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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Political Upheaval In Mexico; Collins Won't Support Nominee Hostile To Roe v. Wade; Lebron A Laker; The Future Of ICE; Summer Scorcher. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired July 02, 2018 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, EARLY START SHOW CO-HOST: Breaking news overnight. A major leadership shift in Mexico. Voters sweep a populous into the presidency is already sending warning signals to President Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would not support a nominee who demonstrated hostility to Roe v. Wade.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DAVE BRIGGS, EARLY START SHOW CO-HOST: A warning shot from one of the Republicans critical to confirming the next Supreme Court Justice. Susan Collins wants precedence perspective for a woman's right to choose.
ROMANS: And Lebron goes Hollywood. The NBA superstar signs a four- year deal with the Lakers. They suspected, I think, right?
BRIGGS: I think the entire sports world expected this, but the manner in which he did it, it was a bit of a surprise, but a good decision for his family and his business career.
ROMANS: Welcome back to "Early Start." It is Monday morning, I am Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: I am Dave Briggs, 4:31 Eastern Time, 1:31 there in L.A, they are celebrating the Lebron arrival, but breaking overnight political upheaval in Mexico. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador winning the Mexican presidency in a landslide. The former Mexico City mayor triumphed against opponents from two parties that have ruled Mexico for nearly a century.
ROMANS: All of the candidates opposed President Trump immigration and trade policy and his anti-Mexican rhetoric, after the victory Lopez Obrador vowed to seek friendship in cooperation with the United States with the relationship quote always rooted in mutual respect and in defense of our migrant countrymen who work and live honestly in that country. The president tweeting his congratulations to Lopez Obrador. CNN's Patrick Oppmann is in Mexico City for us.
(BEGIN VIDEO) PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What many are calling a
revolution for this country? You see people pouring into the square behind me to celebrate an event they never thought would take place, the election of a leftist populous candidate, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. He is been running for President now for over a decade. This is his third attempt at the office. Previous attempts he said kept him from gaining office, because of corruption. Not right now, though.
He has more than defeated the opposition. That is because more of Mexican society many feel over the years, but this election he managed to reach out. And so many people were struck by his anti-Trump message, his message against the violence that is rocking this country, but now the harder questions will begin to emerge. How will he govern? How will he, for example, confront Donald Trump issues that are so unpopular, like the wall, like the trade war? So those questions still remain, but Mexicans are outright now celebrating this very unlikely victory. Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Mexico City.
(END VIDEO)
ROMANS: All right, what a night. Thanks, Patrick.
Democrats over a critical cross roads this morning over the faith of ICE. Calls to abolish the Immigration Agency have always come from the far left recesses of the party, but now the future of ICE is front and center in the Democratic main stream. Senator Kirsten Gellibrand, New York Mayor, Bill de Blasio and Congressional nominee, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are calling for ICE's abolition.
BRIGGS: That was a rallying cry, demonstrations across the country this weekend, thousands of protesters railing against President Trump's immigration policies. Several prominent Democrats weighed in on ICE this weekend.
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SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN, (D), MASSACHUSETTS: We need to rebuild our immigration system from top to bottom. Starting by replacing ICE with something that reflects our morality.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERS)
SEN TAMMY DUCKWORTH, (D) ILLINOIS: If you abolish ICE now you still have the same President with the same failed policies. Whatever you replace it with it is just going to still reflect what this President wants to do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, no, you don't support abolishing ICE?
DUCKWORTH: You know, I think there is a lot of other things we can do before we get to that point.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ROMANS: The Daily Beast reports the Congressional Hispanic Caucus is
rejecting those calls to do away with ICE. You know, they want lawmakers to focus instead on broader immigration reforms. President Trump tweeting the liberal left also known as Democrats want to get rid of ICE, who do a fantastic job and want open borders. Crime would be rampage and uncontrollable, make America great again.
BRIGGS: The New court filings reveal the Trump administration will try to comply with an order to reunite migrant families and detain them together rather than just released them. The Justice Department appears to be trying to force the court to clarify two competing orders. One to reunite more than 2,000 families split up at the border and an older court settlement that limits minors to 20 days in custody after crossing the border.
[04:35:08] This morning, President Trump is just a week away from naming his choice to replace Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court. Two key Republican Senators raising warning flags on a critical topic, Roe v. Wade. Susan Collins and Lindsey Graham both suggesting any nomination respect precedent including the landmark case guaranteeing women's rights to abortion. Here is Senator Graham, yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: One that concepts that really means a lot on America is starting to sizes that means, you don't overturn the President unless there's a good reason, and I would tell my pro-life friends you can be pro-life and conservative, but you can also believe in story decises, Roe v. Wade and many different ways has been affirmed over the years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Senator Collins met with the President to discuss his prospects for the court. She says she encouraged him to broaden his list beyond the 25 candidates announced by the White House.
BRIGGS: Now, remember, the President said during the campaign he would only pick anti-abortion jurists for the high court.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you want to see the court overturn Roe v. Wade?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If we put another two or perhaps three justices on that is really what is going to be. That will happen, and that'll happen automatically in my opinion, because I am putting pro-life justices on the court. I will say this, it will go back to the states and the states will then make a determination.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Now, the President is edging back from that commitment. More from White House correspondent Boris Sanchez.
(BEGIN VIDEO) BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN NEWSROOM HOST: Christine and Dave. The White
House would only confirm that President Trump spend the weekend speaking to key allies and advisers, notably White House counsel Don Megan over the nomination process in general. One of the topics we know will not be discussed are these potential nominee's stance on abortion in Roe versus Wade. President Trump saying specifically that he would not be asking these nominees about that. We do know, however, that is on the minds of certain lawmakers including Susan Collins, the Senator from Maine who told Jake Tapper on "State of the Union" that she would not support a potential nominee if they stood to overturn Roe versus Wade. Listen to this.
SEN SUSAN COLLINS, (D) MAINE: I would not support a nominee who demonstrated hostility to Roe v. Wade, because that would mean to me that their judicial philosophy did not include a respect for established decisions, established law. And I believe that that is a very important fundamental tenant of our judicial system, which as Chief Justice Roberts says, helps to promote stability and even handedness.
SANCHEZ: And Susan Collins is not alone. There are other Republicans out there like Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who tend to favor of abortion rights and securing their vote the nominee that may tend to overturn Roe v. Wade would likely be not be something that they would support. Keep in mind, the margin of error is razor thin for Republicans. They need every single vote that they can get. Dave and Christine.
(END VIDEO)
ROMANS: Boris Sanchez, thank you. "The Washington Post" reports the President has told advisers he is looking for three main attributes in a nominee. An ivy league educated judge, with a quote, portfolio of solid academic writing, though an advisor acknowledges the President does not want to read it, he just wants to know there is a solid academic background, someone who is quote, not weak, who has independent judgment and a courage to buck the political and social fashions of the day and someone who will interpret the constitution the way the framers meant it to be.
The President will also be looking for personal chemistry, central casting looks and relatable life stories.
BRIGGS: The biggest star in basketball is headed to Hollywood. Lebron James signing a four-year $154 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers. The deal was announced today after the Lakers President Magic Johnson met with Lebron. It's the second time in eight years Lebron is leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers. Lebron sending a message to his hometown fans and an Instagram story saying thank you North East Ohio, for an incredible four seasons. This will always be home.
And Cavs owner Dan Gilbert who famously slam Lebron when he left Cleveland for Miami in 2010, with a starkly different tone this time, saying in part he has nothing but appreciation and gratitude for everything Lebron accomplished. By the way overnight, JaVale McGee and Lance Stephenson also agreed to
join the Lakers but they are going to need a lot more to compete in that conference, third, fourth, maybe best right now.
ROMANS: All right, Lebron land it is not Hollywood.
BRIGGS: There you go, you signed.
ROMANS: All right. The U.S. and North Korea with the first face-to- face talk with the Singapore summit, but a new report suggesting Pyongyang is not very forthcoming. Will Ripley is live for us in Beijing next.
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AMB. JOHN BOLTON, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: We have developed a program, had to dismantle all of their WMD and ballistic missile programs in a year. If they have the strategic decision already made to do that and they're cooperative we can move very quickly.
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BRIGGS: Big if there. If the North Koreans decide to cooperate. National Security Adviser, John Bolton revealing the U.S. has a denuclearization plan, but has not yet been put into action yet. And Bolton would not address "The Washington Post" report that U.S. Intelligence Agencies have concluded North Korea has no intention of fully dismantling its nuclear stockpile. For the very latest CNN's Will Ripley joins us live from Beijing this morning. Will, it was June 30th when the president said there is no longer a nuclear threat on North Korea. How is that working out?
[04:45:21] WILL RIPLEY, INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Well, those claims have since been dialed back by Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo and others. Look, I know I have been North Korea. Many times, and their number one priority above any economic incentives at the lifting of sanctions could offer is the protection of their government and keeping Kim Jong-un in power and there are a lot of actions inside North Korea who believe that possessing nuclear weapons will guarantee that making it very unlikely.
According to a lot of Cree watchers and U.S. intelligence now also sharing this assessment very unlikely they are going to give up their nuclear weapons completely which by the way, every time I have been in North Korea officials and told me they will never go to nuclear weapons and even though Kim Jong-un did sign this vaguely worded pledge towards complete denuclearization. He never said he is going to disarm. He never said he has got to stop producing this.
Also, they have not tested any missile since late last year, but now there is this week intelligence being released from a number of officials showing things like expansions at missile production facilities of the fact U.S. intelligence believes that there are secret facilities to enrich plutonium and uranium, the materials that general uses to make warheads. New York Times even reporting there may be new nuclear reactor North Korea under construction that would dramatically increase North Korea's capability of producing the materials to make nuclear weapons, and as of right now there is nothing on paper, stopping the North Koreans from doing that broadly worded statement in Singapore.
That sounded great to make headlines really does not have any meat to it which is why Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo will need to really be prepared. When he sits down with only the very near future with his North Korean counterparts. Dave.
BRIGGS: Wow. Tough task for him. All right. Will Ripley is live for us in Beijing. Thank you.
ROMANS: The president's Iran policy is boosting oil prices that could mean higher gas prices by midterm elections. Global oil supply is tight, cruel prices rose Friday after the U.S. assistant other countries stopped importing Iranian oil by November. Cutting off the significant amount of crude in the world market. That is when U.S. crude prices above $74 a barrel, the highest in more than three years to make up the shortfall, the president tweeted Saturday that Saudi Arabia's King agreed to produce more oil.
The White House later said that Saudi Arabia will only raise production if needed, clarification there. President Trump has long blamed OPEC the major oil-producing countries for higher prices, but OPEC already has plans to boost production by million barrels per day, arising crude that will mean higher gas prices for U.S. drivers crude oil is the largest ingredient in the price you pay at the pump and riding gas prices could cut into any gains from tax cuts, a political headache for the GOP perhaps ahead of midterm elections.
BRIGGS: One of France's most notorious criminals has escaped from prison again. Redoine Faid, broke out Sunday with the help of two or three heavily armed men who hijacked a helicopter. Faid was picked up and flown to a location near Paris and whisked away in an unidentified vehicle. Faid was serving 25 years for his role in a failed 2010 robbery that resulted to a death of a French police officer. The first time he escaped from prison five years ago. He blasted his way out with explosives, he is later sentenced to 10 more years for that escape.
ROMANS: Investigators are trying to determine the cause of the deadly tour boat explosion in the Bahamas this weekend. And American tourist was killed, 10 other people injured when the engine exploded on Saturday morning involving the boat flames. Coast Guards says four Americans were airlifted to the hospital in Florida. Others were treated at a hospital in the Bahamas.
BRIGGS: In Thailand rescuers are closing in on the spot where the thinking youth soccer team could be sheltering inside a flooded underground cave system. The group is been missing for nine days now, six tied Navy seal divers reached strategic tech chamber and elevated dryer inside the cave that setup and operation based with 600 oxygen tanks, communications and electrical systems. One of thousand people are involved in international rescue operation. Water is flooded in the cave, allowing rescue teams to gain ground. The water has receded so perhaps some hope, but that is an awfully long time.
ROMANS: Yes.
BRIGGS: That you to be trapped without food or water.
ROMANS: The boys left their backpacks at the entrance to the cave, so they are in there really with no, you know, no supply.
High temperatures in New York falling today from 96 to 95, so that is a step. How long the scorching heat will last.
[04:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRIGGS: A heart wrenching message from the 32 surviving staff members of the capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland. The letter to readers appeared Sunday, three days after five colleagues were killed in the Newsroom says quote, we are your neighbors, your friends, we are you. We will never be the same as we are now that Rebecca, Wendy, John, Gerald and Rob are gone. Someday, we hope to be as good again. Until then, keep reading we only just begun.
The paper's editor-in-chief, search for new office space is underway. Memorial for one victim, Rob Hiaasen takes place tonight.
ROMANS: A 12 year old entrepreneurs pushing ahead after neighbor called the police on him from mowing the wrong yard. Reggie Silds (ph) runs a lawn cutting service in the suburbs of Cleveland, he was mowing Lucille Holts (ph) front yard last week, when the cops pulled up. CNN's affiliate WEWS, her neighbors called police, because the children accidentally lawn part of their property.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They called the police to tell the police that the kids was cutting their grass, who does that?
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ROMANS: Holts posted a live video of the incident on Facebook and got close to half 1 million views. Reggie said he did not realize they were cutting the neighbors grass. According to Reggie's his mom and his misunderstanding and all the publicity landed her son about 20 new clients.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In Utah I will be there on time.
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ROMANS: Reggie's mother says her son started mowing yards in May, because he was bored and wanted to earn some candy money.
BRIGGS: Keep going young man. Another World Cup favored by Dawson the stunning upset tournament host, Russia knockdown Spain Sunday. The Russians advancing on penalty kicks after the teams played to a 1-1 draw. Russia will now play Croatia and a quarterfinal match on Saturday. Look at Spain just done today, underdog, Mexico looking to take down heavily favored Brazil, Mexico looking end the curse of the fifth game that has knocked them out of the last six World Cup, that is 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time.
ROMANS: And that Croatia, Denmark game also had a shoot off at the end. I mean --
BRIGGS: It has been a terrific World Cup.
ROMANS: Heart stopping, watching the game.
BRIGGS: Yes.
ROMANS: The dangerous heat digging in for another day in the Eastern U.S. More than 30 million people under heat advisory. Meteorologist Ivan Cabrera had the latest.
IVAN CABRERA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey guys, good morning. Still looking at heat indices in the 100's today, we are begging for 96 this point here. Look at the heat advisory that continue from the Carolina all the way up into new England and the pink, that is all the heat warnings in effect. A couple of degrees, you probably not going to notice that as far as the differences, it will be less hot than yesterday, but still brutal stuff with temperatures. This is without factoring in the humidity, right mid and upper 90s into the afternoon. When you do that factor in that humidity, we are talking about triple digit heat.
Look at this, that would be warmer at in DC, New York, then it will be across the southeastern U.S., Atlanta in the lower 90's. But the relief is on the way, we are talking about temps in the 80's so week front coming through, by the end of the week and that will test back to closer to average, we will have temperatures back in the mid and upper 80's, that is going to feel fantastic.
By the way, were so mild and severe when the potential for today across Asia's heartland here, damaging winds, large hail and even some isolated tornadoes as well. Later this afternoon and into the evening hours, guys.
ROMANS: All right. Ivan, thank you so much. That is your weather, here is your money. Let us go check on CNN Money this Monday morning, trade tensions between the U.S. and the rest of the world are still shaking market. Global stock, U.S. futures starting the week lower. On Sunday, Canada slap tariffs on $13 billion in U.S. goods. It is a retaliations to U.S. tariffs on metal imports. In a short trading week on Wall Street, the U.S. market are closed Wednesday for the Fourth of July, but a comeback to two big events. The jobs report Friday, a (inaudible) with U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods take effect. China has vowed to retaliate.
Tesla finally reaching its production goal for its first mass market car. CEO Elan Musk, set out to make 5000 model three sedans per week, by the end of June. Reuters says, Tesla hit that goal in the early hours of Sunday, June 1. That was close enough for Musk. Emailing employees that I think we just became a real car company. Investors are betting Tesla would meet that goal. Tesla shares up about 18 percent over the past month.
Facebook share user data with dozens of companies. Well after it said it cut off access in 2015, it gave six-month extension to 61 companies to comply with policy changes that is according to documents submitted to Congress late Friday. The list includes AOL, Nike and dating app Hinge, but also hardware makers like Apple, Blackberry and Samsung, Facebook faces harsh scrutiny for how it protects or it does not protect data, especially after revealing it gave a third party app access to 87 million user profile.
BRIGGS: So a lot of that ad campaign, here together, I think over the weekend. OK. Early Start continues right now, breaking news out of Mexico.
ROMANS: Breaking overnight, the voters in Mexico sweep a populous into the presidency that is after a square off with President Trump on critical issues including NAFTA, the border wall, and immigration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would not support a nominee who demonstrated hostility to Roe v. Wade.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: A warning shot from one of the Republicans critical to confirming the next Supreme Court Justice. Susan Collins wants precedence perspective for a woman's right to choose.
ROMANS: And Lebron goes Hollywood. The NBA superstar signs a four- year deal with the Lakers.
