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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Sandra Bland Death Investigation; Trump Defends Attacks on Opponents; Selling the Iran Nuclear Deal; Secretary Carter lands in Baghdad; Security Concerns Surround President's Kenya Trip; Uber Wins Battle With NYC. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired July 23, 2015 - 04:30   ET

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


[04:30:02] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: New information in the jail cell death of Sandra Bland. What she said about her depression and previous suicide attempt ahead.

Donald Trump heading to the border defending his attacks on opponents to CNN.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans. It is exactly 30 minutes past the hour. Nice to see you this Thursday morning.

Let's start with those developments in the death of Sandra Bland, the Illinois woman who police say hanged herself in a Texas jail cell three days after she was arrested during a routine traffic stop. The results of an autopsy ordered by her family expected to be available today.

And there are still questions, many questions about the surveillance tapes of Bland's arrest, tapes that appear to be edited. Look at how the car disappears in this tape. See that? Police denying the video passing it off as technical issues.

We are also learning from authorities that Bland told a jail employee she tried to commit suicide. We are hearing for the first time, a voicemail bland left for a friend one day after her arrest.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

SANDRA BLAND'S VOICEMAIL FROM JAIL: Hey, this is me. I'm -- I just was able to see the judge. I don't really know, they have me at a $5,000 bond. I'm still just at a loss for words, honestly, about this who process. How did this witching lanes with no signal turn into all of this, I don't even know. But I'm still here. So I guess call me back when you can.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

ROMANS: For the latest on the Sandra Bland investigation, the death investigation, here is CNN's Ryan Young.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine, just a lot of information coming from the jail. In fact, new documents show that when there was an intake here are at jail with Sandra Bland, that she marked here that says she attempted suicide in 2014 after losing a child and apparently she tried to use pills to commit suicide.

On page four, though, it says that she suffers from epilepsy. But the question number 12 of page 4 says, "Have you ever attempted suicide?", and that's marked no. So, there are questions about the paper work that's coming from the jail. But jailers putting to page 2 where it says she did try to commit suicide. A lot of questions about how the jail manages people who obviously have said they tried to commit suicide before. Are there more checks for somebody who has gone through that process? That's something that we'll be asking the next couple of days.

We have also learned from officials about the idea that she may have been cutting her arm and using marijuana to self-medicate. All this goes into the background and makeup of Sandra Bland, questions that need to be answered as investigators try to find out what happened in the jail -- Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Still a grieving family and a lot of questions out there. All right. Thanks for that, Ryan.

Donald Trump heading to the Texas/Mexico border today. The Republican front runner scheduled to meet with border patrol and law enforcement officials in Laredo. He says they invited him to come because they want to honor for speaking up about immigration.

The billionaire businessman is also defending his treatment of fellow Republicans. He told CNN's Anderson Cooper he is just reacting to their personal attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They are saying horrible things, like, I don't even know these people and they're saying this. Now, am I supposed to -- you know, to say oh, it is OK for them to say -- one guy, I guess it was Lindsey Graham called me a jackass. So, am I supposed to say, oh, it's OK if I'm called this?

I'm called a jackass. You have to fight back. The country has to fight back. Everyone's pushing our country around. We can't allow that, Anderson.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Is it presidential, though?

TRUMP: I think it's presidential to fight back.

COOPER: To give out a personal phone number of your opponents?

TRUMP: Well, that was a long story. I mean, you have to see the long story, the whole story the way it morphed, OK? That was a whole long story, where he wanted to get on "Fox & Friends" and he called me out of the blue. I never met the guy. Then he wanted to come in for campaign contributions.

And then he starts hitting me years later, then I happened to have this crazy phone number. And I held it up. I said this guy was over here. And actually, as you probably know, the room was packed, standing room only, in fact they had, theaters, it was overflow crowd, closed circuit television into other rooms. The place went wild. We all had a good time.

COOPER: But is that presidential?

TRUMP: I think so. I think it's fine.

COOPER: Is that something as president, when you're opposed by somebody in Congress, you would give out their personal phone number?

TRUMP: I was hit by somebody unfairly. I was called names by somebody. So, he was up, somebody's hitting me saying what a bad guy I am, was up in my office asking for money asking and asking if I can get him on television --

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: When you are president of the United States, you're going to be hit by half of the country.

TRUMP: That's true.

COOPER: Are you going to call them, dumb, stupid?

TRUMP: No, I think it's a little bit different. Right now, I'm trying to do something to make the country great again. Politicians will never make this country great again. Now --

COOPER: As president, you would change your tone?

TRUMP: Oh, I think so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: That war of words with graham not stopping. Listen to the South Carolina senator's latest comments about the billionaire businessman. He spoke yesterday to CNN's Brianna Keilar.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think Donald Trump is a political car wreck, and people slow down to look at the wreck, but they eventually move on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: He is high -- very high in the polls right now.

We also have information about Trump's wealth. His filings with the Federal Election Commission say he earns income from more than 150 separate deals ranging from real estate projects to footwear.

[04:35:07] He holds executive or board positions with more than 500 different companies and partnerships.

Turning now to the Iran nuclear deal. The White House selling the agreement hard here and abroad. Secretary of State John Kerry, along with the energy and treasury secretaries expecting to face tough questions in the Senate hearing this morning.

House Speaker John Boehner already vowing Republicans will do everything possible to kill this deal.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter meeting with Saudi leaders trying to assure them the agreement will not help Iran expand the military reach across the Middle East.

Breaking this morning, Secretary Carter touching down this hour in Baghdad. An unannounced visit.

Let's get more on that from CNN's Jomana Karadsheh live from Amman, Jordan.

What's the secretary doing in Iraq, Jomana?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine, as you mentioned, an unannounced stop on this Middle East tour by Secretary Carter. And he arrived in Baghdad in the past half hour or so, and he is expected to meet with Iraqi leaders, including Prime Minister Haider al Abadi, also the defense minister there, and members of the Sunni leadership in the country, including the speaker of parliament, a key Sunni figure in the country.

Now, while this Middle East tour has focused on the Iran deal, the Iraq stop, we would expect to be dominated by the fight against ISIS, and hearing from Iraqi officials about how this fight is going on, on the ground, what they require, and also, the U.S. pushing them to do more.

As we heard from Iraqi officials, Christine, over recent months, they feel one year into the start of the coalition's fight against ISIS that not enough is being done. They say they are grateful for the air strikes and support they're get from the coalition, but they need more. They have a long list of things they need, including more air strikes, they say, and also more training and also expedited weapons shipments that we are seeing, the U.S. saying that they are starting to do so.

In the past week, we have seen the U.S. provide Iraq with the first batch of F-16 fighter jets, something that Iraq said is key when it comes to its fight against the terrorist organization. They say they need to empower their own air force in that fight.

But we also expect the secretary also to push the Iraqis to do more when it comes to, for example, Sunni inclusion. They want more Sunni fighters brought into the fight against ISIS. Of course, the fight on the ground is being led by Iraqi forces, Iraqi military and also Shia militias. But they want to see Sunni fighters in Sunni areas also being a key part of that fight as it happened in the past when it came to the fight against al Qaeda in Iraq.

The secretary also during his visit is expected to meet with U.S. officials there, State Department officials, as well as U.S. troops. More than 3,500 U.S. advisers, trainers in that country overseeing that fight against ISIS, Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Jomana Karadsheh, and again, the defense secretary, an unannounced visit to Baghdad this morning, just landing within the hour -- thank you for that. We know you will keep watching it for us.

ISIS is now a bigger threat to the U.S. than al Qaeda because of its ability to inspire Americans to commit acts of domestic violence. That's the assessment from the director of the FBI. James Comey admitting there is no way to know just how many troubled Americans have been influenced by ISIS during the terror group's year-long social media campaign to, quote, "kill where you are." He says the FBI has arrested a significant number of people who have been radicalized in the last eight weeks with hundreds of other ongoing investigation.

The FBI director also warning lawmakers, terrorists are becoming increasingly more interested in launching cyberattacks against the U.S. Comey says the plotting appears to be in its early stages, but the bureau is picking up a lot of chatter and the threat level could be growing.

The White House now in its final stages of drafting the plan to shut down the terrorist prison at Guantanamo Bay permanently. Any plan would have to be approved by Congress. Right now, lawmakers have a ban in place blocking the transfer of Gitmo inmates to the United States. And officials in Havana are demanding the U.S. turned Guantanamo back over to Cuban control.

All right. Thirty-nine minutes past the hour. Time for an early start on your money. And this morning, we have the pleasure of Alison Kosik this morning after a bad day for stocks.

What's happening?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we saw red arrows again for the Dow falling for the second day in a row. Sixty-eight points down for the Dow for the Dow yesterday. This is after we saw a 4 percent decline in shares of Apple. That's after Apple said it didn't sell as many iPhones last quarter as expected.

But today, U.S. futures are pointing higher. Also, we are seeing green arrows for European markets as well. Fast food workers are closer to making $15 an hour.

[04:40:03] A state wage board yesterday approved Governor Andrew Cuomo's proposal. Now, the state's labor commissioner still has to approve the raise. Businesses have been against the increase saying higher wages will lead to fewer workers getting hired. The higher wage would happen first in New York City by 2018 and then by 2021, and the rest of the state. Now, this applies to fast food chains that have more than 30 locations.

But you're seeing New York, Christine, you're seeing New York joins Seattle and San Francisco and Los Angeles and also Washington, D.C. They're pushing through $15 wage as well.

ROMANS: Yes, they haven't been able to get a $10.10 minimum wage increase on the federal level. And, you know, Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York, saying he's calling their bluff, those businesses who say they're going to hire fewer workers. He says, no, I think you need all those workers and I'll call your bluff. We're going to raise those wages.

It will be interesting to see how that pans out.

Thank you so much, Alison. Talk to you soon.

KOSIK: You got it.

A new lawsuit accusing Bill Cosby of sexual assault. Why this case is moving forward, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Forty-four minutes past the hour.

Good morning, everyone.

Another legal setback for Bill Cosby. California's Supreme Court rejecting his request to block a civil suit by a woman who claims the comedian molested her at the Playboy Mansion in 1974, when she was 15. It means her case can proceed.

Attorney Gloria Allred says she will seek to question Cosby under oath for the next 30 days.

Meantime, Cosby's lawyers are trying to keep the settlement in another sexual assault case under wraps.

Let's get more this morning from CNN's Jean Casarez.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[04:45:03] JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine, the legal battle continues in the Bill Cosby case. Now, Cosby, along with his attorneys, have filed a motion in federal court asking a judge to keep sealed a confidential settlement agreement involving the very first accuser back in 2006.

Andrea Constand brought a 2005 civil suit, alleging saying Cosby had drugged and sexually assaulted her at his home near Philadelphia in 2004. Constand was an employee at Temple University and got to know Cosby. She is asking the judge to unseal the full record a decade later. Ironically, this weekend, Cosby's sealed deposition from that suit

became public because of a court reporting service releasing it. CNN obtained an independent copy of Cosby's sworn testimony where he says that his relationship with Constand was consensual.

Constand's deposition has never been unsealed and she has never spoken because she is bound to secrecy. Her civil suit never went to trial because of the negotiated deal was reached. Constand received money from Cosby. And she along with Cosby agreed they would never talk about the relationship or the agreement.

Cosby says in his motion, quote, "Plaintiff does not seek to void the entire settlement agreement. Obviously she wants to keep what she was paid."

Constand says he and his representatives have spoken out numerous times since last fall when other accusers have come forward which violated the agreement, she says. So, she shouldn't have to be the one accuser that stays silent. Cosby is saying a deal is a deal. And the only reason he agreed to a monetary settlement is because he wanted to keep this case private -- Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Jean, thank you for that.

New details from the investigation into the fatal shooting of five servicemen in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Law enforcement officials say the slain servicemen risked their lives, distracting the shooter Mohammad Abdulazeez from a larger group of potential victims as he opened fire. Abdulazeez was killed by Chattanooga police. Although the gunman's motive may never been known, FBI investigators believe he was radicalized in some way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ED REINHOLD, FBI SPECIAL AGENT: At this time, we are treating him as a homegrown violent extremist. We believe he acted on his own that day. We believe he entered the facility on his own. We do not have any indication that anyone else was assisting him on that day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Tennessee's governor says all seven of the National Guard recruiting store front offices have been relocated to guard armories as a security measure.

The Justice Department bringing federal hate crime charges against Dylann Roof. The 21-year-old accused of a deadly shooting spree last month at a black church in Charleston, South Carolina. Nine people were killed.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch says Roof planned the attack for months. He chose the historic Emanuel AME church because of its significance in the African-American community. The federal indictment along with state charges raising the possibility prosecutors will seek the death.

Dozens of protesters gathering at city hall in Cincinnati Wednesday, demanding justice for Samuel Dubose. The unarmed black motorist fatally shot by a white University of Cincinnati police officer last week. Police say they have completed their investigation and presented the findings to prosecutors who will determine if criminal charges are warranted.

Severe storms and extreme heat in the forecast. Let's get to meteorologist Ivan Cabrera.

IVAN CABRERA, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And we're going to be talking about more storms this afternoon, Christine. Some will be potentially severe. We will have to watch the process in the southeastern United States. It is the cold front that brought us the much -- more pleasant temperatures here across the Northeast, area of high pressure now building in. We also have a boundary towards the Dakotas. We will watch that for development.

But you see the storms beginning to push further down to the south. We will monitor that later on.

Today, where we see the green, we have the potential. This is marginal here. So, again, a low chance for thunderstorms with large hail and damaging winds, and then a higher chance as head up towards the Dakotas.

Nice temperatures though for the next few days. We'll take mid-80s after we were in the 90s for a while there across the Northeast. So, that's more typical for this time of year, certainly average compared to what we've been.

Now, the southeastern United States, these are not the highs, but it doesn't matter because this is how it will feel. This is what does matter. Some of us will get the thunderstorms, but the rest of us here that don't see the rain are talking about triple digit heat indices. Oklahoma City pushing 110.

ROMANS: All right. Ivan, thank you for that.

President Obama's trip to Africa is raising security concerns. We are live after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:53:19] ROMANS: All right. President Obama heading to his father's homeland in Kenya today, and that's raising serious security concerns.

CNN's Nima Elbagir is there. She is following that trip for us. We will check in with their a little bit later.

All right. Two terror suspects under arrest, accused of plotting attacks in Italy. The men, a 35-year-old Tunisian and 26-year-old Pakistani are believed to be ISIS sympathizers. Italian prosecutors say one target was a military base near the city of Brescia that's used by the United States. Authorities say they became aware of the planned attacks in April when the suspects posted threats on Twitter.

All right. It's Uber versus the Big Apple. We will tell you what won when we get an early start on your money, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:57:30] ROMANS: It's 57 minutes past the hour this Thursday morning. Let's get an early start on your money.

And Alison Kosik is here.

And I have a smile on my face, but it was bad day for stocks, two bad days for stocks in a row.

KOSIK: Yes, second quarter earnings season kind of weighing on stocks lately. We did see the Dow fall for the second day in a row, falling 68 points. Stocks lost ground, weighed down by a 4 percent decline in shares of Apple, and that's after Apple didn't sell as money iPhones last quarter as expected.

But, today, U.S. futures are pointing higher. European markets are also showing some green arrows as well.

Another big day for corporate earnings. We're going to hear from Amazon. Would you believe the stock is up more than 57 percent this year?

ROMANS: Wow.

KOSIK: Yes, wow.

Americans who received disability payments from Social Security could face deep cuts late next year. The trust fund will only be able to pay 81 percent of benefits if Congress doesn't act. To fix it, Congress could move some money from Social Security's larger retirement fund. Republicans want changes to the program. So, this could be a big political fight.

The retirement fund has enough money to pay full benefits until 2035, a ear later than last year's report.

A big win for Uber in New York City. Mayor Bill de Blasio dropped the plan to cap the number of licenses issued for the for-hire car service. At least for now, because the city says what's going to happen now, they're going to vote on the proposal after it finishes up the study on Uber's impact on traffic congestion. The study results will come out in November. In recent weeks, the battle over the proposal has certainly turned ugly.

Uber launched an ad campaign blasting the city's plan and added a fake Mayor de Blasio feature to its app. Take that. It's since been removed.

ROMANS: All right. Thanks for that. Talk to you soon.

KOSIK: You got it. ROMANS: EARLY START continues right now.

(MUSIC)

ROMANS: New information this morning in the mysterious death of activist Sandra Bland. New documents detailing her depression and a previous suicide attempt.

Donald Trump heading to the border this morning as we learn new information about his finances, and he defends his attacks on competitors.

The Obama administration still trying to sell that Iran nuclear deal here at home and around the world. New progress the White House is making.

Plus, breaking news. The defense secretary landing in Baghdad this morning. A surprise visit. Details of that ahead.

Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans. It is Thursday, July 23rd, 5:00 a.m. in the East. John Berman has the morning off. Nice to see you, folks.

Up first, new developments in the death of Sandra Bland. The Illinois woman who police say hanged herself in the jail cell three days after she was arrested during a routine traffic stop.