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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Crash of MetroJet 9268: Was There A Mid-Air Explosion?; The Race for President: Trump Attacks, Clinton Rises; Clemson Tops College Playoff Rankings. Aired 5:5:30a ET
Aired November 04, 2015 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:00] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: EARLY START continues right now.
(MUSIC)
ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: New clues emerging on the final moments of a doomed Russian jetliner, 224 onboard killed. Was a mid-air explosion to blame? Team coverage breaking down new details.
BERMAN: Donald Trump, he's out there trying to sell a new book him. He has new attacks on his opponents. And there is new information coming out of the polls. That is new polling for Hillary Clinton, too, reversing trends in a key early state.
Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.
KOSIK: And I'm Alison Kosik. It's Wednesday, November 4. It's 5:00 a.m. in the East.
Intriguing new clues with few answers this morning on what brought down a Russian airliner flying from Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt to St. Petersburg, Russia, killing all 224 people onboard. A U.S. official tells CNN a heat flash detected by a military satellite happened in midair. That leaves open the possibility of a bomb onboard MetroJet flight 9268. But there are some reports in Russian media, the bodies of victims recovered so far show no signs of explosive impact.
And that might point more towards engine or structural failure as a cause, but adding to the confusion of what brought down this plane, other media reports are saying some bodies did show evidence of an explosion. This morning, investigators have now finished their field work and Egyptian officials say data is already being recovered from the plain's black boxes. That could mean more answers coming soon.
CNN's Erin McLaughlin live from Sharm el-Sheikh.
Erin, what's the latest?
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Alison.
Well, we have been getting bits and pieces of information all along, some of that information conflicting. So, there has been plenty of confusion, plenty of questions, few, of course, actual answers. Now, Egyptian authorities have been tight lipped about this investigation. Much has been coming from Russian media sources reporting that the tail of the plane was found some three piles away from the bulk of the wreckage found unburned.
That's potentially significance because in 2001, the same plane tail struck the runway in Cairo and needed repairs. Experts say those kinds of repairs, if done incorrectly, could lead to problems years ago sometimes decades down the line.
At the same time, airline officials were saying the plane was if pristine condition and it had passed all of its routine maintenance checks. Egyptian officials are urging people not to speculate. The president in a series of interviews saying that any reports of a bomb going off on the plane or a missile downing a plane are purely speculative, also calling ISIS claims of responsibility pure propaganda.
Meanwhile, at the crash site, itself, we understand from eyewitnesses that the work there continues. Russian media reporting the search area has been expanded to 15 square miles. Of course, the all- important analysis on those two black boxes, the data recorder, the cockpit voice recorder, that continues. No time table is when we're going to get answers from that.
KOSIK: Yes, and those loved ones who lost family members and friends on this flight. Hoping to get that information soon from those black boxes.
Erin McLaughlin, thanks so much.
BERMAN: An outpouring of grief in Russia this morning for the 224 victims of that crash, all but a handful Russian. Officials in St. Petersburg say 33 bodies have been identified so far. Today, there'd be a rally to mourn the victims of the country's annual day of national unity.
Let's get the latest from St. Petersburg. International diplomatic editor Nic Robertson is there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, another tough day for the families of victims. The process of identifying the bodies continues. What they are hearing in Russian media at the moment, two different versions of potentially what killed their loved ones.
Did the plane break apart in the air, because the tail section fell off, because of a faulty repair after a tail strike, an accident a few years ago, or was it because of a bomb onboard?
A St. Petersburg newspaper, the oldest newspaper here in St. Petersburg, widely respected, reports that the injuries fall into two categories, those in the fronts of the aircraft, they say have got burns and trauma-type injuries, indicative of falling from the sky. Those they imply at the rear of the aircraft have explosive trauma injuries, pieces of metal fragments in the body. They're quoting their sources, here in St. Petersburg, the forensic teams are examining the body. The potential there for information being provided.
The TASS news agency here says, however, what they understand from their sources is that there's been no explosive residue found on the bodies, there has been no indication of explosive damage to the bodies.
[05:05:11] So, what people hearing in Russia and what would be very painful for the families right now is not knowing precisely what brought down that aircraft. Two different possibilities -- John, Alison.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: OK. Nick, thanks for that.
Time for an early start on your money. Seeing a lot of green arrows this morning, Asian European markets, they are higher, as well as U.S. stock futures.
Yesterday, stocks ended in a green. The Dow climbed 89 points. The S&P 500, it closed up as well, nearly erasing all of the losses we saw happened to it over the summer. So, it's just 21 points shy of its record highs.
Volkswagen's troubles just got a whole lot bigger. Still feeling the effects of the emission scandal, the German automaker now says it set carbon dioxide emissions and fuel consumption too low. It just doesn't end, does it, while when certifying some of its models. About 800,000 vehicles were affected.
And some of the cars were gasoline powered, so this moving the violations beyond Volkswagen's diesel fleet for the first time.
Volkswagen says it regrets the error and will begin ways to fix the issue with relevant authorities.
A lot of car owners upset about this they thought they were getting a car that performs a certain way, it environmentally affected, you know --
BERMAN: They say they regret the error. But it seems as if it was intentional deception, not an error. It was seem to be deliberate attempts to scam consumers, not to mention government.
KOSIK: Yes, you don't just accidentally put somewhere in the car.
BERMAN: No, crazy.
All right. Donald Trump on the attack, new insults against his opponents. This comes as a new polling for Hillary Clinton showing a turnaround somewhere, where she has had some trouble. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BERMAN: This morning, Donald Trump takes a break from "Saturday Night Live" rehearsals for a quick visit to New Hampshire. He is going to officially file to appear on the ballot there.
[05:10:01] That's the first in the nation primary. And he comes back to New York to prepare for hosting duties on "Saturday Night Live", just like every other presidential candidate.
Protesters plan to deliver half a million signatures calling NBC to dump Trump from the show. The Trump campaign also now keeping an eye on the trend in the polls. A trend they may not like, the self proclaimed winner isn't winning anywhere anymore.
Let's get more from CNN politics reporter, Sara Murray.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Alison and John, more good news this morning for Dr. Ben. In a head-to-head matchup against Hillary Clinton, he could be the most formidable contender. A new "Wall Street Journal"/NBC News polling shows, if you pit the two against together, Clinton and Carson are tied.
Now, compare that to how Clinton fared against Donald Trump. In that potential matchup, she beats Trump by about 8 points. Now, Trump was here in New York yesterday releasing his new book, "Crippled America". And he did not hold back against his Republican contenders, slamming Marco Rubio for his immigration belief, and calling Ben Carson low energy. He even went so far as to say it's time for his fellow Republicans to give up the fight.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Do I think that it's time for some of the other Republicans in the race that are registering zero in a couple of cases, they have zero with an arrow pointing left, which I assume is a mistake, because that's less than zero. I assume that's not happening.
Do I think it's time for some of the other Republican candidates to drop out? Yes, there are too many people. Well, I don't want to get personal, but you can look at the poll numbers.
MURRAY: But there is no sign Trump is giving up. He's going to be back on the campaign trail in New Hampshire, where he will officially file to appear on the ballot.
Alison and John, back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: All right. Sara, thanks so much.
Donald Trump, there is more. Seven o'clock Eastern this morning, can you hear Donald Trump live on "NEW DAY."
KOSIK: Hillary Clinton, seeing a bump in the latest polls. The former secretary of state campaigning in Iowa. She promised Iowans, a Clinton presidency would include a swift hike to the minimum wage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I favor a $12 an hour minimum wage at the federal level and the reason is, that would be setting it at a level that would be equivalent to the point in our history inflation adjusted terms, that was in 1968.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: In New Hampshire, a new polling trend there. Bernie Sanders had been ahead for months, but not anymore.
We get more from CNN senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: John and Alison, Hillary Clinton is wrapping up a campaign in Iowa. You can see her behind me here, shaking hands, signing pictures. She's answering so many questions here, trying to sign up people to her campaign.
But it's actually New Hampshire where she has her eye on. For the first time in weeks, she is leading Bernie Sanders at least by a razor's edge in a new Monmouth University poll out on Tuesday. She is leading Senator Sanders by some three percentage points.
Now, that is a reversal from a lead that he held last month at more than seven points. In national poll, she is leading by significantly more. She's over Bernie Sanders by some 31 points in "The Wall Street Journal"/NBC poll out this week. But it is Democrats rallying to her aid. She still has strong negative ratings as well in those national numbers. That's why her campaign is facing the state by state polls.
All eyes will be on the New Hampshire as all candidates go and sign up for office to register to get on the ballot. Bernie Sanders is there Thursday. Hillary Clinton goes next week -- John, Alison.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: All right, joining us now to walk through all of the political developments today, Zach Wolf, managing editor of CNNpolitics.com.
Good morning, Zach. Welcome to the wee early hours of the day.
Donald Trump, he held a heck of a Trumpian news conference yesterday. It was one part book selling in Denver, one part Trump selling in Denver. And I'm not sure you can ever fully separate the two. But it was a full scale attack on just about all of his opponents.
Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: When the e-mail problem came up, Bernie Sanders lost his whole campaign. I mean, what he did was so stupid from his standpoint.
Marco Rubio's personal financials are discredited. Oh, no, he's personal finance -- all you have to do is look at his credit card. He is a disaster with his credit cards.
My Jeb impression, no, I don't want to do that. I don't like showing a person sleeping at a podium.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Oh.
KOSIK: So funny though.
BERMAN: Zach, so this is in way the same Trump we have seen. Polls are getting tighter and tighter. Ben Carson leading in some polls now.
ZACHARY WOLF, CNN MANAGING EDITOR, CNNPOLITICS.COM: They are getting tighter. You know, it's not so much that Trump is falling but that Carson has been surging a bit in these recent polls, Trump has been in the 20s among Republican voters. He's not going down necessarily.
What you saw yesterday, that's Trump returning to form. The last couple of debates, he hasn't had much time on the stage. So him having a press conference allows him to really, you know, control things and, you know, separating -- selling himself and that selling is campaign. That book is a lot of selling Trump, John.
KOSIK: All right. Let's move on to Jeb Bush, who actually sat down with our Jamie Gangel. He is letting it all hang out there. Let's go to what he told her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's run for president twice and quit and I've run for governor in the biggest swing state and won twice. I know how to win. I've done it. I actually know how to govern, which is going to be an attribute when we get closer to the election.
JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: So for the record, for Donald Trump, you are not quitting?
BUSH: No, do we have to talk about Donald Trump? No, I'm not quitting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: You know what, that's a big problem for Jeb Bush. Trump is getting the spotlight as far as where Jeb Bush is standing is Trump walking right in front of him. How does Jeb Bush fix it? Can he fix it? Can he reboot his campaign?
WOLF: That's a big question. I mean, there you have Jeb Bush saying, do we really have to talk about Donald Trump? Jeb Bush is somewhere between 4 and 8 percent in recent polls, and Donald Trump is at, you know, between 22 and 26. Yes, we do have to talk about Donald Trump. There's no doubt about that.
But this is a part of the new Jeb Bush trying to re-imagine himself. Trump calls him a low energy candidate and Jeb is trying to come back and show that he is determined to have this job. He doesn't think it will be just given to him, because he's a Bush.
So, we see all this new rhetoric coming from him. He also said in that interview that he eats nails for breakfast. I don't know what you guys eat.
BERMAN: Look, it's stunning that Jeb Bush is answering questions about if he will drop out of the race. I mean, this is a guy who's got a super PAC that raised more than $100 million. This is a guy with all the establishment backing in the universe. This a guy with a Bush name the predominant front runner about eight months ago.
And now, he is asked questions about quitting, Zach. It's got to be brutal for this campaign to deal with.
WOLF: I think it is brutal. He said yesterday he hopes his family isn't ashamed of him. He doesn't think they are. You know, he's got not only that $100 million super PAC. He's got the best pedigree of anyone in American politics with the exception maybe of Hillary Clinton.
So, you know, with a name like Bush and with all that money and with two terms as governor, and a swing state, there's no reason to think he shouldn't be leading this thing. But it just has not gelled for him yet.
KOSIK: All right. So, Ben Carson really taking the reins now. He talked about President Obama. Let's hear what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would say, is this the same President Obama who won't come on FOX News? The same one, or the same party that won't have any debates on FOX News? It seems a little strange for somebody to be saying something about that when they're afraid of FOX News.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: So, Ben Carson is kind of empowered these days, isn't he?
WOLF: He is, he has overtaken Trump in two national polls, so he's the guy who you could call the Republican front runner right now. He's still quiet and mild mannered, certainly compared to Trump and compared to the rest of the field, too.
So, you know, but with him, it's all these debates coming up. It's not the best forum for him. His campaign has been trying to orchestrate a way to control the debates in a more effective way, along with the other Republicans. I'm not sure exactly so now he will cast back at President Obama who is criticizing Republicans yesterday for not being able to stand up to CNBC to their debate.
You know, without getting too much into the weeds over the whole debate thing, Carson is sort of the man of the moment. Although with Trump being out there at his press conference, who knows how long that will last
BERMAN: All right, Zach, appreciate it. Zach Wolf for us in the wee hours in the morning. We'll talk again in a little bit.
WOLF: Thank you.
KOSIK: Breaking election news overnight. A huge win for Republicans in Kentucky. Millionaire businessman Matt Bevin was elected governor the second time in four decades that a Republican has won the state house there. Bevin is a tea party favorite and outsider. He's drawn comparisons to Donald Trump.
In Mississippi, the incumbent governor, Republican Phil Bryant easily winning re-election.
BERMAN: All right. Also breaking overnight, a ballot proposal to legalize marijuana, that went to defeat in Ohio. Voters rejected the initiative that would have legalized recreational and medical use of marijuana. It would have limited commercial growing rights. This was a weird proposal in some ways.
That group of investors included boy band star Nick Lachey. I refuse to call him former boy band star. He is going to be always a boy band star.
KOSIK: Poor guy.
And breaking overnight in Houston, voters there repealing an ordinance designed to protect lesbian, gay and transgender people from discrimination.
[05:20:05] The Equal Rights ordinance offered broad protections, covering housing, employment and other areas. And opponents said it would allow men claiming to be women to use women's bathroom, and pose some kind of a risk there.
BERMAN: Yes, the Kentucky news really big news overnight. Republican holding that statehouse, only four years out of the last 44 has Republican in there.
Got big news in college football. The current playoff rankings are in. Alabama, Ohio State craft the top four, but you will not get who is number one.
Andy Scholes with the big reveal coming up in the bleacher report, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: All right, the year's first college football rankings are out. Once again, big 12 teams not going to be happy. ROMANS: Andy Scholes has more in this morning's bleacher report.
Good morning.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, guys. Baylor and TCU were the teams left out of last year's playoff, even though they are undefeated again right now in the first poll of the year, they're on the outside looking in.
If the season were to end today, this would be your top four. Clemson is number one, followed by LSU and the defending champs, Ohio State, and the last game right now would be one loss Alabama. LSU and Alabama will play on Saturday. One of those teams will drop out of the top four by next week.
Here are the first four out. One loss Notre Dame comes in at fifth. Baylor, undefeated, sixth, Michigan State, seventh, TCU, eight.
[05:25:04] Of course, they have five weeks left in the season. So, plenty of football left before the final rankings come out on December 6th.
Now, two protesters that rappelled on the upper deck at Bank of America Stadium during Monday night football have been charged with trespassing and resisting officers. Two others who acted as anchors have been charged. The activists were protesting Bank of America's financing of the liquefied natural gas facility in Maryland. The NFL is currently looking into how the fans got the rappelling gear into the game.
The entire population of Kansas City converge downtown yesterday for the royal victory parade. These aerial shots make it look like the "Walking Dead" was happening. Cars stopped everywhere. Hoards of people move income one direction.
Look at that. That's amazing, an estimated 800,000 finds were there to separate this first win in 30 years. They got to hear a pretty awesome speech from outfielder Jonny Gomes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONNY GOMES, ROYALS OUTFIELDER: Hey, guess what? Cy Young winner, not on our team. We beat 'em. Rookie of the year -- not on our team. We beat 'em. MVP of the whole week? Sorry, guys, not on our team. But we beat that guy, too!
You all want to be playing I'm a politically correct person, we whipped their (EXPLETIVE DELETED)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: I love the mic drama. I was a wrestling fan when I was a kid, guys, that reminds me a lot of hacksaw Tim Duncan walking around with the American flag.
BERMAN: Jonny Gomes, he didn't play. He wasn't in the playoff roster, right?
SCHOLES: He gets the ring, though, right, John?
BERMAN: He gets to give the speech. He actually signed Johnny Gomes, just so he can give the speech after the World Series parade.
All right, Andy. Thanks so much.
SCHOLES: All right.
KOSIK: New questions this morning into what caused a Russian jetliner to fall from the sky. Team coverage breaking down new information, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
