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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Race for President: GOP Brawl for Votes; Can Obama Fill the Supreme Court Vacancy?; Grammys 2016: Winners & Best Moments; 22 Dead in Strikes on Hospitals, School in Syria; Pope Heads to Mexican Drug Heartland. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired February 16, 2016 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Republicans running for president pulling out all the stops as they fight for votes in South Carolina. Jeb Bush bringing his brother on the campaign trail as his competitors launch new attacks.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: A showdown over the Supreme Court vacancy. The president will address the controversy in just hours as more Republicans vow to block any of Obama's nominations.
[04:30:08] MARQUEZ: And this year's best music honored at the 2016 Grammys. The big winners and the big moments.
Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Miguel Marquez.
KOSIK: And I'm Alison Kosik. Good morning. It's 30 minutes past the hour.
This morning, the fight in the Republican Party escalating to all-out war. None of the leading candidates holding back. Marco Rubio attacking Ted Cruz and vice versa. Cruz also targeting Donald Trump. Trump lashing out at everyone -- Cruz, Rubio and Jeb Bush, as well as at a non-candidate, George W. Bush.
The former president on the campaign trail in South Carolina ahead of the primary there in support of younger brother Jeb. It was W's first time in full-on campaign mode since Barack Obama won in 2008. He returned Trump's fire with barely veiled barbs.
Chief political correspondent Dana Bash has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Miguel and Alison, George W. Bush back in the political spotlight. He drew a huge crowd for his brother and also drew some pretty sharp distinctions between his brother, Jeb Bush, and Donald Trump.
Now, he never said Trump's name, but he never had to. He described the person and the persona that we have become used to see from Donald Trump, the kind of character that drawn so many supporters to him. But the point that George W. Bush was trying to make is that Americans
shouldn't go for somebody who preys on the fears and frustrations of Americans. Instead, they should go for a strong and steady hand, somebody who isn't necessarily the loudest person in the room, clearly describing his brother.
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT: The presidency is a serious job that requires sound judgment and good ideas. And there's no doubt in my mind that Jeb Bush has the experience and character to be a great president.
(CHEERS)
BASH: But what was as interesting as George W. Bush's performance was his brother's, the fact that Jeb Bush seemed to come out of his shell. He was much more passionate, much more engaged with the audience, had more presence than he has in the eight months since he announced for president.
JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you're tired of the politics of division, if you want someone with a proven record, solid conservative who acted on his conservative beliefs each and every day as governor, someone with 32 years of private sector experience, then you are looking at the nominee for the Republican nomination. And I can beat Hillary Clinton. I can promise you that.
(CHEERS)
BASH: So, the question now is whether or not that is going to be enough to give him momentum to come from behind in South Carolina in order to start to build his comeback that he keeps saying he's going to have -- Miguel and Alison.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARQUEZ: Thank you, Dana Bash. Donald Trump, surprise, surprise, on the attack trying to upstage the Bush event with his own news conference.
Threatening to sue Ted Cruz over his eligibility to run if Cruz does not take down anti-Trump ads. Renewing his threat to stage a third party run in response to the boos he received at recent debates. And now that George W. Bush is campaigning for Jeb, Trump threw on the attack on the former president over the Iraq war and 9/11.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I heard for years he kept the country safe after 9/11. What does that mean after? What about during 9/11? I was there. I lost a lot of friends that were killed in that building. The worst attack ever in this country, it was during his presidency.
Jeb Bush has spent about $20 million on negative ads that in many cases are false. But they're negative ads. His campaign in my opinion is going absolutely nowhere. Ted Cruz is desperate. Look -- yes, I think Ted's a very unstable
guy. I have never, ever met a person that lies more than Ted Cruz.
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Today, Donald Trump held a press conference where he apparently lost it. I mean, he was just going on and on about how I'm the most horrible person in the world because I keep repeating the things he said.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: Unvarnished, I would say.
Trump, Bush and Rubio holding campaign stops through South Carolina today. John Kasich starts the morning in Michigan, but returns to the Palmetto State by evening.
Republican candidates speak out on CNN this week in a unique two-night event Wednesday and Thursday at 8:00 p.m. For the very first time this campaign, all six candidates will answer questions from voters of South Carolina in two live town halls moderated by Anderson Cooper.
KOSIK: OK. Turning to the Democrats, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders fighting for minority votes this morning.
[04:35:03] Clinton is in Harlem where in just a few hours, she's going to be meeting with civil rights leaders, including officials of the NAACP. And she's going to be giving a civil rights speech this morning. Sanders meantime campaigning today in South Carolina and Georgia. Both candidates trying to make their cases to black and Latino voters while trying distinctions between agendas.
One thing Clinton and Sanders agreed on Monday, that President Obama should be able to get his chosen replacement for Justice Scalia on the Supreme Court.
CNN's Jeff Zeleny has the latest on that from South Carolina.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Miguel and Alison, the Democratic side of this campaign is also getting rough. Hillary Clinton out making the case that Bernie Sanders is simply a single- issue candidate. She traveled across the state of Nevada on Monday telling voters that he simply is not prepared to be president, that he simply is focusing only on Wall Street, only on the economy.
Now, the Sanders campaign is pushing back saying that's what people want to hear. He says he is not a single issue candidate. He said he is focusing on health care, on climate change, on raising the minimum wage.
Now, Bernie Sanders is going to be campaigning throughout the day on Tuesday here in South Carolina, trying to make the case that he can appeal to voters beyond the narrow electorate in Iowa and New Hampshire. He is trying to show that he can appeal to African- American voters, to Hispanic voters in Nevada.
On one issue they are finding rare agreement, that is Republican obstructionism. What they are calling Republican obstruction, what they believe will be happening with the Supreme Court nominee.
Now, they both talked about that on the campaign trail on Monday.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The president under our constitution has a right to nominate a new justice. The Senate Republicans led by Mitch McConnell have said don't think about it. I believe strongly the president has the right to nominate and the Senate has the duty to decide.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Talk about cowardice, talk about obstructionism, here you have the Constitution. It's clear as clear can be. The president of the United States nominates people to the Supreme Court.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
Republicans start hearings on his nomination, do not obstruct. Obey the Constitution.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
ZELENY: Now, Democratic voters certainly will agree with that, that they believe that President Obama should be able to fill that vacant seat on the Supreme Court. But beyond that, there is very little agreement at this moment between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. They are going to make their final push before the Nevada caucuses on Saturday and South Carolina primary a week from Saturday.
The outcome of those races are going to determine how long this Democratic fight will go on -- Miguel and Alison.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARQUEZ: Thanks, Jeff Zeleny.
New details are emerging that suggest Justice Antonin Scalia may have been in declining health. A Texas county judge said Scalia's personal physician told her there was a history of heart trouble and high blood pressure, and that Scalia was considered too weak to undergo surgery for a recent shoulder injury. The judge says she consulted with the doctor and investigators before concluding Scalia died of natural causes and no autopsy was necessary. Still no word on funeral details from the Scalia family.
KOSIK: Meantime, there's a supreme showdown shaping over replacing Justice Scalia on the high Supreme Court. President Obama expected to address the controversy at a news conference today. While he weighs potential nominees, both Republican lawmakers and presidential candidates are telling him essentially don't bother. They say the next president should be the one to fill the Supreme Court vacancy. And then there is an impact on the key cases before the court.
We get more now from CNN justice correspondent Pamela Brown.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Alison and Miguel.
Justice Scalia's death certainly put President Obama and Senate Republicans on a collision course and also caused a monumental shift in the high court. The Supreme Court will continue to hear oral arguments and vote on cases, but Scalia's death changes the dynamic. Without him on the bench, the eight remaining justices could find themselves in a 4-4 split in their decision.
If that happens, two scenarios could play out. Either they could decide to delay the decision until a new justice is named and the case would have to be reargued, or the 4-4 decision would mean a lower court's ruling is upheld, which could mean big losses for the Obama administration in some big cases, dozens of cases could be impacted, but particularly the immigration case and the Texas abortion case that limits access to abortion clinics in the state.
Now, the lower courts ruled against these cases. So, if there is a 4- 4 tie, no Supreme Court precedent is set, and the lower court's ruling stands -- meaning big losses for Obama, especially on his signature immigration policy. Worth noting in the affirmative action case, Justice Kagan recused herself.
[04:40:02] So, a tie would not be an issue.
In the meantime, the White House has already begun the process of picking out a nominee.
Back to you, Alison and Miguel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOSIK: OK, Pamela Brown, thanks for that.
Time for an early start on your money. Looking at those green arrows. Stocks are set to rally as investors return from a long holiday weekend. We are seeing futures sharply higher right now.
Markets in Europe and Asia, they are up as well. Oil is behind these gains. It's back up close to $31 a barrel.
It's been a terrible start to the year for the broader market. There are only -- can you get this? Only six stocks in the Dow 30 are higher. And the top three give a good idea of how investors are feeling about the U.S. economy.
The biggest gainer in the average this year is -- drum roll -- Verizon. Walmart is close behind with almost an 8 percent gain. Investors are seeing the two stocks as smart consumer plays. So, basically, people are thinking that consumers will spend money there regardless of how the economy is doing. Exxon mobile is the third best performer despite the crash in oil
prices, because it could scoop up smaller firms and increase market share, which will help profits when oil rebound.
MARQUEZ: Amazing how --
KOSIK: Oil drives the market?
MARQUEZ: -- over the top the markets have been back and forth.
KOSIK: Yes. It's still going to be a turbulent week.
MARQUEZ: Oh, great. Thanks for that.
KOSIK: No problem.
MARQUEZ: Night for the biggest stars in music to shine at the 58th Grammy Awards.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
MARQUEZ: That Taylor Swift.
KOSIK: That was a great production.
MARQUEZ: She won three Grammys. That was so cool, including one of the top awards, Album of the Year for "1989". Ed Sheeran was awarded Song of the Year for "Thinking Out Loud." Record of the Year went to "Uptown Funk."
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
MARQUEZ: And this guy, rapper Kendrick Lamar took home the most Grammys winning five.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
MARQUEZ: And this year's ceremony may be best remembered for the tributes like that one to artists who recently died. Including Lady Gaga's, how lovely, salute to David Bowie. Such a loss.
The Eagles' Glenn Frey, and Earth, Wind and Fire's Maurice White also celebrated as well.
Just a huge celebration. Great show.
KOSIK: Gaga did great. I was sleeping. But she did get some hate -- she got some hate on Facebook. Some of the real hard core David Bowie fans were like, hey, she wasn't rock and roll enough. It was too pre- produced for a David Bowie tribute.
MARQUEZ: Well, well --
KOSIK: Too many haters.
MARQUEZ: It's David Bowie. I mean, I think you're always going to have that.
KOSIK: Yes.
MARQUEZ: We love Bowie.
KOSIK: We do.
MARQUEZ: They don't want to go away.
KOSIK: Violence escalating in Syria days before the proposed cease- fire. Dozens killed as bombs hit hospitals and schools. We're live, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:46:57] MARQUEZ: A grim search for survivors in northern Syria after airstrikes hit two hospitals and a school building Monday, killing at least 22 people. Eight others missing and presumed dead. The group Doctors Without Borders claimed the attacks the on field hospitals were deliberate. It comes just days after world powers agree to a cessations of hostilities in Syria due to take effect on Friday.
CNN's Jomana Karadsheh is monitoring developments from Amman, Jordan.
Jomana, MSF again? How did this one happen?
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miguel, these attacks, several attacks in northern Syria, drawing a lot of international condemnation. We're hearing from rights groups saying that attacks on medical facilities would amount to war crimes here.
As you mentioned, in MSF, Doctors Without Borders facility in Idlib province, was struck, they say, several times in a span of a few minutes. And as you mentioned, describing it as a deliberate attack, killing and wounding several people.
This is the fifth such attack on an MSF facility in Syria since January. Now, there's been no claim of responsibility. It is not clear who was behind that attack. But there has been a lot of blame being pointed towards the Syrian regime and their Russian allies.
But the Syrian ambassador to Moscow came out and blamed the U.S.-led coalition saying it was an airstrikes by the coalition that hit the MSF hospital. But coalition officials dismissed that, saying they did not have operations in the Idlib area when this attack took place.
Now, in Aleppo province near the border town of Azaz near the border with Turkey, there is a school housing displaced people and hospital for mothers and babies, also struck in an attack there. Several people killed and wounded. Again, not clear who is behind that attack, but the Turkish prime minister came out with a statement saying that it was a ballistic missile fired by Russia from the Caspian Sea that led to this attack. We have not heard anything official yet in any response from the Russians to the accusations. Really complicated situation, Miguel, on the ground there. The
violence seems to be escalating just a few days before the Munich agreement for cessation of hostilities desperately needed in that country right now is due to take effect. Lots of doubts that's going to happen.
MARQUEZ: God, the human suffering there is just so monumental.
Thanks for keeping for us, Jomana Karadsheh. Thank you.
KOSIK: A U.S. factory set to be built on Cuban soil, the first in more than 50 years. Obama administration gave the go ahead to the Alabama company that building tractors for small farms. If all goes well, it is expected to start production by early in 2017. The move made possible after the U.S. in December of 2014 hammered out a deal with the communist nation reestablishing diplomatic relations. Since then, embassies have reopened in Washington and Havana.
[04:50:01] MARQUEZ: And it's denials all around from former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer concerning an alleged assault in a Manhattan hotel room. Spitzer's attorney says the allegation is false and was made by a Russian woman with, quote, "emotional difficulties". He says Spitzer has known the woman for sometime, but she is not his girlfriend. Police say she called 911 from the hotel room Saturday saying she had cut herself and was having a breakdown. Detectives are investigating the assault claim, but still haven't questioned Spitzer.
KOSIK: Three months after a deadly shooting rampage, a Colorado Planned Parenthood clinic is up and running. The Colorado Springs facility opened its doors Monday. Officials saying in a statement, clinic workers return stronger and with more conviction that ever. Three people were killed and nine wounded during a five-hour standoff back in November that began when a gunman opened fire and stormed inside. Fifty-seven-year-old Robert Lewis Dear faces 200 felony counts, including murder, attempted murder and assault.
MARQUEZ: The national president of the NAACP has issued an ultimatum over the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. Cornell Brooks says if Governor Snyder doesn't have a plan for replacing the city's lead water pipes in the next 30 days, the group will call for mass protest and civil disobedience in Flint. Brooks says it would be non- disruptive and like the civil rights demonstrations of the 1960s. The governor says the state is working with great urgency to fix the pipes.
KOSIK: And the same big winter storm system that brought snow and freezing rain to the Eastern U.S. spawned at least three reported tornadoes in Florida and Mississippi. Officials say a twister in Florida's Escambia County tore trees out of the ground and damaged and destroyed a dozen homes. Crews are conducting searches for people who may be trapped in their homes.
A global stock market rally is under way, but how big will the gains be for U.S. stock? We're going to get an early start on your money, next.
MARQUEZ: Cool.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:55:17] MARQUEZ: Pope Francis heading to the hot spot in Mexico's drug conflict today as he continues his tour of the country. During mass Monday, he denounced the exploitation and exclusion of indigenous people and asked for forgiveness for the church's role.
CNN's Shasta Darlington with the latest from Mexico City.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miguel, Alison.
Pope Francis took a helicopter, a plane, and a car to reach Mexico's poorest state of Chiapas on Monday, a place where most of the people are indigenous and many don't speak Spanish at all. Local communities turned out in full force, many of them in traditional dress. They line the papal route and they turned out at the mass.
Now, even before Pope Francis left the Vatican, he authorized the use of indigenous languages during these religious services. That's something his predecessor had frowned upon. But Pope Francis has really made reaching out to the communities pushed to the margins of society, one of the hallmarks of his papacy.
And on Monday, frankly, he didn't disappoint. He urged the world to ask for forgiveness for the way native people have been treated. Take a listen.
POPE FRANCIS (through translator): Some have considered your values, cultures and traditions to be inferior. Others intoxicated by power, money and market trends have stolen your lands or done things which contaminated them. How sad this is.
DARLINGTON: Pope Francis also sat down with individual families in Chiapas, a region that seen the Catholic Church losing ground to evangelical churches. It also happens to be the main entry point for Central American migrants trying to reach the United States.
And as we know, immigration is a topic that is close to his heart. Something we expect him to touch on again, especially on the final day of his trip when he will be in Ciudad Juarez just across the border from El Paso, Texas. There, we will see him celebrating a cross border mass and expect to see him riding his pope mobile along the border fence
Back to you, Miguel, Alison.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOSIK: OK. Shasta Darlington, thanks for that.
Let's get an early start on your money. It's looking like a strong start to the trading week for stocks. We are seeing futures way up. Markets in Europe and Asia higher. Oil prices are behind the gains. They're up above $30 a barrel.
And there's developing news on that front. Saudi Arabia, Russia and Venezuela have reportedly agreed to freeze oil production at current levels in a bid to boost prices. That news coming after a meeting to discuss the glut of supply, that could be responsible for the rise in oil prices that we're seeing at the moment.
An outage for Comcast has angry customers complaining on the Internet. Reported service disruption from down detector which tracks outage complaints on social media showed problems all over the country. Most people reportedly lost Internet connections. Some complained about spotty TV reception and total blackout of both services. Comcast tells CNN Money that it was a transmission issue and not all customers were affected, and it seems most of the issues have been resolved. The company has 27 million subscribers nationwide.
And we are getting the first look at one of the largest diamonds ever discovered. Look at this thing. A diamond company says this rock was pulled out of a mine in Angola. It's 404 carats and about the length of a credit card. It's virtually flawless and colorless. So, that makes it one of the best quality finds ever.
It came from an area that produced more than 60 so-called large special diamonds. It is the 27th biggest diamond ever found. The biggest stone was more than 3,000 carats found in South Africa that was, oh, you know, back in 1905.
Look at that thing.
MARQUEZ: That is quite a rock.
KOSIK: It's sparking at me. I'm ready for it.
MARQUEZ: You're ready for it? I'll buy you a diamond at the end of the week.
KOSIK: Thanks, Miguel.
MARQUEZ: EARLY START continues right now.
(MUSIC)
MARQUEZ: Republicans running for president pulling out all the stops. Jeb Bush taking his brother out on the campaign trail as his competitors launched vicious new attacks on each other.
KOSIK: In just hours, President Obama to address the Supreme Court vacancy, as more Republicans threaten to block anyone he nominates.
MARQUEZ: And breaking overnight. The Grammys honor the year's best in music. The big winners and moments, there were plenty of them.
Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Miguel Marquez.
KOSIK: And I'm Alison Kosik. Good morning. It is Tuesday, February 16th. It's 5:00 a.m. in the East. And this morning, the fight in the Republican Party escalating to all-
out war.
