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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

The Race for President; Freed Americans Reunited with Their Families; Eagle's Co-Founder Glenn Frey Dies at 67; Warriors Dominate Cavs, 132-98. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired January 19, 2016 - 05:00   ET

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

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump with An aggressive push for evangelical votes, so crucial in Iowa with votes leasing two week from now. Speaking to students at Liberty University in Virginia, Trump tried to quote the school's official bible verse. He drew both applause and some unintended laughter by misattributing the verse which should have come from Second Corinthians.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[05:00:04] DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Two Corinthians, right, 2 Corinthians 3-17, that's the whole ball game, "Where the spirit of the Lord, right? Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Trump also seemed to be adjusting his message to evangelicals with what he chose not to say.

Chief political correspondent Dana Bash, she has more on that from New Hampshire.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, usually when we are reporting from Trump rallies, or this case, the remnant of a Trump rally, talking about what he said, things that are controversial or things that are kind of making waves across the conservative movement or even across country, but this time, I'm going to tell you the news is what Trump didn't say. After the weekend, he spent going after Ted Cruz, calling him nasty. He had a Twitter tirade and a whole host of issues. Here in New Hampshire, earlier in the day in Virginia, not one word about Ted Cruz at all.

Now, we don't know why. I asked his campaign manager and I didn't get an answer. But it could perhaps be because Donald Trump is getting blowback from influential conservative voices, talk radio hosts who conservative voters here in New Hampshire and Iowa and elsewhere really listen to. They have been saying, hold on a second, Donald Trump, be careful not to go after Ted Cruz too much because from their perspective, Cruz is one of them. He is a genuine conservative and if Trump continues to do that, Trump could risk alienating voters that he might need and could potentially get.

So, it is a different dynamic we have seen over the past six months when Donald Trump went after Lindsey Graham, it hurt Lindsey Graham. When he went after Jeb Bush, it appeared to hurt Jeb Bush. But Cruz is a different situation because the two of them are going for similar voters and have voices who are important to both of them.

So, it will be interesting to see later today if Trump continues to kind of zip his lips, if you will, when it comes to Ted Cruz -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Joining us to talk about the day ahead in politics, joining us right now, CNN politics reporter Tom LoBianco, live out of our Washington bureau.

Tom, I want to talk about what is happening today. Donald Trump is headed to Iowa. For the last few days, he's been touting one of his events. He is saying, hey, come to the rally. We are going to have a surprise guest.

What does that mean?

TOM LOBIANCO, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Well, the buzz is that it might be Sarah Palin. We don't have anything definitive at this point. It certainly sounds like that's a possibility. Boy, if he said Palin was coming out and backing him, that would be one of the biggest endorsements of this cycle at one of the most critical moments coming a few weeks before the caucuses.

BERMAN: We should couch that you never know for sure with Donald Trump. He could be the surprise guest or his daughter Ivanka could be the surprise guest.

ROMANS: Sure. She just did a radio interview for him.

BERMAN: Sarah Palin, by the way, has also been very supportive of Ted Cruz over time. So, it would be a departure for her, because she's been really touting both candidates.

ROMANS: But Donald Trump had a big showing of the "Benghazi" movie. He is trying to woo those crowds in Iowa as we get closer to that vote.

Meantime, Ted Cruz basically saying to Donald Trump -- sir, you are no Ronald Reagan. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm pretty sure that Ronald Reagan didn't write a huge check to Rahm Emanuel in December of 2010. After, by the way, the big Tea Party wave. We need a leader who is prepared to do whatever is needed to keep this country safe. And that typically doesn't include spending your time on Twitter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: That is a double insult.

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: Campaign suspended.

ROMANS: Not able to live tweet this morning at 5:00 after he gets off the treadmill.

But, do you think Cruz's attacks are resonating with Trump supporters or no?

LOBIANCO: You know, what is interesting about Cruz's attacks is that this is kind of the rhythm of the campaign, the rhythm of the primary campaign. What you see a lot is in the year prior to the actual caucuses, primary, you see people in the campaigns softening the ground with opposition research. These hits have been out here for many months on Trump. Coming from a multitude of places, and what is happening now is Cruz is finally starting to build on that. All that ground work that has been laid.

And, again, right at the are crucial moment, you know, we don't know who Trump will announce as a special guest. It could all be a show as you said. These two are pulling out all of the stops right before it matters, right before the caucuses.

[05:05:05] BERMAN: On the other side, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, they are both at a Martin Luther King Day rally yesterday. Sanders went to Alabama wooing minority voters. Brianna Keilar was there and notes the crowd was largely white.

Hillary Clinton in Iowa is trying to shore up her votes there. She's also continuing on this theme that she had in the debate -- pragmatism versus purity. You know, dreams having this place, but maybe not now.

Listen to what she said about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't want to overpromise. I don't want to come out with theories and concepts that may or may not be possible. We don't need anymore of that. What we need is a sensible achievable agenda where we rolled up our sleeves and we work together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Sensible achievable agenda. It is like asking for a pair of slacks on Christmas. I'm not sure primary voters get excited by that.

LOBIANCO: Right, that certainly is sensible. Maybe she is the pair of slacks.

It is -- you know, this is her style, right? I mean, this is to her core message, experience, authenticity. You know, this is -- but what is interesting about this is that it lacks that passion which has really ignited the Sanders' base, the liberal base. You know, one of the interesting things we saw last week in that tightening of the polls in Iowa was not that people were necessarily glomming on to Sanders, but that she lost a few people that have been with her earlier. That was really interesting.

You know, it's hard to say whether this is the right pitch, but the one she sees as the most forceful argument right now. It's the brass tacks statement, saying, look, you know, at some point, we've got to get real. We have to stop living the fantasy. I'm the one who can deliver on that.

ROMANS: So close to the early votes in Iowa and in New Hampshire. Both of them speaking together yesterday at the same event and both going to where they need to shore up. So interesting.

Tom LoBianco, we will talk to you again in a few minutes. Thanks for getting up early for us.

BERMAN: He keeps laughing at my jokes. He can come back anytime.

ROMANS: John Berman isn't available for private parties and events, with his political standup routine. It's free actually. He doesn't even take money for it.

BERMAN: I'm just unused to people laughing at my jokes. It's like a brake -- we should put up a breaking news banner.

ROMANS: I sometimes laugh at you.

BERMAN: Never.

This morning, the American prisoners just released from Iran, they are enjoying time with their families. Three of them including "Washington Post" reporter Jason Rezaian are getting medical treatment at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. Student Matthew Trevithick is back in Boston already at home. Iranian officials, they are angrily denouncing brand new sanctions put in place over ballistic missiles test that Iran conducted last year.

CNN's Frederik Pleitgen joins us now from Landstuhl, outside the medical center.

Fred, what's the latest this morning?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the latest is actually quite encouraging, John. And what we're hearing from inside is that apparently the three men are in good spirits, both psychologically as well as physically. Nevertheless, of course, they do have to go through a protocol here. It's unclear how long that is still going to take.

Now, I was able to speak earlier to Representative Jared Huffman, who, of course, is very close to the Jason Rezaian family, very close to Jason Rezaian, has managed to speak to Jason and he told me a bit about how Jason is doing and also how he managed to get by in that jail cell in Iran. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JARED HUFFMAN (D), CALIFORNIA: His spirits are terrific. He is feeling good physically. I think he's having waves of complex emotions as you would imagine. But if Iran's goal was to break Jason Rezaian's spirit, they failed miserably. For part of his incarceration, he was in a very small cell, and he describes it as like three feet by three feet. He says he nevertheless made himself do calisthenics, take steps, and count as far as he could as he took those steps and when he lost count, start again. So, that is one way he was able to keep his mind together and keep in some semblance of health.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: And one of the really encouraging things we heard yesterday was the fact that all of the three men were able to meet with their friends and family. Again, a lot of them have come over here as part of the U.S. delegation to welcome them back to freedom.

Nevertheless, the hospital has been saying, look, this takes time. This is a process. It is a protocol. It is something they should go through so they don't have any issues possibly down the road as they continue to recover from those long months and in some cases years of detention, John.

BERMAN: It's got to be a very, very difficult transition, both physically and emotionally. And let's hope they get the time to readjust.

[05:10:01] Fred Pleitgen for us in Germany -- thanks so much, Fred.

ROMANS: All right. Ten minutes past the hour. Time for an early start on your money Tuesday morning.

Stock futures are higher. Markets around the world are higher here. Investors in the U.S. coming back from the long holiday weekend.

Number one, the world's second largest economy is slowing. Brand new data out of China showing China's worst annual growth rate in 25 years. Number two, oil prices stabilizing this morning, but dropped below $29 a barrel for the first time since 2003 on Monday. Now with Iran adding to the glut of oil right away, crude prices are expected to stay under pressure.

Finally, corporate earnings. How will the report cards for U.S. companies fare? The Chinese decline, the strong U.S. dollar, the crash in oil. So far, these factors have been a nightmare for stocks.

Check out the Dow in 2016, down more than 8 percent in just ten trading days in 2016. Now, the question is, all the worst, John, built into the horrible performance and now there are buying opportunities. Looks like you will see a pop.

BERMAN: All right. We'll watch. This morning, the music industry and so many fans around the world

remembering Glenn Frey, co-founder and leader of the Eagles. Such an important band in the '70s. He died Monday at the age of 67.

Don Henley, also a founding member of the Eagles put out a statement that said, "Glenn was the one who started it all, the man with the plan."

Frey, Henley and other members started out in the '70s as back up singers for Linda Ronstadt. Frey actually backed up Bob Seger. But Frey comes from Detroit. He backed up Bob Seger before he went out to California for a backup band for Linda Ronstadt with the other members of the Eagles.

Then they started putting out big hits. "Take It Easy" written by Jackson Browne. Imagine Jackson Browne living in the same building and the Eagles right there. Other hits, "Lying Eyes", "Hotel California".

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: Beautiful.

CNN's Sara Sidner has more on the passing of a true rock legend.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, we're inside Amoeba Record Store, which is the largest independent record store in all of America. And they are certainly here feeling very sorrowful that Glenn Frey has died.

There are a few records up there. You know, "Take It Easy" on the record. You look at his history and it is absolutely amazing. He is an icon.

And if you talked to anyone who worked with him, they will tell you he was a perfectionist's perfectionist. I mean, there was zero room for error. He wanted things to be perfect, so when he went on stage and the Eagles performed, the fans got everything they wanted and expected. And he was very serious about the business.

But he apparently was also a joker. He was the guy that liked to joke and do a lot of pranks on some of his members of the band. It turns out according to his publicist, that he died from complications from several things, including pneumonia and acute ulcerative colitis. He has certainly lived a rock star's lifestyle, if you ask anyone who knew him.

But his loss is a great loss for the industry itself because he brought so much. He was not only a guitarist, he wrote many of the songs, he sang on many of the songs. He was lead vocalist on some of the songs. He was, you might not notice, an actor. He acted actually in "Miami Vice", had an incredible career. Dying at 67 doesn't seem right, especially to his fans -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: No, it doesn't. All right. Sara, thank you for that.

Thirteen minutes past the hour. New calls for Michigan's governor to step down over that terrible water crisis in Flint. Water tainted with lead for years. One scientist explained it children sucking water through a lead straw. Think about that. New developments, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:17:00] BERMAN: New outrage over the lead poisoned water in Flint, Michigan. Hillary Clinton is blasting Governor Rick Snyder for his handling of the crisis which the government admits is a disaster. But he is rejecting calls for his resignation. Two new class action lawsuits by Flint residents expected to be announced today. That as Governor Snyder prepares for a major address.

Let's get more now from CNN's Sara Ganim.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, Governor Rick Snyder is speaking tonight at his State of the State address is expected to address potential solutions to this Flint water crisis. On Monday, he told "The National Journal" it's not unfair to call this his Hurricane Katrina. He called it a lack of trust between himself and people of Flint because of this issue, saying this, "Trust is something that once you lose it, it is much harder to earn it back. So, that's the point we're at." That's something we hear from residents we talk to them.

Continued protests on Monday in Flint and city of Ann Arbor, where the governor has a residence. Protesters are not just calling for his resignation, but also calling for his arrest. They are angry with how this played out and angry that they continue to have to pay for the water that they say is not safe to drink. Most of all, what we are hearing from people when we talk to them on the ground here in Flint is they want to hear how the governor plans to fix this.

They are hoping for the solutions tonight -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: And the Michigan governor is expected to address another crisis in his State of the State address. Toxic condition of Detroit's public schools. The city is bracing for another day of planned teacher sickouts over the hazardous conditions in many school buildings. Detroit officials say they are working on complaints and expect to inspect all of the schools. Teachers, support staff, and parents say the cycle of neglect as they call it has a devastating impact on students.

BERMAN: The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge has now reopened following a protests against what demonstrators called police brutality. The bridge was shutdown for a time on Monday. The California Highway Patrol arrested 25 demonstrators. They chained themselves and their vehicles across all five westbound lanes freezing traffic for about a half hour. The spokesperson for the group says their action was a strong courageous stand in solidarity on the Martin Luther King holiday.

ROMANS: The so-called affluenza teen Ethan Couch is still in Mexico, fighting his return to the United States. At a hearing this morning in Texas, prosecutors will argue for his case to be moved from juvenile to adult court. Couch violated probation in a drunk driving crash that killed four people. He fled to Mexico with this mother. Tonya Couch is charged with helping his escape. She is out on bail.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving plans to present a petition with 40,000 signatures demanding that Couch be held accountable as an adult.

BERMAN: The NBA's finest meeting on the court. The result wasn't pretty. Coy Wire with the bleacher report this morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:23:22] BERMAN: An NBA finals rematch last night, the Warriors and the Cavaliers. Cleveland thought they had a chance. They thought they were putting it all together. Yikes.

ROMANS: Coy Wire, he has more in this morning's bleacher report.

Hey, Coy.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: No sweet revenge for the Cavs.

Good morning, Christine and John.

Last year, the Warriors won that NBA title in Cleveland. So, earlier this week, Steph Curry trolled the Cavs by saying he hopes the locker room still smells like champagne. You think that trash talk would mean it was on and popping for the Cavs.

They looked flat like still water, all night long. Check this out. King James frustrated. He gives Curry a shove to the floor. He gets called for the offensive foul.

It was pretty much all Curry after that. The Warriors rolling. Steph Curry knocked down seven three-pointers, shows out with 35 in a blowout. Warriors win, 132-98.

Now, it hadn't been a full week after the announcement that the Rams are moving to the Los Angeles before the franchise got its first season ticket holder. That's him. You see him. The living legendary, L.A. sports icon Magic Johnson.

He let the world know on Twitter. He says, "I got my Rams season tickets. I'm so excited. Can't wait to see our team next season."

Magic put down his $100 deposit. He will watch the Rams at the coliseum this year. Now, maybe you heard that NFL stands for no fun league. Will Panthers

head coach Ron Rivera is the new commissioner. His team is hosting its first ever NFC championship game Sunday. He wants all his players to be healthy. So, he is banning hoverboards.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[05:25:00] RON RIVERA, PANTHERS HEAD COACH: Did you see those things on YouTube blowing up and stuff? I mean that concerns me more than anything else, something crazy happening. You know, I will say this, I caught them drag racing in the hallways one time, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Finally, this is for you, Christine. Oklahoma sporting the new number one ranking. First one in 26 years up against the scrappy cyclones in Iowa. They have gone for the winner at the end of the game. It just does not fall. The cyclones get a sweet victory. Almost as sweet as Caroline.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

ROMANS: My happy Iowa Staters.

WIRE: Look at that smile on her face. She's wearing the red today.

ROMANS: Number one teams keep coming to Iowa. They come to Iowa and they just get creamed. They leave their number one --

WIRE: The Hilton magic.

ROMANS: It is, the Hilton magic.

We cannot talk about it anymore until March.

BERMAN: Nothing says Iowa, also, like Neil Diamond. That's all I can say.

(LAUGHTER)

ROMANS: I don't know why we love that song, we do.

All right. Thanks, Coy.

The race for president intensifying with less than two weeks until the early state voting begins. The new strategy being used on the campaign trail in Iowa to lure in undecided voters, next.

BERMAN: That, plus, Twitter's still down. Panic!

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: The race for the president getting down to the wire. Early state voting begins in less than two weeks. Candidates pulling out all the stops to swing voters their way. BERMAN: The Americans freed from Iran, they have reunited with their

families in Germany. You have to listen to the story they've been telling, just amazing.