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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Trump Blasts Cruz as "Liar", "Sick"; CNN Town Hall: Clinton & Sanders Fight for Minority Votes; Uber Driver Admits Role in Shooting Spree; U.S. and Russia Reach Syria Ceasefire Deal. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired February 23, 2016 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Nevada caucus day is upon us with a flurry of activity. Ted Cruz fires a top aide. John Kasich apologizes for a controversial comment. Donald Trump unleashes on protesters. It's just the beginning, folks.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders just hours from taking the CNN town hall stage, with their last minute pitches to South Carolina voters. Their new strategies, ahead.
BERMAN: An Uber driver admits to the role in the deadly shooting spree that he committed while on the job. New information this morning about his possible motive.
Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.
ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. It is almost 30 minutes past the hour.
In just hours, Nevada Republicans vote in caucuses across the Silver State. Donald Trump way out front in the latest Nevada polls, 26 points ahead of his nearest rival, Marco Rubio, in this survey -- the CNN/ORC.
[04:30:07] Overnight, he held a raucous rally in Las Vegas taunting protesters, but more importantly, Ted Cruz, calling him the biggest liar in politics, a basket case, even sick.
CNN's Jim Acosta has the very latest for us from Nevada.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, on the even of the Nevada caucuses, Donald Trump delivered one of his most fiery speeches to date. The main focus of his lines of attack was Ted Cruz, following up on the resignation of Cruz communications director Rick Tyler over a dirty trick, Trump branded the Texas senator a rally at this rally time and time again.
Here's what he had to say.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'll tell you, so the evangelicals did not vote for him. You know why? Because they don't like liars. They're really smart people. They don't want to vote for a liar.
But it is true. I have an ad running right now. It's a Cruz ad, something to do -- and a couple of people told me this -- that I am backing the federal government to keep the land that's currently owned by the federal government, and we should give that land to everybody and divvy it up.
I'm saying to myself, well, it's not a subject I know anything about. It's a hell of an ad. This is a Cruz ad.
This guy is sick. There's something wrong with this guy.
ACOSTA: But Trump also sounded off on the pope who criticized the GOP frontrunner last week for proposing a wall on the Mexican border. Trump said he wants to use the walls at the Vatican as his model. He also went off on a protester on the crowd here saying he wanted to punch the man in the face -- John and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: All right. Jim Acosta for us in Las Vegas.
This morning, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, they are both campaigning in Nevada, ahead of this evening's caucuses. Ted Cruz is trying to move past the bizarre campaign kerfuffle. He fired his campaign communications director Rick Tyler for circulating this video that falsely portrayed Marco Rubio as belittling the bible, supposedly saying, that there aren't many answers in it.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
BERMAN: Little jarring to see that. The video is subtitled incorrectly. Rubio actually says all the answers are in that book. Marco Rubio slammed the Ted Cruz campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: For them to take a video and to transcribe words on it that are complete opposite of what I said is incredibly disturbing. I mean, you guys have to be saying, it's now every single day, something comes out of the Cruz campaign that's deceptive and untrue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Now, he looks outrage, but he can barely, you know, contain his glee because the Rubio campaign has been trying to paint Ted Cruz as a liar and deceitful for a long time.
CNN's Sunlen Serfaty has the latest on the Cruz's efforts to recover.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Christine. Well, Senator Cruz moved very quickly on this, to fire his communications director Rick Tyler. Very clear he wanted to get out front, out front of the controversy over this. And really the life span of this story, this controversy, was very minimal at first. Twenty-four hours from the time Rick Tyler originally tweeted out the link to that article which fraudulently misquoted Senator Rubio, then he was fired by Cruz himself.
Here's Senator Cruz explaining why he called for his resignation.
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If other candidates choose to go into gutter, we will not do the same. Rick Tyler is a good man. This was a grave error of judgment. It turned out the news story he sent around was false. But I'll tell you, even if it was true, we are not a campaign that is going to question the faith of another candidate.
SERFATY: And that was notable. Senator Cruz really trying to insert himself into this controversy, saying he looked into the investigation of what went wrong and he called for Rick Tyler's resignation, trying to take a little control over this situation and what's going on within its campaign right now.
Now, the Cruz campaign has grown increasingly sensitive and very aware of the fact that there is this narrative that's building around their campaign, of course, pushed by many rival campaigns that their campaign is one that engages in dirty tricks and tactics.
Of course, going into caucus night, this is exactly what the Cruz campaign does not want to focus on -- John and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Sunlen Serfaty for us in Nevada -- thanks.
This morning, Marco Rubio going hard after establishment endorsements and money. His campaign just purchased the e-mail list of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. It includes donors and supporters. Christie dropped out of the presidential race after the poor finish in the New Hampshire primary, but not before he mauled Marco Rubio in a debate there. He insists the sale of his email list does not constitute endorsements of Marco Rubio.
BERMAN: It is a good way to make money after the political campaign. It's one of the few assets that failed candidates have is to sell their campaign list.
All right. John Kasich apologizing this morning for a remark that has drawn charges of sexism.
[04:35:04] The Ohio governor recalled that in an early race, women left their kitchens to support him, and that drew a rebuke from a woman in the crowd.
Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESDIENTIAL CANDIDATE: I went to Washington following my mother's advice. I've been in the legislature before that at the age of 26. And how did I get elected? Nobody was -- I didn't have anybody for me. We just got an army of people who -- and many women who left their kitchens to go out and door-to-door and put yard signs up for me all the way back, you know, when things were different.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: First off, I want to say your comment earlier about the women coming out of the kitchen to support you -- I'll come to support you, but I won't be coming out of the kitchen.
KASICH: I got you, I got you.
Of course, I'm more than happy to say I'm sorry if I offended somebody out there but it wasn't intended to be offensive. If you hear the whole thing, you understand the context of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: We are talking about the '70s, right? I mean --
BERMAN: I think the campaign was talking about in 1978, which is a long time ago. But you almost never hear someone in a campaign audience which tends to be friendly rebuking a candidate like that.
ROMANS: He was asked by a young woman at one of his campaign stops. He said, what do you do? What do you studying? And she said, architecture. And he said, is your dad an architect? And the reporters noted that at the time. It was a couple weeks ago.
BERMAN: It's generation --
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: Not your mom an architect. Your dad an architect.
BERMAN: Kasich is denying reports that some people in the Republican establishment urged him to drop out. The establishment wants him to get out of the way for Marco Rubio because they don't want Donald Trump to end up with the nomination. John Kasich tells CNN he is signing up new fund raising. He signed up a lot of money fundraisers and he's picking up endorsements. He says he's doing just fine.
All right. The remaining Republican candidates, they hold a crucial debate Thursday night in Houston, Texas. A lot of people think this is the last best and only chance for some of these candidates to knock Donald Trump off his game. It will be moderated by Wolf Blitzer. It's Thursday night, 8:30 p.m. in Houston, only here on CNN.
ROMANS: All right. Those are Republicans. Let's talk about the Democrats.
Hillary Clinton making a big push reaching out to African-American voters ahead of South Carolina. Now, she is speaking today alongside five mothers in the Black Lives Matter movement.
The Clinton campaign rolled out a new ad carrying the same message. This ad narrated by Morgan Freeman.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, CLINTON CAMPAIGN AD)
MORGAN FREEMAN, ACTOR: She says their names, Trayvon Martin.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Trayvon Martin, shot to death.
FREEMAN: Dontre Hamilton.
CLINTON: Dontre Hamilton, unarmed.
FREEMAN: Sandra Bland.
CLINTON: Sandra Bland did nothing wrong.
FREEMAN: And makes their mothers' fight for justice her own. She speaks for a city poisoned by indifference.
CLINTON: We need action now.
FREEMAN: And stands with the president against those who would undo his achievements.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Bernie Sanders is busy hitting states that vote on Super Tuesday next week. Today, he is in Virginia. Yesterday, Massachusetts, where he quipped that Clinton has been stealing his ideas and even stealing his rhetoric.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am delighted that Secretary Clinton month after month after month seems to be adopting more and more of the positions that we have advocated. That's good. And, in fact, is beginning to use a lot of the language and phraseology that we have used. In fact, I think I saw her TV ad, I thought it was me, but it turns out it was Secretary Clinton's picture in the end.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders come face-to-face with the voters of South Carolina for the final time. It's tonight, folks. It's right here on CNN. Our Democratic town hall live from Columbia, South Carolina, 8:00 p.m. Eastern. Chris Cuomo is going to moderate this, only on CNN.
What's he going to wear?
BERMAN: Chris Cuomo, he is going to wear a jacket that fits. I'm sure. That is so mean.
ROMANS: I joked with him about this yesterday.
BERMAN: He gave me a tie, complimented him, I wore it on TV Saturday night. Chris Cuomo actually has good taste in clothes despite what you might read on the press.
ROMANS: He does.
BERMAN: All right. Two Republicans breaking ranks with the party over President Obama's eventual pick for a new Supreme Court justice. Senator Susan Collins of Maine says the president's nominee should receive a hearing and Senator Mark Kirk of Illinois takes it a step further. He says there will be an actual full-scale vote for whomever the president picks.
Republican leaders in the Senate, they will block any Obama nominee. They now cite a 1992 by then-Senator Joe Biden speech. This is actually a very big deal, and the Republicans are looking at this a lot. I wonder if we have the video.
Joe Biden in a 1992 speech in front of the Senate. He flat out said a president who submits a nominee in an election year, that he should not get that pick, and that it should wait until next year. He says it clearly. He says there shouldn't be a hearing.
ROMANS: Yes.
Thirty-nine minutes past the hour. An Uber driving admitting to have a deadly role while working. Why police are calling this case baffling and what Uber is saying about its security policies, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:43:35] BERMAN: This morning, we are hearing from frightened passengers trapped in their Uber car with a killer. The 45-year-old suspect accused of killing six people in the weekend shooting spree in Kalamazoo, Michigan, is being held this morning without bail. According to prosecutors, he confessed to two of the murders and acknowledged being present at the scene where five people were shot. Four of those victims died.
12-year-old girl is clinging to life this morning. Her family spoke to reporters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VICKI KOPF, MOTHER OF KALAMAZOO SHOOTING VICTIM: She is alive and she is fighting for her life. I want everybody to understand that. Abigail is strong and she is a vibrant beautiful young lady and did not deserve this. And neither did her grandmother or those other victims.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BERMAN: Investigators still have no clear motive for the rampage. The shooter was taking fares for Uber between the shootings. One terrified passenger says he feared for his life as the suspect weaved back forth, dodging incoming traffic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW MELLEN, TERRIFIED PASSENGER: I was pleading for him to stop the vehicle so he could let me out. He was surprisingly calm the whole time. He was just stating that, he's like, don't you want to get a ride to your friend's house. Don't you need a ride?
I was like, yes, yes, please pull over and let me out. At that point, he refused to stop. He just kept driving erratically.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: That passenger was finally able to jump out of the vehicle.
Let's get the latest now from CNN's Nick Valencia.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[04:45:01] NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL REPORTER: John and Christine, the Kalamazoo shooting suspect made his first court appearance since being charged with six counts of first-degree murder. He was charged with 16 counts in all, including attempted murder of a minor. That's perhaps the only time he showed any expression is when the judge read that charge.
He appeared video conference wearing an orange jump suit, glasses. He had his hands resting in his lap. He said only just about ten words. When asked if he wanted to make a statement to the court, he said he would prefer to remain silent.
But in a probable cause hearing, right before the arraignment, detectives said that even after being read his Miranda rights, he admitted to, quote, "taking people's lives."
Investigators seized 11 weapons from his home.
In conversations we had with neighbors, they told us that he liked guns and cars, but mostly kept to himself. What investigators still don't know is motive. Those details may come out in his next court scheduled for March 3rd -- John and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: Thanks, Nick, for that.
Just a terrible story. You know, Uber had a conference call yesterday with reporters who are asking a lot of questions about safety and security for people riding in Uber. You know, this guy passed a background check. He passed a background check and he -- just like anybody, could drive this car. They do have some rules in place. But, clearly, at this point, this
driver was qualified they say to be behind the wheel. That passenger you heard a minute ago, and others, called 911 and called Uber to report there was erratic driving.
BERMAN: You could have the same problem with taxi drivers and bus drivers.
ROMANS: Still, a lot of questions of sharing economy, 40,000 new Uber drivers a month. A lot of questions about the safety there.
Protesters expected today at dozens of Apple store across the country, supporting support of the Apple company over the FBI request for the unlocking of the encrypted iPhone used by San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook. Now, Apple has until Friday to present its appeal.
On Monday, Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg attending the World Mobile Congress in Spain, he voiced his support for the tech giant.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK ZUCKERBERG, FACEBOOK CEO: If we have opportunities to basically work with government and folks to make sure there are not terrorist attacks, we will obviously take those opportunities and we feel pretty strong responsibility to help make sure that society is safe. So, we care about that. That's a big deal. We take that seriously.
I don't think requiring back doors in encryption is an effective way to increase security or is really the right thing to do for just the direction that the world is going in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates however said Monday that Apple should unlock the iPhone for the FBI. So, maybe a little bit of a rift. A lot of tech CEOs are siding with Apple. But Bill Gates saying (INAUDIBLE)
Now, most Americans agree with Bill Gates. A new survey from Pew Research Center shows 51 percent of Americans say Apple should unlock the phone to assist with the FBI investigation, 38 percent said Apple should not unlock the phone, 11 percent don't have an opinion.
There is not a difference among party lines, 55 percent of Democrats say Apple should help the government, 56 percent of Republicans say the same.
Interesting. Should the Apple assist the FBI?
Let's get a quick look at your money this morning. Stock futures pulling back a bit.
BERMAN: No, no.
ROMANS: Nice rally yesterday. The Dow and S&P 500 up 1.5 percent each. Oil prices are causing the weakness, retreating back below $33 a
barrel after the surge of 6 percent yesterday. Stocks and oil just go together. When oil goes down, stocks go down.
European stocks are down slightly. Stock markets in Asia finished with slim losses overnight. Very good week for stocks last week. Yesterday was a great day, but it looks like --
BERMAN: That was yesterday. What are you doing for me later?
All right. A Connecticut judge is now deciding whether a lawsuit against the gun maker brought by relatives of Sandy Hook victims should go forward or be dismissed. The wrongful death suit targets the parent company of Bushmaster firearms, which made the AR-15 rifle used by Adam Lanza to kill 20 children and six adults in 2012. The case appears to hinge on a federal law designed to shield gun makers from liability from misuse of its products. The judge intends to issue a ruling in the next two months.
ROMANS: Camille Cosby giving a sworn deposition in her husband's defamation suit against her husband by seven women. Those women claim the comedian defamed them by publicly denying their allegations of sexual assault. Asked about Mrs. Cosby's demeanor in the deposition, a lawyer for the women says he, quote, "got the sense she really didn't want to be here."
Lawyers for Mrs. Cosby had tried to block the deposition. She will answer more questions under oath when the deposition resumes next month.
BERMAN: President Obama is asking Congress for $1.9 billion to combat the Zika virus, in Latin America and the U.S. He is also asking for the leftover $2.7 billion that had been earmarked to fight Ebola. The president wants to use the money to invest in research new vaccines and better tools to diagnose Zika.
ROMANS: New developments in the Flint water crisis. Michigan Governor Rick Snyder announced his office will release thousands of e- mails dating back to 2011, all of them sent or received by his staff and related to the water supply contamination in Flint.
[04:50:05] Snyder says the e-mails will be released relatively soon after a careful review by state lawyers.
BERMAN: All right. Claire McCaskill says she expects to make a full recovery from her battle with breast cancer. The 62-year-old Missouri Democrat says she learned she had the disease through a routine mammogram. It's so important.
McCaskill is returning to St. Louis for three weeks of treatment. She says she plans to submit questions in writing for any hearing she might miss. Senators across the board and people sending thoughts to Claire McCaskill right now.
ROMANS: We wish her well. South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard plans to meet with a group of transgender students today before deciding whether to sign a landmark bill into law. That bill would require school children to use bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond to their gender at birth. Schools will have to make reasonable accommodation for transgender kids. The governor has not said publicly if he intends to sign that measure.
BERMAN: This story is getting a lot of attention this morning. A ground of scientists has reconstructed the history of the earth's sea level, dating back nearly 3,000 years. The scientists conclude that the oceans are rising faster now than any time during that period. They put the blame squarely on global warming. The climate scientists from the United States and several global universities conclude that seas rise 5.5 inches from 1900 to 2000. That pattern is accelerating and dangerous.
ROMANS: I saw an interesting animation that showed the bull on Wall Street under water in just a few decades. Interesting, right?
Stock market coming off a nice rally, but oil prices are still volatile. Is the worst over? John Berman can't sleep at night. He's so worried --
BERMAN: I can't sleep at night because of the job. And I'm not worried about the market.
ROMANS: You don't sleep at night.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: All right. New this morning, the United States and Russia say they will work together to make sure a new cease-fire or cessation of hostilities agreement takes hold in Syria by the end of the week. President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin sealed the deal in a phone conversation.
[04:55:03] The two sides agreed to set up a hotline to make sure the Syrian government and opposition forces comply with the truce. ISIS and al-Nusra not involved in this agreement.
CNN's Jomana Karadsheh with the latest. She is in Amman, Jordan -- Jomana.
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, according to this joint announcement by U.S. and Russia, most guns in Syria are supposed to fall silent by midnight Friday into Saturday local time there. But as mentioned, that does not include two of the main groups. The terror groups in the country, ISIS and Jabhat al Nusra.
And in the next few days, the United States and Russia will be working to draw lines on the map basically of what territory these two groups are in because attacks on Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS, including air strikes by the U.S.-led coalition and Russians and Syrian government could continue during that time. And now, all the groups that will be taking part in the cessation of
hostilities have local time midday Friday to respond, confirming that they are taking part in the temporary truce, with the opposition responding to the U.S. and the regime, and ally forces on the ground responding through Moscow.
But, John, there are lots of questions here about how this is going to be implemented. How is it going to be enforced? Who is really going to be monitoring this with no neutral force on the ground? If there's violation, how is this going to be dealt with?
So, lots of questions. Not much detail at this point about the specifics of this agreement.
And also, at the same time, John, there's a lot of skepticism, especially with the moderate opposition. There really isn't much trust as one would assume in this case between them and regime and the Russians, because the Russians and Syrian government can still go after ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra. The moderate opposition is saying what if they can still target the opposition because this is what they say has been going on for a while, under the pretext of going after these two groups.
So, a lot of uncertainty here in the multidimensional conflict with so many different players involved, John. We have to wait and see. No guarantees at this point.
BERMAN: No, I think the millions of people caught in the middle, they will wait and see before they believe anything after the years of conflict there.
Jomana Karadsheh, thanks so much.
ROMANS: All right. Time for an early start on your money this Tuesday morning. Investors taking a breather, but it was a solid rally yesterday.
Futures right now with modest losses. You can see why. When oil goes down, stocks go down. That is why oil is on the chart. Usually, it's a stock market chart, you know, a graphic here, we keep putting oil on it because they have been stuck together.
Stock market in Europe opening lower. Tokyo and other Asian stock markets posting slim losses overnight as well. That recent rally in stocks has market watchers saying the worst is over.
Check out the S&P 500 this year. You could steep drop to begin the year. That was the worst start to the year ever. But since finding a bottom a couple of weeks ago, the trend has been a little more positive. The S&P 500 still 4.6 percent away from breaking even for the year.
So, what is causing the market to move higher? It seems investors no longer fear recession in the U.S. But oil prices are driving the stock market right now. Crude oil is rebounding. Stocks rebound. It may take a while for that relationship to change. So, watch oil and commodities almost every day here.
Starbucks is changing popular rewards program. Some customers hate it. Instead of giving customers one star per purchase, it will now give two stars for every dollar sent. To reach gold status, it will take 300 stars. That's up from just 30.
The new free drink threshold is 125 stars or about $63. Starbucks says the system based on spending has been a top request from customers. Some fans on Twitter are slamming the company, saying it will now cost more to get the same rewards.
BERMAN: These are people who go to Starbucks and spend $17 for a mocha frappe or something, as opposed to a buck from the corner coffee, and they're complaining about spending an extra buck.
ROMANS: I found that people mostly on Twitter always so nice. So --
BERMAN: I'm judging you. To be clear, I am judging you.
ROMANS: Oh, you are? OK.
BERMAN: All right. EARLY START continues right now.
(MUSIC)
BERMAN: All right. It is Nevada caucus day. What a flurry of activity overnight. Ted Cruz fires a top campaign aide. John Kasich apologizes for a controversy. Donald Trump threatens to punch a protester and it's not even caucus night just yet.
ROMANS: Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders taking questions from the voters, on a CNN town hall stage tonight. New attack strategies now in play as they fight for minority votes in South Carolina.
BERMAN: All right. An Uber driver admits to having a role in the deadly shooting spree while he was working. Why police are calling his rampage baffling.
Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. Welcome to Nevada caucus day. I'm John Berman.
ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. It's Tuesday, February 23rd. It is 5:00 a.m. in the East.
In just hours, Nevada Republicans -- they will vote in caucuses across the Silver State. Donald Trump way out front in the latest Nevada polls.
