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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Trump Unveils Immigration Reform Details; Biden Contemplates 2016 Run; Clinton Defends Email Use; Good Jobs Are Back; Debris Spotted In Papua, Indonesia; China Explosions: Death Toll Keeps Rising. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired August 17, 2015 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Clinton defending her use of e-mail as secretary of state, dramatic new developments ahead.
Breaking news this morning, search and rescue teams struggling to reach the wreckage of an Indonesian air crash with 54 people on board. We are live with new information.
The death toll rises in a series of chemical explosions in China, more than 100 dead, and dozens missing this morning. Their families are furious demanding answers.
Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans. It's nice to see you all this morning. It is 30 minutes past the hour this Monday morning. John Berman has the morning off.
Donald Trump this morning finally filling in the details on his plans for immigration reform after weeks of talking about immigration, taking a hardline on illegal immigration, but avoiding specifics, now we have some at least.
A six-page blueprint for how a President Trump would deal fix immigration. He would garnish illegal wages from low wage workers. He would raise visa fees. He would reform the H-1-B visa system.
CNN's Sunlen Serfaty has the latest from Washington.
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine, Donald Trump is off the campaign trail today doing something all of us can relate to all too well. He has been called in for jury duty. He will report for civic duty at the state court in Manhattan today.
Trump says he thinks it will be fun and he is looking forward to it. This comes as Trump is trying to put forward a little more substance as a candidate. The campaign is releasing its first policy document on his plan for immigration.
The issue that really ignited that initial burst of support that he saw for the first time revealing how Trump proposes to get Mexico to pay for building a wall along the U.S. border that wall he's been pushing for since he got into the race.
Saying until they do, he would impound all remittance payments from illegal wages, increase fees on visas issued to Mexican CEOs and fees on border crossing cards.
He also more broadly proposes to end the U.S. law of birthright citizenship. It is the biggest magnet for illegal immigration. He calls for the number of ICE officers to be tripled along the border and for funding to be cut off for sanctuary cities.
Now there are parts of the immigration policy that are still not clear. Trump in this policy document only calls for criminal undocumented immigrants to be deported. He doesn't say anything about all legal immigrants being deported, which he has called for in the past and repeat it again on Sunday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have to make a whole new set of standards. When people come in, they have to come in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You will deport children?
TRUMP: No, we will keep the families together. We have to keep them together. They have to go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What if they have no place to go?
TRUMP: We have to work with them. They have to go. Chuck, we have a country or we don't have a country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SERFATY: And the Democratic National Convention wasting no time in responding saying that Trump has reignited in their words the GOP'S longstanding obsession with mass deportations -- Christine.
ROMANS: All right, Sunlen Serfaty, thank you for that, Sunlen. Vice President Joe Biden expected to stay at home in Delaware this morning. High on his agenda no doubt more time to consider whether he should jump into the race for the White House.
The vice president hearing from advisers on whether there is room for him in a Democratic contest where a lot of the money and the campaign talent have already spoken for.
Senior White House correspondent, Jim Acosta, has that for us.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Christine, while President Obama is enjoying vacation here on Martha's Vineyard, Vice President Joe Biden is considering running for the White House. Now sources close to the vice president say he is nowhere near a decision, which is expected to come at the end of the summer.
But Biden is putting out fillers, talking to loyalists who are gaming out the challenge that the vice president would face should he choose to take on Hillary Clinton.
The former secretary of state, by the way, is seen by top Democrats, both inside and outside the White House, as someone who will protect and expand on President Obama's legacy.
Biden will have to take on a tough battle against Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders who is now hot on Clinton's heels in the polls in some key battleground states. Here is what Bernie Sanders had to say about a possibility of a Biden candidacy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have known Joe for many years and everybody who knows Joe likes him and respects him. The decision as to whether or not he runs is his. If he does run, I promise him an issue-oriented campaign. We'll debating the major issues facing the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: But sources close to Biden are staying very tight lipped on which way the vice president is leaning. He did spend his vacation in South Carolina, an early primary state and home to one of his biggest loyalist, the former chairman of the state's Democratic Party, all of which will speculation that Biden is taking a hard look at this -- Christine.
ROMANS: All right, Jim Acosta, thanks, Jim. Republicans pouncing on the Hillary Clinton e-mail controversy again this morning after the Democratic frontrunner made a joke about the disappearing message service, Snapchat.
She made this joke over weekend. It's a message service where the messages disappear quickly. Clinton said I love it to laughter at a Democratic fundraiser in Iowa.
[05:35:02] Her supporters liked it, but Republican campaigns saw an opportunity to blast her. She dismissed suggestions she was taking the controversy too lightly.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Most importantly, I never sent classified material on my e-mail and I never received any that was marked classified. So I'm going to let whatever this inquiry is go forward and will await the outcome of it. The state department has confirmed what I just said to you.
TRUMP: It's a criminal problem. It will be a serious possible for her. It will be about as serious as it gets. You look at General Petraeus. He was destroyed over a much lesser event.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But his e-mails were marked classified, hers were not.
TRUMP: Well, I think some of hers were. They took a lot of markings off. Somebody has a big problem and it looks like it's Hillary.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any worry Republicans could overplay their hand on this e-mail controversy? TRUMP: Look, it is what it is. It was a terrible thing she did. It was a foolish thing. There was no reason to do it. She has a big problem.
CARLY FIORINA (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, in the debate last week, I made the statement that Hillary Clinton has lied. She's lied about Benghazi and lied about her server and lied about her e- mails. Some in the media found that language harsh, although the majority of Americans agree with me. The more the story goes on, the more it becomes clear she has lied.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: Dr. Ben Carson, the number two candidate in the Fox News latest nationwide poll, tried again to clarify his views on abortion. The retired neurosurgeon was asked last week to square his research on fetal tissue in the early '90s with his current criticism of Planned Parenthood.
On Sunday, he was asked at the Iowa State Fair soapbox and on ABC News to explain when he thinks life begins.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What I believe is life starts at conception. I said there are a lot of people who think that it is at the heart beat. I think most people, I think, can come to the conclusion that once you have a heart beat that you clearly have a living organism.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The Iowa State Fair and its famous soap box offering a platform to three more candidates today, GOP candidates, Governor Scott Walker, Senator Lindsay Graham and former Hewlett-Packard CEO, Carly Fiorina.
The "Des Moines Register" soap box is a beloved tradition at the state fair and rite of passage for presidential candidates. You have to basically man the grill and get up on the soap box if you want to be president. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton both choosing to skip the soap box over the weekend.
Happening today, the super PAC aligned with the Jeb Bush campaign will start spending money in the deep pockets. "Right to Rise USA" is set to make an early buy in the early primary states of New Hampshire, South Carolina and Iowa.
The ads start running in mid-September and air through December. Bush is set to campaign across South Carolina today where he meets with veterans and conducts a military town hall.
Mike Huckabee heading to Israel to meet with officials and discuss the Iran nuclear deal. Just last month, the Republican candidate said the Iran deal will take Israel, quote, "to the door of the oven." Huckabee telling CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" Sunday it is
important to talk about this deal with the Israelis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think it is the most dangerous situation that we face not just for the Middle East, but the rest of the world in a long time. This is essentially arming and equipping a terrorist state.
The Iranian government is not to be trusted and for 36 years, they kidnapped Americans and killed Americans and hold hostage right now, Americans. This is a deal that gives us nothing, but gives the Iranians the capacity to ultimately end up with a nuclear weapon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Huckabee also expressed a kind of admiration for Republican rival Donald Trump calling him a master at branding. He said it helped Trump get ten times the press coverage of any candidate. Huckabee said if he got that kind of attention from the press, he would be leading in the polls.
Time for an EARLY START on your money this Monday morning, stocks mostly higher around the world. Japan's economy contracted last quarter. It wasn't as bad as expected and it's fueling new hopes of more government stimulus.
Good jobs are back. That's according to a new report out this morning. A brand new report of the 6.6 million jobs added in the recovery. Almost 3 million were high wage jobs. That is jobs paying more than $53,000 a year.
And almost all of those good jobs have gone to college grads. Both high and low paying jobs have more than recovered from recession losses. Midway jobs have not fully bounced back.
Breaking news this morning, an Indonesian plane crashes with 54 people on board. The search and rescue teams are struggling in their effort to reach the wreckage. We are live with new developments next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:43:35]
ROMANS: Breaking news this morning from Indonesia. Two aerial search planes spotted debris from what officials believe may be an airliner, which went missing with 54 people on board. Search officials tells CNN, plans to send out two ground teams to the location in the province of Papua now suspended due to weather.
I want to turn to CNN's Kathy Novak now. She has been following these developments for us. It's just heart breaking for the families who really are desperate for some answers.
KATHY NOVAK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely devastating. We had an update from the heads of the search and rescue authorities there in Indonesia confirming that the search and rescue mission had to be called off for today and will only resume in the morning if the weather allows.
This is the second day in a row this has happened. Villagers say they saw the plane crashed into the mountains and debris has been spotted by these planes, but they simply cannot get to it.
We are told that 11 aircrafts are involved. More than 250 people, two ground teams have been hiking for about an hour, but had to stop when fog rolled in. There are concerns about the darkness, the rain, the really difficult terrain.
It is very steep slopes we are talking about very high mountains. It is difficult to reach this area that they are trying to get to. As you say, absolutely heart breaking for the families of these people.
They were being told there is a very faint hope there may be survivors, but really the likelihood is very, very slim. Unfortunately, Christine, this is all too familiar in Indonesia.
[05:45:03] Last December, 162 people died when the plane that was flying from Indonesia to Singapore crashed into the sea. Then more recently a military plane went down killing 130 people. Some of them civilians, some were the people on the ground.
This particular airline has been operating since 1991, had 19 accidents before this one so a lot of questions about the safety of flying in Indonesia.
ROMANS: Kathy Novak, let us know when searchers can get there to take a look at that site. Thank you, Kathy.
Let's look at what is coming up on "NEW DAY." Michaela Pereira join me this Monday morning. Hi, Michaela.
MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Good to talk to you, Christine. Well, today on NEW DAY, this anti-establishment push is reaching a new level with American voters. New polling on the 2016 race shows that the political newcomers are picking up even more ground.
Among them Donald Trump, he is now releasing details of his immigration plan. We will have details on that and we will speak with one of his top advisers today on NEW DAY.
Also joining us on NEW DAY is New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. We will talk to him about his plans. How he can climb back into contention.
Also a look at film, not your typical blockbuster, "Straight Outta Compton" explores the rise of that well known and sometimes controversial rap group.
The film's release comes at a tense time between police and communities. We are going to take a look at it. Why this may be the right movie at the right time. A very special guest joins us to talk about that.
ROMANS: I can't wait for that. The movie is unbelievable. It more than doubled the cost to make it, got it back twice this weekend. It shows you how it really struck a chord with moviegoers. OK, thanks so much for that -- Michaela.
Death toll rises in a chemical blast in China, more than 100 dead and dozens still missing. Family members are furious. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:50:32]
ROMANS: The death toll from those huge explosions in Northern China keeps rising. It now stands at 114. The investigation is now focusing on what was being stored in the port so that any dangerous chemicals spread by the explosions can be contained and removed.
CNN's Will Ripley is live for us in Tianjin. This is an amazing story to cover on every level, the environmental issues and the Chinese government trying to control information so tightly. What is the latest, Will?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On multiple fronts, Christine, you are right. For the people here, it is overwhelming and devastating. This was a two-story office building. The explosion happened late Wednesday night. Thankfully people were not inside.
There were people, migrant construction workers, China's low income workers, who fuel this country's economy. They were living here in these houses. These tin houses and described to us on the first day the roofs coming in and the windows smashing.
You can see some of their pets. Their dogs are still here. People have been bringing in food and water trying to take care of them. We don't know where the owners are. There are children's toys strewn about as well.
We don't know if everybody here made it out OK. The people we interviewed said they don't know if all of the other workers survived. Earlier we visited the blast site. We walked about as close we've been yet to the actual zone.
You really see the magnitude of this disaster. There are still 80 people still missing. Many still firefighters. They went in and were unaware they were dealing with toxic chemicals. They used water on the chemicals and that may have been the issue igniting the explosion. We see people's shoes are laying on the ground.
China is promising criminal charges and a criminal investigation if it turns out that there was abuse of power or criminal negligence as a result of this disaster. They don't expect to find more survivors, which mean that the number of dead could continue to rise -- Christine.
ROMANS: It's 114 officially the death toll and 70 still missing, many of those firefighters. Will Ripley, thank you so much for that.
It's 53 minutes past the hour. Your next vacation could be in a galaxy far, far away, big news for you "Star Wars" fans. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. Let's get an EARLY START on your money this Monday morning. Stocks are mostly higher around the world. Japan's economy contracted last quarter, but it wasn't as bad expected.
Look at this, U.S. crude down 2 percent, trading below $42 a barrel, disappointing growth in Asia, and a supply boom driving oil lower. You're going to see $2 gas this fall.
The happiest place on earth headed to a galaxy far, far away. Disney with two "Star Wars" expansions at California and Florida parks, they'll be Disney's biggest expansions ever, 14 acres and new rides and restaurants. No word on when the expansions will open.
Donald Trump finally putting some meat on the bones of his immigration plan. "NEW DAY" picks up that story now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLINTON: I will fight as hard as I can.
CARSON: We need accomplishments.
TRUMP: The voters like me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Enough is enough.
ROMANS: Wildfires still scorching the west.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's ripping up the hillside.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have to keep hosing ourselves down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was outrunning flames at 60 miles an hour.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Search and recovery efforts for the passenger plane.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is too soon to say what the cause was.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are flying older aircraft.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's being described as appalling.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: North Korea threatening to retaliate against the U.S.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a country that has nuclear weapons. North Korea often makes these statements.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Monday, August 17th, 6:00 in the east. Up first, Donald Trump ups the ante coming out with an immigration plan and a proof of performance on women, on hiring that he will use to challenge the rest of the field.
The Republican front runner is taking a hard line on immigration. The Mexican wall is in his six-point plan and deporting all undocumented immigrants.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Meanwhile, a new national poll brings good news for Trump and his fellow outsiders, who is up and who is down this week, and which candidates made their mark in Iowa this weekend.
CNN's Sara Murray is live in Washington with all of the latest. Good morning, Sara.
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Good morning, Alisyn. The first debate shaking up the field plus we had a ton of retail politics this weekend in Iowa. Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MURRAY (voice-over): Donald Trump keeps soaring. Landing at the top of a new Fox News poll and winning support from one in four Republican primary voters. Trump is not the only one climbing. Rounding out the top tier of the anti-establishment crowd, neurosurgeon, Ben Carson drawing 12 percent support and Texas Senator Ted Cruz with 10 percent.
Losing ground, Jeb Bush, coming in fourth with 9 percent support, a six-point drop from early August.
