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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Source: Biden to Decide Within 3 Days; U.S. Troops Hacked by ISIS; Cars Buried in California Mudslide; Mets' Magical Run Continues. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired October 16, 2015 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:03] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: She also said, you know, she gets up in the morning, a friend told her to get up in the morning and write down three things she did well every day. And she said --

ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: You don't go to sleep with that stress.

ROMANS: Right. You don't go to sleep thinking what did I not do right today? You go to sleep thinking about the things you did well today. That's something interesting I think.

KOSIK: One other thing she said at this conference in Houston. She said, you know what, boys aren't called bossy because they are expected to lead. Why is it that girls are called bossy? They shouldn't be afraid to speak up.

All right. EARLY START continues right now.

(MUSIC)

ROMANS: The race for president could be flipped upside down by Sunday. Joe Biden said to be days from deciding whether to run for president. What sources are telling CNN about it, ahead.

KOSIK: U.S. troops targeted and hacked. Personal information of over 1,000 service members in the hands of ISIS. We are live with what happened, next.

ROMANS: Breaking overnight. Drivers trapped. Cars buried in a California mudslide. Remarkable pictures this morning.

KOSIK: They really are.

ROMANS: Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

KOSIK: And I'm Alison Kosik. It's Friday, October 16th. It's 5:00 a.m. in the East.

And this morning, we may be just days away from learning whether Joe Biden will join the race for president. A senior Democratic official tells CNN the world from Biden's inner circle is he will likely decide by Sunday. One top Democrat who has spoken to Biden this week says, quote, "his family is totally on board with a run and that he wants to do this".

But in the wake of the CNN Democratic debate and solid performances from Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, many are asking if there is room for Biden in the race.

The vice president himself not giving anything up on Thursday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Have you made your decision yet?

JOSEPH BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I can't hear you.

REPORTER: Have you made your decision yet? Is there still an opening for you in the race, sir?

BIDEN: I'm here to greet President Park. We'll talk to you all about that later.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: I'm going to use that I can't hear you excuse when someone asks me a question.

To gauge whether there is an opening, sources tell CNN that Biden has been personally been making calls to Democratic strategists in early primary states, asking pointed questions about how, but not whether to launch a 2016 bid. A senior Democratic official says those close to Biden are still giving no indication what his decision is going to be. But the official says there is growing impatience among some party leaders over the drawn out uncertainty.

ROMANS: Hillary Clinton campaigning in two New Hampshire cities today. She was in Texas Thursday courting Hispanic vote, a big rally in San Antonio. She spoke about immigration. She pledged to fight for Latinos.

And she picked up endorsement of that guy, Julian Castro, former mayor of San Antonio, now the secretary of housing and urban development. She returned the favor, revealing in a Q&A what many had already expected, that Castro is on her short list for running mate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIAN CASTRO, HUD SECRETARY: We're calling the 38 electoral votes of the state of Texas for the Democratic nominee and next president of the United States, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I think really highly of him. I am thrilled to have his endorsement today. Both he and his brother, the congressman, are just among the best young leaders in America, regardless of category or the fact that they come from San Antonio.

So, I am going to really look hard at him for anything because that's how good he is. And he deserves the accolades he's receiving.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: New campaign fundraising totals are out this morning. And they show Bernie Sanders is gaining ground on Hillary Clinton. The new figures from Federal Election Commission show Clinton raised $28.8 million in the third quarter of the year, Sanders was closed on her heels at $26.2 million. Worth noting here, Sanders has far more individual donors than Clinton. About 650,000 people have given to Sanders so far versus 400,000 for Secretary Clinton.

ROMANS: All right. Let's talk about the GOP money raise.

The FEC numbers also show both top Democrats outpacing all the Republicans in the money race. The top fund-raiser for the third quarter on the GOP side, Ben Carson, just under $21 million. Number two but well behind Carson, Jeb Bush, followed by Ted Cruz and Carly Fiorina. Bush's campaign haul, it wasn't the biggest, but it was enough to calm jitters among Bush supporters.

CNN's Sara Murray has more from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Good morning, Christine and Alison.

Well, Jeb Bush may have calmed some of the nerves of his donors yesterday. The campaign put out his third quarter fundraising information. And it was better I think than people expected. He raised about $13.4 million. That definitely puts Bush in the top tier of fundraising. He is still trailing Ben Carson who raised $20 million and Ted Cruz is nipping right at his heels, but it does put him right near the top of the pack.

Now, we also got fundraising number yesterday for Donald Trump.

[05:05:02] You remember he is mostly self financing his campaign. His staffers say he spent about $2 million on the effort so far. And even though he does not go around soliciting donations, he still raised nearly $3.9 million.

Trump managing to make some other waves yesterday, threatening to pull out of the CNBC debate, the upcoming GOP debate, if CNBC doesn't need a list of his demands.

Those include agreeing to limit the debate to two hours and allowing candidates opening and closing statements.

Now, we have seen Trump say things like this about debates in the past. But this time, he is not alone. Ben Carson is also threatening to pull out of the debate if CNBC isn't willing to tweak the rules. So, that something we'll be keeping an eye on in the coming days.

Back to you, Christine and Alison.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOSIK: Sara, we will look for you to follow that.

Hacker based in Malaysia arrested and charged with stealing the personal information of U.S. service members and giving it to ISIS. Ardit Ferizi, a citizen of Kosovo, is being detained by the Malaysian government on a provisional U.S. arrest warrant. He allegedly stole the personal data of more than 1,000 U.S. service members and federal employees.

CNN's Matt Rivers tracking the latest developments from Hong Kong on this.

What kind of safety risk are these people open to at this point?

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's quite a big safety risks for some of these U.S. military members and federal employees affected by this hack here. The suspect as we mentioned, a 20-year- old Kosovo native.

We are told by authorities that he is one of the leaders of the hackers group Kosovo Hackers Security. He was living in Malaysia at the time of the hack when he was able to access the personal information. As you mentioned, over 1,000 U.S. military members and federal employees by hacking into the computer system of a company in the U.S. He then shared that personal information with a relatively high profile member of ISIS over the course of two months in the summer of this year.

Now, the suspect in this case is facing extradition to the United States for these terrorism charges. He was arrested in Kuala Lumpur on September 15th.

As for this ISIS member, his name is Junaid Hussain. He was killed by a U.S. airstrike in Syria in August, but not before he was able to post the personal information of over 1,300 U.S. military members and federal employees in what he described as an online hit list.

Now, whether that posting is directly related to the posting described in this criminal complaint, U.S. officials have not said, although the timing does seem to match up.

KOSIK: All right. Matt Rivers, thanks so much for that.

ROMANS: Huma Abedin, a top aide to Hillary Clinton, set to be interviewed behind closed doors by the House Benghazi committee. The appearance is six days before her boss testifies publicly. Abedin is the only aide to have an e-mail account on the secretary of state's personal network. She is expected to deal with a grilling of the 2012 attack and her use of a private server while heading up the State Department

KOSIK: The administration scaling back the Obamacare forecast. Officials now expect 10 million Americans to be covered by insurance through the Affordable Care Act in 2016. That's actually an anemic increase from the 9.1 million people using the exchange now. The congressional office expected 21 million people to use the exchange by 2016. The White House is rejecting critic's claims that Americans signing up for the program has plateaued.

The nation's budget deficit falling to the lowest level since President Obama took office. It stands at $439 billion, a $44 billion decline from last year. According to the Treasury Department, that represents the fastest sustained deficit reduction since after World War II. The Office of Management and Budget credits increase of tax receipts, thanks to a recovering economy.

ROMANS: All right. Time for an early start on your money this Friday morning. Asian stocks close higher. European stocks are following their lead. You cane see Dow futures barely moving here, great day on Wall Street yesterday. Those are the numbers.

The Dow up 217 points, more than 1 percent. The S&P and the NASDAQ higher.

A mixed earning report from Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, the market mayhem in the quarter hurt Goldman trading. But Citigroup earnings beat expectations. First time jobless claims fell to a pre- recession low. That signals the job market is improving.

And look at this. Inflation fell 0.2 percent. That makes the interest rate hike this year by the Federal Reserve less likely.

Kia recalling hundreds of thousands of Sorentos. The car company recalling 2011 through 2013 Sorentos. A faulty brake shift interlock mechanism. The transmission can shift out of park when the drivers put isn't on a break, and the car can roll away. Kia says it will replace the part for free.

[05:10:00] All right. Ten minutes past the hour. Breaking news overnight, drivers stranded in a southern California mudslide as a raging Texas wildfire burns homes to the ground. We've got new developments on both of these dramatic stories, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Storms in southern California triggering flash flooding and mudslides. Look at these pictures from the air. They're incredible, showing cars and trucks stranded in mud on a stretch. This is Interstate 5, one of California's freeways. Sudden and severe thunderstorms sent water and mud simply rushing down mountains into canyons and across roadways in Los Angeles County.

Remarkably, Alison, there were no reports of injuries.

KOSIK: That's good news.

Now, in Texas, the trouble is fire. A major wildfire burning in drought-ridden central Texas, and it doesn't look like there is any relief in sight. It's already burned six square miles, wiped out dozens of homes and now threatening hundreds of others. The fire is about 25 percent contained.

Texas governor has ordered up additional resources to fight it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R), TEXAS: They have been stepping up, working around the clock to try to contain this fire. They have been dealing with challenges and shifting winds that have caused it to go in different directions. And they have a singular goal, and that is to try to eliminate this fire as quickly as possible to reduce the extent of damages.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: It's still not known exactly what has caused the fire.

ROMANS: The rain that fell in California is now heading east. Will it get to Texas?

Let's turn now to meteorologist Karen Maginnis for that.

KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It would be nice if a lot of that moisture would just spread across the state. But this was such an isolated area.

And we look across Texas as well, east Texas in extreme to exceptional drought as well. It doesn't look like anything looming on the horizon. Still can expect a few isolated areas where the rainfall would be heavy, associated with the cutoff flow in southern California. So, no widespread rainfall there.

[05:15:00] Most of it is going to be right along that California/Nevada border. If you are traveling towards the Hill Country region of Austin and San Antonio, that Bastrop Fire, well, maybe some cloud cover, but just about zero percent chances for precipitation.

But temperatures are going to ease up a little bit. So, that will be the good news. Temperatures go from the 90s into the upper 80s for the weekend. And a huge cool-down from the Great Lakes to the Eastern Seaboard., the northeast of New England. It's going to feel a whole lot more like fall.

Alison and Christine, back to you, guys.

ROMANS: Thank you, Karen.

Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert plans to plead guilt guilty to charges of lying to federal investigators. His attorneys say Hastert will enter the plea at the end of the month. Sources with knowledge of the investigation tell CNN Hastert paid hush money to a former student he allegedly abused when he was a high school wrestling coach in Illinois.

KOSIK: A coalition of community groups led by former NAACP president Ben Jealous set to unveil a plan today for police reform in Baltimore. The six-point plan calls for firing corrupt officers, lifting gag orders in cases of police misconduct. Jealous also wants the city to outfit all officers with body cameras, making the video available to the public and train police in de-escalation techniques. This comes as Baltimore's city council set to vote in giving interim police commissioner Kevin Davis the job permanently.

ROMANS: New details emerging about a possible motive in the death of a teenager allegedly beaten by his parents and other members of a secret church in Upstate New York. Now, prosecutors say Lucas Leonard may have tried to leave the World of Life Church. They say the beatings may have lasted more than 10 hours. Lucas' parents have pleaded not guilty to manslaughter charges. Four other church members are accused of assaulting his 17-year-old brother.

KOSIK: Yet, another woman filed a legal complaint against embattled comedian Bill Cosby. Renita Hill's lawsuit alleges sexual assault and emotional distress. Hill claimed she met Cosby in Pittsburgh in 1988 while auditioning for a television show. Her suit claims he sexually assaulted her after giving her a drink that knocked her unconscious.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RENITA HILL, COSBY ACCUSER: It's one more step towards seeking justice for what happened to me and holding Bill Cosby accountable for the false allegations that he's made against me. I am hopeful, with the help of my legal team, justice will be served.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: Meanwhile, two more schools, Tufts University in Massachusetts and Goucher College in Maryland, they revoked the honorary degrees they awarded to the comedian.

ROMANS: Former NBA and reality TV star Lamar Odom remaining unresponsive in a Las Angeles hospital three days after he was found unconscious at a Nevada brothel. Workers there say he'd been using cocaine and taking sexual enhancement supplements. Odom has been surrounded by family, including the Kardashians, in the hospital. He's fighting for his life.

We get more from CNN's Paul Vercammen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine, Alison, the Odom- Kardashian family circling the wagons, not wanting very much information to come out of the hospital. Khloe Kardashian going so far as to say that she did not want Dennis Hof, the owner of the brothel, to speak anymore about Odom's visit there.

Hof didn't listen. He told HLN's Nancy Grace that Odom spent $75,000 at the brothel.

DENNIS HOF: He spent $75,000, and that was his number. What he wanted is two girls 24 hours a day to take care of any of his needs from food, anything in the bedroom. I'll be here a minimum of four days, maximum of five days. I'll give you $75,000. The girls agreed to it. He put it on a credit card.

VERCAMMEN: Florence Odom, Odom's grandmother, said he is a beautiful person and anybody who would meet him would say the same thing. She also said that show and spotlight might have gotten to him.

At last word, Lamar Odom still on a ventilator and still not speaking at this hospital.

Back to you now, Christine and Alison.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Paul Vercammen, thanks for that. Such a sad story. Dwyane Wade saying, you know, he is one of the good guys. He's a really a good human being and just really -- all of his friends are mourning and praying for their friend right now.

KOSIK: He's really had a tough time in his life.

ROMANS: Sure has.

KOSIK: All right. Switching gears here. Bring on the cubs. The New York Mets eliminating the L.A. Dodgers with a huge assist from second baseman Daniel Murphy who picked the best time to be at this best.

ROMANS: Andy Scholes has the details in this morning's bleacher report, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:23:09] ROMANS: All right. Mets fans are waking up happy this morning. For the first time since 2006, they are heading to the championship series. But don't get too comfortable, Met fans!

KOSIK: Andy Scholes, he's got more in this morning's bleacher report.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, guys.

Yes, Mets fans probably did not get much sleep. Dodgers fans on the other hand not sleeping for a completely different reason. They have gone nine post-season appearances without a trip to the World Series. That ties the all time record.

Now, game five with the two teams was close. Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy won the game single-handedly. Top of the fourth, Murphy on first. And on the walk, Murphy is going to race all the way to third because no one was covering the bag. He would score the tying run on the sacrifice fly.

Then, two innings later, Murphy with a solo shot. That gave the Mets the lead. They would hold on to win this one by a final of 3-2.

It's going to be Mets and Cubs in the NLCS. The American League Championship Series starts tonight. First pitch at 8:07.

Former New Orleans Saints Steve Gleason taking in Thursday night football and he was surely to see this. First quarter, Saints blocking the punt for a touchdown. Similar to Gleason's blocked punt following Katrina in 2006. The Saints would hand the Falcons their first loss of the season in this one, 31-21 was the final.

All right. Another setback for the daily fantasy sports web sites Fan Duel and Draft Kings. Regulators in Nevada ruling both are offering clients gambling services, not just games of skill. They have been ordered to cease operations in the state until they apply for and receive Nevada gambling licenses. Both companies strongly disagreeing with the decision and promising to explore all options.

[05:25:02] All right. You've got to stop what you are doing, because this is the catch of the year. Stanford running a little trick play last night against UCLA. And you guys this check it out. Francis Owusu is going to reach around the defender to catch the ball. He holds on with a bear hug.

Look at this. The two go to the ground. Amazing grip by Owusu. Unbelievable. Just unbelievable.

Stanford wins the game, 56-35. Guys, can you imagine what the defender is thinking right here? Why are you hugging me? And he comes to find out that Owusu caught the ball. Incredible.

KOSIK: Such a creative way, don't you think?

ROMANS: Oh, man. That guy must have really long arms.

SCHOLES: I love everybody's faces. He really caught that. Unreal.

ROMANS: That's cool. That is really cool. All right, Andy Scholes. Thanks, Andy.

Joe Biden could blow up the race for president by the end of the weekend. New information, we've got new information on whether he will take on Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: Will Biden run? Explosive new information on how soon the vice president could become a presidential candidate and how his family feels about it.

ROMANS: U.S. troops hacked by ISIS. Their personal information now in the hands of terrorists. How could this happen? We talk about a new arrest in the case.

KOSIK: Breaking overnight. California drivers stranded in streets of mud as dangerous flash floods pour in.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Alison Kosik.

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

Let's start with this. We may be just days away from learning whether Biden will join the race for president. A senior Democratic official tells CNN the word from Biden's inner circle is that he will likely decide by Sunday.