Return to Transcripts main page
Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
North Korea Goes to "Wartime State"; Jeb Bush Taking Trump On Directly; President Obama Campaigns for Iran Nuke Deal; Woman Sought in Bangkok Bombing. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired August 21, 2015 - 04:29 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:00] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: This follows an exchange of fire with South Korea across the DMZ, the Demilitarized Zone.
Turning now to CNN's Kathy Novak. She is in South Korea for us.
Kathy, tensions running high.
KATHY NOVAK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Christine. The latest from the state news agency KCNA says that the country is inching closer to the brink of war. The leader Kim Jong-Un, it says, chaired an emergency meeting of his central military commission and ordered the army to be ready to launch surprise operations anytime from around about now.
And now South Korea says it will respond strongly and retaliate to any further provocation from North Korea. All eyes are on a deadline that Pyongyang has said. It has said to South Korea it must stop its campaign of psychological warfare. That is the use of propaganda speakers to broadcast messages across the border. It wants these to stop by tomorrow afternoon at 5:00 p.m. or North Korea says it will launch military action.
Now of course this is all happening while the United States is holding joint military exercises with South Korea. That's another thing that makes the regime of Kim Jong-un extremely angry and the Defense Department tells us it is closely monitoring the situation here -- Christine.
ROMANS: Certainly a concerning situation.
Thanks for that, Kathy Novak, and keep us up to day on any developments this morning.
To politics now. Jeb Bush switching tactics this morning, aiming his fire directly at Donald Trump. Donald Trump who's been slamming Jeb Bush for weeks. Both men on the campaign trail today. Tens of thousands set to hear Trump at a football stadium in Alabama. Bush will be speaking in an event in Ohio this afternoon.
Will he keep to his new line of attack blasting Trump as more Democrat than Republican?
With the latest on the new more aggressive Jeb Bush, CNN's Athena Jones in New Hampshire. ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine.
Up until the last couple of days, Bush has seemed hesitant to really engage Trump. But that's changing in the face of his sagging poll numbers. Now the gloves are finally coming off.
Take a listen to how he tried to draw a contrast with Trump at a town hall event here in New Hampshire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We've got to win. And I think you win with a broader -- you win when you campaign like this. You don't win when you're campaigning like this. You don't win when you're the large, you know, dog in the room where it's all about you. You win when you connect with people about their aspirations. Not about how, you know, great you are, how rich you are or how this you are or how that you are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: After the event, I asked Bush to respond to Trump's criticism that he isn't engaging voters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: There's a big difference between Donald Trump and me. I'm a proven conservative with a record. He isn't. He's been a Democrat longer than being a Republican. I have fought for Republican and conservative causes all of my adult life. And I just think when people get this narrative, whatever the new term is, compare and contrast narrative, then they're going to find that I'm going to be the guy that they're going to vote for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: Strong words from Bush as he tries to convince voters he's going to be the one to beat -- Christine.
ROMANS: All right, Athena Jones, thanks for that.
Jeb Bush defending the use of the term "anchor babies" after Democrats blasted him and Donald Trump for saying that phrase this week. Anchor babies is a phrase that's sometimes used to describe children born in the U.S. to undocumented immigrants. Some find it incredibly offensive, others say it's just being too politically correct to be concerned about that phrase. At any rate Bush grew testy when repeatedly pressed by a questioner while speaking to reporters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you regret using the term anchor babies yesterday on the radio?
BUSH: No, I didn't. I don't. I don't regret it.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You don't regret it?
BUSH: No. Do you have a better term?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: I'm asking you. A lot of folks --
BUSH: OK. You give me -- you give me a better term and I'll use it. I'm -- for serious. Don't yell at me behind my ear, though.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: I'm sorry about that.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The language anchor baby. Is that not bombastic?
BUSH: No, it isn't. Give me another -- give me another word.
(CROSSTALK)
BUSH: That's like a seven -- that's not another word. That's a seven -- look. Here's the deal. What I said was, it's commonly referred to that. That's what I said. I didn't use it as my own language. What we ought to do is protect the Fourteenth.
You want to get to the policy for a second? I think that people born in this country ought to be American citizens. OK. Now we got that over with.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: He was on the Bill Bennett Radio Show when he was talking about immigration reform, talking about children commonly referred to as "anchor babies." That's what he said on that -- on that show.
Anyway, Hillary Clinton swiftly responded to Bush's request for a, quote, "better term" with a tweet. It said, "How about babies, children or American citizens."
Bush, just one of five Republican presidential candidates appearing in an Americans for Prosperity event in Columbus, Ohio. Bush and Bobby Jindal speaking at Defending the Dream today. Marco Rubio, Rick Perry, Ted Cruz, they'll be there tomorrow.
Also today Ted Cruz takes his turn on the Iowa State Fair soapbox. Following that is what's billed as rally for religious liberty in Des Moines.
On the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders starts a two-day swing through South Carolina with events in Greenville and Columbia. Hillary Clinton has no scheduled events today.
[04:35:05] A federal judge says Hillary Clinton did not comply with government policies when she used a private e-mail server as secretary of state. The remark came as Judge Emmett Sullivan was ruling in a Freedom of Information lawsuit filed by the conservative group Judicial Watch. The judge ordering the State Department to ask the FBI for anything found on Clinton's private server that might be relevant to that suit. The government has been arguing that the Freedom of Information Act
searches usually don't involve federal employees' private e-mails. The judge apparently rejecting that argument with his ruling.
New efforts by President Obama to shore up wavering support for the Iran nuclear deal among Democratic lawmakers, the president sending a letter to Congress reassuring nervous Democrats that a military option is definitely still on the table if Iran cheats on this deal.
President Obama also turning up the pressure with an op-ed that appears in newspapers across the country. In it he writes, "If Iran does not abide by this deal, it's possible that we won't have any other option than to act militarily. But we cannot in good conscience justify a march toward war before we've exhausted diplomacy."
One possible reason for the president's ramped-up campaign, polls showing a growing majority opposed to the nuclear deal with Iran.
More now from CNN's Sunlen Serfaty.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine, this is not good news for the Obama administration as they try to get this deal with Iran through Congress.
Americans, they're just not embracing it. This new CNN-ORC poll shows that support for the deal is actually declining. The poll shows a majority, 56 percent, are calling for Congress to reject the deal. And that is up from 52 percent just last month.
Many do seem to be blaming President Obama for their disapproval. Six in 10 people disapprove of how the president is handling the U.S. relationship with Iran.
Now this comes as lawmakers head into the final stretch of August recess where they've been holding town halls and hearing from their constituents and their concerns about the deal. Republicans need 11 more Democrats to oppose the deal if they hope to override a presidential veto when Congress comes back to D.C. in September.
And the White House, they say that President Obama remains engaged on the selling of this plan while he continues the last part of his summer vacation in Martha's Vineyard. Today in about 30 newspapers across the country, the president has written an op-ed, making the case directly to Americans about the deal. And the White House has said that they are confident they will get that support.
But very clear here, Christine, that they still do have a lot of convincing -- Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: Yes, they do. All right. Thanks for that, Sunlen Serfaty. Former president Jimmy Carter taking his cancer diagnosis in stride.
He says his future is in God's hands. At a news conference Thursday Carter calmly revealed that melanoma first discovered in his liver has now spread to his brain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY CARTER, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: You know, I've had a wonderful life. I've had thousands of friends. And I've had an exciting and adventurous and gratifying existence. So I was surprisingly at ease, much more so than my wife was. But now I feel, you know, it's in the hands of God whom I worship, and I'll be prepared for anything that comes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: I have to tell you, that press conference was just remarkable. He was so graceful with a smile on his face. Really retrospective in the work that he's done, really gracious to all the reporters. Carter began receiving radiation and other treatment on Thursday.
Time for an EARLY START on your money now. Brutal day for stocks. OK, stocks tanking in Asia and Europe. There are major growth worries in Asia. Now uncertain this morning as the Greek prime minister steps down and calls for new elections.
Stock futures also down here in this country right now. Yesterday, the Dow plunged more than 350 points. Stocks plunging. Oil at a more than six-year low. Global slowdown, fears growing plus concerns about a looming interest hike and the timing of it, roll it all together it's big trouble for stocks.
Yesterday media shares tanked. Disney and Viacom down 6 percent. Time Warner, the parent o CNN, down 5 percent. Part of the selloff on worries about the future of TV.
And Twitter shares fell below their IPO price, tumbling to a record low as user growth stalls.
New accusers coming forward claiming Bill Cosby assaulted them. We've got those details after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:43:02] ROMANS: Two new Bill Cosby accusers are speaking out bringing the number of women who claim the comedian sexual assaulted them to more than 50 now. They appeared at a news conference Thursday alongside attorney Gloria Allred. Both claimed that Cosby drugged them and had sex with them against their will in the 1970s.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLOTTE FOX, CLAIMS COSBY SEXUALLY ASSAULTED HER: The next thing I remember was sort of -- I was sort of awake in a bed with no clothes and there was Mr. Cosby in a robe crawling from the bottom of the bed. I was incapacitated and couldn't say no. He engaged in sexual activity with me. It was not consensual.
ELIZABETH, CLAIMS COSBY SEXUALLY ASSAULTED HER: No one would have ever believed me in 1976. I would have been told I put myself in a vulnerable situation and it was my fault. I've lived with this shame and this guilt of thinking it was somehow my fault. But it wasn't, because if I hadn't been drugged, I would have never ended up in a hotel room with him ever and he knew that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Cosby has never been charged. He is expected to testify under oath in October in a lawsuit brought by another accuser.
Defense lawyers grilling the teenage accuser during cross examination at a prep school rape trial. The alleged victim says she was raped last year by fellow St. Paul's student, Owen Labrie. Both sides acknowledge this encounter stemmed from a school tradition known as Senior Salute. An apparent competition involving sex-related conquests of younger students. Labrie has pleaded not guilty to sexual assault and other charges.
Officials trying to determine what caused a gas explosion at a New York City high school. Three people injured, one of them critically in the blast Thursday night during construction at JFK High School.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIEL NIGRO, FDNY COMMISSIONER: Many people in this neighborhood heard the serious explosion and we responded our full collapse assignment came here to this, we found these three contractors seriously injured. This building has been seriously damaged.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[04:45:00] ROMANS: Fire officials say structural damage to the building itself -- the school building itself is limited.
Convicted murderer David Sweat who spent 22 days on the run after breaking out of a New York prison was indicted Thursday on escape charges and for promoting prison contraband. The judge entered a not guilty plea for Sweat. If convicted, he could get an extra seven years in prison. He's already serving life without parole.
We now know the names of the three firefighters killed while battling a wildfire in northern Washington state. They've been identified as 20-year-old Tom Zbyszewski, 26-year-old Andrew Zajac and 31-year-old Richard Wheeler. They died after their vehicle crashed while putting out flames near the town of Twisp. The governor hailing these victims as heroes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JAY INSLEE (D), WASHINGTON: With the loss of these three firefighters, we know the smoke is still there and it's thick, but it is not going to obscure their incredible act of courage.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: This is just one of 100 wildfires blazing across Washington state.
So will the weather cooperate and efforts to get the wildfires under control out west? Let's get to meteorologist Allison Chinchar for those -- for the forecast.
ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Christine. We are still continuing to take a look at those fires in the northwest. Here is the air quality alert. We saw those fires, you get all the smoke that comes with it. And unfortunately that is going to cause some bad air quality out there.
Also the one thing we're keeping an eye on today is the winds. They are expected to increase throughout much of the afternoon with winds gusting as high as 40 miles per hour in places. That unfortunately causes a lot of problems for those firefighters. It doesn't create new fires, it really doesn't allow them to contain the fires that are already out there. So again that is going to be a big condition.
The new drought monitor just came out yesterday. And unfortunately the numbers just keep going up. Extreme category now up to 24 percent of this region. Not the news they wanted to hear.
A lot of heat again still in the northeast, but folks in Cincinnati and Chicago getting a little bit of a break. Temperatures now seeing the highs only in the low 80s. But Philadelphia, again up to 89 degrees for the high temperature today. 83 today for the high in New York.
We're also keeping an eye on -- Hurricane Danny as it continues to make it off towards the north and east over the next couple of days. Eventually making landfall over the Leeward Island by about Sunday -- Christine.
ROMANS: All right. Allison, thank you for that.
Disgraced reality TV star Josh Duggar calling himself, quote, "the biggest hypocrite ever," after he was outed in the hack of the Ashley Madison cheating Web site. Duggar in a statement says while espousing faith and family values, he became unfaithful to his wife and has re- broken the trust of family, friends and fans of the show "19 Kids and Counting."
The show was canceled following revelations the 27-year-old Duggar had molested girls as a teenager including his sisters. He of course until recently had gone out to work for conservative organization promoting family values and speaking out against gay marriage.
Forty-seven minutes past the hour. Imagine finding a family of bears swimming in your backyard.
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: That's what happened to one New Jersey family who caught a mama bear and her five little cubs cooling off in their pool. Tim Basso was relieved to find his two young daughters and dog safely --
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: Inside when this happened. Mom, dad and the girls, I man, the human mom and dad and the girls, watched as the bears splashed in the water and played with the girls' plastic toys. The bears finally left on their own. Basso caught the whole thing on video. Thank goodness. And posted it to YouTube.
So cute. So cute. Except, you know, they do have kind of a lot of claws. They might come back. They had so much fun, they might come back. That's the problem.
All right. That's your Friday video.
Investigators identifying more possible suspects in the deadly Bangkok bombing. Who they want to talk to next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:52:37] ROMANS: Police say they are now looking for a woman wearing a black shirt in connection with this week's deadly Bangkok shrine bombing. Thai authorities say at least 10 people, 10 people may have taken part in that bombing. But the attack, they say, is not likely to be linked to international terrorist groups.
CNN's Andrew Stevens is in Bangkok for us for the latest -- Andrew.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREW STEVENS, CNN ASIA-PACIFIC EDITOR: Police in Bangkok now say they think at least 10 people were involved and what they say was a well-organized team that executed the attack on Erawan Shrine on Monday evening. They say they've obtained evidence to suggest that several people were involved in plotting the attack and also acquiring the materials, as well as building the bomb. All done under the radar, of course. They haven't shared what that evidence is at the moment.
At this stage, they also are pulling back on making any link with international terrorism. They say they've been talking to Interpol. They've also been sharing information with security agencies in the U.S., the U.K. and Australia, and the consensus opinion is that it is not an international conspiracy which brings the focus at least somewhat back on to domestic issues. And they say they're not ruling anything out at this stage.
They've meanwhile increased the reward for any information leading to the arrest of the man in the yellow shirt. The man they say they are now very sure is the bomber. Apart from the early breakthrough when they identified the man they think as the bomber, there's been very little else solid and concrete. They've actually ruled out two other suspects they thought were initially accomplices. And they are now saying that the network that was used may be more than 10 people.
Very frustrating for the police, but also very frustrating and also very worrying for the people of Bangkok.
Andrew Stevens, CNN, Bangkok.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Thanks for that, Andrew.
What do registered sex offenders and murderers have to do with your morning commute? The scary truth about Uber's background checks. That's next.
[04:54:43]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. Let's get an EARLY START on your money. Stocks are tanking. It's the perfect storm for a stock meltdown. The Dow plunging 358 points. The Dow below 17,000 now for the first time since October. Yesterday's slide -- yesterday's slide was the worst in four years for stocks. Oil in more than six-year low. Global slowdown fears mounting. Plus an interest rate hike is coming. It's coming, folks. The timing uncertain but it is coming.
Roll that out all together and it's big trouble for stocks. Yesterday, energy stocks plunged so did media stocks. And Twitter plunging to a record low below its IPO price as user growth stalls.
All right. What do registered sex offenders, identify thieves and a convicted murderer have in common? They all passed Uber's background check in California. That's according to a civil complaint filed against the ride-sharing app.
Uber is accused of misleading customers about driver background checks that sometimes fail to turn up felonies and misdemeanor charges. Why? Uber doesn't use a fingerprint I.D. so its results are limited. But Uber says its checks are no less safe than the checks used by taxi companies.
How does a four-day workweek sound? The Japanese fashion brand Uniqlo will offer that as an option to its 10,000 Japan based store employees. Starting in October workers who opt in will work four 10- hours days and be asked to work weekends and holidays.
[05:00:06] It's part of a growing trend we're seeing employers offering more flexibility to retain good workers.
EARLY START continues right now.
]
