Return to Transcripts main page
Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Driver Runs Down People on Las Vegas Strip; Trump Calls Hillary Clinton a Liar; Air France Bomb Scare; Dozens Missing in Chinese Landslide; Airstrike Kills Hezbollah Operative; Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired December 21, 2015 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:53] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news this morning. A driver behind bars accused of slamming into dozens of pedestrians on the Las Vegas Strip. What we're learning about the deadly crash.
Good morning. Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Boris Sanchez.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Christine Romans. It's 31 minutes past the hour. Let's begin with that breaking news out of Las Vegas.
Right now we know a female driver is in police custody after mowing down more than 30 people, 30 pedestrians, on the Vegas Strip right on the sidewalk in front of the Paris Hotel. Police say a 3-year-old child -- a 3-year-old -- was also in the car. Officials say one person died, 37 people were hurt. Six of them in critical condition at this hour. People who witnessed the entire thing are still in disbelief as authorities say it appears -- it appears this woman did it on purpose.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At this point is a -- we have a black female in her 20s with a child in the car, 3 years old. She was driving a 1996 Oldsmobile four-door vehicle with Oregon plates. She went up off the street on to the sidewalk two or possibly three times. And based on the evidence and information from our fatal investigators, at this point we are treating this as an intentional act.
She is in the detention center right now. She is speaking to detectives. They are drawing her blood. And she will be -- I expect her to be charged in a few hours.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The car drove right in front of me. By the time I looked over to the right, all you could see is her driving away and people are like bouncing off the front of the car. You can hear the windshield was smashed at this point and she drove the sidewalk. She came to the stop right here at the Paris intersection. And then she like people were punching the window trying to get the child out of the backseat. And she accelerated again and just kept mowing everyone down.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I saw the car up on the sidewalk coming toward us. And there was a lady in it, an African-American lady. And it looked like she wasn't even trying to stop the car. She had both of her hands on the wheel and was looking straight forward. And there were men running after her trying to stop the vehicle. And they couldn't get to her. They were yelling stop, stop, and she just wasn't trying.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Officials, they have ruled out terrorism. Again, they are talking to the suspect. As soon as we get more information, we will bring it to you immediately.
SANCHEZ: A surreal scene there on the East Coast.
Now New Hampshire school officials forced to close down more than a dozen schools this morning after receiving a threat of violence. At this point, they haven't described the exact nature of the threat, but they say it is specific and extends to a pair of schools in the Nashua district.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So it was a threat that was received via e-mail that had specific directions toward the two national high schools with specific threats of violence, which is why we're taking it kind of seriously.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: New Hampshire's governor says the state is working with local authorities and the FBI to determine if this threat is credible. Schools in the district are expected to reopen tomorrow. You might recall last week, both the New York and Los Angeles school districts received threats. Los Angeles officials determined the threat credible and shutdown schools for the day.
ROMANS: All right. And Donald Trump giving it as good as he got from Hillary Clinton. During the Democratic debate, Clinton claimed that Trump's proposal to ban all Muslims from entering the U.S. is being used as a recruiting tool by radical jihadists. Now Trump blasted back on the Sunday shows saying there is simply no proof of Clinton's claim, calling her a liar.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We also need to make sure that the really discriminatory messages that Trump is sending around the world don't fall on receptive ears. He is becoming ISIS' best recruiter. They are going to people showing videos of Donald Trump insulting Islam and Muslims in order to recruit more radical jihadists. So I want to explain why this is not in America's interest to react with this kind of fear and respond to this sort of bigotry.
[04:35:05] DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Nobody has been able to back that up. It's nonsense. It's just another Hillary lie. She lies like crazy about everything. Whether it's trips where she was being gunned down in a helicopter or an airplane. She's a liar. And everybody knows that. I mean -- but she just made this up in thin air.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The other big discussion at the Democratic debate. The data breach of Clinton campaign computer files by staffers at the Bernie Sanders campaign. What many expected to be the subject of a brawl, a Democratic brawl on the debate stage, it had an unexpected twist.
The latest this morning from CNN's Chris Frates in Washington for us.
CHRIS FRATES, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Boris and Christine. After days of smack-talking, the debate stage was set Saturday night for the top two Democrats to throw down over accusations that Bernie Sanders exploited a software glitch to access confidential information about Hillary Clinton supporters. A move Clinton's campaign called below the belt.
Clinton goes for the jugular, "Politico" trumpeted, signaling that Clinton was ready to throw some mud in Saturday night's debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I apologize.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRATES: Wait, what?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDERS: Not only do I apologize to Secretary Clinton, and I hope we can work together on an independent investigation from day one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRATES: OK. But Clinton is not going to let him off that easy, right?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: I very much appreciate that comment, Bernie. I don't think the American people are all that interested in this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRATES: Instead, it seems Clinton thought Americans wanted to hear how she would take on the Republicans, including Donald Trump. And a few hours later, the GOP frontrunner took heat from leaders of his own party. Republican Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, said Trump's proposals to ban Muslims from entering the country would go nowhere in his chamber.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MAJORITY LEADER: We're not going to follow that suggestion that this particular candidate made. It would prevent the president of Afghanistan from coming to the United States. The king of Jordan couldn't come to the United States. Obviously we're not going to do that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRATES: So Trump taking incoming from both Democrats and Republicans this weekend -- Boris and Christine.
SANCHEZ: All right, Chris, thanks for that.
Donald Trump once again backing up his seemingly new BFF Vladimir Putin. Defending the Russian president against well-documented claims that he ordered the assassination of journalists. Last week Putin called Trump bright and talented. Trump returning the favor telling ABC's George Stephanopoulos that Putin should be held innocent until proven guilty.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I'm saying when you say a man has killed reporters, I'd like you to prove it. And I'm saying it would be a terrible thing if it were true. But I have never seen any information or any proof that he killed reporters.
George, you're just saying he killed reporters. You and other people tell me he killed reporters. I don't know that he killed reporters. I haven't seen it. If he did, I think it's despicable. I think it would be horrible. But you're making these accusations and I don't -- I don't see any proof. And by the way he totally denies that he kills reporters. He totally denied it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Meantime, Vladimir Putin says Russia will continue to develop nuclear weapons systems even though he says it does not intend to use them. In a documentary aired on Russian state television overnight, Putin said, quote, "We have never brandished or will brandish this nuclear club. But our military doctrine allocates it a place and a role."
SANCHEZ: In the Mideast, Iran slamming changes to a U.S. visa waiver program saying they violate the landmark nuclear agreement between Tehran and world powers. The new rule signed into law by President Obama Friday now require anyone who traveled to Iran, Syria or Sudan in the past five years to obtain a visa to enter the U.S. Iran says it would dampen foreign investment interests and is threatening to go to the commission overseeing implementation of that nuclear deal.
Meantime, Secretary of State John Kerry is trying to tamp down concerns saying the waiver changes will not at all affect the deal.
ROMANS: All right. Time for an EARLY START on your money. Monday edition. Will there be relief after that horrid stock market performance Friday? Well, you can see relief there. Asian and European stock markets are higher. So are U.S. futures.
Friday was the worst day since September. The Dow crumbling 367 points. Wall Street's enthusiasm over the Fed's interest rates decision has vanished replaced the drama over the bear market in oil. This morning there are renewed hopes that crude may be bottoming out.
I want to show you what it looks like. A barrel of crude oil right above $30 a barrel right now. Prices have plunged 30 percent this year. That's terrible news for energy companies. Really disruptive for countries that depend on oil, selling oil. But it is very good for gas prices for you. The average price for a gallon of gas now two bucks. Gas has not been this cheap since 2009. It's a nice lift for holiday shoppers. Drivers saved about $540 this year thanks to low gas prices. That's about 10 bucks per fill-up. And drivers have spent most of those savings.
SANCHEZ: Some more gifts and more traveling for people if gas is cheaper. You probably can see a lot more family members.
[04:40:01] ROMANS: I know. But I -- you're right. Well, yes, more traveling but I say pay down debt. I'm hoping people are paying down debt.
SANCHEZ: Let's hope so.
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: From the tank into the banks, folks.
We're following breaking news this morning. A driver plowing through a crowded street on the Las Vegas Strip. One dead. Dozens -- dozens injured.
SANCHEZ: Plus, a bomb scare on board an Air France flight. Four people detained over a suspicious device. Next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: We are following breaking news. Breaking news out of Las Vegas where a driver is now in custody after mowing down nearly 40 pedestrians. Police say the suspect drove up on the sidewalk and through the entrance to the Paris Las Vegas Hotel. At this point we know at least one person is dead. Six -- six pedestrians in critical condition. Officials say it appears to be intentional. This woman driving on to the sidewalk with a toddler in the car with her. But they say it was not an act of terrorism.
SANCHEZ: Hundreds of passengers who had to evacuate an Air France jet in Kenya are on their way home this morning after an apparent bomb hoax forced an emergency landing of their flight bound from Mauritius to Paris. Four passengers are still in Kenya being questioned about a suspicious device found in the plane's lavatory.
[04:45:06] CNN's David McKenzie is live for us in Nairobi with the latest.
David, we understand the person that found the device was also questioned by officials. What are they hoping to learn?
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris, they are hoping to learn who planted this device because it seems like Air France is saying that it would have been done after takeoff in this bizarre and deeply troubling story. This 777 leaving from the Mauritius in Indian Ocean, vacationers mostly. Heading back to Paris on that Air France flight.
Now the passenger went into the lavatory. Behind the cupboard, they found this device, which authorities described as a box with a timer on it of some kind. Immediately the cabin crew alerted the captain. They diverted the plane from their route very early in the morning and had an emergency landing in Mombasa, Kenya. Very quickly the Kenyan authorities pulled the device off to test it for explosives.
Now it does seem according to Air France that this was a hoax. That it was some kind of hoax maybe to sow terror on that plane or maybe for some other reason. And as you say, they are questioning four passengers. Unclear at this stage where those passengers are from, whether they involve and if they have been charged.
We do expect more information from the Kenyan Interior Ministry in the coming hours. But at this stage, it is certainly a perplexing story in an airline that has had similar kinds of events in recent weeks -- Boris.
SANCHEZ: If it is a hoax, that is a very cruel joke. David, thank you.
Back to the U.S. now, disturbing details emerging about how the female terrorist in the San Bernardino mass shooting and how she got into the U.S. The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee says U.S. immigration officials, quote, "sloppily approved Tashfeen Malik's visa application."
The materials in the file apparently did not show that Malik and her future husband, Syed Rizwan Farook, had met in person while in Saudi Arabia. A meeting face-to-face is a requirement for a fiance visa to the U.S. The pair gunned down 14 people at a Health Department training event earlier this month.
ROMANS: And the neighbor accused of buying the rifles used in the San Bernardino terror attack, he will learn where he will spend the holidays today. A judge will hear arguments for granting bail to the 24-year-old Enrique Marquez. Marquez faces a laundry list of federal charges including providing material support to terrorism. The last three memorial services for victims of the attacks, those were held over the weekend.
SANCHEZ: Former President Jimmy Carter coping with the sudden loss of his grandson. The 91-year-old made the announcement during his regular Sunday school lecture in Georgia. He said his 28-year-old grandson Jeremy had told his mom he wasn't feeling well. He went to lie down for a while but he never woke up. Doctor said the young man's heart stopped beating. Right now it's unclear what caused his death. ROMANS: We wish them the best. It's just sad.
SANCHEZ: Millions of people are going to be facing weather delays as they travel for the holidays. Let's get to meteorologist Pedram Javaheri.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROMANS: Thursday, thunderstorms, 74 degrees in D.C. It is like T- shirt weather.
SANCHEZ: Yes. Springtime. Summertime.
ROMANS: Put away the ugly sweaters, folks. It's going to be too hot.
All right. Talk about a royal mess at this year's Miss Universe Pageant. You can see the two final contestants, there they are, embracing each other on stage.
This is like the most important moment of their life. That's when host Steve Harvey dramatically announces that Miss Colombia has won the prestigious title. Congratulations. Wait. Wrong. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE HARVEY, HOST: Miss Universe 2015 is Miss Colombia. Hey, folks, there's -- I have to apologize.
[04:50:05] The first runner up is Colombia. Miss Universe 2015 is Philippines.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Wow. So Steve Harvey later tweeted his apologizes to Miss Philippines and Miss Colombia saying, quote, "It was a terribly, honest human mistake. And I am so regretful."
Speaking of human mistakes, by the way, he misspelled Philippines and Colombia. I'm not going to be too hard on him for that. But --
SANCHEZ: It happens.
ROMANS: He since deleted that tweet. I feel wow. Feel terrible for him live.
SANCHEZ: What an awkward moment. So awkward. Painful to watch. But nonetheless it's funny. The Internet ran amuck with it.
ROMANS: I'm sure it did.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
ROMANS: All right. The force was with the "Star Wars" this weekend. It has -- look at this, shattered every record there is at the box office. We're going to get an EARLY START on your money and we're going to tell you how much cash is in that Millennium Falcon next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Devastation strikes in southern China. Dozens of people are missing after a huge landslide hits the city of Shenzhen. Hundreds of people are now furiously digging through this debris. They are looking for any signs of life.
Let's get to CNN correspondent Matt Rivers in Hong Kong with the very latest -- Matt.
[04:55:02] MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Boris, this remains an ongoing situation right now in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. An industrial city where right now we know 91 people remain missing. According to the authorities, 59 of whom are men, 32 are women. They were inside 33 different buildings inside this industrial park. That was affected when this landslide occurred Sunday at 11:00 a.m. local time.
Thirteen people have been hospitalized so far. Three of whom are in serious condition, although no deaths have been reported as of yet. Those numbers will likely change, though, as this situation continues unfolds. We know that 700 people right now are searching an extremely large area where this occurred. Some 380,000 square meters in total. Using things like drones, using rescue dogs trying to find survivors. Fourteen people have been rescued from the rubble so far.
Now as for what caused all this, this is very much a manmade disaster according to Chinese state media. What actually collapsed was a large pile of earth. State media reporting that it was actually made of construction waste. Trucks would come in on a regular basis and dump their waste there and it eventually got to be some three stories tall.
But just who is at fault here, who is to blame? The investigation now will take a backseat for now as the focus remains on trying to rescue anyone who might still be trapped in this rubble -- Christine, Boris.
SANCHEZ: All right. Matt, thank you.
Hezbollah operative who Israel freed in a controversial swap has been killed in an airstrike in Syria. In a 2008 exchange, Samir Kuntar was traded for the bodies of two captured Israeli soldiers.
CNN's Oren Liebermann joins us now live in Jerusalem.
Oren, there have been reports that there's already been retaliation, but Israel has not acknowledged or denied that they were part of the strike that killed him, right?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And that's standard Israeli policy. They'll neither confirm nor deny these allegations of an airstrike. That come from Syrian and Lebanese media. The airstrike that killed Samir Kuntar in Damascus.
Now as you noted, the border has already heated. Three rockets from southern Lebanon landed in northern Israel yesterday. Israel responded to those rockets with artillery fire. The question now if and how this will escalate. That response was not a Hezbollah response. And we do very expect to see some kind of response from Hezbollah in the coming days.
So who is Samir Kuntar? He spent 30 years in an Israeli prison for a murder he was convicted of carrying out in 1979 where he killed Israelis including a 4-year-old girl by smashing her head against a rock. So he is for that a well-known name here, a name that is considered a vile name. He was released in 2008 in a prisoner swapped for the bodies of two Israeli soldiers from the Lebanon war that came two years before that.
From there we've spoken with the former national security adviser of Israel who says Samir Kuntar was working in Syria to open up a front against Israel in the Golan. And that perhaps explains why he was viewed as a threat and why there is this airstrike that is attributed to the Israelis by Syrian and Lebanese media. So the question is what will be Hezbollah's response.
Samir Kuntar's funeral is later on this afternoon in Beirut. The leader of Hezbollah Nasrallah is planning a speech for later on tonight where we very much expect him to address this and lay out perhaps some of his steps from his perspective. But that border very tense here.
We've seen it heat up last January there was a back and forth, an exchange across the border that killed six Hezbollah militants and two Israeli soldiers. We're waiting to see how much it will escalate now -- Boris.
SANCHEZ: The threat of more retaliation still looming. Oren, thank you.
ROMANS: All right. Let's get an EARLY START on your money this Monday morning. Will there be relief after that horrid stock market performance Friday? I sure hope so. U.S. futures are higher right now. And Friday was the worst day since September. The Dow crumbling down 367 points. Wall Street's enthusiasm over the Fed's interest rate decision vanished, replaced by the drama over the bear market in oil. This morning, there are renewed hopes, though, that crude may be bottoming out.
A recall to tell you about. Dove chocolates recalled over allergy threats. The chocolate Snowflakes which contained nuts were mixed in with Snickers, Milky Way or Twix pieces are risks for customers with peanut allergies who are not expecting the bag to contain nuts. Dove is recalling about 7,000 packages that were sold between September 19th and December 1st.
All right. The big money story. The big entertainment story, the big story in the galaxy. "Star Wars" rules the box office. "The Force Awakens" had the biggest opening in movie history. $238 million. That tops the previous record held by "Jurassic World." That was in June. That made $209 million in its opening weekend. The seventh film in the "Star Wars" franchise was also a critical hit. It has 95 percent -- 95 percent score on the rating Web site Rotten Tomatoes.
It's interesting, I know people who have already seen it twice. You know, that's what one thing that's driving those box office numbers.
SANCHEZ: The box office numbers are insane. But just imagine the merchandising, all the action figures especially during the holidays.
ROMANS: I know.
SANCHEZ: Lunch boxes, et cetera, et cetera.
ROMANS: I know. Some thought it might cheapen the franchise to have, you know, basically "Star Wars" toilet paper available at your local -- but, you know, it hasn't, I don't think.
SANCHEZ: You think George Lucas has one at his house?
(LAUGHTER)
