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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

President Obama And Xi Hold News Conference; Lame-Duck Congress Begins Today; Surge in Violence May Force Embassy Evacuation; Abbas Claims Israel Igniting "Religious War"; Michael Brown's Parent's Speak to U.N. Panel; Blast of Winter

Aired November 12, 2014 - 05:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news this morning, the U.S. and China announcing a groundbreaking deal on climate change. That as China's leader, in a very rare move, takes a question from a U.S. journalist. You know what? It didn't end well. We're live in Beijing breaking down the awkward encounter.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Tensions rising in the Middle East. The Palestinian president accusing Israel of launching a, quote, "religious war". Violence escalates near holy sites. We are live in Jerusalem with what's happening right now.

BERMAN: Ferguson on edge this morning. The governor of Missouri laying out his plans to deal with the possible protests that might come after a grand jury announces whether it will indict Officer Darren Wilson. That as Brown parents reveal what they want the community action to be. We're live with what they had to say. That's just ahead.

Weclome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.

ROMANS: Nice to see you this morning, everybody. I'm Christine Romans.

29 minutes past the hour, we have breaking news overnight, the surprise announcement at a Beijing news conference of a major agreement to curb climate change. The presidents of China and the United States declaring both countries will curb greenhouse gas emissions by nearly a third over the next two decades.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: 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 down a path to achieving the deep emissions reductions by advanced advance economies that the scientific community says is necessary to prevent the most catastrophic effects of climate change.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Now what you're seeing there is a joint news conference between the U.S. president and the Chinese president. The fact that it happened at all was news in itself and required lengthy negotiations between the White House and Beijing adding to the surprise the fact the Chinese President Xi Jinping took a question from an American reporter. And it didn't go over smoothly at all.

International correspondent, David McKenzie joins us now live from Beijing. David, we should be very clear. There is not a free press in China. You know, our CNN broadcasts many times are blacked out. Reporters are followed. They have minders.

And certainly, you don't ask a free question to the Chinese president. We tried to -- remember the media tried to, what happened?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly, you don't get to ask a question to the president. You don't get to ask the question of anybody in the government. Most likely there's very little access in this country, Christine.

But, yes, there was an opportunity after a long negotiation with the White House for the U.S. media to ask a question of President Xi Jinping, let's look at how he responded initially.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): President Xi Jinping will take a question from a member of the Chinese press.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKENZIE: So, certainly, at first, Xi Jinping effectively ignoring that question from the "The New York Times" who asked the question effectively for all of us and some awkward moments there with the U.S. president for sure. He did, though, to his credit, eventually get to answering some of those questions.

One of them was on the media freedom and the fact that "The New York Times" and other sites are blocked here in China. He said really that's up to the responsibility of those who create those problems in his phraseology, should fix it themselves, so kind of expected answer there, Christine.

ROMANS: So the question the "The New York Times" asked was about media freedom, and he just skipped the answer basically?

MCKENZIE: He skipped the answer. He also was asked about human rights and the issue of the Hong Kong protests that have been ongoing for weeks by students pushing for more democracy on the Hong Kong islands. He did answer that question in a way, but he effectively said that the U.S. and others should butt out of the matter.

ROMANS: Butt out of the matter.

(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 exclusively China's internal affairs. And the foreign countries should not interfere in those affairs in any form or fashion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKENZIE: But the main news of the day, certainly, this climate change deal. And the fact that President Obama with maybe low expectations from the rest of us did, in the end, manage to achieve quite a lot in this trip to China, a brief trip, but trade deals and military-to-military deals.

And this big climate change deal on the table now. So he'll be off on his way through the rest of his trip with a sense is of accomplishment, I'm sure -- Christine.

ROMANS: All right. David McKenzie for us this morning, thank you, David.

BERMAN: Now, the steep reductions in that climate change deal could set up some tension between the president and Congress, which of course will be controlled by Republicans starting next year. Not yet though, just hours from now, Congress with Democrats still in control of the Senate begins its lame-duck session.

Among the issues on the Senate's agenda, the Keystone oil pipeline which has long been on the Republican wish list maybe picking up some more bipartisan support now. The president of course says he is waiting for a full regulatory review from before he weighs in.

ROMANS: All right, in Yemen, growing concerns over a surge inciting among rival factions there. The violence so tense now, the U.S. military is updating plans to potentially evacuate U.S. Embassy personnel, U.S. ambassador to Yemen Matthew Tueller has been targeted by terrorists before. One of his friends telling us, he's worried now 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 various factors into a coalition government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Any military involvement in an evacuation would happen only after the U.S. ambassador asks for it. So far that has not happened.

BERMAN: Tension is on the rise in Jerusalem this morning. The Palestinian president is accusing Israel's prime minister of starting a religious war. At the same time, the Palestinian factions are fighting amongst themselves. A very, very fragile situation this morning as what appears to be a tit for tat series of attacks at holy sites. Senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson, is live in Jerusalem this morning. Nic, what's the latest?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That was very, very private language from the Palestinian Authority President Makmoud Abbas accusing Israel of trying to incite a religious war by changing access for rules for religious sites in Jerusalem.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responding later in the day very, very clearly saying, look, Palestinian Authority president here is lying. He's a bad partner for peace. Israel has no plans to change the access to religious sites in Jerusalem.

But, you know, the outflow from that, within hours we've seen attacks on religious sites here. One an ancient synagogue was fire-bombed in one attack. And another, a mosque was fire-bombed as well, burning the lower floor of that. The upper floor is unusable.

There are pictures of that fire-bombing of a burnt Korans on the floor itself, a very incendiary picture. The situation here is very tense. The concerns are this comes, of course, hard on the heels of a shooting yesterday of a Palestinian youth in disputed circumstances.

He was killed and the situation right now is very tense. And anything like the burning of a religious site in any event is a real potential trigger for further destabilization -- John.

BERMAN: In some cases, the leaders are calling for a certain degree of calm although some of the rhetoric is not held. The question is do they have control over the population. Nic Robertson, thanks so much for being with us.

The two-month-old ceasefire in Eastern Ukraine coming undone as fighting rages again. Pentagon officials saying that Russia has amassed some 8,000 troops along the Ukraine border and that there is also a step up shipments of heavy weapons to (inaudible) in recent days.

U.S. and Ukrainian officials also say that a convoy that Russia claims was humanitarian did not go through an independent inspection. An Obama administration officials concedes that U.S.-led sanctions are hurting Russia economically, but they have not deterred Russia when it comes to Ukraine.

ROMANS: It's so interesting. He has been -- Putin had almost immune to all of that pressure even as the ruble has fallen and Russian stocks have really been under pressure.

Time for an EARLY START on "Your Money" today, Asian shares ended the day higher. European shares lower right now. Look at the bank stocks this morning. Big news there, they're falling on news of $3.3 billion settlement for manipulating foreign exchange markets.

U.S. stock futures pointing lower here, but look, we're on record watch. Yesterday, the Dow and S&P 500 climbed just 1 point. That was enough to close higher than they ever have in history. News this morning for holiday shoppers, Walmart's Black Friday deals will start at 6:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving night, the same time as last night. Walmart telling us 22 million shoppers last year on Thanksgiving visited the superstores.

Walmart's going to spread its best deals out over several days. It's going to offer more discounts online. It's an attempt to keep shoppers calm and avoid fighting over the bargain because nothing says Thanksgiving like fighting.

Walmart will have a lot of competition on Thanksgiving. By the way, K-mart starts at 6:00 a.m. gobble, gobble. Other major retailers open later in the day. You know how I feel about this, right? Nothing says we barely escape famine and destruction in the new world like going shopping.

BERMAN: At Christineromans on Twitter.

ROMANS: All right, happening, Missouri's governor revealing his strategy to crack down on violent protests if the police officer who killed unarmed teen, Michael Brown, is not indicted. Brown's parents also weighing in on the possibility of what they would like to see on the streets of Ferguson.

BERMAN: Plus, a polar plunge. It is expanding this morning. It is coming for you, 200 million Americans now facing these temperatures. Jennifer Gray tracking what you can expect. That's next.

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ROMANS: Missouri Governor Jay Nixon says he's prepared to call out the National Guard. The governor is worried violence could 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. The grand jury has been working for many weeks on this. Governor Nixon said on Tuesday that violence will not be tolerated. Michael Brown's parents were in Geneva on Tuesday speaking to a United Nations Human Rights panel.

I want to bring in CNN's Erin McLaughlin. She joins us live this morning from Geneva. What message, Erin, did Michael Brown's parents want to send to the United Nations?

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christine, yesterday, I interviewed Michael Brown's parents here in Geneva. And they told me it was an incredibly emotional trip for them and they explained to me why it was so important for them to travel thousands of miles all the way from Ferguson, Missouri, here to Geneva, to address the U.N. committee against torture. Take a listen to what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LESLEY MCSPADEN, MICHAEL BROWN'S MOTHER: We want the world to know what's going none Ferguson. We need justice, we need answers and we need action. And we had to bring it to the U.N. so that they can expose it to the rest of the world what's going on in small town Ferguson.

MICHAEL BROWN SR., MICHAEL BROWN'S FATHER: We need justice for our son and need Officer Wilson -- we need him to be accountable for his had actions on what happened on Ferguson, August 9th, 2014.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN: They told me they hoped a grand jury will indict Darren Wilson, the police officer who shot and killed their son. If that doesn't happen, Michael Brown, Sr. saying that he plans to take to the streets to protest. He says that he will protest peacefully.

Now in terms of what's happening here at the United Nations today, the U.S. delegation is delivering their statement to the U.N. Committee Against Torture. Part of a regular review process into the United States compliance with that treaty.

Michael Brown's parents saying they plan to be here throughout this entire process. They're going to be giving a press conference later today and really emphasizing to me the fact that they really hope that they're able to take this tragedy and turn it into a springboard for change across the United States -- Christine.

ROMANS: Certainly a story that is resonating from the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, all over this country and right there to the U.N. in Geneva. Erin McLaughlin, thank you for bringing that to us.

It's 45 minutes past the hour, 2 feet of snow slamming into eight mid- western plains states in the first storm of the season. Hello, winter. Temperatures in some areas plunged 50 degrees. Actually, I grew up in Iowa.

I can imagine it's horrible in places like Marquette, Michigan. It was hit with 22 inches of snow on the ground. (Inaudible) tough in the Midwest, right?

BERMAN: In Nebraska, snow, sleet and bitterly cold temperatures turned roads in Omaha into sheets of ice. Omaha right on the border of Iowa. Of course, this made it difficult for cars to travel even the shortest distances. Look at that. What a mess. Omaha is expecting more snow this weekend.

ROMANS: I do not mention Iowa as much as you mention Tom Brady. So that is the truth.

BERMAN: Who is better looking, Iowa or Tom Brady? Ask yourself that.

ROMANS: How long will the icy weather last? Jennifer Gray, end our debate, give us your EARLY START on the forecast.

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Normally, it's November, it will melt in a couple days -- no. A lot of these areas will stay below freezing for at least another week. And so we're going to be dealing with very, very cold temperatures for at least seven days in a lot of areas. Denver, 3 degrees this morning. Billings, 7 degrees below zero, Minneapolis at 17, Chicago at 31, when you factor in the wind chills this is what it feels like outside, feeling like 14 degrees below zero in Denver and 26 below in Cheyenne.

These very cold temperatures are going to stay so 15 degrees below normal in Denver. That's your high temperature, 5 degrees is going to be your high temperature, 50 degrees below normal, 19 degrees below normal in Minneapolis. And it's going to stay this way.

You can see as we go into Thursday and then even into Friday that colder air will reach the east coast. Of course, not quite as chilly as we've seen in the Midwest and the northern plains, but still, temperatures will be 10 to 20 degrees below zero.

A little lake-effect snow expected for the next couple of days. That's really it. It's just the cold temperatures that are going remain temperatures in the teens and 20s across much of the Midwest, guys.

ROMANS: All right. I know the mountain resorts people are happy.

BERMAN: The mountains of Iowa -- they're ecstatic over all of the snow.

ROMANS: No. I'm talking about Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota, they're happy.

BERMAN: Thank you, Jennifer.

ROMANS: A daring historic attempt in space this morning, a spacecraft trying to land on a comet. Think about that for a second, a spacecraft trying to land on a comet. How is it possible? Why did they do it? Have they been successful? We're live breaking down this major milestone next.

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BERMAN: An intergalactic first this morning, this 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 to its Rosetta orbit to a comet called 67P, the famous 67P.

Joining us now with the very latest from this ongoing mission from the European Space Agency control room in Darmstadt, Germany, is CNN's Frederik Pleitgen. Good morning, Fred.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The other famous "p" here, Fred Pleitgen here. The lander has dropped and slowly making its way off the comet. Remember, it has no way of navigating. No way of steering. They just dropped it out and hoping it lands in the right place, which is right here. That's difficult enough because this is a very snowy surface.

They don't know whether that surface is soft or hard. There's going to be a lot of dust there as well. If it makes it, right before it lands it's going to launch some harpoons to try and block itself into the comet and also has a single booster on top to press it towards the comet.

And if it makes that, we are expecting to get some interesting scientific data out of this comet in the weeks to come. What it's going to do, it's going to take some probes of the comet. It's going to take soil probes there and see some of the gas around the comet as well.

And the reason why they're doing it is because, there is a theory that 3.5 billion years ago, many of these comets crashed into the earth. And perhaps the ice that they're made of and some of the metallic rocks that are inside then reacted with the sunlight that hits the earth and formed the first more complex molecules that then led to life on earth -- John.

ROMANS: Like playing models. But it really is fascinating and it's all happening right now. And they will beam back pictures over the next several hours and this thing could land just after 11:00 and CNN will cover that live.

ROMANS: I love that they lobed it out using all of their maps and physics and trajectories and then they hope it's going to land in the right spot upright and not just sink in the snow. Frederik Pleitgen, thank you.

Some surprising job advice from billionaire, Michael Bloomberg, what he said high schooler should be when they grow up. We're going to get an EARLY START on "Your Money" next.

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ROMANS: All right. An EARLY START to "Your Money" this morning. One billionaire's advice to high schoolers is to become a plumber. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said trades like plumbing can be a better option than college for some people that's because those skills are in high demand.

They can be used to start a successful small business. You know, wages are stagnant, even as employment comes back, as jobs are coming back, Bloomberg says that's the result of technology making middle class professions less lucrative.

He said the solution for some students is to think about the trades like becoming a plumber. Now, some would argue it's a discussion between expanded degrees.

BERMAN: Yes, he went to Harvard Business School.

ROMANS: Yes, he's had a lot of fancy degrees. But there are a lot of people questioning the value of a college education. A college education is worth it if you don't take on too much debt and if you have the skills that go with it to get a job in the end.

BERMAN: It's an important discussion. This morning, a ground breaking climate deal between the United States and China, "NEW DAY" is tracking this right now.