Return to Transcripts main page

Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Shutdown Leads into the New Year. Aired 5:5:30a ET

Aired December 31, 2018 - 05:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[05:00:00]

ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: These battles are typically resolved before stations go dark. There are some notable exceptions though, including last year's CBS Dish network fight that black CBS and NFL games over thanksgiving. So in that case, timing was everything and that was really leverage.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN ANCHOR: At the worst possible time.

KOSIK: Absolutely.

MARQUARDT: All right, well Early Start continues right now.

SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM: We're reevaluating what's the best way to achieve the president's objective.

MARQUARDT: Will President Donald Trump slow the withdrawal of U.S. Troops from Syria? He had promised a rapid pullout, but now a leading Republican says that plan may change.

KOSIK: It's about to get rough for 800,000 federal workers. They'll remain unpaid through the New Year as both sides refuse to budge on border security.

MARQUARDT: And we are ringing in 2019 tonight. Expect big security if you're heading out. And will the weather cooperate? Those details ahead. Good morning and welcome to Early Start. I'm Alex Marquardt in for Dave Briggs.

KOSIK: Good morning, I'm Alison Kosik. I'm sitting in for Christine Romans. It's Monday, December the 31st, 5 a.m. in the east and happy New Year Samoa and Kiritimati, known as Christmas Island, south of Hawaii. That is the first place to welcome 2019. New Zealand enters 2019 in one hour. We will be watch with champagne on the side.

MARQUARDT: As that line moves west across the globe.

KOSIK: President Trump may be hedging on his timeline to pull all U.S. Troops out of Syria after meeting with the president on Sunday. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham is suggesting the president has a better understanding of the stakes in Syria and that he has agreed to reevaluate. Graham originally characterized the president's pullout as an Obama-like mistake. MARQUARDT: There are 2,000 troops in Syria who are supposed to leave

in the coming weeks and months. Senator Lindsey Graham says the President Trump is not pausing that withdrawal completely, but he is committed to a fresh assessment to see what happens on the ground in Syria.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRAHAM: I think we're in a pause situation where we are reevaluating the best way to achieve the president's objective of having people pay more and do more. After discussions with the president and General Dunford, I've never felt better about where we're headed. I think we're slowing things down in a smart way. But the goal has always been the same, to be able to leave Syria and make sure ISIS never comes back, our partners are taken care of and Iran is contained. And I think that's possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: OK, those partners that graham is referring to are the Kurds in Syria, and there's concern they could be attacked by Turkey if U.S. troops leave. On Friday, the Kurds invited the Syrian Assad regime to reclaim some territory with the hope of avoiding a slaughter at the hands of the Turks.

MARQUARDT: Tonight, the outgoing defense secretary, James Mattis will be placing a phone call to his replacement, Patrick Shanahan. That will mark the end of his tenure as the head of the Pentagon. Mattis was supposed to leave at the end of February, but then President Trump moved his departure date up two months.

KOSIK: The partial government shutdown, now at day ten and counting. You should expect to be counting for a while at this point. According to sources, President Trump is privately telling lawmakers he won't agree to a deal if it allocates $1.3 billion for border security. Democrats take control of the House this week and there's no sign that they're willing to budge either, and its 800,000 federal workers and their families feeling the pain while lawmakers get to play politics and continue to collect their paychecks.

MARQUARDT: We heard from Tony Reardon over the weekend on CNN. He is the head of the National Treasury Employees Union. He's saying that his members are both anxious and angry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY REARDON, HEAD OF NATIONAL TREASURY EMPLOYEES UNION: They have been, kind of cast in the middle of a fight, not of their creation and they do not have the power to resolve. They are fearful of not being able to pay the mortgage or rent or pay the college tuition bill for their children, and they want Congress to do their job -- Congress and the administration to do their job. We had an individual let us know that recently his wife died. He is unable at this time because of this shutdown, to pay for her headstone.

(END VIDEO CLIP) Some banks like Chase and Wells Fargo they're willing to work with

federal employees whose accounts are in good standing. And as questions linger how far President Trump may be willing to bend on border security, his outgoing chief of staff John Kelly is publicly clarifying, so to speak somewhat one critical point. For more on that, we have Sarah Westwood at the white House.

SARAH ALLISON, CNN REPORTER: Well Alison and Alex, President Trump is holding out for funding for his promised border wall as the partial government shutdown drags into its second week. Now, the president's allies have tried to muddy the waters about how much funding the president wants or a wall versus border security.

[05:05:00]

It's also not clear at this point what the president considers an actual wall. Outgoing White House Chief of Staff John Kelly said this administration actually abandoned the idea of a concrete wall along the southern border early in Trump's presidency.

He told the Los Angeles Times," to be honest, it's not a wall. The president still says wall, oftentimes frankly he'll say barrier or fencing. Now he is tended to steel slats. But we left the solid concrete wall early on in the administration." Senator Lindsey Graham came to the white House on Sunday for a two hour luncheon and said he pitched the president on what he described as a potential breakthrough, should it gain traction; and that's a deal that would trade $5 billion in wall funding for temporary protections for the so- called DREAMers, the young undocumented immigrants protected by DACA.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRAHAM: The president didn't commit, but I think he's very open- minded. I know there are Democrats out there who would be willing to provide money for wall border security if we could deal with the DACA population and TPS people. And hopefully we can get serious discussions started maybe as soon as next week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WESTWOOD: But keep in mind, that Mick Mulvaney, the incoming acting chief of staff/budget director, has already signaled that the president is willing to back down off that $5 billion number. In fact Vice President Mike Pence last week offered something in the neighborhood of $2.5 billion, half of that and Democrats rejected it. Not keep in mind that Democratic congressional leaders haven't been invited back to the White House for further negotiations, so talks do still at a standstill. Alison and Alex.

KOSIK: And adding insult to injury, President Trump has issued an executive order that freezes federal worker pay in 2019. The move follows through on a proposal he announced this year. It nixes a 2.1 percent across the board pay increase that was set to take effect in January. It also cancels a yearly adjustment of federal employee pay based on their region. MARQUARDT: President Trump is now blaming Democrats for the deaths of

two migrant children at the Mexico border and he is now facing intense criticism for it. The president claims Democrats and their quote, "pathetic immigration policies," have allowed people to think that they could enter the U.S. illegally. He insists they couldn't even try, he wrote, "to come if there was a wall along the southern border." Take a listen to Kellyanne Conway making that case on CNN's State of the Union.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KELLYANNE CONWAY: I don't like some of the Democrats using the deaths as political pawns.

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: But isn't that what the president just did?

CONWAY: No, the president is not doing that. The president does not want these children to come on the perilous journey to begin with. They are paying -- now some of them are paying the ultimate price, but many of them -- all of them are paying these coyotes who don't give a wit about human life.

BASH: But this is not a new policy.

CONWAY: Congress has failed close loopholes that make people believe they should come as a family unit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: All of the political posturing is doing nothing to solve the heartbreaking crisis at the border. New video of shelter staff members pushing and shoving migrant children, now under review for possible criminal charges. Two employees have been fired with others disciplined. Nick Valencia has more.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN REPORTER: Alex and Alison, this is story was first reported by the Arizona Republic. They obtained this video by filing an open records request with the Arizona Department of Health Services. And before you see it, we want to warn some of our viewers may find this video disturbing.

What it shows are three incidents involving staffers at the Hacienda del Sol shelter in Youngtown, Arizona. It's a facility that was run by Southwest Key. This is an incident -- or incidents that happened in mid-September and they were reported by Southwest Keys to local law enforcement as well as federal officials. The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office did investigate and at the time, decided to not to bring criminal charges, but that has changed.

Here's a statement that we got over the weekend which says, quote, "based upon the evidence gathered during this thorough investigation, MCSO executive command has made the decision to submit commit the case to the Maricopa County attorney's office for its review and determination of criminal changes. The case will be submitted on Monday and further questions about this matter should be directed to the county attorney. We should mention that Hacienda del Sol shelter closed in October.

Southwest Key spokesperson saying he welcomed the decision by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, but they did not go into the details. And after seeing this video, we could perhaps tell why. We should mention this is another dark stain and ugly thread in what is already a very sad story involving migrants in America. Alex and Alison.

MARQUARDT: Sad and deeply disturbing. Our thanks to Nick Valencia there. Now switching gears, the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare will remain in effect while a ruling that found it unconstitutional is being appealed. The Texas District Federal Judge Reed O'Connor found that Obamacare is unconstitutional because Congress had eliminated the individual mandate penalty. Since the individual mandate was upheld as a tax, the judge essentially ruled no tax, therefore no law.

[05:10:00]

The decision has jeopardizes coverage for millions on the Obamacare exchanges and Medicaid expansion. It also threatens to get rid of popular protections like guaranteed coverage for those with pre- existing conditions.

KOSIK: Breaking news, an American citizen detained in Moscow for allegedly spying. That's according to Russia's domestic security service. We're being told a man identified as Paul Whelan was detained on December 28th for allegedly quote, "carrying out an act of espionage. A criminal case against him has been opened. We're going to keep you updated on this developing story as new details are available.

MARQUARDT: All right, well an intern mauled by a lion at the North Carolina zoo. How that happened and what the victim's family is now saying.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: We'll be ringing in 2019 in less than 19 hours here on the east coast. As always, a massive celebration in New York's Times Square. For the millions there to see the big ball drop in person, security will be super tight. Let's get more from CNN's Miguel Marquez.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN REPORTER: Alison and Alex, it is a party for 2 million people and safety is the priority for the NYPD. The area around Times Square will be blocked off. There will be entrances for the public to get in. There will be magnetometers at all of those entrances.

No alcohol will be allowed, no bag packs, coolers, large packages, lawn chairs or umbrellas. Doesn't sound like much of a party, does it? The pen that the put the public in will start opening up at 11:00 a.m. A little like hotel California, you can check in anytime you want, but if you leave, you can't check back in because you have to go back through the line again, basically.

[05:15:00] So you're going to have to have your restroom strategy worked out if you actually go. As for NYPD's part, there's going to be hundreds of officers and agents from over 50 agencies, local, state and federal, 1,200-plus cameras, officers embedded in the hotels around the area. Bomb squad will be on hand, bomb-sniffing dog, hundreds of vehicle blockers to block off the entire area. And one new thing this year drones.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN MILLER, NYPD DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF INTELLIGENCE AND COUNTERTERRORISM: We'll be deploying NYPD drones for over-watch. We haven't done that before, but that's going to give us a visual aid and flexibility of being able to move a camera to a certain spot with a great rapidity through a tremendous crowd.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: They'll even have counter drone technology out there. So if you want to bring your drone to Times Square, you might be in trouble because they'll probably be able to take it down somehow, although they're being very, very tight-lipped on the details there. Alex, Alison.

MARQUARDT: But will those drones work in the heavy rain expected in New York? For you heading to Times Square and elsewhere, the big question, will the weather cooperate? Here's meteorologist Pedram Javaheri to answer that question.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, METEOROLOGIST: Alison and Alex, good morning to you both. Happy new year as well. Take a look at what's happening here across the east coast, because serious weather shaping up across portions of the east coast as it relates to at least heavy rainfall and strong thunderstorms and even a wintry mix, and even some snow to be had as well. We'll take you out towards the northeast into New York City, because yes, it's what it looks like; 49 degrees right around midnight.

Rain showers probable across the region, in fact, begins around 4:00 p.m., continued throughout the overnight hours of Monday into Tuesday morning. And if it all plays out as is forecast, it the first time since 1994 we've had wet weather right at midnight for New Year's Eve there at Times Square. In fact, it will also be one of the warmest ones as well. Compare to the wind-chill on New Year's Eve last year as we rung in 2018, it was 6 below is, what it felt like at times into the morning hours in New York.

45 degrees is what it will feel like this morning going into tomorrow morning, I should say, around portions of New York City. So that's the perspective, wet weather also slated across areas of the south here with some stronger thunderstorms embedded across portions of the Tennessee valley. But at least generally going to be a threat here for rain as opposed to snow for a large part of the east coast. Guys.

KOSIK: OK, Pedram thanks very much. A new year means new laws on the books across the country. Here are some of the highlights. At least 19 states increase their minimum wages on or around New Year's Day, according to the National Employment Law project. The federal minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 since 2009. More working women in California are getting a seat at the table in 2019. Publicly held corporations must have at least one woman on the board of directors by the end of the year.

MARQUARDT: And then over in Illinois, new moms will be excused from jury duty if they are nursing their babies. And in New York, the Drug Take Back Act -- that's a mouthful -- to combat opioids will make drug makers responsible for collecting their leftover drugs. The program is aimed at preventing drugs form ending u in the wrong hands, as well as preventing them from being flushed down the toilet, which can harm the water supply as well as marine life.

All right, well the regular season is over and the playoff match ups are set in the NFL. Andy Scholes has this morning's Bleacher Report. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:20:00]

KOSIK: Welcome back. Tragedy at the North Carolina zoo on Sunday. A lion killed an intern at the Conservators Center in Burlington, North Carolina. Zoo officials say it happened during routine cleaning of the animal enclosure. One of the lions somehow escaped a locked space and entered the public park area. Authorities identified the victim as 22-year-old Alexandra Black. She was an intern at the zoo for about two weeks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MINDY STINNER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND COFOUNDER OF THE CONSERVATORS CENTER This person's passion was the zoological industry. This was not this person's first internship and this person wanted to spend a lifetime around animals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: The male lion was then euthanized. It's not clear how he escaped. The Conservators Center will be closed until further notice, and in a statement overnight, Alexandra Black's family says in part, quote, "she was a beautiful young woman who just started her career. There was a terrible accident and we are mourning. She died following her passion."

KOSIK: Flu cases are on the rise in the U.S. The latest numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show nine states with high flu activity as well as New York City. That's and increase from the week when only Colorado and Georgia experienced high flu activity. There were four flu-related pediatric deaths reported to the CDC in the week ending December 22nd. There have been a total of 11 kids who died from flu-related issues this flu season.

MARQUARDT: Now check this out. They say everything is bigger in Texas. Right, well check him out. Baby Ali weighing in at 14 pounds and 13 ounces earlier this month, breaking a weight record for newborns at Arlington Memorial Hospital. His parents, Jennifer and Eric Medlock telling CNN affiliate KTVT that they were expecting a big baby since their firstborn daughter Annabelle (ph) was more than nine pounds at birth.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER MEDLOCK, MOTHER: We heard a, oh, my behind the curtain, and I was like, oh, my what? It doesn't matter how big he is, I'm so blessed to have him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: So blessed, very sweet.

KOSIK: More to cuddle.

MARQUARDT: Baby Ali is nearly twice the weight of an average newborn. And at two weeks old, he is already wearing clothes for 3 to 6 month olds. I'm not sure his sisters hand me downs will work.

KOSIK: Not for him.

MARQUARDT: Not for long anyways. All right, well the Philadelphia Eagles, their quest to win back to back Super Bowl titles is still alive. The Super Bowl champs squeaking into the playoffs.

KOSIK: Andy Scholes has more in this morning's Bleacher Report. Good morning.

(SPORTS)

[05:25:00]

KOSIK: The president promised a rapid withdrawal from Syria, but now a key ally says the president could slow the timeline.

MARQUARDT: And 800,000 federal employees left to answer for the government's failure to address border security. The shutdown now in its tenth day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:30:00]