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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Is Romney the Senate GOP's New Trump Foil?; White House Set on Day 12 of Shutdown; Family Denies Spy Charges Against American in Russia; Winning Mega Millions Sold in New York. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired January 02, 2019 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:30:07] DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: The president has not risen to the mantle of the office, so says Mitt Romney, making his presence known in a blistering op-ed just before taking his Senate seat.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Today is the first bipartisan meeting since the government shutdown began. Is a deal possible to end the shutdown costing 800,000 government workers their paychecks?
BRIGGS: The family of an American detained in Russia denies charges of espionage. Was Paul Whelan detained as payback for the Russia investigation?
ROMANS: And someone in New York waking up really happy and $425 million richer before taxes. We have the lucky numbers and where that ticket was sold.
Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans -- the rest of us get up and go to work.
BRIGGS: Good to see you, my friend. That is right. We will keep grinding. I'm Dave Briggs. Happy New Year, everybody, 4:30 Eastern Time.
It's day 12 of the government shutdown. We start with Mitt Romney, though, unloading on President Trump before he takes his seat in the U.S. Senate. The incoming Republican senator from Utah writing a scathing op-ed in the "Washington Post". He claims the president's behavior over the past two years is evidence that he has not risen to the mantle of the office.
Romney has been a frequent critic of the president, but they appeared to mend fences after the 2016 election when Romney was being considered for secretary of state.
ROMANS: While Romney says he agrees with some of Mr. Trump's policies, he writes: A president should demonstrate the essential qualities of honesty and integrity and elevate the national discourse with comity and mutual respect. It is in this province where the incumbent's shortfall has been most glaring.
The op-ed indicates Romney is planning to be the president's new Republican foil in the Senate with Bob Corker and Jeff Flake departing.
BRIGGS: President Trump's 2020 campaign manager Brad Parscale responded to Romney's op-ed, tweeting this: Jealousy is a drink best served warm, and Romney just proved it.
Just let that marinade for a while, folks. If you figure it out, let us know what it means.
Mitt Romney will speak with Jake Tapper today. "THE LEAD" airs at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time on CNN.
ROMANS: If you're back from a break, yes, the government is still partially shut down, 11 days and counting. President Trump holding firm on his demand for border wall funding in more than two dozen tweets since Friday. Today, he's invited congressional leaders to meet with him at the White House. That has not happened since the shutdown began. About a quarter of the federal government has been frozen for nearly two weeks. That means 800,000 federal workers are going unpaid while lawmakers, of course, still collect their paychecks.
Jessica Dean with more from the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Dave and Christine.
Here at the White House, there's expected to be a meeting with the president and leadership from the House and Senate from both parties later this afternoon. Details are still being worked out on all of this. But we are told to expect a briefing from the Department of Homeland Security during that meeting.
Of course, the two sides in the shutdown still pretty far apart. President Donald Trump for the past several days, he has been tweeting about the wall, how he must have the wall, and the $5 billion to fund it, the funding for the wall. And Democrats who will take over the House on Thursday and who plan to vote on a package of bills that includes $1.3 billion for border security but no funding for a wall, no mention of a wall.
So, of course, a lot there in the middle for them to -- both sides to compromise on. The question is, will there be any movement here at the White House this afternoon when that meeting takes place? We'll certainly be keeping an eye on it -- Dave and Christine.
(ENDV VIDEOTAPE)
BRIGGS: OK. Jessica Dean, thanks.
The impact of the government shutdown is widening. The Smithsonian tweeting that all museums, research centers, and the national zoo will be shut down today. And California's Joshua Tree National Park forced to close its campgrounds for health and safety reasons as toilets reach their capacity. Driving off road and other infractions that damage natural resources also becoming a problem. In previous government shutdowns, national parks have closed entirely
but gates have remained open under the Trump administration, leaving parks severely understaffed.
ROMANS: U.S. Customs and Border Protection investigating an incident at the California border with Mexico. Agents using teargas, pepper spray, and smoke on a group of migrants trying to enter the country illegally. Now, some of the migrants allegedly throwing rocks as others lifted children over the razor edged wire in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
CBP estimates 150 migrants approached the fence, but one-third turned back when they saw the agents. Twenty-five people were taken into custody.
BRIGGS: The family of an American citizen detained in Russia strongly denying claims by the Kremlin that he is a U.S. spy. Retired Marine Paul Whelan was arrested in Moscow Friday on suspicion of espionage. His brother tells CNN Paul has been to Russia many times for work and personal business and that he was in Moscow for the wedding of a former fellow marine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[04:35:07] DAVID WHELAN, BROTHER OF PAUL WHELAN: He's not the sort of person who would stumble into a strange environment or make poor choices that could cause him risks. But particularly, he wouldn't have made choices that would have gotten him sideways of the Russian government and its espionage act.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: David Whelan says the family only learned about Paul's detention from media reports on Monday.
We get more now from CNN's Martin Savidge.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Dave. Good morning, Christine.
You know, this may sound surprising, but actually the family of Paul Whelan was relieved to hear that he'd been taken into custody by Russian authorities. Let me explain that. You see, they knew he was going to Russia. And then come the 28th, last Friday, he suddenly goes silent. He doesn't call home, even his friends in Russia didn't know where he was.
And given what they know about their son and about their brother, that is totally out of character. They were so worried, they actually thought maybe he'd been the victim of violent crime, possibly even dead, which is why when the Russian authorities said, no, he's alive, but we've arrested him for spying, that there was a sense of relief but then also a realization that, of course, wait a minute here, spying? That is not the person they know. They say it's not his character.
A bit about Paul Whelan -- he is Canadian, or born in Canada, but he's an American citizen, actually served in the U.S. Marines, served overseas in Iraq. And then worked in local law enforcement and now works as a consultant for private security for a major auto parts manufacturer here in Detroit. He went to Russia not for work but was there to be at the wedding of a fellow former marine and then he gets arrested.
So, the initial fears the family have, have been replaced by new ones, that somehow he may be a pawn in a kind of showdown between the United States and Russia -- Christine and Dave.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Martin Savidge, thank you for that.
What is Russia saying about all of this? Let's bring in CNN's Matthew Chance. He is live in Moscow -- Matthew.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine, thanks very much.
Well, the Russians have been giving us virtually no information about the status of Paul Whelan. Just a short statement coming from the FSB, the main counter espionage agency in this country, the equivalent of the FBI, saying that they have this U.S. citizen, Paul Whelan, who's being detained in Moscow on December the 28th. He was caught spying is what the brief statement says.
We haven't had much information either from the U.S. embassy which is called for consular access to Mr. Whelan but so far has not been able to confirm to us -- we've been in close contact with them -- about whether or not that access has been granted. The Russians formerly under the Vienna Convention have 72 hours before they have to grant access. That time has already lapsed. Again, but it's not clear whether the access to the diplomats here in Moscow has yet been granted.
There is lots of speculation being bounded around about the timing of this detention. It comes a couple of weeks after Maria Butina, who's a Russian national being held in the United States, a gun enthusiast, pleaded guilty to conspiracy after U.S. prosecutors said she tried to infiltrate conservative groups in the U.S. like the NRA and Republican Party to influence Americans. She's going to be sentenced shortly. The Russians are absolutely outraged about that.
And there's speculation that this detention may be the precursor to a prisoner swap in the future. But it is just speculative at this point -- Christine.
ROMANS: All right. Matthew Chance in Moscow-- happy New Year, Matthew.
BRIGGS: At least one prominent member of the military is coming to the defense of retired four-star Army General Stanley McChrystal. McChrystal felt the wrath of the president after making these comments about Mr. Trump on Sunday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RETIRED ARMY GENERAL STANLEY MCCHRYSTAL: I think it's important for me to work for people who I think are basically honest, who tell the truth as best they know it.
INTERVIEWER: You think he's a liar?
MCCHRYSTAL: I don't think he tells the truth.
INTERVIEWER: Is Trump immoral in your view?
MCCHRYSTAL: I think he is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: President Trump firing back, tweeting, General, in quotes, McChrystal got fired like a dog by Obama. Last assignment a total bust. Known for big, dumb mouth. Hillary lover.
ROMANS: For the record, General McChrystal resigned in 2010 over comments he made belittling administration officials including Vice President Joe Biden.
Now, retired four-star Admiral William McRaven defending McChrystal. McRaven led the Osama bin Laden raid and has also drawn the scorn of President Trump. He calls McChrystal one of the great generals of this generation and the finest officer I have ever served with.
BRIGGS: Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts will travel to Iowa this weekend after launching her presidential exploratory committee. A source telling CNN she'll hold events in Council Bluffs, Sioux City, Storm Lake, and Des Moines.
[04:40:03] In the coming days and weeks, more Democrats will announce their intention to challenge President Trump in 2020. We expect a long list of candidates as you see.
ROMANS: All right. Minimum wages are getting a boost in 2019. That's right. According to the National Employment Law Project, at least 19 states raised their minimum wage on or around New Year's Day. Many of the increases reached $15 an hour. Minimum wage workers from Maine to Missouri to Arizona will see bumps in their paychecks. According to Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, an advocacy group, business owners across the country say these increases will boost consumer spending, reduce costly turnover of employees, raise productivity, and customer satisfaction and will help the economy.
But even as some states increase their minimum wages, the federal minimum wage, of course, has been stuck at $7.25 for the past decade. The bump comes after a rough year for stocks and fears about economic growth. In 2018, the S&P 500 fell 6.2 percent. Look at that. The Nasdaq fell 4 percent. The Dow slipped 5.6 percent. This is the worst year for stocks since the financial crisis in 2008. Only the second year the Dow and the S&P 500 fell in the past decade. Taking a look at where futures are right now, you can see beginning
the year right where we left it, down, down, down.
BRIGGS: What do you sense is driving that? Is it anything to do with the government shutdown? Is it --
ROMANS: Yes, that's part of it.
BRIGGS: The global slowdown?
ROMANS: The government shutdown I think is part of the soup of uncertainty but not a main driver. I think it's the trade war with China, where will that go. Will there be a global slowdown?
The president was tweeting about lower gas prices, how good it is for consumers. It's true, but gas prices are also down on fears of a global slowdown.
BRIGGS: Uncertainty as we begin 2019.
Ahead, Netflix pulled a comedy feature from its site in Saudi Arabia. Is the government trying to censor criticism of the Jamal Khashoggi murder?
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[04:45:34] ROMANS: A devastated Texas mom is demanding to know who killed her 7-year-old daughter in a drive-by shooting Sunday morning. Jazmine Barnes was one of four children who are in the car at the time of the shooting. Her mother, LaPorsha Washington, threw her body over her eldest daughter in the front seat to shield her from the gunfire, but she could not protect three other children in the back seat including Jazmine.
Washington suffered a gunshot wound but has been released from the hospital. She is struggling to come to grips with this tragedy.
Nick Valencia has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is absolutely a heartbreaking way for the family to start their new year, mourning the death of the 7-year-old little girl, Jazmine Barnes. She was in the car with her mother and three siblings leaving a Walmart parking lot on Sunday morning in the Houston area, when out of nowhere, unprovoked, a gunman opens fire.
Very few details are given about the gunman's description. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez saying the suspected shooter is a white male in his 40s, had a beard, was wearing a hoodie, and was driving in a red pickup. But still, the make and model has not been released, nor have any license plate or any other distinguishing characteristics.
It was earlier that the mother of the 7-year-old who was also injured in the shooting, she was shot in the arm.
LAPORSHA WASHINGTON, JAZMINE'S MOTHER: I want him to be a man and turn himself in because I will never get to see my child again. You took my baby away from me. Behind whatever was going on in your head, I don't know if it was some kind of hatred, violent hatred, if it was a hate crime or what it was. When you fired that first shot and you seen my kids in that car, you should have stopped. You should have stopped. You took my baby from me.
VALENCIA: The Harris sheriff's office says that there's still no official motive, and they're not taking anything off the table, not even a potential for this being a hate crime. The suspected shooter is said to have continued to open fire as he fled the scene. They're asking for the public's help in combing through any surveillance footage that they might have to catch the suspected shooter -- Dave, Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRIGGS: Awful. Nick, thank you.
Netflix facing criticism for pulling an episode of comedian Hasan Minhaj's show "Patriot Act" from its service in Saudi Arabia. The kingdom filed a legal complaint, claiming it violated the country's anti-cyber crime law. The particular episode centered on Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's alleged role in the killing of "Washington Post" journalist Jamal Khashoggi and mocked the official government accounts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HASAN MINHAJ, COMEDIAN: At one point, they were saying that he died in a fist fight Jackie Chan style. They went through so many explanations. The only one they didn't say was that Khashoggi died in a free solo rock-climbing accident.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: A spokesperson for Netflix says they strongly support artistic freedom worldwide, but the group human rights watch denounced the move, saying, quote, Netflix's claim to support artistic freedom means nothing if it bows to demands of got officials who believe in no freedom for their citizens, not artistic, not political, not comedic. That episode still apparently on YouTube. You can find it.
ROMANS: All right. Dramatic video of a baby boy rescued Tuesday from the rubble of an apartment building that was leveled by a suspected gas explosion in Russia. My goodness.
Video shows rescue workers pulling debris away to reveal the little boy covered in dust, wearing a top and pink socks, being wrapped in a blanket. He was found after a rescuer heard him crying. The child described as obviously less than a year old. Spent 35 hours in the debris. At least 14 people were killed after the explosion ripped through the apartment. Wow.
BRIGGS: Oh, boy.
Tesla buyers say good-bye to a big tax credit right before Tesla launches a new version of its cheapest model. "CNN Business" has the details.
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[04:52:38] ROMANS: Most of America's rail systems have missed a critical safety deadline. The Department of Transportation says only four of the nation's 41 rail systems met the Monday deadline to implement positive train control which can prevent collisions and derailments. The others including Amtrak have either applied for or have been granted extensions. The chairman of the NTSB told Congress last February 150 accidents which caused 300 deaths since 1969 could have been prevented by that technology.
BRIGGS: Several water fountains shut down at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport after passengers aboard a frontier flight became sick. At least six passengers who traveled to Tampa fell ill after leaving Cleveland. Health officials have not confirmed what caused the illness. The airport's water fountains will remain shut off until the tests are complete. Passengers had to wait at least an hour and a half before they were allowed off the affected plane. They've been asked to monitor their health over the next few days.
ROMANS: A dramatic rescue caught on video. A Tampa woman losing control of her car and landing upside down in a muddy water-filled ditch. Luckily she found an air pocket and called 911. Amazing. Thirteen patrol unit looked for her submerged vehicle in the thick fog. After fighting through the mud, they finally got to the 20-year- old and pulled her to safety. She's in good condition this morning.
BRIGGS: A 2-year-old girl rushed to the hospital after being injured by a rhino at a Florida zoo. The toddler and her family were taking part in a close-up hands-on experience with white rhinos at the Brevard Zoo in Melbourne, Florida. She managed to wedge through the steel posts separating visitors from the animals and got into the yard. The snout of one of the rhinos made contact with the girl before her father pulled her out. Zoo officials say the popular rhino encounters have been suspended until a safety review is completed.
ROMANS: Sad news from Purdue University. Tyler Trent, known as the super fan of the Purdue Boilermakers, lost his battle with bone cancer Tuesday. The 20-year-old inspired college football fans across the country. He was named an honorary captain for Purdue when the Boilermakers played last week. He also received the Disney Spirit Award in December.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TYLER TRENT, PURDUE SUPERFAN: I think today, there's all this in the tunnel, and -- as long as you rely on your faith, things will work out.
(END VIDEO CLIP) [04:55:08] ROMANS: Trent helped raise more than $100,000 at a student-run event at Purdue to support the children's hospital at Indiana University Health. Tyler Trent was just 20 years old.
BRIGGS: The woman who helped kidnap Elizabeth Smart in 2002 is now living near an elementary school in Salt Lake City. Wanda Barzee was released from prison five years earlier than expected back in September after pleading guilty to helping her husband abduct Smart when she was 14 years old.
Barzee is serving five years of federal supervised release, but the release guidelines don't set limits on how close she can live to a school. Smart says anyone with a history of child abuse should not be allowed anywhere near a school, family, or community center.
ROMANS: All right. From the dumb criminals file, take a look at this man caught on surveillance video trying to steal a bicycle outside a police station in Gladstone, Oregon. Police shared the video on their Facebook page. You can see the man in a hoodie trying to cut the lock off the bike directly outside the station. Within 30 seconds, an officer with a Taser confronts him and put him in handcuffs.
BRIGGS: World War II veteran Duane Sherman got a lot more than he bargained for on his 96th birthday. Sherman did not want to make a big deal of Sunday's birthday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DUANE SHERMAN, WORLD WAR II VETERAN: I get emotional about it. My old buddies are gone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Duane's family had something else in mind. About a month ago, his daughter asked viewers of CNN affiliate KCBS in Los Angeles to drop a card in the mail for his birthday.
ROMANS: That call for cards went viral. So, Sherman is now surrounded by about 50,000 birthday cards from all 50 states and ten countries.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Doesn't get any mail that's for him other than a bill.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: U.S. navy chief from San Diego also visited Sherman. And they got to hear how he earned his Purple Heart by surviving a fiery battle in the Philippines after a kamikaze plane hit his ship.
Happy birthday. And thank you for your service.
BRIGGS: Yes.
ROMANS: Duane Sherman.
All right. NASA is providing its first image from a record-setting flyby four billion miles away. It happened after midnight Tuesday in the east. Scientists say the spacecraft went so far from earth that the phone-home signal didn't come in until eight hours later. The picture of Ultima Thule, object millions of miles beyond Pluto, appears to have a bowling pin-like shape, elongated and spinning like a propeller. You can expect never-before-seen high-resolution images over the next few days.
BRIGGS: Very cool.
College football bowl games always in the spotlight on New Year's Day. There was a Texas-sized upset in the Sugar Bowl. Texas, the Longhorns defeating Georgia 28-21. QB Sam Ehlinger led the Longhorns for three rushing touchdowns. Texas completing its first winning season since 2009.
However, the best play might have come on the sidelines. Got a good indication wherever this game was headed when Bevo, breaks out of his enclosure and goes after Uga, the Georgia mascot. One of the commentators remarked that is targeting, but no flags threw and no one was injured.
Ohio State's Urban Meyer coaching his last game in the Rose Bowl. The Buckeyes sent him off in style. Quarterback Duane Haskins in what could be his last game at Ohio State. Three passing touchdowns. Ohio state surviving a fourth-quarter comeback to survive 28-23. We look forward to the national championship January 7th.
ROMANS: All right. The New Year off to a very good start for one lucky resident of New York state. One winning mega millions ticket was sold last night. $425 million jackpot last night in Glen Head, Long Island, about 25 miles from New York City. The cash option in case you're wondering is $254.6 million. The winning numbers were 34- 44-57-62-70, the gold mega ball was 14.
All right. Let's check on CNN Business this morning. And markets around the world are mostly lower on the first trading day of 2019. You see Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong all lower there. Pretty decent decline for Hong Kong, almost 3 percent. And then European markets also following suit here.
On Wall Street, futures are lower, as well. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures on that average down almost 1.5 percent. 2018 was a record-setting year for stocks, but it's one investors would rather forget. The S&P 500 was down 6.2 percent. The Dow fell 5.6 percent. The Nasdaq down 4 percent.
The worst year for stocks since 2008, and only the second year the Dow and S&P 500 fell in the past decade. So watch to see those losses continue here at the open.
Tesla buyers can say bye-bye to a $7,500 tax credit this year. The federal government's tax credit for buying plug-in vehicles will be cut in half for Tesla buyers for the first six months of 2019. For Tesla, the tax credit is getting cut as it gets ready to offer a $35,000 version of the Model 3, its lowest cost model. The expiring tax credit will make the Model 3 at least $3,750 more expensive.
The credit starts to phase out three months after the end of the quarter, during which the automaker sells 200,000 eligible electric cars in the United States.
