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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Violent School Arrest Captured on Video; White House & Congress Near Budget Deal; U.S. warship Sails Into Chinese Claimed Territory. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired October 27, 2015 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:15] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Stunning video this morning. A student arrested after being thrown to the ground by a school resource officer. What led up to this violent encounter?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight: a big time budget deal between the White House and Congress. It could prevent a shutdown, but will it divide the Republican Party?

ROMANS: And, U.S. defying China. A Navy ship sailing through the waters in China now claimed by the Chinese, international waters claimed by the Chinese. We are live.

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

BERMAN: Nice to see you. I'm John Berman. It is Tuesday, October 27, 4:00 a.m. in the East.

We do begin with some disturbing new video taken via cell phone inside a high school classroom in South Carolina. It shows a school resource officer body slamming a female student after she apparently refused to get up from her chair and then he dragged her across the room.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

BERMAN: Now, we don't really know what led up to the incident. The officer in the video identified as Richland County sheriffs deputy, Ben Field. He has been placed on administrative leave while authorities investigate. Police are still trying to piece together again exactly what happened in the minutes prior to the incident.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. CURTIS WILSON, RICHLAND COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPT.: The student was asked to leave the class several times by the instructor of the school. The assistant principal was there was well. Then the officer was called on scene to actually have the student removed from that location. The student refused and the officer acted that you see on the video.

Now, again, what we saw was just a tidbit of what that video showed. We will look at what happened and then what happened afterwards. All of that is going to take part in what the sheriff decides. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: We are also learning the officer in question, Ben Field, says -- he's been the subject of two lawsuits in the past decade.

ROMANS: All right. Breaking overnight, a major budget deal to bring peace and calm to Washington. For more than a year, congressional Republicans, Democrats and the White House hammered out an agreement to avert a government shutdown and a default on federal debt.

But the deal is dividing Republicans. Some conservatives are outraged. Many say the retiring Speaker John Boehner gave too much away in negotiations with Democrats, and that the next speaker, presumed to be Paul Ryan, should have been part of the negotiating team.

Many other Republicans believe this is the best they can get.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. CHARLIE DENT (R), PENNSYLVANIA: I can only speak for myself. But the outline that was presented seems like a path forward.

REP. LOUIE GOHMERT (R), TEXAS: We should read the bill before we vote on them. Some of us remember that from 2010. Things like presumptive speaker should be negotiating too, not just the outgoing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Can the conservatives stop the deal when it comes to a vote set for tomorrow?

CNN's Manu Raju has the latest from Capitol Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Guys, the White House and Republican leaders reached a major fiscal deal to avert a possible debt default by next week. This deal would raise the national debt ceiling until March of 2017, essentially taking this fight off the table in the election year, pretty significant deal. In addition to that, it would raise domestic and defense spending by $80 million to apiece the defense hawks who are very worried of the across-the-board cuts known as sequestration would really hurt the Pentagon and national security program.

In addition, there's increased domestic money to appease Democrats who are worried that those same sequestration cuts wouldn't hurt a lot of those favored domestic program.

Now, this deal is being pushed aggressively by John Boehner because he wants to really -- it is what he said -- clean the barn up before his successor, Paul Ryan, assumes the speakership later this week.

The big question is, how will House Republicans in the rank and file respond to this? Right now, there are mixed reviews outside of the House Republican conference meeting Monday night. The question is, how will they deal with it when there's actually a vote on the House floor as early as Wednesday?

We don't know the answer to that yet. But, guys, right now, the betting is House Republicans will pass this bill and it will pass the House. Likely pass the Senate and the president may have a major fiscal deal on John Boehner's final days in office -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: All right, Manu.

What would we do without a fight in Washington?

All right. The presidential race -- Donald Trump will be in Iowa tonight for a rally in Sioux City. He says he has some work to do in Iowa, indeed. A new poll, yet another new poll, finds Trump a distant second behind Ben Carson among Iowa Republicans.

[04:05:02] CNN's Sara Murray has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

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

Three is a trend and it is a bad one for Donald Trump. The third poll showing Ben Carson has knocked him from the lead in Iowa. This latest polling comes from Monmouth University. It shows Ben Carson with 32 percent support. A 14-point lead over Donald Trump who's drawing 18 percent.

Now, the other candidate we should mention is Marco Rubio. He is surging a bit in this poll, up to 10 percent.

The candidate still struggling though is Jeb Bush. He is at 8 percent among likely Republican caucus-goers in Iowa. He spent yesterday rallying his donors at a retreat in Texas. He got a bit of help from his family members there, and that only drew the mockery of Donald Trump.

TRUMP: So he's meeting now with mom and dad. No, it's true. He needs counsel.

MURRAY: Now, with all of the dynamics shifting in the race, it's clear Jeb Bush is on the attack. Donald Trump is on the attack and now, Ben Carson in the lead in the first nominating state. At the very least, it sets up for a potentially fiery Republican debate on Wednesday.

Back to you, John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right, Sara. Thanks for that. New details this morning from inside the Bush campaign's family

extravaganza. A long planned event for donors and supporters in Houston. And the first time in the campaign where Jeb Bush appeared on stage with his brother, the former president. Also there, Barbara Bush and former President George H.W. Bush.

George W. Bush describes his brother as a fierce competitor who with ties to the Hispanic community. His wife was born in Mexico. It will be crucial.

A PowerPoint demonstration focused on rival candidates with special attention to Marco Rubio, who is painted as an inexperienced and unprepared for the White House. There were comparisons to President Obama.

BERMAN: Not in a flattering way. Not meant in a flattering way.

ROMANS: Not meant in flattering way. Today, Jeb Bush arrives in Colorado, ahead of tomorrow's Republican debates in Boulder. Oh, yes, there's a debate this week.

BERMAN: There's a debate tomorrow night. Another late night.

All right. In a new interview, Bernie Sanders passed on taking shots at Hillary Clinton. During a speech in Iowa Saturday, Sanders portrayed Clinton as a flip-flopper. But given the same or worse on "The View," he changed the subject.

Last night, he told Rachel Maddow that he only wants to drive distinctions between their records. He says the former secretary of state has been rewriting history when speaking about her then-support for the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: All that I criticized secretary Clinton on was saying something that wasn't accurate. I mean, you can argue that, you know, somebody made -- hey, look, I don't agree with DOMA politically or have to do it. You can make that argument. But you can't say that DOMA was passed in order to prevent something worse. That is just not the case. That's the only point that I want to make.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Clinton and Sanders are both in New York this morning. Sanders will be on "Today Show". Hillary Clinton will make her first appearance on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."

ROMANS: All right. Breaking overnight, a U.S. warship passes within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island build by China in the South China Sea. These islands built by China basically out of nothing, essentially are unsinkable aircraft carriers right there in international waters. The move in effect to challenge to these Chinese territorial claims and the Chinese very unhappy about it.

I want to bring in CNN's Will Ripley live at the U.S. naval base there in Yokosuka, Japan.

And, Will, so many people have been watching this. So many maritime experts are watching this very carefully. The Chinese basically taking these small islands and building them into a military compound, an unsinkable -- unsinkable aircraft carrier almost. The U.S. sending a destroyer nearby to show that no, these are international waters.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the United States, Christine, sending the message through these -- what they call freedom of navigation patrols that they will continue to abide by international law and not respect China's claims to this area.

The Spratly Island in the South China Sea, this is 600 miles from the shores of mainland China, and there's a lot of concern that China has assertively or aggressively, depending on your perspective, tried to push and push the boundaries of its country, setting up a military presence. In effect, the concern that it is trying to change the geopolitical structure of the Asia Pacific region.

China, of course, claims that this has been their territory all along. They said the United States actions were illegal.

Listen to what John Kirby at the State Department says in response to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: This is a military matter. But more broadly, you don't need to consult with any nation when you are exercising the right of freedom of navigation in international waters. The whole point of freedom of navigation in international waters is that it's international waters and you don't need to consult with anybody to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:10:02] RIPLEY: Where I am, Yokosuka Naval Base, very important strategically for the U.S. Navy because warships are deployed from here, not only to the South China Sea, but also to the East China Sea, where China is locked into a territorial dispute with Japan over those disputed, uninhabited island, the Senkaku and Diaoyu Islands.

But the South China Sea is perhaps even more important, Christine, because not only militarily could China set up control of this area, but there are trillions of dollars of international trade that are moving through. The South China Sea really is the economic lifeline to Japan, which continues to be the United States number one ally here in Asia, although President Xi had a fairly successful visit to Washington this fall.

Abe was there -- Prime Minister Abe was there this spring. You can bet they talk extensively about this issue.

ROMANS: Oh, yes, I bet you can, Will. Clearly, a very important relationship between the United States and China with tensions around those islands. No question. Thanks for that, Will. BERMAN: All right. New word on a big presidential trip next month. The president will visit Turkey, the Philippines and Malaysia. It is a nine-day trip. President Obama will attend a series of summits in each country. The president's main goal to expand opportunities for U.S. businesses.

The White House says the president will also push for a climate change agreement ahead of the trip to Paris in December. Big climate summit there.

ROMANS: Yes. Eleven minutes past the hour. Time for an early start on your money this morning. Asian and European shares are mostly lower because of more signs of weakness in China and falling oil prices. U.S. stock futures are down. The Federal Reserve kicks off its two day meeting today. It's widely expected the Fed will keep interest rates near zero, leaving December as a last chance to raise interest rates this year as promised.

Walmart wants in on the drone race. The retail giant is asking federal regulators for permission to test drones like its competitor Amazon. Walmart says it has been testing them indoors for several months. It's initial focus will be shipping merchandise between distribution centers before tackling home delivery.

Getting a package via drone won't happen anytime soon, but a new kind of, I don't know, space race. It is over the streets.

BERMAN: These are unarmed drones. Walmart and Amazon, as far as we know, unarmed drones.

All right. Did the driver accused of killing four people when she plowed through a parade, did she mean to do it? New accusations and her family's defense, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:15:24] BERMAN: This morning, a woman charged in the fatal charge of the Oklahoma State University homecoming parade, Adacia Chambers, is being held on $1 million bail. Chambers made his first court appearance. Prosecutors allege that the 25-year-old intentionally drove her car into the crowd killing four people and injuring nearly 50 others.

Court documents reveal Chambers told investigators she had attempted suicide several times and was feeling suicidal at the time of the incident. Her attorney said she gave no indication, though, that anything was wrong.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY COLEMAN, ATTORNEY FOR ADACIA CHAMBERS: We know for a fact that she did leave work, but we don't know why. We don't know if she was sent home by her employer or we don't know if she left on her own. But she did, in fact, leave.

But I believe the statement from her employer, when she left, she seemed absolutely fine. They had no concerns about her at all. They certainly didn't think that she was on her way to do what ultimately happened.

FLOYD CHAMBERS, FATHER OF ADACIA CHAMBERS: I just want people to know that Adacia is a kind, loving, caring person, and she would not have done this purposely. I just don't believe that in my heart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Chambers father also apologized to the victims. A judge has ordered a psychiatric evaluation.

ROMANS: FBI Director James Comey says police across the country have become gun shy because of the so-called "Ferguson Effect". Speaking on a conference on race and law enforcement, Comey says officers have told them they have reluctantly to aggressively enforce the law for fear of being caught on the next video alleging police brutality.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES COMEY, FBI DIRECTOR: I spoke to officers in one big city who describe being surrounded by young people with mobile phones held high taunting them when they get out of their cars. They said to me, we feel under siege and we don't feel much like getting out of our cars.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Comey believes that reluctance on the part of police on the street has contributed to an increase in homicide in many cities.

BERMAN: It's interesting. The White House, though, says they don't see any evidence of this. So, the FBI director and the administration, he works for perhaps at odds on this key issue.

The Baltimore police department is testing body cameras on its officers. On Monday, more than 150 uniformed officers and detectives were outfitted with the cameras. The department is considering whether to make the body cameras standard equipment now. This comes six months after Freddie Gray's death in police custody. Six officers being tried separately in the case.

ROMANS: All right. The meat industry is disputing that report by the World Health Organization panel that report, that declared processed meats like ham, bacon, hotdogs and baloney increased the risk of colorectal cancer. The report puts processed meats in the same carcinogen category of asbestos and other things, although the risk levels are very different.

BERMAN: Way different.

ROMANS: Much lower.

It also expressed concern, the industry -- the WHO about consuming red meat but says the links to cancer has not been proven. A lot of attention to that WHO report yesterday, and the bottom line here is eating more than 50 grams of processed meat a risk a day raises your risk not only colorectal cancer but other kinds of cancers as well. But the WHO finding that unprocessed red meat, a stake for example, does have nutritional benefits.

BERMAN: So does bacon. So does hotdog they say too.

Look, the issue is this -- it raises the possibility of getting cancer by 18 percent if you consume it in a day. That sounds like a lot. But cigarette smoking raises it 800 percent. An epidemiologist told me yesterday normally, they have to have a 50 percent increase to have it register and they make a warning. The WHO is reaching here more than.

But the bottom line is this, watch what you eat. It makes perfect sense.

All right. CNN will take you inside Syria on the frontlines against ISIS. We're live after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry set to brief the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today in a closed session on Syria. Later this week, he is expected to convene talks on post-Assad Syria with roughly a dozen Arab and European countries.

Joining us now after touring the frontlines of the battle against ISIS in Syria, CNN's senior international correspondent Clarissa Ward.

Very nice to see you this morning. What did you see out there?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine, good morning.

Well, just weeks ago, the U.S. airdropped 15 tons of ammunition to a new coalition of Arab and Kurdish fighters on the ground in northern Syria. And we spent some time on the front lines with the largest group in that coalition. The Kurdish fighters known as the YPG.

Now, these men really are at the core of the U.S.'s latest strategy to try to defeat ISIS, because backed by U.S. and to coalition air support, they have enjoyed some major victories on the battlefields against ISIS. And what the U.S. is hoping now is that the YPG can take the battle even further, can take the fight to the frontlines, to ISIS strongholds in cities such as Raqqa.

But when we spent time on the frontlines all around northern Syria, we found that the YPG fighters are exhausted. After months of fighting, they are very lightly armed, poor equipped. Most of them carrying old AK-47s. Some of them fighting in sandals. And even YPG commanders acknowledged that without heavier weapons, without armor piercing weapons, taking on offensive like Raqqa would be very difficult.

So, the question now is, can the YPG replicate successes in the Kurdish part of the country in the Arab/ISIS stronghold like Raqqa for example?

And, Christine, I would say, there is a big question mark hanging over that.

ROMANS: Remarkable to see those pictures of those fighters in sandals and socks. The U.S. has been wary, quite wary about supporting the YPG. Why is that?

WARD: Indeed. The U.S. is very circumspect about the support for the YPG. That is for one major reason.

[04:25:01] Just across the border from the YPG, its Turkish counterpart, the PKK is. And the PKK is considered to be a terrorist group and Turkey regards the PKK as its primary domestic threat.

So, the U.S. walking a fine line trying to balance diplomatic considerations with Turkey and new strategy for fighting is on the ground in Syria.

ROMANS: Fantastic. Thanks so much, Clarissa Ward, for us this morning in Iraq. Thank you.

BERMAN: The death toll in the South Asia earthquake is climbing this morning. More than 300 people were killed in a magnitude 7.5 quake. The epicenter was in remote northern Afghanistan, but strong tremors reached Pakistan where it killed more than 200 people. Damage is widespread across the region, and in landslides in remote areas. This makes it a big challenge in the rescue efforts and getting aid to the victims who so badly need it.

ROMANS: All right. Stunning video of a student's arrest. A teenager thrown to the ground by a student resource officer. We'll tell you what led up to the violent encounter, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Stunning new video. A school resource officer body slams a female student, drags her across the classroom. What caused this and what are the implications?

ROMANS: Breaking overnight. The White House nears a budget deal with Congress. A deal that would prevent a government shutdown, but could divide the Republican Party.

BERMAN: Breaking news: This morning, China warns the U.S. after a Navy warship sails through waters claimed by the Chinese. The U.S. says, uh-uh, international waters. But a dispute nonetheless.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.