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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Tiger Back on Top, Wins PGA Tour in More Than Five Years; Democrats Demand Kavanaugh Hearing Delay; Kavanaugh, White House Deny Second Woman's Accusations; Kavanaugh Accuser Christine Ford to Testify in Thursday Open Hearing; Trump Begins a Big Week After Meetings with Asian Leaders on Sunday Ahead of UN General Assembly; Giuliani, Haley Differ on Iran Regime Change; Iran Blames U.S., Saudis for Parade Attack; GOP Allies Tell Trump not to Fire Rosenstein; U.S.- China Trade War Intensifies; Six Siblings Appear in Ad Opposing Brother's Candidacy; Thousands of South Carolina Residents Urged to Evacuate Due to Massive Flood; Bill Cosby to be Sentenced Today, Faces Up to 30 Years for Assault; Parents and Some Residents in North Carolina Search for an Autistic 6-Year-Old in North Carolina; A School District in Indiana Charge a 27-Year-Old Bus Driver for Allowing Kids to Drive; Detroit Lions Upset New England Patriots as Patriots Drop 1- 2 for the First Time Since 2012; Redskins Thrash Packers 31-17, Packers Linebacker Matthews Blasts NFL After Controversial Penalty. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired September 24, 2018 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:00] DAVE BRIGGS, CO-HOST, EARLY START: And for the first --
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CO-HOST, EARLY START: A bureaucratic coup.
BRIGGS: And for the first time in more than five years, Tiger Woods can celebrate a win on the PGA Tour. One thousand, eight hundred and seventy six days --
ROMANS: Wow --
BRIGGS: In the making. Just an amazing development there on the course. Good morning everyone, happy Monday, welcome to EARLY START, I'm Dave Briggs.
ROMANS: So he was good out there yesterday --
BRIGGS: He looked fantastic all four days, and you've never seen a crowd so electrified --
ROMANS: Wow --
BRIGGS: To see one guy --
ROMANS: Who, Tiger?
BRIGGS: Win --
ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans --
BRIGGS: Yes --
ROMANS: It's nice to see you, it's Monday morning everybody, Monday, September 24th, 5:00 a.m. in the East. Let's begin here in Washington. The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee wants confirmation proceedings for a Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh immediately delayed after a second allegation of inappropriate sexual behavior.
The request from California Democrat Dianne Feinstein came after the "New Yorker" magazine reported Sunday, a woman who attended Yale with Kavanaugh said she remembers him exposing himself to her at a party.
Although corroboration of her story is thin.
BRIGGS: Spokesman for Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley says they'll look into the new claims, but there are no plans to delay Christine Blasey Ford's hearing on Thursday. President Trump's aides discussed the latest allegation against Kavanaugh with the president on Sunday, but dropping the nomination not currently under consideration. Here's Jessica Schneider with more from Washington.
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The White House and Judge Kavanaugh are now also denying another allegation against Kavanaugh of inappropriate behavior. This time from a woman who says she attended Yale with the Supreme Court nominee.
The "New Yorker" reported on Sunday that 53-year-old Debora Ramirez remembers Kavanaugh exposing himself to her at a dormitory party during the 1983-1984 school year. However, two other people, Ramirez says, were present at the party, issued a statement to the "New Yorker" saying they never heard of such an incident.
And Cnn has not corroborated her story. Kavanaugh said in a statement, "this alleged event from 35 years ago did not happen. The people who knew me then know that this did not happen and have said so. This is a smear, plain and simple.
I look forward to testifying on Thursday about the truth and defending my good name and the reputation for character and integrity I have spent a lifetime building against these last-minute allegations."
White House spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said "this 35-year-old uncorroborated claim is the latest in a coordinated smear campaign by the Democrats designed to tear down a good man. This claim is denied by all who are said to be present and is wholly inconsistent with what many women and men who knew Judge Kavanaugh at the time in college say.
The White House stands firmly behind Judge Kavanaugh." Now, Ramirez was initially hesitant to speak publicly because she said her memory contained gaps because she had been drinking at the time. But after she reassessed her memory over the course of six days with her attorney, she did go on the record with the "New Yorker". Christine and Dave.
ROMANS: Right, Jessica, thank you for that. Lawyers for Christine Blasey Ford confirming that she will testify Thursday in an open hearing on her sexual assault allegation against Brett Kavanaugh. Ford will have a dedicated security, she's been receiving death threats, she's had to move out of her home.
She will testify to the Senate Judiciary Committee first, followed by Kavanaugh. Her attorney say in a statement, "important issues remain unresolved and they're not happy that the committee has no plans to subpoena Mark Judge."
BRIGGS: And Ford says Mark Judge was in the room when the alleged assault took place. One Republican Committee member Lindsey Graham says, he does not expect to be swayed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: I want to listen to her, but I'm being honest with you and everybody else. What do you expect me to do? You can't bring it in a criminal court, you will never sue civilly, you couldn't even get a warrant.
What am I supposed to do? Go ahead and ruin this guy's life based on an accusation? I don't know when it happened, I don't know where it happened, and everybody named in regard to being there said it didn't happen. I'm just being honest, unless there's something more -- no, I'm not going to ruin Judge Kavanaugh's life over this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: One of the issues still unresolved, whether Republican senators would do the questioning or have an outside counsel handle it.
ROMANS: The Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley has requested materials and evidence from both sides by 10:00 a.m. Tuesday ahead of that Thursday hearing. In a statement, the committee says it reached out to four people who Ford has said rep of the party, none, have been able to corroborate her account.
BRIGGS: President Trump in New York this morning as he begins a big week at the United Nations General Assembly. Last night, he had dinner with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, today, he meets with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
And tomorrow morning, President Trump addresses the full UN, Wednesday, he chairs a Security Council briefing with Iran as a key focus.
ROMANS: Rudy Giuliani; the president's lawyer said over the weekend according to "Reuters" that the U.S. sanctions on Iran could cause a successful revolution in Iran.
[05:05:00] The U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley downplaying any suggestion the U.S. would intervene.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) NIKKI HALEY, UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: The
United States is not looking to do a regime change in Iran, and we're not looking to do regime change anywhere. What we are looking to do is protect Americans, protect our allies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Iran's rhetoric against the U.S. escalating ahead of the UN General Assembly. Tehran blaming America and South Arabia for a deadly attack on a military parade in Iran. Senior international correspondent Sam Kiley monitoring the situation live from Abu Dhabi. Sam?
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is all coming at a very dramatic moment. Perhaps, certainly conspiracy theorists would say that there was a conspiracy behind this attack. That's certainly the view of the Iranian government which blames Saudi Arabia, Gulf States and Israelis for having backed this group that murdered 29 people, including a 4-year-old child, those funerals are now under way.
Just as Donald Trump is due to chair the UN Security Council tomorrow which he wants to put the whole issue of Iran front and center. Now, Nikki Haley there telling Cnn the other day that the United States was not interested in regime change.
Now, the United States has indicated that it'd like to see a change in the regime's behavior. And that certainly endorsed by the Gulf states and Saudi Arabia. The latter of course and like the United States has said that they would try to influence the politics inside Iran, and it's perhaps for that reason that the finger is pointing from Tehran to Saudi Arabia and the United States.
But that said, Rudy Giuliani and John Bolton both in their time speaking as private citizens before taking office. In the case of Bolton have indeed called for regime change in Iran before. So this is going to be a very tensed meeting at the UN in New York indeed.
ROMANS: All right, I would say so, all right, Sam Kiley for us in Abu Dhabi, thanks, Sam.
BRIGGS: Republican allies urging President Trump not to fire deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. The president considered the move after leaked memos describe Rosenstein talking about wearing a wire to record the president and recruiting cabinet members to invoke the 25th Amendment to try and remove him from office.
Rosenstein has denied allegations in two separate statements, the latter after a push from the White House.
ROMANS: GOP lawmakers want the president to hold off on a purge of the Justice Department until after Brett Kavanaugh is confirmed. Here is what South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham said Sunday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GRAHAM: He shouldn't fire Rosenstein unless you believe Rosenstein's lying. He said he did not do the things alleged, but there is a bureaucratic coup against President Trump being discovered here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: At a rally in Missouri on Friday night, President Trump vowed to get rid of the, quote, "lingering stench at the FBI". Right, no matter how awkward your family thanksgiving is, it will not be as bad as Congressman Paul Gosar and his. We'll show you why?
BRIGGS: And more than a 100 people searching a North Carolina park for a boy with autism who vanished over the weekend.
[05:10:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: All right, the U.S. hitting China with the biggest round of tariffs yet, prompting Beijing to cancel trade talks at midnight. The Trump administration slapped 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods. That includes thousands of protects like handbags, refrigerators and mattresses.
China struck back, hitting $60 billion in U.S. goods, meat, chemicals, clothes, auto parts and accused the U.S. of trade bullyism. On Saturday, Chinese officials canceled talks in Washington this week. A senior White House official said no new meetings are planned.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has been working to use diplomacy to end the trade war, but Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the administration wants victory.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATE, UNITED STATES: We're going to win it. We're going to get an outcome which forces China to behave in a way that if you want to be a power, a global power, transparency, rule of law, you don't steal intellectual property.
The fundamental principles of trade around the world, fairness, reciprocity. Those are the things President Trump has told his counterparts, there who he very much likes. Those are the things the American people are demanding and the American workers deserve.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: American businesses agree China uses unfair trade practices, has for years. But they object to tariffs, they don't think tariffs are the way to bring China to the table. It is actually U.S. importing companies that pay, right?
And China doesn't pay the tariffs, it is the U.S. companies that pay the tariffs. They either have to absorb the higher cost or they have to pass it along to consumers.
BRIGGS: Congressman Paul Gosar is firing back against his most vocal critics who happen to be his own family.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIM GOSAR, BROTHER OF PAUL GOSAR: He's not listening to you, and he doesn't have your interests at heart. My name is Tim Gosar.
DAVID GOSAR, BROTHER OF PAUL GOSAR: David Gosar.
GRACE GOSAR, SISTER OF PAUL GOSAR: Grace Gosar.
JOAN GOSAR, SISTER OF PAUL GOSAR: Joan Gosar.
GASTON GOSAR, BROTHER OF PAUL GOSAR: Gaston Gosar.
JENNIFER GOSAR, SISTER OF PAUL GOSAR: Jennifer Gosar.
GOSAR: Paul Gosar is my brother.
GOSAR: My brother.
GOSAR: And I endorse Dr. Brill.
GOSAR: Dr. Brill whole heartedly, endorse Dr. David Brill for Congress.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Six of Gosar's siblings are appearing in a TV ad for his opponent Dr. David Brill. A Republican Congressman tells Cnn his siblings are disgruntled Hillary supporters and Lennon, Marlin, Kim Jong-un would be proud.
ROMANS: He adds in a statement, "you can't pick your family, we all have crazy aunts and relatives, et cetera, and my family is no different. To the six angry Democrat Gosars, see you at mom and dad's house."
Representative Gosar is no stranger to controversy. He claimed the tragedy at Charlottesville was a left-wing plot financed by Democratic mega donor George Soros.
[05:15:00] BRIGGS: I-95 is real, but through North Carolina, that's the main north-south interstate along the East Coast have been closed, some parts turned into rivers by flooding in the wake of Hurricane Florence. Once the water receded, the North Carolina DOT completed inspection and repairs.
Over on i-40, fire crews holding down the highway found dead fish scattered across the interstate stranded as the flood waters receded there.
ROMANS: In Wilmington, inspectors checking out the Sutton natural gas plant, saying initial water tests showed discharges from the flooding are not harming Cape Fear water -- river water quality. And this new drone video shot by Cnn in Conway, South Carolina, shows an entire neighborhood still flooded. The Waccamaw River in Conway has already risen above 19 feet with a 22-foot crest still forecast for Tuesday morning.
BRIGGS: Well, how fast the mighty have fallen. The New England Patriots riding a rare two-game losing streak, Andy Scholes has the Sunday night shocker ahead in the "BLEACHER REPORT".
ROMANS: Will Berman call in sick?
BRIGGS: Oh, man, he's been devastated.
[05:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRIGGS: He was once known as America's dad, but today in a Pennsylvania courtroom, Bill Cosby will be sentenced on three counts of aggravated indecent assault. The 81-year-old comedian has been under house arrest since his conviction back in April for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004.
The judge at the sentencing hearing will also determine if Cosby must register as a sex offender. He faces up to 30 years in prison, though legal experts say he is likely to get much less time behind bars.
ROMANS: A desperate search in North Carolina for a six-year-old boy with autism, Maddox Scott Ritch has been missing since Saturday. Authorities say he was last seen with his father and another adult at Rankin Lake Park in Gastonia, that's about 23 miles from Charlotte.
The boy's parents say Maddox started running and then when they run after him, they lost sight of him. Police say more than a 100 people have joined the search, combing more than 1,400 acres in and around the park. All activities at the park have been canceled and it is closed to the public until further notice.
In Indiana, school bus driver arrested after she let three children drive her bus. Her arrest came after this video was posted to Twitter. Twenty seven-year-old Joandrea McAtee now faces felony child neglect charges.
Police say she allowed the kids including one who was 11 years old to allow them drive -- to drive the bus for short distances in a rural area. She was dropping students off from school, the school district fired McAtee after parents a complaint spurred an investigation.
BRIGGS: Wow, Tiger Woods back on top of the golf world, winning the Tour Championship. Andy Scholes has more in the "BLEACHER REPORT". Scholes, that walk up the 18th green unlike anything in sports today.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS REPORTER: How are you, Dave? One of the coolest things I have ever seen watching a golf tournament. You know, this is --
BRIGGS: Yes --
SCHOLES: Tiger's first win on the PGA Tour since 2013. And if you needed a reminder of how much he means to the game of golf, that scene at East Lake that you were just talking about, Dave, it was just that. Look at all the fans in the gallery running, cheering for Tiger as he walked up 18 on the way to victory. I mean, it was just an incredible scene.
And after multiple back surgeries, Tiger said he didn't know if he'd ever be back after sliding in for his 80th PGA win of his career. Tiger raised up his arms in the air in celebration, and he got emotional talking about his comeback.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIGER WOODS, GOLFER: I just can't believe I pulled this off after, you know, what the season's gone through and --
(CHEERS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: Yes, it had been 1,876 days since Tiger last won on the PGA Tour. In that time, there had been 239 tournaments in which 119 different people have won. Now, less than a year ago, Tiger was ranked 1,199 in the world, but now he's all the way up to 13 after his first win in five years.
Tiger spoke with Cnn's Patrick Snell.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOODS: It's been unbelievable to get to this level again. And I didn't know if that would ever happen again, and lo and behold, here we are. We're through an unknown, and that was the hardest part, it wasn't unknown. I didn't know if I would be able to do this again or at what level to what degree? And here we are with 80 wins. It's a pretty cool number.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: All right, Sunday night football, former Patriots Defense Coordinator Matt Patricia facing off against his former boss Bill Belichick, and the people in the better of the teetering, this one, Tom Brady struggling throughout this game.
Here's him throwing an interception as the pass try to make comeback in the fourth quarter. And Lions win it 26 to 10, (INAUDIBLE) are the Patriots done talk that we've seem to have every few years. Now, they're 1-2 for the first time since 2012.
All right, finally, the Packers losing to the Redskins yesterday, and defensive star Clay Matthews again at the center of another roughing the passer controversy. Matthews got flagged for a personal foul on this play in the third quarter. They thought it was a legit sack.
Packers Coach Mike McCarthy, he couldn't believe it. And Matthews saying after the game that the way the rule is being applied is ruining football.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLAY MATTHEWS, LINEBACKER, GREEN BAY PACKERS: Unfortunately, the league is going in a direction I think a lot of people don't like. You know, I think they're getting soft. And you know, the only thing hard about this league here is the fines that they let down on guys like me who play the game hard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: Yes, and Matthews had four roughing-the-passer penalties in his -- the first nine years of his career day. He had --
BRIGGS: Yes --
SCHOLES: Three in the first three weeks of this season.
[05:25:00] BRIGGS: But two of them are just normal plays. Are just plays that should be in the normal confines of football. That was a -- that was a terrible call, Andy, how do you feel about that later?
SCHOLES: I mean, yes, so the last one, I mean, that's -- what is he supposed to do?
BRIGGS: I don't know --
SCHOLES: They're trying to crackdown on the defensive players putting their entire body weight on quarterbacks because they don't want injuries like Aaron Rodgers had last year with the collarbone.
But I mean, come on, there was no intent there. Matthews was just --
BRIGGS: No --
SCHOLES: Following through on what was a great play, and you know, you feel for him because what is he supposed to do?
BRIGGS: The wussification of America comes to the NFL. Andy Scholes, thank you my friend --
SCHOLES: All right --
BRIGGS: Romans, over to you.
ROMANS: The wussification -- now, that is a good word, I'll put that in a dictionary. All right, Democrats calling for a total delay on confirmation proceedings for Brett Kavanaugh, throwing new allegations of sexual misconduct. What does all this mean for Thursday's hearing with Christine Blasey Ford?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
