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EARLY START

Terror Crackdown Across Europe; Icy Road Danger; Obama's Call for Tax Increases; Pope Ends 5-Day Visit to Philippines

Aired January 19, 2015 - 04:30   ET

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


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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Crackdown on terror. Authorities across Europe arrests suspects believed connected to sleeper cells, as concerns grew about radicalized fighters returning from Iraq and Syria.

Deadly ice dangers. Hundreds of accidents halting traffic across the Northeast after a flash freeze sent cars spinning. Are we in for more hazardous conditions?

President Obama announcing plans to tax the highest U.S. earners to help the middle class. But will Republicans even consider this proposal?

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans. John Berman has the morning off. It is 30 minutes past the hour.

Police across Europe remain on high alert this morning. Investigators trying to unravel a web -- a web of suspected sleeper cells. New arrests include five in Belgium, two more in France. Prosecutors say those two are crossing into Italy.

And this morning, Belgian officials are seeking extradition of someone caught in Greece, following Friday's police shootout in Belgium that left two terror suspects dead there, one more injured. Police out in numbers. Numbers not seen in 35 years, patrolling the streets, guarding embassies and guarding the country's National Jewish Museum.

Standing by live for us this morning in Brussels, senior international correspondent Ivan Watson.

Good morning, Ivan.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine.

For the first time, we are getting the identity of one of the suspects of that Belgium police raid Thursday night in the eastern Belgian town of Verviers, where two of the suspects opened fire on police and were killed in an ensuing gun battle. There was a third man who was arrested at the time, and now, his defense attorney is identifying him as a Belgian citizen named Marwan Albali (ph) who is being held in prison in the Belgian town of Mons. Now, he's charged, the defense attorney says, with participation in a

terrorist organization with possession of explosives, with prohibitive possession of weapons and with armed rebellion. The defense attorney insists that his client is innocent of any kind of terrorism charges. He says that the man was actually arrested and was in the apartment that was raided by police Thursday night, only because he traveled there to deliver a pair of shoes. He says that his client, this Marwan Albali, the suspect, has no criminal record and had been working as a prison -- as a security guard.

The man hails from the Brussels neighborhood of Mullenbach (ph). We were there yesterday. That is a neighbor that has very high youth unemployment rate. It also has very large population of first, second and third generation immigrants from North Africa. And as recently as Sunday, police were conducting more raids in that neighborhood. We talked to the mayor of the neighborhood and she said that police had to beef up security around government buildings there and beef up security for the police themselves, because recall that the alleged plot that was foiled by Belgian police was a plan to attack Belgian police officers and the suspects were found to be in possession of police uniforms in addition to weapons and explosives -- Christine.

ROMANS: That is troubling for investigators trying to unravel this.

OK. Thanks so much for that, Ivan Watson in Brussels.

In France, a source with knowledge of the investigation into the Paris terror attacks tells CNN police are seeking two people whose DNA was found on Amedy Coulibaly's belongings. DNA, including DNA found on a gun magazine. Coulibaly killed four hostages in a kosher market before police shot and killed him. Three women held in connection with Paris attacks were released on Sunday. The prosecutor's office says nine others are still being interrogated.

I want to bring in senior international correspondent Nic Robertson live from Paris.

Good morning, Nic.

And tell us about the people that they are seeking, the idea of getting the DNA off a gun magazine and from the car that he drove -- remarkable.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is. Look, the DNA found on this gun magazine, ammunition clip, bullets for a weapon. For the police, at least, it leads them to believe this person was actually handling weapons. And we know that Amedy Coulibaly had a number of weapons with him and in his apartment.

So, this is a very important lead for the police. The presumption there would be that this person had knowledge of the weapons and potential knowledge of the attack and certainly a close associate of Coulibaly that they now feel is very important to track down.

The other DNA has found in a vehicle that has been widely reported in French media as a vehicle that is believed that Coulibaly used to get to that kosher supermarket where he later killed four people. So, very, very important leads. How is the government handling this here? The perception, of course, 10,000 police on the streets to tighten and improve security here at the time when there are concerns for the potential of other sleeper cells, potential for other attacks.

This sort of large number of troops unseen, really here -- I mean, unseen in recent history, on the streets here measured by the French population as a prudent and smart move by the government. The statistics that we are hearing in a poll show that the president has jumped 21 points in his approval rating, the prime minister jumping 17 points.

So, these additional security, the measures the government is taking seems to be getting the validation and support of the French public, Christine.

ROMANS: You know, we were just talking to a guests a few moments ago who's telling me that the jihadi narrative just as resonating among some of these young men and women in Paris and Belgium, maybe even in Greece, around Europe. In populations that have been one generations or two generations born in Europe.

What are they doing to attack that part of the story, to attack that part of the story?

ROBERTSON: Well, a poll in Belgium today said 86 percent of the population of the poll of 1,100 people, 86 percent of the population there believes anyone who joins the jihadist fight should be stripped of their nationality. There should be counterterrorism laws to combat this.

The public mood in Europe is very much with their government taking strong action against people who want to join the fight in the Middle East or wherever and potentially bring the fight back to their home countries or even just lone wolf attacks. I mean, you have in jihadist forums just in the past 24 hours calls for attacks by lone wolves against gas stations, for example. You know, people here feel that threat is real. And they want their governments to take strong action against it -- Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Nic, thank you so much for that in Paris this morning.

Today, a funeral will be held for the police officer gunned down by Amedy Coulibaly, gunned down the day before he murdered those four people in the Parisian kosher supermarket. Clarissa Jean-Philippe will be laid to rest in Martinique. Jean-Philippe was shot in the head after she stops the terrorists for a minor traffic accident.

CNN will have an in-depth look at the battle against terrorism tonight with two CNN special reports. At 9:00 p.m. Eastern, Jake Tapper goes inside the Paris attacks. And at 9:30, "NEW DAY's" Chris Cuomo and Alisyn Camerota anchor "The War Within Islam", taking a look at what could be done to calm violent extremism.

Below freezing temperatures and rain creating nasty conditions on the roads in Northeast. This was the scene on Interstate 76 outside Philadelphia. Look at this, up to 50 cars involved in the chain- reaction crash. We are told one person died there.

The same scene played out in the Northwest, 100 people slammed into each other on Interstate 84 in eastern Oregon. The crash left one Tri-Cities, Washington areas man -- look at this -- this guy is sandwiched between two semis in his crumpled Chevy pickup truck. He survived and he's going to stop by "NEW DAY". "NEW DAY" is going to speak to Kaleb Whitby live about the horrifying crash at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.

Back to cold weather here with storms in the forecast for the Northeast. I want to get to meteorologist Pedram Javaheri for an early look at your weather.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey. Good morning, Christine.

Yes, let's take a look at what's happening here because we had a messy scenario, of course, on Sunday with the hundreds of accidents across the Northeast. Temperatures were in the 20s. We had rain showers across the board, a lot of slick conditions.

The storm system is finally on the move, pushing in towards the Canadian maritime, if you're tuning in from the northern portion of New England. Certainly, you're going to get some action here with four to 10 inches in around portions of, say, in Northern Vermont and New Hampshire, one to four inches there. And even some freezing rain possible into the early afternoon hours across this region, about half a million under the advisories and warning. But the storm will push out of here with residual moisture in place. It will be gusty over much of the metro cities across the Northeast.

Look at New York City, the average is 32. In fact, the next few days stay at or above average, but it will be very windy, you feel considerably colder than this. And even a possibility for some flurries there on Wednesday morning with some wet weather moving in.

High pressure large and in charge across the Southeast, with temperatures unseasonably mild. You deserve it out here from Atlanta toward Dallas, pushing close to 70 degrees over the next 24 hours, changes in the weather. Another cold spell here ahead of us over the next couple of days. You see the storm as it exits the picture, another storm does drop. We're going to get shots of storms over the next few days. So, we'll watch this as we head in towards the middle of the week.

ROMANS: All right. Pedram, thank you for that.

Big news for your money this morning. The president's myRA retirement accounts are a reality. President Obama announced the starter retirement savings accounts last year in his State of the Union and now, today, anyone who has direct deposit for their paycheck can sign up. These accounts, these are savings accounts, retirement savings account, for the millions of low and middle income Americans who don't have an employer-sponsored retirement program. The president, security secretary, want people to be able to start

saving. They charge no fees. They're backed by the government. The investment is risk free, but don't expect huge returns, myRA will be invested only in government bonds. So, some professionals on the street criticized that move. But it is a way, a way to get in if you are not saving right now.

Forty minutes past the hour.

A shooting near the vice president's home put authorities on alert. Now an investigation is under way into who fired the shots whether they were targeting the Biden residence.

And Boko Haram is spreading its reign of violence to a neighboring country, taking dozens hostage. Will more countries be forced to get involved to stop this terror group?

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ROMANS: President Obama gives his annual State of the Union Address to Congress and White House aides out in force on the Sunday talk shows, pushing the president's marquee proposal tax cuts for the middle class. The president wants to make sure middle income earners benefit from recent improvements in the economy and he wants the cuts paid for with tax and fee increases on banks and wealthy Americans. That plan had Republicans out in equal numbers to say not a chance.

CNN's Erin McPike is at the White House.

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ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine, President Obama is unlikely to get what he wants here because of how he wants to raise the revenue.

Let's talk about that. He wants to raise tax rates on capital gains and dividends right now. That rate is 20 percent. He wants to raise it to 28 percent. He also wants to impose a new fee on large financial institutions.

As you can imagine, this was big talk on the Sunday morning shows. Dan Pfeiffer, a senior advisor to President Obama, was on NBC's "Meet the Press" and then Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz was on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION." And as you will hear here, they were on very different pages.

DAN PFEIFFER, WHITE HOUSE SENIOR COUNSELOR: A simple proposition that now that the economy is in a stronger place it's been in a very long time, we need to double down on our efforts to deal with waste stagnation and declining economic mobility. And so, the simple proposition that we should ask the wealthy to pay a little more and invest more in the middle class, give the middle class a raise.

REP. JASON CHAFFETZ (R), UTAH: It's a nonstarter. We're not just one good tax increase away from prosperity in this nation. This nation had its all-time highest, the record number of receipts coming into the Treasury. Are you going to actually grow the economy and jobs, are entrepreneurs going to be better off, or small businessmen are going to be better off with more taxes and more government? No.

MCPIKE: But here are the tax cuts that President Obama ultimately wants to offer. He wants to give a tax credit for dual income families up to $500, and then, also, he wants to triple the child tax credit to $3,000.

Now, keep in mind also that this is just a starting point and we'll be hearing a lot about this over the next few months as both Republicans and President Obama wrangle over tax reform -- Christine.

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ROMANS: All right. Erin McPike, thanks for that.

Secret Service and the FBI investigating who fired multiple gunshots from a car outside the sealed perimeter around Joe Biden's house in Delaware over the weekend. The vice president and his wife were not at home at the time. Agents have been searching for bullets and shell casings. Police reported a second shooting nearby a short time later. It is not known if they are related.

Some 250 Yazidis are free this morning, released by ISIS militants who held them captive in Iraq for more than six months. A Kurdish official says once they were freed, the Yazidis walked to a checkpoint south of Kirkuk. Kurdish authorities said most of those freed were children, sick or elderly, likely they were slowing down the Islamic militants. It's why they were released.

For the first time, Boko Haram insurgents have crossed the Nigerian border attacking a village in Cameroon, kidnapping 80 people, killing three. Once again, many of those abducted are children. This as thousands of troops from neighboring Chad are beginning to arrive in Cameroon to help in the regional battle against Boko Haram.

Fierce fighting rages again in Ukraine. Ukraine's government now saying it reclaimed almost all of the area in and around Donetsk airport. This is the aerial view of the heavily damaged airport. This unfolding as thousands attended a state-sponsored rally in Kiev where 13 civilians killed when their bus came under rocket attack last week. Kiev blames the attack on pro-Russian separatists and says it launched the counter offensive in response to the separatists' stepped up attacks.

The FAA is investigating a near disaster on the ground at New York's JFK airport over the weekend. A JetBlue flight cleared for takeoff was barreling down the runway at full speed when the pilots suddenly hit the brakes. Another plane crossed over the runway. According to JetBlue, the Caribbean Airlines plane crossed without authorization. The FAA says the closest the two planes came to each other was 2,800 feet.

The FAA is investigating another plane incident. This time, they're looking into the cause of a smoke condition that force a Delta jet heading from Atlanta to Japan to return shortly after takeoff. Officials say a pilot on another plane reported smoke coming from the Delta flight's landing gear just after it departed Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. The Boeing 777 was carrying 291 people onboard.

The Super Bowl XLIV is all set and it's a heavyweight bout featuring the NFL's two best teams. Tom Brady and the New England Patriots punched their ticket by crushing the Colts 45-7 in the AFC championship game. In the NFC, the Seahawks staged an improvable fourth quarter rally to beat the Green Bay Packers in overtime, 28-22, to earn their second straight trip to the Super Bowl.

The defending champs and the Patriots will meet in Super Bowl XLIV in Arizona on February 1st. The Seahawks will try to become the first team to repeat as Super Bowl champs since the Patriots did it in 2003 and 2004.

Pope Francis making history during his visit to the Philippines. Record-breaking crowds turned out the Catholic leader despite torrential rain. We got those details next.

And this is a viral video you can't miss. A police officer grooving to Taylor Swift caught an on dash cam. So, what does the pop star have to say about this video?

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ROMANS: Pope Francis is in mid-air this morning, on his way back to Rome following the five-day visit to the Philippines. On Sunday, millions -- millions of Filipinos ignored a driving tropical rain, wrapped up in ponchos and basking in the glow of the pope's presence.

CNN's Anna Coren is in Manila and has this report.

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ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine, incredible scenes here as millions of people gathered in Manila's Rizal Park behind me to watch Pope Francis celebrate his final mass wrapping up his week-long trip to Asia. Now, authorities were hoping for a papal milestone, and it looks like they got it. Officials saying 6 million people turned out in the pouring rain to see the pope. One parishioner describing his faith to me as waterproof.

Well, it has been 20 years since there's been a papal visit to this deeply religious country. The last by Pope John Paul II in 1995 when 5 million celebrated mass the World Youth Day.

Well, his message has been to look after the poor, preserve the family and protect children.

POPE FRANCIS: We need to see each child as a gift to be welcomed, cherish and protect. We need to care for our young people and not allowing them to be robbed of hope, condemn to a life on the streets.

COREN: Earlier, Pope Francis had harsh words for officials in the government and the church to end corruption, to stop the economic growth of this developing country from trickling down to the nation's poor.

Well, his mission of mercy and compassion has touched the hearts of Filipinos. This is the third largest Catholic population in the world, the largest in Asia, and he's received a rock star reception everywhere he's been.

Well, hundreds of thousands of people have lined the streets every single day just to catch a glimpse of the pope and his motorcade which Filipinos are describing as a once in a lifetime experience -- Christine.

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ROMANS: All right. Anna Coren, thank you for that in Manila this morning.

The West African nation of Mali has been declared Ebola-free. U.N. officials and the government of Mali say it has been 42 days before new cases of the virus. And according to the World Health Organization recommendations, the Ebola epidemic in Mali is considered over. Mali didn't hit Mali as hard as its West African neighbors Liberia, Senegal and Sierra Leone. There were seven Ebola cases in Mali, five people died, two others recovered.

Pop star Taylor Swift has finally responded to the video that people just can't stop watching.

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ROMANS: Delaware's Dover Police Department says it released this hilarious dash cam video of Officer Jeff Davis rocking out to Swift's "Shake It Off", in an effort to help humanize the officer. The video was an instant hit online.

And Swift reacted to the clip, tweeting, quote. "LOL the sass." Looks like she approves.

All right. "American Sniper" setting a box office record, unbelievable take this weekend in its opening weekend. Director Clint Eastwood, star Bradley Cooper celebrating again. We're going to get an early start on your money, next.

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ROMANS: All right. Let's an early start on your money.

Gas prices just keep falling. The national average this morning, $2.06 for a gallon of regular, the lowest in about six years. It is pushing more people believe it or not to buy SUVs. According to truecar.com, when gas hits 3 bucks a gallon, SUV sales begin to rise. Hybrid sales start to suffer at about $2.77. With gas below $2 at many gas stations, the trend is expected to accelerate. Big cars are back. Uber trying to make nice in Europe. Uber constantly finds itself at

odds with regulators and at the center of controversy. Now, the car service is making a promise: work with us and we will create 50,000 jobs in Europe this year. Uber says its expansion will take 40,000 cars off the road. It also promise to increase passenger safety with better background checks for uber drivers.

"American Sniper" made box office history this weekend. Look at this, the film directed by Clint Eastwood, starring Bradley Cooper earned an astonishing $90.2 million, the largest January opening in history. That number is going to get bigger probably because of the long holiday weekend. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards last week, including best actor and best picture.

All right. Fifty-nine minutes past the hour. EARLY START continues right now.

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