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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Virginia Shooter's Final Hours; Clinton: "I Am Not Giving Up"; Trump Campaign Stops in South Carolina; Obama Marks Katrina Anniversary; Tragic Toll of Migrant Crisis in Europe; Donald Trump: Tax the Rich More. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired August 28, 2015 - 04:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:31:10] MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN ANCHOR: A killer's get away plan. New clues about how the man who murdered two journalists on live television may have been plotting to get away with his crimes.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Miguel Marquez.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Alison Kosik. It's 30 minutes past the hour.

And we are getting new details about the gunman who killed two journalists on live TV in Virginia. Police Vester Flanagan had a wig, a to-do list and six magazines of ammo in his rented getaway car before he committed suicide.

Roanoke also found a briefcase containing three license plates, a shawl and an umbrella. We get more on the investigation from CNN's Brian Todd in Roanoke.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alison and Miguel, we are picking up some new details regarding Vester Flanagan's troubled history here at WDBJ TV. The station manager Jeff Marks and other former colleagues telling us about his run-ins with colleagues, about his anger management issues. Jeff Marks, the general manager, said after some performance related issues that they were trying to work with him on, Flanagan became angry and confronted a news anchor who was assigned to work with him on a script.

I also spoke with a journalist here named Ryan Fuqua who said he was always on edger working with Flanagan in the field because Flanagan often got angry.

He talked one incident where they're going to do a live report in the 6:00 p.m. hour one day and they had technical problems that caused the live report to be canceled. He said Flanagan threw down his stuff and stomped off into the woods for 20 minutes. And then he just didn't want to deal with anything after that. This history was really what led up to his termination in February of

2013. And new details on that that we're learning that the day he was fired, that he got agitated, he became threatening. He handed the news director a cross, a wooded cross, saying, "You are going to need this."

Police had to escort him out. Others basically went on lockdown in the building. It was not pleasant incident for anybody involved.

We've also learned new details about what was found in Vester Flanagan's car in northern Virginia where they found him on the side of the road after he run off the road and had a self inflicted gunshot wound.

Authorities tell us that inside his car, they found a Glock pistol with ammo, six Glock magazines. A briefcase with three license plates, a wig, a shawl, sun glasses and an umbrella, as well as a black hat. Those items indicate that he might have been trying to make some kind of a getaway and put himself in disguise -- Alison and Miguel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ: Now, friends and loved ones of the Roanoke shooting victims say honoring their memory is just not enough. The boyfriend of Alison Parker is calling for a substantive conversation about gun control in this country. Parker's father says he will not rest until someone stands up to the National Rifle Association.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY PARKER, ALISON PARKER'S FATHER: If I have to be the John Walsh of gun control and -- you know, look, I'm for the Second Amendment, but there has to be a way to force politicians that are cowards and in the pockets of the NRA to come to grips and make sense and have sensible laws so that crazy people can't get guns.

I know that the NRA, their position is going to be -- I can hear it now -- they're going to say, oh, gee, well, if they were carrying, this never would have happened. I got news for you, if Alison or Adam had been carrying an AK-47 strapped around their waist, it wouldn't have made any difference. They couldn't have seen this thing coming.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: Hillary Clinton calling for tighter restrictions on guns, during a campaign stop in Cleveland. Telling supporters, if she is president, she will not sit by while more good people die.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't know how we keep seeing shooting after shooting, read about the people murdered because they went to Bible study or they went to the movies or they were just doing their job, and not finally say, "We got to do something about this." (END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:35:22] KOSIK: Meantime, Republican presidential hopeful Scott Walker slamming Clinton, insisting the proper response to the Roanoke shooting is not gun control, but increased mental health treatment. The NRA gives Walker an "A" plus rating on gun policy.

MARQUEZ: The Democratic candidates are gathered in Minneapolis this morning for the party's annual summer meeting. Hillary Clinton and Lincoln Chafee scheduled to speak this morning, with Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley featured in the afternoon sessions.

Not in attendance, potential presidential candidate Joe Biden. A Draft Biden briefing called by the vice president's supporters drew only 15 members of the Democratic National Committee out of the hundreds who are on hand.

KOSIK: Donald Trump has a dilemma on his hands. The GOP front runner must sign a pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee in order to compete in the South Carolina primary. Trump says he will decide what to do about the requirement soon. We get more from CNN political reporter Sara Murray.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Good morning, Alison and Miguel.

Donald Trump addressing another energetic crowd this time in Greenville, South Carolina. And he took on some of his weaknesses, too, addressing some of his difficult poll numbers with women, saying he'll be great to them if he's president and saying he'll win the Latino vote even as protests erupted outside about his immigration policies.

Now, perhaps the most memorable moment is when he invited a voter on stage to defend his hairdo.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't wear a toupee. It's my hair. I swear.

Come here, come here, come here. Come here. I'm going to -- we're going to settle this, come, come!

Is this mine? Look.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is!

TRUMP: Say it, please.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I believe it is.

TRUMP: Thank you. And have I ever met you before? No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, you haven't.

TRUMP: But you're very nice. Thank you. Nice to meet you. MURRAY: Now today, Donald Trump heads to an event in Massachusetts.

The host of that event says it's a fundraiser. His campaign says it is not.

This comes as we're getting news that Donald Trump might not be as different from every politician as he says he is. Even though he's saying he will self-fund his campaign, a super PAC is raising money on this behalf. We've also learned that a second outside group can collect unlimited donations from anonymous donors. They are asking for money to support Donald Trump as well.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ: President Obama taking his pitch for the Iran nuclear deal straight to Jewish-Americans today. He'll be taking part in a webcast hosted by the Jewish Federations of North America, and the presidents of major American Jewish organizations. Jews are sharply divided on the agreement. Pro-Israel groups are expected to spend up to $20 million lobbying against it. Congress votes on the measure next month.

KOSIK: The president meantime visiting New Orleans to mark the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, hailing the progress that's been made, but making clear there's more to be done to restore the Big Easy to its former glory. He also used the opportunity to make some larger political points.

We get more from CNN senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Miguel and Alison, President Obama marked the comeback of New Orleans ten years after Hurricane Katrina. The president touted the resilience of the Big Easy after the city's levees broke in 2005 and devastated whole neighborhoods.

And Mr. Obama pledged rebuilding will continue. The president also talked about the issue of incoming equality. A need he says needs to be addressed after this critical address concern in New Orleans was laid bare by Katrina. But even as he tried to tie the rebirth of that city to nation's economic recovery, the president also deliver a sharply political message, warning that Congress has one month left to pass a budget, and avoid a government shutdown.

Here's more of what the president had to say.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Nobody gets to hold the American economy hostage over their own ideological demands. You, the people who send us to Washington, expect better.

ACOSTA: The president also warned there will be more severe weather events triggered by climate change. And Mr. Obama will return to that issue once again next week when he travels to Alaska to see the effects of global warming first hand -- Alison and Miguel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOSIK: The Dow setting a new record Thursday following a wild week for markets around the world. So, have stocks stabilized? We're live after the break.

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[04:43:21] KOSIK: Looks like a wild week for stocks could end on a positive note. U.S. stock futures are down a bit right now, but after an absolutely brutal start, stocks are up for the week. Yesterday, the Dow climbed 369 points. Combine that with Wednesday's 619 point rally and it winds up being the best two-day point gain for the Dow in history. Some of the biggest winners were oil companies as oil prices soared over 10 percent.

Back above $42 a barrel. It was oil's best rally since 2009. We watched stocks of Halliburton, Baker Hughes and Transocean surge more than 9 percent.

Also, good news about the U.S. economy. We learned that the U.S. economy grew 3.7 percent in the second quarter, much higher than expected, and that's actually a healthy sign that the American that it hasn't been hurt too much by China slowdown.

Asia stocks were up a bit this morning. Look at the Shanghai composite, up almost 5 percent today. Despite those big gains, the index is still down almost 8 percent for the week, thanks to all that frantic selling Monday and Tuesday.

Let's bring in Andrew Stevens in Hong Kong.

Andrew, it has been a tough week. What has changed between when we watched Asian shares tank to when they are kind of recovering now?

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think in a word or phrase, government intervention, Alison. We saw those selloffs, like you say, 15 percent down on Monday and Tuesday, massive falls, panic selling.

Then, on Tuesday after the market closed, we started to see the government taking action.

[04:45:02] We saw cut interest rates and also free up money to be pumped back into the economy.

And then on Thursday, we started to see a government buy, at least what we think is government buy. We cannot actually be sure because it is difficult to confirm these things. It fits the pattern we have seen before, markets finishing sharply higher towards the end of the day's trade, the government has explicitly directed the pension funds and insurance funds, state-owned companies here, to actually buy Shanghai stocks.

So, there is a clear directive there. We think that is going on, particularly the last two days, both near 5 percent. Better finishes. That does indicate that this -- the government is behind this turn around.

But it's interesting, you look at the whole week for the Asian markets. It has been an absolute roller coaster. Massive falls across Tokyo, across Hong Kong. But as we close out this week, the overall damage actually as you see there, Alison, not too bad, the Nikkei is down just 1.5 percent. Hong Kong is down 3.5 percent. Australia is actually up.

So, the damage is extraordinary headlines over the past week or so. The end of the day, the damage to the markets is not too severe.

KOSIK: But the underlying problems with China, i.e., its growth, is still there as we watch the market recover.

Andrew Stevens live from Hong Kong -- thanks.

MARQUEZ: Tropical storm Erika could grow to hurricane strength by the time it reaches the Florida coast, possibly by this weekend. The storm is blamed for four deaths after it unleashed torrential rains in parts of the Caribbean. Nearly two dozen people are missing on the island of Dominica, where the damage is said to be extensive. The storm now taking a turn to the Bahamas and Florida.

KOSIK: Let's get more now with meteorologist Derek Van Dam for the latest on Erika's track.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Alison and Miguel.

Tropical storm Erika has dropped a considerable amount of rain on the Caribbean island of Dominica, with roughly 12 inches of precipitation in that 12-hour period, leading to landslides and flooding for that island nation. This is the latest, 45-mile-an-hour sustained winds, still busy getting organized at the moment.

But the big threat, the immediate threat is more rainfall. Specifically for Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as the northeastern coastal regions of the Dominican Republic, anywhere between 5 to 10 inches of rain, perhaps higher amounts locally.

Here is the initial forecast from the National Hurricane Center. It has the storm intensifying as it reaches the Florida coast. Perhaps equal to the category one hurricane, something we need to monitor very closely.

Beautiful across the New England coast today, starting to warm up into the weekend. But we focus on the Pacific Northwest, as we have a big change in the weather patterns. This is going to bring some beneficial rainfall into this area, but also increase the wind speeds, perhaps fuelling more fires across eastern Washington and parts of Montana.

Back to you.

MARQUEZ: Now, Europe's migrant crisis out of control. Dozens more dead this morning trying to cross borders. We are live with the developments, coming right up. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:51:54] MARQUEZ: A gruesome discovery on a highway in Austria. The bodies of over 70 people found decomposing in the back of an abandoned truck. Three people arrested in connection with their death, all while top European officials are huddling in Vienna, trying to come up with the plan to cope with the largest influx of refugees pour into Europe since World War II.

CNN senior international correspondent Arwa Damon has been traveling with a group of migrants. She joins us live near the Hungary and Serbia border.

Arwa, 7.6 million displaced in Syria, 4 million in Iraq. The people that you are with and you have been following, are they seeking refugee status or just a better way of life?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They want to basically start over, absolutely no hope to go back to their home lands once again. And they are trying to reach Western Europe's wealthier countries.

But this is the reception that they are getting at Europe's gateway, which is Hungary, the first country that they are entering. They are being held. It's a field that is very close to the Serbia/Hungarian border. Many of them have been here since 2:00 in the morning, for around 10 hours at this stage.

One woman who is pregnant and traveling with her 2-year-old was saying, where is the mercy? This is not what we expected Europe to be like. The group right there, they just came across. They have been traveling for two weeks.

It has been a phenomenally difficult journey. It is one that they are struggling to make at every step along the way. Here they say they are not even being treated with a measure of dignity. Europe, where human rights are meant to be respected, they say they are being to feel like animals.

And this is just one of the reasons why, Miguel, it is so critical at this stage that this various European that the leaders come together to find a solution, because these people are forced to make horrific decisions, decisions that led to at this stage that terrifying incident that saw those 70 plus potentially migrants and refugees die in the back of that cooler truck on the highway between Budapest and Vienna. They are force to because they can't take public transportation easily resort to smuggling, criminal gangs. They don't necessarily have their best interests at heart.

And throughout all of this and following all of this, it's really been, one has to say, difficult to believe that they are going through some of what they are going through in Europe. One doesn't expect to see this kind of treatment here. One expects a certain level of humanity and compassion. It's really sad to say that throughout most of the route, that is not necessarily what they are finding.

MARQUEZ: Arwa Damon for us at the tip of the possibly enormous human catastrophe. Thank you, Arwa.

KOSIK: Some say Donald Trump is a man without a plan, but we're getting new details about his plan for the economy.

[04:55:00] What President Trump could mean for your taxes next.

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KOSIK: I'm Alison Kosik. Let's get an early start on your money. U.S. stock futures are down at the moment, but we had a brutal start and now the Dow looks to end up for the week.

The Dow climbed 369 points yesterday. Combine that with Wednesday's 619 rally. It is the best Dow gain for the Dow in history. You look at some of the biggest winners, oil prices soared over 10 percent and back above $42 a barrel. It was oil's best rally since 2009.

We are learning more about Donald Trump's economic plan and it's surprisingly populist. First, he wants to tax the rich more and the middle class less. Basically, he wants to raise taxes on himself and those like him.

Next, Trump wants to lower corporate taxes. He says that will stop American companies from trying to move their headquarters abroad. Plus, many businesses have huge cash reserves overseas. Trump says his plan could bring back $2.5 trillion of that.

And, finally, he wants to cut government spending and stop raising the debt ceiling.