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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Turkish Airport Attack Death Toll Rises; Trump Abandons Conservative Trade Gospel; President: Trump Isn't a Populist; Body Parts Wash Up in Rio de Janeiro; Brexit Causes big Swings for the Dow. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired June 30, 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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[04:30:40] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Death toll rising in the Turkey terror attack, 41 now dead, hundreds more injured after three suicide bombers attacked. What we're learning about the massacre as U.S.-led forces make new gains against ISIS in Iraq.

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

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Miguel Marquez. It is 30 minutes past the hour.

Breaking news at this hour, the death toll rising in the Istanbul airport terror attack. Officials say now it is 42 are dead after one woman taken to Istanbul hospital later died. More than 230 people injured in the attack that world leaders believe was carried out by ISIS.

Surveillance video now giving us a closer look at attackers who opened fire before blowing themselves up. None of the terrorists have been identified, but senior Turkish officials tell CNN they believe attackers were foreign. New information also coming to CNN on how the attack was carried out.

For the latest on that, we turn to CNN's Alexandra Field live for us in Istanbul.

How is that investigation -- how the investigation going, Alexandra?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Miguel.

Well, a key part of this investigation is the fact that police have now spoken to the taxi driver who delivered the three attackers to Ataturk Airport. They were able to locate the driver and he provided a statement and then he was released. So, hopefully, that will be an integral part of trying to identified the three suspects who targeted civilians from all over the world. At least 13 different foreign nationals were among those killed, but the majority were Turkish.

We now know how they carried this out, though. Officials are saying that one attacker entered the departure hall armed with an AK-47. That's the suspected who was spotted by a security guard. The security guard fired on the bomber who fell to the ground and then detonated his explosive.

There was also an attacker who went to the international arrival hall. We're told that that person was also armed with an AK-47, he began firing shots into the hall, the crowd scattered, people ran for their lives, and he detonated his vest before he even went through the security gate which is posted at the arrival hall.

The third attacker detonated his bomb just outside of the airport -- a coordinated attack carried out by three people all armed with AK-47s according to authorities as well as those suicide vests. ISIS has not claimed responsibility for this attack, Christine and Miguel, as you point out, though they have a history of not claiming responsibility for attacks in Turkey despite the fact that officials believe that they are behind this one -- Miguel, Christine.

MARQUEZ: Alexandra Field for us in Istanbul -- thank you very much.

ROMANS: So many wondering this morning why ISIS would attack Turkey, a Muslim country that for years the terror group relied on as a vital transit hub and supply line, CIA Director John Brennan says he believes Turkey may now be paying the price for helping the U.S.-led coalition fight ISIS in the region.

Within the past year, Turkey started sealing its border, arresting and deporting suspected militants. The country has taken in millions of refugees from Syria, a main ISIS battle front. And last summer, Turkey let the U.S. fly air strikes against ISIS out of Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey. But the CIA chief says he's not surprised ISIS did not formally claim responsibility for the airport attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BRENNAN, CIA DIRECTOR: At least in most instances, if not all, ISIS has not claimed credit or responsibility for attacks that are perpetrated inside of Turkey. I think what they do is they carry out these attacks to gain the benefits from it in terms of sending a signal to our Turkish partners, at the same time not wanting to alienate some of individuals inside of Turkey that they may still be trying to gain the support of.

The United States, as we all know, is leading the coalition to try to destroy as much of this poison inside of Syria and Iraq as possible. So, it would be surprising to me that ISIL is not trying to hit us both in the region as well as in our homeland. If anybody here believes that, you know, the U.S. homeland is hermetically sealed and that Daesh or ISIL would not consider that, I think I would guard against that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:35:03] ROMANS: And that last comment from Brennan getting a lot of attention this morning. For more on all this, let's bring in CNN correspondent and anchor Hala Gorani. She is live in Istanbul for us.

Hala, what's the latest?

HALA GORANI, CNN CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR: Well, as you heard there from Alexandra Field, the investigation is now focusing on three men were who perpetrated this terrible triple suicide bombing. All suspicion now live on ISIS because the other possible suspect, PKK, which is a Kurdish separatist group, would have no reason to attack an international soft target like Ataturk Airport behind me.

Remarkably, today, it fees like any other at this airport. I've traveled through it many times. Yesterday when we flew in, we essentially walked through what was still very much an active crime scene. The airport reopened five hours after the suicide bombings, compare that to Brussels where it took almost a month before Brussels airport started operating normally. So the question about whether or e essentially just by eliminate the motive probable culprit.

And why would ISIS want to strike Turkey? Well, Turkey has certainly in more substantial ways joined the fight against the terrorist group that's allowing the United States to use Incirlik Air Base on its territory. But also, it could be a much simpler reason, Christine and Miguel.

Look, ISIS struck Brussels, it struck Paris, other Western targets. This is a major international transport hub. Many of the people killed here were foreign nationals, including five Saudis, people from Jordan, China and other countries. They want to send the message that they will terrorize people who travelled through this place and certainly hurt as much as possible the terrorism industry in this country, which is already doing terribly as the result of many other bombings in the capital and elsewhere.

Back to you.

MARQUEZ: Hala, Miguel Marquez here.

I think there is a little concern that the airport opened so quickly. Was -- is the sense that a proper investigation was done at the airport? And why are we not seeing the sort of arrests or searches of different areas or houses or places that one might expect 24 hours after this attack?

GORANI: We're hearing reports of some raids in some lower income neighborhoods in Istanbul. But, you're right now, we're not seeing the blanket police operation that you would expect and that we did get after Brussels or Paris for instance. In terms of opening the airport so soon, it has raised many eyebrows not just in western countries, but also right here in Turkey with forensics experts saying it really was too soon.

And in order to collect the type of evidence you need to collect to conduct a thorough investigation, opening these terminals up to flight five hours after these triple suicide bombings certainly is unusual, it's unorthodox, and it was very unlike what happened in the aftermath of other attack. But I think the government here, Miguel and Christine, wants to send a very nuclear mileage, which is we are going back to business as normal, this terrorist group will not frighten us, we will not will you them to change our way of life.

Certainly, they've allowed they've been able to send that message. However it is quite remarkable that I'm standing here at the entrance of Ataturk International where cars are, you know, sort of looked over in a very perfunctory way by people at this first security gate in a way that is very similar to any other ordinary day at Ataturk.

ROMANS: So interesting I think, too, that at this point in this investigation, they don't know if it was inspired by ISIS or directed by ISIS, and that is sort of the big question after every one of these events. I mean, was this cell operating independently? Was this a cell that was being directed in particular by ISIS? We have no indication on that yet, do we?

GORANI: No, we don't have any indication on it. And in a way, does it really matter? I mean, right now with the Internet, with self- radicalized individuals in many other countries, it really doesn't take much to wreak the kind of havoc we saw at Brussels airport. I mean, when you think about it, these three guys when look at some of the CCTV footage, were not necessarily some of the best military operatives. They fumbled, one of them panicked.

All you need is people who are suicidal, brainwashed and ready to kill innocent civilians and you have a situation like this. Whether it was directed from the self-declared caliphate of ISIS inside Syria or Iraq, or whether or not these individuals were radicalized in cells inside this country and never travelled to that country, you know, the end result ends up being the same.

So I think for authorities, the challenge will be how do you protect these areas and how do you target these cells and these individuals?

[04:40:00] It's a very difficult task. And many countries outside of the Middle East will have to deal with the aftermath of these absolutely atrocious murderous attacks.

MARQUEZ: Yes. The most frightening part may be that very little training went into preparing for this attack.

Hala Gorani for us in Istanbul, thank you very much.

ROMANS: Thanks, Hala.

MARQUEZ: Airports across the United States ramping up security in the wake of a terrorist attack in Turkey. The TSA increasing security at major airports from New York to L.A. Authorities will be adding highly visible security personnel on the perimeter of the terminals that includes heavily armed officers who will conduct random sweeps and searches. One lawmaker tells us authorities -- tells us authorities are doing all they can to keep people safe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ANGUS KING (I), MAINE: In the FAA bill that went through the Congress a month or so ago, we did some significant beefing up of airport perimeter security there, something called viper teams which usually involve dogs, exposes sniffing dogs or trying to protect the perimeter of the airports. So, we're working on it. It's impossible -- I mean, this is the dilemma of being a free society.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: All right. Breaking overnight, dozens of ISIS fighters killed in a series of U.S. air strikes. Iraqi defense officials say the operation hit a convoy in a desert south of Fallujah. The terrorists were apparently trying to escape the region.

Look at that. Officials say at least 500 vehicles were targeted.

President Obama on Wednesday linking ISIS terror attacks abroad to the territory it is losing now in Iraq and Syria.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They are continually losing ground, unable to govern those areas that they've taken over. That they're going to be defeated in Syria. They're going to be defeated in Iraq.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: President Obama taking on Donald Trump and his idea of populism, that is coming up after the break.

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[04:46:04] ROMANS: Donald Trump turning his back on decades of conservative free trade orthodoxy. At a rally in Maine, the presumptive Republican nominee, pushing a protectionist trade agenda, slamming the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for backing trade deals he called, quote, "sinister". Remember, the Chamber of Commerce is a long time of Republican candidates.

Trump also speaking out on the airport attack in Turkey, preaching the need for a tougher stance against terror and stronger U.S. military.

CNN's Jim Acosta has more from Maine.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Christine and Miguel, Donald Trump continued to ramp up his rhetoric on national security following the terror attack in Turkey. At a rally here in Maine, Trump talked about the appeal of ISIS saying the terror group is, quote, "looking strong and signing up people over the Internet." Near the end of his remarks, Trump lamented the current state of the nation's military and made false claim that the U.S. hasn't won a war since Vietnam.

Here's what he had to say.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: When I was young, we won everything. We always were. They used to brag, America has never lost a war. Then we had Vietnam. You know, we lost -- since then I think we only lose.

We're going to start winning again. Our military is depleted. It's going to be rebuilt.

We have old obsolete equipment in our military. Our jet fighters, we get our parts from the plane graveyard and from museums, that's how bad it is.

ACOSTA: And Trump returned to his tough message on trade, accusing the U.S. Chamber of Commerce of being controlled by special interest groups, a startling attack coming from a Republican presidential candidate.

Trump is set to deliver another speech on trade in Manchester, New Hampshire later on today -- Christine and Miguel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ: Thank you, Jim Acosta.

President Obama disputing the idea Donald Trump is spearheading a campaign seeking to represent the interests of ordinary people. During a news conference in Canada, the president went on a tear about populism. Without mentioning Trump by name, he said in part that, quote, "anyone who has never shown regard for workers or fought on behalf of any social justice issues is not for the American people."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: They don't suddenly become a populist because they say something controversial in order to win votes. That's not the measure of populism. That's nativism, or xenophobia, or worse. Or it's just cynicism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The president there also talking about the benefits of free trade.

So you have the Democratic president and U.S. Chamber of Commerce against the Republican candidate who is sort of having a trade war actually with the Chamber of Commerce and the president. It's remarkable.

MARQUEZ: One thing, this election can't get anymore strange address then does. The bedfellows just get weirder in this one.

ROMANS: Yes, they do. Yes, they do.

A new poll finds Hillary Clinton widening her lead over Donald Trump. The latest FOX News poll finds Clinton leading Trump by six points, 44 percent to 38 percent. That doubles Clinton's three point average over Trump from FOX News' poll from three weeks ago. This as a long time Clinton aide testifies her primate e-mail server may have interfered with Clinton's ability to do her job. Huma Abedin saying in a newly released deposition that Clinton missed a call from a foreign minister because aides did receive her e-mails. Abedin also repeatedly explaining that Clinton used a personal server to prevent her private e-mails from being read, not to hide government communications.

MARQUEZ: Questions being raised this morning, as word surfaces Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Bill Clinton met as his wife's e- mail probe was under way. The duo apparently an unscheduled meeting at an airport in Phoenix. Lynch making it clear Hillary Clinton's email probe was not discussed, saying the conversation was social, centering around his grandchildren and his golf game.

[04:50:07] And new this morning, the Senate throwing Puerto Rico a lifeline to keep it from drowning under its $70 billion debt burden. Lawmaker passing legislation with a complicated system for restructuring its huge debt. Puerto Rico owes creditors nearly $2 billion by tomorrow.

Yikes. The bill offers no money to help pay the debt, but does put it in place legal protections and fiscal oversight board to come up with a plan for ending the nearly decade long economic crisis. President Obama is expected to sign that bill as soon as it hits his desk.

ROMANS: The biggest U.S. banks are prepared to deal with a deep recession. That's according to the latest results from the Federal Reserve stress tests. Thirty-one of the largest U.S. banking operations passed, just two failed. The tests simulate how the banks would fair in a financial crisis.

This is a big deal for investors because that banks that passed are now cleared to buy back stocks and passed along bigger dividends to their shareholders. The two that failed were the U.S. operations of Spain's Banco Santander and Germany's Deutsche Bank. The Fed cited a lack of risk management there.

We're watching shares of General Electric this morning, a widely held stock probably have this on your 401k. The stock popped 2 percent yesterday after the company's GE Capital arm shed its too big to fail designation, that mean it is won't have to deal with separate regulations. GE Capital has sold off nearly $150 billion in asset in order to slim down its operations.

MARQUEZ: Now, it's small enough to fail.

ROMANS: Small enough to fail, exactly, and not take down the whole economy with it.

MARQUEZ: That's good news. Well, there we go.

ROMANS: All right. Investors have enjoyed a Brexit rebound over the past couple of days. But are these gains for real or will fears of an economic backlash return? We'll get an early start to your money, next.

MARQUEZ: My God! (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:55:57] MARQUEZ: New details from the black box aboard EgyptAir 804. Egyptian officials confirming the flight data recorder shows smoke on board the doomed aircraft and investigators say wreckage from the front section of the plane shows signs of high temperature damage and soot.

The black box data is consistent with automated electronic messages sent by the plane showing smoke detectors went off in a bathroom and an area below the cockpit. It is still unclear what caused the smoke. The plane crashed en route from Paris to Cairo last month, killing all 66 on board.

ROMANS: A disturbing find in Rio de Janeiro. Police say a foot and other body parts have washed ashore on a beach where the Olympic beach volleyball games are set to take place. That is just the latest incident in a crime-battered city. At least ten people have been killed and 50 shot over the past nine days, because of shootings triggered by police searches for a drug trafficker.

MARQUEZ: And Michael Phelps is going for the gold. The 22-time Olympic medalist came out of retirement and a stint in rehab is now the first American male swimmer to make five Olympic teams when he competes at the summer games in Rio. Phelps came in first in the men's 200 meter butterfly at last night's Olympic trials in Nebraska. Phelps splashed a high five to the crowd after he qualified in a show of appreciation for his fifth opportunity.

ROMANS: I know, 22-time medalist. Every time I say that, I just can't believe, you know?

MARQUEZ: It's amazing.

ROMANS: All right. The death toll in southern California now climbing to four as a series of wildfires rips across that state. State officials say 4,000 firefighters are battling a dozen large wildfires. Officials say more than 60,000 acres of land have been scorched, more than 100 homes destroyed. They say the flames are fueled California's fifth year now of severe drought.

MARQUEZ: Speaking of --

ROMANS: Let's talk about severe market action, right?

MARQUEZ: Yes, we like severe.

ROMANS: Let's take an early start on your money. Stocks in Europe are mixed, oil right now is down.

OK. Check out the Dow over the past five sessions if you want to talk about severe, a week ago the average popped on hopes the U.K. would stay. And then it plunged when the country voted to leave, fearing harsh economic consequences and disruption and just uncertainty forever. Those worried spilled in to Monday's session. Look at that, like almost 900 points for Friday and Monday, and then two straight days of solid gains erasing much of the losses.

This is why you don't sell in the middle of a panicky day.

MARQUEZ: We need more though for the good day.

ROMANS: OK. All right. You want another good day. Here's what the three major averages stand now for the year. The Dow is up for the year.

Earlier this week it had been negative. NASDAQ still down, S&P 500 is higher.

OK, Miguel, this stat I think is just stunning. College graduates are filling almost all of the open jobs in the U.S. labor market. Of the 11.6 million jobs created since the recession, 73 percent of those went to those -- went to someone with bachelor's degree. This is a new report from Georgetown University. They really studied this closely.

Another 26 percent went to people with associates degrees or some college education. That means no college, just 1 percent of jobs went to someone with no college. Employers want workers that have at least some higher education experience or even a trade certificate from a technical or community college.

The grads in the most competitive industries are looking for dream jobs right away. Look at this -- another new survey reveals the top five companies business and engineering majors want to work for, Google, Apple topped the list and then Ernst & Young, Goldman Sachs and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

So, if you, you know, recreate as a business and engineering major, that's where you're going to want to go to work.

MARQUEZ: And specialized jobs with a degree are the people who are getting the jobs.

ROMANS: Yes.

MARQUEZ: Science and technology.

ROMANS: I think it feeds in to the narrative we're seeing on the campaign trail. All these voters feel like there is not a spot for them in the American economy.

MARQUEZ: Older voters who feel left behind the transition.

ROMANS: That's right.

MARQUEZ: Fascinating.

EARLY START continues now.