Return to Transcripts main page
Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
North Korea Threatens War Against South Korea; Bush Hits Back At Donald Trump; Iran Nuclear Deal: Obama's New Letter to Congress; Tiger Woods Shoots Best Round in 2 Years. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired August 21, 2015 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Workers who opted-in will work four 10-hour 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.
(MUSIC)
ROMANS: North Korea threatening war, exchanging fire with South Korea, ordering its troops to be ready. We're live.
Jeb Bush hits back at Donald Trump, labeling new attacks against the Republican frontrunner in the race for president.
President Obama laying out his case for the Iran nuclear deal in a new letter to Congress and a brand new op-ed this morning making his case.
Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans. It is Friday, August 21st. It is 5:00 a.m. in the East.
Let's begin now with the breaking news this morning. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered his frontline military units into what the state-run news agency is calling a war time state. This follows an exchange of fire with South Korea across the demilitarized zone.
Turning to CNN's Kathy Novak. She is in South Korea for us.
Kathy, what's the latest? Tensions running high here.
KATHY NOVAK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Christine. Increasingly strong rhetoric coming out of North Korea, the statement news agency KCNA says the country is edging closer to the brink of war and that Kim Jong-un chaired a meeting of the central military commission and ordered the army to be ready to launch surprise attacks.
This is all happening as the United States and South Korea are holding joint military drills. This happens annually. And it's always a time of high tension here on the Peninsula. But what's happening right now is this coming with a combination of the fact that South Korea has for the first team in more than a decade re-launched its program of psychological warfare. It has been broadcasting anti North Korean messages out of loud speakers that have been set up along the heavily fortified border.
On the weekend, Pyongyang was threatening to blow up the speakers and also threatening indiscriminate strikes against South Korea if it did not stop that campaign of psychological warfare. And tensions ramped up yesterday with this exchange of fire on the border. The U.S. believes that North Korea was targeting those speakers and Pyongyang has issued an ultimatum. It says if South Korea does not stop broadcasting by 5:00 p.m. local time tomorrow, it will launch military action, and no sign of South Korea stopping, Christine.
ROMANS: All right. Kathy Novak for us in South Korea, thank you for that. Keep us posted if there are any developments this morning.
To politics now, Jeb Bush switching tactics this morning, aiming his fire directly at Donald Trump, who's been slamming him for weeks. Both men on the campaign trail today. Tens of thousands set to hear Trump at a football stadium in Alabama. Bush speaking at 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.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine.
Up until the last couple days, Bush has seemed hesitant to engage Trump. But that's changing in the face of his sagging numbers. Now, the gloves are finally coming off.
Take a listen to how he tried to draw contrast with Trump at a town hall event here in New Hampshire.
JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have to win. You win when you campaign like this. You don't win when you campaign like this. You don't win when you are 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 great you are, how rich you are or how this you are or how that you are.
JONES: After the event, I asked Bush to respond to Trump's criticism that he isn't engaging voters.
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 a Republican.
I have fought for Republican 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. They will find I'm the guy that they're going to vote for.
JONES: Strong words from Bush as he tries to convince voters he is the one to beat -- Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Athena Jones, that same gaggle with reporters you saw there with Athena. Jeb Bush defended the use of the term "anchor babies" on a radio show after Democrats blasted him this week.
Now, this phrase is sometimes used to describe babies born in the U.S. to undocumented immigrants. Bush grew testy when questioned on the campaign trail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Governor, do you regret using the term "anchor baby" yesterday on the radio?
BUSH: No, I didn't.
(CROSSTALK)
BUSH: I don't, I don't regret it.
Do you have a better term?
REPORTER: I'm not -- I'm asking you.
BUSH: You give me a better term, and I'll use it.
REPORTER: Governor, governor --
BUSH: Don't yell at me behind my ear, though.
REPORTER: Sorry about that.
(CROSSTALK)
REPORTER: The language "anchor baby," is that not bombastic?
BUSH: No, give me another word.
REPORTER: Undocumented immigrants in the U.S. --
BUSH: That's not another word. That's like a seven -- look, here's the deal, what I said was, it's commonly referred to that.
[05:05:05] That's what I said. I didn't use it as my own language.
What we ought to do is protect the 14th Amendment. You want to get to the policy for a second? I think people born in this country ought to be American citizens. OK, now we got that over with.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: He was on Bill Bennett radio show where he said people who come to this country who are not American citizens to have a baby to have American citizenship is commonly referred to as anchor babies. That's what he said on that radio program.
Hillary Clinton swiftly responded to the request for a better term with this tweet. It said, "How about babies, children or American citizens?"
Bush just one of five presidential candidates, Republican presidential candidates appearing at an Americans for prosperity event in Columbus, Ohio. Bush and Bobby Jindal speaking at Defending the Dream event today. Marco Rubio, Rick Perry and Ted Cruz tomorrow.
Also today, Ted Cruz takes his turn on the Iowa state fair soapbox, followed up on a 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.
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 Emmitt 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 the suit.
The government has been arguing that Freedom of Information Act searches don't usually involved federal officials private emails. The judge apparently rejecting that argument with this ruling.
The lawyer for Bowe Bergdahl says Donald Trump's remarks about the army sergeant will threaten his right to a fair trial on desertion charges. Bergdahl was released by the Taliban last spring after five years in captivity. At Trump's town hall this week, he said Bergdahl is, quote, "a dirty, rotten traitor." Bergdahl's attorney says those words are, quote, "call for mob justice", calling them contemptible and un-American.
New efforts by President Obama to shore up support for the Iran nuclear deal. The president sending a letter to Congress reassuring nervous Democrats that a military option is open if Iran cheats on the deal. President Obama also turning up the pressure with the op-ed that appears in newspapers across the country this morning. In it, he writes, "If Iran does not abide by the deal, it is possible we won't have any other choice 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 of Americans oppose the nuclear deal.
More on that 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. That is up from 52 percent just last month.
Many do seem to be blaming President Obama for their disapproval. Six in ten people disapprove of how the president is handling the U.S. relationship with Iran.
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. 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. The White House has said they are confident they will get the support.
But very clear here, Christine, they still do have a lot of convincing -- Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Thanks for that, Sunlen Serfaty.
A former president, Jimmy Carter, taking his cancer diagnosis in stride, saying his cancer is in God's hands. At a remarkable 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 have 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: Carter began receiving radiation and another treatment on Thursday.
Time for an early start on your money.
Brutal day far stocks. Stocks tanked in Asia after a weak Chinese manufacturing report. Stocks fall in Europe.
[05:10:00] The Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is stepping down. He's called for early election and says he will run again. Stock futures suggest a lower open here after the Dow plunged more than 350 points. Oil is at a more than six-year low. Global slowdown fears grow.
Concerns of he looming interest rate hike add to the uncertainty. Roll it all together, it's big trouble for stocks.
Yesterday, media shares tanked. Disney and Viacom down 6 percent. Time Warner, the parent of CNN, down 5 percent.
Part of a selloff on worries of the future of the business model. And Twitter shares fell below the IPO price, tumbling to a new record low on growth worries. When you look at the leaders of the decline, it is the darling of recent months that have crumbling here. We'll continue to follow that this morning.
New accusations against Bill Cosby. More women claiming the comedian sexually assaulted them. They are speaking out, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Two new Bill Cosby accusers are speaking out bringing the number of women that claim the comedian sexually assaulted them to more than 50. They appeared alongside Gloria Allred. They claim that Cosby drug them and sexually assaulted them against their will in the 1970s.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLOTTE FOX, CLAIMS COSBY SEXUALLY ASSAULTED HER: The next thing I remember, 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 lived with this shame and 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)
[05:15:00] 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 student Owen Labrie. The encounter stemmed from the 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. The exclusive prep school is the alma mater of six Congress members and the secretary of state.
Officials trying to determine what caused a gas explosion at a New York City high school. Three people injured. One critically in the blast Thursday night during construction at JFK high school.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIEL NIGRO, FDNY COMMISSIONER: Many people in the neighborhood heard the explosion and we responded our full collapse assignment. We found the three contractors seriously injured. This building has been seriously damaged.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Fire officials say structural damage to the school itself is limited.
Convicted murderer David Sweat who spent 22 days on the run after breaking out of prison was indicted on Thursday on escape charges and for promoting prison contraband. The judge entered a not guilty plea for Sweat. He is already serving life without parole.
An alderman in St. Louis says the protests after the police- involved shootings were over the victim being 13 years old. It turns out the man who was shot was 18 years old. Police say he pointed a gun at police while trying to run from a home where officers were executing a search warrant. Police say drugs and stolen guns were recovered.
We know the names of the firefighters battling a wildfire in Washington state. They were 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 those 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 1 of 100 wildfires across Washington state.
Will the weather cooperate to get the wildfires under control?
Let's get to meteorologist Allison Chinchar.
ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIS: Yes, Christine. Unfortunately, the fire threat is continuing. We look at the red-flag warning continuing throughout much of the day.
Wind gusts, however, will be the big impact for today. We expect them to get up to the 40-mile-an-hour range. That will cause several issues for a lot of the firefighters.
The heat again continues across the southeast, 87 for the high today in Atlanta, 93 in Charleston. We top out at 83 degrees in New York. Another thing we are keeping an eye on is the active tropics.
You are looking at hurricane Danny. It is expected to decrease a bit over the next couple of days. It likely will not make landfall over the leeward island until we get closer to Sunday. At that point in time, it is expected to weaken to tropical storm status. That is good news.
As it continues off to the north and west, it will eventually make its way to Puerto Rico and eventually up towards the Dominican Republic -- Christine.
ROMANS: All right. Allison, thank you for that this morning.
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 the faith and family values, he became unfaithful to his wife, and has re-broken the trust of family, friends and fans of "19 Kids and Counting". The show was cancelled following revelations the 27-year-old Duggar had molested girls as a teenager, including his sisters. Duggar has resigned his job at the Christian lobbying group Family Research Council.
Back to the future for Tiger Woods, playing his lowest round in a couple of years. Is he back?
Andy Scholes has the details in the bleacher report, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:22:57] ROMANS: A former all American football player was convicted of sexual assault in Texas last night. How this player got on Baylor's campus is shocking.
Andy Scholes has more on this morning's bleacher report.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Christine.
Sam Ukwuachu will be convicted of rape. The details surrounding the story are pretty disturbing. Ukwuachu was kicked off the football team in 2013. After that, he transferred to Baylor for football although the coaches were warned about the off the field problems.
Now, shortly after arriving in Waco, Ukwuachu was accused of rape by a Baylor soccer player. He wasn't indicted on rape charges until June of 2014. Baylor did not let him play last season, but never gave a reason why.
And just this off season, the Baylor coach said they expected him back on the team this season. Baylor has released a statement saying in part maintaining a safe and caring community is central to the Baylor's mission and heart of the commitment to the students and faculty and staff.
All right. RGIII and the Redskins taking on the Lions and some pretty season football last night. Rough night. He was hit on six of the attempts. RGIII had to leave the game with a concussion in the second quarter. Not a good start to the bounce back year he is hoping for.
And Johnny Manziel continues to look good a this preseason. Take a look at the fourth quarter, vintage Johnny football. He finds his man for a 37 yard completion. He capped that off with a 21-yard touchdown pass. Manziel continues to battle with Josh McCown for is fighting for the starting quarterback spot. The browns lose to the Bills, 11-10.
And finally, we saw some vintage Tiger Woods at the Wyndham Championship, Tiger shooting his best round in two years. Things were going so well for tiger on the fourth hole, he thought he missed this putt here, but then it falls. He gives the old Michael Jordan shrug.
[05:25:05] Tiger is apparently two shots back from the leaders.
Christine, Tiger, he's to get at least second place in the tournament to keep his season alive if he hopes to play in the FedEx Cup. So, this is vintage tiger if he can string four good rounds together.
ROMANS: It's nice to be talking about Tiger for doing well.
SCHOLES: Very rare.
ROMANS: Not doing well on the golf course. All right. Thanks for that, Andy Scholes. Happy Friday.
SCHOLES: All right. You too.
ROMANS: All right. Breaking overnight. North Korea readies its troops. Threatening war after exchanging fire with South Korea. We are live with these threats on the border, ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Breaking news this morning. North Korea threatening war, readying its troops for attack after exchanging fire with South Korea. We are live.
Jeb Bush takes on Donald Trump, launching new attacks on the Republican frontrunner in the race president. Both candidates on the campaign trail today. Details ahead.
President Obama's new push for the Iran nuclear deal, laying out his agreement in the op-ed over the Iran nuclear deal. We've got those details head.
Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans. It is 30 minutes past the hour. Nice to see you this Friday morning.
Let's begin with breaking news from North Korea. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered his frontline military units into what the state-run news agency calls a wartime state. This follows an exchange of fire with South Korea across the DMZ, the demilitarized zone.
Let's turn to CNN's Kathy Novak. She's in South Korea monitoring this rising tensions for us.
Kathy, what's the latest?
NOVAK: Christine, South Korea is preparing itself for further provocations.
