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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Donald Trump to Skip Next GOP Debate; Fox News Versus Donald Trump; Sanders Sets Meeting with Obama; Oregon Militiaman Killed After FBI Shootout; More Snow on the Way; Danish Parliament Passes Controversial Law. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired January 27, 2016 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:30:51] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump refusing to participate in the next GOP presidential debate.
Fox News for harassing the Republican frontrunner this morning. We are breaking down this fast moving drama.
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And Bernie Sanders sets a meeting with President Obama in just a few hours as a new Democratic debate is proposed in the key early voting stem.
ROMANS: Breaking overnight, in Oregon militiaman killed and eight others arrested after a dramatic shootout with the FBI.
Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
SANCHEZ: Happy to be here with you Christine. I'm Boris Sanchez. We are 31 minutes pass the hour and we having news this morning.
The Donald Trump campaign accused of threatening Fox News Anchor Megyn Kelly. It's been a week before the crucial Iowa caucuses. Trump has pulled out of the Fox News Republican debate Thursday night, accusing co-moderator Kelly of bias against him.
Fox News lashing but traumatically at Trump accusing Campaign Manager Corey Lewandowski of labeling threats at Kelly in a call with the Fox News executives.
It says, "Lewandowski stated that Megyn had a rough couple of days after that last debate and he would hate to have her go through that again. Fox News adds "We can't give in to terrorizations toward any of our employees."
The network promises to treat Trump fairly if he does attend the debate. But as of now here's the lineup. Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Jeb Bush, John Kasich and back on the main stage Rand Paul.
CNN Sara Murray has more from Iowa. Sara.
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Good morning Boris and Christine. Donald Trump managed to trump himself on the campaign trail Iowa last night. The big news was supposed to be his Paris high-profile endorsements.
Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio and even evangelical leader Jerry Falwell Jr., but instead Trump said he's skipping the Fox News debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONAL TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well Fox is playing games, yeah. Fox is going to make a fortune. I told Fox, you should give money to the wounded warriors. I'm not a fan of Megyn Kelly. I think she's a third rate reporter.
I think she frankly is not good at what she does. And I think they can do a lot better than making Kelly. And so I'm going to making a decision with Fox but I probably won't bother doing the debate. I see they picked me as number one. Not only number one, number one by far. But probably I won't be doing the debate.
I'm going to have something else in Iowa. We'll do something while we raise money for the veterans and the wounded warriors. We're going to do something simultaneously with the debate. But most likely I'm not going to do the debate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MURRAY: Now the Trump Campaign Manager Corey Lewandowski took that a step further saying that Donald Trump definitely would not attend Thursday's debate. And even saying the campaign might hold a competing event in Iowa possibly with a media partner.
Now the Republican National Committee tells us obviously they would like to see all of their candidates on stage but said each candidate needs do what's best for them. And it looks like Ted Cruz is trying to do just that, challenging Donald Trump in a one-on-one debate, no moderator.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This race is a dead heat between Donald and me. We are effectively tied in the state of Iowa.
If he's unwilling to stand on the debate stage with the other candidates then I would like to invite Donald right now to engage in a one on one debate with me any time between now and the Iowa caucuses.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MURRAY: So with the two top candidates in Iowa potentially defecting from that Thursday debate, it's still an open question, who will be on that stage.
Back to you Boris and Christine.
ROMANS: All right, Sara, thank you for that. Now, Megyn Kelly responded overnight on her show highlighting Fox New
Chairman Roger Ailes defense of her skills as a journalist and then giving her take on Trump's decision.
(BEGIN OF VIDEO CLIP)
MEGYN KELLY, FOX NEWS HOST: Trump is not used to not controlling things as the chief executive of a larger organization. But the truth is, he doesn't get to control the media. And while he's made his position clear about me after that first debate, Roger Ailes made his position clear too. And, you know, when Trump started it up again this past Saturday and then resumed it again and again and again and again, he was told repeatedly, our debate team is settled.
The debate will go on with or without Mr. Trump.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
[04:35:04] SANCHEZ: As you might imagine Trump's rivals are now mocking his withdrawal. Ted Cruz blasting out at Twitter urging his followers to push Trump to accept his challenge for a one on one debate and including this cartoon that the pic of Trump is scrooge with duck with a hash tag "Ducking Donald."
Jeb Bush meantime retweeting a supporter sarcastic comment that Trump can't handle tough questions from Megyn Kelly but he'll be able to handle Hillary Clinton. Ha-ha-ha.
And Mike Huckabee who will be in the under card debate Thursday offered to take Trump's place.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE HUCKABEE, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Let me make an offer tonight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
HUCKABEE: I will take Donald Trump's podium on that stage Thursday night. And generous as I am I'll take that spot. I know you got a spot now there's an opening. I'll be happy to take it.
He has so amazingly manipulated the media in a way that no one ever has. And I have to congratulate him for that. And look, even right now we're talking about him. We're not talking about the people and we're not talking about the economy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: So far the Trump campaign has given no details about its plans for an alternative event supporting veterans.
ROMANS: Right. It's an open question this morning whether Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders will face off in an unofficial previously unscheduled debate before the New Hampshire primary. NBC News the New Hampshire Union Leader newspaper have announced a
Democratic debate for February 4th. Clinton and Martin O'Malley quickly accepted the invitation, Bernie Sanders so far holding out after the Democratic National Committee through cold water on the plans of the statement saying this, "We have no plans to sanction any further debates before the upcoming First in the Nation caucuses and primary but will reconvene with our campaigns after those two contests to review our schedule.
A spokesman for Sanders tells the union leader that he doesn't want to jeopardize his spots if future official debates like participating in an unsanctioned event.
Meantime on the campaign trail, Clinton took a subtle swipe at Sanders implying that while she lays out a concrete plans, Sanders only offers slogans and rhetoric.
Senior Political Correspondent Brianna Keilar has more from Iowa.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Christine and Boris. Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton campaigning seriously in this final handful of days before the Iowa caucus.
Clinton emphasizing her experience. Bernie Sanders emphasizing a political revolution and questioning Clinton's judgment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: People kind of make fun of me because I do put my plans on my website and I do tell you how much it will cost because I do want you to know that I'm not just shouting slogans, I'm not just engaging in rhetoric, I've thought this through, I have a plan, I want you do understand it because I don't think you can get what we need done in this election or in the presidency unless you level with people. You tell them what you can do and you let them then respond to it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: After one campaign event in Iowa this morning Hillary Clinton will head to Philadelphia where she were fundraised alongside Jon Bon Jovi. But Bill Clinton will pick up the baton. He will be campaigning for her in Mason City, Iowa. Bernie sanders will also be in Mason City with a little help from Susan Sarandon today.
Christine and Boris.
SANCHEZ: All right, Brianna. Thank you.
This morning Bernie Sanders get some face time with President Obama after days of keeping praise on Hillary Clinton. The president will meet her rival in the oval office. The White House says the meeting will be private and informal without a set agenda. This is their first substantive discussion since Sanders' polling begins to surge in early voting states.
The president and Secretary Clinton's most recent meeting was a private luncheon at the White House last month.
We've got some breaking news now on that armed group that took over buildings at a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon. The group's leader Ammon Bundy and several of his followers were arrested last night during a traffic stop.
Early shots were fired during the confrontation killing this rancher. He is 55-year-old Robert LaVoy Finicum.
The FBI also says another one of the occupiers surrendered to police in Arizona that brings up the total number in custody to eight.
Ammon Bundy's father Cliven responded by telling the LA Times quote, "We believe that those federal people shouldn't even be there in that state and be in that county and have anything do with this issue. I have some sons and other people there trying to protect our rights and liberties and freedoms, and now we've got one killed, and all I can say is he sacrificed for a good purpose."
ROMANS: Thirty-nine minutes passed the hour. Time for an EARLY START in your money. This morning Asian markets closed mostly higher. China stocks the exception as you can see there. The European stocks and U.S. stocks features moving lower right now ahead of today's statement from the Federal Reserve.
Now hardly anyone expecting another interest rate hike from the Fed today, but we will get an updated assessment of U.S. economy following turmoil in global market that could give investors a clue about the Feds inclination for interest rates going forward.
A one stock to keep an eye on today. Weight watchers. That's thanks to Oprah. She's an investor, she is a member of the company's board, and then she posted a video to Twitter announcing she has lost 26 pounds since starting late Weight Watchers October still eating bread everyday, she says. After that, shares climbed 20 percent.
[04:40:07] What Oprah says, carries a lot of weight.
SANCHEZ: Yeah. I was going to say it's really tough to go without bread for that long. You got to have it everybody.
ROMANS: I wouldn't know because I couldn't do it.
All right, 40 minutes past the hour. The search for three escaped California inmates intensifying this morning. The new details about their daring jailbreak, that's next.
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ROMANS: Three violent inmates who broke out of a Southern California jail last week still at large. And authorities are now taking their appeal to the public for help. Taking that appeal to the next level, a $200,000 reward is now being offered for information leading to the capture of these fugitives. This is four times the previous amount. And details emerge about the elaborate escape from the Orange County Jail. Police are also concerned the prisoners may have had help. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFF HALLOCK, SPOKESMAN, ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: We have parallel investigations that are occurring. And the preliminary investigation into the escape and how it occurred has caused the sheriff concerns. As to some of the jail inmate count practices and how they were conducted. Though information is still preliminary at this point, the sheriff is extremely troubled by the length of time it took to determine that the three inmates housed in a maximum security jail were unaccounted for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Police say they have taken immediate steps to improve the inmate inspection process.
[04:44:59] SANCHEZ: Never before seen documents related to the case of Boston marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, will be made public today. The judge who presided over last year's terror trial ordered that search warrants, photos, and legal exhibits be unsealed. Tsarnaev remains in solitary confinement at a supermax prison in Colorado while he appeals his conviction and death sentence in the 2013 marathon bombing.
ROMANS: The FBI says to foil the mass shooting plot targeting in Masonic Temple in Milwaukee. The suspect's 23-year-old Sami Mohammed Hamzeh is in custody. He has been under investigation since September. Authorities say, he initially planned to attack Israeli soldiers and civilians in the West Bank. But he abandoned those plans to focus on an attack in the U.S. Hamzeh allegedly told undercover agents that he wanted to commit an act of domestic terror.
SANCHEZ: Six Cleveland police officers have now been fired in connection with the deadly car chase in 2012. It ended with firing 137 bullets at a car, killing Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams who were inside. The six included this man, Michael Brelo, the only officer indicted in that incident. Though he was acquitted last year of manslaughter, officials say, six other Cleveland cops have been suspended without pay for up to a month and a 13th officer involved has since retired.
ROMANS: We should learn more about the state response to a water crisis in Flint when Michigan Governor Rick Snyder holds a news conference this morning. Now Snyder is requesting federal medical aid for Flint residents under the age of 21 with potential health problems related to lead contamination.
Meantime, the new report suggests the governor's office rejected guidance back in 2012 not to switch the city's water source to the Flint River.
SANCHEZ: Now is that a crisis unfold a different one. Schools in Sebring, Ohio, will finally reopen this morning. They were closed the past two days while the state EPA conducted additional water testing. Official say that lead contamination in tap water there went unchecked for months. And a cluster of villages including Sebring, while measurable levels of lead have been found in the town's public schools most are below the limits allowed by the federal governor.
ROMANS: The death toll keeps rising and that historic blizzard that pounded part of the East. Official say, at least 48 people died in car accidents from carbon monoxide poisoning and heart attacks while shoveling snow, the victims within the 12 states stretching from South Carolina to New York. Meantime, cities are still trying to clean up for the monster storm. Officials say, things are slowly getting back to normal in hard hit states and places like Washington, D.C. Federal offices are expected to reopen probably to three-hour delay.
SANCHEZ: Despite a huge storm, people are still recovering and there may be more snow on the way at least in the north, heavy rain in the south. We'll get to meteorologist, Pedram Javaheri.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROGIST: Christine and Boris, good morning guys. Yes, to southern part of U.S. really getting on some heavy rainfall the next couple of days. In this pattern has been very stagnant pattern. And we know this settle down, we could spark off some severe weather as well. Generally going to be across parts of six central and Southern Florida this afternoon where plenty of thunderstorms in the forecast across that region.
We still got see some light to moderate showers around parts of the Southern Alabama and Georgia as well. But the isolated threat for severe weather is there. Tornadoes also limited threat there with damaging wind being the most predominant concern. On a scale of one to five about a one when it comes to the concern for severe weather bu still worth noting across that region of Florida.
Look at the temperature this morning, very uniform from city of Atlanta out towards New York, only a five-degree difference from 50 down for about 45. Some melting again taking place across parts of the northeast, put it a long, long ways from getting rid of all the snowfall in the forecast.
And the next few days, actually keeping it just a few notches above what is considered normal. You know, Washington make it up to 46, in New York on Wednesday about 43 degrees. But looking ahead to early mid so it's actually late next week, a major, major cold air outbreak could be head of us here for part of the eastern side of the country. That again be in sometimes toward the middle and latter portion of next week. So we're looking of ways out. Notice the temperature to across New York City stay rather uniform. Warm up a little bit towards the latter portion of it.
How about these overnight lows, Boris and Christine, down the 19, potentially down to 12 degrees in New York City by early next week. I'll send it back to you.
SANCHEZ: Winter in full swing. The ocean views were about to show you is breath taking. But the ground underneath a cliffside apartment complex in Pacifica, California is crumbling and residents are suddenly living on the edge. They're being forced to leave. We get more from CNN's Dan Simon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Boris, Pacifica has one of the most gorgeous views shall ever see. But right now for a lot of folks who lived here, things are very dangerous. T hat's because there's been so much rain in the month of January, El Nino rains. And those rains have caused part of a cliff to collapse. And there is an apartment complex that is gingerly sitting on top of that cliff and all of the doors have been yellow tagged. That means if you've lived there, you have to collect all of your belongings and get out as soon as you can. And it's not known of those folks will be able to return because it's not clear if that cliff can be rebuilt or stabilized in some fashion.
Now Pacifica, we should tell you, has had problems in the past but because California has been in the middle of a severe drought, we haven't seen this issue in a number of years.
[04:50:04] In the meantime, people are keeping a close watchful eye on the cliff to see if there anymore erosion and wondering whether anymore folks will be forced to evacuate. Boris and Christine.
SANCHEZ: All right Dan, thank you. The wild swings of the weather really affecting California form the drought last year to now El Nino rains causing that.
ROMANS: And wild swings to the markets in stocks. Volatility is the name of the game this year. So how can you protect yourself? Advice from one financial guru, next.
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SANCHEZ: Another sign of the escalating backlash against refugees in Europe this morning. The Danish parliament voting overwhelmingly in favor of the controversial bill that gives the authorities power to seize refugee's cash and valuables to help cover the cost of caring for them.
International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson is following the story and joins us now. Nic, good morning to you. Many in the Danish government arguing that this bill is merited partly because of the social benefits, a lot of these refugees will receive education and healthcare but is this bill really aimed to deter more refugees from going to Denmark?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: That's probably going to be the net result. More than 75 percent of the parliamentarians voted for it. It got a lot of support in the Danish parliament. It seen as a logical and practical step to take.
They have also told refugees any coming in the future that if they want their family to be reunited with them, then they'll have to wait three years for that to happen rather than one year. So for a lot of refugees who are looking at Europe for migrants, they may say, OK, maybe Denmark isn't the place to go. So, whether or not it is intended to have this precise effect, it's very likely to.
The reality here is across the whole of Europe. Denmark is what we seen in the parliament that it just one of the many symptoms of the way Europe is struggling to cope with the number of migrants that arrived. Denmark is a relatively small country. Sweden, neighbors there as well, both countries taking in very high numbers of migrants per capita in Sweden. They've got a problem with security in dealing with migrants. The chief of police there is asking for thousands more police officers. But the biggest situation in Europe is some countries are closing their borders.
[04:55:25] Now, Europe, the European Union, the Schengen part of the European Union is supposed to have free borderless, free passportless (ph) movement within inside the Schengen Europe. Countries are now beginning to put border controls in place. They're debating whether or not to make those more permanent. And if they do that then the concern is, number one, you might break up the European Union and they will be if you put in border controls implications the business.
So Denmark is just one symptom of how Europe is absolutely struggling at the moment to cope with the flow of migrants coming, many, many from Syria, forced out by the war.
SANCHEZ: All right, Nic. Now Amnesty International has come out condemning this bill. How do you see more backlash moving forward? How do you see that development?
ROBERTSON: We're seeing it in the political sphere. There are more right winged parties doing that in Europe off the back of certain migrants, social issues. We talk a lot about immigration last year. I love to talk about this year is going to be about integration. There was a stabbing in Denmark just a couple of days ago, a young girl, 22 years old working in a hospital for migrants stabbed by young boy. She was killed.
That something that people look out and say this whole migrant thing isn't working in Germany, Angela Merkel. Germany, of course, the real hub and had and strength inside Europe. Angela Merkel, the Chancellor there said we'll open the doors to as many refugees as want to come. They got over 800,000 last year. They're struggling physically to cope with them. Some are still are living in warehouses, school buildings, they still have around 3,000 to 4,000 migrants showing up every week now.
That's real concern in Germany. They're physically not capable. So the political dimension then gets hit and politicians take decisions like closing their borders and they face a political backlash if they don't. Those are the changes we're seeing. It's a fundamental change to the concept of a borderless Europe.
SANCHEZ: Certainly the crisis in Syria having wide spread ramifications. Nic Robertson reporting from London. Thank you.
ROMANS: Fifty-seven minutes pass the hour. Let's get an EARLY START in your money. Asian market close mostly higher, China stocks go down. European stocks, U.S. stocks future is moving lower right now. We got a statement today from the Federal Reserve. Virtually no one expects that the Fed to raise interest rates. Again today with all the volatility in oil and the stock market but we will get an assessment of the economy given that recent global turmoil looking for any insight into the Fed's roadmap for interest rates this year.
Will big scary stocks swings continue? Allianz Chief Economic Adviser Mohamed El-Erian says 2016 is all about volatility. So I asked him should we be sitting on more cash?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMED EL-ERIAN, ALLIANZ, CHIEF ECONOMIC ADVISER: Cash gives you optional, gives you alternative. So I would help you to have 25 percent, 30 percent of your wealth in cash. You will have many opportunities to buy really good names at beaten down prices because you cannot take because people do the wrong thing at the wrong time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: He's essentially telling for 401K investors do not be entirely in stocks here. Make sure you have cash to buy stocks cheaper because you think stock could go cheaper. El-Erian point to corporate American is sitting in huge piles of cash because they see an uncertain future.
Uber drivers, welcome to the job market t so called Gig Economy has ballooned in recent years. Thanks to companies like Uber and TaskRabbit. Now there's -- now employees roughly 30 million full and part-time independent workers. But many of the workers are not counted in official jobs statistic.
The labor department will officially include them starting in May 2017. Counting them will be a challenge but the labor department says that it recognizes that this is the way the labor market is. Now and it is in try to quantify that gig economy and that is (inaudible).
SANCHEZ: It's certainly the way the things are trending.
ROMANS: True.
SANCHEZ: EARLY START continues right now.
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ROMANS: Donald Trump goes to Fox News boycotting a network's next GOP presidential candidate debate. The news chancel block name of the Republican frontrunner this morning.
SANCHEZ: Plus, will Hillary Clinton get another chance to take on Bernie Sanders face to face before the New Hampshire primary a road new debate plan but is sanders going to agree to it.
ROMANS: And breaking overnight an Oregon militia man shot dead after a traffic stop escalates into a shoot-out with the FBI. Good morning and welcome to "Early Start." I' m Christine romans. SANCHEZ: I'm really happy to be here with you, Christine. I'm Boris Sanchez. I can't say my own name. Wednesday, January 27, 5:00 a.m. on the East coast.
[05:00:01] And we're following breaking news this morning. The Donald Trump campaign accuse to threatening Fox News Anchor Megyn Kelly.
