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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

GOP Candidates Face Off in Fox Business Debate; Mizzou President and Chancellor Step Down Admit Protests; Elon Musk's Dream of the Hyperloop; Stunning Catch Help Bears Beat Chargers 22-19. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired November 10, 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] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Eight candidates will do battle on the main debate stage starting at 9:00 p.m. Eastern. Two candidates have dropped off the main stage. You're going to notice Chris Christie and Mike Huckabee gone from this line-up. Instead, they'll be on the undercard that starts at 7:00 p.m. with Bobby Jindal and Rick Santorum.

Chief political correspondent Dana Bash has the latest for us this morning from Milwaukee.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, tonight is the fourth time Republican presidential candidates are going to gather to debate. But it's going to look very different because on the main stage you're going to have only eight candidates. It sounds kind of silly to say only eight, but compared to ten and eleven, that's going to be a lot more manageable not just for the moderators but more importantly for the candidates to try to get their messages across. They're also going to have more time to answer the questions and to rebut when somebody else talks about them.

But it is going to be a very different kind of feel also because we're now several weeks, even more, into the idea of Donald Trump and Ben Carson being at the top of the heap not only nationally, but in the key early states. And so the two of them are going to be center stage. And we are of course just at the tail end, maybe, or maybe in the middle of Ben Carson of having to defend a lot what of what he had written about, about his bio, about his childhood, and explain those things. And he has gotten a lot more fiery than he has been in the past. To see if that's going to show on the stage, if anybody is going to go after him in a way that they haven't before, that is going to be a true test. Because, let's face it, you all know this, this is what happens when you are a frontrunner or at least tied as a frontrunner. John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Dana Bash in Milwaukee where the candidates will be tonight.

ROMANS: Milwaukee.

BERMAN: It's from "Wayne's World", it's from "Wayne's World". It's homage to Mike Myers there in Milwaukee.

After the last debate, CNBC came under scrutiny, that's putting it mildly, came under fire for asking some candidates called gotcha questions. So tonight will the candidates get asked questions like that? Or will the Fox Business Network moderators dial it back?

Here to discuss what to expect is CNN politics reporter Jeremy Diamond. Jeremy, great to see you. Thank you for waking up for us and not shaving all at the same time.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Good morning.

BERMAN: Fox Business says they're going to ask about the economy. A lot of people want to know if they're going to ask about some of these controversies that have bubbled up over the last several days, particularly about one of the frontrunners, Ben Carson, and his past. Of course one of the key parts of Ben Carson's past is he says he was violent as a kid. Found God. It all changed. There have been some people who questioned aspects of that story. Last night at this packed rally in Illinois, Donald Trump really -- he made fun of the whole thing. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You stab somebody and the newspapers say you didn't do it. And you said yes, I did. I did it. No, you didn't. Yes, I did. I stabbed him and it hit the belt. And they said you didn't do it.

If they said I didn't do it, I'd be so happy. This is the only election in history where you are better off if you stab somebody. What are we coming to?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: So the question, Jeremy, is that what we're going to see tonight? Or are we going to be talking about tax rates and fiscal policy?

DIAMOND: Yes, so I think that Fox Business is certainly under pressure to make this a really fair debate and not ask some of the questions that were criticized last time around. But I think it's just really interesting when you have Donald Trump pointing out how weird and absurd this campaign season has gotten. And it's just the reflection that when you have these outsiders who are not typically politicians, things start to get a little weird.

And it is true that it is interesting when you have Ben Carson, you know, better off suggesting that he did, in fact, try and stab somebody than that he didn't. But, again, that's central to his life story. So that's what Ben Carson will try and continue to talk up, that he did in fact transform himself from this young man who had some violent tendencies to someone who found God, and that's something that is going to play really well with evangelical voters in Iowa for example where he is now leading.

So it's going to be interesting to see tonight. I think there's certainly going to be some questions raised. I think there should be some questions raised. You know, these are legitimate questions. But we'll see the direction that Fox Business is going to pick. It's up to them.

ROMANS: Also last night at that rally, Donald Trump taking on Starbucks for its design of the holiday cup that is sort of not a holiday cup really.

BERMAN: Anymore at least.

ROMANS: Anymore. Let's listen to Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I have one of the most successful Starbucks in Trump Tower. Maybe we should boycott Starbucks. I don't know. Seriously. I don't care.

[05:05:04] By the way, that's the end of that lease, but who cares. Who cares. Who cares?

But today, a big story that Starbucks is taking Merry Christmas off. No more Merry Christmas. I will tell you, lots of big things, lots of little things. You can call this anything you want. But if I become president, we will all be saying Merry Christmas again. That can tell you. That I can tell you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: So the war on Christmas plays in the Donald Trump campaign strategy. Jeremy?

DIAMOND: You know, I've seen so many red Starbucks cups in the last day and I haven't even been to Starbucks. That's insane. You know, this is red meat. You're just chucking it right to supporters. This is what they love. And it plays really well to this whole idea of the war on Christmas, et cetera. I mean, listen, I don't think that the Starbucks cups actually had, you know, I don't remember how Christmas themed they were.

ROMANS: I don't either.

BERMAN: There was no nativity seen on the side of the Starbucks cup. There was like bells and snowflakes.

ROMANS: No major theme at all.

DIAMOND: I don't know how much that screams Christmas. But, listen, the point is Donald Trump, you know, is trying to rally the conservative base, continuing to do that. This is one of the ways he can do it. He's talked about the Christmas thing before, that people say Happy Holidays and not Merry Christmas anymore and that, you know, it's not the way he likes to see things. It helps Donald Trump because it bolsters his image not only as one of these -- catering to that red meat conservative base, but also showing that he has evangelical credentials, something that he really needs to show as Ben Carson has been surging in Iowa and Trump has slipped a little bit. But he and Carson are neck and neck in Iowa now, and he's hoping maybe something like this can help, put him -- give him a little bit an edge.

BERMAN: Quickly, let's talk about Jeb Bush. I'm not going to play the sound from last night, but he was joking about the debate moderators in Wisconsin. The truth is if there is one candidate up there who needs to do the most tonight, it's Jeb Bush.

DIAMOND: Yes, absolutely. Jeb Bush last time really didn't do great. He's hired a consultant since who's helped him kind of try and change his image a little bit so that he can really go on the attack during this debate, and I think we're going to see that from Bush. I think we're going to see an attempt to take the gloves off and to really go out and not necessarily -- if he gets asked a question like last time that was about fantasy football, I don't think he'll actually answer about fantasy football. I think he'll learn from that and actually pivot to talk about what he wants to talk about, and showing Americans that he is truly fired up about this election and that he's prepared to take everybody on and to really, you know, play up to this TV era that we live in where the image really matters. And it's something Bush has struggled with in the past.

So tonight's going to be a really big test for Bush to see he really -- this campaign reboot is actually in full effect even when it comes to his debate performance.

BERMAN: Might be the last best chance he has to take that stand on the debate stage. Jeremy Diamond, thanks so much.

Jeremy's got a great piece on CNN Politics right now about the president and Benjamin Netanyahu, the politics, the inside politics of that meeting. So, everyone, rush to your computer immediately and check that out. Thanks, Jeremy

ROMANS: And he got up early for us, so he can do wrong in our eyes.

BERMAN: Exactly.

ROMANS: Thanks, Jeremy, nice to see you.

Time for an EARLY START on Your Money this morning. Asian markets mostly lower. New data out of China adding to growth concerns about the world's second largest economy. European markets are lower; so are U.S. stock futures right now. You know, yesterday the Dow dropped 180 points and turned negative for the year. NASDAQ and S&P also fell 1 percent. There's a growing sense strength in the jobs market makes an interest rate hike by the Fed more likely.

Volkswagen, after apologizing for two months, VW now putting its money where its mouth is. The automaker forking over $500 to carowners hurt by its emissions cheating scandal. Diesel owners will also receive another card worth $500. They can be spent only on purchases or services at Volkswagen or Audi dealerships, as well as free 24 hour roadside assistance for the next three years. Now, many carowners though told CNN Money they found this offer insulting, calling it a slap in the face. The offer will cost the company about $250 million. That's a fraction of the $7 billion needed to fix that growing by the way scandal.

BERMAN: As the credit card ad would say, Trust: Priceless.

ROMANS: Yes.

BERMAN: Protests over racism on campus forcing leaders at the University of Missouri to step down. Big surprises to tell you about. New developments next.

[05:09:27]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: There is new interim leadership at the University of Missouri this morning. This follows the surprising resignations of the university president and chancellor amid a controversy over race. Student anger over the racial climate on the Columbia, Missouri campus, it began boiling after a series of recent incidents involving racial slurs and hate symbols. Student activists accuse the university administration of inaction. A graduate student began a hunger strike, demanding university president Tim Wolfe step down.

In solidarity, the football team vowed not to play until the hunger strike ended. That might have cost the school $1 million if it did not show up to play at BYU this weekend. But that all ended with those resignations. Student activists were ecstatic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARSHALL ALLEN, MEMBER, CONCERED STUDENT 1950: The resignation of Tim Wolfe is a glimmer of hope for historically marginalized students whose voices have been silenced by patriarchal white male institutions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: CNN's Kyung Lah has the latest from Columbia.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John and Christine, a dramatic day here on the campus of the University of Missouri. They saw the resignation, the stunning resignation, of the university system president as well as the chancellor announcing that he's going to be moving into a new role.

[05:15:05] The president saying very clearly that he was accepting full responsibility of the non-response of his administration. All of this coming on the heels of a student proclaiming a hunger strike, a week long hunger strike, as well as the football team saying they would not be engaging in anymore athletic activities unless the president resigned.

And the president gave the students what they wanted.

TOM WOLFE, FORMER UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI PRESIDENT: And I take full responsibility for this frustration. And I take full responsibility for the inaction that has occurred. We need to use my resignation -- please, please, use this resignation to heal, not to hate. And let's move forward together for a brighter tomorrow.

LAH: The tents that you see behind me that are still here on the quad, these are the tents where the students were sleeping for the last week. They are empty now. The students spending the overnight in their rooms. But they pledge that the protest is not over, that there's a lot more work to be done. The university, for its part, says that they plan on putting in some new initiatives, initiatives they say will be implemented in the next 90 days.

John, Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: All right, Kyung, thank you very much.

It is the catch that has Chicago fans electrified this morning. There might be a future for the Chicago Bears. Monday Night Football was big. Zach Miller bigger. Tell you all about it. We have the Bleacher Report, Coy Wire next.

ROMANS: Forget trains, planes, and automobiles -- imagine barreling 700 miles an hour through an aboveground tube to get to your destination. The Hyperloop is the vision of entrepreneur Elon Musk. It may sound like science fiction, but there are companies trying to build it.

Rachel Crane reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELON MUSK, CEO, TESLA & SPACEX: There's a special case of cities which have a lot of travel between them below about 500 miles of distance where the Hyperloop would be useful. It is a special case solution. Because once the distances get long, then the amount of time that an aircraft takes to ascend and land, which is most of what it does in a 500 mile trip, that percentage declines, and then it's better to just use aircraft.

RACHEL CRANE, CNNMONEY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We dream about moving place to place in a blink of an eye. That's essentially the dream of the Hyperloop.

(on camera): What exactly is the Hyperloop?

DIRK AHIBORN, CEO, HYPERLOOP TRANSPORTATION TECHNOLOGIES: It's similar to an airplane on high altitudes. You have a low pressure inside a tube, a capsule that doesn't touch anywhere . Hovers. And then because of the low pressure, doesn't encounter a lot of resistance.

CRANE (voice-over): This concept of humans traveling around in tubes has been around for more than a century. Then, in 2013, Elon Musk drafted up actual blueprints and put the challenge of building it to the engineering community. Enter UCLA.

(on camera): The engineering aspects of this, they're actually quite simple. It's really the design that is the most technically challenging.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It' an unconventional system. And so you sort of have to invent everything from the ground up. The track is an entirely different element. The station is entirely different. The process of boarding is different. So, as architects, what we are trying to do is stitch together the technology, the social change and human experience.

ANNOUNCER: Elon. Evolution. A rare glimpse into the mind of a visionary. Brought to you by SAP. SAP helps the world's best companies run simple. Get more insights into business challenges and their solutions at CNNmoney.com/elonmusk.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:22:56] BERMAN: In the wake of the resignations of the University of Missouri chancellor and president, head football coach Gary Pinkel says his team ultimately decided that, first and foremost, they wanted to save a man's life.

ROMANS: Coy Wire has more on this morning's Bleacher Report. Hey, Coy.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS: Good morning, Christine and John. Yes, the Concerned Students hasd been seeking change for months on the Mizzou campus, some taking drastic measures in order to be heard. 30 African-American Missouri football players joined the cause. The entire team took this photo showing their solidarity, vowing not to play until a grad student's hunger strike ended. That seemed to be the tipping point, putting a tone of pressure on the Missouri hierarchy, eventually triggering change. The school would have missed out on over $1 million if the team missed its game this Saturday against BYU.

Coach Gary Pinkel spoke yesterday on why he didn'ot think twice about having his players' backs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARY PINKEL, MISSOURI HEAD FOOTBALL COACH: I got involved because I support my players and a young man's life was on the line. And, basically, that's what it came down to. My support of my players had nothing to do with anyone losing their job. With something like this, you know, football became secondary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Difference-makers indeed.

Four-time Major League All-Star, current Colorado Rockie Jose Reyes was arrested in Hawaii on Halloween for allegedly assaulting his wife. According to multiple reports, Reyes' wife told police he grabbed her off their hotel bed, grabbed her by the neck, and shoved her into a sliding glass door. She also told police she had injuries to her thigh, neck, and wrist. Reyes was arrested at the room for abuse of a family or househould member.

Russia track and field could be banned from next year's Rio Olympics. An independent report commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Commission detailed an apparent state-sponsored doping program. The commission's finding revealed what they called, quote, "a deeply rooted culture of cheating at all levels." Track and field's governing body, IAAF, they'll meet Friday to discuss any potential sanctions against Russian athletes.

Let's finish with Monday Night Football action where the play of the night goes to Christine Romans' Chicago Bears. Jay Cutler. The Chargers were up five with three minutes left.

[05:25:01] Check out Zach Miller, like a one handed bandit. Catch so sick you can't stand it. That's what I'm talking about, Christine. That's the game winner for the Bears. 22-19. The Chargers, they're in trouble. They lost five in a row.

But, Christine Romans, your Bears move to 3-5. This morning, can we get a slow clap for your Bears? How about that? Slow clap indeed.

ROMANS: I know, I need it because of my Cubs.

All right, thanks so much. Nice to see you, Coy.

WIRE: You too, guys.

BERMAN: All right, Republicans running for president, they are just hours away from taking the debate stage. Will that man have the debate he needs? Will that man lash out at his opponents? And what about Carly Fiorina? We will have the answers in a few hours. Ttell you all about it coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Republicans running for president will take the debate stage in a few hours, facing off on the economy as the candidates launch new attacks against each other.

[05:30:02] BERMAN: Cmpus revolt. Protests over racism and how the school was handling it has now forced leaders at the University of Missouri to step down. We have new developments this morning.