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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Trump Under Pressure; Dozens Still Missing; SEARS Bankrupt, Closing More Stores; Royal Couple Expecting; Senator, Caught On Video; Mexico Beach In Ruins; Real-life Winnie the Pooh. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired October 15, 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)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to get to the bottom of it and there will be severe punishment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAVE BRIGGS, EARLY START SHOW CO-HOST: President Trump under pressure to take action after the suspected murder of a Saudi journalist.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, EARLY START SHOW CO-HOST: And the President and the first lady head to Florida today where dozens are still unaccounted for after hurricane Michael.

BRIGGS: SEARS just filed for bankruptcy protection and announced the closing of definitely more stores, a dramatic fall of what used to be America's largest retailer.

ROMANS: And some breaking news out of Kensington palace. Prince Harry and his bride Meghan Markle are expecting a baby. They just arrived in Australia for their first overseas trip as a married couple. So we got big news today. Welcome back to "Early Start." I'm Christine Romans.

BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. The paparazzi are losing their mind in Australia. We'll check in live in London shortly. 4:31 Eastern Time.

President and the Saudis though trading threats over the weekend over the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The President telling "60 minutes" the Saudis will face severe punishment if they killed Khashoggi during his visit to a Saudi consulate in Turkey and a Saudi own news channel publishing an op-ed saying that the U.S. faces an economic bloodbath if it imposes sanctions on Saudi Arabia. For the latest developments let's bring in international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson. He has been covering the story since the beginning. Nic, good morning.

NIC ROBERTSON, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Dave. We heard more out of Riyadh yesterday. The state news agency also saying that any country that would put sanctions on Saudi Arabia could expect sanctions back on them, doubling down, but there seems to be turmoil in Riyadh as well. Because within hours the Saudi embassy in D.C. issued a statement saying actually we are thankful to our friends around the world, the United States included, for being patient while this investigation goes on. Clearly trying to roll back what was seen as somewhat of a threat to what President Trump had said.

Meanwhile, here it's kind of the situation remains the same. Saying that, however, we have had a phone call between the Saudi king and President Erdogan here in Turkey saying they will form a working group to allow Turkish investigators to continue with their investigation into allegations Jamal Khashoggi was murdered in the consulate. The takeaway from that though is there was an agreement for a working group between the two sides last week and there was even an agreement before that, almost a week ago now, saying that the Turkish investigators can go in with the foreign minister over the weekend saying that Saudis must let the chief prosecutor and his team of experts to get inside the consulate.

That doesn't appear to be happening. There appears to be a huge amount of daylight between the two positions right now. You also have the French, the Germans, the British and the U.N. and the E.U. all calling on Saudi to allow for an open investigation. This is as much of a standoff today as it has been for the last two weeks. Dave?

BRIGGS: Nic Robertson live for us in front of that door where Jamal Khashoggi was last seen entering. Thank, Nic.

ROMANS: President Trump avoiding a firm stand on Saudi Arabia's role in the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi, in an interview with "60 minutes" the president said nobody knows whether Crown Prince Bin Salman ordered his murder.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It is being investigated. It is being looked at very, very strongly. And we would be very upset and angry if that were the case. As of this moment they deny it. And deny it vehemently. Could it be them, yes?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: CNN's Boris Sanchez has more this morning from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN NEWSROOM HOST: Christine and Dave, President Trump has not explicitly pointed the finger at Saudi Arabia over the disappearance of "Washington Post" columnist Jamal Khashoggi. Instead, President Trump saying the White House will get to the bottom of the disappearance of that journalist. The President though has chafed at a bipartisan group of Senators who has suggested that Congress should intervene and get involved, potentially by blocking a hundred billion dollar arms deal that President Trump secured with Saudi Arabia shortly after taking office.

[04:35:14] The President suggesting they would likely hurt the American economy and jobs more than it would hurt Saudi Arabia or send a message to them. The President spoke with "60 minutes" on Sunday night suggesting that if the White House found that Saudi Arabia was responsible there would be a steep price to pay. Listen to this.

TRUMP: There's a lot at stake and maybe especially so because this man was a reporter. There's something -- you'll be surprised to hear me say that, there's something really terrible and disgusting about that if that were the case. So we are going to have to see. We're going to get to the bottom of it. And there will be severe punishment.

SANCHEZ: Now, the hesitation from President Trump to really condemn the Saudi Arabians could be seen as an indication of how much this administration has staked on Saudi Arabia and the future of the Middle East.

We know that this administration believes very strongly that Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is intricate -- an intricate part of the future of the Middle East, not only with countering Iranian aggression, but also any potential Israeli- Palestinian peace plan moving forward. Dave and Christine?

(END VIDEO)

ROMANS: All right. Boris, thank you for that.

Talk of sanctions hitting Saudi Arabia's stock market. Riyadh's main index fell 7 percent Sunday wiping out billions of market value for top Saudi companies. The stocks have dropped as much as 9 percent since Jamal Khashoggi disappeared October 2nd.

More than two years Saudi Arabia has been working to modernized and diversify their economy away from just oil, but his disappearance is prompting some big-name business partners to cut ties with Saudi Arabia. Richard Branson suspended a billion dollar investment talks and many executives are pulling out of that high profile Saudi investments conference dubbed Davos in the desert. Like the head of Uber, Viacom and many international media partners pulled out of sponsorships including The New York Times, Bloomberg, CNBC, and CNN, and now JPMorgan Chase CEO, Jamie Dimon, he will no longer attend.

A JPMorgan spokesman did not say why and Ford executive chairman Bill Ford will no longer go to scheduling, but the Treasury Secretary, Steve Mnuchin so plans to be there, at least for now. A treasury spokesperson says officials will be evaluating the information, it comes out this week.

BRIGGS: President Trump admits Vladimir Putin is probably involved in assassinations and poisonings, but he doesn't seem too worried about it. The president when asked by Lesley Stahl why he is so hesitant to criticize the Russian leader suggesting Putin's conduct is of less concern, because the victims are not in the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LESLEY STAHL, 60 MINUTES, CORRESPONDENT: Do you agree that Vladimir Putin is involved in assassinations, in poisonings?

TRUMP: Probably, he is. Yes, probably.

STAHL: Probably?

TRUMP: Probably, but I rely on them. It's not in our country.

STAHL: OK. But why not -- they shouldn't do it. This is a terrible thing.

TRUMP: Of course they shouldn't do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: When it comes to interfering in U.S. elections, President Trump says he believes China is a bigger problem than Russia.

ROMANS: All right no promises from the president when it comes to Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, while his attorneys are preparing answers to written questions from the Special Counsel, Mr. Trump is refusing to say whether he will step in or allow the probe to play out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will you pledge -- pledge that you will not shut down the Mueller investigation?

TRUMP: Well, I don't pledge anything, but I will tell -- I have no intention of doing that. I think it's a very unfair investigation, because there was no collusion of any kind.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But you won't pledge?

TRUMP: I don't want to pledge, why should I pledge to you? If I pledge, I'll pledge, I don't have to pledge to you. I have no intention of doing it. Do you really think I'd call Russia to help me with an election? Give me a break. They would not be able to help me at all. Call Russia, it's so ridiculous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: The President also refusing to rule out more family separations at the Mexico border. Mr. Trump expressing support for that controversial policy insisting it deters families from trying to come to the U.S. illegally.

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TRUMP: Frankly, when you don't do separate -- when you allow the parents to stay together, OK, when you allow that, then what happens is people are going to pour into our country.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So you're going to go back to that?

TRUMP: Well, we're looking at a lot of things. Really what we want to do is change the immigration laws, because they're laughingstock all over the world.

STAHL: Are you willing though -- I think you're saying it's under consideration.

TRUMP: No, I want all the laws changed. There have to be consequences, Lesley, for coming into our country illegally and part of the -- I mean, part of the reason I have to blame myself. The economy is so strong that everybody wants to come into the United States.

STAHL: Can I just ask this simple question, yes or no.

TRUMP: Go ahead.

STAHL: Are you willing to reinstitute that policy? You said we're looking at everything. Yes or no?

[04:40:00] TRUMP: You can't say yes or no. What I can say is this. There are consequences from coming into a country namely our country illegally.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: President Trump is also defending his speech at a Mississippi rally that featured him mocking Christine Blasey Ford. Listen to the president justify his attacks on Justice Brett Kavanaugh's accuser.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Had I not made that speech we would not have won. I am just saying, she didn't seem to know anything.

STAHL: No --

TRUMP: And trying to destroy a life of a man who has been extraordinary.

STAHL: Why did you have to make fun of her?

TRUMP: I didn't really make fun.

STAHL: Professor Blasey Ford got before the Senate and was asked, what's the worst moment? And she said when the two boys laughed at me, at my expense. And then I watched you mimic her and thousands of people were laughing at her. Do you think you treated her with great respect?

TRUMP: I think so, yes, I do.

STAHL: But you seem to be saying that she lied.

TRUMP: You know what? I'm not going to get into it, because we won. It doesn't matter.

STAHL: Well --

TRUMP: We won.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Senators on both sides of the aisle roundly criticized the President for HANKS: performance for mocking Dr. Ford at that rally.

BRIGGS: Hillary Clinton's speaking out rejecting critics who claim her husband should have resigned the presidency during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. In an interview with CBS, the former Secretary of State insisted she played no role in criticizing the character of her husband's accusers and says she takes full responsibility for her actions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In retrospect, do you think Bill should have resigned in the wake of the Monica Lewinsky scandal?

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Absolutely not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It wasn't an abuse of power?

CLINTON: No. No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are people who look at the incidents of the '90s and they say a President of the United States cannot have a consensual relationship with an intern. The power imbalance is --

CLINTON: She was an adult. But let me ask you this, where's the investigation of the current incumbent against whom numerous allegations have been made and which he dismisses, denies and ridicules.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Clinton went on to say the way Donald Trump debated her in 2016 was quote, imbued with sexism.

ROMANS: All right, SEARS, the iconic retail chain that changed how Americans shopped and live is bankrupt. At midnight the 132-year-old company filed for bankruptcy. SEARS had been struggling for years losing nearly $12 billion since 2010, since then sales have plunged 60 percent. It has shut more than 2,600 stores and the final straw, a $134 million debt payment due today. It could not pay it. SEARS is one of many prominent retailers to declare bankruptcy thanks to the rise of online shopping and big box stores, but SEARS also failed to invest and modernize. Now it is going to stay in business keeping profitable stores and its website open, but SEARS will close nearly 200 stores this year. Eddie Lampert, chairman of SEARS holdings will give up his title of CEO. He said the bankruptcy process will allow SEARS to become profitable, but many retailers have gone out of business after filing bankruptcy like Toys "r" us, Radio shack and Sports authority.

BRIGGS: Breaking news out of London. The announcement from Kensington Palace coming a short time ago. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are expecting a baby. The newest royal bundle of joy expected to arrive next spring. Joining us from live London, CNN's max Foster with more on the happy news. Max, good morning. Didn't take long.

MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, it didn't. And neither of them have, you know, held back on their -- you know, their will to have a baby. So this is no great shock. They just arrived though in Australia at the beginning of a royal tour. That is a pretty arduous tour, more than 70 engagements across four countries and also part of that tour is going to Fiji and other islands in the Pacific. There is a moderate risk of Zika there, but we are told they are not going to stop going to these countries as a result of that risk to the pregnancy potentially, but they're both thrilled by the news.

The only statement we have from them is they have appreciated all the support they have received from people around the world since their wedding in May and they're delighted to be able to share this happy news with the public. Lots of speculation on Friday when Harry's cousin Eugenie got married. The duchess is wearing an outfit which many people suggested hid a baby bump. We can be sure Dave that over the next few weeks as the couple tour Australia and New Zealand all photographs will be analyzing that baby bump. Looking for that first sign of the baby bump. I was there when the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge traveled to Australia. It is the same sort of situation constantly looking for the baby bump after someone got married in the royal family. A lot of pressure.

BRIGGS: Yes, Max, the hunt is on for that first photo. Max Foster live for us in London this morning, thank you, sir. Did you see the bump in the coat there? No.

ROMANS: First --

BRIGGS: The eye roll.

ROMANS: The second and the third baby -- no. They just arrived in Australia. She was in a jacket carrying a binder. So you couldn't really see very much.

[04:45:03] BRIGGS: All right. Ahead, President Trump set to tour hurricane ravaged Florida just hours from now. More on the damage and the still missing ahead.

ROMANS: And a U.S. Senator grabs a student's cell phone. The confrontation caught on video.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: President Trump and First Lady, Melania Trump head to Florida this morning for a firsthand look at the devastation left by hurricane Michael. The White House is not revealing which locations they will visit, but in hard hit Mexico beach, in grim announcements from local police, dozens of people who decided to ride out the storm are still unaccounted for. Martin Savidge in Mexico beach for us.

(BEGIN VIDEO) MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Dave. Good morning,

Christine. President Trump is expected in some fashion to visit Mexico beach here and whether he actually just flies over it or touching down on the ground, he is going to like many people be impacted by what he sees. There is just no way that television do's justice to the amount of destruction that you will find here.

[04:50:11] The words you can't find them. And the video doesn't seem enough of it to give you the full scope and scale of it, but even as the President visits and even as of course he promises more resources to be brought to bear, the biggest thing that they're worried about in this community is finding those who are unaccounted for. They know that there were about 300 people that rode out this storm or at least said they were going to. And the problem is trying to account for those people in the aftermath with so much devastation.

Communications have been a problem, although the cell service is back. And there's also been the problem that they had the addresses of where people were, but when they went to find their homes after the storm in some cases those homes were completely gone. Now, a lot of those people had been accounted for in some way. They have self-reported or they have been seen by witnesses alive and well afterwards, but the problem is there is a number of people who haven't been found. And the longer time goes on and there's no word from them, well, the greater the concern goes that they are still here somewhere.

So search and recovery teams from across the state and beyond have been pouring through the buildings and they have search just about all of it. Now they're left with the debris and there's so much of that to be sifted through. It could still be several more days before they can make a full accounting. Until then, they're encouraging residents to stay away. This community cannot support the people that used to live here. There's no power. There's no sewer and there is no running power. And we had already pointed out, communications pretty spotty.

Then there is risk of fire. There's so much timber on the ground here. You could have another disaster on top of the one you already have. Dave and Christine?

(END VIDEO)

BRIGGS: Just brutal. Martin Savidge, thank you.

In California, strong winds forcing pacific gas and electric to shut down power to more than 42,000 customers in extreme fire risk area. Late Sunday, PG and E said it was pro pro-actively shutting off the power to customers in Lake Napa and Sonoma counties. Earlier in the day, the utility said 70,000 customers in the Sierra foothills could also be affected. The move is part of a strategy by utilities across the state to reduce the risk of wildfires sparked by utility lines that break during extreme winds.

ROMANS: All right. Coming up like a real-life "Winnie The Pooh," how wildlife workers helped a bear stuck in a bucket.

[04:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRIGGS: Georgia Senator David Perdue grabbing a Georgia tech student's phone over the weekend while the student tried to ask him a question about the voter suppression controversy now engulfing the state. A produce spokesman said the Senator thought he was being asked to take a selfie with the student. You judge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) a

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, so how can you endorse a candidate --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not doing that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You stole my property. Give me my phone back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want a picture --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give me my phone back, Senator. Give me my phone back.

That is U.S. Senator David Perdue. He just snatched my phone because he won't answer a question.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Perdue is at Georgia tech campaigning for the Republican candidate for Governor, Brian Kemp and his current job as Secretary of State, Kemp has put 53,000 voter applications on hold most from African-Americans, because they don't match the applicant's government I.D. exactly.

A bear cub in Maryland is back in the woods after getting its head stuck in a bucket. Wildlife workers tracked the animal for three days and then safely tranquilized it, removed the bucket with help from police. Official says the 100 pound cub looked fine as it returned home with two other bears, a happy ending for bucket head, as Facebook has called.

ROMANS: OK. Let's get a check on CNN's Money -- CNN Business this morning rather, global stocks and the U.S. futures lower today. Last week a brutal one, for Wall Street speaking of bears. U.S. Stocks rebounded on Friday, but it was still their worst week since March. The Dow and S&P 500 lost 4 percent for the week. The NASDAQ down 3.7 percent and investors are concerned about a couple of things here. The U.S./China trade war, slowing growth and rising interest rates.

The economy is strong, so the Federal Reserve is raising the interest rates to keep it in check, but higher raise makes borrowing more expensive which eats into company profits. Big company profits can boost stocks though this week. We are watching earnings season is kicking off in earnest here. Investors hope for another quarter of double digit earnings growth.

And in recent years the biggest profits have come from tech and financial companies. Some big financial companies report this week. We'll hear from Bank of America, American express, Goldman Sachs. The first report under its new CEO for Goldman. As for tech, there is IBM, eBay and Netflix. Investors believe Netflix will keep increasing its revenue on global growth. Netflix stock, Dave is up 76 percent this year.

Hackers accessed the info of millions of users in Facebook's largest breach ever. Now we know what they saw. Facebook leaked 30 million users' phone numbers and e-mail addresses, but it exposed even more details of 14 million of those users including where they live, their relationship status, their religion and their search history. Facebook says the FBI is actively investigating the breach. This is just the latest data privacy scandal for Facebook. In March it revealed it exposed 80 million users to a third Party hack. Do you think consumers have fatigue or do you think they're angry?

They had fatigue.

BRIGGS: Fatigue, it is unfortunate. Early Start continues right now. The latest in the disappearance of a Saudi journalist.