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EARLY START

Murdered On Air: Killer's Getaway Plan; Clinton: "I Am Not Giving Up"; Trump Campaign Stops in South Carolina; Obama Marks Katrina Anniversary; Tragic Toll of Migrant Crisis in Europe. Aired 4- 4:30a ET

Aired August 28, 2015 - 04:00   ET

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


[04:00:15] ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: A killer's get away plan. New information about the gunman who murdered two journalists on live television. What investigators found in his car as former co-workers reveal a history of problems.

Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Alison Kosik.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Miguel Marquez. Happy Friday to you. It is August 28th. Four a.m. here in the East.

Up first, Vester Flanagan's final hours. The gunman who shot and killed two journalists during as live television broadcast in Virginia had a wig, a to-do list, and six magazines of ammo in his rented getaway car, before ultimately killing himself. Police found a briefcase, with three license plates, a shawl and an umbrella inside. Flanagan holding a text -- sending a text to friend before he died, saying he had, quote, "done something stupid".

We get more on the investigation from CNN's Brian Todd in Roanoke.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alison and Miguel, we are picking up some new details regarding Vester Flanagan's troubled history here at WDBJ TV. The station manager Jeff Marks and other former colleagues telling us about his run-ins with colleagues, about his anger management issues. Jeff Marks, the general manager, said after some performance related issues that they were trying to work with him on, Flanagan became angry and confronted a news anchor who was assigned to work with him on a script.

I also spoke with a journalist here named Ryan Fuqua who said he was always on edger working with Flanagan in the field because Flanagan often got angry.

He talked one incident where they're going to do a live report in the 6:00 p.m. hour one day and they had technical problems that caused the live report to be canceled. He said Flanagan threw down his stuff and stomped off into the woods for 20 minutes. And then he just didn't want to deal with anything after that. This history was really what led up to his termination in February of

2013. And new details on that that we're learning that the day he was fired, that he got agitated, he became threatening. He handed the news director a cross, a wooded cross, saying, "You are going to need this."

Police had to escort him out. Others basically went on lockdown in the building. It was not pleasant incident for anybody involved.

We've also learned new details about what was found in Vester Flanagan's car in northern Virginia where they found him on the side of the road after he run off the road and had a self inflicted gunshot wound.

Authorities tell us that inside his car, they found a Glock pistol with ammo, six Glock magazines. A briefcase with three license plates, a wig, a shawl, sun glasses and an umbrella, as well as a black hat. Those items indicate that he might have been trying to make some kind of a getaway and put himself in disguise -- Alison and Miguel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOSIK: Friends and loved ones of the Roanoke shooting victims say simply remembering them just isn't enough. The boyfriend of Alison Parker is calling for a substantive conversation about gun control in this country. And Parker's father says he won't rest until someone in Washington stands up to the NRA.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY PARKER, ALISON PARKER'S FATHER: If I have to be the John Walsh of gun control and -- you know, look, I'm for the Second Amendment, but there has to be a way to force politicians that are cowards and in the pockets of the NRA to come to grips and make sense and have sensible laws so that crazy people can't get guns.

I know that the NRA, their position is going to be -- I can hear it now -- they're going to say, oh, gee, well, if they were carrying, this never would have happened. I got news for you, if Alison or Adam had been carrying an AK-47 strapped around their waist, it wouldn't have made any difference. They couldn't have seen this thing coming.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: Hillary Clinton calling for tighter restrictions on guns during a campaign stop in Cleveland, telling reporters she will not sit by as president while more good people die.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't know how we keep seeing shooting after shooting, read about the people murdered because they went to Bible study or they went to the movies or they were just doing their job, and not finally say, "We got to do something about this." (END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: Republican presidential hopeful Scott Walker slamming Clinton, insisting the proper response to Roanoke shooting is not gun control, but increased mental health treatment. Walker has an "A" plus rating with the National Rifle Association.

KOSIK: The Democratic candidates are gathered in Minneapolis this morning for the party's annual summer meeting.

[04:05:01] Hillary Clinton and Lincoln Chafee scheduled to speak this morning, with Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley featured in the afternoon sessions. Not in attendance, potential presidential candidate Joe Biden. A Draft Biden briefing called by the vice president's supporters drew only 15 members of the Democratic National Committee out of the hundreds who are on hand.

MARQUEZ: And now to a new dilemma for Donald Trump. The GOP frontrunner must sign a pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee in order to compete in the South Carolina primary. Trump says he will decide what to do about that requirement soon.

We get more from CNN political reporter Sara Murray.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Good morning, Alison and Miguel.

Donald Trump addressing another energetic crowd this time in Greenville, South Carolina. And he took on some of his weaknesses, too, addressing some of his difficult poll numbers with women, saying he'll be great to them if he's president and saying he'll win the Latino vote even as protests erupted outside about his immigration policies.

Now, perhaps the most memorable moment is when he invited a voter on stage to defend his hairdo.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't wear a toupee. It's my hair. I swear.

Come here, come here, come here. Come here. I'm going to -- we're going to settle this, come, come!

Is this mine? Look.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is!

TRUMP: Say it, please.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I believe it is.

TRUMP: Thank you. And have I ever met you before? No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, you haven't.

TRUMP: But you're very nice. Thank you. Nice to meet you.

MURRAY: Now today, Donald Trump heads to an event in Massachusetts. The host of that event says it's a fundraiser. His campaign says it is not.

This comes as we're getting news that Donald Trump might not be as different from every politician as he says he is. Even though he's saying he will self-fund his campaign, a super PAC is raising money on this behalf. We've also learned that a second outside group can collect unlimited donations from anonymous donors. They are asking for money to support Donald Trump as well.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOSIK: President Obama taking his pitch for the Iran nuclear deal straight to Jewish-Americans today. He'll be taking part in a webcast hosted by the Jewish Federations of North America, and the presidents of major American Jewish organizations. Jews are sharply divided on the agreement. Pro-Israel groups are expected to spend $20 million lobbying against it. Congress votes on the measure next month.

MARQUEZ: The president meantime visiting New Orleans to mark the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, hailing the progress that's been made, but making clear there's more to be done to restore the Big Easy to its former glory. He also used the opportunity to make some larger political points.

We get more from CNN senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Miguel and Alison, President Obama marked the comeback of New Orleans ten years after Hurricane Katrina. The president touted the resilience of the Big Easy after the city's levees broke in 2005 and devastated whole neighborhoods.

And Mr. Obama pledged rebuilding will continue. The president also talked about the issue of incoming equality. A need he says needs to be addressed after this critical address concern in New Orleans was laid bare by Katrina. But even as he tried to tie the rebirth of that city to nation's economic recovery, the president also deliver a sharply political message, warning that Congress has one month left to pass a budget, and avoid a government shutdown.

Here's more of what the president had to say.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Nobody gets to hold the American economy hostage over their own ideological demands. You, the people who send us to Washington, expect better.

ACOSTA: The president also warned there will be more severe weather events triggered by climate change. And Mr. Obama will return to that issue once again next week when he travels to Alaska to see the effects of global warming first hand -- Alison and Miguel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOSIK: Whoo! What a wild week it was for Wall Street.

MARQUEZ: Incredible. I'm still sweating it out.

KOSIK: And it's amazing, because the markets around the world are recovering after we watched them crash. We saw the Dow set a new record Thursday. The big question: have stocks finally found a stable ground? We're live, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:12:18] KOSIK: Well, it looks like a wild week for stocks could end on a positive note. U.S. stock futures are down a bit right now, but after an absolutely brutal start to the week, stocks are actually up for the week. Yesterday, the Dow climbed 369 points. Go ahead and combine that with Wednesday's 619-point rally, and it winds up being the best two day gain for the Dow in history.

Some of the biggest winners were oil companies as oil prices soared over 10 percent and soared back above $42 a barrel. It was oil's best rally since 2009. We watch stocked of Halliburton, Baker Hughes and Transocean surge more than 9 percent.

Also good news about the economy, the U.S. economy grew at a 3.7 percent rate in the second quarter. Much higher than expected. That's a healthy sign that the American economy hasn't been hurt too much by China's slowdown.

Asian stocks this morning up a bit. Look at Shanghai's benchmark index rising almost 5 percent. Despite those big gains, the index, though, is still down almost 8 percent for the week because of the frantic selling Monday and Tuesday.

Let's get more on this by bringing in Andrew Stevens live from Hong Kong.

I'll tell you what? It has been one tough week. But one thing that hasn't changed is the situation in China. So, what gives? Why this comeback?

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Alison.

It does appear this comeback is related very heavily to buying of government into the stock market. We can't say for sure because it's very difficult to prove. But we know the government has given instructions, Alison, for insurance companies and pension funds to actually buy the local market to prop it up, if you like.

And it started yesterday. We saw a 5 percent pop in Shanghai. Most of that coming at the end of the day's trade. We saw the same sort of thing happen today, at 5 percent gain pretty much towards the end of the day. Once again, big buying coming into the market, and making sure things finish on a positive note. You say the market, Shanghai is down 8 percent of the week. It could

have been so much worse. Two days, it was down 15 percent. So, it has clawed back from those lows.

A lot of signs of relief obviously, but that number, that GDP number in the U.S., that's also key for Asia, Alison.

Like you say, it shows that the China slowdown hasn't affected the U.S. badly, but people already hear (ph) the fact that any China slowdown, the slack there can be picked up by the strong U.S. economy. And we saw that with commodity stocks here in Asia today. A lot of the big community traders having a good, good run, Alison.

KOSIK: So, you are saying that with the government, Chinese government propping up the markets there, that it's sort -- it's sort of a smoke screen to what's going on in the actual economy, though, in China.

[04:15:00] How much of a concern is that as far as, you know, problems in the future when we see the markets move again?

STEVENS: Look, it's always been -- well, not always, but certainly in recent times, it's been the case that there is a clear disconnect between what happens in the stock market in Shanghai and what's happening in the real economy. We saw Shanghai markets up 150 percent in a year to middle of June. At the same time, the Chinese economy was slowing down. And the warning signs were starting to flash out.

Now, we saw a selloff which began in June, Alison. It was nothing to do really with the fact they were worried about the economy. It's the fact that the government had stopped doing market boosting measures, a series of measures to keep boosting the market. They stopped doing that.

So, people started to say I will take big profits here. And that led to a sort of cascade of selling, if you like, and the panicked selling.

So, reading what happens in the Shanghai market and saying this is what is going on in the real economy is not the way to do it. The -- you look at statistics. They tend to be off what is actually happening. But most economists are saying now that, yes, China is growing at a slow rate than official statistics. But it's not about to fall off the cliff.

KOSIK: Yes. Thank goodness, the cascade of selling has at least ended for now. Andrew Stevens live from Hong Kong, thanks.

MARQUEZ: Planned Parenthood fighting back. The group defending practices in the letter to Congress accusing an anti-abortion group of a smear campaign. The report from the experts hired by Planned Parenthood found secretly recorded videos of officials discussing of sale of fetal tissue were heavily edited by the activist group. It comes as lawmakers push to cut the organization's federal funding.

KOSIK: Jury deliberations resume this morning in the New Hampshire trial of prep school graduate Owen Labrie, accused of raping a 15- year-old freshman girl at the prestigious St. Paul's school last year. Jurors got the case Thursday and deliberated for about three hours. The prosecutors alleged the rape stems from the traditional school competition known as senior salute. The defense claims the encounter was consensual.

MARQUEZ: And in suburban Chicago, two people were killed and five others hospitalized after being exposed to hazardous material. Police say two men were found dead in a townhouse in Des Plaines, Illinois. A third victim inside in critical condition. Four police officers have to be treated at the hospital but we're released. Authorities have not identified the hazardous material or how it got inside the home.

KOSIK: Tropical storm Erika could grow to hurricane strength by the time it reaches the Florida coast possibly by this weekend. The storm is blamed for four deaths after it unleashed torrential rain in parts of the Caribbean. Almost two dozen people are missing on the island of Dominica where damage is said to be extensive.

The storm now taking a turn towards the Bahamas and Florida.

MARQUEZ: And big, big storm.

Now, let's get to meteorologist Derek Van Dam with the latest on Erika's track.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Alison and Miguel.

Here is the latest on tropical storm Erika moving just west of the Leeward Islands, 45-mile-an-hour sustained winds and higher wind gusts right around the center of circulation. It's produced a significant amount of rain leading to flooding and landslides on the island nation of Dominica.

Look at this, six-hour rainfall totals just under 9 inches. Just under 13 inches in the half day rainfall total. That led to, again, serious flooding for that particular area. Now, there is more rain to come, specifically from the U.S. Virgin Islands through Puerto Rico and the northeastern coastal regions of the Dominican Republic. Anywhere between 5 to 10 inches of rainfall, perhaps locally higher amounts leading to the possibility of flooding as well.

The official forecast from the National Hurricane Center has the storm system parallel with the Florida coast, perhaps intensifying to a category one by Sunday and Monday. We'll definitely keep a close eye on that.

Mostly sunny across the Northeast today. Look at the warm up you get to enjoy in lower 90s through the weekend for the Big Apple.

Back to you.

KOSIK: Europe's migrant crisis continues to escalate. Dozens more dead trying to cross borders. We're live on how countries are responding to this, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:22:52] KOSIK: A gruesome discovery on a highway in Austria. The bodies of over 70 suspected migrants found decomposing in the back of an abandoned truck. Three people arrested in connection with their deaths. All while top officials are huddling in Vienna, trying to come up with a plan to cope with the largest influx of refugees pouring into Europe since World War II.

CNN senior international correspondent Arwa Damon joins us live near the Hungary-Serbia border.

So, Arwa, this meeting is happening, what came of it as far as what to do about these rush of migrants?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there is nothing concrete just yet. To say that "time is of the essence" would be a phenomenal understatement, because throughout their entire journey, these refugees and migrants have really been going through the most abysmal and inhuman conditions and circumstances.

Take a look right here, this is the field in Hungary that they end up being held at some for up to 7, 24 hours while some where they are held while they wait to be processed. This is their reception into Europe. A country, a region, that is intent on upholding so-called human rights and dignity and yet they say that that is the very last thing that they are actually finding.

Hungary says it can't cope, but when it comes down to the bare basics of it, these individuals say that after everything they have been through, the very least could be provided for them would be some water. Even that at this stage is lacking. Many of them do not want to stay here in Hungary, in fact, no one who we spoke to, because they want to keep on to the European wealthier nations.

The problem, though, is that their transfer into these western nations is not being facilitated. It's a very difficult process. They can't really get on trains like anyone else which is why they are resorting to illegal smuggling, tapping into these various criminal gangs that are ending up into the situation like the horrific discovery that was made with those 70 bodies found inside that truck on the highway leading from Budapest to Vienna.

[04:25:03] But that's how desperate these people are. The vast majority of them have been fleeing the war zone of Syria and Iraq. They don't have a choice. They did not come here because they wanted. They did not come here because they want to steal European jobs. They came here because they cannot live in their homeland anymore, Alison.

KOSIK: Have European officials talked about the lack of resources to handle the thousands of migrants coming there? Could that be a huge issue on how they are treating them?

DAMON: Look, a lot of the countries that they go through up until this point, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Hungary, these are not Europe's wealthier nations. And yes, they have been asking for addition support and yes, we have seeing the United Nations and Red Cross beginning to appear in some of these key areas.

But that really only happened, Alison, in the last week or so. If you remember, last week along the Macedonia and Serbia border, the Macedonian shut their border down and left the refugees with children and pregnant women under their reign for four days before that border was open. Hungary saying that it can't handle the record numbers that are coming through. They are also asking additional assistance. It ends up holding people here for hours and holds them in the processing center for two to three days where there have been riots because the refugees and migrants are that frustrated. But then they are being met with tear gas.

They have a severe lack of translators. There is no one here that speaks Arabic, Alison, other than me at this stage. These people have no access to information. When they are moved on, they don't know where they are going.

There is a shortage of resources, especially in these countries that these people are going through initially. That is not really an acceptable justification for why it is that they are ending up being treated like this. They will tell you they feel they are being treated like animals, like sub-humans, they feel as if people don't recognize what they have been through or they are here because they cannot control the circumstances that brought them here.

So, when we are talking about an effort to really do something and it does have to be Europe-wide. As one aide worker put it, we all need to recognize any of us could end up like this. And that needs to be the starting point for any conversation about how to give these people assistance.

KOSIK: Well, they say they are being treated like animals. Well, hopefully, European officials can figure how to handle this.

Arwa Damon, live from Hungary, thanks.

MARQUEZ: All right. A wig, a shawl and three license plates. Stunning details on how the man who murdered two journalists on air planned his get away, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)