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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Cubs Win the World Series; Clinton Loses Her Edge in Colorado; Mosul-Area Residents Flee Intense Fighting. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired November 03, 2016 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: That is more than half of all of the people in the world that are believed to have Internet access.
For months, you have heard who is trustworthy and temperament to be president.
[04:00:03] Here is the story parents and teachers and humans care about. Some Toys "R" Us locations across the U.S. are hosting special hours with children with autism to enjoy a unique holiday shopping experience with their families. Stores will dim the lights, turn of the music, and they'll have special quite areas, all this to avoid overstimulating children.
CNN affiliate KLFY reports the store in Louisiana will feature the Toys "R" Us mascot, as well as coffee and snacks. It is not getting a lot of attention, but praise from autism groups from parents here in U.S. The story caught my attention because there is so much hoopla about the election, there's so much hoopla around holiday shopping, there's so much just kind of chaos in the world right now. That's a corporate move I thought deserves notice.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good for you, Toys "R" Us.
EARLY START continues now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPORTS ANCHOR: This is going to be a tough play. Bryant! The Cubs win the World Series!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Wow. Breaking news -- the long, long, long --
BERMAN: Long, long.
ROMANS: -- wait is over. Breaking news and breaking a curse. The Chicago Cubs are World Series champions.
BERMAN: All right. Overnight, yet another new poll. This one from Colorado. A key state for Hillary Clinton. This one poll shows the race tied there. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. The special the Cubs
are actually the world champions edition of EARLY START. I'm John Berman.
ROMANS: My six-year-old calls this the world serious. And it is the world serious. It is serious. I'm Christine Romans. It is Thursday, November 3rd. It's 4:00 a.m. in the East.
And in that world serious, no, you are not dreaming. The Chicago Cubs are the world champions for the first time since the Roosevelt administration. Not Franklin Roosevelt, Teddy. They came back after being down 3-1 to beat the Cleveland Indians. The game already an October classic.
Andy Scholes, he's got more from Cleveland.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN BLEACHER REPORT: What a game. What a series. This is what a 108-year drought celebration looks like. First time in a lifetime, the Cubs can call themselves champions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One hundred and eight years. I've been waiting for a team like you, boys.
(CHEERS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the story of the 2016 Chicago Cubs. We never give up. We fight back. We don't care if we're playing on the road or any of that. I mean, it's an unbelievable game.
SCHOLES: How awesome is this moment celebrating with your team?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the best. I can't move. But I don't care. This is unbelievable. This is what you dream of as a kid. I'm 24 years old and I'm the luckiest guy on the planet, man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's unbelievable. Go Cubbies. Go Cubbies. Let's go.
SCHOLES: What do you say about this team the way you all came back from 3-1 to win this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We never quit. We always said that we never quit. It's never over until it's over. Well, it's over now. We're on top.
(CHEERS)
SCHOLES: Theo, you did it again. What's the secret?
THEO EPSTEIN, CHICAGO CUBS: We did it. Our organization did it. The fans did it. The players did it. The Ricketts family did it. I mean, total team effort. Epic, epic game and performance, 114 wins now. So good. I like baseball.
(END VIDEOTAPE) BERMAN: Andy Scholes with Theo Epstein who likes baseball this morning. All right.
Theo Epstein clearly ecstatic and altered. The city of Chicago this morning clearly ecstatic and altered.
Our Brynn Gingras in the middle of it all, maybe finally dying down.
No, no, I thought it was dying down. But no, we have Cubs fans live behind you. Brynn, what are you seeing?
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And, John and Christine, I have an update for you. I talked to a number of people. They are not going to work today.
One of those works for Chicago public schools. I'm not going to give any names, but he is not going to work today to teach.
So, I do want to introduce you to Joel. He is not going to work today. But it's just him and his boss. So, you're OK with that. Your boss is OK?
JOEL BRONSTEIN, CUBS FAN: Absolutely. My boss is a life long Cubs fan as am I. We will take tomorrow off. Take it easy.
GINGRAS: And you kind of took today off. All day you were preparing for the game. Tell me how the excitement has been building?
BRONSTEIN: The excitement was building. It was one game at a time mentality, and once we were here today, we knew it was a matter of one game showing up. It happened as exactly as it should have. We were down. We were up. We blew the lead and then they won it in extra innings, which is the script for this.
GINGRAS: Exciting game for sure. Why is this so important to you?
BRONSTEIN: So, I grew up a Cubs fan in North Carolina. I actually moved here last year in the middle of the season. So, this is my full season.
GINGRAS: Wow, good luck charm.
BRONSTEIN: I don't want to say they won because of me, but I think there were factors at play.
[04:05:04] I think there are factors at play.
GINGRAS: All right. Joel, do me a favor. Turn around and look at Wrigley Field. You see World Series champions. Tell me how (INAUDIBLE) up and your friends. What does that make you feel?
BRONSTEIN: It's absolutely surreal. And what does this great Cubs fans out here.
(CHEERS) BRONSTEIN: They're going to be going all night. It's a great environment. It's great fans. Everyone is super positive. All I can say is this is just a dream for Cubs fans. Go Cubbies!
GINGRAS: All right. Awesome. Thanks, Joel.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go Cubbies.
(CHEERS)
GINGRAS: So much fun out here. You're right, the party is not dying. It's actually kind of getting bigger, John and Christine, as people are still coming to Wrigley Field to get the picture of the sign and really just head to the bar after that.
ROMANS: That is so awesome.
BERMAN: And eloquent tribute to the Cubs behind you there, those gentlemen.
ROMANS: We are just positive. It's awesome.
All right. Brynn, thank you.
So many people named their kids Ryne after Ryne Sandberg. Clark and Addison after the streets around Wrigley Field. I mean, there are other fans that crazy? Do the Red Sox do that?
BERMAN: The Red Sox were. And this is a little bit --
ROMANS: Like thousands of kids whose middle name is Fenway?
BERMAN: Oh, yes.
ROMANS: Really?
BERMAN: Oh, yes. And Big Papi. I have a son named Ted. I mean, come on. It happens.
ROMANS: OK, you are one of the crazy fans. This series is not the only contest down to the wire. There is this little thing, this little, you now, pennant for the presidency going on.
Overnight, a new poll just out puts Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump neck and neck in Colorado. This after some decent-looking polls for Hillary Clinton in the afternoon. Overnight, Hillary Clinton in a new campaign message that sounded a lot like a negative ad version of John Lennon. And today, for the first time today, Ted Cruz will campaign for the Trump ticket in person.
BERMAN: All right. We have a whole lot of polling that came out overnight that told maybe a few different stories. The main story is the race is close right now. But this is the newest poll we saw overnight from Colorado, showing a dead heat in a race that is a must win for Hillary Clinton. A lot of undecideds in a poll for five days before the election. Let me say that. But let's discuss this significance. We are joined by politics
reporter Eugene Scott.
Eugene, why is Colorado so important Hillary Clinton?
EUGENE SCOTT, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Well, Colorado is important and because they have a lot of the voters, millennial voters, people who are leaning left, who supported Obama and they need her on board and keep her going forward, who would support the policies that Obama administration introduced. And she could continue if she was elected president.
ROMANS: You heard John talk about those undecided. I think there's about 14 percent of Colorado likely voters are undecided, you know, or is that a big proportion this late in the race?
SCOTT: Definitely within a week of the election, especially considering a poll maybe about a week ago had her leading by seven points. So, to see her down to pretty much a virtual tie is surprising.
BERMAN: You know, I mean, if you push the other side, they may all go for Trump. We don't know that. It's just an unusual number to see this late. Other polling in Florida, very, very close. The CNN poll has Hillary Clinton with a slight edge right there. I know Democrats were excited about early voting numbers overnight.
SCOTT: Yes. And Clinton was campaigning there earlier this week, trying to get women on board, trying to get Hispanic voters on board. She had Alicia Machado come forward, the former Miss Universe who criticized Donald Trump for speaking negatively about her for gaining weight. And Hillary Clinton has tried to make it clear to these voters that this is the type of person who can lead this country if they don't vote for her.
ROMANS: What's happening in the other swing state, North Carolina? The president was in North Carolina yesterday. Hillary Clinton barely has a lead in the polls in North Carolina, right?
SCOTT: Very much so. And North Carolina was one of the first states that President Obama went to after he hit trail for Hillary Clinton. Everyone seems to think of North Carolina as this like red state.
But it's actually a purple state. There are lots of college students there. I went to college there. Charlotte is there, more urban center to balance things out. So, both of them are fighting really hard for that state.
BERMAN: And there is early voting there. And the president is going back after Hillary Clinton today. So, working very hard for that.
All right. Eugene Scott, great to have you with us. Thanks so much.
ROMANS: All right. Hillary Clinton, a huge Cubs fan kept her motorcade in Tempe, Arizona, after a rally there, so she could watch the end of the game! BERMAN: What a picture to have --
ROMANS: She's in North Carolina as her army of big name surrogates, including President Obama, fanned out across the country. She was in Arizona because the campaign is hoping to turn that red state blue.
CNN's Brianna Keilar has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, Hillary Clinton in Arizona trying to turn this red state blue, would be the first time since Bill Clinton won Arizona back in 1996. So, it is a tall order. She has a lot of surrogates that she is relying on. Big names, including her running mate, Tim Kaine, who today will give a speech entirely in Spanish here in Arizona.
Also, President Obama has been campaigning for her, arguing that his legacy is tied to Hillary Clinton. That he needs to pass the baton to her.
[04:10:01] And for Hillary Clinton, she's been hitting Donald Trump very hard, going negative, as she tries to appeal to those voters in the middle, those ones who are repealed by Donald Trump, but maybe they're not so certain about voting for Hillary Clinton.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: On January 20th, either I or Trump will be sworn in as the next president of the United States. A lot of people are still considering who to vote for. I think people who are considering voting for him say to themselves, you know, I don't like everything he says and I don't like a lot of thing he's done in his life, but maybe he'll become different when he becomes president.
And then I think some people are saying, well, maybe I'll just sit this one out. You know, I don't -- I can't really make up my mind. Nothing will change if he's elected because we know who he is. As Michelle Obama says, the presidency doesn't change who you are, it reveals who you are.
KEILAR: It's not the positive message that Hillary Clinton was hoping to end the campaign on. She doesn't have the breathing room in the polls that she had before Friday when her email controversy erupted again. And that's why you're seeing the shift, John and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: All right. Brianna Keilar, thanks so much for that.
Overnight, Donald Trump introduced a sort of new line into his stump speech, praising himself and warning himself to stay on message.
Like Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump is now getting help from surrogates on the campaign trail, a lot of them are named Trump. Today, actually, the big news is Melania Trump will speak on his behalf, in Pennsylvania. Another notable name today, Ted Cruz, the man who Trump questioned whether or not he could be an American citizen because he was born in Canada, the man who Donald Trump wondered whether his father was involved in the Kennedy assassination, Ted Cruz out on the campaign trail for the Trump ticket with Mike Pence today.
Let's get the very latest on the Trump campaign, CNN's Sunlen Serfaty.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Christine.
Well, Donald Trump in his closing message seems to be trying to show late in the game message discipline. He is staying on script. He is reading off teleprompter for most of his campaign rallies, really trying to keep the attack lines focused on Hillary Clinton.
Clearly, the calculation from within the Trump campaign is that Trump should not deviate from that message. Not try to say anything controversial as he has in the past that would step on that message.
And Donald Trump at his rally in Pensacola, Florida, talked about that newfound restraint, almost repeating what potentially his campaign advisers are telling him behind the scenes -- don't do anything to rock the boat in these final days.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to be nice and cool. Nice and cool. All right? Stay on point, Donald. Stay on point.
No side tracks, Donald. Nice and easy. Nice. Because I've been watching Hillary the last few days, she's totally unhinged.
SERFATY: And Donald Trump will continue to focus on battleground states today. He has a midday rally in Jacksonville, Florida, and then he's off to North Carolina.
And Melania Trump will be hitting the campaign trail solo. She'll have a speech in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Campaign aides say that she will be delivering a warm speech. She'll talk about her time growing up abroad and potentially what she would do as first lady -- John and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: All right. Sunlen Serfaty, thanks so much.
All right. Election Day is next Tuesday. You want to follow along and see how it's going? I recommend watching CNN. We're going to have the best, biggest, most comprehensive coverage ever all day long on Tuesday, into the night and well into Wednesday.
ROMANS: I have been studying up on the ballot initiatives, raising the minimum wage in four states? Yes, yes. Also part of the ballot in a few states.
All right. Donald Trump on the attack. Singling out a member of the media in front of a crowd. You'll see, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:17:59] BERMAN: All right. We have breaking news out of Iraq. We are getting a live look at people are fleeing the fighting in Mosul.
Joining us right now with some remarkable perspective on the situation is CNN senior international correspondent Arwa Damon on the ground there.
Arwa, just tell us what you're seeing.
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
Well, take a look. The Iraqi army just sent in the trucks to pick up these people that have been waiting since the early hours of the morning. Many of them are in an understandable state of panic.
The neighborhood that they're from is basically what is effectively right now the current front line. Overnight, there was a very heavy exchange of mortar fire, artillery fire, rocket propelled grenades were fired in. Some of them have been telling us about how their neighbors were killed along with their children.
A lot of them walked here. If they have a vehicle, the Iraqis have been letting them through. These people walked for hours to reach what they hope would be relative safety. And they are packing into the trucks as they are coming down.
You know, John, we were speaking with a group of women. Some have their faces covered. Some do not. One particular group of women who we were talking to. They still had their faces covered. I asked why. They said they have family inside Mosul.
In fact, they have family inside Mosul who they say tried to cross the frontlines, try to flee into this area that we're in. But then ISIS shot at them and forced them to return to Mosul, which is something we have been hearing happening frequently. ISIS trying to trap the civilian population to use them as human shields.
And throughout all of this, we have been speaking to quite a few people who have been living under ISIS for the last two years. I have to say the most chilling story I have heard so far in the last 24 hours was that of a mother who was enslaved by ISIS and raped and gave birth to a baby boy.
[04:20:01] And all she said she could do was hope he never knew who his father was.
You can see the Iraqi troops loading the smallest ones in the back of the trucks. Right now, it's fairly organized. A short while ago, it was pretty chaotic before these trucks arrived, before everyone was guaranteed transportation. There was a mass scramble to the various flatbed vehicles that were being sent out to this area.
People are telling us that even though there are parts of this town that are safe, what they want to do is get as far away from the fighting as possible. And if we just speak to some of them.
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
They fled from that area further up I was talking about.
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
They only brought a few clothes and there's a blanket her.
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
These are her daughters.
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
"We were very, very afraid. We were too afraid. There was a lot of firing. There were a few bullets that came."
A lot of people had mortars falling on them and they were killed.
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
They said it was quit a far distance that they came.
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
She is from other areas. This is something we have been hearing quite a bit.
So, as ISIS was pushing through these various different parts of Iraq, people would flee from one village to the other. And actually, Gogjali is one of the villages that people fled to from other areas only to remain trapped under ISIS here.
So, a fair number of these people are going to be leaving this battle zone and they hope to eventually be able to go back home to the original villages that they were from. But, of course, they don't know what to expect. They don't know what to see.
The other thing that is quite critical, too, John, is these people need to rebuild their trust with the Iraqi security forces, because the last time there was this interaction between this population that has lived under ISIS and Iraqi security forces, especially in and around Mosul, was when Iraqi security forces abandoned their positions and left.
So, as important as it is to win the battle for Mosul and as important as it is for the government to ensure these kinds of support systems are in place to get these people to safety because they need to rebuild that trust. And you see especially the men here are being searched. These people are all people that have to be screened. Iraqis have lists of names of wanted individuals, individuals whom they believe are affiliated with ISIS.
And, of course, the concern is ISIS would potentially try to infiltrate the civilian population, try to infiltrate those who are leaving to carry out attacks. So, everything being very, very methodically searched.
But we have also been seeing is that despite the hardship, despite the trek, there is relief among the people because they do have a sense that at the very least, ISIS for now is gone.
BERMAN: All right. Our Arwa Damon on the ground right near Mosul, with just a stunning look right now as people flee from the heart of that city, indicating perhaps that the offensive into Mosul to drive ISIS out entering a new stage.
Arwa, thank you so much for your reporting. We'll let you get back to talk to the people. We'll check back in with you in a little bit.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[04:28:18] SPORTS ANCHOR: This is going to be a tough play. Bryant! The Cubs win the World Series!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: All right. Breaking news: there is joy in mudville tonight. The Cubs win their third World Series with only a small 108-year gap in the middle.
ROMANS: Also breaking overnight, a new poll in the race for president shows Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump tied in battleground Colorado.
Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
BERMAN: I'm John Berman. About 29 minutes past the hour.
So, where were you when the world turned upside down? Let me tell you a few of the things that have happened since the Cubs last won the World Series -- Internet, television, Super Bowls, all of them, rock and roll, all of it, the World Wars, both of them, 108 years is a long time.
But it is now history. The Cubs, whew, they did it the hard way. They came back after being down three games to one and game seven was bonkers, an extra inning gem.
Andy Scholes in the middle of it all in Cleveland.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN BLEACHER REPORT: What a game. What a series. This is what a 108-year drought celebration looks like. First time in a lifetime, the Cubs can call themselves champions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One hundred and eight years. I've been waiting for a team like you, boys.
(CHEERS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the story of the 2016 Chicago Cubs. We never give up. We fight back. We don't care if we're playing on the road or any of that. I mean, it's an unbelievable game.
SCHOLES: How awesome is this moment celebrating with your team?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the best. I can't move. But I don't care. This is unbelievable. This is what you dream of as a kid. I'm 24 years old and I'm the luckiest guy on the planet, man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's unbelievable. Go Cubbies. Go Cubbies. Let's go.
