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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Deadly Russian Plane Crash: New Clues; GOP Debate Revolt Crumbles. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired November 03, 2015 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:12] ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: New clues in the deadly Russian jetliner crash. What could have caused the plane to go down, as families mourn the 224 killed on board? Live team coverage ahead.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And the GOP debate revolt falls apart. Republicans running for president fail to agree on the set of demands they want for future network debates. Now, President Obama weighs in.
Good morning, and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Miguel Marquez.
KOSIK: And I'm Alison Kosik. It's Tuesday, November 3rd. It's 4:00 a.m. in the East.
Happening now: progress in the search for the cause of the MetroJet Flight 9268. A U.S. satellite detecting a heat flash over the Sinai Peninsula. That infrared flash coming at the same time the Russian passenger jet on its way from the Egyptian resort to St. Petersburg, Russia, plummeted to earth, all 245 people on board.
Experts say the flash is significant, but by itself does not prove or disproved claims that this was a terrorist attack.
For the latest on the investigation, let's bring in CNN's Ian Lee live in Cairo.
I'd imagine, as this -- little details come out. Investigators are certainly being pressured to come up with a cause.
IAN LEE, CNN REPORTER: That's right, Alison.
But they continue to urge patience, saying that this isn't going to happen overnight. But the latest bit of information coming about the heat flash. We are hearing that U.S. military and intelligence analysts are going over, trying to determine if this happened in the air, or on the ground.
Now, there are a number of possibilities. One, it could have been a missile, but this is the most unlikely because militants just do not have the ability to take down a jet at 30,000 feet. The other possibility is a bomb.
And we know investigators on the ground are checking for residue on the aircraft and everywhere else. But we're not hearing any evidence that points in that direction, although that could take more time. The other possibility is that an engine exploded from a malfunction during the flight. They are looking into that, as well as the crash into the ground. That could have caused a heat spike.
So, these are things they are looking at. The number of heat spikes will lead to clues. It could have been the plane hitting the ground, and if there were multiple, that could lead to other theories. So, they are going over that now.
We know the Egyptians have not commented on that yet. The Russians are not either. But they are going through the evidence today as well. We know there are teams from France, from Germany, from Ireland on the ground helping with that. We are expecting more information today, but as I said, they are urging patience with -- not rushing to a conclusion.
KOSIK: And, you know, you think about the fact the investigators have the two boxes in their hands at this point. Do we have timeline of when that information of what's on those boxes comes out?
LEE: Again, urging patience. They say it could take a few weeks. We know that they did bring in these crews from Airbus, which include the French and Germans, which will help them decipher these black boxes. That will lead to a lot of clues.
They have the voices recorded in the cockpit. They have the details that the information from the sensors on the plane. All of this is going to lead hopefully to the cause of the crash.
But the Egyptian president has come out and said that really this ISIS terror threat, this claim by the militant group, is propaganda and the fact that they are saying that, right now, they believe it is a mechanical issue that they will uncover which was the cause of this crash.
KOSIK: All right. Ian Lee, live from Cairo, thanks so much.
MARQUEZ: Overnight, a second plane carrying human remains from the crash arrived in Russia. A medical source in the Sinai tell CNN that most of the bodies being retrieved from the wreckage are intact and show no major signs of burns. Russian President Vladimir Putin appearing in public for the first time since the crash, describing it as an enormous tragedy and adding that his thoughts are with the families of the victims.
In St. Petersburg for us now is CNN's Nic Robertson with the latest.
Nic, an uncharacteristically demure Vladimir Putin on this.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: And he was sort of uncharacteristic that he really didn't try to sort of set the lead in the tone for the investigation that's going on. He had with him the transport minister and he deferred to the transport minister. The transport minister is in charge of the special commission that he set up. [04:05:02] That's the group that's looking at the air crash and is
working with the Egyptians and minister had just come back from Egypt. He referred to him and said, you tell us what is happening with that. He said, I know it is set up properly, but you tell us what's happening, how you're working with the Egyptians. It's almost like President Putin took a little step back from sort of taking ownership of this, although he did say he doesn't want this investigation rushed. He wants all of the work that is required to be done, to be done in terms of recovery in Egypt, work to the very end. He also had support for the people of St. Petersburg here.
You know, we still see them here coming out and laying flowers and toys. The other thing happening in St. Petersburg here, of course, those bodies had been returned. There are 196 bodies, the second flight arriving in early hours of this morning.
It is a slow process for the families who are staying at a hotel near the airport here to identify those bodies. They are working with psychologists appointed by the government with other government officials. They have been taken to a morgue not far from here. It is slow of those 196 bodies have come back and so far nine have been identified so far, Miguel.
MARQUEZ: What an agonizing process. Nic Robertson for us in St. Petersburg -- thank you.
KOSIK: President Obama cheerfully mocking Republican candidates and their complaints about last week's CNBC debate. The president tried out his comic timing, cutting into the Republicans at the Democratic fund-raiser in New York last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Have you noticed that every one of the candidates say Obama's weak. He's -- you know, Putin's kicking sand in his face. When I talk to Putin, he's going to straighten out. Just looking at him, I'm going to -- he's going to be --
(LAUGHTER)
And then it turns out they can't handle a bunch of CNBC moderators.
(APPLAUSE)
I mean, let me tell you, if you can't handle -- if you can't handle those guys, you know, then I don't think the Chinese and Russians are going to be too worried about you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: That was funny.
The president is the least of the Republicans worries this morning. Their efforts to put up a united front demanding more control of future debates is already starting to fall apart. This as a pair of new polls paint a confusing picture of the GOP race.
CNN's Sara Murray has the latest from Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Good morning, Alison and Miguel.
A new poll shows it's not Donald Trump that's leading nationwide anymore. Instead, Ben Carson is the frontrunner in the new NBC News/"Wall Street Journal" poll. He leads 29 percent to Donald Trump's 23 percent.
Now, Trump still has bragging rights for him. He leads in a new Monmouth University poll in New Hampshire. It's a wide lead. He is ahead of Ben Carson by about 10 points.
Now, if these polls sound a little bit chaotic to you, it is nothing compared to what's going on right now at the Republican debate process. After all those campaigns got together, huddled in the room, agreed to debate rules from requiring opening statements, to how cool it had to be in the debate arenas, now it seems the agreement is falling apart. It all began with Donald Trump, his campaign saying that he is going to negotiate directly with the networks. After that, things started to crumble.
John Kasich said he would not sign on to a joint letter with other candidates regarding the debates. Chris Christie followed suit, saying the same thing, and Carly Fiorina also jumped ship. So, you see there, it was a short lived truce between all the campaigns.
Alison and Miguel, back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARQUEZ: Our thanks to Sara Murray.
Hillary Clinton meeting privately with the mothers of Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin and Tamir Rice in Chicago. Two topics dominating the talks: gun violence and restoring trusts between communities and law enforcement. The mother of Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old boy who was shot and killed by Cleveland police officer believes the talks were productive, though no promises were made.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAMANA RICE, TAMIR RICE'S MOTHER: We discussed a lot of reform, ideas with change across the nation and just about how this nation can improve itself. I felt that she was very sincere and I do felt that she listened. She made a lot of great points.
[04:10:01] Now, we are looking for action.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: Now, Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail today in Iowa. She will be hosting two town hall meetings there. The Keystone XL oil pipeline is officially in limbo. The TransCanada,
the company behind the project, asking the U.S. government to suspend its application for a permit beyond the 2016 election. The firm will now go through a state review in Nebraska, something it originally resisted. The move comes in the face of the rejection by the Obama administration as early as this week. Big news there.
KOSIK: Time for an early start on your money. Seeing a lot of red arrows this morning. Asian and European stocks are mostly lower, so are U.S. stock futures. Yesterday, stocks kicked off November with a nice rally. The Dow climbed 165 points. That gain puts the Dow in positive territory for the year. And the S&P 500 climbing 1.2 percent, it's getting close to its record high.
The residents in Ohio, they're going to be voting on marijuana legislation today. It's the first time voters will decide whether to approve recreational and medical marijuana at the same time. And this vote is a controversial one for more reasons than you think. One of the ballot measures would allow commercial marijuana growth on only ten farms.
Former 98 Degrees star Nick Lachey could be a top weed king pin after today's vote. Who would have thunk that?
MARQUEZ: I would have thought of that.
KOSIK: Oh, yes.
MARQUEZ: This is like par for the course. It will be very interesting in conservative Ohio if they passed legal marijuana in the state.
KOSIK: It would be the fifth state to have --
(CROSSTALK)
MARQUEZ: As a reporter who has done a lot of work on marijuana stories, I'm watching this closely. It's going to be interesting.
KOSIK: OK.
MARQUEZ: Now, President Obama giving ex-convicts a second chance. How he wants to help criminal offenders reenter society once their time is served.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:15:03] MARQUEZ: President Obama pushing for an overhaul of the nation's criminal justice system. He wants ex-convicts for a second chance. He's calling on local municipalities to work with colleges and employers on job training and placement for former inmates.
We get more now from CNN's White House correspondent Jim Acosta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPNDENT: Alison and Miguel, just as the Obama administration is speeding the release of federal prisoners who are serving harsh drug sentences, the president wants U.S. companies to start hiring many of these former inmates and not hold past crimes against them. President Obama delivered that message after visiting a halfway house in New Jersey yesterday, shining a light on a program that transitions former prisoners back into the society.
The president is calling on Congress to ban the boxes it described in federal hiring. That means eliminating the section on job applications that asks about criminal records, encouraging employers to seek that information later on.
OBAMA: Now, a lot of time that record disqualifies you from being a full participant in our society, even if you already paid your debt to society. It means millions of Americans have difficulty getting their foot in the door to try to get a job. Much less actually hang on to that job. That's bad for not only those individuals, it's bad for our economy.
ACOSTA: The president says that second chance is crucial to thousands of federal prisoners who are released just over the weekend after many had their drug sentences reduced -- Alison and Miguel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOSIK: OK, Jim, thanks for that.
And one of the first changes of new House Speaker Paul Ryan has made is removing a portrait of disgraced predecessor Dennis Hastert from the speaker's lobby outside the House floor. A spokesperson says Ryan felt it was appropriate to rotate in a different portrait. It comes just days after Hastert who served eight years as speaker pleaded guilty to breaking banking laws in a $3.5 million hush money scheme.
MARQUEZ: And a judge in Los Angeles ruling Bill Cosby and his former attorney can be deposed in a defamation suit brought by Janice Dickinson. The model claimed she was defamed by public statements accusing her of fabricating allegations that Cosby drugged and raped her in 1982. The court ordered the deposition to take place before November 25th. More than 50 women have made similar allegations against Cosby. He has not been charged and denies any wrongdoing.
KOSIK: Death rates in the U.S. had been declining for years. But one population subset is bucking the trend. According to a Princeton University study, there's been a sharp rise among a group of white middle aged Americans. Researchers say the alarming trend among less educated 45-year-olds is thought to be driven by suicide, along with drug and alcohol abuse. Meantime, mortality rates for other races and ethnicities along with whites 65 and older continues to fall.
A change in the U.S. weather pattern to start the month. Snow in the West and warm weather in the East.
Let's bring in meteorologist Allison Chinchar for the forecast. ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Finally, some much-need rain for the west coast, California, Washington and also Oregon. But behind it, we have cold air pulled down -- oh, shoot, actually that must have been on Betsy. All right. Let's try that again.
MARQUEZ: Clearly, the technical demons are still with us from Halloween. We will get that for you. We know there is rain in the west. That is the headline there.
Now, on the frontline in the war against ISIS, Iraqis fighting terrorists to take back their country, but it won't be easy. We are live with the battle, coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:22:24] KOSIK: In northern Iraq, Kurdish forces preparing for a major offensive to recapture the town of Sinjar from ISIS. Joining them in the battle will be 5,000 Yazidi fighters. They were driven out of their hometown 15 months ago, many of them forced to retreat up Mt. Sinjar where they face another harsh winter in tents.
Let's go live to Iraq and bring in CNN senior international correspondent Nima Elbagir.
You have an up close and personal look at the people most affected by this -- the men, the women and children.
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we all remember those absolutely horrifying pictures last autumn, Alison, when Yazidis were forced to flee, clinging on to helicopters, desperate to get away from the ISIS onslaught. Fifteen months on, we went back to see what life was like to them.
It has been absolutely brutal. Dozens of children died last winter waiting for their homes to be taken back from ISIS and they are facing another difficult winter. And they are frankly -- they're scared, Alison. They know that ISIS is very close. They know they were a huge target for is.
And so, they are trying to be part of the retake of the territory. They are ill equipped and poorly trained, but they are absolutely determined this is about their survival as a people.
We were down there. We saw this intensifying coalition airstrikes in preparation for that offensive. We don't as yet have a timeframe. But you really start to get a sense of what a bigger picture here is that they seem to be trying to target that crucial supply line which just happens to run straight through the Yazidi homeland joining ISIS territories in Iraq and in Syria, and start breaking up that territorial foot print. But while that is happening, families are worried their children might not survive this coming winter, Alison.
KOSIK: It's so difficult for all of the people involved. Nima Elbagir, thanks so much for that.
MARQUEZ: Great work out there. New controversy with the U.S. and China. The U.S. Navy plans to
increase the patrols near China's artificial islands in the South China Sea. President Xi Jinping pledged at a White House in September not to militarize the island. Still, just last week, a U.S. missile destroyer sailed within 12 nautical miles to underline international freedom of navigation. Chinese leaders warn that even a minor incident around their artificial islands could spark a war.
[04:25:00] KOSIK: (AUDIO GAP) insiders arrested for allegedly leaking damaging church documents. They were taken into custody over the weekend. The Vatican calling their actions a grave betrayal of the pope's trust. Their arrest coming as the Vatican braces for the release of two potentially exclusive books this week, containing new allegations of corruption and mismanagement in the church.
MARQUEZ: It would be interesting to read.
New clues on what may have caused a Russian jetliner to crash, 224 people killed. Live team coverage coming right up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARQUEZ: New clues into what may have caused the Russian passenger jet to crash, killing 224 people onboard. Could it have been terrorism? What investigators are saying this morning. We have live team coverage just ahead.
KOSIK: The GOP debate revolt crumbles. Republicans failing to agree on demands to network hosts for future debates. Who pulled back and what it means for the race moving forward?
Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Alison Kosik.
MARQUEZ: And I'm Miguel Marquez. It is 29 minutes past the hour on this Tuesday morning.
Good morning to you.
Happening now, progress in the search for the cause of the crash of MetroJet flight 9268. A U.S. satellite detecting a heat flash over the Sinai Peninsula. That infrared flash coming at the same time the Russian passenger jet on its way from an Egyptian resort to St. Petersburg plummeted to earth killing all 224 people onboard.
Experts say the flash is significant, but by itself doesn't prove or disproved claims that this was terror attack.
For the latest on the investigation, let's bring in CNN's Ian Lee live in Cairo.
Ian, a lot of contradictory information from the Russian government, from the Egyptian government and from the company that runs MetroJet itself, yes?
