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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Obama to Meet With Congressional Leaders; The War on ISIS: New Help?; Who is Suspected Kidnapper Delvin Barnes?.; Outrage Over Temple Mount
Aired November 07, 2014 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Beginning in just hours: President Obama meeting with leaders of Congress. This for the first time since Tuesday's elections. Republicans now control Congress and after days of threats, there's no question that things in Washington are about to change. What we know about this morning's meeting, ahead.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: New help could be coming in the war on ISIS from Iran, of all places. The secret letter from President Obama and what's behind it, ahead.
ROMANS: A troubling, very troubling past revealed. The man accused of abducting a Philadelphia nurse may have struck before, who else police say he attacked.
Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
BERMAN: And I'm John Berman. Great to see you this morning. Thirty- one minutes past the hour.
And happening today: the first face-to-face meeting between the president and the man soon-to-be the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell. The senator will come along with the rest of the House and Senate leadership to a meeting at the White House. And judging from the tone of remarks the last couple of days by the president and congressional Republicans, there is a distinct possibility of face-to- face meeting, but face-to-face confrontation.
CNN White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, John and Christine. Yes, maybe we could all use a bourbon summit, as it's being called for, after hearing this back-and-forth over the last few days, these warning shots. This is all supposed to be presented in this new spirit of cooperation.
Listen to Speaker of the House John Boehner talking about the possibility that the president could take executive action on immigration. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: I believe that if the president continues to act on his own, he is going to poison the well. When you play with matches, you take the risk of burning yourself. And he's going to burn himself if he continues to get down this path. The American people made it clear Election Day. They want to get things done and they don't want the president acting on a unilateral basis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSINSKI: We did hear the White House say repeatedly that the president is open to doing things differently, that if he sees areas to make some changes, without getting into specifics, that he will make changes in order to get things done. And they say that progress starts now, with this big meeting today at the White House, 16 congressional leaders. The White House says it's a beginning point, to look at what everybody wants to get done and find those areas of common ground.
Some obvious starting points would be things like ISIS, immigration, Ebola. So, if the optimistic view that's being put out there, this is a rededication. So, let's really work together now. The reasonable question is, why wasn't this done a long time ago? And the White House acknowledged that, yes, even on the part of the president, more could have been done.
We asked the question, you know, one of the criticisms you hear the president from both Democrats and Republicans, is that he doesn't reach out enough, doesn't engage enough. And they said sure, that that is true to some extent. But they put the onus on Republicans, saying that in the past, Republicans saw a political gain in trying to oppose everything the president wanted to do, and that now, just maybe, they could see some benefit in finding that common ground -- John and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Michelle Kosinski, thanks for that report, Michelle.
There's word this morning of a secret letter sent last month by President Obama to the supreme leader of Iran with an eye towards possible cooperation in the war against on ISIS. It is not the first time Mr. Obama has written Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In fact, it's the fourth time since he became president.
"The Wall Street Journal" reports that any cooperation with the U.S. and Iran to fight ISIS would depend on reaching a deal on the future of Iran's nuclear program.
The administration refused to confirm that this letter exists. It denies there is any coordination with Iran or any link to a nuclear deal.
Congressional Republicans are expressing outrage at this revelation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEN PSAKI, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESWOMAN: Obviously, we understand that they have concerns about the threat of ISIL, which they expressed as well. But I would not look at it as a path to a different type of coordination.
BOEHNER: I don't trust the Iranians. I don't think we need to bring them into this. And I would hope that the negotiations that are under way are serious negotiations. But I have my doubts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: On Sunday, Secretary of State John Kerry begins negotiating with Iran's foreign minister on a nuclear agreement. The White House puts chances of reaching a deal on that, 50/50.
BERMAN: An American airstrike in Syria has apparently scored a key target in the battle against terrorists there. A U.S. defense official says a major attack on the Khorasan group is believed to have killed its most skilled bomb maker David Drugeon. Intelligence officials believe the 24-year-old French national was developing non- metallic bombs that could be taken through airport security.
The Pentagon says the airstrikes hit five Khorasan targets. A Syrian human rights group says civilians were also killed, as were anti-Assad fighters for Jabhat al-Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham. Two groups have not made terror attacks against Western targets a priority so far.
ROMANS: A stunning revelation this morning, that hundreds of American service members reported that they were exposed to chemical weapons in Iraq. But the Pentagon offered no treatment, no follow-up, after "The New York Times" revealed 17 such cases last month.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered a review of forms submitted by troops as they left combat. This turned up 629 more service members who reported they had been exposed to 1980s-era degraded chemical weapons. The Pentagon says it will now expand outreach to veterans, including a toll free number.
BERMAN: A former Navy SEAL stepping forward as the man who shot Osama bin Laden. Robert O'Neill had been a SEAL for 15 years at the time of 2011 bin Laden raid. But he tells "The Washington Post" he thought that mission would be his last.
Now, O'Neill is the target of criticism. Some in the military community wonder how he can claim to have fired the kill shot when at least two others in bin Laden's room fired their weapons as well. And some critics fault O'Neill for seeking attention at all. For another former SEAL says O'Neill has taken a serious risk by acknowledging his role.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONATHAN GILLIAM, FORMER NAVY SEAL: He sacrificed a lot in doing this. Whether he is the real shooter or not, he's put a bull's eye on his back that is bigger in a lot of ways than the bull's eye that Osama bin Laden had on his.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, you are talking about an actual bull's eye from jihadists.
GILLIAM: From jihadists, you know? So, his family, himself, he is on the speaking lecture circuit. Anybody that goes to see this guy now is a target when they're in a room with him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: A whole lot of SEALs (INAUDIBLE) talking at all.
O'Neill says he was willing to acknowledge his part in killing bin Laden only after being outed by a military blog earlier this week.
ROMANS: Yes, isn't discretion part of the SEAL code? This is the most famous raid in history that we know about today.
Look like a higher open for stocks which would cap another big week of gains. Dow and S&P sitting at record highs folks. Now, if that keeps moving higher, it depends on the jobs report due out later this morning. So stay tuned for that. Looking for more than 200,000 jobs created in the month.
Japanese auto parts maker Takata. We've been telling you about this for weeks now. New developments this morning -- it hid results of test on faulty air bags as the new report claiming this. "The New York Times" cites two former employees of Takata who say engineers were alarmed at what they found during tests during their airbags in 2006.
Report says instead of alerting regulators, executives ordered technicians to delete the test results. The first air bag recall wasn't issued until two years later. And now, 10 different automakers have recalled vehicles due to the flawed airbags that can explode. The air bags explode and shrapnel inside from the inflator can fierce and kill drivers.
The Center for Auto Safety says there have been four deaths, dozens of serious injuries tied to defects and a big, big warning from the government that you need to make sure if you have those cars, those airbags especially in the southeast which is very humid, could make it worse, you've got to stop driving them.
BERMAN: Big problem along the Gulf Coast.
Disturbing details revealed about the man accused of kidnapping a Philadelphia nurse. She was not the only woman police say that this man attacked. We'll tell you what we know after the break.
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ROMANS: The latest now on the suspect who allegedly snatched a woman right off the Philadelphia street. The victim, Carlesha Freeland- Gaither was found inside Delvin Barnes' car. Police say they have a confession from the 37-year-old suspect this is not the first time he has done something like this.
Listen to Barnes' closest friend, though, who says he is stunned by these charges.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RONALD DAVIS, SUSPECT'S FRIEND: We used to chill, hang out. He is a good guy. He is always looking to help somebody, always looking to bend over backwards. He'll give his shirt off his back if he could. I don't believe it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Delvin Barnes, and what do we know about his past?
Jean Casarez takes a closer look this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Federal charges have now been brought against Delvin Barnes in the abduction and kidnapping of Carlesha Freeland-Gaither, and transporting her across state lines into Maryland. This was brought in the eastern district of Pennsylvania.
While this is all happening, Barnes waived his extradition to come right back here to Virginia where he lived to face local charges of attempted capital murder.
And in a strange irony and twist of fate, this local case may have helped save the life of Carlesha.
It was about a month police say that a young 16-year-old girl, local girl, was walking along the streets and they say that Barnes kidnapped her, hit her with a shovel and put her in the trunk of a car, transporting her to a home. She was then, police say, assaulted.
Out in the backyard, he made her take her clothes off, he began to allegedly dig a grave saying, "I'm going to kill you," at the same time dousing her with bleach and then gasoline, sitting her on fire.
She escaped. She survived. She was taken to a local hospital and she was given a forensic rape examination.
That perpetrator DNA was matched to Delvin Barnes. But at that time, police say, which was about a week ago, he fled the state. It's that DNA that led them to Delvin Barnes in Philadelphia via the surveillance camera. When local police saw that surveillance video, they recognized him, they also saw a decal on his car which led to a local car agency here and lo and behold, a GPS tracker was put on Barnes car because he was a credit risk.
Immediately, local police called ATF and said we have located the car and that's when they rescued Carlesha. Carlesha at this moment is with her family. She is safe. She is trying to understand and comprehend what has happened to her. But her family is grateful, and they tell me she is our hero -- Christine, John.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: What a story.
All right. Look at this shocking new video of a rampaging patient attacking nurses in a Minneapolis area hospital. You can see 68-year- old Charles Logan chasing down nurse was a metal bar he ripped from the side of the hospital bed. Eight of those nurses suffered injuries. One of them recovering this morning from a collapsed lung.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The hallway shot and in the hallway shot, you can see those same people are coming out the door. Two of them fell down in the hallway. And they were repeatedly struck by the man with the pole.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Police say Logan fled the hospital and died a few blocks away after officers used a taser on him in order to subdue him. Authorities don't know why he attacked the nurses in the first place.
Texas Governor Rick Perry made his court appearance on abuse of power charges. During the two-hour hearing Thursday, Perry's lawyers criticized the case against him, calling it a comedy of errors. The judge did not hand down any kind of ruling yet in this case, whether to dismiss it. That's what this hearing is about. Perry is accused of pressuring a prosecutor to resign by threatening to veto money for her anti-corruption division.
ROMANS: A federal appeals court ruling Thursday may force the Supreme Court to take up same-sex marriage. The 2-1 ruling upholds the same sex marriage bans in Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee and Kentucky. The ruling conflicts with every other federal appeals court decision across the country, making it almost certain now that the Supreme Court will have to step in to settle this matter.
BERMAN: The justices decide not to weigh in on same-sex marriage cases. One of the reasons people say there was no conflict at the federal appeals court level. Now there is, which means more likely the Supreme Court will take it up.
ROMANS: Forty-six minutes past the hour. More violence on the streets of Jerusalem this morning, caught on camera. A tense situation playing out. We are live in Israel next.
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BERMAN: So, as of this morning, Texas is officially Ebola-free. Of course, the first Ebola fatality in the United States, first infections on U.S. soil happened in Dallas. But now, it has been 21 days since anyone in Texas has come down with Ebola or come into contact with anyone else who was infected.
Of course, Thomas Eric Duncan died from Ebola. Officials tracked dozens of people in contact with him. Two nurses who treated Duncan, two of them did get Ebola. Both Nina Pham and Amber Vinson are now getting on with their lives.
And Amber Vinson sat down for a remarkable interview with CNN's Don Lemon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Do you know when you contracted or how you contracted Ebola?
AMBER VINSON, NURSE WHO SURVIVED EBOLA: I have no idea. I go through it almost daily in my mind, like, what happened? What went wrong? Because I was covered completely every time. I followed the CDC protocol for donning and doffing every time. I never strayed. It is a mystery to me.
When I was going through my very rough couple of days, you have to force yourself to get up and forcing yourself takes a lot out of you, too. It's a struggle. You're fighting for your life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: I cannot believe how great she looks and wonderful she is that she and Nina Pham are out and recovered.
ROMANS: And they're such wonderful ambassadors for their position. They went into really the worst situation possible and have been just so poised the whole time, really handle themselves well.
BERMAN: All right. Of course, the only person in the United States being treated for Ebola right now is Dr. Craig Spencer. He is still in isolation at Bellevue Hospital in New York. He is in stable condition and improving and playing his banjo.
ROMANS: Playing the banjo to while away the hours.
All right. In Mexico City, angry protests over the disappearance of 43 college students. Demonstrators demanding President Enrique Pena Nieto step in and do more to find these students. They were all enrolled in the teachers college in the town of Guerrero. The former mayor and his wife are on the run this week in Mexico City. Now, they are suspected of ordering the abductions of the students and reportedly they have ties to drug gangs.
BERMAN: Fierce tensions now all over the city of Jerusalem this morning. Palestinian youth throwing rocks and fireworks at Israeli riot police, who've been firing back the tear gas. One Palestinian turning himself in to Israeli authorities on Thursday. They say he has admitted to smashing his vehicle into the crowd the day before.
For us on the ground this morning is Erin McLaughlin.
Erin, what's the latest?
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, John.
Well, hospital op officials have confirmed to CNN that a second victim died in that trauma tack that happened in Jerusalem earlier in the week. Israeli media is reporting that the victim is an Israeli teenager and student. Now, as for the situation here outside the old city in Jerusalem, things are tense. Very heavy security presence as you can see behind me.
And there's a group of worshippers praying in the streets. They are praying in the streets because of security restrictions that are in place at the holy site known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and known to Jews as Temple Mount. They're only allowing men 35 into the site as well as women to be able to pray today.
Earlier in the week, there were intense clashes between Palestinian youth and Israeli forces. I was actually outside one of the entrances to the site. Israeli forces were firing stun grenades and rubber bullets.
Hours later, a 38-year-old Palestinian man drove a van into a crowd tram station, colliding with the a group of people, killing two Israelis and injuring about a dozen more. I spoke to his wife following the attack, and she told me that she believes it was motivated by the clashes that are happening at the Al Aqsa Mosque earlier in the day.
Some things around the holy site are very tense. They are increasing suspensions among members of the Muslim community that something could happen to what's called the status quo of the site. Currently, Jews are allowed to visit the site, but they are not allowed to pray there.
And Israeli officials have repeatedly said the status quo of the site will persist, but there had been visits from members of the Israeli far right as well as restrictions to the site. Members of the Muslim community are concerned that could change.
BERMAN: Erin McLaughlin live for us today. Friday, a day of prayers in Jerusalem. So much tension in and around the city, everyone hopes today does go peacefully. Erin, thanks to you.
ROMANS: In just hours, the October jobs report is released. What we are expecting and what it could do for the market. An early start on your money is next.
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ROMANS: All right. Time for an early start on your money this Friday morning. Stock futures are up. And markets in Asia, they're down a little bit.
But investors here in the U.S., they still remain optimistic about the U.S. economy. The Dow and S&P 500 sitting at record highs after gains yesterday. Another round of record highs may depend on the big October jobs report. That comes out at just a few hours, 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. We're going to show you those numbers live.
This is what people are looking for: 233,000 new jobs created last month, slightly lower than September's reading. It is a good number. The jobless rate expected to hold steady at 5.9 percent.
Now, another important number to watch here is wage growth. This is a metric for the Federal Reserve in deciding when to raise interest rates, which are still at historic lows.
Wages have not been growing. Jobs have been growing. The stock market has been growing. Wages have been flat for some time. That is a real concern.
BERMAN: It is a key metric for Federal Reserve. It's a key metric for like actual all of us. That's where we feel the economy and how much we're getting paid. So, hopefully, some good news there.
EARLY START continues right now.
