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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Trump and RNC Meet Behind Closed Doors; Clinton: "I'm So Sick of The Sanders Campaign Lying"; Nuclear Summit: Keeping Nukes from ISIS; Belgium to Extradite Paris Terror Suspect; Deadly Highway Overpass Collapse in India. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired April 01, 2016 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:14] BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump and the RNC in a secret meeting. What went on behind closed doors?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Hillary Clinton getting angry calling out Bernie Sanders for lying. The Democratic race heating up.

SANCHEZ: And in just a few hours, world leaders in critical meetings. Can they keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists?

Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Boris Sanchez.

ROMANS: So nice to have you here again today. I'm Christine Romans. It is Friday, April 1st. April Fool's Day. You've been warned, you don't want anybody trick you.

SANCHEZ: Careful.

ROMANS: It is 4:00 a.m. in the East.

All right. Donald Trump announcing a new defense to explain why he told MSNBC that women who get abortions, if they were made illegal, should be punished, before he clarified and then later recanted his position. Late last night, Trump conceded on FOX News that maybe he misspoke. But he blamed the way the question was asked and edited.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You really have to hear the whole thing. I mean, this was a long convoluted question. This was a long discussion. They just cut it out. And, frankly, it was extremely -- it was really convoluted. And if in fact abortion was outlawed, the person performing the abortion, the doctor or whoever it may be, that's really doing the act, or responsible for the act, not the woman is responsible. So, that's the way I've always felt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Now, with just four days until the Wisconsin primary, Trump doing damage control. He met with the head of the Republican Party yesterday, calling a meeting of unity.

CNN's Sunlen Serfaty has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine and Boris.

Well, Donald Trump holding a secret meeting in Washington, D.C. Thursday behind closed doors at the RNC headquarters. Sources telling CNN the meeting was largely about convention rules and delegates. After the meeting, the RNC chairman putting out a statement saying it was a productive meeting, he says, about the state of the race, and Donald Trump tweeting about the meeting, also calling it a nice meeting, saying that he looks forward to bringing the party together.

Now, while in Washington, Donald Trump convened a meeting of the newly formed national security team. This comes after a string of national security and foreign policy statements that some have called into question including his rivals like John Kasich.

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It appears as they though when he does these events and people press him, he becomes unmoored. And has to spend time trying to figure out how to correct all of the mistakes he made. I have to tell you, as commander in chief and leader of the free world, you don't get do-overs. You need to be able to get it right the first time.

SERFATY: As you can see there, John Kasich really trying to capitalize the recent missteps and controversies of Trump, trying to paint Trump as not ready to be president -- Boris and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: All right. Sunlen, thank you.

The White House blasting Trump's latest foreign policy statements, taking aim at Trump's suggestion at a CNN town hall that Japan and South Korea should either pay the U.S. more for defense or defend themselves more with nuclear weapons.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN RHODES, DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: It would be catastrophic were the United States to shift its position and indicate we support somehow the proliferations of nuclear weapons to additional countries. It also flies in the face of decades of bipartisan national security doctrine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Japanese and South Korean officials are also deeply critical of Trump's remarks. The foreign minister of Japan, which has had a pacifist constitution since World War II, said quote, "It is impossible that Japan will arm itself with nuclear weapons." With Japanese Prime Minster Shinzo Abe adding, "Whoever will become the next president of the United States, the Japan/U.S. alliance is the cornerstone of Japan's diplomacy."

ROMANS: To politics now for the Democrats, a war is brewing in New York. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders attacking one another as each tries to lay claim to the state. Thousands came to hear Sanders speak at a rally in the Bronx where he tried to appeal to New Yorkers by stressing his Brooklyn roots.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am proud that I was born here in New York City. We lived in a 3 1/2 room rent controlled apartment in Brooklyn. So, I learned a little bit about what it means to grow up in a family that has no money, and I also learned a little bit about the immigrant experience.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Clinton also playing the hometown card, campaigning for an entire week in the in the state that she once represented in the U.S. Senate. The New York primary is still two and a half weeks away, but tension is already showing on the campaign trail, with Clinton losing her cool when confronted by a climate activist.

[04:05:02] CNN's Jeff Zeleny has the very latest for us this morning from New York.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESONDENT: Christine and Boris, it's clear that this long Democratic presidential race is starting to get to the candidates. Now, when Hillary Clinton was campaigning on Thursday in New York, she was approached by some environmental activist. They were asking about her contributions from fossil fuel companies and other executives of these companies. Listen to her reaction when she got the question.

ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVIST: If you protect -- with climate change, will you act on your word and reject fossil fuel money in the future in your campaign?

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I do not, I have money from people who work for fossil fuel companies. I am so sick, I am so sick of the Sanders' campaign lying about that. I'm sick of it!

ZELENY: The Clinton campaign pushed back hard on that, saying she did not accept any donations from corporations. Of course, that is not allowed by law. But she did, in fact, receive contributions from people who work for these corporations.

Now, it's one of these differences that we're seeing play out between the two campaigns here. The Sanders campaign is making a big deal of the fact they collect their contributions in small fashions, by some $27 is the average contribution. The Clinton campaign, of course, raises money the old fashioned way.

But it's one of the things that made clear the look on Secretary Clinton's face it is clear that the campaign is frustrating to her. Still, she knows she must reach out to those Sanders supporter. So, in that same rally, she said it is time at some point for Democrats to come together.

CLINTON: We've got to unite when this primary contest is over. We've got to unite and make sure we have a Democrat in the White House in January.

(CHEERS)

ZELENY: But that unity is not perhaps coming anytime soon. There is still a long way to go in the Democratic race. Now, Wisconsin votes on Tuesday. The Sanders campaign clearly hoping for a win there, then all eyes back on New York before the primary on April 19th.

The Clinton campaign, of course, is ahead by 12 points in the latest polling that's out there. But the Sanders campaign really believes they can make inroads here, trying to fight for New York for the next two weeks. It will be one of the most interesting moments in this Democratic presidential race -- Christine and Boris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: All right. Jeff, thank you.

Today is day two of the nuclear summit in Washington. President Obama hosting leaders of more than 50 nations. On Thursday, he met jointly with the president of South Korea and prime minister of Japan. Then he went one-on-one with the Chinese President Xi Jinping. The president pressing China on its militarization of the South China Sea.

Today, a special session has been called to wrap up the summit and their topic is urban terrorism.

We get more from CNN White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Boris and Christine.

Right, today, the U.S. and other nations at this Nuclear Security Summit are going to tackle two of the biggest threats that the world faces. First, that posed by Iran, and then, in a second special session by ISIS. You can imagine the sense of urgency surrounding this. So close after the Paris and Brussels attacks and with new information from Belgium that some of the planners may have been doing extensive surveillance on a top Belgian nuclear scientist. That some had plans to attack a nuclear facility.

It is interesting to hear the White House downplay what it sees the risk being there. They said in a country like Belgium, security is very tight around nuclear facilities. They don't see that surveillance as being necessarily a significant risk, but they say it does reinforce the fact that they believe ISIS would like to get its hands on nuclear material, just like al Qaeda did.

Some experts here, though, say they see the broader effect not being highly enriched uranium that's used to make nuclear bombs, held by about two dozen countries, and that's been reduced significantly over the last decade. Security is also much tighter than it was.

They see the real threat as being this lower grade radiological material, the kind used in cancer treatments in hospitals, in some industries, even held some academic institutions. That's in about 130 countries, more than 1,000 sites around the world, some of which have terrible security. They see that as being the likelier way that ISIS could get its hands on some material that they could use to make a dirty bomb, that would cause contamination in parts of cities, buildings might need to be torn down, and would cause more of an enormous disruption. So, that's going to be a topic of concern here today.

Also, we will hear from the president himself in a press conference early this evening -- Boris and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Thanks, Michelle.

It's jobs day in America. Big report due out this morning from the federal government. CNN Money survey of economists predicts 199,000 new jobs created in March, solid number but lower than February's big surprise jump of 242,000.

The jobless rate expected to stay below 5 percent. Job wages are expected to stay steady at 2.2 percent annual rate, although many people would like to see wages tick up more than that.

We will dig deeper in the report. People working part-time for economic reasons, basically who want a full time but they can't find one. So, they are working whatever hours they can. It might be even cobbling together multiple part-time jobs.

[04:10:03] This is a one area of the labor market that shows why voters are so worried about the economy. A tough reading there could give some talking points to Republican candidates on the campaign trail. Democrats will rally around a positive headline number of jobs added if they come in strong.

You will hear a lot, and we have been hearing a lot, Boris, about this -- the number of people who are participating in the labor market. There are folks elbowed out of the jobs market and aren't working, aren't even considered part of the labor market. Slowly, some of those people are coming back. We will get more evidence of that today.

SANCHEZ: Sure. I'm excited to see what it says. It's kind of like Rorschach test. What you perceive says a lot about you, right?

ROMANS: It is. That's a very good way to look at it.

SANCHEZ: Two bombers on the loose and the Paris attacker connected to them no longer working with police. He's now being extradited to France. Details on that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: A Belgian court has ruled that Paris terror attack suspect Salah Abdeslam can be extradited to France, though details of the prison transfer still needs to be worked out.

[04:15:01] Abdeslam was the most wanted man in Europe until authorities in Brussels captured him last month, following a shootout in Molenbeek. All of this happening as investigators search for the two surviving Brussels bombers.

Alexandra Field is tracking the latest developments live from Brussels.

Alex, good morning. Do we have any indication that investigators are closer to tracking down these two suspects?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Look, Boris, it took four months to track down Salah Abdeslam, whom they found here in Brussels. We know that he had crossed into Belgium on the evening following the Paris attacks. So, everyone in the city is aware these manhunts can take some time. We have seen raids over the last week or so since the Brussels attacks happened in the effort to find that suspected third bomber from the airport. The second suspected possible bomber from the metro station.

Salah Abdeslam after he was taken into custody here in Brussels in the middle of March was said to have been cooperating with authorities in terms of providing some information about those Paris attacks. It's believed he was connected to the Brussels attacks.

But those attacks happened four days after he was taken into custody. He had initially fought extradition to France, that's when he was cooperating with authorities. But the bombings seem s to have been a changing point. After that, he said that he wanted to go to France and that's when he stopped participating with authorities.

So the latest right now, Boris, is that Salah Abdeslam will be returning to France. He has been held in Belgium on the European arrest warrant. Not clear when exactly he'll go back to France. As he does that, you will be assured that investigators here are still trying to find who outstanding attackers linked to the Brussels attacks. They are looking for some eight other suspect with possible links to Paris and Brussels.

SANCHEZ: Alex, so in the face of these raids and these suspects still on the loose, it has been more than a week since the attacks. How are residents there holding up?

FIELD: Boris, you've got to go back to the fact that these are people living under the heightened terror threat level for some time now. Remember, they had a manhunt really focused on Brussels and other parts of the country since the Paris attacks happened. So, they have become used to seeing the military on the streets. They become used to seeing police on the streets.

They know that these raids have become common occurrences. It is day after day, week after week, month after month now when they know that authorities are pursuing the most wanted suspected terrorists in the world right in their city.

SANCHEZ: Quite a difficult time with danger in your backyard.

Alex Field reporting from Brussels, thank you.

ROMANS: Investigators in Europe are struggling to break into 40 mobile phones, including one Apple iPhone seized by police during the terror attacks. And they are turning up the pressure on technology firms to help them hack into the devices. The vast majority of the devices are iPhones, running newer software that Apple claims it cannot breach. Here in the U.S., the FBI has successfully hacked into the iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino terrorists with the help of a third party. The agency will now be testing that technique and other version of the device.

SANCHEZ: The ex-wife of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is speaking out. In her first interview since being released from a prison in Lebanon last year, Saja al-Dulaimi tells a CNN affiliate in Sweden that she wants to start a new life in Europe so the daughters she bore with the terror leader can get a proper education. She described al-Baghdadi as an ideal father and says, quote, "The way he was with children, he was a teacher. You know how teachers are. He knew how to deal with children, better than how to deal with the mother."

She actually says she had to share her husband with his other wife and she claimed that she ran away from him while she was pregnant because she wasn't happy.

ROMANS: All right. Eighteen minutes past the hour.

Rescuers still desperately searching for survivors in this highway overpass collapse, just a tragedy here. At least 24 people dead with so many more missing under that concrete and steel.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:23:16] SANCHEZ: We're watching a grim scene in Kolkata, India. Rescuers are digging through tons of concrete, hoping to find survivors of yesterday's deadly highway overpass collapse. The death toll is setting at least 24, with 80 people pulled free live. Authorities are admitting there's no way of knowing how many cars or pedestrians were crushed when the 328-foot section of the roadway came crashing down at about noon in one of the most congested parts of the city.

Let's get the latest from CNN India's bureau chief Ravi Agrawal -- Ravi.

RAVI AGRAWAL, CNN INDIA BUREAU CHIEF: Hi, Boris.

I'm right at the site of where the overpass gave way. Right behind, you can actually see the column upon which the overpass was actually bearing its weight. And about 25 hours ago now, that column just gave way, you can see part of it just crumbled almost as if it were cardboard. And with that, the actual overpass collapsed as well.

And that overpass then fell down and crushed anyone who was underneath it. There were food vendors. There was a truck still lodged underneath. For hours now, workers are trying to extricate people from that beneath the rubble.

This area you see around me is cleared up. They have been working for many hours and huge tractors have been clearing the debris out of the way. Authorities are now saying they are beginning to give up hope that they can find anymore people in the rubble dead or alive, 26 hours into a major tragedy for the city of Kolkata in India.

SANCHEZ: A sobering reality.

[04:25:00] Ravi Agrawal, thank you so much.

ROMANS: The Obama administration looking to ease sanctions on Iran by giving Tehran limited access to U.S. dollars. Right now, U.S. and foreign banks are banned from dealing in dollars with Iran. However, "The Wall Street Journal" reports that there is a work around. The proposed deal is linked to a nuclear deal. But some U.S. lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans expressing alarm due to heightened tensions with Iran.

SANCHEZ: Donald Trump and the head of the RNC hashing it out behind closed doors. So, will the party unite behind Trump or will there be chaos in Cleveland?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Donald Trump at the RNC headquarters for a secret meeting and days of controversy rocking his campaign.

SANCHEZ: And Hillary Clinton lashing out, accusing Bernie Sanders of lying over her campaign funds.

ROMANS: Major world leaders convene in Washington. Can they keep nuclear weapons out of terrorists' control?

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