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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Obama Meets with U.S. Attorney General on Gun Regulation; Saudi Arabia Cuts Ties with Iran; Hunt for Gunman in Israel; Oregon Wildlife Refuge Protest. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired January 04, 2016 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:13] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The race for the White House heating up with only four weeks before first votes are finally cast. Donald Trump firing away at Hillary Clinton as her campaign gets ready to unleash its not-so secret weapon. We have the latest from the campaign trail.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: President Obama set to unveil executive action on background checks for guns and already his plans coming under attack from critics.
ROMANS: And tensions mount between two critical powers in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia severing ties with Iran. The controversy behind the diplomatic death threat and the potential fallout ahead. Ahead, I'll tell you stock markets moving this morning. Oil markets at least.
BERMAN: Yes.
ROMANS: Good morning. And welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
BERMAN: I'm John Berman. It is Monday, January 4th. It is 4:00 a.m. in the East.
This morning, it is all very real in Iowa and New Hampshire. The race for 2016. Now taking place in 2016. The Iowa caucuses are just four weeks from today. Circle it on your calendar. The big news today, Donald Trump unleashing his first television ad of the campaign. We should get our first look at it any minute. He also has new attacks on Hillary Clinton.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The entire world has been upset. The entire world is -- it's a different place during Barack Obama's and Hillary Clinton's term. She's done a horrible job. She's caused so many other problems. And let me tell you something. She's caused death. She's caused tremendous death with incompetent decisions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: The rest of the Republican field also launching their final push. Ted Cruz, Chris Christie, they have multiple events scheduled today. Cruz in Iowa, Christie in New Hampshire. Marco Rubio is set to make appearances in both early voting states today.
Jeb Bush, well, he needs something. He needs a comeback. And after pulling ads from Iowa and South Carolina he will rely on retail handshaking politics. He's also keeping up his new sharper attacks on Donald Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And Donald Trump, I don't believe, is going to be the party's nominee. If he is, he's going to get crushed by Hillary Clinton. And I wanted to point that out. He said some things that are just outrageous. His views on policy have shifted with the winds. He is a strong supporter, until recently, of Hillary Clinton. And now he's the front running candidate for the Republican nomination. Someone has to call him out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Ben Carson has new campaign leadership this morning after his campaign manager and communications director up and quit. Carson told ABC News the campaign needs people with, quote, " ability to execute and not just have good ideas."
John Kasich, he is rolling out a new ad campaign in New Hampshire. He's been polling in the top five or so there in recent weeks. All his hopes in this race depend on New Hampshire.
ROMANS: Happening this morning, Bill Clinton is set to make his first solo appearance on behalf of his wife in New Hampshire. This comes as Donald Trump and now others have raised Bill Clinton's past sexual indiscretions as a campaign issue. On the stump in New Hampshire, Hillary Clinton shut down a heckler who turned out to be a New Hampshire Republican lawmaker.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Just -- just -- well, I'm going to call on people. I'm -- wait a minute, I -- I'm not going to take your question because other people have been -- yes, go right there. This man right there in -- here we go. Right there. You are very rude and I'm not going to ever call on you. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Clinton's rival Bernie Sanders was very clear on "STATE OF THE UNION" that he just doesn't care about the issue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think we got more important things to worry about in this country than Bill Clinton's sex life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: In just hours, President Obama meets in the Oval Office with Attorney General Loretta Lynch. They are set to discuss options for tougher gun restrictions. In a day or two, sources familiar with the issue tells CNN the president will announce executive actions on guns. Such changes are drawing some critics from Republican presidential contenders who say they circumvent the will of Congress.
Let's get the very latest on what is expected from CNN's Chris Frates in Washington.
CHRIS FRATES, CNN INVESTIGATIONS UNIT CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, John and Christine. On his first full day back in Washington after the holidays, President Obama today plans to meet with the attorney general and other top law enforcement officials to discuss tougher gun restrictions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A few months ago I directed my team at the White House to look into any new actions I can take to help reduce gun violence. And on Monday, I'll meet with our attorney general, Loretta Lynch, to discuss our options because I get too many letters from parents and teachers and kids to sit around and do nothing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRATES: Sources say President Obama is expected to announce new executive actions soon. Expanding background checks on gun sales, aimed at closing the so-called gun show loophole which allows some gun sellers to avoid conducting background checks.
[04:05:01] Gun control advocates have also pushed the White House to tighten regulations on the reporting of lost and stolen guns and they want the president to prevent more alleged domestic abusers and passengers on the no-fly list from buying guns. But before the president has even announced the details of his actions, Republicans running to replace him were seemingly competing on who would undo them faster.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: So he's going to sign another executive order having to do with the Second Amendment. Having to do with guns. I will veto that. I will un-sign that so fast. So fast.
GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This president is a petulant child. The fact is, if he wants to make changes to these laws, go to Congress and convince the Congress that they're necessary. But this is going to be another illegal executive action which I'm sure will be rejected by the courts. And when I become president, will be stricken from executive action.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRATES: Democrats have applauded Obama's efforts. On Sunday, Bernie Sanders, whose Democratic rivals have called him weak on gun control, endorsed increased background checks -- John, Christine. BERMAN: All right, Chris, thanks so much. A special programming
note. This Thursday at 8:00 p.m. President Obama joins Anderson Cooper for an exclusive live town hall event. The subject, "Guns in America." Among other things, the president will discuss the executive action on guns. He will announce this week. He'll also take questions from a live studio audience. The town on "Guns in America," where President Obama moderated by Anderson Cooper this Thursday night. 8:00 p.m. only on CNN.
ROMANS: The Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino is set to reopen this morning. That's of course the facility where 14 people were killed in a terror attack last month. The conference center where the shooting took place will remain closed. There is a new security fence around the entire facility. A full day of events is planned to make the employees feel safe. Many of them have been working, working from home for the past several weeks using iPad.
BERMAN: The devastating earthquake hit northeast India overnight. At least six people were killed in the 6.8 magnitude quake with dozens more injured. Those numbers are expected to rise. Rescue efforts are being hampered by communications outages. The quake was centered near the border of Myanmar. There are reports of severe damage to residential and government buildings in the state of Manipur.
ROMANS: The potential for deadly flooding threatening millions from Illinois all the way down to Louisiana. The Mississippi River beginning to recede but still over its banks in several states. Authorities in St. Francis County, Arkansas, searching right now for a man who was swept away by floodwaters while riding his four-wheeler. And there's a massive cleanup effort underway in the St. Louis area this morning. Devastating floods triggered by 10 inches of rain over three days leaving behind enough silt and debris to keep workers busy for weeks if not months.
A close look at the forecast coming up in just a few minutes.
BERMAN: Some other news this morning, Camille Cosby scheduled to be deposed Wednesday in a lawsuit brought by seven women who claim they were sexually assaulted and defamed by her husband. The wife of comedian Bill Cosby tried to have subpoena requiring her to testify thrown out, but a judge ruled her attorney's failed to prove the value of her testimony would be outweighed by the undue burden it might cause her.
ROMANS: We are getting this morning our very first look at the wreckage of cargo ship El Faro. The vessel sank October 1st. Caught in a category 4 hurricane while traveling from Florida to Puerto Rico. All 33 crew members on board died. Federal investigators are considering a search of the wreckage 15,000 feet down in an attempt to locate that ship's black box.
Time for an EARLY START on your money this first start to the year. An ugly start to the year for trading around the world. Trading in China was halted overnight after a dramatic drop of 7 percent drop sparked by some bad manufacturing data. Here in the U.S., many investors are happy to be done with 2015. The
Dow lost 2.2 percent last year. The S&P 500 finished the year with a 0.7 percent loss. And the Nasdaq managed to gain 5.7 percent. But those losses for the blue chip the first losses since 2008.
But there were two S&P stocks that more than doubled. Two stocks in the S&P more than doubled. And they are household names. Netflix last year gained 134 percent. The best performing stock in the S&P 500. And take a look at this next one. Second to that gain is Amazon. Up 117 percent last year. Both stocks very close to all-time highs.
As for the widely held stock, the stock most of you talked about, tweeted about, asked about. Apple was down more than 4.5 percent in 2015.
BERMAN: Yes. But a lot going with China this morning. What a way to start.
ROMANS: Yes. China this morning -- European stocks have opened lower. So we're looking for a rocky start to the year here for stocks. We'll watch.
BERMAN: Yes. That'd be an understatement.
All right. Dramatic developments overseas with the balance of power in the Middle East teetering. Saudi Arabia cutting ties with Iran after a weekend that saw protests, executions. Diplomats told to get out of the country within 48 hours. A live report next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:12:59] ROMANS: Dangerous diplomatic tension in the Middle East this morning. Saudi Arabia ordering all Arabian diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours. The move follows a weekend attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran sparked by Saudi Arabia's execution of a dissident Shiite cleric. All this signaling a potentially dangerous development in an already volatile region.
CNN's international editor Nic Robertson tracking developments live for us from London. Hi, Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, hi, Christine. Well, the Saudis accused this Shia cleric inspiring terrorism within Saudi Arabia. What he'd called for was a peaceful overthrow of the Saudi monarchy has certainly inspired a lot of people to come out on the streets and demonstrations against the -- against the ruling royal family in Saudi Arabia.
We've seen the Saudis now pulled their diplomats out of Iran. They've given the Iranian diplomats in Saudi Arabia 48 hours to get out of their country. They accuse Iranian leaders of -- through their speeches over the weekend of fostering a situation that can allow indeed sort of pave the way for the U.S. embassy there to be attacked and other diplomatic missions in Iran to be attacked. They're saying that Iran is essentially trying to destabilize the region. Iran, for its part, says that Saudi Arabia is responding to the situation because of internal domestic pressures inside Saudi Arabia.
The reality of what we are seeing here is a ratcheting up of already significant tensions between these two countries. In Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Iran are fighting a proxy war. They're fighting a proxy war inside Syria as well. They have extreme tensions over their interests in Saudi Arabia -- in Iraq just to the north of Saudi Arabia.
So this is another dimension to an escalating situation that fuels tensions in the regions. And certainly puts their hopes and likelihood of getting a peaceful solution up and running this year inside Syria. Makes that a more distant prospect at this time -- Christine.
ROMANS: Nic, a dramatic development. No question. And, you know, one wonders what kind of internal pressures Saudi officials are under at the moment.
[04:15:06] A 35 percent collapse in the price of oil over a year, rising unemployment. You wonder the execution of that Shia cleric for its domestic audience what the point was or what the goal was and whether they maybe miscalculated what the reaction in the broader Middle East would be.
ROBERTSON: Yes. I don't think the Saudis particularly are miscalculating this. I mean, you have a new king. I think a year ago we were asking ourselves, you know, what would be this new king be like. Well, we've seen he's been more robust. Saudi Arabia feels that it needs to be a stronger military and diplomatic and political force in the region. I think that's what we're seeing replicate here.
Saudi Arabia has the cure to this low oil price. It could just drop its oil production because it is suffering, it is going through belt -- significant belt tightening to try to get through the drop in the oil price. But if it cut production, there is a possibility the price could rise. But what Saudi Arabia wants to do is to maintain its market share.
ROMANS: Right.
ROBERTSON: In oil five years ahead. So it is a calculation, but it's a calculation by a new leadership in Saudi Arabia. And that's what's changed. So --
ROMANS: Right.
ROBERTSON: What we understood how thye would react before is -- it's different.
ROMANS: Revealing. Very revealing. Thank you so much for that, Nic Robertson for us this morning in London.
BERMAN: Israeli Security Forces widening a manhunt for the shooter suspected of killing two and wounding seven others outside a pub in Tel Aviv on New Year's Day. The shooting came in a wave of Palestinian attacks on Israelis. And after an apparent ISIS threat against Israel.
CNN's Ian Lee is following developments live in Jerusalem this morning. Ian, what's the latest?
IAN LEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. Right now, as we are speaking, terrorism units and SWAT teams --
BERMAN: All right. We appear to have lost Ian Lee in Jerusalem.
As you can see, this manhunt under way. We'll get an update from Ian as soon as we can.
ROMANS: The family of the man that they're looking for has said that he is mentally unstable, that he was not taking medication. That they are concerned about his safety and the safety of others.
All right. There are reports this morning of a deal in the works to free a "Washington Post" reporter being held by Iran. Reuters quotes a senior Iranian official saying unnamed Americans have contacted Tehran for a deal to swap Jason Rezaian. He was arrested in 2014, convicted on espionage charges. But Iran has not announced his sentence. The speaker of Iran's parliament has hinted that Rezaian could be freed in exchange for Iranian prisoners in the U.S.
BERMAN: All right. Let's try to go back to Jerusalem right now and get the latest on the manhunt there for a man suspected involved in a New Year's Day attack.
Ian, what's going on?
LEE: John, right now terrorism units and SWAT teams are searching construction sites and abandoned buildings as this manhunt goes into day three. Over 1,000 extra police officers are operating just in the Tel Aviv area alone. They're searching Tel Aviv and northern parts of that city looking for this man. They think that he could still very much be dangerous and carry out another attack.
Now his family says that he is mentally disturbed, that he normally takes medication for a psychological disorder. They're hoping that he can be captured and also that he doesn't hurt himself. But right now police are trying to, as they say, neutralize him. Either capture him or kill him.
Schools in Tel Aviv have seen a decline in the number of students as parents are rightfully so are concerned about their child. They are keeping them home as this manhunt continues. But the police are saying that it is secure, that they do have extra units at schools, they have extra patrols at school, that it is safe for their children to go to school. But it still is quite uneasy in Tel Aviv this morning.
BERMAN: Understandably so. Ian Lee for us in Israel. Thanks so much, Ian.
Meanwhile in the United States, an armed militia occupies a federal wildlife refuge. What are these militia members want? How far are they willing to take this?
New developments overnight next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:22:34] BERMAN: New developments in Oregon this morning with armed militia members occupying buildings in a federal wildlife refuge. Some of the schools in rural Harney County, Oregon, they will be closed this week as a precaution.
This all began Saturday as a rally in support of ranchers, Dwight and Steve Hammond, they were convicted of arson, setting fires on public lands. The father and son pair, they're expected to report to prison today. The protesters say they are staying put.
Let's get more from CNN's Polo Sandoval.
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And good morning, John and Christine.
Right now several of those men and women are hunkering down on federal property there, saying that they do not plan to move any time soon. They're standing up for the rights of ranch owners and land owners as well. But they hear from law enforcement, even some civilians, some say that disagree. That they are simply seizing an opportunity to further what is a misguided cause.
Well, a group of individuals seized the unoccupied headquarters of a wildlife refuge Saturday. The group claims to be made up of, quote, "patriots and constitutionalists," taking a stand against the government's control and use of public land. Harney County sheriff David Ward disagrees. A portion of his statement, reading, quote, "These men had alternative motives to attempt to overthrow the county and federal government in hopes to spark a movement across the United States.
Among the armed protesters, the Senate, Nevada, rancher Clive Bundy. You'll recall he was at a center of a similar standoff with the federal government last year over grazing fees. Ammon Bundy is leading this new anti-government effort after the feds ordered the father-son ranching duo to federal prison. Dwight and Steve Hammond were convicted of setting fire to about 138 acres of federal land back in 2012.
But their attorney says, they don't condone this takeover, saying in a statement, quote, "Neither Ammon Bundy nor anyone within his group speak or organization speak for the Hammond family.
This monitoring the FBI is saying that they are closely monitoring the situation as this is a federal building. They are responsible for investigating what is an evolving situation there in Oregon this morning.
Guys, back to you.
ROMANS: All right, Polo, thanks so much that. More serious flooding expected in parts of seven states. This surge
of high water moving south along the Mississippi River.
For the very latest, let's bring in meteorologist Pedram Javaheri.
(WEATHER REPORT)
[04:26:00] BERMAN: Not an impressive winter so far in the northeast.
ROMANS: No.
BERMAN: It will have come soon.
ROMANS: Thanks, Pedram.
BERMAN: All right. The NFL regular season over for about like two seconds and already coaches being axed. Cleveland Browns fired head coach Mike Pettine in the San Francisco 49ers, they fired Jim Tomosulo after one season each. Other coaches that could be in trouble include two Super Bowl winners, we shall see. Tom Coughlin of the Giants, Sean Payton of the Saints. Both pretty good coaches.
There are some fireworks on the field Sunday. Peyton Manning came off the bench to lead the Broncos to a win. They are now the top seed in the AFC because the Patriots now sort of stink. Meantime, the jets, they failed to make the playoffs. Losing to the Bills on Sunday. The Jets, they blew it big time. They had every chance in the world to win and they succeeded in looking like losers every step of the way.
The Steelers, they beat the Browns. The Steelers got the last playoff spot in the NFC. They will play Cincinnati in a wild card, play-up game on Saturday. The Chiefs, Texans, they play in the other AFC match up.
In the NFC, the Vikings beat the packers to win the NDC. North, they will host the Seahawks. Yes, congratulations. You get to host the hottest in the NFL. Green Bay plays at Washington in the other NFC game. Green Bay sort of tanked that game. The Carolina Panthers are the top seed in the NFC.
ROMANS: There's a lot of football yesterday.
BERMAN: A lot of football yesterday. None of it went well as far as I'm concerned.
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: All right. 27 minutes past the hour. The White House hopefuls starting to ramp up operations with the clock ticking to the Iowa caucuses situations. Oh yes. Four weeks until we get some voting.
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton enter 2016 the frontrunners. Will the escalating attacks on each other help them stay there?
BERMAN: I like the voting music. ROMANS: Yes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
