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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Category EF-4 Tornado Hits Garland, Texas; Two Killed By Chicago Police; Trump-Clinton Feud Escalates; Vienna Issues Warning to European Cities; Iraqi Forces Claim Key Victory in Ramadi; Israeli- Palestinian Violence Erupts; Peyton Manning Denies Allegation in Al Jazeera Report; Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired December 28, 2015 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:03] MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Chicago's mayor calling for changes in the city's police department the day after officers shoot and kill two people.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump striking back at Hillary Clinton. This time taking some personal shots at her husband.
Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
MARQUEZ: And I'm Miguel Marquez. It is December 28th, 5:00 a.m. here on the East Coast.
Up first, deadly Christmas weather claiming at least 43 lives across the country. Let's start in Texas where thousands are picking up the pieces this morning shattered by devastating tornadoes.
Hundreds of people huddled in shelters right now in suburbs of Dallas. Homes, churches and basements flattened by at least 11 reported tornadoes. One of them classified as an EF-4. Packing winds up to 180 miles per hour. Eleven people including an infant killed. The damage still being calculated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the grace of God, man. I'm really grateful. You know, my wife works not that far from here. If I didn't call her, she'd be here right now and my kids will be here, too, so, you know, a lot of things.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I actually looked at the twister.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You looked at it. Describe it for me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a dark funnel. It was just a big roar. It was really scary. It scared me. I mean, I don't scare that easy. But I was scared.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: Horrible. The number of tornadoes that touched down and the death toll could climb higher. Many communities hit so hard Saturday night authorities still haven't reached everyone. We get more from CNN's Nick Valencia in Garland, Texas.
NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Miguel and Christine, the damage in this areas affected by the tornadoes that ripped through the suburbs of Dallas has just been extraordinary. This is the closest that we've been allowed to get to the damage just about a quarter mile away. Road closures, police blocking roads has made it impassable to get to some of the hardest hit areas affected by this EF-4 tornado that ripped through here on Saturday night.
The force of which was so strong that it ripped -- ripped off the roofs in some of these apartment homes behind me. A storage facility with cars flipped over. Cars into the structures, into buildings. More than 600 structures have been affected as a result of these storms. And when you consider the force of that EF-4 tornado, up to 200 miles per hour coming through here, it's amazing that there weren't more lives lost.
At least 11 people killed as a result of this storm system that swept through here. Texas governor Greg Abbott declaring a disaster zone for four counties throughout the state of Texas. And we understand local authorities are still going door-to-door spending a significant portion of Sunday to make sure that everyone that was affected by these storms is accounted for -- Miguel, Christine.
ROMANS: All right, Nick Valencia. Thank you for that, Nick.
The governor of Missouri declaring a state of emergency there. Storms packing torrential rains pummeling that state, triggering flash floods, road closures, evacuations. Authorities reporting more than 100 water rescues since Sunday morning. And with rivers expected to rise rapidly between now and New Year's, residents are being warned not to leave their homes.
Just take a look at the water levels in Springfield, Missouri. This Ford dealership and all its inventory submerged. Highways and roads throughout Missouri impassable right now. Interstate-70 shut down through the heart of St. Charles County. Transportation officials say it's not expected to reopen in time for this morning's rush hour.
MARQUEZ: Unbelievable. Blowing snow causing big problems this weekend in Oklahoma. Take a look at the roads in Oklahoma City. Not used to it there. Ice and snow triggering spinouts across the state. 60-mile-an-hour winds causing two-foot snow drifts in some places. At least 11 Oklahoma counties forced to shut roads and bridges because of flooding.
ROMANS: A powerful winter storm also slamming southeast New Mexico. At least one person killed from exposure to the cold. Up to 20 inches of snow reported in some communities. Snow drifts 10 feet high. The National Guard called in to rescue stranded drivers. And the governor declaring a state of emergency there. Interstate-40 in Albuquerque shut down indefinitely.
For the very latest on the severe weather threat this morning, let's go straight to the CNN center and bring in meteorologist Pedram Javaheri.
And you know, you make a really good point. You've got about half of the country -- half of the country's residents under some sort of weather threat this morning.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. And that's the concern of course on a very, very busy travel day whether you're on the roads or going to the airport. Somebody somewhere, good odds there you're going to be impacted about 140 to 150 million people dealing with some sort of weather pattern that is inclement across this region.
(WEATHER REPORT)
[05:06:07] ROMANS: Just freakish weather. Freakish weather.
MARQUEZ: It's amazing.
ROMANS: All right, Pedram, thank you for that.
MARQUEZ: Thanks.
The Chicago Police Department and city's mayor under intense scrutiny again after an officer fatally shot two people this weekend while answering a domestic disturbance call. Demonstrators planned a march to city hall this morning demanding that Mayor Rahm Emanuel resign. Meantime, the medical examiner has ruled the deaths of 55-year-old Bettie Jones and 19-year-old Quintonio LeGrier homicides. Police officials admit Jones was shot accidentally.
We get more from CNN's Ryan Young.
RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Miguel, you have a community in Chicago that's very upset about another police- involved shooting. If you look right across the street, you can see where hundreds of people gathered on Sunday to talk about their pain over this last shooting. That's a memorial that's there for 55-year- old Bettie Jones. She was a grandmother and a mother of five. She was shot as police responded to a call about Quintonio Legrier.
He is a 19-year-old college student who apparently had a bat in his hand and his dad called 911 for help. When police arrived, they opened fire, killing the young man but also hitting the 55-year-old grandmother and mother of five. This community is very upset about this, outraged by another police shooting, wanting to know why a taser couldn't be used.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why do you got to shoot first and then ask questions later? It's ridiculous. Somebody needs to do something about this. This is ridiculous. What about the taser? Tase him down. Don't start shooting people. Innocent people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YOUNG: The Chicago Police Department has apologized for the shooting of Bettie Jones saying that was an accident. The other shooting, the 19-year-old, of course is under question.
There is a new procedure in the city of Chicago that officer who opened fire has now been put on 30 days desk duty as they evaluate this shooting. But a lot of questions here in the city obviously after the tumultuous month that they've had with all the protests and the calling for Rahm Emanuel to quit after the shooting death of Laquan McDonald that was caught on tape. A lot of questions really about what happens next here in the city -- Miguel and Christine.
ROMANS: All right. Ryan Young in Chicago. Thank you, Ryan.
Time for an EARLY START on your money this morning. Limping into the end of the year, stocks reopen today after a three-day Christmas break. So far futures pointing down a bit. Stocks climbed last week before closing early on Thursday. The Dow gained 2.5 percent last week.
You know, it has been a tough December and a flat year. The Dow is down 1.5 percent. The S&P 500 is up a little bit but barely. Only four more trading days left this year. There's still a chance for that last-minute rally this week.
You see the Nasdaq up 6.6 percent. You know why? It doesn't have the exposure to energy, to those low, low oil prices. So the Nasdaq has had some big winners this year. Investors who aren't turned out on vacation are going to get a look at consumer confidence this week. But technically the last week of trading of the year can be bumpy and kind of --
MARQUEZ: I think the year, we can sum it up wah-wah-wah.
ROMANS: I know. This week, I'm going to be telling you some -- there's some stocks that --
MARQUEZ: Yes?
ROMANS: I'm going to be -- I'll be rolling those out for you.
MARQUEZ: If anyone knows the winners, you will.
ROMANS: I know a few losers, too.
(LAUGHTER)
MARQUEZ: Donald Trump hitting back at Hillary Clinton and the insults this time bringing in her husband. The war of words in the race for the presidency escalating. That is coming right up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:12:32] ROMANS: And welcome back to EARLY START this morning. The presidential candidates get back to business of campaigning today after a holiday weekend respite.
Republican frontrunner Donald Trump once again in the spotlight. Still in the spotlight. No surprise there. But his feud with Hillary Clinton is escalating. Trump suggesting it's open season on that guy, Bill Clinton, as the former president gets ready to hit the campaign trail for his wife.
We get more this morning from CNN's Chris Frates.
CHRIS FRATES, CNN INVESTIGATIONS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Christine and Miguel. The fight between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton is getting increasingly personal, with the billionaire attacking Bill Clinton for sexism. Trump said in his tweet Saturday night attacking Bill Clinton, quote, "Penchant for sexism turned the tables on Hillary Clinton," because she used the same phrase to criticize Trump earlier in the week after he used a sexist vulgarity to describe Clinton's loss to Barack Obama in 2008.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think he is fair game because his presidency was really considered to be very troubled to put it mildly because of all of the things that she's talking to me about. I mean, she is mentioning sexism. I actually turned her exact words -- I don't know if you saw the following tweet. But I turned her exact words against her from that standpoint. Then she's got to be careful. You know, it's got to be fair.
And we all have to fight fairly and we have to fight, you know, for the good of the country, for the good of the people, for the good of everybody. But we have to fight fairly. And she is playing the woman's card and it's like, give me a break.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRATES: The chairwoman of the Democratic National Convention fired back saying Trump is practicing gutter politics and that the whole GOP field is following him down the sewer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN-SCHULTZ, CHAIR, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE: It's really outrageous the depths and how low he has allowed the campaign to sink. And the rest of the Republican field, Andrea, is going along.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRATES: Trump's slam on Bill Clinton's marital infidelity and alleged sexual misconduct comes a week after the Democratic frontrunner announced that her husband will hit the campaign trail for her next month. And the attack appears to be a kind of preemptive strike on the man regarded by many as one of the country's best campaigners. It also suggests that Trump is feeling secure enough in his lead atop the GOP field to take on the leading Democrat. Trump and Clinton are neck and neck in a hypothetical match up. And of course it doesn't hurt that criticizing Clinton is also a very popular past time among Republican primary voters -- Christine, Miguel.
ROMANS: Thanks, Chris. MARQUEZ: Yes. It is. Thank you, Chris.
We're going to sort all of this out for us now is CNN Politics reporter Tom LoBianco in Washington.
[05:15:03] ROMANS: Good morning.
MARQUEZ: Good morning. You have your work cut out for you, my friend.
So, look, the Clintons and Trump, they are long-time friends. They went to Trump's wedding. These are people who know each other. They swim in the same water.
ROMANS: Their daughters are friends.
MARQUEZ: Their daughter -- I mean, how much of this is theater and how much of this is real?
TOM LOBIANCO, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Well, they're friends until the White House is at stake. Right?
(LAUGHTER)
LOBIANCO: You know, this is -- we're watching this. And Trump of course has been incredibly successful firing away at a number of opponents. Democrat, Republican. That is how he ascended through this. He picks these incredible battles and then just fires away. His tweets get tons of attention. And right now he's going after the big dog himself. Can he draw in the big dog? And that's really a key question. I mean, what we're looking at now, everything before this has been building -- name ID, building attention. Now we're in the final stretch. This is where it gets real.
ROMANS: This is where it gets real. Well, as you pointed out, people are going to start pulling levers. I mean, voting -- I mean, this is now getting into the serious part of this -- of what has been until now just in sort of surreal political process.
Let's look at the opinion of Donald Trump. We've got a CNN-ORC poll here. Favorable between men and women, this is interesting to me. Unfavorable, 61 percent of women. Let's do the same poll for Hillary Clinton. Obviously, you see it flipped there. Unfavorable, 57 percent men.
Are we going to -- are we getting into -- he talked about Hillary Clinton that she's playing the woman card. Are we going to see more of this sort of divide between how men and women see these candidates?
LOBIANCO: Well, sure. You know, of course, she is going to, you know, talk about these issues. Her campaign has constantly been talking about this. I think that -- in some sense, it's kind of good for both of them. If you're looking past New Hampshire, all right, or if you're looking past the field, they are both looking to the general election. And this is part of their strategy. It's clear strategy. Clinton made this pivot maybe about a couple of weeks ago, about a month ago.
For both of them, successfully taking each other on. And again bringing Bill Clinton back into this gives huge attention for Trump. Gets huge attention for Trump as it were.
MARQUEZ: But is there any sense that Trump is starting to get his ground game together in Iowa? Because as you said, this is the real stuff now. This is where it really begins. And I don't really have a sense that his ground game has gotten much better in Iowa. Can he get people to the polls?
LOBIANCO: Well, that is the question. You know, ironically, he and Bernie Sanders have sort of the same question, which is, can you get these independents, can you get these people who are not registered? You know, that's why he is going after the Virginia Republican Party recently. That's his support there. Can you bring these people in?
This has been talked about frequently. He's got a great organizer out there. Chuck Loudner, who's been around for a while, you know, well- respected among people who have done this before. But it will be game time here in just about a month.
ROMANS: Yes. And let talk about Iowa quickly. Trey Gowdy signed up to this, says he's going to -- will campaign with Marco Rubio today. You've got Ted Cruz doing well in Iowa. Really resonating among Iowa Republicans. And we're getting closer to this moment where Donald Trump could have some real -- you know, real contenders up there with him. Especially after Iowa.
LOBIANCO: Absolutely. You know, going after the Gowdy thing, that was a big get for Rubio. And you could see that it stung with the way that he fired back. It's been a while.
ROMANS: The way Trump fired back. Because Trump fired back and said --
LOBIANCO: Exactly.
ROMANS: -- well, Trey Gowdy was a failure in the Benghazi hearings. He has been a disaster in the Benghazi hearings. So that really raised the ire of Donald Trump.
LOBIANCO: Indeed. Yes. Like you said, it gets real in Iowa. We're just a little over a month away. That's -- this is when, you know, we move from polls and hypotheticals and firing away to real results.
ROMANS: While you were sleeping, while everybody out there was out there, Donald Trump was tweeting well into the night. In case you don't follow his Twitter account religiously, he's mad at the Virginia Republican Party. Just quickly, what's going on there?
LOBIANCO: Sure. So what's happening is the Virginia Republican Party wants -- effectively wants voters to declare their party when they come in. So this is bad for people who are bringing in independents, bringing in unidentified voters however you want to call them. It's bad for Trump. It's bad for a person like Sanders. And again it does raise the specter of potentially the independent bid. You know, most recently Trump ruled it out. But as in all things Trump world, we're never entirely sure if it's completely ruled out.
(LAUGHTER)
MARQUEZ: The sage words from Tom LoBianco in Washington. Thank you very much.
LOBIANCO: Thanks, guys.
[05:20:01] MARQUEZ: The playoff picture coming into focus for the NFL after a Sunday filled with upsets and a one very curious call on a coin flip by the New England Patriots.
Andy Scholes, there he is. Hello there, Andy. He has highlights coming up in this morning's "Bleacher Report." See you in a second.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Peyton Manning is furious and says new allegations about him using performance enhancing drugs are completely false.
MARQUEZ: And Andy Scholes has more in this morning's "Bleacher Report." Hello there, Andy.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS: Good morning, guys. Yes, Manning immediately came out and said these new allegations were complete garbage. He was one of several athletes accused of using PEDs in an Al Jazeera documentary that aired Sunday night. In the documentary Charlie Sly who was an intern in an Indianapolis anti-aging clinic where Manning went for treatment was caught on hidden camera claiming Manning was allegedly given human growth hormone when he was recovering from neck surgery in 2011. The HGH was supposedly sent to Manning's wife Ashley. And when speaking with ESPN, Manning called these allegations a complete joke.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PEYTON MANNING, DENVER BRONCOS QUARTERBACK: I can't speak for any other athlete. I know what I've done. I know how hard I worked during my 18 years of playing in the NFL. There are no shortcuts in the NFL. I have done it the long way, I've done it the hard way. And to insinuate anything otherwise is a complete and total joke. It's defamation. And it really ticks me off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: Now Sly has since recanted his entire story. Posted this video on YouTube saying he made everything up and Al Jazeera should not run the documentary. The Guyer Institute released a statement saying that Sly was never even an employee there and only had a three- month internship with them.
[05:25:02] And it was in 2013 when Manning was not even being treated there. Manning said he is likely to sue Al Jazeera for defamation. Other athletes named in the documentary, baseball players Ryan Howard and Ryan Zimmerman, say they plan to sue the network as well.
The '72 Miami Dolphins popping up the champagne bottles yesterday. They can rest easy through another year as in no one will be going undefeated this season in the NFL. The Panthers losing to the Falcons yesterday to the final of 20-13. It was their first loss this season and their first since November of 2014.
And you know, we had a really odd ending to the Patriots-Jets game yesterday. They went to overtime. The Pats won the coin toss but they chose to kick instead of receive. You never see anyone do that. The Jets went right down the field and scored the game winning touchdown. After the game, Patriots coach Bill Belichick said it was his call to kick off instead of receive.
And guys, I'll tell you what, the conspiracy theorists out there, they say that Belichick saw the scoreboard read that the Steelers had just lost to the Ravens and he did this on purpose because he would rather see the Jets in the playoffs than the Steelers.
MARQUEZ: Wow.
SCHOLES: Don't know if that's true but those are just the conspiracy theories.
ROMANS: Wow.
MARQUEZ: We come to you for all our conspiracy theories, Andy Scholes.
ROMANS: Let's all call John Berman and wake him up this morning and ask him what he thinks on his vacation.
MARQUEZ: You think he'll have an opinion?
ROMANS: Oh, he will have an opinion. All right. Thanks, Andy. Nice to see you.
MARQUEZ: All right. Dozens dead as tornadoes, floods and snowstorms pound parts of the U.S. The damage done and what's still on the way. Coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARQUEZ: Dozens dead as severe storms barrel across the U.S. tornadoes, floods, snowstorms. The new damage this morning and what's still on the way.
ROMANS: A terror warning for several cities across Europe preparing for possible attacks that could happen before the new year. We are live.
MARQUEZ: And Donald Trump extending his attacks on Hillary Clinton to her husband. The new insults flying in the race for the presidency.
Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Miguel Marquez. Good morning to you. ROMANS: Nice to have you here.
MARQUEZ: Thank you very much.
ROMANS: Nice to see you, Miguel. I'm Christine Romans --
