Return to Transcripts main page
Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Hillary Apologizes for Email Use; British Airways Plane Catches Fire; Stephen Colbert's "Late Show" Debut; Serena Williams Defeats Sister Venus at U.S. Open. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired September 09, 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: Don't mess with Bon Jovi. Bon Jovi versus China, who do you take?
[05:00:01] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Jon Bon Jovi, of course.
BERMAN: Jon Bon Jovi, of course.
All right. EARLY START continues right now.
(MUSIC)
ROMANS: Hillary Clinton now says she is sorry for using a private e- mail server while secretary of state, but is the apology too late?
BERMAN: A British Airways plane erupts in flames on the runway. Passengers need to use the emergency exit, slide down the slide, now telling their harrowing stories.
ROMANS: Plus, Stephen Colbert's "Late Show" debut.
Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans this Wednesday morning.
BERMAN: I'm John Berman. Very nice to see you. It is September 9. It is 5:00 a.m. in the East.
And breaking overnight, now she is sorry and she says she will keep on saying it. While you were sleeping, Hillary Clinton seemed to announce something like the beginning of an apology tour for using her private e-mail server while secretary of state.
In a late-night Facebook post she says, "I understand you may have more questions and I'm going to work to keep answering them." So for a while of not talking about the e-mails, now she says, "I'm just going to keep on talking about it." This came after she said sorry out loud on TV to ABC News and Ellen DeGeneres.
Why the big change in this position?
Let's bring in senior political correspondent Brianna Keilar in Washington.
(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 Ellen DeGeneres show, Clinton apologized, quote, "for the confusion" caused by her use of that private server. She also attacked her Republican opponents as out of touch and out of date. For the most part, the interview showcased 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.
ELLEN DEGENERES: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: An interesting spin on the woman qualification.
BERMAN: She danced also. She actually danced a little bit with that little girl.
There's Pink, by the way, right? I got that right. My pop culture isn't so good. Is that Amy Schumer?
ROMANS: It looks like Amy Schumer, but I'm not sure.
BERMAN: That is Amy Schumer. And that's Pink. And that's a presidential history buff right there. And they sort of danced a little, which is unusual for Hillary Clinton.
ROMANS: I like her little --
BERMAN: The girl is wearing a pantsuit, by the way, the Hillary Clinton pantsuit.
ROMANS: That was so funny.
All right. The interview was taped Tuesday at Rockefeller Center in New York. It's going to air Thursday on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show."
BERMAN: All right. A big day in Washington -- a highly publicized rally against the Iran nuclear deal, so big that this man, Donald Trump, will be there. There will be other candidates, past and present as well.
Trump previewed his message in an op-ed posted overnight on the "USA Today" Web site. He called the agreement bad, terribly negotiated. Trump wrote, "It was amateur hour for those charged with striking this deal with Iran, demonstrating to the world yet again the total incompetence", he says, "of our president and politicians." Trump says "A Trump presidency will force the Iranians back to the bargaining table to make a much better deal."
CNN's Sara Murray with 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.
[05:05:06] 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. Thanks, Sara.
Kentucky County clerk Kim Davis is free after five nights in jail, but it is an open question whether she will stay that way. A federal judge released Davis from jail saying he was satisfied her deputies were doing her job and issuing marriage licenses to gay couples as he ordered. Moments after her release, 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)
ROMANS: Many Republican presidential candidates weighing in on the controversy. Ted Cruz and Mike Huckabee, you can see they stood at her side as she greeted her supporters there. But not every candidate endorsed her refusal to issue same-sex marriage licenses.
(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)
ROMANS: The judge has ordered Davis not to interfere with her deputy clerk's efforts to issue those licenses or he will send her straight back to her cell. So far she has not said what she plans to do when she returns to work.
BERMAN: You know a side story, she came out to "Eye of the Tiger", the Survivor song from "Rocky III".
ROMANS: That's right.
BERMAN: Survivor, the band, said they didn't have any permission. This is the official page. No, we did not grant Kim Davis any rights to use my tune "The Eye of the Tiger."
I would not grant her the rights to use Charmin.
ROMANS: Oh come on.
BERMAN: His name is, what, Freddie Sullivan. Who's the guy from Survivor? I think that's the guy who wrote the song right there, so Survivor not at all happy.
All right. The latest now on the Iran nuclear deal. President Obama on the verge of one of the most significant victories of his presidency, a group of undecided Democratic senators has come out in favor of the agreement. Forty-two senators now back the measure, all of them Democrats or independents.
This not only enough to block a Republican-led Senate move to get in the way of this deal, but it also may mean there's never a vote. The Senate may never actually vote up or down on this measure. They have enough to filibuster.
ROMANS: All right. Europe's growing migrant crisis now forcing the U.S. and its allies to reconsider their strategy against ISIS. Officials have agreed to intensify the fight against ISIS nerve centers in Syria rather than continuing the Iraq first approach to end ISIS's expansion there. The U.S.-led coalition still faces the challenge of reaching a consensus on how to best target ISIS in Syria, whether to attack strongholds directly or to focus on ousting the Syrian leader.
BERMAN: The head of the National Security Agency says a recent hack of the unclassified network for the Pentagon's joint staff was sophisticated and persistent. The joint staff includes some of the most senior U.S. military officials. Admiral Michael Rodgers said hackers penetrated part of the network after a previous attempt failed. Investigators are investigating whether Russian hackers were behind this breach.
ROMANS: All right. Time for an early start on your money. Big rallies for Asian markets overnight. Best day in Japan in years, up almost 8 percent, that is a huge one-day gain and the best for the Nikkei since 2008. European shares, U.S. stock futures rallying after a good day on Wall
Street, picking up some cheap stocks. The Dow soared 390 points, second biggest gain for the year. The S&P 500, the NASDAQ also up more than 2 percent. Tech stocks really leading the way.
And a big tech story today, it's a big day for Apple. The Internet rife with rumors about Apple's next big reveal. The safest bet seems to be through versions of the 6 and 6S, an update to the Apple Watch.
Also likely, the biggest surprise, though, could be a larger iPad, a size between the current iPad and the MacBook, as its sales have been falling. But Apple doesn't seem worried about falling sales. CEO Tim Cook says that demand is still high.
I've been personally looking to see if there's anything interesting -- anything interesting about Apple TV and how they want to integrate all of your tech needs into the living room.
[05:10:07] That seems to be their next real target.
BERMAN: That announcement coming today.
All right. Now, the moment you've all been waiting for. Stephen Colbert's debut on "The Late Show." You might have been sleeping given that it ended about five hours ago. Colbert greeted with a standing ovation at the Ed Sullivan Theater. The audience chanting "Stephen, Stephen!"
He began his first network monologue with a callback to his Comedy Central character, the signature greeting "Hello, nation."
Then, he began 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)
BERMAN: Colbert's guests on the first night, you can see them there, George Clooney, a well-tanned George Clooney. Doug Ross on "E.R." Have you ever seen "E.R."?
ROMANS: I think he's married to this famous attorney. I think he is --
BERMAN: Amal.
ROMANS: That's right.
BERMAN: He also had his first presidential guest. George Clooney there morphs into Jeb bush right there. And Colbert asked Jeb Bush about his campaign slogan which doesn't actually include his last name.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have been using Jeb since 1994.
COLBERT: Yes.
BUSH: It connotes excitement. It connotes --
(LAUGHTER)
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)
BERMAN: The premiere episode wrapped up with the new late show band with special guests singing and dancing to the song "Everyday People."
Nice, right? He's only got to do it now for another like 10 or 15 years and it will all be fine.
ROMANS: Right.
BERMAN: All right. Panic onboard a British airways flight. The plane suddenly catching fire. Passengers on board, they will share those stories, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:15:16] ROMANS: Terrifying moments for passengers and crew members onboard a British Airways jet in Las Vegas. Look at that. Flight 2276 was powering up for takeoff at McCarran International Airport Tuesday afternoon. The left engine burst into flames.
Listen to one passenger describe 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.
Yes, it was more shock than anything. I don't know, yes, it was pretty scary stuff.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: There were 159 passengers and 7 crew members on board. Fire officials say 14 people suffered minor injuries, meaning they needed medical care for that. Most of those injuries happened as passengers slid down emergency slides to get out of the plane.
Fire officials tell CNN the flames from the engine never reached the cabin. Still no word on what caused the fire. What a harrowing, harrowing experience.
BERMAN: City officials in Baltimore today are expected to approve a $6.4 billion settlement with the family of Freddie Gray. It means the city accepts all civil liability in the arrest and death of the 25- year-old Gray who suffered a spinal injury while in police custody back in April. The proposed settlement, though, does not acknowledge any wrongdoing by Baltimore police. Six officers will be criminally tried separately in connection with gray's death.
The timing of this is very interesting because there are people saying it taints the jury pool. People in Baltimore will say, hey, look, the city just agreed -- you know, say we have liability in this. We're responsible in some way for his death. We're paying $6.4 million. So it may not easy be get a fair jury now, they say.
ROMANS: Let's talk about the heat wave that has been steaming the Midwest and the East. Yesterday, 96 degrees at 3:00 in the afternoon in New York.
Let's get to meteorologist Pedram Javaheri.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Christine and John.
Look at the temperatures from Tuesday. Record temps shattering some records that have been standing for 94 years. Central Park, 97 degrees. Previous record from 1919 was 93. Very easy to pick on how far we're above the normal. For about 20 degrees above the normal.
And, of course, much of this September, a September to remember, the temperature trend generally into the 90s, when he should be into the upper 70s, peaking in Central Park at 97 degrees yesterday.
Good news is we do have a front that is cruising across the Midwest, sparking some showers and thunderstorms around Missouri, northern Arkansas, with it, cooler air gets here some time later this week and the jet stream also take a nosedive. So, we kind of really set this cool pattern at least for a little bit beginning Friday into Saturday.
Some showers and thunderstorms possible Thursday night into Friday around New York and Boston. But look at the trend, 90 to 78. You have been dropping below average. How quickly things change by 72 degrees by week's end. And New York City also taking a dramatic drop in temperatures there into the Upper 70s by week's end, with your high temps, today still staying pretty toasty, about 90 in New York, 94 in Washington, D.C. -- guys.
ROMANS: All right. Thanks, Pedram.
BERMAN: I was 14 the last time it rained in the Northeast. It's been a long time.
All right. A big night at the U.S. open. Serena Williams, Venus Williams, they go head to head. Nothing but history on the line. We just gave it away.
Andy Scholes has highlights in the bleacher report, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:22:25] BERMAN: A family affair. Venus versus Serena Williams, history on the line. Not to mention a spot in the semifinals at the U.S. Open.
ROMANS: Andy Scholes has highlights in this morning's bleacher report.
Hey, Andy.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, guys.
You know, Serena looking to be the first woman to win a calendar grand slam in 27 years. To do it, she would have to eliminate her sister, Venus. A sellout crowd, including Donald Trump on hand for this quarterfinal matchup. Serena won the first set 6-2 before dropping the second set, 6-1, to her sister, but Serena would pull it together in the third. She would win it easily, 6-3.
And after the match point, the two sisters would share a long embrace at the net. Serena now two wins away from a grand slam. She's going to take on 43rd ranked Roberta Vinci in the semifinals on Thursday night.
According to school officials in Texas, the two players accused of attacking a referee on Friday night in Marble Falls say they did it because the ref used two different racial slurs towards them during the game. Now, officials are also saying that one of the assistant coaches may have influenced the players by saying, quote, "The ref should pay for cheating us."
The referee who was attacked is saying libel and slander have been committed against him. Local prosecutors are considering filing assault charges against the players. Both have been suspended from the school.
The Mets and Nationals battle for the NL East continuing last night in D.C. Bottom of the six, base is loaded for the net. Michael Taylor is going to hit this to the middle and Yoenis Cespedes coming in and the ball is going to go right by him. All four runners come in to score. It would be 7-1 Nationals at that point, but the Mets are going to come all the way back. And in the eighth, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, the solo pinch-hit home run gives New York the lead. They win this one, 8-7, and now have a six-game lead in the division.
Yankees hosting the Orioles. Alex Rodriguez making history once again. This time hitting his 30th home run of the season. It's the 15th time A-Rod has reached 30 home runs in a season, tying him for most all time with Hank Aaron.
But not to be outdone, the Orioles' Chris Davis goes deep in the ninth. He leads all of baseball with 41 home runs. Orioles would win this game, 2-1.
But, John and Christine, raise your hand if you had A-Rod hitting 30 home runs this season.
BERMAN: Yes, I don't know. I don't like to raise my hand for A-Rod, period.
(LAUGHTER)
BERMAN: Andy Scholes, thank you very much. Appreciate it.
SCHOLES: Have a good one.
[05:25:00] ROMANS: All right. Hillary Clinton now says she is sorry, and she goes to Facebook to say she's sorry overnight after a month of defending her use of e-mail as secretary of state. So, what's changed? Why the change? We've got that after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: Overnight, Hillary Clinton goes to Facebook now to say she is sorry. Is this the beginning of an apology tour for using her private e-mail server while secretary of state? Why the sudden about-face, ahead.
Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.
ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. Wednesday morning for you. Good morning, everybody. It is 28 -- 29 minutes past the hour.
Breaking overnight: now, she is sorry and she'll keep saying it over and over again. While you were sleeping, Hillary Clinton seemed to announce something like the beginning of an apology tour for using her private e-mail server while secretary of state.
In a late-night Facebook post, she says this, "I understand that you may have more questions, and I am going to work to keep answering them." This came after she said she was sorry out loud and on TV to ABC News and Ellen DeGeneres.
For the latest, let's bring in senior political correspondent Brianna Keilar from Washington. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: 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.
