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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Clinton Returns To Campaign Trail; New Letter From Clinton's Doctor; Dr. Oz Interviews Trump On His Health; Trump Responds To Powell Email Leak; Fed Investigating Wells Fargo; UNC Rape Allegation; ACC Follows Lead Of NBA And NCAA; U.S. & Russia Extend Syria Ceasefire; Apple Sold Out Of Some iPhone 7 Models. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired September 15, 2016 - 05:30   ET

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

[05:30:00] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: -- who says Clinton is recovering well from pneumonia. This, as new polls show Clinton's absence from the campaign trail and this transparency issue, overall, may be taking a toll.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny is following the story for us with 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 being 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 now on medication for 10 days for that pneumonia.

Now, the question here has been 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 that Mrs. Clinton has remained healthy and has not developed new medical conditions this year other than a sinus and ear infection and her recently diagnosed pneumonia. She is recovering well", the doctor 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 realize they've lost a little bit of time here. They are eager to get back to campaigning but the top priority of the Clinton campaign, one senior advisor tells me, her health. That first debate with Donald Trump now only 11 days away -- Christine and George.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Eleven days. Jeff Zeleny, thank you.

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: 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's lying in bed getting better, and we want her better. We want her back on the trail, right? We want her back on the trail.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: A subtle or not so subtle jab there. Trump's own health, though, still something of a mystery. Even after a made-for-TV moment here where he surprised Dr. Oz with a physician's letter at a taping of Oz's show. Reporters weren't allowed inside there but audience members -- they tell CNN that Trump said that he does not exercise. Still, he would like to lose 15 to 20 pounds. And he's on statins -- drugs that help lower cholesterol.

The Trump campaign is set to release a summary of Trump's physical today but that remains far less than what other presidential nominees have released in the past.

ROMANS: All right, joining us to break down the debate over the candidates' health and policies, Zachary Wolf, managing editor of CNN politics digital. Good morning, Zach.

You know, we're going to get a big policy speech today from Donald Trump. Hillary Clinton's on the trail today in a couple of important swing states. But we're going to hear from Donald Trump in New York about the economy and he says he's going to have an unbelievable package of proposals unlike anything we've ever seen before.

He also rolled out his child care proposal with his daughter, Ivanka, and that's getting some blowback this morning that I found very interesting. Ivanka Trump, when she was selling this child care package out there doing interviews, she said that her own organization gives eight weeks paid leave and we're finding that may not be true.

ZACHARY WOLF, MANAGING EDITOR, CNN POLITICS DIGITAL: That's right. According to "The Huffington Post" which went and talked to some workers at Trump hotels who don't necessarily work for The Trump Organization but for subsidiaries of The Trump Organization, so they fold up into the larger organization.

They don't get any paid maternity leave. They rely on sick leave, the bare minimum that you can do in federal law, according to this "Huffington Post" report which is a pretty stunning refutation of what Ivanka Trump argued the other day.

HOWELL: Zach, the issue of honesty and transparency, it is front and center. The issue of health for both of these candidates -- for Donald Trump, his business dealings, his taxes not released to the public. Hillary Clinton's emails. All of this is playing in the minds of voters.

And I want you to take a look now at these different polls in these swing states. First, let's start with the state of Ohio here. You can see Donald Trump ahead 48 percent when it comes to honest and trustworthy. Voters there think he is more honest. And also in Florida, 47 percent over Clinton's 40. So, as these polls are tightening what do these candidates have to do now, especially Hillary Clinton who is surely suffering? Who has been kicked from this topic.

[05:35:00] WOLF: Well, yes, and that gets to the heart of her problem -- it's honesty and trustworthiness. And voters nationwide in these swing states, they all don't necessarily trust her, according to these polls. These have to be very concerning numbers, I think, for the Clinton campaign. Florida and Ohio, two states that President Obama won -- she, of course, wants to sort of follow his map or in the Trump era perhaps expand it.

But the idea that it's this close has got to be, I think, concerning to them right now. And, you know, this health issue -- how the press was kept in the dark --

ROMANS: Right.

WOLF: -- people didn't know, and pneumonia -- I can only think that that might help feed the idea for a lot of voters that they don't know what's going on with her.

ROMANS: You know, you talk about the trust issue and how that's been hurting her -- helping him in the polls tighten some of those polls. You look at the economy polls in some of these swing states. In Ohio, who could better handle the economy, Trump up 10 points in Ohio. In Florida, who can better handle the economy, Donald Trump up eight points.

He's going to give this big economy speech, as you know, and now he's coming out as a champion of working women. And I wonder why he just continues to get so much credit on being so good for the economy even though he's kind of been -- his policies have shifted on the economy. And even -- you look at this child care plan that they rolled out this week. Listen to what he said in 2004 about women taking maternity leave.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Well, you know, pregnancy is never -- it's a wonderful thing for the woman, it's a wonderful thing for the husband. It's certainly an inconvenience for a business. And whether people want to say that or not, the fact is it is an inconvenience for a person that is running a business.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: You know, some of this prior statements contradict what he's saying now about trying to help and be this big support for working women as President of the United States, but it doesn't seem to hurt him in the polls.

WOLF: It doesn't. You know, the other interesting thing about his maternity proposal is it's focused almost exclusively -- or it is focused exclusively on women and Democrats in the Clinton campaign have complained they want to extend parental benefits more to men --

ROMANS: Right.

WOLF: -- and bring them more. You know, the idea that you focus on women creates -- some people would call it a mommy class -- in businesses so that's another unintended consequence.

You know, it all comes back to here we are just a few months from the election and we're getting so -- we're starting to get some specifics from the Trump campaign, which this is not the usual time where you're rolling out policy proposals. That happened back in the primaries, perhaps. So just another example of how this year is totally different.

HOWELL: You know, another big topic that we're all talking about, the political hay from the Colin Powell leaked emails.

ROMANS: Yes.

HOWELL: You know, obviously, he is critical of Clinton. He's very hard on Donald Trump. But, Zach, it's the simple fact that these private emails from a person who is not holding a public office -- he's retired from office -- it's been leaked and put out. That's a big deal.

WOLF: It's unfortunate, I think, for Colin Powell. I think all of Americans -- with the DNC hacking and all the government hackings, and now Colin Powell's hacking, don't put anything in email that you don't want put in public.

HOWELL: Yes.

ROMANS: Especially about your bosses. That's all I'm going to say. (Laughing) All right, Zach, nice to see you this morning.

HOWELL: Thanks, Zach.

WOLF: You, too.

ROMANS: All right, 39 minutes past the hour. More trouble for Wells Fargo this morning. A U.S. official tells CNN the Department of Justice issued subpoenas to the bank over the opening of millions of fake accounts. Multiple U.S. attorneys' offices are investigating, the source says. The probe still in the early stages. It's not clear if the bank will face charges. Wells Fargo declined to comment.

The CEO, John Stumpf, will likely be grilled by the Senate Banking Committee next week. That includes, of course, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Stumpf told "CNBC" earlier this week he is sorry for the fake account scandal but he will not step down. And he dodged a 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 tactics.

HOWELL: The University of North Carolina rocked by rape allegations against one of its football players. Why the accuser decided to go public. That's next.

ROMANS: If you're traveling to Budapest, the city's historic bath houses are a great way to take in the city's beauty and recover from your travels.

[05:40:00] (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VERONICA, BUDAPEST TOUR GUIDE: Welcome to Budapest, I'm Veronica. I'm a tour guide here in the city and I would like to show you the beauties of the thermal baths. Budapest has about over a dozen thermal baths. Each bathhouse has a different experience.

For instance, here in the thermal baths you can see the beautiful classical style architecture. It's the biggest thermal bath of its kind in Europe. The Gellert thermal bath is a more art nouveau style building, more relaxed. There are even thermal baths from the Turkish times, some more than 500 years old.

The reason why Budapest is so unique is because we have huge amounts of water reserves under the ground. The thermal water includes a lot of different minerals which have a healing effect on arthritic problems, muscle and joint problems. Of course, it relaxes you and it's good for your health. That's why we have so many foreigners arriving to the country for the sake of tourism.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:45:15] ROMANS: All right, breaking overnight, a cross-country flight diverted after the 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 entire plane with Denver police before giving the all-clear. No word what the suspicious package was or the suspicious device was. Passengers reboarded to continue their trip.

HOWELL: 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 that she was raped by Artis back in February. The alleged victim said she acted after months of inaction by authorities and the University. The local D.A. says they are not dragging their feet, but that the investigation is ongoing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM WOODALL, ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Is there evidence that proves this case beyond a reasonable doubt? And I think the UNC Police Department has been working in that vein. And 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 are considered misdemeanors.

ROMANS: The Atlanta Coast Conference is following the NCAA's lead announcing it will move its upcoming conference championships out of neutral sites in North Carolina. It's a response to the state's controversial transgender bathroom law, also known as House Bill 2. The NBA has also boycotted North Carolina by pulling its All-Star game out of Charlotte and moving it to New Orleans.

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

ROMANS: Gosh.

HOWELL: Look at that.

ROMANS: Unbelievable.

HOWELL: That's southern Taiwan.

ROMANS: All right, the iPhone 7 hits stores tomorrow. Good luck finding one.

HOWELL: Yes.

ROMANS: Preorders were crazy -- that's a technical term -- and investors are happy. We'll show you the big gains that could be a part of your 401(k) when we get an EARLY START on your money, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:51:40] HOWELL: The United States and Russia agreeing to extend a fragile ceasefire in Syria for another 48 hours. The State Department admitting there have been violations of this three-day-old truce on both sides. But not a single fatality has been reported since it was implemented and that is the hopeful news. Unfortunately, there is still no humanitarian aid in sight for the hundreds of thousands of people who need it most. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh live from Amman, Jordan, following the story. Jomana, there have been no -- there have been violations, I should say -- no lives lost. What is the sense on the ground about whether the ceasefire is truly working?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there is some optimism, George. We are entering day three of this truce and there has been no significant violence recorded. Yes, there has been some sporadic violence here and there. Incidents of violations that have been recorded. Both the regime and the opposition accused of carrying out these violations.

But as one monitoring group put it, the most important thing here is that for three days now we have not seen a single combat-related death in the areas that are covered by this truce. But when it comes to humanitarian aid, despite this relative calm, we haven't seen this aid reach these areas.

HOWELL: Well, again, pushing on that topic of humanitarian aid, Jomana, why is it being held up? Why is it not getting to the people who need it most?

KARADSHEH: Well, George, according to the United Nations and aid agencies they have the trucks loaded with this aid. They are ready on the Turkish side of the Syrian border. They're ready to move in but they're waiting for guarantees. They want both the regime and the opposition to provide them with guarantees of safe passage. They will not be sending their drivers and their convoys into harm's way.

And they say that -- the United Nations has said that they will be asking the United States and Russia to put pressure on parties that they can influence on the ground to give them these guarantees. When it comes to the priority for the U.N. here, we've heard them say it is Eastern Aleppo, the rebel-held part of Aleppo, where they need to get this desperately needed aid in.

And for that to happen they need to go through a major highway there called Castello Road. This is a really contested area between the regime and the opposition. We have seen flare-ups of violence there in the past and it's exchanged hands a few times. So we've heard the Russians say yesterday that the Syrian military will be withdrawing from Castello Road. We're waiting to see if that does happen.

And in the meantime, of course, it is the hundreds of thousands of civilians in besieged areas, especially Eastern Aleppo that has been hardest hit, who are still waiting for that aid desperately.

HOWELL: People waiting -- we'll have to wait and see -- and many people hoping. Jomana Karadsheh live in Amman, Jordan following developments. Thank you a lot.

ROMANS: 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 Committee in the same way they struck the DNC. In a statement, McCaul, who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, says he meant that in addition to the DNC hack Republican political operatives have also been targets.

HOWELL: The southeastern part of the United States facing tropical storm Julia this morning. Let's get the latest from meteorologist Pedram Javaheri.

[05:55:00] (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: George and Christine, tropical storm Julia sitting offshore. I really don't see much in the way of strengthening. It has sat there, very similar to this time yesterday, but now the impacts less on the land there as it starts to peel away from the coastline and kind of meanders here for a couple of days.

So potentially, we get some light to moderate rain for places like Charleston, north toward Myrtle Beach and Wilmington, but that is about it. The bulk of it wants to stay offshore over the next several days.

Here's what it looks like nationally temperature-wise. We're talking low to mid 90s around the Southeast. Around Denver, a gorgeous 76- degree afternoon. Minneapolis, enjoy it -- 74 degrees. And the Northeast, a stunning day as well. Boston to New York City, 67 to 73 degrees. And it wants to stay there but it warms up just a few degrees every single day, working our way towards this weekend. And we eventually make it up to the lower 80s in New York City to almost 90 again around Washington, D.C.

And notice this --- final weekend of the summer season. We'll begin a little warming trend but still keeps us about five to six degrees or so above normal, but not too bad. We can live with the lower 80s -- guys.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: It looks like good running weather. Thank you so much for that, Pedram.

Let's get an EARLY START on your money. Dow futures are up this morning. The market closed mixed yesterday after a big drop at the open. Look, the market kind of all over the place these days because no one knows for sure when the Fed will raise interest rates. Stock markets in Europe and Asia trading mostly lower. Oil is falling again after a huge drop yesterday. It's now below $44 a barrel.

Apple has sold out of the iPhone 7 Plus in all finishes and iPhone in jet black and the phone hasn't even hit stores yet. Other colors will be available in limited quantities tomorrow. Investors have been loving the stock. Shares climbed 3.5 percent yesterday and the stock is up more than eight percent over the past three days.

That comes as Sprint and T-Mobile say preorders 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 history Apple is not releasing the first weekend sales figures. The stock, by the way, is widely-held in 401(k) accounts and in mutual funds, so even if you aren't getting a new phone you may be getting a piece of the iPhone anyway.

Chipotle is 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. It currently has 60,000 employees nationwide. Last year, it hired 4,000 people in one day. It got 65,000 applications for those 4,000 jobs. That's like harder to get into Harvard, I think. Chipotle has struggled to repair its image following a recent E. coli outbreak. It's also being sued by 10,000 former employees for unpaid wages.

In addition to Chipotle, Target is hiring 77,500 people to work the floor and on the supply chain to its stores. These are seasonal positions for the holiday shopping season. UPS also staffing up. It expects to bring on 95,000 seasonal workers.

You know, all that hiring, it's one of the reasons why we saw those good census numbers about family income growing again, jobs are growing again. But there are folks who say look, a lot of seasonal and part-time lower wage jobs -- that's why sometimes you don't feel like the economy is getting better.

HOWELL: Right, but it actually is, the numbers show.

ROMANS: The numbers show it.

HOWELL: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump both releasing new medical information but the questions are out there. Did they release enough? Do they need to release more? The pressure is on for more transparency. "NEW DAY" starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It is hot, and it's always hot when I perform because the crowds are so big.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I felt overheated. I decided that I did need to leave and, very quickly,I felt better.

TRUMP: I don't know, folks. You think Hillary would be able to stand up here for an hour and do this?

CLINTON: Donald Trump's doctor said he'd be the healthiest president in history. That's just not even serious.

TRUMP: I feel as good today as I did when I was 30.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything is out there for folks to see.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You've got one candidate who has released decades' worth of her tax return. The other candidate refuses to release any at all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When it comes to transparency Ican't take Mrs. Clinton seriously.

CLINTON: I think it's time he met the same level of disclosure that I have for years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone, welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Thursday, September 15th, 6:00 in the East.

So let's talk about the candidates' health. Hillary Clinton set to get back on the campaign trail today after being sidelined for three days by pneumonia. Clinton releasing a letter from her doctor declaring she is fit to serve as president.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right. The overriding concern is transparency. That these candidates are telling you what you need to know. So, Donald Trump is also getting in on this. He's trying to out-healthy Hillary, offering some details about his health. But he made a media event out of his disclosure. Going on a daytime talk show, Trump acknowledged he is overweight and also teased that a full report from his recent physical is going to come out soon.

Now, why does this matter? Because the stakes couldn't be higher. Fifty-four days until Election Day. Eight days until early voting in some states. Eleven days until the major moment of this race, the first debate. We've got it all covered.

Let's begin with senior Washington correspondent Joe Johns. Good morning, Joe.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Chris. It's being described as Hillary Clinton's doctor's note.