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EARLY START

Killer's Getaway Plan; Clinton: "I Am Not Giving Up"; Trump Campaign Stops in South Carolina; Obama Marks Katrina Anniversary; Derrick Rose Accused of Rape in Civil Lawsuit. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired August 28, 2015 - 05:00   ET

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


[05:00:00] ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: Trump says his plan to bring back $2.5 trillion. Finally, he wants to cut government spending and stop raising the debt ceiling. I'd say that's at least a start of a plan.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Big plans for trump. He has to get a bit farther ahead, though, it is my sense.

KOSIK: He is coming out with something. It's early in the race yet.

MARQUEZ: It is very early in the race, boy.

EARLY START continues right now.

(MUSIC)

MARQUEZ: 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 coworkers reveal a history of problems.

Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Miguel Marquez.

KOSIK: And I'm Alison Kosik. It's Friday, August 28th, 5:00 a.m. in the East.

And we begin with Vester Flanagan's final hours, the gunman who shot and killed two journalists during a live broadcast. He had a wig, a to-do list, and six magazines of ammo in his rented getaway car before he ultimately killed himself. Police also found a briefcase with three license plates and shawl and an umbrella inside. Flanagan sending a text to a 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 edge 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)

MARQUEZ: Now, friends and loved ones of the Roanoke shooting victims say simply remembering them 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 will not rest until someone in Washington stands up to the National Rifle Association.

(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) KOSIK: Hillary Clinton calling for tighter restrictions on guns during a campaign stop in Cleveland, telling supporters 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)

KOSIK: Republican presidential hopeful Scott Walker slamming Clinton insisting the proper response is not gun control, but increased mental health treatment.

[05:05:02] Walker has an "A" plus rating with the NRA.

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

KOSIK: Donald Trump has a dilemma on his hands. The GOP front runner 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)

MARQUEZ: 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 up to $20 million lobbying against it. Congress votes on the measure next month.

KOSIK: 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.

Let's 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: I tell you what? It was a wild week on Wall Street.

MARQUEZ: My head is still spinning.

KOSIK: It really is. We saw markets around the world crash, now recovering. The Dow set a new record Thursday. Have stocks finally found stable ground?

We're live next.

MARQUEZ: Have we?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: Just when you thought the market madness was over, think again. U.S. stock futures pointing lower right now. Stocks are actually up for the week after a brutal start. Yesterday, the Dow climbed 369 points. Combine that with Wednesday's 619 point rally. It winds up being the best two-day point gain for the Dow in history.

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

Also good news, U.S. economy growing 3.7 percent in the second quarter, helping stocks as well. That number from GDP is better than expected. It is a healthy sign the American economy hasn't been hurt too much by China's slow down.

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

I want to bring in Andrew Stevens in Hong Kong.

Andrew, it has been a wild week for stocks. What is the change from earlier this week and now for Asian markets? Is it just the government intervention that's propping them up?

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think that is what it is, Alison. If you look at the performance over the latter part of the week, they were being driven by sentiment, much stronger sentiment. Also by good old fashion buying of the market by state institutions like pension funds, like insurance funds.

Now, this is a pattern we've seen before. In fact, the Chinese government has explicitly ordered the pension funds, the insurance funds to buy into the market to put a plank under the big falls.

What we need to do they did this before they brought some calm to the market for a couple of weeks and the selling started again. So, don't think for a minute this volatility in China is still over. Obviously, the government doesn't want to see a collapse in the market. We are seeing a slow burn crash in the moment. It was at one stage down more than 40 percent since the beginning of June.

But if you look at what's happened for the week -- and you see those numbers there, you will see at the end of the week, the collateral damage if you like, the other markets around the region not too badly hit.

[05:15:10] Obviously, Hong Kong down 3.5 percent. Not a great week. But it could have been worse, Alison.

KOSIK: Yes. Andrew, you have what the markets are doing and the China's economy is doing, two very different things. We are not seeing recovery with the China's economy.

STEVENS: No, we're not seeing recovery. No one is expected to see recovery. I guess we have to be careful about what we mean about recovery.

We have gone from a 10 percent plus growth economic model in China. They are now transiting to a much slower growth model where the consumer is the king, a bit like the U.S. economy. They've gone from exports and investment. They want to turn to the consumer. That is going to be a painful process.

That's what we're seeing at the moment, Alison. The question is, how slow is the economy actually growing at the moment? The official numbers say around 7 percent. The independent research houses, the big banks all say just about without exception, that number is too high, maybe 5 percent. Some even say it may be 4 percent.

But we haven't seen the Chinese authorities hit the panic button if you like as far as throwing a lot of fire power, financial fire power at the economy to pick it up again. We suggest, although they are certainly not happy at the moment, but they are not particularly -- they're not panicking. They're about to pull off a cliff. So, at the moment, yes, the economy is slowing, but it's not dangerously slow.

KOSIK: But the slowing economy in China will be a thorn in the side of Wall Street.

Andrew Stevens live from Hong Kong -- thanks.

MARQUEZ: Planned Parenthood fighting back. The group defending its practices in the letter to Congress, accusing an anti-abortion group of a smear campaign. A report from 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 some 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: 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 rains in parts of the Caribbean. Nearly two dozen people are missing on the island of Dominica, where the damage is said to be extensive. The storm now taking a turn toward the Bahamas and Florida.

KOSIK: Now, let's get more now with meteorologist Derek Van Dam for 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: Some disturbing allegations against Derrick Rose. Andy Scholes has the bleacher report coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:22:44] MARQUEZ: A former girlfriend of NBA star Derrick Rose filed a civil suit in California, accusing him of rape.

KOSIK: She said the incident happened two years ago.

Andy Scholes joins us now with details in this morning's bleacher report.

Good morning.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, guys.

A representative of Derrick Rose says the allegations are completely false and without any factual basis. This is the desperate attempt to shakedown a highly respected and successful athlete. The woman who dated Rose in 2012 to 2013 is accusing him and two of his friends of slipping a drug into her drink and later raping her. She's filed a civil suit and asking for unspecified damages.

There are no criminal charges. The Chicago Bulls are not commenting at this time. Rose released a statement saying, "I know the truth and am confident I will be proven innocent."

Legendary dunker Darryl Dawkins passed away yesterday after suffering a heart attack. Dawkins played 14 seasons in the NBA. He was known for his thunderous backboard shuttering dunks. He was known as Chocolate Thunder, a nickname given to him by Stevie Wonder. Dawkins was the first player to go from high school to the NBA. He was 58 years old.

All right. To the big leagues, this may be the play of the year. Two outs in the bottom of the tenth inning. Mets-Philly. Jeff Francoeur lining up the middle, and pitcher Carlos Torres gets a put on it, kicks it on Daniel Murphy and kicks it back to Torres at first to get the out.

Take another look. Just an amazing play by Torres. The Mets ending up winning this game 9-5 in 13 innings.

And, finally, Usain Bolt's career nearly came to a screeching halt yesterday. Bolt has just won the 200 meter run at the world championship, when check this out, a photographer on a Segway was following him on the victory lap. This is the aftermath. Watch this, the photographer completely takes him out.

KOSIK: Oh, my gosh.

SCHOLES: Amazingly Bolt popped back up with a couple scratches. Can you imagine if the photographer would have seriously injured Bolt's legs? Those are the most valuable legs in sports.

MARQUEZ: My God, the slowest machine in the world taking out the fastest man. Unbelievable.

[05:25:00] KOSIK: Now I know why those who drive Segways often wear helmets.

They're dangerous.

(LAUGHTER)

SCHOLES: I think they will rethink the whole Segway photography thing.

MARQUEZ: My goodness. Andy, thank you very much.

SCHOLES: All right. Have a good one, guys.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: A killer's get away plan. New clues about how the man who murdered two journalists on live television may have been plotting to get away with his crimes.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Alison Kosik.

MARQUEZ: And I'm Miguel Marquez. It is 29 minutes past the hour here on the East Coast.

We are learning new details about the gunman who killed two journalists on live TV in Virginia. Police say Flanagan had a wig, a to-do list, and six magazines of ammo in his rented getaway car before he committed suicide. Roanoke police also found a briefcase with three license plates, a shawl and an umbrella.

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 edge 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.