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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Clinton Apologizes for Private Email Server; British Airways Plane Catches Fire; Stephen Colbert's "Late Show" Debut; Migrants Break Through Police Lines. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired September 09, 2015 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[04:30:52] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Hillary Clinton now says she's sorry, apologizing after months of defending her use of a private e-mail server while secretary of state. We'll tell you what's behind the sudden about-face, the change in tune ahead.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: A British Airway flight erupts in flames. Look at that picture. Passengers onboard had to make an emergency exit. They are now sharing their story.
ROMANS: Plus, Stephen Colbert's late-show debut, he was relaxed. He was funny. He had nine months to make this one-hour of television.
BERMAN: It's possible that you were sleeping but we'll show you all of the good parts.
Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.
ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. Thirty-one minutes past the hour this morning.
BERMAN: Breaking overnight, now, she's sorry and we'll keep on saying it.
While you were sleeping, Hillary Clinton seemed to announce something like a beginning of an apology tour for using her private e-mail server while secretary of state. In a late night Facebook post, she said, "I understand you may have more questions and I'm going to work to keep answering them." This came after she said sorry out loud on TV to ABC News and Ellen DeGeneres.
For the latest, let's bring in senior political correspondent Brianna Keilar.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Christine.
Hillary Clinton is still leading in the polls. But the trend lines are troubling for her campaign. She has been dipping and Bernie Sanders and Vice President Biden who's not even a declared candidate at this point had been on the rise, particularly of concern this early states of New Hampshire and Iowa.
In polls, Democratic voters say they actually don't really care about this e-mail controversy but it is killing the Clinton's campaign to cut through the message that resonates with voters.
So, for the first time after months of resistance, Hillary Clinton trying to turn the corner on this by very directly apologizing.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In retrospect, certainly, as I look back at it now, even though it was allowed, I should have used two accounts -- one for personal, one for work- related e-mails. That was a mistake. I'm sorry about that. I take responsibility.
And I'm trying to be as transparent as I possibly can to not only release 55,000 pages of my e-mails, turn over my server, but I am looking forward finally to testifying before Congress, something I've been asking for for nearly a year.
KEILAR: That is certainly a big change from what Hillary Clinton said on Monday to "The Associated Press". She said she didn't have anything to apologize for because what she had done at the State Department using a private server, using a personal e-mail, was allowed -- John and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Brianna, thank you for that.
On the DeGeneres -- the Ellen DeGeneres show, Hillary Clinton apologized, quote, "for the confusion" caused by her use of the private server. She also attacked her Republican opponents as out of touch and out of date.
For the most part, the interviewed showcase Clinton's personal side and emphasized her appeal and her message to women.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: I think it's just a reality that we're held to a higher, different double standard. And it gets a little old to be honest, but you just forge ahead. Don't let all these wonderful, beautiful, young women who are here: don't get discouraged. Don't give in. Don't give up. Don't quit on yourself. Embrace the future.
(APPLAUSE)
And I actually think, you know, look, I'm not asking people to vote for me because I'm a woman, but I think if you vote for somebody on merits, one of my merits is I'm a woman and I think that makes a big difference in today's world.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BERMAN: You know, that's a really interesting sophisticated message there in a way. One of my merits is I'm a woman. This is after in 2008, she really didn't emphasize that at all. Now, she's basically saying, you know, look at that, look at me, I'm a woman, vote for me.
ROMANS: The interview was taped Tuesday at Rockefeller Center in New York. It airs Thursday on the Ellen DeGeneres show.
BERMAN: Ellen, shall we say.
A big day planned in Washington, a highly-publicized rally against the Iran nuclear deal. It actually follows a speech on Iran. The rally so big Donald Trump will be there, other candidates past and present as well.
[04:35:04] He previewed his message in an op-ed posted overnight on " USA Today's" Web site, calling the agreement "bad, poorly constructed and terribly negotiated".
Trump writes, "It was amateur hour for those charged with striking this deal with Iran, demonstrating to the world, yet again, the total incompetence of our president and politicians." "A trump presidency", he says, "will force the Iranians back to the bargaining table to make a much better deal."
CNN's Sara Murray has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Good morning, John and Christine.
Donald Trump is back on the campaign trail here, right here in Washington, D.C. where he's holding a rally to protest the Iran deal. He's going to have plenty of firepower with him, joining him is Ted Cruz who is also running for president, as well as former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. They're expecting a pretty big turnout for that event.
Now, most of yesterday, Donald Trump spent his time sparring with Jeb Bush. Trump released a video on Instagram criticizing Bush as a candidate who makes voters fall asleep, calling him low energy once again. The real jab came where he showed a woman at a Jeb Bush event actually falling asleep.
Now, Bush managed to hit back, he released his own video on Instagram. It shows Donald Trump praising former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, saying she would be a great person to negotiate a deal with Iran. Obviously, that is a tough hill for Donald Trump to swallow today as he gets ready to hold this big rally here in Washington, D.C.
Back to you, Christine and John.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Sara Murray, thank you. Now, Jeb Bush laying out his tax plan in a "Wall Street Journal"
column. The Republican presidential candidate said he will lower the corporate tax rate to 20 percent and reduce the number of individual tax brackets from 7 to 3. He also wants to place a one-time tax on corporate profits sitting overseas. He says all this could lead to 4 percent economic growth for the U.S.
Let's check the markets quickly, Asian markets soared overnight. Japan up almost 8 percent. The biggest one-day gain for the Nikkei since 2008. European shares, U.S. stock futures jumping after a good day on Wall Street yesterday. The Dow adding 390 points for the second-best gain of the year. The NASDAQ and S&P also up 2 percent.
It was a tech stock rally that led all this, John.
BERMAN: All right. Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis is free but it is an open question whether she will stay that way. A federal judge released Davis from jail, saying he was satisfied that her deputies were issuing marriage licenses to gay couples as he ordered. Moments after her release, you can see it right here, Davis spoke to a cheering crowd.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIM DAVIS, KENTUCKY COUNTY CLERK: I just want to give God the glory. His people have rallied and you are a strong people!
(CHEERS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Many Republican presidential candidates are weighing in on the controversy. Ted Cruz, he was there. You can see him in the picture right there.
Mike Huckabee there as well. Standing by Kim Davis as she spoke. Not every candidate, though, endorsed the refusal to issue same-sex marriage license.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: But I've already told her that if somebody needs to go to jail, I'm willing to go in her place. And I mean that, because I'm tired of watching people being just harassed because they believe something of their faith.
GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't agree with the court's decision. But I have said that I was going to accept the court's decision.
GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What I would do this to woman is move her to another job where this is not an objection for her.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm a very, very strong believer in Christianity and religion, but I will say that this was not the right job for her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: The judge has ordered Davis not to interfere with the deputy clerk's efforts to issue these licenses to same-sex couples, the judge says if she does interfere she will be back in jail. So far, she hasn't said what she plans to do when she returns to work.
ROMANS: Now the moment you have been waiting for, Stephen Colbert's debut on the late show, he was greeted with a standing ovation at the Ed Sullivan Theater. And the audience chanted, "Stephen, Stephen", to this person.
BERMAN: In fact, it is Stephen.
ROMANS: He began his first network monologue with a call back to his Comedy Central character and signature greeting, "Hello, nation". Then the search for the real Stephen Colbert.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN COLBERT, COMEDIAN: If I knew you were going to do that I would have come out here months ago. Thank you for joining me for the first episode of the late show starring Stephen Colbert. I am he.
You're all witnessing television history. And like most history, it's not on the History Channel. I'm so excited to be here right now.
I am also so excited to be at home six hours from now watching this on TV. Hi, me!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Colbert's guests on the first night, George Clooney. Also his first presidential candidate Jeb Bush who was asked about his campaign slogan, which doesn't include the last name, Bush.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have been using Jeb since 1994.
COLBERT: Yes.
BUSH: It connotes excitement. It connotes --
(LAUGHTER)
[04:40:00] COLBERT: Jeb!
How many of us when we got excited about things didn't just go, Jeb?
BUSH: I ran -- oh, in Florida, they do. When they see me, most of them, either out of happiness or deep anger.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ROMANS: The premier episode wrapped with the new late-show band and some special guests singing and dancing, along with Colbert to the song "Everyday People".
He was relaxed. He was funny. His whole family in the audience. Big crowd of people waiting out to see him.
BERMAN: You know, the first show, as you pointed out, he has nine months to prepare for the show. That may not be the test. The test may be tonight and tomorrow night as he goes forward and Joe Biden coming up as a guest.
ROMANS: Yes.
BERMAN: Panic aboard a British Airways flight. The plane erupts on the runway. Look at that picture right there. Scary. Passengers will share their stories, next.
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ROMANS: Terrifying moments for passengers and crew members onboard an British Airways jet in Las Vegas. Flight 2276 was powering up for takeoff at McCarran International Tuesday afternoon when the left engine burst into flames.
Listen to one passenger described what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY JENNINGS, BRITISH AIRWAYS PASSENGER: We were just getting speed to take off and just heard a big thud, I opened up the cover of my window and just saw flames on the engine. We suddenly start. We sat still for about a minute.
Just waiting to hear what to do. And then we just heard the captain says it's an emergency. Evacuate.
REPORTER: How scary was it?
JENNINGS: It was pretty scary. Yes. Like, I mean.
[04:45:00] Yes, it was more shock than anything. I don't know, yes, it was pretty scary stuff.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Wow, what an interview.
BERMAN: He's being wheeled into the ambulance there.
ROMANS: There were 159 passengers, 7 crew members onboard that flight. Fire officials say 14 people suffered minor injuries Most of those injuries, John, happened as passengers slid down emergency slides to get out of that aircraft.
Fire officials tell CNN flames from the engine never breached the cabin. Still no word on what caused the fire. Another passenger on that flight said it took something 90 seconds, they were sitting there, and then, boom, the doors opened. They were on the way out.
BERMAN: I heard there was one runway closed. Imagine coming in and seeing a plane on fire on a runway?
ROMANS: Wow.
BERMAN: All right. Thousands of migrants pouring into Europe. The government split over what to do. The European Union officials meeting right now as this crisis unfolds. We have live team coverage, next.
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BERMAN: Happening now, European leaders meeting in France to grapple with the refugee crisis, spreading across Hungary. Hundreds in Hungary broke through police lines that were at a camp there. CNN cameras right in the middle of the chaos, as mothers, fathers, some without shoes, carry their children on their shoulders for miles.
[04:50:01] Police surrounded many of these people and returned them to the camp that they broke out of. Now, thousands of these refugees now making their way on to trains bound for Austria, with Hungarian police no longer checking for visas. The crisis now straining Turkey.
CNN has ever angle of this developing story covered, starting with CNN senior international correspondent Frederik Pleitgen in Berlin -- Fred.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, John. Yes, it's an absolutely huge crisis that Europe is dealing with right now.
You know, I was in Hungary and Austria over the past couple of years. There was an uninterrupted flow of people coming in. Over the last weekend alone, it was well over 20,000 refugees that made their way through those countries and ultimately want to come right here to Germany.
Now, what the European Union, the big problem is it has no common policy and at that meeting today, the head of the European Commission said, listen, right now, the European Union is failing. We're neither acting to European values, nor are we acting as a union. The problem that he has is that the countries are divided, John.
On one hand, you have countries like Germany that are taking in a lot of refugees. But they want those refugees to also be distributed to all of the other countries as well, so that everyone shares the burden. However, on the other hand, you have countries that are very reluctant to take in more refugees, for instance the Eastern European countries, but also Hungary, as well, where we've seen those responses.
They see this as more of a border control issue. And so, what the head of the European Commission has done is he gave a speech where he said we have to do a little bit of both. This people are going to keep coming, so we have to have some sort of quota to distribute them to all European countries. But we also have make sure in the long term, the flow of migrants to the European continent will be controlled and at least they can stay on top of things.
The big question now is, are they going to come some sort common agreement and ultimately to some sort of common policy that they can implement to make sure that on the one hand, they can control immigration, and on the other hand also, that the people who are trying to come here to Europe are not put in danger because they can't find safe ways to make it here, John.
BERMAN: Now on the interest not always aligned, some of altruistic tendencies right now you're seeing in Germany, not necessarily supported in some of these other countries.
All right. Frederik Pleitgen in Berlin, thank you so much.
ROMANS: Now to Turkey, where Syrian refugees are overwhelming one port city. Hundreds of refugees carrying backpacks and garbage bags full of their belongings. That are hoping to embark on what could be a very dangerous boat ride to Greece.
CNN's coverage of the crisis continues now with senior international correspondent Ivan Watson. He is live in Ayvalik, Turkey.
Ivan, what's the scene there?
All right, we lost his microphone. But, gosh, just from one country to another, different reactions to the migrant crisis, different speeds in which they're trying to resettle people and harrowing, dangerous pictures --
BERMAN: Like this right here.
ROMANS: -- of people desperately trying to get to Europe. They see Europe as a safe haven.
BERMAN: Ivan is standing in Turkey where people are being smuggled across the water to Greek islands. The Greek island of Lesbos is being flooded with 1,000 to 3,000 refugees, and migrants, every day. The island of Lesbos can barely handle it. Greece has its own infrastructure problems.
But what Ivan has been seeing is smuggling operation. You can see it right there. It's dangerous for so many of the people.
ROMANS: I think we have Ivan's microphone right now.
Ivan, what's the scene there? Desperate circumstances for so many people.
BERMAN: All right, we'll get this worked out with Ivan Watson soon.
ROMANS: All right. We'll be right back.
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[04:57:59] ROMANS: Let's get an early start on your money this Wednesday morning.
Asian markets, big, big gains. Take a look at Japan -- Japan, up 8 percent. The biggest one-day gain for the Nikkei since 2008. European shares, U.S. stock futures also rallying, sharply here after a good ay on Wall Street. The Dow surged 390, the second-biggest gain for the year. The S&P and NASDAQ up more than 2 percent as tech stocks led the rally. A lot of bargain hunting out there yesterday, people picking up stocks on the cheap.
The CEO and two other executives of U.S.-based United Airlines out. The company announced their resignation in a statement, in a wake of an internal investigation triggered by an ongoing probe. The government has been examining United's dealings with the former head of the New York/New Jersey Port Authority, including adding a flight known as the chairman's flight, a flight convenient to a home the chairman of the Port Authority owns in South Carolina. United says it is cooperating with this government investigation.
BERMAN: The ex-chairman, David Sampson, by the way, who was connected or involved, his name was mentioned in the whole bridgegate scandal.
ROMANS: Had been a former long time ally of Chris Christie.
BERMAN: But when he left the job of Port Authority, they canceled the chairman's flight like days after.
ROMANS: It has economic, political and now, I guess, air traffic ramifications, because the incoming CEO said he'll focus on making United more flier-friendly.
Bon Jovi having a tough time doing business in China. The band was set to take center next year next in Beijing and Shanghai. But China's culture ministry has canceled the upcoming shows. No official reason given.
Social media buzzing that it may be due to Bon Jovi using the Dalai Lama backdrop that was five years ago. He also has a snippet in one of his videos from a song just a few years ago of that iconic picture of the tank and the two person standing in Tiananmen Square and he has said, you got to do what you think is right. And some of these videos, it's kind of his mantra.
So, we'll see how that happens. He's still going to play in Macau.
BERMAN: Don't mess with Bon Jovi. Bon Jovi versus China, who do you take?
ROMANS: Jon Bon Jovi, of course.
BERMAN: Jon Bon Jovi, of course.
All right. EARLY START continues right now.
