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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Andrew Gillum Wins Gubenatorial Primary in Florida; Bees in New York. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired August 29, 2018 - 04:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDREW GILLUM, MAYOR OF TALLAHASSEE: Tonight we have shown the rest of the country that we can be the David in a situation where there is a Goliath.

DAVE BRIGGS, CNN HOST: A primary night shocker in Florida, progressive Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum, the state's first African American nominee for governor sets up a huge ideological clash in November.

LAURA JARRETT, CNN HOST: The Attorney General facing renewed pressure from the President, but he has the backing of a man who knows him well, the Senate Majority Leader.

BRIGGS: And Google is politically biased, rigged, suppressing. Conservative voices, well, that's what the President says. What does the search giant have to say? Well, no in short terms. Welcome back to Early Start. I'm Dave Briggs.

JARRETT: And I'm Laura Jarrett. Thirty one minutes past the hour. And we begin with a historic upset in the Florida Democratic primary for governor. CNN projects Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum, a progressive candidate backed by Bernie Sanders, will win the party's nomination. A victory in November could make Gillum the state's first African American chief executive.

In a field of five candidates, Gillum was the only non-millionaire. Florida has not had a democratic governor in two decades. Gillum telling CNN, he embraces the role of underdog.

GILLUM: My wife refers to me as Seabiscuit. We're counted out, and at many points people thought we would not make it. But we kept going slow and steady. Even in these dark days of Donald Trump.

That in the south, with candidates like Stacey Abrams, and with candidates like Ben Jealous, and me here in Florida, that the new south is being recreated, it's being led by the very people who helped to build the south in the first place. And I just think there's something pretty powerful and poetic about that.

BRIGGS: The Florida governor's race shaping up as a major test to the national political atmosphere in November. Gillum is said to face Trump backed candidate Ron DeSantis who won the Republican primary.

So, the race (pitched) two 39 year olds, who in many ways, mirror their party's national moods against each other. CNN also projects Florida governor Rick Scott will win the Republican Senate primary and face incumbent Democratic Senator Bill Nelson in the general. Nelson's seat is one Democrats must hold if they hope to have any shot at a Senate majority.

JARRETT: An Arizona congresswoman and former fighter pilot, Martha McSally will win the Republican nomination for the Senate seat being vacated by Jeff Flake. McSally sending off a challenge from two hard line Conservatives giving moderates in the GOP a playbook to thrive in the Trump era. We get more from CNN's Kyung Lah at McSally's headquarters in Tempe, Arizona.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Dave and Laura, she is America's first woman to fly in combat for the U.S. Air Force. Martha McSally fought a tough primary against two Conservative challengers. She took to the stage today. She won the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate, representing the state of Arizona. And like her military chops, she came out swinging, fighting, looking squarely to November.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTHA MCSALLY, UNITED STATES REPRESENATIVE, (R-AZ): Tonight marks the chapter, the next chapter in this campaign, the beginning of a 70 day sprint to electing Arizona's next senator. I am as impressed as anyone that my opponent brags that she owns over 100 pair of shoes. I on the other hand have over 100 combat missions serving our country.

(APPLAUSE)

Fabricating a centrist image to fulfill her ambition, she's a fake production running on a phony script in order to fool the voters.

LAH: McSally spent the bulk of her victory speech attacking the winning of the Democratic primary, Kyrsten Sinema, who is a currently in Congress. Both of these women are well financed. This is expected to be an ugly and brutal race between these two women. Whoever wins will make history. They will be Arizona's first female senator, Dave, Laura.

BRIGGS: And the year of the woman continues, Kyung, thanks. If Democrats retake control of Congress in November, President Trump warning there will be violence.

[04:35:00]

CNN has heard a recording of the president in a closed door meeting with evangelical leaders. With no real basis for the comments, the president taking a fire and brimstone approach in appeal to voters to the polls for the midterms.

JARRETT: He said, in part, it's not a question of like or dislike, it's a question that they will overturn everything that we've done and they will do it quickly and violently. And violently, there is violence. When you look at Antifa, these people are -- these are violent people.

Now, the far-left Antifa is a loose connection of anti-factious groups who stage counter-protests against white supremacists and neo-Nazis. The president is also saying, the November election is not only a referendum on him, but also a referendum on religion, free speech and the first amendment.

BRIGGS: Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, gets a much needed boost from the Senate Majority Leader. Two key Republicans on a Senate Judiciary Committee, Chairman Chuck Grassley and Lindsey Graham have signaled in recent days they would be open to replacing Sessions after the midterms.

He's lost the president's confidence since recusing himself from the Russia probe last year. But Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, threw his weight behind Sessions Tuesday in no uncertain terms.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITCH MCCONNELL, SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: I have total confidence in the Attorney General. I think he ought to stay exactly where he is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: Last week, Sessions hosted a breakfast at the Justice Department with a number of former of his Republican colleagues, who urged him to stay on the job.

CNN reported, last week, the president has renewed cause to fire Session and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, but a source tells CNN, Rudy Giuliani talked him off the ledge. The president is said to be worried about the Special Counsel's reaction if he does remove Sessions.

BRIGGS: The start of Paul Manafort's second financial crimes trial has been pushed back a week. The Federal judge approving a defense request for a delay to September 24th. Jury selection will still take place September 17.

The judge also warned Manafort's lawyers several times at a pretrial hearing Tuesday about their behavior in court. Indicating, she is closely watching the defense team to make sure they don't act out.

JARRETT: Meantime, they NYPD is investigating a robbery at the home of a banker who previously worked with Manafort. David Fallarino told police a briefcase and his iPad were taken. Prosecutors have said, Fallarino was involved in Manafort's bank fraud schemes, but he was never charged.

BRIGGS: President Trump slamming Google, accusing them of political bias. Trump claimed on Twitter that Google's search results for Trump news is rigged, so that almost all stories and news is bad.

Adding Google and others are suppressing voices of conservatives. The president double-downed later in the day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think Google is really taking advantage of a lot of people and I think that's a very serious thing and it's a very serious charge. So, I think that Google and Twitter and Facebook, they're really treading on very, very troubled territory and they have to be careful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Google disagrees with the president, telling CNN, the goal of the search is to find the most relevant answers, not set a political agenda. Adding that it never ranks results to manipulate political sentiment.

Google's results are based on algorithms using hundreds of factors like user experience and how many prominent sites link to a page. Still, Trump says, Google's actions could be illegal. And Economic Advisor, Larry Kudlow, says the White House is investigating.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KUDLOW, ECONOMIC ADVISOR: We're just going to do some investigation and some analysis, that's what we do.

UNKNOWN MALE: Is there any evidence that they actually are censoring anyone's search results?

KUDLOW: We're looking into it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: With a wink. Congress has already looked into social media bias, holding two hearings this year on the topic and execs from Google, Facebook and Twitter have been asked to testify on Capital Hill next week. The topic being censorship and election interference.

JARRRET: Well, the nation's final farewell to Senator John McCain begins today on what would have been his 82nd birthday. McCain's body will lie in state today at the Arizona Capital, where people can pay their respects.

A private ceremony will be held between two public viewings. On Tuesday, McCain's best friend in the Senate, Lindsey Graham, gave an emotional farewell on the Senate floor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LINDSEY GRAHAM, REPUBLICAN SENATOR: He taught me that principle and compromise are not mutually exclusive and the foundation of a great person as well a great nation, if you want to help the country, be more like John McCain.

I believe there's a little John McCain in all of us. And the little John McCain practiced by a lot of people can make this a really great nation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Tomorrow there will be a church memorial service in Phoenix. McCain's body will then be flown to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland and will lie in state at the Capital rotunda Friday. Mourners will gather Saturday for a service at the National Cathedral in Washington. John McCain will be laid to rest at the Navel Academy in Annapolis on Sunday.

[04:40:00]

Breaking overnight parts of southern California rattled by a small magnitude 4.4 earth quake. The quake was centered near the city of Lavern but it was felt over a wide area. It happened about 7:30 Pacific Time last night. It was followed by some smaller aftershocks.

Witness tell the "L.A. Times" some items in there home were shaken to the floor. There have no reports of injuries or significant damage. Pretty much laughing it off there in the California area, at least they are on Twitter at this hour.

JARRETT: Some good news there.

BRIGGS: Yes.

JARRETT: Well major criminal justice reform in California. Cash bail will be a thing of the past after years of criticism for hurting people with lower incomes, more on the new system next.

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BRIGGS: The U.S. and Canada sprinting to re-work NAFTA before a Friday deadline after being sidelined for months. Canada rejoined NAFTA talks yesterday.

[04:45:00]

Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland headed to Washington one day after the U.S. and Mexico announced their own trade deal.

President Trump said Canada must agree to terms of the U.S./Mexico deal or threaten tariffs on Canadian cars. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he's encouraged by the progress but will do its best for Canada.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN TRUDEAU, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: This was an important step to moving forward on re-negotiating and improving NAFTA. As you know I spoke with both the Mexican President, and the American President over the past couple of days. And our team is right now in Washington digging into the progress made. And looking at what the next steps are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: All three countries have till Friday to modernize NAFTA. Canadian officials tell CNN there's a reasonable chance of getting it done this week. If not Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has said the administration will proceed with a separate trade agreement with Mexico.

Which U.S. law makers warn that would struggle to win congressional approval. A deal without Canada needs 60 votes to pass the senate, while a trilateral deal needs only 51 votes.

JARRETT: Breaking overnight more than 100 undocumented immigrants arrested in north Texas for unlawfully working in the U.S. U.S. immigrations and customs enforcement made the arrest after homeland security investigations issued criminal search warrants at the trailer manufacturing company Load Trail.

Investigators were tipped off. The company may have hired them fully knowing their documents were fraudulent. No comment yet from Load Trail.

BRIGGS: Students in the Seattle public school system may miss the first day of classes next week. That's because teachers and school staff voted to authorize a strike unless the deal is reached by September 5th. Negotiations over pay, health benefits, and efforts to increase Social Security - social equality in classrooms all at play here.

Strikes already disrupted the first day of school in two south west Washington school districts. Teachers in at least four more districts will join the picket line today. In a statement to CNN affiliate KOMO spokesperson for the Seattle school district says, "They're making good progress. Remain optimistic school will begin on time".

JARRETT: There's a stunning new development in the case of a Colorado man accused of killing his two daughters, and pregnant wife. A man has come forward claiming he and Chris Watts were lovers. There have already been reports that Watts was having an affair with a co-worker. The man who CNN is not naming says they met on the dating app MeetMe.

BARNES: He say's the relationship lasted for about 10 months. And that Chris told him he was trapped in a loveless marriage.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Before all this happened if anybody would have asked me about him, I would have told them that he was a very loving, very generous, very insecure, very kind, very compassionate, really empathetic and kind of dorky guy. But you never really truly know anyone I guess.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BARNES: That relationship has not been independently verified by CNN or HLN.

JARRETT: In a sweeping reform California is now the first state to end the cash bail system. Rather then requiring defendants to pay in order to be released before a trial their release will now hinge on an assessment of their risk to public safety.

A person who is deemed at high risk including those arrested for violent felonies will not be released. Critics have long contended the money bail system perpetuates inequality since some people who can't afford it sit in jail until the court takes action.

BARNES: California Congressman Duncan Hunter with a sudden change of heart days after he said his wife was responsible for the families' finances. Both Hunter and his wife Margaret were indicted for misuse of campaign funds. On FOX News last week he all but blamed his wife who served as his campaign manager, but yesterday said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DUNCAN HUNTER, US CONGRESSMAN CALFORNIA: Leave my wife out of it. We know they're not after her. They're after me. They want to flip this seat. So let's go to court. Let's have a trial. And everybody will see everything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARNES: Hunter say's he wants' to expose the quote "leftist" in the U.S. Attorneys Office who he say's brought the charges against him for purely political reasons.

Coming up, Oreo's launching some spicy new flavors. Like wasabi, and hot chicken wings. But you likely won't find them at a store any time soon. We'll tell you why on CNNMoney.

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[04:50:00]

JARRETT: A nine-year-old boy in Denver killed himself after being bullied at school for coming out as gay. Now his mom is pushing for more focus on bullying and suicide.

Leia Pierce says her son came out to her over summer break and was looking forward to telling his friends. Pierce's son was only in school for four days before the same goods, who picked on him last year, targeted him once again.

LEIA PIERCE, MOTHER OF SUICIDE VICTIM: Four days is all it took at school. I could just imagine what they said to him.

[04:55:00]

My son told my oldest daughter the kids at school told him to kill himself. I'm just sad he didn't come to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Just devastating, the district says it will offer support to the boy's family, but Pierce says no one at the school has contacted her. As a reminder, if you or anyone you know needs help, call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline, one, 800, two, seven, three, eight, two, five, five.

JARRETT: A jury in Dallas, Texas convicting former police officer Roy Oliver of murder and for shooting and killing an unarmed black teenager last year. Fifteen year old Jordan Edwards was shot in a car as he left a party with his brothers and friends.

Police, initially, said the car Edwards was in was moving aggressively towards police, but body camera footage later showed the car moving away from the officers. Oliver was fired from the force not long after the shooting. The jury found Oliver not guilty of two lesser charges in Edwards' death. He could still face life in prison.

BRIGGS: Quite a site in Australia, the sky above Perth lit up by a fireball there, believed to be a meteor. The Perth observatory was sent dozens of videos from surveillance cameras and dash cams. Social media lighting up with reports of people in the Avon Valley who've said they thought they felt the meteor hit the Earth.

JARRETT: Well, 50 million plus in the northeast face another day of scorching temperatures. Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri has the forecast for us.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Dave and Laura.

(WEATHER)

JARRETT: Well, a lot of red on that map, a second day of public viewing for the queen of soul, Aretha Franklin. People poured into the Museum of African American history in Detroit on Tuesday. The two day viewing is part of a week of commemoration for the legendary singer.

Her funeral, Friday, will feature performances by Stevie Wonder, Faith Hill, Chaka Khan, and Jennifer Hudson among others. Aretha Franklin passed away this month at age 76 from pancreatic cancer.

BRIGGS: All right. Let's get a check on CNN Money this morning. Global stocks, mostly higher today. The U.S. and Canada race to rework NAFTA before that Friday deadline.

After being sidelined for months, Canada rejoined NAFTA talks yesterday one day after the U.S. and Mexico announced their own deal. Now all three countries must agree on trade terms. Canadian officials tell CNN, there's a reasonable chance of getting it done this week.

On Wall Street, U.S. stocks rose slightly, but it was enough for, both, the NASDAQ and S&P 500. It hit record highs. Americans are feeling great about the economy and they are spending to match, U.S. consumer confidence surging in August to the highest level in almost 18 years.

A strong job market and rising incomes helping Americans feel better about the economy. That confidence is sparking a retail boom, boosting sales. Stores like Home Depot, Target, and Nordstrom.

Walmart recently reported its best U.S. sales growth in more than a decade. America's most iconic cookie is launching some interesting and spicy new flavors, Oreo, introducing cookies that taste like wasabi, and hot chicken wings. It tweeted a look at the new cookies. Now, this is not Oreo's first offbeat flavor, but you likely won't find these at the store anytime soon.

Right now they're only available in China. So, Americans can, either, head to Beijing or Ebay. Both were available on Ebay as of yesterday. And with a quick check this morning of Ebay, shows they are still available. Laura Jarrett, you are in luck.

JARRETT: I am...

BRIGGS: And it's free shipping.

JARRETT: ...an Oreo purist. I thin you shouldn't mess with it.

BRIGGS: Oh, I love the spicy...

JARRETT: It's good as is.

BRIGGS: ...and sweet combination. I'm going to try one here.

JARRETT: Early Start continues right now.

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