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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Saudis Set To Admit To Khashoggi's Death; Microsoft Co-Founder Paul Allen Dies; President Trump Visits Hurricane Victims In Florida and Georgia; Drug Makers May Have To Put Prices In Ads. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired October 16, 2018 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:31:05] DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: The Secretary of State is in Riyadh meeting this hour with the Saudi king and crown prince. The Saudis preparing to admit a journalist was killed during an interrogation gone wrong.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: She owes the country an apology.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump and Elizabeth Warren sparring after a DNA test shows the senator's distant Native American ties.
BRIGGS: Residents will have to wait another day before going back to the hardest hit part of the Florida Panhandle after Hurricane Michael.
ROMANS: And is a beer shortage enough to make you care about climate change? A disturbing new study there.
BRIGGS: It is.
ROMANS: Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: Hi, there. I'm Dave Briggs. It is Tuesday.
It's three weeks to the midterm elections but two weeks ago today --
ROMANS: That's right.
BRIGGS: -- was the last time Jamal Khashoggi was seen entering that consulate in Turkey.
Right now, though, the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meeting in Riyadh with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (or MBS) after meeting with this father, King Salman. The meetings, to discuss the presumed death of "Washington Post" journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Overnight, Turkish investigators left the Saudi consulate in Istanbul after spending about nine hours searching the building.
ROMANS: Now, two sources tell CNN the Saudis are preparing a report expected to acknowledge his death and call it the result of an unsanctioned interrogation gone awry.
Senior international correspondent Sam Kiley is standing by live for us in Riyadh.
And, Sam -- I mean, the early word was he left the embassy. And then we heard no, we know nothing about what happened to him. And now, word that they are preparing to admit something went wrong and he is dead.
What do we know?
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christine, let's give this a little bit of a health warning in that our own sources are saying that this is a statement that could change and not least, perhaps, following the meeting with Mr. Pompeo.
But since the weekend, we've been hearing that they are trying to fashion a form of narrative that does accept a degree of culpability for what did happen or should -- may have happened to Mr. Khashoggi inside that consulate.
So the version being, that we've heard that's been worked on, is that a -- possibly in the words of Donald Trump, a rogue killer group. A rogue -- an unauthorized, unsanctioned -- at least from the highest level -- group of officers were supposed to capture Mr. Khashoggi and bring him home here to Saudi Arabia to face the music.
He, of course, being an increasingly vocal critic in "The Washington Post," as a columnist, of the government here and that something went wrong, but that this was all carried without the knowledge of either the king or the crown prince. That's the version that we've heard about but it may change.
Nonetheless, I think that what is intriguing about this is that it does distance both the king and the crown prince, who is a real power in the land or had been until recently, from these events, firstly.
And secondly, it's the intervention of King Salman himself. He's largely been almost in semi-retirement, presiding over things but letting his son run things very much more on a day-to-day basis. So his intervention really to change this narrative through about 180 degrees, Christine.
ROMANS: Certainly, an international crisis, right? An international crisis is what's happening here.
Listen, Sam, we've learned -- CNN has learned that king of Saudi Arabia was considering delaying that Saudi investment conference until after the investigation. We've been reporting on the groups and the executives who have dropped out.
The Treasury secretary is still officially planning to go -- Steven Mnuchin. We are told there were some terror financing meetings along the sidelines of this -- of this event. He's under a great deal of pressure to drop out and the Saudis are under a great deal of pressure to postpone this whole thing.
KILEY: Yes, I think -- I mean, the Saudis, I think, are looking at postponing it but there is an element of loss of face that would go with that.
[05:35:06] Equally, from the American perspective, they haven't decided. They have until Friday to decide whether or not to come because Saudi Arabia -- whatever went on inside that consulate -- will remain, especially for the Trump administration, a vital ally and conduit for investment in both directions.
And not only that's the world's biggest producer of oil. If they put the -- if they squeeze the tax down, oil price goes up --
ROMANS: Yes.
KILEY: -- and people's economies shrink. So this is not a nation that can be pushed around.
ROMANS: All right, Sam Kiley for us in Riyadh. Thank you, sir.
BRIGGS: So, the White House is still plotting its next move in response to Khashoggi's apparent murder. President Trump telling reporters he spoke to Saudi King Salman for 40 minutes on Monday and seems to be accepting his denials.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The king firmly denied any knowledge of it. He didn't really know. Maybe -- I don't want to get into his mind but it sounded to me like maybe it could have been rogue killers. Who knows?
All I can do is report what he told me and he told me in a very firm way that they had no knowledge of it. He said it very strongly and it sounded like he, and also the crown prince, had no knowledge.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: After that rogue killers theory, Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy accused the president of being the "P.R. agent of the Saudis."
Let's talk about this with Princeton University historian and professor Julian Zelizer, a CNN political analyst. Good to see you, sir.
ROMANS: Good morning.
JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, HISTORIAN AND PROFESSOR, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY, AUTHOR, "THE FIERCE URGENCY OF NOW": Good morning.
BRIGGS: OK, so let's talk about what can be done. Marco Rubio said Congress will act. Lindsey Graham says there will be hell to pay if the Saudis, indeed, did this. But it appears the president just wants to sweep it under the table and move on.
What do you expect to be done if, in fact, this is true?
ZELIZER: I don't expect much. There's obviously a lot of international and domestic pressure to do something but the president doesn't seem interested in severing this alliance.
And the reality is the alliance of Saudi Arabia has been quite critical --
ROMANS: Yes.
ZELIZER: -- for the administration's Middle East policy, and it was before President Trump was in office. So it's going to take a lot to sever that, even though this is a horrific act.
ROMANS: And it sounds as -- we listened to that sound bite from the president talking about the rogue killers. It's almost as if the trial balloon of the -- of the new version of events from the Saudi Arabian government came right to the president.
BRIGGS: Yes.
ROMANS: That he was the one who put the leak in the trial balloon.
ZELIZER: Well, it's a little -- it's a little like the Helsinki moment for President Trump where he reiterates the points of people -- leaders who are being accused of doing wrong.
And he will do that pretty loosely. It's a remarkable part of this presidency. But he does it consistently and it's a way to deflect criticism and political pressure that's building to do something about bad things.
BRIGGS: Of course, we've long had a complicated relationship --
ZELIZER: Yes.
BRIGGS: -- with the Saudis, whether it's Reagan or whether it's post- 9/11. Fifteen of --
ZELIZER: Yes.
BRIGGS: -- the 19 hijackers came from there.
But this appears different. It's so gruesome, it's so in-your-face.
And if, in fact, we do nothing, what's the message to fellow thin- skinned rulers around the world, to autocratic leaders, and dictators?
ZELIZER: The message is clear. Do what you want and we will not do anything.
Human rights --
BRIGGS: If you give us money.
ZELIZER: Right. Human rights is a secondary concern for the United States, not just this administration.
That's the message it sends. It's very clear. That's how we get to this point.
ROMANS: All right.
We're now, what, three weeks to the midterms -- two weeks to the midterms? Three weeks to the midterms.
BRIGGS: Three weeks from today.
ROMANS: Oh, who's counting?
Three weeks from today and we are talking about Elizabeth Warren's Native American ancestry again.
BRIGGS: Yes.
ROMANS: Listen to what the president said yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: What about the money that you --
TRUMP: No, I don't, absolutely. Do I owe her? She owes the country an apology.
What's her percentage -- 1/1,000th?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: What that reporter asked was do you owe her an apology for all the cracks about Pocahontas. What about the money?
He had said if she's -- if she can prove that she's a Native American --
BRIGGS: If she takes a DNA test he'll give $1 million to charity.
ROMANS: -- I'll give her -- give to charity. And he said no, no, no, that's not -- that's not what I said.
Are the Democrats in trouble here talking about this two-three weeks before the midterms?
ZELIZER: They sure are. This shows if you underestimate the ability of President Trump to shape the debate you are making a big mistake.
Here's one of the smartest senators -- accomplished senators -- starting her campaign, potentially, about a DNA test and about a question President Trump has raised more than anyone else. And this is a message for all Democrats. They need to be able to
frame the debate. They need to be able to talk about the issues they care about. Otherwise, they're going to be in Trumpworld over and over again.
BRIGGS: Don't get down in the mud is perhaps the message.
But then, Hillary Clinton is out there this week saying it was not an abuse of power -- what her president did -- or her husband did with Monica Lewinsky.
[05:40:00] Is she, too, hurting the message when you've got female voters rushing to left and female candidates running for office?
ZELIZER: Well, that certainly was not helpful. That was not a message when suburban-educated female voters are probably going to be decisive in the races for the House.
ROMANS: I --
ZELIZER: They will win or lose the swing districts, so --
ROMANS: What's the strategy of having Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Warren in the headlines this close to the midterms with these other races? I just -- I just don't know.
BRIGGS: I don't know if that is strategy.
ROMANS: Right or maybe lack of strategy.
BRIGGS: Julian Zelizer, thank you, sir.
ZELIZER: Thank you.
BRIGGS: Appreciate it.
ROMANS: Nice to see you. All right.
Secretary of Defense James Mattis making it clear overnight he has never talked with President Trump about leaving the administration.
It comes after a bruising "60 MINUTES" interview where the president said Mattis was "sort of a Democrat" and claimed he knew more about NATO. The president knows more about NATO than the Defense secretary who was once a top NATO commander.
But on a plane to Vietnam overnight, Mattis said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES MATTIS, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: I'm on his team. We have never talked about me leaving. And as you can see right here, we're on our way. We just continue doing our job.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BRIGGS: Mattis later told reporters he and the president spoke, each saying they're 100 percent with the other. CNN reported in June on differences between Mr. Trump and Mattis that were leading to friction in the Pentagon.
ROMANS: Tributes are pouring in this morning for Paul Allen, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft. The investor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist died Monday at 65 from complications from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Allen launched Microsoft with Bill Gates in 1975, a few years after the two met at a Seattle private school. Allen left the company in 1982 after he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease.
Gates remembering Allen as a true partner and dear friend. "Personal computing would not have existed without him."
BRIGGS: Allen remained on the Microsoft board as he launched his own foundation and investment firm, and also bought two sports teams -- the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers and the NFL's Seattle Seahawks.
Quarterback Russell Wilson honored his boss in a tweet.
"We have lost a friend and a giant. Mr. Allen, thank you for your extraordinary vision, your abundant generosity, and for believing in all of us. By your example, you made us all better."
He did. He changed all of our lives and he really was a legend in the sports world. Three Super Bowls, two NBA finals, also a part owner of the Seattle soccer franchise, the Timbers.
ROMANS: To think of these two guys having this idea that everybody at work would have a personal computer on their desk, unheard of.
BRIGGS: Right.
ROMANS: And that you would have one at home -- you know, unheard of and that was the future.
BRIGGS: Up there with Steve Jobs --
ROMANS: Yes, I'd say so.
BRIGGS: -- in how they changed our lives.
ROMANS: Forty-two minutes past the hour.
Drug makers may have to disclose prices in T.V. ads. Will this help keep costs under control?
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[05:46:58] ROMANS: President Trump and the first lady see firsthand the devastation left by Hurricane Michael. They handed out water to storm victims of the Florida Panhandle, visited a Red Cross center, and met with hard-hit farmers in Georgia. The president praising the storm response and seemingly in awe of Michael's power.
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TRUMP: To see this personally, it's very tough. It's very, very tough. Total devastation.
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BRIGGS: The death toll from Hurricane Michael now stands at 19 in four states. A body was found Monday in Mexico Beach. The number of people missing dropped from more than 30 to just three. Crews are finishing their third and final sweep of the area using cadaver dogs.
ROMANS: Mexico Beach residents will be allowed to return tomorrow. Now, they can't stay there and there's an 8:00 p.m. curfew in place until further notice.
More than 230,000 customers in Florida still without power in stifling heat. And schools are closed in Washington, Liberty, Jackson, Gulf, Gadsden, Franklin, Calhoun, and Bay counties.
BRIGGS: While much of Mexico Beach was obliterated by Hurricane Michael, one structure is still standing high about the debris. Take a look at the Sand Palace, a 3-story, 4-bedroom vacation rental on stilts. Its roof, windows, and doors are largely intact after the storm although the home will need some repairs.
"The New York Times" reports the Sand Palace was built to handle the big one, able to withstand 250 mile an hour winds.
The co-owners of the home will be on "NEW DAY" later this morning.
ROMANS: All right, let's get a check on "CNN Business" this morning.
Drug makers may soon have to disclose prices in T.V. ads and the industry is pushing back. The Trump administration announcing a new federal rule forcing drug makers to list the price of any drug covered by Medicare or Medicaid.
Health and Human Services Sec. Alex Azar blasted the drug industry while unveiling the plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEX AZAR, SECRETARY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: Patients deserve to know what a given drug could cost when they're being told about the benefits and risks it may have. They deserve to know if the drug company has pushed their prices to abusive levels. And they deserve to know this every single time they see a drug advertised to them on T.V.
But placing information on a Web site is not the same as putting it right in an ad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Hours before the secretary's speech, the industry preempted this and said it would voluntarily include price info in ads. But instead of listing prices they will direct consumers to Web sites.
Drug makers say the list prices mislead consumers. They don't take into account rebates and insurance payments. But, Azar says list prices are meaningful and they can be an incentive for drug companies to drive down prices.
This is the boldest move yet by the administration to curb rampant drug spending. Prescription drugs are on track to cost six percent more over the next 10 years. Lawmakers from both parties pushing for price transparency from drug makers.
Global stocks mixed today after U.S. stocks fell again. Wall Street failed to bounce back Monday from last week's rout -- last week when all three indices lost about four percent.
Investors still worried about higher interest rates.
[05:50:00] Even earnings season couldn't give stocks a boost. The season kicks off this week as investors hope for another quarter of double-digit profit growth.
Today, we expect to hear from United Airlines, Johnson & Johnson, and big names in finance and tech, including Netflix. Investors believe Netflix will still have very strong revenue and global growth. The stock up 73 percent this year.
Google may still launch a censored version of its search engine in China. That's what the CEO Sundar Pichai said Monday. He says plans are still in the early stages but he felt it was something important to explore.
This is controversial. It's a controversial and secret project first revealed during a Senate hearing last month. More than 1,000 Google employees signed a letter asking for more transparency about this secret China project.
The prospect of Google in China has fueled criticism from human rights groups.
China is a huge market and other companies have bowed to Chinese government pressure to operate there. For example, U.S. airlines no longer show or list Taiwan as a separate country.
Caving quickly, I will say, to the demands of the Chinese government.
BRIGGS: All right. Imagine this happening to your airplane.
(Drone flying into airplane wing).
A new concern about drones after tests show the bigger aircraft may not always win.
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[05:55:46] ROMANS: The archbishop of Washington releasing the names of 31 clergy members credibly accused of abusing minors dating back 70 years. None of them are in active ministry. Eighteen of them have been previously arrested.
The list includes three priests who served in temporary roles in archdiocese parishes or schools.
The release of the names comes four days after Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl for his handling of clerical sex abuse.
BRIGGS: This year, more than half of states facing a polio-like illness that paralyzes children. Fifteen states told CNN they had confirmed cases of AFM in 2018.
Colorado had the most confirmed cases, 14. Seventeen states said they had cases that were suspected or being investigated.
AFM symptoms can include sudden limb weakness, facial drooping, difficulty swallowing or slurred speech.
ROMANS: All right.
Three African-American Mrs. America contestants say the pageant's white CEO and president David Marmel insulted them in a conversation where he used the "n" word and invoked racist stereotypes. They say it happened in August at the Mrs. America competition in Las Vegas.
A white contestant who says she overheard the conversation also spoke at a news conference Monday on the matter.
The contestants say they have no plans to sue, they just want an apology and assurances no one else will face the same treatment.
David Marmel tells CNN he was blindsided by these accusations. He called them, quote, "untruthful, self-serving nonsense bordering on reverse discrimination."
BRIGGS: New impact tests prove large aircraft won't always win a collision with small drones. A test designed to make a midair collision at 238 miles per hour shows that bigger may not always be better. In that test, the drone did not shatter on impact but tore open an M20's aircraft wing.
A lead researcher says as the number of hobby drones in the air dramatically increases so, too, does the risk of a catastrophic event.
ROMANS: If science and the possible end of civilization don't get you interested in climate change maybe beer will catch your attention.
A new study published in the journal "Nature Plants" finds climate change will cause a global beer shortage. That's because its main ingredient, barley, is sensitive to extreme drought and heat which would lead to substantial decreases in barley crop yields. The study finds the price of beer would double on average.
BRIGGS: It's being compared to a garbage truck for the ocean -- a 2,000-foot-long floating pipe nicknamed "Wilson" that is set to start scooping up plastic debris in the middle of the Pacific.
The Ocean Cleanup foundation says the pipe will float around, carrying a 10-foot-deep skirt below the water, trapping tons of floating plastic. Wilson will transmit its position and status via satellite.
The foundation plans to deploy 60 floaters like Wilson in the next decade.
ROMANS: All right, time for an office pool, everybody. Tonight's Mega Millions drawing is $654 million. If you choose the lump sum, $372 million. This is now the second-largest in the game's history.
BRIGGS: And by the drawing tonight it could eclipse the record of $656 million set in 2012.
There's another $354 million up for grabs in the Powerball drawing tomorrow night, so more than a billion bucks up for grabs.
ROMANS: I'll put three or five (ph) bucks in.
BRIGGS: That is a first. Breaking news, I'm in.
ROMANS: Thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: And, I'm Dave Briggs. "NEW DAY" starts right now. See you tomorrow.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: And maybe these could have been rogue killers. Who knows?
SEN. BEN SASSE (R), NEBRASKA: I don't think rogue actors is a good enough explanation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They intend to concede Khashoggi was killed during an interrogation gone wrong.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't get the benefit of the doubt when you take two weeks to develop your cover story.
TRUMP: I've got more Indian blood in me than Pocahontas, and I have none.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The problem with the DNA test is that it proves nothing of relevance.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's put to rest his nickname for her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman. JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Welcome to our viewers in the
United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It's Tuesday, October 16th, 6:00 here in New York.
And we do begin with breaking news.
Just moments ago, the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Saudi Arabia's king amid international outrage, intrigue, and now, obfuscation. Sources now tell CNN the Saudi regime is prepared to admit that "Washington Post" journal Jamal Khashoggi was --
