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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Trump Leads GOP, Rubio and Cruz Battle Behind him; Ted Cruz Stumping Hard in Nevada; Search for Kalamazoo Shooting Motive; New ISIS Attacks Syria Ahead of Agreed Ceasefire; Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired February 22, 2016 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:13] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The race for president. Take a good look at this man. He is steamrolling. Donald Trump with his big win in South Carolina. On to Nevada as Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz battle it out for second.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Hillary Clinton reasserting herself in Nevada, but today, today the Democratic race shifts to South Carolina. The new moves, the new strategies in store for both Clinton and Bernie Sanders ahead.

BERMAN: New questions this morning about the horrifying weekend killing spree in Kalamazoo. Did this Uber driver pick up new passengers between murders? A court appearance set for just a few hours.

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.

ROMANS: Good morning. I'm Christine Romans. So nice to see you all this morning. It is Monday, February 22nd. It is 4:00 a.m. on the nose in the East. And this morning Donald Trump riding high after his big win in the South Carolina primary. Turning his attention now to Super Tuesday on March 1st.

Trump's victory has members of the Republican establishment, donors, pundits, candidates grasping for ways to stop him. Based on a rally late last night, it seems Trump is sticking to the strategy that has brought him huge success thus far. With tough attacks on his rivals even those like Jeb Bush who have dropped out of the race.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond has the very latest from one of those Super Tuesday states, Georgia.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Good morning, John and Christine. Fresh off his primary victory in South Carolina, Donald Trump rolled into Atlanta on Sunday with the momentum at his back, and the crowd here responded in kind, roaring in approval as Donald Trump hit his key notes, talking about trade, talking about border security, as he typically does.

But, Donald Trump didn't really bring in his current rivals, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, who came in second and third place in South Carolina. He did, however, bring in one of his former rivals.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'll give you a story. One of the candidates, I won't say who yet, but you can find out. One of the candidates -- the head of a major, major -- and the owner of a major, major pharmaceutical company is in charge of his campaign, right? You know that, right? In charge of his campaign. Raises hundreds of millions of dollars. They've raised a fortune. They have a fantastic, like, a lot of money. Pharmaceuticals.

So a friend of mine comes up to me, a doctor. He says, Donald, I don't understand it. The United States is the biggest purchaser of drugs in the world. They don't negotiate price. They're not allowed to. And I said, what are you talking about? They're not allowed to. So I said, that can't be but let me check it. As soon as I checked it I realized why. He's right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: That, of course, is one of the lines Donald Trump has consistently used when he talks about Jeb Bush and the influence of special interests. However, Jeb Bush now out of the race, dropping out on Saturday night after a poor showing in South Carolina. But it looks like Donald Trump, who has consistently used Jeb Bush as his foil on the campaign trail, may be missing him a little bit.

John and Christine, back to you.

BERMAN: All right. Jeremy Diamond, in an empty room in Georgia.

Ted Cruz has a new message and a new target as he tries to recover from what appears to be a surprise third place finish in South Carolina. The unofficial count has Cruz trailing Marco Rubio by about a thousand votes out of more than 700,000 cast. Cruz conveniently calls that a tie for second. Now Ted Cruz putting almost all of focus on Marco Rubio making the case that in the long run, only he, Ted Cruz, can beat Donald Trump in the Republican race.

Let's get the latest now from CNN's Sunlen Serfaty with Ted Cruz in Nevada.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Christine. The Cruz campaign is really trying to present the image that they are still on track and charge ahead here in Nevada. The senator will have a series of eight events working into caucus event tomorrow night. But so much of the discussion out here on the campaign trail is still centering around the postmortem of his South Carolina loss. Why he didn't do better among evangelicals to Donald Trump? Why he came in third to Marco Rubio? And what all of this means for and the challenges in his campaign going forward? What red flags he could take from that.

And he was asked about that here yesterday and quickly pivoted to his new favorite target, Marco Rubio. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And he was asked, what state can you win? You weren't able to win in Iowa. You weren't able to win in New Hampshire. You weren't able to win in South Carolina. When can you win a state? And the answer he gave is, he said, well, I think we could win Florida on March 15th.

Now that's a fairly amazing admission that they don't believe they're going to win here in Nevada. Apparently they don't believe they're going to win any states on Super Tuesday. They are writing off March 5th, they're writing off March 8th. And they're trying to wait apparently until March 15th to finally win a state and I would point out even in Florida, his home state, he's right now polling in third place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:05:04] SERFATY: So Ted Cruz here on the ground in Nevada wasting no time really laying into Marco Rubio. And this will be a key part of their messaging going forward. They will argue and question where Marco Rubio can actually win and argue in opposition to that that Ted Cruz has been the one, the only one thus far that has been able to beat Donald Trump -- John and Christine.

ROMANS: All right, Sunlen. Thank you for that.

An Illinois voter gets his day in court on Friday to explain why Ted Cruz should be disqualified from running for president. Lawrence Joyce agrees with Donald Trump. He questions whether Cruz who was born in Canada to an American mother is a natural born citizen as required by the Constitution. Joyce says he fears the chaos that would ensue if the Democrats get Cruz disqualified after he's already been chosen as a Republican nominee.

BERMAN: Ohio governor and Republican presidential candidate John Kasich has signed a bill effectively blocking more than $1 million in state funding for Planned Parenthood. The Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards charges that this bill will have devastating consequences for women across Ohio. The spokesperson for the governor says the Planned Parenthood money will be redistributed to other health services groups.

All right. A pivotal political event this Thursday with the Republican race shifting into this new gear, the five remaining candidates face off in a crucial debate in Houston. This cannot be overstated. This one is going to be huge. Wolf Blitzer moderates the CNN Republican presidential debate beginning at 8:30 p.m. Thursday night only CNN.

ROMANS: I'm not used to seeing so few pictures on that crowd.

BERMAN: Just five, right?

ROMANS: Just give. All right. This morning, Hillary Clinton trying to consolidate her return to frontrunner status. She enjoyed a close, but comfortable five-point-win in Nevada over Bernie Sanders. Clinton rejecting Sanders' claim of a big win among Nevada Latinos arguing the precinct data is more reliable than the exit polls Sanders deciding the battle for minority votes now continues as the Democratic campaigns move to South Carolina. That primary is set for Saturday. Clinton and Sanders both speaking to BET about what they will do for African-Americans. Both admitting the Democratic Party has not done enough.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have not been as sensitive as we should be to what goes on in black communities in terms of policing issues. So it is -- I plead, you know, guilty to the fact that I think I have not been as sensitive to that issue. And it's an issue that we have got to be sensitive to.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Some of the decisions that were made during the eight years of my husband's presidency that we have to learn lessons from. And I'm very clear about that. Yes, I supported my husband's policies. My opponent, Senator Sanders, voted for them. I did not have a position where I could express myself independently. He did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Folks, really big week here in politics. Clinton and Sanders will face -- come face-to-face with the voters of South Carolina for the final time this Tuesday night right here on CNN. A Democratic town hall live from Columbia, South Carolina. That's 8:00 p.m. tomorrow night. Chris Cuomo moderates that only on CNN.

BERMAN: A somber day ahead at the U.S. Supreme Court as justices return to work for the first time since the death of Antonin Scalia. The court is scheduled to hear two cases this morning.

Justice Scalia was such a conservative force. Now leaving the court with an even ideological split, four liberals and four conservatives. If the judges deadlock on an ruling, they could take up the case again once the Senate confirms Scalia's replacement or it just affirms whatever the lower court ruling is.

ROMANS: All right. Time for an EARLY START on your money this morning. Stocks had the best week in three months. And is looking like a positive start to this new trading week. Dow futures higher. Oil is the reason. It's helping the gains here. Crude prices are higher. You've seen oil and stocks move, you know, in lockstep for weeks now.

Stock markets in Europe and Asia are rising as well. Big gains last week came over just four trading days after that long holiday weekend. Two big rallies. Investors then took a breather Thursday and Friday. Below average trading volume there.

Still been a brutal start to the year. I want to give you some context here. The Dow for the year down 5.9 percent. You know, it had been down more than 10 percent before this recent rally. So this recent rally cut those losses almost in half. Nasdaq is down 10 percent. The S&P 500 down 6.1 percent. So you're down on the year, but we really did have a big bounce yesterday. A lot of folks asking, is that bounce a signal that there will not be an official correction in the broader market or was it just a pause and they'll resume the selling?

BERMAN: And the answer?

ROMANS: I don't know the answer to that. I don't know the answer.

BERMAN: Thanks for the question.

ROMANS: If I did, I'd live on a Caribbean island. I don't. So here I am.

BERMAN: We're about 10 minutes after the hour right. What a story out of Michigan. A stunning killing spree in Kalamazoo. Six people dead. Police say the killer, Uber driver, picked up and dropped off passengers between the attacks.

ROMANS: Wow.

BERMAN: We have new information coming in this morning ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:13:23] BERMAN: All right. In just a few hours, the alleged shooter in the Kalamazoo killing spree will be formally charged in a court arraignment. The 45-year-old is suspected of murdering six people at three separate locations on Saturday night, allegedly in between picking up fares as an Uber driver.

Authorities say at this point, it appears the shootings were random and investigators also say at this point they are at a loss for any kind of motive.

Let's get more from CNN's Nick Valencia.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, it is just sickening when you consider the details. Investigators saying that this suspect, a 45-year-old man from Kalamazoo, was casually carrying out this shooting spree and in between each shooting he was still picking up passengers, working as an Uber driver. He was eventually taken into custody at about 12:30.

Investigators seized a semi-automatic handgun from him and in their search of his residence discovered even more weapons. They're working on figuring out if any of those weapons were used in the commission of any of these crimes.

Now investigators are really scratching their heads. What's unsettling, particularly to them, is that this suspect was, for all intents and purposes according to the police chief, an average Joe with no criminal history, no criminal record, or certainly no indication that he would have the capability of carrying out something like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF GETTING, KALAMAZOO COUNTY PROSECUTING ATTORNEY: That, you know, he aware of what was going on and he was able to carry on his normal routine. These were very deliberate killings. This wasn't hurried in any way, shape, or form. They're on video. We've watched the video with law enforcement. They were intentional, deliberate, and I don't want to say casually done -- coldly done is what I want to say.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: Six people left dead as a result of that shooting rampage.

[04:15:01] Two people are also wounded, still in the hospital recovering from their wounds. A mother of three children was the first to be shot. She's still recovering in a hospital, as is a 14- year-old girl. Investigators are really worried and concerned about her outcome. She was in surgery early Sunday morning, but still is in very, very critical condition.

As far as that suspect, he's expected to face murder charges and will make his first court appearance sometime Monday afternoon -- John, Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Nick, thanks for that. Just a terrible story there.

At a hearing in Connecticut, a judge is expected to decide if a lawsuit brought by the families of the victims in the Sandy Hook massacre can go forward. The suit seeks damages from companies who manufacture and sell the AR-15 rifle. That's the weapon that Adam Lanza used in a 2012 attack. An attack that killed 20 first grade children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School. This case hinges on whether the companies are shielded by a federal law that protects the gun industry from legal claims.

BERMAN: Apple now has until Friday to present its appeal of a judge's order that will compel the tech giant to help investigators gain access to encrypted data on an iPhone used by Syed Rizwan Farook in the San Bernardino shooting.

FBI director James Comey is trying to downplay the dispute. He says that no precedent would be set if Apple goes along. In a statement, the FBI director said the FBI is not out to break anyone's encryption, but he added that decisions involving protection from terrorists should not be left in the hands of corporations that sell stuff for a living.

ROMANS: A federal judge has rejected a last ditch legal attempt to stop a deposition this morning by Bill Cosby's wife, Camille. Lawyers for Cosby has been trying to shield Camille from being deposed by attorneys for eight women who sued the comedian for defamation. They claimed Cosby allowed his defense team to paint them as liars after they came forward with accusations of sexual assault.

BERMAN: Residents and business owners hit by ongoing water crisis in Flint, Michigan. they get this meet members of Congress today. The delegation led by Michigan Representative Dan Kildee will hold a small business round table. They will visit a water distribution site.

Now Flint's mayor is opposed to Governor Rick Snyder's choice of an engineering firm signed to a no-bid contract to assess the lead- contaminated pipes.

ROMANS: New details emerging about the mosquito-borne Zika virus. Doctors say a surge in the sometimes deadly paralysis condition may be linked to Zika. Cases of this syndrome known as Guillain-Barre Syndrome have been on the rise in countries like Columbia and Brazil, two of the hardest hit by the virus. Zika has already been linked to birth defects.

BERMAN: ISIS increasing its attacks in Syria just before a U.S. and Russia backed ceasefire was supposed to go into effect. We're live right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:21:42] ROMANS: Welcome back. New developments this morning in Syria. Secretary of State John Kerry says a ceasefire there could begin in a few days. The truce put together by more than a dozen nations including the U.S. It was supposed to go into effect Friday. But that didn't happen. Meantime, the violence has raged on. ISIS has claimed responsibility for several attacks over the weekend that left more than 120 people dead.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh is for us in Oman, Jordan this morning with more details.

And again it's a very urgent situation on the ground even as the diplomacy grinds forward here, Jomana.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Christine. A day of devastating violence first on Sunday morning in the city of Homs. Two cars packed with explosives striking a busy commercial and residential area in that city, killing more than 30 people. This is an area that is from the Alawite sect, that is the sect of President Bashar al- Assad. As you mentioned claimed by ISIS.

This is the fourth such attack by the group in the same area in three months. Later on in the day, we saw a triple bombing in southern Damascus in a predominantly Shia area there in the capital. First a car bomb detonating and as first responders and crowds gathered at the scene two suicide bombers struck killing more than 80 people and wounding more than 100 others. And this coming, as you mentioned, as Secretary of State John Kerry speaking here in the Jordanian capital on Sunday, said that U.S. and Russian officials have reached a provisional agreement on the cessation of hostilities agreement.

Of course they have been trying to iron out the details of this agreement over the past few days. And Secretary Kerry saying it is not a done deal yet, but they have some sort of an agreement and in the coming days, we would see President Obama speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree on the details of this agreement.

But again, a more cautious optimism there, Christine, from Secretary Kerry after we heard that that agreement was supposed to go into effect last Friday and it did not. And of course the kind of violence that we saw unfold in Syria on Sunday is unlikely to cease anytime soon. This sort of violence that is carried out by ISIS, of course the terrorist organization in Syria, ISIS and the al Qaeda affiliate, Jabbath al-Nusra, are not part of any peace talks or cessation of hostilities agreement -- Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Jomana Karadsheh, again with the very urgent situation even as they are trying to get that cessation of hostilities in place. Thank you so much for that, Jomana.

BERMAN: The Pentagon now increasingly concerned about the growing ISIS threat in Libya. The "New York Times" reports that ISIS commanders have been sent from Syria to Libya to establish what they call a new caliphate. The terror group has an estimated 6500 fighters inside Libya. Late last week, U.S. officials said air strikes killed dozens of suspected jihadists believed to be training for new attacks there against Western targets.

ROMANS: All right. Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, they emerge as frontrunners, but the race for president, it's only about to begin. We've got probably the most exciting 10 days in politics ahead of us. Brand new challenges that those frontrunners face ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:28:35] ROMANS: Donald Trump, he's got the status as the Republican frontrunner in the race for president. No question. But the battle right behind him, there's a question there. Winnowing down and intensifying this morning.

BERMAN: All right. A turnaround for Hillary Clinton in the Democratic race. She reasserts herself as the frontrunner. What are her new plans to take on Bernie Sanders as this race shifts to South Carolina?

ROMANS: And tragedy here. An Uber driver arrested accused of killing six people in one night. Picking up fares in between his deadly attacks.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

BERMAN: I'm John Berman. Nice to see you, about 29 minutes past the hour right now.

And this morning Donald Trump is headed to Nevada. One day ahead of the next battle ground in the Republican presidential nominating circus. He is wearing a South Carolina smile. Trump's victory there has members of the Republican establishment, I'm talking donors, pundits, candidates, even some in the media, grasping for a way to stop him. Now based on a rally late last night, it seems that Donald Trump is sticking to the strategy that has brought him success so far. Tough attacks on his rivals, even those like Jeb Bush who dropped out of the race.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond with the latest from Georgia.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Good morning, John and Christine. Fresh off his primary victory in South Carolina, Donald Trump rolled into Atlanta on Sunday with the momentum at his back, and the crowd here responded in kind, roaring in approval as Donald Trump hit his key notes, talking about trade, talking about border security, as he typically does. But Donald Trump didn't really bring in his current rivals, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz who came in second and third place in South Carolina. He did however --