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American Executive Reportedly Arrested In Tehran; New Dynamic For Republican Race; Bush Campaign In Trouble?; Stock Futures Higher; Plane Catches Fire On Fort Lauderdale Runway. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired October 30, 2015 - 05:30   ET

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

[05:30:03] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Namazi is the head of strategic planning for a company called, Crescent Petroleum. He was visiting his family in Tehran two weeks ago when he was arrested by Iranian Security Forces.

The announcement of Namazi's arrest complicating the Syrian peace talks underway in Austria, but the Iranians have been invited to the table for the very first time.

I want to go live to Vienna and bring in CNN senior international correspondent, Frederik Pleitgen. Fred, what can you tell us about the arrest of this man and what it means of whether it will get any air time at all at this meeting today?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine, it has gotten some air time here at the meeting. Not the one that takes place today so far, of course, but the one that took place yesterday. There was a one-on-one meeting between Secretary of State Kerry and the Iranian Foreign Minister, Javad Zarif.

We are not exactly sure as to how much of the details of this particular case were discussed. However, the State Department has said that they did raise the issue of Americans being detained in Iran. And of course, we are now at four Americans who remain in Iranian detention.

Mr. Namazi is one of them, is the most recent one, but also you have Jason Rezaianm, "The Washington Post" reporter, who has been in detention for more than 450 days and apparently convicted of espionage charges.

There is very little that we know about Namazi's case. There is very little that we know about how he was detained. We know that it happened about two weeks ago. We hear that his passport was apparently taken away from him.

Before that happened, we have to keep in mind and we have seen this from the Jason Rezaian case, Christine, that the authorities are not very transparent as to what exactly the charges are and how long he may remain in detention or if he has a lawyer.

Those are things that we simply don't know anything about. You are absolutely right. It is certainly something that to a certain extent does complicate the relations between Secretary of State Kerry and the Iranian Foreign Minister.

Of course, we know that the two have a very good working relationship and in many ways, they were the main architects of the nuclear agreement between Iran and those western powers, first and foremost, the U.S., but of course, now dealing with Syria, which is such a difficult issue, which involves so many more parties.

It certainly isn't necessarily something that will help. We know that at this point the parties are together and the main meeting has started right here in the hotel behind me.

ROMANS: That is news in and of itself. All of those parties at the table trying to figure out how to get off of this hellish road in Syria. Thanks for that, Fred Pleitgen.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: Breaking news, the U.S. Senate passing a two-year budget. This happened while you were sleeping. Lawmakers convened at midnight with the first order of business breaking a filibuster led by Senator Rand Paul.

The measure raises the debt limit and increases domestic and defense spending ensuring there is going to be no government default. The bill goes to President Obama next and he is expected to sign it.

ROMANS: All right, with debate number three in the books, the race for the Republican nomination entering a new and unpredictable phase. It is no longer about stopping Donald Trump with Ben Carson catching and surpassing him in the latest national polls.

With his performance in Wednesday night's debate, Marco Rubio may be emerging as the frontrunner among the mainstream candidates. As for Jeb Bush, he is in trouble. His performance Wednesday night and even the Florida governor, reassuring donors his campaign can make it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You told donors today on conference call that you will get better at this. What well you do to get better at this?

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Look, we have eight more debates. I have to do what the candidates do which is rudely interrupt and not answer the questions asked and hopefully the moderators will ask substantive questions as well. It's going fine.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you having fun?

BUSH: Yes, you saw it, having lots of fun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Marco Rubio, who was criticized by Bush for missing Senate votes, he hits the campaign trail in Iowa later today. He had to stay in Washington long enough to vote this morning on that budget deal. They rang the gavel at midnight for that. That forced him to miss a scheduled lunch appearance in Council Bluffs. KOSIK: All right, here to break it all down for us is Tal Kopan, CNN Digital Politics political reporter. Let's start with Jeb Bush. He admits he did not do well at this debate, but he is still kind of rallying behind and saying, you know what? I'm remaining positive. I have support. Let's go to something he said on the campaign trail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: It's not on life support. We have the most money. We have the greatest organization. They are not walking away. There are eight more debates. There's ample time to do what candidates do. End is not near.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: OK, so the next GOP debate is two weeks away. It really is when you look at the grand scheme of things. You know, it is still early in the political season. Does he have time to really catch up?

TAL KOPAN, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Of course, he has time to catch up. One of the rules of politics is anything can happen. We are still very far from the first primary.

[05:35:09] Remember, the way that this election is set up, if you have a big win early, everything can change, I mean, the polls don't really matter in that sense.

If you win Iowa, if you win New Hampshire, if you can come out of one of those early states strong, all of a sudden, everything changes.

At the same time, at this point in the game, the campaign is all about messaging. Right now, the only time we are seeing Jeb Bush on TV is when he is answering questions about whether his campaign is on life support. That is really not what Jeb Bush wants to be doing right now. That's exactly the opposite.

ROMANS: Tal, his donors are saying, you know, these are seasoned veterans who know that there are cycles and know that this early in the game and you look at who wins Iowa, for example, which is months away, by the way, who wins Iowa. Not to be the person who gets the nomination in the end. These are people who know that this is a long road.

KOPAN: Absolutely. For what we are hearing right now, his donors are not bolting for the door. One of the really interesting dynamics in all this, Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush go back a long way. They are both Florida politicians, but they are really competing for a similar donor base and a similar voter.

That's why this is really starting to heat up because the problem is Jeb Bush has really created a sense of closing out a lot of the other establishment candidates. He has gotten the support of the donors.

The problem is if some of these upstarts start to look like they could eclipse him, the donors could move over. That is the problem with these campaigns is that they don't want to give the impression they are no longer the best bet.

Once that narrative starts to shift, once donors start feel like their money might be better off elsewhere, that's when you are really in trouble. He is not there yet. He has to right the ship before something like that might happen.

KOSIK: You know, one of the common threads that everybody saw at the debate was the big complaint about the media. The media, the media controlling the message and the candidates were not happy about how this debate was handled.

It looks like there could be a big meeting on Sunday about trying to change the debate rules. This being spearheaded by Ben Carson, but the NRC not invited. But let's hear what Carson said about the debate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES: The debates are supposed to be established to help the people get to know the candidates and get to know what's behind them and what they're thinking process is and philosophy is. What it's turned into is a gotcha. That's silly. That is not helpful for anybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: Do you think it is right for these candidates to make demands on how the debate should be handled? Is it possible to control how these debates work?

KOPAN: It is a "can't lose" line for the candidates, right? I mean, the conservative base really responds to these critiques of the media. They really believe that there is a bias out there and that the candidates are calling it out. That does well with their base.

It is also a system of what's called playing the refs. If you go out and say the moderators are unfair and that is a narrative leading up for two weeks to a debate, it puts a lot of pressure on the moderators to appear fair and they may not go after some of the harder questions.

This is a dynamic that's been playing out already in the three debates we have seen and the pressure is only going to ramp up. For the candidates, even if it doesn't work or if it only works a little, it is really a win-win strategy. It puts the demand on the media.

ROMANS: Let's talk a little bit about the Democrats quickly. I mean, you had this meeting yesterday with Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden. What do you think of that?

KOPAN: It is quite interesting. Of course, the line from the Vice President's office is that he is happy to meet with any Democratic candidate in the race. If you remember his speech about getting out, kind of sounded like a speech about getting in.

I mean, it was very clear that he wants to play a role in this primary that the issues that matter to the Democratic base are issues that matter very strongly to him. The issues he talked about with Sanders by all accounts are campaign finance reform and helping students.

Those are issues core to Bernie Sanders campaign and Democratic voters. So it is not clear whether this is any sort of sign of endorsement. I think what it more shows that Biden is very serious about continuing to play a role in this primary. He could have a powerful voice that candidates would love in their corner if they can get it.

KOSIK: If I could have been a fly on the wall in that meeting.

ROMANS: I know. All right, thank you for that, Tal Kopan. Have a great weekend. You know, a year to go, a year and a couple weeks to go until the election.

KOSIK: Everything could completely change.

ROMANS: We will talk to Tal about 100 times.

All right, time for an EARLY START in your money this morning. Asian stocks ended the day mostly lower. European stocks and U.S. stock futures are higher right now, slight pull back yesterday of U.S. stocks.

GOPro, wow, it had a terrible day, shares fell 15 percent, its worst day ever. This time last year, GOPro stocks were soaring.

[05:40:07] Sales were exploding, harsh reality for GOPro. The market for extreme sports enthusiasts who have money for cool devices just may not be very big. Sales are tumbling and GOPro warned they will actually contract during the holiday season.

Record levels of cash flocking to the U.S. It is called foreign direct investment. It hit $200 billion in the first half of the year. Global investors are optimistic about the economy as the global economy weakens.

But in a twist, rising FDI is also because of U.S.-based companies are selling themselves to foreign companies to move their headquarters overseas to escape high corporate taxes. Some people say that is bad corporate citizenship. That is why foreign direct investment is increasing.

KOSIK: Passengers injured when the plane catches fire. What we are learning this morning coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Federal investigators heading to Fort Lauderdale this morning. They are trying to determine what caused a dynamic Airways passenger jet bound for Venezuela to erupt in flames.

Fifteen people were injured, one seriously. More than 100 passengers and crew members forced to evacuate the plane, sliding down the emergency slides. Smoke filling the cabin. You can see the fire burning under the plane as people still trying to escape. We get more from CNN's Alina Machado. [05:45:10] ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alison and Christine, hours after that plane caught on fire here at Fort Lauderdale International Airport, it was still sitting in the same spot where everything unfolded behind me.

Now the 101 people on that Boeing 767 lived through terrifying moments. The plane was supposed to go to Caracas, Venezuela at 12:30 Thursday afternoon. Fifteen people were taken to the hospital. Here is what doctors who treated the injured had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IAN RUSSDOFF, EMERGENCY DOCTOR: Most of them are musculoskeletal ankles, knees, elbows. Now we are starting to see some chest pains and anxiety issues related to the actual accident itself. The injuries themselves seem to be minor. Most of our patients are walking wounded.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The stewardess calmly opened up the door. The plane was still moving when this was going on. He calmly as soon as the plane stopped, he opened the door and let the chute out. The chute opened to the side where the flames were. I was the second passenger out of the aircraft. I went down the chute and turned around and saw the rest of the people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACHADO: The cause of the fire is still unknown. We know that there was a report that fuel was leaking from the plane moments before the flames started. The NTSB will be looking into what went wrong with this plane -- Alison and Christine.

ROMANS: All right, Alina Machado, thank you.

KOSIK: All right, let's look at what is coming up on "NEW DAY." Chris Cuomo joining us now. Good morning.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": Happy Halloween.

ROMANS: Did you get a haircut?

CUOMO: Yes. It is actually a wig. My hair is fake. It's a different one. We will talk a bit about the sixth day multistate manhunt for the alleged cop shooter that is now over. The suspect is Floyd Ray Cook. He was killed by Kentucky state troopers. We will tell you how it came together and how they got him.

And we will take a second look at the plane fire. It may have been a blessing in disguise. We will tell you why. Why would a plane fire be a blessing in disguise? We have an expert who makes that case for you.

The Republican race has changed. There is no question. How does this different dynamic with the candidates? It is like a revolt, you know, party officials are now pushing to see a change in format. The candidates are pushing them. What's going on with this? And why is this the new focus for the GOP? We will have all that for you on "NEW DAY" ahead. Trick-or-treat.

ROMANS: I don't know. I think these guys really want equal time, Chris. They want equal time. When you look at the minutes each person got on the stage. It is dramatic.

CUOMO: Life ain't fair, Romans. Life ain't fair.

ROMANS: I'll get a Cuomo t-shirt.

All right, thanks a lot, Chris, dramatic new video taking you inside the Waco biker massacre. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:51:47]

KOSIK: All right. We have this incredible and graphic video of the chaotic shootout that happened between rival biker gangs in Waco, Texas. This happened in May. This is what you are looking at is surveillance video of the Twin Peaks Restaurant patio and parking lot turning into a bloody warzone between the Cossacks and the Bandidos.

Who fired first? That's not clear, but the rival gangs point the fingers at each other. Here is how the chapter president in Waco of the Cossacks described the scene.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN WILSON, COSSACKS BIKER: It was pretty horrific. There were guys getting hit and falling. I realized that I needed to get away from where I was. I looked at the guy to my right -- my left, a good friend of mine. I told him we have to get off the sidewalk or we're going to die here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: And people did die. Nine bikers were killed, 177 arrested, all of them charged with organized criminal activity.

ROMANS: All right, a New Hampshire judge sentencing Owen Labrie, a former student at the elite St. Paul School, to a year in jail for his part in what students call a senior salute luring underage classmates to having sex. The 20-year-old Labrie is appealing the conviction. The underage girl did not appear in court, but she did provide a 30- minute video statement about her experience.

KOSIK: This was really something to see. Pennsylvania State Police using shotguns to deflate a wayward Army blimp. The blimp breaking loose from a Maryland Army Base and actually closing over Pennsylvania for hours on Wednesday.

It even took out electrical lines and left 30,000 people without power. It is not clear how the blimp broke free. When you tally up all the damage, it is expected to add up to $2 million worth of damage.

ROMANS: All right, 53 minutes past the hour. Can you imagine if every top company has female leadership? I have news for working women next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:57:42]

ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. It is Friday. Let's get an EARLY START on money. Asian stocks ended mostly lower today. European stocks and U.S. stocks futures are higher. Stocks pulled back yesterday on news the U.S. economy stumbled in the third quarter.

The economy grew just 1.5 percent. Look at this from the 3.9 percent in the second quarter. Proof the global slowdown is biting. Housing is still strong and consumers remain confident.

No more all male boards for U.K. companies. There is at least one woman on the board every single top 100 company there. A quarter of board members are women up from 12 percent back in 2011. Let's compare that with S&P 500 companies, 19 percent of S&P 500 companies have female board members.

KOSIK: Now I like to see U.S. companies follow suit.

A six-day manhunt for a dangerous fugitive comes to an end. "NEW DAY" starts now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A six-day manhunt for a Kentucky fugitive is over.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is happening in this world?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Need to rest and rest assured their agencies are doing their job.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Engine's on fire.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just saw the fire. People started freaking out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You opened the door. Let the chute out. The chute opened to the side where the flames were.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What happened?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the most part, our patients are stable.

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's not about the big personalities on the stage. It's not about the performance. It's about leadership.

BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What it's turned into is a gotcha. That's silly.

MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We are going to run for president aggressively.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Who won the debate?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: Friday. Happy Halloween. Good morning to you and your NEW DAY. It is Friday, October 30th, 6:00 in the east. We have breaking news. A massive six-day manhunt for a dangerous fugitive spanning several states over now, the suspect was wanted for shooting a Tennessee police officer during a traffic stop and firing at a Kentucky trooper who tried to stop him.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: So this morning, Kentucky State Police confirming he was killed in an overnight shootout ending days of high drama.

Let's get right to Boris Sanchez with all of the breaking details. How did this go down?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's harrowing, definitely harrowing. This morning, the search is finally over, Kentucky State Police confirming that Floyd Ray Cook, the fugitive wanted in the shooting of a Tennessee police officer is dead.