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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Greeks Celebrate Resounding "No" Vote; Iran Nuclear Deal: "Hard Choices" Remain; USA Wins Women's World Cup; S.C. Lawmakers to Debate Removing Confederate Flag. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired July 06, 2015 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:00] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The euro plunging against the dollar, that means every dollar saved for a European vacation will go further. It's also bad news for American businesses who sell things abroad because that means their products are now more expensive. So, that could hurt company bottom lines.
And, finally, the future of Eurozone in question. Markets in turmoil. The Federal Reserve may be reluctant to raise interest rates in the fall. Variety of ways Greece could matter to you. We also know that there's always this concern about contagion. When something happens in a modern economy, it's very difficult to know what exactly kind of knock on effects can be around the world.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to have more on that as EARLY START continues right now.
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ROMANS: Breaking news this morning, Greece facing financial ruin. Residents vote against a bailout. The country will default on its debt. Its finance minister, he quits. Will Greece be kicked out of the European Union? We're live.
BERMAN: Iran and United States closer than ever to reaching a nuclear agreement, but hard decisions still remain. Just one day until the deadline. We are live with the latest next.
ROMANS: And soccer. The Americans back on top, winning the World Cup. A thrilling game for her, a hat trick. We are live with the highlights and celebration.
Everyone is tired. There's Coy Wire.
BERMAN: No.
ROMANS: Everyone is so tired. We all stayed up so late. It was such an exciting game.
BERMAN: We're invigorated with the sense of victory.
ROMANS: Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
BERMAN: And I'm John Berman. It is Monday, July 6th. It is 4:00 a.m. in the East.
ROMANS: Let's begin with the breaking news in Greece. More breaking news in Greece.
The Greek finance minister quits after the Greek people tell Europe, take your bailout and shove it. A resounding no vote in Sunday's referendum on the latest European bailout offer. The finance minister, he quits. He writes in a blog post that European creditors, they wanted him gone. He says he is quitting his job to help the prime minister reach a new bailout deal. He says, "I shall wear the creditors' loathing with pride."
Markets around the world sinking in response to the Greek voters' rejection of the bailout deal. European stocks sharply lower right now. U.S. stock futures are down. The euro is falling against the dollar. The no vote puts Greece its future further in question.
Deepening the divide between Greece and the E.U. countries that hold its death, Europe wanted more reforms from Greece in exchange for its bailout. The Greek voters voted -- they had enough of years of steep cuts. It's pushing the country closer to bankruptcy, closer to an exit from the Eurozone. Greece desperately needs more money to pay pensions, to pay wages, to reopen banks that have been shut for a week.
The big question now, how will European leaders react? That's the next part of this story. Senior officials meet today ahead of a big summit tomorrow.
Overnight, thousands of Greeks celebrated the no vote. It was happiness, euphoria in the streets. But they wake up this morning facing the prospects of an economy in chaos. The possibility of an extension to the bank closures. Tighter restrictions on daily withdraws from ATMs. Shortages could include food stables. The future very, very difficult for this country.
For the latest, let's get straight to Isa Soares. She's live for us in Athens.
And, Isa, I mean, I'm just stunned by statistics you gave us last hour. Half of Greek households, all of their income comes from a check from the government. And they have seen that check get smaller and smaller and smaller as their taxes have gone up and their services have been cut. They say no more.
ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They are saying very clearly no more. And that's why we heard a resounding no yesterday, Christine. Good morning to you. Good morning to John.
People have had enough. They had pensions cut and salaries cut. Jobs -- well, they're not many to go around. Unemployment is so high. Youth unemployment over 50 percent.
So, they're saying something has to give. When you give us austerity measures, give us something that we can work with. That is why we heard such a loud and very clear no yesterday from the Greek people. To give you the taste of what newspaper here is saying. This one of
the biggest dailies. It reads "Deal or Grexit after a powerful no." That's one the main newspapers here, very respected newspaper here.
I have another one here. This one very clear, "Country is in danger." And that is the reality that now it is all down to the ECB, Christine. Will they or won't they prop up the banks? Many people know, Greek banks don't have much longer to go to keep them going, Christine.
ROMANS: But here's the risk for the European Central Bank, and for the European creditors. I mean, Greece has said they will not pay what they owe. So, how can they -- who can give them more money knowing that Greece won't or can't pay them back?
SOARES: Well, Greece always said if they got the bailout in time, they will pay the creditors. That's how it is. I mean, they didn't get the money in time. They did not agree on the bailout. So, obviously, they didn't pay the IMF. So that was clear.
Now, they have more than 5.5 billion euro due this month to creditors as well as pensions and salaries. So, that's reality -- 3.5 of which, let me remind you, is the ECB alone.
[05:05:03] So, the ECB also wants to get paid.
ROMANS: Right.
SOARES: But all of it depends on whether the ECB is ready to throw more money in there.
So, it's a vicious circle. One said the only certainty at the moment is uncertainty. I spoke to one person yesterday, Christine.
I was talking as a result of coming in and one Greek lady said, it is the choice between drowning in the ocean or getting bitten by a shark. And that's how she compared it. Both options are pretty bad. At least we are in control of our own future and our own country. If it goes bad, we are to blame.
ROMANS: And meanwhile, it is the summer travel season. It's the holiday. You know, it's he summer tourism season and they need tourists. But tourists are terrified not being able to get money out of the bank. Thanks so much, Isa Soares. We'll be back to you soon.
BERMAN: All right. Happening now, countdown to the deadline with the Iran nuclear talks with Iran. The deadline is tomorrow, at least for now. The Iranian foreign minister, Javad Zarif, said the two sides are closer to a deal, but Secretary of State John Kerry says not so fast.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: I want to be absolutely clear with everybody: we are not yet where we need to be on several of the most difficult issues. And the truth is that while I completely agree with Foreign Minister Zarif, that we have never been closer, at this point, this negotiation could go either way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: The secretary says the U.S. is willing to walk away from the talks. A source familiar with what's going on there says there is a lot of work still to do.
Let's go live to the ground there and get the very latest from CNN's Atika Shubert, who is there.
Atika, what's the status this morning?
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we have seen foreign ministers arriving. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov walked in. There'll be back to back meetings. The pressure is definitely on to try and make that deadline.
Most of the really thorny technical issues, such as enrichment capacity to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons have actually been hammered out in previous talks. But this time, it's the more political issues that are really trying to nail down.
For example, the issue of IAEA inspectors. What kind of access will they have? The U.S. wanted anytime, anywhere inspections. Iran says that is an absolute red line for them. So, what kind of access will they get? To which sites? How much notice do they have to give?
These are the sort of nitty-gritty details that need to be decided. And the foreign ministers have to make the hard choices quickly if they want to get an agreement this week. The deadline is tomorrow. It is possible, perhaps, with a little bit of leeway. But they need it in by July 9th at the latest in order to get Congress approval before they take that August recess.
BERMAN: So, there is a real deadline in the near future.
Atika Shubert, thanks so much.
Happening today: President Obama will be briefed on the fight against Islamic militants. He will speak with Defense Secretary Ash Carter and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Carter is also meeting with the French defense ministers this morning to talk about the battle against ISIS. At least 23 ISIS militants were killed over the weekend in coalition air strikes. That is according to a human rights group based in London. U.S. officials say the attacks on the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa were part of the most sustain set of airstrikes to date.
ROMANS: New this morning political place -- political fallout for Donald Trump. A fresh round of recriminations for his controversial comments about Mexican immigrants. Trump standing by his words, issuing new statements and Republican rivals in the Republican race are now taking notice.
CNN's Sunlen Serfaty has more from the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Christine.
Well, there continues to be fallout from Donald Trump's controversial comments when he said that Mexican immigrants are rapists. And that continues to be a controversy which is sucking up much of the oxygen on the campaign trail.
We have seen recently this past weekend, many of the Republican candidates seeming to be a little more aware of that and not only distancing themselves from the Trump's comments, but also trying to push back a little more aggressively, indicating that this is hurting the Republican Party. We saw Jeb Bush over the weekend in New Hampshire, saying that he is personally offended by Trump's comments, given that his wife was born in Mexico and calling it rude language.
Other candidates ramping up criticism of Trump as well.
RICK PERRY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald Trump does not represent the Republican Party. I was offended by his remarks. Listen, Hispanics in America and Hispanics in Texas, from the Alamo to Afghanistan, have been extraordinary people, citizens of our country and of our state. They have served nobly. And to paint with that broad a brush, that Donald Trump did, is -- I mean, he's going to have to defend those remarks.
MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Honestly, Donald Trump needs no help from Mike Huckabee to get publicity. He's doing a really good job at that.
SERFATY: Meanwhile, Donald Trump isn't backing down. In fact, he seems to be doubling down, continuing to defend his remarks.
[05:10:01] DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I love the Mexican people. They are fantastic, and everybody knows that.
But in terms of the border, it's a disgrace. Either we have a border, or we don't have a country. You know, you can't have a country without borders.
And people are coming in. And some of those people -- and I read it even yesterday, there was a huge article about the tremendous crime that's taking place, it's like a crime wave. It's one of the most dangerous places on earth. I bring that up and, all of a sudden, I'm a bad person.
SERFATY: All this back and forth comes at a time when many Republicans are eager to reach out to Hispanic voters, bring them into their party. That's likely a big reason why we're seeing many of these candidates start to speak out much more forcefully, noting that it could be damage to their party's brand -- John and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Sunlen Serfaty, thank you that. Republican candidate and former New York governor, George Pataki, he
is in New Hampshire today. He's going to host an immigration policy round table with reporters in Manchester. Pataki will also address. He sent a letter on Friday to fellow GOP candidates asking them to denounce Donald Trump over those comments about Mexican immigrants.
BERMAN: Victory for the United States. The U.S. World Cup team just crushed defending champion Japan, 5-2. Four goals in 15 minutes.
Coy Wire, the luckiest man on earth, he was there to watch and see the emergence of a worldwide star, Carli Lloyd. What she did, man oh man. Never seen anything like it.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS: Happy Monday to you, John, Christine.
Yes, we have a new household name in American soccer, Carli Lloyd. She cements her name in the annals of American soccer lore with the likes of Mia Hamm, Abby Wambach and Brandi Chastain.
Carli Lloyd is legend. She scored a hat trick in the World Cup final. Three goals in one game against Japan. Only allowed three goals the entire tournament up to that point. She's the second person and first woman to ever accomplish that feat. The 5-2 win, avenged the U.S. loss to Japan in the 2011 final. It's their first World Cup title since '99, and now they have done what no other country has done. Win three overall.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARLI LLOYD, SCORED 3 GOALS IN USA WIN: I have dedicated my entire life to this game, to this moment. Everything has come second in my life -- my fiance, my friends and my family. This is it for me. If you're going to do something and you want to be the best that you can be, you've got to sacrifice so much. And for me, I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.
ALEX MORGAN, USA FORWARD: This team is deserving of this World Cup. It was such a devastating loss last time. And this time is just our time and I'm really happy for everyone that gets to enjoy it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: Now, the patriotism is still flowing fast and furious following last night's feat. President Obama even tweeted a shout-out to the champs, "What a win for Team USA", he said. "Great game, Carli Lloyd, your country is so proud of all of you. Come visit the White House with a World Cup soon." That's a retweeter, for sure.
How about the USA squad who was having a blast last night. Check out this tweet from their Twitter account. They are now lobbying the Federal Reserve. They want Carli Lloyd and Hope Solo's faces on the $10 and $1 bills. And rightfully so, guys, because they were both money the entire tournament.
My favorite moment besides that rainbow from Carli Lloyd from the half line that found that pot of gold at the back of the net, talking to USA's two-time World Cup Michelle Akers after the game. She was all teared up. I asked her how she's feeling, she said, "I'm so happy right now. The U.S. is supposed to be the best and we proved it tonight" -- guys.
BERMAN: And Michelle Akers, to hear from one legend now talking about a new team of new legends. It was inspiring.
Coy, you know, Romans, my boys were outside playing soccer this weekend. They were saying I'm Alex Morgan. I'm Carli Lloyd. When you can see that, you see the influence the team has. It's just extraordinary.
ROMANS: It's very, very cool.
And Carli Lloyd is from New Jersey, right?
BERMAN: She is from New Jersey. She is from New Jersey.
ROMANS: New Jersey is turning out major soccer stars.
BERMAN: And Carli Lloyd will be on "NEW DAY" just after 7:00 Eastern Time. Hope Solo on as well, joining us live from Vancouver. Stick around. Carli Lloyd may have six more goals before 7:15.
ROMANS: Thank you, Coy. Coy had a great night. He's going to have a lot of work today. Thanks, Coy.
All right. Fourteen minutes past the hour.
Stunning levels of violence in Chicago this weekend. The city's top cop says is to blame.
BERMAN: Plus, a killer's confession reigniting the immigration debate. We have breaking developments overnight. That's ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:17:27] BERMAN: A new round of deadly violence in Chicago. Police report 33 shootings with more than three dozen people injured and seven killed. This is holiday weekend. One of the deaths, a 7-year- old boy Amari Brown who was shot fatally while celebrating with his family.
At a prayer vigil on Sunday, family and friends spoke out about this senseless tragedy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL SINGLETON, FAMILY FRIEND: Y'all will be back out here next week on another corner filming the same thing from somebody else saying exactly what I'm saying. So, I'm tired of doing news conferences and tired of listening to them and tired of talking about them. Until we make a better decision as a community and as a city, this is all that's going to happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BERMAN: Police say the father, a known gang leader with a lengthy rap sheet, was the intended target of the shooting. They say he is not cooperating now with the investigation.
ROMANS: David Sweat is back in prison this morning. The notorious escapee was released Sunday from a locked hospital unit in Albany, taken to the maximum security Five Points correctional facility in Romulus, New York.
Now, local residents there, they know all about Sweat, but they say they do not fear another breakout.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESTON ELKINS, ROMULUS, N.Y. RESIDENT: This is a more secured prison. It's more secured. At least 23 hours lockdown, I would say that gives him more time how to escape the next prison, but it doesn't scare me.
PATRICK BEAVERS, ROMULUS, N.Y. RESIDENT: It's a safe, secured place. So, I trust them and I know they're going to do the job. So --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Authorities say Sweat will be placed on suicide watch. He will be housed in a special unit of the Five Points prison. Sweat was shot and captured three weeks after a brazen escape from the Clinton correctional facility. He escaped along with Richard Matt. Richard Matte was shot by police and killed.
BERMAN: Breaking overnight, the undocumented immigrant arrested in apparently random shooting of a woman in San Francisco now admits he did it on camera to CNN affiliate KGO.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Did you shoot Kate Steinle, the lady who was down on Pier 14?
FRANCISCO LOPEZ-SANCHEZ, MURDER SUSPECT: Yes.
REPORTER: You did shoot her?
LOPEZ-SANCHEZ: Uh-huh.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: The accused gunman claimed the shooting of Kate Steinle at the public pier was an accident. Donald Trump, he has already brought this up. It has added new fuel to the debate. The suspect had seven felony convictions. He had been deported five times. He repeatedly came back into the United States.
CNN's Boris Sanchez has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, this appears to be a random senseless murder. And when immigration officials wanted the man detained on previous arrest, he was let go, leading many to wonder if this whole thing could have been prevented.
[05:20:05] The shooting happened Wednesday night on a busy pier in San Francisco. Kate Steinle had been walking with her father when a man ran up and shot her. Police say the suspect didn't say anything to Kate before taking off.
Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez was arrested for the crime. The 45-year- old undocumented immigrant convicted of seven felonies. Immigration officials tell CNN he's also been deported five times to Mexico and it would have been six, except that after a drug-related arrest in San Francisco, deputies did not follow a request from Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain him. Deputies tell CNN that request was ignored because of no warrant or judiciary order of removal for him.
Lopez-Sanchez now faces homicide charges.
Kate's father says his family is heartbroken.
JIM STEINLE, VICTIM'S FATHER: It's not going to bring Kate back. Again, find the guy and whatever. The justice will work its way through the system. But our focus is on Kate.
SANCHEZ: Keep in mind, San Francisco is a sanctuary city, meaning that you cannot be held on the basis of your legal status -- John, Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: Many Republicans have criticized the sanctuary cities, saying that, you know, it just gives cover to the people who are highest priority for deportation.
BERMAN: All right. Twenty-one minutes after the hour.
A big day in South Carolina. In just hours, the lawmakers debate on whether to remove the confederate flag from the statehouse grounds. We will have the latest right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:25:10] BERMAN: This morning, South Carolina lawmakers convene a special session of removing the Confederate flag from the capitol grounds. The governor there, Nikki Haley, and others have called for it to be taken down. All of this in the wake of the church massacre in Charleston.
Let's get the very latest from CNN's Nick Valencia.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, a lively debate took place here between supporters of the Confederate flag and those who want to see it permanently removed. Today, state lawmakers will begin that debate. Already, the state's governor, Republican Nikki Haley, has asked for the flag to be taken down.
Earlier, we caught up with people on both sides of the issue.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You take the flag down, it's going to piss more people off, and rile more people up.
VALENCIA: Why is that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because this is our heritage, this is who we are, this is who were proud to be. In the South, you stand with us or you stand against us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's just a symbol, whether it's up there or in the museum, it's just a symbol. It's what we do with that symbol that it's going to determine whether South Carolina is in the news for the wrong reasons or whether you see us stepping off the grandstands and shaking hands and saying this is us. We have our opinion. We are staunch about them, we can yell about them. But when it is all said and done, we're united.
VALENCIA: It will take a 2/3 vote in both chambers of the state's general assembly for the flag to officially be removed. I spoke to one former state representative who said if the vote goes smoothly, the flag could be taken down as early as Thursday -- John, Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Nick, thanks for that.
Breaking news this morning: Greece, wow, what a mess. Residents vote against a bailout, basically voting against Europe. Their banks could run out of money. Their finance minister quits. We're live next.
BERMAN: Yes, is it our problem now?
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