Return to Transcripts main page

Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Obama's Historic Cuba Deal; Sony Cancels Release of "The Interview"; Tsarnaev in Court; Russia's Economy in Crisis: Putin Questioned; 49ers Released Ray McDonald

Aired December 18, 2014 - 05:00   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: An historic new beginning for the United States and Cuba. President Obama announces a breakthrough agreement to restore ties to the island, ties severed more than 50 years ago. But this maybe easier said than done. The big fight from both sides of the aisle that the president now faces.

Movie release canceled. Sony indefinitely pulls the plug on the controversial film "The Interview" following cyber attacks and terror threats from hackers. This morning, all eyes are on North Korea. Is Kim Jong-un behind these attacks? We have live coverage ahead.

Russia's economy in crisis. As we speak, Russian president Vladimir Putin on the defensive, fielding questions of all kinds from reporters. He'll be doing for hours.

We are live in Moscow with this freewheeling event. That's coming up.

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. A lot going on this morning.

I'm John Berman. It's Thursday, December 18th, 5:00 a.m. in the East. Christine Romans is off this morning.

And developing right now: monumental change in the contentious and complicated relationship between the United States and Cuba. President Obama has announced plans to normalize U.S. relations with Cuba. This comes after months of closely guarded secret negotiations.

The president ordered the opening of an embassy, a U.S. embassy, in Havana for the first time in more than 50 years. There'll be a Cuban embassy in Washington. One key part of the deal: the release of U.S. contractor Alan Gross. He's been in a Cuban prison for five years. He was immediately flown back to the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALAN GROSS, FREED BY CUBA: God bless you and thank you. It was crucial to my survival knowing that I was not forgotten.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: There was also a spy swap. Three Cubans convicted of espionage were released from prisons. A U.S. intelligence asset imprisoned in Cuba for 20 years, he was set free. Senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta has the latest on these historic developments -- Jim.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: John, it's not the lifting of the embargo, but the cold war between the U.S. and Cuba has started to thaw. This diplomatic deal with Cuba is the culmination of secret talks with the communist nation that begun nearly 18 months ago, in June of last year. Senior administration officials say most of the discussions took place in Canada led by deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes. And those wheels were in motion when the president and Raul Castro shook hands at Nelson Mandela's memorial service last December in South Africa.

But key sticking point remained in all of this, and that is the imprisonment of Alan Gross in Cuba.

Earlier this year, the pope stepped in, sending letters to President Obama and Raul Castro, urging both sides to resolve this issue of Gross' status. And then to push the talks forward, the Vatican welcomed officials from the U.S. and Cuba back to Rome just last October.

Then, Mr. Obama and Raul Castro hammered out the rest of this deal in the phone call yesterday, the first presidential level contact the White House says since the Cuban revolution more than 50 years ago.

And then, at the White House, at the Hanukkah celebration, the president talked about his phone call with Alan Gross.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I spoke to him on his flight. He said he was willing to interrupt his corn beef sandwich to talk to me. I told him he has mustard in his mustache. I couldn't actually see it.

But needless to say, he was thrilled. And he landed at Andrews in a plane marked the United States of America. He's going to get the medical attention he needs. He is back where he belongs, in America, with his family, home for Hanukkah.

ACOSTA: A senior administration official said Cuba's former leader, Fidel Castro, was not involved in the negotiations for this deal. As for a presidential trip to Cuba, the White House is not ruling one out, nothing Mr. Obama was in China last month, and China, they say, still has its own human rights issues and issues when it comes to democratic freedoms -- John.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: All right. Thanks, Jim.

This morning, there was a raging debate over this move. Opponents say it throws the Castro regime a lifeline, instead of letting the sanctions continue to squeeze it out of power. Two Republican senators, you're looking at them both right there on the screen, both Cuban-Americans, both possible presidential candidates, they denounced this agreement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA: This policy contradiction is absurd. And it is disgraceful for a president who claims to treasure human rights and human freedom.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: We've seen for six years under this situation is that we have been consistently alienating and abandoning our friends and allies, and at the same time, appeasing and coddling our enemies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Senator Marco Rubio, you heard him there, first. He has vowed to disrupt this plan and block any possible nominee for ambassador to Cuba.

Among the reasons that some critics give for not normalizing relations, they say Cuba admits to harboring fugitives wanted by the United States, including some accused of terrorism.

Now, one of the most contentious part of this agreement is the release of three Cubans convicted of espionage in the United States. These are pictures of them right now landing in Cuba after their release. They're the final members of the so-called Cuban Five. That's a 1990s spy ring that infiltrated Cuban exile groups in military installations in South Florida.

One of the men, Gerardo Hernandez, was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder for his role in the downing of the planes flown by the exile group Brothers to the Rescue.

Family members of pilots killed in that 1996 incident are furious.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAGGIE ALEJANDRE-KHULY, BROTHER KILLED: In no way, in no way it was, in no way in this, in no way equivalent to Gerardo Hernandez who has blood on his hands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: The reaction in South Florida among Cuban-Americans is torn. On all sides, there is shock and surprise at this agreement. Many older Cuban-Americans are furious, calling the president as much as a traitor. Some younger Cuban-Americans seem pleased.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The last six years, this administration has been negotiating with Cuba, everything in exchange for nothing. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unfortunately, unlike many in my community, I

believe and I believe that many in my community believe that Cuba's best days have not yet been seen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: We have another major story developing this morning. Sony Pictures has out and out canceled release of the film "The Interview." They may never release this controversial comedy in any form, including home video. This news comes as U.S. officials prepared to announce that they have determined is behind the huge cyberattack on Sony and the threat of violence that led most theater chains to drop this film.

Now, that announcement from U.S. officials could come as soon as today.

We are also learning this morning that the federal law enforcement agencies received internal warnings about the threat to theaters, but the FBI did not issue a bulletin because it did not believe that the hackers posed a real threat.

President Obama seemed to back that view in an interview. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: The cyberattack is very serious. We're investigating it. We're taking it seriously. You know, we'll be vigilant. If we see something we think is serious and credible, then we will alert the public. But for now, my recommendation would be that people go to the movies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Huge developments in this ongoing story.

Let's go to Tokyo. CNN's Will Ripley is there. And, of course, Tokyo, home of the headquarters of the Sony Corporation.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And, you know, John, what we've learned in the past few days is that while Sony here in Tokyo has kept a hands off approach when it comes to Sony Pictures, in the United States, certainly regarding this film, "The Interview", they did get involved. It is unprecedented that the CEO of Sony Corporation was reaching out, talking about editing scenes in this film that now perhaps won't be shown at all publicly as a result of this hacking crisis.

But one Sony spokesperson did tell me that the Sony CEO was also instrumental in the decision, the tough decision for Sony, to not release this picture on Christmas Day. They put out a statement which sums of the emotion that many people in the corporation are feeling. I want to read it to you.

It says, quote, "We are deeply saddened at that brazen effort to suppress the distribution of a movie and in process do damage to our company, our employees and the American public. We stand by our filmmakers and right to expression and are extremely disappointed by this outcome."

And while Sony does stand by those filmmakers, there are questions here in Tokyo why Sony would have green lighted this project in the first place given the potential for a geopolitical mess that has exploded as a result of this. There are now questions about North Korea launching cyberattacks on other corporations that may be perceived to do them wrong.

And there are also questions about how the U.S. government may respond. Now that they are prepared to name North Korea as the prime suspect in this hack, what recourse do they have to send the message that steps will be taken to stop this, or is this going to be new chapter where countries like North Korea and smaller entities that may not have a lot of money and through the power of the Internet, they can inflict millions of dollars of damage, cause a lot of fear for relatively little effort on the part of a few hundred people launching a coordinated attack, John.

BERMAN: These are great questions, Will, important questions. And, you know, the United States government has different interests than the corporations. These corporations that have apparently caved to the pressure from these hackers back by apparently the North Koreans.

Will Ripley in Tokyo, thank you so much.

"The Interview" this film, this comedy from Seth Rogen and James Franco has turned into a very expensive mess for Sony.

Cristina Alesci has more on this.

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is a big hit for Sony. First off, "The Interview" costs $40 million to make. Sony is losing out on ticket sales to the tune of $100 million according to one analyst. Plus, you've got to factor in the cost of new software and security. Sony stock is down about 6 percent since the attack.

The movie business, just keep this in mind, is just one of Sony's problems. The company is really falling behind in electronics market where it used to dominate. It's television unit is struggling. It's smartphones make up just 3 percent of the market. And Sony just flat- out waved the white flag and dropped personal computers all together this year. PlayStation, of course, is still a highlight, but the company lost $1.2 billion last year.

This fiasco could not be worse for them. But, you know, I think will brings up a great point, does this set a bad precedent the fact that movie theaters are pulling this movie and caving to the hackers? But do they have a choice? They face massive legal liability if something does happen.

BERMAN: And I think they also think face the question, is this movie worth it? Was this a $200 million breakout blockbuster?

ALESCI: That's true.

BERMAN: So, I think there's a lot of considerations here. But it does seem like they are backing down in the face of threats.

Cristina Alesci, great to have you with us. I appreciate it.

Eleven minutes after the hour. Happening right now: Russia's economy in crisis, the ruble in free-fall, and Russian president Vladimir Putin is answering questions about all of it right now. We are live in Moscow, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Happening now: Russian President Vladimir Putin in the middle of a marathon news conference. This is an annual event. This year takes on added importance as he is already facing questions about the economic turmoil facing that country. The ruble in a free-fall in part because of the plummeting oil prices around the world, also the effective western sanctions after the crisis in Ukraine. The Russian leader facing questions about Russian policy in Ukraine. A lot going on as we speak. This news conference is ongoing.

CNN's Matthew Chance is live in Moscow for us this morning.

Good morning, Matthew.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

That's right. You know, very widely anticipated press conference by Vladimir Putin. So much focus on Russia over the course of the past 12 months. But particularly in the course of the past week with the economic crisis here reaching extreme levels.

Vladimir Putin going out of his way to reassure Russians that the country would do, he would do as much as possible, to make sure the impact of the economic crisis is limited. He vowed to diversify the economy and weigh oil in the future, vowed to use foreign reserves of which Russia has large amounts, to bolster the country's currency, the ruble.

He was asked this interesting question: Is this economic crisis the price we have to pay here in Russia for annexing Crimea? I'm paraphrasing that question, but it was basically that question. And he rejected that categorically.

Remember, Russia annexed that Ukrainian territory of Crimea in March. It led to sanctions from the United States and the rest of the international community as well, or much of it, certainly in the European Union. And it's one of the reasons why the economic crisis being felt right now is so bad and extreme. It is not just the oil price, it's the economic sanctions as well.

Vladimir Putin rejecting that, saying no, it was a matter of our own independence. We had to annex Crimea. He said this, do we want our Russian bear to become a stuff animal? So, trying on plucking on those national heartstrings, making Russians understand he did this for the good of the nation.

BERMAN: Fascinating metaphor to say the least, I have been monitoring what the Russian leader has been saying. It seems like his doing this incredible dance around the Russian involvement or if you think his word for it, alleged involvement in Ukraine. Are there Russian troops? Have Russian personnel been active in the violence and in the fighting? And he just refuses to admit to really anything, Matthew.

CHANCE: Absolutely. And publicly, of course, the Russians and Putin have always categorically denied that Russians are supplying weapons to the rebels in Eastern Ukraine. Even though, you know, NATO says, otherwise, the reports on the ground indicate otherwise as well.

But it's been categorical denial all along. And if anyone in the U.S. was looking at this thinking, you know, well, maybe this economic crisis is going to tame Vladimir Putin. Maybe this crisis is going to get him to admit responsibility and culpability and change his position. They're going to be very disappointed listening to these words from Vladimir Putin as he speaks to, you know, 1,529 journalists or maybe more than that have gathered here from around the world to listen to what he has to say.

BERMAN: Matthew, finally, the ruble -- is there fear in the city where you are and in that country that it could drop further in the next few days?

CHANCE: I think it is a difficult one to answer, isn't it? But I think there must be a fear that that's going to happen. Although Vladimir Putin has gone to some lengths in the press conference to say that the central bank would make sure that it supported the ruble in the way it didn't in the past. Remember, the ruble standing around 58 to the dollar. It went to 80 to the dollar just two days ago.

So, it's been extremely volatile. It is still nearly 60 percent down at this level, 60 percent down on the year. So, there's a massive amount of ruble volatility. And, of course, what that means for Russian who earn in ruble, is that suddenly, they can't go on holiday, suddenly, they can't buy a car, suddenly, they can't pay their mortgages.

And so, that kind of, you know, devaluation in the currency has the massive impact on people's lives.

BERMAN: All right. Matthew Chance covering this really remarkable moment with the Russian leader answering questions for four hours -- thanks for being with us. Appreciate it.

Eighteen minutes after the hour.

Boston marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will make his first appearance in court in more than a year this morning. He will attend a final pre-trial hearing before jury selection begins in this murder trial on January 5th. His lawyers have filed a motion to delay that start date. The judge could rule on that today. The 21-year-old has already pleaded not guilty to a 30-count indictment. Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has lifted the state of emergency that he

declared for the St. Louis area, in the wake of Michael Brown's shooting death, in the wake of the grand jury decision following that. The work of local and state police praised by the Missouri governor, as well as the Missouri National Guard for containing the violence without a single fatality in the protest.

New York City's comptroller is looking to settle a pending $75 million civil rights lawsuit being filed by the family of Eric Garner. High profile cases like this are usually handled by the city's law department which is overseen by the mayor. But Comptroller Scott Stringer says it makes sense for the city to try to settle the case now before a long and bitter trial begins. The Garners are not expected to formally file their suit until early next year.

Weekend storms could make holiday travel difficult. Let's go to meteorologist Derek Van Dam for an early look at your weather.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, John, we are waking up to a wet start to our Thursday morning across the Central Plain States and Tennessee River Valley. Wet weather will create tricky travel conditions, especially for Nashville. And it's enough cold air to the north that were actually changing this precipitation into snowfall. That's why we have winter weather advisories from Kansas, all the way to Missouri, another one to three inches of snowfall before it is all said and done.

Still tracking a departing low pressure across the New England coast, maybe a flurry for New York, but one to three inches possible for Maine. Temperatures below average for Minneapolis and Chicago. Cool day for New York City. But mild across the Southeast, including Atlanta.

We are monitoring two major storms for the upcoming weekend. Of course, a lot of people like to travel leading up to Christmas. Heavy rain for the Southeast and a wet start to the weekend for the West Coast once again with mountain snow.

John, back to you.

BERMAN: All right, Derek. Our thanks to you.

Difficult times for the San Francisco 49ers. Turmoil here of them not winning. There are rumors their coach is about to be fired and now the team has cut its star defensive lineman Ray McDonald. What else could happen to this squad? Andy Scholes has the details in the "Bleacher Report", next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Big news out of San Francisco. The San Francisco 49ers have released star defensive lineman Ray McDonald after learning he has been investigated for new sexual assault charges.

Andy Sholes with more in the "Bleacher Report".

Good morning, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, BLEACHER REPORT: Hey, good morning, John.

Yes, just last month, the Santa Clara County D.A.'s office declined to file charges against Ray McDonald in a domestic violence investigation. Now, a woman in San Jose is accusing him of sexual assault. Police have searched McDonald's home. He has not been charged in the case, but the 49ers are severing ties, citing a pattern of poor behavior.

Now, this comes after the team took a lot of criticism for standing by McDonald while he was under investigation for domestic abuse. McDonald had played in every game this season.

And it appears the 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh will part ways at the end of the season. Harbaugh may be going back to the old stomping grounds. According to multiple reports, Harbaugh's alma mater Michigan has offered him the richest contract in college sports. They would pay him $8 million a year. That's $1 million more than Alabama's Nick Sabin.

Now, Harbaugh played quarterback for the Wolverine's back in the mid '80s. Reports say Harbaugh is considering the offer, but his preference is to remain in the NFL.

All right. The league's highest paid quarterback is going to be watching from the sidelines this Sunday. According to ESPN, the Bears have denied to bench Jay Cutler after what has been a very disappointing season. Jimmy Clausen is going to get the start against the Lions. And many believe this is a sign the Bears are ready to move on from Cutler, and this comes not even a year they signed him to a $126 million contract.

The announcement that the U.S. is restoring full diplomatic relations with Cuba, many people are wondering what that means for Major League Baseball. Nineteen Cuban-born players in the Majors last season. That was the highest number in nearly 50 years. And right now, players have to defect from Cuba in order to be able to sign with a major league's team.

But, John, we know that could be changing very soon, and that'd be big news for baseball, because recently, we have seen big time stars come from Cuba, whether it is Yasiel Puig or players Yoenis Cespedes or Aroldis Chapman. And I know you're pretty excited about the Red Sox new outfielder Rusney Castillo this season. So, I mean, this could be the norm in baseball in the very near future.

BERMAN: Yes. Look, there are a lot of serious questions here. Will they be treated as free agents as they are, you know, the Dominican Republican, or someday, might they be drafted like they are from Puerto Rico or United States? Many, many questions. I don't think the top ten on the list of the U.S.-Cuban relations right now, but sports fans, certainly an issue that does come up.

SCHOLES: On the radar.

BERMAN: Andy Scholes, great to have you with us. Thanks so much.

SCHOLES: All right.

BERMAN: And on that historic agreement to resume this relationship with Cuba, the president announces a breakthrough deal, but he does face opposition that could get in the way of this plan. We'll explain, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)