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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Three American Heroes Honored in France; North and South Korea Hold High-Level Talks; Joe Biden Leaning Towards 2016 Run?; Death Toll Rising in U.K. Airshow Crash; IndyCar Driver in a Coma; Cris Carter Apologizes for Advice to Rookies; 5-5:30a ET

Aired August 24, 2015 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:05] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. It's top of the hour, EARLY START continues right now.

Three American heroes honored in France credited for preventing a potential terror attack on a moving train Friday. We are live in Paris with what these men have to say about the stunning series of events.

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Another day of talks on tap between North and South Korea. The reasons behind this latest dust-up are starting to emerge. Can war be prevented between these two neighbors? We look into it.

ROMANS: And Joe Biden, he had a big meeting as he mulls a run for president. We'll tell you who he sat down with and why it could really shake things up for the Democratic race in 2016.

HOWELL: Let's see.

ROMANS: Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans. Nice to see you this morning.

HOWELL: Good to be here. I'm George Howell in for John Berman. It is Monday, August 24th, 5:00 a.m. in the East.

And we start this hour with a story about three Americans and a British citizen. They were all honored in France for their bravery, for shutting down a possible massacre before it could even happen on Friday. All of this played out on a high speed train from Amsterdam to Paris.

The Americans, Alek Skarlatos, Spencer Stone, Anthony Sadler. They subdued the gunman who French officials say has ties to radical Islam. The trio now speaking out about that incident for the first time. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEK SKARLATOS, AMERICAN WHO HELPED SUBDUED GUNMAN ON TRAIN: I feel our training mostly kicked in after this assailant was already subdued, frankly. When it came to medical care and things like that, and providing security and making sure there wasn't another shooter. But in the beginning it was mostly just gut instinct. One of survival basically.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson joins us now live in Paris.

Nic, good to have you with us. So more on the suspect in a moment but, first, Nic, tell us about today, honoring these men. I'm sure it was a day they will never forget.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm sure it won't be. They went into the presidential palace here just behind me. Spencer Stone led them with his arm still -- hand still heavily bandaged in a sling from where that attacker used a box cutter to try and attack his hand. The French president saying that he wanted to thank these young men, wanted to honor these young men before they went home to their own country. But Spencer Stone has described very graphically that way the struggle to bring down this attacker. This is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SPENCER STONE, FRENCH TRAIN HERO: And I turned around and I saw he had what looked to be an AK-47. And he looked like it was jammed or wasn't working. And he was trying to charge the weapon and Alek just hit me on the shoulder and said let's go. And ran down, tackled him. We hit the ground. Alek came up and grabbed the gun out of his hand while I put him in a chokehold.

It seemed like he just kept pulling more weapons left and right. Hold out a handgun. Alek took that -- took out a box cutter started jabbing at me with that. We let go. All three of us started punching him while he's in the middle of us. And I was able to grab him again and choke him unconscious while Alek was hitting him in the head with the pistol and the rifle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Now those actions you heard Spencer Stone described there, the French president said those actions saved what could have been the ultimate carnage. He said that there were more than 500 people on the train, more than 300 bullets that gunman had. A horrific situation could have happened, he described. But he said, the French president said, that these young Americans, these young American heroes as they're described here, should be an inspiration to everyone to act in a time of crisis. These were his words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANCOIS HOLLAND, FRENCH PRESIDENT (Through Translator): He could have created a terrible massacre. Devastation. So I want to thank you for what you have done and it was on Friday that the whole world was able to admire your courage, your calm, your self-worth, your sense of responsibility. This solidarity which allowed you, without weapons, unarmed, to overpower this individual who was armed to the teeth and you were ready to do anything. Your heroism should be an example for all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: And the French president for these actions that he is describing there has given these young men France's highest honor. The Legion d'Honneur. It doesn't get any better than this. An incredible weekend that they've had. That the people that we've talked to here in France over this weekend has said that these men deserve every bit of gratitude, every bit of honor and every bit of thanks because from the president on down, they recognize that this could have ended in a much more tragic way -- George.

HOWELL: Thought it was so interesting, Nic, that Stone said that their training kicked in after they took the guy out. Fascinating.

[05:05:01] Also, French officials, they've suggested that Khazzani, that he has ties to radical Islam but his attorney is now saying that has nothing to do with happened. What more can you tell us about that?

ROBERTSON: Yes. His lawyer is saying that while actually got on the train to rob people and that he found the weapons and a mobile phone in a bag in a park near the station. That is just not washing here, of course. This is a man who is associating with radical Islamists in Spain. He moves to France. He's put on a European watch list. He moves to Belgium. The Belgians are investigating. Already groups planned the attack. Group of radical Islamists he was associating with.

And May this year, because he was on that watch list in Europe, he was seen or noted getting on a plane, going to Turkey. Then from Turkey, he went to -- he came back to Europe. And the concern was that while he was in Turkey, hooked up with some French ISIS, radical French ISIS members. And they tried to inspire him to this attack as they had tried to inspire another individual earlier this year. Of course with that attack thwarted by French police in April.

So the concern is, despite what this el Khazzani's attorney is saying that European counter terrorism officials alive and alert to this man now trying to dig deeper, who he was associated with and is there another imminent possible threat -- George.

HOWELL: Nic Robertson, for us live in Paris. Nic, thank you so much for your reporting.

And Christine, it's really interesting because there's reporting that the men who were controlling the train actually locked themselves in and hiding.

ROMANS: That's right. There are people on the train who said that they could see the gunman. They could hear what was happening and they saw people who worked on the train rushing in with a key locking themselves into the engine room or something. And they were a little afraid.

We have to talk about -- we have to talk about on transit. I mean, these are soft targets. Right? On transit they're going to have to find ways to make sure that they are more secure.

All right. Six minutes past the hour. With the tensions and rhetoric elevated on the Korean peninsula, North and South Korea are holding marathon high-level talks inside the Demilitarized Zone. These talks are taking place against a backdrop of mutual distrust to be honest.

CNN's Kyung Lah following developments for us.

And, Kyung, I mean, these are the highest sort of -- highest level of tensions we've seen in -- you know, in five years or so. Any sign that they're finding an off-ramp here?

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No off-ramp as of yet. We're not even hearing if they've accomplished anything. You used the word marathon, Christine, we are stretching into now the third day of talks. And very little indication of when they will actually end.

We're also hearing from South Korea's president, saying that she is not going to cool things down on the peninsula until she gets an apology from North Korea. The apology that she wants is for North Korea to say sorry for putting landmines on the DMZ. Mines that exploded and hurt two Korean soldiers. She says without that, she is not going to remove something that is angering the regime. These are speakers that have been put on the southern side of the DMZ that's blasting news and pop music into the North.

That for the reclusive regime is a major insult. So things are still heated. Talks are very difficult. But as far as troop movement, the reality on the ground is that things have not improved. South Korea says that they're detecting troop movement from the North. That the artillery forces have doubled while these talks are going on. And that 70 percent of the submarines have left their bases from the North.

So, Christine, what we were hoping for is for things to immediately cool down with these talks. Not quite yet.

ROMANS: All right. Kyung Lah for us in Seoul. Thank you for that, Kyung.

Another story that will certainly make headlines today. Your money and the stock market. A brutal ugly morning for stocks today. Asian stocks plunged -- they are close now but they plunged this morning. Shanghai's benchmark index closing down 8.5 percent just today. European stocks right now are diving and U.S. stock futures are, too. Dow futures down 2.2 percent right now.

A stunning 531 point decline for the Dow Friday. The biggest one-day drop in four years, the Dow plummeted more than 1,000 last week. The stock market in a correction. That means it's down more than 10 percent from its peak for the first time since 2011.

Here's why. Major concerns about slowing growth in China. Uncertainty over when the Federal Reserve in this country will raise interest rates and oil prices are crashing. Oil is now below $40 a barrel for the first time since 2009. Booming supply, weakening demand. That global commodity selloff raging this morning. You've got copper, aluminum, zinc, all tumbling. Gas prices, folks, probably $2 a gallon very, very soon.

HOWELL: We'll be keeping an eye on it.

But now onto politics. There is speculation this morning that Vice President Joe Biden may be leaning toward a run for president in 2016. It follows reports that Biden met this weekend with a key and influential Democrat.

We get more from CNN's Athena Jones from Washington.

[05:10:03] ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, George and Christine. This is probably the biggest political story of the weekend, certainly on the Democratic side. My colleague Jeff Zeleny broke this story.

We've learned that this meeting took place at the vice president's request and lasted about two hours. And we're told that during the meeting, the vice president said he was seriously thinking about making another run for the White House. This would be his third bid for the presidency. He asked Senator Warren for her thoughts on that. They talked about economic policy, they talked about foreign policy.

This is significant because of course Senator Warren is something of a liberal icon. She has a lot of fans, fans who have been pushing her to make her own bid for the White House in 2016. She's declined to do that. She's going to be sitting this out and she hasn't endorsed any candidates. So an interesting tidbit to learn about over the weekend, this meeting between the two of them.

But Senator Warren is not the only big name Democrat the vice president has met with. Democratic candidate Jim Webb, the former senator from Virginia, talked about his own meeting with the vice president on "STATE OF THE UNION." Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[04:10:06] JIM WEBB (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I met with Joe Biden for an hour one-on-one last month. I have great regard for Joe Biden. And I think his family and him personally have shown a tremendous amount of dignity over the past several months that have gained the respect of the whole country.

Private meetings are best left that way. And I wouldn't get into another individual's potential campaign. But it doesn't surprise me that he's sitting and talking to someone who has a strong economic affairs and issues.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: So there you have it, the meeting with Senator Warren part of a series of meetings. Now we know the vice president has told his associates that he plans to make a decision about whether he's going to mount this third run in about the next month. His advisers have told him that he has to decide by October 1st. So that's the time period we're looking at. We should know by early October what the vice president has decided. Back to you, guys.

ROMANS: All right, Athena Jones. Thank you for that, Athena.

On the Republican side, Donald Trump says he is willing to take donations to his presidential campaign, but not from lobbyists who expect something in return. And Trump continue to attack Jeb Bush, questioning whether Bush has what it takes to be president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't mind Jeb Bush. I think he's a nice person. I just don't think he has the energy. You need energy to this job. You need -- you can't be soft. And we need -- we're a country that's in trouble. We need a person with a lot of smarts, a lot of cunning and a lot of energy. And Jeb doesn't have that. I think he's a very nice person. If he became president, good luck. It's another Bush. It's going to be the same old story.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Jeb Bush heads to the Texas-Mexico border today to talk immigration and border security with officials in McAllen, Texas. Bush is getting support from Hispanic Republicans who admit his use of the term anchor babies is offensive but they don't see it as a major setback for the Bush campaign.

All right. A popular air show in the U.K. turns tragic this weekend. A plane comes crashing down on a busy road. The death toll and anger are both climbing this morning. We're live in the U.K. next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:16:24] HOWELL: Welcome back. The future of air shows in the U.K. is in doubt this morning after what happened here. A deadly crash Saturday near Brighton with a military jet slamming into cars on a very busy highway. The death toll now climbing. Police say it could reach 20. More than a dozen others hurt. Investigators are trying to figure out what went so wrong there.

Let's go to our Ian Lee live from Shoreham, England, with more this morning.

Ian, good to have you with us. What's the latest on the investigation there?

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. The investigators are still combing through that wreckage to figure out what went wrong with this plane. We're outside of the airfield and just on the other side is where that wreckage is but they're keeping us at a distance because there's still hazardous materials there.

Right now the death toll is about 11, but they are expecting that to continue to rise. A crane is going to be coming in to take the wreckage out. And that's when they expect to find more bodies.

This loss that's really felt by this entire community. This air show was very popular. And also a lot of those killed on that highway were local residents. People from the community. So we've been seeing tributes, flowers laid out all day yesterday and some today.

The one big question, though, investigators are going to ask and try to look for is why this plane was flying over a road in the first place. Usually at these airshows, stunts are performed over open fields, away from spectators, residential neighborhoods, anywhere where really if there was a crash, people on the ground could be killed. And so politicians, lawmakers are asking that questions, do new laws need to be implemented? But right now, a lot of people mourning and still loved ones are looking for their relatives.

HOWELL: No, I'm certainly no expert on it, but yes, I mean, it seems like an obvious question as to why that plane was flying over a highway. I'm sure it will be a very important part of the investigation.

Ian Lee, thank you so much for your reporting there.

ROMANS: All right. Police and protesters battling in Beirut. Lebanese army units have been dispatched to knock down violent anti- government protests triggered by uncollected garbage in the streets of Beirut. Police used tear gas and water cannon on the crowds. More than --0 those pictures just really the story.

HOWELL: Yes.

ROMANS: Four hundred people injured in these weekend clashes.

HOWELL: People there are just frustrated with it.

ROMANS: That's right. That's right.

HOWELL: A driver is fighting for his life after a crash at an IndyCar race in Pennsylvania. Andy Scholes is next live with more on Justin Wilson's condition in our "Bleacher Report."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:22:37] HOWELL: Welcome back. IndyCar driver Justin Wilson is in a coma this morning after getting hit with debris from a crash during yesterday's race.

ROMANS: Yes. Andy Scholes has more in this morning's "Bleacher Report." Hey, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS: Hey, good morning, guys. Justin Wilson is listed in critical condition with a severe head injury after a serious crash at Pocono Speedway.

Here's how it happened. Fellow driver Sage Carom went into the wall and as his car broke up, part of the debris hit Wilson in the head. The British driver was immediately airlifted to the hospital. According to a tweet from Graham Rahall, NASCAR star Tony Stewart donated use of his private plane to Wilson's family so that they could fly to him indeed by his side. NFL Hall of Famer Cris Carter is apologizing for his advice to rookies

this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRIS CARTER, FORMER NFL HALL OF FAMER: And just in case you all are not going to decide to do the right thing, if you all got a crew, you've got to have a fall guy in the crew.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: So Carter gave that talk to rookies at the Rookie Symposium in 2014. He has issued an apology tweeting, "Seeing that video has made me realized how wrong I was. I was brought there to educate young people and instead I gave them very bad advice. Every person should take responsibility for his own actions. I'm sorry and I truly regret what I said that day."

All right. Tiger Woods, season is now over. He needed to get a win or get second place over the weekend in order to make the FedEx Cup playoffs. Tiger started yesterday's final round of the Wyndham Championship in second place, just two strokes off the lead, but the wheels came off with a triple bogey on the 11th hole. Tiger ended up in a tie for tenth place, which actually was his best finish of the season. Davis Love III was your winner.

An emotional moment at Yankee Stadium when the Bronx Bombers' retired pitcher Andy Pettitte's number 46 yesterday. Pettitte spent 15 seasons with the Yankees. His career included five World Series championships, three All-Star selections and a record 19 post season victories. Pettitte is the first player that admitted to using sports -- using performance enhancing drugs to ever have his number retired.

Finally for all of you who have already had your Fantasy Football drafts, I hope you didn't pick Jordy Nelson. The Packers' star wide receiver left yesterday's pre-season game with the Steelers with a serious knee injury. The team fears it's a torn ACL and Nelson will be done for the season.

[05:25:09] Guys, that's a huge blow to the Packers' Super Bowl chances. And by the way, college football season is right around the corner. The first AP poll came out over the weekend and not surprising, Ohio State ranked first overall. They're actually the first time ever to be a unanimous number one. A lot of people think they're going to run the table and not lose a game the entire season.

HOWELL: Maybe those Texas Longhorns can get in there, though. Who knows?

(LAUGHTER)

SCHOLES: They're not even right in the top 25.

HOWELL: Hey, hey, hey.

SCHOLES: Still rough times for the Longhorns. HOWELL: They're still in there.

SCHOLES: Yes?

ROMANS: Thanks so much, Andy Scholes. Glad to see you this morning.

SCHOLES: All right.

ROMANS: All right. High honor for three Americans who helped fight off a possible terror attack in France. We are live in Paris with details. They're meeting with the French president and now what the suspect's lawyer claims really happened.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOWELL: Three Americans and a Briton, getting a hero's welcome in Paris, recognized for stopping a potential terror attack on a train headed to Paris. We are live in France with more on the ceremonies and what these three Americans have to say about it.

ROMANS: On the brink of war. North and South Korea getting ready for another day of talks in the DMZ. Both sides digging in with high demands. Can Seoul and -- Pyongyang, rather, avoid further escalation?

HOWELL: And questions about Joe Biden sitting down with a top Democrat about a potential 2016 run for the White House. Who it is and what it means now that he is expanding talks outside his inner circle? A lot of people looking into that one.

ROMANS: Yes.

[05:30:02] HOWELL: Good morning. Welcome to you. I'm George Howell. This is EARLY START. I'm in for John Berman.

ROMANS: Nice to see you this morning, this Monday morning. I'm Christine Romans. It's 30 minutes exactly past the hour.

Three humble heroic Americans being honored in France this morning. French president --