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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Obama: Bomb Aboard Russian Plane "A Possibility"; First Burials Of Russian Crash Victims; GOP Debate Lineup Set; Police: Fox Lake Cop Tried To Put Out Hit. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired November 06, 2015 - 05:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: New information this morning and why investigators believe terrorists are likely behind a deadly Russian deadly plane crash. President Obama is now on the record with surprising comments as thousands of British tourists are trying to get out of Egypt.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to EARLY START. It's 30 minutes past the hour. I'm Christine Romans.

BERMAN: I'm John Berman. It's nice to see you. There is new information this morning on why U.S. intelligence officials came to believe that a bomb likely brought down a Russian jetliner over the Sinai desert.

TaseA U.S. official tells CNN it was the specificity of the chatter they picked up just after the crash and which individuals were doing the talking. But officials all the way up to President caution that there is still some uncertainty about what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I think there is a possibility that there was a bomb on board and we're taking that very seriously.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Still it is remarkable to hear a president say there was a possibility that there was a bomb on board. Unlikely that he would do that without solid intelligence. British Prime Minister David Cameron went further than President Obama saying it was, quote, "More likely than not that a terrorist bomb that doomed the Russian jetliner.

TaseJoining us now live from London is CNN's Diana Magnay with the latest. Good morning, Diana.

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. The U.K. has been much more tight-lipped on what exactly their intelligence is based on than the U.S. intelligence community.

TaseWhat we've been hearing from U.S. intelligence officials is that they picked up chatter from individuals who they believe to be associated with ISIS Sinai affiliate after the attack. Tase TaseIt has given them suggestions that this may have been brought down by a bomb. The U.K. hasn't gone that far, but they have said, David Cameron has said that it is more likely than not that this was a bomb. Not, however, linking it to ISIS in any way. Tase TaseLet's listen to what Philip Hammond, the U.K. foreign secretary had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILIP HAMMOND, U.K. FOREIGN SECRETARY: It is matter of public record that ISIL Sinai has claimed that they brought the aircraft down. As I said earlier, looking at the totality of the information we have that we judge that there is a significant possibility this could have been an explosive device.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MAGNAY: The reason that the U.K. has gone perhaps further than the U.S. on this is very clear. There are some 20,000 British tourists in Sharm el-Sheikh, who are trying to get back home. The British government and David Cameron says it is his priority to make sure they get back home safely -- John.

BERMAN: Diana Magnay outside 10 Downing Street. Thanks so much, Diana.

ROMANS: Now efforts to evacuate tourists from Sharm el-Sheikh hitting a roadblock at this hour. Easyjet Airlines said the Egyptian government is barring it from flying into the airport there in order to pick up thousands of tourists stranded there after the plane crash and take them home.

TaseEasyjet indicating the ban applies to other British airlines as well. This is a new development. I want to bring in CNN's Erin McLaughlin in Sharm el-Sheikh for very latest -- Erin.

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Christine. It is a confusing picture here at Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport. What was supposed to have happened today is that a British Airlines was supposed to have flown in empty planes into the airport to pick up passengers and bring them home.

TaseBut Easyjet putting out a statement saying that is not the case. Egyptian authorities have suspended all flights from the United Kingdom to this airport. They said that they had some ten planned flights, but that is being disputed by British Airways. Tase TaseThey are saying that their regularly scheduled flights are allowed to land at this airport as well as Monarch Airways. Monarch Airways says they five planes in the air right now scheduled to land here at this airport. Tase TaseNow we have reached out to Egyptian officials. Airline authorities here at the airport say that they have not been made aware of any sort of mass cancellations. We have yet to get official reaction from Egyptian government authorities -- Christine.

ROMANS: All right, Erin, thank you for that.

BERMAN: So Russia still casting doubt that terrorists took down the plane, that as the first of the crash victims are laid to rest. We will have that angle next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:38:04]

BERMAN: This morning, Russian officials are urging the U.S. and Britain to wait for the results of the investigation into the crash of the Russian jetliner on the Sinai Peninsula before concluding that it was terrorism.

TaseA Russian aviation official says investigators working in Egypt will check plane wreckage for traces of explosives, this as two victims of the disaster were the first laid to rest in Russia. Tase TaseInternational diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, has the very latest from St. Petersburg.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Good morning, Christine and John. We are outside the cemetery here in St. Petersburg. There will be a funeral here in the next few hours. One of several funerals today across Russia as the dead from that flight begins to be buried.

TaseWhat we are finding is families asking a lot of questions. They got frustrations now they tell us, they are not getting answers. One family told us yesterday that a group of families were told in a very brutal, they felt, and hard way, by the regional governor that they would not be able to get bodies for burial. Tase TaseThe best they could hope for was some kind of identification of body pieces. Families are finding this brutal and frustrated. They are not getting straight answers from the Russian government about why this crash took place. Tase TaseThere's a concern that it may be terrorism. A concern among families that the government doesn't want to say what they call the hard truth about this. Tase TaseRussia, in the meantime, says that the investigation will take some time to complete, possibly months. They say that they are not going to comment on the speculations. Tase TaseIndeed calling that speculation possibly a bomb put on board the flight and the best indication the way the Russian government feels about the reports is the fact that they haven't canceled flights to Sharm el-Sheikh. Flights from Russia are still going to Sharm el- Sheikh. Tase TaseAt the moment, the Russian government is saying wait for the investigation to be completed and that could take some time. Meanwhile, for the families, the pain of burying their loved ones and pain of not knowing why, how if you like, precisely they died -- John and Christine.

[05:40:04] ROMANS: All right, Nic, thank you for that. The Republican presidential debate stage is shrinking. Which candidates were bumped from the podium next?

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ROMANS: The stage is set for next week's Republican presidential debate. The Fox Business Network has now unveiled its lineup. Eight candidates will take part in the primetime GOP debate. They are Donald trump, Ben Carson, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina, John Kasich, and Rand Paul.

TaseFor our poll numbers push Chris Christie and Mike Huckabee from the main event to the undercard. They'll be joined by Bobby Jindal and Rick Santorum. Now two other candidates, Lindsey Graham and George Pataki were shutout entirely. Tase TaseJoining me now to discuss is the managing editor at CNN Politics, Steven Sloan. And a real shakeup here for these candidates, what should we take away?

STEVEN SLOAN, MANAGING EDITOR, CNN POLITICS: I think the big headline here is Christie being out of the main primetime debate, what a fall for Chris Christie. A few years ago in 2012, he was begged to join the race. He was seen as a very strong frontrunner.

TaseEven after winning re-election in New Jersey as governor, he was seen as formidable. He has really struggled after launching his campaign and he essentially relegated to this undercard debate. It's quite a dramatic fall and raises questions about how he will be able to move forward.

ROMANS: He has good marks recently for his debate skills, but he is on that undercard debate.

[05:45:07]Meanwhile, someone not getting good marks for debate skills, Jeb Bush, will still be at the main event. He has a lot to prove here.

SLOAN: This is going to be a crucial moment for Jeb Bush. A few weeks ago, he really struggled in that debate that really rocked his campaign on the CNBC debate. This is going to be a time to show he can step it up.

TaseIn the past few days, he's tried to present a more personal side of himself, connecting with voters and talking about his daughter's addiction for instance. Tase TaseBut you know, he's really struggled every time in these debate performances to really be a presence on that stage. This is a moment where he will have to really prove that he can be a player on that stage. ROMANS: Steven, can you walk us through what is going on with the Ben Carson stories from his youth? I want to play you some sound where he is talking about how he is not going to name people that in the past he has said he was violent toward. There's just such an interesting kind of convoluted story. Listen to what he told Fox News.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The person that I tried stab, you know, I talk to today. I said would they want to be revealed. They were not anxious to be revealed. None of those people decided they wanted to do this. The media is ruthless. I would say to the people of America, do you think I'm a pathological liar like CNN does?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: So these stories of his youth and people close to him that he lashed out toward -- and then he through God found redemption. This is sort of critical to his story.

SLOAN: This is really the central part of his narrative that he's put this out there for decades that he found God after these violent incidents and that propelled him to the place that he is today.

TaseYou know, in response to the story from CNN, he offered shifting and inaccurate responses. The bottom line is this is a deeply reported story that spent a lot of time with childhood friends of his in Detroit, who still have no recollection or don't really have much to corroborate these stories.

ROMANS: Moving to the Democrats now. We saw Hillary Clinton on "Jimmy Kimmel" and she was asked about Jeb Bush. Listen to this exchange.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When he comes out with a slogan like Jeb can fix it. Do you guys like back in the office die laughing? Is that amusing to you?

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, look -- as I said, it is really hard to do this. He is obviously trying to continue to relate to the Republican electorate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It sounds like he is running a handyman business.

CLINTON: If I were to advise him, I would say there is a lot you can do about trying to fix things. Maybe they should put a number on the side of the bus and call.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: I think she is really nice to him.

SLOAN: I think there is no one out there either Democrat or Republican who can really relate to Jeb Bush and his experiences right now quite like Hillary Clinton. They are both members of the same political dynasty. They are both facing outsider upstarts. I think she speaks from a place of experience.

ROMANS: So interesting. All right, Steven Sloan, it's so nice to see you this morning. Thank you so much.

SLOAN: Good to be here.

ROMANS: All right, 48 minutes past the hour. Time for an EARLY START on your money, big morning for investors and fed watchers, the October jobs report at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, looking for about 181,000 net new jobs and 5 percent unemployment rate.

TaseFacebook shares surged almost 5 percent yesterday. Facebook revenue in the third quarter wowed investors along with its huge growth in mobile. The company is now worth more than $300 billion, the seventh most valuable company in the S&P. Tase TaseThe CEO Mark Zuckerberg has a lot on his plate including a baby girl on the way. Yesterday, he posted about his extensive philanthropic efforts in education. Zuckerberg and his wife are hoping to support underserved children in San Francisco. Tase TaseGive money to schools to promote personalized learning. They are starting a K through 12 school. Zuckerberg wrote, "We care deeply about doing everything we can so all children not just ours can grow up and achieve their full potential."

TaseParents, is your child's school mascot the Braves, the Chiefs, the Indians? One company offering a free mascot makeover that's next. Tase (COMMERCIAL BREAK) Tase [05:53:40]

ROMANS: New developments this morning in the story of Fox Lake Police Officer Joe Gliniewicz. Police now say that before he staged his suicide to look like a murder, Gliniewicz was looking to hire a motorcycle gang to kill the Fox Lake City administrator.

TaseWith more on this bizarre, developing story is CNN correspondent, Rosa Flores.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, CNN sources confirming that Lieutenant Gliniewicz's widow and his son are being investigated for possible involvement in the embezzlement of thousands of dollars.

TaseNow remember those deleted text messages that were released by authorities when they made the shocking announcement that Lieutenant Gliniewicz was not murdered, but that he committed suicide. Tase TaseCNN sources confirming that the individuals that Lieutenant Gliniewicz was exchanging these text messages with were his widow and his son. That individual number one was the widow and individual number two was his son. Tase TaseBut perhaps the most shocking revelation is that authorities now believe that Lieutenant Gliniewicz was thinking, exploring the possibility of killing a village administrator. Tase TaseAgain, all of this is still under investigation, but that village administrator addressed these allegations.

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[05:55:02]UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's very unsettling. Again, you know, my concern is my family. It's quite unbelievable and almost surreal I would say.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: But there is more, CNN sources confirming that authorities found cocaine inside Lieutenant Gliniewicz's desk after his death. Now the big question to administrators was that cocaine going to be used to plant on the village administrator as well?

TaseThere are allegations about that also. That village administrator also addressed that concern only by saying that she did not know if that cocaine was going to be planted on her desk. Again, a lot of disturbing revelations -- John and Christine.

ROMANS: All right, Rosa, thank you for that. It's 55 minutes past the hour. Severe storms heading east. Let's get straight to meteorologist, Derek Van Dam.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, John and Christine. That's right. The severe weather threat continues to move eastward today. Not as expansive as what we experienced yesterday, but nonetheless, Louisiana and Mississippi as well as Central and Western Tennessee.

TaseThat is where we have the potential for damaging winds and isolated tornadoes. Look out Nashville and Memphis and Tupelo and Jackson as well. You can see the cold front advancing eastward from Texas all the way to the Ohio River Valley. Tase TaseThere's been a significant amount of rain that has fallen over this region on top of a very saturated environment. That is why the National Weather Service has issued a flood watch from San Antonio into Austin. So be careful and on the lookout for flooded roadways. Tase TaseHere's our cold front, quite a temperature swing across the state of Texas, nearly 35-degree temperature swing from Amarillo to the Houston region. Tase TaseSignificant cold front pressing eastward cooling temperatures across the Great Lakes as well as New England coastline. Don't get used to the warmth in the big apple cooling down to the 50s by Sunday. Back to you.

ROMANS: All right, Derek, thanks so much for that. Let's get an EARLY START on your money right now. Big morning for investors, big morning for fed watchers, the October jobs report. Here's the prediction, CNN Money sees 181,000 jobs, up from September when it was 142,000. The unemployment rate is likely dipping to 5 percent.

TaseAn improving job market is critical to the Federal Reserve. Janet Yellen said a December rate hike is still a live possibility, her words. So a lot of people think 180,000 jobs would be enough to trigger the fed to raise rates by the end of the year.

TaseToyota is investing $1 billion in artificial intelligence creating a new company, the Toyota Research Institute, offices in Silicon Valley, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Tase TaseOf course, this is about self-driving cars down the road. But near term, it is also about technology to help drivers avoid crashes like automated breaks, for example. The company hopes to cut the time to take to get new features from their labs into their cars.

TaseIf your school has a Native American mascot, Adidas will help with that. The company will give money and design resources to any school with the name like the Indians, the Chiefs or the Braves. Tase TaseAdidas says 2,000 high schools use names that could be considered offensive to Native-Americans. It's part of a growing trend to change these names. The most famous example is the Washington Redskins. That NFL team has refused to change its name.

TaseStranded British tourists trying to get out of Egypt, "NEW DAY" picks up the developments now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I think there is a possibility that there was a bomb on board.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Russian and Egyptian officials insisting there's currently no evidence of a bomb.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Helping to evacuate those roughly 20,000 British citizens.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Their luggage isn't even going to be there on aircraft.

BERMAN: The stage now set for next week's Republican presidential debate.

ROMANS: Chris Christie and Mike Huckabee pushed out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has no appreciation for the dollars that are being donated to the party.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rubio's campaign says stand by. The record will finally be released.

CARSON: Do you think I'm a pathological liar like CNN does?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Was George W. Bush at all defensive about the criticism from his father?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Friday, November 6th, 6:00 in the east. Chris is off today. John Berman is with us. Great to have you here.

We do have some breaking news for you. The first flights rescuing those stranded British tourists from Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh Airport have started to board. They are expected to depart shortly, but there are conflicting reports as to whether all of the planned British carriers will be able to fly in and out of that airport.

BERMAN: Now the other major issue for those stranded passengers is security. They're only allowed to take on carry-on bags. No checked luggage allowed on these flights.

We are on every angle of this story. We want to get straight to Erin McLaughlin, live at the airport in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. Erin, what's going on?