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EARLY START
An Act of Terrorism?; Trump Goes After CNN on Twitter; Wildfires Out of Control in Tennessee; Deadly Plane Crash in Colombia; Syrian Rebels Lose Control of Northeast Aleppo. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired November 29, 2016 - 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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[04:30:18] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: New details about the Somali refugee who went on a stabbing spree at Ohio State. Will the suspect's final Facebook post lead to investigators conclude this was an act of terrorism?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump, the president-elect, tweeting up a storm. We will tell you why he is now targeting CNN again.
BERMAN: Wildfires burning out of control in Tennessee. Entire cities ordered to evacuate. The Dollywood theme park on high alert as the flames moved ever closer.
Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.
ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It is 30 minutes past the hour this morning.
So, was it an act of terrorism? This morning, investigators are examining the Facebook posts of Abdul Razak Ali Artan. The Somali immigrant who carried out a mass stabbing attack on the campus of Ohio State University. He was a student at Ohio State who recently complained online that he was, quote, "sick and tired of seeing fellow Muslims mistreated." He was shot and killed by a campus police officer after he wounded 11 people.
Listen to this frantic 911 moments after the attack.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 CALLER: This guy on a Honda civic came out, ran through the crowd, jump out of his car and started chasing people with a knife. And he was running down Woodruff and I saw his face. Oh, my God!
(END AUDIO CLIP)
ROMANS: CNN justice correspondent Pamela Brown is in Columbus with more on the Ohio State attack and the investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Christine.
We are learning more about the suspect, 18-year-old Abdul Artan. The man who officially plowed his speeding car into a crowd at the Ohio State University and came out and started slashing people with a large knife. Officials say he was a student at the university and just before he launched this attack, officials tell us he posted on his Facebook page and went on an anti-American rant and aired grievances of Muslims being attacked all over the world.
In this post, he says, "America stop interfering with other countries." He goes on to say, "My brothers and sisters, I am sick and tired of seeing my fellow Muslim brothers and sisters being killed and tortured everywhere." And then in this post, he says, "Every single Muslim who disapproves of my action is a sleeper cell waiting for a signal. I am warning you, oh America."
Investigators have been scrutinizing this post, going through all of his other electronic media, talking to his friends, his family. Investigators have not come out and said that they had determined a motive, but certainly they have said terrorism is a possibility. We know that he spoke to the local newspaper at the university last year and he talked about feeling uncomfortable showing his Muslim faith on campus.
But his mother says he never spoke to her about that. That he was a good kid. That the only thing he complained about was grades at the university.
Still a lot to learn. We know he was born in Somalia and came to the United States in 2014 as a legal permanent resident. But investigators still determining the why -- John and Christine
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: All right. Pamela, thanks so much.
A senior official in the Obama administration tells CNN the attacker went through the most stringent screening possible before he was granted a green card. The process took more than two years. In addition to a face to face interview, he and his family were cross- checked against all U.S. databases before being ruled out as a potential threat and they got clearance to travel. If the attacker was radicalized, investigators say they believe it happened after he arrived in the U.S.
ROMANS: All right. President-elect Trump criticizing CNN, going after CNN on twitter for CNN reports questioning the president-elect's claims about voter fraud. Trump has been busy sharing tweets from his reporters who are going after our senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny. Zeleny reported there was no proof of voter fraud.
One of Trump's retweet is from a 16-year-old calling Zeleny pathetic, arguing there is no evidence Trump did not suffer from voter fraud. Another retweet from Trump goes after Zeleny as, quote, "a generic CNN part-time wannabe journalist."
Jeff has responded to Trump on Twitter with this, "Good evening. Have been looking for examples of voter fraud. Please send our way. Full- time journalists here still working."
BERMAN: He's a terrific reporter and a classy guy.
ROMANS: Yes.
BERMAN: The president-elect is planning a full day of meetings today. And according to the vice president-elect, we could expect some big developments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE PENCE (R), VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT: Look forward being back at it first thing in the morning, and a number of very important announcements tomorrow.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Important announcements.
So, one of the important announcements could be Donald Trump's pick for secretary of health and human services. A source tells CNN the president-elect has chosen six-term Congressman Tom Price of Georgia. Price is a former orthopedic surgeon and a vocal critic of Obamacare.
[04:35:00] The congressman believes regulatory burdens, taxes and lawsuits against medical professionals are the real reason for soaring health care costs.
ROMANS: President-elect Trump has big dinner plans tonight. He will be breaking bread with Mitt Romney. The 2012 nominee is a contender for secretary of state. And that has many Trump loyalists up in arms since Romney did try to scuttle Trump's White House bid. Sources tell CNN the dinner will be private.
BERMAN: Leading the charge against Mitt Romney, Trump's former campaign manager Kellyanne Conway. Sources tell CNN that Trump is actually angry about Conway's very public criticism of Romney. But Conway insists nothing could be further from the truth. And as proof, she tweeted this photo of herself with the president-elect, saying, "Trump and I working hard tonight. Thank you for the privilege of a lifetime."
Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee and Congressman Mike McCaul of Texas, they will meet with the president-elect today. Corker is chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Michael McCaul is chair of the House Homeland Security Committee. Corker is up to be the secretary of state possibly, and McCaul maybe homeland security. Although both men as powerful members could just be there meeting with Donald Trump to offer their advice.
ROMANS: President-elect Trump tweeting he was very impressed with David Petraeus after interviewing the former CIA director for the top job at the State. Petraeus is seen as a potential compromise pick amid reports of deep divisions within Team Trump over Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani. But some Republicans believe Petraeus should be disqualified for sharing classified information with his biographer when he headed up the CIA.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: How did the meeting go, sir?
DAVID PETRAEUS, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: The meeting went very well. I was with him for about an hour. He basically walked us around the world, showed a great grasp of the variety of challenges out there and some of the opportunities as well. So, very good conversation. We will see where it goes from here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Petraeus was convicted of a misdemeanor in 2015. He is currently on probation. He agreed to a plea deal that landed him a sentence of two years probation and $100,000 fine.
BERMAN: Green Party candidate Jill Stein is defending her effort to recount the votes in three key states. The Wisconsin recount will begin on Thursday, assuming Stein puts up the money today, which she says she will. Stein also plans to push the recounts in Michigan and Pennsylvania. She does concede it is unlikely the election results will change, but she tells CNN's Anderson Cooper that unless we look, we'll never know.
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DR. JILL STEIN, FORMER GREEN PARTY CANDIDATE: What we have are predictors that if tampering took place, that it would be most likely to be discovered in the three states where we are looking. But it's like, when you get into an airplane, you do not want to have evidence that the airplane is rapidly losing altitude before you create a back- up system to be sure that your airplane has a safety net.
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BERMAN: Stein's campaign is looking for a recount in Michigan by Wednesday and is working to organize hundreds of petitions needed to get another one started in Pennsylvania.
ROMANS: An influential group of forecasters predict faster economic growth once Donald Trump takes office, but that could be reversed if he pursues his anti-trade agenda. A new OECD report shows the U.S. economy growing at a 2.3 percent annual rate in 2017. That is up from the forecast before the election and up from the current rate of 1.7 percent.
It expects GDP to rise to 3 percent in 2018. Donald Trump said he can achieve 4 percent growth and thinks he can hit 5 percent. The last time that happened, 4 percent growth, Bill Clinton was president and personal computers and the Internet were fueling an economic boom.
The forecasters say much of the added growth would be wiped out if Trump imposes tariffs and stricter trade policies.
But there are also two market forces that could hinder the growth. The U.S. dollar jumped 4 percent since the election. It's nearing a 13-year high. That could hurt manufacturing. It makes American goods more expensive overseas. The ten-year Treasury note has surged 30 percent. That means making mortgages -- borrowing money becoming a lot more expensive.
BERMAN: All right. A plane carrying a Brazilian soccer club has crashed in Colombia. Local officials are calling this a tragedy of huge proportions. Plus, we are getting reports just in of survivors. We'll have the very latest when EARLY START continues.
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[04:43:22] BERMAN: Breaking news this morning out of Tennessee. At least 14 wildfires burning out of control. More than 30 buildings in Gatlinburg had been hit already, including a 16-storey hotel. Fire officials have ordered everyone to evacuate. Residents in nearby Pigeon Forge are hitting the highways. They want to escape the smoke and flames.
Right now, officials at Dollywood are monitoring the fires very closely. These fires are spreading close to the property there. A 70-mile-an-hour winds are pushing them closer. Firefighters on stand by at the theme park this morning. So far, no reports of any fatalities and a handful of injuries and burns.
ROMANS: All right. Breaking news out of Colombia. A plane carrying 72 passengers crashed last night on approach to the Medellin Airport. Among those onboard, members of a Brazilian soccer team.
I want to get the latest from CNN senior Latin American affairs editor, Rafael Romo.
What do we know? Are there survivors?
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: Christine, it is amazing that we can talk about survivors, especially when you see some of the first images coming to us from the crash site. But in the last few minutes, the Colombian civil aviation department has confirmed that six people survived of the crash. Of the survivors, two are crew members, three are players, and one is a member of the media traveling with the team.
The plane carrying 72 passengers, including members of Chapacoense, soccer team from southern Brazil and nine crew members crashed southeast of the city of Medellin, Colombia. At about 10:00 p.m. local time, the plane declared an emergency related to some sort of electrical failure on board. At that point, the plane was only a few minutes away from landing at the Medellin International Airport, on a flight that had originated in Bolivia.
[04:45:02] The search and rescue efforts are well underway, but to access -- access to the site of the accident is not easy. We are talking about rugged mountains and high altitude. Chapacoense was on its way to play game one of two in the South American Cup. The match was to be held on Wednesday in Medellin and the second one on December 7th in Brazil.
Christine, back to you.
ROMANS: All right. Rafael, thank you for that. Keep us posted on anymore updates. Thanks.
BERMAN: All right. Cubans are remembering Fidel Castro this morning. Tens of thousands of people waited in line Monday to pay their respects to Fidel Castro at Revolution Square in Havana. Today, Cubans will salute the dictator with hourly cannon firings and later a mass rally in Havana's Plaza de la Revolucion.
President Raul Castro declared a nine-day mourning period following the death of his brother last Friday. Fidel Castro's ashes will be taken to a final resting place in Santiago on Sunday, that's the city where Castro launched the Cuban revolution.
ROMANS: In South Carolina, former police officer Michael Slager on trial for murder is expected to testify in his own defense today. Slager is charged with shooting an unarmed African-American motorist Walter Scott, as Scott fled a traffic stop last year. A bystander captured the shooting on this video. This case could go to the jury later this week. Slager faces 30 years to life in prison if convicted.
A federal judge approved a motion by defendant Dylann Roof to represent himself at trial. Roof is accused of killing nine people at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, last year. He was declared competent last week to stand trial. A jury selection in the case resumed Monday. The judge ruled that Roof can object to any potential jurors he feels are not fit to decide his fate. If convicted, he faces the death penalty.
BERMAN: That was so painful for those families.
ROMANS: I know.
BERMAN: The governor of North Dakota issuing an order to evacuate the area with thousands of people protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline. They have been camped out for months. The governor cites anticipated harsh weather conditions and says the order will stay in place indefinitely. State officials say they will not use law enforcement or the National Guard to enforce this order. Anyone who does not comply, does so at their own risk.
ROMANS: All right. It may be difficult to score an uber in some cities today. Hundreds of drivers set to protest. They are demanding higher pay. We're going to check the CNN Money Stream next.
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[04:51:38] ROMANS: A humanitarian crisis is escalating in Syria. Rebel fighters lose control of a large chunk of northeast Aleppo to government forces. Thousands of civilians are now fleeing for their lives with hundreds killed during the latest offensive.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is monitoring the developments for us live from London.
What can you tell us here?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know in the past hours, 25 people have reportedly killed by various activists from an air strike that hit one of those rebel held areas. But this forms part of a daily pattern that we've there. This area has been bombarded intensely, deprived of food and actually all hospitals in the past week or so because of this intense bombardment.
But now, the ground forces, Syrian regime it seems with some Iraqi and Iranian militia backing them, and possibly Russians too moved have through that central part of the eastern area of Aleppo area the rebels have held, splitting in two effectively. They are concentrating their fire power on the north. It seems, perhaps 20 percent maybe in the area, maybe in their control. We are hearing of tens of thousands of people fleeing in different directions. Stories of families walking 9 kilometers on foot to safety.
There absolutely no doubt here, Christine, this is a key turning point in the Syrian civil war. Five years now old. We have not seen really an urban stronghold held by the rebels, cleaned out it seems at such a fast pace as we've seemingly been seeing in the past few days or so. It may become more broadly under regime control in the weeks ahead. And that will spell a turning point for the Syrian revolution.
There use to be the conflict now, there were moderates there, there were jihadists potentially as well, but it was the main stronghold of rebels in that area. The commercial hub of Syria before the war is now a bombed out shell of a city, 200,000 civilians potentially hiding there. They're going to be desperate looking for safety. They'll be fearing regime forces with their track record of execution and torture.
And this is something the world has seen coming frankly for months, being power less in the West to stop and is as I say, perhaps a decisive turning point for the war, Christine.
ROMANS: And civilians. I mean, we can't say it enough. There are civilians caught there.
WALSH: Yes. And we simply don't know how many. The U.N. estimates 200,000. But they are short of food, they've been under intense bombardment. They don't have medical care. They probably don't trust any safe passage being offered to them by the regime at this stage.
And this is an unprecedented moment frankly of urban warfare coming to quite such a large population so deprived, so trapped. And if the regime do take this eastern half of the city, that will spell change in the potency of what used to be the Syrian rebel movement -- Christine.
ROMANS: All right. Nick Paton Walsh for this morning in London, thank you, Nick.
BERMAN: Investigators are trying to determine what killed three elderly at a Thanksgiving dinner in California. At least eight others became ill after eating a meal prepared by the Golden Hills Community Church in Contra Costa. All of the victims live in the same assisted living center. Public health officials say it appears they contracted a foodborne illness.
ROMANS: Hundreds of employees at Chicago's O'Hare airport planning to strike today. Janitors, baggage handlers, cabin cleaners just some of the workers planning to hit the picket line and they are joining workers from at least 20 other airports across the United States. It's part of a day of disruption. Employees are fighting for a minimum wage hike of $15 an hour.
BERMAN: Severe storms and rain moving into the drought stricken part of the Southeast this morning, a hopeful development in the region where wildfires as you've seen are spreading.
[04:55:01] Let's get the latest right now from meteorologist Pedram Javaheri.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: John and Christine, you know, this has been a long time coming when you think about 40 to 60 consecutive days without rainfall in some of these areas. And, of course, the rain has really been coming down in earnest across parts of the southeast now and closer perspective. And I just want to highlight some of these areas that had the largest wildfires in western North Carolina and, of course, most recently in eastern Tennessee near Gatlinburg. There it is right here across the Smokey Mountain region. It is not off the charts as far as heavy rainfall. That is good when you are drought stricken because a lot of that could be runoff.
But you notice the rainfall actually moves off to the east. We could get a second band of moisture that develops and the models have done pretty consistent job here, telling us that not only are we going to get more rainfall on Tuesday going into Wednesday, but, of course, heavy rain can move into eastern portions of Tennessee, western North Carolina, precisely where the fires are the most destructive point and certainly it could be beneficial when we're talking about some additional rainfall across that region.
But the severe weather risk is in place back out toward the west around Mississippi into northwestern Alabama, the highest concern there is going to be for damaging winds and hail. A few isolated tornadoes possible -- guys.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Pedram, thank you.
Let's get a check on CNN Money Stream. Dow futures pointing to a small rebound this morning. The average
break after the four-day win streak on Monday. The Russell 2,000 snapped the longest winning streak in two years yesterday. You can blame volatile oil prices for some of the selling.
OPEC meets tomorrow to discuss the production freeze in an effort to boost prices. It seems the investor do not expect an agreement. That means stock markets are lower in Europe and Asia. Asia trading actually mixed right now.
So, let's keep an eye on the stock. It is up again in free market. That is after "Time" rejected the $1.8 billion buyout from billionaire investors. Time Inc. spokesperson declined to comment on what she described as speculation. It's a sign of hope for the company that runs "TIME" magazine, "People", "Sports Illustrated." Time was left to a huge pile of debt when it was spun off from Time Warner two and a half years. It has yet to post overall revenue gains since the spinoff.
Uber drivers are fighting for $15 an hour. The group Fight for 15 says hundreds of Uber drivers will take part in broader protests across the country today. In San Francisco, drivers are planning to march at airport with signs. Others will idle their cars or march with low wage workers from other sectors. Uber did not respond to our request to our request for comment.
The company has previously said many drivers make more than $19 an hour. Some complain that Uber's aggressive fare cuts make it harder to scrape by, especially with the cost of gas, repairs, insurance, which the company does not cover. Uber drivers are considered contractors rather than employees. So, they're not entitled to overtime pay or sick leave.
BERMAN: It will be interesting to see what effect it has in these cities and this busy shopping week.
EARLY START continues right now.
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BERMAN: All right. This morning, CNN is learning more about the Somali refugee behind a stabbing spree at Ohio State. His final Facebook post could point investigators to terrorism.
ROMANS: Donald Trump tweeting up a storm. We'll tell you why the president-elect is now targeting CNN or rather again targeting CNN.
BERMAN: Entire cities evacuated. Wildfire burning out of control in Tennessee. Now, the flames are heading toward a tourist attraction.
Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.
ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It is Tuesday, November 29th. It is 5:00 a.m. in the east. Nice to see you all this morning.
So, the big story, was it an act of terrorism? This morning, investigators are examining the Facebook posts of Abdul Razak Ali Artan. He is the Somali immigrant who carried out the stabbing attack on the campus of Ohio State University. He was a student at Ohio State who recently complained online that he was sick and tired of seeing fellow Muslims mistreated. He was shot and killed by a campus police officer after wounding 11 people.
Listen to this frantic 911 call moments after the attack.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 CALLER: This guy on a Honda civic came out, ran through the crowd, jump out of his car and started chasing people with a knife. And he was running down Woodruff and I saw his face. Oh, my God.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
ROMANS: CNN justice correspondent Pamela Brown is in Columbus with more on the Ohio State attack and the investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Good morning, John and Christine.
We are learning more about the suspect, 18-year-old Abdul Artan. The man who officially plowed his speeding car into a crowd at the Ohio State University and came out and started slashing people with a large knife. Officials say he was a student at the university and just before he launched this attack, officials tell us he posted on his Facebook page and went on an anti-American rant and aired grievances of Muslims being attacked all over the world.
In this post, he says, "America stop interfering with other countries." He goes on to say, "My brothers and sisters, I am sick and tired of seeing my fellow Muslim brothers and sisters being killed and tortured everywhere." And then in this post, he says, "Every single Muslim who disapproves of my action is a sleeper cell waiting for a signal. I am warning you, oh America."
