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Security Incident At Shopping Center In France; Trump Edging Toward Obama Foreign Policy; Trump Shifts Tone On Israeli Settlements; U.N. Ambassador Slams Russia On Ukraine. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired February 03, 2017 - 05:30   ET

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

[05:30:25] MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN HOST: Would you believe President Trump is suddenly starting to align with President Obama on some key areas of foreign policy? Major developments in key hotspots. We are live with the latest developments. Welcome back to EARLY START, I'm Miguel Marquez.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN HOST: And I am Christine Romans. Nice to see you this morning. A very busy morning, indeed, on this Friday morning. Thirty minutes past the hour.

Let's begin with our breaking news out of Paris. The French Interior Ministry says there's an ongoing serious security incident at the Carrousel du Louvre. That's a shopping center by the iconic Louvre museum. Officials say a soldier on duty opened fire on a man who had just attempted to attack him with a knife. Officials say the man was armed with a machete. He screamed "Allahu Akbar" before attacking armed soldiers. Officials say the attacker is seriously injured.

Now, about 250 people have been evacuated from the Louvre and the metro station has been shut down. These details just coming in. We're going to have a live report from Paris coming up in just a moment. But again, a security incident there. There is one person who has been shot. We'll have more as we get developments.

Here in this country, a remarkable turn of events. The White House, after more than a year of campaigning against almost every part of Barack Obama's foreign policy. President Trump, post-inauguration, seems to now be adopting or accepting some of these very policies. The administration taking a tougher stance on Israeli settlements, issuing a stern warning to Russia, blaming it for surging violence in neighboring Ukraine. Threatening new sanctions against Iran but not directly targeting the nuclear deal.

MARQUEZ: This, amid diplomatic efforts to soothe rattled nerves in Asia and to patch things up with Australia after a heated called between Mr. Trump and that country's prime minister. All of this on Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's first day on the job. We have live coverage this morning from Europe to the Middle East to Asia.

We begin with our Ian Lee in Jerusalem and that surprising White House pivot on Israeli settlements. Since the election, Israel has not only announced new settlements but also expansion of settlements. How is this latest message from the White House likely to be received? IAN LEE, CNN REPORTER: Good morning, Miguel. Yes, they have announced over 6,000 new housing units to be introduced into settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, but Israeli officials are downplaying this statement from the White House which says, "While we don't believe the existence of settlements are an impediment to peace, the construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements beyond their current borders may not be helpful in achieving that goal."

Israel's deputy foreign minister released a statement saying that, "The White House, itself, holds that the settlements are not an obstacle to peace and they never have been. It must be concluded, therefore, that the expansion of construction is not the problem."

Now, a bit of confusion there, it seems like, as the White House saying that they may be an impediment to peace -- the expansion of settlements -- but we're likely to get more clarification when Prime Minister Netanyahu meets with President Trump on February 15th. Expect them not only to discuss settlements but also moving the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, as well as what relations between Israel and the United States will look like going forward -- Miguel.

MARQUEZ: All right, Ian Lee for us in Jerusalem. It's going to be a very busy time at that April 15th meeting. Thank you very much. Thursday also marked the first appearance at the United Nations Security Council by the new U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley took the opportunity to pivot away from President Trump's cordial, very warm rhetoric toward Russia, going right after Moscow on its renewed aggression in Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIKKI HALEY, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: This escalation of violence must stop. The United States stands with the people of Ukraine who have suffered for nearly three years under Russian occupation and military intervention. Until Russia and the separatists its supports respect Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity this crisis will continue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: Haley also disappointing Kremlin hopes that sanctions would be curbed under the new administration. We want to bring in CNN's Clare Sebastian. She's in Moscow for us. Clare, good morning.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miguel. Yes, I mean, of course, we've had stronger statements in the past from Nikki Haley's predecessor, Samantha Power, but this was certainly a pivot away from what we -- what we thought might be friendlier relations between Russia and the U.S. under Donald Trump. It sets up the same argument that we saw multiple times with the Obama administration, the U.S. blaming Russia for violence in the Ukraine, while Russia continues to blame Ukraine itself.

[05:35:10] Now, sanctions, of course, remain in place. There was a modification overnight to one of the Obama administration's sanctions but the White House took pains to emphasize that this is not an easing of sanctions. And they also said that they knew in advance about Nikki Haley's speech at the Kremlin -- at the U.N., rather. So again, that sense of warming of relations not yet materializing.

Russia, though, trying to put a positive on those comments. The Russian ambassador to the U.N., Vitaly Churkin, saying he had noticed a change in tone from the U.S. and there's a long road ahead but he does hope that that will lead to more constructive relationships. Meanwhile, the violence is still continuing in eastern Ukraine. More reports of potential civilian casualties and calls from international monitors to lay down weapons as quickly as possible. This will continue to be a major challenge for the Trump administration.

MARQUEZ: All right, Clare Sebastian for us in Moscow. Thank you very much.

ROMANS: Another major story this morning, Iran. The White House is expected to announce new sanctions possibly as soon as today. These additional sanctions are a response to Iran's ballistic missile test on Sunday. Even though the president campaigned hard against the nuclear deal, sources say these new sanctions are not expected to affect that agreement. Iran vowed Thursday it would now bow to threats from the United States and will continue its missile activity. A senior adviser to Ayatollah Khomeini, the Iranian leader, criticized the extremism of President Trump who has declared Iran was on notice and says no options are off the table.

MARQUEZ: Now, leaders from the European Union meeting for the first time since President Trump took office. Twenty-seven E.U. leaders taking part in a summit. How are they responding to the upheaval and what's on the agenda? We want to bring in CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson. He is live at those meetings in Malta. Nic, I take it the U.S. and this new administration is going to be a big topic of the conversation there.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Oh, you bet. President Francois Hollande, just as he got off the plane, pretty much just -- and minutes before this attack unfolded in Paris -- was talking about the fact that there cannot be a relationship with President Trump going forward if he doesn't understand that Europe -- that Europe -- the European Union is united and that's the position here, but I think we may hear coming more strongly from the leaders here.

There's been a letter from the European Parliament. This is a broad political spectrum left, center, right, and they're written to the leaders of the European Union to get it on the agenda here, if you will, to reject President Trump's pick for ambassador to the European Union. Ted Malloch, they say, is hostile. He's talked in the past -- in this letter, at least, they're quoting him saying that he helped bring down the Soviet Union and he might taint this union.

So, there's a real sense here that the United States is hostile to the European Union and you're going to hear a lot of that. And, of course, for the French president here, he'll be keeping up to speed with what's happening in Paris. And here, they'll be talking about migrants, refugees. That's a common concern coming across the Mediterranean here to Europe -- a common concern both in Europe and, of course, in the White House.

MARQUEZ: A full agenda for them and for you. Nic Robertson, thank you very much.

ROMANS: And you heard Nic say that they're following, there at that summit, this breaking news out of Paris. An attack on an armed officer at the Carrousel du Louvre, a shopping center by the iconic museum. CNN's Melissa Bell is live for us in Paris with what we know right now, and it looks as though there's some reporting out of Paris that there's been a second arrest. What can you tell us? What do we know right now is happening?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine, that second arrest has now been confirmed by police, although they explained that until the investigation gets underway and the judiciary can have a look at this, they wouldn't confirm whether this man was definitely an accomplice of the first man.

What happened here, Christine, at the Louvre just behind me -- and perhaps you can see the huge number of police and -- that have made it to the scene. It was just before 10:00 a.m. -- just over an hour or so ago that a man wielding a machete and carrying backpacks lunged toward the military and policeman who were on guard to protect the Louvre. While the Carrousel is not part of the Louvre, it lies just beneath the pyramid, immediately behind those columns behind me. He lunged towards and with a machete, shouting "Allahu Akbar" and that's been confirmed by Parisian police.

The area has now been secured and the 250 people who had been trapped inside and taken to secure parts of the museum -- they were kept there for an hour and one-half -- have now been evacuated and are sort of gathered in groups all around me recovering from what happened and the fright that they had. Police, though, do confirm, Christine, that the area has now been secured so that the investigating police have already begun their work to try and work out exactly what this man's motivations were.

[05:40:02] ROMANS: All right. Melissa Bell for us there at the Louvre -- at the Paris museum. Thank you. Come back to us when you have more details. And again, that second arrest there and a suspect -- the suspect has been wounded.

All right. Foreign policy shifts from the Trump administration. Real changes or is this young administration just struggling to get on message? We're going to go to Washington, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: All right. In the past 24 hours, President Trump's foreign policy appears to be evolving in the direction of his predecessor -- policies he spent more than a year campaigning against and bashing on the campaign trail. Are these pivots, are they permanent, is it maybe just a blip? [5:45:00] Let's bring in CNN POLITICS reporter Tal Kopan, live in

Washington. Hard to say any 24 hours of this young administration is certain but very clear, whether you look at Israeli settlements, whether you look at Nikki Haley at the U.N. yesterday talking about Russia, Jim Mattis, the Defense secretary, now in Asia trying to soothe concerns there, it looks like the apparatus of foreign policy is not moving in the direction Donald Trump has stated.

TAL KOPAN, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Yes, that's absolutely right and, you know, keep in mind that on some things, at least on Israel, his position really evolved on the campaign trail. You know, at first, we didn't really know where he stood. Some of his advisers are certainly quite different from the Obama administration on Israel. But, you know, keep in mind the American presidency changes and the parties change, but foreign policy largely stays the same. It sort of changes on the margins.

But, you know, the diplomatic apparatus -- the career foreign service officers at the State Department, the folks who spend, you know, lifelong careers in the Intelligence Community or the military -- those people stay the same. And so, presumably, Donald Trump is getting a much broader sense of the state of affairs in the world and really robust advice so it's possible that's having an effect.

It's also possible that the administration is slow-walking some of what it promised on the campaign trail -- we're going to have to keep watching -- but it's certainly not an abrupt shift in some of the areas that we were sort of promised from, you know, day one, as we always are.

MARQUEZ: But that -- the rollout of the Muslim ban and just how badly that went, not only here at home but for countries around the world, that must've been a wakeup call for this administration. Now that they have Rex Tillerson in, now that the Secretary of Defense is traveling, is there some sense that they're starting to get on their feet?

KOPAN: Yes. You know, the Customs and Border Patrol put out a fairly lengthy FAQ yesterday, I believe, about the executive order that you're referring to that caused a lot of confusion and protest at the airport over the weekend. That policy has been revised and clarified and walked back in some areas, and challenged in court, and clarified again so, you know, they are starting to get their feet under them a little bit.

You know, the reporting from inside certainly seems to indicate that some folks in the administration maybe got out a little ahead of their skis here and the sense is that they need to executive orders. You know, as much Donald Trump wants to come in and make change and be a man of action, that they may need to do things more like the system has always done them and, you know, work with different agencies --

ROMANS: Right.

KOPAN: -- figure out implementation in advance, so that may be more of what we see. ROMANS: Disruption can be so disrupting. Disruption can be so --

KOPAN: Yes.

MARQUEZ: You cannot live in permanent chaos.

ROMANS: Let me just ask you quickly, we only have a few seconds left.

KOPAN: Yes.

ROMANS: But, you know, talking about the confirmation process. You know, this fight to get more of his appointees confirmed. Is maybe that part of this, too? He's trying to get out there and trying to get stuff done via executive order, but the people who are going to be implementing those, in some cases, aren't in the office yet.

KOPAN: Absolutely. There are lot of holes in the federal government right now that need to be filled, from the secretaries at the very top to deputy secretaries, to even some sort of under-level managers. So, there's absolutely an urgent need to get some of those positions filled and we're starting to see that begin. And hopefully, that will begin to move.

ROMANS: All right. Tal Kopan, nice to see you.

MARQUEZ: Thanks, Tal.

ROMANS: Have a great weekend.

MARQUEZ: Have a great weekend.

KOPAN: You, too.

ROMANS: New this morning, President Trump moving toward dismantling banking regulations enacted after the financial crisis. He's expected to sign two executive actions today signaling lawmakers that he's serious about cutting major banking regulations. A senior administration official tells CNN the first will ask for recommendations to change Dodd-Frank, but not a straight repeal. Congress actually has to do that. Trump has called that law a disaster, especially for smaller banks. The official says the goal is to ease regulations.

The second will be a presidential memo instructing the Labor Department to halt the so-called fiduciary rule. That was set to take effect in April. It basically puts higher ethical and professional standards on financial advisers who deal with retirement accounts. The official says it would limit options for consumers and protect them from something they don't need to be protected from. There you go.

Snapchat famously turned down maybe $3 billion, an offer to buy out from Facebook back in 2013. At the time, it was thought to be way overvalued but now Snapchat is going public and you'll never guess how much its IPO is worth.

MARQUEZ: Hmm.

ROMANS: a Snapchat selfie when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: We are following breaking news out of Paris. Officials say a soldier at the Carrousel du Louvre near the iconic museum opened fire on a man who had just attempted to attack him with a knife. We're told the man screamed "Allahu Akbar" -- God is great -- before attacking armed soldiers. The attacker is seriously injured. A second man, we know, has now been arrested. "NEW DAY" is going to continue to follow all of those breaking developments in just a few minutes.

MARQUEZ: Now, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis arriving overnight in Japan. His mission, to calm nerves. Japan has been a key ally on matters involving China and North Korean. Jong-un issued a stern warning to the U.S. and South Korea overnight after Sec. Mattis had some strong words of his own following his visit to Seoul. We want to go live to Tokyo and bring in CNN's Muhammad Lila. Muhammad, the secretary there really smoothing some feathers, ensuring those allies that those security guarantees are still there, yes?

MUHAMMAD LILA, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Miguel, you hit the nail on the head when you use those words. This is widely seen as a trip of reassurance and we've seen some of that reassurance just a few moments ago. The Defense Secretary making his first comments since arriving here in Tokyo, coming out very forcefully in defense of the United States' strategic alliance with Japan, saying that the United States stands firmly, 100 percent, shoulder-to-shoulder with the Japanese prime minister and the Japanese people.

[05:55:04] Earlier on when he was visiting South Korea -- earlier in the day he made similar comments assuring South Korea that the United States would come to its defense if North Korea undertook any sort of aggressive act, that that aggressive act would be dealt with immediately and very effectively.

Now, when it comes to here in Japan, of course, this is a key strategic partner for the United States. There are more than 50,000 American service members currently here in Japan. It's home to the Navy's Seventh Fleet. But during the presidential campaign, Donald Trump came out and made some comments that caused some concern to Japanese leadership. He talked about how perhaps Japan should get its own nuclear weapons as a deterrent and, if not, then Japan should be picking up more of the cost for American troops to be stationed here providing defense to Japan.

Now, we don't have this official readout yet from the meeting between Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Jim Mattis. We're expecting that's going to come out soon but you can rest assured that those comments will be talked about this evening, Miguel.

MARQUEZ: It will be -- it will be interesting to hear what that readout is. Muhammad Lila for us in Tokyo, thank you. ROMANS: Today, accused Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman will appear in person in Brooklyn federal court. Initially, Guzman was set to appear via videoconference but the judge changed his mind after Guzman's lawyers insisted that his absence would give the impression he is too dangerous to be in the courtroom. (Video playing) After two prison breaks in Mexico, El Chapo is spending 23 hours a day in solitary confinement here in New York. That's video, of course, of that escape.

All right, let's get a check on CNN Money Stream this morning. The first jobs report of Donald Trump's presidency will be released at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time. Economists surveyed by "CNN MONEY" -- this is the forecast. One hundred seventy-five thousand new jobs. The unemployment rate steady at 4.7 percent. Wages expected to rise 2.9 percent, the fastest wage growth since 2009. The big question, how will this administration react to the data? Trump has called the unemployment rate phony, a fake, a hoax. Investors are feeling upbeat ahead of that report. Dow futures are higher.

Amazon failed to deliver on earnings. Apparently, great is not good enough when you're Amazon. The stock is down four percent in premarket trading. Profit up 55 percent --

MARQUEZ: What?

ROMANS: -- from a year ago, but Wall Street -- excuse me -- has sky- high expectations. The same thing happened back in October where the stock rebounded strongly and has been flirting with all-time highs ever since. It's facing increased competition from Walmart, which is now offering a free, two-day shipping program to rival Amazon Prime.

And finally, this morning, the year was 2013. Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" topped the charts, the Baltimore Ravens were Super Bowl champions, and Facebook had just gone public. But, Mark Zuckerberg decided to make a bold bet on an app called Snapchat, offering $3 billion to buy the company. It famously turned him down. Snapchat, at the time, turned him down. Analysts said, at the time, $3 billion was too high, Zuckerberg was crazy. Today, Snapchat's getting ready to go public with an IPO worth $3 billion.

MARQUEZ: Who would've guessed it?

ROMANS: Regulatory documents filed last night are giving us the first look at the popular app. Snapchat claims 158 million daily users. Two and one-half billion snaps are created every day, half of those from Miguel Marquez.

MARQUEZ: Silly faces.

ROMANS: It lost $515 billion this year so its profits may not be coming anytime soon but, certainly, there's a lot of buzz about this. It's so interesting. One of the papers called this an IPO selfie -- giving regulators an IPO selfie. A look at numbers.

MARQUEZ: We love silly faces. ROMANS: We sure did. All right, we're also following this breaking news out of Paris so that is the big story this morning. Thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.

MARQUEZ: I'm Miguel Marquez. Breaking news on that Paris attack on "NEW DAY" starts right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. You're watching "NEW DAY." It is Friday, February 3rd, 6:00 here in New York.

We do begin with breaking news out of Paris. A man wielding a knife, rushing soldiers near the Louvre museum, prompting one soldier to open fire. The man reportedly screaming "Allahu Akbar."

CUOMO: All right. The underground mall at the world-renown museum is on lockdown. There are about 200 people inside. The Paris prosecutor did open a terror investigation. We learned a second person has been arrested in connection with the attack. Let's take you straight to Paris. We have CNN's Melissa Bell with the very latest. What do we know about why they are keeping these people on lockdown and the general situation, Melissa?

BELL: In the end, Chris, the employees and the visitors here at the Louvre were kept inside the building for about an hour and one-half. They were moved as soon as this incident happened just before 10:00 a.m. local time, a couple of hours now, to secure parts of the museum, and they have now been allowed to leave. They were evacuated a little while ago, many of the employees told not to speak to the press.

However, what we do know and we've have confirmed -- and French authorities were very quick on this to get through to the press and confirm what details we know -- is that just before 10:00 a.m. this machete-wielding man who was carrying backpacks went for those policemen and soldiers who are guarding the Louvre museum in an attack at the foot of the staircase, as you just said, that is beneath the Louvre museum -- just beneath its pyramid, what we call in French it's Carrousel. It is that underground shopping mall here at the Louvre museum.