[Dave Briggs, Cnn Anchor:] For the 13th straight day, tornadoes carve a destructive path, this time the worst damage in Kansas. And historic flooding is expected in Arkansas and Oklahoma.
[Sen. Mitch Mcconnell:] Oh, we'd fill it.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Anchor:] A total 180 for Mitch McConnell who says he would fill a Supreme Court vacancy in an election year.
[Briggs:] An embattled Chinese firm wants back in after being black listed two weeks ago. Huawei claims it's no security threat despite accusations it stole trade secrets.
[Romans:] And a new nominee for worst first pitch of all time. Wait it until you see where this one ends up. Everyone's laughing in the end, so no hard feelings. Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
[Briggs:] I'm Dave Briggs. It is an all-time great. I think one of the best we've ever seen. We'll show you that in a moment. Wednesday, May 29th, 5:00 a.m. in the East. And we start with more brutal weather. Another night of terrifying tornados stretching from the Southern Plains to the Northeast. Eastern Kansas hit especially hard. The cities of Linwood and Lawrence suffering extensive damage. They're located just across the border from Kansas City. Linwood's mayor says dozens of homes in the area are gone.
[Brian Christenson, Lawrence, Kansas:] It got really dark, and it started raining really hard and I could feel air moving the walls, and I could feel the air coming from above and then all of a sudden, I heard stuff flying around up above me.
[Romans:] Storm clouds stretching for miles across the region. Homes in the area flattened. Lawrence police warning residents about downed power lines and downed trees. At least 12 people are being treated for injuries. Some people forced to take cover in the safe room off a local gas station.
[Brad Perkins, Kansas Resident:] Just lightning hitting the ground in front of me. Just everything pitch-black.
[Briggs:] The Red Cross has opened a shelter for anyone in the county displaced by the storm. which crossed the Missouri and spawned a tornado near the town of Kearney. A tornado also touched down in Berks County, Pennsylvania. One neighborhood in Morgantown suffered heavy damage with several trees uprooted. And a New Jersey high school was damaged by a severe band of storms, but nobody was inured.
[Romans:] All the damage and destruction coming from the same system stretching from Texas to the New York City metro area. Authorities in Ohio are getting a handle on all the damage suffered late Monday. The ceiling fan remains, the ceiling itself is gone. For 13 consecutive days, a tornado has touched down in the U.S. That's the longest stretch since 1980. And is there more ahead? Here's Karen Maginnis with the latest forecast.
[Karen Maginnis, Ams Meteorologist:] It was a devastating afternoon as you well know we saw reports of tornadoes from Ohio, all the way down to Kansas. Devastating storms reported, and this particular one, a rain-wrapped tornado. People across the tornado alley, the central United States, they know when they see something like this, it is time to take cover. But this is a rain-wrapped tornado. A monster system as it has been described and local authorities say they'll come and take a look at the damage. They're trying to get their job done. A lot of people are sifting through the debris power outages. They've lost their cars, their businesses. It has been devastating. May at least since May 15th, not a day has gone by where we haven't had tornado reports. Nineteen tornadoes reported in the past 24 hours and the risk is still out there, also the potential for flash flooding. Who is in harm's way? It looks like Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and that enhanced risks, St. Louis, Springfield, Little Rock, Dallas could see an isolated tornado. Certainly large hail and heavy downpours expected and we're looking at that ground to shift further to the east. So, a lot of people in danger not just from tornados but from flooding as well. Back to you, guys.
[Briggs:] OK, Karen Maginnis, thanks. The flooding in Arkansas turned deadly overnight. Police say a driver steering around a barricade on a flooded roadway drowned. And the rain-swollen in Arkansas River could crest at nearly 41 feet later today. It's putting western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma on alert for record breaking flooding. The mayor of Tulsa warning residents to prepare for a worst-case scenario. The Army Corps of Engineers has been releasing water from the Keystone Dam, ahead of the river cresting. But this could worsen the flooding in nearby communities. Further east, flooding in at least eight states, along portions of the Mississippi. It is the longest, lasting flooding since the Great Flood of 1927.
[Romans:] All right. For the second time in a week, a House Republican has blocked passage of a $19 billion disaster relief bill. Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky objecting to the measure even though it has overwhelming bipartisan support and the president has promised to sign it. It only takes one person to block a bill from passing immediately by unanimous consent. Massie says he's trying to stop what he calls legislative malpractice. He wants all House members present before taking a vote. On Friday, Republican Congressman Chip Roy of Texas also objected to a unanimous consent vote.
[Briggs:] Presidential candidate and former vice president, Joe Biden, back on the trail in Texas, talking more about policy, laying out part of his education plan in Houston. It includes more funding for schools in low income areas, and helping teachers pay off student debt.
[Joe Biden , Presidential Candidate:] You all gone and went to college, you spent four years. You ended up with a debt, most of you, if not all of you, and you end up in a situation where you in fact are making 25 percent less than most college graduates. And it's a just it's just not right.
[Briggs:] Biden's campaign also hit back at President Trump's low IQ comments overseas, criticizing him for embracing autocrats like Kim Jong-un, saying, and this is a statement from the campaign, to be on foreign soil on Memorial Day and to side repeatedly with a murderous dictator against a fellow American and former vice president speaks for itself. Trump defended his comments by saying he was actually sticking up for Sleepy Joe Biden. We think tongue and cheek. Trump tweeting that Kim Jong-un called Biden a low IQ idiot, while he claims he used a much softer term, low IQ individual. Trump adding, who could possibly be upset with that?
[Romans:] All right. Then this a brazen flip-flop by Mitch McConnell. The Senate majority leader says if a Supreme Court vacancy occurs during next year's presidential election, he will work to confirm a nominee appointed by President Trump.
[Question:] If a Supreme Court justice was to die next year, what would you do?
[Mcconnell:] We'd fill it.
[Romans:] You might recall McConnell's decision to block President Obama's nominee to the high court following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February of 2016.
[Mcconnell:] All we're doing, Chris, is following a long-standing tradition of not filling vacancies on the Supreme Court in the middle of a presidential election year.
[Romans:] McConnell's explanation for the flip-flop, his spokesman claims there's a difference between now and three years ago because in 2016, the White House was controlled by Democrat and the Senate by Republicans. And this time both are controlled by the
[Gop. Briggs:] The Supreme Court sidestepping a big decision on abortion, but still ruling on two key parts of an Indiana abortion law. The court leaving in place a block that keeps the state from prohibiting abortions based solely on a race, sex and disability. The justices did decide part of the law that requires clinics to bury or cremate fetal remains can go forward. The split decision seems to signal there is little appetite to reexamine core abortion precedents like Roe v. Wade. It comes as a number of states pushed antiabortion measures with the goal of getting the issue back before the Supreme Court.
[Romans:] Missouri is poised to become the first state in the country to stop offering abortions since the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. On Friday, the state's health department is expected to block services at the very last health center providing the procedure in Missouri. Missouri's annual license for abortion services expires on May 31st.
[Dr. Leana Wen, President, Planned Parenthood Federation Of America:] We know that banning abortion is not going to stop abortion. But it will stop safe, legal abortion. We are seeing now just how extreme these anti-women's health politicians are and how far they're willing to go.
[Romans:] A circuit court judge in St. Louis will hear arguments today in Planned Parenthood's lawsuit against the state. On May 24th, Missouri Governor Mike Parson signed a bill prohibiting all abortions after eight weeks of pregnancy.
[Briggs:] Air travelers left behind almost a million dollars at airport security checkpoints in 2018, according to a new report from the Transportation Security Administration. That's $90,000 more than passengers left behind the previous year. The TSA by law is allowed to use the money for projects it considers important for civil aviation security. Much of the unclaimed funds remain in TSA coffers. The report says travelers at New York's JFK airport left behind the most money, followed by LAX, Miami, then O'Hare in Chicago, and Newark Liberty.
[Romans:] All right. Excessive gaming is now a legitimate medical condition. The World Health Organization says gaming disorder can be diagnosed when it interferes with daily life and when a person loses control and prioritizes gaming over other interests in daily activities, like work, school, family or social relationships. The new guidelines call for 12 months of symptoms before a diagnosis can be made. A video and online game posted nearly $44 billion in sales last year. The video game industry has opposed this gaming disorder classification since the WHO first proposed it in 2018. No surprise. I think it's interesting that 45 percent of daily gamers are women.
[Briggs:] I'm curious to know how many parents throughout saw it the symptoms and raised their hand and said my child might have this disorder. I just did. It interferes with daily routines?
[Romans:] I put limits on my kids, right? There's a certain amount of time they can use it and that's their reward and they just to be really consistent on that. But when they get older, they have their own time, it's hard, you know?
[Briggs:] Yes. Let us know what you think about this @earlystart on Twitter. Ahead, a first at time trial. Did Johnson & Johnson flood the market with prescription painkillers and should the company pay for it? The state of Oklahoma says yes.