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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Sen. Rand Paul Announces 2016 Plans Today; Yemen in Crisis: Violence Escalates; Duke Wins NCAA Crown; Boston Bombing Trial: Deliberations Begin. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired April 07, 2015 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The 2016 White House race growing this morning. Senator Rand Paul set to make his big announcement. What his path to victory to look like. The chain effect his announcement could have for other contenders.

Yemen in crisis. Once a key ally in the U.S. war on terror. War escalating. Thousands trying to evacuate. We are live with the very latest this morning.

Deliberations begin in the Boston marathon bombing trial following a dramatic day in court. The emotional closing arguments ahead.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans. It's Tuesday morning, 30 minutes past the hour. John Berman has the morning off.

Happening this morning: another presidential hopeful entering the contest as Rand Paul prepares to officially announce his plans for a 2016 run. The Kentucky senator will enter near the top of a crowded Republican field with CNN polling putting him in third place at 12 percent. Even so, Paul hedging his bets, setting up a combined fundraising committee that will lead donors give to both his presidential and senator campaigns at the same time.

We get more this morning from senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine.

The second Republican presidential candidate is going to throw his hat in the ring today. That Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky. He's going to have his announcement in Louisville, Kentucky, about midday.

He's going to try to run against Washington, trying to say he is a crusader from the outside, trying to build that coalition of libertarian voters, of younger voters, of Tea Party activists, all rallying against the establishment. If it sounds familiar, it probably should. He is not that different from Senator Ted Cruz, who, of course, was the first Republican to announce that he was running. But Rand Paul is somewhat different. He has been out campaigning for

longer than Ted Cruz. He is also running on his father's name. Ron Paul, of course, ran for president at least three times. He galvanized the support of libertarians.

So, Senator Rand Paul is a modern day version of his father's presidential candidacy. But the establishment is not taking him lightly at all. The Jeb Bush campaign in waiting we should say is watching this announcement very carefully. They believe that Rand Paul will be a force to be reckon with here.

But as Republicans are watching that, Democrats are still keeping an eye on Hillary Clinton. The Clinton campaign in waiting is on alert for a campaign at any day. It could come this week. It could come as late as next week. But by then, she is expected to be in the race as well.

So, the early version of the 2016 already is well under way. By the end of this week, we could have three candidates. And next week, Senator Marco Rubio is adding his name to the mix. So, a lot of political action here in Washington -- Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: A lot of political action. Jeff Zeleny, thanks for that, from Washington.

With Hillary Clinton's expected announcement coming in the next week or two, we are learning more about the kind of campaign she plans to run. Sources close to the Clinton organization telling the "Associated Press" she will bypass big speeches, the huge crowds, at least in the early going. Instead, Clinton will initially focus on intimate events that will put her in direct contact with voters in early primary states. We'll also learn more this week about the Hillary Clinton e-mail controversy, as the Clinton library releases documents related to the former secretary of state starting Wednesday.

Jeb Bush likely to face questions as he visits Colorado today, questions over his 2009 voter registration form. The Republican presidential prospect laughing off a small tempest over listing himself on this voter registration form as Hispanic. Bush, of course, is white, though his wife and children are Hispanic. Son Jeb Bush Jr. tweeted a link to a new story on the form and the comment, "LOL. Come on, dad. Think you checked the wrong box. #HonoraryLatino."

Bush Sr. responded with his explanation, "My mistake. Don't think I fooled anyone." The spokesperson says it is unclear where the paperwork error was made.

The shape of Israel's plan to block President Obama's nuclear deal with Iran becoming clearer this morning. Just one day after a leading Democrat said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had offered no real alternative to the agreement hashed out last week in Switzerland". Israel detailed the changes it wants to the deal. But the administration may disagree over whether they are realistic, since they include Iran stopping all nuclear research and development and exporting its uranium stockpile out of the country.

CNN's Jim Acosta has more this morning from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Christine, the White House is in rapid response mode as the president sells his nuclear deal with Iran. He's also taking on critics and Congress and U.S. like Israel. The president weighed in on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's demand that Iran recognize his nation's right to exist as part of a nuclear deal.

The president insisted to National Public Radio that's a deal Iran never would have accepted.

[04:35:02] BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The notion that we would condition Iran not getting nuclear weapons in a verifiable deal on Iran recognizing Israel is really akin to saying we won't sign a deal unless the nature of the Iranian regime completely transforms. And that is I think a fundamental misjudgment.

ACOSTA: Part of the reason there is so much skepticism is the fact that a big portion of the framework agreement touted in the Rose Garden last week is hardly settled. The White House conceded the U.S. and Iran have yet to agree on when sanctions on Tehran will be lifted, also a confrontation between White House and Congress is becoming even more of a possibility as Republicans say they are busy gathering up Democratic support for a plan to have Congress vote on the final nuclear deal.

The White House said, again, the president will veto the measure, but Republicans are getting increasingly confident they may have enough votes to override that veto -- Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Jim Acosta at the White House this morning.

In Yemen this morning, southern militias attacking Houthi fighters across several provinces, with backing from airstrikes by a Saudi led Arab coalition. There are signs the Saudis may also be preparing for a ground invasion. Pakistan says Saudi Arabia has asked to provide aircraft, warships and crucially troops to join in the battle against the Iranian-backed Houthis.

As the Saudi-led offensive enters its 13th day, widespread power outages and shortages of food and water threaten to create a huge humanitarian disaster. And refugees scramble to evacuate the country in ever greater numbers.

For the latest on this deteriorating situation, I want to bring in our international correspondent Nima Elbagir.

Good morning, Nima. Tell us what's happening on the ground now.

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine.

Well, it's almost street by street in some parts of that critical southern port city of Aden. Now that the Saudis have made clear that ground offensive is not off the table and, in fact, looking increasingly likely by the day, Aden is so central to the outcome of this offensive. This is where they would have to launch any action into the broader peninsula. And this is really where this entire operation will stand in full.

Now, there is really no decisive sense of who controls the port, let alone the streets alongside it. We know the presidential palace is now back in government loyalist hands. That is really as much as we do know. Meanwhile, the United Nations children's fund have said that 74 children have lost their lives in this ongoing operation. That's in addition to the hundreds of other adults whose death toll is mounting almost seemingly by the day.

Those when have been speaking to who are lucky enough to have escaped Yemen telling horrifying stories you can think of. No power, no fuel, food running out, very little access to clean water. All the while, humanitarian aid agencies are saying they are still unable to get access into Yemen -- Christine.

ROMANS: And, Nima, this is so important, obviously, for the people who live there, who are fleeing. We're seeing pictures of people trying to get out of the country right now. It is important for regional stability. You have players from all over the Middle East with conflicting goals who are working inside of Yemen. And then you have the sad fact that Yemen has long been a tinder box, a cauldron really for al Qaeda, for terrorists who want to export terror around the globe.

ELBAGIR: Absolutely. And when you think of where Yemen is, it is just in such an extraordinarily strategic position. On one side, it overlooks Bab-el-Mandeb, one of the most often used waterways in the world. On the other side, it's kind of the gateway into the rest of the Gulf and into the rest of the Middle East, further into Asia. Then, you add al Qaeda into, you add other militancy, and this competing interest of the regional super powers, Iran, Saudi, and, of course, it's a huge U.S. ally, and the war against terror.

All of that is the back drop against what is being played. But the reality on the ground is we have a country that is teetering on the brink of instability. It is horrifyingly poor. Its infrastructure has been eroded after decades of conflicts and now this. And it was only recently that people were happy that there was a democratically elected for the first time in a so time. This is really a heartbreaking on so many different levels, Christine.

ROMANS: A heartbreaking story. Nima Elbagir, thank you so much for breaking it to us this morning.

Thirty-nine minutes past the hour.

Kenya continuing its offensive against terror group al Shabaab as the manhunt continues for Mohamed Mohamud, the named mastermind of the massacre at the university in the city of Garissa. This as Kenya's military takes out two al Shabaab camps in Somalia. Apparently they were based at those camps.

[04:40:00] CNN international correspondent Christian Purefoy on the ground for us in Kenya with the latest.

Christian, you were able to get inside that school to see firsthand just what kind of damage was wrought by those terrorists.

CHRISTIAN PUREFOY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Christine. The tension has begun to shift to the retaliation air strikes to who was to blame for these attacks. The media -- some media are finally allowed into the site of the massacre where 147 people were killed.

And it really was quite eerie. You walk in, there's obviously signs of destruction. The security forces had to bring in tanks to try to dislodge the al Shabaab terrorists who've actually set up sniper positions in some of the dormitories. And you have just the scars of bullets and bullet holes and grenade holes, obviously all of the signs of battle.

But it's the smaller things that really bring it home as to what happened, the absolute horror that must have gone on there. And that really is things like the washing still hanging on the line, Christine. And in the dormitories, people just fled immediately as soon as possible and left everything behind as if they could come back and just pick it up.

But, of course, Christine, so many of them are not going to be able to do that.

ROMANS: No, they won't.

Christian Purefoy, thank you for bringing that to us this morning.

Forty-one minutes past the hour. Time for an early start on your money.

European stocks up on the FedEx deal to purchase its Dutch rival TNT. U.S. stock futures also climbing. Yesterday, the Dow rose 118 points, back in -- it's higher for the year, positive for the year.

Stocks easily handled the disappointing March jobs report. Here's why -- lackluster jobs numbers could cause the Federal Reserve to delay hiking interest rates.

The biggest winner, energy stocks, crude oil surged 6 percent after Saudi Arabia said it was charging a higher price to some Asian nations. Saudi Arabia raising oil prices. Prices dipping a bit this morning with the supply glut still expected to be pressure on oil.

All right. Duke, once again, the king of college basketball. The Blue Devils beat the Wisconsin Badgers 68-63 to claim the NCAA championship. It is the fifth title for Duke under Coach Mike Krzyzewski. Duke actually trailed by nine in the second half before storming back, led by 23 points from Tyus Jones who was named the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player.

Wisconsin senior Frank Kaminsky had 21 points, wow, 12 rebounds, and a losing effort. After the game, he tweeted, "Never been more proud of a group in my life. What we achieved will never been taken away from us. Thank you for having me at UW-Madison."

All right. Deliberations begin this morning in the Boston marathon bombing case. The dramatic final arguments the defense and prosecution made to the jury. We've got that for you, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:16:32] ROMANS: Jurors in the Boston marathon bombing trial will begin deliberation first thing this morning. During closing arguments, Monday, prosecutors linked the Tsarnaev brothers as a unified terror team. But Dzhokhar's attorney tried to persuade jurors, saying his client was merely influence to carry out the attacks by his older brother.

Alexandra Field takes us inside that courtroom.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine, survivors of the marathon bombings and family members filled the court to listen while prosecutors once again laid out the graphic details of those deadly attacks. They heard the prosecution implore the jury to find Dzhokhar Tsarnaev guilty of all 30 counts and they heard prosecutors tell the jury that Dzhokhar was a young man who wanted to terrorize, who planned to terrorize, that he and his brother considered themselves soldiers, mujahideen, and that they wanted to target the city of Boston.

Dzokhar's motive, according to the prosecution, laid out in the note he left in the boat, in which he writes, "We Muslims are all one body. You attack one, you attack us all."

For its part, the defense doesn't deny Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's participation in the events, but his attorney Judy Clarke says if not for Tamerlan, none of this would have happened. This is the strategy of the defense to show Dzhokhar as a younger brother influenced by his older brother. We'll see how of an impact that strategy has on the verdict phase of this trial. But it could have a significant impact on the sentencing phase of this trial.

If the jury finds Dzhokhar guilty of just one of 17 counts that comes with the possible death sentence, the jury will have to evaluate whether or not they choose to spare Dzhokhar's life -- Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Alexandra, thank you for that, in Boston this morning.

An explosion that rocked New York City's East Village now being investigated as a homicide. Investigators say it was caused by workers illegally tapping into the gas line. They are prepared to bring criminally negligent homicide charges against whoever is responsible. Two people died in that blast. Nearly two dozen people were hurt.

"Rolling Stone" shredded for shoddy criticism, criticized for publishing a now discredited fraternity gang rape story. How the magazine is responding and the new trouble it could face for the publication, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: New details from Columbia University School of Journalism about its review of the now retracted "Rolling Stone" story on the alleged rape on the UVA campus. Now, the review found failures at all levels of "Rolling Stone", errors Columbia says could have easily been avoided if basic standards were met by the author and others at the magazine. And now, legal action on the horizon against "Rolling Stone."

The latest from CNN's Sara Ganim.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine, Phi Kappa Si fraternity now says it plans to sue "Rolling Stone" after an investigation found there was no evidence of that gang rape as it was portrayed by "Rolling Stone" last year.

"The Columbia Journalism Review" says "Rolling Stone" failed on every journalistic level. The review of the story found the magazine writer didn't call enough sources and placed the credibility of the entire magazine on a single source, the woman named "Jackie" who is at the center of the piece.

Now, Columbia's dean, Steve Coll, says all of this could have been avoided if the writer had just picked up the phone and called a few of Jackie's friends who she says were with her that night. Take a listen.

STEVE COLL, DEAN, COLUMBIA JOURNALISM SCHOOL: The result of calling friends would have been a whole another world of information. And that's why you do it, not just to be fair but because you learned things.

GANIM: Now, all three of those friends said they would have spoken to "Rolling Stone", and "Rolling Stone" admits that their stories would have presented red flags, not only to the reporter but to her editors who the reviewer said did not do enough. Instead, "Rolling Stone" honored the request from "Jackie" not to talk to anyone else until the story published.

Now, in the article, "Jackie" tells this horrifying story that she had been raped by several men at a Phi Kappa Si fraternity party. But Columbia says that "Rolling Stone" didn't do enough to get the fraternity's side of the story. Columbia also found there was no intentional wrongdoing. Now, the story's writer, Sabrina Rubin Erdely, said in a statement, quote, "These are mistakes that I will not make again."

The alleged victim, Jackie, didn't cooperate with either investigation, Columbia or the police. "Rolling Stone" magazine has now apologized, retracted their story, but they say that no one will be fired -- Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Sara Ganim, thank you for that.

Fifty-four minutes past the hour.

Hillary Clinton almost certainly running for president. That could mean big money for the owners of ElectHillary.com. Forget stocks, how about investing in web site domains? Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:58:18] ROMANS: All right. Let's get an early start on your money.

Good morning so far for stocks. European stocks up on a FedEx deal to purchase Dutch rival TNT. U.S. stock futures are higher. Yesterday, the Dow rose 118 points, back up for the year. Stocks easily handled a disappointing March jobs report. Lackluster jobs numbers could cause the fed a delay in hiking interest rates.

The biggest winner, energy stock, crude oil surged 6 percent. Saudi Arabia raised prices for oil sold in Asia and oil stocks rallied. Oil prices have been going up and down widely. Gas prices have been relatively low. But who knows when that will change?

So, you can protect yourself at the pump. Lovemygasprice.com lets drivers purchase insurance against rising gas prices. That's right, insurance against rising gas price. Here's that it works. You pay $4 a month for insurance. It gets you a cap of $2.75 a gallon. If the national average rises above $2.75 a gallon, you get money back.

It's the way to plan, kind of like the way airlines and shipping companies who locked in rates with fuel rates. It's sort of like playing the futures market, buying some insurance for your gas prices.

Now, it is almost certain Hillary Clinton is running for president. Owners of the official sounding Clinton Web sites are trying to cash in. USA.com, that's on sale for a cool 100 grand. ElectHillary.com, 297 grand. And perhaps the overly confident ReElectHillary.com is going for $275,000, getting a bit of itself, but it's available.

The owners of these domains have been sitting on them for years as investment.

EARLY START continues right now.

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