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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Trump on Abortion: "There Has To Be Some Form of Punishment"; Clinton, Sanders Working Hard to Win New York; Dutch Police Arrest Terror Suspect; World Leaders Gather in Washington. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired March 31, 2016 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:12] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump's new controversy, saying if abortion becomes illegal, women who get them should be punished. Later recanting the statement. In fact, three positions on abortion in 12 hours.

But this morning, he's taking condemnation from both sides of the aisle. The race for presidency more contentious than ever.

Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Christine.

I'm Boris Sanchez. It's Thursday, March 31st, 4:00 a.m. on the East Coast.

And this morning, Donald Trump's campaign faces another day of putting out fires, touched off from the republican frontrunner took three different positions on abortion in the space of a single day. First, he said on MSNBC that if abortion were made legal, women who get abortions should be punished. Then he put out a statement walking that back, saying the issue is unclear. But then he sent out a second statement, calling for the person performing the abortion to be punished, not the women.

Now, Trump's wobbling on abortion is drawing fire from both sides of the aisle.

CNN's Jim Acosta has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Boris, Donald Trump carved out a very hard line position on abortion, just to walk it back hours later. His comments came during an interview with MSNBC earlier in a day when he said women who undergo abortion should be punished if the procedure were made illegal. Here's what he had to say.

CHRIS MATTHEWS, MSNBC HOST: Should abortion be punished?

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, people in certain parts of the Republican party and conservative Republicans would say yes, they should be punished.

MATTHEWS: How about you?

TRUMP: I would say that it's a very serious problem. And it's a problem that we have to decide on. It's very --

MATTHEWS: You're for banning it.

TRUMP: Wait. Are you going to say put them in jail? The answer is thereat there has to be some form of punishment.

MATTHEWS: For the woman?

TRUMP: Yes, there has to be some form.

MATTHEWS: Ten cents, ten years? Why not? You take positions on everything else.

TRUMP: I do take positions on everything else. It's a very complicated position.

ACOSTA: But then Trump did a complete 180, releasing a statement saying it would be doctors who will be punished, not women. Here's that statement.

It says, "If Congress were to pass legislation making abortion illegal and the federal courts upheld this legislation, or any state permitted to ban abortion under state and federal law, the doctor or any other person performing the illegal act, they would be held legally responsible, not the woman. The woman is a victim in this case as is the life in her womb. My position has not changed", Trump said. "Like Ronald Reagan, I am pro-life, with exceptions."

But the damage may already be done. Not only did Trump's rivals slam his original remarks on abortion, saying, you don't punish women who go through the procedure. He united both sides of this very hot bottom issue, something you hardly ever see in politics -- Boris and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Jim, thanks for that.

So, Trump's Republican rivals had a field day with this, denouncing the idea of punishing women who have an abortion and slamming the front runner for his about face on the issue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That comment was wrong. It really is the latest demonstration of how little Donald has thought about any of the serious issues facing this country. I am pro-life. Being pro-life means standing and defending the unborn, but it means defending moms, defending women, and defending the incredible gift women have to bring life into the world. And Donald's comments, they were unfortunate, they were wrong and I strongly disagree with him. GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Of course, women

should not be punished. I think Donald Trump will figure out a way to say that he didn't say it or he was misquoted or whatever, but I don't think so. I don't think that's an appropriate response.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: In the meantime, the Democratic candidates, as you might expect, also blasting Trump's comments. Bernie Sanders professing astonishment and calling Trump's position shameful. While Hillary Clinton tied Trump's abortion stance to the entire Republican field.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: To punish a woman for having an abortion is beyond comprehension. You know, one would say what is in Donald Trump's mind except we're tired of saying that? I don't know what world this person lives in.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The choice is really clear. The Republicans all line up together. Maybe they aren't quite as open about it as Donald Trump was earlier today. But they all have the same position. If you make abortion a crime, you make it illegal. Then you make women and doctors criminals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: All right. Happening today, both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders stage campaign events in New York. The state is one of two tough contests ahead for the Democrats. In Wisconsin, Clinton and Sanders are neck and neck in the latest polls. That state votes next Tuesday. They're also battling in New York, which Clinton represented in the Senate.

But Sanders was born and raised in New York City, and he is turning both states into tough battlegrounds for Clinton.

The latest now from CNN's Jeff Zeleny in New York.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Boris, the Democratic presidential race is focusing on New York today. Both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders taking their campaign, dueling campaign events here in New York and the surrounding areas. Why is that? That New York primary, so many delegates, some 247 delegates to be exact are hanging in the balance in some 2 1/2 weeks time.

Now, there are other primaries before. First and foremost, Wisconsin. But even Bernie Sanders is coming off the trail to New York to start planting the flag here.

Now, Hillary Clinton was campaigning on Wednesday, at the historic Apollo Theater in Harlem. She said she's going to campaign for president here like she did for senator and won twice. CLINTON: New York is home to 20 million people. We don't all look

the same. We don't all sound the same or worship the same either, but we pull together. And when a candidate for president says we can solve America's problems by building walls, discriminating against people based on religion and turning against each other, well, New Yorkers know better.

ZELENY: But for his part, Bernie Sanders is going to try and create this online movement into actual votes and motivation. He has so much support on the ground in New York City and Brooklyn with young voters, he's going to try and turn them out.

But the rules may be stacked against him here in New York. It's a closed primary. What that means is you simply cannot walk in that day and decide to vote. You have to be a registered voter by March 25th. And if you wanted to change parties, that had to be done at the end of last year.

So, New York is one of those states with a close primary system that could benefit the establishment candidate, in this case, Hillary Clinton. But there's no question the next two and a half weeks here in New York are going to be a tough race between the two.

First, that Wisconsin primary next Tuesday, we still have our eye on that. Bernie Sanders campaigning there on Friday. Hillary Clinton says she will make one more stop there before Tuesday as well -- Christine and Boris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: All right. Jeff Zeleny, thank you.

The Food and Drug Administration relaxing the guidelines for women taking the abortion pill. The change allows patients to use the drug later in pregnancies with fewer visits to the doctor. Critics claim the White House is trying to win over female voters. But the FDA says the guidelines change was strictly based on medical science.

ROMANS: All right. Seven minutes past the hour this morning. Time for an early start on your money.

Not a good start to the last trading day for stocks this quarter. Asian markets mostly lower and so are Europe markets, U.S. stock futures following their lead.

But a great day for Wall Street yesterday. Stocks added to Tuesday's gains. The Dow added 83 points. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ also higher.

You know, remember, the market started the year in meltdown mode. This is now an official comeback. The market had tanked more than 10 percent by early February. Now, investors are making money again. So, what is behind the turnover?

Fed Chair Janet Yellen hinted than an April rate hike is most certainly off the table. Oil prices are rising again and fears of a recession in China is way overblown. One thing that could slow down this rally, the all-important monthly jobs report comes out tomorrow.

Early indications here, Boris, you still have strong hiring in the U.S. So fascinating. You have a strong job market, but high unfavorable ratings from the economy.

SANCHEZ: Right, two different perspectives, it seems.

ROMANS: Absolutely, absolutely.

SANCHEZ: Of how the economy is doing.

An imminent terror attack foiled and a terrorist charged. But a fear of more cells on Europe is growing. So, how big could this terror network be?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:12:46] ROMANS: All right. New information this morning about a high profile terror arrest in Netherlands. An unidentified 32-year- old French citizen taken into custody in Sunday in Rotterdam now being linked to Reda Kriket, the foiled suspect who was apprehended last week for allegedly plotting an attack against France.

I want to go to Paris right now live with the very latest from senior European correspondent Jim Bittermann.

What can you tell us about this guy?

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christine, the one that was arrested up in Rotterdam, apparently, according to media reports, had something like 100 pounds of bullets in his apartment, bullets for what may have been found by French police when they raided the apartment of Reda Kriket. That was in the one of the northwest Paris suburbs. There, they found five Kalashnikovs rifles which could have and false passports, bomb making materials. Some materials itself, TATP, the kind of explosive that's been used, and the bombs that were used in both Brussels and Paris, and quite an arsenal.

The prosecutor, the Paris prosecutor said that the attack that they were planning, whatever it was, they don't know what the specific target was, whatever it was, they were in a position to immediately attack something. And so, they are taking this seriously. Reda Kriket has been charged with conspiracy to commit a terrorist act, as well a number of charges -- Christine.

ROMANS: All right. So, this plot unfolds further. Thank you so much, Jim Bittermann, for us this morning.

SANCHEZ: The FBI has agreed to help prosecutors in Arkansas hack into an iPhone and iPod that could yield crucial evidence in a murder trial. The decision comes just days after the agency successfully accessed the iPhone that is used by San Bernardino terror suspect Syed Rizwan Farook, with the help of an unidentified third party. Authorities in Arkansas are hoping to find evidence on two devices owned by two of the four suspects in the murder of the Little Rock couple last July.

ROMANS: The Mississippi state Senate giving final approval to the religious freedom bill and sending it to the governor who has expected -- has indicated he will sign it. The bill would allow businesses to refuse service not only to gay and transgender people, but also anyone who has had extramarital sex based on the business owner's religious beliefs.

[04:15:01] A gay rights advocate calls it probably the worst religious freedom bill to date.

SANCHEZ: Meantime, the list of companies calling for North Carolina to repeal its so-called transgender bathroom bill keeps growing. Today, the human rights campaign plans to deliver a letter to Governor Pat McCrory's office signed by more than 80 CEOs and business leaders. The controversial new law requires people to use bathrooms and other facilities, matching the sex on their birth certificate. It was approved in response to a Charlotte ordinance that allowed transgender people to use bathrooms according to their gender identity.

ROMANS: Rebecca Mason, the adviser to Alabama Governor Robert Bentley has resigned amid allegations the two had an affair. It comes a week after audio recordings of their sexually charged conversations surfaced. Bentley has denied any affair and says he has no intention of resigning. Mason was being paid from Bentley's campaign funds. She says in a statement she now plans to focus her full attention on her family.

SANCHEZ: In Minneapolis, protests are loud, but peaceful in response to the decision not to charge two police officers who shot and killed a 24-year-old black man, Jamar Clark back in November. Prosecutors say the officers acted in self defense after Clark got a hold of the officer's gun in a scuffle and he allegedly told him, "I'm ready to die". Demonstrators who took to the streets are angry over the decision. They say police have a history of distorting the facts.

ROMANS: Scientists sounding a new alarm about the effects of global warming. "The New York Times" reporting on a new study that says continued high emissions of heat trapping gasses could cause a disaster scenario to play out much sooner than predicted. Climate researchers say the West and Arctic ice sheet could disintegrate within decades, triggering a rise in sea levels of up to three feet, that could flood coastal cities by the end of the century.

SANCHEZ: Breaking overnight, a powerful tornado rips through Tulsa, Oklahoma. At least seven people hurt as the twister roared through the city. One person is still in critical condition. Officials say that roads and buildings were damaged and at least 4,000 people were without power.

ROMANS: In Arkansas, dramatic rescue caught on video. You can see first responders pulling a woman from rushing water in Little Rock. The area hit with severe floods. She was one of three people inside a car that was stuck in raging water. We can tell you everyone is OK.

SANCHEZ: Some dramatic video there. Now, the severe weather is set to continue today with more than 4 million people still in the threat area.

Here is meteorologist Pedram Javaheri with the latest -- Pedram.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Christine and Boris.

Pretty wild Wednesday. Another one ahead of us here on Thursday. In fact, if you take a look at what we tabulated, upwards of 70 plus storm reports, five of which tornadoes. Fortunately, no fatalities across this region. But you zoom it out and I'll show you what transpired. We know 60 tornadoes so far in the month of March. That is just below the climatological norm of 80 and this is the busiest in the month of March at least since 2012 with the number of tornadoes.

But here we go again. Severe weather ingredients in place. The moisture coming right out of the Gulf. The cool Canadian air from the northwest. Drier air over Texas. And I think parts of Alabama and Mississippi with another round of rough weather here on Thursday with the weather really shifting off towards portion of say Birmingham, eventually out towards Atlanta around noon time before the storms quiet a bit.

But again, here are the areas of severe weather, 37 million people dealing with this. This is on a scale of one to five, a three from Jackson to Louisville, certainly around Memphis going to be in line for the weather this afternoon. Notice a rainfall that accompanies all of this, in excess of 4 inches, widespread across this region. So, flooding threat credit in the area.

Look at the temperatures across the Northeast. Mid-70s around Washington, 71 in New York City. Could be about 30 degrees cooler come Sunday into Monday. So, enjoy.

ROMANS: All right. Pedram, thank you so much for that.

In just hours, world leaders gather in Washington trying to find a way to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists. What we can expect from the critical meetings. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: President Obama hosts dozens of world leaders this morning at the fourth and final Nuclear Security Summit in Washington. This year, a special session has been scheduled focused on ISIS. The challenge: how to keep nuclear weapons out of the terrorists hands. Also on the agenda, how to counter the growing nuclear threat posed by the North Koreans.

We get more this morning from CNN's Matt Rivers. He is live from Beijing for us this morning.

Good morning, Matt.

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine.

And speaking on North Korea for a moment, it will be one of the top issues discussed at the summit, given what we've seen from the North Koreans over the past several months, including the testing of the nuclear device. The president of the United States set to meet in a trilateral meeting with the prime minister of Japan, as well as the president of South Korea to discuss next steps. He will also have a bilateral meeting with President Xi Jinping of China. Most experts agree that it is China that is the country that has the most ability to influence Pyongyang's regime.

But the other topic as you mentioned certainly will be focusing on the securing of nuclear materials and specifically how that relates to terrorists groups like ISIS.

The president will be convening a special session looking at how security within urban centers can be heightened, as well as ways to prevent the terrorist group from securing chemical and radiological weapons. That is something that the president says is a top, top issue at this particular summit.

[04:25:01] It's something they're going to be meet about specifically brought into focus after the Paris terrorist attacks as well as recently in Belgium. So, plenty to talk about for the dozens of world leaders set to convene for this summit, Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Matt Rivers for us in Beijing, thank you for that, Matt.

SANCHEZ: In the Mideast, Syrian President Bashar al Assad declaring he is willing to form a new unity government that includes members of the opposition. Assad telling a Russian news agency that a draft of the new constitution could be ready within weeks. But the U.S. says that any plan for a new Syrian government with Assad still remaining in power is a non-starter.

ROMANS: United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon calling on member nations to resettle nearly half a million Syrian refugees. But he is not getting many takers. Only the United States, Italy, and Sweden have pledged to take part. The U.N. is hoping to resettle some 480,000 refugees by the year 2018. International aid groups have blasted the response by governments, calling it a shocking lack of political and moral leadership.

SANCHEZ: Well, there's new trouble brewing for Donald Trump this morning for saying that women should be punished if the procedure is outlawed. He recanted that statement hours later, but that's not stopping an avalanche of new attacks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)