Return to Transcripts main page

Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Fear of Terrorism Boosts Trump in Polls; California Terror Attack: FBI Searches Lake; Trump Facing Backlash in Middle East. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired December 11, 2015 - 04:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:31:06] ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump on top in a new poll, but his proposal to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. putting him at odds with voters.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Were the San Bernardino shooters planning an even bigger terror attack? The FBI turning its attention now to the bottom of a lake this morning.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

KOSIK: And I'm Alison Kosik. It's 30 minutes past the hour.

And fears of terrorism boosting Donald Trump in the polls this morning. A new CBS News/"New York Times" survey putting Trump almost 20 points ahead of his nearest rival, Ted Cruz, the personal of people calling terrorism America's most important problem more than quadrupling to 19 percent. Trump soaring even though most Americans disagree with his proposal to bar Muslims from entering the U.S.

That may not matter in the primaries, though. The same NBC/"Wall Street Journal" poll finds the Republican electorate evenly divided on the Muslim exclusion plan. Trump campaigning late into the night on Thursday boosting his tough on crime credentials as he accepted a police union's endorsement.

The latest from CNN's Sara Murray in New Hampshire.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Good morning, Christine and Alison.

As the poll shows, Republican primary voters are sharply divided on whether they support or oppose Donald Trump's call to ban Muslims here in the U.S. His supporters here in New Hampshire are sticking by him, even if they don't necessarily agree with all of the details of his proposal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Statue of Liberty said, bring us your huddled masses and your poor yearning to be free. It didn't say bring in radical terrorists trying to kill us. So, until we can sort that out, I believe that we should close our borders. We were here first, we need to do some internal repairs and then we can have our country back.

MURRAY: Now, Donald Trump spoke here in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, last night, at an even that's a little bit different than the ones we normally see him at. He got the endorsement of a Policemen Benevolent Association and speaking here, he once against sought to cast himself as the toughest Republican in the field, calling for a mandatory death penalty on anyone found guilty of killing a police officer.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Anybody killing a police officer, death penalty. It's going to happen, OK? You can't go -- we can't let this go.

MURRAY: Now, Donald Trump is back on the campaign trail today. He'll be holding an event in Iowa. We are sure to get a better sense of that on how his proposal to ban Muslims is playing out in some of these other early voting states.

Back to you, Christine and Alison.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Sara Murray, thanks for that.

New signs the Republican Party may be worried about Donald Trump, top GOP officials discussing the possibility of a brokered Republican convention. The party leaders deciding this week to plan for a contested convention in case no one candidate earns enough primary delegates to win the nomination outright. One source telling CNN the concern was not aimed at Trump in particular, and it was not the only topic of conversation with this GOP dinner.

But Republican leaders and most of his opponents have been criticizing him for days over his Muslim exclusion plan. And now, a new voice has joined the chorus. Ted Cruz knocking Trump for the very first time.

At a private fund-raiser, Cruz pointed to new worries raised by terror attacks in Paris and San Bernardino. Cruz says in an audio obtained by "The New York Times", the question of judgment, quote, "is a challenging question for both Trump and Ben Carson".

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Both of them I like and respect, both Donald and Ben. I do not believe either one of them is going to be our nominee. I don't believe either one is going to be our president. I think both of them, their campaigns have a natural arc. And, with both of them, I think gravity is pulling them down. We have seen that. Carson is further in that descent.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

KOSIK: And overnight, we also heard from Hillary Clinton, saying she no longer finds Donald Trump very funny. Appearing on NBC's late night, Clinton telling Seth Meyers that Trump's Muslim exclusion proposal is no laughing matter, as far as she's concerned.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[04:35:06] HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have to say, Seth, I no longer think he's funny.

SETH MEYERS, COMEDIAN: Yes. I will say I started --

(CHEERS)

CLINTON: You know, I think for weeks, you and everybody else, we are just bringing folks to hysterical laughter and all of that. But now, he has gone way over the line. What is he saying now is not only shameful and wrong, it's dangerous.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: And Clinton would layout her own counterterrorism strategy next week in Minnesota. Her campaign says the plan will have a special focus on fighting domestic radicalization. The next Republican debate now less than five days away with the focus sure to be on how America's next president will keep the country safe. That's next Tuesday night, right here on CNN.

ROMANS: All right. This morning, divers resume searching a lake in San Bernardino. They are looking for evidence in that terror attack that killed 14 people.

The FBI now believes the male gunman Syed Rizwan Farook had ties to a local group of jihadists. Four of those men arrested in 2012 for trying to join al Qaeda in Afghanistan. Officials tell CNN that Farook was in the social circle of one of those men, Sohiel Kabir, a jihadist recruiter. He's now serving 25 years in prison.

Also, this new information about some of the guns used in the attacks. Federal sources tell "The L.A. Times" that Farook asked his neighbor Enrique Marquez to buy the two assault rifles because Farook feared he wouldn't pass a background check. The AR-15s were bought in 2011 and 2012, around the same time Marquez says he and Farook were considering a different terror attack.

Let's get more on the FBI investigation now from CNN's Kyung Lah in San Bernardino.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Alison and Christine, FBI dive teams have painstakingly searching this lake bit by bit. There is a report that the two killers were spotted here at this park on the day of the massacre. The FBI not specifying whether that report was before or after the massacre, but they say they will search this lake looking for any evidence.

A law enforcement source telling CNN that what they are looking for are any missing items, items that were not in the apartment that they are curious about, specifically a hard drive that is missing, that is one item they are looking for. They spent several hours here expected to resume the search at daybreak -- Alison and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOSIK: OK, Kyung, thanks for that.

And the governor of Connecticut will sign an executive order today banning the sale of guns in his state to people on government watch lists. The measure needs federal approval. Governor Dan Malloy's order will require Connecticut state police to review all potential gun buyers for suspected ties with terrorism. It would also revoke gun permits from people's whose names turn up on terror watch lists.

Members of a Muslim advocacy group on Capitol Hill say they are living in fear after someone sent a hate letter containing white powder to the headquarters. The building had to be evacuated, but the substance turned out to be harmless. Officials with CAIR, that's the Council on American Islamic Relations, say the letter that came with the powder read, "Die a painful death, Muslims." A CAIR office in Santa Clara, California, also had to be evacuated Thursday after receiving an envelope with white powder.

ROMANS: Time for an early start on your money this Friday morning. Stock futures are lower around the world, folks. Here in the U.S., stocks futures also leaning down here. Low oil prices weighing down markets, global stock markets. OPEC says it pumped more oil last month than any month in the last three years. That's sent oil prices lower. The barrel of crude now below $37.

Stocks managed to break a three-day losing streak, though, yesterday. The Dow climbed about 82 points. But watch oil is the big driver here in markets these days.

Flying international and want more leg room? American Airlines is adding premium economy setting to its international flights at the end of the year. What will passengers get? Wider seats that recline and extending foot rest. Bigger TV screens, better meals.

How much these will cost? American won't say, just that prices will be similar to competing airlines. But a new choice for you, American frequent flyers, if you're flying international.

KOSIK: I like how they come up with the combination. Premium economy, it kind of puts the sparkle in economy.

(LAUGHTER)

KOSIK: A manhunt happening now for terrorists who may have played a role in the Paris attacks. We are live with the search, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:43:54] ROMANS: All right. Welcome back to EARLY START.

Swiss authorities raising the terror alert after getting a tip about a potential terror attack. Police patrols ramped up in Geneva this morning. A source close to the investigation say this tip came from U.S. intelligence. Investigators searching for ISIS operatives.

I want to bring in CNN's Alexandra Field monitoring the very latest developments live from London.

Nice to see the international authorities speaking to each other, talking about what they are seeing. What do we know about how deep this threat goes that they are looking at right now?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the intelligence was shared as you pointed out, Christine, helped the Swiss authorities to make some important decisions here, which was to elevate their alert level.

What they have learned is that there are five suspects who they are now looking for who appear to be part of a network that also includes a well known ISIS recruiter who is believed to have recruited the Bataclan attackers. They believe the five people travelled to Syria at some point and returned to Europe. It was U.S. intelligence authorities who had intercepted communications among the extremist group.

[04:45:00] During those conversations, authorities say there were talks about potential attacks in Geneva, Chicago, Toronto. That information, of course, was passed on to the Swiss authorities who are also looking at a few other pieces of information which have led them to put the country in the city of Geneva on the higher alert level. Associate of Salah Abdeslam, the missing Paris attacker, a suspected Paris attacker, had an associate who crossed into Swiss territory.

Officials do not know where that person is. So, that was one other piece of information that raised red flags.

What isn't clear to authorities however is whether or not the five people that they're looking for remain in Swiss territory or if they've left the country -- Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Alexandra Field, thank you for that, Alexandra.

KOSIK: Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl speaking out for the first time about his decision to walk away from his outpost in Afghanistan. Bergdahl speaking with filmmaker Mark Boal with the popular podcast "Serial." He says he was trying to reach another outpost to report a failure in leadership in his outfit. He admits he was trying to be something of a super soldier.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

SGT. BOWE BERGDAHL, U.S. ARMY: What I was seeing from my first unit all the way up into Afghanistan, all I was seeing was basically leadership failure to the point that the lives of the guys standing next to me were literally, from what I could see, in danger of something seriously going wrong and somebody being killed.

Doing what I did was me saying I am like Jason Bourne.

MARK BOAL, FILMMAKER: Right, the character in a book or whatever, a character.

BERGDAHL: Yes.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

KOSIK: Bergdahl was captured by the Taliban 20 minutes after leaving his post. He is facing desertion and misbehavior before the enemy charges. It still hasn't been determined whether he is going to be facing court martial proceedings.

ROMANS: Former Oklahoma City police officer Daniel Holtzclaw found guilty of rape. Jurors deliberated more than 40 hours, over four days, before convicting the ex-cop on 18 of 36 counts against him. Holtzclaw weeping openly in court when the verdict was read. He was accused of assaulting or raping 13 women, all of them black, while he was on the job. Holtzclaw faces sentencing next month.

KOSIK: A Louisiana police officer who witnessed two other officers shoot an autistic boy and his father says he did not open fire because he didn't fear for his life. Two Marksville City marshals are charged with murder in the shooting death last month of the boy. The father, Christopher Few, was critically wounded. Court documents also reveal a body cam worn by the cop who witnessed the shootings shows the father with his hands raised when the first shots rang out.

ROMANS: Increased security will greet students at Arkansas State University this morning after a man drove on campus armed with propane and a shotgun, 47-year-old Bradley Bartelt was placed in custody after pouring gasoline on his truck near a campus building on Jonesboro Thursday. No one was injured. Authorities credit the active shooter training for deescalating the situation.

KOSIK: Breaking news this morning: a medevac helicopter crashed overnight in central California, killing all four onboard. The Skylife air ambulance went down amid heavy rain and fog on its way to a hospital in Bakersfield. A spokesman for the ambulance company says the pilot, a nurse, a paramedic and the patient all died in that crash.

ROMANS: The Pacific Northwest hammered by severe weather still. Oregon's governor, Kate Brown, declaring a state of emergency in 13 counties. The area is hit with flooding, landslides, as you can see the whole streets here simply gone, gone. It was the same story in Washington state. You can see crews cleaning up a landslide. Meantime, a tornado also touched down in the region. Trees down, homes sustaining some damage. Fortunately no serious injuries reported.

KOSIK: Those are amazing pictures.

ROMANS: They really are.

KOSIK: The question is, will Washington and Oregon get a break?

Let's get to meteorologist Derek Van Dam.

Good morning.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Alison and Christine.

Check this out. We know our peak tornado season is roughly about April, May and June. But little did we think we would experience a tornado this late in the year.

Look at December. On average, the U.S. only experiences about 24 tornadoes and it is even more rare to experience a tornado in Washington itself. In fact, they normally see about three per year. Yesterday alone, they experienced two with several reports of hail and wind damage as well.

Now, we've got a complex storm system moving eastward across the country this weekend. It's going to spread snowfall from Montana, Idaho and Utah through the Rockies, and ahead of it with our warm surge of air. It's also setting up the possibility of severe weather.

Here is the timeline. Late Saturday night from Dallas moving eastward into Jackson, Birmingham and Montgomery by late Sunday afternoon. We are still talking about above average temperatures along the East Coast and nation's capital, upper 60s.

[04:50:05] And it looks like that warming trend will continue for the Big Apple as well. So, enjoy the warmth.

Back to you.

ROMANS: All right. We will. Thanks so much for that.

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer giving birth to twin girls and reignites the maternity leave debate. We're going to get an early start on your money, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: More repercussions from overseas facing Donald Trump. The frontrunner telling CNN this week that he has powerful Muslim allies who support his proposal to ban Muslims from entering the U.S.

But now, one of his influential Middle Eastern friends is saying Trump's brand is, it will be taking a hit and he won't be welcome in Muslim countries moving forward.

[04:55:09] CNN correspondent Sara Sidner is live in Istanbul with the latest.

You know, we are seeing Donald Trump upsetting just about everybody here in the U.S., except his supporters, but biting the hand that feeds him in the Mideast, meaning, you know, the Trump brand that's expanded overseas.

SARA SIDNER, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, that's a really good way to put it. He is not just being hit really politically overseas, but he is being hit where it hurts in the wallet for his Trump brand, for his business. And we are now hearing from one of the people who considers himself a friend of Donald Trump who is Muslim and who happens to be the CEO of Qatar Airways.

He's talked about the fact, yes, we are friends. There are pictures of the two together. They had spent time together, I'm sure done some business deals together. And you are hearing the reaction from him. He certainly does not agree with Trump's idea of temporarily suspending all Muslim foreign nationals from coming into the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AKBAR AL BAKER, CEO, QATAR AIRWAYS: He is also not realizing that he has investments in Muslim countries and he will not be welcome there anymore. So, I think what he is saying is not in the best interest of the relationship between him and the Muslim world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: You know, it is not often that you get agreement across the Middle East. We are talking about from Israel all the way through to Pakistan. There is a condemnation of this idea.

The Iraqi prime minister has come out and said, hey, his comments are extreme in and of itself. It is the kind of thing that fuels a group like ISIS. A lot of people are hearing that. In the U.K., you are hearing from the citizens who have decided to try to ban Trump from coming into the United Kingdom. And they're saying, if you are going to ban Muslims, we think that hate speech, we want you to be banned.

And now, because there are 500,000 signatures, it is possible that the U.K.'s parliament, the British parliament, may have to debate this because of the laws there in Britain. So, this is certainly galvanized a lot of people and upset a lot of people.

But there was one comment that we noticed online that was really interesting, and it was someone who had really fought through and sort of said, you know, maybe it's our fault as Muslims. Maybe Mr. Trump doesn't know what a real Muslim is and how a real Muslim thinks. These extremists are not representative of us. Maybe we need to reach out to him and teach him, because it seems that he is just uneducated about who we really are -- Alison.

KOSIK: You know, Trump's extraordinary statements being met with an extraordinary statement by the CEO we just played saying that Trump is not going to be welcomed in Muslim countries moving forward. How enforceable is this and could this also be a veiled -- maybe a veiled threat of some sort about Trump's safety if he travels overseas?

SIDNER: I'm not sure it's a veiled threat about his safety. I mean, this is a CEO of Qatar Airways. But it certainly is possible that the government can say this is hate speech, we don't want someone like this in our country, and work towards keeping him out. I mean, any country has the right to do that.

You also have to think about some of the Trump properties. There's a Trump property here. There's a Trump towers here. It's got his name on it. Of course, it is not owned by Donald Trump. It is licensed. His name is licensed to the person who owns the building.

But he has those sort of properties all around. He is also trying to make a mark in the Middle East. There is big money in places like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and he's kind of gone into those markets as well with some of his wares, some of his home wares.

And there is a huge retailer, for example, who said, you know what, this hurts the sentiments of customers here in the Middle East and we're going to suspend all sales of Trump branded items.

So, this could really hurt his business. A business that he was trying to sort of interject into the Middle East. And as far as people go when they hear these kinds of comments, there is absolute reaction, calling him all sorts of names. Probably the number one name we have heard is fascists -- Alison.

KOSIK: And something tells me, the businesses are going to continue lining up against Donald Trump as far as it goes when he continues to make these extraordinary statements.

Sara Sidner, thanks so much.

ROMANS: All right. Speaking of money, let's get an early start on your money this morning. Markets lower around the world. U.S. stock futures taking their lead. Low oil prices still weighing down global stock market.

OPEC says it pumped more oil last month than any month than the last three years. That sent oil prices even lower. A barrel of crude oil now $37, below $37 a barrel. Investors are looking ahead to next week's Fed meeting when the central bank could raise rates for the first time in nearly a decade.

It is twin girls for Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer and her husband. The girls are healthy and were born early Thursday morning. During her last pregnancy, critics slammed her for setting a precedent for working moms. You know, she worked from home during the leave and went back to the office just two weeks after giving birth. Mayer says she plans on doing the same this time.