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EARLY START

Running for President; Marco Rubio Presidential Announcement; North Charleston Remembers Walter Scott; Sen. John McCain Criticizing Iran Nuke Deal; ISIS Releases New Video. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired April 13, 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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[04:30:55] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Running for president and on her way to Iowa. Hillary Clinton on a road trip with a campaign that appears far different from her 2008 run. But will it be enough to connect with voters?

This as a new high profile GOP candidate enters the ring.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm John Berman. Thirty-one minutes past the hour right now.

This morning, road trip. Hillary Clinton driving to Iowa at this moment. The first campaign stop is on Tuesday.

But look at her here -- this is in Altoona, Pennsylvania, at a gas station, snapping photos with folks as she travels to Iowa. And no one knew she was doing this until some of these people actually sent those photos in and Hillary Clinton tweeted that photo right there. She's talking to people along the way.

She's in a three-car caravan, by the way. Her car being driven by a Secret Service member. She's a former first lady. This is part of the deal.

ROMANS: Pennsylvania is a long state. It's like three-car stop state.

BERMAN: I know. Where is she going to stay? Like, what, a motel in Ohio on the way there? It's a fascinating way to get into the race. Again, her first public event in Iowa on Tuesday.

But before she even gets there, the first order of business is really laying out a rationale for her candidacy.

Our political correspondent Jeff Zeleny explains that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Christine.

The speculation is over. Hillary Clinton is now finally a presidential candidate.

She formally entered the race on Sunday afternoon in a video message to her supporters. Now, there are no big policy proposals. No lofty campaign promises, but rather what she calls the beginning of a conversation she hopes to hold with voters. It was far less about her own presidential aspirations than about fighting for those voters.

Let's take a listen.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm getting ready to do something, too. I'm running for president.

Americans have fought their way back from tough economic times. But the deck is still stacked at favor of those at the top.

Everyday American needs a champion. And I want to be that champion. So, you can do more than just get by. You can get ahead and stay ahead, because when families are strong, America is strong.

I'm hitting the road to earn your vote. Because it's your time and I hope you'll join me on this journey.

ZELENY: Now, she will hit the road on Tuesday in Iowa doing the stop in Eastern Iowa, spending the night and doing another stop in central Iowa on Wednesday. Then, she's likely to visit New Hampshire later in the week.

Of course, those are those two critical early voting states that she's focusing so much on on the so-called listening tour. She's doing these small sessions with voters, meeting people one-on-one, trying to win over the people she'll need in this primary fight.

Now, she intends to travel to other states as well. South Carolina, Nevada, and other states before delivering a more formal announcement speech in May.

So, now that we know she finally is running for president, she must explain to voters why she wants to be president. That, of course, is her burden -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Jeff Zeleny, thanks for that.

Now, Sunday may have been Hillary Clinton's day, but that didn't stop Republicans from trying to steal a bit of that story line.

Jeb Bush is actively exploring a presidential run. He criticized what he called the Obama/Clinton foreign policy in a YouTube video. A video from Ted Cruz warned that a Clinton victory would amount to a third Obama term.

And on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION", Rand Paul, he could not think of a single think Hillary Clinton did as secretary that he approved of.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Is there an area where you think Hillary Clinton was successful as secretary of state?

SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY), REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CONTENDER: I think really that the issue in Benghazi is an enormous issue, because it's whether or not as commander-in-chief, she'd be there for the 3:00 a.m. phone call. I think Benghazi was a 3:00 a.m. phone call that she never picked up. She didn't provide the security not just that day, for nine months. Dozens and dozens of requests for more security, all completely ignored by Hillary Clinton.

BASH: The question is, was there something that she did that was good?

[04:35:00] PAUL: That's what I was trying to think. I was getting through the things I remember that aren't so good and trying to think of something good. I'm not so certain of that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So Hillary Clinton says the deck is stacked for the people at the top when it comes to the economy. It looks like she's likely going to focus on wages and income inequality. At least when you look at the early talking points for her surrogates, when you look at this video that she released yesterday. During the 2008 campaign, she hammered then President Bush on those very issues, income inequality, wage equality, economic mobility.

Inequality arguably worse now. The wage growth is still the economy's sore spot. She has to be careful, though, not to distance herself from this president's economic achievements.

And the big question, will she connect with Main Street, not just Wall Street? She was -- she was the recipient of Wall Street donations in 2008. But public perception has changed a lot since then. She also made a fortune on speeches and book since the last campaign, which could make it harder to relate to typical Americans. She keeps talking about the every day American who needs to feel like they are getting ahead.

Remember her political slip up last year when she said she and her husband Bill were dead broke when they left the White House. That received, I say, you know, raised eyebrows from Republicans.

BERMAN: Yes. But interesting, the first photos taken as a new candidate, at a gas station with voters, not with Wall Street donors.

All right. Happening today, a new Republican contender is expected to make it official. Florida Senator Marco Rubio will announce he is running from Miami's Freedom Tower tonight. That is a landmark, the Freedom Tower is, to the Cuban exile community.

Two other Republican senators, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, have already officially jumped in. CNN will have live coverage of Senator Rubio's remarks this evening at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

ROMANS: Developing in South Carolina this morning, a small group of protesters from Ferguson, Missouri, has arrived there. "The Charleston Post and Courier" reports they are in North Charleston to plan a series of peaceful protests against police brutality, the first one later today outside North Charleston City Hall. The protests are a response to the fatal shooting caught on video of this man fleeing a police officer. That Officer Michael Slager, now in jail facing murder charges. This comes as North Charleston remembers the shooting victim, 50-year-old Walter Scott.

More now this morning from national correspondent Polo Sandoval.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, it was a weekend full of tributes for the family of Walter Scott. It all started on Saturday morning with some very emotional moments as they gathered to lay their loved one to rest.

And then, Sunday, separate tribute. There was a memorial service for Mr. Scott, as well as a vigil at the location of the shooting itself.

Sunday, we also got to hear from the mayor of North Charleston, for the first time since he made those comments following the shooting itself. He maintains he is still appalled after seeing those images that we are all now very familiar with.

KEITH SUMMEY, MAYOR OF NORTH CHARLESTON: In a 2.7 second time, destroyed the lives of two families.

SANDOVAL: And the mayor also went on to say that he is now waiting for that report that will eventually be put out by state police. You recall that local authorities here in North Charleston actually handed over the investigation to SLED after the shooting. That's the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. They wanted to make sure that this investigation will be fair and also impartial.

Now, as former Officer Slager, he remains isolated behind bars ahead of his bond hearing that may be held here very soon. Also, his case could potentially end up in front of a grand jury as early as next month -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Our thanks to Polo for that report.

This morning, the White House is defending the framework nuclear deal reached with Iran, that after Senator John McCain questioned just how honest Secretary of State John Kerry has been about the details of that agreement. The senator's criticism turned into a response from President Obama.

CNN national correspondent Sunlen Serfaty ha the latest from the White House -- Sunlen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine and John, the bickering between President Obama and Senator John McCain stems from these two differing and competing interpretations of what's actually in this nuclear deal with Iran. Iran's supreme leader is saying one thing. U.S. officials are saying the other. They are at odds over key details, like sanctions and about inspections.

So, Senator McCain is highlighting these differences, saying in a radio interview that's calling into question Secretary of State John Kerry's honesty, saying that Kerry is delusional for trying in his words to sell what he called a bill of goods about this deal.

Now, those comments seem to strike a chord with President Obama. Here's what he said at a press conference in Panama over the weekend.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When I hear some like Senator McCain recently suggest that our Secretary of State John Kerry, who served in the United States Senate, a Vietnam veteran, who's provided exemplary service to this nation, is somehow less trustworthy in the interpretation in what's in a political agreement than the supreme leader of Iran, that's an indication of the degree to which partisanship has crossed all boundaries.

[04:40:04] SERFATY: And Senator McCain quickly responded posting this tweet to Twitter, saying, quote, "So President Obama goes to Panama, meets with Castro and attacks me. I'm sure Raul is pleased."

Secretary of State John Kerry meanwhile, he pushed back on ABC's "This Week."

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: I think President Obama spoke very powerfully to Senator McCain yesterday. And I'll let the president's words stand. I also stand by every fact that I have laid out.

It's an unusual affirmation of our facts that come from Russia, but Russia has said that what we've set out is reliable and accurate.

SERFATY: This back and forth sets up what likely will be a very testy week ahead for President Obama and Congress. They are back today for their first session since the deal was announced -- Christine and John.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: All right. Our thanks to Sunlen for that report.

The United States is expanding its role in the Saudi-led mission to stop Iranian-backed Houthi rebels from taking over Yemen. The United States is now vetting military targets for air strikes, also searching ships trying to intercept Iranian arms headed for Yemen. Hundreds of civilians have been killed in the airstrikes. The Obama administration is now growing concerned that those casualties could turn the people of Yemen against the Saudi mission.

ROMANS: All right. The Pentagon calling -- protesting, rather, what it calls an aggressive, unsafe maneuver by a Russian fighter jet over the Baltic Sea. U.S. officials say an air force reconnaissance plane was flying in international air space when it was intercepted last week by a Russian SU-27. The Defense Department calling this incident unprofessional and careless, warning these kinds of actions could escalate tensions with the two countries. Russia accuses the U.S. of approaching its air space with an electronic transponder signal. That's really those troublesome --

BERMAN: Yes, it's like Top Gun kind of stuff. I don't mean to make light of it. It's a very dangerous situation when those jets get close to each other.

Forty-one minutes after the hour.

Facing a possible death sentence for his role in the Boston marathon bombing, but Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, his mother is lashing out, insisting her son is innocent. We'll tell you what she now says are her biggest regrets, next.

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[04:45:57] ROMANS: A Boston jury will reconvene next week for a hearing to determine whether convicted marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev should be sentenced to life in prison or death. Tsarnaev's mother back in Russia is expressing her anger over the verdict, saying both of her sons are innocent and she calls American the terrorists.

CNN's Matthew Chance live for us in Moscow this morning.

And from the very beginning of this story, when these two brothers were first revealed, she has been very vocal about her thoughts that there was some sort of conspiracy against her sons and that actually Americans deserve what happened to them anyway.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I mean, her name, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, that's the mother of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. And she has been defending her sons all along, initially in interviews with U.S. officials in the days after the arrest of her son Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

She said she wished she never come to the United States in the first place and she's been better off in her village in Dagestan where she currently now lives. But in the past few days, there had been remarks contributed to the mother posted on Russian social media sites again defending her son Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in the days after the verdict, the guilty verdict in all 30 counts was passed on by that court in Boston, saying that she believes that her son is in the claws of a predator who is going to tear him to pieces like meat, also blaming the United States again like her son did in that inscription inside the boat, where he was eventually captured, blaming the United States for killing Muslims, and saying that the United States will be avenged, or that Muslims, there will be avenged for those killings allegedly of them by the United States.

And so, very much a rant. It's written in capital letters and a lot of exclamation marks. Again, it's attributed to the mother of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, basically saying that they are innocent and she blames the United States for this.

ROMANS: They're innocent and she blames the United States for this, but she says the U.S. deserves -- it's almost the same kind of language that you heard for the justification of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev for why he and his brother did this.

MATTHEWS: Exactly. It's a very sort of close reflection of what's Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was writing. As I mentioned, inside that vote, you know, there was an inscription inside the boat when he was hiding from the authorities, when there was a manhunt to try and catch him, just to sort of the same argument as this. It raises questions I think as John mentioned earlier about what impact this is gong to have on the jury's decision. They have to decide whether to pass down a death sentence or whether to give Dzhokhar Tsarnaev a life sentence.

So, it's a crucial time.

ROMANS: Of course. Matthew Chance, thank you so much for that, in Moscow.

BERMAN: Jury deliberations resume today in the Massachusetts trial of Aaron Hernandez. The jury spent nearly 20 hours so far deliberating the fate of the former NFL star charged in the shooting death of Odin Lloyd. If convicted on the first degree murder charge, Hernandez could be sentenced to life in prison without parole.

ROMANS: A close call for actor Ryan Reynolds. Police in Vancouver say he was a victim of a hit-and-run in a hotel parking lot. Now, he was not injured. According to his publicist, Reynolds was stuck by a car driven by a member of the paparazzi who then fled the scene. This incident happened Friday. The publicist says Reynolds is OK. He has been in Vancouver shooting a film for the past several weeks.

BERMAN: ISIS releasing a new video of members destroying ancient artifacts in Iraq. We are live with the new developments, next.

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[04:53:12] BERMAN: ISIS is on the attack in Iraq. The group released new video of their fighters apparently destroying the ancient Nimrud archaeological site near the city of Mosul. This happened last month. The video shows them breaking down walls with sledgehammers, knocking over artifacts, blowing up buildings.

CNN's senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen is tracking the latest developments for us live.

Hey, Fred, is this a case of ISIS facing defeat on the battle field, but trying to show that they're scoring some kind of symbolic wins?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it certainly does appear to be part of their PR strategy, John. As you said, they are losing on the battle field apparently at this point in time. But they keep releasing videos like this one. And it's interesting because we heard as you said that this place Nimrud, which is very close to Mosul, which is the main stronghold that ISIS has in northern Iraq, that at this place that it had been bulldozed over by ISIS.

But now, they've released this video that actually shows that things are much worse. As you said, they used the sledgehammers, they used the power tools to destroy these ancient artifacts. And in the end, they rig everything with explosives and blow it all up.

Now, the interesting thing about all this is that the U.N. says that all of this is a war crime. They say that this is something that is absolutely outrageous. But the ISIS fighters that can be scene on that video say they are actually proud of what they're doing, because, of course, according to their radical interpretation of Islam, they believe there should not been any likenesses of any gods or anything else.

And so, everywhere they go, they destroy cultural places like this one and something that they clearly state on that video. And all of this, of course, is absolutely irreplaceable. It's more than 3,000 years old.

The only silver lining maybe in all of this is that some of the goods that were at that site had been removed a long time ago. But there was a lot destroyed, John.

[04:55:02] BERMAN: It is tragic to see that destroyed.

Frederik Pleitgen for us -- thanks so much, Fred.

ROMANS: All right. Stocks -- the stock market has been climb for six years now. Could there be any room left to run? The answer when we come back.

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ROMANS: All right. Let's get an early start on your money. The amazing six-year rally for stocks still has room to run. You could write that down. That's according to a CNN Money poll.

The pros think the S&P 500 will continue to 2,155 by the end of the year. It means a 3 percent gain from here, Berman, and a 5 percent overall for the year. The S&P 500 rose 30 percent in 2013, another 11 percent last year. So, not as robust, but still continuing.

College educated workers now produce most of the America's economic output. This according to a study from Georgetown University. Those with a college degree make up 32 percent of the workforce, but they produce over half of the economic output. What does that mean? This report highlighting the extremes since manufacturing has declined. Low wage retail jobs and high wage jobs that require college degrees.

All right. Nearly a million people ordered an Apple Watch on Friday, a million. That's according to a research firm slice intelligence. On average, people ordered more than one watch. They spent 500 bucks. Two-thirds of shoppers went for the cheapest, the sports watch.

BERMAN: Did you try one? Is it cool?

ROMANS: I did, I did. I tried the $17,000 or $12,000 one on, too.

BERMAN: How did it look?

ROMANS: It looks like I couldn't afford it. It looks a lot like the other one. But I knew I couldn't afford it. I just tried it.

But the sport watch was good. I don't think you're be a first mover on this.

BERMAN: I'm not, officially. I decided not to. My father, though, just ordered one, which is strange.

ROMANS: Oh, really?

BERMAN: EARLY START continues right now.