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Three Tickets Split Record Powerball Jackpot; New Attack on Ted Cruz Ahead of Debate; British Actor Alan Rickman Dies At 69; Bombs and Gunfight Rock Jakarta In Brazen Attack; Obama To Hold Town Hall In Baton Rouge This Morning; New Poll Shows Clinton's Lead Narrowing In Iowa; New York Students Killed In Bus Crash. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired January 14, 2016 - 9:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[09:00:38] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now in the NEWSROOM. Six lucky numbers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the luckiest machine on the planet.

COSTELLO: Three jackpot tickets. I'm jealous.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We see kids jumping around. People just in a joyous mood.

COSTELLO: I'll talk to the man who pulled those pinning numbers.

Also --

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We got a little problem. And I got to sort of make sure you can run.

COSTELLO: Is the birther battle about to take center stage tonight?

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I understand. Mr. Trump and other candidates in the race being disturbed that conservatives are coming together.

COSTELLO: But Cruz's birthplace isn't the only issue dodging the senator today.

And did flirty texts take down a notorious drug kingpin? El Chapo's messages show he's star truck by this woman. But Sean Penn? Not so much.

Let's talk. Live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And good morning, I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. We begin this morning with Powerball. After 10 long weeks without a winner now there are three.

It's amazing, right? This is what it looked like outside a Chino Hills, California 7-Eleven early this morning. It's one of three stores across the country that sold those golden tickets, splitting a record $1.5 billion. And if you're lucky enough to be holding one of those tickets the head of the Lottery Commission has advice just for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARY GRIEF, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, TEXAS LOTTERY COMMISSION: We're just trying to encourage anyone who might be holding that winning ticket. Go get the best lawyer, the best financial planner you can find before you come in to claim that one-third of that almost $1.6 billion prize. We had 81 people across the country who won a million dollars. And of that 81, eight of those actually won $2 million.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: You heard him. Check those tickets. Because as he said, 81 other lotto players are waking up millionaires today.

Sara Sidner is live in Chino Hills where one of those winning tickets was sold. Good morning.

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Now look, the Powerball number comes way down today. Down to just a mere 40 million. But this is the store that sold the golden ticket here in California, here in Chino Hills. And the store owners actually do benefit. They, without playing, get a million dollars just for selling that ticket. This family has been running this store for 24 years. And I've got a member of the family who's been here all night long. Her dad has basically lost his voice talking to us and talking to all the customers.

Tell me what happened. Were you surprised you show up and what did you see?

SONIA ATWAL, WORKER AT 7-ELEVEN WHERE WINNING TICKET WAS SOLD: It was literally the most random thing ever. I was hanging out with my sister in her dorm and we found out that a winner was in Chino. And then we're like maybe our store. Maybe not. Whatever. Then we like kept getting into, my dad called me, he's like, everyone's blowing up my phone, I don't really know what's going on. Like, I saw stuff on the TV and then we're like oh crap, that's our store.

And then we're like oh my god, we need to go. So right from there, we're like head over to the store and it was wild, it was crazy. Like everyone -- it felt like everyone from Chino was out here. It was great. Like everyone was just so sweet and so excited. It was amazing.

SIDNER: It is California. Yes. And they were cheering on her dad. Like they were here, everybody was cheering. There were dozens of people.

ATWAL: Chanting. Like going crazy, yes.

SIDNER: Yes. So, Sonia -- this is Sonia Atwal. Her father is Babir Atwal. They've been here for a very long time. Is this just sort of normal here in Chino Hills? Did people just show up? They didn't know you, right?

ATWAL: No, they didn't. So I think everyone was just super excited, you know. It's like something in our hometown and everyone was just like, let's just go out and checking it out. It was great. The turnout was great.

SIDNER: Well, thank you so much and congratulations to you as well. Now if you find out who the winner is, please let us know.

ATWAL: I will. Trust me. I'm excited to see who won. I want to see who won, too. So hopefully they'll pop into the store. We'll see.

SIDNER: Thanks so much, Sonia. I appreciate it.

And there you have it. I mean, this place was packed for hours, Carol. Hours. People were just celebrating that Chino Hills is now on the map for selling the big ticket.

COSTELLO: Winner in all kinds of ways in Chino Hills, California.

Sara Sidner reporting live for us this morning. Thank you.

All right. Let's turn our attention to politics now. Senator Cruz will take the debate stage tonight right beside Donald Trump.

[09:05:02] Cruz is riding high in the polls but this time around controversy will follow him. And it's not just about his Canadian birth. Now Cruz's financial history, specifically loans dating back to his 2012 Senate campaign, could also be under scrutiny.

CNN's Sara Murray is in North Charleston, South Carolina, the site of tonight's debate with more.

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. You are absolutely right. In addition to having to contend with Donald Trump on the debate stage now Ted Cruz could face questions about failing to properly disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans from big banks to help fund his Senate bid.

CNN's Dana Bash caught up with him last night. And Ted Cruz insisted he was totally transparent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRUZ: Those loans have been disclosed over and over and over again on multiple filings. If it was the case that they were not filed exactly as the FEC requires then we'll amend the filings. But all of the information has been public and transparent for many years. And that is the end of that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MURRAY: Now the Cruz campaign and their staff are already trying to downplay this issue. They have taken to Twitter. They are using the #cruzcrimes and saying things like Ted Cruz ran with scissors. Cruz crimes. Ted Cruz left the refrigerator door open. So you can see, Carol, they are trying to downplay this to try to make sure it's not a big issue as they head into this debate. But his staff is telling me look, they are preparing for anything when it comes to Donald Trump and, you know, they're prepared to field these questions as well.

COSTELLO: All right. Sara Murray reporting live from South Carolina this morning. And while Donald Trump may bash Cruz on his inadvertent filing question tonight the frontrunner is fending off attacks from inside the party. First from South Carolina, Governor Nikki Haley, and also this morning from Peter Whenner, a man who worked in the Reagan and both Bush White Houses.

In a scathing "New York Times" op-ed titled "Why I Will Never Vote for Trump," Whenner writes, in part, quote, "Donald Trump has altered the political equation because he has altered the moral equation. For this lifelong Republican at least, he is beyond the pale. Party loyalty has limits."

So let's talk about this. Tara Setmayer is a former communications director for Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, and Ben Ferguson is a conservative radio talk show host.

Welcome to both of you.

BEN FERGUSON, CONSERVATIVE TALK RADIO HOST: Good morning.

TARA SETMAYER, FORMER CAPITOL HILL GOP COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Good morning. So let's center on Ted Cruz for just a bit before we dive into Donald Trump. Cruz is running as a populist. Now we find out he took out two personal loans from Goldman Sachs and Citibank to win his Senate election.

This is a politician who said, quote, "Like many other players on Wall Street and big business, they, Goldman Sachs, seek out and get special favors from the government."

Does this -- does this news put a dent in Cruz's populous cred, Tara?

SETMAYER: Well, I think it's just interesting that this is coming out now, clearly now that he is on the heels, potentially frontrunner in Iowa. He's under more scrutiny and he's actually lost six points in the last month in Iowa, and it's things like this that people step back and say, well, wait a minute is Ted Cruz really everything he says he is?

The fact that he took a million -- almost a million dollars in loans which from Goldman Sachs and Citibank after he's called them the problem with crony capitalism and the Wall Street cabal, he has gone after Goldman Sachs on a number of occasions when he talks about this. So -- but then now comes out that he didn't properly report almost a million dollars in loans, I think it does hit at his credibility on this issue because it makes him almost look like a hypocrite.

Now his wife worked for Goldman Sachs, which is something for a lot of people I don't think realize. I don't know how many conservatives who support Ted Cruz necessarily know that his own wife was part of this crony capitalist company that he's gone after so many times over the years trying to point out the fact that there is too cozy a relationship between Wall Street and main street. So I think it does. I think it's an interesting attack on him going into the debate tonight.

COSTELLO: And, Ben, the other thing I think maybe some voters don't realize because Ted Cruz is very critical of Ivy Leaguers but he himself went to Harvard.

FERGUSON: Yes, look, I don't think he's that critical of Ivy Leaguers. I mean, I've heard him speak quite a few times. But let's get to the loan just for another second here. If you need a million dollar loan it's probably going to be from a big bank. Why? Because they have a lot of money. This is not abnormal, and did he pay back the money? Yes. Did he file for bankruptcy? No.

Is this somewhat what Donald Trump has done with people without paying back their loans? I don't care where you get a loan from, if you're Donald Trump or anybody else as long as you pay it back and it's a bank. And I expect you to go to reputable bank.

It also tells you about his finances which I think tells you what type of leader he would be if he's in the White House. If you can get a million dollar loan from anywhere, a reputable bank, Goldman Sachs or Citi or anybody else, Bank of America, it means you have your financial house in order.

So I find it odd that we're ripping on Marco Rubio a couple of months ago for not having his finances perfect. Now we have a guy who had his finances perfect, was able to get a million dollar loan because he has his house in order, and all the I's dotted, all the T's crossed.

(CROSSTALK)

[09:10:12] COSTELLO: Yes, but, I don't think, Ben, that's the rub.

FERGUSON: Now somehow he's a bad guy.

COSTELLO: I don't think that's the rub, Ben. I think that he didn't report it as is required by the law. That's something completely different, isn't it?

FERGUSON: Well -- OK. Let's be clear, though.

SETMAYER: And the fact that it's Goldman Sachs that was bailed out, so, Ben.

FERGUSON: It's been -- hold on. Hold on.

SETMAYER: He criticized the bailout and Goldman Sachs was part of that. You know what I mean? It's an exception.

FERGUSON: I have no doubt that my home loan right now is probably owned by somebody that was bailed out. Does that mean that I'm an evil person? If you borrow money from a major bank -- (CROSSTALK)

SETMAYER: No, but you didn't build a campaign on it.

COSTELLO: No, no. But why not disclose it, Ben?

SETMAYER: But you didn't build a campaign on it, Ben.

FERGUSON: I -- look. I think Ted Cruz when he said this is on multiple disclosure forms, he is probably accurate and correct in that, and when he says, if we need to go back and amend it then so be it, and end the discussion.

I just don't think that this is going to be that big of an issue in this campaign. I think this is nothing more than another hit piece by Donald Trump and people around him that are trying to take down Ted Cruz because he's a threat. And I think, this is my thing. Which one is a bigger deal if I'm a voter, someone borrowing a million dollars and paying it back or someone filing bankruptcy with their companies multiple times and using the bankruptcy laws so that they're not personally responsible while they are a multi-billionaire?

Which one is a bigger issue? For me as a voter, I'm going to go every time with the guy that pays back his loan and does it the right way, not the guy that files bankruptcy.

SETMAYER: Ben, that makes complete sense, and I agree with you logically, but you and I both know that oftentimes this is about perception and emotion. And if you have someone like Ted Cruz who's gone out throughout his political career in the last few years and -- about crony capitalism and the Washington cabal, and then said that he would let big banks fail.

FERGUSON: Fair enough.

SETMAYER: And then he goes out and has disclosed that he took a million dollar loan from one of -- from two of those banks, then -- and now, you know, the perception of it looks like hypocrisy. I'm not saying necessarily that that's right but that's the perception. So I can understand why some people would go, well, wait a minute.

(CROSSTALK)

FERGUSON: So let me ask you this seriously.

SETMAYER: Ted Cruz, what else are you --

FERGUSON: Who would you want him -- who would you want him to loan -- who would you want him to get a loan from? If his wife works and has a connection obviously why would you not -- why would you not borrow the money from where your wife works?

SETMAYER: I agree but when you --

COSTELLO: Again, that's not the point. SETMAYER: Right. That's not the issue, Ben. It's the point that

he's been highly, highly critical of the crony capitalism. His words. The Washington cabal. And how they're all in bed together and some part of the appeal of Ted Cruz is that he's such an outsider and that he's not part of that. But yet that -- but they're good enough for him to go get a loan from. That is the argument. I'm not saying whether that -- whether that resonates with Cruz voters or whether it's going to make a difference or not for those folks.

(CROSSTALK)

SETMAYER: But it's a valid political attack against him.

FERGUSON: I understand the point.

SETMAYER: You have (INAUDIBLE) that.

FERGUSON: But if there is a vote that shows that somehow Ted Cruz gave favoritism to a bank where he got a loan where he's paying interest on the loan like any other consumer would then I'm willing to listen to this, you know, freak out moment in politics but I just don't think getting a loan from a -- from a major bank, which is where you have to go. It's not easy to borrow a million dollars. You have to fill out a ton of paperwork. You have to have your house in order.

I'm not going to fault somebody for borrowing money and paying it back. That means that you did the right thing. I just don't see the big issue here.

COSTELLO: So the disclosure thing -- but anyway I have to leave it there.

FERGUSON: Well, that's fine.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: But it was a very interesting conversation.

FERGUSON: The thing with disclosure, so be it.

COSTELLO: OK. Tara Setmayer, Ben Ferguson, thanks both of you.

Coming up in the NEWSROOM, from Hans Gruber to Professor Severus Snape, Allen Rickman has died.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:16:57] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Shocking news this morning. We've lost another cultural icon, Alan Rickman. He died of cancer surrounded by his family in London. Many of you grew up with him in the Harry Potter movies, many of you knew him as Professor Snape.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALAN RICKMAN, ACTOR: If anyone in here has any knowledge of Mr. Potter's movements this evening, I invite them to step forward. Now. (END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Oh, that intriguing voice, right? He had many other films to his credits, so besides Harry Potter, he started in Love Actually, Robin Hood, Prince Of Thieves, and as Hans Grouber in Die Hard back in 1988.

Rickman died after a very short battle with cancer. He was just 69 years old.

Brian Stelter is with me to tell us more.

Just unbelievable when I -- I'd like -- on the heels of David Bowie dying and now Alan Rickman...

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Both the same age, by the way. And Alan Rickman, an actor's actor, a classical actor. Someone known by Malaysian or Asians based on many different kinds of movies. Die Hard came to my mind immediately. Harry Potter of course. But he was a classical Shakespearean actor, a star in Britain for so many decades and so many classic films as well.

In fact, I think his fame from the Harry Potter series was something that he begrudgingly accepted. Sometimes enjoyed, sometimes didn't enjoy so much. People identified him only from that series.

I wanted to read something from the editor of The Guardian, Katharine Viner, a close friend of Alan's. She has a wonderful tribute on the website of The Guardian this morning. And she wrote about his great gift for friendship. He was devoted to a large number of people and would somehow always manage to visit their obscure art exhibition or phone them at 2:00 in the morning when he heard they were in deep trouble or -- attend their opening night. Even when, as we know now, he was seriously ill."

That's from a close friend of Alan Rickman, the personal side of his life, we all know his professional work, it's wonderful to hear about those personal friendships as well.

COSTELLO: Yes, sad news this morning.

Brian Stelter thanks.

STELTER: Thanks.

COSTELLO: Terrorists carry out a series of coordinated attacks in the heart of a business district. And an ISIS-affiliated news agency says the terror -- a terror group is behind the siege.

This is one of several explosions in a brazen midday assault in Jakarta, Indonesia. This was the terrorist's first target, a Starbuck's coffee shop at the favorite stop for weary Westerners. And that is not lost on the American company. The company issuing this cautious statement in the aftermath, "While the store will remain closed based on the stabilization of the situation being conveyed by local authorities, we will open all stores in Jakarta and across Indonesia tomorrow."

CNN's Kathy Quiano is in Jakarta with more.

Hi, Kathy.