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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Robot Submarine Searching for Plane; U.S. Lifts Arms Embargo Against Vietnam; Sanders Escalates Battle Against DNC; Operation to Retake Falluja Begins in Iraq; Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired May 23, 2016 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:17] GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now. An undersea search to find the black boxes of EgyptAir Flight 804 as we learn new information on what happened inside the cockpit before the jetliner crashed from the sky. We are live.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news this morning. President Obama lifting a 50-year-old ban to sell weapons to Vietnam. A move sure to anger China. We are live with what the repercussions could be.

HOWELL: And new this morning, Iraq begins a new fight to take back a critical city from ISIS. We are live with the latest on the battlefield.

A lot happening this weekend. Very busy. But good to have you with us. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm George Howell.

KOSIK: And good morning. I'm Alison Kosik. It's Monday, May 23rd, it's 4:00 a.m. in the East.

And happening now, Egypt deploying a submarine to help in the search for EgyptAir Flight 804. The submarine will scour the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea for the jet's black boxes. Officials believe those flight recorders will reveal what went wrong on EgyptAir 804, whether it was mechanical failure, terrorism or something else.

French aviation officials confirmed over the weekend that the plane sent automated messages signaling smoke at the front of the aircraft moments before it disappeared from radar.

Joining us now with the latest is CNN's Ian Lee in Cairo.

Good morning, Ian. So has this -- has the submarine made it to the area where the search is happening for the debris?

IAN LEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning. We haven't heard from Egyptian officials yet if that submarine has been able to make it there on site. This is a submarine that is being barrowed from Egypt's Ministry of Petroleum and on board it has an array of cameras also has arms with claws that will be able to manipulate things on the bottom of the sea to get to those black boxes. And that's really one of the main priorities for Egyptian officials right now. As you said, over the weekend, we got a report from the ACAR system

which transmits data from the plane to the ground that there was smoke on board the plane. Now officials don't want to speculate where that smoke was coming from or really what that means. But it does add another clue to this and to really get a broader picture they want those black boxes to go through them to see what the pilots are saying and seeing -- and to see what the instruments were saying at the time as well.

But talking to the minister of civil aviation who is really helping oversee this investigation, he was telling us that once they're able to collect the parts of the plane, they're going to be brought here to Cairo. And this is where they're going to piece it all together to figure out what exactly happened.

Also, he told me, one of their main priorities is also recovering the bodies. So the loved ones can be reunited and give them a proper burial.

KOSIK: Such a grueling recovery. And it's really a race against time to get their hands on that black box to get that information about what happened to make that plane crash.

All right. CNN's Ian Lee following the developments from Cairo. Thanks very much.

HOWELL: Some breaking news to tell you about this morning that is sure to anger China. President Obama announcing at a joint news conference in Hanoi with Vietnam's president that the United States is fully lifting the decades' old ban on the sale of military equipment to Vietnam.

Let's go live to Hanoi. CNN's White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski is traveling with the president and now joins us.

Michelle, so obviously a move to strengthen ties between these two nations. But this came as somewhat of a surprise to even the reporters.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I mean, the White House in advance of the trip made it seem like this is going to be discussed, but they didn't really give an indication that this would be a major decision on this trip. I mean, some predicted that it could happen but there's really an uncertainty. And just the way they talked about it made it seem like there was still some work to be done. That this would be down the road. But then all of a sudden, the new president of Vietnam announced that the ban was to be fully lifted.

And keep in mind, it was partially lifted only two years ago. So this is kind of a final step. But it sort of left everybody looking at each other and saying, did he really just say that? Is that real? You know, we wanted to get some confirmation from the White House. And then it took several minutes with in President Obama's address for him to get to that point and say yes, it has been lifted. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The United States is fully lifting the ban on the sale of military equipment to Vietnam that has been in place for some 50 years.

[04:05:01] The decision to lift the ban was not based on China or any other considerations. It was based on our desire to complete what has been a lengthy process of moving towards normalization with Vietnam.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSINSKI: Well, the big issue that was seen as possibly an impediment to this being fully lifted was human rights in this country. I mean, this is a place where there are political prisoners, more were arrested this year. This is a place where only one day ago the BBC was ordered to stop reporting. And where our broadcast aired about 10 minutes late so after we do this live shot, we'll see it here 10 minutes afterwards because it's being monitored by government censors.

But President Obama, he was careful to say that human rights is an issue. He's going to be pushing for an expansion for human rights here. But he didn't want to tie human rights to the lifting of the embargo. He said it was framed more by just the deepening of the relationship. And although President Obama didn't say it, it seems certain that China's influence in this region, what China has been doing lately, the dispute between China and Vietnam in the South China Sea, that likely spurred the urgency of taking this final step in the embargo.

HOWELL: Michelle Kosinski live in Hanoi. Thank you so much for your reporting today.

KOSIK: OK, on to politics. Bernie Sanders getting tough against the head of the Democratic National Committee. Sanders blasting the party, its presidential primary process and ramping up his battle against DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, now fundraising for Schultz's opponent in the Democratic primary for her House seat in Florida.

Sanders and Hillary Clinton campaigning against each other in California today as Sanders claims that despite his shortfall in delegates, he has a path to the White House.

CNN's Sunlen Serfaty has more.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Bernie Sanders is certainly striking a defiant tone as he barnstorms through California in the middle of a five-day swing here in the state of back-to-back events leading to California's June 7th primary.

And as he speaks to supporters, he is really trying to make the case to validate his path forward, validate staying in the race. Even though he is well behind in the popular vote, well behind in the pledged delegates. Here is what he told his supporters here in Vista, California Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We win when voter turnout is high. If voter turnout is high, with your help, we are going to win the lion's share of those delegates. If we win the nomination, I assure you, Donald Trump will not become president of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: And Sanders is also taking on a much harsher tone towards the Democratic nominating process and the Democratic leadership. And over the weekend, that came in the form of Bernie Sanders speaking out against Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the DNC chair. He actually endorsed her opponent in her congressional primary race over her, which of course is a bigger front to her leadership and to her personally. Here's what he told Jake Tapper on "STATE OF THE UNION."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDERS: Clearly, I favor her opponent. His views are much closer to mine than as Wasserman Schultz's is. And let me also say this, in all due respected to the current chairperson, if elected president, she would not be reappointed to be chair of the DNC.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: So absolutely no mincing of words there from Bernie Sanders. Now Debbie Wasserman Schultz has responded. She said, even though Bernie Sanders has endorsed her opponent, she intends to remain neutral during the primary process.

HOWELL: New polls show Hillary Clinton now in a dead heat with the presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. In the "Wall Street Journal"/NBC News poll, Trump gains four points over last month at Clinton's expense putting him three points behind, a statistical tie now. And then there's this. A new "Washington Post"/ABC News poll says Trump is two points ahead, 46 percent to 44 percent. This as Clinton blast Trump over the weekend calling him dangerous. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I do not want Americans and, you know, good-thinking Republicans, as well as Democrats and Independents, to start to believe that this is a normal candidacy. It isn't. What he is advocating -- look what he's done this past week, you know, attacking our closest ally, England. Heaping praise on a dangerous dictator in North Korea. Reiterating his call to pull out of NATO, our strong military alliance. Talking about letting other countries have nuclear weapons. Advocating a return to torture and even murdering the families of suspected terrorists. That is beyond the pale and it poses immediate dangers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:10:02] HOWELL: And Trump fired back at Clinton last night on Twitter naturally, taking a dig at her ongoing fight for the nomination. Trump writes, "Bernie Sanders is continuing his quest because he believes that crooked Hillary Clinton will be forced out of the race. E-mail scandal," exclamation point.

Meanwhile, CNN has confirmed that Trump has a meeting today in New York that could enhance his foreign policy chops. He sits down with the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Tennessee Senator Bob Corker. Corker's name has been a floated a possible pick for a running mate.

Also today formal invitations go out for a meeting between Trump and evangelical leaders set for June 21st and hosted by the Family Research Council.

KOSIK: The Republican primaries cost Donald Trump $43 million of his own money. The latest filings with the Federal Election Commission showed Trump has loaned himself $43.4 million during this election season. He also received $14.3 million in donations. Now in case you're wondering Trump has said he will not pay himself back.

He wants to raise $1 billion for the general election which would be more than President Obama or Mitt Romney raised in the 2012 election.

On the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders raised more than Hillary Clinton in April with $26 million, but he is burning through more cash. He burned through more than $38 million during the month. Clinton spent $23 million and that helped her save and she had $30 million in cash heading into May. Bernie Sanders had $5 million in the bank to begin the month.

But at this point, we're seeing Hillary Clinton set her sights on the general election. A portion of the money that she's got she's already putting toward the general election. Of course she's fundraising as well just like Donald Trump.

HOWELL: The most expensive political campaigns in the world right here.

KOSIK: And the most shocking, too.

HOWELL: Yes. So much money.

This is EARLY START. New details this morning after a police officer is killed on duty setting off a massive manhunt and a dramatic standoff with his killer.

KOSIK: Plus a touching tribute to Prince from Madonna and Stevie Wonder. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:16:17] HOWELL: Breaking overnight. An 18-hour manhunt for suspected cop killer in Massachusetts ending late last night in a deadly police standoff. Authorities say 35-year-old Jorge Zambrano of Worcester shot and killed Officer Ronald Tarentino, a 42-year-old father of three, during a routine traffic stop early Sunday Morning. Zambrano later broke into a friend's house to hide. Listen to that friend describe his final encounter with Zambrano moments before police killed him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What the hell's going on? He just sunk down and was totally depressed. And I can't tell you. I didn't see a weapon. My god, where can I go? And he said now I realized, I'm in trouble.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Police tried to convince Zambrano to come out of the house and surrender. They say they had to shoot him after he rushed out of the closet firing his weapon, wounding an officer in the shoulder. Authorities say they had no idea why Zambrano shot and killed Officer Tarentino earlier in the day.

KOSIK: The governor of Louisiana is expected to sign a first-of-its- kind Blue Lives Matter Bill. The measure makes it a hate crime to kill a police officer. Firefighters and EMS personnel are also covered. The state lawmaker who crafted the bill says it's needed because police are being targeted in some parts of the country. Critics claim it will confuse the purpose of hate crime laws.

HOWELL: We will soon know the fate of Edward Nero, one of six Baltimore police officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray. The judge hearing the case is scheduled to announce his verdict at 10:30 Eastern Time this morning. Nero pleaded not guilty to second degree assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct charges. He was one of the three bike patrol officers who initially apprehended Gray.

KOSIK: Today millions are in the path of severe storms and even possible tornadoes. Let's bring in meteorologist Pedram Javaheri.

Good morning.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Alison and George, good morning to you both.

(WEATHER REPORT)

JAVAHERI: Guys, I send it back to you.

HOWELL: Pedram, thank you.

It was a night of music, honors and a touching tribute at the Billboard Music Awards.

KOSIK: Whoa, that costume. You see that?

HOWELL: That's Britney Spears. She kicked off the show with the medley of her hits. Adele won the night's biggest award, though, for Top Artist.

Justin Bieber took the stage and took home two awards, including Top Male Artist.

[04:20:09] And Rihanna showed off her vocal range and an award for Chart Performance. And The Weekend won eight trophies including Best R&B Artist.

It is her. You hear Kesha there. She let the music do the talking in her first televised performance since her public legal fight against her producer.

A high wire act by Pink performing surrounded in flames to her new single "Just Like Fire," but it was Madonna's tribute to Prince that stole the show. Listen to this.

Stevie Wonder there who joined Madonna on stage for a sing-along finale with the whole arena waving wearing light-up purple wristbands.

KOSIK: Must have been amazing to the indoor auditorium with all that purple.

HOWELL: Look at that. Yes.

KOSIK: Beautiful.

All right. Breaking news this morning. A new battle launched in Iraq to take back critical territory from ISIS. We are live next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:25:54] KOSIK: The push to retake Falluja from ISIS is under way in Iraq. The country's prime minister announcing the start of the military operation in a late -- in a televised late-night address. Falluja has been under ISIS control for more than two years. The battle to liberate the city expected to be long and bloody.

Jomana Karadsheh is tracking the latest development from Amman, Jordan.

So the Iraqi prime minister confident that the Iraqi military is going to be able to overtake Falluja but it's clearly not going to be something that's going to happen overnight.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely not, Alison. It's expected to be, as you mentioned, a very bloody fight. Falluja has been under ISIS control since January of 2014. That was the first city to fall to ISIS that year. And now there's a lot of concern about this battle because of the civilians who are trapped inside that city. We heard from organizations like Human Rights Watch and United Nations saying that there are tens of thousands of civilians inside Fallujah who are trapped by ISIS, besieged by the Iraqi Security Forces who have encircled the city for weeks now in preparation for this major offensive.

So there's a lot of concern that these civilians might not be able to leave. We've heard from the Iraqi military saying that they provided them with areas for safe passage and that there are hot lines they can call into but of course there's a lot of concern because we've heard reports in recent weeks that civilians who have tried to flee this city that's under ISIS control have been executed by ISIS. And now of course the concern is they will be trapped in what is expected to be a very bloody fight. Also involved in it Iranian backed Shia militias. And this is a

predominantly Sunni city. A lot of concern about the sectarian dimensions here. These militias have been accused in the past of carrying out reprisal attacks against Sunni populations in cities that they have liberated from ISIS so a lot of concern about that, too, inflaming sectarian tensions in the country. Something Iraq really cannot afford right now, Alison.

KOSIK: Such a desperate race against time not just for the Iraqi military, but for the civilians inside Fallujah.

All right, CNN's Jomana Karadsheh, thanks so much.

HOWELL: New information from inside the cockpit of EgyptAir Flight 804 moments before that plane plunged from the sky. What we are now learning next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)