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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Obama's Oval Office Address on ISIS; The Radicalization of Syed Farook; Jimmy Carter Cancer Free; Jets Defeat Giants in NFL Overtime, Panthers Stay Unbeaten. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired December 07, 2015 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:02] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: President Obama vowing to defeat ISIS in a new Oval Office address. His call for action for Congress and how he says terrorism has evolved.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: New information this morning on the shooters in California. What we're now learning about their pasts and their loyalties.

Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.

ROMANS: Good morning. I'm Christine Romans. It is Monday, December 7th. It is 5:00 a.m. in the East.

This morning President Obama trying to reassure the American public that he has a plan to fight ISIS. In a rare Oval Office address that aides say he largely wrote himself, the president sought to calm public jitters over terrorism. This in the wake of the attacks in San Bernardino, California. The deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil since September 11th.

The latest now from senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, as expected there were no major policy proposals in the president's Oval Office address. This was more about reassuring the American people that President Obama has the correct strategy for dealing with ISIS. The president described the recent attack in California as a terrorist attack. And here's more of what the president had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We cannot turn against one another by letting this fight be defined as a war between America and Islam. That, too, is what groups like ISIL want. ISIL does not speak for Islam. They are thugs and killers. Part of a cult of death. And they account for a tiny fraction of a more than a billion Muslims around the world. Including millions of patriotic Muslim- Americans who reject their hateful ideology. Moreover, the vast majority of terrorist victims around the world are Muslim.

If we're to succeed in defeating terrorism, we must enlist Muslim communities as some of our strongest allies, rather than push them way through suspicion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: The president went on to say the violence in California underlines a major threat facing the country from self-radicalized terrorists who draw their inspiration from ISIS. So the president is recommending that law enforcement and social media companies work together more closely to be on the lookout for extremists who are online and talking about potential attacks on the U.S. homeland. As for possible congressional action, the president asked lawmakers to give him a new authorization to use military force against ISIS, something he's done before.

And Mr. Obama also wants to beef up the nation's gun laws. He's demanding that people on the no-fly list be barred from buying firearms, a proposal that's opposed by the NRA. As for what the president can do on his own, the White House is planning to hold a summit later this month on going after the financing of ISIS. He's also vowing to intensify airstrikes targeting ISIS in Syria along with the British who have just joined that part of the anti-ISIS campaign -- John and Christine.

BERMAN: All right, thanks, Jim.

Joining us to talk about the president's address and the Republican candidates' response, Steven Sloan is CNN Politics managing editor for content.

Steven, thanks so much for being with us. You know, we're told by the president's aides that he wrote this address largely himself is what his only his third time he's actually given a speech from the Oval Office. It's not an area where he normally likes to do it. So why? Why did he do this and did it achieve what the White House wanted it to?

STEVEN SLOAN, CNN POLITICS MANAGING EDITOR FOR CONTENT: Well, I think the president clearly understood that it was time to reassure the American public that there was concern that was kind of reaching a fever pitch out in the country that there might be an attack in the U.S. that the nation isn't safe.

And so I think he wanted to speak directly to the American people on a -- on Sunday night, which is a huge night for television, and try to connect and remind them, you know, obviously, so much of the media's attention right now is on the campaign and that the campaign to succeed him. But I think the president was trying to remind people that he's still there and he's got the situation under control.

And in terms of whether it was successful, you know, he didn't really offer any new policy prescriptions so it's unclear that, you know, the public seems to be wary of what's going on right now. And he really didn't offer anything new.

ROMANS: Right.

SLOAN: So we'll see if that actually, you know, calmed anyone down.

ROMANS: The White House saying we have a strategy and it will work. And the Republicans running for president say there's nothing new here and this president doesn't get it. That's what they're all saying.

Let's listen to what Marco Rubio said in particular last night about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He announced nothing new other than we need gun control, even though it would have done nothing to prevent the attack in California. We need to prevent people on the no-fly list from buying his weapons even though there are people that work for DHS that are on the no-fly list. And by the way, these individuals that conducted this attack would not have been prevented from accessing their weapons.

And then the cynicism, the cynicism tonight to spend a significant amount of time talking about discrimination against Muslims. Where is there widespread evidence that we have a problem in America with discrimination against Muslims and the refusal to call this for what it is, a war on radical Islam?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Donald Trump in a tweet -- Donald Trump was on twitter while the speech was happening. Surprise, surprise. Donald Trump basically saying the same thing that Marco Rubio said in that last comment, saying, "Well, Obama refused to say he just can't say it, that we are at war with radical Islamic terrorists."

[05:05:11] No surprise I think that the Republican candidates found what they say is nothing new and only reason to criticize the president from that speech.

SLOAN: Yes. There was nothing really surprising about that. There was no real overlap between what the Republicans are saying and what the president was saying. And I guess if anything, that just shows how wide apart Republicans and Democrats are in this country over what the problem is and how to go about solving it.

BERMAN: But let me first remind you as we hear from the Republican candidates. They're going to get a chance to talk about this at length a week from now. The next debate is on CNN. That's December 15th. Next Tuesday night it's on foreign policy. So that will be a rich opportunity here.

ROMANS: Right.

BERMAN: From all the Republican candidates on this. In the meantime, Steven, you were talking about how the president was doing among the American public in his handling of terrorism. Now after the Paris attacks, before the San Bernardino attack, we asked, do you approve of how the president handles ISIS? The answer there, 33 percent said they approve, 64 percent disapproved. That was before San Bernardino. 64 percent disapprove. And should the U.S. send ground troops to fight ISIS, 53 percent said yes, 45 percent say no. You trust me on that one. That is a big shift than what we've seen over time. It does seem that the opinion among the American people was changing. SLOAN: A pretty overwhelming numbers there and changes that we've

seen just from earlier this year. And as you say, this was before the attacks in California. And you can only imagine what those numbers might be when polling is collected in the aftermath of that. But, you know, I think one of the more interesting -- one of the interesting numbers there as you say was for the first time, a majority of Americans say that ground troops should be used to fight ISIS and that's something that the president specifically ruled out last night saying that we don't need to get essentially bogged down in another long and costly war in the Middle East.

ROMANS: Right.

SLOAN: And so you kind of have questions about whether the president and the public are in different places here.

ROMANS: Well, it's interesting, though, the president is sending special ops troops. There will be more special ops forces in Iraq, right, to fight ISIS. There are some military things in addition to the airstrikes that the U.S. is doing. But what is it that people want? Do they want from their president when you look at polls like that? And do they want -- they want him to speak more forcefully? Is this, you know, steady as she goes strategy is not resonating?

SLOAN: Well, I think that it's not resonating, as you say. But I think the American public is still trying to work out what exactly it wants. If you look deeper into the polling there, the wide number of people who want the -- want America to play a more dominant role in the world. But they still don't want the world -- they don't want the U.S. to be the world's policemen.

ROMANS: Right.

SLOAN: They are still kind of hangover, if you will, from the wars of the past decade. And they don't want to kind of get engaged in something like that again.

BERMAN: And what about Hillary Clinton? We hadn't heard from her since this speech but she was talking much of Sunday about these subjects.

SLOAN: Yes, I mean, the silence after the speech has been a little fascinating. Obviously Republicans were -- didn't waste any time jumping in. And so it's interesting that she hasn't weighed in yet. But, you know, she was out yesterday talking about why she is not using the term radical Islamic terror that Republicans have been pressing both Clinton and Obama to use and saying that, you know, she doesn't see this as an opportunity to feed into the ISIS' narrative that this is a war against Islam.

BERMAN: All right, Steven Sloan, thank you so much for being with us this morning. Appreciate it.

SLOAN: Good to be here.

ROMANS: All right. New information we have for you this morning in the California terror attack. The father of one of the shooters revealing the troubling change in behavior and the beliefs he noted in his son. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:13:27] BERMAN: New details about the radicalization of San Bernardino shooting suspect Syed Farook. Farook's father told reporters his son had expressed support for ISIS and was fixated on Israel and its destruction. The FBI now investigating contacts Farook had with other suspected radicals before he and his wife began their bloody rampage.

Let's get more from CNN's Kyung Lah in San Bernardino.

KYUNG LAH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, John and Christine, the father of Syed Farook has been speaking to reporters on and off. He stopped to speak to reporters from his doorsteps saying that his son was growing more conservative.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SYED FAROOK, FATHER OF SAN BERNARDINO SUSPECT: All Pakistanis coming from the major cities are liberal people. And he was going towards conservation.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: He was going towards what?

FAROOK: You know, his views were conservative. Mine was liberal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: The father detailed much more in an interview with Italian newspaper "La Stampa" saying that his son shared the ideology of al- Baghdadi to create an Islamic State and was fixated on Israel. Relatives in Pakistan tell CNN that they were increasingly becoming concerned about the shift in character of Farook.

Throughout the weekend, there was no official news from the authorities. We are expecting that to change later today when the FBI holds a news conference. Also, Farook's co-workers who were targeted during the shooting, they will return to work this morning -- John, Christine.

ROMANS: Kyung Lah -- thank you, Kyung.

The Justice Department is reportedly set to launch an investigation into the Chicago Police Department, expanding its ongoing civil rights probe into the shooting death of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.

[05:15:08] It comes after news the news that police reports on the McDonald shooting differs starkly from what is seen on the dash cam video. McDonald was shot 16 times by Officer Jason Van Dyke. The federal investigation of the Chicago PD will be similar to those in Baltimore and Ferguson, Missouri.

BERMAN: New details in the fatal shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice by a Cleveland police officer last year. An expert hired by the Rice family alleges the boy's hands were in his pocket and not reaching for the pellet gun he was carrying when he was shot and killed by Officer Timothy Loehmann. The expert studied enhanced video of the shooting. Other suspects have called the police shooting clearly objectionably -- objectively reasonable. A grand jury has been hearings evidence in the Tamir Rice case since October.

ROMANS: Time for an EARLY START on your money this morning. European stocks climbing. U.S. stock futures are up as well. Stocks rallied Friday. Big day after a jobs report showed solid jobs growth. That paves the way for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates next week. Uncertainty about the Fed's strategy has held markets back for months. Stocks have mostly moved sideways this year. That's the tally for the year.

The Dow is barely up. The S&P 500 up just 1.6 percent. The Nasdaq is in a lot better. Up more than 8 percent. But now as the economy improves, the Fed's plan seems more clear and investors are betting on the first rate hike in a decade this month. And that of course will mean higher, you know, borrowing costs for car loans, for home loans and for credit cards.

BERMAN: All right. The East Coast facing an usually warm December. Let's get to meteorologist Pedram Javaheri.

(WEATHER REPORT)

BERMAN: All right, Pedram. Thank you so much.

Some wonderful news from former president Jimmy Carter. He revealed this to parishioners at his church in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, on Sunday. He says his prayers have been answered.

Let's get more from CNN's Nick Valencia.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, Jimmy Carter says he is cancer free. The former U.S. president made this stunning announcement at the start of Sunday school church service in his hometown of Plains, Georgia. After hearing the news, parishioners in attendance erupted into applause the unexpected announcement by the 91-year-old.

It was just this summer that President Carter announced that he was diagnosed with cancer and had to undergo a procedure in August to remove a small mass from his liver. The doctors did say that the cancer was also found in his brain. That melanoma included four spots about two millimeters in diameter.

President Carter did start to undergo radiation treatment as well as an experimental drug called pembrolizumab. He mentioned that drug in a statement he released to the media, which said, "My most recent MRI brain scan did not reveal any signs of the original cancer spots nor any new ones. I will continue to receive regular three-week immunotherapy treatments of pembrolizumab."

We did speak to one of the leaders of the church who said that they had been praying for this announcement but didn't expect it to come. They called it a miracle -- John, Christine.

BERMAN: Wonderful news to be sure.

ROMANS: It really is.

BERMAN: All right. The Carolina Panthers trying to remain the only unbeaten team in the NFL. The New Orleans Saints only to ruin that perfect season. It went right down to the wire and there were also some other shocking news in the world of football.

Andy Scholes has the low-lights in the "Bleacher Report" next.

[05:19:30]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: So how was your Sunday? Mine sucked. The Patriots are a disaster all of a sudden but for the Jets I guess things are good which means you're -- you know, you're annoying people and happy.

(LAUGHTER)

ROMANS: Andy Scholes has more on this morning's "Bleacher Report."

Turn his frown upside down or maybe you can't.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS: You can't. I don't know what happened with the Patriots, John. It was 14-0. I walk outside for 20 minutes and all of a sudden, they're losing. But yes, that was not a good for --

ROMANS: So a dipper.

SCHOLES: Yes, not a good afternoon for the Patriots. But hey, like you said, Jets fans they're going to get a hold on to some bragging rights in New York City for quite a while. You know, the Jets and Giants can only play each every four years. And they were facing off yesterday. Both teams of course call MetLife Stadium home so no home field advantage in this one. And the Giants, they had this game in hand. They were up 20-10 in the fourth quarter.

But Ryan Fitzpatrick led the comeback with 27 seconds left. He found Brandon Marshall for that touchdown to tie the game. They go to overtime. The Jets took the lead in a field goal and the Giants had the opportunity to tie but Josh Brown misses his first field goal of the season. Jets win 23-20. They improve to 7-5 on the year. Giants are now 5-7.

[05:25:01] The Steelers putting a beatdown on the Colts in the late game yesterday. Antonio Brown had three touchdowns in the game. By far the most entertaining moment is the 71-yard punt return that he finished off by doing this. Ouch. I cringe every time I see that. Somehow Brown popped right back up. The Steelers won this game big, final 45-10.

The Carolinas Panthers surviving a shootout with the Saints to remain undefeated. New Orleans, they took the lead on a Mark Ingram touchdown with under six minutes to go. And check out Ingram. He nearly drills a camera lady on the sidelines with the ball. And her face is priceless. Now Cam Newton continues to make the case that he is this year's MVP. He had five touchdowns in the game. The last going to Jerome Cotchery with a minute to go as the Panthers win this one in a close game, 41-38.

All right. College football playoffs are now set. Top seeded Clemson is going to take on the Oklahoma Sooners in Miami in the Orange Bowl on New Year's Eve. That game will be followed by Alabama taking on Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas. The winners from those two game will then meet for the National Championship on January 11th in Glendale, Arizona.

And guys, Heisman votes are due today. And for the first time in the history of the Heisman Trophy, I have a vote. So I'm going to be spending the rest of the day looking over who to vote for.

BERMAN: That's great. And what an honor that is. Congratulations, Andy Scholes.

ROMANS: Very cool.

BERMAN: Can't wait to see who wins.

SCHOLES: Yes.

ROMANS: All right, thanks, Andy.

SCHOLES: All right.

ROMANS: All right. President Obama vowing to defeat ISIS and reassure a nation shaken by the California terror attack. What he says needs to be done, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)