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EARLY START

The Race for President: Can Trump Be Stopped?; The Race for President: Sanders' Last Stand?; Ohio A.G. Confirms Victim Received Facebook Threat; Gay Rights Activist Among 2 Killed in Bangladesh. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired April 26, 2016 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:15] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The last-ditch effort to stop Donald Trump. John Kasich and Ted Cruz, they team up or try. Are there already cracks, though, in this plan? This as voters head to the polls in five primary elections today.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton head to head on today's primary election. Is this Super Tuesday Sanders' last stand or can he blunt the frontrunner's momentum with an upset? Big morning today.

Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

BERMAN: I'm John Berman. It is Tuesday, April 26th. It is 4:00 a.m. in the East.

This morning, Ted Cruz and John Kasich alliance aimed at stopping Donald Trump could be falling apart before it gets started. In hours, voters head to the polls in five Eastern states. Donald Trump is expecting a clean sweep in the so-called Acela primary, the super spring Tuesday, whatever you want to call it.

That leaves Indiana as the next huge battle ground one week from today. Now, Ted Cruz is boasting about John Kasich, pulling out of the state as part of the deal where Cruz was supposed to give Kasich a clear path in New Mexico and Oregon. This is all in order to block Donald Trump from winning up delegates to clinch the nomination on the first ballot. But John Kasich has already been pouring cold water on this plan. He'll be in Indiana today for a fundraiser and a meeting with the state's Republican governor and he's telling Indiana voters that if they want to vote for him, they should.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: For those supporters of John Kasich either here or at home, there may be issues on which we disagree, but more unites us.

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't see this as a big deal, other than the fact I'm not going to spend resources in Indiana and he's not going to spend them in other places? So what? What's the big deal? I've never told them not to vote for me. They ought to vote for me.

I'm not over there campaigning and spending resources. We have limited resources. You know, you ought to feel good about it. Mine's like the people's campaign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Trump is blasting what he calls collusion aimed at stopping him. CNN's Jim Acosta is with the Trump campaign in Pennsylvania.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, this alliance between Ted Cruz and John Kasich has not gone unnoticed inside the Trump campaign. Donald Trump opened the flood gates on Kasich, hurling insults at the Ohio governor like never before.

But could the Cruz/Kasich deal actually work? That's another issue.

I talked to a Trump campaign adviser who said Kasich pulling out of Indiana could help Cruz and hurt the GOP frontrunner in that critical state.

All day long on Monday, Trump has been making the case that this political marriage of sorts just proves that Cruz and Kasich simply aren't the best suitors for the GOP. Here's more of what he had to say.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Kasich is doing worse than many of the people that left months ago. I mean, if you look at Marco Rubio, he did much better than Kasich. He had more -- to this day, has more delegates. This is just a guy who is a stubborn guy, who eats like a slob, and shouldn't have press conferences while he is stuffing stuff down his throat. I've never seen anything like this.

But this is a guy who's stubborn guy, "I'm not leaving. I'm not leaving." He is one for 42. I would have won the one, but I was given a dirty poll by NBC where they came up with a poll --

(BOOS)

It's true.

ACOSTA: Now, the Trump campaign is still confident that the real estate tycoon can reach that magic number of 1,237 delegates. But the top official within the Never Trump movement told me, don't be sure. Trump needs Indiana, this official argued, even as he added that he wished Cruz and Kasich had joined forces weeks ago.

And it's not clear how long the Cruz-Kasich alliance will last. Kasich is still scheduled to attend a fundraiser in Indiana later on today -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Jim Acosta, thanks, Jim. On the Democratic side, today could be a chance for Hillary Clinton to put more distance between herself and Sanders. Right now, Clinton is about 250 pledged delegates ahead, adding super delegates and her lead grows to more than 700.

Late last night, Clinton and Sanders spoke in dueling TV town halls, each predicting a clear path to victory, each arguing over who's job it will be to unite the Democratic Party as Clinton wins the nomination.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is incumbent upon Clinton to reach out not only to my supporters but all of the American people with an agenda that they believe will represent the interests of working families, lower income, the middle class, those of us who are concerned about the environment and not just big money interests.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I did not put down conditions. I did not say, you know what, if Senator Obama does X, Y, and Z, maybe I'll support him. I said, I am supporting Senator Obama.

At that time, 40 percent of my supporters said they would not support him.

[04:05:03] I spent an enormous amount of time convincing my supporters to support him. And I'm happy to say the vast majority did. That is what I think one does.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: All right. CNN's Brianna Keilar is with the Clinton campaign in Pennsylvania. She has the latest for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): John and Christine, the Clinton campaign feeling pretty good about this primary day. They feel good about Pennsylvania. They think they have Maryland all but locked up. And because of that, Secretary Clinton is channeling some of this confidence into -- focused on the general election, unveiling a new attack line on Donald Trump in Wilmington, Delaware.

CLINTON: Donald Trump says wages are too high in America and doesn't support raising the minimum wage. And I have said, come out of those towers named for yourself and actually talk and listen to people.

Don't just fly that big jet in and land it and go make a big speech and insult everybody you can think of and go back and get on that big jet and go back to -- you know, your country clubhouse in Florida or your penthouse in New York.

KEILAR: Looking at the math, you can see how it is so difficult for Bernie Sanders coming out of his loss last week in New York. To deny Hillary Clinton the nomination, he would have to win six out of 10 delegates. That's just looking at pledged delegates. You factor in superdelegates and he would have to win three out of four.

And what you also have going forward is a number of states racially diverse. That is terrain that is much more advantageous towards Hillary Clinton -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Thanks, Brianna.

Bernie Sanders appears here live here this morning on "NEW DAY" in the 7:00 hour.

And stay tuned to CNN for all day coverage of today's crucial Super Tuesday elections. Voters go to the polls for the Acela primary in five states -- Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.

BERMAN: It really is the Acela primary. You could stop -- you know, Acela stops in each of those states. Very excited.

ROMANS: I know. It must have cost like five bucks.

BERMAN: The aptly name. But there is a bar car.

A federal judge upheld North Carolina's controversial law requiring a photo ID to vote. The law also reduces the number of days of early voting and bars registering and voting on the same day. Republican North Carolina lawmakers say they pushed the law to fight what they call voter fraud. The NAACP calls it an affront to democracy. The Justice Department which sued to overturn the law says it is disappointed in the ruling and evaluating its legal options.

ROMANS: All right. So, the five states voting today have economic characteristic, a mix that candidates have not been seen before.

Take a look at income. Maryland has the highest median household income in the country, more than $76,000. Connecticut has the fourth highest at $70,000. You can thank Wall Street and Washington for those high numbers. Southern Connecticut and northern Maryland have three of the wealthy counties in the country.

Rhode Island, Delaware, and Pennsylvania are all also above the national average of 53,657 bucks. There are a lot of office jobs in and around the cities in these states. That helps boost those numbers.

But our theme of one America two economies holds true in these states as well. The unemployment rate in Connecticut, 5.7 percent, well above the national average. That's the highest of the states voting today. Rhode island is also higher at 5.4 percent. The rest of the states are below the national average.

BERMAN: All right. New information on helping unravel a murder mystery in Ohio. Eight family members killed. What investigators are now revealing. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:12:34] ROMANS: This morning, investigators in rural Ohio following a possible lead in the execution-style murders of eight members of one family. The attorney general confirming the youngest victim had received a Facebook threat. This as authorities work to determine if the deaths are linked to drugs.

CNN's Nick Valencia with the very latest for us this morning from Pike County, Ohio.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, the autopsies for the eight victims killed on Friday morning in Pike County have been completed, but there is no indication from local officials that they are any closer to finding who is responsible for the gruesome massacre here in southern Ohio.

The attorney general tells me that they are being tight-lipped about their investigation and that is for a good reason. They don't want whoever is responsible for these killings to be tipped off to what investigators know about them.

Now, many locals here speculate drugs played a problem. In fact, the local sheriff told me at a press conference that drugs are a big problem here in the county, especially methamphetamine and heroin. It wasn't too long ago that back in 2012, a major marijuana grow operation was discovered here in this county with ties to the Mexican drug cartels.

Officials here won't make the jump to say that these murders were related to drugs, but people here are widely speculating they were -- John, Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Thanks to Nick for that.

New information expected today in a string of seemingly random shootings that begin a year ago in Colorado. Northern Colorado shooting task force is slated hold a conference this afternoon. The spokesperson says they have not made any arrests but will reveal some findings and answers they have found during the seven-month probe. The announcement will be the first since last summer about the spate of shootings and unsolved deaths of two men.

ROMANS: More than 50 people arrested at the North Carolina statehouse protesting the North Carolina law they call anti-LGBT. The demonstrators speaking out against the new law limiting bathroom access for transgender people. Some entered the house speaker's office and refuse to leave. The action came hours after thousands of supporters of the law showed up at the legislatively building, praising lawmakers for passing those restrictions last month. BERMAN: Former speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert, is being sued

for breach of contract by a former student he allegedly molested. The unidentified man filed the lawsuit in Illinois, claiming that Hastert still owes him $1.8 million on the settlement they reached. The plaintiff says Hastert molested him when he was 14 years old. Hastert is expected to be sentenced Wednesday for violating banking laws to secretly pay off the former student.

The criminal case against Bill Cosby can now go forward.

[04:15:02] A Pennsylvania appellate court Monday rejected the comedian's pre-trial appeal to dismiss sexual assault charges against him. It did not address Cosby's argument that a former district attorney promised decades ago not to charge him in this case. Cosby is accused of drugging and assaulting Andrea Constand, a former Temple University women's basketball manager, in 2004.

BERMAN: Sportscaster Erin Andrews has settled her lawsuit with the Tennessee hotel owner and operator. Andrews sued the Nashville Marriott for $75 million after a stalker recorded her nude through a peephole in 2008. Andrews was awarded a $55 million verdict by a jury in March. The jury ruled that Andrews' stalker owed her $28 million, while the hotel and operator owed her $27 million for negligence. The settlement terms are now confidential.

ROMANS: All right. New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's four-game suspension back on the table. A federal appeals court ruled Monday in favor of the NFL in the deflategate case. The punishment was initially handed down by the football league's commissioner Roger Goodell but thrown out by a district court judge. Brady is now said to be mulling his legal options.

BERMAN: All right. Severe storms and possible tornadoes ahead today. For the latest, let's bring in meteorologist Pedram Javaheri.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: John and Christine, it looks like it could be one of the more active days of 2016 when it comes to severe weather. I want to show you what we have in store for us over the next couple of hours. Mainly on the northern fringe of all this, throughout Kansas City, eventually out towards St. Louis from daybreak, towards some of the afternoon hours between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m., we could get storm that blossom across this region, certainly in light from some severe weather.

But the main concern is what we have set up just to our south. And in fact, take a look at this. What we call a negative tilt in the jet stream. Typically, when you have this, you know your storm is reaching maturity. You also know the vertical wind shear in the atmosphere, tremendous with the storm system.

So, the area across the region, home to more than 35 million people. In fact, on a scale of one to five, a four for the likelihood of severity of these storms. And not only large hail possible but tornadoes, some potentially violent tornadoes across this region, including Wichita, including areas in and around Oklahoma City that are in line for some severe weather. Certainly, storms that have the potential to spawn some large, large tornadoes. That would be in line with winds upwards of 200 miles per hour.

Of course, it is hard to tell where this falls in line. It could be -- in an open field could be around a populated area. But certainly, an area that a lot of people are paying attention this afternoon, guys.

ROMANS: All right. Thanks, Pedram.

BERMAN: All right. Kelly Ripa returning to her set on "Live" this morning after getting a personal apology from officials at ABC and Disney. The actress and talk show host was apparently blindsided by the announcement last week that her co-host Michael Strahan would be leaving the show. Sources tell CNN the executives expressed regret for the way that Kelly was told the news. Strahan is leaving "Live" in September for a full-time job on "Good Morning America."

ROMANS: All right. A U.S. embassy worker and gay rights activist hacked to death in Bangladesh. The latest in the series of troubling murders targeting rioters and advocates. We are live, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:22:25] ROMANS: Twenty-two minutes past the hour.

Outrage worldwide after a U.S. embassy worker who was also the editor of Bangladesh's first LGBT magazine hacked to death in an apartment along with another man. His mother and a maid who were also there survived the attack. It is the latest in a series of deadly attacks targeting blogger and secular writers.

CNN senior international correspondent Ivan Watson tracking the latest in this disturbing story for us. He's live from Hong Kong.

Good morning. What can you tell us?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine, this was a chilling attack. You have five or six people basically bursting into a home, killing two men in that home with machetes, just savage stuff. After one of them disguised himself as a delivery person to get into the building in the first place.

Now, of the two who were people killed, we don't know the motive is here because one of them, his name is Xulhaz Mannan, he was an employee at the U.S. embassy, working with USAID. But this also could have been a case of deadly homophobia because he was a gay rights activist. He was an editor of a magazine called "Roopban", the only LGBT magazine in all of Bangladesh, which is a majority Muslim country, but it is also a secular democracy.

So, a chilling attack. The White House putting out a statement condemning it and calling Mr. Mannan a, quote, "example of dignity, courage and selflessness and his legacy will live on in the causes he championed" -- Christine.

ROMANS: Certainly disturbing, Ivan. Does it fit in broader patterns of other killings or broader trend of violence in the country? WATSON: That's what's so frightening right now, Christine. This is

the third machete murder to hit liberals, intellectuals and activists in Bangladesh just this month. In fact, you've had in the past 14 months, at least six atheists and secular writers and bloggers cut down in the same way with machetes. So, I've been in touch with some of these bloggers. Dozens of them have fled the country right now.

We also have an increase in attacks on foreigners in the country, on members of minority Hindu religious groups, Shiite religious groups, Christian groups as well. The government says it is trying to bring the killers to justice right now.

And it also is vigorously denying claims from groups affiliating themselves with al Qaeda and with ISIS that they are the ones carrying out the attacks. The government insists this is the work of homegrown extremists.

[04:25:00] Meanwhile, people we talk to in Bangladesh very frightened about this increase in violence and what's really chilling about this, is in the case of each killing, it looks like the people have been carefully monitoring, really hunting their targets before they ambush them with these deadly machetes -- Christine.

ROMANS: Just barbaric.

All right. Ivan Watson for us in Hong Kong this morning, following that story. Thanks, Ivan.

BERMAN: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is condemning the killing of a Canadian by Islamic militants. He's calling it an act of cold-blooded murder. The Abu Sayyaf group in the Philippines held 68- year-old John Ridsdel captive for seven months and then beheaded him after its ransom deadline expired. The foreign ministry in Canada refused to pay ransom saying it is a significant source of terrorist funding.

ROMANS: The U.S. may be giving Moscow a taste of its own medicine by sending two fighter jets to Romania just is a short hop from Ukraine, the Crimean Peninsula and Russia. Officially, the show of force is part of a NATO training exercise. But the timing is raising eyebrows. It comes on the heels of the buzzing of an American warship by Russian fighter jets and complaints by NATO officials in the region that Russia is ramping up its own air missions.

BERMAN: All right. In hours, voters in five states cast ballots in the race for president, the day. Frontrunners Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, will they build on their leads or are there upsets in the works? That's next.

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