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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Obama and Putin Meeting Face to Face Today; Donald Trump Losing Ground in the Polls; A Successful Trip for Pope Francis; NFL Update. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired September 28, 2015 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:02] ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: Oh the irony.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Oh yes.
KOSIK: EARLY START continues right now.
(MUSIC)
KOSIK: President Obama and Putin meeting face to face for the first time in two years, at odds over how to win the war on ISIS. We're live.
ROMANS: Donald Trump losing his lead in the race for president. A new poll, a brand new poll, reveals a troubling trend for the Republican frontrunner.
Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
KOSIK: And good morning to you. I'm Alison Kosik. It's Monday, September 28, it's 5:00 a.m. in the East. Happening today, President Obama meets with Russian president Vladimir Putin on the first day of this year's United Nations General Assembly in New York. Sure to be high on the agenda, the surprise announcement that Russia, Iraq, Iran, and Syria have reached a deal to share intelligence aimed at defeating ISIS. That news comes amid U.S. concerns about Russia's recent military buildup in Syria and Kremlin efforts to expand its influence in Iraq.
For the latest on this, let's bring in CNN's Matthew Chance live from Moscow. So I'm thinking this is one of the most anticipated meetings between Putin and Obama.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is going to be a very important meeting, certainly haven't met for a couple of years. There's a lot of anticipation as well about Vladimir Putin's address to the U.N. General Assembly. He hasn't done that for more than a decade. And so that's being widely anticipated as well.
A bit of friction, perhaps, definitely diplomatically between the two leaders, over the issue of Syria, of course the Russians are back being Bashar al Assad very strongly. They are backing up their political support with military support on the ground as well, which is proving very controversial, bolstering their military footprint in Syria, sending in war planes, tanks, other bits of high tech equipment as well, and weapons.
They got a couple of issues they want covered. They've got a military base in Syria. The Russians very reluctant to see that go, it's why they're supporting Bashar al Assad. Economic interests as well. But Vladimir Putin is casting this diplomatic push as a fight against international terrorism. He is calling on the United States and other countries to join with Russia in that battle. Take a listen what he had to say to CBS.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA (via translator): We support the government of Syria and it's my deep belief any actions to the contrary in order to destroy the legitimate government will create a situation which you can witness now in the other countries of the region or in other regions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHANCE: All right, so Vladimir Putin saying it's all about fighting international terrorism, butof course the suspicion is that this is really about bolstering Russia's position in the Middle East and on the international stage and showing that it is not an isolated country and that the world has to deal with the Kremlin. To that extent, I think they've already succeeded in achieving that because they are front and center now at this diplomatic discussion about the future of Syria. Alison.
KOSIK: How concerned does the Obama administration seem as we're watching Vladimir Putin take a bigger role on the international stage?
CHANCE: Well, I think they must be quite concerned. I mean, I think they've been caught on the back foot to some extent. Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin has moved very quickly to fill the void left I suppose by the inaction by the rest of the international community. They're bolstering Syria very strongly. And gives them an enormous amount of leverage. In fact, the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry saying earlier there should be more cooperation, coordination, between the effort that they're leading, the airsrikes on ISIS, and what Russia may do. That coordination isn't happening at the moment. But, you know, it seems Russia is really setting the agenda. The United States and other countries have got very little option but to follow Russia's lead. And that's unlikely to sit very comfortably in Washington.
KOSIK: It will certainly be interesting to see what comes out of the meeting between Putin and Obama and what comes out of this speech of Vladimir Putin before the United Nations. Matthew Chance, thanks for that.
ROMANS: Donald Trump thinks having Russia take the lead in getting rid of ISIS in Syria is not such a bad idea. The Republican front- runner saying on "60 Minutes" last night that it might also work to American advantage to let ISIS and the Assad regime fight it out and then, as Trump put it, quote, "we pick up the remnants". Trump said fighting ISIS in Iraq was a different problem that might require U.S. combat troops. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you look at Syria, Russia wants to get rid of ISIS. We want to get rid of ISIS. Maybe let Russia do it. Let them get rid of ISIS. What the hell do we care?
SCOTT PELLEY, CBS NEWS: OK, that's Syria. What do you in Iraq with ISIS?
TRUMP: Look, with ISIS in Iraq, you got to knock them out.
PELLEY: How do you do that?
TRUMP: You got to find them. You got to fight them.
PELLEY: On the ground?
TRUMP: Send in -- if you need, you're going to have to do that, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: Donald Trump discussing his tax plan on "60 Minutes". Trump is set to unveil details on the plan this morning at -- at a news conference at 11:00 a.m.
[05:05:00] All this as a new poll shows Trump losing some of his lead over Ben Carson. The two candidates now neck and neck.
CNN's Athena Jones has more on that from Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine and Alison. Today is a day that Donald Trump says he'll unveil his new tax plan. He says it will call for middle class tax cuts and tax hikes for hedge fund managers. Trump says the plan will be, quote, "long on policy and very specific". This is coming as a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll shows that Trump is still leading the GOP pac but barely: Ben Carson is right up there with him. They're just one percentage point apart, which is well within the poll's margin of error.
This poll is proof that debates matter. Look at Carly Fiorina, another outsider candidate. She's tied with Florida Senator Marco Rubio at 11 percent, in third place. You'll remember both of them were seen as standouts in the CNN debate in Simi Valley and they're being rewarded for their performance in the polls. They both made big gains, especially Fiorina.
Now, the rest of the GOP field, including the establishment favorite, Jeb Bush, is languishing in single digits.
Meanwhile, Ben Carson is still facing questions about his comments Muslims' fitness to serve as president. Take a listen to part of his exchange with Jake Tapper on "STATE OF THE UNION". JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR, "STATE OF THE UNION": You are a member of a church that there's a lot of misinformation about, the Seventh Day Adventist church. You know what it's like for people to make false assumptions about you. And you seem to be doing the same thing with Muslims.
BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In which way am I making a false assumption? TAPPER: You're assuming that Muslim-Americans put their religion ahead
of the country.
CARSON: I'm assuming that if you accept all the tenets of Islam that you would have a very difficult time abiding under the Constitution of the United States.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (off camera): This interview is over.
JONES: So even though that interview was cut short by Carson's campaign, the discussion continues. We'll see if it hurts them with Republican voters. So far it hasn't. Christine, Alison.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right, thanks for that, Athena.
Here's what we know about the Trump tax plan. We'll get the big details at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time, but he revealed in that "60 Minutes" interview that aired yesterday his plan would be zero taxes for some.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: There will be a large segment of our country that will have a zero rate, a zero rate. And that's something I haven't told anybody.
PELLEY: You're talking about --
TRUMP: We're talking about people in the low income brackets that are supposed to be paying taxes. Many of them don't anyway.
PELLEY: You're talking about making part of the population exempt from income tax
TRUMP: That is correct.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: I think the lowest tax rate right now, the lowest tax bracket right now is 10 percent. Trump says his plan would either increase or maintain current tax revenue. How would he do that? Well, by raising taxes on some of the richest Americans. Hedge fund managers have been a target of Trump recently. He wants to eliminate something called the carried interest loophole. It allows those hedge funds managers and some private equity managers to be taxed at lower rates.
Trump also plans to cut corporate taxes. He said that will keep corporations from moving overseas. Trump also estimates it could bring $2.5 trillion back to America that businesses are stashing abroad to avoid taxes. Again, devil's in the details. We're going to get those details at 11:00.
On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton's lead over Bernie Sanders also fast disappearing. If Joe Biden were to get in the race, Clinton leads Sanders by just 7 points, 42 percent to 35 percent. Meantime, Clinton says the constant stream of questions about her use of private e-mail -- a private e-mail server while Secretary of State, they're a trip down memory lane, she says. She compares this e-mail issue to the controversies that dogged the Clintons in the White House in the '90s.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is like a drip, drip, drip. And that's why I said there's only so much I can control. But what I have tried to do in explaining this is to provide more transparency and more information than anybody that I'm aware of who's ever served in the government and I'm happy to do that. Because I want these questions to be answered.
I can't predict to you what the Republicans will come up with, what kind of charges or claims they might make. I have no control over that. I can only do the best I can to try to respond.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Clinton called Republican suggestions that she used a private e-mail server to avoid Freedom of Information requests or congressional subpoenas, she said that was totally ridiculous.
KOSIK: House Speaker John Boehner blasting right wing Republicans in Congress as false prophets to press for doomed strategies like government shutdowns that they know they can't win. Boehner speaking on CBS's "Face The Nation" two days after his surprise announcement that he's stepping down at the end of October. He lashed out at conservative groups and lawmakers who, quote, "whip people in a frenzy," promising things they know are never going to happen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: The Bible says be aware of false prophets. And there are people out there, you know, spreading noise about how much can get done.
[05:10:00] I mean, this whole idea we're going to shut down the government to get rid of Obamacare in 2013, this plan never had a chance. But over the course of the August recess in 2013 and the course of September, a lot of my Republican colleagues who knew it was a fool's errand, really, they were getting all this pressure from home to do this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: Boehner vowed to avoid the next possible shutdown, passing a funding bill before a Wednesday deadline that does not meet conservative demands to cut off funding for Planned Parenthood.
Pope Francis confronting sexual abuse in the church. His message to the victims next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Pope Francis is back in Rome now following his historic trip first to Cuba then three U.S. cities in six days. The pope capping his visit here with a huge outdoor mass in Philadelphia on Sunday. Hundreds of thousands of people filled the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to see the people's pope one final time on American soil.
CNN's Miguel Marquez spoke to some of the faithful.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alison, Christine, I think it's an understatement to say that the pope's trip to the United States was successful. The crowd's so big here in Philadelphia, many of tens of thousands perhaps, were unable to even get to the magnotometers to even see him.
These are some of the folks who are leaving.
(CHEERING)
Did you like it? I think it is fair to say this crowd loves Papa Francisco, Pope Francis.
You are from Kentucky. You live in Kentucky but you're from Spain. You saw the pope yesterday. What did you think?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think the pope is elevating the message of Jesus Christ to the 21st Century. He's speaking with words that really get to our hearts and we respond with the message of love.
MARQUEZ: I find it amazing a 78-year-old man can connect with people like that. What is it about this guy?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He has charisma. He has very strong character. And he had a lot of discipline as a Jesuit. So I think at this age he can reveal that.
[05:15:05] MARQUEZ: Has he renewed or strengthened your faith or love for the church?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I think he has. Definitely.
MARQUEZ: Thumbs up, thumbs down on the pope's visit? A giant, giant thumbs up in Philadelphia. I think probably the point that many will remember, especially here in Philadelphia, as so many issues with sexual abuse, not only the abuse itself but the cover up, is when the pope said that God weeps for the children who were sexually abused.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOSIK: All right, Miguel, thanks for that.
And before celebrating his final mass in Philadelphia Sunday, Pope Francis met with victims of clergy sex abuse and then addressed the issue with bishops from around the world. The pope promised that abusers within the church will be held accountable for their actions.
CNN's Delia Gallagher has that part of the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Alison, it was a private meeting that lasted just over 30 minutes. The Vatican says that Pope Francis told survivors of clerical sex abuse that he was profoundly sorry for the crimes that had been committed against them and for the times that they had tried to speak out but were not believed.
The Holy Father hears you, the pope said, and believes you. And deeply regrets that some bishops failed tin their responsibility to protect children. The pope also told the survivors that bishops and clergy would be held accountable. This is an important point for survivor groups, that that bishop who may have known about some of these cases be brought to justice by the Vatican.
The pope immediately following this meeting went and met with his bishops and had some strong words about clergy sex abuse.
POPE FRANCIS (via translator): God weeps for the sexual abuse of children. These cannot be maintained in secret, and I commit to a careful oversight to ensure that youth are protected and that all responsible will be held accountable.
GALLAGHER: This is the second time that Pope Francis has met with survivors of clerical sex abuse since his election in 2013. Christine, Alison.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right, Delia, thank you for that.
Federal safety investigators say the Seattle duck boat involved in a fatal crash on a bridge last week failed to get an axle repair that was recommended in 2013. Officials say it's not clear if the vehicle's owner, Ride the Ducks, was aware of that warning. A fifth student from a charter bus that collided with the duck boat died on Sunday. More than a dozen other people injured in that accident are still hospitalized.
KOSIK: New details emerging about Freddie Gray's arrest and transport in a Baltimore police van. The "Baltimore Sun" reporting at least one officer told investigators Gray asked for medical help, but didn't get it, because they thought he might be faking his injuries. Gray died from a spinal injury sustained in custody. The report says some police statements provide differing accounts of what happened. A judge ordered separate trials for six officers charged in Freddie Gray's death. ROMANS: According to the Transportation Security Administration, a
record number of firearms turned up in recent airport searches. Agetns found 67 guns found in passengers' carry-on luggage during one week, one week in September alone. Officials say 56 were loaded; 26 had a round in the chamber. The new head of the TSA has said his top priority is closing security gaps at airport check points.
KOSIK: Asians will outnumber Hispanics as the biggest immigrant group in the United States within 50 years. That's one of several findings in a new study from Pew Research. It also found that immigration from Mexico and other Latin American countries has slowed down over the last few years. And that right now, 14 percent of the U.S. population was born in another country. That's higher than it has been in more than a century. Pew says there will be no majority group in the U.S. by 2065. Very interesting.
ROMANS: A rare sight in the skies across the world. Check out this time-lapse video of the so-called super blood moon. It was taken in Gilbert, Arizona. You know, the phenomenon takes place when an eclipse and a full moon collide. When that happens, the moon appears slightly bigger and brighter than usual, and had a reddish hue. Something like this won't happen again until 2033. So you slept through it, you're going to have to wait until 2033.
KOSIK: Unfortunately, but awesome to see in these pictures. I just can't get enough of seeing these pictures. I mean, spooky and beautiful all at the same time.
Ben Roethlisberger goes down with an injury Sunday and the Pittsburgh Steelers' playoff hopes may have taken a big hit. Andy Scholes with the details in the Bleacher Report coming up next.
[05:19:36]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KOSIK: A terrifying moment for Pittsburgh Steelers fans as their star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is carted off the field during the team's win over the Rams on Sunday. What?
ROMANS: Andy Scholes has more in this morning's Bleacher Report. Hey Andy.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS: Hey, good morning, guys. Steelers fans holding their breath yesterday when Big Ben went down holding his knee. The injury happened in the third quarter when Roethlisberger was sacked on this play. He immediately grabbed his knee and had to be helped off the field. Luckily for the Steelers, this is not a season ending injury. According to multiple reports, Roethlisberger has a strained MCL and he's going to miss between four to six weeks.
All right, Peyton Manning and the Broncos looking to remain undefeated, taking on the Lions on Sunday Night Football. Second quarter, Manning goes deep for DeMarius Marcus. He goes up, makes the catch, and takes it in for the touchdown. Manning would throw two TDs in the game and Broncos improve to 3-0 beating the winless Lions, 24- 12.
The wife of Miami Dolphins quarterback Brent Grimes was arrested before yesterday's game against the Bills on charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. A video posted to YouTube appears to capture the arrest with Miko Grimes on the ground surrounded by officers, but the video doesn't show what led up to this. The arrest report says traffic control police ordered pedestrians outside the stadium to allow vehicle traffic to pass, but Grimes continued to cross the street anyway. Police say Grimes head-butted an officer while being taken into custody.
All right, Jordan Spieth wrapping up an amazing season on Sunday by winning the tour championship. His sister Ellie, who's his biggest fan, was the first to congratulate him. Spieth won $1.5 million for winning the tournament, and a whopping $10 million for winning the FedEx Cup. That brings his on course earnings this year to more than $22 million, which is the most ever for a golfer in a season.
[05:25:07] All right, finally, Nationals are nearing the end of what's been a very disappointing season and yesterday was probably the low point. After flying out, Bryce Harper and teammate John Papelbon, they exchange words, and then the two are going to go at it in the dugout, having to be separated by their teammates. So, guys, apaprently Papelbon was mad because Harper didn't hustle on the flyout. Harper said after the game about Papelbon, well, he apologized so, whatever, I really don't care. Both of them did say, though, guys, they're kind of like brothers. They are fighting like brothers. But woo, that was intense.
ROMANS: If my sons were fighting like that, there would be hell to pay.
KOSIK: (INAUDIBLE) dugout.
ROMANS: All right, thanks.
KOSIK: All right, a tense meeting between President Obama and Vladimir Putin. Face-to-face for the first time in years, ready to take on new controversy. We are live next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: President Obama set to meet with Russian president Putin in just a few hours, face-to-face for the first time in two years. A tense agenda ahead.
KOSIK: Donald Trump losing his lead in the race for president. A new poll showing Trump now neck and neck with his closest competitor. Dramatic new developments ahead.
Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Alison Kosik.
ROMANS: Nice to see you this morning. I'm Christine Romans. Happy Monday, 29 minutes past the hour.
Let's begin with this. Happening today, President Obama meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the first day of this year's United Nations General Assembly in New York. Sure to be high on the agenda, the surprise announcement that Russia, Iraq, Iran, and Syria have reached a deal to share intelligence aimed at defeating ISIS.
