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Earthquake Hits Afghanistan; Donald Trump Criticizes Ben Carson; Joe Biden Explains Reasons for Not Entering 2016 Presidential Race; Murder Charges in Deadly Parade Crash; Marco Rubio Gets Personal. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired October 26, 2015 - 08:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:00:04] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome back to your NEW DAY. It is Monday, October 26th, 8:00 in the east. And we do begin with breaking news. The death toll growing after a powerful 7.5 earthquake rattles south Asia. As many as 29 dead in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but the numbers are very early. This system is barely understood at this point.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: So the quake hit northeastern Afghanistan but it was felt hundreds of miles away. And it comes nearly 10 years to the day after a deadly quake in that very same region left 75,000 people dead. So let's get right to CNN's New Delhi bureau chief Ravai Agrawal. He felt the shocks this morning. Robby, tell us how close you are to the epicenter and what you felt.

RAVAI AGRAWAL, CNN INDIA BUREAU CHIEF: I'm about 1,200 kilometers south of the epicenter. And here in New Delhi, we felt fairly strong tremors, and they were intense, and they lasted for about a minute, which immediately gave us a sense that this was a very strong earthquake somewhere in the region. And it then turned out, of course, that the earthquake was epicentered in the northern part of Afghanistan.

But we've just learned this coming into CNN, as news trickles in about the casualties and the scope and scale of the damage, but we've just learned in a school over there, there were 12 girls who have been killed in a stampede, as they were rushing out of their school building. And we often hear the adage that quakes don't kill people, but crumbling infrastructure around them does, as does panic. And so this is one example of that. And we expect in the coming hours we'll probably learn of more such instances, of people who may have been killed in stampedes or crumbling buildings.

The other things that we're learning this hour are responses from people that we know in the region. In Kabul, our producer has told us that this is the worst earthquake he has ever seen and felt. And Kabul is about 250 kilometers south of the epicenter. So between that and 1,000 kilometers further to the south here in New Delhi, you can get a sense of what people in south Asia, this part of the region, are feeling about the quake.

I do want to add one bit more of context. Back in 2005, pretty close to this epicenter, there was another very strong earthquake in that region. That was a 7.6. And in that quake, some 80,000 people lost their lives. We're hoping right now that today's quake will be nowhere near as serious as that one. So fingers crossed right now as we continue to gather information from there and this region.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: And, of course, Ravai, we'll encourage our viewers to stay with CNN has more details come in on the size and scope of the quake. Thank you so much.

Back here at home, we turn to politics. Mr. Trump ready for battle. He's on the attack as he headlines a rally in New Hampshire this morning, taking aim at rival Ben Carson, who made controversial remarks of his own, comparing abortion to slavery. CNN senior Washington correspondent Joe Johns is live in Atkinson, New Hampshire, for us. He Joe.

JOE JOHNS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Michaela. Donald Trump giving another one of his characteristic stream-of-consciousness campaign performances loaded with one-liners, slamming the media, playing up the polls that show him leading, playing down the polls in Iowa that show him trailing Dr. Ben Carson, renewing his attacks on Carson, as well as Jeb Bush, calling both of them low energy candidates. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We'll start with Bush. Nice guy. I said low energy. By the way, Carson is lower energy than Bush. I don't get it.

Bush said, I don't like Mr. Trump's tone. We have people, their heads are being chopped off in the Middle East, and he's worried about tone. We need tough tone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: Ben Carson has said he will not return fire on Donald Trump but says his energy levels are just fine. Michaela and Alisyn, back to you.

CAMEROTA: OK, thanks so much, Joe.

Well, a simple assessment from Joe Biden this weekend. The vice president telling "60 Minutes" he decided to not run for the White House because he felt he could not win. CNN's Jeff Zeleny live in Washington with more. What more did he say, Jeff?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn. It is a new window into Vice President Joe Biden's thinking. He said he still believes he'd be the best candidate and he thinks that he should be president. But he shed some light on this tough decision, particularly what his son Beau told him before he died. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. JOHN BOEHNER, (R) HOUSE SPEAKER: Some people have written

that, you know, Beau on his deathbed said, dad, you have to run. There was this Hollywood moment that, you know -- nothing like that ever, ever happened.

[08:05:03] Beau all along thought that I should run and I could win, but there was not what is made out as this sort of Hollywood- esque thing, that at the last minute, Beau grabbed my hand and said, Dan, you have got to run, like "win won for the gipper." It wasn't anything like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: So some interesting insight there from the vice president. But with Biden now on the sidelines, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders went head to head this weekend in Iowa. Sanders called himself a principled progressive, reminding Democrats he supported gay rights and other issues long before it was politically popular. But Clinton urged Democrats to pick someone who could do more than simply fire up liberal, but someone who can win. And she believes that is her. Chris and Alisyn?

CUOMO: All right, Jeff, thank you very much.

Let's bring in some reporters from the first in the nation voting states, Iowa and New Hampshire, shall we? Kathy Obradovich, a political columnist at the "Des Moines Register," and Dan Tuohy, he is a political reporter for the "New Hampshire Union Leader." Very big places, very important not just early, but they set the tone. Let's start with Iowa, OK. New Hampshire is a little bit of a different story where Bernie and Hillary are involved. But let's start with Iowa. And what do you see as driving the picture there right now?

KATHY OBRADOVICH, POLITICAL COLUMNIST, "THE DES MOINES REGISTER": Well, so Hillary Clinton has been struggling in Iowa. She came very close in the polls to Bernie Sanders at one point. And I think that Iowa likes to kick the tires. People are not interested here in having a coronation of Hillary Clinton. They wanted to give her competitors a really good hearing.

I think we've gotten to the point now where Democrats have done that and this race has gelled. It's either Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders. At the Jefferson Jackson dinner on Saturday night, it looked like a two-person race. Bernie Sanders sharpening his tone, as you just said, against Hillary Clinton. And Hillary Clinton sort of taking a more long view, perhaps speaking over Bernie Sanders and trying to make the case for her as a general election candidate.

CAMEROTA: Before we get to Trump and Carson, which we do want to do, Dan, New Hampshire voters like to kick the tires, too. How is it looking between Hillary and Bernie there?

DAN TUOHY, POLITICAL REPORTER, "NEW HAMPSHIRE UNION LEADER": It's a very close race here in New Hampshire. Senator Sanders is doing well. He lives next door. Secretary Clinton is coming on strong after her hearing last week. She's back in New Hampshire two days this week, so she's trying to protect that turf here in New Hampshire, as well.

CUOMO: Kathy, if it's true that Carson is resonating over Trump in Iowa because of the depth of his faith and how it works with the evangelicals and the heavier Christians there, is there any chance Trump can get around him by doing this implied Seventh Day Adventist stuff?

OBRADOVICH: It is not just because of his faith. There are some other reasons why Iowa Republican voters like Ben Carson. But that was one of the negatives that we saw in this last "Des Moines Register"-Bloomberg Politics Iowa poll. That people -- 40 percent said they weren't quite sure whether Donald Trump was a committed Christian. This is likely caucus goers. And so that is something that, I think, evangelicals, who are an important voting bloc in Iowa, might have a problem with.

Ben Carson, a slightly different story. People do like the fact they think he lives his faith. If Donald Trump is going to start getting serious about raising questions about Seventh Day Adventists, that is something that I think the church will actually start defending. I just got a press release from them saying, hey, let us help you explain what Seventh Day Adventists are. So that is something that I think we will be hearing more about in this race.

CAMEROTA: It's not just religion. Of course, Donald Trump is trying to draw a contrast between himself and Ben Carson on lots of subjects. In fact just this weekend, he sat down with Jake Tapper and talked about how long stronger he, Donald Trump, is, than he believes Ben Carson on immigration. So let me play that for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: He is very, very weak on immigration, and I'm very strong on immigration. He believes in amnesty strongly. He believes on citizenship. He's going to give citizenship to people that are here illegally, and you can't do that. We disagree on other things, also.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: So Dan, how is this rivalry between Trump and Carson playing in New Hampshire?

TUI: Well, it's definitely heating up here in New Hampshire, as well. Dr. Carson is running a strong second or third, depending on the polls. He just announced a couple state chairmen, as well, so he has three. And he's trying to raise his grassroots here in New Hampshire.

[08:10:00] He is not Donald Trump, and I think no one could deliver a speech quite like Donald Trump today, blaming the media, criticizing, counterpunching, as he so loves to do. He does it here and the audience here loved it. Of note here in New Hampshire, in the audience here, there were a few undecided voters and they were saying immigration was one of the key issue. CUOMO: Kathy, let's see what your take is on whether or not this

resonates, which is basically that you, you know, me, Dan maybe Alisyn, we are actually the problem according to Donald Trump, except when we're not. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: They keep hitting with the one pulp. You're going to find out about the media someday, folks. They are the worst. They are the worst. Oh, these people.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Oh, these people.

CUOMO: Nobody has benefited from the media coverage the way Donald Trump has. It's why he's not spending any money. He's on TV all the time. We have to like cover everything that he does. What is this tactic of his?

OBRADOVICH: So the media is part of the establishment. It is part of the narrative that the media is part of the establishment, and Donald Trump, as an outsider, is pushing back against the establishment. There's absolutely no downside for Donald Trump to push back at the media.

What we are seeing a slight downside for Donald Trump, you know, a lot of his outrageous comments, people just eat them up. But people in Iowa, Iowa Republicans, are not necessarily liking his attacks against fellow Republicans. That was another soft spot for him in his polling. They don't care if they go after the media. They don't care if he's blunt on immigration. They love that. But when he starts talking about fellow Republican candidates, then Iowa Republicans worry about that. They worry about the effect on the race in November. And they also feel uncomfortable about that. People consider themselves to be Iowa nice. They want to have a spirited debate, but they don't necessarily want personal attacks on other candidates.

CAMEROTA: Kathy Obradovich and Dan Tuohy, thanks so much for giving us a pulse of how Iowa and New Hampshire feels this morning, great to talk to both of you. Let's get over to Michaela.

OBRADOVICH: Thank you.

PEREIRA: All right, breaking overnight. Five people have been killed when their whale watching tour boat sank in the waters off the coast of British Columbia, Canada. And 21 of the 27 people on that boat were rescued. One person is listed as missing at this hour. Boris Sanchez joins us now with the latest in the investigation and the search because we know it's ongoing into the night.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The focus is still on the missing person, Michaela. Right now investigators are working to piece together exactly happened to this boat. And complicating the investigation is the fact that witnesses have said yesterday was a clear, beautiful day in the area. No obvious sign as to why this boat may have gone down. That's led to a lot of questions and speculation about the circumstances behind this tragedy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Breaking overnight, a popular whale watching tour boat capsizing and sinking off the coast of Tofino, a small coastal town on Vancouver Island. This morning five passengers dead and one missing after the Leviathan-2 a 65 foot tour boat run by Jamie's Whaling Station and Adventure Centers, sank while carrying 27 people. And 21 rescued as the desperate search for survivors continued through nightfall. More than a dozen have been treated at local hospitals. According to Canadian rescue officials, the vessel making a distress call late Sunday afternoon on what witnesses describe as a clear and sunny day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was a beautiful day here, and there were some big swells out on the ocean but we just don't know anything about what may have happened at the scene.

SANCHEZ: Search officials eventually locating the capsized boat eight nautical miles west of the tourist town. The cause of the accident not yet known.

Today the Transportation Safety Board of Canada deploying a team of investigators to the scene. According to records from the TSBG, the boating company that operating the whale watching tour also had a fatal incident in 1998. The mayor of Tofino, commends residents for their support. "Tofino, thoughts and prayers are with passengers, crew, emergency responders, and their families. Thank you for your messages of support."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Now, Jamie's Whaling Station and Adventure Center, the company that operates the tours put out a statement of their own, in part offering condolences to the families of those affected by this tragedy, also saying their entire staff is heartbroken. And very important, they're noting that they're fully cooperating with investigators. Investigators are going to press them to try to get answers as to who was leading the tour.

CUOMO: It's all going to come down to what happened on that vessel and why it went down and who is responsible. Boris, stay on it. Thank you very much.

In other news this morning, a court date today for the woman accused of plowing her car into a crowd of people at the Oklahoma State Homecoming Parade.

[08:15:00] The 25-year-old is facing murder charges after four people were killed in the crash, including a two-year-old.

We have CNN's Nick Valencia live in Stillwater, Oklahoma, with the latest.

We're also hearing from the defendant's attorney now.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's correct. We'll get to that sound in just a minute, Chris.

But just in few hours from now, 25-year-old Adacia Chambers is expected to make her first court appearance since being accused of crashing her car into that crowded homecoming parade on Saturday.

Over the weekend, CNN obtained cell phone video from one of the spectators in that parade and we want to warn you, it can be graphic to see. So, if you have children in the room, best to get them out of the way right now.

That car that she was driving plowed into an unmanned police motorcycle, proceeded into the crowd, left four people dead and injured nearly 50 others. Among them, as you mentioned, 2-year-old Nash Lucas. His father posting on Facebook late Saturday, "I miss you so much, buddy."

We did manage to get some sound with the attorney of Adacia Chambers, who spoke to the possibility of what could have played a role in this crash on Saturday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY COLEMAN, ATTORNEY FOR ADACIA CHAMBERS: It's been shared there were several days that she would go without sleeping. A very uneasiness about her, uncertainty about her future, her perception about herself, her perception of what others thought about her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: Chambers was initially charged with driving under the influence, so it is unclear what police suspect her being under the influence of. We reached out to authorities and have not gotten an answer on that. She's also charged with four counts of second degree murder. That could carry up to ten years to life in prison -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Just so heartbreaking. Thank you for the update.

Important medical news to share this morning. If you consume a lot of processed red meat, listen up. The World Health Organization says processed hot dogs, ham and sausages are direct causes of cancer. Beef, pork and lamb are also likely causes of cancer, even if unprocessed. The study links the meats mostly to colorectal cancers, also pancreatic cancer and prostate cancer.

The study does point that red meat still does have other nutritional value.

PEREIRA: Yes, that's the part that's important for people to realize is that, because people will panic when they hear that, right?

CAMEROTA: I'm panicking because my children eat hot dogs. What's the balance?

PEREIRA: Not to make them a regular part of the diet, but a treat. Isn't that what they were supposed to be anyway?

CUOMO: Nope. People eat them like crazy. Until the next study says to eat a 500 pounds a month or something.

(CROSSTALK)

PEREIRA: The occasional bacon sandwich won't hurt you.

CUOMO: Moderation on all things.

CAMEROTA: I still like your pandering to the bacon lover.

CUOMO: I'm going to eat them. Something is going to kill you. That is the inimitable fact.

PEREIRA: Yes, none of us can get out of this alive.

CUOMO: You choose what it's going to be.

CAMEROTA: News bulletin.

CUOMO: Right.

So, did Marco Rubio betray Jeb Bush? A candid answer from Rubio himself. He sat down exclusively with CNN. You got some interesting questions and answers ahead.

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[08:21:41] CAMEROTA: This morning, we're getting a closer look at Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio, courtesy of an exclusive CNN interview. Did Rubio betray fellow Floridian Jeb Bush by running in 2016?

CNN special correspondent Jamie Gangel joins now with her interview. You've got a lot of juicy tidbits out of him.

JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we talked to him a lot of personal stuff he's never talked about. We know about his taste in music. Get ready. How he did in high school. Late bloomer.

But we started by talking about Jeb Bush, his friend, his mentor and the state of their relationship now that they are competitors.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GANGEL: Let's talk about Jeb. The two of you say you're friends. We went back and looked at your victory night November 2nd, 2010, when he introduced you. He said that you were the man for our time.

JEB BUSH (R), FORMER FLORIDA GOVERNOR: Bushes get emotional. My wife told me, don't cry. Don't cry. But Marco Rubio makes me cry for joy.

GANGEL: I'm not sure anyone quite believes the friendship is so warm anymore.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Not on our part, it isn't. I mean, I'm running for president. I'm not running against Jeb or anybody else in this race.

GANGEL: So, might say, look, Jeb was your friend, he was your mentor, he helped you get elected, he helped you raise money. Some might say this is a betrayal. Couldn't you have waited for another election?

RUBIO: Well, I don't see the presidency that way. I don't think there is a line, where we all wait and hand the presidency off to each other because you paid your dues. I'm running for president because I don't see anyone else on either side who's campaigning on the agenda and the views that I have. I don't view the presidency as some sort of honorific office that you just step aside and let someone else move forward. This is not that kind of thing. We've got to move forward in this country and turn the page.

GANGEL: Jeb has subtly painted you as Barack Obama 2.0, that you're young, inexperienced, first term senator. Is Jeb Bush more experienced than you are?

RUBIO: I think there are people running that have more experience on the issues we faced 35 years ago, or 25 years ago, or 15 years ago. When it comes to the issues of America of the 21st century, there's no one running that understands them more or has shown better judgment on them than I have. That's one of the main reasons why I'm running.

And so, when people run for the presidency or an office, they will say things because they think it gives them a competitive advantage. And that's fine. I understand the politics of it. But that's not what the campaign is about for me. I'm going to tell people who I am and why I'm running and what I'll do.

GANGEL: Let's turn the corner. You want people to get to know you better. So, look, I know two things about you. Your favorite sport is football.

RUBIO: Yes.

GANGEL: And your favorite team has to be the Dolphins.

RUBIO: Yes, and Florida Gators.

GANGEL: What did you want to be growing up?

RUBIO: I wanted to be either a football player, football coach or sports broadcaster.

GANGEL: And you wanted to play in the NFL?

RUBIO: Yes, I did and I would have had it not been for my lack of size, speed and talent.

GANGEL: You were not the greatest high school student. Is the story true about the teacher, you were a disrupter, and she was bribing you not to come to class?

[08:25:00] RUBIO: Yes. And, look, and it costs me a lot of money later on in life, right? Because I had to go up and take classes and pay for it myself and take out loans for undergraduate degrees. I regret not being a good high school student, but I wasn't. Once I started paying for college, I became a really good student.

GANGEL: Is that what turned it around?

RUBIO: Part of it. And part of it is, hey, it's time to grow up and get going. Even my first year in college, I was not a very good student. What saved me is I was a voracious reader. Had I not read a lot, I think I really would have struggled in college.

GANGEL: Favorite book?

RUBIO: Ever? Well, obviously, look, I think the Bible is the most extraordinary document ever written.

GANGEL: Second favorite book.

RUBIO: Great question. There are a number to pick from. I probably -- you know, one of the ones I've really enjoyed is the one about Churchill, I think it's called the "Last Lion" or --

GANGEL: Light side, favorite movies?

RUBIO: Well, some of them are not for kids to watch, right? I think I love "Godfather" 1 and 2. And 3, I can do without 3, although it was fine.

GANGEL: I liked 3.

RUBIO: Well, I like Andy Garcia, like 1 and 2 are fantastic. I like "Pulp Fiction". A lot of people don't like it, but I enjoyed it. I like "Wedding Crashers." I thought it was one of the funniest movies I ever saw.

GANGEL: Favorite music?

RUBIO: Well, you know, I mean, I grew up listening to a lot of R&B music and in particular, some of the '90s hip hop music. But the other music that I've really started, I just think that's really grown and exploded is electronic dance music.

GANGEL: Party music?

RUBIO: Well, not necessarily party music. I mean, people, obviously, it's used for that purpose, but in many ways, it's real genius. It's a 21st century ability to take music and use it in a way that motivates people. So, you got people like Tiesto and others out there that are these deejays.

GANGEL: I have no idea who you're talking about.

RUBIO: They are like deejays, musicians. So, I think it's a music genre that's global and is growing rapidly. And it's unbelievable.

GANGEL: You like hip hop. You have four young kids, 8 to 15. Do you let them listen to that?

RUBIO: Not really. The key is not the music, it's the lyrics. You don't want kids at a young age exposed to lyrics that somehow glamorize a lifestyle that's hard. It's not reality.

So, there's a difference between a 44-year-old man listening to that and a 16-year-old listening to that and not understanding the difference between artistic expression and reality.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PEREIRA: It's interesting to hear him talk about music, and hip and hop and movies and all of these things, because you look at him. He's young, he's son of an immigrant, he's Latino, he is handsome, he's a very different face than what we've seen in the GOP. I think they need that.

But the big question is, does he have the money to make this run worthwhile, even though there's all that hope there?

GANGEL: So, thus far, no. He doesn't have enough money. They had a really rough fundraising quarter.

But he's now going up in the polls. People are talking about him. Jeb has been struggling with using up too much of his huge war chest. So, I think the Rubio folks are hoping that the money is going to follow his new rise in the polls.

CAMEROTA: We heard in the first piece that he sort of went after Trump. He said some of the things trump is saying is absurd. Is that his new plan? Does he plan to attack Trump more?

GANGEL: You know, I am not sure that they've quite decided, honestly. I think they are playing this a little bit at a time. If he's going to be the front runner, I think he will go after Trump more. I do.

CUOMO: Except it is hard to make successful for yourself. And, in truth, the more the ugliness of the campaign gets exposed, if you're not part of it, may give him a window of opportunity. I always like the contrast between what the politician says and what you would say in private.

If he can control the music that his teenage daughter is listening to, he is the most qualified person running for president right now.

CAMEROTA: He's a stronger man than Cuomo.

GANGEL: Better man than I.

CUOMO: Because I would love to be in that house and see how it works, just to bring the lessons back home to my own.

PEREIRA: Jamie, terrific interview. Thanks so much with sitting down with us and bringing it to us.

GANGEL: Thank you.

PEREIRA: So, Donald Trump, not afraid of taking jabs. He's doing it across the board at all his rivals, an event this morning after doing the same over the weekend. Is this a smart strategy? We'll look at that ahead.

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