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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Wall Street Hoping to Rebound; Trump Wallows in Grievance for Christmas; CBP Promises Changes After Another Migrant Child Dies; Wintry Weather Could Affect Holiday Travel; Indonesia Adjusts Sensors to Detect Tsunamis. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired December 26, 2018 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:30:22] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Wall Street in desperate need of confidence and leadership. Can stocks bounce back from the worst Christmas Eve ever? The president raging against the Fed and running low on patience with his treasury secretary.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a disgrace what's happening in our country. But other than that, I wish everybody a very merry Christmas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOE JOHNS, CNN ANCHOR: A Christmas lump of coal from the president. No end in sight for the government shutdown, now in day five.
ROMANS: For the second time this month, a migrant child dies in U.S. custody after crossing the border. Overnight, Customs promising changes.
JOHNS: Strong winds, heavy rain, and snow set to impact millions of people. A system moving east could slow a record number of holiday travelers.
Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Joe Johns.
ROMANS: Nice to see you.
JOHNS: Glad to be here.
ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. It's about 31 minutes past the hour.
Can Wall Street recover after suffering the worst Christmas Eve declines ever? Market fell after the Trump administration sent out confusing signals about markets and the economy. U.S. futures are lower.
Wall Street's Christmas rout also spilled into markets around the world. Yesterday U.S. stocks were closed, but stocks in Asia had a rough day. Now, again here, you've got the Nikkei bouncing up from a horrible day yesterday. Hang Seng and Shanghai closed down.
And in Europe, well, look at that, Paris and the FTSE in the U.K. are down. But the DAX is up slightly.
As stocks fell Christmas Eve, the president renewed attacks on the Federal Reserve. That's right. He tweeted this: The only problem our economy has is the Fed.
And President Trump is growing more frustrated with his treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, despite Mnuchin's attempts to calm Wall Street. A source tells CNN Secretary Mnuchin could be in serious jeopardy with the president. The president vouched for Mnuchin publicly, shifting blame for the market volatility to the Federal Reserve instead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Do you still have confidence in Secretary Mnuchin?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes, I do. Very talented, very smart person.
REPORTER: What about the Fed chairman?
TRUMP: We'll see. They're raising interest rates too fast. That's my opinion. But I certainly have confidence.
But I think it will straighten. They're raising interest rates too fast because they think the economy is so good.
The economy is doing so well that they raised interest rates, and that's a form of safety in a way. President Obama didn't do much of that, much easier to run when you have no interest rate. He had a very low interest rate.
I have great confidence in our companies. We have companies, the greatest in the world and they're doing really well. They have records kind of numbers. So, I think it's a tremendous opportunity to buy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The president of the United States giving a buy recommendation for stocks. Never seen that before.
Investors do not like the president's repeated attacks on the Fed. Much of this volatility coming from Washington itself, from the leadership of this administration itself. "The Wall Street Journal" reports former senior economic officials have privately warned the White House that the president's tweets and his statements are making matters worse. The Nasdaq is in a bear market. The S&P 500 also near a bear market, down 19.8 percent from its high point October 3rd.
JOHNS: So, the second day of Christmas, the fifth day of the government shutdown. The president yesterday said the government will not reopen until he gets border wall funding he's demanded. He started Christmas with a phone call to the troops around the world. But after, that the Grinch appeared.
The president made clear he's not ready to ease his demands for a border barrier, has offered no clues about a compromise.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I can't tell you when the government's going to be open. I can tell you it's not going to be open until we have a wall, a fence, whatever they'd like to call it. I'll call it whatever they want.
Every one of those Democrats approved the wall or a fence or very, very substantial barriers. As soon as I said I want to build a wall, they were all against it.
Take Comey. Everybody hated Comey, they thought he did a horrible job. The Democrats hated him. And once I fired him, everybody said, oh, why did you fire him, why did you fire him?
It's a disgrace what's happening in our country. But other than that, I wish everybody a very merry Christmas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: The end-of-year greatest hits from the Oval Office.
The president also criticized Democrats for planning to launch investigation when was they take charge of the House of Representatives next month. He called that presidential harassment. The effects of the shutdown will really be starting today. Staffing at the office overseeing federal food stamps will be cut by 95 percent. The Department of Health and Human Services estimates nearly 8,000 federal employees will not return to work.
[04:35:00] Customs and Border Protection is making changes after a second child from Guatemala died in U.S. custody. An 8-year-old boy identified as Felipe Alonzo Gomez died late Christmas Eve in detention with his father. Now, authorities in Guatemala are calling for an investigation.
CNN's Jean Casarez has the very latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Joe, U.S. Customs and Border Protection is saying that an 8-year-old little boy, a Guatemalan national who had been apprehended in new Mexico with his father, has died while in their custody. At this point, they do not have an official cause of death.
According to the timeline released by the CBP, it was the morning of Christmas Eve, and a Border Protection Agent noticed the child appeared to be sick. The little boy and his father were transferred to the Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center in Alamogordo, initially diagnosed with a common cold. That all changed, according to officials, when they discovered the boy had a fever. He was released from the hospital mid-afternoon on Christmas Eve with
prescriptions for antibiotics and ibuprofen. It was hours later, he began vomiting, was transferred back to the hospital, and he died. Now the Border Patrol's Office of Professional Responsibility is going to conduct a review of this most recent death to determine the official cause -- Christine, Joe.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JOHNS: The boy's death comes just weeks after a 7-year-old Jakelin Caal Maquin who was also from Guatemala died less than 48 hours after being detained by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. VERONICA ESCOBAR (D), TEXAS: Yet again these tragedies are happen in happening because Congress and the administration have not adequately provided the resources, both in personnel and infrastructure to adequately take these folks in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: Now, the head of Customs and Border Protection is ordering immediate action. The new steps include secondary medical checkups on all children in CBP custody, adding capacity for medical assistance from partners like the Defense Department, FEMA, and Health and Human Services, and partnering with ICE to transport migrants to family centers or local charities that can provide temporary housing.
ROMANS: Right. CBP is also offering options to relieve capacity issues in Border Patrol stations and checkpoints in El Paso, Texas. It comes as ICE is expected to drop off 1,200 migrants there in the next few days. That's according to Veronica Escobar. Four hundred eleven migrants were brought there Sunday, 260 dropped off Monday. At least 180 sent there Christmas day.
ICE drops off these migrants without providing food, shelter, transportation. ICE said it has limited options to remove families in the U.S. illegally and blames decades of inaction by Congress.
JOHNS: Signs of distress in America's national security system. A senior administration official tells CNN national security decision- making has, quote, basically stopped working. The source says decisions are, quote, made on a whim on phone calls. The official also said the drawdown in Syria was done without deliberation, and with no consideration of risks. In the weeks before the president made the decision, two sources tell CNN national security adviser John Bolton instructed senior officials to meet with coalition partners and assure them the U.S. is staying in Syria until Iran is out of Syria.
ROMANS: A source tells us a move to pull out has left allies and partners shocked, totally bewildered. Also warning Russia is reveling in the latest move since it sends a message to allies if Americans are your friends, they'll abandon you. Now, almost a week after Defense Secretary Jim Mattis decided to resign, some officials are suggesting President Trump might have stayed in Syria if Mattis had gone sooner. CNN's Barbara Starr explains from the Pentagon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Christine, Joe, as the days have gone on since Mattis' abrupt and startling resignation, of course, everybody in Washington's got an opinion. Some defense officials are telling us they wonder if it might have been better if the secretary had stepped down sooner. He was known to have disagreements with President Trump. He had been sidelined in several matters as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took a more predominant position in the Oval Office in advising the president.
And if Mattis had stepped down sooner, these officials say, could somebody have come in and convinced the president to stay the course with troops in Syria and troops in Afghanistan. Of course, we're never really going to know.
Some other officials say now that national security decision-making is very disjointed, very ad hoc, and made mostly by Mr. Trump depending on how he feels at a given moment.
For Mattis, we may never know what's really been thinking until he either writes a book or decides to speak publicly -- Joe, Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JOHNS: Thanks to Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.
The U.S.-led coalition against is in Syria says coordinated air strikes have killed or wounded several hundred ISIS fighters.
[04:40:06] The Joint Task Force says that attack severely downgraded the terror group's logistics and staging areas. They say the air strikes dealt a significant blow to ISIS' ability to finance terrorist activities. The statement comes after President Trump's declaration last week that ISIS has been defeated.
ROMANS: All right. Thousands of people who visited a northern New Jersey surgical center in September are being urged to get their blood tested. We'll tell you why.
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ROMANS: It was a white Christmas but a travel nightmare in part of the West. Snow on the 15 freeway in the Cajon Pass between L.A. and Las Vegas triggering at least four separate crashes. The California highway patrol had to temporarily close that highway.
JOHNS: That may be a sign of what's to come as record numbers of Americans hit the road for the holidays. Huge sections of the country will se strong winds, heavy rain, and mountain snow. That storm system pushing into the central part of the country where millions now are under winter weather alerts.
The latest now from CNN meteorologist Pedram Javaheri. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: John and Christine, good morning, guys.
Yes, we are watching the Western U.S. here because that's where all the activity has been the past 24 hours. And eventually, this system puts itself in place across portions of the central U.S. where not only do we have the ingredients here for some severe weather, warm, moist air off the gulf, but a concern for heavy snowfall across portions of the Northern Plains.
[04:40:07] In fact, that's where the winter weather advisories are in place, the winter storm warnings, as well, for places across northern Minnesota, portions of the Dakotas, working back toward eastern Colorado on into Nebraska and Kansas, as well.
But the system as it pushes off toward the east taps into quite a bit of warm air here. So, widespread rain showers expected across the Deep South, while even as far as northern New England. That's where you've got to end up to get some snow out of this through at least Friday. Notice back toward the west, we have the significant snow still in the forecast.
How about 42 degrees in New York City, almost 60 out of Atlanta. And some of the mild air eventually does want to push up towards the Northeast here as we go in toward the weekend. In fact, look at the temps here in New York City, up to almost 60 degrees. Then the bottom drops out, wrapping up with temperatures more seasonal for this time of year -- guys.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JOHNS: We're going to keep an eye on that. Thanks for that, Pedram.
Now, out in the Midwest, the Women's March slated for Chicago next month has been canceled. The past two marches drew hundreds of thousands to Grant Park in conjunction with other marches worldwide. Organizers say the upcoming event was scrapped because of high costs and a volunteer shortage.
But it comes as the movement's national founders face scrutiny over allegations of anti-Semitism and their connections to the Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. Board member Sarah Kurensky told "The Chicago Tribune" efforts are being made to organize and take action in local communities. Marches and rallies are planned in Washington and dozens of cities around the world on January 19th.
ROMANS: The parents of a 16-year-old varsity wrestler who was forced to cut his dreadlocks before a match are breaking their silence. In this viral video, you see a trainer cutting Andrew Johnson's hair with scissors in the middle of the gym. He was told by a referee his hair needed to be cut or he could not compete. Now, Charles and Rosa Johnson's say the referee's conduct appeared more egregious as more information surfaces. JOHNS: They say the referee was late to the meet and didn't question
their son's hair during the initial evaluation. When their son said he could push back his hair, the referee allegedly refused because Andrew's hair wasn't in its natural state.
The referee, Alan Maloney, did not respond to CNN for comment. New Jersey athletics officials say he won't be assigned to moderate matches until the incident has been thoroughly reviewed. I can't stop watching that video of them cutting his hair.
ROMANS: That just -- unbelievable.
A health alert for thousands of surgical patients in northern New Jersey. Anyone who had outpatient surgery at Health Plus Surgery Center in Saddle Brook from September 27th to September 28th is being urged to get their blood tested. The state health department says unsanitary conditions were found at that facility. Patients may have been exposed to hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV.
No illnesses were reported, and the actual risk of infection is said to be low. The surgery center says it has improved its infection control and sterile processing and says it's cleaned and repaired all of its instruments.
JOHNS: More than $400,000 in donations have been returned to those who contributed to a bogus crowdfunding campaign. Kate McClure and Mark D'Amico said a homeless man, Johnny Bobbitt, gave his last $20 to McClure when she was stranded on Interstate 95 so she could put gas in her car. They started the GoFundMe account to thank him. It went viral, 14,000 people loved this Good Samaritan story and donated.
Prosecutors say the story that drove the campaign was predicated on a lie. Prosecutors say McClure and D'Amico squandered the money on a car, high-end handbags, trips and casinos. All three face charges of second-degree theft and conspiracy charges.
ROMANS: A Christmas scare for Lakers fans. LeBron James forced to exit a Christmas day match-up against the Golden State Warriors. The Lakers leading in the third quarter. James slipped, reaching for the ball. Ooh. Several Twitter users noted James said he felt something pop. The team announced he suffered a strained left groin. He is scheduled to undergo an MRI.
JOHNS: OK. Just try to top this Christmas gift -- the giver was Brady Singer, pitcher for the Kansas City royals and first-round pick in this year's draft. The recipient were his parents who he sent them a letter thanking them for their sacrifice helping him play baseball and ends with an impressive gesture.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACQUELYN SINGER, KC ROYALS PITCHER BRADY SINGER'S ROOM: Travel, hotel, all the Gatorades I drank is much more than I could ever give you. But there's something I want to give to you. I am paying off the loan from the bank. Also I paid off all your debt, as well. What? Now instead of trying to save money every weekend to replace
the savings account you drained on traveling so I could play baseball, you can spend it on yourselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Cry.
JOHNS: What a great kid. I know. That's right, Singer paid off all his parents' debts. The letter concludes: Your giving hearts helped to shape my tiny dream into a reality.
[04:50:04] ROMANS: When you think about it, you know, so many of these parents and their kids to get to that level, imagine the time and money they spent investing in their child. To give it back is amazing.
All right. First, a word of warning. If you're watching this program this morning with your little kids and they know that Santa Claus is real, now would be a good time to mute the TV for about 50 seconds, all right, got it? All right. There we go.
Now, the question is, did the president give away the grown-up truth about Santa when he spoke to South Carolina a girl on Christmas Eve? The 7-year-old, Collman Lloyd, called NORAD to track Santa's progress. She was put through to the president. He asked her if she still is a believer in Santa. Now we can hear Collman's side of that conversation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: What are you going do for Christmas?
COLLMAN LLOYD, 7-YEAR-OLD: Probably put out some cookies and then we're hanging out with our friends. So that's pretty much all.
TRUMP: Well, that's very good. You have a good time.
LLOYD: Yes, sir.
TRUMP: Are you still a believer in Santa?
LLOYD: Yes.
TRUMP: Because at 7, it's marginal, right? Well, you just enjoy yourself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Collman later confirmed to the "Post and Courier" Santa is real. Her folks said they did not mind the president asking her that and did not find it controversial. After the call, Collman still set out milk and cookies. There's ample liquidity in the household.
JOHNS: Right. I mean, what's marginal? All right. If you didn't love your Christmas gifts, you can try mega
millions. There was no winner in last night's largest ever Christmas Day jackpot. That means Friday's jackpot jumps to an estimated $348 million. Winning numbers, 2-8-42-3 43-50, and the mega ball, 6.
And yes, no, I didn't win.
ROMANS: Me either.
All right. What if you don't want another reindeer sweater with jingle bells? Consumers are ready to return the unwanted gifts. We have tips to make returning easier. CNN Business is next.
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[04:55:13] JOHNS: The desperate search for survivors of a tsunami that hit Western Indonesia is now entering its fourth day. At least 430 people now confirmed killed. Almost 1,500 injured. At least 21,000 displaced by the giant wave, 159 still missing.
Now, Indonesia is adjusting the sensors used to detect tsunamis after this one struck without warning.
CNN's Ivan Watson joins us from Hong Kong to explain -- Ivan.
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Joe.
We're learning more about the origins of this deadly tsunami and they officials are trying to prevent its citizen for a repeat. Look at the before and after photography. It shows the volcanic island known as Anak Krakatau, the child of Krakatau, in august. And then after the eruption on the 22nd of December, the eruption that trigger ad I massive landslide of more than 50 acres of mountainside into the sea that created this deadly tsunami that's killed at least 430 people.
Now, the Indonesian authorities initially had sensors that were prepared to detect an earthquake that could trigger a tsunami with a minimum 5.0 magnitude. The volcanic eruption is much lower than that. They say they're tweaking that to make it more sensitive. And they're also testing this early warning system. Take a listen.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
WATSON: Now, that's a drill that's going to go off on the 26th of every month, they say, to try to warn people in case there is a flood of deadly water heading their way. There has been a lot of criticism about the fact that the early warning system was not functioning even though there was a deadly tsunami caused by an earthquake just last September, and this is the 14th anniversary of the horrific 2004 tsunami that killed hundreds of thousands of people all across Southeast Asia.
Meanwhile, some of the recovery efforts hampered by flooding due to large amounts of rain, deluged in some of the tsunami-affected areas. This is a complicated period that this portion of Indonesia is going through made worse by the fact that tens of thousands of people are afraid to go back to their homes, they're scared there could be another tsunami -- Joe.
JOHNS: Ivan Watson in Hong Kong. The real know whether the officials are following the cues they've gotten over the last months and years. Thanks so much for that.
British officials say they now can deploy systems to combat the threat of drones endangering aircraft safety. Security Minister Ben Wallace did not offer specifics about the system but signaled military resources are being used to stop the growing number of drones in civilian airspace. Gatwick airport, U.K.'s second largest, was brought to a standstill for 36 hours last week after numerous drones were sighted close to its runways.
ROMANS: All right. Let's get a check on CNN Business this morning.
Global stocks rebounding from a Christmas day route. The Nikkei closed up nearly 1 percent. The Shanghai closed down. Hong Kong, Hang Seng closed for a public holiday. The European markets also are closed.
You see how they fared recently on Wall Street. Futures are lower. The markets reopen today after closing on Christmas. Stocks on pace for the worst December since the Great Depression.
Here's the damage report -- the Dow is down 15.6 percent this month. The S&P 500 down 15.7 percent. The Nasdaq is down 16.7. They are all obviously lower for the year.
And the S&P 500 now very near a bear market. It's the thought that counts, of course. What if you don't want another reindeer sweater with jingle bells and little flashing lights?
According to the National Retail Federation, 17 percent of consumers plan to hit the stores to return or exchange unwanted gifts. Some retailers have a no-questions-asked policy. Others have a strict rule that makes returning purchase frustrating or impossible.
What can you do to make returns easier? Don't open the box. Don't remove the packaging. If it's a gift you don't want --
JOHNS: Don't look at it --
ROMANS: Don't peel off -- especially for electronics. You risk a restocking fee if packaging isn't intact and products are missing tags. You may be stuck with them.
Keep those gift receipts. Don't throw them out with the wrapping paper. Retailers will not let you return your gift with that one. Others may give you store credit. Check return policies and note any time limits.
Check -- you can check those on line before you get to the store with all of your stuff to wait in line. During the holiday, some retailers will extend their deadlines often until late January. Also bring an ID. Here's why -- some chains like Victoria's Secret use computerized return authorization systems to detect abuse. They can also determine how many times a customer has returned items.
So, if you're a frequent returner, you may have scrutiny. You may be asked to show your driver's license or other ID when you return an item in person.
