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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Obama Urges World Leaders to Fight Climate Change; Paris Terror Attacks: Manhunt Continues; Trump Declares Black Pastors "Love" Him. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired December 01, 2015 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:17] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now: unprecedented security surrounding world leaders in Paris as President Obama urges new actions to fight climate change.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: New information in the manhunt for one of Paris attackers. Did the terrorist escape to Syria? We're live.
Good morning. And welcome to EARLY START. I'm Alison Kosik.
ROMANS: Nice to see you this morning. I'm Christine Romans. John Berman has the morning off.
It is Tuesday. It is December 1st, 4:00 a.m. in the East.
Happening now: President Obama on his last day in Paris for the climate change summit amid extremely tight security. Heads of state from nearly 150 countries, 40,000 delegates, they're meeting with one mission, to hammer out legally binding reductions in greenhouse gasses, keeping global warming under a crucial threshold, 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
Already, the leaders of the two biggest greenhouse emitters, China and the U.S., they have met. But the summit takes place under the shadow of repeated failures to reach or to keep past climate deals.
Joining us from Paris with the latest, senior European correspondent Jim Bittermann.
Good morning, Jim.
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine.
In fact, President Obama meeting right now with President Erdogan of Turkey. That meeting takes on some urgency because of the fact that the Turks shot down that Russian attack jet just a couple of days ago. And that's increased tensions. The U.S. has already urged Turkey to ease things, ease off with Russia. And Russia would the same. The president met with Putin yesterday.
But in any case, Obama has a meeting with the small island nations who take this conference very, very importantly because they, in fact, could be flooded if waters continue to rise. They believe that the goal set by the United Nations of two degrees, keeping global warming to two degrees, in fact, is not ambitious enough because at two degrees, they feel their nations are going to be flooded. And then after that, the president holds a news conference at the organization of development and flies back to Washington.
Basically, the leaders here now have set the stage for the rest of the conference, which happens over the next two weeks. All of the officials that are left behind here are going to be debating all of the clauses and sub-clauses in this 50-page document and trying to come up with something that everybody can agree on -- Christine.
ROMANS: So, Jim, there have been so many meetings in the past and so many, you know, false starts at the real global climate change initiative. Is there a feeling this time it's different?
BITTERMAN: There is a feeling of that and I think one -- we saw some of that yesterday. Every leader spoke to the necessity of doing something right now. The urgency of taking on climate change right now. President Hollande said in his opening remarks, you guys have the future of the planet in your hands. So, I think they all take that responsibility seriously. The question is if they can come to agreement on all the details.
Now, 180, more than 180 nations of the 195 here have already set out targets, for the next five years or century or whatever they set up. They set the bar for themselves. Whether they can hold that bar is the question.
ROMANS: All right. Jim Bittermann for us live in Paris this morning -- thank you, Jim.
KOSIK: President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin huddling for 30 minutes on the sidelines for the climate talks in Paris. The two leaders working on solving the Syrian crisis, even agreeing to drawing up two lists to distinguish between that country's extremists and legitimate opposition groups.
President Obama also expressing regret to Putin over the downing of one of his fighter jets by Turkey.
Let's go live to Moscow and bring in CNN senior international correspondent Matthew Chance.
You know, it sounds like the discussion was productive, but there was a picture that came out of that sideline meeting showing a lot of coldness. Did Obama and Putin even look each other in the eye?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's hard to say. But, I mean, it's no secret, Alison, that the two leaders have not gotten on in the past several years. They have all various incidents, not least Ukraine, a couple of years. Now, of course, they're on essentially different sides of the line when it comes to the future of Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president.
Much of this short huddle in Paris on the sidelines of the climate change summit discussed Syria, of course, as you mentioned. The United States very keen for the situation between Russia and Turkey, a NATO ally, to be deescalated as soon as possible. Turkey, of course, last week, shot down a Russian warplane as it was carrying out a bombing mission against rebels inside Syria, on the Turkish-Syria border.
[04:05:09] The United States saying the Russian -- the U.S. president saying, "We regret the loss of the Russian pilot and crew member." So, he was expressing regret for the (INAUDIBLE) which occurred where the pilot was killed, so is the Russian marine on the ground in the rescue efforts. The Kremlin spun it differently as saying that President Obama expressed regret that the incident took place, which is a slight difference of nuance there. But basically, you know, the U.S. and Russians talking about this instance outlining the resolution of the Syrian conflict.
KOSIK: Any sign of Vladimir Putin meeting with Erdogan? Any inkling of that?
CHANCE: Well, it didn't take place. Vladimir Putin said that he was going to meet the president of Turkey and he didn't. In the press conference he gave after the summit speech as well, he again made this allegation that the reason the Russian plane was shot out of the sky was because it was trying to protect the illicit oil routes between ISIS and Turkey, which he says that was why the Russian plane which was attacking the oil routes had been shot down. It's something the Turkish president categorically denies, calling on Vladimir Putin to prove if it's true.
KOSIK: All right. Matthew Chance, thanks so much.
ROMANS: Chilling new details this morning emerging on the Paris terror attacks. Sources telling CNN the terrorists may have been planning more far-reaching attacks than previously known. This as we learned the attacker who survived, Salah Abdeslam, may have successfully escaped to Syria.
Joining us now from Paris for the latest on this is, CNN's Phil Black.
And, Phil, it is as if this trail has gone cold.
PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it seems at the case at the morning, Christine, sources have told CNN that French intelligence is operating under the theory that Salah Abdeslam has somehow slipped the net here in Europe and already traveled to ISIS controlled terrorist in Syria.
What this means if true is that Abdeslam, effectively, Europe's most wanted man, who is believed to have been in Paris on the night of the attacks traveled to Belgium and then sort of disappeared hasn't been seen since, somehow traveled from Europe to a country bordering Syria before heading over the border -- a journey that would have involved some sort of international air travel. This is a man whose name and face and identity has been everywhere here since the Paris attacks. It would be a disturbing developing for E.U. security officials here. But security officials in Brussels are really hunting for this man in
Belgium because that is where he was believed to have been say they don't have any concrete information that he has already left, but they believe that was his goal, to try and get there, to try and get back to ISIS-controlled territory in Syria.
Meanwhile, a source close to the Paris attacks investigation has hold CNN they believe they have information suggesting that the group responsible for the attacks here in Paris had other plots, in their words, ready to go. And these plots were targeting Jewish areas, transportation networks and schools. The information is set to come from the man who presented himself voluntarily to French police, and he was involved directly with one of the people involved in planning the attacks here, the woman who was killed during the police raid in the apartment in the Paris area of Saint-Denis in the days after the Paris attacks themselves.
Now, this comes on top of the information saying they disrupted that group conducted that raid just in time to prevent it from carrying out an attack against the financial district in Paris. All of this suggests that the ambition of this group was greater than just the attacks they successfully carried out here, killing 130 people, Christine.
ROMANS: All right. Phil Black, some disturbing new developments at how extensive this may have been. Thanks for that, Phil.
KOSIK: The White House tightening the visa waiver program. The move is designed to stop people who have visited conflict zones from routinely boarding the U.S.-bound commercial flights. The administration is hoping to prevent the attacks like the one in Paris. The measures include stiffer fines for airlines that don't verify passenger IDs and increased information sharing with other nations.
ROMANS: Nine minutes past the hour. A new month, time for an early start on your money.
Asian stocks finished their day higher this morning. European stocks mixed. U.S. stock futures are up for the first day of December. Yesterday, a dip, but overall, stocks managed to eek out a gain. The Dow climbed a whopping 0.3 percent. But still, it was a gain.
It was a record Cyber Monday. Early estimates -- early estimates show $3 billion in sales, up 12 percent from a year earlier, proof that Cyber Monday is important, is growing quickly, or at least the importance of online sales.
[04:10:07] And more sales on mobile phones than ever before. Not everyone had the best. Target's Web site crashed because of all the traffic. So, the site set up a queue so some people could shop while others waited.
KOSIK: I went on Target's Web site. Put a bunch of things into my shopping bag and couldn't check out. And I gave up and went to sleep.
ROMANS: You did. Maybe you are in a queue, I would make sure you don't actually --
KOSIK: Too late. One day only.
Donald Trump asking dozens of black pastors to endorse him in the race for president. What happened inside that meeting, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Donald Trump back on the campaign trail in New Hampshire today after a meeting with black pastors that added up to less than originally advertised. The Trump campaign initially scheduled a news conference after this private meeting, claiming 100 African-American pastors would endorse the GOP frontrunner.
[04:15:00] Now, that part of the event, that was canceled after several pastors listed said that they had no plans to endorse him. Even so, Trump emerged from this private meeting, declaring, quote, "I saw love in that room."
CNN's Sara Murray has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Tonight, we heard Donald Trump go after a rival he doesn't usually target: Bernie Sanders, taking a job at the Democratic presidential candidate for undergoing an elective hernia surgery, saying it is the result of his liberal policies.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The biggest crowd by far, so much bigger than Bernie Sanders, you know, you always hear about Bernie Sanders, our crowds.
(BOOS)
Maybe he rest in peace. You know he had an operation today. I think it was a hernia operation. You know? You know why? Carrying around too much tax problems because he's going to tax you -- he's going to tax you. Let's not talk tax problems. He wants to double and triple everyone's -- he wants to bring you up to 90 percent -- 90 percent.
(BOOS)
MURRAY: Donald Trump was campaigning here in Macon, Georgia. That was after the meeting in New York City with the African-American pastors. He said that meeting was an inspiration. The campaign had invited 100 pastors to meet with Trump. But several of them said they were not interested in meeting with him or supporting the GOP frontrunner.
Still, Trump declared it a success.
TRUMP: We actually didn't think we were going to be having a press conference, but we all thought it was such a good meeting, we would do that. And we have many, many endorsements that came out of the meeting. MURRAY: Now, he may not have left that meeting with 100 endorsements,
but he certainly met with a couple and he was joined here in Macon, Georgia, with another big booster, 2012 presidential candidate Herman Cain got the crowd fired up before Trump took the stage.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOSIK: OK. Sara, thanks. Protesters marched through Baltimore as jury selection in the first Freddie Gray death trial begins. What happened inside the courtroom and what's set for today, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:21:32] KOSIK: Day two of jury selection in the trial of Baltimore police officer William Porter. He's the first of six cops to stand trial in connection with the arrest of and death of Freddie Gray. A new batch of jurors will be questioned today with the judge hoping to have a jury seated by Wednesday.
Protesters gathered outside the courthouse Monday. Gray's death in police custody sparked riots in the city and Baltimore is again on edge.
We get more now from CNN's Miguel Marquez.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine, Alison, protests mark the first day of the trial in the officer in the death of Freddie Gray, about 40 protesters gathered at the end of the court day. They chanted at the courthouse and then they marched to inner harbor, the very touristy area of Baltimore. That after the judge was unable to get a jury together on the first day. He met to about 75 jurors, more than half African-American, many of them said they were unable to attend the full trial for one reason or another.
The judge ended by saying that he would have another panel of 75 or so jurors come in today, later today. And they will try to get to those 12 jurors, plus we believe three alternates by Wednesday. The judge saying at the very beginning of the first day of trial that he wanted to start this trial, have opening statements by Wednesday and he expects this trial to be wrapped up on or before December 17th -- Christine, Alison.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Miguel, thank you for that.
The man accused of killing three at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs facing a judge for the first time since the shootings: 57-year-old Robert Dear appearing by video from jail. He was told he is being held on suspicion of first-degree murder which could mean life in prison or the death penalty if he's convicted. Dear will be formally charged with a court hearing next week.
KOSIK: For the first the first time since his arrest in the Laquan McDonald shooting, Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke is free on bond. Van Dyke posted the $1.5 million bond on Monday. He is charged with first degree murder for allegedly shooting the black teenager 16 times. Police dashcam video footage was released last week, more than a year after the shooting actually happened.
ROMANS: A 21-year-old man arrested for allegedly threatening to kill students and staff at the University of Chicago. That threat shut the school down on Monday. The suspect identified as Jabari Dean. Police say he posted a message on social media over the Thanksgiving weekend. He threatened to kill 16 white male students or staffers. That's the same number of shots the white Chicago police officer fired when he killed 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.
Lawyers for Boston marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will be back in court, federal court today, seeking a new trial. Tsarnaev, you'll recall, was convicted and sentenced to death back in June for the marathon attacks. Since then, the Supreme Court struck down parts of the law Tsarnaev was convicted under. The judge who oversaw the trial is scheduled to hear arguments on the defense motion for a new motion. Tsarnaev will not be in court for the hearing.
ROMANS: All right. Twenty-four minutes past the hour.
Will world leaders convening with a new pledge to fight climate change? But in the city of Paris, the war in terror remains front and center. We will take you live to Paris, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:28:59] KOSIK: Happening now, President Obama with world leaders meeting to fight climate change. But in Paris, the war on terror remaining front and center.
ROMANS: New information this morning in the manhunt for one of the Paris attackers, as we've learned about new attacks the ringleader planned before he was killed.
Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
KOSIK: And I'm Alison Kosik. It's half past the hour.
And happening now: President Obama on his last day in Paris for the climate change summit amid extremely tight security. Heads of state from nearly 150 countries, 40,000 delegates, they're meeting with one mission, to hammer out legally binding reductions in greenhouse gasses, keeping global warming under a crucial threshold, 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, two degree Celsius.
Already, the leaders of the two biggest greenhouse emitters, China and the U.S., they have met. But the summit takes place under the shadow of the repeated failures to reach or keep to pass climate deals.
Joining us from Paris with the latest, senior European correspondent Jim Bittermann -- Jim.
BITTERMANN: Alison, good morning. In fact, President Obama meeting right now with President Erdogan of
Turkey.
