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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Sixth Super Bowl Title; Governor Ralph Northam, Under Pressure; Super Bowl Half-Time Show; Russia Investigations; CNN Business, Stocks Up 19 Percent Since President Trump Inauguration. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired February 04, 2019 - 04:30   ET

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


[04:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rob, how does it feel as it goes by?

ROB GRONKOWSKI, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS' TIGHT END: Unreal, man. This is so real.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYLEE HARTUNG, CNN HOST: Rob Gronkowski, Tom Brady and the Patriots dynasty rolls on. New England grabbed its 6th title in the lowest scoring Super Bowl ever.

DAVE BRIGGS, CNN HOST: Virginia Governor Ralph Northam under pressure, calls for his resignation intensifying over that racist yearbook photo.

HARTUNG: And President Trump refusing to rule out another government shutdown as he gets set to deliver his State of the Union Address tomorrow.

Welcome back to Early Start here in Atlanta, I'm Kaylee Hartung.

BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs, we are live outside that beautiful Mercedes- Benz Stadium. More than a billion and half dollars spent on that. A lot of the folks inside were thrilled to find out there was $7 beers and $2 hot dogs, refillable soda. So, if you paid two grand for a ticket, at least you got a break.

Good morning everyone. Thanks for being with us. A bit of a boring Super Bowl some say, but let's appreciate the greatness on a Monday. You know, who wasn't bored by it, anyone in Boston and here are the Boston papers this morning, Kaylee. "The Boston Globe," pretty simple, Dynasty Rolls On, they win. It's arguably their second dynasty. And then the Herald.

HARTUNG: And I think "The Herald" got quite creative of leading get on to the back page. You have the Joy of Six on the front, but Familiar Ring on the back. It's a nice sounding ring to all those Patriots, and it was like a Patriots home game.

BRIGGS: Yes.

HARTUNG: Tom Brady said after the game they could have been playing in Gillette Stadium in terms of how supportive that crowd was.

BRIGGS: I couldn't believe it. I mean, just walking in there, you saw 100 to 1 Patriot jerseys. And then inside, the Brady chants. It felt, sounded like a home game in every way, but it was quiet early because Tom Brady did not start brilliant. His first pass of the game picked off.

HARTUNG: Setting a tone for the game that I think made a lot of people uncomfortable, but I don't think anybody quite expected the defensive battle that we were in. There was no scoring until the second quarter, that field goal by Stephen Gostkowski, a 42 yarder, gave New England the 3-nothing lead.

BRIGGS: And it was very telling that punting really dominated the night for much of the night and for the Rams, it really was the story. This is the longest punt in Super Bowl history, Johnny Hekkers, 65 yards. Had an awful lot of roll on it. And they broke another record with punts on their first seventh possessions. Not a record they wanted.

HARTUNG: Fourteen punts in this game. And this might be the play of the game.

[04:35:00] BRIGGS: Jason McCourty coming all the way across the field to break up that pass. I think it is one Jared Goff would like back as Brandin Cooks ran straight up the middle of the defense, the safety did not pick him up. You got to throw that ball earlier, tighter and that would had been a touchdown. It should have been.

HARTUNG: The fourth quarter though, this 29-yard hookup from Brady to a diving double covered if not triple Ron Gronkowski, that got the Patriots down to the Rams, two yard line. This is the first play we see in the red zone in the course of the Super Bowl.

BRIGGS: And as Sony Michel, who's been outstanding in the post seasons, six rushing touchdowns, could have the MVP if Julian Edelman wasn't so spectacular. Michel lost the College Football National championship on this very field just under a year ago.

And the Rams, they had a chance to tie the score then. Jared Goff getting that chance here, but again same story as we saw before, Brandin Cooks not able to come down with it, just over four minutes to play. That pass, I mean, through his hands.

BRIGGS: But championship teams, the make plays and that was a perfectly thrown football. Brandin Cooks has to come up with ball, and why was it so consequential because then after that Jared Goff just throws one up and Stephon Gilmore just sealing on it and sealing the game with the INT. There was still a bit of time to go, but it was really just tb-12 taking a knee.

HARTUNG: And so that dynasty continues to roll on, 13 to 3 the final score in the lowest scoring game in Super Bowl history. BRIGGS: 41-year-old Tom Brady, of course, is the oldest ever to win a Super Bowl, 66-year-old Bill Belichick gets another one. He is not the oldest because a couple more years to get that record. But look, this is just watching the greatest thing we've ever seen in professional sports arguably. Boring game, yes, perfection on the defensive side of the ball really was the takeaway for the Patriots though.

HARTUNG: You know, people love to hate on the Patriots --

BRIGGS: Yes.

HARTUNG: -- but at this point, it is hard to argue against the fact that Tom Brady is the greatest of all time in the NFL and there is something to be said for watching greatness no matter who you are cheering for. And to hear Brady and Belichick talk about it, I mean, for sports fans, come on, let's get real, it never gets old.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HINES WARD, CNN SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR: What does it mean to win six, man? You're the greatest of all time.

BRADY: You know, I don't believe that. I don't believe that. I don't think about that. I just think I play with so many great guys on so many great teams. And I still get to do it, 41 years old, playing a sport I grew up loving. And I'm proud of my team tonight.

BILL BELICHICK, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS COACH: It is all about the players. These guys works so hard all year. They just competed every week and they competed today like -- like champions. They played like champions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARTUNG: This is a real team effort. They say defense wins championships --

BRIGGS: Still does.

HARTUNG: -- and that was very true here. And so this game dominated by the defense, but it was Julian Edelman who took home the MVP honors for the Patriots, wide receiver. He had 10 catches for 141 yards and he was the consistent go-to weapon for Brady when they could get the offense moving.

Edelman now with six career postseason games with 100 yards or more. That is incredible. And he gives all the credit for his success to his future hall of fame quarterback.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIAN EDELMAN, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS WIDE RECEIVER: It is through his actions and how he is as a football player, as a professional, as a father, as a family man. You know, it is pretty -- it is an honor to get to play with a guy like that. I mean, he has six Super Bowls now. So, that's pretty insane.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARTUNG: And Tom Brady after the game very affectionately called Julian Edelman his little brother. And Edelman now second all-time in post-season receiving yards and he told reporters the MVP award should have gone to the entire New England's Patriots defense. I can't really argue with him.

BRIGGS: That won't be pretty. I think they would had been all right.

All right. Raving at the entranced of soul Gladys Knight's rendition of the national anthem that kick off this game. The 74-year-old Atlanta native nailing the star spangled banner, the end perfectly timed with an air force flyover. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GLADYS KNIGHT, SINGER: -- and the home of the brave, the brave.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: It was perfect. And having the stadium open to start this game so we could witness the flyover, for some this was the greatest moment of the night. At least for some of those inside the stadium. This was not.

HARTUNG: Not quite so much. Maroon Five's, Adam Levine, taking Instagram to thank fans after the band's halftime show, but the singer also thanking, so, he also thanked critics for always pushing us to do better. You know, the reviews of the band's performance, they were not all that kind.

[04:40:13] Some critics called it predictable, trite and even artless. And you also got to give a shout out here to Georgia native, Big Boi of OutKast fame, taking off fleeting appearance, but one heck of an entrance, when he perform his song, The Way You Move. He rolled out to the stadium in that vintage Cadillac convertible and wearing a giant fur coat, because, why not? Why not? You know, also a Cameo from rapper Travis Scott and SpongeBob Squarepants. I don't quite understand that one.

BRIGGS: That was one of the prop beds. People are wondering if Spongebob would make an appearance, some called Big Boi's drive the longest drive of the game. But that was just perfectly fine.

Let's turn this to some politics now where embattled Virginia Governor Ralph Northam met with people of color who work in his administration to talk about that racist photo in his med school yearbook. Now, he had first apologized for the photo, but then claimed he was not in it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RALPH NORTHAM (D), VIRGINIA: I am deeply sorry, I cannot change the decisions I made. Nor can I undo the harm my behavior caused then and today. I believe then and now that I am not either of the people in that photo.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: A Democrat briefed on the session tells us not a single person at last night's meeting stood up and said Northam should stay and fight. Northam's cabinet set to have its regular meeting at 9:00 a.m. this morning, just a couple of hours away. Our source says the governor has given no firm indication what he might do next.

For more, let's turn to Jessica Dean.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA DEAN, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Kaylee and Dave. Reporting here from Richmond, we are getting new information from a source with direct knowledge of the governor's thinking about this whole scenario.

And the bottom line is this, as of right now, that source is saying the governor's thinking has not changed, that the governor has no plans to resign, that the weekend's press conference was really put there for him to be able to explain that photo, to explain himself, to offer his thoughts to the public and also give himself some time to think about what the next moves might be.

That source is saying that he is evaluating this minute by minute, day by day, but that the only reason he would resign right now, is if he believed he was no longer able to govern effectively. And as of right now, that is not the case.

Now, there have been calls all across the spectrum, Democrats, both locally here in Virginia and nationally, calling for the governor's resignation. A lot of pressure on him to do that right now. The Virginia legislature is scheduled to go into session later today on Monday, but right now no public discussion, no official discussion of any sort of removal from office. We'll see what the days bring. Kaylee and Dave?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARTUNG: My thanks to Jessica Dean in Richmond. And President Trump is refusing to rule out another government shutdown with just 11 days to go until the current stocks up federal funds run out. In an interview with CBS that aired Sunday on Face the Nation, the president warned, he's still considering declaring a national emergency, so he could use military funds to build his border wall.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would you shut down the government again?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, we are going to have to see what happens on February 15th.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're not taking it off the table?

TRUMP: And I think -- well, I don't take anything off the table. I don't like to take things off the table. It is that alternative, its national emergency, its other things. And you know, there have been plenty national emergencies called. You need a wall and anybody that says you don't, they are just playing games.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARTUNG: President Trump delivers his State of the Union Address tomorrow night. CNN coverage begins at 8:00 p.m.

BRIGGS: All right. Coming up here from Atlanta, disaster in a neighborhood outside Los Angeles. A small plane crashing into a home. The pilot and people inside killed. The latest on the investigation, next.

[04:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRIGGS: All right. Welcome back to "Early Start" outside Mercedes- Benz stadium in Atlanta. Some news headlines now. Five people are dead after a small plane crashed into a California home. The Cessna crashed in Yorba Linda, about 30 miles outside Los Angeles.

Officials say the pilot was killed along with people who were inside the home as well. The FAA says the aircraft had just taken off from a nearby Fullerton Municipal Airport before the incident happened under unknown circumstances. The FAA and NTSB are investigating.

HARTUNG: And the lights and heat are back on this morning at the federal government's metropolitan detention center in Brooklyn, New York. There was a fire in an electrical switching room that triggered a partial power outage leaving many inmates stuck in frigid dark cells during single digit weather. The workers, of course, also having to sustain these conditions.

Protesters demonstrated outside the building with signs saying turn on the heat and stop the torture. The Department of Justice issued a statement last night promising to work with the Federal Bureau of Prisons to, quote, "ensure the facility has power heat and backups systems to prevent the problem form reoccurring."

BRIGGS: Grammy nominated rapper 21 Savage in custody this morning after his arrest by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. ICE says the rapper is a British citizen who is in the U.S. illegally and that he was arrested in a targeted sting. The agency alleges he entered the country legally in July 2005 as a child, but failed to depart when his visa expired one year later. An attorney for the rapper says his team was working to get him released. 21 Savage was also convicted on felony drug charges in October 2014.

[04:50:10] HARTUNG: Officials say his entire public persona is false.

And now a fix for the FaceTime bug that lets user eavesdrop on others has been delayed. CNN business next here on Early Start.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Welcome back. Let's get a check on CNN Business this morning. Global markets are higher to begin the week. Take a look, Asian markets, they are closed in the green. European markets opened slightly higher in early trading there. But on Wall Street, we're seeing some red arrows. Looks like futures will open a little lower.

[04:55:03] Stocks finished Friday mixed following a strong jobs report. The DOW rose 64 points. The S&P 500 was flat while the NASDAQ fell slightly. But you look at the DOW, it is now on a six week winning streak, all three of the major averages finished with gains of more than 1 percent for the week.

Guess what? It's going to cost you more to take an Uber or Lyft in New York City, the reason? A first of its kind driver minimum wage law. In blog post Friday, Uber said, to expect the price of your trip to go up effective immediately, but it didn't make clear just how much those fairs will increase. The blog also warned its drivers that the fare increases could lead to fewer rides as people find alternate ways to travel around the city.

Under the new policy, all drivers will earn minimum take home wage of $17.22 per hour according to the New York Times -- rather according to the New York Taxi and Limousine Commission. That is the ride hailing equivalent of a $15 minimum wage, which accounts for the fact that drivers have to cover payroll taxes and they also don't get any paid time off.

A fix for a FaceTime bug that let users eavesdrop on others, it's not going to be available until next week. The bug allows people who start a call to hear live audio on the recipient's phone even if the person doesn't accept the call and in some cases the caller could even see through the recipient's front facing camera if they press the volume button to dismiss the call.

Now last week, Apple did say it had identified a fix for the problem and that it would release the software update by the end of the week. But on Friday, an Apple spokesperson said the software update would not roll out until this week. It is unclear why the fix has been delayed.

OK. Let's throw it back to Dave and Kaylee in beautiful Atlanta. Good morning.

BRIGGS: Good morning. Thanks again, Alison. Speaking of business, let's talk about the business of advertising. $5.2 million for a 30 second ad. Did anyone get bank for their buck? Let's go through our favorites there.

HARTUNG: Yes, you know, if you weren't watching the Super Bowl for the football, all the defense, chances are you were watching and check-out this commercials. One of the most talked about ads of the night that Bud Light "Game of Thrones" match-up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You hold my beer, you hold my other beer. Whoops.

One more. All right. Let's tap this keg.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARTUNG: Anheuser-Busch just let HBO hijack their commercial. And as a "Game of Thrones" fan, I'm OK with it.

BRIGGS: I, for a moment, thought that was Miller Light that maybe was punk'n Bud Light. But, it was a good, another was a cliffhanger unlike the game, you weren't sure exactly what was happening.

The "Washington Post" debuted its first ever Super Bowl spot last night, the ad was narrated by Tom Hanks and highlights the importance of journalism with the paper's slogan democracy dies in darkness.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There someone can gather the facts, to bring you the story, no matter the cost. Because knowing empowers us. Knowing helps us decide. Knowing keeps us free.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARTUNG: The "Washington Post" owned by Jeff Bezos. You know, his biggest rival, you could say Tim Cook actually shared that ad saying proud to stand with the "Washington Post" and journalists everywhere and support the freedom of the press.

BRIGGS: Your favorite ad.

HARTUNG: And then I say, maybe my favorite ad of the night --

BRIGGS: It was good.

HARTUNG: -- an ad for the NFL's 100th season, an incredible cast of current and former players in the NFL.

BRIGGS: Joe Montana picked off by Dion Sanders. There were 26 incredible players in this commercial from start to finish. Aaron Donald you just saw there.

HARTUNG: And joked that Todd Gurley had more yards rushing in this ad than he did in the first half of the game.

BRIGGS: that was his best performance for the night. Emit Smith, Barry Sanders and some say the star of the show, the young lady in this ad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can I have the ball, please?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You want this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come and get it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

END