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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Soon: King And Queen Consort Depart For Belfast; Fed Expected To Raise Interest Rates Again Next Week; Broncos QB Russell Wilson Booed In Return To Seattle. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired September 13, 2022 - 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: Former President Trump's campaign and fundraising teams.

Sources tell CNN they include former Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien and Sean Dollman. He was chief financial officer for Trump's 2020 presidential campaign. Neither responded to CNN's request for comment.

All right, we expect to see King Charles and his queen consort on the move from Scotland to Northern Ireland soon, and they're about to be joined by Britain's new prime minister.

And later today, U.S. lawmakers demanding answers from Twitter.

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[05:35:20]

ROMANS: All right. At this hour, King Charles III and his queen consort departing Scotland for Northern Ireland. The couple will visit Hillsborough Castle, and meet the secretary of state for Northern Ireland and other leaders of the -- of the parties to receive a message of condolence.

Later today, the queen's casket will leave St. Giles' Cathedral in Scotland where a steady stream of mourners has been paying last respects to Queen Elizabeth before her casket departs for Buckingham Palace in London.

I want to bring in royal commentator Hilary Fordwich. So nice to see you this morning.

You know, the queen in Scotland, her mother's homeland -- the land she truly loved. And now, King Charles III makes his first visit to Northern Ireland as a monarch today. Talk to us about the historical and political significance of this visit for King Charles.

HILARY FORDWICH, ROYAL COMMENTATOR (via Skype): Well, Christine, it's absolutely a loaded question. Actually, a great question. Why? Because everybody has heard -- well, not everybody. Most people probably will have heard about the troubles that took place in Northern Ireland between and north and south island. And what this signifies is going to be helping everybody come together.

And you saw the outpouring the Scots gave back to the nation and to Queen Elizabeth -- the love that she had shown them.

What did she do in Northern Ireland? She helped see the end of the troubles. Why? One of the things she did was to bow when she went to Northern Ireland.

And then, remember, she shook hands with the leader of Sinn Fein, Martin McGuinness, who had actually ordered the blowing up of Lord Louis Mountbatten. So, how many people will be able to actually shake the hand of somebody so beloved and so close to them who had ordered that bombing? That's what she did. She was a lady of forgiveness.

And it's a great message to send to everybody. She helped solve those troubles because the Irish people -- I believe you'll see they really appreciated that.

And we're hoping that -- obviously, King Charles is going there -- that there will probably be the outpouring that you saw in Scotland also as the queen goes to Northern Ireland -- as Prince Charles, now King Charles, goes to Northern Ireland.

ROMANS: Yes, that iconic moment -- that image of her shaking hands I think is something that shows she really saw as a monarch and as a leader the bigger picture, right? The bigger picture for her -- for the U.K. --

FORDWICH: Absolutely.

ROMANS: -- and for history.

So she reigned during the many struggles and triumphs of the 20th century and then two decades into this century.

How do you think King Charles will be his own monarch in a -- in a different way? He obviously is going to be a different kind of leader.

FORDWICH: Yes, Christine, absolutely.

A few things here. One, we've already seen he's far more emotive than Queen Elizabeth ever was. He has always been known to be sort of almost like a softie. He's far more emotional.

And those of us that met him -- he was very warm in person. I think people think that he was stiff and stodgy. He's very warm in person.

I think a number of things we're going to see. He wants to stream. He's called it streamlining the monarchy. He wants to slim it down.

He actually also is going to be opening up -- what does that mean -- sorry slimming down? It means that he wants to have only the senior royals and those that are his direct descendants -- Prince William, now Prince of Wales -- have royal duties. Obviously, there's a conundrum there because they won't be able to touch as many people and be out amongst the people. Queen Elizabeth said or she believed to be believed -- to be seen is

to be believed. So, what do you do if you slim down the monarchy? But he is very sensitive to the cost of the monarchy.

By the way, when people are asked in the British Isles about having a monarchy -- yes or no -- and even for those that are against it when they realize that it only costs -- are you ready -- about $1.50 per person a year. Would you pay that to have all that the monarch does for the nation?

But back now to your question -- how will he be different? He has already planned to have more openings of Buckingham Palace, which is already open to the public, but for more of the year. And the same thing with Balmoral because he has his other residencies. And he will be giving more, I would say openness to the people, and he is going to be more emotive, as I mentioned.

ROMANS: Well, we're going to get a glimpse of that I think when the queen's casket arrives at Buckingham Palace later today. I mean, there will be people lining up to go through security, right, to get their wristband to be able to pay their respects.

Talk to me about that moment for the -- for the British people and kind of the weight of that moment do you think, in London?

FORDWICH: Oh, my goodness, Christine. There are already -- there were going to be projected hours of about 20 hours of waiting. Now they say that it's almost up to 30.

[05:40:00]

There are great restrictions -- I mean, about food and water that you can't bring. This -- it's actually shocking. I mean, I can't tell you, actually.

I have friends from here and Americans that have flown over and -- from Holland and from places across the world. They actually are to the point -- I never thought I'd ever hear this said, Christine. They are actually -- the Met police -- the London police force is actually getting to the point where I've heard from somebody there at Scotland Yard are they going to declare, in quotes -- are you ready -- "London is full."

They're even talking about all the heads of state coming in. Of course, President Biden will be going by Air Force One. But they're even talking about heads of state, Christine, perhaps even having to be on buses because there won't be enough for them individually in the motorcades.

There's going -- you have to be -- the line is going back now to Tower Bridge. That is miles away for people to wait. This is absolutely a global, I think, event with not just the British people, not just Commonwealth, but from people across the world.

And if I might add, I've been going to many studios, including the CNN studio in D.C. here. And Christine, all along Pennsylvania Avenue there are union jacks on the --

ROMANS: Yes.

FORDWICH: -- flag posts and the flags are at half-mast. It's so touching. Thank you, America.

ROMANS: A special relationship, indeed.

FORDWICH: Yes.

ROMANS: I also think it's just wonderful that she -- all of these finishing touches she approved. This is, indeed, her final public --

FORDWICH: Yes. Oh --

ROMANS: -- appearance. All of it has been -- all of this -- she knew exactly what was going to happen.

FORDWICH: And it's not just approved, Christine -- you're absolutely right. But don't forget she helped plan this.

ROMANS: Yes.

FORDWICH: If you can't -- watching it is -- actually, I will tell you, though, it's rather disappointing -- and this is something that is actually -- this is what people are unhappy about at the moment. Are you ready -- the one thing? Not traveling by train.

Because remember, when JFK -- a terrible assassination -- his train -- there thousands of people lined by the tracks to watch JFK's train.

The royal train -- that was one of her beloved means to travel. She was supposed to be by train but they were afraid and the security that was going to be needed.

ROMANS: Interesting.

FORDWICH: They haven't been able to believe this.

And so, they were -- they were concerned about flowers on the tracks and too many people at the stations. And they were actually not just security but the danger of -- well, you know, there could be flowers, obviously.

ROMANS: Interesting.

FORDWICH: And you'd have to have literally police taking flowers off the tracks all the way down from Aberdeen. That's why it's changed to be by plane.

ROMANS: Interesting.

Hilary, thank you so much -- royal historian. Nice to -- nice to talk to you this morning. Thank you.

All right, 42 minutes past the hour. Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones back in court today facing more Sandy

Hook families. And what could be more signs of inflation cooling.

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[05:46:54]

ROMANS: We're looking at live pictures right now. King Charles III and his queen consort, Camilla. You can see them there leaving the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Scotland. They are headed to the airport. They will fly and arrive in Northern Ireland later this morning. They'll later attend a church service in Belfast.

All right, let's get a check on CNN Business this Tuesday morning.

Looking at markets around the world, European stocks opened the day mostly higher. U.K. unemployment hit a 48-year low while real wages fell sharply in the country. Asian markets finished mixed there.

On Wall Street, stock index futures also leaning higher here. Stocks picking up steam ahead of the release of the key Consumer Price Index from the Labor Department. The Dow rose more than 200 points there yesterday. The S&P and the Nasdaq both picked up gains of more than one percent.

If CPI inflation falls in August this would be the second straight month of decline, and that hasn't happened since June 2020.

Investors are also waiting for a monumental Fed decision on interest rate hikes. The Fed appears to -- appears to be on a path to raise interest rates by another 75 basis points for the third consecutive time.

Gas prices dipped to $3.71 a gallon, a level not seen since the beginning of March.

All right, let's bring in Washington Post economics reporter Rachel Seigel. Good morning.

Energy prices have crashed in recent weeks, airfares, used car prices falling, too. I suspect we're going to see that in this August CPI number.

RACHEL SIEGEL, ECONOMICS REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST (via Webex by Cisco): That's exactly right. We'll know for sure in a couple of hours. But the expectation is that we'll see another month of some declines, and that's obviously enormously welcome news for policymakers who are hoping to see months of this.

Families will feel it in a little bit more room from their gas bills, their energy bills, their utility bills. But obviously, we have such a long way to go --

ROMANS: Yes.

SIEGEL: -- even if prices are down from the 8.5 percent we saw in July. That's nowhere near normal.

ROMANS: Yes, inflation is still dangerously high. I mean, I think that's really important. No matter what this report shows today, the markets are expecting another big rate hike when the Fed meets later this month, right?

SIEGEL: That's exactly right. And the fact that we haven't seen pushback to that from Fed officials seems to signal that that's what we're expecting when the Fed raises rates again next Wednesday.

But again, that is all to underscore the message that the Fed is not seeing the kind of progress it needs. It needs to see month after month after month of consistent progress and maybe we'll get a little bit of a window into that later this morning.

ROMANS: You know, the good news is the job market is really strong. I guess the bad news is the job market is really strong, right? I mean, the Fed -- they're not going to say it out loud but it wouldn't hurt to have the unemployment rate rise a little bit here to take some of the -- you know, some of the froth out of the job market. Am I right?

SIEGEL: You know, it's one of the painful consequences of the tools that the Fed has to fight inflation in the first place. Interest rates are blunt and they work with broad force to cool the entire economy, and that can mean sending the unemployment rate up a little bit to get inflation down.

The Fed's own projections show the unemployment rate ticking up. And at a famous speech in Jackson Hole last month the Fed chair himself said that there is an expectation for pain for families and businesses, but the cost of not doing anything would bring more pain.

[05:50:04]

ROMANS: What is the likelihood, do you think here, of a soft landing? I mean, there still is a pathway to a soft landing. And if you can start to see signs of cooling in inflation here in the near term, I guess that would raise the chances?

SIEGEL: The question of the soft landing is the big question for economists and policymakers everywhere. It is encouraging that the country doesn't seem to look like one now. Like you mentioned, the job market is still churning. Consumer spending is still up. It's hopeful that gas prices have fallen.

The concern, though, is that as the Fed issues these whopping interest rate hikes one after the other, that could send ripple effects in a couple of months or early into next year when we see a much more aggressive slowing in the economy than what we've seen so far.

ROMANS: Rachel Siegel, Washington Post, nice to see you this morning. And I know you'll be watching in a couple of hours when that number comes out and so will I. Thanks.

SIEGEL: Thank you for having me.

ROMANS: All right.

An uncrewed Blue Origin rocket launch ending in a very fiery explosion. What went wrong ahead on "NEW DAY."

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[05:56:07]

ROMANS: So, Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson got a less than warm welcome from Seahawks fans in his return to Seattle.

Andy Scholes has this morning's Bleacher Report. What happened, Andy?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Christine.

So, Russell Wilson -- he played the first 10 seasons of his career with the Seahawks but had kind of a sour ending there in Seattle. He was traded to Denver this offseason and Wilson's first game with the Broncos just happened to be back in Seattle -- Monday Night Football.

Wilson arriving in style, and what are the chances of winning a game when you show up wearing that suit and bow tie? Pretty high, right?

Well, even though Wilson gave the Seahawks 10 years and winning them a Super Bowl, the Seattle fans certainly let him have it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Fans booing Russell Wilson.

RUSSELL WILSON, DENVER BRONCOS QUARTERBACK: You know, this is a hostile environment. It always has been. I didn't expect them to give -- you know, give a round of applause every once in a while, you know? So, you know, I think that -- like I would say, you know, I gave everything I had every day here -- every day. And anybody that says anything else, they're completely wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: It was a good game for Wilson with a 67-yard touchdown pass to Jerry Jeudy in the second quarter. This one tied the game at 10.

The Broncos, though, just shooting themselves in the foot in this one. They lost fumbles from the one-yard line not once but twice in this game. Then in the closing seconds on fourth and five with three timeouts, new head coach Nathaniel Hackett decided to run the clock down and try a 64-yard field goal instead of going for it. The field goal was no good. Seattle fans rejoice as they upset Wilson and the Broncos 17-16.

To baseball where Mike Trout is on an absolute tear. The 3-time MVP homering for a seventh consecutive game. He now has 35 on the season. Trout's going to look to tie the record of eight straight games with a home run tonight in Cleveland.

The Angels still lost that game, though, last night, 5-4. The Dodgers, meanwhile, the first team to clinch a playoff spot this season after beating the Diamondbacks last night. They have now reached the postseason 10 straight times. It's the third-longest streak in Major League history. The next milestone would be winning the NL West Division crown, which they can do tonight with either a win or a Padres' loss.

Now, how's this for a heads-up player? Rangers catcher Jonah Heim takes a foul ball right off his face mask but then makes a barehanded catch. Watch it again. He gets drilled in the face but then has the wherewithal to look up, find the ball, slides, and grabs it with his bare hand. Nice play right there.

And finally, for those that play golf, you know it's normally a three to five-hour commitment to play 18 holes. Well, how about playing a complete round in under 35 minutes while shooting a 75? Well, that's what Ireland's Rob Hogan did to win the Speed Golf British Open. In speed golf, your score is your number of strokes combined with how fast you can finish. You've got no caddies and no carts, either. You're running around the course holding your clubs, Christine.

So for all those that say golf takes too long -- it's too slow for me -- go try yourself some speed golf.

ROMANS: That looks like a good workout. Look, that three to five hours -- like, 18 holes kills me. It just takes me so long to do 18 holes. I would try that. It's like sprinting golf.

SCHOLES: Yes. You get a nice workout, too, right?

ROMANS: All right, but I need somebody else to carry the clubs.

Thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans. "NEW DAY" starts right now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, Ukrainian forces seizing even more territory.

I'm John Berman with Brianna Keilar. So, new developments in the remarkable reversal of fortune for Ukraine. In the east, around this region right here -- and to a lesser extent, in the south, down here -- they've gained even more ground in offensives.

President Zelenskyy claims they have recaptured some.