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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Officials: Plot to Kill Police Foiled; President Obama & Bush Call for Unity at Officers' Memorial; Sanders Endorses Clinton, Trump Narrows VP Search; Royals Power American League to All Star Game Win. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired July 13, 2016 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:01] ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: I know, it's amazing.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN ANCHOR: It's incredible, amazing.
EARLY START continues right now.
(MUSIC)
MARQUEZ: Three arrested, one more suspect possibly on the run, accused of plotting to attack police officers in Baton Rouge. New information overnight.
KOSIK: President Obama and George W. Bush urging the nation to unite after last week's deadly shooting by police. And then the attack on them in Dallas.
MARQUEZ: Hillary Clinton finally endorsed by Bernie sanders, as Donald Trump narrows his V.P. search. New developments in the race for president.
Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Miguel Marquez.
KOSIK: Good morning. I'm Alison Kosik. It's Wednesday, July 13th. It's 5:00 a.m. in the East.
And breaking overnight, authorities in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, say they foiled a plot to kill police just days after Baton Rouge officers shot Alton Sterling, three men have been arrested in this. Men who officials say stole guns, and stole ammunition intending to shot police officers. Authorities say one suspect is still at large. That is not the only threat facing police there.
CNN's Boris Sanchez is in Baton Rouge with the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miguel and Alison, officials tell us they have every reason to believe there is potentially a fourth and maybe more suspects involved in this plot to harm officers in Baton Rouge. This all started late Friday night into Saturday morning after officials tell us there was a burglary at a Cash America Pawnshop here in Baton Rouge when they saw one suspect fleeing the scene with a handgun.
After interrogating that suspect, he apparently told officers that him and a group of people were, quote, "looking to get bullets", in order to target police officers during following the death of Alton Sterling. Due to the information that was gathered during that interrogation, officers raided a home yesterday here in south Baton Rouge, and they arrested two other suspects, one of them a 13-year- old. They were able to recapture some of the weapons stolen during the burglary.
There were eight weapons taken in all. They now have six in their possession. But there's still two weapons, two handguns, that are missing. So, officials are still looking for it.
Again, they're looking for a potential fourth suspect. They made a plea to the community and the suspect himself to turn himself in peacefully. It's critically to point out, this is one of two credible threats that the Baton Rouge police department is dealing with right now. They tell us they received dozens of threats, not only against law enforcement, but against protesters, and against he public in general.
But there are two that they deemed credible enough to dedicate resources to, the burglary at the pawn shop, and a report from an officer who said he was being followed by someone suspicious. We don't have many details about how that incident unfolded exactly. What we're hearing is that the officer reported having been followed at some point. And now, officials are investigating that. Again, we don't have that many details, but as soon as we do, we will hopefully flesh it out and continue to follow developments as this manhunt for a potential fourth suspect continues in Baton Rouge -- Alison, Miguel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARQUEZ: Boris Sanchez in Baton Rouge.
A day of mourning in Dallas with private funerals scheduled for three of the five police officers murdered in the street by a sniper last week. On Tuesday, the city came together and the nation watched. President Obama and George W. Bush speaking passionately at the public memorial for the officers, both reaching across party and ideological lines, calling for unity among Americans in the wake of last week's tragedy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And today, in this audience, I see people who have protested on behalf of criminal justice reform grieving alongside police officers.
I see people who mourn for the five officers lost but also weep for the families of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. In this audience, I see what's possible --
(APPLAUSE) I see what's possible when we recognize that we are one American family, all deserving of equal treatment, all deserving equal respect, all children of God. That's the America I know.
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT: We recognize that we are brothers and sisters, sharing the same brief moment on earth, and owing each other the loyalty of our shared humanity. At our best, we know we have one country, one future, one destiny. We do not want the unity of grief, nor do we want the unity of fear. We want the unity of hope, affection and high purpose.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
MARQUEZ: Now, later today, President Obama will host law enforcement, civil rights, faith activists and elected leaders for what the White House is calling a conversation on community policing and criminal justice.
[05:05:05] KOSIK: There's new determination from the mother of Philando Castile to give meaning to her son's death at the hands of police. Castile shot and killed last week by police during a traffic stop in Minnesota. Late last night, his mother Valerie Castile telling CNN that she appreciated the phone call from President Obama on Tuesday, but she says much more must be done. Along with her attorney, TV judge Glenda Hatchett, she defended her son, saying he did everything right when police pulled him over.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VALERIE CASTILE, MOTHER OF MAN KILLED BY POLICE: He did everything he was supposed to do to be a productive citizen in the state of Minnesota. And I want everyone to know who he is, who he was and what he stood for.
JUDGE GLENDA HATCHETT, LAWYER FOR FAMILY OF PHILANDO CASTILE: We're talking about a man who was doing right, who had a job, who wasn't trying to fight with the police, who wasn't a felon running and combative and trying to get the policeman's gun. We're talking about a man who was employed, who was loved with his community, loved by his family, and who was permitted to have a gun, and now, he's dead. So, we're saying this time, you know, and he did it all correctly, this time must be the last time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: Valerie Castile says she's still not seeing the Facebook streamed by her son's girlfriend in the aftermath of the shooting. She said it would be just too painful to watch Philando in agony. Meantime, police called to the scene after the shooting, say there is more about what happened that they want people to know.
CNN's Rosa Flores has more on that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miguel, Alison, you've seen the video of Philando Castile inside his car with the white t-shirt covered in blood. Now, Castile is the black man who was shot and killed by a police officer. That video was shot near this memorial on this street.
But what about when that cell phone video goes to black. Well, the police chief of some of those first responding police officers helps us fill in the gap. He said his officers arrived on scene, procured the scene, and within three minutes started administering CPR on Castile. He said those officers administered CPR just outside of his door.
CHIEF REICK MATHWIG, ROSEVILLE, MINNESOTA POLICE: Our officers didn't know who had shot whom. There's a lot of things that they had to work through. At 9:10 p.m., so three minutes after they arrived they started to perform CPR on Mr. Castile. Four rows of officers using an AED had performed CPR on Mr. Castile until they were removed by St. Paul Fire and Paramedics, because St. Paul Fire handles the medical emergency in the city of Falcon Heights.
FLORES: Now, the chief also said that all of that was captured on dash cam video and that video was turned over to the state agency conducting this investigation. He says that it will all be revealed when the investigation is completed -- Miguel, Alison.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: Thanks, Rosa Flores.
Donald Trump narrows his V.P. search auditioning one possible pick and another quits his day job. We'll tell you about it -- coming up.
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[05:12:33] MARQUEZ: Donald Trump is expected to choose a running mate by Friday. And the odds-on favorite Indiana Governor Mike Pence just got a tryout. And Republican Party insiders say he looked the part, attacking Hillary Clinton while building up his potential boss.
We get more from CNN's Dana Bash.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Miguel and Alison, right here in Indiana, it was audition time, for the state's governor, auditioning clearly to be Donald Trump's vice presidential running mate. He tried to hit all of the points that are traditionally necessary for a running mate, somebody who is supportive of the candidate's agenda, an ability to be president, but maybe when it comes to raw politics, somebody who can be an attack dog for the opponent.
GOV. MIKE PENCE (R), INDIANA: You know, Hillary and her party has been sliding so far to Bernie's left of his agenda it's hard to keep track of it. The truth of the matter is, that they're -- I just have to tell you from my heart, after looking at the direction that their party has gone, farther and farther to the left, to paraphrase the director of the FBI, I think it would be extremely careless to elect Hillary Clinton as the next president of the United States.
BASH: Now, Indiana Governor Mike Pence is not known very well on the national stage, but he is somebody who has quite a lot of support and has gotten more so over the past couple of days, even, from conservatives who believe that he is one of them. He is a true evangelical.
And also one other interesting point is his donors, Mike Pence's donors, tend to be those, many of who tried to fund and did fund the Never Trump movement. So, that could be something that would make Donald Trump happy.
But at the end of the day, it's got to be the comfort factor and the ability to be commander in chief if needed. And, certainly here, at this public meeting, and more importantly perhaps, in private discussions, we're told that the two have bonded.
But Donald Trump has made clear, as has his aides, not necessarily a final decision yet, and there are other people like Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, on the short list -- Miguel and Alison.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOSIK: All right. Dana Bash, thanks for that.
And there's a lot of moving parts. Let's discuss this as we get closer to the convention. CNN politics reporter Eugene Scott, joining us now live from Washington.
[05:15:00] Thanks for getting up early with us.
EUGENE SCOTT, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Thank you.
KOSIK: So, House Speaker Paul Ryan appearing on CNN's town hall with Jake Tapper last night. Interesting to hear him endorse Donald Trump. But it was pretty darn tepid. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. PAUL RYAN (R-WI), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: It's a binary choice. It is either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. You don't get a third option, one or the other. And I know where I want to go.
He won the election. I mean, we are a bottom-up party. We are not a top-down party. He got 14 million votes. No one else got close to that. So, he won the primary fair and square, and that is why we want to respect the will of these voters who are the Republican primary voters who voted for him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: OK. But at the same time, solidifying support among Republicans, that solidification not clearly happening in a big way. But does that really matter for Donald Trump? Because when you think of it, he's running on the fact that he's an outsider, and that's who the people supporting him like? SCOTT: Well, I think what matters to Donald Trump and what matters to
Paul Ryan which he was eluding to last night is that Donald Trump is who the voters want. And I think the Republican National Committee has to answer a lot of questions this year that they perhaps in the past did not have to, regarding their commitment to their base and to voters, and I think what Ryan tried to communicate more than anything else is that they want to be a party of the people.
You see the comment about being a bottom-up party, considering all of the criticism they received about establishment officials controlling things. I think what matters the most at this point for Paul Ryan and for Donald Trump is to communicate the idea that they are for the people.
MARQUEZ: Well, there's also something that Donald Trump is for these days which is picking a new V.P.
SCOTT: Sure.
MARQUEZ: I will get to that. He was in Indiana with Mike Pence yesterday. The governor there. Let's hear what he said about him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You'll be calling up Mike Pence. I don't know whether he's going to be your governor or your vice president, who the hell knows? You're going to call him and you're going to either say, Governor or Vice President, sir, please, please speak to Mr. Trump. We're winning too much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: Boy, that's a pretty strong indication of his like.
I want to read also what FOX News said about Newt Gingrich. Due to the intense speculation about Gingrich's potential selection as Donald Trump's vice presidential candidate, we felt it best to halt his contributor role at the network to avoid all conflicts of interest that may arise."
So, clearly, these two are being vetted very heavily. Put your prognosticator cap on. Who is it going to be and will either of them make a difference?
SCOTT: That's so interesting. As I look at how this is being caused for the vice presidential candidate for Donald Trump, it feels like a "Apprentice" finals episode. It's not really clear and everyone has their vote.
I think and I think I said this yesterday on EARLY START, but it could be because of the momentum, it's looking like Mike Pence brings things and people and voters to the table that Donald Trump does not have. Even in that clip, you seem much of what has made Donald Trump successful with his base, that excitement and just the -- being off the cuff. Mike Pence is a bit more tempered and a bit more mild-mannered. And
he just can even out some of the weak points that critics say Donald Trump has. So, I think he's going to go with Pence, but I don't know.
KOSIK: All right. We have to get to the Democrats. You're coming back later in the show. We will talk about all of the activity yesterday with that. We'll see you in a bit, Eugene, thanks so much.
SCOTT: See you.
MARQUEZ: Thank you.
Now, baseball's best gathering in San Diego for the all-star game. The American League looking to win for the fourth time in a row, and it turned out to be a royal affair. Coy Wire with this morning's "bleacher report."
See you in a bit, Coy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:23:48] KOSIK: Baseball's all-star game gets overshadowed by controversy over the Canadian national anthem.
MARQUEZ: Coy Wire has more on this morning's "bleacher report."
Good morning, Coy.
KOSIK: Good morning.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESONDENT: Good morning to you both, how are you?
It's a great day but we had controversy last night, a member of the quartet at called The Tenors changed the line of "O Canada" to make a political statement, and held up a sign to enforce it, all unbeknownst to other members of his group, check it out.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
WIRE: Now, the rest of the group quickly distanced themselves from the singer. They released a statement saying they are deeply sorry, shocked and embarrassed by the, quote, "disrespectful and misguided lack of judgment by one member of the group," unquote. It went on to say, quote, "the actions of this member of the group are extremely selfish, and he will not be performing with the Tenors until further notice," unquote.
Now, in the game, it turned out to be as Miguel said a royal affair for a couple of Kansas City players. Eric Hosmer and Salvador Perez each hit homeruns for the American League in the second inning, then Hosmer smacked an RBI single an inning later.
[05:25:08] And with that performance, he becomes the first Royal since Bo Jackson in 1989 to take home MVP honors. American League wins 4-2, Bo knows that means the A.L. will have home field advantage in the World Series.
Finally Red Sox slugger David Ortiz ended his game career, it was quite the walk off. Standing ovation. Hey, Big Papi, you sure you don't want to come back and play next year?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID ORTIZ, BOSTON RED SOX: Hey, we got $25, $30 million for you to come back and play, what would you do? Ain't going to be there. There's no way you're on the beach having a beer having a good time, watching the waves, you want to go back to the gym, and start doing things, you know? Starting all over.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: Oh, Big Papi, there's no way you would be at the beach and pass up $25 million to $30 million to come back and play, but what an ending to an incredible. It would be fund watching him play the rest of the season, guys.
KOSIK: That's a great sendoff. Thanks, Coy.
MARQUEZ: I think he has his priorities straight. Very sensible.
WIRE: Sounds nice.
MARQUEZ: Love it.
KOSIK: Thanks.
All right. New arrests as police reveal plots to attack officers in Baton Rouge.
MARQUEZ: A city divided by protests after last week's deadly shooting. We'll have details coming up.
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