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Hillary Clinton Returns to Campaign Trail; Trump Goes After Clinton's Stamina; New Polls Show Big Battleground Shift; U.S. & Russia Extend Syria Ceasefire; Apple's Lucky iPhone 7 Is A Hit. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired September 15, 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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[04:30:48] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: It is back to the campaign trail for Hillary Clinton after three days off to fight pneumonia. Now, her campaign putting out new medical information. Is it enough to quiet the critics?

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: After a few days laying off Hillary Clinton's health, Donald Trump taking not so subtle jabs at Hillary Clinton on the stump, but facing questions over medical information he is releasing in a new interview.

ROMANS: Fascinating polls with both candidates accused of not being forthcoming. New CNN polling shows one of them is seriously hurt by this perceived lack of transparency. New numbers from states that could decide this election, ahead.

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

HOWELL: And I'm George Howell.

Thirty-one minutes past the hour.

And later today, Hillary Clinton back on the campaign trail after taking a medical time-out from pneumonia. She has events in North Carolin and Washington. You'll remember, she was diagnosed with pneumonia on Friday, but it wasn't announced until Sunday, which then raised more criticism and questions about the candidate and issues of transparency.

In an effort to ease those concerns, Clinton's campaign released more medical information on Wednesday -- a two-page letter from Clinton's doctor who says that she is recovering well, according to that doctor, from pneumonia. But new poll numbers show Clinton's absence from the campaign trail and issue of transparency -- well, it may have taken a toll.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny is following the story for us and has the very latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Christine and George, Hillary Clinton heading back to the campaign trail, campaigning in North Carolina today after three straight days at home in Chappaqua recovering from pneumonia.

And late yesterday, the Clinton campaign released a letter from her doctor offering more information, a little bit more insight into the medical condition. Now, we learned that she in addition to be treated last Friday for pneumonia, she actually saw the doctor one Friday prior to that, for that persistent cough that we heard out there on the campaign trail. She has been treated for that and is on medication for 10 days for that pneumonia.

Now, the question here is one of transparency. The Clinton campaign acknowledges that there were some missteps here. Well, she's been off the campaign trail watching all this from her home in Chappaqua and they were trying to get their politics right here by releasing this letter from the doctor.

Let's take a look at one of the summaries here from the doctor basically giving an overview to her condition. She says this, "My overall impression is Mr. Clinton is healthy and has not developed new medical conditions other than sinus and ear infection and her recently diagnosed pneumonia. She is recovering well the doctors," says, "with antibiotics and rest. She continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as president of the United States."

Now, George and Christine, the Clinton campaign hopes this puts an end to it and they hope it puts some pressure on Donald Trump to also release more of his medical information. But the Clintons realized they lost time here and eager to get back to campaigning.

But the top priority of the Clinton campaign, one adviser tells me, her health, that first debate with Trump now 11 days away -- Christine and George.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Eleven days away.

All right. The letter that Jeff mentioned from Clinton's personal physician, it does answer some of the open questions about her health. We now know since the last doctor's letter released from the year 2015, that Clinton suffered an ear infection that required draining from fluid. She also had a CAT scan of her brain which showed the concussion in 2012 has completely resolved.

She also had a CAT scan of her heart which shows her of low risk for heart disease. The letter list the medication she is on, including one for hypothyroidism. She's also on a blood thinner.

But the two-page medical summary left some unanswered questions. Chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta walks us through it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christine and George, I think we do have a little more clarity, for example, as to what happened this past week with Secretary Clinton and this diagnosis of pneumonia. For example, we know that she, in fact, got a CAT scan on Friday, that's September 9th, that showed this infection of her lung and that she started antibiotics that time. But we also know that she was having difficulty up to a week before that, having these fevers and these coughing fits that had been pretty well- described.

[04:35:06] But, Christine and George, I just want to just emphasize again, we clearly have more information as things stand right now from Secretary Clinton than we do for Mr. Trump. But we still, these are not medical records. These are still summaries of records. They are summaries of records by someone who is interpreting them and then delivering them to us, who happens to also have a collegial relationship with the candidate. So, we can take them for what they are.

Part of the reason that people have been asking for medical records is to have a more dispassionate, unbiased look at some of these records, to try and determine the health of these candidates.

Dr. Bardack, Secretary Clinton's doctor, said in her mind, there is no question that Secretary Clinton is fit to lead, however -- Christine, George.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thank you so much, Sanjay.

Donald Trump hosting a fiery rally in Ohio last night. After days of soft pedaling his attacks on Hillary Clinton's health, Trump targeted the subject for the first time since she became ill over the weekend.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I don't know, folks. You think Hillary would be able to stand up here for an hour and do this? I don't know. I don't think so. I don't think so.

Now, we have one left and in all fairness, she is lying in bed getting better. And we want her better and back on the trail, right? We want her back on the trail.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Well, at the same time, Trump's own health is still something of a mystery, even after this made for TV moment where he surprised Dr. Oz with a physician's letter of his own health at a taping of the show. Reporters were not allowed inside.

For the latest on that, let's bring in CNN's Sunlen Serfaty who is traveling with the Trump campaign in Ohio. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, George and Christine.

Well, questions over transparency continued to swirl around his campaign. Donald Trump is releasing some new details about his health today. The Trump campaign, they plan to release a one-page medical summary, the results or some of the results of that physical that he had last week.

Trump also sitting down to discuss his health in an interview that was taped on Wednesday with Dr. Oz. That interview will air in full today.

But some audience members told CNN that Trump says he doesn't exercise of much. He would like to lose between 15 and 20 pounds. And that he does, he does takes drugs -- statin drugs to help lower his cholesterol.

Here is more of what Trump had to say with Dr. Oz, in which he insists that he feels good and believes he has the stamina to be president.

DR. MEHMET OZ, THE DR. OZ SHOW: Let's talk about stamina. You use that word a lot. You made it an issue of this campaign. You are arguing the president has to have a tremendous amount of stamina. If elected, at age 70, you would be the oldest person to ever enter the Oval Office.

Why do you think you have the stamina for the job?

TRUMP: Yes, just about the same age as Ronald Reagan and Hillary is a year behind me. I would say just based on my life, I mean, I've had -- I actually and I don't know if this makes sense, I feel as good today as I did when I was 30.

SERFATY: Now, it is important to note that the Trump campaign, while they are planning on releasing this medical summary, it is not the full release of what that physical shows nor is it the full detail of Trump's medical records. It's far less detailed than what nominees have released, though certainly still lacking a full and complete picture of Donald Trump's health -- George and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Sunlen, thank you for that.

An awkward moment for Donald Trump at a church in Flint, Michigan. Trump was addressing worshippers at the Bethel United Church Wednesday when the pastor, who was hosting him, Reverend Faith Green Timmons, she interrupted him mid-sentence. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Hillary failed on the economy, just like she's failed on foreign policy. Everything she touched did not work out, nothing. Now, Hillary Clinton --

REV. FAITH GREEN TIMMONS: Mr. Trump, I invited you here to thank us for what we have done in Flint, not to give a political speech.

TRUMP: OK. OK. OK. That's good. I'll get back to it. OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Reverend Timmons says that all are welcome at her church, but she also pointed out Trump's presence does not represent an endorsement.

HOWELL: We mentioned earlier Clinton's dip in the latest polls, apparently weighed down by questions of honesty and transparency.

One such example, a fair of brand new CNN/ORC poll tht are looking more promising for Donald Trump in swing states.

Look at Ohio. Trump ahead by five points, 46 percent to 41 percent among likely voters. And if you dig a big deeper there, it's the independent voters in the Buckeye State that are fueling Trump's surge there. Questions about Hillary Clinton's honesty are a big factor for voters in Ohio. Polls show they consider Trump more honest by a 12 point margin.

[04:40:01] Now, to Florida, Donald Trump leading Clinton there by three points. That is just within the poll's margin of error. And once again, it's independent voters that are leaning Trump's way, 48 percent to 38 percent. Florida voters also considered Trump more honest than Clinton via seven-point margin.

ROMANS: Meantime, a surprise endorsement for Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson. The New Hampshire newspaper, "Union Leader", throwing its support to the libertarian ticket, calling Johnson and running mate Bill Weld, a bright light of hope and reason in today's dark times.

About Donald Trump, the publisher says this is an op-ed, "The man is a liar, a bully, a buffoon. He denigrates any individual or group that displeases him. He has dishonored military veterans and their families, and made fun of the physically frail, and changed political views almost as often as he has changed wives."

All right. More trouble for Wells Fargo this morning. U.S. official tell CNN the Department of Justice issued subpoenas to Wells Fargo over the opening of the fake accounts, multiple U.S. attorneys offices are investigating, the source says.

The probe is still in the early stages. It is not clear if the bank faces charges. Wells Fargo declined to comment. COE John Stumpf will likely be grilled by the Senate Banking Committee next week. That includes Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. Stumpf told CNBC earlier this week that he is sorry for the fake account scandal but will not step down. And he dodged the question about the executive in charge of the sales unit, who is slated to retire with a $124 million payout. Representative Elijah Cummings, the ranking member of the powerful

House Oversight Committee, has also requested Wells Fargo turn over documents about its sales targets. I kept saying, George, this is the early innings of the trouble for Wells Fargo. There will be investigations, there's going to be a real scrutiny on the business model of the company and how that may have permeated the culture of shooting. The company's CEO says, look, this is not widespread.

HOWELL: Right.

ROMANS: Those 5,000 stories in the universe of 26,000 and 27,000 people, lawmakers disagree.

HOWELL: Again, this is the story where we are just at the beginning of this thing.

Signs of hope in Syria for a fragile cease-fire. There is a new deal there to extend peace on the ground, but the humanitarian aid is still not getting to the people who need it most. We will look into why as EARLY START continues.

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[04:46:33] HOWELL: Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm George Howell.

The United States and Russia agreeing to extend the cease-fire in Syria for another 48 hours. The State Department admits there have been violations of the truce on both sides, but not reported since implemented. That is the hopeful news.

Unfortunately, though, there is no humanitarian aid in need for the hundreds of thousands of people who need it desperately.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh is live from Amman, Jordan, following developments.

Jomana, good to have you with us this our.

First, let's talk about the cease-fire. There have been more violations. No lives lost. Is it considered successful?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, so far, as we heard from U.N. officials, we heard from U.S. officials, we are seeing a significant drop in violence. We are talking about no major incidents taking place in the areas covered by the truce three days into it. There has been some sporadic violence described as violations by both sides, but so far, none of this is significant and the most important news, we heard from monitoring group there has been zero combat deaths in the areas where the truce is in effect.

This is really unusual in a conflict where we report daily violence and daily death, especially of civilians. But, of course, most critical here right now is humanitarian aid and still no movement on that front, George.

HOWELL: And, Jomana, to that point, can you give us the understanding of the hold up of the humanitarian aid given the cease-fire is maintaining the peace to some degree?

KARADSHEH: Well, George, according to the agencies, they have truckloads of humanitarian aid on the Turkish side of the border ready to roll and get into the besieged areas. We heard most critical for them, the top priority is rebel-held eastern Aleppo where there are about 250,000 to 300,000 people in desperate need of that aid.

But the U.N. says they need guarantees of safe passage and they need this from both parties. They need this from the regime and they need it from opposition fighters that this aid will be delivered and that their trucks and drivers will be safe and fighting will not erupt at any point when these aid deliveries are taking place. This is something that has happened in the past. So, they are still waiting for the guarantees.

When it comes to Aleppo, they want to move through a contested area and the main road which changed hands several times between the regime and opposition fighters. And now, it's under regime control. We heard from the Russians yesterday saying that the Syrian army is going to withdraw, but still no signs of that yet, George.

HOWELL: International correspondent Jomana Karadsheh live for us in Amman, Jordan. Thank you for the reporting. We'll stay in touch.

ROMANS: All right. Republican Congressman Michael McCaul abruptly reversing himself on a claim he made to CNN. McCaul says he misspoke when he claimed Wednesday that Russian hackers targeted the Republican national in the same they struck the DNC. In a statement, McCaul who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee says he meant in addition to the DNC hack, Republican political operatives have also been targets.

All right. To money news. The new iPhone 7 hits stores tomorrow, but good luck finding one. Preorders were crazy and investors are happy. We're going to show you the big gains that may be part of your 401(k) when we get an early start on your money next.

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[04:54:11] ROMANS: Breaking overnight: a cross country flight diverted after a crew spotted a suspicious device on board. The United Airlines flight from Newark to San Diego landed in Denver. Passengers were evacuated. The FBI bomb squad searched the plane with Denver police before giving the all clear. No word what that suspicious device was. Passengers re-boarded to continue their trip.

HOWELL: The University of North Carolina football player Allen Artis accused of sexually assaulting a fellow student turned himself in and is now suspended from the team indefinitely. It comes a day after sophomore Delaney Robinson went public, saying she was raped by Artis back in February. The alleged victim says she acted after months of inaction by authorities and the university. The local district attorney says they are not dragging their feet, that an investigation is ongoing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) [04:55:01] JIM WOODALL, ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Is there evidence that proves the case beyond a reasonable doubt. I think the UNC Police Department has been working in that vein. It can take a long time in certain cases to gather that type of evidence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Artis is charged with sexual battery and assault, both misdemeanors.

ROMANS: The Atlantic Coast Conference is following the NCAA's lead, announcing moving the conference championships out of neutral sites in North Carolina. It's response to the state's controversial transgender bathroom law known as House Bill 2. The NBA boycotted North Carolina by pulling the all-star game out of Charlotte and moving it to New Orleans.

HOWELL: Super typhoon Meranti living up to its name, hitting the Chinese mainland with heavy rain and 145-mile-an-hour winds. After battering Taiwan, the Red Cross there in Taiwan says at least one person was killed and dozens more injured. At least 900,000 people lost power in the storm that produced wind gusts up to 230 miles an hour in southern Taiwan.

ROMANS: All right. Let's get an early start on your money.

Dow futures are up this morning. The market closed mixed after a big drop at the open. Look, the market all over the place right now because no one knows when for sure the Fed will raise interest rates. Stock markets in Europe and Asia trading mostly lower. Oil is falling again after huge drop yesterday. It is well below $44.

Apple has sold out of the iPhone 7 in all finishes and the iPhone 7 in jet black, and the phone hasn't hit the stores yet. Other colors will be available in limited quantities tomorrow.

Investors have been loving the stock. Shares climbed 3 1/2 percent yesterday. The stock is up 8 percent in the past three days. This comes as Sprint and T-Mobile say pre-orders are four times higher than the previous iPhone model. That may be all investors have to go on for now.

For the first time in iPhone's history, Apple is not releasing first weekend sales figures. The stock, by the way, is widely held at 401k accounts and mutual funds. So, even if you aren't getting a new phone, you may have a piece of the iPhone anyway if the stock is in your portfolio.

Chipotle hiring thousands of employees in just one day. The burrito chain needs 5,000 employees as it opens 200 new stores over the next year. Currently has 60,000 employees nationwide. Last year, it hired 4,000 people in one day, 4,000 people, but it got 65,000 applications.

Chipotle has struggled its image recently following the E. coli outbreak. It's also being sued by 10,000 former employees for unpaid wages. But the hiring is a sign the executives think the company can keep growing. In addition to Chipotle, Target is hiring 77,500 employees to work the floor and on supply chains. These will be seasonal positions for the holiday traveling season. Yes, we're already talking about the holiday shopping season. And UPS is also stuffing up ahead of the holidays. It expects so bring on 95,000 seasonal workers.

HOWELL: EARLY START continues right now.

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ROMANS: Hillary Clinton ready to get back on the campaign trail after three days off to fight pneumonia. Her campaign putting out more detailed medical information to quiet critics.

HOWELL: Donald Trump's health also in the spotlight as he shares some, but not much information in a TV interview and after not attacking Hillary Clinton over her illness, a shift for Trump.

ROMANS: And as both candidates keep personal details quiet, questions about transparency grow. Which candidates lead in the polls? New numbers you don't want to miss.

Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

HOWELL: And I'm George Howell. It is Thursday, September 15th, 5:00 a.m. in the East.

And later today, Hillary Clinton back on the campaign trail after taking a medical time-out for pneumonia. She has events in North Carolina and Washington. You'll remember, she was diagnosed Friday with pneumonia, but that was not announced until Sunday, which then raised more criticism, more questions about the candidate and the issues of transparency.

In the effort to ease those concerns, Clinton's campaign released more medical information on Wednesday. A two-page letter from Clinton's doctor saying that she is recovering well from pneumonia. But the polls show that Clinton's absence from the campaign trail and that issue of transparency may be taking a toll.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny is following the story and the has the very latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZELENY: Christine and George, Hillary Clinton heading back to the campaign trail, campaigning in North Carolina today after three straight days at home in Chappaqua recovering from pneumonia.

And late yesterday, the Clinton campaign released a letter from her doctor offering more information, a little bit more insight into the medical condition. Now, we learned that she in addition to be treated last Friday for pneumonia, she actually saw the doctor one Friday prior to that, for that persistent cough that we heard out there on the campaign trail. She has been treated for that and is on medication for 10 days for that pneumonia.