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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Hillary Running for President; Marco Rubio Presidential Announcement; North Charleston Remembers Walter Scott; Sen. John McCain Criticizing Iran Nuke Deal; ISIS Releases New Video; Jordan Spieth Captures Masters. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired April 13, 2015 - 05:00   ET

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


[05:00:00] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: But the sport watch was good. I don't think you're be a first mover on this.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm not, officially. I decided not to. My father, though, just ordered one, which is strange.

ROMANS: Oh, really?

BERMAN: EARLY START continues right now.

(MUSIC)

ROMANS: Hillary Clinton officially running for president. And this morning, she is on a road trip to Iowa. Republicans already on the attack. Can Clinton avoid the mistakes of 2008?

This as a new GOP heavyweight set to announce his candidacy today.

Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. Welcome to the presidential race the 2016. I'm Christine Romans.

BERMAN: I'm John Berman. It is Monday, April 13th. It is 5:00 a.m. in the East.

And breaking this morning: Road trip. Just after her official video announcement that she is running for president, Hillary Clinton, she's now driving to Iowa -- driving. Check this out. These are pictures taken with folks at a gas station in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Driving across Pennsylvania, that takes a long time.

ROMANS: The longest part of the trip to Iowa is Pennsylvania.

BERMAN: That's a commitment right there. She is in a three-car caravan headed west right now. Her first official event is in Iowa tomorrow, and her first order of business is really providing a rationale for her run.

Let's get more on that now from senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Christine.

The speculation is over. Hillary Clinton is now finally a presidential candidate.

She formally entered the race on Sunday afternoon in a video message to her supporters. Now, there are no big policy proposals. No lofty campaign promises, but rather what she calls the beginning of a conversation she hopes to hold with voters. It was far less about her own presidential aspirations than about fighting for those voters.

Let's take a listen.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm getting ready to do something, too. I'm running for president.

Americans have fought their way back from tough economic times. But the deck is still stacked at favor of those at the top.

Everyday American needs a champion. And I want to be that champion. So, you can do more than just get by. You can get ahead and stay ahead, because when families are strong, America is strong.

I'm hitting the road to earn your vote. Because it's your time and I hope you'll join me on this journey.

ZELENY: Now, she will hit the road on Tuesday in Iowa doing the stop in Eastern Iowa, spending the night and doing another stop in central Iowa on Wednesday. Then, she's likely to visit New Hampshire later in the week.

Of course, those are those two critical early voting states that she's focusing so much on on the so-called listening tour. She's doing these small sessions with voters, meeting people one-on-one, trying to win over the people she'll need in this primary fight.

Now, she intends to travel to other states as well. South Carolina, Nevada, and other states before delivering a more formal announcement speech in May.

So, now that we know she finally is running for president, she must explain to voters why she wants to be president. That, of course, is her burden -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Jeff Zeleny.

And how she'll do it differently this time. In 2008, she had a chance and she didn't make it.

BERMAN: It's already different this time. You know, eight years ago, the video she released was about her. She says I'm in it to win it. This time, it was very clear she was trying to make it about you, so to speak. She didn't appear in her official announcement video until 90 seconds in. And that in and of itself was a statement.

ROMANS: Interesting.

All right. Sunday may have been Hillary Clinton's day. But that didn't stop Republicans opponents from trying to steal a bit of her spotlight.

Jeb Bush, he's actively exploring a presidential run. He criticized what he called the Obama/Clinton foreign policy in a YouTube video. In a video from Ted Cruz warns that a Clinton victory would amount to a third Obama term.

And on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION", Rand Paul, he could not think of a single thing Hillary Clinton as secretary of state that he approved of.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Is there an area where you think Hillary Clinton was successful as secretary of state?

SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY), REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CONTENDER: I think really that the issue in Benghazi is an enormous issue, because it's whether or not as commander-in-chief, she'd be there for the 3:00 a.m. phone call. I think Benghazi was a 3:00 a.m. phone call that she never picked up. She didn't provide the security not just that day, for nine months. Dozens and dozens of requests for more security, all completely ignored by Hillary Clinton.

BASH: The question is, was there something that she did that was good?

PAUL: That's what I was trying to think. I was getting through the things I remember that aren't so good and trying to think of something good. I'm not so certain of that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Hillary Clinton says when it comes to the economy, the deck is stacked for people at the top. During her 2008 campaign, she hammered George W. Bush on jobs, on wage growth, and income inequality, inequality arguably worse today. Wage growth is the economy's sore spot, the recovery's sore spot.

But she has to be careful not to distance herself from President Obama's economic achievement. In fact, she in her talking points, pointing out 11 million jobs created under this president.

[05:05:00] Also, what about the millions from Wall Street, the donations from Wall Street? Will she try to distance herself this time around? The recession change the public perception of bankers who helped her in 2008. Other Democrats like Elizabeth Warren want more bank reforms and could push Clinton in that direction.

BERMAN: It will be interesting to see. Not the only thing happening in the political world today, a new Republican contender will make it official later. Florida Senator Marco Rubio will announce he is running for president from Miami's Freedom Tower. That's a landmark to the Cuban exile community there. His parents were born in Cuba. Two other Republican senators, Ted Cruz, whose father was born in Cuba, and Rand Paul have officially jumped into the race. CNN will have live coverage of Senator Rubio's remarks at 6:00 this evening.

ROMANS: All right. Developing in South Carolina this morning, a small group of protesters from Ferguson, Missouri, has arrived there. "The Charleston Post and Courier" reports they are in North Charleston to plan a series of peaceful protests against police brutality, the first protest later today outside North Charleston City Hall.

The protests are a response to the fatal shooting caught on video of this man fleeing a police officer. That Officer Michael Slager, now in jail facing murder charges. This comes as North Charleston remembers the shooting victim, 50-year-old Walter Scott.

More now this morning from national correspondent Polo Sandoval.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, it was a weekend full of tributes for the family of Walter Scott. It all started on Saturday morning with some very emotional moments as they gathered to lay their loved one to rest.

And then, Sunday, separate tribute. There was a memorial service for Mr. Scott, as well as a vigil at the location of the shooting itself.

Sunday, we also got to hear from the mayor of North Charleston, for the first time since he made those comments following the shooting itself. He maintains he is still appalled after seeing those images that we are all now very familiar with.

KEITH SUMMEY, MAYOR OF NORTH CHARLESTON: In a 2.7 second time, destroyed the lives of two families.

SANDOVAL: And the mayor also went on to say that he is now waiting for that report that will eventually be put out by state police. You recall that local authorities here in North Charleston actually handed over the investigation to SLED after the shooting. That's the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. They wanted to make sure that this investigation will be fair and also impartial.

Now, as former Officer Slager, he remains isolated behind bars ahead of his bond hearing that may be held here very soon. Also, his case could potentially end up in front of a grand jury as early as next month -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Our thanks to Polo for that report. This morning, the White House is defending the framework nuclear deal

reached with Iran. That after Senator John McCain questioned just how honest Secretary of State John Kerry has been about the details of the agreement. Senator McCain's criticism triggered response from the President Obama himself.

CNN national correspondent Sunlen Serfaty has the latest from the White House -- Sunlen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine and John, the bickering between President Obama and Senator John McCain stems from these two differing and competing interpretations of what's actually in this nuclear deal with Iran. Iran's supreme leader is saying one thing. U.S. officials are saying the other. They are at odds over key details, like sanctions and about inspections.

So, Senator McCain is highlighting these differences, saying in a radio interview that's calling into question Secretary of State John Kerry's honesty, saying that Kerry is delusional for trying in his words to sell what he called a bill of goods about this deal.

Now, those comments seem to strike a chord with President Obama. Here's what he said at a press conference in Panama over the weekend.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When I hear some like Senator McCain recently suggest that our Secretary of State John Kerry, who served in the United States Senate, a Vietnam veteran, who's provided exemplary service to this nation, is somehow less trustworthy in the interpretation in what's in a political agreement than the supreme leader of Iran, that's an indication of the degree to which partisanship has crossed all boundaries.

SERFATY: And Senator McCain quickly responded posting this tweet to Twitter, saying, quote, "So President Obama goes to Panama, meets with Castro and attacks me. I'm sure Raul is pleased."

Secretary of State John Kerry meanwhile, he pushed back on ABC's "This Week."

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: I think President Obama spoke very powerfully to Senator McCain yesterday. And I'll let the president's words stand. I also stand by every fact that I have laid out.

It's an unusual affirmation of our facts that come from Russia, but Russia has said that what we've set out is reliable and accurate.

SERFATY: This back and forth sets up what likely will be a very testy week ahead for President Obama and Congress. They are back today for their first session since the deal was announced -- Christine and John.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[05:10:03] BERMAN: Our thanks to Sunlen for that report. The United States is expanding its role in the Saudi-led mission to stop Iranian-backed Houthi rebels from taking over Yemen. The United States is now vetting military targets for air strikes, also searching ships trying to intercept Iranian arms that are headed to Yemen. Hundreds of civilians have been killed in the airstrikes. And, of course, the Obama administration is increasingly concerned the casualties could create resentments amongst the people of Yemen about the Saudi mission.

ROMANS: All right. This morning, ISIS is on a rampage in Iraq, releasing new video of fighters destroying the ancient Nimrud archeological site near Mosul last month. The footage shows them breaking down walls with sledgehammers, knocking over artifacts, blowing up buildings. Nimrud is the former capital of the Assyrian empire dating back more than 3,000 years.

BERMAN: The Pentagon is protesting what it calls an aggressive unsafe maneuver by a Russian fighter jet over the Baltic Sea. U.S. officials say an air force plane was flying in international air space when it was intercepted last week by a Russian SU-27. The Defense Department calls the incident unprofessional and careless. And warns that these kinds of action could escalate tensions between the United States and Russia. Russia accuses the U.S. of approaching its air space with an electronic transponder signal.

ROMANS: Given all that has happened over the past year or so between U.S. and Russia relations, that's not the kind of incident you want to see happening.

BERMAN: No.

ROMANS: All right. Her son guilty on all charges, but Boston marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's mother -- she isn't buying it. Who she blames for her son's crime, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: A Boston jury will reconvene next week for a hearing to determine whether convicted marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev should be sentenced to life in prison or death.

[05:15:00] Tsarnaev's mother back in Russia is expressing her anger over the verdict, saying both of her sons are innocent and calling Americans the terrorists.

CNN's Matthew Chance live for us in Moscow this morning.

She has been a complicated figure in this whole thing from the very beginning. She has long said her sons didn't do it, but the U.S. deserves it.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Her name Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, that's her name. She lives in Dagestan, which is a republic in the south of Russia. And she's from the outset been defending the actions of both her sons and condemning the United States for what has been alleged as conspiracy to implicate them in that bomb attack in Boston in the marathon in 2013.

So, again, she has come out in comments attributed to her on Russian social media sites. It's, you know, a pretty long rant I have to say in Russian by Zubeidat Tsarnaeva. It is all written in capital letters, lots of exclamation marks.

She says things like this, you know, my son is in the grips, in the claws of a predator which is preparing to tear him to pieces like meat. She blames the United States again for killing Muslims and saying it is not just her sons that are being killed, or being killed, but it's all to the religion of Islam as if they were annihilated as if they were insects or dangerous beasts. And she is saying the United States is the real terrorist in all of this.

So, again, an impassioned plea about the innocence of her son Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, at a time where the jury in Boston will have to decide literally a life-or-death decision about his fate.

ROMANS: Her comments, Matthew, don't make her condition any more sympathetic. Some of the things she says sort of sounds like the rantings of Dzhokhar and his brother when they were planning all this.

Now, she said she wished she never left Dagestan, that she'd never come to the United States. Did she raise those boys here or she left them here, right?

CHANCE: Yes, that's right. They lived in the United States for a long time. She left the United States a year or so before this bomb attack took place. She was apparently on a shoplifting charge, she escaped and went back to Dagestan, which is this republic in southern Russia where she now lives. In the past, she's told officials that she wished she'd left Dagestan and never gone to the United States or her family. If she had stayed in Dagestan, she said, none of this would have happened. You know, she may be right about that.

ROMANS: All right. Matthew Chance, thank you for that from Moscow this morning.

BERMAN: Jury deliberations resume today in the Massachusetts trial of Aaron Hernandez. The jury spent nearly 20 hours so far deliberating the fate of the former NFL star who is charged in the shooting death of Odin Lloyd. If convicted on the first degree murder charge, Hernandez could be sentenced to life in prison without parole.

ROMANS: All right. Flash flooding danger across the South today. Let's bring in meteorologist Pedram Javaheri for an early look at your weather -- Pedram.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: John and Christine, good Monday morning to you. Hope you had a fantastic weekend. Look at the perspective this morning as far as active weather really stretching across the central and southern portion of the country, just calculated nearly 700 lightning strikes this morning across the Central Plains and Southern states.

Some flood warnings and watches in place just north of Corpus Christi to New Orleans, Tallahassee, watching these areas of the potential for significant rainfall in the forecast today. You see why, looking at the moisture content and the mid and upper levels of the atmosphere, and they are plentiful out across Texas. And that is the same stream of moisture that eventually exits out of San Antonio towards Houston by sunrise. Three to four p.m., it gets to New Orleans and then Panama City gets into the action towards the later portion of the day.

So, hopefully for spring breakers out of this region now with all this moisture left in place. But the warm, humid air really locked in across the eastern half of the country. Would you believe possibly up to seven, maybe nine inches of rainfall at the end of the week toward some of the areas around East Texas, and also southern Louisiana. Temperatures should be pretty seasonal. Upper 70s, which is what we expect for this time of year, stunning weather across the northeast for Monday with the 60s and 70s -- guys.

BERMAN: All right. Our thanks to Pedram for that.

So you know what looks good in anyone 21-year-old's closet? A green jacket. The most special green jacket there is. Jordan Spieth now the owner of a green jacket. It fits perfectly.

Andy Scholes with the details in the bleacher report, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:22:57] BERMAN: All right. This was one of the most dominating performances I have ever seen at Augusta National. Jordan Spieth is the 2015 Masters champion.

ROMANS: And Andy Scholes has more in this morning's bleacher report.

Hey, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, guys.

You know, I worked in Dallas when Spieth was a teenager. And in 2011, we were sitting around discussing how many Majors this 17-year-old kid would win one day. Well, four years later, and Spieth is on the board. And he got his first Major in record-setting fashion. He's the first person in 40 years to lead the Masters from start to finish.

At one point yesterday, he got to 19 under par. He's the only person to ever do that. Spieth is the youngest Masters champion since Tiger Woods in 1997. After tapping in, he embraced his parents and then he collected his first green jacket from last year's champ, Bubba Watson.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JORDAN SPIETH, 2ND YOUNGEST MATERS WINNER: To sit with this jacket on and be part of the history of Augusta National and the Masters. It was something I watched slip away last year. Had a chip on my shoulder, carried some momentum into this week, and then it all came together right at the right time.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SCHOLES: But Tiger Woods didn't finish in the top ten, but his return to action was a success. He finished tied for 17th, which was his best finish in more than a year. Tiger slammed his iron into a tree root and dislocated his wrist. Tiger says he was able to pop it back into place, but it is sore. It will keep him out of action for a while.

Pacers hosting the Thunder last night, both teams needing a win as they fight for a playoff spot. This was definitely great to see. Paul George throwing down a dunk for the first time since returning from that gruesome broken leg last summer. He had 8 points in 14 minutes of actions.

Russell Westbrook meanwhile, he scored a career high 54 points on 43 shots. The Thunder however lost this game, 116-104.

All right. We are less than three weeks away from the fight of the century, Mayweather and Pacquiao, set for May 2nd at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

[05:25:00] Now, Pacquiao will be entering the ring to his own song called "I'm fighting for Filipinos", and the music video is out.

Take a look.

Guys, when you see Pacquiao singing like this, it is hard not to root for him come May 2nd.

BERMAN: Shows you why he fights. He needs a day job because the singing thing, I don't know about it.

ROMANS: He sounds all right.

SCHOLES: He sang this to me in person at the pre-fight press conference in Los Angeles. I'd say, John, it melted my heart a little bit, John.

BERMAN: It's a very -- it's a lovely message. It's a lovely message. And I know the intent is there. Let's leave it at that.

Andy Scholes, great to see you this morning.

ROMANS: All right. Hillary Clinton in it to win it again. And right now, she's on a road trip. She's hitting the road. She's on her way to Iowa. Can she create a connection with voters who didn't support her last time? We are breaking it down, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Running for president and on her way to Iowa. The Hillary Clinton road trip. Look at this. Snapping photos at a gas station in Pennsylvania. She is driving or being driven to Iowa as we speak. Will this help her connect with voters?

All this happening as a new high profile Republican candidate gets ready to enter this race. Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.

ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. It's 29, 30 minutes past the hour.

BERMAN: All right. And breaking overnight, as we said, road trip at this very moment. Hillary Clinton in a three-car caravan to Iowa, stopping along the way in Pennsylvania. Man, it is hard driving across Pennsylvania. She snapped these photos at this gas station as she headed west.