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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

First GOP Presidential Debate; Wing Part Came From Flight MH370; Flight 370 Families Demand Answers; Search for MH370 Wreckage Goes on. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired August 06, 2015 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:51] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Republicans running for president getting ready for their first debate of the primary season taking the stage in just hours. What to expect, ahead.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Malaysian officials say the plane wreckage found washed ashore in the Indian Ocean is from missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Not everyone believes it or is ready to. Live team coverage breaking down all the angles ahead.

ROMANS: New information about the man, this man, who attacked a movie theater audience armed with a pellet gun and a hatchet.

BERMAN: What a terrifying story.

ROMANS: Really is.

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

BERMAN: I'm John Berman. Thirty-one minutes past the hour.

It is here. Debate day in America after merely three years without a single presidential debate contest. The long national nightmare is over and we get to celebrate with Donald Trump.

Ten Republican candidates including the former New Jersey Generals owner, USFL reference for you. They all face-off in the main event in Cleveland at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, Seven other candidates are on the undercard at 5:00 p.m.

For the latest on we can expect, let's bring in CNN's Dana Bash in Cleveland.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, I know you're both big sports fans. So I'm sure you recognize what is behind me. The locals here call it the Q. It is the arena where LeBron James plays basketball now. But it is tonight the arena where the first Republican debate is going to take place.

And it is going to be like nothing we've ever seen when it comes to political debates because we've never seen a billionaire reality TV star at center stage, which is exactly what tonight is going to be all about. The candidates have been in town. They have been prepping. They have

been going over their policies. They have been going over their one- liners, their zingers, trying to figure out exactly how to breakthrough because, even though only 10 of the 17 are going to be on the main debate stage, primetime, it's still hard to get your message across when you are one of 10, especially if you're on the outside flanks.

So some of those campaigns, sources inside have been telling me that they're going to try to maybe seize on the kind of thing that Donald Trump has done very well, which is the outsider status. Even one candidate's aide who's a senator told me that he's going to make the point that he is an outsider because he hasn't been here that long and he's going to add up the number of years that everybody else on the stage has been in elected office because that is kind of the thing that nobody wants to hear about if you are really pushing for an outsider and non-politicians like Donald Trump.

But unclear how much that is going to be able to kind of carry the day when you have again so many candidates and you have the Trump factor and the Bush factor, because Donald Trump might be the most entertaining, Jeb Bush has the most to lose. He still has the $100 million plus in his account that major donors in the Republican establishment gave him from all over the country.

He's got to prove that their investment was worth it and this is going to be a big setting for him to do that, especially given the fact that he's had some stumbles just this week. The idea is he's going to have to show that he's sort of shaken off the cobwebs from being out of the game for almost 10 years, and that he has that fire in the belly which people are still saying, we're not so sure he has.

So that's just kind of the tip of the iceberg of what we're going to be looking forward tonight. It is going to be a rather fun evening -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right, Dana, fun. She says it's going to be a fun evening.

There are new details this morning about exactly how FOX News plans to run the main debate. The arena holds about 20,000 people, but there will only be 4500 in the audience tonight selected by lottery. To save time, the candidates won't give opening statements. The host will dive straight into questions with candidates giving one-minute answers. Candidates who are called out by name they get 30 seconds to rebut.

The American public will ask some of the questions submitted through Facebook. Facebook is a debate co-sponsor. The "New York Times" report about 100 questions have been prepared. About half of which will get asked. Fifty questions. That seems -- that's going to be tough, 50 questions, with so many candidates.

For candidates who run over time, FOX News is considering replacing the desk bell ding sound with the Cleveland Cavs' shot clock buzzer.

BERMAN: They should add three pointers, too. If they're going to shot clock, they should do the whole three-point thing as well.

[04:35:03] All right. New this morning, some Clinton-Trump intrigue. Word of a private telephone conversation between Donald Trump and Bill Clinton just before Trump announced he was running for president.

A Clinton aide confirmed to CNN that the former returned a Trump call sometime in late May. The aide said the 2016 race was not discussed, but an unidentified Trump ally told the "Washington Post" that the real estate mogul did discuss his interest in a run for the White House and that Clinton responded by analyzing Trump's prospects. Trump's team declined to comment.

Republicans are already starting -- his opponents are starting to make hay with the fact that Trump does have ties to the Clintons. The Clintons went to his 2005 third wedding celebrations. There are pictures of them. So I expect you'll hear more about this.

ROMANS: And didn't Trump at one point identify as a -- as a Democrat?

BERMAN: He's identified as just about everything. And he's donated to many causes.

ROMANS: And didn't he one time say that the economy does better with the Democrats --

BERMAN: He did. And he's also supported single-payer health care. Taxing those who make more than $10 million a year.

ROMANS: I wonder if that's going to come up tonight.

BERMAN: Interesting to see.

ROMANS: A breakthrough in the search for Flight 370. According to the prime minister of Malaysia, a wing part found on Reunion Island did come from the missing jetliner. Physical proof he says that Flight 370 tragically ended in the Indian Ocean. Now investigators begin more tests on that flaperon hoping to figure out why the plane went down.

CNN's Saima Mohsin is live from the French aviation laboratory.

Good morning.

SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine. Well, investigators have arrived again. You can see those black cars in the distance behind me there inside the laboratory running a second day of tests now. And of course there is a disparity between the prime minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak's statement which was saying that they conclusively determined that this flaperon from 777 aircraft belonged to MH370. And the cautious confirmation from the French prosecutor.

Now of course some of that could be the difference between legalese and the leader of a nation talking wanting to give some answers to the loved ones of the passengers on board. Well, of course one of the investigators involved is from Australia. From the Australian National -- Transportation Safety Board.

And earlier we spoke to Warren Truss, deputy prime minister of Australia. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WARREN TRUSS, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA: We know for certain that it comes from -- that the wreckage comes from a Boeing 777. That this part does not fit any other aircraft. We are aware that the manufacture time is about consistent with when the flight -- aircraft operating MH370 was actually constructed. But of course, there are still some I's not dotted and T's not crossed.

There is still very small element of death. The French are being more cautious but the Malaysians, the flag carriers of the aircraft, they are now satisfied that the body of evidence is sufficient to say that this is wreckage from MH370.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOHSIN: Sufficient, too, Christine, to say that they are searching in the right place. Of course, Australia leading the search for Flight MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean. They are saying that their drift analysis shows that where this piece turned up in Reunion Island should have -- if you trace it back, according to maritime experts, they are searching in the right place. They are not going to change their search.

But more tests to come from this laboratory. They've gone inside there. They're going to do things like sonograms, x-rays, looking through that piece with a camera, perhaps taking it apart and then they will piece together more information, not just to say more about the fact that they know it belongs to MH370, but also perhaps how the plane went down into the southern Indian Ocean.

More details to come. But it may take longer perhaps in the days and weeks ahead -- Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Saima Mohsin for us, near Toulouse, France. Thank you, Saima.

BERMAN: For many of the family members who lost loved ones on Flight 370, this new development brings little comfort. One woman whose husband was on the plane told reporters it's just a flaperon. It doesn't prove anything. Those sentiments were echoed by other family members still in mourning 515 days after the flight vanished.

Let's go live to Malaysia and bring in CNN's Andrew Stevens.

Good morning, Andrew.

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. Certainly the relatives of those on board the flight, the Chinese nationals, 153 Chinese nationals on board. Many relatives in Beijing refusing to believe this latest information. Certainly not helped by the fact that there does seem this slight daylight between what the Malaysians were saying overnight and then what the French prosecutor was saying. But there have been angry scenes in Beijing. Take a listen to what some of the family members have been telling the media.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (Through Translator): I am suspicious of Malaysia Airlines' words because in the past they have a track record of going back and forth in what they say of being true and not true. What I hope right now is for the Chinese officials to give me a confirmed answer.

[04:40:15] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (Through Translator): I don't believe it. I'm furious and I think this announcement is very irresponsible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEVENS: So you're hearing there from the Chinese saying they don't believe it. And certainly that gentleman has been right. There have been many, many twists and turns in this story since it disappeared 515 days ago. So there is a lot of room there for suspicion. And certainly seeing that in China.

Here in Malaysia, John, in Kuala Lumpur, there is more a sense of why did the Malaysian prime minister feel he had to make the statement so early? Prematurely, some are telling me. They're saying that why couldn't they wait for another day or two days or perhaps even a week so they could without doubt say that this is a part of 370? And talking to some of the family members here, real disappointment.

But, the others, John, saying even if it is 370, it doesn't necessarily allow us to move on. We still need to see at least the main part of that plane. We need to find out where it went, what happened, what happened to their loved ones before they can truly start to move on. So they're in a very, very difficult situation. They are still very disappointed. Some are still angry at the Malaysians for the way they handled this latest statement, the fact that they said they didn't get any earlier prior warning that they're going to make this announcement.

They didn't get personal prior warning. So they say it's just all part of a bigger pattern they feel that they haven't gotten the information they need when they should have had it. So a lot of disappointment down here -- John.

BERMAN: No, I think the rift between the family members and the Malaysian government, I don't think that will ever heal.

Andrew Stevens for us in Kuala Lumpur, thanks so much.

Today is August 6th. The somber important anniversary, 70 years since the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Japan's prime minister, Shinzo Abe, attended a ceremony at the memorial park there, the Peace Park. Thousands of lanterns were released on the river nearby. Many, many thousands of people died in the hours after the blast. Long-term effects pushed the estimated death to probably about 200,000. The bombing in a second at Nagasaki three days later came obviously just before the end of World War II.

And really important. I was just there two weeks ago at the Peace Park there. And they were preparing for this celebration. And in Japan, this is still very real and they still talk about it. And they still remember.

ROMANS: And they also look forward. They would like to see a nuclear free world. You know. They think that those are moments, Nagasaki and Hiroshima are two moments that should have marked of nuclear proliferation in the world. Not the beginning. And so that is still a real, real concern in Japan and for anti-nuclear proliferation, folks.

Anyway, a somber anniversary. You're right.

Forty-two minutes past, 43 minutes past the hour. New information about the man armed with a hatchet and a pellet gun who attacked an audience at a movie theater as dramatic 911 calls are released next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:46:44] ROMANS: We are learning new details this morning about an attack on Nashville movie goers by a man wielding a pellet gun, pepper spray and a hatchet. And the suspect shot dead by police. Listen to these dramatic 911 call. This call released overnight.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

STEVEN: So I was in the movie theater, like literally a minute or two ago. And this guy, this shady looking guy stood up with like two bags and he walked toward the back of the theater. And he pulled out a hatchet and started attacking this family. And then he pulled out a gun, and we all ran out of the theater.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

ROMANS: Police say 29-year-old Vincente Montano had been committed to a mental institution four times in the mid-2000s. Three days ago, his mother filed a missing persons report that said Montana was homeless and suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. The only injuries reported by theater patrons were irritation from the pepper spray and a minor cut from the hatchet. Thank goodness. One moviegoer identified as "Steven" expressed his relief.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVEN, VICTIM OF THE THEATER ATTACK: I am eternally grateful, excuse me, for Metro Police Department for their fast response today and the fact that no one else got injured other than the person who did this. I would ask anyone to pray for his family because he obviously has some mental problems or something else.

My family does not want any kind of 15 minutes of fame. We were not looking for any of this. We did nothing to bring this upon ourselves. And I am very, very grateful that no one else got injured here today other than the person who perpetrated this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Police say the weapon Montano used which looked real, you can see it there, was actually an air soft gun. His backpack destroyed by the bomb squad turned out to contain fake explosives.

And again and again, you heard from bystanders there, people in the theater and law enforcement officials, thank God he did not have a high powered rifle in there or something else. For whatever reason that the armament he brought in there were either fake or -- you know, were not enough to really take out a lot of people.

BERMAN: Terrifying.

ROMANS: Terrifying.

BERMAN: All right. The Malaysian leader says a piece of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 has been found. Others are a little hesitant to make that bold claim. But where is the rest of this plane?

We are live with where search crews are looking now, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:52:45] BERMAN: This morning investigators in France are engaged in a microscopic examination of the wing component discovered on Reunion Island. They want to confirm the Malaysian prime minister's declaration that the flaperon did come from MH370.

Now 2300 miles to the east in the southern Indian Ocean, off the Australian coast, the underwater search for more wreckage from the doomed airliner goes on. But does it go on just as before or has the discovery of this flaperon changed things?

Joining us with the very latest on the search, CNN's Anna Coren -- Anna.

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, I think it certainly made authorities more determined than ever to keep on searching for the main wreckage of MH370 which obviously will hold those crucial black boxes and the answers as to what went so terribly wrong to these passenger plane traveling with 239 people on board.

I believe that it's made officials confident that they are looking in the right area in the southern Indian Ocean off the coast of western Australia in this priority search area. They've got 46,000 square miles that they've been combing. So far they are through about half of it. But we have to remember, this is very challenging terrain. Hence the process is very slow and meticulous. The weather has been extreme and then under water, the conditions just as difficult.

We're talking about depths of 2.5 miles of underwater mountains of valleys and troughs. So it really is a difficult process for the searchers. But they are more than determined more than ever now that they have found this piece of the wing, the flaperon, which has been confirmed to be linked to MH370. And, you know, they feel that they owe it to the families of the 239 people on board. And that certainly was reiterated by the Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott. His country of course leading that search -- John.

BERMAN: Remember, this is the first concrete piece of evidence that the plane did go down in the Indian Ocean.

Anna Coren for us, thanks so much.

ROMANS: All right. A big business story that might interest the power players on the treadmill right now. It's getting easier to get a jumbo loan.

[04:55:01] BERMAN: And a gold plated treadmill.

ROMANS: Are we making the same mistakes that caused the financial crisis, though? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Good morning. I'm Christine Romans. Let's get an EARLY START on your money this morning.

Stock futures not doing much yet. But a few stock to watch this morning. Keurig shares are down 30 percent before the open. The company plans to lay off more than 300 workers. Sales are slipping largely because people aren't buying its instant coffee machines.

Fitbit shares also down. The wearable fitness tracker company reporting its first quarterly results. They were strong. Sales soared so did profit but it wasn't enough to keep investors happy and that stock is sliding.

It just got easier to get a big home loan. Chase is easing lending requirements on jumbo mortgages or those are loans bigger than $400,000 in most markets. Now potential buyers only need a credit score of 680 and a 15 percent down payment to qualify for a maximum $3 million loan.

Jumbo loans have performed well in the recovery. Chase is hoping to attract more borrowers. Loose lending standards of course led to the housing collapse in 2008. This is not a return to those practices. Mortgage availability still relatively tight keeping first-time buyers out of the market.

And frankly, when you're talking about jumbo loans, if you're talk about the bay area, you're talking about the tri-state area on the East Coast, you're talking about some other parts of the country, jumbo loans are what you need to mitigate us to get in as a --