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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Clinton's First Campaign Stop Iowa; Senator Marco Rubio Announcement Later Today; Ferguson Protesters In South Carolina; McCain Criticizing Iran Nuke Deal; Tsarnaev's Mother: "My Soun Is Best Of The Best"; ISIS Releases New Video. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired April 13, 2015 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:30:06] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The actual announcement for her candidacy came in a video. Mrs. Clinton actually barely appeared in this video, but when she did, this is what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, 2016 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 in favor of those at the top. Every day, Americans need a champion.
So you can do more than just get by, you can get ahead and stay ahead, when families are strong, America is strong. So I'm hitting the road to earn your vote because it's your time and I hope you'll join me on this journey.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: All right, not the only political game in town either. Later today, big name, Republican Senator Marco Rubio will get in the race. He will announce his run from Miami. Here to break all of this down with us is CNN senior political analyst, Ron Brownstein. Ron, it's great to have you here on EARLY START.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Great to be here.
BERMAN: Let's start with the latest news, these pictures from the gas station in Altoona, Pennsylvania, the Hillary Clinton road trip to Iowa, driving there. We did not know that was happening until we saw those photos.
BROWNSTEIN: It kind of continues the pattern. Look, this announcement gave us a lot more information I think than people expected it. Told us a little bit about how she plans to run, the idea of that she will receive and listen to the public.
It told us something about the themes that she would be running on. Every day Americans as opposed to middle class Americans. The idea of the deck being stacked for those at the top, a little more populism than we have last time.
And it also told us who she expected to elect her. I mean, that was the first 90 seconds of that video was a panorama of the modern Democratic coalition. What I've called the coalition of the ascendant.
So we actually got a lot of information and this road trip very much continues in that vein. We will see a lot of Hillary Clinton interacting with ordinary people in everyday situation.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: You, you, you. Not I want to win, but you, you, you. She talked about income inequality. She didn't specifically talk about income inequality, but you look at the typical wages in 2008 when she was running last time exactly where they are today.
There has been an economic recovery, but not everybody has felt. She will tap into the middle class anxiety of voters who are not getting bigger paychecks.
BROWNSTEIN: The median income is lower than it was in 2000. As you know almost unprecedented duration in American history to go that long --
ROMANS: All of the candidates are going to go for that. They are going to say how they can fix it.
BROWNSTEIN: Look, I mean, you know, the challenge Democrats have is they want to point to the positive aspects of the record. Now you are beginning to see, last month notwithstanding, steady job growth. It is possible that over Obama's eight years, the economy will produce ten times as many net new jobs over George W. Bush's eight years.
But it's hard to take much credit for that as you want because you are not seeing the living standards rise. She can point back to the late 1990s. That increase is not enough. Ultimately, her biggest challenge is to show Americans she understands the challenges they are living through today and she has answers for those problems.
BERMAN: You say she could point to the '90s. She did not mention a thing about her husband in that video.
ROMANS: What is her message?
BERMAN: Exactly. The Clinton campaign, they are officially a campaign. They are concerned about the almost impossibly high expectations on this candidate. How did she do with that video in terms of tampering those expectations and what does she do in the next few days to keep them in check?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, look, I think she succeed in surprising the press. The video, I think most people were kind of surprised. The video is not your typical announcement video, camera front and center on me. She came into it more than a minute and a half in with the focus being on the panoramic change in America.
She was trying to identify. That is her greatest asset as a candidate. If you look at 2016, the playing field, the challenges on the economy, the challenges on foreign policy. The biggest asset Democrats have is the electorate continues to evolve in this direction.
They are identifying with particularly the cultural priorities of that changing electorate much more than Republicans are at this point. Having said that, she has to be on the public stage over 20 years and her age all add up to the same challenge.
Do you have answers for the ways people are dissatisfied with what is happening in the country now? After eight years, as you know, the usual instinct of voters is it is time for a change.
ROMANS: What about her team? The team that she's got behind her, she's got this small caravan of cars. She is driving to Iowa, peel back the curtain on the team that she's got.
BROWNSTEIN: Last time the cars all collided.
ROMANS: It is not a big fancy bus.
BROWNSTEIN: Well, no, look, this is the whole stripped down message in many ways. Internally, the strip down message is we are not having the big drama. Clinton world is a big place with a lot of competing circles.
[05:35:04] There are friends of Bill. There are friends of Hill. They are the official campaign step. This time they are trying to stream line it and John Podesta is the ultimately authority, the campaign chairman, and former White House chief the staff for Bill Clinton and senior advisor for President Obama.
They have someone who is capable of imposing more order. We will see if the candidates themselves have the discipline to follow that order.
BERMAN: Let's talk about what's happening tonight. Senator Marco Rubio from Florida, you know, not at the top of the field, but firmly in the middle pack right now and a guy with serious credentials. He is announcing his candidacy tonight in Miami. What to look for there.
BROWNSTEIN: Well, I think, you know, with Rubio, you have someone who has the potential at least to draw from the different pools of the Republican electorate. I mean, Jeb Bush is very much the candidate of kind of what I call the managerial side, more white color, more economic focus, somewhat more centrist.
You have a whole bunch of candidates competing for the more populous conservative side, the kind of overlapping circles of Evangelical and Tea Party.
That would be anybody from Ted Cruz to Rand Paul, Scott Walker and Marco Rubio are both candidates who have the potential to draw from both sides of that. That can make them formidable.
But Rubio's problem is on the right, there is, you know, suspicion of him over immigration. He supported a pathway to citizenship in the 2013 legislation.
In the center, he's moved right on a lot of other stuff. So he may be tweaks and between or he may be a bridge. We are going to have to wait and see.
BERMAN: He may be everyone's second place, but maybe still too early to tell. Ron Brownstein, great to have you here -- thanks so much.
ROMANS: All right, developing this morning in South Carolina, a small group of protesters from Ferguson, Missouri has arrived. The Charleston "Post and Courier" reports they are in North Charleston to help plan a series of peaceful protests against police brutality.
That first protest later today outside North Charleston city hall. The protests are a response to the fatal shooting caught on video of a man fleeing a police officer. That police officer is Michael Slager, now in jail facing murder charges.
This comes as North Charleston remembers the shooting victim, 50-year- old Walter Scott. More now from national correspondent, Polo Sandoval.
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, a weekend of tributes for the family of Walter Scott. It all started on Saturday morning with some very emotional moment they gather to lay their loved one to rest.
And on Sunday, separate tributes, there was a memorial service for Mr. Scott as well 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.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEITH SUMMEY, MAYOR OF NORTH CHARLESTON: In a 2.7 second time destroyed the life of two families.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: 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 will recall that local authorities here in North Charleston handed over the investigation to S.L.E.D., the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
They wanted to make sure that this investigation will be fair and also impartial. Now as for former Officer Slager, he remains isolated behind bars, ahead of his bond hearing that may be held here soon. Also, his case could potentially end up in front of a grand jury next month -- John and Christine.
BERMAN: This morning, the White House is defending the framework nuclear deal reached with Iran after Senator John McCain questioned just how honest Secretary of State John Kerry has been about the details of this agreement.
Senator McCain's criticism triggered a response from President Obama himself, a pretty passionate response. CNN national correspondent Sunlen Serfaty has the very latest from the White House -- Sunlen.
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 is actually in this nuclear deal with Iran.
Iran's supreme leader is saying one thing. U.S. officials are saying another. They are at odds over key details like sanctions and about inspections.
So Senator McCain, he is highlighting these differences saying in a radio interview, he is calling into question Secretary of State John Kerry's honesty saying that Kerry is delusional for trying 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.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: 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, provided exemplary service to this nation, is somehow less trust worthy in the interpretation of a political agreement than the supreme leader of Iran, that's an indication of the degree to which partisanship has crossed all boundaries.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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."
[05:40:10] Secretary of State John Kerry meanwhile, he pushed backed on ABC this week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: I think President Obama spoke very, very powerfully to Senator McCain yesterday and I'll let the president's words stand. I'll stand by every fact that I have laid out. It's an unusual affirmation of our facts that come from Russian, but Russia has said that what we've set out is reliable and accurate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SERFATY: This back and forth sets up likely will be a very testy week ahead for President Obama and Congress. They are back today for their first session since this deal was announced -- Christine and John.
ROMANS: All right, Sunlen, thank you for that. Now facing a possible death sentence for his role in the Boston marathon bombing, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's mother is lashing out, calling out her son the best of the best. Insisting her son is innocent and saying the United States deserved it anyway. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:44:42]
BERMAN: The 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.
Now Tsarnaev's mother back in Russia is expressing her anger over the verdict, 30 guilty verdicts. She says both of her sons are innocent and she calls Americans the terrorists.
CNN's Matthew Chance is live in Moscow for us. Matthew, what's going on here?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, it is a statement that has been attributed to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's mother. She is speaking out in Dagestan, south of Russia. Again, this has appeared on the Russian Facebook page, speaking out on the support group for the Tsarnaev family.
Basically in it, she says my son is like a prey being torn to pieces by a predator referring to the court's sentencing of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. She talks about how the United States is the real terrorist.
It is not just her sons killed, but other sons of Islam. It is a very ranting, long statement. I have a copy here. It is written in capital letters. It is punctuated throughout with emoticons of sad faces and things like that.
This is what she has been saying all along. It reflects some of the views of her son as well. The United States essentially is engaged in a conspiracy to implicate her sons in the attack in Boston and that ultimately the United States is victimizing Muslims. That is the thrust of her statement.
BERMAN: Those views, if that reaches the jury, that will determine the sentence of her son, will not help with the environment. Matthew Chance in Moscow for us, thanks so much.
ROMANS: All right, let's take a look at what is coming up on "NEW DAY" this Monday morning. Chris Cuomo joins us now. Hi, Chris.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Happy Monday, JV. Did you do a lot of spring cleaning this weekend?
BERMAN: You know, I did a lot of spring being outside in the beautiful weather more than anything.
CUOMO: I don't ask you, Christine, because you're too smart for that. You have a tool like that called a husband who can do that.
All right, so the big headline this morning is obviously Hillary Clinton is in for president. We will take you deep on the unique challenge that is Hillary. Different from any other that is running or could run? Because what do people want in politics? They want new.
Well, that's one thing that is going to be hard for Hillary Clinton to give you? So what's the alternative strategy, we will take you through it.
Also who is out there that can give her a run for the money? We are going to break it down. We have a great panel.
Also, more charges are coming after that police shooting in South Carolina. How about the other officers? How about the federal investigation of any potential cover up, is that going on?
What about what we heard about efforts to save lives? This is in the context of other cases going on, John and Christine. We will show these trending patterns in excessive force cases. What happens too often?
BERMAN: Data is very important here. Thanks so much, Chris. Look forward to seeing that.
All right, ISIS releasing new video, fighters destroying ancient artifacts, priceless things that simply cannot be replaced. We are live with the latest developments next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:51:38]
BERMAN: ISIS on the attack in Iraq, releasing new video of their fighters apparently destroying the ancient Nimrud archaeological site near the city of Mosul last month.
The video shows these fighters breaking down walls with sledge hammers knocking over artifacts and detonating buildings. CNN's senior international correspondent, Frederik Pleitgen, is tracking the latest developments live for us.
Fred, this seems like some kind of propaganda message another from ISIS.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, exactly, another very brutal propaganda message. When we originally heard that the site in Nimrud had been attacked and had been destroyed by ISIS, we thought it was bulldozers they used and part of the site may have survived.
But now seeing this new video, it is clear that things are actually much worse than anybody could have thought. They used heavy equipment, sledgehammers and bulldozers to take down ancient walls and statues and then actually blew the place up.
This is certainly something that is a lot worse than many people thought. It does fit also into a pattern of what ISIS has been doing in places. That they conquered in the past. They destroyed important scriptures in the library of Mosul. They destroyed ancient artifacts in Mosul. Destroyed other archaeological sites, but this one is the most important. It's more than 3,000 years old and one of the most important archaeological sites in Iraq.
The ISIS fighters, by the way, on that video, say that they are actually proud of what they are doing. Say this is in line with their interpretation of Islam. The U.N. however says this is nothing short of a war crime -- John.
BERMAN: Simply pointless. Frederik Pleitgen for us, thanks so much, Fred.
ROMANS: All right, protesters packing the streets and cities across Brazil and they promise more to come. They are calling for the impeachment of the Brazilian president. Police estimate 275,000 demonstrators marched in Sao Palo Sunday. The anti-government anger is fueled by a corruption scandal that has implicated politicians in the ruling party.
BERMAN: Huge protests.
BERMAN: All right, stocks have been climbing for six beautiful years. Could there be any room for this thing to run? Where stocks are headed? That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:52:10]
ROMANS: All right, let's get an EARLY START on your money this Monday morning. The amazing six-year rally for stocks still has room to run. That's according to a new CNN money poll. The pros think the S&P 500 will climb to 2,155 by the end of the year. A 3 percent gain from here. A 5 percent return for the year. The S&P 500 rose 30 percent in 2013 and another 11 percent last year.
All right, college educated workers now produce most of America's economic output. According to a study from Georgetown University, those with college degrees make up only 32 percent of the work force, but they produce half of the economic output.
The report highlights two extremes since the decline of manufacturing in the '80s and '90s, low wage retail jobs and then high wage jobs that require college educations.
Nearly 1 million people ordered an Apple Watch on Friday. That's according to a research firm, Slice Intelligence, on average, people ordered more than one watch. That must mean somebody got up at 3:00 in the morning.
They are set about 500 bucks. Two thirds of shoppers went for the cheapest model, the sports watch. I tried on -- that's not the one, but I tried on the one --
BERMAN: What did it look like? ROMANS: It looked like something I would not buy.
BERMAN: By the way, if you want to find out more, I bought it. It came. I'm excited.
ROMANS: On Amazon.
BERMAN: Go out and get it.
Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton, she has announced finally that she is running for president. She is on a road trip right now driving to Iowa. "NEW DAY" has all the details starting now.
