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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Two Teens Die in California School Shooting; Marie Yovanovitch to Testify as Public Hearings Resumes on Capitol Hill; Blockbuster Testimony Slated for Next Week; Browns and Steelers in NFL's Game- Ending Brawl; Elizabeth Warren Launches Wealth Tax in New Ad. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired November 15, 2019 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:42]
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Scary to see people running and then have them running into your class. And then just hearing them yell, like, somebody's on campus.
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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Another school community changed forever. Five students shot, two killed, when a classmate opens fire on his 16th birthday.
DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: And public impeachment hearings resume today. But it's the testimony behind closed doors that could be more revealing.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a flag as -- whoa. Hello. Whoa.
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ROMANS: This is one of the ugliest endings you will ever see to a football game. Myles Garrett facing a long suspension for hitting an opponent with his own helmet.
I can't say I've ever seen anything like that. Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: No, I've seen one thing like that in hockey and because it was in Canada there was criminal charges.
ROMANS: Wow.
BRIGGS: I think that's the last you'll see Myles Garrett this season.
I'm Dave Briggs. 4:31 Eastern Time. We start with another shooting. Sixteen seconds all it took for lives in another school community to be changed forever. Two Southern California teens are dead, after police say a student shot five classmates and himself on his 16th birthday. The motive for the mass shooting at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita still unclear. What is clear, the fear this generation of students and parents now lives with every day.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's scary to see people running and then have them running into your class. And then just hearing them yell like, somebody's on campus.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They told you to come here and wait for him. And -- and then is that him?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's him. I'm going to walk to get you. Don't move please. I just need to be -- you just need to be in my arms right now, OK?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They tell you on a drill that you never know where the gunshots are, and honestly, that's exactly what happened. You have no idea where it is.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We could have been at the front gate and we could be running directly towards him. We don't know.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Politics so tight. There's the whole, don't take my guns. But after you're in something like this, don't take my life.
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ROMANS: The suspect right now is in critical condition. Details about him are scarce. A neighbor says he had been hit hard by the recent death of his father. The school district has canceled all classes today and this note somber note, the L.A. County sheriff announced overnight that a sheriff's department employee is the aunt of one of the teens killed. This attack brings the total number of school shootings this year -- this year -- to 32 in K through 12 alone.
CNN's Sara Sidner has more from Santa Clarita.
SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Dave and Christine, chaos reigned at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, California, on Thursday with students running for their lives, as bullets were being fired over and over again by a shooting suspect who police say was also a student, a 16-year-old Asian male, who had come into school with a backpack. Went into his backpack, pulled out a .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol and began shooting the students around him.
Sixteen-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy ended up losing their life after being shot by the suspect. And as we understand it, the suspect used the last bullet on himself, so shooting himself in the head. And for the entire day Thursday, he was in critical condition. The last person still remaining in the hospital. All the rest of the victims who survived were able to go home.
We know, though, from students, that it was terrifying in the school when all of this began.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We heard the one shot and then four after and we just started running. And just -- all I heard was all these kids running and just screaming and calling their parents.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a .45 semiautomatic pistol which had no more rounds in it. Had no more bullets in it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIDNER: There were also several first responders who happened to be off-duty and started helping the students right away while they were still in danger. The suspect, there is still quite a bit of an investigation going on. We understand that investigators are talking to his mother and his girlfriend. And they have, all day, been speaking to those who witnessed this horrific shooting at yet another school -- Dave, Christine.
BRIGGS: Sara Sidner, thank you.
Public impeachment hearings back under way this morning with former ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, the only scheduled witness. The Democrats say President Trump removed her as part of a month's long campaign to pressure the Ukrainians to interfere in the 2020 election.
[04:35:06]
In her private testimony, Yovanovitch said she felt threatened by the president's comments about her and was warned by a senior Ukrainian official to watch her back.
ROMANS: And Democrats escalating their rhetoric against the president. Listen to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sharpening her language describing Mr. Trump's tactics.
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REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): The devastating testimony, corroborated evidence of bribery. Quid pro quo. Bribery. Bribery, and that is in the Constitution attached to the impeachment proceedings.
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ROMANS: Bribery is one of only two examples of high crimes and misdemeanors spelled out in the Constitution.
More from Phil Mattingly on Capitol Hill.
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Dave, consider this a day as it comes to the impeachment inquiry as one of split-screen importance. One of those screens, you're going to be able to see publicly. It's going to be live on television. It's going to be the second public impeachment hearing. This one with Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. ambassador to the Ukraine, who was summarily ousted by an outside pressure campaign, led primarily by the president's outside attorney Rudy Giuliani.
Marie Yovanovitch was pushed out early on in this process. And the way it's being framed by Democrats right now is if Wednesday's hearing with two U.S. diplomats was to give the full scope and scale of everything that was happening in Ukraine, this will be page one. This is where everything started. This is where everything began. Pay close attention because of that fact.
Now Republicans have made clear, Yovanovitch was pushed out. But that's the president's prerogative. It's his power to have anybody he wants serve as an ambassador to Ukraine or any other country.
Closed-door testimony is the screen part two. That's what's going to be happening behind the scenes on Friday, and this may be more important than anything that's going on right now. David Holmes, political counselor to the U.S. embassy in Ukraine, will be coming in and testifying behind closed doors. Giving a deposition to committee members.
Why does that matter? David Holmes is the unnamed aide that was pointed out by William Taylor in a surprise announcement during his testimony on Wednesday. He was the aide that was with U.S. ambassador to the E.U. Gordon Sondland, as Sondland had a phone call with President Trump, where he discussed the state of play with those investigations that Trump wanted.
Democrats are very keen on this testimony, seeing what it will actually unveil. And more importantly, if it directly addresses, as Taylor seemed to make it out to be, that this is a first-person account. Going against what Republicans used on Wednesday.
So keep an eye on both. Both are very important. One setting the stage of an early part of this entire timeline. The other potentially providing the closing information -- guys.
BRIGGS: All right, Phil Mattingly, thanks.
Today's testimony just tees up what could be an even more pivotal slate of witnesses next week.
CNN's Marshall Cohen has more from Washington.
MARSHALL COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Dave and Christine, if you thought this past week was busy, things on Capitol Hill are about to heat up even more. Democrats have scheduled three more days of impeachment hearings featuring eight new witnesses. The proceedings kick off Tuesday. And up first is the former U.S. envoy for Ukraine, Kurt Volker. He'll be joined by two White House advisers who were on that critical phone call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Then, on Wednesday, Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union. He is under intense scrutiny after he admitted last week that he told Ukraine they wouldn't get U.S. military assistance until they investigated former vice president Joe Biden.
Lawmakers next week will also hear from Fiona Hill, who was the top Russia expert at the White House. Now, many of the witnesses already gave testimony behind closed doors, where they said that they were deeply troubled by President Trump's attempts to coerce Ukraine into launching those investigations. But those bombshells were among the thousands of pages of transcripts released last week.
But next week, those witnesses will be under the lights, in front of the cameras, ready to give their testimony to the American people in public for the very first time -- Dave and Christine.
ROMANS: All right. Marshall Cohen, thank you so much for that.
When the going gets tough, the president holds rallies. Last night in Louisiana, he tried to show his supporters he's not too concerned about impeachment.
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: How about when they asked these two never-Trumpers, what exactly do you think you impeach him for? And they stood there and went, like, what?
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ROMANS: Well, the president actually said he didn't watch a minute of the testimony. He also told the crowd some members of the Republican Party want the hearings to go longer because it helps him politically. Apparently the president doesn't agree to that. He told the audience it would be nice to see the hearings end.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a flag as -- whoa. Hello. Whoa.
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BRIGGS: You're looking at one ugly finish to an, well, otherwise ugly NFL game. It all started with eight seconds left, Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns ripped the helmet off of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph and struck him in the head with it.
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That led to all kinds of kicking and punching in particular by Maurkice Pouncey of the Steelers. After the game Garrett said he made a mistake and regrets it. Expect fines and major suspensions. The Browns won the game, 21-7.
ROMANS: All right. The president was rebuked for trying to hold the G7 meeting at his private club. So, now the Republican Party is going instead.
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[04:45:12]
ROMANS: Last month, the Department of Defense awarded a $10 billion cloud computing contract to Microsoft. Now Amazon plans to protest the decision claiming the deal was marred by errors and unmistakable bias. The contract called Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure or JEDI provides the military with a cloud storage system for sensitive data. Amazon Web Services has been the company's leading profit driver for Amazon. Losing the deal could threaten its position as leader in the cloud industry.
AWS had been considered the favorite to win the contract but that changed after President Trump began to question the evaluation process. Trump has frequently criticized Amazon and its CEO Jeff Bezos. In AWS spokesperson said, "It's critical for our country that the government and its elected leaders administer procurements objectively and in a manner that is free from political influence." Microsoft and the Department of Defense did not comment.
BRIGGS: So that G7 thing didn't quite work out. But President Trump's Doral resort in Miami will be hosting another big event. The Republican National Committee's annual winter meeting. The RNC says it's signed a contract to hold the event at Doral in March. And it just sent out e-mails urging members to book their rooms at the president's property for the late January summit. An RNC official says donors enjoy visiting Trump properties and claimed they are often cheaper to rent than other venues.
ROMANS: President Trump hiking the cost to South Korea for stationing U.S. forces there by nearly 500 percent. Defense Secretary Mark Esper in Seoul today navigating this new strain in the alliance. Congressional aides say the president pulled his $4.7 billion demand out of thin air, setting off an administration scramble to justify the number. Administration official says many things the U.S. does to ensure South Korean security haven't been properly accounted for for decades.
But the price hike is frustrating the Pentagon and worrying lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. The government in Seoul is also questioning American commitment to the alliance and wondering if Trump will pull U.S. forces if Seoul doesn't pay up.
We'll be right back.
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ROMANS: Senator Elizabeth Warren is trolling billionaires on their own turf.
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SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is time for a wealth tax in America. I've heard that there are some billionaires who don't support this plan.
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ROMANS: She says they don't pay their fair share. They can afford to pay a 2 percent tax on fortunes over $50 million, a 6 percent tax over $1 billion. That number was double to pay for Medicare for All. And she names billionaire business titans like Leon Cooperman and former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein. Cooperman called her disgraceful.
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LEON COOPERMAN, OMEGA FAMILY OFFICE CHAIRMAN: A wealth tax makes no sense. It will lead unnatural acts, be near-impossible to police, and it's probably unconstitutional. If this lady wins, we're in big trouble.
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ROMANS: And Blankfein trolled back. Here's what he tweeted. "Vilification of people as a member of a group may be good for her campaign. Not the country. Maybe tribalism is just in her DNA."
The feud with billionaires has been bubbling for weeks now. Cooperman reduced to tears on CNBC. Tears. Saying she was attacking capitalism and attacking the American way -- American dream. Warren wears all this criticism of course like a badge of honor. And her campaign has begun selling the "Billionaire Tears" mug, now its fastest-selling item.
BRIGGS: But my question is with those billionaires, I don't think anyone feels sympathy for billionaires. But will their messaging turn to how it might impact the economy as a whole?
ROMANS: Well, now you're starting to see the early analysis. Will this hurt the economy? This one very, very early analysis that shows it could shave a little bit off economic growth. But also that doesn't account for whether it could spur economic growth in other areas. You'll see the argument over who should pay for the things that she wants like universal child care.
BRIGGS: Right.
ROMANS: And, you know, getting rid of student loan debt or free college. You know, she's talking about having the very, very rich people who benefited from all of these things in American society pay to, you know, level the playing field for everybody else. It's working in her rallies.
BRIGGS: Yes.
ROMANS: But, boy, this -- the fact this is so public, this billionaire feud, I think is fascinating.
BRIGGS: It'd be interesting to see her on the stage with Bloomberg.
ROMANS: Yes.
BRIGGS: Another billionaire. All right. Heavy rain and coastal flooding in the southeast ahead of another front that will bring snow and cold to the Great Lakes and northeast.
Here's meteorologist Derek Van Dam.
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Great Friday morning, Dave and Christine. A few different weather stories we're following in the CNN Weather Center. First, we have a wet start to the weekend across the southeast. This cold front is going to bring us some reinforcement shot of cool air to the major East Coast cities this weekend. Also some lake-enhanced snow showers, downwind of the Great Lakes region.
Dry and sunny over the central parts of the country and across the Pacific northwest. Mountain snows and valley rains. Let's focus in on Georgia, the Carolinas and to Virginia. This is a system that will gather some strength just offshore. This will be mainly a coastal event, with strong winds right along the coastal regions of North and South Carolina. Heavier precipitation across this region, as well, perhaps anywhere from two to four, even five inches of rain locally.
Now the cold front that will bring that reinforcing shot of cold air and lake-enhanced snow showers will move through the course of the day today and into the early parts of Saturday. And again another chilly weekend in store for us across the northeast. 33 to start your morning in the Big Apple. Will only warm to 51 by this afternoon. Back to you.
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ROMANS: Taylor swift will be honored for 10 years of music but she says she won't be able to perform a lot of it. Swift posted a scathing note online telling fans music mogul Scooter Braun won't let her perform old songs when she's honored at the American Music Awards as Artist of the Decade. Braun took control of Swift's old catalogue when he bought Big Machine Label Group back in June. Swift says according to Braun performing the songs will be rerecording her work before she's allowed to do so next year. Swift says sharing her experience could help other artists avoid a similar fate.
BRIGGS: Today, the Supreme Court will consider whether to hear a case of a Texas death row inmate days before his scheduled execution. Lawyers for Rodney Reed say he is innocent. They're the court to review new and comprehensive evidence. Reed's case has received a wave of support from celebrities, activists and lawmakers. In 1996 he was found guilty of the abduction, rape and murder of a 19-year-old. Reed is black. He convicted by an all-white jury.
ROMANS: A Maryland bank teller is accused of invading the home of a customer who has withdrawn a large amount of cash. The 78-year-old victim told investigators he answered the door and the suspect forced his way inside, assaulting him until a relative intervened. The intruder fled. But detectives identified him as 19-year-old Nathan Michael Newell. Deputies arrested Newell Wednesday at Freedom Federal Credit Union where he worked until Wednesday. The victims are recovering from their injuries.
BRIGGS: Tis the season. Or is it? In the spirit of the holidays, Claudia and Nick Simonis put out a handful of Christmas decorations on November 1st. Three days later, they received a letter from their San Antonio homeowners association demanding they take the decorations down until closer to the holiday. They're not budging.
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NICK SIMONIS, RESIDENT: We're not going to do it.
CLAUDIA SIMONIS, RESIDENT: No, we're not. We're not going to do that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wow. That's a first.
C. SIMONIS: When is like -- when is the right time to put it?
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BRIGGS: Nick says the letter did not specify when closer is. The association did not respond to CNN's request for comment. Claudia also eight months pregnant. Her due date, Christmas day.
ROMANS: It's a free country. You can celebrate Christmas every month.
BRIGGS: December 1st, people. December 1st.
ROMANS: Free country.
Let's get a check on CNN Business this morning. Take a look at markets around the world. There you go, look at the Grinch.
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: Asian markets closed higher. Look, everything is up a little bit here. Reuters reported White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Washington is getting to a trade deal with China. Stocks closed mixed on Thursday. The Dow fell but the S&P 500 rose just in enough to notch a record high. The NASDAQ fell slightly.
Strong earnings from Walmart. The retailer posted a 3.2 percent increase in sales for the third quarter, thanks to online grocery orders. So get this, sales have now increased every quarter for the past five years. Some comfort to retailers worried about the fallout from the trade war.
On another trade front, Democratic leaders are looking to approve President Trump's North American trade deal, the USMCA before the year ends. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters, quote, "We're in a good place."
All right. It's the return of the Razor. Motorola announced the once popular flip-phone is being revived as a foldable phone. And the price just 1500 bucks. The last attempt to resurrect the Razor was in 2011 but the phone just didn't stand out. The new Razor is the second foldable phone from Motorola following Samsung's Galaxy Fold. That's available right now for almost two grand. The new Razor will start shipping in January. All right, are you ready for your coffee fix? The world's largest
Starbucks opens in Chicago today. Officially known as the Starbucks Reserve Roastery Chicago. It's a five-story store with several coffee bars, a bakery, an equipment that will roast about 200,000 pounds of coffee beans each year. Starbucks now has six roastery locations around the world including New York, Milan and Shanghai. I mean --
BRIGGS: What time do they open?
ROMANS: I don't -- I'm tell you --
BRIGGS: In Chicago.
ROMANS: Chicago is the kind of town for that. It has got that huge rock 'n' roll McDonald's. You know, Chicago is -- you know, it's the kind of place for it, I think, where it will do good.
BRIGGS: They also make nitrogen gelato at this 56,000 ---
ROMANS: You've done your research.
BRIGGS: I've just been reading about it all morning.
ROMANS: You have done your research.
BRIGGS: Coffee, you had my attention.
ROMANS: Thanks, coffee. And a hamburger. Thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. I too am hungry. Have a great weekend, everybody.
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BRIGGS: Former ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch set to testify this morning.
GEORGE KENT, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE: Efforts by Rudy Giuliani and others, including his associates, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, to run a campaign to smear Ambassador Yovanovitch.
PELOSI: The devastating testimony corroborated testimony of bribery. Impeachment is a divisive thing.
TRUMP: The Republicans have really stuck together. It's a beautiful thing to see.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We heard the one shot and then four after. And we just started running.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's the whole don't take my guns. Don't take my life.
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ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY, with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. It is Friday, November 15th. It's 5:00 here in New York because this is a special edition of NEW DAY and CNN's coverage of the impeachment --
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