Transcripts For CNNW CNN Newsroom With Brooke Baldwin 20171218

Im brooke baldwin. Thank you for being with me. Lets get to Washington State. The ntsb, thats the National Transportation safety board, is sending 20 investigators to this scene of this deadly highspeed amtrak Train Derailment in Washington State. Investigators say the train somehow jumped the track during the peak rush hour this morning and this is south of tacoma, washington. You can imagine the train and all of the cars under the underpass during this busy rush hour morning and as you can see, some of these train cars toppling down below on i5, others dangling off this overpass. Multiple fatalities and specific numbers. We dont have those yet and we dont have specifics as far as injured, but we can tell you that those killed were all on the train which was on its inaugural run from seattle to portland. 77 victims, by the way, that is 77 out of 78 who were on the train have been taken to hospitals. There were five crew members onboard, as well and authorities have released this radio transmission of the moment the trains conductor called 911. Amtrak 501. Emergency. Emergency. Emergency. We are on the ground. Okay. We are on the bridge over i5 on the freeway. We are on the freeway. We need ems a sap, it looks like theyre already starting to show up. Dispatcher 501, come in. Amtrak 501. Answering centralia north. Over. Hi, guys. What happened . We were coming around the corn tore take the bridge over i5 there right north into nisqually and we went on the ground. Okay. Are you is everybody okay . Im still figuring that out. Weve got cars everywhere and down on to the highway. Okay. As soon as i know exactly where all my train is ill let you know. With me now remay marsh, government regulation correspondent and before i go to you, we know the governor of Washington State, jayencely left the capital just a little bit ago en route for the reunification center, do not go to the accident scene. Go to where the families are coming together and apparently the governor will head on to survey for himself, and you have been in touch with investigators and we mentioned the 20person go Team En Route to Washington State. What will they be lookinga the . That is a pretty large number when you talk about a go team because they consider this Major Incident and when they go there, brooke, theyll be focused on several things. First up, theyll start collecting the perishable evidence that is there, so they want to get to that very quickly. Of course, theyll want to do interviews with the crew. Theyll want to know a long list of a very long list of information. Everything from how much sleep they got the night before to what they ate this morning, any medications they may be on. Theyll also want to talk to the passengers who were onboard, and then there is a team that will be focused very closely on the track. Was there something wrong with this track, the mechanics of the train, was it operating properly and all of those things will come into play and they will want to get the black boxes on the train because the speed is going to be an important factor here. We do know that along that route it is rated for a maximum speed of 79 miles per hour. However, what we dont know is what was the speed limit at this point within that curve . So the maximum is 79 miles per hour, but it could have been a lot slower in that section of track that were looking at there where that derailment happened. So that is going to be another thing that theyre going to be paying close attention to. Was it going at an appropriate speed for that section of track . I do know based on just public records there in Washington State that this underwent two phases of testing before they opened. Most recently, this train was tested february 2017. They tested everything from the signals looking at the tracks, as well, but brooke, a lot of questions here as far as what is the cause . Was it something mechanical or did it have anything to do with human performance, namely any member of the crew that was onboard . Do we know, just quickly on the testing, did they actually test the train full or do we not know . We do know, and then im quoting from the Washington State department of transportation. They say that it underwent two phases of testing before opening day. Most recently in february, 2017, that is when the amtrak trains were expected to test both the tracks as well as the signals, at speeds of up to 79 miles per hour, and so that is the two phases that were talking about here and the tracks and in order to test the tracks you will need to run the train on there as well as the signals. So was there something that was missed . Did something go wrong with the track . Still lots of unanswered questions, but i can tell you one thing, the black box pt locomotive, it will give us plenty of answers. Just stunning still looking at these pictures and lookino os killed on the highway as they came careening down to the cars below. Well pop you back on tv as you get more on this respect russ quimby formerly with the National Transportation safety board. Some of your former colleagues, this 20person go Team En Route to the scene, but first to you, just big picture. Youve been looking at these pictures as we all have all day and you know, when you see the different train cars and you heard that, you know, radio apparently was about to round a curve, what are your initial thoughts just looking at these pictures . Well. The loenger i look at the pictures i had to get a satellite view of what i was looking at and it appears when you look at the pictures that the train was coming around the corner and entering on to the bridge and the overpass of the southbound i5 and this train looks like it had the locomotive on each end and it was a pushpull operation, and so the more conventional amtraklooking locomotive that you see on the track, that was a rear end, i believe, and if you look at some of the other pictures and another locomotive and that which youre looking at right now and it looks like that was a lead locomotive on the right outside of the curve. The locomotive on the right is what you were referencing and not the one on the ground. That looks like the lead locomotive. The one on the far right i believe that was on the end. And it looks like it didnt make the curve which would indicate over speed. Thats what the ntsb spokeswoman was question number one on the speed, and renee mentioned the black boxes and you know theyll be looking for those black boxes. What what secrets, what information lies in the black boxes of the train . It will have all kinds of information, but predominantly in this particular case, speed. It will have braking and all kinds of other factors going to train operations. And my question was about testing and there had been concerns and you look at recent newspaper articles, questions or concerns within communities about high speed and this is about making sure people can get between seattle and portland quicker than they ever have before, and even predicting a deadly crash and thats precisely when were talking about today. So when you test a train like this, can you test it fully with all of the weight onboard or not . Generally speaking, the amount of when you say all of the weight onboard, the amount as though you would have 78 people and five crew members. Yeah. 78 folks compared to the weight of the train is not significant. So they could test it empty and, and forgive me, let me jump in, i just got handed an urgent and this amtrak cascades train is owned by this is Washington State department of transportation and Oregon Department of transportation and om track operates, and it is the contract between the two states. After weeks of testing ws dot says this is the first public use of the track. First public use of the track. What does that tell you . Well, when they say the first public use that doesnt include testing, and thats the first time you had paying customers. Okay. So would have tested as they were runding the curve, and the ntsb folks, and the conductor and the blood tests from previous days and sleep and that kind of thing and would the conductor know at the time seconds before, realizing oh, my god, were going to crash. Youre mixing terminology and the locomotive engineer. The locomotive engineer. Youre the expert, you tell me, sir. And the train taking care of passengers. Im talking about the driver, the engineer. The driver, hes the one operating the train. If hes complying with the speed restrictions and this, i understand, was a 30 mile an hour curve, theyre going to know that. Theyre going to see that on the video in front of the locomotive and youll see it on the event recorder, and there are all kinds of reasons for engineers to overspeed. Weve had a number of accidents where the engineers on commuter trains have been falling asleep and ive been caught napping and the Chronic Fatigue and things like that. This was an inaugural run and i would not expect that, i would expect maybe there might be some kind of distraction and it was the First Time Since this was a maiden run. That could have been factored in here, too. Russ, i noticed some of the train cars and investigators are spray painting numbers and circles. Do you know the significance of that . Im sorry, say that again . Ive looked at some of us have noticed on some of these train cars, i dont know if you can notice the orange spray paint and i dont know if there were xs, circles and squares, do you know what that notifies . There is a standard code for bodies, people found injure order dead or that the car has been searched and thats what that is. Happened. Russ quimby, thank you so much. I appreciate your voice. Former ntsb. We will pivot on over to a Law Enforcement individual who is briefing the press. Lets listen. You are going to avoid rask and it will just impact the traffic that were diverting through the base and off the base. So if youre going northbound please do not leave northbound and stay northbound. Some of the other pertinent information you should know is we are securing the scene right now. Life safety is really our precedence right now. Weve got fire and Law Enforcement that we really need to make sure so we need to secure that scene and we need to make sure that those cars are safe before they can get on and check for more casualties and hazmat is a concern and we do have Hazardous Response Team on the way and our concern right now is fuel and batteries and Pierce County is on the way. Again, were working to secure those trains and all reunification. We do have a Family Reunification Center and were asking people, please dont come to the scene and thats where you can reunite with the families and the phone number for amtrak reunification is 18005239101. Thats all i have. Thank you, guys. Can you say the number affected if. There are 12 cars and two engines and 13 umpjumped the tracks. We cannot make those safe so we can check them out. Were working on that right now. 13 jumped the tracks. Is the portion of the track where the train derailed, is that the new track . I dont know. I dont know. Im sorry. Yes, sir . How long have you been doing this . . How long have i been a trooper . Since 2010 . Seven years. Have you ever seen anything like this . Ive never seen a trail derailment, no, but we see a lot in this job, yes. [ inaudible question ] i dont know. Were not doing rescue operations at this time. Weve been hearing that its possible that this stretch of i5 could be closed for days. Do you know that at this point . We dont know that at this time. Who makes that decision . Theyre waiting for ntsb and amtrak to come here so they can finish the investigation. Well just be assisting. Washdot, state patrol. It is safe to say that this will go well into the night at this point. Is fuel leaking . Not that i know of, but we have hazmat en route to make sure everything is safe. Im sorry. I cant speak on that. Request you repeat the numbers . We had a list there. 12 cars with two engines and 13 of them ump jed the track and multiple casualties and were not confirming numbers at the time and there were 77 pass thinkers onboard, five crew members and five Motor Vehicles involved and two systemis. Were still investigating and trying to find out whos who. There are a lot of working parts here and you have been wonderful and i appreciate that and were still evolving and trying to find out all of the members. Do you know if the what was the question . Are you aware of where the trains are on the track 13 jumpeded. Anything else, folks . Thank you, guys. Okay. Just a couple of top lines from the state trooper in Washington State. You did hear her say there was 13 of those cars jumped the tracks early this morning and this Train Derailment and hazmat is a concern and some of the different train cars and they want to work as a precaution, bringing out the hazmat crews and concerns in that area. Working to secure the trains and the big key is for families and families who are there in Washington State who are concerned about loved ones who could have been on the underpass or on the train and theyre saying please, please dont go to the accident scene. Go to the, theyre calling it a family reunification area and not a rescue operation at this point. 78 people onboard the train plus five crew members and 77 people have been taken to hospitals. Were getting more information. Youre watching cnn continuous coverage here. Back in a moment. Booking a flight at the last minute doesnt have to be expensive. Just go to priceline. Its the best place to book a flight a few days before my trip and still save up to 40 . Just tap and go. For the best savings on flights, go to priceline. The morning walk until. It. Wasnt. Dont let type 2 diabetes get between you and your heart. Even if you reach your a1c goal you are still at risk for heart attack or stroke. Talk to your Health Care Provider today about diabetic heart disease. And find out more at heartoftype2. Com. Your heart and type 2 diabetes. Make the connection. Let me begin by expressing our deepest sympathies and most heartfelt prayers for the victims of the Train Derailment in Washington State. We are closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with local authorities. It is all the more reason why we must start immediately fixing the infrastructure of the united states. That was President Trump just a short while ago addressing the deadly Train Derailment on his new National Security strategy and the president tweeting about the crash moments before his speech. That first tweet read, as follows. The train accident that just occurred dupont, washington, shows more than ever why our soon to be submitted infrastructure plan must be approved quickly. 7 trillion spent in the middle east while our roads, bridges, tunnels, railways and more crumble. Not for long. 11 minutes later included the families and my thoughts and prayers for everyone involved in the train accident in dupont, washington, thank you if all of our wonder of First Responders who are on the scene. We are currently monitoring here at the white house. Jamie, noticeably in the first tweet it was about his infrastructure plan and not initially about families. Yeah. Thats right. You saw the president his first instinct when he heard about this crash and sought to react to it on twitter was call for a policy proposal to push forward his infrastrucker plan, and we saw 11 minutes later the tweet about victims families and when the president made remarks later in the day we saw him once again address the victim this time first, but again called for infrastructure plans and this is a theme that weve seen with his president and weve seen when it is politically beneficial use certain tragedies for his political benefit. When there are terrorist attacks he runs on an immigration argument or calling for the travel ban once again, but when its a tragedy that doesnt necessarily serve his agenda, we dont see the same thing when it comes to, for example, Mass Shootings that have happened. The president and his administration have suggested that we should wait longer before talking about policy prescriptions, but clearly here, hes seeking to use this to push his infrastructure plan, but its not clear, exactly whether that would have made a difference here. Of course, it will take some days before this investigation concludes to figure out what exactly happened, but the Washington State department of transportation has said that some upgrades were just recently made to this track thanks to federal dollars, actually, and so and this was the first day of use of this new track. So unclear exactly what caused this, but clearly this was a section of track that had recently been refurbished so its not clear how the president calls for new infrastructure would apply here. First day, first route, right, on the highspeed rail from seattle to portland, so many questions and jamie, thank you from the white house. Lets hone in on the investigation piece of this and the Mechanical Engineering professor from the university of north dakota and author of train wreck the forensics of trail disasters and between the two of you, we have a wealth of information here. I appreciate both of you being on with me. Richard biel, just to you first. Put yourself in the shoes of these ntsb guys and gals who will be arriving at some point today and theyre heading straight for this derailment scene. Whats question number one for them. Question number one is going to be to find out where exactly that train left the track. Theyre going to go back to the point where the first track for the first well went to see where it went anything wrong and there was a broken rail to, and was there something wrong with the equipment itself, and finally seeing the aerials that ive seen from this appears to be the crew error the high speed curve, and the thing that jumps out at me the most is how far some of the lead locomotive and the rail car went where it left the rail in the beginning of the curve. We could hear that just from one of the crew members calling dialing 911 and saying they were rounding the curve when precisely this happened. So george, to you, just on the mechanics of all of this and someone a bit ago reminded us of that horrible accident in philadelphia that we remember covering that train, that accident and that also had to do with speed and a curve and we talked a lot at the time about you know the terminology than i do, and the train wasnt slowed by human. There was a fault switch or what was it . Positive train control to slow it down automatically . Where is that . Its in the process of being updated nationwide. It was federally mandated the end of 2016, they did not make the deadline and they were given an extension. Im not sure where theyre at on that. This track in philadelphia they were going 100 miles an hour that came on a 50 mileanhour curve so roughly double the speed youll fly off the track. Usually the most common thing is equipment failure. I was just looking up a few numbers. So far this year theres been 254 derailments and only three of them for too fast on a curve. So usually something break, but its too early to say anything specific. Unfortunately, for these families. Gentlemen, stand by, there is a News Conference under way at the Family Reunification Center. The range of injuries right now, we dont even know what that is because they were quickly transported and that information will be compiled later and released by the state patrol. [ inaudible question ] what time are they expected to get here . I dont know what time theyre expected to get here. Thats part of the investigation with the state. So from here on out the Washington State patrol will be given updates. What i give you is just where were at right now. That brings you right up to the exact same thing that the media is being told over where the incident occurred. You said some of the train cars arent safe to search right now. What is it going to take for we are shoring up. Right now theyre in the process of getting the equipment. Weve opened up an Incident Command Center and an Incident Command Center is doing logistics to get the proper equipment to make sure they get in the train cars as soon as we possibly can. Do we know if those cars are full . No idea. No idea. I have no idea. As far as logistics of the train, i just dont know that. Thats going to be up to someone else to answer. Can you tell us if were on the new defiance track . Today was the first day from what we understand the tracks to use from the train to portland was the inaugural day and they were on the bypass track for these to go around the water. So this would have been the first trip, first train, first day. [ inaudible question ] say it again . [ inaudible question ] oh, i dont know. I do know about a lot of citizens got out of their cars and helped. A lot of citizens got out and did what they could to help people that were coming off the train and injured and helped the Fire Department is they first started showing up and they could start their extrication. Thanks to the people who did that in the community. When something bad like this happens it takes everybody to respond to make a good result of something thats actually horrific, but considering when you look at it, it could have been much worse, and we have trains that intersect the freeway and the bridge and plenty of time. We are very grateful that everybody on the road is okay. Were very sorry for the loss of life for the people that are standing around waiting to hear who is deceased and were very respectful of that, and we want to make sure we dont get anyone else hurt or injured as we move forward. How many vehicles on the ground, would you say . Preliminarily, there were five vehicles on the ground that were on the ground, until they unravel whats down there and find out what else might be going on. The state patrol from here on out will be handling it and i think i told you everything that there is to know thats uptodate and theyll be running information out of that particular center. Do you know what number . Ed troyer. We are getting a bit of information, this is yet another Law Enforcement official. He is speaking from what they call a Family Reunification Center, a city hall not too far from the Train Derailment and thats where the families are being told to go and they still dont know yet whether their mom, dad, sons, daughters are okay. All were getting again from Law Enforcement is multiple fatalities. You did hear from that Law Enforcement, it sounds like even though there were five cars and semitrucks involved in i5 involved in this massive derailment and crash, it sounds like those people are okay. It seems to me that from these Law Enforcement authorities, theyre saying they are pinpointing the casualties on the train cars and as you can see some of the orange spray paint according to an official i talked to a minute ago, he was saying that that signifies emergency officials some looks of bodies. I still have Richard Beale and george bible with me, and Richard Beale, just looking at the placement, the precarious placement and the dangling of these cars, im thinking of the people who survived, how did they even begin to get them out . Well, we dont know that theyve got them all out yet, but when you have a situation such as this where you have rail cars that are unstable, theyre going to have to enter them by one of two ways. Try to get the prize open, the rear doors between the two cars which is extremely dangerous at this point, but there are emergency windows on every single Passenger Car that you can pull the rubber gaskets out and release the actual glass and get in there by buckets or by ladders from the Fire Department. Just awful to think about. George bible, what are your other key questions . Well, obviously, what caused the accident, and again, its kind of early to hear that. Certainly going too fast on a curve is problematic, but that seems to rarely happen. It certainly was the cause in the philadelphia accident that killed eight in 2015. In spain they had a terrible derailment and they were going twice the speed 100 miles an hour on a curve and they killed 79. They had the misfortune to derail on a Massive Concrete bridge above them. Yeah. They keep saying, you know, theyre so grateful. It could have been so much worse, but i have to tell you, just looking at these picture, its pretty bad. We dont know the numbers of fatalities or casualties, but our thoughts, of course, going out to family members in the Washington State area still waiting for news on the status of their loved ones. Gentlemen, thank you both so much. Let me bring in one more voice. Dena orlov. She came upon this accident when it happened. Youre with me on the phone. First of all, how are you doing . Um, im doing okay. Its interesting to just go to work after Something Like that, but you know, youve got to keep going. Continue on, sure. Tell me where you were and what you saw. So i was headed in the opposite direction on i5 and the bridge goes over both sides of the freeway and basically i pass under the bridge. We started to see traffic piling up and then we turned our heads further to see what happened and it was absolutely unreal. Not what we were expecting to see at all. No Police Officers or anything there yet, and i had the driver of the car roll down the window and it was eerily silent. When you say you saw the unreal, describe the unreal for me. What exactly did you see . I mean, it looked like a scene out of a movie and having that many train cars off of something that you drive under so frequently. I drive under that overpass all of the time. We saw primarily the two train cars and the one coming off basically the side towards us to the north and the one falling off to the south, but probably the hardest thing was seeing the car that was trapped underneath the train car on our side. It almost seems like the accident had been there for some time because it was so quiet. Its hard to believe that it just happened, but when we saw the first cop car we realized it just happened and we had to have only missed it by a couple of minutes. So youre heading on to work as you would any other day on i5. You go under this overpass. You see the train. Do you see the train at that point or you only see the train when you look in your Rearview Mirror . Only when we saw, we were looking to see why traffic had built up and we had to turn completely to the left almost past like we had to slow down the car in order to turn our bodies a little bit further to see what had happened. So it wasnt until after we saw the traffic building, thats when we saw all of the train cars had fallen. I dont know. It sounds like you slowed down and you talked to another car. Did you stop or notice other people stop, other people jumping out to try to help . On our side, no. On the other side of the freeway that it happened on, yes. That was the only people that i could see were people over there, but a lot of people were getting out of the cars because they knew they couldnt go anywhere and a lot of people were trying to help. And how busy about what time of morning was it for you and how busy was the highway . It was 7 40, and i mean, the traffic at that time of day can vary. It was not bad on my side and it shouldnt have been bad on the other side given that the traffic at that point had only backed up about a quarter of a mile and i dont know how long it will be until they get that opened up again. It was it was not that much traffic which is why it was so unusual and to think, im sure youve gone on to work. If it were me i would be a little rattled and i would have seen all these pictures on the news. I mean, you missed this, denay, by seconds. Yeah. I am one of those people that just i gave myself a second to think about it could have been me and then what can i do. Like i said, i hopped on to twitter and hey, can you donate blood . What can we do because its not about us, its about them, and im happy to be here, though. Bless you. Thank you so much. I love that youre donating blood. Denay, i am so glad youre okay. We will stay on this breaking story. Well bring in a former railroad engineer who knows these rails. He actually lives ten minute away from where this derailment happened. Well talk to him in just a moment. Whoooo. Looking for a hotel that fits. Your budget . Tripadvisor now searches over. 200 sites to find you the. Hotel you want at the lowest price. Grazi, gino find a price that fits. Tripadvisor. [he has a new business teaching lessons. Rodney wanted to know how his business was doing. So he got quickbooks. It organizes all his accounts, so he can see his bottom line. Ahhh. Thats a profit. Know where you stand instantly. Visit quickbooksdotcom. Back to these just awful pictures out of Washington State, the deadly Train Derailment. The first day the inaugural run of this amtrak highspeed train, seattle to portland and this is the result of that. With me on the phone, john hyatt, a former rail rood engineer who investigates Railroad Accidents for a law firm. He lives about ten minute away from where todays derailment happened. So, john, thank you very much for hopping on the phone. You of all of the experts i talked to today, you know this area very well. What are your initial thoughts when you see these images . Well, you know, as the day has developed and the images are more clear it is frightening and it it reminds me we have two trains go headon and there were cars all over i5 and it was a dafter and it scares me. There was talk about positive train control and i dont know if positive train control was in effect in this particular spot. Remind people, john, what that is. People dont remember. Positive train control, it came up in the amtrak derailment in philadelphia. We consider it an angel on our shoulders out there on the track and its our backup and our safety net. In case you, for some reason, become displaced and you dont see the curve coming or you dont see the spot where youre supposed to be slowing down, the signals will be sent to the locomotive and this is just a raw form of explaining it to you and it will begin applying the brakes on the train to get it to stop the train and there are other terms in the industry that you will hear about like a dead man, if its not being touched so many times a second, but then it will also apply the brake, and in this instance, looking at the accident and it did look like that engine did not make that curve and did not go over that bridge, and i dont know. Honestly, if it was at a high rate of speed that people were talking about earlier in the 79 mileanhour area it would look much, much worse than this. The train was down to a lower speed and the event recorders and the black boxes will tell us all of that. I was talking to a woman that was on i5 and saw this in the Rearview Mirror and she missed it by a couple of seconds and it was like a scene out of a movie, and when you look, john, at how all these cars wound up. You think of what a train looks like, right . Altogether rounding a curve and how these cars would have jumped the tracks and the way they did and dangled and some of them upside down on the ground below and you think how could this have happened . Yeah, it really is a big question mark. I really, one of my first instincts as an investigator looking at this is i have to question, and function of some sort. And you were not the first person to say that, the track and that locomotive doesnt look like it went that far after derailing to be at a much higher rate of speed, but that is shooting from the hip because you dont know, and there was early reports thought they hit a truck and if you look at the picture, was there a semi on i5 that ended up by the locomotive and that could have been confused by the locomotive being looking down there thinking they struck that truck. It is so unclear right now. The one thing that is clear, it couldnt have happened in a more logistically place or time if there is a Silver Lining to the cloud. You have a military base and emts on the scene almost immediately and thats the Positive Side of this. As im listening to you, john, my producer, the president of amtrak that said that . The president of amtrak said the positive train control was not activated on the tracks. There you have it. Thats horrifying, brooke, i have to tell you. In the accident that i referred to in 1993 five crew members were killed and they had over ten years of experience each and there were over 100 years of experience with these five men and they promised those families at that time in 1993 we will implement positive train control and every time you turn around it gets pushed back and pushed back and i put this right in congress lap. Right now i look at this and if there was no positive train control in effect there, then shame on them. You know those families are saying how can you have a highspeed train and as you said, the angel on your shoulder, that positive train control. Im angry, brooke, and i dont know anybody involve at this point. If what he said is rue and hes the president of amtrak, then what in the world are we doing . Go ahead. There are too many questions. Its a question that should be posed to congress, indeed. John hiatt, im glad we had you on the phone. I got handed a piece upon paper, amtrak president positive train control was not active on the tracks at the time of the derailment. The 10person crew is en route to the scene and the chief investigator is on his or her way there from washington to Washington State to hopefully answer some of these, and well come forward to how in the world this happened and for now, john hiatt, thank you for hopping on the phone with me and i appreciate your anger and the visceral reaction to that piece of information and its devastating for these families. Next here, speaking of washington, d. C. , we are live there on capitol hill where another republican senator has just confirmed he is voting yes on the tax bill set for a vote less than 24 hours from now. Well explain whats in it that can affect your money next. Ur nh lobsterwrapped scallops and a juicy steak. Or a new lobster and seafoodtopped filet. Hurry in it ends december 31st. Was supposed to be a wake reup call for our government . Sh people all across the country lost their savings, their pensions and their jobs. Im tom steyer and it turned out that the system that had benefited people like me who are well off, was, in fact, stacked against everyone else. Its why i left my Investment Firm and resolved to use my savings for the public good. But here we are nine years later and this president and the Republican Congress are making a bad situation even worse. They wont tell you that their so called tax reform plan is really for the wealthy and big corporations, while hurting the middle class. It blows up the deficit and that means fewer investments in education, health care and job creation. Its up to all of us to stand up to this president. Not just for impeachable offenses, but also to demand a country where everyone has a real chance to succeed. Join us. Your voice matters. Hes a nascar champion whos shes a worldclass swimmer whos stared down the best in her sport. 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Xarelto® can cause serious, and in rare cases, fatal bleeding. Get help right away for unexpected bleeding, unusual bruising, or tingling. If youve had spinal anesthesia, watch for back pain or any nerve or musclerelated signs or symptoms. Do not take xarelto® if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. Tell your doctor before all planned medical or dental procedures and before starting xarelto® about any conditions, such as kidney, liver, or bleeding problems. Youve got to learn all you can. To help protect yourself from dvt and pe blood clots. Talk to your doctor about xarelto®. Theres more to know. Washington state in just a second, but to washington, d. C. We go to now. Breaking news there where another republican senator has just confirmed he is a yes vote on this tax bill. Lets go straight to our senior Congressional Correspondent Phil Mattingly who is there on capitol hill. Where does that put us ahead of tomorrows vote . Reporter well, Republican Leaders no doubt about it, brooke, are inches towards having the votes. Theyre confident behind the scenes they everyone do have the votes already. Senator mike lee of utah was previously unknown where he was standing, made clear he wanted to read the bill over the weekend. 50 pages of light weekend reading, he is now officially a yes on the bill. Brooke, that puts all eyes on senators jeff flake and senator Susan Collins. We dont know where they currently stand right now. Senate republican aides feel very good that both, not just one, but both of them will eventually be yes votes. Senator Susan Collins put out a statement touting the win she had in the final conference report, the things she got in exchange for her yes vote on the Senate Proposal the first time around. Also in the final conference proposal, what jeff flake got for his yes vote the first time around, basically the expensing provision was supposed to end after five years, there is now a more gradual phase out. Collins made a kind of a side deal on this with two Health Care Proposals she wanted to see in the final yearend spending deal. There has been a lot of confusion as to whether or not those would actually be in there. Im told from several gop aides those will be in there. As long as that is the case, expect senator collins to come around. Senator john mccain has flown home to arizona to continue his recovery. Not a lot to work with in terms of space or no votes, but as things currently stand, there are no declared no votes in the u. S. Senate right now. We talked about senator bob corker flipping from no to yes last week. That means if things continue on their current track, they are okay in the senate, they will be able to pass this. In the house, theyre confident theyll be there in the house as well. Brooke, the house will take this up tomorrow afternoon, should pass it, then the senate will follow suit, her is a pretty good chance im told that the president could have this tax bill on his desk. The first time a tax overhaul has been completed in more than 31 years by wednesday afternoon. You talk about how fast theyve moved. I think a lot of us chuckled at the idea this could be done within the year. Brooke, theyre right on the edge of that right now. Chuckle no more. Red sox have a big week in washington. You have a big couple of days covering all of this for us. Phil mattingly, thank you so very much. Watching all of the chess pieces on capitol hill. Quick break. Back in a moment. We need to be ready for whatever weather may come our way. My names Scott Strenfel and im a meteorologist at pg e. We make sure that our crews as well as our customers are prepared to how weather may impact their energy. So every single day were monitoring the weather, and when storm events arise our forecast get crews out ahead of the storm to minimize any outages. During storm season we want our customers to be ready and stay safe. Learn how you can be prepared at pge. Com beprepared. Together, were building a better california. Captions by vitac www. Vitac. Com welcome to the lead. Im jim sciutto in for jake tapper today. We begin with breaking news in our national lead. We have new information about that amtrak Train Derailment that has killed multiple people in Washington State. This while a 20member ntsb go team is flying in tonight to investigate this crash. The train from seattle to portland was carrying 78 passengers and five crew members when it went off the rails in Pierce County, washington, 13 of 14 cars derailed during what was the very first public use of this upgraded higher speed route. I want to begin now with cnn transportation correspondent rene marsh. Renee, youve been talking to sources including amtrak. What is the latest we know about the extent of this crash . The big questionson how many people died in this . When you look at the images it really is devastate tolg see. The truth of the matter is, jim, we dont have hard number as far as fatalities. There are train car this have not been able to search because its simply