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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Trump Gets Deal Done With Carrier; Banking On An Iconic Wall Street Bank; Tacoma Police Officer Shot And Killed; No Charges Filed In Keith Scott Killing; Tennessee Wildfires: 7 Dead. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired December 01, 2016 - 05:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:30:25] WILL RIPLEY, CNN ANCHOR: Happening today, Donald Trump heads to the plant where he just saved about 1,000 jobs. This morning, questions about the deal and those incentives that helped make it happen.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, a neighborhood on lockdown. A gunman who killed a police officer barricaded inside a home. This standoff happening now, stretching deep into the night and now into the morning.

RIPLEY: A desperate search for the missing in Tennessee. More wildfire damage and deaths as thousands still wait to learn if their homes are gone. Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Will Ripley in for John Berman this morning.

ROMANS: Nice to see you this morning.

RIPLEY: Good to see you.

ROMANS: A couple of day with you here.

RIPLEY: Yes.

ROMANS: It's going to be so much fun. I'm Christine Romans. It's 31 minutes past the hour on this first day of December. Up first, Donald Trump ready to receive a hero's welcome in Indiana. The president- elect heading to the Carrier plant in Indianapolis today, along with Vice President-elect Mike Pence, the outgoing governor of Indiana.

Pence and unknown incentives were key to convincing the company to keep 1,000 jobs in the state instead of exporting them to Mexico. We get more from CNN senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Will and Christine, Donald Trump will be taking a victory lap of sorts later today when he tours a Carrier air conditioner factory in Indiana. This is the same factory he railed against throughout the campaign for shipping jobs to Mexico.

Now, after discussions with the president-elect and the Vice President-elect Mike Pence, who is the outgoing governor of Indiana, the company says it's keeping some of those jobs in the U.S. New Treasury secretary nominee Steve Mnuchin says it's an example of Trump making good on a promise.

STEVE MNUCHIN, TREASURY SECRETARY NOMINEE: The Carrier deal, I think it's terrific. The president-elect and the vice president picked up the phone and called the CEO of United Technologies and told them we wanted to keep jobs here. I can't remember the last time a president did that.

ACOSTA: We should point out the transition is not offering details on the Carrier deal. And later in the day Trump is scheduled to appear at a fundraiser and rally in Cincinnati, Ohio, a state he carried decisively on Election Day. His staff is calling it part of his "thank you" tour to show his appreciation for being elected the next president -- Will and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY: Jim Acosta in New York. There are still many, many things that we don't know about this Carrier deal and with deals like this the devil is in the details. The president-elect's transition team and Carrier are keeping quiet for now on the incentives -- the financial considerations that helped saved all of those jobs.

As CNN's Martin Savidge reports, Trump awaits a hero's welcome in Indianapolis but also many questions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Morning Will, morning Christine. There are a lot of people looking forward to the visit of President- elect Donald Trump, most of them Carrier employees who want to express their thanks. But they also have a lot of questions. It's not that they're not grateful, they are. But remember, there are 1,400 jobs here but only 1,000 that are being talked about as being saved. That means several hundred people fear that it's their job that is still going to be lost, and until they hear the details they'll continue to have those fears.

There are other concerns such as will they have to cut back on their wages, and just how long is Carrier willing to stay? They don't have the answers. There are other people who want to find out more about just what is the deal that got Carrier to change its mind? It's been suggested that Carrier got more incentives from the state of Indiana. But remember back in February when Carrier said it was leaving, the state tried very hard to keep the company here and, yet, was unsuccessful.

So it seems it has to be more than just state incentives, so it's been suggested perhaps that the president-elect said that he could bring about some kind of deal by reducing the corporate tax code or maybe reducing federal regulations. There are still some, especially employees of Carrier, who suggest that maybe United Technologies, the parent company of Carrier, began to worry that because they do $5 billion worth of defense contracts every year, those contracts could be harmed if they moved Carrier to Mexico -- Will and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right, thank you for that, Martin. One of the first public figures to endorse Donald Trump, Sara Palin, playing up reports that she is under consideration to become secretary of Veterans Affairs. The former Alaska governor posting a video on her Facebook account offering her ideas for fixing the VA. "ABC NEWS" reports team Trump is considering Palin for the post. A source close to the 2008 vice presidential nominee tells CNN Palin has made the transition team aware of her desire to serve the president-elect.

RIPLEY: Donald Trump has narrowed the field to three finalists in his search for a new director of National Intelligence. According to sources, retiring Indiana Sen. Dan Coats is getting serious consideration and he's competing with former Homeland Security adviser Fran Townsend and Admiral Michael Rogers, who is currently serve as the director of the National Security Agency and head of U.S. Cyber Command.

[05:35:08] ROMANS: All right, to the money team now. Shortly after his official nomination as Donald Trump's Treasury secretary, Steve Mnuchin unveiled his most important goal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MNUCHIN: Well, I mean, our first priority is going to be the tax plan, and the tax plan has both the corporate aspects to it. Lowering corporate taxes to make U.S. companies the most competitive in the world. Making sure we repatriate trillions of dollars back to the United States. And the personal income taxes. We're going to have the most significant middle-income tax cuts since Reagan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Tax reform is something companies have wanted for years now. Mnuchin also said wealthy Americans will not be getting across-the- board tax cuts. Now that's a departure from what Donald Trump proposed on the campaign trail so expect some negotiations there.

Mnuchin is one of three Trump connections to Goldman Sachs. He worked there for 17 years. He was a partner there before leaving for Hollywood where he became a financier. Also, Trump met with current Goldman CEO Gary Cohn. He's reportedly under consideration to lead the Office of Management and Budget. He has been number two under Lloyd Blankfein over at Goldman.And Trump's chief strategist Steve Bannon also worked at Goldman Sachs back in the 1980's.

And during the campaign, you know, Goldman Sachs was almost a dirty word for both the left --

RIPLEY: For both sides.

ROMANS: -- and Donald Trump, you know. Goldman Sachs seen as a symbol of the financial crisis and the Wall Street elites succeeding -- RIPLEY: Right.

ROMANS: -- all the American middle-class struggles.

RIPLEY: Very smart people working there.

ROMANS: Oh, yes, and, I mean, obviously, Donald Trump is tapping several for advice or key positions.

RIPLEY: Let's go live to Washington and bring in Zachary Wolf, the managing editor of "CNN POLITICS". How is this all playing out in D.C., thinking about Goldman Sachs? Clearly, people who work at this firm highly qualified. They were on the front lines during the Great Recession. They know how the system works and they know how to work the system, but what are people saying?

ZACHARY WOLF, MANAGING EDITOR, CNN POLITICS: Well, I mean, having people from Goldman Sachs involved at the Treasury Department or in the highest levels of government is nothing new.

ROMANS: Right.

WOLF: People have been -- administrations, Democratic and Republican, have had people from Goldman Sachs, Treasury secretaries and more for decades so this is not a new thing, but I guess that might be the switch here because Trump had promised something totally new.

I don't think it's completely out of bounds for him to be picking people from Wall Street even though he railed against Wall Street so much on the campaign trail and borrowed a lot of that rhetoric, even from people like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren because these are the people that he knows.

And, you know, he is going to -- he's going to be talking to people who he thinks can do deals. We see it with this Carrier -- this Carrier thing. It's a -- he wants to actually kind of change the way things are done and he's going to look at the business world where he thinks it's more effective.

ROMANS: And let's talk about Carrier quickly, since you bring that. I want to read this statement from Carrier that it offered us yesterday. "The incentives offered by the state were an important consideration. This agreement in no way diminishes our belief in the benefits of free trade and that the forces of globalization will continue to require solutions for the long-term competitiveness of the United States."

Clearly, for a public relations and a Trump narrative -- in terms of Trump narrative, Carrier keeping 1,000 jobs in Indianapolis a big win for him in what he promised to do. You hear this company talking about requiring solutions, you can't -- it can't be sustainable to go company by company --

RIPLEY: Right.

ROMANS: -- and twist arms to keep jobs in the U.S. RIPLEY: And you can't change the economics of it. The fact that a senior Rust Belt worker in the U.S. will make $20-$25 an hour, that's close to the daily wages of a worker in Mexico or Vietnam or other countries where these jobs are moving.

ROMANS: So it will be up to Wilbur Ross, the incoming Commerce secretary, and Steve Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, to redo trade deals. To redo deals so that U.S. workers are more competitive.

WOLF: And we heard Wilbur Ross yesterday on CNN say step one is going to be NAFTA. That's the very controversial trade deal that transformed the U.S. economy under the Clinton administration. Was another big deal during the campaign. He's going to talk about reopening it up. Let's change it and fix it and see what we do there. That is the kind of thing, first of all, for a Republican to be saying that and second of all, NAFTA's just kind of been sitting there for so long and contributing to the economy. So this will -- these will be huge changes in the way -- in the way business is done.

RIPLEY: What's going on with this "thank you" tour, considering that there are still so many top posts that need to be filled and, yet, now it's going to be appearances, huge crowds -- the kind of stuff that the president-elect loves?

WOLF: This is a -- it's a really unique thing. It's not something we've ever seen before. He hasn't been talking to us in the press that much. An interview here or there. Hasn't been a press conference. But he's going to go out -- he clearly seems to miss the electricity of the campaign trail and being out there and trying to get his message out, so he'll get another taste of that with this.

[05:40:02] ROMANS: Clue us in a little bit. You know, I'll tell you that Wall Street is very comfortable with the position -- the people that Donald Trump has been choosing to be in his inner circle at this point. You can see record highs for stocks. I mean, they're expecting that he's going to cut taxes. They're expecting there's going to be at least some infrastructure -- regulations rolling back. That's something small business really likes.

But Elizabeth Warren -- Sen. Elizabeth Warren, she's just furious about the Mnuchin pick and about the direction of this cabinet. Let's listen to her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D), MASSACHUSETTS: He promised when he was running for president that he would break the connection between Wall Street and this Congress. He said he was going to separate that from the government. No more revolving door. He wasn't going to do that sort of thing. And then what does he do? He turns around and picks a guy who had actually been one of the people who helped do all of those lousy mortgages that not only broke the economy but broke millions of families.

(END VIDEO CLIP) RIPLEY: So will she and other Democrats work with Trump, even on issues they agree with infrastructure development -- those kind of projects?

ROMANS: That's a good question.

WOLF: Yes, I think they will work with him on infrastructure. That's something Democrats really want to do. Chuck Schumer, the incoming Senate Majority Leader, has said that he'll work with Trump on that, in particular. On the other things, I think Democrats are really going to stand in the way of just about everything that Trump wants to do because they're going to disagree with it. That's their -- that's their role.

ROMANS: It's no surprise that Sen. Elizabeth Warren has sharp words for Donald Trump. She has for months, quite frankly. The question is, what will happen in terms of policy and cooperation? All right, Zach, nice to see you.

WOLF: You, too.

ROMANS: Thanks. First day of December. All right, this just in to CNN. Russian President Vladimir Putin talking about the Trump administration just moments ago. Putin says Russia is ready for cooperation with America's new leadership. Putin also says the U.S. and Russia have a joint responsibility for security and that he hopes Russia works with Washington in fighting terror. Putin made those remarks during an annual address to the two chambers of the Russian Parliament.

RIPLEY: But, of course, a lot of scrutiny over this because of what Russia is doing right now in Syria, their continued provocations in Ukraine. And there's a lot of people in Europe very nervous and watching to see what this relationship between Trump and Putin is going to be like.

ROMANS: Fascinating.

RIPLEY: Yes. A police officer shot and killed in Tacoma, Washington, and right now, the gunman apparently keeping police at bay. We are following the very latest on this standoff which continues right now.

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[05:46:36] RIPLEY: We're following breaking news out of Tacoma, Washington. A police officer shot and killed and the barricaded suspect surrounded right now. The unidentified officer gunned down Wednesday afternoon. Police were responding to a domestic dispute at that time. The officer underwent surgery, he didn't make it.

(Video playing) Authorities do have a home surrounded. They describe the scene as active. You can see a large police presence. There have been reports of gunfire from inside that home. We're monitoring and we'll bring you the latest details as they come in.

ROMANS: All right. Four people arrested overnight in Charlotte, North Carolina. They were protesting the D.A.'s decision not to charge Officer Brentley Vinson in the shooting death of Keith Lamont Scott back in September. The victim's family vowing to keep fighting for justice. We get more this morning from CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Will and Christine, some pretty energetic protests on the streets of Charlotte. Gatherings to protest the D.A.'s decision not to file charges against Officer Brentley Vinson for the shooting of Keith Lamont Scott in September. The crowds, late Wednesday night, were not nearly as numerous as the ones in September that numbered in the thousands.

There weren't nearly as many of those protesters out on Wednesday night, but they did walk a few blocks and the police were fairly aggressive toward them. The police really being strict in their rules of keep the protesters on the sidewalks. And we did witness four arrests and some tussles with the police as they really were aggressive in trying to keep the protesters on the sidewalks. One police commander telling me they wanted to approach this strategically. Let them have their say, let them protest, but to keep them from blocking traffic.

The protesters, of course, out tonight to voice their displeasure with the D.A.'s decision not to file those charges against Officer Vinson. The D.A., Andrew Murray, saying that all of the evidence that they had gathered in their investigation, which lasted more than two months, led them to believe that Officer Vinson -- his shooting of Keith Lamont Scott was justified. That Officer Vinson felt threatened that his life was in imminent danger. That Keith Lamont Scott ignored 10 different commands from police to drop his gun.

The Scott family had claimed that he did not have a gun, the D.A. says he did, and there were claims and counterclaims all through this investigation. But the decision not to file charges against Officer Brentley Vinson made by the D.A. today and that's what led to the protests on Wednesday night.

The officer in question is on administrative duty. The police do tell us there is an internal investigation to make sure that policies were not violated in this case. The family of Keith Lamont Scott -- it's unclear whether they're going to file a civil lawsuit or not, but they say they're still going to pursue justice for Mr. Scott -- Will and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY: Brian Todd in Charlotte. It is now 5:49.

ROMANS: All right. What if I told you one little tiny lifestyle change could make you more successful? Amazon chief Jeff Bezos, the Uber CEO, media mogul Arianna Huffington -- they all do one simple thing --

RIPLEY: What is it?

ROMANS: -- in common and it makes them very prosperous.

RIPLEY: You've got to tell us.

ROMANS: Right after the break.

RIPLEY: Such a tease.

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[05:53:52] RIPLEY: The number of people killed and the devastation continuing to rise in Tennessee where wildfires are now blamed for at least seven deaths and more than 50 people injured so far. Rain in the area is dampening the flames but they are not entirely out. And now there are growing concerns about mudslides on that charred earth. We get more from CNN meteorologist Jennifer Gray. She's in Gatlinburg.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEROLOGIST: Will and Christine, people are waking up at this evacuation center on the third morning, not knowing when they'll be able to return to their homes and once they get there not knowing if there will be a home.

There is a lot of despair and a lot of devastation around the shelter because people have so many questions and they've been in this waiting game not knowing what is left of their belongings. Most people left with just the clothes on their backs. Of course, they are getting plenty of food here. They are getting items that they need. There's actually a medical clinic, as well. But it has been a hard couple of days for the people in this area.

Of course, there is no word on when they'll be able to return home and a lot of that is due to the fact that there are still wildfires burning, if you can believe it, because we have had a lot of rain. So you wouldn't imagine these wildfires still burning, but they are because with these storms come very, very strong winds. We've had some cloud-to-ground lightning and that has sort of counteracted a little bit of the benefit that the rain has brought, but the rain is helping contain these fires and it is helping the firefighters in the big picture.

[05:55:19] We talked to a crew that went up the areas that were burned and they said even though the structures aren't on fire you can feel the heat underneath your feet. The ground is still smoldering and so it does give you a sense of just how dry and parched this area is.

Of course, the crews will be out. FEMA is expected to come to offer assistance. First responders, firefighters from all around coming to the Gatlinburg area to lend a hand. So hopefully, folks here will have answer in the coming hours and days -- guys.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY: Jennifer Gray, watching things in Gatlinburg. The North Carolina governor's race still not decided this morning. The state's Board of Elections is ordering a partial recount of 94,000 votes in Durham County. Republicans are allegedly voting irregularities. Democrats insist there is no evidence of that. Republic Gov. Pat McCrory lost the election to State Attorney General Roy Cooper by about 10,000 votes but is, so far, refusing to concede.

ROMANS: All right. Arianna Huffington, a name synonymous with digital media. Earlier this year, though, she left the website she founded and launched a new company focused on corporate wellness. It's called Thrive Global. It launches this week. Its goal is to help workers unplug, recharge, work smarter. In fact, make more money for your company. I sat down with Huffington yesterday to ask her how this can benefit all professionals from entry-level employees to CEOs.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Do you have a message to those type A's who are watching my show tomorrow at 5:00 a.m.?

ARIANNA HUFFINGTON, FOUNDER & CEO, THRIVE GLOBAL: Yes.

ROMANS: Do you want to tell them to go back to sleep?

HUFFINGTON: No. I think my message is it's best for them to follow Christine's advice. Christine goes to sleep at 8:00 p.m. If you have to get up so early, try and go to sleep as early as you can. Create a ritual -- a transition to sleep to make it easier. Charge your phone outside your bedroom. Have a hot shower or bath to disconnect from your day so that you are able to really go to sleep early.

And then, as soon as you can, have a nap. Winston Churchill won the Second World War and powernapped. So power napping is absolutely an amazing productivity tool if you have to get up really early and you didn't get enough sleep.

ROMANS: He also had cigars and an awful lot of booze but we'll leave that aside. I don't recommend that part of his ritual.

HUFFINGTON: No, I don't either.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right, the website launched yesterday. It was interviews with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg. Both of them saying that sleep -- you have to sleep your way to success. Sort of interesting, right? More sleeping -- you need a lot of --

RIPLEY: It's a different connotation there.

ROMANS: That's exactly right. This company has partnerships with Uber, JP Morgan Chase, as well. But she's, you know, always very interesting. We also talked about the political climate.

RIPLEY: Yes.

ROMANS: She seemed to have changed her career track at the very moment when everything was changing in politics. She's such a political junkie and she said everyone needs to look inward, be empathetic, and listen. That's what she said.

RIPLEY: Yes. Well, I'm going to listen to her. I like her advice about taking power naps.

ROMANS: Yes.

RIPLEY: I always thought I was a slacker because I like to take a nap.

ROMANS: Right. That's EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

RIPLEY: I'm Will Ripley. President-elect Trump hitting the road today and he might get a hero's welcome. "NEW DAY" begins right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: A victory lap for Donald Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a great first win without us even taking the job.

NEWT GINGRICH (R), FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: You have never seen serious adults suck up at the rate that Mitt Romney is sucking up.

WARREN: Donald Trump promised that he was not going to have a government that was going to work for Wall Street.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The president-elect announcing he will leave his business completely.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His children talking about deals while he's talking about government. That's a problem.

R. ANDREW MURRAY, CHARLOTTE-MECKLENBURG DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Officer Vinson acted lawfully when he shot Mr. Scott.

CHARLOTTE PROTESTERS: No peace, no peace.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why is it OK to shoot first and ask questions later?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Thursday, December 1st, 6:00 in the East. Chris is off this morning. John Berman joins me.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: It's good to be here.

CAMEROTA: It's going to be a great show.

BERMAN: It's going to be the best show ever. CAMEROTA: OK, I look forward to that. Up first, President-elect Donald Trump set for a victory lap. He will travel Indiana to tout a deal to keep more jobs in America. He will deliver on that campaign promise, he says. Trump will then kick off a "thank you" tour, holding a campaign-style rally tonight in Ohio to celebrate his historic win.

BERMAN: All this as Trump is narrowing the field for key cabinet positions. The Trump administration still has thousands of political appointments to make before he is sworn in. And the inauguration, now, just 50 days away. We have this all covered for you. Let's begin with CNN's Jessica Schneider, live outside Trump Tower in New York with this morning's drama -- Jessica.

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well good morning, John. You know, today it is a return to those rallies that rappelled Donald Trump to an election win.