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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Stop Trump Movement Picks Up Steam; Clinton Wins Missouri, Moves Closer to Nomination; North Korea Missile Launch. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired March 18, 2016 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[04:30:43] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump back on the campaign trail today. He is leading the Republican race. This has a lot of conservatives very unhappy and now, they have a new plan to try to stop him.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight: Hillary Clinton officially wins Missouri. Another victory over Bernie Sanders, a sweep on Super Tuesday. Could a White House endorsement now be coming?
Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
BERMAN: I'm John Berman. Thirty-one minutes past the hour right now.
This morning, new loud noises and machinations from the dump Trump movement from some corners of Republican Party. Top conservatives are plotting in backdoor meetings in Washington, D.C., not to mention Miami, or no, West Palm Beach. They are desperate to try to find a way to take down the GOP frontrunner. Trump, John Kasich, Ted Cruz, are all heading west in the campaign trail today. Donald Trump and John Kasich, they'll be in Utah, Ted Cruz in Arizona.
Let's get more on the widening rift and the new developments inside the Republican race from Sunlen Serfaty.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Christine.
Will this "Stop Trump" movement seem to be picking up steam among conservatives Republicans? Conservatives emerging from this meeting in Washington, D.C. yesterday really came away with a firm message, potentially calling for a unity ticket, maybe even between Ted Cruz and John Kasich and, yes, even the possibility of launching a third party candidate, of course, in an effort to stop Donald Trump.
Now, meanwhile back on Capitol Hill yesterday, Marco Rubio making his first appearance since suspending his campaign this week. He stopped short of any sort of endorsement, but used the opportunity to blast Donald Trump.
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA: I think that will happen that the race narrowed further and hopefully, there's time to still, you know, prevent a Trump nomination which I think would fracture the party and be damaging to the conservative movement.
SERFATY: And in a very surprising move, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham tells CNN's Dana Bash that he thinks Ted Cruz -- yes, Ted Cruz -- is the only potential to stop Donald Trump.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: The first goal is to stop Mr. Trump from getting to the 1,237, and then to use the process that's written, not to do something that's not unfair to Trump. But right now, you need 1,237 delegates to become the nominee. I think Ted Cruz is the best alternative to Mr. Trump in terms of denying him 1,237.
SERFATY: And part of that will be helping Senator Cruz raise money. Senator Graham is already slated to head a fund-raiser Monday in Washington, D.C. fund raising more essential now that this primary has a potential to last a lot longer -- John and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Sunlen, thank you.
A lot of Republicans have been hoping for a convention hero to swoop in and take the nomination from Donald Trump. A hero named Paul Ryan. The House speaker was a featured guest yesterday at the conference of GOP donors and strategists in Palm Beach, Florida. Ryan sees a long fight ahead for the party's nomination, but he insists he will not be among the combatants.
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REP. PAUL RYAN (R-WI), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: It is more likely to become an open convention than we thought before. So, we're getting our minds around the idea this could very well become a reality, and therefore, those of us who are involved in the convention need to respect that.
It's not going to be me. It should be somebody running for president. People are out there campaigning. They're canvassing. There's caucuses and primaries. That's who we should select from among for our next president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The guy who used to have his job, he wants him to do that job. Ryan was spotted last night having dinner at an exclusive French restaurant in Palm Beach, along with the Republican Party's biggest donors.
BERMAN: Put president down on the list of jobs that Ryan is not interested in, along with speaker of the house. Remember? He did say that.
ROMANS: I remember, I remember.
BERMAN: Just saying, just saying.
All right. Bernie Sanders returns to the campaign trail just hours after conceding Missouri to Hillary Clinton, officially giving the former secretary of state a sweep on Super Tuesday. This morning, the White House is denying a "New York Times" report that says President Obama is urging donors to start uniting behind Clinton.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president did not indicate or specify a preference in the race.
[04:35:07] I did not say that he couldn't make up his mind. The president casts a ballot. The president has voted in the Illinois Democratic primary.
REPORTER: Who he voted for?
EARNEST: We have not indicated that preference.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: I encourage you to read "The New York Times" piece by Maggie Haberman. It is compelling that President Obama is suggesting that Democrats do, in fact, unite behind Hillary Clinton.
Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders campaigns in Idaho and Arizona today. Despite trailing Clinton, the senator says he sees a path to the nomination.
More now from CNN senior White House correspondent Jeff Zeleny.
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JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON POST: John and Christine, even as many Democrats are trying to turn the corner and look ahead to Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders is trying to remind folks, look, this Democratic primary fight is still alive. He is campaigning aggressively in Arizona. That is the next big primary state in just four days.
He campaigned there last night and this is what he had to say.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to have elections not only here but in Utah and Idaho and we're heading further in a couple of months to California and to Washington state, to Oregon.
(CHEERS)
We think that the climate is a little bit friendlier for us. We think we have a path toward victory.
(CHEERS)
And if we can bring out large turnouts, we will win this thing.
(CHEERS)
I'm proud that up to now, we have won nine states. We have almost 850 delegates.
(CHEERS)
And with your help on Tuesday, we're going to win here in Arizona.
ZELENY: But even as Sanders campaigns, the reality is set in. He would have to win a vast majority of votes in the states to catch up with Hillary Clinton.
The Clinton campaign is still running against Bernie Sanders. They are not taking anything for granted in Arizona or other states. They are on the air with new television ads.
But the Clinton campaign is clearly running a dual track strategy here: keeping one eye on Bernie Sanders and one eye on Donald Trump -- John and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Jeff, thank you. Lawmakers head home for a two-week recess today leaving the fight over the president's Supreme Court nominee in limbo. Judge Merrick Garland met with only Democratic senators Thursday. Republicans refusing to sit down with him or grant him a hearing. But the president is hopeful there are cracks in the resistance.
Here's CNN White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski.
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MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, John and Christine.
Right. So, we are seeing this big push. It's almost like another difficult campaign trail. The Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland goes to Capitol Hill. He's beginning to have these sit-down meetings with senators, although, at this point, none have been with Republicans.
Now, there are seven Senate Republicans, some up for re- election, including the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, Chuck Grassley, who have now said, OK, we'll be willing to sit down and meet with Garland, although in some cases, including Grassley, they've just said they're just going to reiterate that they're not going to consider him as a nominee or any nominee for that matter right now.
The White House, though, believes there is a chance some vulnerable incumbent Republicans could be won over and that public pressure will be strong. Now, the White House is using a lot of Twitter, special hashtags.
Yesterday, the president had a phone call with progressives. And he helped to urge them to get out and involved, get their voices heard and work on this to show that Garland should have a fair shot.
It's just strange. On the one hand, Republicans are saying I don't know why we're talking about this. We made it clear we're not even going to hold hearings, but then you have the White House expressing confidence that this nominee will ultimately be confirmed.
What it's going to boil down to is what do Republicans see as their least damaging optioning to consider this consensus nominee or wait and see if there is a Democratic president, who they would bring forward? Is it better to be seen now as not obstructing the process or as some Republicans believe, are voters just going to be motivated by them trying to do everything they can to keep the balance of the Supreme Court from shifting -- John and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: Michelle Kosinski.
Former CIA director David Petraeus will be making a second appearance on House Select Committee on Benghazi. Sources tell CNN he will face the panel tomorrow in a closed session. Petraeus first testified before the committee behind closed doors in January. Some lawmakers were left with unanswered questions. The ex-CIA chief was forced out of office over an affair with his biographer.
Friction between the U.S. and Cuba just days before President Obama's historic visit there. Cuba's foreign minister is rejecting the president's plan to promote change in the country when he arrives.
[04:40:00] He says President Obama should focus on America's problems instead. The White House insiders say the president will call for more freedoms for Cuba during his three-day trip to Havana.
ROMANS: All right. Time for an early start on your money.
February fear gone. Stocks at the year's highs and Dow, it has erased almost 2,000 points. It is now higher for the year. Recession fears vanishing as commodity prices stabilized. Oil above 40 bucks a barrel for the first time since last year. Stock markets in Europe and Asia right now are higher.
The futures here are a little bit flat. Look at this chart. The reason for the Dow's comeback is oil. The lows of the year, crude rebounded 54 percent.
The theory is plunge in oil will force producers to trim production. That's why they started buying again. Higher oil in the stock market and retirement accounts, but it also means gas prices are moving higher.
The national average for a gallon of regular, $1.97 overnight, up 26 cents over the past month. Still, look at the comparison. It is well below the price this time. It is more money in your pocket. More money in your pocket, but still --
BERMAN: We're in favor of that. We're in favor of more money.
ROMANS: We are. A lot of people, wait a minute, wait a minute. It costs 25 cents more. That is the market for you.
BERMAN: All right. Who is to blame for the water crisis in Flint, D.C.? The state's governor and EPA pointing fingers, in some cases at each other. New protests planned. That's next.
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ROMANS: A combative hearing on Capitol Hill as lawmakers try to assign blame for the contamination of the water supply in Flint, Michigan. Both the state's governor and the head of the EPA were under fire, facing calls for them to resign over their handling of the crisis.
We get more from CNN's Sara Ganim.
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SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, Governor Rick Snyder desperately trying to hang on to his job, faced an angry congressional committee, especially Democrats, demanding answers for why he was so slow to react to Flint's toxic water crisis.
It was much anticipated testimony given that emails show his staff knew about problems for months before action was taken. But he wasn't the only one under fire. President Obama's administrator to the Environmental Protection Agency also under fire for not acting quickly enough or doing enough when the EPA learned of high levels of lead in Flint's water. Neither one got much sympathy from the committee.
REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS (D), MARYLAND: You need to -- you need to resign.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Yes!
(APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Common sense told you, hey, hey, stop drinking the water.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not at that point in time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not at that point. At what point in time?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not only am I asking you to be fired, if you're not -- if you're not going to resign, you should be impeached.
GANIM: Snyder and McCarthy faced off in this contentious hearing, often bickering over who is more to blame.
GOV. RICK SNYDER (R), MICHIGAN: Why didn't Administrator McCarthy just get on the phone and call me? This is not technical complaints again. This is that culture that got us in this mess to start with. Where is common sense?
GINA MCCARTHY, EPA ADMINISTRATOR: I will take responsibility for not pushing hard enough, but I will not take responsibility for causing this problem. It was not EPA at the helm when this happened.
GANIM: As the questions continued inside the hearing room, residents of Flint protested outside in the hallways, once again calling for Rick Snyder's resignation and in some cases criminal charges. Snyder has said he won't step down. He wants to fix the problem.
Gina McCarthy hasn't even admitted to wrongdoing here.
Now, part of the reason that there are still so many unanswered questions. Many of the current or former state employees who are making these decisions have refused to talk to the committee -- John and Christine.
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BERMAN: All right. Sara Ganim, thanks so much.
FBI investigators say a student who stabbed four people on the California college campus before he was killed by police may have been inspired by ISIS. Eighteen-year-old Faisal Mohammad was a student at the University of California, Merced. Authorities say he may have become self radicalized and drawn inspiration from terrorist propaganda. Investigators found ISIS materials on his laptop and evidence he visited extremist web sites prior to the attack last fall.
ROMANS: Breaking overnight, police in Washington, D.C. are investigating an alleged case of sexual abuse at the Sidwell Friends School. That's the same school attended by both of President Obama's daughters. The incident which reportedly took place on Wednesday is not considered to be a crime at this point in time, according to authorities. It's not known where on campus this took place. School officials say they are cooperating right now with law enforcement.
BERMAN: Also breaking overnight. New York City Police are investigating a suspicious piece of mail sent to Donald Trump's son in Manhattan. FBI, police and fire officials responded to Eric Trump's apartment last night. The mail was reportedly addressed to him at the exclusive Trump Park East in midtown. Police say the postmark was from Massachusetts.
ROMANS: Global temperatures keep shattering records. In the month of February, the planet earth was nearly 2.2 degrees warmer. Scientists call that astounding, because records are usually broken by only hundredths of tenths of degrees. The February reading representing the tenth straight month of record-breaking global temperatures, a mark that is called unprecedented. >
BERMAN: All right. There is, though, snow in the forecast for the northeast. A lot of it. Let's get the latest from meteorologist Derek Van Dam.
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right, John and Christine.
Last time I checked, Sunday is the first day of spring across North America. This pattern is setting up for the middle of winter. Of course, we've got our well-advertised potential of a Nor'easter. We all know by this late in the season, that the exact placement of our low off the New England coastline determines which cities get snow and how much.
You see the difference with the American and European models, from a light a dusting of snow and 6 inches or more for the extreme northeastern sections of Maine. One thing is for sure, the cold air is going to allow for that mercury in thermometer to drop.
Look at New York by Sunday, 36 degrees. Here's the bulk of the energy across the Gulf Coast states.
[04:50:04] The potential for severe weather exists today from central Texas to Louisiana, additional flooding for the area air with perhaps up to 6 inches or more of rain.
I'll end on a good note, the three-month temperature outlook is positive for the East Coast, above average temperatures. Back to you.
ROMANS: All right. Thanks, Derek, for that.
What a comeback, 2,000 points. I'm not talking about a basketball game. The most important game for your retirement.
BERMAN: It is not more important than March Madness, though.
ROMANS: It is.
BERMAN: No, no.
ROMANS: We're going to get an early start on your money next.
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BERMAN: A new provocation from North Korea. Pentagon confirms the launch of two ballistic missiles apparently into the sea off the east coast of the Korean peninsula. This comes on the heels of new administration sanctions against Pyongyang, at the U.S. and South Korea, engaged in joint military exercises.
CNN's Ivan Watson is following the developments live this morning in Seoul.
[04:55:04] What's the latest, Ivan?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, the U.S. and South Korea, they both detected the missile launches at dawn coming from North Korea. Not too far north from the North Korean capital. The U.S. Defense Department thinks they were Nodong medium range ballistic missiles.
So, there were two that went off. One of them traveled a distance of about 500 miles. The other one went about 50 miles, 10 miles into the air altitude before it disappeared off of radar, according to the South Korean defense ministry. To get a sense of the geography, the distance from Pyongyang to Hiroshima is about 500 miles.
That's part of why countries in the region are so alarmed by things like these missile launches. The South Korean government is saying this is a slap in the face to the United Nations which imposed sanctions on North Korea earlier this month to get it to stop the nuclear weapons program. The U.S. State Department has come out and said please do not continue to escalate tensions in the region.
But just yesterday, U.S. imposed unilateral sanctions on North Korea. And North Korea is very angry about the U.S. and South Korea military joint exercises taking place in South Korea. Every year, the U.S. does it and Pyongyang gets furious and usually fires off salvo after salvo of missiles and rockets. The difference here, last January, North Korea tested what it claimed was its first hydrogen bomb.
And just this week, Kim Jong-un military tests to carry out more nuclear tests, and to further expand North Korea's ballistic missile arsenal, and with the ultimate goal of sticking a nuclear warhead on board these missiles so that they can present their power and strengths to the rest of the world -- John.
BERMAN: Dangerous game. It's of one-upmanship there.
Ivan Watson for us in Seoul, thanks so much, Ivan.
ROMANS: Secretary of State John Kerry is now officially labeling the atrocities ISIS is committing against the Yazidis and other minority groups in Iraq and in Syria, genocide. This is the first genocide declaration of its kind by an administration since 2004 with Darfur.
Kerry's remarks are not expected to change U.S. policy. The genocide designation does establish a framework for one day trying ISIS for war crimes.
BERMAN: European leaders will present the crisis deal to the Turkey's prime minister today. The plan offers Turkey financial and political concessions, if it agrees to stop the flow of migrants from reaching Greece, while taking back tens of thousands of migrants who already made it there. Few leaders are grappling with the largest refugee crisis since World War II, well over 1 million migrants have entered Europe since the start of 2015.
ROMANS: All right. Let's get an early start on your money this morning.
1974 is now history. I'm not talking about a year. I'm talking about the deepest-point loss for the Dow Jones Industrial Average this year, wiping out those gains. Strong gains yesterday took the Dow higher for the year. The final run impressive, wiping out nearly 2,000-point loss. Blue chips capping off with a five-day win streak.
In the 13 trading days of March, the Dow has closed lower once. Futures pretty much flat here. Maybe pointing slightly lower. Oil down slightly, but still above $40 a barrel. Stocks markets in Europe slightly negative right now and shares in Asia closed mostly higher overnight.
The U.S. government grants Apple a new patent for encryption as they battle the issue in court over unlocking data. In its application to the U.S. patent and trademark office, Apple describes a method to encrypt data that makes locks harder to crack. Details are both technical and vague, but they hinted a method to keep people from pirating media like digital music and videos.
Apple submitted the patent application back in 2014. It was approved Thursday. It shows the tech industry is pushing for strong security just as the government is pushing to help break into the features. Interesting.
BERMAN: All right. EARLY START continues right now.
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BERMAN: The plot to stop Donald Trump. Some conservative, some Republicans meeting behind closed doors to figure out a way to derail the Republican frontrunner.
ROMANS: Breaking overnight: Hillary Clinton officially wins the Missouri primary. That gives her a clean sweep of Super Tuesday. Could an official backing from the White House be far behind?
Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
BERMAN: Good morning, everyone. I'm John Berman. It is Friday, March 18th. It is 5:00 a.m. in the East.
And this morning, new loud noises, new machinations from the "Dump Trump" movement from some corners of the Republican Party. Top conservatives plotting secretly in back door meetings from Washington, D.C. to West Palm Beach, desperate to try to find some kind of way to take down the Republican frontrunner. Trump and his opponents, John Kasich and Ted Cruz, they are heading west on the campaign trail today.
