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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Kurdish Forces Launch Attack Against ISIS; Cruz And Rubio Scrap For Conservative Votes; Stock Futures Higher; Russia's Plan For Syria Sparks Criticism. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired November 12, 2015 - 05:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news this morning, a new U.S. backed operation to cut a key ISIS supply line. We are there live.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The battle for conservative voters, now candidates train eyes on Marco Rubio. The immigration discussion and how he has so far avoided moments of tension.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.

ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. It's 31 minutes past the hour. Plenty of moments of tension here, breaking news this morning, a new military offensive launched against ISIS. Kurdish Peshmerga forces aimed to recapture the town of Sinjar from ISIS with the help of U.S.-led air support.

It is being called "Operation Free Sinjar." The mountain is a key link between who halves of the ISIS so-called self-described caliphate. The city of Mosul in Iraq and the lands ISIS holds in Syria.

Senior international correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh, he is with Peshmerga forces outside Sinjar. He joins us now by phone. This is an important new strategy here. What's the latest?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: At this stage, we hear extraordinary blasts in the last 20 minutes. The direction of the town of Sinjar is creating a fire (inaudible). This is the main route.

Now, there appears to have been some advantage here. We cannot say exactly where we are because of the conditions as we agreed to be with the Peshmerga forces as they advance. We have seen intense fighting along the main road.

We see the Peshmerga has put themselves upon it at one particular point to the west and in control to some degree in that area. There have been enormous amounts of air power dropped on a town further to the west, which we suspect is where ISIS has their position.

Intense fighting along the area here with the Peshmerga in large numbers, 7,500 forces here, they are able to corroborate that with the idea. Sinjar is important because of the fate of the Yazidis held there.

Also because of the main route, the goal is to take the road and cut off Mosul from Raqqa. The hope of this operation is to show Peshmerga with the coalition to have momentum to retake territory.

ROMANS: All right, Nick Paton Walsh on the phone. We are not saying where he is for security concerns. Be careful. Thanks, Nick.

BERMAN: Very interesting development. This morning, the fight for conservative votes heating up in the Republican primaries, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio campaigning at early primary states today, Cruz in New Hampshire and Rubio in South Carolina.

Senator Cruz is going after Senator Rubio on trade, on agriculture subsidy, but mainly on immigration. Cruz has been highlighting Rubio's one time support for immigration reform helping author a bill in the Senate advocating amnesty before ultimately backing off.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If Republicans nominate for president a candidate who supports amnesty, we will have given up one of the major distinctions with Hillary Clinton and we will lose the general election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[05:35:05] BERMAN: Rubio avoided being drawn into the immigration discussion on Tuesday's debates. Now he says he would allow undocumented immigrants who have been in the U.S. longer than ten years to get a work permit if they learn English and pay a fine, though, something short of citizenship.

CNN's Sunlen Serfaty is with Rubio in South Carolina with the latest.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Christine. Marco Rubio is trying to keep the momentum going after the debate hitting two key states, Iowa and South Carolina. Here in Columbia, he opened up his first office in the first in the south primary state. He talked about the importance of this state in his road ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We plan to be here often, maybe not in the office every day, but in the state because we want to do well here. We want to be successful. This election could very well be decided. The nomination could be decided in the state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: A poll out in South Carolina this week shows that Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz are running neck and neck for third place here in South Carolina. That's behind Donald Trump and Ben Carson. Now Ted Cruz recently told CNN that it is a plausible outcome.

It could come down to him and Marco Rubio and certainly he has been telegraphing a few potential lines of attacks. He is ready to wage against Marco Rubio in that debate on Tuesday night. Certainly this sets up a big battle between the two ahead -- John and Christine.

ROMANS: All right, Sunlen Serfaty, thanks for that. Joining us to breakdown all the action is CNN politics reporter, Jeremy Diamond. Good morning, Jeremy. So much this morning is about Cruz and Rubio defining their positions on immigration or Rubio trying not to define his position on immigration.

All of this is because Donald Trump has really dominated the immigration conversation until now. Even in the debate, he talked about an Eisenhower plan and movement called "Operation Wetback."

Where they sent more than 1 million people back into Mexico that was really criticized at the time and in hindsight is very inhumane. Donald Trump is holding that up as an example about how he could also send people out of this country.

Bill O'Reilly on Fox last night challenged him on that. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL O'REILLY, FOX NEWS HOST, "O'REILLY": That was brutal what they did to those people to kick them back. The stuff they did was brutal. It could never happen today.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've heard it both ways. I've heard good reports. I've heard bad reports. We would do it in a very humane way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: A very human way, we've heard him promise that, but we really don't have the plans. It is true, though, that Donald Trump has certainly with conversations like this he keeps pushing the other candidates to the right.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Absolutely. You know, Donald Trump has really set the tone for this debate over immigration. He started off talking about it at his June campaign launch when he jumped into the race.

And he hasn't let go of the issue since, mainly because it was controversial the way in which he talked about it, you know, with his comments about undocumented Mexican immigrants being rapists and killers.

So he really stocked with it and pushed through the controversy and that kind of rocketed him to the top of the polls. Now of course that has an effect on the other candidates with pushing other candidates like Marco Rubio to the right on immigration.

You know, Marco Rubio recently saying that he would repeal president Obama's executive action on the dreamer kids to allow them to remain in the country legally. That's something that Rubio in the past said he would not repeal and without some plausible alternative. He is letting that go all together. When it comes to the issue of legal status, he is simply saying we will deal with that later. We want to deal with securing the border because that is the message that resonates with the conservative voters in the party.

But it's going to set him up for a challenging primary fight, you know, if he does go to the final two or three candidates as Senator Ted Cruz for example and other conservatives will question his record on it, his mix record on this issue.

BERMAN: You brought up Ted Cruz. One of the things is that the "New York Times" and "The Washington Post" every major political reporting outlet has done a story over the last few days about the possibility of Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio going head-to-head.

It may come down to this ultimately. Where are the dividing lines between these two candidates? They both have Cuban parents. It is interesting to see.

DIAMOND: Absolutely. They have a lot in common beyond their background. They were both rocketed to the Senate in this kind of Tea Party wave, and so both of them have credentials with that Tea Party hard line conservative base. But of course, Ted Cruz has really made a name for himself by being that hard line conservative.

[05:40:04]You know, he is the unflinching conservative, who doesn't waiver in the face of, you know, compromised or anything in the Senate that would kind of bring Democrats and Republicans closer together. He led the fight that shutdown the government.

That is one of his most famous moments including his filibuster in reading "Green Eggs and Ham" on the Senate floor, right? Marco Rubio on the other hand while, you know, he has very conservative ratings from these conservative groups that look at voting records and positions on abortion.

He is not in favor of exceptions for that some candidates are in favor of. But on the issue of immigration, he was one of the Republican leaders in the discussion with the Democrats with Chuck Schumer and Harry Reid to look at way to address comprehensive immigration reform.

Those efforts failed and Marco Rubio very quickly stepped back and tried to distance himself from it. Now it is coming to bite him.

BERMAN: Ted Cruz will talk about this as much as he can over the next several weeks. It will be interesting to see if a confrontation on the debate stage, the CNN debate stage one month from now in Las Vegas. Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much.

Racial tensions rising on college campuses across the country, new threats of violence and protests, we will tell you about it next.

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BERMAN: Police in Missouri have apprehended two people for allegedly making threats on social media against African-American students. One suspect, Hunter Park, was charged with making terrorist threats against University of Missouri students on the anonymous app, "Yik Yak."

Racial tensions are still simmering on the University of Missouri campus after the forced resignation of the president and chancellor. The other student suspected of making a threat, the freshman at Northwest Missouri State has not been charged.

ROMANS: The racial turmoil at the University of Missouri sparking protests over race and discrimination on campuses across the country, one of them at Ithaca College in upstate New York. Students held a solidarity walk Wednesday calling for the school's president to resign.

Some 600 students and faculty took part in the protest. The students expressing anger over the response by the administration to incidents of racism. The event was organized by the group, "People of Color" at Ithaca College.

BERMAN: Breaking overnight, three people are now in custody charged with pointing lasers at local television helicopters as they flew near the airports in New York City and New Jersey. Crews from WNBC, WCBS, and WABC were targeted. The WNBC crews helped police locate the two suspects in Brooklyn. Another person was arrested in Northern New Jersey.

Police in San Francisco shot and killed an armed man who had climbed to the sixth floor of a construction site aiming a rifle at a nearby hospital and then apparently at officers. Officials say the unidentified suspect got two firearms, one he allegedly robbed from a sporting goods store about 10 miles away. Police say the men fired at least one round before he was killed.

ROMANS: All right, 47 minutes past the hour. Time for an EARLY START on your money, U.S. stock futures, you can see barely moving this morning. But there is a stock that is soaring, Angie's List.

Billionaire Barry Diller launched a hostile bid to buy that site. Angie's List collects local reviews about plumbers, handymen, and doctors. Diller owns its rival, Home Adviser. The deal could combine those two sites in a hostile bid.

Fascinating new information about millennials, a record share of young women living at home, according to a new study from Pew, 36.4 percent of women ages 18 to 34 lived at home with their families last year. That tops the previous peak set in 1940.

Philadelphia story was in theaters in 1940. I have not seen this many young women living at home since Cary Grant -- Jimmy Stewart. Young men are living at home longer, the cultural shift like people marrying later and high levels of student debt. If you have a lot of debt, live at home.

BERMAN: You don't want your kids to move out. You try to mask this economic advice -- let's take a look --

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": Christine Romans, you don't want those baby boys to leave. It's OK.

BERMAN: All right, Michaela Pereira, what's coming up on NEW DAY.

PEREIRA: We will have a lot more on this major operation launched overnight to take a key Iraqi town from the grip of ISIS. Peshmerga forces are leading the charge and getting help from the coalition forces in the sky. The big question is can the ISIS key supply route be lifted? We will have a live report in Iraq.

And we are watching this case emerging from Virginia, a man tased at least 20 times by police. That man died a short time later. Police say the force was necessary. The family of the man, they believe otherwise. We will have all of the details and let you decide. We have a busy show.

ROMANS: OK, can't wait. Thanks, Michaela.

There is more controversy brewing over your holiday coffee cup. First Starbucks and now Dunkin' Donuts now finds itself in the fray. That's next.

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[05:53:51]

BERMAN: A leaked Russian plan to end the crisis in Syria not gaining traction. The proposal is for an 18-month constitutional reform period followed by early presidential elections. It does not rule out the possibility of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad running for re- election.

This is sparking criticism from some Arab and western nations. Later today, Secretary of State John Kerry will speak in Washington about U.S. efforts to end the Syrian civil war. Kerry will meet with his Russian counterpart and other world leaders in Vienna this weekend.

CNN's senior international correspondent, Frederik Pleitgen, is watching these developments live from London. This Russian plan leaked, but apparently, Fred, going nowhere.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, going nowhere apparently at this point. Criticism is putting it lightly, John. The Russians are now sort of back tracking a little bit saying this was a working proposal, an exchange of ideas, if you will.

But of course, especially the Syrian opposition is saying, listen, any sort of plan that would allow Bashar Al-Assad to run in an election is not something they would want to latch on to. Of course, the same sort of rhetoric would be coming from the Saudis as well as the Turks as well, who are very much against this.

The U.S. has a position in the middle. Secretary of State Kerry saying maybe Bashar Al-Assad could stay on for a while, but it has to be clear that he would go at some point in time.

[05:55:07]And all of this, John, of course, is very important as the international community and the U.S. gears up for the meeting in Vienna.

It is the most diplomatic push during the civil war in Syria and the fate of Bashar Al-Assad is the one dividing factor between all sides. They agree on many things that could lead to some sort of cease-fire in Syria.

But the fate of Assad is the one of the things that the Russians and Iranians on the one hand, and the U.S. and its allies on the other hand, simply cannot agree on. It is hard to see how the talks move forward if that is not an issue that's resolved -- John.

BERMAN: How far are the Russians willing to go to back Assad? I think the U.S. hoping for that answer. Frederik Pleitgen for us in London, thanks so much.

ROMANS: Alright, Syria is not the only mess on Vladimir Putin's plate. The Russian president ordering an investigation into the allegations of widespread state sponsored doping involving his country's top athletes.

Putin says Russian officials will cooperate with global anti-doping organizations, who are already calling for Russia's track and field athletes to be banned from the next year's Olympics in Rio.

BERMAN: This morning, there are growing concerns among aviation experts, the key evidence in the crash of Metrojet Flight 9268 that the evidence is being compromised. According to the report in the "Wall Street Journal," the Egyptian-led investigation is so bogged down in secrecy.

Critical clues could remain scattered across the desert undiscovered. Observers are also troubled by Russia's lack of transparency when it comes to autopsy findings on the victims.

ROMANS: All right, let's get EARLY START on your money this morning. Stock futures pointing lower right now over a new drop in oil prices pulled stocks lower yesterday.

Brand new this morning, a jump in foreclosures last month. U.S. foreclosures start to climb 12 percent, the biggest increase since 2011. The top states for these new foreclosures are Maryland, New Jersey, Florida, Nevada and Illinois. The foreclosure process can take years. Banks are pushing to get these started before the holidays.

The no tipping movement is picking up, Joe's Crab Shack is ditching tips at --

BERMAN: I hear nothing anymore.

ROMANS: The southern fried -- they could expand the policy nationwide. Servers will make $12 to $14 an hour instead of below minimum wage and rely on tips to make above minimum wage. Menu prices increase 12 percent to 15 percent. Diners will pay less. Their bill will be less. Joe's expects the higher wages to increase worker retention and reduce labor costs. The holiday coffee cup controversy brews. First the plain red cups from Starbucks and accusations the coffee giant was grinching Christmas. Now Dunkin' Donuts unveiled holiday cups with the word "joy," same as always. Social media users are praising Dunkin' Donuts for embracing Christmas unlike Starbucks.

BERMAN: I'm glad. I'm glad we can finally have this debate.

ROMANS: It is an important business story that matters to no one.

BERMAN: A new operation taking a key Iraqi town back from ISIS, a major development in the battle against ISIS. We have a reporter right here in the frontlines and "NEW DAY" picks it up now.

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ROMANS: Kurdish Peshmerga forces aim to recapture the Iraqi town of Sinjar from ISIS.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ISIS has had over a year now to build that city. Taking Sinjar will really be an important step.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This started out with the police going to help a man.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An hour later, he's dead.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Force was adequate at that time. Once they got his leg shackled, it should have stopped. It was intentional.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no accident here.

TRUMP: People want borders, we don't have a border. We don't have a country.

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There are parts of the border, you can't build a wall. I don't care what Donald Trump says.

MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: After ten years, I'm personally open.

BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm in favor of securing our borders and this is not a difficult thing to do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Thursday, November 12th, 6:00 in the east. We do have news breaking overnight, the U.S. involved in major fighting in Iraq. This is called a major offensive in the cross roads on the war on ISIS. Thousands of Peshmerga fighters supported by U.S. air power are doing battle for a key town.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Now coalition war planes will be overhead providing cover. The objective is to cut off major Jihadist supply lines from Syria and drive the terrorists out. Let's get the latest from CNN senior international correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh. He's outside of Sinjar this morning. Good morning, Nick.

WALSH: Local time last night, that's when it began. The night sky lit up by a series of explosions part of days of efforts by coalition aircraft to soften up the town of Sinjar ISIS defenders. It's symbolic because of what happened last year to the Yazidis that lived there, forced into the mountains, forced into slavery.