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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Massacre at Mosque In Quebec City; President Defends Travel Ban; Travel Ban Protests Across The Country. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired January 30, 2017 - 05:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:30:15] ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, a deadly shooting at a Quebec mosque being investigated as an act of terror. What are police learning from two people in custody?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Anger boiling over as new questions emerge over President Trump's executive order banning travel from seven Muslim-majority nations. This morning, the president with a new defense of his move and a new attack on its opponents. Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.

KOSIK: Good morning, I'm Alison Kosik. It's 30 minutes past the hour and let's begin with breaking news out of Canada. A shooting at a mosque in Quebec City is being investigated as an act of anti-Muslim terror and now authorities in several cities here in the U.S. are stepping up security. Let's bring in CNN's Brynn Gingras. She joins us now live with the late-breaking details. I know you've been following this --

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

KOSIK: -- all night, all morning. What's the latest?

GINGRAS: Well, John asked about the two attackers -- what we know about them. We still don't have exactly a motive but we do know where they got arrested. We've learned that one of the attackers was actually captured near the mosque and the other on a highway several miles away from that mosque. And this all, shortly, after witnesses described two men dressed in all black opening fire on the crowded mosque last night while families were there worshiping.

Now, we're still waiting for more information about those two people in custody but authorities describe this as a coordinated terrorist attack at the Quebec Islamic Cultural Center in Quebec City. It's unclear right now if others were involved. Six people, though, were killed, eight others were injured and are in the hospital with critical injuries. We know 39 people were able to escape unharmed.

Something else authorities are looking into is, is there a link between this incident and a hate crime that was reported last year when a bloody pig's head was left on the mosque doorstep during Ramadan? Overnight, though, you can imagine the condolences just pouring in from all around the world. The country's prime minister saying his thoughts are with the victims and their families, saying that this country is going to stand together.

A little bit closer to home here in New York City, we did get word that the NYPD is now instructing its special counterterrorism teams to give extra attention to mosques and places of worship here in New York City while, Alison, just keeping an eye on this investigation. Still, more information coming out --

BERMAN: Yes.

GINGRAS: -- as you can imagine.

BERMAN: Sending condolences to Quebec at the same time, saying he's going to keep a careful eye on what happens here at home.

GINGRAS: Right.

BERMAN: All right, Brynn, thanks so much.

KOSIK: Thank, Brynn.

BERMAN: Appreciate it. This morning, confusion reigns after a weekend of chaos, protests, not mention clarification after clarification of President Trump's executive order banning travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries. Now, some critics say the ban went too far, even affecting legal residents of the United States. Others say it was implemented without careful planning, creating the messy scenes at airports this weekend.

The president is defending the move. He wrote, "America is a proud nation of immigrants and we will continue to show compassion to those fleeing oppression, but we will do so while protecting our own citizens and border. We will keep it free and keep it safe, as the media knows but refuses to say." We're going to have more on the president's comments in just a moment.

KOSIK: Already, federal judges across the country have issued temporary stays, blocking parts of the travel ban. The Department of Homeland Security says it will comply with judge's orders not to deport travelers detained after they've landed. But an administration official calls the rulings non-sequitur, noting they apply to the one- time situation of travelers in the air when the president signed the order. Immigrants overseas will still be banned.

Some of the harshest criticism of the ban is that seemed to come out of nowhere with little planning and haphazard implementation. The White House denies that. A senior administration official says months were spent drafting the order and that several of the top immigration staffers on Capitol Hill participated. But others familiar with the matter say the circle involved was small and that the agencies most affected -- Homeland Security for one -- had little input and were given few details until just before the president signed the order.

BERMAN: New demonstrations against the ban are planned for across the country today following the huge protests we saw this weekend. Demonstrators packed Boston's Copley Square chanting "no hate, no hear, immigrants welcome here." In New York, an estimated 10,000 people jammed into Battery Park. In Washington, protesters marched from the White House to the Trump International Hotel to the Capital, and then back toward the White House.

And in San Francisco, at the airport there, an international security checkpoint was shut down due to a crowd of protesters that one airport official estimated was about 1,500 strong. There were other demonstrations in Atlanta, Philadelphia, Atlanta (sic), Seattle, Chicago, most of those taking place at airports.

[05:35:00] KOSIK: Meantime, legal challenges are mounting to President Trump's seven-nation travel ban. House and Senate Democrats are planning to protest tonight outside the U.S. Supreme Court. And in an emotional statement, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer insisting he will introduce legislation to overturn the order.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D), SENATE MINORITY LEADER: This executive order was mean-spirited and un-American. It was implemented in a way that created chaos and confusion across the country and it will only serve to embolden and inspire those around the globe who will do us harm.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: CNN's justice reporter Laura Jarrett joins us now live from Washington. So, it seems like you've got lawyers and politicians all lining up to kind of hit the pause button on this.

LAURA JARRETT, CNN JUSTICE REPORTER: That's right, Alison. President Trump's travel ban was met with swift legal opposition this weekend but there was also some downright confusion about who exactly was going to be covered by this ban. Now, initially, we knew that the executive order prohibited foreign nationals from those seven Muslim- majority countries from coming into the U.S., but the question was then well, what about green card holders? Now we know from the Department of Homeland Security that green card holders from those seven countries will undergo additional security screening when they land here in the U.S. and absent some serious threat to public safety they should be admitted to the country.

Now, on the lawsuit front, you saw a flurry of emergency filings from civil rights groups representing those who are being held at the airports over the weekend. The rulings from the judges in these cases were across the country and they had different degrees of impact but they all, essentially, blocked the deportation of those legal permanent residents or those with visas who are being held at the airport. The judges did not, though, rule on the larger constitutional questions regarding this order and so we expect to see a more expansive lawsuit filed by an advocacy group later today testing some of those constitutional issues.

One that you might hear is involving liberty or property interests, and the idea there is that when the government gives you a right like that you have to give someone an opportunity to be heard before you take it away. And experts tell me the ones who will have the toughest time here challenging the legality of this executive order are the non-citizens who are still overseas because they lack a guaranteed right to come into court.

Now, President Trump is not backing down. He says this isn't about religion, it isn't a Muslim ban. It's about keeping our country safe. So, we'll have to see how all this shakes out in court but legal experts tell me he has pretty expansive powers here.

KOSIK: OK. Justice reporter Laura Jarrett, thanks very much.

BERMAN: All right. A lot of smoke, a lot of anger here but the president, himself, trying to calm things down. CNN's Athena Jones has the latest from the White House.

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ATHENA JONES, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Alison. President Trump responding to the criticism the travel ban he's imposed has been getting, issuing a statement saying in part, "We will continue to show compassion to those fleeing oppression, but we will do so while protecting our own citizens and voters." He added, "This is not a Muslim ban as the media is falsely reporting. This is not about religion, this is about terror and keeping our country safe." He said his "first priority will always be to protect and serve our country, but as president I will find ways to help all those who are suffering."

The White House saying that they are "extremely proud of what we've accomplished so far." That's from a senior administration official who said it really is a massive success story in terms of implementation on several levels but, clearly, it's a move that is continuing to come under fire -- John, Alison.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: All right. Athena Jones for us from the White House. I want to bring in "CNN POLITICS" reporter Eugene Scott and, Eugene, it is interesting just a week into the administration the Trump administration is being criticized by both parties, in some cases, over this travel ban. I want to read you a statement from Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham who've been quite critical of President Trump, even through the campaign --

EUGENE SCOTT, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Sure.

BERMAN: -- so take that into account. But they say, "It is clear from the confusion at our airports across the nation that President Trump's executive order was not properly vetted. We should not turn our backs on those refugees who have been shown through extensive vetting to pose no demonstrable threat to our nation. Ultimately, we fear this executive order will become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism." Again, criticism now, including from some in his own party.

SCOTT: Certainly, and we saw the president push back personally on McCain and Graham on Twitter, saying that they weren't concerned about national security. Now, many in his party say being concerned about national security and being sensitive to the concerns of refugees aren't mutually exclusive and would like to see some more thought take place before implementing a ban this controversial.

[05:40:00] Whether or not he'll take heed remains to be seen, but I do think it's worth mentioning that in his most recent Facebook post he seemed to be responding to some of the questions people were asking about -- just concerned about the fact that these refugees -- and not only refugees but people just coming from other countries for any reason -- are often fleeing some very hostile situations.

KOSIK: So, possibly a little bit of a softening there, if only a little bit. But it's interesting to see the reaction from people traveling. Relatives waiting for people, let's say, coming from Yemen. We have one sound bite from last night from one airport. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMAL SALEH, SISTER-IN-LAW DETAINED FOLLOWING TRAVEL BAN: They placed them in isolation in a small room and treated them as criminals or as people who may have committed a crime. They have a six-years-old and a seven-years-old is a terrorist just because they came from Yemen, then I think where is the humanity?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: OK, so this kind of travel ban is something that many voters who voted for President Trump wanted to see, but then you've got this major outrage happening from what it seems most of America, at least, and around the world.

SCOTT: Right, and that's in part because it's been so sweeping. There's a great story on cnnpolitics.com of a kid who's -- well, not a kid, he's a high school student from Syria who wanted his whole life to get into MIT. And this past winter -- you know, it's college acceptance time -- he got a letter saying that he was admitted into MIT and now he fears whether or not he'll actually be able to study. So, this ban isn't just keeping out refugees from countries that Trump's concerned about, it's affecting people who traditionally would not be affected by something like this.

BERMAN: It's interesting, you know. Again, if you're talking about the political response you can tell that the White House isn't too happy with how it's gone so far because we are getting word that the White House may move up the president's choice for a Supreme Court nominee. Initially, it was going to be Thursday and the president, himself, telling us all it was going to be Thursday. It may happen as early as today.

KOSIK: It could be a deflection.

SCOTT: Yes, it could be a deflection because many people who voted for Donald Trump -- even those who have problems with him -- were excited about the fact that he was going to replace Justice Scalia with someone as conservative as Justice Scalia. And Donald Trump's been very vocal in the past week, saying that the person that he's had his mind on, everybody's going to love. And so, I think he's hoping that people will focus on that love in this direction and forget this very controversial ban that has lots of people asking very difficult questions. But it seems like the American people are capable of entertaining multiple ideas at one time -- we'll see.

KOSIK: It certainly has been busy, what, week, two weeks?

SCOTT: Yes.

BERMAN: All right. Eugene Scott, thanks so much for being with us.

KOSIK: Thanks, Eugene.

SCOTT: Thank you, guys.

BERMAN: So, Eugene said, you know, someone that everybody loves. Who better to describe than Tom Brady, who is headed to the Super Bowl. There's another team going as well -- they got there -- but we're going to focus on the big game coming ahead. Andy Scholes with this morning's Bleacher Report live from Houston, next.

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[05:47:10] KOSIK: The tech industry is forcefully speaking out against President Trump's executive order on traveling to the U.S. Leaders from all of these companies you see here have condemned the move. They include Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Twitter, among many others. Apple's CEO Tim Cook says, "Apple would not exist without immigration, let alone thrive and innovate the way we do." That's a nod to both current employees and Apple founder Steve Jobs, who was the child of Syrian immigrants.

The companies say they're working to help those affected and will their concerns to the administration. Immigrants have started 51 percent of all the billion-dollar startups in the U.S. That's according to a study last year from the National Foundation for American Policy, which is a nonpartisan think tank.

BERMAN: The Atlanta Falcons waking up in Houston this morning, probably with nightmares of a very pretty face hanging over their head. This, in advance of Super Bowl LI.

KOSIK: Andy Scholes is there, too, and has more in this morning's Bleacher Report. Good morning.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, guys. Super Bowl week is finally here and half of the participants have arrived here in Houston. The Patriots actually making the rare decision to travel to Texas here today as opposed to making the trip on a Sunday before the big game.

But the Falcons, on the other hand, they arrived in Houston yesterday afternoon and as you can see, the team all business as they were getting off the plane. No one was out there trying to make any fashion statements like Cam Newton last year. Of course, we all remember the pants that Cam was rocking when he got off the plane last season. Now, those didn't work out for him too well as his Panthers lost to the Broncos. The Falcons aren't going to have to worry about that.

The Patriots, meanwhile, not here yet but many of their fans have arrived, including a group on a giant bus dubbed the "Drive for Five." The fans left Foxborough on Wednesday in this big luxury motor coach and 16 states later they are now here in Texas ready to cheer on their team in the Super Bowl.

Hey, good chance some of them might actually go to what is dubbed "NFL Opening Night" now. This used to be called, you know, just media day which was a circus in itself. Now it's a primetime event the fans can attend. Tonight, it's being held at Minute Maid Park where the Astros play. The event is sold out. And on top of, you know, listening to the players meet with the media for the first time, there are going to be concerts, a fireworks show, a chance for fans to get autographs and what-not.

And guys, you know, there's about 5,000 media members credentialed for the Super Bowl so there's going to be tons of media members here all week. And I'm standing in the over-under right now, John, of how many times Tom Brady's asked about Roger Goodell or -- and/or "Deflategate" at 100 and I'm going to go ahead and take the over. I think that's all he's going to hear.

BERMAN: I would take the over, too, but if you set the over-under at one for how many times he'll give an interesting answer, I would take the under.

[05:50:03] SCHOLES: I would take -- yes, I would take the under on that as well.

BERMAN: All right, Andy, thanks so much.

KOSIK: All right. We are watching global stock markets. They are slumping, reacting as investors weigh the impact of the president's travel ban. Will those concerns hit Wall Street? That's the question. We're going to get an answer when we check on CNN Money Stream, next.

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BERMAN: President Trump spent a good part of the weekend working the phones. He spoke to the Saudi king, King Salman. The White House says the two leaders agree to support safe zones in Syria and Yemen to protect refugees, but the Saudis, they made no mention of such an agreement.

[05:55:10] And then there was the highly anticipated conversation, the one we've been hearing about for weeks. The talk between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. I want to bring in CNN's Clare Sebastian live from Moscow this morning. And Clare, the headline might be what was not discussed.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely, John. There were several elephants in the room, you might say, during this conversation. The word sanctions never mentioned according to the readouts that we get from the Kremlin and the White House, although they did mention that they were willing to look at restoring trade in economic ties so, perhaps, a hint there at the possibility of lifting sanctions.

They also didn't mention anything about the alleged Russian interference in the U.S. elections. That didn't come up and neither did the topic of NATO. NATO troops on Russia's border, a key sticking point between Russia and the previous U.S. administration, but that didn't come up at all. However, it was a very positive conversation on both sides.

We're getting word now from the Kremlin -- Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, saying there was a mutual respect whereas in previous years Russia has got used to a deficit of respect from the United States. And he did say that they are -- you know, there is a lack of detail at the moment but they are working towards meeting and that could take place, he said, before the G20 Summit in July. I think there's a sense that a lot of -- a lot of the details being pushed to that face- to-face meeting but we may have to wait a few weeks or months before that happens, John.

BERMAN: All right, Clare. Clare Sebastian in Moscow for us. Thanks so much.

KOSIK: OK, let's get a check on CNN Money Stream this morning. Investors are beginning the week a little cautious following President Trump's execution actions on travel. We are seeing Dow futures down about a quarter of one percent. Stock markets in Europe are falling and the major markets were closed overnight for a holiday, but we did see shares in Tokyo finish lower.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz responding to the president's travel ban with a commitment to create jobs for refugees. Schultz says the company will hire 10,000 refugees over five years. That covers stores in all 75 countries it operates -- it operates in. The proposal is going to begin with a focus on people who have served with U.S. troops as interpreters and support personnel. Schultz saying this, "We are living in an unprecedented time" and he wants to "reinforce our belief in our partners around the world."

The CEO of Airbnb says the company is offering free housing for people who are left stranded as a result of the president's travel ban. CEO Brian Chesky tweeting this, "Airbnb is providing free housing to refugees and anyone not allowed in the U.S. Stay tuned for more. Contact me if urgent need for housing." The CEO also condemning the ban and says he stands with those affected. He also put out a call to those with properties for rent that would like to help. So, we're also seeing a lot of people on Twitter answering his tweet saying hey, I'm available to have my place for rent free as well for those in need.

BERMAN: You know, it's interesting. I heard from Wall Street insiders overnight who say their concern isn't with the ins and outs of the travel ban per se, but the idea that the president's focusing on something other than tax cuts. The rise in the markets for the last few months, they say, is all because of the tax cuts. They want the White House to focus on that. KOSIK: All right, thanks for joining us. I'm Alison Kosik.

BERMAN: I'm John Berman. "NEW DAY" starts right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is NEW DAY. It is Monday, January 30th, 6:00 in New York and we do begin with breaking news for you.

Deadly gunfire ringing out at this mosque in Canada. Police say six people were killed at the Islamic Center of Refuge and Worship in Quebec City. Canada's prime minister calling this a terrorist attack. Witnesses describe a coordinated assault.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right. We do know that police have made two arrests. They say the situation is now under control, but what do we know about who did this and why? Let's get the very latest from CNN's Paula Newton live in Quebec for us -- Paula.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Chris. The main thing -- piece of this investigation the police are really looking into is the fact that this was a coordinated attack. They're talking two attackers and weapons. Weapons that they believe are, of course, banned here in Canada. As you were saying, six dead and eight people in the hospital, six critically injured. Authorities telling us that those people are fighting for their lives right now.

The mosque here -- the Islamic Cultural Society saying they are completely stunned. While they have had some issues at this mosque behind me in the past -- in fact, during Ramadan, June, they had the head of a pig left in front of their mosque -- they did not think it was concern for any kind of violence. Needless to say, the community is completely shocked and as investigators try and piece this together they are going through the city right now conducting raids and searches. What they really want to know is if they had co-conspiracy -- co-conspirators -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: All right, thank you very much, Paula. Bring us all of the developments as soon as you get those.