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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Hillary's Campaign to Open in Iowa; Marco Rubio Announces Run for President; Iraqi Prime Minister Meeting with Obama; Family & Friends Honor Lauren Hill. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired April 14, 2015 - 05:00   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: You can see, she went to a Chipotle in Ohio where she was not recognized, ordered a burrito bowl, unrecognized. Hillary Clinton, former first lady and secretary of state. How can you not recognize her?

Nevertheless, she is on the way to Iowa to her first campaign event. That's her at a gas station the other day. She's just like all of us. At least that is what her campaign wants you to believe. It is a far cry from her first race eight years ago.

Senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny has the very latest on that -- Jeff.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

Hillary Clinton is holding the first official stop of her presidential campaign today in Iowa. But don't look for a big rally or even a public one. She'll actually be holding an education round table and meeting with local officials and party activists. Now, these small, down-sized events will be the hallmark of her campaign, at least for now, as she tries to build a connection with voters.

She spent the night in Iowa, after arriving late last night at the end of a 1,000-mile road trip from Chappaqua, New York. She stayed in Pittsburgh on the first night, aides said, stopped at a Chipotle restaurant outside Toledo, and made one stop in Illinois before finally reaching Iowa.

Now, the campaign is already well underway in Iowa. Potential Democratic candidates like Martin O'Malley and Jim Webb have already been in the state. That's why she says she needs to fight for every vote and she may have to.

Some Democratic activists we talked to say they still have questions about what she stands for. Now, Clinton will get a chance to answer some of those questions today at her listening tour, which is similar to what she did when she first run for the Senate 15 years ago in New York.

But this listening tour will continue for a few weeks as she visits other early voting states of New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada, and, of course, starts those fund-raising trips.

At the end of May, she intends to give a bigger presidential announcement to give a broader outline on what her platform actually is -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: All right. Our thanks to Jeff for that.

With the former secretary of state freshly on the campaign trail, her former boss and one time opponent, President Obama says it is a little early to endorse for the Democratic nomination. But he did offer some glowing words of praise for Secretary Clinton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think she will do great. I have known her for a very long time. We had a really tough primary in 2008. I saw first hand how tenacious and determined and compassionate she is when it comes to the issues facing the middle class and she was an outstanding secretary of state. So, I'm not going to do any political prognosticating. That's your job. But I will tell you that she'd be an excellent president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: All right. There are new developments on the Republican side of the race this morning. Florida Senator Marco Rubio becomes the third GOP senator to announce his run for president. Rubio opened his bid Monday at Miami's Freedom Tower. This is an icon to Cuban Americans like Rubio. His speech made frequent references to a generational divide.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Now, the time has come for our generation to lead the way towards a new American century.

(CHEERS)

That is why tonight, grounded by the lessons of our history, but inspired by the promise of our future, I announce my candidacy for president of the United States.

(CHEERS)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Chief congressional correspondent Dana Bash has the latest from Miami.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, 43-year-old Marco Rubio tried to turn his youth and relative inexperience compared to older candidates into a plus by saying, time and time again in his announcement piece that this should be a time for a generational change, that the candidates of yesterday are just that and that there needs to be somebody for tomorrow.

Now, at one point, it was pretty clear he was explicitly talking about Democrat Hillary Clinton. But at another, it seems as though he was alluding to Republican Jeb Bush -- by talking about the fact that some people are telling Rubio to wait his turn, but he feels like he has to start now, that now is his time.

And we are hearing some mutual friends of Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio are saying just that to him. That they wish he wouldn't run right now, that there is a generational difference that benefits Jeb Bush, that it is his time, and not Marco Rubio's.

So, Rubio talked a lot about his personal history, his family history, the fact that he comes from Cuban exiles and the fact that he has an American dream story that really is palpable for him, it drives his world view as a hawk on the world stage, and also here in the United States, his conservatives ideals, small government and lower taxes.

The question, though, of course, just like the other two Republicans freshman senators who announcement before him, whether or not their youth and inexperience is too reminiscent for some Republicans of Barack Obama -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[05:05:00] ROMANS: All right, Dana. Thank you for that.

Now, Rubio wasted little time lashing out at Hillary Clinton specifically. At 43, the freshman senator will likely be the youngest candidate in a crowded Republican field. And he aimed his generational theme directly at the former secretary of state.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUBIO: Just yesterday, a leader from yesterday began a campaign for president by promising to take us back to yesterday. Yesterday is over.

(CHEERS)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Democrats already slamming Rubio. The DNC releasing a memo calling the senator a champion for the failed economic policies of the past that devastated hard working middle class families.

BERMAN: That stuff about yesterday, he was saying it about Hillary Clinton. But make me no mistake, it is not just about Hillary Clinton. Every time he talks about yesterday, he is also talking about Jeb Bush.

ROMANS: But that's his mentor. They have lunch together. This is -- BERMAN: It is. But he's now also his opponent. So, he got a two-

for-one attack there, anytime he goes that way, which who knows could be successful, but certainly makes life difficult for Jeb Bush in the primaries. Now, they could have another person running against them soon.

Dr. Ben Carson perhaps the next Republican to enter the race. The retired physician is planning what being called a major announcement on May 4th in Detroit. His camp will not confirm he is running. They insist the campaign is still in the exploratory phase.

ROMANS: All right. Secretary of State John Kerry is appealing to Congress to give him a little space so he can finish negotiating a nuclear deal with Iran. Kerry held a classified meeting with House members last night, urging them not to pass legislation that could derail those nuclear talks. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz will brief lawmakers today on the scientific, diplomatic and economic elements of this emerging deal with Iranians.

ROMANS: So, finalizing the nuclear deal has a new issue perhaps. Russian Vladimir Putin has approved the delivery of an $800 million air defense missile system to Iran. This is straining ties between Moscow and Washington, already strained. More importantly, it threatens to complicate at least the nuclear talks because that missile system would make it difficult for the U.S. or Israel to attack Iran's nuclear infrastructure if the Iranians violated any agreement in the future.

ROMANS: The prime minister of Iraq is in Washington, making his first official visit to the U.S. since taking office. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi will meet with President Obama at the White House this morning before a close door session tonight with the Secretary of State John Kerry. Al-Abadi will be looking for more help from the White House to fight ISIS.

Let's bring in senior international correspondent Arwa Damon. She's live for us again this morning from Baghdad.

And what is the help the Iraqi officials are looking for from Washington, Arwa?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, speaking to the media right before Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi boarded the plane to Washington, he made it clear -- they want more military support, more weapons, more equipment and they want to see more coalition airstrikes, because even though al-Abadi said that there had been an increase in the past few weeks, the coalition played a vital role when it came to defeating ISIS in Tikrit. It quite simply was not enough.

But it's not as simple a process of asking for more and receiving it because the U.S. is very weary about the role and influence that Iran has over the Iraqi battlefield and over Iraqi politics, even though Iran itself has played a vital role when it comes to Iraq's battle against ISIS. In fact, many Iraqi politician, including the prime minister himself, have been mentioning how quickly Iran was to respond when ISIS first took over Mosul over the summer. And the U.S. effectively dragged its feet, waiting for a government to be formed before it begun launching those critical air strikes.

And when we talk about the battle against ISIS, Christine, yes, they have been defeated for now in Tikrit. But they managed to strike back and strike back hard in other parts of the country. Over the weekend breaching the outer perimeter of the nation's largest oil refinery in Baiji after deploying a suicide bomber and launching attacks from multiple sides. The battle there is still ongoing, as Iraq sends up more reinforcements from the police, army and the Iranian-backed Shia militias to that area.

ISIS also making critical advances in al-Anbar province, taking over three towns and forcing residents to flee on foot. And it is against this backdrop that al-Abadi does make this trip to the United States, underscoring just how critical it is for his country to get that additional assistance, especially with the big battles for Anbar and Mosul looming in the future.

Al-Abadi does say that Iraq can ultimately defeat ISIS, that Iraq is fighting ISIS for the rest of the world.

[05:10:01] It is the only country that has troops face-to-face with ISIS in the battle field. But he says Iraq cannot do this alone.

ROMANS: Alone, in every win has been so hard fought and so tentative. That must be a grave concern.

Our thanks to Arwa Damon this morning.

Eleven minutes past the hour. Time for an early start on your money.

U.S. stock futures barely moving right now. Wall Street has a lot to think about this morning. Corporate earnings start to come out today. Big players like Johnson & Johnson, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Intel will let us know what their profits look like for the quarter. And, of course, that profit growth is what drives the stock market.

Also, we're going to get a look at retail sales for last month. And Oil prices are higher. U.S. crude is up, it's about $52 a barrel right now. That is compared to $100 last summer. Don't expect prices near there any time soon.

According to Rystad Energy, U.S. oil production will be 9.65 million barrels a day here. That will set the previous record from 1970. The supply glut has sent prices tumbling, caused layoffs and spending cuts, you're looking at the U.S., Russia, and Saudi Arabia, the biggest oil producers in the world.

BERMAN: Very interesting.

ROMANS: Another white police officer charged for shooting an unarmed black man. This disturbing video and disturbing case and the officer's explanations, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROMANS: A volunteer Tulsa County deputy is now facing a manslaughter charge in the fatal shooting of a black suspect during an undercover gun operation. Prosecutors say 73-year-old Robert Bates was negligent for shooting Eric Harris with a handgun instead of a taser earlier this month.

Now, police are standing by their deputies, saying the shooting was an accident. Let's get more this morning from CNN's Ed Lavandera.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, the shooting death of Eric Harris earlier this month is under a great deal of scrutiny, especially now that the reserve deputy accused of carrying out that shooting, 73-year-old Robert Bates, has now been charged with second degree manslaughter.

[05:15:05] Sheriff's officials here in Tulsa and Bates' own attorney says that this shooting was excusable, that it was an accident of misfortune, and that Bates should not be charged of any kind of criminal conduct. That he was acting within his duty as a reserve deputy in this case.

His attorney spoke with us and made that case.

SCOTT WOOD, ROBERT BATES' ATTORNEY: He is very upset about what happened. He feels badly. The incident completely took him by surprise. He has all the requisite training. He's taser certified. If you watched the video, you know he was quite shocked when his gun went off.

LAVANDERA: Sheriff's officials say that Robert Bates inadvertently grabbed his handgun, a small 357 revolver, instead of his bright yellow taser that was attached to his chest. Now an attorney for the family of Eric Harris says they don't know how a mistake could happen in this situation.

And, of course, there are a lot of questions as to exactly why Robert Bates was involved in an operation like this. We're told by sheriff's officials that he was there in a back-up capacity.

But the attorney for the family of Eric Harris alleges that Robert Bates paid his way to being a police officer after making thousands of dollars of donations and equipment to the sheriff's department here in Tulsa. Sheriff's officers here in Tulsa say that is definitely not the case. They say that he had gone through training and was well- equipped to be involved in a situation like that -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Our thanks to Ed for that.

A series of new developments this morning in the shooting of a fleeing man by South Carolina Police Officer Michael Slager. The shooting caught on video that now has Slager facing murder charges. First, we now know the name of the man who remained in the car when

Walter Scott took off running. His name is Pierre Fulton. He has released a statement saying, quote, "I'll never know why he ran, but I know he didn't deserve to die."

We also have a new audio recording of Officer Michael Slager after the shooting, seeming to laugh as he says his adrenaline is still pumping.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED OFFICER: By the time you get home, it'd be a good idea to kind of jot down your thoughts about whatever happened, once the adrenaline stops pumping and stuff.

OFFICER MICHAEL SLAGER: It's pumping.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: A man tasered by Michael Slager last year is filing a lawsuit. Julius Wilson claims Slager used excessive force last August after Wilson initially refused to get out of his car.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OFFICER: Back up. I'm going to tase. Back up. I'm going to tase.

(EXPLETIVES DELETED)

OFFICER: Turnover! You're going to get hit again!

JULIUS WILSON, FILING LAWSUIT OVER TASERING: During my lifetime, I've witnessed violent acts by police officers, with proof of acts, the word of police officers is taking over the word of the victims forced to endure these violent acts. As the video shows, I myself have been a victim of such force by the police.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: A spokesperson for the North Charleston Police Department has declined to discuss Wilson's case.

ROMANS: All right. An Alaska Airlines ramp agent has a lot of explaining to do. Officials say he fell asleep and got stuck in the forward cargo hold before Flight 448 took off from Seattle bound for Los Angeles. The plane was in the air for 14 minutes with the agent banging and screaming before the pilot turned back to Seattle for an emergency landing.

You can hear the audio here, listen to the audio, of the moment the pilot realized someone may have been in there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALASKA 448: We don't have to dump fuel or anything like that. I think we have -- we're hearing noise from the baggage compartment. May be a person in there. So, we're going to have to come back around.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Lucky for that agent. The cargo hold is pressurized and temperature controlled. He was taken to the hospital. He passed a drug test and was released.

BERMAN: All right. Super bowl phenom Tom Brady took the mound at Fenway Park to throw out the first pitch. You know, he may have bounced it, but he is still perfect in my eyes. We will tell you about this and much more, including my favorite picture in the history of ever.

There's three Super Bowl -- four Super Bowl trophies and three World Series trophies. Andy Scholes breaks it all down in the bleacher report, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:23:02] BERMAN: Thousands of people packed Xavier's Arena yesterday to remember 19-year-old Lauren Hill who passed away on Friday after a long battle with a rare form of brain cancer.

ROMANS: Andy Scholes has more in this morning's bleacher report.

Hey, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, guys.

Yes, Lauren Hill was an inspiration to us all. She used her love for basketball and illness to raise more than $1.5 million for cancer research. Yesterday, friends and family and all of her supporters packed Xavier's Arena for her memorial services. This was the very same arena where Lauren played her first college basketball game. Her casket was placed at the same spot where she made that famous first basket.

Lauren will always be remembered for the courage she showed during her final months. One of her favorite songs, Katy Perry's "Roar", was played to close out the service.

All right. Tom Brady is having quite the off season. Check him out at Fenway yesterday, taking some BP from Pedro Martinez. That was his warm up before throwing out the first pitch. And Brady would bounce it into Big Papi. Not great, but we've definitely seen worse.

Now, this to prove how great it is to be a Boston sportsman like Berman, the Red Sox and Patriots had all of their championship trophies on the field. It must be nice. Red Sox win the game 9-4. Rookie Mookie Betts made another great play, robbing Bryce Harper of a two-run home run early in that game.

All right. Twenty-one-year-old Masters champ Jordan Spieth is making his victory rounds in New York City. Here he is on top of the Empire State Building yesterday rocking his green jacket, taking a selfie. And after a little sightseeing, Spieth, he made his way to the late show with David Letterman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID LETTERMAN, TV HOST: At one point, you're 19 under par. I mean, is that even legal?

(LAUGHTER)

JORDAN SPIETH, MASTERS CHAMP: I think you need to be 21. Don't you?

LETTERMAN: Oh, yes. Doesn't somebody come out and stop the match? OK. You're too much under par. Get off the course.

SPIETH: It was cool.

[05:25:00] At that point, to be honest, I didn't know what I was at.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: All right. So, those never gets old. In the 3,000-meter steeplechase, University of Oregon runner Tanguy Pepiot starts celebrating prematurely before he crossed the finish line.

BERMAN: Oh, no!

SCHOLES: That was the Washington runner passed him for the win and you can see Pepiot just devastated.

The moral of the story, guys, is don't count your chickens before they are hatched.

BERMAN: That is awful.

SCHOLES: He is like, give it up for me. Oh, no.

BERMAN: All right. Andy Scholes, thanks so much. I appreciate it.

SCHOLES: All right.

BERMAN: A new contander -- excuse me, a contander.

ROMANS: Try that again.

BERMAN: A new contender in the Republican race for president. I was celebrating because I knew we were heading to the break. I celebrated too early. Marco Rubio says he will not wait his turn as some has suggested he should.

That going on as the only announced candidate in the Democratic field, you may recognize her, but they don't at some restaurants in Ohio. She has her first official event today. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BERMAN: Happening now, the 2016 presidential race, oh, man, is it on. Dot your I's with America right there. Senator Marco Rubio announces his bid, now part of the growing Republican field.

What about the Democratic field? Hillary Clinton, she's just like all of us. Really. She eats at Chipotle unrecognized.

We'll break down the political significance of all of it ahead.

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

ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans.