Return to Transcripts main page

Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

North Korea Announces H-Bomb Test; Trump Raises Issue of Cruz's Canadian Birth; Protests on Streets of Germany; FBI Asks for Help in San Bernardino Probe; Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired January 06, 2016 - 05:30   ET

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

[05:30:01] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And how will Ted Cruz respond.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: And the president, President Obama with a teary appeal for the nation to come together on gun violence. He outlines the executive orders of victim's families, but his detractors aren't buying his argument.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

BERMAN: I'm John Berman. 30 minutes past the hour. Nice to see you this morning.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BERMAN: Breaking overnight, North Korea says it exploded a hydrogen bomb. This is the first time that North Korea has made that claim. It has had nuclear tests before, but those were for fission devices. A hydrogen bomb would be a huge escalation in their capabilities and present huge new challenges for the U.S. in terms of security.

The apparent underground test has set off political tremors around the world all night and prompted an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council set for just a few hours from now.

Joining us with the latest, CNN's Will Ripley live in Beijing. China obviously has keen interest in what's going on in North Korea as well.

First, Will, what exactly do we know about this test?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we know is that it was conducted around 10:00 a.m. local time. And the test was confirmed. It caused a 5.1 magnitude earthquake. There are tests underway both in China and in the air via planes that were sent from Japan for radiation to see what the environmental impact of this might be, but it's a very serious situation because if North Korea's claims are true that they're now in possession of an H bomb, hundreds of times more powerful than the device they tested in 2013, they also had tests in 2009 and 2006, then it's a clear indication that the U.S. policy of strategic patience, ignoring the North Korean regime and hoping that they would denuclearize on their own after pressure from international sanctions, well, that clearly hasn't happened.

The North has aggressively continued to invest in their nuclear program at the expense of feeding their own people, frankly. Listen to what the former U.S. ambassador to South Korea has to say about that policy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTOPHER HILL, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO SOUTH KOREA: I'm not sure saying we're going to respond with strategic patience is really going to get us very far. So I think what we're going to have to do is there'll be a discussion in the U.N., there'll be an effort to tighten sanctions, there'll be, I think, further effort with regional countries, including China. And I hope there will be some understanding that we have to somehow retard this program in a way that we did with the Iranian program. And so I think we're going to really think very hard about what to do because we can't just leave this one alone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: I can tell you during several visits to Pyongyang last year, I got the impression that the North Koreans are very proud of their nuclear program. In fact the Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un called the sound of a hydrogen bomb an exciting noise in a document that he signed authorizing this test which is occurring, by the way, John, just two days before his 33rd birthday.

He is 33 years old and at the hands of a growing nuclear arsenal that could if these claims of an H-bomb are true be more powerful than anything we have seen out of North Korea before.

BERMAN: And Will, the aim of the North Korean leader, what is it believed to be?

RIPLEY: Yes, I also believe, again, from discussions with officials in Pyongyang, they do not have any desire to detonate these devices, although selling nuclear technology would be a way for this very, very poor country to make a lot of money. And they have a lot of raw uranium. But I believe from what I've heard from officials in Pyongyang that they view their nuclear program as one of their few bargaining chips to force international community to sit down with them and have a conversation what they really want is normalized relations with the United States.

And so could this nuclear test then open the door for discussions with the Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un's representatives and representatives from, say, the United States? Could it lead to economic aide for North Korea as past agreements have in lifting some sanctions, it seems counterintuitive that a provocative action like this could actually help the state of the country. But this could force the hand of nations that have refused to talk.

BERMAN: Will Ripley for us in Beijing.

We should note as you did, Will, you were one of the few American reporters who spend extensive in North Korea, doing terrific reporting from inside that regime, so your insight this morning invaluable. Thanks so much, Will.

ROMANS: All right. To the race for president in this country now. Potentially a divisive new lean attacks this morning between two candidates who so far have mostly been chummy.

Donald Trump now raising questions about whether Ted Cruz is even eligible to be president. The Texas senator was born in Canada, but because his mother was a U.S. citizen, most legal scholars agree, Cruz does meet the constitutional requirement that he be a natural born citizen. Nevertheless, Trump says nominating Cruz has put Republicans in a very precarious position.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: A lot of people are talking about it. I hope it's not so. I hope it doesn't come about. But people are worried that if he weren't born in this country, which he wasn't, he was born in Canada, and if the Democrats bring a lawsuit, the lawsuit could take years to resolve. And how do you have a candidate where there is something, you know, over the head of the party and that individual?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[05:35:11] ROMANS: Cruz responded by tweeting a clip of Fonzi from "Happy Days" jumping a shark. Then instead of going after Trump, Cruz went after the media for covering possible division among the candidates.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: With all respect, our good food friends here in media are playing into the Democratic playbook.

How about we talk about the real challenges facing this country? One of the things that the media loves to do is gaze at their navels for hours on end by a tweet from Donald Trump or from me or from anybody else, who cares? Let's focus on the issues.

(CROSSTALK)

CRUZ: Let's focus on the issues that matter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Cruz spent today in Iowa. Trump is off the campaign trail for the day. But he will sit down with Wolf Blitzer for an interview that will air on "THE SITUATION ROOM".

BERMAN: All right. New reaction this morning to President Obama's announcement on proposed gun control measures. In a few hours, house speaker John Ryan, other Republican leaders will make their case against the proposal. They will hold a news conference. The outline of the plan unveiled Tuesday. We knew most of the details beforehand. What we did not know the emotion that we saw from the president. Extraordinary show of emotion as he was surrounded by victims of the mass shootings and their families.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: For every family who never imagined that their loved one would be taken from our lives by a bullet from a gun, every time I think about those kids, it gets me mad.

Let's bring in Zachary Wolf, managing editor of CNN Politics. You know, and Zach, the president, you know, no drama Obama, cool, calm, constitutional law professor. He showed more emotion yesterday in that press conference than I think we've ever seen in this presidency. Does that help him get what he wants on gun violence?

ZACHARY WOLF, CNN POLITICS MANAGING EDITOR: Well, that was an expression of him kind of admitting he can't get anything from Congress and, you know, he's going ahead with these executive actions. It's him sort of admitting defeat I guess in some ways. He can't get sort of any sort of sweeping reform so he's doing these things. It can be ultimately repealed by the next person. I think, you know, he was talking about anger there when he thinks about those kids.

He wasn't talking so much about sadness, although, you know, were those tears of anger or sadness or what? I don't know. It was a remarkable scene, though, that's true.

ROMANS: Yes, it was.

BERMAN: And I think probably a combination of both. And people of course in the White House will tell you that the single worst moment for the president is the administration was after the Newtown shooting. So interesting to see it out here in public now.

Zach, I want to turn to the Republican race for president because before we heard from President Obama, we heard from Donald Trump and Ted Cruz on the issue of Ted Cruz's eligibility to be president. He was born in Canada. His mother, though, an American citizen, so everyone thinks, you know, all constitutional scholars say he is a natural born citizen, which means he does meet the constitutional requirement, so why is Donald Trump stirring the pot? Why now?

WOLF: Just trying to raise questions in the minds of those Iowa voters out there. We're getting closer and closer to caucus time in Iowa and that's where Ted Cruz is doing his best work. That's where he is rising in the polls. And I think Donald Trump is just trying to lay the groundwork of doubt as much as he can with -- you know, with those voters.

He also talked about Cruz's religion a little bit earlier, mentioning that he has deep roots in Cuba. You know, trying to make Cruz sort of this other candidate in Cuba, not Iowa. I think it's probably a little bit of what's behind this.

ROMANS: You know, it's interesting, John McCain was not born in this country. And it didn't raise any kind of legal questions when he was running for office. So you wonder how long or how many -- the legs of this line of criticism from Donald Trump has?

WOLF: Well, you see, Donald Trump said the -- you know, Cruz running would put Republicans in a precarious position. Legally the Democrats could challenge him. Bear in mind, it was constitutional law professor Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in 2008 this sort of in with this vote in the Senate made it OK in everybody's minds for John McCain to run. He -- you know, he was from Panama. So I don't see the challenge coming from the official Democratic wing. Trump also said that a lot of people are talking about this. Well, it's really just Donald Trump right now.

BERMAN: You know, it's interesting, Zach, as we've seen Donald Trump evolved as a candidate on the stump over the last few months. And last night we saw something really, really interesting. You know, Trump and all candidates have been criticized for not calling out people in the audience when they say things that are controversial. Last night Donald Trump had a little bit of fun with that. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Like the Iran deal, who would make this deal? During the -- what did you say? I didn't hear it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obama.

TRUMP: OK. I didn't say it. I didn't say it. I refuse to get in -- oh, I'm supposed to reprimand the man, who is the man that said that? I have to reprimand -- how dare you? OK. Have I --

(LAUGHTER)

TRUMP: OK. I've reprimanded him. Where is she? I didn't hear that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The bathroom.

TRUMP: That's terrible. Terrible. You should never say that. That's terrible. They said she's in the bathroom. That's a terrible thing. I'm admonishing you for the press. You're admonished. We should throw him the hell out of here. Get out of here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Really just thumbing his nose, or perhaps raising a different finger at the idea of political correctness all together, Zach.

WOLF: Yes, I mean, his whole campaign in a lot of ways has been an assault on political correctness. And he did come under some fire a little while ago for not confronting somebody at a rally. He's clearly not going to do that. He was clearly was not admonishing the guy in the rally, so you know, more Trump there. I think we've kind of grown to expect this sort of thing and more and more in your face as we go along.

ROMANS: He is really a natural with those crowds. I mean, a natural performer with those crowds. I mean, it's something to watch. You can see why he has so many people there, you know, he's singing to the choir. You know, so interesting.

All right. Thank you so much. Nick to see you, Zach.

WOLF: Good to see you.

ROMANS: A special programming note, at 8:00 p.m. President Obama will join Anderson Cooper for an exclusive live town hall event about "Guns in America." He will discuss his newly announced executive action on guns. He'll take questions from a live studio audience. A town hall on "Guns in America" with the president moderated by Anderson this Thursday night 8:00 p.m. only on CNN.

All right. Time for an EARLY START on your money, though. U.S. stock markets under pressure this morning, mixed results in Asia overnight. North Korea's reported hydrogen bomb test adding to worries there. Europe is down right now. And stock futures, U.S. stock futures are deteriorating here.

Gun stocks are surging following President Obama's executive actions on gun control. Smith & Wesson jumped more than 11 percent Tuesday after a 6 percent rise on Monday. The company raising its sales and earnings outlook for the latest quarter and the entire fiscal year.

Its rival, Sturm-Ruger popped almost 7 percent. A number of ammunition makers and sporting goods stores, they gained as well. We have seen big gains in these stocks following mass shootings. It seems every time there is a threat of more gun control, Americans rush to buy guns -- millions of guns. And these companies and their shareholders profit.

All right. 42 minutes past the hour this morning. Germany's chancellor with some very harsh words after a word of a series of New Year's sexual assaults in one of Germany's biggest cities, and the identity of the alleged perpetrators causing some alarm. We got a live report on that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:45:55] BERMAN: New this morning, angry protests breaking out in the German city of Cologne after 90 women reported being robbed, threatened, even raped on New Year's Eve. The suspects are described by police as both Arab or North African. German chancellor Angela Merkel is calling the attacks disgusting, but warning against an anti- immigrant backlash.

CNN's senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen tracking developments for us from London.

Good morning, Fred.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, John. And of course one of the reasons why she's warning against anti- immigrant backlash is because Germany has just taken in and announced today 1.1 million people in 2015 seeking asylum. You of course have those waves of refugees coming from places mostly like Syria and Iraq over the course of the summer well until right now.

And of course after these incidents took place, and many witnesses there describing the perpetrators as allegedly being of Arab or North African origin. That is something that is stirring some tensions in Germany. But again, the police saying at this point in time, it has no idea who these people are, only that there were about a thousand of them at that event, groping women, surrounding women -- groping them and then tried to steal their belongings. Many people reported their belongings having been stolen. And at least one woman reported having been raped there.

Witnesses who spoke afterwards were saying that they felt absolutely scared and at the mercy of this mob as these events were unfolding. And the police there in the city of Cologne has come under immense fire. So far has made some arrests. But no convictions just yet.

This is certainly something that is stirring a lot of tensions there in Germany.

BERMAN: All right. We'll keep our eye on this throughout the morning. Frederik Pleitgen, thanks so much.

ROMANS: All right. It's 47 minutes after the hour. Time to take a look at what's coming up on "NEW DAY" at the top of the hour. Michaela Pereira joining us.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CO-ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": Hey, good morning, guys.

ROMANS: Hi, Michaela.

PEREIRA: Hi. Obviously we're going to pick up where you guy leave off, following that breaking news. North Korea saying it's detonated its first hydrogen bomb. If true, what does this mean about the remote country's nuclear arsenal and that their plans for it? We're going to press our experts on this, hope that they can give us some insight into exactly what's going on there.

Back here at home, we are going to break down President Obama's plan to curb gun violence and all of the challenges that that faces. We're going to speak with the mother of the teen that the president spoke about in this speech. That young man, who was killed, protecting his friends from shots that were fired in their neighborhood.

Plus we're also going to get GOP reaction from the campaign trail with Republican presidential candidate, Senator Rand Paul. So we have a busy show as usual.

ROMANS: Rand Paul.

PEREIRA: Yes.

ROMANS: OK. We'll of course hear what he has to say. Thanks so much for that, Michaela.

All right. The stock market maybe feels like you're reaching for the Rolaids, the New Year's Rolaids. Powerball, that is not a way to plan for your retirement. I have three sure fire ways to make money this year, John Berman. Got that after the break.

BERMAN: Does that involved Rolaids? I thought the Rolaids thing was interesting.

ROMANS: Rolaids. I want just anybody under 40 --

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:51:54] BERMAN: Some welcome weather news this morning after so much drought in some parts of the country. Some of the wettest days in years.

We want to bring in meteorologist Pedram Javaheri for the latest.

(WEATHER REPORT)

ROMANS: All right. Pedram, thank you for that.

Fifty-three minutes past the hour. The neighbor who police say bought the weapons used by the San Bernardino shooters in last month's deadly attacks, he had his day in court today. The arraignment of Enrique Marquez comes as the FBI leans on the public for help. Investigators are trying to fill in a gap, a gap in the timeline the husband and wife team's whereabouts during an 18-minute window the day of the massacre.

CNN justice reporter Evan Perez has that part of the story.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, it's an unusual appeal from the FBI, asking the public to help piece together 18 minutes in the timeline after Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik carried out a terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California.

The FBI released this map showing that the attackers stayed in an L- shaped area, seeming to drive around aimlessly in the San Bernardino area. They've used traffic and surveillance cameras and cell phone tracking as well as more than 500 witness interviews to account for nearly four hours after the attack. But missing from the timeline are details from a period from 12:59 p.m. to 1:17 p.m.

Did they stop to meet someone? Did they stop at a business or other location to get rid of evidence? This could be key to the investigation.

Nothing so far indicates that this was an attack that was directed by ISIS or some other group. But investigators believe that this was an attack inspired by jihadi ideology. And still a mystery to investigators, why that day? And why that holiday office party? John, Christine.

BERMAN: All right, Evan. Thanks so much.

A pretrial hearing is set this morning for the second of six Baltimore Police officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray. Jury selection in the trial of Officer Caesar Goodson begins Monday. Goodson was driving the police van in which prosecutors say Gray suffered a severe spinal injury. The first Baltimore officer to stand trial, William Porter, is trying to avoid testifying for his trial that ended last month with a hung jury. A retrial is scheduled for June.

[05:55:09] ROMANS: A federal judge in Massachusetts postponing the deposition of Camille Cosby in a defamation suit against her husband. She was scheduled to give testimony today to lawyers for seven women. They claim Bill Cosby sexually assaulted them decades ago and were defamed by the comedian after they went public with the allegations. Now the judge agreed to put off the deposition until an appeal is heard.

BERMAN: Good news for Twitter users. Well, maybe good news. Depending where you sit on this. At least the people who find the 140 character limit a tight fit. The company is reportedly considering a 10,000 character limit for tweets, that is apparently the top for direct messages. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey hints at the change in a tweet referring to the limited character account as a, quote, "beautiful constraint." 140 characters is not Twitter.

ROMANS: Well -- no, but I mean, all of your tweets are like, you're the best. That's what people tell you all the time. It's just you need four words in that.

BERMAN: I think Christine Romans is the best.

ROMANS: Yes, there you go.

BERMAN: That's well under 140.

ROMANS: That's the -- exactly.

All right. The Powerball jackpot keeps on climbing. Tonight's drawing expected to top $450 million, making it the fourth largest payoff in Powerball history. There have been 17 straight drawings without a winner dating back to November 7th. A lump sum payout for tonight's game would be worth an estimated $275 million.

Your odds of picking all the winning numbers? That's easy, one in 292 million. Almost the same odds as finding the winning lottery ball ticket on a subway great.

BERMAN: It's not bad.

ROMANS: There you go. So there is a chance for you. Whether you buy it or not.

Let's get an EARLY START on your money this morning. World markets already nervous, now digesting news of North Korea's H-bomb claim. Stocks here in the U.S. set to open with losses. In China, gains in Shanghai overnight. But markets in Tokyo and all of Europe are down right now.

Big news about the health of the American economy. Americans bought more new cars last year than ever before. 17.5 million cars and trucks rolled out of dealerships last year. These are new figures from auto data up 6 percent from the year before and just edging up the previous record set in 2000. Low gas prices, easier credit. Lots of financing plans out there.

Strong job growth and pent-up demand from years of depressed auto sales. And this year, forecasts call for another record high.

All right. The stock market off to a rough start. That Powerball has millions of you wasting money, frankly. Here are three surefire ways to waste money in 2016. Number one, refinance, even if you've already done it. Rates are still low. But they will rise this year, so consider moving from an adjustable rate into a fixed loan. Two, take the savings from your tank put it into your bank. Drivers saved about $540 from lower gas prices this year. Why is John laughing at me? Use it to pay down debt or put it in savings. It's about $10 to fill up. That money can go right to paying down debt. That saves you money on interest.

BERMAN: You'll have Christine Romans to thank if you take it from your tank and put in a bank.

ROMANS: You will. Just be very careful when you siphon it.

BERMAN: Yes.

ROMANS: Number three, make sure you're maxing out your 401(k). The match in particular. Don't leave any money on the table if your employer offers that benefit. The IRS has a new limit this year. You can set aside $18,000 pre-tax this year. Make sure you do it as much as you can.

BERMAN: Yes. If your company matches it, it's free money.

All right. Breaking news out of North Korea. North Korea claims to have tested a hydrogen bomb. The U.N. Security Council set to meet in just a few hours. "NEW DAY" picks up the story now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: North Korea says it exploded a hydrogen bomb.

ROMANS: A major jump in nuclear escalation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An enhanced nuclear capability has been a central theme of Kim Jong-Un's rule.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the last 15 years, North Korea is the only country in the world that has continued to push forward with these nuclear tests.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you suggesting or questioning his birth right, his citizenship?

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I just know that it's being questioned all over.

He says we're going to build a wall. Now here's the good thing, he's a politician, so he wouldn't know where to start.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Our good friends here in the media are playing into the Democrats' playbook.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Every time I think about those kids, it gets me mad.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Under the president's new executive actions, a warning to nearly all gun sellers to conduct background checks.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am proud of President Obama's announcement.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If he's serious about gun violence, he will be focused on violence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. We begin with breaking news. North Korea announcing it has conducted a successful test of a hydrogen bomb, that will be the first time that happened. The reclusive nation saying this was an act of self-defense against the U.S. and any potential detonation. But are they telling the truth? The 5.1 magnitude seismic event has experts unsure.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: If North Korea's claim is true, it would be a significant step in their nuclear capability. The H-bomb test drawing swift condemnation from the world. The U.N. Security Council set to hold an emergency meeting in just hours.

We have this story covered the way only CNN can. Let's begin with Paula Hancocks, live in Seoul, South Korea with all of the breaking details -- Paula.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alisyn --