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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Deal Reached In Ukraine Peace Talks; Obama Asks Congress To Authorize 3-Year ISIS War; U.S. Stock Futures Are Up; "60 Minutes" Correspondent Bob Simon Dies; "American Sniper" Murder Trial

Aired February 12, 2015 - 05:30   ET

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

POPPY HARLOW, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: Breaking this morning, marathon negotiations payoff with European leaders striking a ceasefire deal for Ukraine. The details of the announcement just ahead.

President Obama asking Congress to authorize military action against ISIS, his request sparking criticism from both sides of the aisle. So will it get Congress' stamp of approval?

Also breaking overnight, legendary journalist, Bob Simon has died tragically in a car accident. We will take a look back at his extraordinary career.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Poppy Harlow in for John Berman and Christine Romans, who have the morning off. It is 30 minutes past 5 a.m. here on the east coast.

Breaking news on the crisis in Eastern Ukraine after marathon talks involving France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine, 17 hours of talks, in fact, they had a breakthrough. The parties are agreeing to a ceasefire that is scheduled to take effect this weekend.

Our Nic Robertson was there through it all. He is live with us in Minsk. I know we don't have all of details, but the ceasefire is supposed to take effect in just a few days, Nic?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Midnight Saturday night into Sunday is what we are expecting. We had this information. President Putin gave a short press statement following these marathon talks.

He said that there was an agreement on the ceasefire, that there was an agreement to pull back heavy weapons. That there was an agreement for demilitarized zone between the separatists and the Ukrainian government forces.

We are beginning to learn a little bit more as well, some flesh on the bones of this agreement. President Putin has also said that there will be constitutional reform that will respect the rights of the separatists in the southeastern Ukraine in the Donbas area.

What we've heard now from the German Foreign Ministry as well saying that they did not get agreement on everything, but there is an agreement on elections, according to German Foreign Ministry and an agreement on exchange of prisoners. Again, this is coming from the German Foreign Ministry. We are

beginning to get some of those details, but 17 hours of talks and the leaders left. Now they talked all the way through the night -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Nic, the big question is will this be any different this time around than the ceasefire agreement reached in September? I wondered do you get a sense at all that the deteriorating Russian economy has maybe bent Vladimir Putin a bit. That he is being a bit more agreeable to this or do you think that this could end up just like what fell apart in September?

ROBERTSON: I think it is very, very hard to tell at this early stage to be honest, Poppy. One of the other details that was a concern for the Ukrainian government is who will control the border between Russia and the separatist area.

We learned from the Germans that there is some agreement on that as well. But the question about what has motivated Vladimir Putin at this point is very hard to tell. I mean, certainly some analysts will take he is very strategic and very key.

And what he does, he does want perhaps not to be seen as the aggressor here. But the bottom line is that the United States and Ukrainians and Europeans all believe that Russia has troops and is supplying heavy weapons to the separatists.

Russia continues to deny that. Their motivations remain in question here. While they may have pushed for peace right now, it is not clear at all what their strategy will be going forward and how much Vladimir Putin is really responding to that economic strain that his country is coming under because of his actions -- Poppy.

HARLOW: You also wonder what it does to the debate over here in the United States over whether or not we should send defensive weapons to Ukraine or not if this changes that strong call on the president to do that for many in Congress. Thank you very much, Nic. Appreciate it.

Also breaking overnight, the International Monetary Fund announcing a bailout for Ukraine's war ravaged economy. The IMF is pledging $17.5 billion in aid to try to stabilize the country's economy. Director Christine Lagarde calling this an ambitious commitment but saying it does not come without risk.

President Obama wants Congress on board in the war on ISIS. The president is making a formal request for lawmakers to authorize the use of military force against ISIS terrorists.

The draft resolution comes at rules out the long term commitment of ground forces and imposes a three-year limit on the president's authority to combat ISIS. We'll have more now from senior White House correspondent, Jim Acosta.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Poppy, President Obama insisted this new authorization for the war on ISIS will not plunge. Hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops back into combat. The president points out that his authorization is aimed at more limited operations such as rescue attempts and missions to take out ISIS leadership.

He did take not of the three-year time limit that's built into the authorization that would require Congress to revisit this issue again under the next president. Here is what the president had to say about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The resolution we've submitted today does not call for the deployment of U.S. ground combat forces to Iraq or Syria. It is not the authorization of another ground war like Afghanistan or Iraq.

The 2,600 American troops in Iraq today largely serve on bases. Yes, they face the risks that come with service in any dangerous environment, but they do not have a combat mission.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: President Obama is finding out why there has not been a war authorization in Congress for 13 years. He is already taking heat from all sides. Republicans who say he doesn't have a plan. The Democrats who say the president's proposal is too vague.

I pressed White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest on the measure's fuzzy language. He said that was by design to give the president the flexibility he needs. Congress may want better answers than that -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Jim Acosta, thank you. Appreciate it. Let's get an EARLY START on your money. CNN Money correspondent, Cristina Alesci, joins me now.

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: Good day for stocks so far. In fact, Asian stocks ended the day higher. Now European stocks and U.S. stock futures have taken a turn for the better, but there is a lot to consider today.

Stocks are climbing on news of a ceasefire in Ukraine, but the situation in Greece is still very uncertain. E.U. officials made little progress yesterday on the future of Greece's bailout program.

And the oil rollercoaster continues. Crude oil prices are up 3 percent this morning just above $50 a barrel. Prices can't seem to stabilize after a seven-month plunge. Over supply is still pushing prices lower even as producers especially here in the U.S. slash investment and shutdown rigs.

Poppy, you know, you reported on this. This is a problem for our domestic energy sector.

HARLOW: Jobs in states like North Dakota and Texas, it's a big problem.

ALESCI: Exactly. This is a geo-political story as much as it is a business story. HARLOW: It is their fault. It is their fault.

ALESCI: We had the Dallas fed president come out and say yesterday, Saudi Arabia is engineering the oil crisis just apparently to hurt us.

HARLOW: Yes, that is one opinion. Cristina Alesci, thank you very much.

Lottery officials say three Powerball players beat the incredible odds with tickets matching all six numbers in this $564 million drawing. The tickets sold that were the winning tickets were in Texas, North Carolina, and Puerto Rico.

Those winning Powerball numbers were 25, 11, 54, 13, 39 and Powerball 19. No word yet on who those lucky winners are. I bet they will try to keep it private when they do find out they won.

Remembering a news giant, legendary CBS correspondent, Bob Simon has died in a tragic car crash. We will look back on his incredible career and the mark the he has left on all of us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have some sad news tonight from within our CBS News family. Our "60 Minutes" colleague, Bob Simon, was killed this evening in a car accident in New York City.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: All right, welcome back. That was CBS News anchor, Scott Pelley, announcing the tragic death of his colleague, "60 Minutes" correspondent, Bob Simon. The veteran journalist was killed in a car accident in New York City last night. He was 73 years old.

He had been with CBS News since 1967. His remarkable body of work earned him more than two dozen Emmys, four Peabodys and the highest honor from the Overseas Press Club.

Let's bring in our CNN senior media correspondent and host of "RELIABLE SOURCES," Brian Stelter. This was, I read it this morning when I woke up and I was just speechless.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: It's a loss for all of journalism. Bob Simon personifies, you know, what we do and what so many people get into the business to do. And Jeff Fager, "60 minutes" said in a statement last night that he was a reporter's reporter.

"It is a terrible loss for all of us at CBS News. It is such a tragedy made worst because we lost him in a car accident, a man who has escaped more difficult situations than almost any journalist in modern times."

He went on to say, "Bob was a reporter's reporter driven by a natural curiosity." You know, 90 percent of the stories he filed over his 50 plus years in television, were overseas. He was a foreign correspondent and a reporter's reporter.

HARLOW: So from the Vietnam War to Iraq, he covered the war in the Balkans. An incredible man who, by the way, was imprisoned and tortured in Iraq for 40 days, only to return a few months later to finish his reporting there, I mean, that says it all.

STELTER: That's the perfect expression of who he was and what he stood for. He was working on pieces at "60 Minutes" even this month. He had a piece last Friday. He was working on one this Sunday about the search for the Ebola cure. He was working with his daughter who is a producer at "60 Minutes."

HARLOW: So I just watched his piece on "Selma." Actually yesterday in my office, I had missed it on Sunday evening, and I sat there watching it and thinking this is why we all do what we do. Let's play a little clip of that, his last story that aired while he was alive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB SIMON, CBS NEWS: You were quoted as saying tell me if it is correct that were you not interested in making a white savior film.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sure. I'm interested in having people of color being the center of their own lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: He always asked the important questions in a respectful way.

STELTER: And while a czar of superstar broadcast journalism, he didn't put on any airs. He was the kind of person who wanted to talk about you when you would see him and talk to him. He did not care so much about the glory of the profession. He cared a lot more about the story telling.

And probably the most important trait for him was the writing, it was being a writer, and that is what separates the good from the great in television so often. He knew exactly how to craft a story and so many young people, even at CBS, learned so much from him about that.

HARLOW: Anderson Cooper, a colleague of his who worked with him at "60 Minutes" calling him a warrior poet. The former executive producer of "60 Minutes" would turn his back and listen to the story instead of having to see it. So it had to be written so perfectly and that was such a skill of his.

STELTER: That's a great -- you know, "60 Minutes" is special in some ways in that way. It's the pre-eminent news magazine. People work their whole careers to get there and once they get there, they've got to hold on. They've got to stay there.

Bob Simon had been there for 19 seasons and that says it all. Even at 73, still a full-time correspondent. Like I said that piece about Ebola still in the works, I have to imagine CBS will show it although that hasn't been determined yet. HARLOW: Brian, I'm wondering, you know, with you being a media critic, who watches everything out there, I wonder what you think Bob Simon has done for journalism.

STELTER: He went to the story and in a time where there is a whole lot of digital journalism that mostly regurgitates headlines and offers up opinion and takes he went to the story. He went overseas. He sought out the people involved and he focused on the interviews.

And he brought all that back and he tried to put it into a cohesive, clear and compelling story. That's something that is timeless even in this digital age of this revolution that is a skill that is timeless.

Frankly, it's why "60 Minutes" is still the highest rated newscast in the U.S. because every week you know you're going to get compelling stories from the like of Bob Simon.

HARLOW: And he leaves behind his wife, his daughter, a producer at "60 Minutes," and also a grandson, who I was reading from some of his colleagues, has been the light of his life, and a tragedy for everyone, his family and for this entire industry.

Brian Stelter, thank you very much. Bob Simon, we will remember you and your great work.

Also this, a potential bombshell in the "American Sniper" murder trial, could the text messages between two victims, former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle and his friend help the defense? We will look at the first day of the trial next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: All right, day two of the so-called "American Sniper" murder trial in Texas. Taya Kyle, the widow of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, was the state's first witness. Through tears she told jurors about the last conversation she had with her husband on the phone before he was gunned down by Eddie Ray Routh.

Former Marine -- the former Marine is accused of killing Kyle and his friend, Chad Littlefield, he had been diagnosed with post- traumatic stress syndrome. Let's get more from our Martin Savidge.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Poppy, there is one point that the defense and the prosecution actually agree on and it's this that Eddie Routh actually did kill Chris Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield. Where they differ is why.

The prosecution maintains that it was straight up murder. That, they say, they will prove by showing how the murders were carried out. Both men have been shot multiple times using two different weapons.

Also, they say that Routh carefully reloaded and fled stealing Kyle's pickup truck with the intention of going to Oklahoma where he was apprehended. The defense says he did kill both men, but the reasoning was because he suffers from psychosis. The psychosis he has as a result of his military service overseas

and that that psychosis is so severe, he doesn't know what was right and wrong at least at that particular time.

And that in fact, he killed the two men because he feared that those men were actually going to kill him. Then there was the bombshell from the defense.

It was Chris Kyle's own words, a text on the deadly day when he is driving with his best friend and Ralph in the back seat, Kyle texted his best friend next to him and says, this guy is straight up nuts referring to Ralph.

That would seem to be a very strong statement in support of the defense's claim that Routh was insane -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Martin Savidge, thank you for that. Of course, we will be following it as the trial continues today.

Also this Thursday, major new concern about measles in Northern California, health officials say tens of thousands of San Francisco BART commuters may have been exposed.

They say an infected resident in the bay area rode the train to and from work for three days in a row. That person also went to a San Francisco restaurant and a bar last week. So far, we know there have been 110 confirmed cases of measles in the state of California.

Streamers getting an unexpected sneak peek at Season 3 of "House Of Cards." Netflix didn't want you to see that or did they? An EARLY START on your money next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Let's get an EARLY START on your money. Cristina Alesci joins me now. Things are looking pretty good.

ALESCI: Stocks are up on news of the peace deal in Ukraine. European stocks have taken a turn for the better. U.S. stock futures are following that lead right now. Even with good news of the cease-fire in Ukraine, the standoff between Greece and its creditors still very much top of mind for investors and oil prices are still very volatile up 3 percent right now.

Well, if a $70 first class ticket from Europe to the U.S. sounds too good to be true that is because it is. Yesterday, thousands of travelers thought they got a great deal.

United Airlines says it will not honor the cheap first class tickets. The airline said it didn't make the mistake. It was because of a third party software provider. The mistake fares, by the way, are nothing new. In the past, most airlines have actually honored the tickets. It may be customer's faults.

Did you catch an early glimpse of the "House Of Cards?"

HARLOW: No.

ALESCI: The episode three popped up on Netflix late yesterday, two weeks ahead of schedule. But Netflix says early release, it was a just technical glitch and the episodes were taken down immediately.

The "House Of Cards" Twitter account tweeted, this is Washington, there's always a leak. This is speculation this is a PR stunt. Both of us like the show.

HARLOW: Great PR.

ALESCI: Both of us liked the show and neither of us probably knew that it was going to be out in two weeks. Now we do.

HARLOW: Now we all know that it came out two weeks early. We have to wait until the 27th. Good job. Cristina, thank you. Good to be with you this morning.

That will do it for me here on EARLY START." Thanks so much for starting your day with us. There is a lot to cover this morning including that breaking news about a ceasefire deal reached in Ukraine. "NEW DAY" will have that and a lot more straight ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is an agreement for a ceasefire to begin?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the past they've always denied they actively involved in the conflict in East Ukraine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a broad agreement to pull back heavy weapons.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Making his case for the authority to wage war against ISIS.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: It is not the authorization of another ground war.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When the president says he wants to destroy ISIL, I don't think anybody believes it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it can pass, but certainly not in its present form.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tell me how my son is. If he's dead, tell me he's dead.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's basically incomprehensible to me that you can murder three people, shooting a bullet into their head.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He would not have acted this way if they were not clearly Muslims.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Thursday, February 12th, just before 6:00 in the east and we have an agreement to end the bloodshed in Eastern Ukraine.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: After 17 hours of negotiations, the leaders of Germany and France have reached a ceasefire deal with the presidents of Russia and Ukraine. It calls for the fighting to end on Sunday.

Let's get right to senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson in Minsk with the breaking news. What's the latest, Nic?

ROBERTSON: Alisyn, the agreement says that there will be a pull-back of heavy weapons, tactical missiles that were pulled back almost a hundred --