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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
The Race For President: Palin Surprises Trump; Colossal Winter Storm Headed East; Palin Blames President For Her Son's Arrest; Cruz Fighting Back Against Attacks; New E-Mails Released With Details On Flint Water Crisis; Death Toll Rises After Pakistani University Terror Attack. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired January 21, 2016 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:30:20] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: New overnight -- Donald Trump explains why he was surprised during Sarah Palin's endorsement speech.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: New e-mails reveal disturbing new information in the Flint water crisis. Why the city's contaminated drinking water was ignored for so long. Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
BERMAN: I'm John Berman. 30 minutes past the hour right now and this morning, as many as 65 million Americans in Eastern half of the country bracing for a humongous winter storm. It doesn't get bigger than humongous. It is a nor'easter. It is set to hit Friday. High winds, extremely heavy snowfall. Potentially record-breaking snow totals. And right now, it sure looks like Washington, D.C. is right in the bull's-eye. Already icy, untreated roads -- oh, that poor woman. Icy, untreated roads and light snow in the D.C. area made for a treacherous commute last night.
You see tweets last night from people getting stuck in traffic for hours just trying to go a few miles. It was tough walking on the streets, especially if you're on your cell phone, not paying attention.
ROMANS: Or stilettos.
BERMAN: Or stilettos. Or both. Joining us with the lates, meteorologist Pedram Javaheri.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: John and Christine, here we go with a pretty incredible storm system in the works when it comes to just the amount of coverage for the intensity of the storm, here, as far as the winter storm watches, winter storm warnings, upwards of 30 million people in line for that now. Then you take a look at blizzard watches that are about 8 million people in line for this. This would be mainly from, say, Friday night into Saturday morning. Really, only question remains is the exact track offshore as this storm system pushes off and parallels the Eastern Seaboard. If it's a little farther to the north, then we put tremendous snowfall around the Northern portion of this. At this point, almost every single model run has wanted to bring this farther south. That would put D.C., points around to Delmarva, Baltimore, areas to the North around Philadelphia in line for pretty impressive snowfall totals over a 24 to 36 hour period.
In fact, look at the bull's-eye around Washington. That would take you from 18 to 20 plus inches. Work your way towards Philly, it drops off significantly to around 12 to 15 inches. New York, maybe even lesser amounts, say you got four to six inches. Some models take New York up to 12, some models only down to around 4. So again, that Northern fringe going to be fine tuned in the next 24 or so hours. But if we get upwards of 20 inches, which is what we think could play out around D.C., that would literally put us in an amount that would be greater than your average annual snowfall in Washington. Also more than what you saw in a pretty impressive run last year from 2014 into 2015 season as well. So we're watching this carefully for a dramatic impact, guys.
ROMANS: All right, Pedram. Dramatic impact. Thank you for that. Donald Trump headed to Las Vegas today where there will not be two feet of snow. This is a brand new poll, shows him with a huge lead in New Hampshire in the CNN/WMUR poll. He is at 34 percent. 20 points ahead of Cruz who has surged eight points in a little over a month. Cruz had a rough couple days. Sarah Palin endorsed rival Donald Trump. Iowa governor Terry Branstad urged Iowans to vote for anybody but Cruz and republican icon, Bob Dole warned of cataclysmic losses for the party if Cruz is the nominee. Overnight, both Cruz and Trump had a lot to say, including in an interview with our very own, Don Lemon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They don't like him. I mean he didn't have one senator stick up for him, recently, because now people are saying he has a real problem with running because he was born in Canada, he was born in Canada and he was a citizen of Canada until 15 months ago and he said he didn't know that. So he didn't know about his loans, he didn't know about Goldman Sachs and Citi, he didn't know he was a citizen of Canada, and now he's running for president.
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Republican voters want a conservative. They don't want a deal maker who has written checks and supported Hillary Clinton and Mitch McConnell and John Boehner and Chuck Schumer. They want, instead, a principled Reagan conservative.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Trump and Palin were together for a second day with Trump calling her a very special, wonderful person. CNN's Sunlen Serfaty has the latest.
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Christine. Well, Donald Trump and Sarah Palin hitting the campaign trail together in Oklahoma rallying supporters at the conservative Christian university, Oral Robert and Sarah Palin wasting no time throwing out a lot of red meat to conservatives in the crowd.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SARAH PALIN, FORMER GOVERNOR OF ALASKA: We have a red head from the big red apple running for president and yet the GOP machine all of a sudden, they're saying we're not red enough. We're not conservative enough. And I say, what in the world do they know about conservatism?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SERFATY: And Ted Cruz, here in New Hampshire, trying to recover from a rough 48 hours for his campaign, really taking a triplicate of hits. Not only Sarah Palin's endorsement but her hitting the campaign trail for Donald Trump. Also some criticism coming from two republican leaders; the Iowa governor and now Bob Dole.Here's how Ted Cruz responded in Hollis, New Hampshire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRUZ: [05:35:11] Right now, the Washington establishment is abandoning Marco Rubio. They've made the assessment that Marco can't win this race. And the Washington establishment is rushing over to support Donald Trump. We're seeing that happen every day and Mr. Trump is welcoming the support of the Washington establishment. Indeed, Mr. Trump said that they should support him because, he said, Ted won't go along to get along. He won't make deals with the democrats.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SERFATY: And there you saw Ted Cruz really try to cleverly tie both Marco Rubio and Donald Trump in the same hit to the republican establishment wing of the party. This is a comfort zone for Ted Cruz, one that I think we'll continue to see him argue about on the campaign trail holding himself up and these hits against him up as proof that he is the anti-establishment candidate among the republicans. John and Christine --
BERMAN: All right, Sunlen, thanks a lot. Sarah Palin surprised a lot of people when she linked her son's arrest this week on domestic violence charges to President Obama and his policies on veterans. Addressing what she calls the elephant in the room, Palin accused the president of neglecting veterans including her son, and says she relates to the families feeling the ramifications of post traumatic stress.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PALIN: But my son, like so many others, they come back a bit different. They come back hardened. They come back wondering if there is that respect for what it is that their fellow soldiers and airmen and every other member of the military so sacrificially have given to this country and that starts at the top. It's a shame that our military personnel even have to wonder, if they have to question if they are respected anymore. It starts from the top. The question, though, that comes from our own president where they have to look at him and wonder, do you know what we go through?
(END VIDEO CLIP) BERMAN: CNN's Don Lemon asked Donald Trump about the arrest and he says it was his idea for Palin to bring up the issue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Did you ask her to address her son's arrest? DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I told her it would be absolutely fine. I thought it would be appropriate. There was tremendous press and I think it's something that's very important to discuss not even for her son, but for so many other sons and daughters that are coming back from the Middle East where they have traumatic problems, they have tremendous problems, and I told her, I actually suggested it. I said I think it would be a great forum.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Palin's oldest son, Track, faces assault and other charges. His girlfriend apparently says that he punched her and threatened to use a rifle. Now there have been a lot of studies linking post traumatic stress and domestic violence among veterans. That is something that's being discussed. There are a lot of people outraged that Sarah Palin would link that issue to the president, say the president's to blame for her son charged with domestic violence. Donna Brazile on air yesterday called it a damn lie.
ROMANS: Well, I mean, the war has been going on for more than ten years and that predates his administration as well. This has been something -- it's a serious issue, no question, that link between serving in Iraq and Afghanistan and post traumatic stress disorder and domestic violence. Let's break all this down, the political action of it, at least. CNN politics reporter, Tom LoBianco, joins us from Manchester, New Hampshire. Good morning. I want to talk about something, an image, if you will. These two sort of titans who usually upstage other people on the same stage together. Sarah Palin and Donald Trump. There was a suggestion, some people watching, that Donald Trump looked a little stiff. Like he almost didn't know what to do with his arms at some point, that he looked uncomfortable. The speech was long and he was uncomfortable. Don Lemon asked him specifically about that last night. Listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: You did seem to be uncomfortable. Other people have said it. Am I wrong, are they wrong? Were you uncomfortable there for a bit watching Sarah Palin?
TRUMP (via telephone): No, not at all. I was there. I didn't know it was going to be quite that long but she made a beautiful -- she made a very good speech. No, I wasn't uncomfortable. I was very happy. I would have normally left the stage and let her speak, but I thought it would be nice if I was there. I thought it would be disrespectful to her if I left the stage. No, I wasn't uncomfortable at all.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ROMANS: [05:40:05] So there, that puts that to rest, then, doesn't
it, Tom?
TOM LOBIANCO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Quite that long? That's how he puts it? This is what's so interesting about him and this is why politicians are the way they are. Politicians mask this stuff. Professional politicians. People who have been doing this for forever. One of the reasons we are all so entertained by Donald Trump is because when he goes up on the debate stage or on a rally or whatever, he makes these facial contortions. You never not know what he's thinking based on how he appears. And in this case, maybe he should have some of that political training, some of that political mask making, if you will. It's coming through very clear.
BERMAN: So Tom, the question is, what now? We are just a little more than a week away from Iowa. These campaigns are implementing their final plans here. What do they each need to do and how will they do it between now and a week from Monday? Particularly, Ted Cruz, who has been playing defense now for days.
LOBIANCO: Sure. What's happening now is we're moving a little bit from the mass media side of it, the air wars, the bombardments which has really been Trump's forte, again with that Palin endorsement, owning the news cycle. What we're are moving to now is the ground game. And this is going to be a real test for Trump. And I think that's why he's really coming out so hard on Cruz. Cruz's organization, at least in Iowa, has been vaunted. I forget exactly who it was went out there -- I think it was 5:38, actually -- went out to Iowa, did some cold visits on some of the Iowa offices and they found that Cruz looked like the best; the most organized, the most staffers in there, the most volunteers in there. These are the things that you never really know until game day. This is what Clinton went through in '08 where she got trounced in Iowa by Obama and then they say they fixed it this time. So those are the things which are harder to see and we won't really know until February 1 and February 9.
ROMANS: All right, Tom LoBianco. Wow. February 1 and February 9, that seems so far away but it's almost here.
BERMAN: It's so close. It's happening. It's all happening.
ROMANS: I'm telling you, every 12 hours is a new news cycle with this election. A new chapter of the book.
BERMAN: We should say, by the way, Monday night in Iowa, CNN town meeting. Chris Cuomo hosts for the democratic candidates there. That could be a big event. That is the type of event, just a week before the Iowa caucuses; it could have a dramatic impact.
ROMANS: Absolutely. Thanks so much for that, Tom LoBianco. Nice to see you today. It's time for an early start on your money. DOW futures are down. Deep losses in Asia overnight, folks, but there is hope. Europe is trading higher. We'll see maybe if the U.S. can take its lead from a bounce here in European stocks. The focus, though, still on oil. Crude down today. Let me show you where the market stands just 12 trading day into the year. The DOW is off to its worst start ever, tanking 9.5 percent. $613 billion in market value wiped out. That's just 30 stocks. The S&P 500 is also down 9 percent. $1.6 trillion gone from those 500 stocks. It's the second worst start in history for the S&P. Only 1929 started off with a larger loss. John, he remembers it well and he doesn't like --
BERMAN: Yes, that was rough.
ROMANS: America's favorite stocks are not safe from the selloff. Look at these losses from recent highs over the past year. Walmart plunging 31 percent. Goldman Sachs down more than 29 percent. Apple, 27 percent. Disney off 24 percent.
BERMAN: You've come pretty far because last hour you couldn't even make yourself read them aloud. You found them so disappointing, you couldn't say those words out loud.
ROMANS: I've been working on it very carefully during the break. I'm now able to, it really is. But, when you see something like that, when a stock loses a quarter of its value, that's where the value investors say, hey wait a minute, what does it look like two years out? What does that mean for me if I hold this stock? So we'll see. Maybe some people are making some money today.
BERMAN: Take's some courage. All right, President Obama calls the water crisis in Flint inexcusable. This as e-mails just released reveal why it took so long for the state to act. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: A blame game in Flint, Michigan where people are living with a water supply contaminated by high levels of lead. Governor Rick Snyder has apologized for the crisis. He has promised to fix it, but newly released e-mails suggest top aids were telling him the real responsibility lies with local officials in Flint. Meantime, state lawmakers approved $28 million in emergency funding on a day President Obama was in Detroit and he weighed in on the dire situation in Flint. We get more from CNN's Sara Ganim.
SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, President Obama visiting the Detroit auto show on Wednesday commented on the ongoing crisis in Flint.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know that if I was a parent up there, I would be beside myself that my kids' health could be at risk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GANIM: Also today, Michigan governor Rick Snyder's office releasing almost 250 pages of e-mails between his staff over the last two years related to this crisis, those e-mails showing that the state did have concerns about Flint's water infrastructure even before this crisis began, but they kept deflecting blame. Even at times blaming the people who lived here in Flint. The governor's former chief of staff saying this in one e-mail. The water certainly has occasional less- than-savory aspects like color because of the apparently more corrosive aspects of the hard water coming from the river. Some of the Flint people respond by looking for someone to blame instead of working to reduce anxiety. We can't tolerate increased lead levels in any event, but it's really the city's water system needs to deal with it. Of course we now know it wasn't the city, it was the state that was making those decisions, the governor earlier this week admitting that and apologizing for the crisis, saying it was not unfair to call this his Hurricane Katrina. John and Christine --
BERMAN: Public school officials in Detroit are taking legal action in an effort to force protesting teachers to return to work. They're seeking a restraining order to stop mass sick-outs. Nearly all Detroit schools were closed Wednesday in a protest that coincided with President Obama appearing in Detroit. You can see him here at the auto show. The Detroit teachers claim deteriorating conditions in school buildings present health and safety hazards.
ROMANS: [05:49:55] A victory for Baltimore police officer, William Porter. A Maryland judge rejecting a request by prosecutors to force Porter to testify against three fellow officers who are charged along with him in the death of Freddie Gray. In all, six Baltimore police officers are being tried in the Freddie Gray case. Officer Porter's first trial ended with a hung injury. His retrial is scheduled for June.
BERMAN: Prosecutors in Pennsylvania claim Bill Cosby is seeking special treatment in trying to get the first criminal sex assault charges against him dismissed. In court documents, they alleged the comedian may have committed similar crimes for decades using his celebrity and fortune to avoid the consequences. The (ph) feels also say there was no valid agreement not to prosecute Cosby as a former prosecutor has claimed. A judge scheduled a hearing next month on Cosby's motion to dismiss the criminal case.
ROMANS: All right, let's take a look at what's coming up on "NEW DAY". Michaela Pereira joins us.
MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, guys. They had "The Canadian" report the story that we're tracking the monster storm. We are going to take a look at this, obviously. It is expected to slam the East Coast this weekend. We know that the D.C. area has already been hit by heavier than expected snowfall and ice. That ice is so problematic. This happened all overnight. So just how bad could this storm be and who is going to get hit the worst? We have everything you need to know. We've got our meteorologists on stand by, we're going to watch it with you.
And we're getting closer, of course, to the Iowa caucuses. Can Donald Trump edge out Ted Cruz for the win now he has Sarah Palin in his corner? And on the democratic side, is Iowa a must-win for Hillary Clinton? We have our political experts here. They'll break it all down for us this morning.
ROMANS: All right, can't wait. Michaela Pereira, nice to see you. I'll join Michaela as well to talk about the stock market in the 6:00 hour. Will it suffer another round of big losses? I got that for you right now in a couple of minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: The death toll is rising following the terror attack on a university in Pakistan. 22 people now confirmed dead. Police conducting searches around the university for anyone else who may have been involved in the attack. CNN's Alexandra Field with the latest for us. Good morning, Alexandra.
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, John. We now know that 22 civilians were killed in these attacks including additionally four attackers all killed by Pakistani forces. Officials are saying they've learned more about the assailants who launched this attack on this university in the Northwestern part of Pakistan.
[05:55:06] They say they've collected evidence at the scene that's helped them to understand who these people are, who they could be connected to, who may have ordered these attacks. A lot of the information, they say, is coming from cell phones that they retrieved from the scene. They say that two of the attackers actually had cell phones still on them at the time of their deaths. One of the phones was even actually ringing after the attackers were killed. The investigation here has gone beyond the university itself. We know that security forces were conducting a search of the area within the vicinity of the university. They've questioned at least 50 people to try and determine whether or not they could have been connected to these attacks, but no arrests have been made.
We now know that these four gunmen were able to storm the campus during the celebration, a very busy time on campus, by making their way over a low wall toward the back of the campus. Then they started lobbing hand grenades, according to officials, and then shooting at students. We do not know how many students were injured, how many teachers, how many guests were injured. We just know that there were many injuries. At least 22 people killed. The Pakistani Taliban has taken responsibility for the attack via one of their spokesmen. But there are again conflicting reports here, John, because there's another spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban who has disavowed the attacks. What to make of it? Well, we do know that there are different factions within the Pakistani Taliban. There's also the theory that this could be a politically motivated statement where you have one leader taking responsibility, another disavowing these attacks on civilians saying it goes against Sharia Law. John --
BERMAN: Clearly it was a carefully planned attack. Thanks so much, Alexandra.
ROMANS: Troubling news this morning from Iraq. It is believed that ISIS levelled the oldest Christian monastery in Mosul, some 1,400 years old. U.S. troops prayed there and recently worked to restore it. Now it joins a growing list of religious and historic sites destroyed by ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
BERMAN: Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are accusing the Pentagon of wasting hundreds of millions of dollars on ill-conceived reconstruction projects in Afghanistan. A senate hearing Wednesday revealed a natural gas filling station was built which most Afghans could not afford to use. (ph) goats rapport it's to revive the region's cashmere industry. The Pentagon disputes some of the figures but says the task force behind the project has been shutdown.
ROMANS: All right, let's get an early start on your money this Thursday morning. Futures are down, oil sliding again this morning. Stocks in Europe holding on to some gains, but there were big losses in Asia. Oil companies are getting crushed. Dozens of smaller firms have gone bankrupt. Giants like ExxonMobil and Chevron are down double digits for the year. Shares of mid size energy companies really suffering. Here are three posting humongous losses for the year. Consul Energy down 36 percent, and Devon Energy down more than 30 percent. Murphy Oil, 29.3 percent. And finally, the secret to getting into Harvard may be as simple as being a nice human. What?
Harvard University says the college admissions process is contributing to a societal problem by rewarding personal success rather than doing good things for others. A new report outlines how colleges should revamp the admissions process including taking the pressure off applicants, leveling the playing field among races and incomes, promoting concern for the common good. It has been endorsed by 85 top institutions. cnnmoney.com has a list of things students can do to meet the new guidelines without stressing out. I say it's another reason for overachievers to be stressed out. Now you got to figure out how to show how nice you are.
BERMAN: Yes, how do you get 800 on nice on your SATs? How did you judge if someone's nice?
ROMANS: I think you have to have perfect grades, perfect everything, and still be nice. But the point of this is that all that perfection drums the nice out of you.
BERMAN: I think it sounds impossible. Not worth it. All right, a monster snowstorm heading for the East Coast. "NEW DAY" starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A monster storm heading to the east coast.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A wind that could gust 45 to 50 miles per hour.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now, it looks like Washington D.C. right in the bull's-eye.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was pretty rough driving home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just trying to stay off the roads, stay warm.
PALIN: Are you ready to stump for Trump? Our candidate is ballsy enough to get out there and put those issues on the table.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sarah's endorsement is a very powerful endorsement, especially in certain areas like Iowa.
PALIN: Go kick ISIS' ass!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The DOW taking another stomach churning tumble.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At one point it had fallen more than 560 points.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota and Michaela Pereira.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: [06:00:05] Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Thursday, January 21. 6:00 in the East. Here's the reality. Millions of people along the I-95 corridor waking up this morning to blizzard watches and heavy warnings. Some parts of the mid-Atlantic could see record-breaking snowfall that will be measured in feet by the weekend.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: Washington D.C. got sucker punched last night even before the big storm. A light dusting of snow on untreated roads causing more than hundred accidents and making for a nightmare evening commute. In Nashville, icy conditions forcing schools to close today. So how bad will it get? Let's begin our storm coverage with Rene Marsh. She's live in Arlington, Virginia. What's it looking like, Rene?
RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it looks a lot better than it looked last night. I can tell you, trying to get home, that commute, that after work commute, it was --
