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EARLY START

Obama Posts YouTube To Iranian People; Sanctions Stumbling Block; ISIS Claims Tunis Museum Attack; Israeli Prime Minister's Reversal; Secret Service Chief Testifies; What Keeps Jack Lew Up At Night?; Lawyer: UVA Student Didn't Have Fake ID; Stock Futures Higher

Aired March 20, 2015 - 05:30   ET

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


[05:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, a last-ditch effort to reach a nuclear deal with Iran. President Obama taking to YouTube to plead his case directly to the people of Iran. Tense negotiations happening right now. We are there live.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: ISIS takes credit for the museum massacre, 23 people killed creating new concern around the world. How involved was ISIS and could more attacks be coming? We're live with the very latest.

BERMAN: New tension between the White House and Israel. President Obama vows to reassess the relationship after controversy comments from Prime Minister Netanyahu. We are live in Israel as this drama unfolds.

Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.

ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. It's 31 minutes past the hour this Friday morning. It's nice to see you all here this morning.

Breaking overnight, President Obama taking his case for a nuclear deal with Iran directly to the Iranian people. With talks in Switzerland seemingly stalled on political issues like time frames and sanctions, the White House ratcheting up the pressure on Iranian leaders with a video posted on YouTube.

In that video, the president urges Iranians to push their leaders to agree to a reasonable deal that will lead to what he called a better path, including the easing of sanctions and more jobs for young Iranians.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The days and weeks ahead will be critical. Our negotiations have made progress, but gaps remain. There are people in both our countries and beyond who oppose a diplomatic resolution. My message to you, the people of Iran, is that together we have to speak up for the future we seek.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson, is at the talks in Lausanne. Nic, what's the latest this morning?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Christine, good morning. The talks were due to begin about an hour and a half ago, just say for an hour ago at the least. We are told now that those talks this morning between the foreign minister of Iran, Javad Sarif and Secretary of State John Kerry, that timeframe is slipping a little bit.

I asked the Iranian foreign minister as he came out of the hotel for a walk this morning, I asked him can he still make a deal by the deadline. This is what he told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Do you think that a deal is possible by the 31st of March?

JAVAD ZARIF, IRANIAN PRIME MINISTER: I think indeed it is possible anytime. It depends on the political will to reach one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: You know what is interesting from that is that earlier in the week, the Iranians have been putting more emphasis on the need to make progress on technical issues, but now focusing on the political side of the negotiations.

Something Secretary Kerry had been saying way back at last weekend that Iran has tough choices, necessary choices to make, political choices to make. Now it seems the Iranians turning that back on the United States.

Certainly I followed up by asking Foreign Minister Zarif about President Obama's message. He said he had tweeted about that already and it is a very strong line tweet. This is what he says here.

"The Iranians have already made their choice engaged with dignity." He goes on to say, however, "It is high time for the United States and its allies to choose, pressure or agreement."

So he seems to be saying there the United States needs to back off the pressure here if they want to get an agreement with Iran -- Christine.

ROMANS: So interesting that the U.S. and the Iranians are tweeting and sending YouTube videos to each other. So it's a definitely a new era of diplomacy, I would say. Nic, thanks so much.

BERMAN: Happening now, officials in Tunisia weighing an audio message apparently from ISIS that claims responsibility for the attack on the museum there. Tunisian officials say 23 people were killed including one who died later at the hospital.

Two of the attackers are dead. Authorities arrested nine more people in connection with the massacre, but ISIS is not the only jihadi group to claim it was behind this attack. I want to bring in CNN's Phil Black live in Tunis this morning. Good morning, Phil.

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. Some competition on line among Jihadi groups claiming responsibility for this attack. But U.S. officials believe there is no reason not to believe that ISIS claim of responsibility is authentic.

Perhaps it points to what they refer to as another ISIS franchise. Not an ISIS cell that is directly controlled by ISIS leadership in Iraq and Syria, but rather an autonomous group of individuals here acting in the name and spirit and inspired by ISIS to conduct an attack such as this.

[05:35:07] According to Reuters, however, the Tunisian government believes that those gunmen responsible were trained across the border in Libya. This is a country or fractured country where ISIS has developed a very strong foothold recently.

The Tunisian authorities have arrested nine for allegedly having links to this attack. They have not speculated publicly on just whose name or in what organization they were acting on behalf of.

Meanwhile, it is the Tunisian people that continue to come to terms with the impact and the consequences of this most severe terror attack in their capital. Today is Independence Day, a significant day for this country every year.

But especially so with rallies expected that are hoped by many will be an act of unity and defiance against those that they believe have tried to deliberately attack the economy and the political stability of the country -- John.

BERMAN: Incredibly poignant there for that nation trying so hard to move forward. All right, Phil Black in Tunis for us, thanks so much.

ROMANS: Developing this morning, the White House says it is reassessing parts of its relationship with Israel even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is walking back some controversial remarks he made just before Israeli voters went to the polls this week reelecting him in the hotly contested campaign.

Now the prime minister says he did not mean he is against a Palestinian state. What he said on Monday that there will never be one while he is in office only that political realities will prevent it. The White House does not seemed to be buying that explanation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: I haven't changed my policy. I never retracted my speech six years ago. I don't want a one-state solution. I want a sustainable, peaceful two-state solution.

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Words matter. That is certainly true in this instance. I know very well that the Israeli prime minister is aware of that and he was talking about something that even he would acknowledge is a very important issue and an issue that has serious consequences for the country that he leads.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: So let's bring in Oren Liebermann live for us in Jerusalem. What did President Obama mean, Oren, when he told the prime minister the U.S. will reassess the important relationship?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine, I think the clearest meaning of the word reassess is that it is a warning that President Obama is expressing displeasure with the terminology and what Prime Minister Netanyahu said before and during the election.

There are a lot of ways Obama could use that term reassess because the relationship between the U.S. and Israel is so deep and so broad. There is security coordination, financial help, and diplomatic relationship.

Now both leaders have reassured their countries that those will remain strong, but there are other ways the U.S. could use that word. For example, the U.S. and the U.N. has used their Security Council veto a number of times to block resolutions against Israel.

And at the International Criminal Court, the U.S. has urged discouraged the Palestinians from pursuing any cases against Israel. So there are a lot of ways Christine that U.S. could interpret that word reassess and they have a lot of options specifically because the relationship is so broad.

ROMANS: So what has been the Palestinian response to Netanyahu's comments?

LIEBERMANN: Well, yesterday we got a chance to sit down with Dr. Saeb Erekat, and he says regardless of what Netanyahu said or says or will say, what he believes is that there will not be a two-state solution under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

So he says the Palestinians will have no choice. They will continue to pursue recognition of statehood in the international arena, which is through European countries and the U.N. and perhaps even the ICC. He says it is simply a matter of time, but they are working on all of those different aspects.

ROMANS: All right, Oren Liebermann, thank you for that, Oren in Jerusalem for us this morning.

BERMAN: It's 38 minutes after the hour. The head of the Secret Service insists the latest scandal to rock that agency has been exaggerated and overblown by the media.

Joseph Clancy told lawmakers that two agents never crashed their car into a White House barricade and were only driving one or two miles an hour when they brushed against a plastic barrel.

He claims no one at the agency manually erased videotapes of that incident, but video may have been automatically deleted. Clancy says he is trying to determine whether that video can be recovered. ROMANS: Time for an EARLY START on your money this Friday morning, Asian shares ended the day higher. Tokyo, Shanghai at records. European stocks and U.S. stock futures, they are higher too. Yesterday, the Dow fell 117 points. The sixth day in a row of triple digit swings.

America is losing the battle against hackers according to the U.S. Cyber command chief. The government efforts to combat computer hacks are not working. We have reached a quote, "a tipping point."

Admiral Michael Rogers telling lawmakers the nation needs to boost the military cyber offensive capabilities. He claims our current approach is too defensive. Yesterday, in an exclusive interview with the Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, I asked him what keeps him up at night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACK LEW, TREASURY SECRETARY: I'm pretty tired at night. I'm not saying anything keeps me up at night. Something that I think I am most people in leadership positions worry about today in a way that they did not a few years ago is cyber security.

[05:40:12] It is just -- it is a new phenomenon where the risk is great and the learning curve has been fast. I think we in the Treasury Department as a sector lead for financial services have been doing an effective job moving quickly in that space. It's kind of an economy in this country. It's an area where we really need to be on our guard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Need to be on our guard. You've heard it from all corners of the government. Banks have been spending hundreds of billions of dollars to fight hackers. It's so interesting to me that that's the thing that keeps him at night, hacking.

BERMAN: He basically says I know the feeling. I'm so tired, nothing keeps me up at night.

ROMANS: Well, first, I'm so exhausted, I do sleep very well. Second, though, I'm really worried about cyber security.

A college student left bloody after being arrested by police. Now refuting the officer's story of what happened that night. New details next.

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[05:44:33]

BERMAN: New developments over allegations of police brutality in the arrest of a black University of Virginia student outside a bar in Charlottesville. The attorney for 20-year-old Martese Johnson disputes reports that the student had a fake ID card.

Johnson was charged with public intoxication and obstructing justice. That arrest, of course, sparking new controversy about the issue of police and force. CNN's Nick Valencia has more.

[05:45:02]NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, students I've spoken to who know Martese Johnson say that they are not only shocked that this happened. They are shocked that this happened to him. A student who was one of the prominent students here on campus even before this happened who had endless ties to the university.

And while police say he was uncooperative during the arrest, his lawyer says that Johnson was the victim of excessive force.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIEL P. WATKINS, MARTESE JOHNSON'S ATTORNEY: At no time throughout the encounter did Martese present as has been reported by some in the media a fake id. Nevertheless, Virginia ABC officers who were present on the scene questioned my client about being in possession of false identification.

The conversation resulted in my client being thrown to the ground, his head hitting the pavement. The officer's knees pressed into his back, his face and skull bleeding and needing surgery.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: The Virginia State Police say they've launched a criminal investigation, a comprehensive one, that will look into the conduct of the officers involved in the arrest -- John, Christine.

ROMANS: All right, Nick, thank you for that. Let's take a look at what is coming up on "NEW DAY." Alisyn Camerota joins us now. Hi, Alisyn.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": Hi, guys. Good morning. It's great to see you. So as we know, ISIS claiming responsibility for the attack on the museum in Tunisia, but our terrorism expert says not so fast. There is reason to doubt their claims.

And the already strained relationship between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is getting more complicated this morning. The president saying the U.S. needs to reassess the relationship after Netanyahu's comments on Palestinian statehood.

Israel is the U.S.' strongest ally in the Mid-East so how much damage has been done and what does all of this mean? We will bring all of that to you at the top of the hour when Michaela and I see you. John, hurry down.

ROMANS: All right, Alisyn, do you think there needs to be a woman on the $20 bill, just quickly?

CAMEROTA: Yes.

ROMANS: Who?

CAMEROTA: I have a candidate right here. ROMANS: I'm just agreeing.

CAMEROTA: Michaela, that's who. We'll talk about that in NEW DAY too. Thanks, guys, nice to see you.

It's 26 minutes past the hour. New evidence revealed the Boston marathon bombing attack. Prosecutors revealing what investigators found on Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's computer. That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:50:50]

ROMANS: The prosecution in the trial of the accused Boston marathon bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, is close to wrapping up its case. That is expected to happen when testimony resumes next week. In court Thursday, the focus was on Jihadist material retrieved from various devices belonging to Tsarnaev. CNN's Alexandra Field has more.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine, John, the jury is now hearing about the exhaustive search of the Tsarnaev brothers' devices, everything from their GPS devices to their iPods, their phones, their laptops and even their desktops.

Investigators testified about what they did to isolate specific files that were interesting to the prosecution in this case The prosecution helped those witnesses to highlight for the jurors the documents that could be key to the case, including a number of editions of the "Inspire" magazine.

That's the al Qaeda Arabian Peninsula recruitment magazine. It includes an article of how to make a bomb in the kitchen of your mom. That and other writings referencing Jihad along with audio recordings from Anwar Al-Awlaki, the spokesperson and recruiter for AQAP who was killed in a drone strike back in 2011.

The prosecution seemingly trying to show jurors the volume of materials that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev had downloaded on his devices and also wanting to highlight how much time he spent looking at them.

One of those issues of "Inspire" magazine downloaded back in 2010. Jurors also saw several other kinds of documents stored on Tsarnaev's devices, including a picture taken at graduation and a resume in which he lists himself as a student at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. He calls himself a good swimmer, a hard worker and responsible -- Christine, John.

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

Testimony resumes this morning in the trial of former NFL star, Aaron Hernandez, accused of murdering his friend, Odin Lloyd. On Thursday, jurors heard from the 100th witness in this case.

A woman who testified she danced with Hernandez at the Rumor Nightclub, two nights before Lloyd was killed. He was aggressive, agitated, and left the club angry. More fallout from a campus scandal at Penn State, University President Eric Baron announcing that a re-evaluation of the entire fraternity system may be required after members of its Kappa Delta Rho Chapter allegedly posted photos of nude, unconscious women on a private Facebook page. The fraternity has already been suspended for one year and an investigation is underway.

All right, is it time to put a woman on the $20 bill? I asked the man who can make it happen. I'll tell you what he says next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:56:50]

ROMANS: Let's get an EARLY START on your money, Friday edition. It looks like a good end to the week for stock investors. Asian shares finished the day higher. European stocks and U.S. futures are also up right now.

Yesterday, the Dow fell 117 points. The sixth day in a row of triple digit swings. It was Apple's first day as a Dow component. Not a great start. Apple fell almost 1 percent.

Amazon's drone delivery program getting closer to reality, the Federal Aviation Administration gave Amazon permission to test certain drones in its fleet for research and development. FAA rules are so restrictive that only hobbyists and some small businesses can really use drones so far. Now the government is giving Amazon room to experiment. The company's plan to deliver packages through the air in 30 minutes is still far from complete.

Gender equality still has a ways to go at least in terms of money, right? But yesterday, the treasury secretary, Jack Lew, hinted we may soon put a woman on the $20 bill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: When will a woman be on the $20 bill? Do you have that power and can it happen?

LEW: You know, we have been looking at a range of issues of how to modernize our currency. I'm not going to make any announcement today, but we are looking at a lot of interesting things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: There is a big, big push to put a woman on the currency. Of course, my next question is who, no word yet on whose face you may see on the $20 bill.

It's 58 minutes past the hour. ISIS claiming responsibility for the museum massacre in Tunisia, "NEW DAY" picks up that story right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: An audio claim from ISIS that they were indeed behind the attack.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ISIS just conducted something they consider a major success.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There will be more terrorism in Europe and eventually will wash up on the shores of the United States.

BERMAN: President Obama speaking out directly to the people of Iran.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Together we have to speak up for the future we seek. Iran's leaders have a choice between two paths.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": A different message coming from the prime minister of Israel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's concerning to see this immediate reversal or flip-flop.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He now supports two-state solution.

EARNEST: Words matter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did this happen you -- racist!

WATKINS: The trauma from what the ABC officers did will stay with me forever.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The video that we saw doesn't show what took place before that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: And good morning, welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Friday, March 20th, 6:00 in the east, Chris Cuomo is off today. John Berman is with us again. Great to see you this morning.

Well, up first, new information about the gunman that carried out the terrorist attack at Tunisia's National Museum, killing 23 people, many of them western tourists. Authorities say two of those attackers killed were recruited in mosques in Tunisia and trained at a Jihadist camp in Libya.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Nine others have been arrested in connection with that massacre, but are they all connected to ISIS? This, as fears grow here at home about the growing threat from ISIS.

And in Tunisia, today is supposed to be a day to celebrate that nation's independence. We begin coverage with CNN's Phil Black live in Tunis -- Phil.

[06:00:01]BLACK: Michaela, good morning. ISIS has claimed responsibility through an online audio recording. It does not deliver any detail or evidence to suggest that ISIS was in direct control of those gunmen.