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Northern California Wildfire Now Deadliest In State History; Lawsuits Mount In Florida Recount Fight; Roger Stone Associate Predicts Mueller Indictment; Audio Thought To Link Saudi Arabia Crown Prince to Jamal Khashoggi Murder. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired November 13, 2018 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:30:00]
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: "The Washington Post" reporting Homeland Security Sec. Kirstjen Nielsen could be fired as soon as this week. Why President Trump wants her out.
BRIGGS: And the Dow dropping more than 600 points. President Trump blaming Democrats for the drop. We'll break down what's really behind it.
Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Dave Briggs.
ROMANS: Good morning, everyone. I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: Morning.
ROMANS: It's 30 minutes past the hour this Tuesday morning.
And the death toll rising in California. Forty-four people now killed in wildfires statewide.
In Northern California, 42 people have died in the Camp Fire making it the deadliest wildfire in state history. More than 7,000 buildings destroyed. Fire officials say the Camp Fire has burned 117,000 acres. They estimate it's about 30 percent contained.
BRIGGS: In Southern California, 57,000 structures threatened by the Woolsey Fire, which has grown to more than 93,000 acres. Also, 30 percent contained and has killed two people.
CNN's Nick Watt has more from Malibu, which has been devastated by the Woolsey Fire.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Dave and Christine, the death toll at the Camp Fire -- the Circle Camp Fire in Northern California has risen to 42. Thirteen more bodies were found on Monday.
Now, 10 of the bodies that were found on Monday were found in the little town of Paradise, once home to 26,000 people, almost completely blown -- burnt off the map by that fire. And sadly, the death toll up there could rise even further. The sheriff has called for more search and rescue teams to come in Tuesday along with cadaver dogs to try to find more of the missing.
The last we heard there were 100 people still missing but that doesn't mean they're all dead. A lot of people go missing during wildfires because cell service drops. So we are waiting, hoping that figure doesn't rise but fearing the worst.
Now, the winds up there in Northern California have died down a little bit. Down where we are in Malibu in Southern California, the so- called Woolsey Fire, the winds here are still whipping and they will continue those Santa Ana winds through Tuesday, perhaps into Wednesday in places. On Friday, they're going to change direction and bring some much-needed humidity in from the ocean.
Dave and Christine, back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRIGGS: Just awful. Nick Watt, thank you.
Opposite coast now. The lawsuits are mounting and the accusations are flying in Florida's chaotic election recount. Officials now scrambling to get every vote counted by Thursday's deadline as the race for Senate gets uglier by the hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RICK SCOTT (R), FLORIDA SENATE NOMINEE: What Bill Nelson needs to do now is what he would be asking me to do if I had -- if I had lost the election -- is say look, you know, the election happened. Let's go forward.
But he's not. He's just a pure sore loser trying to steal an election.
SEN. BILL NELSON (D), FLORIDA: Rick Scott isn't interested in making sure every lawful vote is counted. And the second is that he's using his power as governor to try to undermine the voting process.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: And we should note Florida law requires a recount if there is less than a half-point percentage between their vote totals.
A Florida judge, though, warning both sides to ramp down the rhetoric.
Republicans, including Scott and President Trump, still alleging fraud in the election process without offering evidence and despite repeated denials from the Florida Department of State, as well as law enforcement officials there.
The president actually suggesting in a tweet that "An honest vote is no longer possible. Ballots massively infected. Must go with election night."
ROMANS: In the Florida governor's race, Democrat Andrew Gillum continues to call for every vote to be counted. His rival, Republican Rick DeSantis, staying under the radar.
Ryan Nobles with more from Tallahassee.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Dave and Christine, here on Leon County which is where Tallahassee, the state capital, resides, they expect to have all of their counting wrapped up on Tuesday.
Now, each one of Florida's 67 counties operates just a little bit different but most counties are confident that by Thursday at 3:00 p.m. they'll have all 8 1/2 million ballots recounted, at least in that U.S. Senate race.
And that U.S. Senate race is the one getting the most attention. That's because the margin between Rick Scott and Bill Nelson is tight -- 12,500 votes roughly separates the two. And that's why there's so many people focused on it. Democrats believe that they've got the chance to flip this race from one hand to another.
Now, while there is a lot of focus on the vote counting, there's also another battle that is playing out in the courtroom. Lawsuits being filed by both sides over the past couple of days, including a lawsuit filed on Monday by the League of Women Voters. It's a lawsuit that's going to attempt to compel Rick Scott, in his capacity as governor, to step away from the recount process -- recuse himself.
And, Scott has been very aggressive on that front. He has actually instructed the Attorney General Pam Bondi to get involved. He's also asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate any potential claims of fraud or criminal activity of which the Florida Department of Law Enforcement has said they have not found any as of yet.
[05:35:09] The next big thing we're waiting for, though, is Wednesday. That's when a significant court hearing takes place. The Democrat, Bill Nelson, filing a lawsuit to get clarification on how to handle the adjudication of some provisional and mail-in ballots. That has the potential to impact as many as 20,000 votes so that will be an important court hearing that we'll be waiting for on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the vote continues as we wait to finally figure out who the next U.S. senator and governor is from Florida -- Dave and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRIGGS: And the wait continues. Ryan, thanks.
Six days after the midterm election, a big win for Democrats as Congresswoman Kirstjen Nielsen (sic) defeating Martha McSally in the Arizona Senate race.
Sinema will be the state's first female senator, flipping a seat that had been in GOP hands for more than two decades, previously held by Jeff Flake. She also becomes the first openly bisexual member of the U.S. Senate, period. McSally conceded the race Monday night, congratulating Sinema in a video message on Twitter, not claiming voter fraud.
The victory means, among the races that have been settled, the Senate will have 51 Republicans and 47 Democrats in the new Congress.
President Trump reportedly ready to fire Homeland Security Sec. Kirstjen Nielsen. "The Washington Post," quoting current and former White House officials, says her departure is expected in the coming weeks, perhaps as soon as this week.
And the president canceled a planned trip with Nielsen this week to visit troops at the border in Texas and is said to have told White House aides over the weekend that he wants her out as soon as possible.
The "Post" reporting the president has grumbled for months about what he views as Nielsen's lackluster performance on immigration enforcement.
ROMANS: All right. Let's bring in political economist Greg Valliere, chief strategist at Horizon Investments. Greg, so good to see you this morning.
I think we can throw up a live picture of Broward County where they are still counting votes.
GREG VALLIERE, POLITICAL ECONOMIST, CHIEF GLOBAL STRATEGIST, HORIZON INVESTMENTS: Right.
ROMANS: This is ongoing, 24/7.
BRIGGS: What a mess.
ROMANS: I don't know why this is Washington -- there you go. There we go. There in Florida.
BRIGGS: That's compelling television right there, my friend.
ROMANS: I just -- you know, that is your government at work.
Hey, does this matter? I mean, this fight we have -- we have going down there in Florida and the president's insistence that there's something mischievous happening.
VALLIERE: I don't think there is.
First of all, it's hard to believe it's been 18 years since Bush versus Gore, which Gore lost by 537 votes.
This is a big -- much bigger margin. I think the odds favor the Republicans winning both of those races. So probably, within a week or two, we'll have a Senate that's 53-47 Republican.
BRIGGS: It is a bit of a mess down there. Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida, calling on Brenda Snipes, who is the Broward County supervisor of elections -- says she should be removed from office following the recount. Certainly, a lot of human error going on down there.
But it's interesting with Rick Scott, in particular. I always make sports analogies here because we've often seen sore losers, but I have never seen a sore winner because it looks like Scott is going to win regardless. You're talking about around 13,000 votes which are likely not going to be found there.
VALLIERE: Yes.
BRIGGS: What's the impact of calling fraud when someone wins an election?
VALLIERE: Well, it will probably be forgotten.
And I would point out Dave there's another sore winner that I can recall in the last couple of years and that's Donald J. Trump, who won the election and then complained about voter fraud.
BRIGGS: Fair, yes.
VALLIERE: That was the most bizarre claim -- he won.
ROMANS: Yes.
BRIGGS: Yes.
ROMANS: The president also --
BRIGGS: Yes.
ROMANS: Look, on the subject of the stock market, the president's also out there saying that --
VALLIERE: Yes.
ROMANS: -- it's the Democrats' fault the stock market is falling. It's the impending control of the House that is what has rattled investors. Actually, since the midterms, the stock market up on balances --
VALLIERE: Yes.
ROMANS: -- since the midterms.
What do you make of that, this president sort of inoculating himself against volatility in the stock market by blaming other people?
VALLIERE: Well, first of all, the tech stocks got really frothy during the summer. I think a sell-off was to be expected.
Secondly, I would have to point out that two of the big market concerns in Washington are Trump's bashing of the Federal Reserve and Trump's trade war with China.
ROMANS: Yes.
VALLIERE: China and -- China and the Fed are two big concerns of the markets.
Now, if investigations go on and on and on and there's talk about impeachment, that's probably not a good story for the markets if the country has to go through a trial in the spring. I don't think it's going to happen. But a lot of Trump's policies, right now, are not pleasing the markets all that much.
ROMANS: Yes, and we know this morning in "The Wall Street Journal" reporting at least they're talking. The Treasury Department and the Chinese --
BRIGGS: Yes.
ROMANS: -- counterparts are talking about trade and lowering the temperature on trade heading into the Buenos Aires G20.
But then, also, you've got the "Bloomberg" reporting that Trump's going to meet with his trade team today to talk about tariffs. And, you know, Peter Navarro and the president really --
VALLIERE: Yes.
ROMANS: -- think that auto tariffs are a good idea.
VALLIERE: Well, one would think, Christine, that Trump views the stock market as an arbiter of his success or failure. With the stock market being pretty beat up right now, I have a hunch that a big new 25 percent tariff on autos is not likely -- it's not imminent.
[05:40:12] The bigger story -- you're absolutely right by these reports overnight that U.S. and Chinese negotiators are resuming their talks. That's quite encouraging.
BRIGGS: You think there will be a deal ahead of that -- around the G20?
VALLIERE: No. I think the details, Dave, are too complicated to get a deal done quickly.
ROMANS: Yes.
VALLIERE: It's probably months away.
However, if Trump and Xi can rekindle their relationship, if we get an agreement in principle, we might get a deal by spring or summer. That's a very positive story.
And it may be that the markets will see a glimmer of hope and that could be a life preserver today for a market that's been pretty weak.
ROMANS: All right. Greg Valliere, nice to see you this morning from Washington.
VALLIERE: All right.
ROMANS: Thank you, sir.
VALLIERE: You bet.
BRIGGS: Thank you, sir.
All right.
Special counsel Robert Mueller apparently inching closer to former Trump adviser Roger Stone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEROME CORSI, FRIEND OF TRUMP ADVISER ROGER STONE: I fully anticipate that in the next few days I will be indicted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Why one of Stone's associates says he's in real trouble.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:45:25] BRIGGS: New indications that Robert Mueller's Russia investigation is gathering momentum. At least eight of the special counsel's attorneys were spotted working yesterday on Veterans Day, a federal holiday.
And the president -- his former personal attorney Michael Cohen spotted with his lawyer in Washington. No comment though on what they were doing there.
Also, Roger Stone associate Jerome Corsi said Monday he expects to be indicted by Mueller for giving false information to the special counsel or a grand jury.
More now from Jessica Schneider.
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Dave, could the special counsel be inching closer to former Trump associate Roger Stone?
Well, it seems so given the statement Monday from Stone's former associate Jerome Corsi that Corsi is expecting to be indicted. He made that prediction on his own YouTube streaming show, saying that he fully anticipates to be charged in the next few days for giving false information to Robert Mueller's team or to the grand jury.
Now, Corsi gave no indication about what he may have said that was false, but Corsi has spoken extensively to the special counsel in the past few months and he's likely been telling the team about his relationship with WikiLeaks and Roger Stone.
As you'll remember, it was back during the 2016 campaign when Roger Stone bragged about having those backchannel communications with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. And Stone, during the campaign, even seemed to predict when WikiLeaks might release damaging e-mails to Hillary Clinton.
And, of course, if Stone had some connection to WikiLeaks and then gave that information to the Trump campaign, that could potentially prove to be the link to back up those claims of collusion with the Russians since the Russian government is said to be behind the hacks of those e-mails.
Now, Roger Stone, meanwhile, issued a lengthy statement once again denying that he knew about the theft of e-mails or had any connection to WikiLeaks. But the plot may thicken if there is any sort of indictment to this associate of Roger Stone -- Christine and Dave.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right, Jessica Schneider. Thank you.
Let's get a check on "CNN Business" this Tuesday morning.
Global stock markets bouncing back from that Wall Street sell-off. The Nikkei is down two percent, but Shanghai and Hong Kong closed higher. And, European markets opened up.
On Wall Street, futures are up right now. "The Wall Street Journal," this morning, reporting the Treasury Department and the Chinese are at least talking about how to get to a deal to ease trade tensions.
The damage report Monday -- there it is. The Dow fell 2.3 percent, more than 600 points. The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq also down sharply. The Nasdaq really getting hit there.
And, Apple leading the tech sell-off, down five percent. One of its suppliers cut its earnings and sales forecast because of weak demand, leading some to question whether those high-profit margin iPhones may be peaking for the company.
After a year-long search, Amazon has chosen two places to share duty as its second headquarters. "The Wall Street Journal" reporting Amazon will divide its so-called HQ2 between New York's Long Island City and the Washington, D.C. suburb of Crystal City. Now, Amazon declined to comment to CNN.
The upside, of course, is a giant infusion of jobs and tax revenue. But critics have questioned the strain on infrastructure and property values and whether taxpayers are giving up too much incentives.
In soliciting bids from cities, Amazon had said the new facility would create as many as 50,000 jobs and cost at least $5 billion to build and operate. Now, Amazon has not explained how the money and the jobs might be divvied up across these two different sites that, again, are already Amazon locations.
So not one new HQ2, but two HQ2s.
"Toy Story" fans, there's a new toy in town. Pixar released a trailer for "Toy Story 4" on Monday featuring the whole gang and someone new -- a very confused and scared spork named Forky. Now, we don't know much about the latest installment of the popular
franchise but the official synopsis says a road trip adventure alongside old and new friends will show Woody how big the world can be for a toy.
"Toy Story 4" is set to open June 21st, 2019.
Four of them, now -- wow.
BRIGGS: Woody and Buzz have helped up well --
ROMANS: They sure have.
BRIGGS: -- 23 years later.
ROMANS: They sure have.
BRIGGS: I just wonder if there's an iPad -- the only toy that really matters to kids -- in that movie.
ROMANS: Oh, right.
BRIGGS: Ahead, hundreds of rockets and mortars fired from Gaza into Israel since yesterday afternoon. What set off the most intense exchange of fire in at least four years?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:54:15] ROMANS: Deadly violence in Gaza is escalating. Palestinian militants bombarding Israel with rockets and mortar shells on Monday. Israeli warplanes striking over 100 targets throughout the Gaza Strip in the most intense exchange between the two sides in four years.
The Israeli military says at least 400 rockets have been launched from Gaza, causing the first fatality in Israel from rocket fire since 2014. Palestinian officials report six people killed.
The rocket fire triggered by a botched Israeli military raid in Gaza on Sunday. That battle killed seven militants, including a Hamas commander and an Israeli military officer.
BRIGGS: "The New York Times" reports a member of the assassination team that killed journalist Jamal Khashoggi was recorded telling a supporter to quote "tell your boss." Intelligence officials believe that boss is the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.
[05:55:05] CNN's Jomana Karadsheh live in Istanbul with more. Jomana, good morning.
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Dave.
In this latest reporting from "The New York Times," they say that they were told by three officials who were familiar with the audio recordings of the killing of Jamal Khashoggi that shortly after the journalist was killed that one of the 15 Saudis was identified as Maher Abdulaziz Mutreb.
CNN has done extensive reporting on him. He is a former diplomat and intelligence officer, and a security officer within the inner circle of the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
They say he made a phone call to a superior after the killing, telling him quote "tell your boss." Something along the lines of the deed is done. Now, he doesn't identify who the boss is but U.S. intelligence officials believe that that is a reference to the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
And, you know, over the past few weeks several U.S. officials have told CNN that they believe an operation like this that involved members of the inner circle could not have taken place without the direct knowledge of the crown prince.
The Saudis have repeatedly denied that MBS, as he is known, had anything to do with this or any knowledge of this. The Saudis have blamed this on rogue elements. They've repeated this denial to "The New York Times" in this article.
They're also saying that they've heard the recordings and they did not hear that part that is being reported by "The New York Times". But that doesn't necessarily mean it doesn't exist because Turkey could have shared different parts of the recording with different countries or different agencies.
But definitely, Dave, what this does is it increases the pressure on the Saudis -- also on the United States. Officials believe this is as close as it's going to get to a smoking gun. Not necessarily irrefutable evidence but definitely increases the pressure to get to the bottom of this.
And one question that Turkey has been seeking the answer to and that is who ordered the killing of Jamal Khashoggi?
BRIGGS: And Congress is back in session today. Perhaps, some action.
Jomana, thank you.
Meanwhile, the family of a Chicago security guard killed by police as he tried to detain a gunman has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the officer who shot him and his department.
Court documents say 26-year-old Jemel Roberson was working security at a bar and had detained a shooting suspect.
Roberson, who is black, wearing a security vest at the time and witnesses say people in the crowd yelled to the arriving police that Roberson was a guard. Still, one responding officer shot Roberson who later died at the hospital.
Well, friends and family say Roberson was actually studying to become a police officer, himself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He got his life took by people who he wanted -- who he looked up to -- who he wanted to become.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The Midlothian Police Department says the unnamed officer who shot Roberson has been placed on administrative leave.
ROMANS: All right. Outrage in Wisconsin over a high school photo of mostly-white male students with their arms raised in what looks like a Nazi salute. The image posted on a social media account with the caption "We even got the black kid to throw it up."
And here is the reaction on the Auschwitz memorial Twitter page.
"This is why every single day we work to educate. We need to explain what is the danger of hateful ideology rising. Auschwitz, with its gas chambers, was at the very end of the long process of normalizing and accommodating hatred."
Now, the photo has since been taken down.
BRIGGS: Stan Lee, the man who revolutionized the world of comic books, has died. The legendary writer, editor, and publisher of Marvel Comics brought superheroes like Spiderman, X-Men, The Avengers, and Black Panther to life in comics, movies, and on T.V.
You've probably seen his face for decades. He made cameos in --
ROMANS: Yes.
BRIGGS: -- Marvel T.V. shows and movies.
Stanley died Monday in Los Angeles. He was 95.
His accomplishments speak for themselves. His character -- if you want to know about that, read the tweets of Chris Evans, Captain America --
ROMANS: Yes.
BRIGGS: -- or Hugh Jackman or Samuel Jackson. They talk about what a tremendous human he was, as well.
ROMANS: Ninety-five years old and -- you know, my 10-year-old came home yesterday and he is his hero. So, it just --
BRIGGS: Yes, influenced multiple generations.
ROMANS: Generations.
All right, thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. "NEW DAY" starts right now. We'll see you tomorrow.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The most destructive fire in California raging on.
WATT: The death toll from Camp Fire has just risen to 42.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just utter devastation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The whole town was wiped off the face of the earth.
SCOTT: We want free and fair elections, but we don't want any fraud.
NELSON: He's thrown around words like voter fraud without any proof.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is dangerous to the process to constantly say the system isn't working.
ANDREW GILLUM (D-FL), MAYOR, TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA, DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE FOR GOVERNOR OF FLORIDA: Let our people vote and let our votes be counted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: So welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This --
