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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
President Obama Going After Guns; Saudi Arabia Cuts Ties with Iran; Hunt for Gunman in Israel; Oregon Wildlife Refuge Protest; NFL Regular Season Wraps Up; Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired January 04, 2016 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:03] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And a diplomatic standoff in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia kicking out Iranians. Will Iran respond? This with proxy wars raging all across the region. What will the U.S. involvement be?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: A dangerous situation.
BERMAN: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.
ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. It is Monday, January 4th. Welcome to the New Year, folks. It is 5:00 a.m. in the East. And 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. The big news this morning Donald Trump unleashing his first television ad of the campaign. We should get our very first look at that any moment now. We'll bring it to you. 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)
ROMANS: 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. Jeb Bush needs a comeback and after pulling ads from Iowa and South Carolina, he will rely on retail handshaking politics. He is 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)
ROMANS: All right. 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, "the ability to execute and not just have good ideas."
John Kasich rolling out a major ad campaign in New Hampshire. He's been polling in the top five there in recent weeks. He is putting his hopes on that state.
BERMAN: Happening this morning, Bill Clinton set to make his first solo appearance on behalf of his wife, that comes in New Hampshire. And it all comes as Donald Trump and now some others have raised his past sexual indiscretions as a campaign issue. On the stump in New Hampshire, Hillary Clinton faced 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)
BERMAN: Clinton rival Bernie Sanders, he was pretty clear on "STATE OF THE UNION" that he really doesn't care about that 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)
ROMANS: All right. Bernie Sanders there.
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. Within days, sources familiar with the issue telling CNN the president will announce executive actions on guns. Now the potential changes drawing heated criticism, no surprise, from Republican presidential contenders. They say the president is circumventing the will of Congress.
For the very latest let's bring in CNN's Chris Frates. He's 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.
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.
[05:05:06] 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.
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: All these executive orders are going to come out tomorrow. They're going to undermine our Second Amendment rights. On my first day in office, they're gone.
(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.
ROMANS: All right. Chris Frates for us in Washington. Thanks, Chris. A special programming note this morning. This Thursday at 8:00 p.m.,
President Obama will join Anderson Cooper for an exclusive live town hall event about guns in America. Among other things, the president will discuss the executive action on guns he likely will announce early this week. And he's going to take questions from a live studio audience. It's a town hall on guns in America, with President Obama, moderated by Anderson this Thursday night 8:00 p.m. only on CNN.
BERMAN: The Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino set to reopen this morning. That is the facility where 14 people were killed in a terror attack last month. The conference center where the shooting took place that will remain closed. And 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 from home over the past several weeks.
ROMANS: To India now, a devastating earthquake hit northeast India overnight. At least six people were killed in a 6.8 magnitude quake. Dozens more injured. And you know, those numbers are expected to rise. Rescue efforts hampered by communications and power outages. The quake is centered near the border with Myanmar. There are reports of severe damage to residential and government buildings.
BERMAN: The potential for deadly flooding threatening millions from Illinois to Louisiana. The Mississippi River, it is beginning to recede in some places but for the south over its banks in several states. Authorities in St. Francis County, Arkansas, searching for a man who was swept away by floodwaters while riding his four-wheeler.
There is a huge cleanup effort underway in the St. Louis area this morning. The 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.
ROMANS: Camille Cosby is scheduled to be deposed Wednesday in a lawsuit brought by seven women who claimed they were sexually assaulted and defamed by her husband. The wife of comedian Bill Cosby tried to have a subpoena requiring her to testify thrown out, but a judge ruled her attorney's failed to prove the value of her testimony would outweigh the undue burden it might cause her.
BERMAN: Getting our first look at the wreckage of the 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.
ROMANS: All right. Eight minutes past the hour. Time for an EARLY START on your money.
BERMAN: Yes.
ROMANS: An ugly start to the year for markets around the globe. Trading in China halted overnight after a dramatic drop sparked by some weak 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 biggest lost I think since 2008. The S&P 500 finished with a 0.7 percent decline. The Nasdaq managed a 5.7 percent gain.
There were two S&P 500 stocks that more than doubled. Two of them. And they are household names. Netflix gained 134 percent over the past 12 months, making it the best performing stock in the S&P 500. Then there was Amazon, up 117 percent last year. Both stocks still closed to all-time high.
The most widely held stock for you this morning, Apple, it lost more than 4.5 percent in 2015 after being a steady winner again and again. Last year, it was a little more tough for Apple. A lot of folks wondering what's going to happen this year. But watch stocks this morning. The futures down. You've got European markets down. You have, you know, Asian markets closed lower. Trading halted in China. Just kind of a dramatic way to start the New Year.
All right. Eight minutes just past the hour really. The Saudis and Iranians going head-to-head in a battle for regional domination. The Saudis cutting ties with Iran after a weekend of protests and executions. A live report on a dangerous situation next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:12:16] BERMAN: Dangerous diplomatic tension in the Middle East this morning. Saudi Arabia ordering all Iranian diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours. The move follows a weekend attack of a Saudi embassy in Tehran, sparked by Saudi Arabia's execution of a dissident Shia cleric. All this in a region already torn by conflict.
CNN's international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson tracking the developments for us live from London. Good morning, Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, good morning, John. What the Saudis are saying is that Iranian leaders essentially provoked the situation in Tehran. They had allowed crowds to come out on the street and attack the Saudi embassy there, attack another Saudi mission in Iran. The Saudis pulled out all of their diplomats and have now told all Iranian diplomat to leave Saudi Arabia within the next 48 hours.
This comes at a time of already heightened tensioned between these two countries. Fighting proxy wars in both Yemen and Syria. Tensions between the two countries in Bahrain, Lebanon as well.
What the Saudis are saying is that the Iranians are trying to increase tensions in the region, make it even more volatile. The Iranians are accusing the Saudis, however, of dealing with the situation in this way because they have domestic issues at home inside Saudi Arabia. So it is a war of words. It is a diplomatic spat. It is increasing tensions when the international community can least afford it there right now.
When does this calm down? When does it end? It's not clear. But you have a very new, strong Saudi leadership, if you like, that is willing to take on the possibility of a reaction from Iran by executing this Shia leader. The Saudis accused him of fomenting terrorism inside Saudi Arabia. His supporters say that he was just calling for the peaceful overthrow of the Saudi royal family.
So you can see at the moment that these tensions have escalated and that the Saudis will have been aware for the potential of this when they took these measures over the weekend.
BERMAN: And a complicated place for the United States to be diplomatically. Of course longtime ally, Saudi Arabia but the United States not happy with human rights issues inside that country. And the United States, part of this new nuclear deal with Iran. Interesting to see how the United States will react in the next few days.
ROBERTSON: Yes. I mean, what you have here inside Saudi Arabia is not just a Saudi reaction and concern to this new sort of rapprochement between the United States and Iran. But you also have, if you go back to the Arab spring of 2011, Saudi Arabia was deeply disappointed with the United States not backing up its allies in the region. The Tunisian president, the Egyptian president at the time and the Saudis recognized then that they needed to look to themselves for their own security in the region.
[05:15:10] They've massively beefed up their security forces. They have a huge defense spending on internal security and an army that can face off against regional foes. They've increased the spending there. And that's not just because of the United States signing this deal with Iran, but because the Saudis believe that they have to be a military economic, political, diplomatic power house in the region. So we're seeing a manifestation of that as well, John.
BERMAN: All right, Nic Robertson for us in London watching the situation. Thanks so much, Nic.
ROMANS: To Israel now where security forces are widening a manhunt for the suspected shooter who killed two people and wounded seven others outside a Tel Aviv pub on New Year's Day. The shooting came amid a wave of Palestinian attacks on Israelis and after an apparent ISIS threat against the Jewish state.
CNN's Ian Lee is following developments and following the manhunt for us. He's live in Jerusalem.
Ian, what's the latest?
IAN LEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine. Right now, the main concern for police is capturing this man in the third day of this manhunt. They fear that while they consider him armed and dangerous, that he could commit another crime. Another sort of shooting. So they are aiming their focus on capturing him. They have SWAT teams, they have terrorism units searching abandoned buildings and construction sites. They believe these are places that he could be hiding out in Tel Aviv and northern Tel Aviv. The police say they have over 1,000 extra units in the Tel Aviv area
helping with this manhunt. Also providing security for schools that has been a concern of families sending their children to school. We've seen a decline in students. But there is extra security. There's extra patrols around there. Police are also investigating, still investigating if this suspect also killed someone in the northern part of the Tel Aviv area outside a hotel. This happened just 20 minutes after that fatal shooting.
Now the family who was the first people to call police and identify the suspect say that he is mentally disturbed. He suffers from a psychological disorder. He's on medication. They fear that he's not taking his medication. They want to see him captured alive. But police right now, their main goal is, quote, "neutralizing the subject," whether that's capturing or killing.
ROMANS: And they're scouring construction sites, they're looking everywhere for him. But this happened on New Year's Day. I mean, that's kind of a lot -- long time for someone to be on the loose armed and dangerous.
LEE: This is definitely bizarre for the police. Normally -- first off, they don't know if this is criminal or terrorism. They're leaning toward this being a terrorism case. But usually they capture the suspect either at the scene or they are killed. They don't go on the run for this long. And especially because Israel has a lot of security. They have security cameras everywhere. They usually can follow the people to where they go.
So the concern right now is, did he have help in this crime and could he be somewhere else holed up potentially a hostage situation? The police do not know. That's why they are searching everywhere with such great number of manpower -- Christine.
ROMANS: All right. Ian Lee, for us in Jerusalem. Thank you for that, Ian.
There are reports 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. He was convicted on espionage charges. But Iran has not announced a 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. Black Monday arriving early for two NFL coaches. Several others could get fired today. This as the NFL playoff picture comes into focus. Who is in? Who is out? Coy Wire has the details in the "Bleacher Report" next.
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[05:22:37] BERMAN: An action packed final day of the NFL regular season. Did your favorite team make the playoffs, lose the number one seed or were your hopes dashed altogether? ROMANS: Did you spend 20 hours watching football yesterday like John
Berman did? Coy Wire has more of this morning's -- 11 -- in this morning's "Bleacher Report." Hey.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS: Good morning, guys. We had so many question marks going into yesterday's games. Who was going to lose and sit on their couch for the playoffs Tuesday? And who's going to get home- field advantage?
Well, the Brock Osweiler-led Broncos, they're looking for the top overall season in AFC. Osweiler were struggling a bit against the Chargers. He threw two interceptions. Here's one that went through a receiver's hands. It would be five turnovers overall. You see he got it there on another one. Not really, just fall flat.
Gary Kubiak puts Peyton Manning into the third quarter for a taint. And the fans would approve his first game since mid-November. Peyton looked pretty sharp. He threw nine passes and led the Broncos to the go-ahead drive. Broncos would win 27-20. Earning the top seed in AFC and now have a bona fide quarterback controversy in Denver.
New York Jets facing their old coach Rex Ryan and my former team, the Bills. The Jets just need to win and they're in the playoffs. Dan Carpenter, the kicker, not happy after a missing an extra point. The helmet got the best of that encounters, guys. Now that's going to leave a mark. And Ryan Patrick will leave a mark -- Fitzpatrick will leave as well, he struggled against the Bills' D all day long through three interceptions all in the fourth quarters. Bills win 22-17. Spoiling the Jets' playoff hopes.
Vikings and Packers ground up in the primetime game last night. Winners of the NFC North crowned in the first round home game in the playoffs. Packers down two minutes left. Aaron Rodgers picked off by Xavier Rhodes. They get another shot. One more time with time running out. Throws the hail Mary into the end zone but it's knocked down. Vikings win, 20-13.
Now only the top of the NFL food chain remains. Saturday's wild card games start off Chiefs and Texans and the Steelers who made the playoffs due to that Jets loss, they'll play the Bengals. And on Sunday, guys, the Vikings are going to host the Seahawks and Washington hosting Green Bay.
Now on the total opposite end of that NFL food chain spectrum, Black Monday came early for two head coaches on Sunday. The Browns' Mike Pettine was let go and the 49ers' Jim Tomsula just got the one season, fired.
Today is nicknamed Black Monday because it's typically the day when struggling coaches get the axe.
[05:25:03] A lot of head coaches checking their cell phones today and hoping it doesn't ring, getting a call from management. Remember you also had Chip Kelly was already let go already so that makes three.
John Berman, I have to know who you're hoping that your team does not face in the divisional round of the playoffs?
BERMAN: I think the Steelers, you know, are the hottest team in the AFC right now. I'm actually kind of glad the way it shapes up. The Patriots may not have to face them for some time. We shall see.
WIRE: You're right. You're right.
BERMAN: We shall see.
WIRE: We shall see. Good luck to you, sir.
BERMAN: All right, thanks, Coy.
All right. White House hopeful starting to ramp up operations. The clock ticking. The Iowa caucuses. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton hit the trail today. Hillary Clinton has Bill Clinton out on the stump with her. Donald Trump unveils a new campaign ad. We will see it this morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: The final search for the 2016 White House hopefuls are making one more push in moment. In Iowa the caucus is only four weeks away. Can Donald Trump keep his frontrunner status by insulting the Clintons?
BERMAN: President Obama set to unveil action on gun control. Executive action. Announcement within days. A live town hall on CNN on Thursday. Republican presidential candidates already pounce.
ROMANS: Dangerous tension in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia severing ties with Iran. Kicking out diplomats. New developments overnight in the conflict that could upend U.S. involvement in the Middle East.
Welcome back to EARLY START this Monday morning. Happy New Year, everybody. I'm Christine Romans.
BERMAN: I'm John Berman. About 30 minutes past the hour this morning. It is all very real in Iowa and New Hampshire. The race for 2016 now taking place in 2016. The Iowa caucuses just four weeks from today. In the big news this morning, Donald Trump unleashing his first television ad of the campaign. I believe we just got it in seconds ago. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Something else, but Donald Trump calls it radical Islamic terrorism. That's why he's calling for a temporary shutdown of --
