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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Mistrial for Baltimore Officer, Protests Erupt; The Race for President: Candidates Target Each Other; California Terror Attack: Investigating the Shooters. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired December 17, 2015 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:12] CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN ANCHOR: Baltimore on edge this morning. Protesters in the street after a mistrial for one of the police officers charged in Freddie Gray's death.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Republicans running for president back on the campaign trail and some new feuds are forming after the Tuesday debate. What the candidates are saying.

ALESCI: And new information about the San Bernardino shooters. What the FBI is now revealing about the terrorists.

Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Cristina Alesci.

SANCHEZ: And I'm Boris Sanchez. Cristina, happy to be here with you.

It's Thursday, December 17, 4:00 a.m. on the East Coast.

And this morning, the defense and prosecutor in the Freddie Case are meeting in the Baltimore courtroom to discuss setting a new trial date. That's after the judge set a mistrial in the first prosecution of a police officer in connection with Gray's death.

CNN's Miguel Marquez in Baltimore for us with the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Cristina, Boris, there was an audible gasp in the courtroom when Judge Barry Williams announced that the jury was deadlocked on all four charges against Officer William Porter. I think there was an expectation that he would be found guilty perhaps on some of the lower charges and either a hung jury or not guilty on the upper charges that he was facing.

The family of Freddie Gray is speaking closely to CNN. His mother saying she was upset that the jury wasn't able to come up with a verdict on this go. But the father saying, his stepfather was saying that he thanked the jury for its work and asked the citizens of Baltimore to stay calm.

RICHARD SHIPLEY, FREDDIE GRAY'S STEPFATHER: We are hopeful that Ms. Mosley will retry Officer Porter as soon as possible and that his next jury will reach a verdict. Once again, we ask the public to remain calm and patient because we are confident there will be another trial with a different jury. We are calm. You should be calm.

MARQUEZ: And in large part, that's just what they did, just after the non-verdict was announced. There were a few dozen protesters outside the courthouse here. They marched to city hall and then to police headquarters, very large numbers of police though met them. Those police not in riot gear, but in force, keeping them off the streets from blocking major thoroughfares.

There were a couple of dust-ups along the way. Two were arrested, but in large part, peaceful, boisterous, but not a huge problem for the city to face.

The question now is what next for Officer William Porter? The prosecution has indicated it would like to retry the case, but it is not soon how that will move forward. The judge is going to hold a meeting tomorrow among all the parties to talk about scheduling to see how this moves forward. It's clearly in the days ahead, we are going to see a lot of lawyer strategy and tactics being employed before they move forward. Not with the Porter case, but with the five others that they want to get done here -- Cristina, Boris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALESCI: Well, thank you for that reporting, Miguel.

And on to politics, Donald Trump returning to the campaign trail after the Republican debate. And for the most part, returning to form. But he showed a touch of what may be called humility in an appearance last night on "The Jimmy Kimmel Show".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would like to see the Republican Party come together. And I have been a little bit divisive in the sense I have been hitting people a bit hard.

JIMMY KIMMEL, COMEDIAN: A little bit? Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALESCI: Well, earlier at a rally in front of thousands of the airport hangar in Mesa, Arizona, it was more of the tried and true Trump, boasting about his huge poll numbers. The candidate spoke off the cuff and hopscotched across topics, including immigration, the Iran nuclear deal, and, of course, the media and his rivals for the Republican nomination.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny was there and he has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Boris and Cristina, Donald Trump still riding high after that debate performance earlier this week. He talked about how good of a job he did. He bragged to his supporters, no surprise perhaps.

But as he rallied his supporters in Arizona, he still seemed to be focused on Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor, who appeared to get under his skin at the debate. He spent a bit of time during his campaign rally talking about Governor Bush. Take a listen.

TRUMP: Last night, so I had Jeb come at me. You know, low energy. Now, I'm standing there and all of a sudden, I hear Donald Trump -- just like.

He said it just the way his pollster told him to say it. Then I hit back very, very hard, but, look, we need strong people. We need sharp people.

ZELENY: Now, when Donald Trump says "we need strong people", he is talking about him. His key selling point is that he is the strongest Republican candidate in this field. He is going to be the one who's going to protect you, protect America.

Well, that conversation is still going to be going on into the weekend here as candidates do the final round of campaigning before the holidays. Donald Trump is heading to Iowa, trying to get back in the game there a little bit. Ted Cruz has been gaining ground on him, even overtaking him in Iowa. But Donald Trump is still playing the role of the frontrunner. Now, with just less than six weeks to go before the voting begins, he remains on top unscathed for that debate and it's everyone against him -- Boris and Cristina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Donald Trump never one to hold back. Thank you, Jeff.

The other big debate rivalry between Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz heating up on the campaign trail. Rubio now on a swing through Iowa. Meantime, Ted Cruz launching a multistate swing with rallies today in Nevada and Minnesota.

With Cruz's profile rising on the right wing of the GOP, he is now coming in second in many polls. And that means he is dodging more arrows from candidates behind him in the back, many of them launched by Marco Rubio.

CNN's Sunlen Serfaty zeroing in on the rivalry on the trail with Cruz in Los Angeles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Cristina and Boris.

Well, this new clash, this new front that is opened up between Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz has been spilled out from the debate stage now to the campaign trail.

I asked Senator Cruz about his laser focus on Marco Rubio, the battle that has been brewing for some time. If that is an indication he is a little nervous about Rubio's rise. He says, no, I'm not nervous. Rubio's nervous.

Here's what he said in Los Angeles.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think Senator Rubio's campaign understands that if conservatives continue to unite, they don't have a path to victory. So, their only hope is to try to launch false attacks and, unfortunately, that's something they have been doing more and more.

SERFATY: Now, trying to create a little momentum after the debate, Ted Cruz will kickoff today his 12-city 12-state week long barnstorm tour. Now, he will not be in the earlier states of Iowa or New Hampshire. He will hit all Super Tuesday states. Those states vote in March, so clearly trying to set the tone, trying to invest in a longer campaign ahead -- Cristina and Boris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALESCI: All right. Terrorism and its most recent victims on President Obama's schedule for the rest of the week. The president will visit the National Counterterrorism Center in suburban Virginia for an annual pre-holiday briefing and then he travels to San Bernardino, California, where he'll meet privately tomorrow with the grieving family members from the December 2nd shooting.

SANCHEZ: And speaking of terrorism, the nation's new national terrorism advisory system has been activated for the first time. The public being warned about self-radicalized actors who could attack without notice. The advisory remains in effect for six months or until events warrant a change.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson says he's especially concerned about another attack like San Bernardino or the one in Paris, although the State Department says they are not aware of any specific threat.

ALESCI: All right. We have some breaking news overnight. Defense Secretary Ash Carter who was caught using a personal e-mail account to conduct official Pentagon business during his first few months on the job. That's according to "The New York Times". The White House contacted the Defense Department and made questions of Carter's e-mail practices. And in a written statement just yesterday, a spokesman for Carter says the defense secretary, quote, "made a mistake and has stopped using the account."

SANCHEZ: Lawmakers begin voting today on a $1.1 trillion spending plan, along with a $629 billion tax cut package being pushed by Republicans. The Democrats are really getting their way on the spending plan. It's largely free of those policy riders that Republicans wanted, among them, blocking President Obama on immigration, global warming and gun control. In exchange, Republicans get an extension on a tax credit favored by big corporations, as well as a two-year delay on Obamacare taxes that are scheduled to kick in.

ALESCI: All right. Well, it is a great day for stocks around the world, thanks to the Federal Reserve. European and Asian stocks much higher this morning, and U.S. stock

futures are pointing up, too. After the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates in a decade. The small increase is a vote on confidence on how far we've come since the financial crisis. The emergency is over. The economy looks strong.

Yesterday, stocks rallied on the news. The Dow gained 224.

Plus, banks did great and here's why -- they're really starting to charge more to borrow money, but they're not going to pay more on deposits for that money, Boris. That's a nice business to be in.

SANCHEZ: Nice little small bonus. Yes, a small increase for the Fed, but something to build on over the long term.

ALESCI: Absolutely.

SANCHEZ: Were the warning signs missed in the San Bernardino terror attack? What we learned about the shooters and when they radicalized, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:13:38] ALESCI: All right. We have details about the radicalization of the San Bernardino shooters. The FBI says Tashfeen Malik and Syed Farook communicated with each other online about their commitment with jihad back in 2013, even before they met physically. But the FBI director insists that there were no warning signs missed.

We get more from CNN's Paul Vercammen in San Bernardino.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: FBI Director James Comey said years before the attack, Tashfeen Malik and Syed Farook were showing signs of commitment both jihad and martyrdom, but their messages were direct and private. And Comey in his talk said many times that it was difficult to see the threat of ISIS because of encryption or these hidden messages. He also said that there were no signs, no indications, no direct links between the San Bernardino couple and overseas terrorist organizations.

JAMES COMEY, FBI DIRECTOR: We still see in San Bernardino, no indication of direct contact with foreign terrorist organization and obviously that would include any direction from foreign terrorist organization. We still have not seen evidence, although we constantly look for it and are still working on it, that they are part of an organized cell of some sort, or that there were other parts to this plan.

VERCAMMEN: Comey added that there were no signs, no indications that the San Bernardino couple tripped any wires, came across any of the FBI's screens.

[04:15:07] And he left everyone in the United States with a thought. He said, if you come across something, tell us. Don't let these savages get what they want -- Boris, Cristina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Illustrates just how hard it is trying to prevent these attacks. Paul, thank you.

On the East Coast now, a teenager in Massachusetts found guilty of raping and murdering his high school math teacher. A jury of eight men and four women took nine hours to convict 16-year-old Philip Chism. Defense lawyers argued that Chism was in the throes of mental illness when he strangled and stabbed 24-year-old Colleen Ritzer in a school bathroom before carting her body into the woods in a recycling bin. Chism will be sentenced to life in prison with a possibility of parole after 15 years.

ALESCI: Now Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke has been formally indicted in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. The grand jury returning an indictment on six murder charges and a single count of official misconduct. Van Dyke is free on bond, but he's due back in court tomorrow.

Later today, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel meets with the Justice Department officials who are launching a civil rights investigation of the city's police department.

SANCHEZ: The Obama administration calling on the Supreme Court to stay out of the skirmish over Colorado's marijuana law. Colorado has asked the high court to throw out a lawsuit filed by neighboring Oklahoma and Nebraska. The suit claims legal pot from the Rocky Mountain state is violating federal interstate commerce laws by trickling across the other state's borders. The administration says an opinion by the justices would go beyond the court's decision.

ALESCI: All right. I'm confused. There's dramatic temperature. There's more swings ahead. Let's get to meteorologist Pedram Javaheri.

What do you got for us?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Cristina and Boris, good morning to you guys.

Yes, the warmth is going to hang out for at least another day and then the bottom drops out and then we warm right back up. But look at this. As far as the first two weeks of the month of December. Nearly 2,000 record high temperatures across country and also 2,800 record warm lows have been observed, incredible warmth in place, we know that's about to change.

Here comes the cold air stop Saturday evening. It's going to be seasonal to say the least across parts of the Great Lakes and eventually the Northeast. It is not an unusual amount of cold, but it's very short lived. They rebound again and go way above normal in parts of the country, to the 20s and 30s are pretty prevalent this morning across the portions of the western Great Lakes and Western Plains. But back to the east, looking at 52 degrees this morning across New York City, Washington at 48.

Some showers coming in, the heaviest of which I think will be confined towards Alabama, Georgia and unto the Carolinas. So, the highs look like this from 79 in Charleston to the upper 50s, not too bad out of New York City. And Boston makes it up to 51 degrees.

But I want to jump ahead to next week. Look at Christmas Eve into Christmas Day. Temperatures once again 25 degrees above what is considered normal. What does that look like for you, New York City? Well, the bottom drops out, and then we go back up to 65 degrees on the 23rd of December. Enjoy it.

Take care, guys.

SANCHEZ: Unseasonably warm. I was walking my dog in sandals yesterday outside. It's not cold at all. Probably not going to get white Christmas we've been dreaming of.

ALESCI: You know what? I'm all right with that.

(CROSSTALK)

ALESCI: All right. Switching gears a bit. Russia and the U.S. are finding some common ground on the fight against ISIS in Syria. Is it enough to damage the terror network? We're live next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:22:02] SANCHEZ: The United States and Russia joining forces to hit ISIS where it hurts the most, in their wallet.

Later today, the two super powers will jointly pressure the U.N. to enforce stricter measures cutting off the terror group's funding. And on Friday, the U.S. and Russia will seek common ground on the future of Syria and, of course, its embattled president Bashar al Assad.

Let's bring in CNN's Nic Robertson. He is tracking the latest developments live from London.

Good morning, Nic.

We know ISIS gets the funding from illicit oil sales. Many say that those sales are going to NATO ally Turkey, even to Assad himself. Are these two superpowers doing anything to address that?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, Turkey says, it is -- denies that it is buying oil from ISIS and Assad denies the same as well. But what this measure, the United Nations Security Council meeting headed by the U.S. treasury secretary, which in and of itself is a new -- well, not new, but it's an unusual step for the U.N. to do business this way, will aim to put pressure on the U.N.'s member states. That would be Turkey as well, included there.

But if they didn't do enough to close down on ISIS funding, that would be oil and any other way, helping close down borders as well. This will put pressure on the U.N.'s member states to share better intelligence about ISIS.

So, a lot of pressures there, but oil and the money that keeps is going and funding and buying weapons and keeping it active on the front lines. That will be the main target.

What can the U.N. do here? It can introduce what is known as Chapter 7 in the language of what is agreed here which would allow the U.N. to punish member states if they weren't doing enough to tackle ISIS funding or close down its borders with Syria or tackle it in any other country, because it's not just Syria here. We're looking at Libya. We're looking at Yemen, anywhere where ISIS is popping up.

So, this is why you go to the U.N., you get all of the nation there who are members of the U.N. and you can get leverage and pressure on them to do more.

SANCHEZ: All right. Nic, right now, Vladimir Putin addressing the people, in the state of the union, so to speak, on domestic and foreign policy. What are you expecting out of his speech?

ROBERTSON: Well, we are expecting the topics of Syria, fighting ISIS, to come up, Ukraine, possibly Turkey. But the economy is the big issue. And, right now, Vladimir Putin is riding high in the polls. Not at his peak, but pretty high, because he's got a robust performance against ISIS and against terrorists as he describes them inside Syria.

But it's the economy that he took the first question on today and unusually for Putin, he didn't start off with a big anti-Western tirade that the United States and others are the root of the problems for Russia right now. He didn't give his analysis.

[04:25:01] The first question he had was on the state of the economy. Last year, the same address that the economy could be in trouble for a couple of years. This time, he was asked, you know, so what's the position right now?

He said, look, Russia's based its budget predictions last year on oil last year at $100 a barrel. It's dropped significantly. This year, he said, we revised the plans down so that we based the budget on oil at $50 a barrel. But now, it's dropped to even below that.

He said, look, we've got to make changes. But we are doing better on agriculture. He said production in some of the factories has gone up in recent months.

The economy is the key to Vladimir Putin's popularity in a large part. And Vladimir Putin's popularity is key to him staying in power, that's what makes him happy. So, this is why he's addressing this issue head on.

We can expect him to be a little more toned down this year in criticism of the West. the United States. He might have a lot to say about Turkey later -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Interesting you say that, Nic, considering Western sanctions because of Crimea are crippling the ruble. Thank you so much, Nic.

ALESCI: All right. Here in the U.S., tensions are rising in Baltimore after a mistrial of one of the police officers charged in Freddie Gray's death. What comes next in the case? Just after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Protests erupt in Baltimore. A hung jury for the first police officer to face the trial in the death of Freddie Gray.