Return to Transcripts main page

Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Hurricane Joaquin Gains Strength; Russia Begins Airstrikes in Syria; Trump: Will Send Syrian Refugees Back If He Wins. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired October 01, 2015 - 04:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:31:09] BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: The East Coast flooded and it could be just a preview of what's to come. This happening as Hurricane Joaquin gained strength nearing the U.S. We're tracking the storm.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: An unpredictable new phase in the four- year long civil war. Russia launching air strikes in Syria, but ISIS doesn't seem to be who the Kremlin is targeting. We are live.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

SANCHEZ: And I'm Boris Sanchez. We are half past the hour.

We got breaking news this morning: Joaquin now a category three hurricane. As of last night, we really had no idea where it was going. It is bearing down on the Bahamas right now. Another storm produces record rain up and down East Coast.

ROMANS: That's right. It's already been raining, already very wet here. It's very wet here. Separate, but unfortunate before Joaquin.

In Massachusetts, a very dry September ending in dramatic fashion, up to four inches rain. Just north of Boston, a woman had to be rescued from her car after she got stuck in the flood waters.

And look at this car, flowing through deep water in Worchester, Mass. The driver gets to relatively dry land and stalls out, opens the car door and boom. The weather snarling traffic across the region.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's bad. It's just gridlock everywhere. It is flooding everywhere. I have been on the road for two hours.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: And in Maine, the National Weather Service says more than 5.5 inches fell on Portland. One of the ten all time wettest days in the city's history. Rain knocking out power, downing trees and flooding roads. Only trucks and SUVs getting by. ROMANS: In Maryland, just west of Baltimore, knee deep flash flood water rushing through streets. A local YMCA was flooded out there, with three feet of water in Frederick, Maryland.

And the car in this photo, totaled. Here's the owner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I really did not know that flash flood meant boom, quick, rain, everything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It looked like a freaking river, it's what it looked like.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: And it's not over yet.

ROMANS: No.

SANCHEZ: The heavy rain could be followed by Hurricane Joaquin. And where is that storm going to hit?

Let's get right to meteorologist Pedram Javaheri -- Pedram.

ROMANS: Hey there.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, guys, good morning.

Yes, you know, that's the big question, of course, with so much uncertainty of a storm system that is a category three. We know, in fact, that some of the cruise ships across portions of the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos, they have been all diverted out of this region just because the storm is going so slow, so powerful.

In fact, you can actually get outside on land if you were to be in this region and run past the storm in a faster speed. That is how slow it's migrating to the north and to the West.

But the model disparity is just remarkable. This time yesterday, the models, much of them had it going right toward portions of the Carolinas, portions of the mid-Atlantic. Now we are seeing more widespread action here with the models to South Carolina and some to New England and portions of Massachusetts over the next 48 to 72 hours.

I want to show you why this is such a complex forecast, because we have a negatively tilted trough moving in. These like to do with a tropical feature, they draw it to the north, sometimes steer it to the United States. Offshore, we have an area of high pressure.

With the clockwise flow around this, this will want to draw the hurricane back offshore, which is what we want to see this play out with this sort of a scenario. Right now, again, the models having a tough time differentiating what is going to play out with the storm system. If it is close enough towards the Eastern Seaboard, we pause it and show you the trough that digs in on Saturday and across the United States. Here is the category three hurricane at that point parked off portions of the Eastern Seaboard.

Now, notice the interaction. We fast forward and it pulls on this tropical feature and dives right to the Northeast. This again would be Sunday afternoon to Sunday night. You see the European model, wants to take the high pressure offshore, although in the last couple of minutes, we have seen it favor more back to the west.

So, again, a lot of uncertainty between the storm system will do and if it is anywhere near the coastline, the heavy rainfall potential could be life-threatening.

[04:35:02] You got to keep in mind, in the United States, the flash flooding is the number one related killer, when you talk about this much rainfall on top of saturated soils. Of course, not to mention the potential for gusty winds over 100 miles per hour from Sunday night from say Cape Hatteras point northward. This could be a very, very large scale problem for about 80 million people, which one in four Americans across the country. So, when you consider the impact here, it could be large.

ROMANS: I do not like your forecast. Pedram, I like you. I do not like your forecast.

JAVAHERI: I like you, too, Christine. We hope for the European model to take this offshore and this becomes a preparation.

ROMANS: It's just so recent from Superstorm Sandy. When you look at the East Coast, you talk about a major hurricane on the East Coast. I mean, that was disruptive, so dangerous. It's not forecast to be anything like that.

JAVAHERI: You know, Christine, it is interesting. The last time we had a weather pattern and typically, you don't get hurricanes impacting this side of the country. They guide storms offshore. This time around with that trough, it is resembling what Sandy did to try to guide the tropical feature to the Northeast. But again, the model disparity right now is quite large with the more reliable model historically speaking, wanting to take it away from the Eastern Seaboard. So, we are hoping that plays out here.

ROMANS: Thanks for that.

SANCHEZ: I usually say I'm a fan of the European model for different reasons.

We're glad you're on it, Pedram.

ROMANS: Thanks.

SANCHEZ: The eyes of the world -- The eyes of the world are on Syria, of course. The U.S. countering the Russian claims that the air strikes targeted ISIS. The word first came when the Russian appeared at the American embassy in Baghdad with a note, warning the U.S. should stay out of the air space. CNN's Barbara Starr asked asked Defense Secretary Ash Carter about

this unusual move.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: You have been dealing with the Russians for years. So, a Russian general shows up this morning at embassy in Baghdad and apparently reads you your people a note saying airstrikes are going to begin in one hour. What do you make of that? Is that -- as secretary of defense, is that acceptable military relations with you and where does this leave you if you sit down and talk to the Russian military about the way ahead? Is this not a little bizarre?

ASH CARTER, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: You're right. I have been dealing with them for a long time and this is not the kind of behavior that we should expect professionally from Russian military professionally. That's one reason why I think it is a good thing to have an avenue of communication that is less unprofessional than a drop-in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: The U.S. also accusing Russia of misleading of the target of its air strikes. American officials say the war planes were not flying in ISIS-held regions. And "The Washington Post" reports that strikes hit anti-government rebels in Syria, some of them backed by the U.S. and trained by the CIA.

Defense Secretary Carter accusing Russia of, quote, "pouring gasoline on the fire of Syria's civil war."

For the latest, let's bring in CNN's Matthew Chance live for us in Moscow.

Matthew, quite a situation there. We know that the Russian foreign minister and Secretary Kerry were set to sit down today and come up with some kind of solution to deconflict the status of the war in Syria there. What do you think is going to come of that?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there will be military to military contacts on a very formal level that will be implemented as soon as today so the two militaries can get together and deconflict and make sure the various war planes flying in the skies over Syria from both the United States and from Russia don't shoot each other down, which is what everybody wants to avoid.

There is a lot of unclarity if that is a word, about what targets the Russians are hitting. It said yesterday on day one of the campaign, it targeted eight specific ISIS targets, including fuel dumps and ammo dumps and command and control centers and things like. But that is contradicted by the United States and their intelligence work saying other rebel groups have also been in the firing line.

It is also to some extent contradicted or questioned by Russia's own foreign minister. He had a meeting with the secretary of state last night and after that, he told reporters that we were invited by the Syrian government to help fight ISIS and other terrorist groups as well.

So, that is something the Kremlin is saying all along. They don't draw distention with the ISIS and other opposition, the other rebel fighters that are operating inside Syria.

SANCHEZ: Matthew, has there been any word from Saudi Arabia? They remain strong, that they will keep funding and arming these rebels until Assad steps down.

[04:40:01] They probably don't like what Russia's doing.

CHANCE: No, and I expect they don't. Of course, there is no love loss between the Russians and the Saudis. They have been on opposite sides of the Syrian conflict for some time now.

And so, yes, it is unlikely the Saudis will be happy with what the Russians are doing. The United States as you mentioned, have been backing certain aspects of the rebel factions in Syria as well, as have other Western powers, Gulf States, Turkey. Everybody has a finger in the part of the pie in Syria.

But Russia is coming pretty much forcefully on one side in that conflict. Its objective is to clearly support Bashar al Assad and anyone who stands in his way is likely to become a target.

SANCHEZ: It should be interesting to see what happens next. Matthew, thank you.

ROMANS: All right. No government shutdown at least for now. Breaking overnight, Congress passing a stop-gap spending bill with hours to spare keeping the government funded through December 11th. That's when Republicans are expected to push hard to defund Planned Parenthood. President Obama signing the measure as soon as it reached his desk calling it good news and cause to celebrate even if the bar for Congress is, quote, "somewhat low".

SANCHEZ: New e-mails released by the State Department show Hillary Clinton staffers were concerned about her use of a private e-mail server, worrying that it might invite hackers. The e-mails spanning between 2010 and 2011, also reveal five phishing attempts targeting her while she was secretary of state. Now, it's been revealed that about two months from the start of Clinton's tenure at the State Department are missing. Federal officials confirmed they have not been able to recover them.

ROMANS: All right. Time for an early start on your money this morning. Stocks around the world and U.S. stock futures are starting the fourth quarter strongly after a rally yesterday. The Dow rose 235 points. A powerful bounce to end what was the worse quarter for stocks in four years.

Watching hurricane Joaquin getting closer and U.S. investors are hoping companies will capitalize on preparations and clear-up efforts. Shares of Generac which makes affordable generators climbed 9 percent yesterday. Owens Corning which makes roofing material rose 4 percent. Lowe's and Home Depot also got a boost. I have to tell you, I have already thought myself of when I'm going to get that trip to Lowe's or Home Depot to try to stock up on a few things. But that day gets closer.

SANCHEZ: Flashlights. Paper towels, everything, get it now.

ROMANS: Batteries, wine and beer. Wait. They don't have that.

All right. He says, send them back. Donald Trump explains what happens to Syrian refugees if he is elected, but Bernie Sanders sets fund raising records. But is it enough to beat Hillary? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:46:16] SANCHEZ: Donald Trump and Jeb Bush butting heads yet again on the campaign trail. This time over the subject of refugees fleeing the civil war in Syria. Trump telling the New Hampshire town hall and CNN's Don Lemon as president he would send refugees back because he says they could be ISIS sympathizers in disguise.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Why are we accepting all of these thousands? Now, I heard a number today, 200,000. That's almost like -- are they bringing -- are these people ISIS?

We have no idea who they are. We have no idea where they come from. I'm telling you right now, they may come in through the weakness of Obama, but they are going out if I become president. They will not say there. They are going back to Syria, whether it is safe zones or whatever. But they are going back to Syria.

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have a noble tradition of taking care of refugees. We have done it since the beginning of time. And I think we need to maintain that.

Having said that, we need to screen people and do the things that are appropriate to make sure the people coming here are legitimate.

But send them all back to a hell hole? This is the same guy that is also advocating exactly what seems to be supportive of Putin and his emergence in Syria.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Some of the supporters of more refugees to the United States say the U.S. is too stringent already.

Now to the Democrats, Hillary Clinton's third quarter fundraising take was $28 million, just a few million more than her chief rival for the nomination, Bernie Sanders. It's also a sharp drop from the record setting take of $47.5 million in the spring.

The pace of donations for Sanders campaign picked up over the summer. He collected $25.5 million in the last three months. His campaign touting the fact it reached 1 million online donors faster than any candidate ever. So, not only is he drawing the huge crowds across the country, a lot of energy for Sanders, he is getting money.

SANCHEZ: Yes, Joe Biden has to be watching, thinking that if he's going to jump in, he's got quite a catching up to do.

ROMANS: Oh, yes.

SANCHEZ: Breaking overnight, Afghan forces taking back part of the city seized by the Taliban. What's next in this fight?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:52:04] SANCHEZ: Breaking overnight: Afghan special forces say they have retaken a major city in Kunduz, days after it was overrun by the Taliban. The operation launching late Wednesday, still ongoing, forces working to clear Taliban fighters from a few districts within Kunduz.

CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson joins us now.

Nic, there's been some confusion as to how much of the city is still in the Taliban. We are also learning the U.S. has launched at least five air strikes there. What are you hearing?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, what we know at the moment is the Taliban by and large do seem to be pushed out of the city of Kunduz. The province is a bigger issue. Two districts controlled by the Taliban. They have been for months. No indication the government is going to go ahead and take control of those. No indication that the Taliban completely drop their fight for the city.

One of the two key things, change the dynamic and order the government to retake the area here. One of them is getting reinforcements here and the other was having NATO and U.S. special advisors on the ground who were able to direct and bring in air strikes on positions that threatened them. So, those seats in the key dynamics.

Underlying all of that, of course, of the government trying to restore electricity and water. The people short of food and food prices have been sky rockets. Hundreds of civilians we understand have been injured. The hospital literally overrun, people in the corridors and on the floors there.

So, a big mopping-up operation for the government. And in the midst of that, Taliban will continue to try to move back in if they can -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: All right. Nic, thank you. We thought it was under control. The Afghan forces outnumber the Taliban, but obviously that didn't help much.

ROMANS: With so much blood and treasure of the United States spent and invested in the region. It's just troubling to see the Taliban resurgent.

All right. Your credit card is getting a security update. Why that might cause headaches at the checkout, next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: All right. It's Thursday morning. I'm Christine Romans.

Let's get an early start on your money today. European stocks much higher this morning. U.S. stock futures pointing higher, too. That would be a nice rally for the Dow. A strong start to the fourth quarter if it holds.

Stocks climbed a lot yesterday. The Dow rose 235 points. Not enough to save the worst quarter for stocks in four years. A lot of uncertainty dragging down sentiment, of course. From the Federal Reserve, China's slowdown, political gridlock, all of those things need to work through.

This is also a big day for your credit card. Today marks the milestone for the shift to new more secure chip enabled cards. Banks used to cover any bogus transaction. But starting today, those costs shifts to the entity with less protection.

For example, if you have a chip enabled card and used in a store that upgraded payment system, the retailer is now on the hooks for any fake swipes. The new cards are more secure, but they take a bit longer so you're going to have a few more seconds at the checkout that could cause confusion potentially at the checkout.

Facebook users, ready to get creative with your profile picture? The site will let you upload a shortened video as your mobile profile picture. It can be up to seven seconds. It will play on a loop. You'll also be able to set a temporary that reverts back to the original for a certain amount of time. For example, if you want to let people know you are on vacation, you can upload a beach photo for a week.

Oh, more for me to figure out, how to be created online.

SANCHEZ: I hope they come up with a feature to tell you why people haven't responded to your friend request because my request has been sitting in your inbox for weeks?

ROMANS: It has?

SANCHEZ: Yes.

ROMANS: Are you kidding me?

SANCHEZ: It hasn't been answered. We are still waiting.

ROMANS: I do like you. You are my friend. I'll look.

SANCHEZ: All right.

EARLY START continues right now.

(MUSIC) SANCHEZ: East coast flooded. Record rainfall happening as hurricane Joaquin gains strength and barrels to the U.S. will this be a one-two punch? We're tracking the storm.

ROMANS: Russia launching its first air strikes in Syria, but ISIS may not be who they are targeting after all. We're live.

Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

Nice to see you this morning.

SANCHEZ: Nice to see you, too, Christine.

I'm Boris Sanchez. It is Thursday, October 1st, 5:00 a.m. in the East.