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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
The Race for President; Obama's Final State of the Union Address; Inside the Raid that Took Down "El Chapo"; Explosion Rocks Istanbul's Main Tourist Hub; Alabama Wins National Championship. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired January 12, 2016 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The Democratic battle goes late into the night in Iowa.
[05:00:03] Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, with the polls surprisingly close there. That as there is shrinkage on the Republican debate stage, and outrage by one who missed the cut.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: President Obama preparing to give his final State of the Union Address. What you can expect in tonight's speech.
BERMAN: And breaking news this morning. Deadly bomb blast in Turkey at a very popular tourist spot in that city. We have new details.
Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.
ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. It is Tuesday, January 12th. It is 5:00 a.m. in the East.
Democratic face-off deep into the night in Iowa. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders at a candidate forum in a state where the polls are surprisingly close this morning. Clinton with just the tiniest of three-point lead in the latest survey, which perhaps explains why now she is going after her opponent on issues ranging from gun violence to electability.
CNN's Brianna Keilar has the latest from Iowa.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Christine.
Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders both here in the Hawkeye State as the race tightens. In the polls, they are at a statistical tie, something that Bernie Sanders is thrilled about, and as you can imagine, the Clinton campaign is not. Both candidates trying to draw contrast with each other at the brown and black presidential forum where they answered questions about the unique challenges facing African-Americans and Latino Americans. JORGE RAMOS, UNIVISION ANCHOR: As you know, Secretary Clinton has been criticizing you. Have you noticed lately she is getting more aggressive with you?
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yes!
RAMOS: Why is that?
SANDERS: I don't know. It could be --
RAMOS: You tell me.
SANDERS: It could be the inevitable candidate for the Democratic nomination may not be so inevitable today.
RAMOS: Final question. Can you say categorically tonight that Senator Bernie Sanders cannot win the presidency?
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't -- anybody can win. I mean, this is a -- this is -- who would have thought Donald Trump would be leading in national polls? I mean, for those of you ever thought about running for president, take heart. I mean --
(LAUGHTER)
KEILAR: Guns have been playing very large in the Democratic race here in the final weeks. Hillary Clinton taking aim at Bernie Sanders over his more moderate record. And Bernie Sanders for his part saying that he is open to reconsidering his stance on immunity for gun makers and for gun store owners should weapons they produce or sell be used in a crime -- John and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right, Brianna. Thank you for that.
Hillary Clinton has two events in Iowa today before heading to Detroit for a fund-raiser with Michael Bolton. Her daughter Chelsea Stumps in New Hampshire. This is her first solo campaign trip of the year. Senator Sanders will be in Washington tonight for President Obama's State of the Union Address.
BERMAN: A lot of overnight developments in the presidential race. Perhaps while you were sleeping.
This man was not. Zachary Wolf, managing editor of CNN Politics Digital.
Zach, good morning to you.
Donald Trump was on "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon." And he was harping on the Democratic polls. These perhaps surprising polls which have Bernie Sanders very close in Iowa and leading Hillary Clinton fairly consistently, leading Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire. This is what Donald Trump had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think she is having a tough time. She's got some guy who -- I mean, he should be easy to beat. How can you lose like this?
He really isn't even a Democrat. Well, he said he's a socialist. I think he may be a step beyond a socialist and she is not doing well. She is about tied in Iowa. She's losing New Hampshire, which is sort of amazing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Is Hillary Clinton in trouble this morning, Zach?
ZACHARY WOLF, CNN POLITICS, MANAGING EDITOR: I definite don't think she is in the place she thought she would be right now a few short weeks before people start caucusing and voting. So, I don't know if it is right to say she's in trouble. But I'm sure the folks in her Brooklyn campaign office are looking at those polls that show her behind. She has been consistently behind for a while in New Hampshire, but, you know, perhaps tightening in Iowa. And they can't be happy about it.
So, you see her tacking to the left on some of the things -- talking about immigration and how she would stop raids on undocumented last night. That sort of tack to the left for her. This new tack she will put on the wealthy, the attack to the left for her. So, you see her move into the Bernie Sanders space right now.
ROMANS: You know, Bernie Sanders has been consistent with hammering on inequality and raising minimum wage and the whole game is rigged and it's unfair for the working man.
Listen to what Joe Biden, Joe Biden in this wide-ranging interview with Gloria Borger. It is almost as if he went over backwards to praise that consistency, that authenticity he said in Bernie Sanders. Listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[05:05:01] JOSEPH BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There used to be a basic bargain. If you contributed to the profitability of the enterprise, you got to share in the profit. That's been broken. Productivity is up. Wages are stagnant.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Hillary is talking about that as well.
BIDEN: Well, it's but it is relatively new for Hillary to talk about that. Hillary's focus is on other things up until now. That is Bernie's -- no one questions Bernie's authenticity on those issues.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Ouch! WOLF: Serious comments there from the president who he recently said
he regrets every day his own decision not to jump in. Maybe he is doing a little rear-view mirror field testing. It is interesting to hear him say such nice things about Bernie Sanders.
ROMANS: To be fair, Hillary Clinton was running the State Department for years and have a pretty external focus.
BERMAN: It just seems like Joe Biden is going out of his way to not say good things about Hillary Clinton. It seems like that's a plan for him.
I want to shift gears to the Republican side of the race, because we have some new polling. Two new polls out of Iowa and New Hampshire, in Iowa from Quinnipiac, you have Donald Trump in front by two points over Ted Cruz. Marco Rubio in third. In New Hampshire, Donald Trump out by a much bigger margin, and this bunch up for second, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, Marco Rubio, Chris Christie.
Really interesting stuff with Trump out in front in New Hampshire in this dog fight in Iowa, Zach.
WOLF: That's right. You know, we thought that Ted Cruz or I don't know if you thought about it, it sort of looked like Ted Cruz would be the guy in Iowa. He was coming up there. But Donald Trump surging again. So, that's really interesting.
Ben Carson, who for a while was in front, isn't much of an issue in that polling. Trump has been ahead in New Hampshire and stays there. He is the only candidate over 30 percent in both states. He is still clearly the frontrunner.
And, you know, going into the first caucusing and voting, it is hard to imagine someone making a play at this point, although anything can happen. You know to start to challenge him. you see that grouping there for second, let's call that the chief Trump challenger -- the people who want to win second is the person who will emerge as the challenger.
ROMANS: I mean, three weeks to the first votes. I mean, things are going to start changing rapidly, right? I mean, this whole -- I mean --
BERMAN: We are running out of time to say the polls are early, right? I mean, the polls are almost actual voters going to the polls. It is not so early anymore, Zach.
WOLF: It's not early. This is happening. It is happening soon.
But we have a couple coming forward on the Democratic and the Republican side. So, things can change. And, you know, as it has been with trump for so long, everyone keeps waiting for reality to set in, I guess. But the voters keep coming or at least the people answering polls keep coming back and saying his message is resounding.
So, whether or not things will change, I can't tell you. Anybody who says they know what's going to happen in the race is not telling the truth to you.
ROMANS: I know, you are right. Zachary Wolf, again, we're going to talk to you again. Thank you for getting up early for us.
BERMAN: Meanwhile, yes, the first votes are three weeks from yesterday. It is happening soon.
But there is tonight action. It will be President Obama's seventh and final State of the Union Address. The White House says the president will not be rolling out a to-do list on agenda items he hopes to accomplish during his last year in office. Instead, aides say the president will try to rise above election year acrimony and celebrate what they call a vision of one American family.
CNN's Jim Acosta with more from the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, White House officials say the president will deliver an unconventional speech during his final State of the Union address later on tonight. The president will talk about the America he hopes to see after he leaves office, but there are still a few things he wants to accomplish over the coming year. White House aides say the president will not only defend his executive actions on guns but will talk about his plan to close the terror detention prison at Guantanamo, pass criminal justice reform and take the fight to ISIS.
As a tribute to the victims of gun violence, there will be an empty seat in the first lady's box to symbolize the lives lost in mass shootings. There will be a touch of the nostalgia in the president's speech as he will look back to his historic 2008 campaign, and point to one of his first supporters, Edith Childs, who coined the chant, "Fired up, ready to go", a favorite at Obama rallies. The White House has hinted there won't be a long laundry list of proposals in this last State of the Union, an acknowledgment that time is winding down and Congress is looking to the next election -- John and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right, Jim. Thank you for that.
Tune in for CNN's live coverage of the State of the Union tonight beginning at 7:00 p.m. Eastern with "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT", followed by a special edition of "AC360". And the president's address, it begins at 9:00 p.m. The Republican response given this year by South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley will immediately follow the president's speech.
[05:10:05] BERMAN: We have breaking news this morning. A deadly explosion in Istanbul, Turkey. The governor of the province there announced ten people have been killed at this point by the blast. At least 15 people wounded.
This is new information coming in to us. Let's get the latest from senior international correspondent Arwa Damon live on the phone from Istanbul.
Arwa, what are you learning?
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, John, the explosion happened at 10:15 a.m. I heard it and a massive plume of white smoke emerging from what really is the core, the heart of Istanbul's historic and tourist district. Security forces moving in very, very quickly along with ambulances and fire trucks, cordoning off the scene immediately and trying to deal with the casualties.
Now, we do not yet know the nationalities of the injured or fatalities. All those wounded have been moved to various hospitals. No clear statement on what caused the explosion, but a lot of speculation that this could be some sort of terrorist attack. Turkey is in a precarious situation at this stage. On the one hand, battling ISIS, but also having -- really ignited the fight that is taking place with what Turkey deems to be terrorist organization, PKK. Fierce battles taking place there along the southwest.
And, of course, if you look at what has happened in Turkey over the last seven months, you have the October devastating double suicide bombing in Ankara that killed over 100 people causing the single largest attack in turkey's modern day history and the attack that happened in the border town over the summer. Those two attacks, Turkish officials said were the work of ISIS. And since then, there have been massive sweeps throughout the country, hundreds of people with suspected ties to terrorist organizations. ISIS and also other smaller ones that operate here have been rounded up, but this is certainly a country that has been on edge for quite some time.
If this is in fact confirmed to be a terrorist attack, it is going to be quite a blow to the country at a very fragile state. This tourist area is vital to the turkey economy. Turkey is in a shaky position having very tense relations at this stage with Russia after turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet.
And speaking to Turkish officials, they are very aware of how difficult the security challenge they face at this stage. We do not know what caused this explosion, but if it is in fact deemed to be an attack of terrorism, it will be a quite a blow to this country at a very fragile stage, a blow not just to its security, but to the psyche of the population, also potentially to the tourism industry that is just so vital to this country's economy.
Turkey also originally speaking is in a fairly shaky position, having very tense relations at this stage with Russia after Turkey shut down a Russian fighter jet and speaking to Turkish officials, they are very aware of just how difficult the security challenge is that they say at this stage. Again, we do not yet know what cause this explosion. But if is in fact as I was saying, deemed to be an attack of terrorism, it is going to be a very, very severe blow to a country that is already on edge at this stage, John.
BERMAN: Obviously, Turkey battling so many issues over the last several months and years. In fact, this attack today, at least ten people dead an area if you target western tourists, if you're going to target foreigners in that country, this square, sadly, would be the place to do it.
Arwa Damon for us in Istanbul with the latest information. Arwa, we let you get back to reporting. We'll talk to you again in a little bit.
ROMANS: All right. We'll keep on top of that story. Also time for an early start on your money this morning. Right now, future -- stock futures pointing higher. World stock markets mixed at this hour. Companies are beginning to reporting their quarterly earnings and the season as a whole expected to show profits down percent.
Crude oil is down 30 bucks a barrel. Look at that, oil has crashed almost 70 percent from the peak 18 months ago. New reports this morning that oil's recent plunge could cause a rash of bankruptcies for energy companies. And some states with economies tied to the energy sector could see a slump in demand for housing.
Look at North Dakota, its highest risk for a housing slump. Home prices there are already 20 percent overvalued according to one study. Other states where low oil prices could hit housing, Wyoming, West Virginia and Alaska.
BERMAN: Dramatic new video capturing the military raid on Mexican drug lord El Chapo's hideout and new information on how he almost got away again. Yet another tunnel.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: Dramatic new video this morning of the bloody early morning raid that led to the capture of Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.
Mexican forces stormed El Chapo's safe house in Sinaloa, Mexico. Guns blazing. The most wanted drug fugitive in the world was captured hours later after, though, somehow slipping away during this operation.
Let's get more from CNN's Martin Savidge.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. Good morning, Christine.
Late yesterday afternoon, a CNN crew was able to gain access to that safe house in Los Mochis that belonged to El Chapo. Remember, this is where the raid took place.
No surprise when they got inside, they found the place in shambles. It was a miniature war that took place as a result to the raid by Mexican authorities. But it was eventually successful. One of the things that is interesting about the video is it reveals
the escape mechanism by which El Chapo was able to get out of the house. Apparently, in a closet, there was secreted small set of stairs that gets him in the sewer system and the sewer system gets him away from the home.
So, all of that is really kind of revealing as to the kind of detail and planning that he had.
Then, we get to the Sean Penn interview. Still, a lot of controversy about that. The Mexican authorities said that interview was essential to the capture of El Chapo. They don't go into great detail as to why, but it's why clear that that interview in October somehow led them in the direction of several months later, a safe house in January.
But still, you have to give credit to the Mexican special forces. They made that entry. They conducted it safely. They only had one slight wounded soldier. There were five gunmen that were killed, but no one in the street, no innocent person was injured in any way -- John and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Martin Savidge, thank you for that.
Lawyers for Bill Cosby are asking a Pennsylvania judge to dismiss sex assault charges against the actor. They claim the D.A. violated a 10- year-old agreement not to persecute Cosby in the case brought by Andrea Constand in 2004.
[05:20:06] Charges were filed against the comedian just weeks before the 12-year statute of limitations expired. The lawyers claimed the prosecutor used testimony Cosby gave in Constand civil suit as the basis for the criminal charges.
BERMAN: Tonya Couch, mother of the so-called affluenza teen, is expected to be released this morning after posting bail in Texas. A judge lowered her bond from $1 million to $75,000. Couch is accused of helping her son flee to Mexico after he violated probation in a drunk driving crash that killed four people and badly injured others. Ethan Couch remains in custody in Mexico. He is fighting efforts to bring him back to the U.S.
ROMANS: Media mogul Rupert Murdoch and actress/model Jerry Hall are engaged. The billionaire announcing his upcoming marriage in "The Times of London" which he happens to own.
BERMAN: I wonder what the ad rates were him?
ROMANS: Free.
It will be the fourth go-around for the 84-year-old Murdoch. It is the first marriage for Hall who lived with rocker Mick Jagger for many years. And according to "The Daily Mail", Murdoch proposed to Hall when the couple were in L.A. for Sunday night's Golden Globes. BERMAN: Romantic Golden Globes.
ROMANS: They've been dating about four months according to the paper.
BERMAN: It's open bar at the Globes. So, you know, loosens things up a little bit.
Alabama battles unbeaten and top ranked Clemson for college football's national championship. And the game, I have to tell you, an instant classic.
Coy Wire there for this morning's bleacher report. All the highlights and there were so many, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: The Alabama Crimson Tide, they won in a shootout against Clemson. They took home their fourth national title in the last seven years.
ROMANS: Coy Wire live from Glendale, Arizona, the site of last night's title game.
Hi, Coy.
[05:25:00] COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine and John.
That national championship game lived up to hype and as John mentioned a moment ago, an instant classic. The undefeated number one Clemson Tigers versus perennial power house number two ranked Alabama.
Alabama coach Nick Saban shocks the world in the fourth quarter by making the play call of the game. Onside kick out of nowhere. It works to perfection. Alabama recovers, shifting momentum to the side of the tide. That sets up Jake Coker finding Howard to give Alabama the lead, 31-27. Howard had two touchdowns in the game.
But the icing on the cake for the championship run of Alabama is senior Kenyan Drake. The high school track star showed that speed, runs back the kick 95 yards for the score. Alabama wins, 45-40. Coach Nick Saban win his fifth national title. Offensive MVP of the game, OJ Howard puts his team's history into perspective. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OJ HOWARD, ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE: This is a week we will remember for the rest of our lives. It may go down on the play in the stadium, I want to win with a bunch of guys like we want to win tonight.
NICK SABAN, ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE: I wanted to do the best I could do for this team, probably as much as any team I ever coached because I really did want them to have the opportunity to win this game.
(END VIDEO CLIP) WIRE: Nick Saban one title away from tying Alabama's legend Bear Bryant with the most championships ever. We do remiss though if we didn't credit Clemson for their incredible run, just one win away from that perfect season. Last night belonged to Crimson Tide. They will live up in Tuscaloosa, celebrating their 2016 college football playoff national championship -- guys.
BERMAN: Coy, Christine Romans still stunned that 24 all and Saban did an onside kick. Have you seen that?
WIRE: The gumption, Berman, this shows why he earns almost $7 million a season to coach football. Incredible.
BERMAN: Absolutely amazing. All right. Coy, thanks so much. Obviously, you enjoyed the game.
ROMANS: It is early for him, Coy. He's had a great 24 hours. No question.
BERMAN: All right. The Hillary Clinton campaign, is it in serious trouble? Bernie Sanders says so. He's going after the Democratic frontrunner as a poll shows that maybe she is not so much of a frontrunner. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
