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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

U.S. & China Strike Climate Change Deal; Israel Accused of Launching "Religious War:"; Michael Brown Shooting: Preparing for Protests; Research Craft's Planned Comet Landing

Aired November 12, 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: Breaking news this morning. The U.S. and China announcing a groundbreaking deal on climate change, as China's leader in a rare move takes a question from a U.S. journalist. This didn't end well. We're live in Beijing tracking down this awkward encounter.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Tensions rising in the Middle East. The Palestinian president accusing Israel of launching a religious war. The violence is escalating near holy sites. We're live this morning in Jerusalem with what's happening right now.

ROMANS: Preparing for protests. Missouri's governor revealing a strong police force set to take on protesters if the officer who shot Michael brown is exonerated by the grand jury, this as Brown's parents reveal what they want the community action to be. We're live with they said, ahead.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

BERMAN: And I'm John Berman.

Thirty-two minutes past the hour right now.

We do have breaking news: the surprising announcement at a Beijing news conference of a major agreement to curb climate change. The president of the United States and China declaring that combined to reduce emissions by nearly a third over the next two decades.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is an ambitious goal but it is an achievable goal. It will double the pace at which we're reducing carbon pollution in the United States. It puts us on a path to achieving the deep emissions reductions by advanced economies that the scientific community says is necessary to prevent the most catastrophic effects of climate change.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: That joint news conference that you're looking at right there, that is news in and of itself. It does not usually happen with the leader of China. It required intense negotiations to make sure the leaders received questions from reporters, including the question from a U.S. reporter, a "New York Times" reporter to Chinese President Xi Jinping and that did not go smoothly.

Our international correspondent David McKenzie joins us now live from Beijing.

Good morning, David.

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. Yes, it's very rare for a Chinese president to agree to any kind of press conference. In this case, one question from the U.S. media, one from a Chinese state media.

Take a look at what happened when the U.S. media asked the president a question.

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MCKENZIE: So, effectively Xi Jinping ignoring "The New York Times" reporter went into a long explanation to a prepared question by the Chinese media. He did eventually get to the point of talking to "The New York Times." You know, "The New York Times", Bloomberg and other outlets are blocked here in China. And CNN's own coverage of China is often blocked as you know.

He effectively said that perhaps media houses who get into these kind of issues need to look at their own coverage to solve the situation. So, certainly, generating maybe some eyebrow raises from the U.S. president, but there we are -- John.

BERMAN: It's hardly a clarion call for the freedom of press right there.

The Chinese leader did address the negotiations going on in Hong Kong, David. What did he say?

MCKENZIE: Well, you know, there's been these protests of students in Hong Kong for many weeks, calling for full democracy in Hong Kong which, of course, ultimately is ruled by China.

President Xi Jinping effectively said that the U.S. needs to butt out. Or anyone else needs to butt out, because this is a domestic issue. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

XI JINPING, PRESIDENT OF CHINA (through translator): In my talks with President Obama, I also pointed out that the occupied central is an illegal movement in Hong Kong. Hong Kong affairs are exclusively China's internal affairs and the foreign countries should not interfere in those affairs in any form or fashion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKENZIE: Well, certainly, some differences between the two nations there. But overall, a positive day, it must be said, for this climate change deal. The two presidents also announced stronger military -- military ties to avoid any accidents, as they put it in the East China Sea -- John.

BERMAN: All right. David McKenzie for us -- the fact that the news conference happened all was encouraging even though it was filled with rather tension moments.

David, thanks so much.

ROMANS: All right. The steep reductions in the climate change deal set up a potential battle between the president and Congress controlled by Republicans starting next year. Just hours from now, Congress begins its lame duck session. Among the issues on the Senate agenda, it's one that could complicate the new greenhouse gas agreement with China. The Keystone oil pipeline, long on the Republican wish list now may have bipartisan support as Democrats recalibrate their strategy to retain some power once Republicans take over the Senate next year.

The president has already said he's against immediate approval of the pipeline without a full regulatory review. The new agreement with China could give him one more reason to veto a lame duck Senate vote.

BERMAN: An al Qaeda leader in Yemen who is a top priority target for the U.S. has been killed in an air strike there. A Yemeni official and two U.S. officials telling CNN that Shawki al-Badani was killed. This happening during a surge in fighting among rival factions in the Arab nation.

The fighting was so intense that the U.S. military is updating plans to potentially evacuate U.S. embassy personnel. U.S. ambassador to Yemen, Matthew Tueller has been targeted before. One of his friends told us that he's worried for Tueller's safety.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMBASSADOR EDWARD W. "SKIP" GNEHM, FORMER U.S. DIPLOMAT IN YEMEN: I'd say he's in a great deal of danger, just because you have all of these factions, fighting around the country. At least a couple of them would like to take out the embassy and him because of the role -- positive role that we play and he plays in trying to pull together these very factions into a coalition government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Any military involvement and evacuation would happen only after the U.S. ambassador asks for it. So far, that has not happened.

ROMANS: Tensions rising in Jerusalem on the tenth anniversary of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's death. The Palestinian president accusing Israel's prime minister of starting a religious war. The same time that Palestinian factions are fighting amongst themselves for control. Hope for unity among Palestinians at peace with Israel seems more remote than ever following recent bloody attacks on Israelis by Palestinians near holy sites in East Jerusalem. Senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is live with more from Jerusalem.

The cycle of violence that's very, very difficult to interrupt, Nic.

NIC ROBERSTON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is. And the fiery rhetoric from the Palestinian Authority president as well, potentially, really having a effect on almost the same night. There was an attack on an ancient Jewish synagogue, fire-bomb attack there.

And also on a Muslim mosque in a Palestinian village. That was set on fire. Very heavy fire damage there overnight. Koran's burned on the floor of that mosque, very incendiary pictures and images at a time right now.

And this comes hard on the heels of a shooting yesterday of a Palestinian youth there. Israeli Defense Forces say that he was involved in a violent demonstration. That he pointed a homemade gun at Israel troops and that's when he was shot. He died later in hospital.

That also inflaming the situation here, but really, when you look at the words of the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas saying that Israel is trying to incite a religious war by granting access to religious sites in Jerusalem, and then you had heard only hours later from the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying that President Mahmoud Abbas is not a reliable partner in peace at the moment. That what he is saying is lying, that Israel has absolutely no intention of changing the status quo agreements on access to religious sites in Jerusalem.

All of this fiery talk, it's having an effect on the ground, at the time when really there are concerns that the next major incident could spark really much more widespread violence, Christine.

ROMANS: Troubling from Jerusalem. Nic Robertson, thanks, Nic.

BERMAN: A 2-month-old cease-fire east of Ukraine is coming undone as fighting rages again. A Pentagon official saying Russia has amassed some 8,000 troops along the Ukraine border. It's also stepped up shipments of heavy weapons to separatists in the recent days.

U.S. and Ukrainian officials also say a convoy that Russia claims was humanitarian did not go through an independent inspection. An Obama administration official concedes that it has hurt economically but has not deterred Russia when it comes to Ukraine.

ROMANS: All right. Time for your early start on your money.

Asian shares ending the day higher. They are close now. European shares lower.

Bank stocks are falling on news of a $3.3 billion settlement for manipulating foreign exchange markets. U.S. stock futures pointing a bit lower. Up certainly, though, we are on record watch. Yesterday, the Dow and S&P measured up just a point. That was enough for the highest closes in history.

News for holiday shoppers this morning. Wal-Mart's black Friday deals will start at 6:00 p.m. Wednesday night. That's the same time as last year as 22 million shoppers Wal-Mart tells us visited the superstores -- 22 million on Thanksgiving Day. Walmart will spread its best deals out over seven days, it says, and offer more discounts online first. It's an attempt to keep shoppers calm and avoid scuffles. Walmart will have competition on Thanksgiving. Kmart starts first at 6:00 a.m. with other retailers opening later in the day.

BERMAN: Keep shoppers calm.

ROMANS: Yes, keep calm and charge, charge, charge.

BERMAN: Shop on.

All right. Happening right now: Missouri's governor revealing his strategy to tamp down whatever tension may arise, if the police officer who killed unarmed teenager Michael Brown is not indicted. Brown's parents also weighing in. We're live with what they had to say, next.

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BERMAN: Missouri Governor Jay Nixon says he is prepared to call out the National Guard. The governor is worried that violence might erupt after a grand jury announces whether it will indict Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown. That decision is expected this month. Governor Nixon said on Tuesday that violence will not be tolerated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JAY NIXON (D), MISSOURI: The National Guard has been and will continue to be part of our contingency plan. The Guard will be available when we determine it is necessary to support local law enforcement. Quite simply, we must and will be fully prepared.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Michael Brown's parents in Geneva on Tuesday, speaking to a United Nations human rights panel.

CNN's Erin McLaughlin now joins us now from Geneva. What message did the parents send?

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, John. Well, they explained to me yesterday why it was so important for them to travel all the way from Ferguson, Missouri, here to Geneva, thousands of miles to address the United Nations.

Take a listen to what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOI CLIP)

MICHAEL BROWN, SR., MICHAEL BROWN'S FATHER: We understand that our son is gone, but the movement will be that we're trying to make sure that this doesn't happen to anyone else. That no one else has to feel how we fee. So, yes, the protests will carry on, in a positive manner.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCLAUGHLIN: They told me that they hope the grand jury will indict Darren Wilson, the police officer who shot and killed their son. If that doesn't happen, Michael Brown, Sr., saying he plans to take to the streets to protest. In terms of what's happening here in the United Nations today, the U.S. delegation is delivering its statements to the U.N. Committee Against Torture. The parents of Michael Brown plans to be here throughout this process, explained to me how they feel this is incredibly important.

And they hope to really take the tragic death of their son and turn it into meaningful change for the United States, John.

BERMAN: Erin McLaughlin live for us in Geneva with this that has gone from, you know, near St. Louis, all the way across the ocean to Europe as well.

Erin McLaughlin, thanks so much.

ROMANS: Cheers of applause greeting the nation's last Ebola patient, Dr. Craig Spencer, as he left a New York City hospital. Spencer was diagnosed with Ebola last month after returning from Guinea. He spent 19 days in a hospital isolation unit. Speaking publicly for the first time since being cured, Spencer said the focus must be on the West African nations where Ebola has killed thousands.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. CRAIG SPENCER, LEAVES HOSPITAL FREE OF EBOLA: I cried as I hugged children who were not strong enough to survive the virus. But I also had immense joy where patients I treated were cured and invited into their family as a brother upon discharge. Within a week of my diagnosis, many of these same patients called my personal cell phone from guinea to wish me well and asked if there was any way they could contribute to my care.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Wow, that's remarkable. Spencer returns to the New York apartment he shares with his fiancee who just had her quarantine lifted.

So, the United States is Ebola-free, ladies and gentlemen.

BERMAN: News conference was almost funny, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Dr. Spencer were hugging everyone and anyone they could find and each other, which I think sends an important message about, you know, the status of the virus here in the United States.

Forty-eight minutes after the hour. A daring and historic attempt this morning in outer space -- a spacecraft trying to land on a comet. Can that even happen? How are they going to do it? Our Fred Pleitgen will give a dramatic first hand charade like account of how this whole thing is going to go down. That's next.

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BERMAN: Happening right now, and it has never happened before, a spacecraft is attempting to land on a comet. The European Space Agency is attempting to transfer a research craft the size of a washing machine, but it flies better than a washing machine, from its Rosetta Orbiter to a comet snappily named 67P.

Joining us now with the latest from the European Space Agency mission control in Darmstadt, Germany, CNN's Fred Pleitgen joins us.

Good morning, Fred.

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

And once again, I have my models here to explain exactly what's going on. Now, remember last time I told you how the spacecraft was flying over a the comet, of which we have a model right here, and it's already dropped that lander that is now slowly going towards a comet because again there's almost no gravity in space, of course.

Now, what I have, I have a little model of the comet. It looks sort of like a rubber ducky. The lander is supposed to land somewhere around here, if everything goes according to plan. And that landing spot is very important because it's actually quite a smooth spot on this comet they believe. It's actually a place where the thing can land. And it's also faced towards the sun most of the time so the lander will get a little energy and therefore stay alive longer for them to try to put the experiments in place that they want to do here.

Now, on the big model, that landing spot, and I have a lander right here. The Philae lander as they call is supposed to land and because it's so difficult, John, because a comet, it looks like a rock here, but it really isn't like a rock. A comet is sort of made of ice and metal dust like when it snows. And the road crews come around and they put salt, they put pebbles on the street.

If you take that and make a big snowball, that's what a comet is made of. So, they believe that the surface here could be very difficult to land. If they plan to land here on this comet, they should get some amazing scientific data, including some that might lead to clues to how first life came on earth. Because there are people who believe comets landed on earth. That's how we got water and that's how we got the first molecules, in conjunction with the sun became the first life on earth. Hopefully, we'll find more from this mission, John.

BERMAN: Undeniably cool. And we should get pictures, photographs back of the mission over the course of the day.

Frederik Pleitgen, great to see you this morning. Thanks so much. ROMANS: Pictures you hope it lands and upright and little feet landed properly. Very cool stuff.

All right. Some surprising job advice from billionaire Michael Bloomberg. You'll never guess what he tells high schoolers they should be when they grow up. An early start on your money, next.

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ROMANS: All right. Welcome back. Let's get an early start on your money.

European shares lower right now. Bank stocks falling on news of a $3.3 billion settlement. Among those banks were accusations of manipulating foreign exchange markets.

U.S. stock futures pointing down, hardly down. Stocks are the highest they've ever been, record territory. Yesterday, stocks barely moved. They were up just one point but that was enough to notch the highest close in history.

The S&P 500 40th record close this year. The number that really matters, 10 percent. The S&P 500 is up 10 percent this year.

OK. Listen up, one billionaire's advice to high schoolers, become a plumber. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said trades like plumbing can be a better option for high schoolers than others because those skills are in higher demand. Wages are stagnant even as employment climbs. Bloomberg says that's a result of technology, making middle class positions less lucrative.

And I have to say, John, he is right, electricians, plumber, coders, people who are doing web development, all of these jobs are really in high demand. Specific skills pay in this economy, they really do.

BERMAN: Interesting.

All right. EARLY START continues right now.