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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Cruz-Kasich Alliance Against Trump Off To Shaky Start; Clinton Unveils New Attack On Trump; Candidates Ride the 'Acela Primary'; Authorities Say Murders of 8 Ohio Family Members were Pre-Planned; Millennials Now Largest Generation; U.S. Sends F-22 Warplanes to Romania. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired April 26, 2016 - 05:30   ET

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


[05:30:00] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: In hours, practically within minutes, voters in five states head to the polls casting ballots that could be crucial to determining the next president of the United States. Will the new plan hatched by Ted Cruz and John Kasich be enough to keep Donald Trump from clinching the nomination?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Will this Super Tuesday be Bernie Sanders' last stand? Hillary Clinton leading in the polls but hope is still alive for Sanders' political revolution.

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

BERMAN: Something's funny about that. I'm John Berman.

ROMANS: Welcome back to Christine Romans. I'm EARLY START. I really almost said that.

BERMAN: Welcome back to Christine Romans. I'm John Berman. Thirty minutes past the hour right now. This morning, Ted Cruz and John Kasich's alliance aimed at stopping Donald Trump, it could be falling apart before it really even gets started. Very shortly voters head to the polls in five eastern states.

Donald Trump -- he is expecting a clean sweep in the so-called Acela primary. Ted Cruz is boasting about John Kasich pulling out of Indiana as part of a deal where Cruz is supposed to give Kasich a clear path in New Mexico and Oregon. This is all in order to block Trump from winning enough delegates to clinch the nomination on the first ballot.

But Kasich's already kind of been pouring cold water on the whole plan. He's going to Indiana today for a fundraiser. He's going to Indiana today for a meeting with the state's Republican governor, and he's telling Indiana voters that if they want to vote for him they should.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't see this as any big deal, other than the fact that I'm not going to spend resources in Indiana, he's not going to spend them in other places. So what? What's the big deal? I've never told them not to vote for me. They ought to vote for me. But I'm not over there campaigning and spending resources. We have limited resources. You know, you ought to feel good about it. Mine's like the people's campaign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So what? What's the big deal? Now, Donald Trump, he is blasting what he calls collusion aimed at stopping him. CNN's Jim Acosta is with the Trump campaign in Pennsylvania.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, this alliance between Ted and John Kasich has not gone unnoticed inside the Trump campaign. Donald Trump opened the floodgates on Kasich, hurling insults at the Ohio governor like never before. But could the Cruz-Kasich deal actually work? That's another issue.

I talked to a Trump campaign adviser who said Kasich pulling out of Indiana could help Cruz and hurt the GOP front-runner in that critical state. All day long, on Monday, Trump has been making the case that this political marriage, of sorts, just proves that Cruz and Kasich simply aren't the best suitors for the GOP. Here's more of what he had to say.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Kasich is doing worse than many of the people that left months ago. I mean, if you look at Marco Rubio, he did much better than Kasich. He had more -- he, to this day, has more delegates.

This is just a guy who's a stubborn guy who eats like a slob and shouldn't have press conferences while he's stuffing stuff down this throat. Honest, I've never seen anything like it. But, this is a guy who's a stubborn guy. I'm not leaving, I'm not leaving. He's one for 42, and I would've won the one but I was given a dirty poll by NBC where they came up with a poll -- it's true.

ACOSTA: Now, the Trump campaign is still confident that the real estate tycoon can reach that magic number of 1,237 delegates, but a top official within the "Never Trump" movement told me don't be so sure. Trump needs Indiana, this official argued, even as he added that he wished Cruz and Kasich had joined forces weeks ago. And it's not clear how long the Cruz-Kasich alliance will last. Kasich is still scheduled to attend a fundraiser in Indiana later on today. John and Christine --

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right, Jim, thanks. On the Democrat side today could be a chance for Hillary Clinton to put some more distance between herself and Bernie Sanders. Right now, Clinton is about 250 pledged delegates ahead. Add in superdelegates and her lead grows to more than 700. Late last night Clinton and Sanders spoke in dueling TV town halls, each predicting a clear path to victory and arguing over whose job it will be to unite the Democratic Party if Clinton wins the nomination.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is incumbent upon Sec. Clinton to reach out, not only to my supporters, but to all of the American people, with an agenda that they believe will represent the interests of working families, lower-income people, the middle class, those of us who are concerned about the environment, and not just big money and trusts.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I did not put down conditions. I didn't say you know what? If Sen. Obama does X, Y, and Z maybe I'll support him. I said I am supporting Sen. Obama. At that time 40 percent of my supporters said they would not support him. I spent an enormous amount of time convincing my supporters to support him, and I'm happy to say the vast majority did. That is what I think one does.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[05:35:00] CNN'S Brianna Keilar is with the Clinton campaign in Pennsylvania. She has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, the Clinton campaign feeling pretty good about this primary day. They feel good about Pennsylvania. They think they have Maryland all but locked up, and because of that Sec. Clinton is channeling some of this confidence into focus on the general election, unveiling a new attack line on Donald Trump in Wilmington, Delaware.

CLINTON: Donald Trump says wages are too high in America and he doesn't support raising the minimum wage. And I have some said come out of those towers named for yourself and actually talk and listen to people. Don't just fly that big jet in and land it, and go make a big speech and insult everybody you can think of. And then go back, get on that big jet and go back to your country clubhouse in Florida or your penthouse in New York.

KEILAR: Looking at the map you can see how it is so difficult for Bernie Sanders, coming out of his loss last week in New York. To deny Hillary Clinton the nomination he would have to win six out of 10 delegates, and that's just looking at pledged delegates. You factor in superdelegates and he would have to win three out of four. And what you also have going forward is a number of states that are racially diverse. That is terrain that is much more advantageous towards Hillary Clinton. John and Christine --

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: All right, Brianna Keilar for us. Joining us to break down the Acela primary today, CNN political reporter Tom LoBianco. He is in Washington for us this morning. Tom, five states on the clock today. The significance of today is dot, dot, dot?

TOM LOBIANCO, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Dot, dot, dot -- this is why you have the Cruz-Kasich alliance showing up right now at the very last minute. These are all northeastern states. They look very strong for Trump. Kasich's heading out southwest, Cruz taking the heartland as his stake out there.

They've got to do something at this point because if they can't stop him in these next few primaries after the northeast -- I mean, the northeast is all but lost to them. So, if they can't stop him from the 1,237 before then, then he walks into California on June 7th and there's a very good chance that he gets the 1,237. So, this is a last-minute play.

Kasich, obviously, downplaying -- it's very, very odd because they -- in one sense they have to work together and they have to let people know that they're working together. But in the other sense they have to be telling directly hey, look, you've still got to vote for me. It's strange, but of course, certainly not the strangest thing in this cycle.

ROMANS: Politics strange? No, never. Banish the thought. John Kasich's downplaying this alliance and then Ted Cruz, last night, boasting about the Indiana plan and giving it kind of a different spin. I don't know how much of an alliance it is after you hear what Ted Cruz had to say. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The fact that John Kasich has pulled out of Indiana gives us a straightforward, head-to- head contest between me and Donald Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: That Kasich has pulled out of Indiana. I thought they were helping each other?

LOBIANCO: I know, right? Such talk from friends. Frenemies, right? This guy goes to show that this stagecraft that you have to pull in something like this. Dana Bash had some great reporting on this a few months ago about the talks that are going on behind the scenes that were leading up to this. At the time, everyone was denying it and you sort of have to.

That's the tightrope that you walk with this because in a few months, come July, if this strategy works it necessarily pits them against each other again come the convention. If they deny Trump the 1,237 to win on the first ballot, then they're fighting each other on the second ballot, maybe a third ballot.

ROMANS: Right.

LOBIANCO: This is why Kasich's in Indiana, all right? Kasich is out, for all intents and purposes, but he's still there in person because he's trying to win over delegates. He's having delegates meetings today, he's having a fundraiser. He still needs money. It's clear that they're short on resources right now so he's out there fundraising.

BERMAN: He also may be just having a hard time letting go. Let's talk about the Democrats quickly. The Sanders team has said that if they can't close Hillary Clinton's lead in pledged delegates they will try to flip superdelegates. Bernie Sanders, overnight, still apparently clinging to the play. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDERS: Hundreds and hundreds of superdelegates, parts of the Democratic establishment, voted for Hillary Clinton or chose to come on board her campaign before I even announced my candidacy, and those people have a right to rethink the decision that they made.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[05:40:00] BERMAN: That's the notion that really upsets Clinton supporters and the Clinton team -- that Bernie Sanders is still fighting to flip superdelegates even as, at least for the time being, Hillary Clinton's lead among pledged delegates grows.

LOBIANCO: It's a tough argument for Sanders to make. It was a lot easier when he was winning those states and he was saying OK, the superdelegates in those states ought to come with me. They ought to go with the voters. It's a lot tougher as he loses the pledged delegate race.

You've got to do something. And the thing is, again, there's almost no reason for him to leave. He's beating her in fundraising, he's got perpetual money, almost, and all the things that would normally force someone to leave the race aren't there. Of course, when she was talking earlier about the unity, that's kind of the bigger question.

ROMANS: Right.

LOBIANCO: Can she bring them in and will he help her bring them in? How do you pull Bernie back into the fold after this is all said and done? That's kind of the bigger question there.

BERMAN: I think the answer to that is very carefully and deliberately.

ROMANS: Tom LoBianco, nice to you see. Thank you.

LOBIANCO: Thanks, guys.

ROMANS: Big day, big day.

BERMAN: Bernie Sanders, who does have a chance at winning some states today -- he will appear live this morning on "NEW DAY". That's in the 7:00 hour. And stayed tuned to CNN all day for the pre-game of today's crucial Super Tuesday election. Voters going to the polls in five states -- Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.

I say pre-game because it's really just only a prelude to Christine Romans and I showing back up here at 2:00 a.m. for the most important election morning coverage that there will be on television.

ROMANS: All right, 42 minutes past the hour. A murder mystery unraveling in Ohio. What led to the grisly murders of eight family members? What investigators are now revealing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:46:00] ROMANS: This morning investigators in rural Ohio following a possible lead in the execution-style murders of eight members of one family. The attorney general confirming the youngest victim had received a Facebook threat. This, as authorities work to determine if the deaths are linked to drugs. CNN's Nick Valencia with the very latest for us this morning from Pike County, Ohio.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL REPORTER: John and Christine, the autopsies for the eight victims killed on Friday morning here in Pike County have been completed, but there is no indication from location officials that they are any closer to finding who was responsible for the gruesome massacre here in southern Ohio.

The attorney general tells me that they are being tight-lipped about their investigation and that is for good reason. They don't want whoever was responsible for these killings to be tipped off to what investigators know about them.

Now, many locals here speculate that drugs played a problem. In fact, the local sheriff told me at a press conference that drugs are a big problem here in the county, especially methamphetamine and heroin. It wasn't too long ago, back in 2012, a major marijuana grow operation was discovered here in this county with ties to the Mexican drug cartels.

Officials here won't make the jump to say that these murders were related to drugs but people here are widely speculating they were. John, Christine --

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: All right, Nick Valencia, thanks so much. New information expected today in a string of seemingly random shootings that began a year ago in Colorado. Northern Colorado shooting task force is slated to hold a news conference this afternoon.

A spokesperson says they've not made any arrests but will reveal some findings and answers they found during the seven-month probe. The announcement will be the first since last summer about the spate of shootings and unsolved deaths of two men.

ROMANS: All right, millennials are now the largest living generation. There are 75.4 million Americans aged 18 to 34 in the U.S. That's according to the Pew Research analysis of government population data. There are 74.9 million baby boomers who range in age from 51 to 69. And generation X, which is between the two, now numbers about 65 million.

BERMAN: We're like the Jan Brady of generations.

ROMANS: Yes, we're just in the middle, right? For the past 30 years or so, baby boomers have carried the economic burden as the largest working population making the most money. Baby boomers sneeze and it changes how the economy reacts. Well, now that focus shifts to millennials. Pew says young immigrants are a big part of this growth. As baby boomers have aged, the number of deaths has exceeded the number coming into the country. It is really interesting.

BERMAN: All right, let's take a look at what's coming up on "NEW DAY". Generation X all-star, Chris Cuomo, joins us now. Good morning, sir.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": More is not always better, John Berman. Just because the generation, a couple in front of us, may have a lot more people, doesn't mean they're going to be better for this country than we are and will be.

BERMAN: Strong.

CUOMO: Thank you very much, appreciate it. Today is another Super Tuesday, number four. Super Tuesday number four. Voters in five northeast states -- often this is referred to as the Acela primaries because, as I'm educating Michaela Pereira at the same time, you can reach all of these places along the Acela line. Sounds like an S, actually a C, A-C-E-L-A.

So, what will it mean today for Bernie Sanders? He seems to be different about this. There is an urgency that's new. He's asking for turnout in a way that he hasn't before. Could this be Sanders' last big stand? We'll ask him that. He's on NEW DAY this morning.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": OK, good. I'm looking forward to that.

CUOMO: Donald Trump is also upset what's going on with the collusion between Kasich and Cruz. We'll ask about that, as well. They're have been some --

PEREIRA: He'll go on and on and on. You know that, Christine.

CUOMO: There's been some offering of the veep stakes.

PEREIRA: Take this back.

ROMANS: You can just cut his mic.

PEREIRA: You could just cut his mic.

CUOMO: I don't even wear a mic, Romans, and that's the difference.

PEREIRA: There, look at that.

[05:50:00] ROMANS: The voice of a generation, Christopher Cuomo. All right, goodbye, my friend.

Wall Street bracing for a flood of corporate earnings starting today. Some of the companies are likely to be in your, and Chris Cuomo's, 401K. We're going to get an early start on your money next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:54:00] BERMAN: The United States sending two fighter jets to Romania, just a short hop from Ukraine, the Crimean Peninsula, and Russia. The move is part of a NATO training exercise but it follows the recent buzzing of a U.S. warship by Russian fighter jets and complaints that Russia is ramping up its own air missions.

Let's get more now from CNN senior international correspondent, Clarissa Ward, who is live in Romania this morning. Clarissa, just two fighter jets, a training exercise, they say, but still a significant move.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It certainly is, John. We're here on the Black Sea which is rapidly becoming one of the most hotly contested and heavily militarized areas in this region since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.

And that has caused a lot of anxiety to NATO allies in the area, like Romania, which is why the U.S. Air Force sent two F-22 fighter jets -- Raptor fighter jets -- from the U.K. to Romania. This is the first time in history that this has happened. And we were actually able to ride along in a refueling tanker that accompanied the two jets.

It really was extraordinary to be able to watch those aircraft up close. There are just 187 F-22 fighter jets in the world. They are incredible aircraft. They are able to travel at twice the speed of sound. They have special stealth technology that allows them to fly undetected by radars. In fact, that technology is so sophisticated that Congress actually passed a law making it illegal for Lockheed Martin, which makes the F-22, to sell them overseas.

Now, officially, this was just a training exercise, but really the symbolism of it was pretty important because this was definitely intended as a show of support for NATO allies in the region, but also a show of force against Russia, which has been increasingly assertive in this region. Also, as you mentioned, we saw those Russian attack jets flying really low over the USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea earlier this month.

So it's going to be interesting to see how Russia responds. Those two F-22's have now gone back to the United Kingdom. But, certainly, in a sort of tit for tat game this was a strong show of force by the U.S. It will be interesting to see how Russia responds, John.

BERMAN: Indeed, we will wait and see they respond. Clarissa Ward for us this morning. Interesting report from a really fascinating place to be this morning, Romania. Thanks, Clarissa.

ROMANS: All right, time for an early start on your money this morning. Dow futures are higher, signaling some optimism ahead of a slew of corporate earnings due today. Stocks ended lower yesterday. Oil steady, just below $43 a barrel. Stock markets in Europe, you can see, they're higher right now. Shares in Asia finishing mixed overnight. Apple could post its worst quarterly results in more than a decade

after the closing bell today. Analysts predict a drop in iPhone sales will drag down a profit and revenue. Some calling for a double-digit drop compared with last year. The last time that happened was in the fall of 2001. Remember when Windows 98 was the dominant operating system and the iPod hadn't even beenintroduced yet.

BERMAN: I like Windows 98, by the way, and I thought it was a great thing. Maybe it's not such a bad thing.

ROMANS: Not a great thing. Apple shares have tanked nearly 20 percent over the past 12 months. The stocks flat for the year now, but down about 2.5 percent over the past week.

All right, Goldman Sachs, banker to moguls, architected mergers, advisers to the big money, reviled by Bernie Sanders. Now it's open to Main Street. Goldman Sachs -- it's opening an online bank. There is no minimum deposit. It won't charge transaction fees but customers are limited to six withdrawals or transfers per month. It's a savings account, basically.

Accounts are paying out 1.05 percent interest. It doesn't sound like much but it's much better than the typical U.S. savings account which is 0.06 percent. So, how's Goldman doing this? Well, online banks cut the cost of brick and mortar locations. Those savings are extended to customers and Goldman just finished its purchase of GE Capital Bank, which holds $16 billion in online deposits. There you go. Goldman Sachs for mom and pop.

BERMAN: Goldman Sachs for all of us. All right, big day in the election. Hundreds of delegates up for grabs in today's Super Tuesday -- the Acela primary -- starts now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Cruz and Kasich have just joined forces. That's called collusion.

CLINTON: When I hear the kind of reckless rhetoric it's deeply troubling.

CRUZ: I would ask Gov. Kasich's supporters to stand with us.

TRUMP: Lyin' Ted, Kasich, we call him one for 41.

KASICH: The Trump people are very desperate, fearful.

CRUZ: I understand that Donald will whine. That's what he does.

SANDERS: There is something wrong when the American dream, in the year 2016, is dying.

CLINTON: No matter what our differences might be, they pale in comparison to the Republicans.

TRUMP: If you look at Kasich, it's disgusting. Do you want that for your president? I don't think so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota, and Michaela Pereira.

CUOMO: What are you laughing at?

PEREIRA: You two.

CUOMO: Good morning. Welcome to your new day. It's Tuesday, Super Tuesday, in fact, April 26th, 6:00 in the east. Voters are heading to the polls. Five northeast states up for grabs. Hundreds of delegates, as well. The front-runners, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, looking strong. The real story now is the desperation among opponents.