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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Secretary of State Met Yesterday with Saudi King; Trump Taunts Stormy Daniels; Dangerous Flooding in Texas; New Mega Millions Jackpot: $868 Million. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired October 17, 2018 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[04:30:24] MIKE POMPEO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: They promised accountability.
REPORTER: Including a member of the royal family?
POMPEO: They made no exceptions to who they would hold accountable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: As the Saudis promise a full investigation, the secretary of state is meeting with Turkish officials about the journalist who went missing at the Saudi consulate. The president says this is another case of guilty until proven innocent.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Nothing says leadership like a series of twitter attacks against women. The president not backing down after calling Stormy Daniels "horseface".
BRIGGS: Epic flooding in Texas forcing evacuations. A bridge even washed away. One body already recovered.
ROMANS: How does $868 million sound to you? That's the next Mega Millions jackpot. No big winner in last night's drawing. Like $1.2 billion on the table if you add the power ball.
BRIGGS: I forgot to play last night.
ROMANS: Me, too.
BRIGGS: I'm happy to hear there was no winner.
ROMANS: I'll give you $5. You got to be the pool master.
BRIGGS: Deal.
ROMANS: Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. It is 4:31 Eastern Time.
We start with the ongoing mystery about the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Turkey this morning. He just met with Turkey's president and is sitting down with the foreign minister to discuss the U.S.-based journalist presumed killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Yesterday, Secretary Pompeo met with Saudi Arabia's king and crown prince. Overnight, Pompeo telling reporter the Saudis promise to figure out what happened to Jamal Khashoggi.
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POMPEO: He told me they were going to conduct a thorough, complete, and transparent investigation. They made a commitment to hold anyone connected to any wrongdoing that may be found accountable for that, whether they are a senior officer or official. They promised accountability.
REPORTER: Including a member of the royal family?
POMPEO: They made no exceptions to who they would hold accountable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Three sources tell CNN that a Saudi team sent to interrogate and possibly abduct Khashoggi from Istanbul was organized by a high- ranking officer in the main Saudi intelligence service.
Our international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, is live for us this morning. He is outside that Saudi consulate in Istanbul where Khashoggi disappeared two weeks ago yesterday.
Nic, what's the latest?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, the source -- sources, in fact, say that this was a high-ranking Saudi intelligence official close to Mohammed bin Salman who organized what the Turkish officials are calling a hit team to come here to take Jamal Khashoggi, the sources say it's not entirely clear whether this was an operation to rendition him, that he may have been injected with tranquilizers and then that all went wrong.
That it's possible, they say, that Mohammed bin Salman himself, the crown prince, wasn't aware of this. That's what one source says. However, the evidence that's stacking up here in Turkey and what Turkish officials believe and what many analysts who understand how Saudi Arabia works say that nothing would happen without the word of Mohammed bin Salman because he rules as one man.
Everything depends on his decisions, and for a senior intelligence chief to go out on a limb for an operation that would, as one Turkish official told CNN last night, end up with the dismemberment -- this is what the Turkish official told us -- the dismemberment of Jamal Khashoggi inside the consulate seems beyond the bounds of credulity. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said very clearly that it is absolutely important that the Saudi officials are transparent, speedy, and clear in their investigation. He wants to give them time. But here in Turkey, there's evidence of Saudi Arabia's lack of
willingness to comply and get along with an investigation. When Turkish investigators got into the consulate, they found it had been painted over. When they went to the consul general's house yesterday to investigate his house and his vehicles, he fled the country back to Saudi Arabia a couple of hours before. Officials couldn't get in.
Here in Turkey, they see Saudi Arabia not as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo understands them to be, to be complying in a transparent investigation, but actually obstructing, willfully obstructing the investigation here -- Christine.
ROMANS: Wow. All right. Nic, the White House has announced new sanctions on Iran targeting companies and banks that support the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. The next sanctions on Iran could target oil.
[04:35:00] The Saudis have been a key partner in U.S. efforts to isolate Iran.
How could all that play out?
ROBERTSON: Sure. Look, Saudi Arabia is very happy from the leadership to the man to the street, of the United States' support for its concerns about Iran's growing influence in the region. They want the United States to do anything to bring Iran down a peg or two. They've been very happy with President Trump.
But this is a double-edged sword for President Trump. He may risk losing key and influential Saudi support, the Saudis have always talked about how they can fill this oil gap, up production if there's a lower production from Iran, a lower sale from Iran that would hurt Iran's economy, which is the direction President Trump wants to go in here.
But you know, for the Saudis, too, they need a strong ally at the moment in their efforts to curtail what they see as Iran's expansionism. And Russia's not going to step into the vacuum and do that because Russia is allied with Iran in their fight in Syria. China's not going to do that because China doesn't get involved in these kind of international machinations at the moment.
So, Saudi Arabia actually needs the United States to pursue its goals in the region which is to reduce the power and influence of Iran.
ROMANS: Nic Robertson, so glad to have threw to walk us through all of it in Istanbul, thanks, Nic.
BRIGGS: A senior adviser telling CNN Mr. Trump's handling of the crisis with Saudi Arabia, quote, may be the most consequential decision of his presidency.
The president once again defending the Saudi regime, tweeting, they totally denied any knowledge. Then he resorted to a familiar talking point, telling the "Associated Press": Here we go again with, you know, you're guilty until proven innocent. I don't like that. We just went through that with Justice Kavanaugh, and he was innocent all the way as far as I'm concerned.
Here's what he told Fox Business last night.
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It depends whether or not the king or the crown prince knew about it in my opinion, number one, what happened, but whether or not they knew about it. If they knew about it, that would be bad. If they didn't know it, things -- bad things can happen.
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ROMANS: Key Republican leaders are demanding answers from the Saudis, specifically about the role of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman or MBS.
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SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: I've been their biggest defender on the floor of the United States Senate. This guy is a wrecking ball. He had this guy murdered in a consulate in Turkey.
There's a difference between a country and an individual. The MBS figure is, to me, toxic. He can never be a world leader on the world stage.
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA: This is going to alter the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia for the foreseeable future. What those specific measures are obviously is going to be up for debate, but they'll be strong and they'll be meaningful. Congress will act.
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ROMANS: Attorney General Jeff Sessions is leaving the door open to possible U.S. involvement in the Khashoggi investigation.
Meantime, Joint Chiefs Chairman Joseph Dunford says, quote, it's premature to speculate on the effect this will have on the U.S.-Saudi military relationship.
BRIGGS: President Trump joining in a lowdown schoolyard name-calling contest that started during executive time Tuesday morning. First, POTUS unleashed a tirade against Senator Elizabeth Warren, then he turned the Twitter taunts to Stormy Daniels whose defamation suit against the president has just been dismissed.
ROMANS: He tweeted: Now I can go after horseface and her third-rate lawyer. She knows nothing about me. A total con.
A total con, that phrase, triggered the lawsuit.
The adult film star firing right back, tweeting, "ladies and gentlemen, may I present your president. In addition to his, um, shortcomings, he has demonstrated his incompetence, hatred of women, and lack of self-control on Twitter again, and perhaps a penchant for bestiality. Game on, tiny.
BRIGGS: Asked if it was inappropriate to insult a woman's appearance, the president told the "A.P.", quote, you can take it any way you want. According to an official, the president told people he was aggravated by the coverage of the Saudi Arabia crisis. Asked whether Mr. Trump was trying to alter the news cycle, the official said, he's good at doing that.
ROMANS: All right. Chief Justice John Roberts speaking out, alluding to the bitter and partisan battle surrounding newly confirmed Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. During a speech at the University of Minnesota's law school, he stressed that the judiciary requires independence from the political branches. Watch.
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JOHN ROBERTS, SUPREME COURT CHIEF JUSTICE: Our role is very clear. We are to interpret the Constitution and laws of the United States and ensure that the political branches act within them. The story of the Supreme Court would be very different without that sort of independence.
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ROMANS: Roberts says he wants to assure Americans that the high court will do its best to stay independent whether times are calm or contentious.
BRIGGS: New this morning, President Trump distancing himself from potential Republican losses with the midterms now less than three weeks away. Trump telling the "Associated Press": I'm not running. I mean, there are many people that have said to me, I will never, ever go and vote in the midterms because you're not running.
At the same time, the president also claims his campaigning and endorsements are responsible for several GOP wins.
[04:40:05] To be fair, Republican candidates backed by Trump did enjoy success in the primaries.
ROMANS: All right. No winner in last night's Mega Millions drawing bringing the jackpot to a mind-boggling $868 million. If you were to take a lump sum, that'd be just shy of half a billion bucks. The winning, rather non-winning numbers were 3-45-49-61-69, and the mega ball was 9. Tonight, .another big drawing, Powerball, with an estimated $345 million jackpot.
That's just so much -- a lot of money.
BRIGGS: Our first-ever office poll here at EARLY START.
ROMANS: Yes, we should do it.
All right. The number of Americans jobs available, far outpacing the number of people looking for work. What does it mean for the labor market? (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:45:02] ROMANS: All right. For the first time in history, the U.S. has more than seven million open jobs. The Labor Department report 7.1 million job openings in August, a record high. That number actually is bigger than the number of Americans looking for work.
There are 902,000 Americans officially looking for work. Seven million open jobs. That's the largest gap ever.
The labor market is tight with the unemployment rate the lowest in a generation. Many businesses are struggling to find workers. That means bargaining power for employees including higher wages. U.S. workers are finally starting to see their paychecks grow a little faster. Last quarter weekly wages rode 3.3 percent. That's much better than the previous quarter when they rose only 2 percent. Wage growth has been slow for years.
Rather than raises, companies have been boosting benefits. They've been giving more paid sick leave and better health care. But now, employers may need to jack up salaries to attract or keep workers.
I mean, they have seven million open jobs. Especially lower paid workers. For example, Amazon just hiked its minimum wage to $15 an hour. You can see the competition for workers there.
BRIGGS: All economic indicators pointing to the positive.
ROMANS: Except that you hear from a lot of employers that there's a mismatch. That they have these open jobs, and those 902,000 people looking for work don't match the skills gap. That might hold us back a bit.
BRIGGS: OK. Severe flooding in Texas forcing the governor to issue disaster declarations in 18 counties. Llano County hit especially hard.
Evacuations have been ordered because of flooding from the Llano River. The FM 2900 bridge over the river has collapsed and residents are being told to remain away from their homes for the next 24 hours.
And take a look at the flooding around the LBJ Dam in Texas Hill Country, 45 minutes northwest of Austin. At least one death reported in the area.
More trouble may be in store for more than eight million Texans as the rain refuses to let up. Here's meteorologist Pedram Javaheri.
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PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Dave and Christine.
The concern across Texas really has been such a drawn-out event here. Still watching about eight million people deal with the flood watches and flood warnings in place from Dallas, points just to the south and west. And in fact, look at the last three days, the area of coverage pretty tremendous if you ask me. And the rainfall amounts, as much as four to six inches. Some areas even higher amounts have come down, and certainly has led to significant flooding across this region.
In fact, let me break down the gauges here. At least ten gauges reporting moderate to major flood stage. We've certainly set some records across the region, as well, when it comes to the rainfall totals and the flooding across this region.
And notice still watching quite a bit of heavy rainfall left in the forecast the next couple of days, generally, one to three inches. Some areas again could exceed that. But Dallas, still not out of the woods there when it comes to additional wet weather, and really the stage set for more moisture to come in, both from the Pacific side and also from the gulf side. So, certainly not going to help the situation when it comes to the wet weather.
But around the northeast we go, a quick glance here of cold air pushing in. Temperatures at their coldest we've seen in about six months.
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BRIGGS: All right. Pedram, thanks.
ROMANS: All right. Did you see the stock market yesterday? Why worry? Last week, big rally yesterday. Corporate America coming to Wall Street's rescue. Big rebound after the worst week in months.
CNN Business is next.
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ROMANS: Chinese mega-star Fan Bingbing has been seen in the public for the first time since she vanished back in June. Pictures published by the photo agency Visual China says the snaps were taken October 15th. They show Fan arriving at Beijing Capital International Airport. CNN cannot independently authenticate the photos.
Earlier this year, Chinese state media reported Fan was fined $130 million for misreporting earnings on film projects.
BRIGGS: The death toll from Hurricane Michael has climbed now to 29. That includes 19 fatalities in Florida with new eight victims reported in hard-hit Bay County. Mexico Beach residents will be allowed to return today to survey the damage to their homes and businesses.
Last night, the governor reported there are still 138,000 customers in Florida without power and about 1,200 people are still in shelters.
ROMANS: The operators of a Missouri duck boat that sank in July are asking a federal court to let them off the hook even though 17 people were killed. Ripley Entertainment claiming in court that an 1851 maritime law that limits its liability because the boat was properly maintained and is now a total loss.
That's not sitting well with Tia Coleman (ph). She survived but lost nine family members. She says the court filing suggests her relatives are quote "worthless" and calls the legal maneuver incredibly hurtful and insensitive.
BRIGGS: A new crisis around USA Gymnastics as former Congresswoman Mary Bono steps down just four months after starting as interim head of the sports governing body. Bono took the helm after Kerry Perry quit as president and CEO in the fallout from the Larry Nasser trial.
She stepped down Tuesday after a tweet surfaced of her defacing a Nike logo. Bono was reacting to Nike's ad campaign that featured former quarterback and civil rights activist Colin Kaepernick. She deleted the tweet and said she regretted the post.
ROMANS: A tense exchange between a Columbus, Ohio, police officer and two boys with BB gun captured on bodycam.
[04:55:02] Officer Peter Casuccio sent to a call about boys waving a gun. He says when he pulled up, one of the boys pulled a BB gun from his waistband and threw it to the ground. That's when the officer drew his weapon.
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PETER CASUCCIO, COLUMBUS COP: Are you scared?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.
CASUCCIO: OK. You know why you should be scared? This is getting kids killed all over the country.
Do you think a want to shoot an 11-year-old? Do you think I want to shoot a 13-year-old?
I could have killed you. I want you to think about that tonight when you go to bed. You could be gone.
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ROMANS: A potential tragedy becomes a teaching moment. The officer spoke to the families about the danger of kids carrying BB guns. He said they needed to hear it.
BRIGGS: Police in northwestern Wisconsin frantically searching for a 13-year-old they believe could be in danger. Authority issued an Amber Alert for Jayme Closs after her parents were found dead in their home. An unidentified person calling 911 early Monday. The officer said the dispatcher heard a disturbance in the background, but no one spoke directly to the dispatcher. Authorities believed the teenager was in the house when her parents were killed. At this point, no motive has been released.
ROMANS: An alarming health alert. More states now with confirmed cases of a polio-like illness affecting children. The CDC says there are 62 cases of AFM confirmed now in 22 states. There are 127 cases under investigation. The average age of patients suffering from this illness is 4 years
old. AFM is a rare and serious condition can make muscles weak or paralyzed. The cases peak in the summer and fall. The CDC says no single factor explains those peaks.
BRIGGS: Caught on video, a tiger reacting the way tigers do when a guest at the Oakland Zoo in northern California decided to hop a barrier to retrieve his sunglasses. The human climbed back to his side of the fence. The staff will keep a closer eye on guests. Not a good idea.
ROMANS: Geez.
BRIGGS: The Dodgers have evened up the national league championship series. Cody Bellinger delivering a walk-off single with two out in the 13th inning. Gave the dodgers the 2-1 win over the Brewers with the series knotted at two. The teams will battle in a pivotal game at five at 5:05 Eastern Time this afternoon in L.A.
The red sox taking 29-1 lead over the Astros in the ALCS. That's Jackie Bradley Jr. with the eighth inning grand slam. Blew it open and propelled the sox to the 8-2 win. Game four tonight in Houston, 8:30 Eastern Time.
ROMANS: All right. Let's get a check on CNN Business morning.
Corporate America coming to Wall Street's rescue. U.S. stocks, big rebounds yesterday after -- big rebound yesterday after the worst week in months.
You can thank fat company profits from Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson. The Dow soared 548 points. That's 2.2 percent, its best day since March. The Nasdaq spiked nearly 3 percent. The S&P 500 up 2.2 percent.
Now, the biggest losers last week, tech stocks, raced back to life. Big jumps for Amazon, Facebook, and Netflix. A corporate America -- corporate America is strong, and so is the American economy. In August, U.S. job openings topped seven million for the first time ever.
Uber could be worth $120 million when it goes public. There's big anticipation for Uber's Wall Street debut that could take place as early as next year. Now, "The Wall Street Journal" reports banks are valuing Uber at $120 million, that's nearly double the last valuation. And it's more than GM, Ford, and Fiat Chrysler combined. Rival Lyft also plans to make its Wall Street debut next year just at a bit of a lower value, $15 billion.
A hundred thirty-seven million people tune in to Netflix around the world, 137 million. Netflix added nearly seven million new subscribers last quarter, two million more than it thought. That's well above any service like Amazon Prime and Hulu.
The majority of its subscribers, six million, came from overseas. Netflix has been investing heavily in foreign shows like Germany's "Dark," and Netflix places success on original content, spending about $13 billion this year on content alone. The growth is a big win for Netflix.
Netflix added a million fewer customers than it predicted in the previous quarter, sending the stock plunging. The stock up a stunning 80 percent this year. Right now, it's up 14 percent overnight.
BRIGGS: Gosh.
I'm still stunned, though, by the fact that Uber is worth more than Ford, GM, and Chrysler Fiat combined.
ROMANS: Yes. It's fascinating.
BRIGGS: That is staggering.
EARLY START continues right now.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE POMPEO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: They promised accountability.
REPORTER: Including a member of the royal family?
POMPEO: They made no exceptions to who they would hold accountable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The Saudis promising a full investigation, the secretary of state now meeting with Turkish officials about a missing journalist. The president says this is another case of guilty until proven innocent.
ROMANS: Nothing says leadership like a series of Twitter attacks against women.
