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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Friend Of San Bernardino Shooter Arrested; Reassuring Jittery Public On Terrorism; Republican Presidential Feuds Heat Up; Sanders Campaign Facing Sanction By Democratic National Committee; Kerry To Chair U.N. Meeting On Syria; Theme Park Guests Facing Random Searches. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired December 18, 2015 - 05:30   ET

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

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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Boris Sanchez.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: I'm Alison Kosik. It's 30 minutes past the hour. Major new developments in the San Bernardino terrorism case this morning. A friend and former neighbor of attacker, Syed Rizwan Farook, has been arrested and charged in connection with plotting two earlier attacks with Farook, attacks that were never carried out.

The complaint against 24-year-old Enrique Marquez does not claim he was directly involved in the mass shooting that left 14 people dead, but it does allege he bought two AR-15 rifles used in that attack as well as explosive material used in a pipe bomb found at the scene.

CNN's Kyung Lah is in San Bernardino with the latest.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Enrique Marquez faces three federal charges, the gun charges, visa and marriage fraud as well as a very serious charge of material support to terrorism.

According to the federal complaint, Marquez and Farook plotted as recently as four years ago to attack a couple of different locations in Southern California.

A cafeteria at a community college in Riverside, they planned to drop pipe bombs on an Orange County freeway during the rush hour to maximize casualties.

The complaint also says that Marquez bought explosive powder that was then found in undetonated bombs left in the room that was the San Bernardino massacre.

Enrique Marquez did make an initial court appearance. He did not enter a plea. There is another court appearance next week -- Alison, Boris.

SANCHEZ: All right, Kyung Lah, thank you. The victims of the San Bernardino terror attack and their families will meet with President Obama tonight at a private event. The president's show of compassion also part of a weeklong push to spotlight the administration's efforts on national security and terror issues.

On Thursday, the president made a rare trip to the National Counterterrorism Center in suburban Virginia for a Christmas time terror briefing. Let's bring in senior White House correspondent, Jim Acosta, with the latest.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Alison and Boris, it was one more attempted show of strength from President Obama as he vowed to keep the nation safe from ISIS terrorists and their so-called lone wolf followers during the holidays.

After a rare briefing at the National Counterterrorism Center, the president said there is no current or specific or credible threat to the U.S. homeland and with that intelligence in hand, he urged Americans to remain calm.

Under discussion at the president's meeting, the growing high tech menace of terrorists concealing their intentions on social media and to encrypted messages on smart phones. Here's more of what the president had to say.

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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: When terrorists pull off a despicable act like what happened in San Bernardino, it tears at our hearts, but it also stiffens our resolve.

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ACOSTA: Later today, the president will pay a visit to the families of the victims of the terrorist attack in San Bernardino en route to his family vacation in Hawaii, an annual trip that has been interrupted by threats to the homeland before.

The president will have one more chance to defend U.S. efforts for defeating ISIS and protecting Americans at home at his annual end of the year news conference here at the White House later today -- Alison and Boris.

KOSIK: All right, Jim, thanks for that. The feuds we saw in the race for president at the Republican debate are intensifying. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz fight yet another round in the immigration battle they launch on the debate stage.

In the meantime, Jeb Bush attacks Donald Trump as entertaining but not serious after a love fest breaks out between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

You know, it is interesting to see, Boris, how this is playing out. First of all, Trump is saying with this love fest coming out and saying it is always a great honor to be so nicely complimented by a man so highly respected within his own country and beyond.

It is kind of strange because you think about it. Vladimir Putin is not exactly a saint. We saw Jeb Bush certainly seize the moment. Listen to what he said.

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JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't respect Vladimir Putin. He is the leader of an important country. Certainly not a regional power as Barack Obama called him, but to get praise from Vladimir Putin is not going to help Donald Trump.

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[05:35:00]KOSIK: You have to wonder if anything is going to seep into Donald Trump and break up the support that he's getting. Do people realize exactly who we are talking when we talk about Vladimir Putin and the support that he is giving to Trump and the love fest Trump is giving back?

KOSIK: All right, Donald Trump certainly outlasting a variety of controversies. His ship is still sailing despite all the controversies that keep going after him. I think it is interesting the way that Bush is approaching this, treating Trump like a celebrity.

Saying he is entertaining, but he's not serious. At the debate, he went after him continuously saying he is not serious and that he is not really a viable candidate in a general election.

It will be interesting to see how Jeb approaches this in terms of the pledge of support that no matter which Republican candidate gets the nomination, whether or not Bush will continue supporting him.

It is something his campaign has explored in several states. Will Bush support Trump if he does get the nomination? It's a big question mark.

KOSIK: Let's ask that question to our CNN Politics digital managing editor, Zach Wolf. Good morning to you. So do you think that this will hurt Donald at all?

ZACH WOLF, CNN POLITICS DIGITAL MANAGING EDITOR: I'm sorry. This is Bush and Trump? I don't know. Bush, remember back in the summer, he was the frontrunner. Now he is hovering around 5 percent in public opinion polls.

I'm not sure Donald Trump is entirely concerned about what Bush will have to say. You know, Bush coming after Trump in a more forceful way could conceivably change the narrative. It is the dynamic between the two guys which is marred the campaign. Trump has come out ahead so far.

KOSIK: Let's talk about Rubio and Cruz. We are seeing a fist fight erupt between these two contenders who have similar backgrounds. We have immigration concerns. We have Rubio and his career supporting a pathway to citizenship in Congress.

Then we have Cruz, not exactly supporting that, but making the visa system a little easier. In this climate, where you have Americans on edge about who the U.S. is letting into the country, do you think Cruz and Rubio are handling this the right way? Should they own up to how they voted in the past and say the climate has changed and we changed our minds?

WOLF: For Rubio, it has been a major problem for him among conservatives that he supported this bill that provided a path to citizenship some years ago. He has distanced himself from it since then. It was interesting to see him basically try to cast doubt on Cruz's conservative credentials.

Cruz really fought that bill. He called it an amnesty bill a couple of years ago. Both of those guys are in the Senate. Rubio basically tried to say well, wait a minute here. Cruz supported these visa programs. That means he supported legalization.

I would not necessarily put Cruz and Rubio on the same space on the immigration issue, but it's interesting to see what Rubio has done there. And it has definitely put Cruz is having to regroove, I guess, his conservative credentials a little bit.

SANCHEZ: The attacks between those two are likely to ramp up as we move closer to the next debate and Iowa. I want to get back to Jeb Bush. He had an interesting exchange with John Berman last night discussing whether or not he would support Donald Trump if he won the nomination.

I want to play that sound for you now, listen.

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JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't think Hillary Clinton is going to be elected president of the United States. She is not trustworthy. Her proposals are not much better.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: But you didn't answer my question, would he make a better president than Hillary Clinton?

BUSH: No, I've learned not to answer questions. That's one of the things you do now in political discourse. You answer what you want to say.

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SANCHEZ: Strange to hear Jeb Bush say that he's learned to not answer questions, but we've understand that his campaign is exploring the possibility of not sticking to that pledge to support the Republican nominee. What does Jeb do if Trump takes the nomination?

WOLF: I think that's the big question. Pretty much every Republican official has said regardless of their views on Trump and some of his policies that they would ultimately support the Republican nominee. Bush said he wouldn't support the Republican nominee, but this kind of in artful way of answering or not answering that question suggest that he is taking a look at that.

It would be pretty remarkable for someone with the last name of Bush to now support the ultimate Republican nominee. But you know, a lot of Republicans, if Trump wins the nomination, will be wondering what to do next. This will be uncharted territory for them.

KOSIK: All right, let's make a hard left turn and talk about Bernie Sanders. Remember him? All we talk about is Donald Trump. Sanders campaign getting into some hot water, a software glitch allowing his campaign to check out Hillary Clinton's private campaign data, what?

WOLF: This is the DNC voter file and the private vendor that the DNC used. They are all tapped into the same spots and accidentally dropped a firewall.

[05:40:10]Sanders campaign or somebody from the campaign was able to access it. It appears voter file data from the Clinton campaign. It is a little bit confusing at this point. It looks like the DNC has actually suspended the Sanders campaign from being able to access the data.

This is a huge deal for the Sanders campaign as they head into the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primaries a couple months away. It is a huge blow to them to not essentially have access to the names and addresses and all the other data about these voters.

KOSIK: Very interesting. It is getting dirty. Zach Wolf, thank you for coming on the program today.

WOLF: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Happening now, U.S. and world leaders trying to find common ground on how to fight ISIS in Syria. We have a live report next.

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SANCHEZ: Secretary of State John Kerry set to chair a meeting of the United Nations Security Council. He is trying to broker a deal to end the civil war in Syria. Russia, Germany, Iran, and other European and Middle Eastern powers all at the table.

[05:45:06]The U.S. and Russia already agreeing to team up to pressure member nations to help cutoff ISIS funding. Let's go live to Moscow and bring in Jill Dougherty at the International Center for Defense and Security.

Jill, good morning to you. We mentioned earlier today, both sides, Putin and the United States, kind of easing their stance on the future of Bashar al-Assad. Obviously Russia maintained that they wanted him to stay in power.

The U.S. wanted him to go. Both sides again easing so what are the other sticking points perhaps in the way of having finally peace in Syria?

JILL DOUGHERTY, INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR DEFENSE AND SECURITY: The other really big one is the opposition fighters or members of the opposition in general who could be part of the political process.

You know on the ground, you have as you well know, a very large number of different groups, some of which are defined specifically as terrorists like ISIS and Al Nusra.

Everybody agrees on that, but there are other groups that are smaller. They fit in and they lose allegiance to each other. Who do you allow at the table to become part of the transition and who do you exclude?

Up until now or for a while, there have been differences of opinion. Remember Russia is in Syria bombing what they say are terrorists and what they say are ISIS. The U.S. saying no, it is not really ISIS, but the opposition. You get a picture of how complicated this is.

They have to do it and the time is running out because January 1st, according to the agreement these countries that have come together have the opposition and Syrian government are supposed to be sitting down and beginning the process.

They don't have a lot of time hence the concern that they really get something done today, Friday, in New York at the United Nations.

SANCHEZ: Time running short. Jill, I do have a quick question. One of the main concerns also in the conflict is the potential escalation between all the many players involved. We saw last month Turkey shooting down a Russian jet fighter. Is there a possibility of better defined rules of engagement perhaps?

DOUGHERTY: Between the U.S. and Russia, they do have an agreement, a military agreement. That actually seems to have been working pretty well. They have been talking to each other, having top level discussions.

When you get other players, you mentioned Turkey. They have shot down a Russian war plane just last month. The relations, President Putin said yesterday there is really no prospect of any type of coming together with them until the leadership in Turkey is gone.

That's pretty serious. He essentially told Turkey don't even think of flying into the air space of Syria. That is a very serious situation. You know, just another indication of how hard all of this really is.

SANCHEZ: More than a quarter million people killed in the conflict in Syria. Jill, I certainly hope we get some answers and resolutions soon. Thank you.

KOSIK: All right, let's look at what is coming up on "NEW DAY." Alisyn Camerota is joining us now. Good morning, Alisyn.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": Good morning, Alison and Boris. Great to see you, guys. We will talk about a lot of things on the national stage. President Obama will visit the victims of the San Bernardino terrorist attacks today after he once again tries to reassure Americans that the country is safe ahead of the holidays. We will look at whether the president should be doing more.

And the search is on for the teenager who used affluenza as a defense after killing four people in a drunk driving accident. We will speak with people whose loved ones were involved in that terrible accident. Where do they think he's gone?

KOSIK: We will be watching.

CAMEROTA: Thanks so much.

KOSIK: Imagine this. You go to pick up items you put on layaway and they mysteriously all have been generous gift from a mystery Santa next.

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KOSIK: Breaking news at this hour. Defense Secretary Ash Carter has touched down for a surprise visit to Afghanistan. He is there to assess the fragile security situation. Carter's visit comes among concerns that ISIS is beefing up what is a small presence in the eastern part of Afghanistan near the Pakistan border.

SANCHEZ: Hundreds of heavily armed ISIS fighters launching a coordinated multi-pronged attack on Kurdish forces in Northern Iraq. It's the most intense fighting in the region in months with the terrorists using car bombs, armored bulldozers, and vehicles mounted with machine guns to attack the Kurds north and east of Mosul.

U.S. military officials responded with a 17-hour air attack. The Pentagon says at least 18 Kurdish fighters were killed in that battle.

KOSIK: A Pennsylvania man arrested and charged with conspiring to provide material support to ISIS. Authorities say they found high- capacity weapons magazines, ammunition, and survival gear when they searched the apartment of 19-year-old Jalil Aziz last month.

He's allegedly used several Twitter accounts to reveal information about members of the U.S. military calling for violence against them as well as American citizens. Authorities say he also helped people who were looking to travel overseas to fight alongside ISIS.

SANCHEZ: Jitters over terrorism tightening security policies even at the happiest place on earth. To enter Disneyworld, you and the kids have to pass through metal detectors first. Disney is deciding to beef up security at the entrance to the magic kingdom and three other Orlando theme parks. We get more now from CNN's Alina Machado.

ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Boris and Alison, Disney is not the only one doing this. Universal Studios and Sea World are using metal detectors to screen people who visit their theme parks.

A spokesperson for Disney released a statement on the changes. It reads we continually review our comprehensive approach to security and implementing additional security measures as appropriate.

Disney will be randomly selecting guests for a secondary screening using these new metal detectors. They've also added what they are calling, quote, "visible and non-visible" security measures at all of the parks.

[05:55:04]These measures include the use of specially trained dogs to patrol key areas. Some of the other things you notice if you head to the Disney Park, they are discontinuing the sale of toy guns on Disney property and no longer allowing people to bring toy guns to the theme parks.

If you are 14 and older, you will not able to wear costumes at the parks. The new toy gun policy is being done to make sure a toy gun is not causing distraction or confusion for the cast members or security in the parks.

They note that very few people actually bring these items so the impact they expect will be minor. The cost of the policy is to allow security to better screen people at the parks -- Alison and Boris.

SANCHEZ: Whatever it takes to keep it the happiest place on earth. Alina, thank you.

Pharmaceutical executive, Martin Shkreli busted on fraud charges at his Manhattan apartment yesterday. The FBI says the 32-year-old Shkreli misled investors and looted a public company to cover millions in losses. He pled not guilty yesterday to seven counts of securities fraud and conspiracy.

Shkreli triggered national outrage you might remember by jacking up the price of a life-saving drug from $13 a pill to $750 a pill.

The FBI and U.S. Marshals are joining the manhunt in Texas for the so- called affluenza teen. Authorities believe Ethan Couch is on the run with his mother perhaps overseas. He vanished last week after video surfaced allegedly showing him at an alcohol-fueled party.

In 2013, the teen was sentenced to probation for a drunk driving crash that killed four people. His attorney infamously used the term, "affluenza," describing Couch is a rich kid who was raised without limits.

KOSIK: I will hold back comment on that.

Let's get an EARLY START on your money. Stocks around the world are in the red this morning so are U.S. stock futures. The global selloff in commodities continues.

Yesterday, Wall Street's enthusiasm over the fed's interest rate decision vanished. We watched the Dow fall more than 250 points as we saw oil plunge below $35 a barrel. Oil prices have been hammered in recent weeks with no sign of the supply glut easing in sight.

PayPal doubling its pay leave for new moms. Moms will get 16 weeks of fully paid leave. That is up from eight weeks with 80 percent pay. New dads are also getting eight weeks pay. A lot of big tech companies upping their parental leave policies this year.

Netflix deciding to let its employees take as much paid parental leave as they want for the first year. Amazon, Microsoft, and others, they've created more generous policies for new parents.

Mystery holiday helpers spreading a lot of layaway cheer. Anonymous donors have cleared hundreds of thousands of dollars of layaway tabs at Walmart, Toys R Us, and KMart. Three separate people gave more than $100,000 to Walmarts in Florida, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, a combined $500,000.

SANCHEZ: It is good to see that after so much bad news in the past.

President Obama reassuring the public they are safe this holiday season. "NEW DAY" starts right now.

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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We will not be terrorized. We prevailed over greater threats.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Arrested by the FBI in connection with the San Bernardino terror attack.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Paris terrorist communicated with each other using encrypted applications.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is at the top of the list.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are looking for a needle in a stack of needles.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Bernie Sanders campaign admitted a staffer accessed confidential information.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The battle between Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio intensifying.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are trying to blur the record.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: U.S. Marshals joining the search for the so-called affluenza teenager.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No one can look at this story than be anything but horrified at what wealth and privilege got this kid.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: Wow. It is still dark out. There you go. Good morning. Welcome to NEW DAY. It's Friday, December 18th, 6:00 in the east. Happy Friday. Chris is off this morning. John Berman is with us. Great to have you here on Friday.

President Obama once again is reassuring Americans that there is no credible terror threat going into the holidays. The president heads to California to meet with victims of the San Bernardino attacks. Two weeks after the massacre, federal agents arresting 24-year-old Enrique Marquez. He is a friend of the terrorist charging him with supporting terrorism.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: The president also on the defense over his strategy to defeat ISIS as he works to stem criticism that he is not doing enough. President Obama is expected to address both of these issues and much more when he holds his year-end press conference this afternoon.

Got every angle covered for you. We begin with CNN senior Washington correspondent, Joe Johns, at the White House -- Joe.