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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Fiery Democratic Debate in Michigan; Michigan Primary Tomorrow; Republicans Concentrate on Michigan; Kasich Wins Schwarzenegger Endorsement; Trump Urges Rubio to Drop Out; Rubio and Allies Spend Most For Votes; Remembering Nancy Reagan; North Korea Threatens "Preemptive" Nuclear Strike; ISIS Claims Responsibility for Suicide Attack; Deadly Winter Storm Pounds California; Florida Diver Sucked Into Nuclear Plant Pipe; Peyton Manning Retiring. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired March 07, 2016 - 05:30   ET

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

[05:30:13]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you are talking about the Wall Street bailout where some of your friends destroyed this economy --

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know --

SANDERS: Excuse me, I'm talking.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN DEBATE MODERATOR: Let him scrum.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Excuse me, I'm talking. Anger, frustration, extreme urgency. This time it was the Democrats. The CNN debate in Flint full of surprises.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: As for the Republicans, nearly 100 delegates doled out this weekend. Who's up, who's down, who's got the momentum heading into this weekend? Does Donald Trump have reason to fear his front-runner status? This, as the party and the political world pause to remember Nancy Reagan.

Welcome back to EARLY START this morning -- this Monday morning. I'm Christine Romans.

BERMAN: I'm John Berman. Nice to see you. About 30 minutes past the hour right now, and breaking overnight there were high stakes. There was high drama. The CNN Democratic debate in Flint, Michigan. And this one was really different than the other debates. Just a couple of days before the crucial Michigan primary.

The backdrop -- the Flint water crisis really loomed over the entire event. You could sense the frustration bubbling over at some points. You could sense that both candidates believe there are not many more chances to change the outcome of this race. Here are some of the highlights. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDERS: I am very glad, Anderson, that Sec. Clinton has discovered religion on this issue, but it's a little bit too late. Sec. Clinton supported virtually every one of these disastrous trade agreements written by corporate America.

CLINTON: When I talk about Sen. Sanders being a one-issue candidate, I mean, very clearly, you have to make hard choices when you're in positions of responsibility. The two senators from Michigan stood on the floor and said we have to get this money released. I went with them and I went with Barack Obama. You did not. If everybody had voted the way he did, I believe the auto industry would have collapsed, taking 4 million jobs with it.

SANDERS: Let us be clear. One of the major issues Sec. Clinton says I'm a one-issue person. Well, I guess so. My one issue is trying to rebuild a disappearing middle class. That's my one issue.

CLINTON: To think about what it must feel like to send off your first grader -- little backpack, maybe, on his or her back. And then the next thing you hear is that somebody has come to that school using an automatic weapon -- an AR-15 -- and murdered those children. Now, they are trying to prevent that from happening to any other family and the best way to do that is to go right at the people.

COOPER: Sen. Sanders --

CLINTON: We talk about corporate greed, but gun manufacturers sell guns to make as much money as they can make.

SANDERS: We are, if elected president, going to invest a lot of money into mental health. And when you watch these Republican debates, you know why we need to invest in mental health.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right, CNN's Jeff Zeleny has more on this debate from Flint, Michigan.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, a lively and contentious Democratic debate here in Flint, Michigan. Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton going after it on trade, the auto bailout, even crime issues. It was one of the most contentious Democratic debates that we have seen, really. Of course, not as comparable to Republicans, for the Democratic side it was pretty raucous.

And, of course, Bernie Sanders is running out of time to make his case to Democrats that they should elect him. Now, one of the things I was really struck by -- we are here in Michigan in the heart of the auto industry. Hillary Clinton assailed him for voting against the auto bailout back in 2009. Listen to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CLINTON: I voted to save the auto industry. He voted against the money that ended up saving the auto industry. I think that is a pretty big difference.

SANDERS: Well, if you are talking about the Wall Street bailout where some of your friends destroyed this economy --

CLINTON: You know --

SANDERS: Excuse me, I'm talking.

COOPER: Let him scrum.

CLINTON: If you're going to talk, tell the whole story, Sen. Sanders.

SANDERS: Let me tell my story, you tell yours.

CLINTON: I will.

SANDERS: Your story is for voting for every disastrous trade agreement and voting for corporate America. Did I vote against the Wall Street bailout when billionaires on Wall Street destroyed this economy? They went to Congress and they said oh, please, we'll be good boys. Bail us out. You know what I said? I said let the billionaires themselves bail out Wall Street. It shouldn't be the middle class of this country.

CLINTON: OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: Now, in the middle of all the contentious exchanges it's hard to know if any gains were really made. If you are a supporter of Sen. Sanders going into this debate, you certainly supported him coming out of it. The same for Hillary Clinton. Now, there's just one more full day of campaigning before this Michigan primary goes to the voters and this campaign will be critical. The Rust Belt voter -- a central part of the electorate here.

If Bernie Sanders can make gains here -- can win here -- this would definitely propel this nomination fight even farther. If Hillary Clinton wins, it will just keep here assertion going on and her delegate lead certainly going strong here. So, a big day of campaigning today in Michigan. Hillary Clinton is campaigning. Bernie Sanders as well. And then they both scatter to those March 15th states, but first the Michigan primary on Tuesday -- John and Christine.

[05:35:07]

ROMANS: All right, Jeff Zeleny, thanks for that. Today, Republican candidates for president -- they're on the campaign trail. Michigan and Mississippi hold their primaries tomorrow, a big day. In the crucial Michigan contest Trump is far ahead in the latest poll, leading Ted Cruz nearly two to one. Over the weekend Trump won two contests, the Kentucky caucuses and

Louisiana's primary, but so did Cruz. Two wins in Kansas and Maine. Marco Rubio won Puerto Rico's primary. John Kasich won exactly zero primaries over the weekend, but he did pick up a couple of notable endorsements from The Chicago Sun-Times, of Ronald Reagan's son, Michael, and from Arnold Schwarzenegger.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, FMR. GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA: I want John Kasich to be the next nominee of the Republicans and, also, to be the next president of the United States. Here he is.

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you, Arnold. Love you, man.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Joining us this morning to talk about all of this -- the effect of the debate, tomorrow's primaries, what happens, speaking of the GOP, CNN politics reporter Tom LoBianco. He's in Washington for us. I want to listen to something. Let's stick with the Republicans for a second. We just heard the terminator, there, talking about John Kasich. Let's listen to something that Donald Trump said this weekend about Marco Rubio. He said it's time for him to get out. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He comes in third, he comes in fourth. Every time he comes in third or fourth he says you've got to be able to win and he has not been able to win, and I think that it's time that he drops out. I would love to take on Ted one-on-one. That would be so much fun because Ted can't win New York, he can't win New Jersey, he can't win Pennsylvania, he can't win California. I want Ted one-on-one, OK?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: A confident Donald Trump, but Ted Cruz is the one with the momentum from this weekend, isn't he?

TOM LOBIANCO, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Absolutely. You know, what's funny about Trump there is that he's kind of laying out the strategy, which is that some of these states where your more establishment types, more moderate right of center Republicans is -- they've got some big contests coming up in the Rust Belt. Places like Michigan, but also Illinois and Pennsylvania down the road.

Those are places where a Rubio and a Kasich would do well, but some of that might accrue to Trump. Trump wins across the board. We didn't have any exit polling on this latest round, but from what we've seen so far he wins across the board. So, if he can cut into that, that further guarantees it for him.

Part of this whole not-Trump movement, "Never Trump" push that's coming in right now in a weird way kind of relies on everyone -- Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and John Kasich -- to agree staying in and denying enough delegates so you do have this convention battle. It's unclear that Ted Cruz would ever break away with enough delegates on his own.

BERMAN: Sort of on the big CNN Democratic debate in Flint, Michigan. It was a really interesting spectacle and it was a really rich discussion of the issues.

ROMANS: Oh, yes.

BERMAN: It was also a really fascinating political moment because there was more urgency on that stage than we've seen to date in the Democratic race so far. You can see Hillary Clinton coming in with some preparative facts -- some surprises going after Bernie Sanders in the auto bailout. And you could see Bernie Sanders, I think, working harder than he has on the stage before and maybe also getting more frustrated than he has on the stage before.

LOBIANCO: He got worked up there. It's clear -- he's flashed his anger on the trail and the debate stage periodically before. But, for that line where he said excuse me, I'm talking, and shut her down like that -- that did not look good for him. It's clear that she got under his skin with quite a few things there, especially the auto bailout. It didn't look like he knew how to handle that. Unclear how much of this changes just a day before the primary there, but it worked for her.

ROMANS: Yes. That moment where he told her excuse me, I'm talking, was really -- I mean, the --

BERMAN: I'm hearing that from you a lot.

ROMANS: I know, I know.

BERMAN: You telling me to be quiet because you're talking.

ROMANS: No, no, that's clearly not true.

BERMAN: All the time.

ROMANS: But, that really struck a chord on Twitter, not that Twitter is the sounding board of the world, but a lot of women saying hey, has that ever happened to you in a board room? Has that ever happened to you in the office? You know, they really kind of stuck with Hillary on that one.

LOBIANCO: It dug in under the skin. It was clear he was worked up. You could tell. He didn't look that good. He got in some pretty good shots himself --

ROMANS: Right.

LOBIANCO: -- in there before. That was one of the standout moments of the night.

BERMAN: All right, Tom LoBianco for us. Thanks so much for being with us this morning, waking up early. A lot to discuss. [05:40:15]

ROMANS: And it is early, and there's so much happening in the next week because listen to this. We have the most comprehensive political coverage anywhere. Tomorrow is Super Tuesday number two. Michigan the big prize there. Voting in three other states as well. Wednesday brings another Democratic debate in Miami. Then, Thursday there's a Republican debate in Miami. A full week of big political events right here on CNN.

And then, there's money. Time for an early start on your money. Spending big money on advertising did not guarantee a victory for Marco Rubio on Super Saturday. The Florida senator and his allies spent nearly twice as much in TV advertising per vote as all the other candidates combined -- Republicans and Democrats.

Rubio won zero of the states up for grabs. He did pick up Puerto Rico. Here's how this all broke down. In the 15 months leading up to Saturday, Conservative Solutions -- that's the PAC backing Rubio -- spent about $125,000 on ads. Rubio won just over 85,000 votes. That's about $1.46 per vote. Donald Trump won two states Saturday -- spent no money in advertising. Ted Cruz also won two -- spent about half as much money as Marco Rubio.

BERMAN: And I've got to say -- the money being dumped into Florida right now is something everyone is talking about. Outside groups just pouring in dough going directly after Donald Trump. Donald Trump on Twitter, overnight, says he's going to respond on social media using Facebook and Twitter. We'll see if that works. That'd be a relatively unprecedented way to combat television ads in politics, so we'll watch that.

All right, 41 minutes after the hour. The world mourning the loss of Nancy Reagan. We will discuss the plans to honor her life, next.

[05:41:02]

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[05:45:13]

ROMANS: Tributes pouring in from across the country and around the world this morning for Nancy Reagan, who died Sunday at her home in California from congestive heart failure. She was 94. Nancy Reagan was one of the most influential women of the 20th century. She was, of course, first lady to her husband, President Ronald Reagan.

Fiercely protective during his two terms in the White House, the depth of her devotion was perhaps even more evident in the years after he left office and battled Alzheimer's disease. David Gergen, our senior political analyst, a long-time advisor to Ronald Reagan, reflected on the Reagan's relationship.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: And it was a great -- one of the great love stories of American political lives. As a couple, they came together in the early 1950's and it changed Ronald Reagan's life. He was ending his movie career, but his first marriage had ended badly. He was lonely and he was uncertain of himself. He met Nancy and they, together, through the 50's together, bonded very, very closely.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: The president and Mrs. Obama extending their condolences in a statement saying they were "fortunate to benefit from her proud example and her warm and generous advice." Nancy Reagan will be buried next to her husband at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California.

All right, let's take a look at what's coming up on "NEW DAY". Alisyn Camerota joins us bright and early this Monday morning. Hi, Alisyn.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": Hi, Christine, great to see you. So, of course, we'll be talking about Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, and how they took a page from the Republican playbook. The Democratic debate in Flint, last night, was the feistiest to date. The candidates on clashing on gun control, Wall Street ties, and the economy. Now, Sanders coming off a big weekend, winning three out of four contests. So, will he keep that momentum up going into tomorrow's key races?

Also, North Korea threatening to launch a nuclear strike against the United States as American soldiers take part in joint military exercises with South Korea. We've heard threats like this before from Kim Jong-un. Is it more serious this time? We'll look at all of that when we see you in about 13 minutes.

ROMANS: All right, can't wait. Thanks so much, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Thanks so much.

ROMANS: Nice to see you this morning. All right, the worst start to a year ever for stocks doesn't seem so bad right now. We'll tell you about the comeback stocks have been staging. We're going to get an early start on your money next.

[05:47:36]

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[05:52:13]

ROMANS: New tensions this morning on the Korean Peninsula with the North threatening a "preemptive and offense nuclear strike" as the United States and South Korea begin their annual joint military training exercises.

CNN's Paula Hancocks is following developments live for us in Seoul, South Korea. Good morning, Paula.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine. Well, threats were expected in North Korea did not disappoint, as you say. A preemptive nuclear strike on the U.S. and South Korea has been threatened, and an indiscriminate attack as well from North Korea.

This was day one of those massive joint military drills between the U.S. and South Korea. Three-hundred thousand Korean soldiers, 17,000 U.S. soldiers -- they are being described as the largest ever. Now, Pyongyang sees them as a dress rehearsal to an invasion, although Washington and Seoul say they are defensive in nature. They happen every year and they are planned months in advance. So, not necessarily in reaction to what we've seen this year.

And what have we seen this year? In January, we had a nuclear test from North Korea. In February, they carried out a satellite launch, which everyone believed was just a missile test. And then, last week we had those U.N. sanctions against North Korea for those previous tests -- the strongest in two decades. And then on Friday, Kim Jong- un, the North Korean leader, said he wants his nuclear weapons on standby so he can use them whenever he needs to.

So, we were expecting this kind of rhetoric, but certainly it shows that tensions are particularly high here on the Korean Peninsula -- Christine.

ROMANS: Indeed. All right, Paula Hancocks, thank you so much for that this morning. Fifty-three minutes past the hour. ISIS is claiming responsibility for a suicide attack in Iraq that killed 35 people, injured more than 100. Iraqi police officials say it happened Sunday at a busy security checkpoint in the city of Hila, south of Baghdad. They say that suicide bomber was driving a truck laden with explosives.

A powerful winter storm slamming parts of northern California with heavy rain, strong winds, dangerous waves, mountain snow. At least one person killed after the car she was in drove around a barricade into rising floodwaters. Emergency crews rescuing dozens of people from low-lying areas as that winter storm moved through. Southern California expecting thunderstorms and flooding today.

But all across the eastern half of the U.S., an early taste of spring starts today. Meteorologist Karen Maginnis has more.

KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: John and Christine, what an amazing next four, five, six days for New York City, where temperatures are going to be running close to 20 degrees above where they should be for this time of year. But, you're not the only ones. It's also for Philadelphia, for Washington, D.C., for Atlanta, for Nashville, for Chicago.

[05:55:17]

Minneapolis, typically 35 degrees. That's what you could expect in Minneapolis this time of year. But, it's going to be in the low to mid-60's. And, generally, where you see this yellow shaded area -- that's where we're looking at temperatures very mild for this time of year. But the atmosphere's trying to even out, so for the west coast it's going to be stormy and very unsettled.

So, enjoy the warmth while it lasts because it looks like the next five days -- temperatures about normal. Atlanta, mid to upper 70's. Mid to upper 70's for Washington, D.C. In the low 70's for New York City. Portland, Maine is looking at temperatures well into the 50's. Here we go. New York City -- average high 47. Look at those 70's. Even 60's as we head towards the weekend. Enjoy it while it lasts. Back to you guys.

ROMANS: All right, Karen Maginnis, thank you for that.

A Florida scuba diver is suing the owner of a nuclear plant after he was sucked into a quarter-mile long intake pipe. The scuba diver says he was diving off the coast of South Florida last summer. He was sucked into the pipe at the St. Lucie power plant that pulls in around 500,000 gallons of water a minute. The diver says no warning signs were posted. Florida Power & Light claims he intentionally swam into that pipe. They say the 16-foot wide pipe had a protective cap.

Peyton Manning calling it a career after 18 seasons, a record five NFL MVP awards, two Super Bowl titles. He will make it official at a news conference today, 1:00 p.m. eastern. The 39-year-old Manning is going out on top after winning Super Bowl 50 with the Denver Broncos. He's retiring as the only quarterback in NFL history to lead two franchises to Super Bowl titles.

All right, let's get an EARLY START on your money this Monday morning. U.S. stock futures faltering here, retreating from strong gains Friday there. Moving lower here with European stocks. Here's that close on Friday. A third straight week of gains after a strong February jobs report. Really the fear from earlier this year that drove stocks down has turned into fear of missing a big bounce.

The strong jobs support providing cover for stock market bulls. Nearly a quarter of a million jobs created in just one month. More people coming into the workforce, apparently encouraged by recent hiring. Wages disappointed. All of this is the last key piece of data before the Fed meets next week. A strong report could put a rate hike back on the table.

The price of oil climbing above $36 right now. It's up about 40 percent from last month. The fundamentals haven't changed much, though. The world still has too much oil, but U.S. energy firms did cut back on oil rigs. They're now at their lowest level since December 2009.

The other big story overnight -- China guiding targets lower for economic growth there. The world's second largest economy set the target range for economic growth 6.5 to 7 percent for the year. GDP last year grew 6.9 percent, the slowest pace in 25 years -- slightly lower than the government's 7 percent target. This is the first time we've seen a range.

After decades of breakneck expansion, China's economy is now decelerating. The country's top economic planner insists, though, the economy is not headed for a hard landing. Something that would be bad for just about everyone.

All right, a Democratic throw-down in Flint, Michigan. Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders square off and the fireworks were not in short supply. "NEW DAY" picks up coverage of the 2016 race right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDERS: What I saw literally shattered me.

CLINTON: Let's have some facts instead of some rhetoric for a change.

SANDERS: Well, let me tell you. I don't want to break the bad news, and the cracks are not always right.

CLINTON: America didn't stop being great.

SANDERS: Some of your friends destroyed this economy.

CLINTON: You know --

SANDERS: Excuse me, I'm talking.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If someone keeps punching people in the face, eventually someone's going to have to stand up and punch them back.

TRUMP: I call for him to drop out of the race.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Our campaign has now beaten him not once, not twice, not three times.

TRUMP: I would love to take on Ted one-on-one.

BERMAN: Today, the world is mourning the loss of Nancy Reagan.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was a good, good lady.

NANCY REAGAN, FORMER FIRST LADY: When you balance it all out, I've had a pretty fabulous life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota, and Michaela Pereira.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to your new day. It is Monday, March 7th, 6:00 in the east. And up first, a fiery showdown in Flint, Michigan. Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton exchanging their sharpest attacks to date during last night's CNN debate. The tone more heated than ever. The candidates clashing on the economy, guns, and ties to Wall Street.

CAMEROTA: Sanders and Clinton also taking on Donald Trump, each claiming they are best suited to take him down in a general election. But first, tomorrow -- that's when some big prizes are up for grabs, so we have all the angles covered starting with senior political correspondent Brianna Keilar. She's live in Detroit. Good morning, Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn. Because of the location of this debate, certainly Flint, Michigan and its water crisis was a big focus. But, Michigan is also a labor stronghold and you saw Hillary Clinton landing some punches on the auto bailout. Bernie Sanders landing some punches on the trade agreements that Hillary Clinton supported in the '90s.