of operas at the Barcelona opera house and were flying back. One of them, the female, Maria Radner, was traveling with her husband and baby on board.

So, these personal details emerging, giving faces and names to those numbers which really bring into focus the personal tragedy suffered, Christine. And 67 German nationals, a number that could continue to change as the story unfolds, Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Rosie for us in Dusseldorf, thank you so much for that.

The king of Spain cancelling a state visit to France to return home this morning. The Germanwings flight originated in Barcelona and account of Spanish surnames suggest about 45 passengers were Spanish nationals. Still no official count from officials in Spain.

Mourning along with those families in Haltern, Germany, are the residents of the small Spanish town where the German students attended that exchange program. Hundreds gathered at a mass to remember their new German friends.

CNN's Karl Penhaul is there with the latest.

Good morning, Karl.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine.

And as we heard Rosie explaining, there had been a school exchange program. Sixteen German students had been here in this town, Llinars del Valles. They had been here for a week studying Spanish in this local school where children are beginning to show up again this morning. Three weeks ago, Spanish children had been at their homes in Germany.

So this tragedy has united families in grief, families that previously were united in friendship. And in a little while, in about an hour from now, in fact, those children together with some of the parents, with some of the teachers are going to join together in the school gymnasium. They're going to have some kind of remembrance. They don't know what form, or shape it's going to take. It's going to be a little bit spontaneous, but the children are going to remember friendships that were made and friendships that have now been lost.

But, of course, that just highlights some of the issues surrounding this tragedy. There are, of course, many other nationalities on board.

It wasn't just Spaniards or Germans on that flight. We also have had word now that there were Colombians on the flight, there were Mexicans on the flight, there were Argentineans on the flight. One of those opera singers that Rosie also mentioned, he was there Kazakhstan. We know that two Japanese were on the flight, some Australians were on the flight.

This is very much a tragedy that transcends nations and transcends generations, Christine.

ROMANS: It sure is. Karl Penhaul, thanks so much.

And budget travel across Europe in recent years has become so much easier to do admirable things like cross-border school exchanges just makes it that much more sad. Thanks, Karl.

Recent events have a lot of travelers wondering, are those budget airlines safe? Budget airlines do cut corners but on convenience. They cut corners on things like your legroom, a complimentary drink, charging for your bag, they have low airfares, so they don't give you a lot of frills.

But experts tell us they do not cut costs on safety. They do pay crews less than other airlines, but that doesn't mean the pilot isn't safe, simply sometimes less experienced. And the planes themselves are very well-maintained. In this particular case, this was a very experienced cabin crew.

Some perspective here -- Southwest is one of the best-known budget carriers here in the U.S., never has had a major crash. Its stock was a top performer on the S&P 500 last year. And Lufthansa's stock is down since the Germanwings plane crashed. Not to be -- not really a surprise there, but many people say that the maintenance arm of Lufthansa among the best in the world.

Just a tragic accident, it looks like, at this time. A lot more investigation still to go.

Eight minutes past the hour.

Happening now, the rift widening between the White House and Israel. President Obama with new criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Plus, a new plan for U.S. troops in Afghanistan. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:12:03] ROMANS: President Obama giving up all hope for a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians while he's still in office. The president says because of conflicting comments from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it is no longer realistic to expect a two-state solution in the next several years. And he had plenty to say about the eroding relationship between Israel and the United States.

Here's CNN's senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Christine, no thaw in that chill in relations just yet. President Obama is still refusing to accept Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's explanations about his stance on Palestinian statehood, describing their relationship as businesslike. The president said there's nothing personal on their disagreement on two key issues: the Iran nuclear talks and prospects for a Palestinian state.

At a news conference with the new president of Afghanistan, Mr. President dismissed Netanyahu's latest position in favor of a two- state solution with the Palestinians, something the prime minister rejected just before his re-election.

Here's what the president had to say:

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He's pointed out that he didn't say never, but that there would be a series of conditions in which a Palestinian state could potentially be created. But of course, the conditions were such that they would be impossible to meet any time soon.

ACOSTA: Making matters worse is that "Wall Street Journal" report quoting U.S. officials that they're spying on the Iranian nuclear talks and leaking details to Congress. When asked about that, the president tried to laugh it off saying he doesn't talk about intelligence matters with reporters, but lawmakers on Capitol Hill are throwing water on these allegations. And the Israelis, they're not amused, issuing a statement saying these allegations are utterly false. The state of Israel does not conduct espionage against the United States or Israel's other allies -- Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Jim, thanks for that, at the White House this morning.

The nuclear talks with Iran, they're going down to the wire. Secretary of State John Kerry heads back to Switzerland this afternoon. Five more days of negotiations ahead.

The deadline to reach a framework for an agreement, just seven days away. Both sides say substantial progress has been made, but significant gaps remain.

Happening now: Saudi Arabia positioning heavy military equipment along its border with Yemen. U.S. intelligence sources say the Saudis could be preparing for airstrikes against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. Right now, those rebels are moving south, towards the region where Yemen's U.S.-backed president has set up a new base. The Houthis have already seized control of Yemen's capital and the center city of Taiz.

Turning to Iraq and the bloody battle for Tikrit. After standing on the sidelines for weeks, the United States now assisting the Iraqis, providing aerial intelligence in their fight to retake the city from ISIS. The request for help came from the Iraqi government and could pave the way for U.S. airstrikes. [04:15:03] About 20,000 Iranian-backed Shiites have joined forces with

Iraq to push ISIS out of Saddam Hussein's birthplace, but heavy resistance in recent weeks has stalled the campaign.

A slowdown in the drawdown of U.S. troops in Afghanistan. President Obama announcing the current level of 9,800 troops will remain in Afghanistan through the end of the year instead of the reduction that had been promised, bringing that number down to 5,500 as planned. Afghanistan's president, Ashraf Ghani, he had requested an adjustment of this troop withdrawal timeline. President Ghani is wrapping up his first official to the U.S. He'll address a joint meeting of Congress today.

Secret Service Director Joe Clancy getting another grilling from lawmakers over that incident involving two senior agents allegedly drunk who drove through the scene of an active bomb threat investigation at the White House. This happened earlier this month. Clancy has refused to let his agents working that night testify. Just-released surveillance video shows a government vehicle driving through a secure area at the White House, then bumping a temporary barrier as officers and agents investigated a suspicious package.

If Ted Cruz is elected president, he vows that one of his first acts will be to repeal Obamacare. Until then, sign him up. The newly minted Republican candidate is losing his health insurance he had through his wife's job at Goldman Sachs because she is taking an unpaid leave of absence to join his campaign. So, Cruz's family finds itself without corporate-backed health insurance. They'll have to get coverage through the Affordable Care Act, a law he has been on a crusade to kill.

Here's what he told CNN's Dana Bash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So, yes, I'll get my insurance through my job like millions of other Americans. That's not a shocking --

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Will you take -- will you take a subsidy from your job, which is the federal government?

CRUZ: We will follow the text of the law I strongly oppose the exemption that President Obama illegally put in place for members of Congress because Harry Reid and the Senate Democrats didn't want to be under the same rules as the American people.

BASH: That means you are going to take a government subsidy?

CRUZ: I believe we should follow the text of the law.

BASH: The law that you want to repeal?

CRUZ: Yes. No, I believe we should follow the text of every law, even laws I disagree with. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: A spokesperson for Cruz now says the senator won't ask for a government subsidy to purchase Obamacare.

Severe weather in the forecast from central Texas to Indiana.

Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri tracking those conditions for us. He has an early look at your weather.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Christine, wild setup over the past 24 hours. We had nearly 50 reports of damaging hail, some as large as ping-pong balls across portions of Kansas, western and southern Missouri, also, northwestern areas of Arkansas as well. The severe weather threats feel prevalent over this region.

Take a look. Snow showers around portions of Wisconsin. Of course, in Minnesota over the past couple of days, upwards of a foot came down in the way of snow showers.

But severe storm possibilities across the same regions. Again, portions of Oklahoma, onto Arkansas, southern Missouri.

And believe it or not, unprecedented because climatologically speaking, these are a number of tornadoes you should expect in the month of March, about 80 on average. We've had a goose egg. That's how much we've seen in March of 2015. That has never happened since 1970, the data has been kept for such numbers.

But notice, warm weather in place across portions of the southern tier of the country. That interaction with the cool air and also some severe thunderstorms could put you at risk around portions of Oklahoma City, McAllister, and Tulsa as we head into the afternoon hours of Wednesday, Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Pedram, thank you so much.

A woman testing positive for Ebola in Liberia may have been infected by her boyfriend who's an Ebola survivor. Health officials say survivors of the disease are generally not considered contagious, but they're advised not to have sex for three months after recovering because the virus can linger in semen. It's the first confirmed Ebola case in Liberia in weeks.

More than 400 women and children are missing from the northern Nigerian town of Damasak this morning. Residents say Boko Haram militants seized nearly 500 women and children, killed about 50 of them before fleeing the town. It is unknown if they killed any others after leaving. Troops from Niger and Chad freed Damasak just last month.

Italy's highest court is expected to release its latest ruling in the Amanda Knox case this morning. It comes more than seven years after Knox and her boyfriend were charged with murdering a British exchange student. They were convicted in 2009, acquitted two years later. Then those acquittals were tossed out two years ago. Knox is in Washington state. She vows never to return to Italy. If

her conviction is confirmed, extradition proceedings could begin and the court could order a new trial.

Happening now, this intense search to recover wreckage and bodies from Germanwings Flight 9525. The plane crashing into the French Alps, killing 150 people on board.

[04:20:00] What went so wrong? We're breaking down what may have happened in the cockpit, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Welcome back to EARLY START.

This morning investigators confront a confounding mystery. What could have caused Germanwings flight 9525 to descend from cruise altitude and fly straight into a mountain with no distress call and no reported weather issues? Was it a mechanical failure? Pilot error?

CNN's Tom Foreman runs down some of the possibilities in our virtual studio.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This descent was somewhat rapid but not so fast that anybody in the cabin would necessarily have noticed it until they were actually able to see the mountains right outside the windows. And that sort of dispenses one of the theories here about what happened, that it was a catastrophic failure in the air, that the tail fell off or a wing tore off.

If that happened, the plane would have come down much more quickly in less controlled fashion. The debris would have been scattered over a much wider area on the ground.

So, if that's not what happened, what are some other possibilities?

Well, every analyst we've talked to about this have said look at the flight pattern of this plane. It is a direct descent that seems very controlled, 400 to 500 miles an hour the whole time, a straight line, no sign of anything unusual happening. That, they say, would be consistent with the crew trying to simply get to a lower altitude and deal with some sort of problem.

[04:25:01] But we still don't know what that problem would have been. And frankly, if they had this kind of control, why wouldn't have they have veered away from the mountains and gone to some of the airports nearby that they might have been able to reach safely?

So, that brings up one other possibility here. What if they just didn't know that they were crashing? This happens.

Sometimes pilots have false readings from instrumentation. They don't know how fast their plane is traveling. They don't know where it is in relationship to the ground, or they simply become so distracted by some other issue that they just lose what's called situational awareness. And by the time, they would have realized they were in deep trouble, they had no time left to do anything about it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Tom Foreman, thank you for that, Tom, in D.C.

Now, happening now, this intense search to recover the victims of that flight, Germanwings 9525. Investigators examining now one of the plane's black boxes. Live team coverage, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: An intense search to find the remains of those on board Germanwings Flight 9525, the Airbus crashing into the French Alps. Investigators examining the plane's cockpit voice recording to figure out just what went so wrong. Live team coverage bringing you every angle of this story begins right now.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans. It's about 30 minutes past the hour this morning.

The cockpit voice recording black box has now been recovered, and investigators are trying to figure out what caused the crash of a Germanwings Airbus A-320 in the French Alps, with 150 people on board.

[04:30:00] Everyone on that flight from Barcelona, Spain, to Dusseldorf, Germany, presumed dead including two babies.

The cause of the crash, a mystery this morning. Germanwings says the plane descended from its cruising for eight minutes before radar contact was lost.