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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Trump 'Regrets Saying The Wrong Thing'; Trump And Pence Head To Louisiana; State Dept.: "Iran Cash Was "Leverage" Not Ransom. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired August 19, 2016 - 05:30   ET

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

[05:29:00] DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Sometimes, in the heat of debate and speaking on a multitude of issues, you don't choose the right words or you say the wrong thing. I have done that and believe it or not, I regret it. And I do regret it, particularly where it may have caused personal pain. Too much is at stake for us to be consumed with these issues.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At the top of his speech Donald Trump also talked about the heartbreak and devastation affecting the people of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. We are now hearing that Donald Trump and running mate Mike Pence will be visiting the region later today. Trump saying, of what's going on in Baton Rouge, we are one nation. When one state hurts we all hurt. We must all work together -- Christine, George.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN HOST: Jason, thank you. Starting today, the Trump campaign's first T.V. ads of the general election begin airing in four battleground states in Florida, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Ohio. The ads, themselves, have not yet been released but we do know that Trump will be seriously outspent on the air over the next two weeks. The Trump campaign and its allied super PACs -- they're all set to spend $7.9 million in those four states alone.

Hillary Clinton, though, and her super PACs, they've reserved $12.8 million worth of T.V. time for the same period. The Clinton campaign has spent more than $75 million in 10 states so far since locking up the Democratic nomination in June.

Let's get a good read on what's happening in the world of politics. Let's bring in our political reporter, Eugene Scott, to talk about the new Donald Trump. So Eugene, look, this speech that we heard last night, this is a very different Donald Trump, offering regrets. What does he regret exactly?

EUGENE SCOTT, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, he said he regrets saying words that cause people pain. Which words, in particular, it's not clear. He's been criticized for how he's talked about women, how he's talked about Mexican immigrants, how he's talked about Black Lives Matter protesters. Specifics will be demanded by people who really have doubts about whether or not this is a new Trump, but it appears to be a move in a different direction from where we saw last week. CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN HOST: Is this his new management team? Do you see the fingerprints of his new executives here, I mean, because this is a Donald Trump scripted, looking at a Teleprompter saying I'm sorry if I've caused any pain with my words -- my choice of words. That's remarkable.

SCOTT: I think it is. I mean, we had Kellyanne Conway, his new campaign manager, on "NEW DAY" yesterday and she gave us a hint that this would happen. I think many people were surprised that it happened less than 12 hours later, but whether it will continue remains to be seen.

I will say the fact that he is going to Louisiana, especially during a time where President Barack Obama has received criticism for not, definitely shows a continuation of a new, more compassionate Donald Trump.

ROMANS: Let me ask you about an international event. So, there's going to be the optics today of the national sort of destruction in the crisis in Louisiana and so Donald Trump and Mike Pence will be able to look presidential surveying the damage there.

There's an international story that is on the front page of every American newspaper today and that is this little boy in Aleppo, five years old, in the back of an ambulance. You've all seen it by now, it's heartbreaking. He's wiping the blood off of his face. He's almost embarrassed, you know -- doesn't know where to do it. It's just a new face of this old 5-year-old tragedy. That little boy, as long as he's been alive, this has been his reality.

Here's my question. A year ago many people were saying what are we doing to help these people and then the tone on the campaign trail changed into what are we doing to keep people out of here who have been made refugees by the crisis in Syria? Does this start to play politically here? Will we hear these candidates talking about it?

SCOTT: I can't imagine that we won't. I mean, this has taken -- the attention taken viewers captive over the last not even 24 hours. What we are seeing is that the narrative that the only people trying to come to this country for safety, or at least looking for safety, are these big, strong potential terrorists.

We have 5-year-old boys who are victims of airstrikes looking to America in some ways, not solely, to rescue them. It will be interesting to see what the U.S. government and people running to lead it will say that gives people the belief and the awareness that we have answers to these problems.

HOWELL: Yes, I know that myself and Christine, we're parents. When I see that image -- and if we could put it back on screen -- of little Omran, I just can't. I mean, this is a war that has been going on for year, after year, after year, after year, after year and I think if the candidates are not talking about it, people are absolutely talking about that situation.

[05:35:00] SCOTT: Yes, the voters definitely are talking about it. I saw on social media this morning and last night so many people have so many comments and people are concerned. People want to know how we got here and how the next leader of our country can get us away from here.

HOWELL: What do we do for other little kids, other people, families that are in the same situation as little Omran, who you see right there.

ROMANS: We need grown up politicians with grown up policies that will fix and end this, right? I mean, it just -- it has to stop. Question is, is there going to be a serious attempt to have rational policy that will help fix this immediately, you know.

HOWELL: Yes.

ROMANS: I mean, people can't live like this.

SCOTT: No.

ROMANS: It's ridiculous.

SCOTT: No.

HOWELL: Eugene, thank you so much.

SCOTT: Thank you.

HOWELL: Moving on now to another story that we are following. The head of the U.S. Olympic Committee is apologizing to the city of Rio for the actions of four American swimmers who police say lied to them about being robbed at gunpoint.

The USOC chairman, Scott Blackmun, says the swimmers face potential consequences. He tells Rio officials "The behavior of these athletes is not acceptable, nor does it represent the values of Team USA or the conduct of the vast majority of its members. We apologize to our hosts in Rio and the people of Brazil for this distracting ordeal in the midst of what should rightly be a celebration of excellence."

Two of the U.S. swimmers, Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger, have now left Rio. They're headed back home after speaking with Brazilian authorities. They were pulled off their flight 24 hours earlier. (Video playing) And then there's this, video of that incident with police accusing the Americans of vandalizing a gas station. The two sides, though, offering very different accounts about what happened next.

We get more now from our senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh in Brazil.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine, George, here is the scene of the crime, or maybe the not crime -- unclear at this stage. You'll recognize from the CCTV video this alleyway, down which you see the men walk. This is where they're alleged to have torn the poster off the wall and there, where they're alleged to have urinated after a long night of celebrating.

Now, the question is what happened after that? They seem to emerge from here, on the CCTV that we see, out into the forecourt of the gas station. After a night of celebrating -- partying, shall we say -- they get in the wrong taxi, first of all, then they move on to the right taxi over here on this side of the gas station.

Then a man is seen bending down into the car. He's dressed in black. Now this is where the story diverges quite enormously. Brazilian police say that this began a conversation in which all sides worked out how to recompense the gas station for the damage done here, and when the police arrived everything was calm.

Sources close to the four swimmers, who've said they've spoken to all men, say no, this actually marks the point where there's a drop in the CCTV footage of three minutes during which the man leaning in, according to the swimmers, made out like he was a police officer, showing them a badge, pointed a firearm at them and said give me money (gesture) making this particular gesture.

Now, we still don't know how to reconcile these two accounts. We do know that Brazilian suspicions were necessarily aroused by these men returning home with substantial amounts of high-value items on them. That was shown at CCTV from their village.

But the sources close the swimmers accept that, yes, they did pee behind this building and maybe they did damage the poster, but outright flat say that CCTV corroborates Ryan Lochte's original story. There was an armed robbery here by people they thought were police. These two very different accounts very hard to reconcile now -- Christine, George.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. The swimmers assertion that there are three minutes of missing footage -- that's based on the initial release of the video --which is an accurate assertion. But subsequent video later released by the civil police and screened by CNN shows no gap in the footage. We'll have more on the Olympic Games, themselves, including another gold medal for Usain Bolt, later this half hour.

All right, 39 minutes past the hour. Time for an early start on your money. Stocks within shouting distance of record highs. Dow futures wobbling here. A small gain, though, would surpass record highs hit earlier this week. Stock markets in Europe and Asia mixed.

The rich are getting richer and now control three-quarters of all wealth in the U.S. Stunning new data just released by the Congressional Budget Office, this is what it shows. The top 10 percent of families control 76 percent of the nation's wealth. The middle 40 percent of families, they own and control 23 percent. The bottom 50 percent of families share one percent -- just one percent of the wealth.

Here's what some of those families are worth. The average amount of wealth in the top 10 percent is $4 million. The middle 40 percent, their average wealth, $316,000. The bottom 25 percent of the country has a net worth of $0 and an average debt of $13,000. Numbers like that, George -- that's the oxygen in the income and equality conversation. Those numbers are the backdrop for assessing any policy from a presidential candidate, no question.

[05:40:00] HOWELL: Absolutely. You've heard that expression a thin line between love and hate? Well, an even finer line between ransom and leverage. The State Department now admitting hundreds of millions of dollars was kept from Iran until Americans were released. How is the State Department defending that, next.

ROMANS: We've all spent time combing store racks looking for the perfect item. Now, traditional brick and mortar stores are using technology to make sure you find what you need there without going to look for it online later. "CNN MONEY"s Vanessa Yurkevich has a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VANESSA YURKEVICH, DIGITAL CORRESPONDENT, "CNN MONEY": This type of shopping is becoming the old way of doing things. Ecommerce is nipping at the heels of brick and mortar retail sales. That's because online retailers know you better. They can track your every move. What we like, what we buy, and how we shop.

But a new heat mapping technology called Prism is evening the playing fields for brick and mortar stores like Rachel Shechtman's.

RACHEL SHECHTMAN, FOUNDER, STORY: I think we're on the edge of retail Armageddon, which might be a little bit extreme. But I do think, you know, what would Amazon be without insights and analytics.

YURKEVICH: If you can't track them while they shop, customers might as well be invisible. There I am, trying --

CLIFF CROSBIE, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, PRISM SKYLABS: You're right on that screen.

YURKEVICH: Prism figured out how to use security cameras to captures shoppers' motions. What they touched, which way they entered, and which areas they like most. Is red good or bad?

CROSBIE: Red is busy. The same way that Amazon or all these big online guys understand their customers through what they do, and what they click, and what they go on, the retailers need to understand that as well. So we get that same kind of data.

YURKEVICH: There's about 25 things on this table. How do you know what people are picking up?

SHECHTMAN: So when you're looking at the map it will give you a sense, right, of where the most action is. So kind of look at that, then pull the SKU's here, look at sales and say you know what, this journal is not selling and maybe it's because this sign is right in front of it, so I think we might have to play a little bit of retail Tetris.

YURKEVICH: Prism clients range from supermarkets to furniture stores to big tech retailers.

CROSBIE: Just to make sure that all my stores kind of conform and check on it is an action that's going to increase sales if everyone's executed properly or it's going to save costs because I didn't need to travel around 20 stores to do that. Retail's a real life thing that's happening every minute, so every minute you don't change something in retail you've probably missed an opportunity.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[05:42:35] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:46:55] HOWELL: Welcome back to EARLY START, I'm George Howell. The White House insists it did not pay ransom to Iran for the release of U.S. prisoners even though the State Department now confirms a plane with $400 million in cash onboard was "held up and used as leverage to make sure the Americans were set free first".

The State Department denying any quid pro quo existing that was linking the payment to the prisoner release. A spokesman claims the Iranians would have gotten that money anyway because it did belong to them. House Speaker Paul Ryan says President Obama owes the American people a full accounting of his actions, accusing the White House of paying ransom and trying to mislead the public about it.

A close call for military advisers in Northern Syria. They were nearby on Thursday when Syrian warplanes launched an attack on the main U.S. ally in that region, the Kurdish YPG. This is the first time the Kurds have been targeted by the Assad regime in the Al Hasakah province, which is under Kurdish control. About 300 U.S. military advisers are stationed in that area.

ROMANS: Twitter says it has suspended 235,000 accounts in the last six months for promoting extremism or terrorism. That brings the total in the last year to 360,000. And the company is expanding the department that reviews reports of questionable accounts. Twitter has been widely used -- widely used by extremists groups. The company says daily account suspensions are up over 80 percent since last year.

Chicago's police superintendent plans to fire seven officers accused of lying about the shooting death of an unarmed teen two years ago. The officers filed reports that were contradicted by dashcam video from the night Laquan McDonald was killed. That video showed McDonald walking away from police with a knife in his hand, not lunging toward officers. Among those reportedly facing termination, the partner of the officer who pulled the trigger. That officer is already facing murder charges in this case.

HOWELL: The latest now on the Blue Cut fire in San Bernardino, California. Three suspects -- three looters -- suspected looters -- arrested while trying to leave an evacuated home in a pickup truck. They told deputies that they were picking up property for a friend who lived there -- that's what they told them.

Meanwhile some evacuees have been told that they can return to their homes, but the question is if those homes still exist. That fire has burned 36,000 acres, forcing 83,000 people from their homes and it is only 22 percent contained this morning.

ROMANS: All right, how about some early morning Friday edition business and political advice from Dolly Parton? She is drawing inspiration from everything going on in America, from politics, to those bathroom bills, to equal pay. I go on tour with this business mogul, next.

[05:49:45] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:53:50] ROMANS: Damning evidence surfacing in the last 24 hours that four American swimmers were not innocent victims of an armed robbery but, rather, they got caught up in a tense altercation with officers after vandalizing a gas station.

I want to bring in CNN's Coy Wire. He's got the very latest on this incredible story. Coy, what's the reaction in Rio as the Games being to draw to a close here?

COY WIRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine, I was at a function last night. A lot of U.S. athletes and their families were there and this was certainly the talk. It was one of the first things people are saying when you approach them. Have you seen -- have you seen the latest?

And the "New York Post" front cover pretty much sums up their general thoughts and feelings about what has happened. It says "Liar, liar, Speedo on fire, The Ugly American" in reference to Ryan Lochte and his false accounts of what happened that night.

Strong video evidence in a highly anticipated and attended press conference held by the Brazilian chief of civil police. It absolutely has people talking. Both Ryan Lochte's reputation and validity of his account of what transpired that night were blasted, so much so the USOC and USA swimming offered public apologies for what the four U.S. swimmers did.

[05:55:00] And the executivedirector of USA Swimming blasted the lapses in judgment, saying that it was upsetting that the four swimmers had drawn attention away from Team USA's incredible accomplishments in the water and by other athletes across the Olympic Games.

Speaking of the games, can we talk about them -- the actual greatness that's happening here? Usain Bolt, the greatest of all time. Eighth career gold medal yesterday, absolutely dominating the 200-meters winning his second gold here in Rio. Later, he's going to go for that 4x100-meter final gold. If he does that, he'll get that triple- triple, having won the 100, 200 and 4x100-meter in three consecutive games.

Team USA's Ashton Eaton, once again, the world's greatest athlete. Second consecutive gold in the Olympic Games in the decathlon, just the third man to ever win it twice. And talk about a power couple, his wife, Brianne, won the heptathlon here in Rio. Ashton says -- bronze, I'm sorry -- Ashton says that he gets more nervous watching her compete than when he actually competes, himself. U.S. women's 4x100-meter relay team, they got a second chance. They

had dropped their baton in morning heat. They were disqualified but they appealed it because they were bumped during the race. They were allowed to run again all by themselves and they did qualify with their time. They'll be in today's final.

The USA crushing it on the medal count, reaching that 100 mark. China, Great Britain in second and third, consecutively. But tonight it's going to be that 4x100-meter with Usain Bolt, guys. We get to see him one more time -- the greatest of all time and the fastest man in the world, do his thing.

ROMANS: All right, Coy Wire, thank you so much for that. The Friday edition, let's get an early start on your money. The stock market has a chance to end the week at record highs. Look at futures now, wobbling a bit. Stock markets in Europe and Asia mixed. Oil down slightly.

All right, when life is exciting song writers thrive, and these days Dolly Parton is thriving. She's writing about all this crazy stuff that's going on right now, she says. Today, she releases her 43rd studio album and Dolly tells me from politics, to the bathroom bills, to equal pay, she is inspired.

Now, this is no mere country music star. She owns restaurants, theme parks, a record label, film and T.V. production. She is a mogul.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: When you were starting did you think look, if I'm going to last, if I'm going to endure, and if I'm going to make sure the music business doesn't take advantage of me, I have to be in control of my image, my sound, my business -- every angle of It?

DOLLY PARTON, SINGER AND SONGWRITER: Well, you said it when you said the business. It is called the music business. So as soon as I could I started my own publishing company, I've got my own record label now. And so, I just try -- I think it's important, if you can, to keep all of your goods close to home where you can control it and know what's happening with it.

ROMANS: How do you think that music helped to push along the woman's movement over the past 40 years? Do you think that's been a factor?

PARTON: Music, in general, really have pushed through many ideas, even the nine to five whereit's equal pay for equal work. And we've come a long way since then but, you know --

ROMANS: I think we're still at 83 cents to the dollar.

PARTON: We've got a ways to go and that's what I'm saying, but we're working on it. I don't care whether it's your race or whether you're green, blue, black, red or alien gray, or whether you're male or female or transgender. If you do work you should be paid and appreciated for it, and you should be respected and appreciated for what you are. Songwriters actually have a field day when things in life are going on. I know I'm writing all sorts of things about this crazy stuff that's going on right now. I get all kinds of thoughts. But I usually don't talk politics and who I'm voting for and all. But I'll tell you, right now I am not decided.

ROMANS: You're not decided?

PARTON: No.

ROMANS: You have not decided. So you've got another three months to --

PARTON: I don't --

ROMANS: -- watch all this.

PARTON: I'm just watching it close.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Smart business news not to alienate any of your potential fans. All right, 58 minutes past the hour. Donald Trump admitting something we've rarely seen, regret. Why now and how does this fit into the big picture of his rebooted campaign? "NEW DAY" picks up the coverage right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Sometimes you say the wrong thing. Believe it or not, I regret it.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There is no new Donald Trump, this is it.

TRUMP: I can be too honest. Hillary Clinton is the exact opposite.

KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Let him be him. That's how he got here.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have a policy that we don't pay ransom.

TRUMP: President Obama lied. He said we don't ransom, but we did.

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: It's not ransom. We had to take advantage of the timing here.

RYAN LOCHTE, OLYMPIC SWIMMER: They pulled us over, they pulled out their guns.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Brazilian authorities saying Ryan Lochte's stunning story about being robbed at gunpoint all a lie.

MARIO ANDRADO, SPOKESMAN, RIO OLYMPIC ORGANIZERS: They made a mistake, it's part of life. Life goes on. HOWELL: Police accusing the Americans of vandalizing a gas station.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo and Alisyn Camerota.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: Good morning, everyone, welcome to your new day. It is Friday, August 19th, 6:00 in the East. Don't adjust your set, you're not seeing double. Chris is off this morning and Poppy Harlow joins me. Great to be with you.