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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Caron Pushes Back Against Media; Trump Hosts SNL Saturday, Hits Rivals Sunday; Security Audit Underway at Egypt's Airports; Six-Year- Old Boy Allegedly Shot by Cops; Israeli PM Meets with President Obama Today; Greg Hardy Domestic Violence Photos; University of Missouri Football Players Boycott; Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired November 09, 2015 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:02] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hear why he says the coverage of his campaign is, quote, "stupid."

ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: New questions surrounding security at a popular Egyptian airport. Was security lax before a plane went down possibly at the hands of an ISIS bomb? Hear what officials have to say as major review procedures get underway.

BERMAN: Anger and sorrow in Louisiana. A community is preparing to bury a 6-year-old boy shot and killed by two marshals. Demand for answers about why a police chase for the boy's father ended with this boy's death.

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.

KOSIK: And I'm Alison Kosik in for Christine Romans. It's Monday, November 9th. It's 5:00 a.m. in the East.

And this morning, there's new criticism of the media from Ben Carson. The Republican candidate pushing back against reporting that scrutinizes stories he told about his youth. A key part of Carson's personal narrative is that he says he was violent as a youngster until he turned to God which transformed his life. Campaigning in Puerto Rico, Carson offered a point-by-point rebuttal to some of the reporting by "Politico," the "Wall Street Journal" and CNN. CNN's investigation could not corroborate several of Carson's stories, including a description of punching a classmate in the face with his hand wrapped around a lock.

BERMAN: Donald Trump, he had a very different kind of weekend. He hosted "Saturday Night Live," an appearance which got good ratings but not so great reviews. Despite pretty funny dancing right now.

KOSIK: Really funny, though.

BERMAN: I'm amused by his dancing. All right. Sunday morning he was right back in the swing of things, taking swings at his opponents, for instance, needling Marco Rubio over questions about Rubio's use of a Republican Party charge card many years ago.

Want to bring in Zach Wolf, he's the managing editor of CNNPolitics.com. Good morning, Zach. I want to start with Ben Carson because Ben

Carson has been anything but sleepy over the last several days. Very, very upset about media coverage of his past, including from CNN. There was CNN report which looked to corroborate many of Carson's stories about how he was violent as a youngster and then ultimately turned to God and changed his ways including that one story about wrapping his hand around a lock and punching someone. CNN couldn't find anyone to corroborate that story. Listen to Carson lashing back over the weekend said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The kind of investigations that were done, you know, talking to the wrong people, not going to Wilson Junior High School where the lock incident occurred, but talking to other people and saying, see? I mean, that's just stupid. And if our media is no better at investigating than that, it's sick.

The burden of proof is not going to be on me to corroborate everything that I ever talked about in my life because once I start down that road, every single day from now until the election, you're going to be spending your time doing that, and we have much more important things to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So reporters say this is vetting. The Carson campaign says it's a witch hunt. And he's raked in several million dollars just because the media has been so hard on him, Zach.

ZACHARY WOLF, MANAGING EDITOR, CNN POLITICS.COM: That's right. You know, it's really a part of, I think, for him, you know, his political brand is part of this from now on. For him, it's going to be opposing the media, kind of bringing them in as a boogie man. You know, whereas the media is looking at this as they are doing, they think, what they would do to any other presidential candidate. Looking at the major claims in his book. This whole, you know, conversion story basically.

His religious epiphany is based on him being a violent young man and turning not violent through God. So, you know, you have the two sides here. And I don't know what's going to happen next until the Carson campaign comes up with someone to say either these things did or did not happen.

KOSIK: All right, now you have Donald Trump having a much better weekend. What can be better than appearing on "Saturday Night Live?" I want to go to a clip that I remember from that night that shows basically Trump sitting around his supposed cabinet and how everything is just going perfectly. Let's go to the clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president of Mexico is here to see you.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That's great. Send him in. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald.

TRUMP: Enrique.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I brought you the check for the wall.

TRUMP: That's so wonderful.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Consider it an apology for doubting you. As history shows us, nothing brings two countries together like a wall.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: There were some really funny parts in this. Why is it that it's not getting rave reviews?

WOLF: Well, I mean, you know, everything with Donald Trump it's -- you would think, you know, the presidential frontrunner spending his time not, you know, out there in New Hampshire and Iowa talking to voters, but instead on "Saturday Night Live" dancing. It's just unconventional with a capital U. It's the strangest thing you've ever seen.

Usually people go on these shows at the very end of the campaign, they'll be there for one second -- you know, one skit. Trump is there the whole show. He is owning it. He's -- you know, in a very media way, not a political way. It's sort of the strangeness of this cycle, you know, writ large.

[05:05:14] BERMAN: Let's talk about tomorrow night, Zach, because there's another Republican debate tomorrow night. This one with fewer candidates on stage, minus Chris Christie and minus Mike Huckabee. What are you looking for tomorrow?

WOLF: You know, you're looking for that new sort of stage without Chris Christie and Mike Huckabee. They are two of the more interesting sort of debaters, I would think. But now we're going to have a smaller stage. We're going to have still Donald Trump, still Ben Carson. I think you're going to look for them kind of banding together against the media. And you're going to look for, you know, what is Trump going to do next and how is Carson going to defend himself basically.

KOSIK: This is one we're going to watch even though it's not on our network.

BERMAN: We'll watch it. But we won't help with the ratings.

(LAUGHTER)

KOSIK: All right. Zach, well, thanks so much for coming on the program. We'll see you -- actually see you in a bit.

WOLF: Thanks. KOSIK: OK.

New this morning, a Russian security audit under way in the Egyptian resort of Sharma el Sheikh. The U.S. is increasingly confident it was a bomb that brought down a Russian jetliner that took off from Sharma killing all 224 people on board. With one U.S. official telling CNN it is, quote, "99.9 percent certain" sure that it was a bomb.

Egypt is walking a fine line firmly denying media reports of lax security at the airports, but also inviting Russian experts to conduct airport security checks and make suggestions for improvement.

Joining us from Sharma el Sheikh with the latest is CNN's Ian Lee.

Good morning, Ian. So I understand U.S. investigators are also going to be getting involved.

IAN LEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alison and John. And yes, the FBI may be coming here to help out with this investigation, although a U.S. law enforcement official has told CNN the formal request hasn't been made, but one area they could help the Egyptians in is analyzing a sound that is heard at those final moments of this voice recorder on this flight. A loud bang is heard.

Now U.S., U.K. officials believe that this is the sound of a bomb exploding. Now Egyptians on the other hand are saying that it could be an engine exploding, it could be a battery. It could be a bomb. They just don't know and they want this investigation to continue. They are also analyzing the debris still out there where the plane crashed looking for any signs of an explosions. So far we haven't heard if they found any residue.

But also a lot of scrutiny at Egypt's airports. The Sharma el Sheikh Airport just behind me. We've seen planes taking off and landing all day. But there is that Russian security team on the ground assessing the security, trying to make sure that it is up to standards to make sure that if a bomb was through, that no more attacks like that could happen. They're not just here but they're also around Egypt's other airports. They have roughly 80,000 people in the country, 80,000 tourists that they want to see get back safely.

And really the question of airport security is not whether the Egyptians feel that is up to standards, but whether the countries that fly their planes in here feel that it's good enough.

KOSIK: Ian, how is the relationship between Egypt and Russia being affected knowing that, you know, Russia feels one way about what could have brought down this plane and Egypt standing firm with what it believes.

LEE: Well, Egypt and Russia have very close relations. Especially between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the Russian President Vladimir Putin. They visited each other on a number of times. And they were essentially in sync at the initial part of this investigation. Both saying that this was most likely a technical issue and not a terrorist attack. But it wasn't until after the U.S. shared these intelligence with the Russians that they stopped all flights in and out of Egypt. And they are assessing the security here. That being said, it is unlikely to really fray the relationship between the two countries as it is fairly close.

KOSIK: All right. CNN's Ian Lee, thanks so much.

BERMAN: Happening today, a 6-year-old boy will be laid to rest and two law enforcement officers will be charged with killing him, and they will appear in court. First grader Jeremy Mardis was shot and killed after a police chase in Louisiana. Jeremy's father Chris Few was injured when the officers opened fire. His condition has been upgraded to serious. The two officers were arrested based in part on body camera video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COL. MICHAEL EDMONSON, HEAD OF LOUISIANA STATE POLICE: Jeremy Mardis, 6 years old. He didn't deserve to die like that. We took some of the body camera footage. Let me tell you something, I'm not going to talk about it, but I'm going to tell you this. It is the most disturbing thing I have seen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Police have not disclosed a motive for the shooting.

For the latest let's turn to CNN's Nick Valencia in Marksville, Louisiana.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Alison, according to local media reports, at least one of the officers involved and charged in the murder of 6-year-old Jeremy Mardis has a troubled history.

[05:10:04] Back in 2011, 32-year-old Derrick Stafford was indicted on two counts of aggravated assault, one incident dating back to 2004, another occurring while he was still employed by the Marksville Police Department.

We have reached out to the Marksville Police Department as well as family members of Stafford. They have not gotten back to CNN. But in our research on both history of the officers, we could not find any instance in which either was convicted of a crime.

Meanwhile, in this community of 5,000, the focus is largely on 6-year- old Jeremy Mardis. Earlier, I spoke with his first grade special needs teacher at the site where he was shot and killed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just brought this cute bear and puppy dog and the wreath from the Autism Network because when a child in a our community, you know, needs something, we're there for them.

VALENCIA: You guys are there for them. What goes through your heart and mind when you look at this? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just --

VALENCIA: For Jeremy?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm just know he is watching over everybody. He always was an angel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: The funeral for that 6-year-old will be held later this afternoon in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Meanwhile, those two marshals, they're in custody behind me. They remain in this jail and they are expected also to have their first court appearance on Monday -- John, Alison.

KOSIK: OK, Nick, thanks for that.

Time for an EARLY START on your money. Asia markets finishing mixed overnight. The Nikkei and Shanghai Composite both under 2 percent -- up under 2 percent. The Hang Seng losing almost 1 percent. The Dow down very slightly in pre-market trading.

On the heels of a strong jobs report, a top official suggesting interest rates may go up for the first time in several years. And actually almost a decade. John Williams, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, says the next step should be to gradually begin raising interest rates. The Central Bank expected to take up the issue at its December meeting so maybe, could be, thinking yes.

BERMAN: Unless it's not.

KOSIK: Exactly.

BERMAN: But probably maybe.

KOSIK: Yes. Yes.

BERMAN: Unless it's not. All right. All sides hoping for a thaw today when President Obama hosts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Can the tensions in this relationship be eased at all? This as there is a new wave of violence in Israel. We're live in Jerusalem next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:15:24] KOSIK: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Obama, their relationship, in a word, has been chilly. This morning, the two men meet at the White House. It's a fence mending mission of sorts for Netanyahu following his speech to Congress where he lobbied against the Iran nuclear deal. The Israeli leader also seeking more military aid from the U.S. This coming amid a new wave of violence with more terror attacks against Jews in Israel and the West Bank.

CNN's Oren Liebermann live in Jerusalem for us. Oren, what do you think is expected to come out of this meeting?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the good news for these two is that there is no more fighting and arguing about the Iran nuclear deal. It's a done deal. And now the question is the aftermath of that deal. And that's what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will focus on specifically the U.S. military aid package to Israel in the wake of the deal.

It's about $3 billion a year now. And it's part of a 10-year deal so it runs until 2018. Netanyahu and President Obama know it won't be signed and sealed today, but this is where Netanyahu will begin pushing to an increase that military aid starting in 2018. He may ask for $4 billion or even $5 billion. Again, a decision won't be made today, there won't be any firm announcement but it will be the beginning of that lobbying process in the wake of the Iran deal.

Now as this happens, the other big item on the agenda for these two leaders will be the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. There was another alleged attack in the northern West Bank this morning. But the one getting a lot of attention was in the southern West Bank in Beitar Illit, an ultra orthodox settlement there, and that's because of a very disturbing video.

Now I want to warn you before we air this video. Security officials say a Palestinian woman approached a security guard just outside of the settlement. And as that security guard is checking her ID, you see this in the video, she pulls out a knife and attempts to stab that security guard. The guard was lightly wounded according to security officials. He pulled out a gun and shot the alleged attacker, sending her to the hospital.

Now that is the atmosphere in which this conversation is happening. So those will be the two big items on the agenda. Again, chilly relationship. Not expecting any big announcements, but some very big items during this meeting -- Alison.

KOSIK: And we will be following what comes out of the meeting throughout the day here on CNN.

CNN's Oren Liebermann, live from Jerusalem, thanks for your report.

BERMAN: All right. Photos now emerging showing the damage that Greg Hardy allegedly inflicted on his then girlfriend in an altercation. Now Hardy is responding defending himself in the face of these brutal images.

Coy Wire has the details in the "Bleacher Report" next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:21:27] BERMAN: All right. Dallas Cowboys defensive player Greg Hardy still on the Cowboys' roster and on the field last night. This after the release of shocking photos of an alleged domestic violence incident against his ex-girlfriend.

KOSIK: Coy Wire has more in this morning's "Bleacher Report." Good morning, Coy.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS: Good morning, Alison and John. Those photos were released by Deadspin.com on Friday. And on Saturday, Hardy was on Twitter addressing those shocking pictures. He said, quote, "Just had to say I express my regret for what happened in the past. And I'm dedicated to being the best person and teammate that I can be." And he follows that with, "But mostly I am grateful for the opportunity to play in the NFL."

Here are the pictures of the past Hardy is talking about. And I'll remind you, they are disturbing. The pictures show Hardy's then girlfriend, Nicole Holder, in 2014 battered and bruised with red marks on her body including her back. Now with these pictures surfacing it raised more questions as to whether or not the Cowboys should ever have signed Greg Hardy in the first place and whether or not they should continue to employ him. But team owner Jerry Jones has stood by his man.

And in the NFL, if you can play, apparently you can stay. Hardy is on the team and he was suited up last night when the Dallas Cowboys hosted the Eagles. This primetime game became an overtime game. And Sam Bradford finds a Jordan Matthews who was toasting and coasting into the end zone for the game-winning score. That gives the Cowboys their sixth straight loss. That's their worst losing streak in 26 years. Eagles win 33-27. After the game, Cowboys coach Jason Garrett talked about his team's reasoning to continue to play Greg Hardy. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON GARRETT, COWBOYS HEAD COACH: We don't condone domestic violence. We take the issue very, very seriously. And we knew that when we signed Greg Hardy, there would be some criticism. But we decided to give him a second chance. He's worked hard for our football team up to this point. He knows what the expectations and the standards are. And we're going to hold him accountable to those.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: All right, moving on. About 30 members of the Missouri football team are joining a call asking for the resignation of school president Tim Wolfe, demanding change at the school that it's currently dealing with racism issues. They sent out a tweet saying, in part, quote, "We will no longer participate in any football related activities until President Tim Wolfe resigns or is removed due to his negligence towards marginalized students' experiences. We are united," end quote.

Now head coach Gary Pinkel followed up with his own tweet yesterday morning after the team meeting with a picture of the entire Missouri team saying, quote, "The Mizzou family stands as one. We are united. We are behind our players," end quote.

Now, Alison, John, it's not just the coach standing up. The entire Athletic Department released a statement saying that they support their student athletes. The University of Missouri Board of Curators, they're going to hold an executive meeting today at 11 a.m. Eastern which will be followed by a public session -- guys.

BERMAN: It will be interesting to see the results of that meeting. Coy Wire, thanks so much.

WIRE: You're welcome.

KOSIK: No love lost between Ben Carson and the reporters covering his presidential run. The neurosurgeon now taking on reporting and trying to pivot to the issues but will it work? The latest on the 2016 race next.

[05:24:30]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: Ben Carson venting his frustration with the media coverage of his run for the White House. He says the focus is too much on his past. Wait until you hear how he laid into reporters on the road.

BERMAN: Broken baggage scanners, lax searches, employees taking bribes. Just some of the charges Egypt is now denying at the embattled Sharma el Sheikh airport. Will a new review report uncover anything following the possible bombing of a jetliner there?

KOSIK: A Louisiana community in mourning and demanding answers. A 6- year-old boy will be buried today after being shot and killed by two marshals. You're going to hear what the head of the state police has to say.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Alison Kosik in for Christine Romans.

BERMAN: I'm John Berman, 30 minutes past the hour right now.