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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Trump Wants Ideology Test For Immigrants; Obama, Clinton, And Biden Bash Trump; Giuliani Forgets About 9/11; Manafort Named In Ukraine Corruption Probe; Flooding Death Toll Rises To 9 In Louisiana; Simone Biles Ends With Bronze On The Beam; Usain Bolt Back On The Track. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired August 16, 2016 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:05] GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump laying out his plan to fight ISIS and terrorism around the world. Some of those proposals, though, coming under immediate scrutiny. We'll have a deeper look at those plans and the reaction.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Trump under fire from the three best known Democrats in the world -- Hillary Clinton, President Obama, and Vice President Biden all getting their digs in. We'll show you what they have to say.
HOWELL: And a photo finish in Rio. American Allyson Felix so close to taking the gold in the women's 400 meter final. We'll have the heart stopping conclusion, and it is a finish that will go down in the history books, for sure.
Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm George Howell.
ROMANS: Nice to see you this morning, nice to have you here. I'm Christine Romans. It is Tuesday, August 16. It is 4:00 a.m. -- good morning, everyone -- in the east. Donald Trump hoping to reboot his campaign this morning after a major speech laying out his plan to smash ISIS and safeguard the U.S. from Islamic terrorism. Trump promising a global clash against Islamic terror comparable to the Cold War. He called for testing the values of all would-be immigrants. Trump vowed to keep Guantanamo Bay open and to launch a commission on radical Islam. He also slammed Hillary Clinton and the President without again calling them the founders of ISIS. He did blame the terror group's rise on their policy decisions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We cannot let this evil continue. Nor can we let the fateful ideology of radical Islam -- its oppression of women, gays, children, and non-believers be allowed to reside or spread within our own countries. Any country which shares this goal will be our ally. We cannot always choose our friends, but we can never fail to recognize our enemies. If I become president, the era of nation building will be brought to a very swift and decisive end.
Hillary Clinton lacks the judgment, as said by Bernie Sanders, stability, and temperament, and the moral character to lead our nation. She also lacks the mental and physical stamina to take on ISIS and all of the many adversaries we face.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: All right, Democrats instantly jumped. Clinton and Vice President Biden campaigning together in Pennsylvania, the President taking time from his vacation, all slamming Trump in their own ways. CNN's Sara Murray with the Trump campaign in Ohio has the latest for us.
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Good morning, Christine and George. Campaigning yesterday right here in Ohio, Donald Trump said it's time to rewrite America's approach to foreign policy, saying it's time to end the practice of nation building and instead focus our efforts on fighting ISIS on all fronts. And Trump said to do that, we need to partner with any ally who's willing to fight ISIS alongside of us. Now on the more controversial side of this speech, he also unveiled a new set of immigration measures, essentially saying there should be an ideology tests for immigrants coming to the U.S. to weed out anyone who might hold extremist views, whether those are anti- Semitic, anti-gay, or anti-women.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We should only admit into this country those who share our values and respect our people.
In the Cold War, we had an ideological screening test. The time is overdue to develop a new screening test. I call it extreme vetting. I call it extreme, extreme vetting. Our country has enough problems. We don't need more, and these are problems like we've never had before.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MURRAY: Now Trump delivered this speech from teleprompters. It was a rare moment where this unscripted candidate was directly on message. But the question for Republicans both in and outside of his campaign is whether he can stick with that for the rest of the week. He'll be campaigning today in Wisconsin and we should have a better sense then. Back to you guys.
HOWELL: Sara, thank you. The President's swipe at Trump came at a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton at Martha's Vineyard where he and his family had been vacationing. He mocked Trump without mentioning him by name saying quote, you notice I haven't said much about her opponent. Frankly, I'm tired of talking about her opponent. I don't have to make the case against her opponent because every time he talks, he makes the case against his own candidacy.
That dig came after Clinton and Vice President Biden tag teamed the Republican nominee at a rally in Pennsylvania. Here's Clinton ripping into Trump's economic proposals, listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[04:05:05] HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: So what's Trump's plan? Well, he laid it out last week. And I'll admit, even before he did, I didn't think it was going to be good for working Americans. But it turned out to be worse than I ever imagined.
I know some of you may have friends up here in northeastern Pennsylvania who are thinking about voting for Trump. I know. I know. Friends should not let friends vote for Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: And Joe Biden in the city where he was raised also tore into Donald Trump. CNN's Joe Johns has more now from Scranton.
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Christine and George, Hillary Clinton continues stumping for votes in Pennsylvania today where polls show she has a healthy lead, but still needs to pick up support from white working class voters. To that end, she came here to Scranton, Pennsylvania, and was joined by Vice President Joe Biden. It's his hometown. He took her to the house where he grew up, also participated in a rally, and launched a stinging attack on Donald Trump, calling him unqualified for the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's a guy that follows me right back here, has the nuclear codes. So God forbid anything happened to the President and I had to make a decision, the codes are with me. He is not qualified to know the code. He can't be trusted. This guy doesn't care about the middle class. And I don't even blame him in a sense because he doesn't understand it. He doesn't have a clue. He really doesn't. He doesn't have a clue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: At the event in Scranton, there was not mention of the investigative notes of Hillary Clinton's interview with the FBI that could be turned over to congressional investigators, the campaign preferring to stay on things that have worked in the past, also making clear they want to push the issue of foreign policy, issuing a web ad, questioning whether Donald Trump is qualified to have the nuclear codes. Christine and George --
ROMANS: All right, thanks for that, Joe. Trump supporter and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani getting some criticism this morning for claiming at Trump's Ohio rally that there were no successful radical Islamic terrorist attacks on American soil in the eight years prior to Obama taking office. Giuliani apparently forgetting about 9/11 which happened 7 years and 4 months earlier. Listen --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUDY GIULIANI (R), FORMER MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY: Remember, we didn't start this war. They did. We don't want this war. They do. Under those eight years before Obama came along, we didn't have any successful radical Islamic terrorist attack in the United States. They all started when Clinton and Obama got into office.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: So a Trump spokesman later clarifying saying Giuliani meant there hadn't been any terror attacks since 9/11. That didn't much soothe the wrath of "The New York Daily News". Here's the cover calling it sick, despicable, and Rudy's most pathetic politicizing of 9/11 yet.
HOWELL: New details this morning on that corruption investigation in Ukraine, naming Trump's campaign chairman, Paul Manafort. Ukrainian officials confirmed to CNN Manafort's name appears in a secret off- the-books ledger showing that a pro-Russian political party paid him $12.7 million in cash. The officials say they're still investigating. There's re is no proof that Manafort actually received the illegal payment. Manafort strongly denied taking improper payments in a statement on Monday, acknowledging that his campaign worked for the pro-Russian party, but calling reports that he accepted off-the-books cash quote, unfounded, silly, and nonsensical.
ROMANS: All right. The rules to qualify for the upcoming presidential debates have now been made public. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are the only definite participants. That's because they are registering above 15 percent in five combined national polls. Libertarian Gary Johnson and the Green Party's Jill Stein are polling below 15 percent and will not earn a spot on the debate stage unless their numbers improve by the mid-September cutoff. If Stein or Johnson reach the 15 percent threshold after the first debate, they will be invited to the second.
HOWELL: The White House has transferred 15 more detainees out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. All of them being sent to the United Arab Emirates. This makes the largest transfer of inmates from that facility since President Obama took office. The administration says a review board found that their detention was no longer necessary because they pose no threat to the United States security. Of 242 detainees held at Gitmo when Obama came into office, only 61 remain with 55 others transferred to 13 countries in the last 11 months alone.
[04:09:55] ROMANS: All right. A hospital run by Doctors Without Borders hit by a deadly air strike in northern Yemen. At least 11 people killed, 19 wounded with the attack being blamed on a Saudi-led coalition. Doctors Without Borders claim the Saudis knew where the hospital was located. No comment so far from Saudi officials. This is the fourth time in less and 12 months a Doctors Without Borders facility has been bombed.
All right, 10 minutes past the hour. Billionaires battling on Twitter about Donald Trump's economic policies. Welcome to the 2016 election. On one side, Mark Cuban, tech entrepreneur, owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, supporter of Hillary Clinton, net worth $3.2 billion. On the other side, Carl Icahn, legendary investor, Trump supporter, and a Trump friend. He's worth $17.4 billion. Icahn tweeted after Hillary Clinton's economy speech, quote, how do you unleash the power of corporations if you do nothing about the strangulating regulations which she said zero about? Cuban's response to that, you know you wouldn't hire Donald Trump unless you were short the company. Shorting a company, of course, is a bet the stock will drop. The two then went back and forth on Twitter about regulations, capital spending, productivity, global competitiveness. In the end, Cuban says he likes Icahn and doesn't have a problem with him but thinks he is wrong about Trump. Kind of rare to see two such big heavyweights on Twitter arguing about politics for the whole world to see.
HOWELL: -- for the guy named the blue collar billionaire.
Firefighters in the state of California working hard to get a handle on a surging wildfire. And now criminal charges are being filed in connection with that disaster. We'll have details next.
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[04:15:36] ROMANS: A suspected arsonist arrested in connection with the raging Clayton fire in northern California. 40-year-old Damin Anthony Pashilk is facing 17 counts of arson for allegedly starting several fires in the Lake County area over the past year, including the Clayton fire which is now only five percent contained this morning. It has already destroyed more than 175 homes and structures with 1,500 more threatened.
HOWELL: A Brooklyn man is charged with murdering a local imam and his assistant. 35-year-old Oscar Morel was arrested Sunday on charges related to a hit-and-run accident only later to then be connected to the killings after authorities executed a search warrant the next day and found the murder weapon. The victim, Maulana Akonjee, and an aide were shot and killed in broad daylight Saturday after a religious service at a mosque in Queens. Police say there is no indication the shooting was a hate crime.
ROMANS: After two nights of violent protest, a 10:00 p.m. curfew on teenagers, and a heavy presence of religious leaders on the streets has restored some calm to Milwaukee. Earlier Monday, a police station in the Sherman Park neighborhood had to be shut down briefly because of threats and shots fired in the area. The curfew will be imposed indefinitely now. One-hundred national guard members are on hand in case they are needed.
HOWELL: The death toll and the flood waters are on the rise in Louisiana. Nine fatalities confirmed with thousands of people forced to evacuate their homes. Just look at that. And Baton Rouge police confirm that a firefighter was shot accidentally by another firefighter during the flood response effort on Monday. No word on his condition this morning.
ROMANS: Just really misery there in Louisiana. When will it start drying out? I want to bring in meteorologist Pedram Javaheri.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, George, good morning, Christine. Yes, another day where' we're watching these thunderstorms and expect them to really begin to blossom sometime around 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. this afternoon. Much of the activity still wanting to stay farther west of Baton Rouge, but when you take a look, we do have some 16 river gauges that are reporting flooding across Louisiana. So any additional rainfall and we could still see about an inch or so of rainfall. That will really take that saturated ground water and bring it up to the surface and cause some flooding that is expected over this region. In fact, we think the bulk of the moisture over the next couple of days will begin to spread a little farther to the North and to the East, and parts of the Midwest, don't be surprised, some flash flood watches have already been issued across that area with additional rainfall expected to come down and the temperatures notably cooler. Little Rock, 78, Chicago only at 82 degrees, with all the clouds and rain in the forecast, and notice off the East Coast, temps well into the mid and upper 90s there, sitting in 97 degrees in the nation's capital and New York. Enjoy one last day of sub-90 temperatures. It does look like we're going to warm up just a few degrees here in the next couple days. Guys --
ROMANS: All right, Pedram, thank you. All right, seven one- hundredths of a second is all that separates gold from silver in the women's 400 meter sprint. Could American Allyson Felix finish her comeback surge? We go live to Rio, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:22:56] ROMANS: At the Olympic Games, an incredible 400-meter sprint on the women's side coming down to a photo finish. This nail- biter between Bahamian, Shaunae Miller and American, Allyson Felix. Who crossed the finish line first? CNN's Christina MacFarlane has it all covered live from Rio this morning. Still dark behind you, but boy, what a wild night.
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A really wild night, Christine. Yes, Tuesday night track and field action concluded with a dramatic result. One of the most dramatic we have seen here at the games. Now it was meant to be the crowning coronation for USA's Allyson Felix, but she was picked to the win by Shaunae Miller of the Bahamas. Now Miller led from the off, but coming down the home stretch, Felix drew level with her and then on the line, Miller dove forward, lurching for the gold. Questions being asked here that if she had stayed on her feet, would she got the gold, would she have got the silver? Well the rules dictate that her torso crossed the line first so she walks away with a gold, and a first it was for the Bahamas at these games.
Meanwhile, Allyson Felix consoling herself with the silver medal. But she is still officially the most decorated female in track and field history. Now elsewhere, we learned that USA Simone Biles is human after all, and maybe it's the pressure of attempting to go for five golds at the games, but Biles slipped on a bolt (ph) routine, a somersault tuck, it was, but managed to somehow stay on her feet. She came away with the bronze on Monday. And it was nice to see her teammate, Laurie Hernandez walk away with the silver after a near faultless routine.
Now tweeting afterwards, Biles says that she wasn't too distraught, more than happy to take home the bronze, but she should get back to winning ways later today. She's got the floor routine coming up which is totally her bag (ph). She's unmatched in it for really power and strength. And be sure to look out for the signature Biles. That's the double layout with a half turn that not even her male compatriots can match.
[04:24:51] Now after wowing the world and taking a third straight 100-meter title on Sunday, the world's fastest man, Usain Bolt, begins his quest to defend his 200 meters later on Tuesday. And it will be gold medal number eight if he manages to do it. Bolt says he is on a mission as well to break the world record by going sub-19 seconds. Now interestingly, he says it's the only event that makes him nervous standing on the starting blocks. And the biggest opponent in this race is likely to come in the form of his training partner, Yohan Blake. The final part of that possible triple triple of course will be run on Saturday, just a day before his 30th birthday. Now what a present that would be.
And a quick look at the medal table tally for you, Christine. The U.S. are leading the way still with a total of 75 medals and 26 gold, China only coming close on 46 medals, one back, and 15 gold. So more drama to come, we hope, on Tuesday.
ROMANS: All right. More Olympic drama. Thank you so much, Christina. We'll talk to you again very soon.
HOWELL: I'm still getting over that photo finish. You do what you have to do to win. She did it.
Still ahead, Donald Trump says it is time for an ideological screening test to admit people to this country, a plan that he says will help curb the flow of terror. We will hear how people are responding to that as EARLY START continues.
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