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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Torture Secrets of the CIA; Protests from Coast to Coast; Obama Appears on "Colbert Report"; Stocks Down Around the World; U.S. Didn't Know About South African Hostage; Income Inequality Worst in 30 Years

Aired December 09, 2014 - 04:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Security alert at U.S. embassies around the world. They are bracing for a backlash as a new report reveals what some call CIA torture. Just how terror suspects were interrogated after September 11th? We will tell you what we know about the report and the controversy it's creating. That's ahead.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight: more protests across the country. Demonstrators furious over the police killings of unarmed Eric Garner. The "we can't breathe" message making it all the way to the NBA as Garner's children share their thoughts on the movement in a CNN exclusive.

BERMAN: And President Obama on "The Colbert Report". Defending his decisions on immigration, the economy, Obamacare, even Colbert called him emperor. We'll give you some of the best jokes. That's ahead.

ROMANS: His analysis of the jobs report was entertaining as well.

BERMAN: Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.

ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. It's 33 minutes past the hour.

Security tightening at facilities around the world this morning, American facilities. Military and diplomatic sites bracing for the release of a Senate Intelligence Committee report, the 400-page report revealing long awaited findings on enhanced terror interrogation, what some called torture, during the Bush administration.

CNN's Elise Labott has the latest from Washington for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, John and Christine, U.S. diplomatic posts and military bases around the world are on high alert today as the Obama administration braces for the explosive report on the Bush administration's use of torture. Thousands of marines on stand by after a dire classified assessment, warning of a violent backlash. There was a last-ditch effort by Secretary of State John Kerry to persuade the Senate Intelligence Chair Dianne Feinstein to delay the report's release. But we understand Senator Feinstein is undeterred and that report is expected today.

Now, it's expected to accuse the CIA of lying about the use of torture after 9/11 and claim the waterboarding of three terrorists in particular, including Khalid Sheik Muhammad, failed to produce results. Now, the administration fears the report could subject American hostages to the same acts of torture and invite violent anti- American protests at U.S. embassies.

Now, the head of the House Intelligence Committee Mike Rogers, he's calling the report's release a terrible idea, saying in addition to the intelligence assessment, foreign leaders are warning that the release of the report could cause violence and deaths.

Now, lots of countries cooperated with the U.S. in the war on terror, at some political risk. And they rely on American discretion. So, if that report is released, there is a concern it could definitely deter U.S. allies in the global coalition against ISIS because they'll be fearing terrorist reprisals -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: All right. Our thanks to Elise Labott.

Now, the White House acknowledges that American personnel and facilities in the Muslim world are at special risk as the Senate report comes out this morning. That's about at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Also, U.S. allies who may be named in the report as cooperating with the CIA are thought to be especially concerned about public reaction.

CNN's Ian Lee is in Egypt.

Ian, you have a sense if officials there at the U.S. embassy are concerned about the report and how they are preparing for the release.

IAN LEE, CNN REPORTER: Now, John, as we heard from Elise, that there are thousands of Marines across the Middle East ready to deploy within hours if any diplomatic mission comes under threat. I talked to the officials at the U.S. embassy here. They said they're not going to comment on security, but the U.S. embassy is a fortress. And it's not out of the realm of the possibility an attack could take place. But it would be very difficult. There's a lot of police and also army close by to deploy if anything were to happen, John.

BERMAN: We have seen demonstration there before. As you say in around the world, they are on high alert this morning.

Our thanks to Ian Lee in Cairo. Appreciate it.

ROMANS: Breaking overnight, outgoing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel arriving in Baghdad. He's there to visit and thank American troops for their work helping to fight ISIS.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State John Kerry will be on Capitol Hill today briefing senators on the threat from ISIS. Kerry is scheduled to testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as it begins debating on authorizing the use of military force against ISIS. Kerry is certain to mention a new plan for U.S. allies to send about 1,500 additional troops to Iraq. They will advise and train Iraqi and Kurdish troops in their fight, a bipartisan group of senators is pushing for a vote on a bill to approve U.S. action.

BERMAN: Still no deal on spending bill. Lawmakers are hoping to approve a $1.1 trillion package late last night to keep the government operating beyond midnight on Thursday. But talks broke down over a last minute disagreement involving the renewal of a terrorism insurance program. There are some other disagreements in there as well.

Congressional leaders say they are ready to pass a short term extension to give House and Senate leaders a few more days to negotiate if necessary.

ROMANS: The President Obama will host a town hall meeting on immigration reform in Nashville this morning. That city is home to one of fast-growing immigrant populations in the United States. Right now, 17 states are involved in a federal lawsuit seeking to block the president's executive order, which gives temporary work status to more than 5 million immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally.

BERMAN: So, the president went on Comedy Central's "Colbert Report" for the first and last time overnight. It was a spirited and frequently awesome exchange.

Host Stephen Colbert tackled immigration reform. He called the president "emperor" and even asked him why he burned the Constitution.

You have to listen to this exchange on Obamacare.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Even I have to admit Obamacare is the law of the land, and while it's been politically divisive, there are things that people from both parties actually like about Obamacare.

For instance, that children can stay on their parents policies until age 26. Let's face it. Even if Republicans somehow did repeal it, they'd have to replace it with their own health care plan. Once they touch it -- once they touch it, they own it. Then if anything goes wrong, suddenly, everybody will be complaining about Mitch McConnell care.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: I am impressed by the delivery there.

Anyway, "The Colbert Report" ends a nine-year run later this month. Stephen Colbert, he will take over the CBS "Late Show".

ROMANS: All right. Very funny stuff.

Time for an early start on your money. A bad day, nothing funny about happening in stocks so far. Asian stocks fell. Shanghai's benchmark down more than 5 percent. European shares are also moving lower. So are U.S. stock futures after a rough day yesterday. The Dow posted its biggest one day loss since October, down 106 points, pulling back from 18,000.

Energy stocks led the decline. Oil prices falling 4 percent to a 5- year low. Crude oil about $62 a barrel right now. That's down more than 40 percent from the summer.

And if oil keeps falling, that means so does gas. Right now, the national average is $2.67 a gallon. It's likely to fall below $2.50 were told in coming weeks.

BERMAN: Wow.

ROMANS: I know. It's $100 a month in consumers' pockets. That's what cheaper gas means, 100 bucks a month extra to your pocket.

BERMAN: And if people spend it, then you'll see the economic growth along with it.

ROMANS: People save it, they might feel better about the economy.

BERMAN: Breaking overnight, protests across the country over the police-involved deaths of unarmed black suspects. The "we can't breathe" message has made it to the floors of the NBA games with the biggest stars in the game. That as children of the man who was put in a chokehold by police speak out in a CNN exclusive. What they had to say, next.

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ROMANS: Happening right now. New reaction to the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner. In Berkeley, California, a third consecutive night of protests has not turned violent as happened over the weekend. More than 1,000 protesters marched through Berkeley streets, shutting down a subway station, halting traffic on a major interstate. California Highway Patrol officers arresting scores of protesters there. Demonstrators also stopped a train in its tracks.

CNN's Dan Simon is on the scene.

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DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, we are at a railroad crossing in Berkeley where protesters have been able to stop an Amtrak passenger train from moving. You can see it right there on the track behind me.

This has been a massive protest with well over 3,000 people. But from what we have seen, it's been peaceful after the two chaotic nights on the streets of Berkeley. But we have seen things like this. And at one point, the crowd was able to shutdown the I-80 freeway in both directions -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE) ROMANS: Thanks, Dan.

Protests elsewhere brought traffic to a standstill. In Washington, demonstrators staged a die-in in a major intersection just blocks from the White House. Outside the Brooklyn Nets game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, a large group of protesters swarming the streets, chanting "hands up, don't shoot" and "black lives matter."

BERMAN: Inside the stadium, LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Kyrie Irving, also several other players, you can see Kevin Garnett there, they were wearing t-shirts bearing Eric Garner's last words, "I can't breathe." LeBron James told reporters after the game that the gesture was aimed first and foremost to Eric Garner's family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEBRON JAMES, CLEVELAND CAVALIERS: You know, it's a message to the family that I'm sorry for their loss, and sorry to his wife and that's what it's about. I think everybody is getting caught up in everything else besides who is feeling it, and that's the family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Four of Eric Garner's children weighed in on the protests, speaking exclusively to our Don Lemon overnight. They say the widespread demonstrations have been comforting for them in a difficult time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMERALD GARNER, DAUGHTER OF ERIC GARNER: You know, did you see Paris? They were laying down in front of the Eiffel Tower. Did you see California? They were doing this and they were doing that. So, it's an everybody thing, you know?

So, it was like for celebrities to be like, you know, let's support the Garner family because that was wrong, you know, it was wrong. So, there is nothing they can do to make it right but we can fight so that it won't happen another time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: U U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, he announced a new ban on profiling by federal law officers. It bans prohibitive characteristics from race alone, to also include gender, religion and sexual orientation among others. The new rules apply to federal, not local law enforcement.

A nor'easter in the forecast for the Northeast United States. A nor'easter for the Northeast United States?

BERMAN: Appropriate, right?

ROMANS: It is appropriate.

For a complete look at the forecast, let's turn to meteorologist Pedram Javaheri.

How are you?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, doing well, doing well.

You know, it could be far worse when it comes to what is happening across the Northeast. We've got the storm system parked offshore out there. The storm itself coming in on the warmer side relatively speaking, of course. About 25 million people have been warned of wintry weather ahead of us later on this afternoon and to this evening.

And we put the storm system in the picture say about 30 or 40 days from now. We are talking about significant snow accumulations from Philly to New York. But that's not going to be the case today. We have flood warnings and watches right on the immediate coasts of the metro cities, yet significant rainfall and snow stays across interior portions of New England.

So, here's the prospective at this hour. Heavy rain showers on the immediate coast. Philly and New York get in on the action first. Much of it sleet across interior New England. The winds are going to be the big story, 40 to 50 miles per hour into the afternoon hours here. So, it's certainly going to shape up to see some travel delays before things quiet down as we head on it through Wednesday afternoon by tomorrow.

But there you go, the prospective for delays today, rain and wind, 60 to 90-minute delays out of JFK. LaGuardia can also see some delays chipping across this area, generally 45 to 60 minutes at LaGuardia. So, not the best day to be traveling. And it looks like the vast majority of the coast with heavy rainfall as opposed to heavy snowfall in a month from now.

ROMANS: Right. All right. Thank you. Nice to see you and glad to know about those airport delays, really important stuff especially at 4:47 in the East, plan your morning accordingly.

BERMAN: It means extra viewers for us at the airport. Good morning to you waiting at the airport right now.

ROMANS: All right. Collateral damage: a terror hostage set to be released was killed when Navy SEALs -- when their rescue mission failed. Now, a woman who's been expecting her husband to come home soon is speaking out. We are live with what she had to say, next.

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BERMAN: A judge in South Africa is expected to rule today on the appeal by prosecutors that could lead to a longer prison sentence for Oscar Pistorius. He was sentenced to five years after being found guilty of culpable homicide, which is similar to manslaughter, in the shooting death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Prosecutors claim the judge misinterpreted the law, calling the sentence shockingly light and inappropriate. Missed signals compounding the tragedy of a failed rescue effort.

U.S. officials say they did not know a South African hostage was only days, maybe hours from release when they tried to rescue American captive Luke Somers from al Qaeda. Both Somers and South African teacher Pierre Korkie were shot by a militant during the U.S. raid in Yemen on Friday. They died after being transported to a Navy vessel.

Our correspondent Karl Penhaul is live in London with more.

And, Karl, Korkie's spoke out about this rescue attempt just minutes ago. What did you have to say?

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. John, what Yolande Korkie, the wife of murdered South African hostage Pierre Korkie is saying is she's urging forgiveness, she's urging to give thanks for the life of Pierre Korkie and not to start pointing the finger about the manner of his death.

And that certain is a huge gesture for her taking into account how this rescue operation went down and what the prospects were for that South African teacher who was kidnapped back in May 2013, because there was a South African charity Gift for Givers, who was trying to mediate in this crisis. Ad from what they themselves have said in a statement, Pierre Korkie, the South African hostage, was just hours perhaps from being released. That after a painstaking hostage and ransom negotiation back in January. It was publicized by some of the South African media, that these al Qaeda hostage takers were asking for $3 million for Pierre Korkie's release.

With patience and with negotiations over the months, this South African charity had managed to negotiate down to $200,000. What this Gift for Givers charity has said that Pierre Korkie could have been released on Saturday. That is the day after in fact he was killed in this botched rescue operation.

What we don't know, of course, is the exact manner of Pierre Korkie's death. Perhaps we're going to get some answers for that over the coming hours, over the coming days. His body is now back in South Africa. It is being examined now in a post-mortem examination. Maybe that will show us what bullet was used to kill him, what kind of range he was shot at -- John.

BERMAN: All right. Karl Penhaul for us in London this morning, thanks so much, Karl.

ROMANS: All right. When was the last time you ate at McDonald's?

BERMAN: I had Burger King last night, only because there was not a McDonald's nearby. Yes, no, last night, I ate fast food.

ROMANS: Well, you are generation X, so eat fast food. Guess what? The millennials are not going to McDonald's. Can the Golden Arches turn it around and win over millennials? We're going to get an early start on your money, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROMANS: Let's get an early start on your money. A bad day for stocks so far. Asian stocks hammered. What's going on here?

A few days ago we had a strong jobs report. Well, today, the feeling is the U.S. economy is strong and that gives the Federal Reserve room to raise interest rates sooner than expected.

Yesterday, the Dow bid adieu to 18,000 and had the biggest one day loss since October. Back from the 18,000 milestone. Energy stocks leading the decline.

Oil prices fell 4 percent to a five-year low. Crude oil is $63 a barrel right now.

The gap between the rich and poor is the biggest in 33 years, and that's hurting the global economy. That's according to the OECD, which represents 34 mostly developed countries.

The richest 10 percent of the population earned 9.5 times as much as the poorest 10 percent. That's expected to reduce total economic output by 8 1/2 percent in 25 years. The trend of growing income inequality doesn't seem to be slowing down.

Customers are losing their appetites for McDonald's, it turns out. Sales at U.S. locations fell 4.6 percent in November. That's the steepest decline in 14 years.

Millennials are choosing what are known as fast casual chains, like Chipotle and five guys instead. They are looking for fresher ingredients. They're looking for fresh ingredients. They're looking for a simple customizable menu.

McDonald's is working to simplify the lengthy menu. It has everything from salads to lattes, and they're going to offer more maybe build your own burger choices. The stock -- McDonald's stock fell 4 percent yesterday.

Millennials have -- their tastes, I predict, are going to really, really shape what we see in the economy and in retail.

BERMAN: Fickle millennials. We will bid adieu to the 4:00 hour.

EARLY START continues right now.

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