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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

New York's Crucial Primary is Today; Houston Under Water: Deadly Flooding; Hundreds Injured in Kabul Suicide Attack; Obama Visiting Saudi Arabia. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired April 19, 2016 - 04:30   ET

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

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[04:33:39] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The battle for New York. It has arrived. Voters head to the polls in just a few hours. A critical primary election for both Democrats and the Republicans. We'll break it all down now.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Now.

BERMAN: Now.

ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. It is 34 minutes past the hour.

Now, no more waiting. The New York primary is today. It is right now, at least very soon actually. Polls open in just a bit. The frontrunners on both sides are hoping for big wins to return them to those days long ago, like four weeks ago, when they had all momentum.

On the Republican side, Donald Trump well ahead in the polls. He needs a landslide finish to sweep New York delegates, denying them to Ted Cruz and John Kasich and perhaps, perhaps clinching the nomination before the convention.

Late last night, big new changes to Trump's campaign. He's national field director handing in his resignation just days after a shakeup in Trump's campaign leadership.

CNN's Jim Acosta was at Trump's final New York rally last night. We go there with him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, Donald Trump is sounding very confident about his chances in the New York primary. He says he doesn't want to talk about the polls that show him way out in front of Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Ohio Governor John Kasich.

Trump, once again, at this rally in Buffalo fired off on Cruz for that comment about New York values. [04:35:01] And he also went after the RNC and its system for awarding

delegates to presidential candidates. Trump again said that's a rigged system.

Here's what he told the crowd here in Buffalo.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Let me just tell you a couple of things and why tomorrow is so important. The system is rigged.

It's not meant for a guy like me who is not taking money from special interests. I'm self funding my campaign. I came up here. I pay for it to come up here.

It's a rigged system. Just like so much else in government is rigged. I've never seen anything like it.

When you have a Colorado or a Wyoming -- in the case of Colorado, they were supposed to vote. They said there were no changes, but there was. I announced in June, people saw that I was going to do great in Colorado, and all of a sudden in August, they changed the system. They took the vote away from the people of Colorado.

ACOSTA: Despite his recent setbacks in states from Wisconsin to Wyoming, Donald Trump is poised in the polls to pull off perhaps what could be a clean sweep of New York state's 95 delegates at stake. I mean, the calendar is pretty favorable in the weeks to come. Coming up next are the Northeastern states like Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maryland and Delaware -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: You know, we're going to continue to name that tune.

So, if you know the song playing behind Jim Acosta, e-mail us or tweet us this morning.

Now, we'll bring in CNN politics reporter Tom LoBianco to break down the New York primary.

Good morning, Tom.

The big news overnight, an issue at that big rally for Donald Trump was the news that there's a little bit of a campaign shakeup in the Trump ranks. Stuart Jolly, who's been running a national field organization for Donald Trump, he up and quit.

What is the significance of that?

TOM LOBIANCO, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Well, this is a big move away from the -- I don't know if you want to call it the first half of the Trump campaign, but the first chapter of the Trump campaign with the very heavy focus on the Corey Lewandowski team. It is our understanding the Lewandowski -- Jolly was very close to Lewandowski, part of that tight group of loyalists working under him. And he had a big shift. As they focus, you know, look at what Trump

said about the crooked system and rigged system. Everything he's been saying railing against the delegate process for the two weeks. He is on a two-track approach to this right now.

On the one hand, in public, he says it's crooked, it's rigged. They are stealing this from me, et cetera. But what's actually happening behind-the-scenes is he's playing that game because he has to, because the nominating process has not changed and doesn't look like it will change. At least not in any sort of dramatic way.

So, the shake up, getting rid of Jolly. Not getting rid of, but Jolly resigned. But this move to Paul Manafort, a delegate expert from the 1976 contested Republican convention, bringing on Rick Wiley from the Scott Walker campaign, all of this is focused on that inside delegate battle that Ted Cruz is just -- has been winning up until now. You know, Trump people are hoping they can turn this around.

ROMANS: Let's talk about the Democrats for a second, because we had another big rally last night from Bernie Sanders. I think he was in Buffalo.

Was he in Buffalo last night?

BERMAN: Yes, Buffalo last night.

ROMANS: He was in Buffalo last night. So, he is spending all the time in New York City where he is from. He is from Brooklyn.

BERMAN: I don't know if Bernie was in Buffalo. Sorry. Donald is in Buffalo. Bernie was in Queens.

ROMANS: Bernie was in Queens. All right. It's hard to (INAUDIBLE) all these guys.

Let's listen to what Bernie said last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is an enormously important because there are a lot of delegates at stake.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: You know, he had a lot of energy. There's the Prospect Park, Brooklyn rally, over the weekend. He is talking about the delegates at stake. It is true for him. It really is true for him. He wants to try to close that gap with her.

LOBIANCO: Absolutely. I mean, look at that pledged gap right there, 225 or so.

You know, if he can start to show he's closing that, he can make a better case to the super delegates where she is clearly beating him, that he can win in July.

ROMANS: She's dramatically beating him with super delegates.

LOBIANCO: Oh, yes.

(LAUGHTER)

ROMANS: I mean, it's very clear.

LOBIANCO: You know, Tad Devine has been on our air saying a few things saying neither side gets over the line with pledged delegates, that you need to rely on supers. That's an important thing if that comes true, because then it makes it an inside case.

Not unlike what is happening with the Republicans right now. You have to play to the party leaders, not the electorate. You know, that helps them. That explains the Bernie push behind-the-scenes.

It's very interesting. There's similar tactics going on right now.

[04:40:02] The Sanders team is doing the same thing behind the scenes, approaching these super delegates, party leaders, congressmen, senators, people who are naturally in Clinton's camp. It's unclear, you know, why -- how or why they would sway his way at this point.

But if he can close that pledged delegate gap and if he can do well here in New York, I don't think there is any expectation that he actually beats Clinton. But if he can keep it close, that probably helps his case long term.

BERMAN: Probably. The problem with the delegate map is that, A, it's proportional. So, even if he were to wins by one point, they essentially end up with the same delegates. But if she wins by 10 points here, you know, she actually gains. She actually increases that spread and makes it that much more difficult to close it the week after.

We were looking at the Republican map a little while ago. The Democrats are the same way. Next week, you have some primaries that should be decent for Hillary Clinton. That all happens before you move back out west which would be more of Bernie Sanders territory.

LOBIANCO: Absolutely. You know, the mid-Atlantic focus we have coming up in about a week is very fascinating. Pennsylvania is kind of the place that looks like it will go strong for Clinton.

You know, take a look at Maryland. That's -- Maryland's possibly Clinton country. Look for a strong turnout. I have not seen any polling from Maryland yet.

You know, what's happening right now, Bernie needs to find way to keep the momentum going. New York can take the air out of the tires at this point, frankly.

BERMAN: That's what the stakes are for both campaigns. Tom Lobianco, thanks so much.

ROMANS: Thanks, Tom. LOBIANCO: Thanks.

BERMAN: All right. We have breaking news out of Afghanistan this morning. The Taliban claiming responsibility of a blast that rocked central Kabul during the morning rush. At this point, Afghan officials say at least seven people were killed, more than 300 injured.

The officials say a suicide car bomber targeted the country's government security office. Authorities say police killed, an additional gunman who was in the area, two more are thought to be on the run right now. So, obviously, this is an ongoing situation. This was a huge blast.

Again, a car bomb, at least seven dead and more than 300 injured. The blast was heard near the U.S. embassy. But the compound we're told was not affected.

ROMANS: All right. Forty-two minutes past the hour.

What letter great do you give the American economy? A new CNNMoney E*Trade survey shows what votes are feeling. One America with two economies. Their finances are fine, but they're worried about the future.

Fifty-two percent of Americans, more than half, give the economy a "C" letter grade. Another 15 percent say it's a "D" or an "F." The survey respondents were Americans who have at least $10,000 in an online brokerage account. So, these people are likely in a stable financial position. But when we asked the same question to economists last month on Wall Street, most gave the economy a B or a B-plus.

So, what's the disconnect here? Well, stocks are up 200 percent since the recession. Unemployment is low. Jobs are being added. Gas is cheap. But Americans are not feeling those headlines. They are feeling stagnant wages and college educated children are getting low- paying jobs, plus a changing economy that's taking away good-paying jobs of the past like those in manufacturing.

It really quantifies the survey, the CNNMoney E*Trade survey really quantities I think so much of what is driving the voter anger in the primaries.

BERMAN: All right. Forty-three minutes after the hour.

Deadly flooding in Texas. We'll show you some of the damage done. Remarkable pictures. We'll also tell you where the rain strikes next.

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[04:47:58] ROMANS: At least five people have been killed in record- breaking floods in the city of Houston. All of the reported deaths occurred among people who apparently drove into high waters. Officials say at least 1,000 homes flooded in Harris County alone, crews performed more than 1,200 high water rescues. You can see this man frantically swimming to a rescue boat. Crews had to save horses stuck in the rising waters.

BERMAN: Crazy pictures.

All right. So, is the worst over for Houston or is there more to common?

Let's bring in meteorologist Pedram Javaheri with the latest.

PEDRAM JAVEHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: John and Christine, still plenty of wet weather left in the forecast across parts of Houston.

Let's show you what transpired there on Monday morning and to the afternoon hours, just west of the city, 15 to 17 inches of rainfall came down in just a few short hours. You take the surface area of the city of Houston. You bring down the 17 inches of rainfall. That equates to over 240 billion gallons of water, roughly the size of filling 350,000 Olympic size swimming pools, dumping that over the city, that really tells you what happened over the region.

Of course, we know hundreds of flights canceled across Houston airports, and delays over 100 in the region. And with Houston being such a flat city, the moisture were to come down over soil, it would be absorbed on a large scale. Across an area where a lot of concrete, a lot of area that the water is certainly not going to be absorbed, it becomes instant runoff. That leads to the flash flooding that we saw with hundreds of water rescues taking place across the city and unfortunately, more thunderstorms forecast by this afternoon in and around Houston for this region -- guys.

ROMANS: All right. Thanks, Pedram.

The state of Utah taking on the porn industry. The Governor Gary Herbert expected to sign two measures today. The first one is a resolution, declaring pornography a public health hazard leading to societal harms. It has no legal muscle. It does not ban pornography in the state.

The second bill is enforcement clout. It requires computer technicians who find child porn in the workplace, they must report it to law enforcement or face misdemeanor charges.

[04:50:00] BERMAN: Pearl Jam, the latest high profile act to boycott the state of North Carolina because of its new anti-LGBT bathroom law. The band was scheduled to perform tomorrow night in Raleigh, but just backed out, calling the measure despicable.

Boston, the band, is also cancelling three North Carolina shows scheduled for May, joining Bruce Springsteen, Ringo Starr and also Cirque du Soleil.

ROMANS: However, there was a big athletic event that will still go on there, right? That they decided not to pull out. Was that the NBA?

BERMAN: The NBA says at this point they're not going to change the all-star game. There is no decision on the all-star game. ROMANS: All right. The sponsor of the similar bathroom law in

Tennessee has decided to kill the bill for at least a year to further study the issue. The measure would require students in public schools to use restrooms correspondent to their gender at birth.

Republican lawmaker behind the legislation insists threats by companies to leave the state had nothing to do with that decision. But I can tell you, the threats from companies of the states trying to put in these laws have been very significant and very, very loud.

All right. The Dow, points away from a record high. Will stocks get closer today? They're already above 18,000, folks. We're going to get an early start on your money, next.

BERMAN: Will they?

ROMANS: I'm going to tell you.

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[04:55:18] BERMAN: President Obama heads to Saudi Arabia today with relations between the two countries strained at best. The Saudi Arabia regime is coping with plunging oil prices and a civil war along its borders. Now, a bill before Congress would allow victims of the 9/11 attacks to sue the Saudis. That bill is becoming a very big sticking point between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.

We're going to go live to Riyadh right now and bring in CNN's Nic Robertson.

Nic, this visit is coming at a precarious time because the two nations.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It certainly is. President Obama is coming here and meeting with the GCC, the Gulf Cooperation Council. That's Saudi Arabia and its local allies, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Oman.

What it's trying to do here is really insure regional stability. There is a huge feeling of animosity here in Saudi Arabia towards that United States because of the Iranian nuclear deal. That's a cause for concern.

The problems between two the countries are deeper. Particularly, President Obama, as far as the Saudis are concerned, is not seen as a president who is really sort of looking after their regional interests. So, this issue of the 9/11 papers, the 28 pages, is coming at a very, very difficult time.

President Obama while he is here really wants to get Saudi support and Gulf support for security stability in the region to bring an end to the war in Syria, to bring an end to the fighting in Yemen.

But the Saudis for their part think that the United States has left them out in the cold. They are building, they're ramping up their defense and security here massively. So, you have real almost divergent interests. So, this explains to some degree why you have the Saudis reacting to this bill, saying, OK, you pass that bill and we're going to withdraw $750 billion of investment in the United States.

So, President Obama is going to have a very tough time with tensions already, plus this on top when he gets here.

BERMAN: And he had some words in interviews that were tepid towards the Saudis at best. Very curious to see what is public utterances are while he is in the kingdom.

Nic Robertson for us in Riyadh, thank you so much.

ROMANS: All right. Let's get an early start on your money. Dow rallied above 18,000 for the first time since last July yesterday. Futures are higher again right now. Big bounce for the Dow. It's now fewer than 350 points from a record high.

Oil prices are rising. Stocks markets in Europe also higher, a big rebound in Tokyo overnight.

More trouble this morning for blood testing start-up Theranos. The company faces new investigations from the Securities and Exchange Commission. And the U.S. attorney's office in California, an addition to an ongoing probe by the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services. This company is valued at $9 billion and billed as disrupter in medical service. It claims it can process up to 70 lab tests in just a few drops of blood.

But in October, a scathing report in "The Wall Street Journal" called much of its technology and testing method into question, prompting wider scrutiny. Theranos says it is cooperating fully and continues to work closely with regulators. The SEC declined to comment. No response yet from the U.S. attorneys office.

Shares of Netflix probably going to dive this morning despite strong quarterly results. Why? Well, the streaming company says it now has 81.5 million subscribers worldwide. But its U.S. consumer based rose by 2.2 million. Thanks to hit shows like "Fuller House" and "House of Cards", 42 percent of subscribers are now outside of the United States.

But Wall Street is worried about the future. Netflix lowered its growth forecast for the rest of the year. It announced last month prices would rise by 2 bucks a month. Now, it plans to do that more gradually. And rival Amazon is launching a monthly subscription to its prime video content, which will compete directly with Netflix.

So, watch those shares this morning.

BERMAN: It's a conundrum for Netflix. If they keep on adding and adding and adding, yet, profits aren't going up. That's a real issue. How do they become successful in the eyes of Wall Street?

ROMANS: We'll see.

BERMAN: All right. EARLY START continues right now.

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BERMAN: The battle for New York, it is today! So many delegates at stake. Such a pivotal day for the frontrunners in both parties. Polls open shortly.

ROMANS: State of disaster. Deadly flooding burying parts of Texas and it's not over yet.

BERMAN: Supreme Court justices appearing maybe evenly divided on President Obama's plan to shield millions of immigrants from deportation.

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

ROMANS: Nice to see you all this morning. Nice to see you, John.

I'm Christine Romans. It is Tuesday, it is April 19th, 5:00 a.m. in the East.

Big day today, folks. No more waiting. The New York primary is now, or at least very soon, in a few hours. Polls open in just a bit. The frontrunners on both sides are hoping for big wins to return them to those days of yore like four weeks ago.