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EARLY START

Obama & Putin Clash at United Nations; Obama & Castro to Discuss Cuba Trade Embargo; Trump Unveils Tax Proposal. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired September 29, 2015 - 04:00   ET

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


[04:00:14] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: President Obama and Vladimir Putin face-to-face. Tensions high as the two world leaders offer different views at the U.N.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: President Obama set for another high stakes meeting this morning. One-on-one with Cuba's leader Raul Castro.

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

ROMANS: Nice to see you all this morning. Nice to see you, Alison, again.

KOSIK: Good morning.

ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. It is Tuesday, September 29th. It is 4:00 a.m. in the East.

The White House claims it has new clarity on Russian objective this morning after the first face-to-face sit down between President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin in two years. That clarity and some military coordination in Syria seemed to be all the U.S. achieved. The two leaders toasting at lunch with I would say an icy glare and shaking hands stiffly before meeting for 90 minutes in the United Nations conference room. While American officials say they emerged with new insights into Russia's intentions in Syria and Ukraine, there was no sign of the two sides are any closer to settling their many differences.

For more, let's bring in senior international correspondent Matthew Chance -- Matthew.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine, thanks. That's right. There's still fundamental differences between Washington and Moscow on Syria, specifically on what role the president of Syria, Bashar al Assad should play IN any sort of post- war scenario. Of course, the United States, President Obama voicing this at the U.N. yesterday and other Western powers don't believe how Bashar al-Assad can stay in power, given his role in so many deaths in the country's civil war.

But that's not the position, of course, of Russia. They believe that Bashar al Assad is a bulwark against Islamic State and should support Putin who are quite critical of the U.S. president and others who suggested effectively regime change in Syria, saying it's up to Syrians to decide.

There is also disagreement over continued disagreement over Russia's interaction, Russia's involvement in Ukraine. Take a listen to what President Obama had to say about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We recognized the deep and complex history with Russia and Ukraine. But we cannot stand by when the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a nation is flagrantly violated. If that happens without consequence in Ukraine, it could happen to any nation gathered here today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEWS: Of course, the Kremlin argues that it hasn't violated the territorial integrity of Ukraine, and it denies its forces are fighting alongside pro-Russian rebels in the east of the country against the government in Kiev. But, so, there's difference of opinion there, on Syria as well. But it seems the two countries, when it comes to Syria will have to find a way to work together, Christine.

ROMANS: Absolutely, because you have two militaries basically working side by side. How much of a framework do we think that they hammered out in terms of both of these -- you know, they're both sending ships and aircraft in there, both doing bombing runs. Will they be coordinating on a day-to-day basis?

MATTHEWS: It's clearly a very potentially dangerous situation. Nobody wants an issue where U.S. and Russian forces come in direct contact with each other. But, of course, as you mentioned, that's a possibility, and that's why within the past few weeks, military to military relations have been restarted again. They've been frozen for the best part of the year, more than a year, in fact. And to make sure that -- the fact that the two militaries are on the ground don't come in contact with each other in any aggressive way. So, that contact has also started, again, illustrating the need for the countries to work with each other.

ROMANS: All right. Matthew Chance for us in Moscow this morning -- thank you, Matthew.

KOSIK: President Obama and Putin also facing off in U.N. speeches outlining drastically different visions for how to fight Islamic terror. Putin calling it an enormous mistake to refuse to cooperate with the Assad regime in its battle against ISIS. President Obama meantime blaming Bashar al Assad for the power vacuum that has allowed ISIS to spread.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: We're told that such retrenchment is required to beat back disorder. That it's the only way to stamp out terrorism or prevent foreign meddling. In accordance with this logic, we should support tyrants like Bashar al Assad who drops barrel bombs to massacre innocent children because the alternative is surely worse. When a dictator slaughters tens of thousands of his own people, that is not a matter of one nation's internal affairs.

[04:05:00] It breeds human suffering on an order of a magnitude that affects us all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: Now, this morning, President Obama is going to be hosting a summit with leaders from dozens of countries fighting ISIS. They're going to be looking for a way forward in a war that as Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey puts it is now toxically stalemated.

For the latest, let's go to senior international correspondent Nic Robertson.

We know, we are seeing two drastically different versions about what should happen with Bashar al Assad. One, Putin saying he should go, Obama saying, or he should stay, rather, and Obama saying he should go.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and I think if we looked at this a couple of days ago, there was a hope that this sort of language that Assad is a transition figure, that we can get beyond him, that there was some nuance perhaps with the U.S., Russia, Europeans, Iran, something that could be worked toward where Assad will be there for a while and then gone. That notion really at the moment on the face of it seems to have gone up in smoke.

So, when you start to look at how you can tackle ISIS, President Obama, in a way, is going to find him on the back foot, of course. ISIS isn't limited only to Syria. You've got them growing in Libya, there perhaps be discussion there about trying to bolster and support the Libyan government, not that there is one. There are two. The U.N. is trying to bring those two halves together. It's a complex problem.

So, when you look at ISIS in Syria, they are going to continue to grow and certainly it seems. Until you have a political agreement on the future of Bashar al Assad, ISIS have, you know, an area where they can continue to recruit and attract people. Over the past year, if you measure it, compare to the past year, President Obama injected political capital to get many of the nations at the U.N. to agree to try to limit the flow of foreign nationals to Syria.

While more fighters have gone from their countries to join ISIS in Syria, that's not working. NATO is limiting by its sort of intelligence and coordination around Syria, unable to sort of limit some of ISIS potential expanse of the air strikes, too. But, really, the combating ISIS at the moment, a huge issue, and what we heard yesterday is not going to help it.

KOSIK: And so many differences on each side to work through.

Senior correspondent Nic Robertson, thanks for that. ROMANS: Later this morning, President Obama will sit down with Cuban

President Raul Castro at the U.N., not too many years ago, such a meeting would have been utterly unthinkable. But with the resumption of the diplomatic relations with U.S. and Cuba just two months ago, the meeting represents a moment of triumph for President Obama, amid this conflict with Putin.

For the latest, we are joined by senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta -- Jim.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Alison, President Obama will be shifting away with his difficult relationship with Russia later this morning and toward a peace of his foreign policy agenda that's becoming a lot less complicated and that is Cuba.

President Obama will be sitting down for a face to face meeting with Cuban leader Raul Castro in a few hours. The meeting will give Obama a chance to catch up with Castro after both countries establish diplomatic relations over the summer. And just as he is clashing with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Syria and Ukraine, the president is holding up his policy with Cuba as an example of how diplomacy can pay dividends.

But the president cautioned, he will pushing for more reforms in Cuba especially in the area of human rights. Here's what he had to say.

OBAMA: Change won't come overnight to Cuba, but I'm confident that openness, not coercion, will support the reforms and better the life the Cuban people deserve. Just as I believe that Cuba will find its success if it pursues cooperation with other nations.

ACOSTA: In a speech, the president predicted Congress will one day lift the U.S. embargo on Cuba, something Cuban leader Raul Castro also called for in his remarks. And White House officials still believe the president will visit Cuba before he leaves office -- Christine and Alison.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOSIK: All right. Jim Acosta, thanks for that.

Afghan security forces backed by a U.S. airstrike trying to recapture a northern city that fell to the Taliban one day ago. The fall of Kunduz a critical blow to the Afghan government, giving the insurgents a key base of operations beyond their stronghold in the southern part of the country. Hundreds of Taliban fighters stormed Kunduz from four directions on Monday, sending Afghan security forces and U.N. personnel fleeing for safety.

ROMANS: ISIS is probing to be a recruiting machine. U.S. intelligence experts believe 30,000 foreign fighters have traveled to Iraq and Syria to join that terror organization since 2011. That's double last year's assessment and as many as 250 Americans are among those recruits, that's according to "The New York Times". Later this morning, a homeland security task force will release a report, citing security holes in Europe that make it easier for foreign fighters to join and for those jihadists to travel back to the West.

[04:10:01] KOSIK: Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards testifies before a House Oversight Committee today and she expected to tell lawmakers defunding the organization will leave 650,000 women without reduced or no preventative health care in the first alone. Richards said other government approved health care facilities cannot pick up the slack if Congress strips Planned Parenthood of federal funding.

ROMANS: Congress appears poised to pass legislation averting a government shutdown this week. Now, a stopgap bill to keep government funding its current levels through December 11th cleared a key procedure hurdle in the Senate on Monday.

The measure could be approved in the House tomorrow, preventing a shutdown. Now, conservatives view December as a better time to challenge President Obama on Planned Parenthood funding since new leadership will be in place in the House.

It's interesting, Alison, December is also a time that many people think the Fed should raise rates.

KOSIK: Everything happening all at once.

ROMANS: It sets things up for kind of an icky and interesting end of the year. So, stay tuned.

That might be one reason why stocks are having so much trouble, but we'll get to that in a moment.

KOSIK: OK, we will.

And the number two Republican in the House making it official. He wants to be number one. Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy officially entering the race to replace John Boehner as House speaker next month. And it appears he has very little competition. McCarthy making hundreds of phone calls to fellow lawmakers, promising to fight for conservative principles if he's selected to the post.

ROMANS: All right. Let's get those markets now. Time for an early start on your money.

Asian shares closed down, European shares down as well. Volkswagen falling further right now. Commodity stocks falling on global demand concerns.

Yesterday was a doozy. The Dow down 313 points. NASDAQ had its worst one-day decline since August 24th. That's when, remember, when the Dow took that unprecedented 1,000-point nosedive.

Bio-tech sector really crushed here. Stocks have been falling since Hillary Clinton tweeted her outrage over price gouging by drug makers. Valeant Pharmaceuticals dove 17 percent after congressional Democrats pushed to subpoena that company. They want answers about big price hikes for two heart drugs. Valeant has refused to provide answers, previously calling the information highly confidential.

Just some unease really in the markets across the board. So, we'll watch that this morning.

ROMANS: And we will be. We also now know what's in Donald Trump's tax plan. The Republican frontrunner sitting down with CNN to explain why he thinks everyone wins with his plan, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:15:41] KOSIK: After weeks of vaguely sketching the outlines of his tax plan, Donald Trump finally has lifted the veil. He is promising drastic cuts for rich, middle income and four Americans, while closing some tax loopholes. But now that experts can actually look at the details, some are saying there's no way Trump can keep his other promise to not run up the deficit.

CNN's Sara Murray has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Good morning, Christine and Alison. Trump has faced plenty of criticism for being a substance- free candidate. But he changed his tune yesterday at a press conference here in New York where he unveiled his tax plan. Now, he teased it as a plan to benefit the middle class. And while it certainly does that, it also offers a hefty tax break for high income individuals.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The economy will just be absolutely like a rocket. It's going to go up. This is my prediction. This is what I'm good at. This is really my wheelhouse.

And I think you're going to create tremendous numbers of jobs. I'm also going to bring a lot of jobs back into the country, because so many other countries have taken our jobs, they've taken our base, they've taken our manufacturing. So, we're going to couple that with this tax plan. But we're going to have a country that really is going to rocket again. And we haven't had that for a long time.

MURRAY: Now, Erin Burnett caught up with Donald Trump yesterday to ask what his plan would do to his tax tab.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump's tax plan, you -- will you pay more money? Will it be millions and millions? Hundreds of millions? How much more will you pay?

TRUMP: I will probably end up paying more money. But at the same time, I think the economy will do better so I'll make it up that way. But I will probably end up paying more money. I believe in the end, I might do better because I really believe the economy is going to go boom, beautiful.

BURNETT: Betting on growth. MURRAY: So, there's a little something for everyone in this. If you are at the bottom of the scale, your new rate is zero. If you are a middle class family, you might be getting a tax cut, but it seems that the big winner here might be the wealthy.

Back to you, Christine and Alison.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Sara Murray, crunching those numbers for us, thanks, Sara.

A weeping Joyce Mitchell sentenced up to seven years for helping two convicts break out of prison in Upstate New York. The former prison seamstress telling a judge she lives every day with regret for providing inmates David Sweat and Richard Matt with a drill bit and hacksaws hidden in hamburger meat to help them escape. Mitchell pleading for mercy before hearing her sentence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOYCE MITCHELL, CONVICTED OF HELPING INMATES ESCAPE: If I could take it all back, I would. I can't begin to explain how sorry I am for all this -- to the community, to my coworkers, to my family, to all the families of the officers that were involved in having to be taken away from their families in the search.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Mitchell told the judge she only helped those inmates because she feared they would harm her family. She got the maximum sentence. The judge wasn't buying it. She wanted an ankle monitoring bracelet, he said no way. She cost too much, disrupted too much of their lives. You know, prosecution seeking $120,000 restitution now to repair the prison cell wall that were damaged in the breakout, something that her attorney says, you know, unnecessary.

KOSIK: Another fugitive captured by police thanks to CNN show, "THE HUNT WITH JOHN WALSH." Paul Jackson arrested in Guadalajara, Mexico, where he was living under an assumed name. Jackson was indicted on rape and kidnapping charges in Oregon in 1990, but he fled after he was released on bond and the U.S. Marshal Service is actually coming out and crediting "THE HUNT" for playing a significant role in Jackson's capture.

Nice show in our network that's really just changing lives and shaking it up and finding these bad guys.

ROMANS: All right. Another university cutting ties with Bill Cosby. Brown University rescinding the comedian's honorary degree, 30 years after it was awarded. The school's president sending a letter to students, calling Cosby's conduct, quote, "grossly inconsistent with Brown's values". Fordham and Marquette Universities already rescinded Cosby's honorary degrees last week.

KOSIK: "Fast and Furious" actor Paul Walker's daughter is filing a lawsuit against Porsche on his behalf. According to "The Associated Press", the suit claims the street legal race car he died in lacked proper stability control, as well as safety features to protect occupants and keep it from catching fire.

[04:20:00] Walker was riding in the passenger seat of Porsche Carrera GT when it collided with a power pole and several trees back in 2013. He and a friend were killed in the accident.

ROMANS: All right. An amazing discovery that has the science world talking this morning. NASA confirms for the first time, yes, oh, yes, liquid water flows on or near the surface of Mars.

KOSIK: How cool is that?

ROMANS: Scientists have speculated the dark streaks observed on the planet's surface were indeed caused by water, flowing water. But now, NASA says it has found evidence the streaks are in fact seasonal flows of briny water.

Could this very salty water support life? That will be the object of further study. But there are a lot of folks at NASA who are so excited about this discovery.

KOSIK: Who knows, there could be life lurking behind the shadows on Mars.

ROMANS: All right. Trevor Noah's debut on "The Daily Show", how he did and why his rise to fame is not surprising his family, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: "The Daily Show" is back with a new host at the helm. Trevor Noah got right to work on his premier episode last night. The South African comedian lampooned the pope's visit, John Boehner's resignation and, of course, his own role on the show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TREVOR NOAH, HOST, THE DAILY SHOW: The truth is, now, I'm in the chair, I can only assume that this is strange for you as it is for me. Jon Stewart was more than just a late night host. He was often our voice, our refuge, and in many ways, our political dad.

[04:25:01] And it's weird because dad has left.

(LAUGHTER)

And now -- and now it feels like the family has a new stepdad. And he's black.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The show generally getting good instant reviews in the U.S. But how are folks back home reacting to Trevor Noah's new found stardom?

CNN's David McKenzie is in Johannesburg for us this morning.

Good morning, David.

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine.

Well, you know, there was much too anticipation in the U.S. on the debut of Trevor Noah n "The Daily Show". But here in South Africa, feverish anticipation with a great deal of pride and nervousness. South Africa waking up to the fact he did pretty well. That's the general consensus.

But here in south Africa, he is well known and his story -- his own personal story is a big part of his comedic act. I went to his grandmother's house in Soweto where he grew up and she said he was always a funny man.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCKENZIE: Was he always making jokes?

NOMALIZO FRANCES NOAH, GRANDMOTHER: Always laughing. Always laughing. He wants where he is, there must be laughter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKENZIE: He was in Soweto up to the age of around 9 and amazingly, he says he was born a crime with a white father and black mother during the worst days of apartheid.

Trevor Noah managed to get beyond that background to gain the heights of comedy stardom here in South Africa and potentially now in the U.S. -- Christine.

ROMANS: All right. So interesting. What an interesting story. And he's got a long run ahead of him, just one night under his belt.

Thanks so much for that, David McKenzie. So interesting.

KOSIK: President Obama and Russian Vladimir Putin face-to-face, tensions high and big disagreements, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)