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EARLY START

Aftermath of Hurricane Florence; Latest in Russia Probe; Maryland RiteAid Shooting; Browns Get a Win. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired September 21, 2018 - 05:00   ET

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


[05:00:00]

DAVE BRIGGS, CNN HOST: She wants to get moving on a vote for Brett Kavanaugh. His accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, says she'll testify under certain terms.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN HOST: The president dismissed intel concerns about releasing classified documents, but now he's reconsidering after foreign allies voiced concerns.

BRIGGS: A Florida student with a pilot's license manages to board an empty passenger jet. How do you pass security, and what was his intent?

ROMANS: And the Dawg Pound can rejoice with just 635 days until (ph) the Cleveland Browns are back in the win column. Sorry Jet's fan. That little guy might not even remember the last time he saw his team won, but we're really happy for him this morning.

BRIGGS: Probably not.

ROMANS: Welcome to "Early Start." I'm Christine Romans.

BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. You got to put things in Trump terms. It's the first time since he took office that the Browns have won a football game.

ROMANS: Wow. Wow.

BRIGGS: September 21, 5:00 am in the East. Congrats Cleveland. Christine Blasey ford is where we start, with the latest on the Supreme Court. She is ready to speak, but only on her terms. Lawyer's for the woman accusing Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, of sexual assault when they were teens, tell the Senate Judiciary Committee their client is prepared to testify next week.

But first, they want the committee to offer, quote, "terms that are fair and which ensure her safety."

ROMANS: Sources tell us Ford's lawyers and the committee staff held an hour long conference call. The date of the hearing remains the biggest hold up here. Ford's attorneys ruled out Monday, that's the original date. And they suggested Thursday, instead.

They also made clear that at no time during the hearing could Ford be in the same room as Kavanaugh.

BRIGGS: They've made two other requests, that Kavanaugh testified first and they want the committee to subpoena Mark Judge and other alleged witness. Senate staffer called those ideas nonstarters for republicans on the panel. A spokesman for Senator Chuck Grassley says the Senate Judiciary Committee remains committed to providing a fair forum for both Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh.

ROMANS: After days of holding his tongue, President Trump showing signs his patience is wearing thin. He spoke to Sean Hannity of Fox News before a rally in Los Vegas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Why didn't somebody call the FBI 36 years ago? I mean you could also say, "When did this all happen? What's going on?" To take a man like this and besmirch - now with that being said, let her have her say and let's see how it all works out. But I don't think you can delay it any longer. They've delayed it a week already.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Sunday, Professor Ford told The Washington Post she did not report it 36 years ago, out of fear she could be in trouble for being at a party with alcohol. Again, at the time, she was 15-years-old.

Kavanaugh has strongly denied these assault allegations. The White House released a letter from Kavanaugh last night, for which he said he would be at the planned hearing. CNN's Phil Mattingly has more from Capitol Hill.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Now Christine, Dave, after days of no response from the legal team of Christine Blasey Ford, the Senate Judiciary Committee, both republicans and democrats receiving an e-mail saying that Christine Blasey Ford was willing to testify, did want to testify in a public hearing, but would not testify on the scheduled date of Monday and would only testify under certain conditions and if the committee guaranteed her safety.

That led to a phone call, a bipartisan phone call. I'm told the first substantive interaction between republicans and democratic staff on the committee, in a entire week, trying to figure out what the steps forward will be.

The end game of negotiations, while it's still an open question, it's very clear that both sides right now have entered the talks, trying to get to a point of a public hearing. Will they actually get there? Well, I can tell you this right now.

Republicans and democrats are preparing, as if a hearing will actually happen. Republican sources saying that republican members are looking into hiring an outside council, a woman. Remember, there are a 11 republican members on the committee, all of them are male. What they're trying to do is bring in a female outside council to ask questions at that hearing. Democratic members say they, too, are preparing. What are they preparing for? Well, we'll have to see. Depends on if it actually happens. Guys.

BRIGGS: Thank you, Phil. Both Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford have been the target of numerous death threats in recent days. And CNN has learned that Kavanaugh's wife, Ashley, has received multiple graphic e-mails since her husband was accused of sexual assault.

In one, a Kavanaugh critic writes, "My condolences to you for being married to a rapist, although, you probably deserve it." Ford is also married and has two teenage sons. She has received death threats of her own. She's not been seen publically for several days, having to leave their home.

ROMANS: Meantime, public support for Kavanaugh's nomination is slipping. A new NBC Wall Street Journal poll, conducted after the allegations were made public, finds more Americans oppose his conformation than support it, by four points.

The increase in opposition comes from women over 50, seniors in general, and especially the independents (ph), whose support plunged by 31 points.

BRIGGS: President Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, cooperating with Special Counsel Robert Mueller. According to ABC news, Cohen has spoken to Mueller's team several times, over the past month, with prosecutors focusing primarily on Mr. Trump's dealings with Russia.

Cohen also cooperating with the New York state investigation to the Trump family charity and The Trump Organization.

[05:05:00]

Cohen pleaded guilty to eight criminal counts last month and implicated the president in payoffs to two women, made to influence the election. President Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, attacking Cohen, labeling him a, quote, "professional deceiver."

ROMANS: It now appears President Trump may not release certain documents related to the Russia investigation, at the urging of several close allies. This is a reversal, just days after his unprecedented directive for the immediately declassification of some documents, including the application for surveillance on former Trump advisor, Carter Page.

Here's what the president is saying now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're moving along, we're working along. We're also dealing with foreign countries that do have a problem. I must tell you. I got called today from two very good allies, saying, "Please, can we talk." So it's not as simple as all that, and we do have to respect their wishes, but it'll all come out. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: The White House did not immediately say which allies the president had spoken with. Trump supporters claim, without proof, that the FBI wrongly obtained its warrant for Carter Page and is hiding information that could discredit the Mueller probe. The decision to publically release the records prompted an outcry the president was potentially jeopardizing critical intelligent sources.

ROMANS: The personal Gmail accounts of several senators and staffers from both parties have been target been foreign government hackers. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon wrote a letter - the leadership to his office had been informed of the hack attempt. Google confirmed, telling Senator Wyden about he targeting, but is not saying whether the attempts were successful.

In a blog post on Google's website, the company said the notices do not necessarily mean accounts were compromised. President Trump, once again, defending his trade agenda, this time on Twitter. He posted a video yesterday, praising his tough trade policy, claiming it has led to deal making.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're working on other trade deals, but the big one is China because for a long period of time, China has taken advantage of our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Trump, however, says China is not to blame, it's former U.S. politicians who are at fault. The two countries are currently embroiled in a trade war, but Trump claims his tariffs have turned the tide in favor of the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're creating jobs like never before. So it's very important that China its markets to our farmers and everybody else because right now, they're closed, largely. And yet, our markets are open to them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Trump gave an example - cars. He says Chinese cars coming to the U.S. are taxed 2.5 percent, while U.S. car imports into China are taxed 25 percent. Now China, this summer, did slash that down to 15 percent, as an opening gambit, perhaps, in these negotiations.

But U.S. cars are still taxed higher. He's right on that, which is why the U.S. actually exports very few cars to China. Instead, companies like Ford and GM build their cars there. In fact, China has been GM's biggest market, for the past six years.

BRIGGS: A 22-year-old student pilot faces criminal charges for allegedly hopping a security fence at Orlando Melbourne International Airport and boarding a passenger jet. The suspect, Nishal Sankat, is a student at Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne. A maintenance supervisor and a technical, who were on the plane, caught him, held him down and removed him.

Sankat will be charged with trespassing on airport property, burglary and attempted theft on an aircraft. Investigators don't know what his motive was. Sankat was not armed. The FBI responded to a similar incident last month, when a ground service agent stole a turboprop passenger plane, in Seattle, and crashed it into an island.

And ahead, three deadly shootings in just about 24 hours. The latest has people asking why a woman opened fire at a Rite Aid distribution center in Maryland.

ROMANS: And a week after Florence slammed the Carolinas, pollution is flooding into the Atlantic. Rising water still pose a danger for many communities.

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ROMANS: Police are searching for a motive this morning after a women killed three people and wounded three more before fatally shooting herself at a Rite Aid distribution center in Maryland. The ATF and the Baltimore FBI are assisting the investigation. This just a day after two other shootings, one at an office complex in Wisconsin, another at a municipal center in Pennsylvania. Those shootings left a total of seven dead. CNN's Brian Todd has the latest on the Maryland attack.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christina and Dave, the sheriff of Harford County says this shooting began outside the building and then moved inside. Sheriff Jeff Gaylor (ph) says a total of six people were shot. Three of them were killed. Three remain hospitalized. The 26-year-old female suspect is also dead.

According to law enforcement, they've really not ascribed a motive yet for this attack, but law enforcement sources tell CNN that the suspect was a 26-year-old temporary employee of this facility and that she was a disgruntled employee.

Our sources are telling us that after she opened fire inside this facility, the suspect shot herself in the head once, but that didn't work and she shot herself in the head a second time. According to a Rite Aid official, this was a massive facility in Aberdeen, Maryland, a Rite Aid distribution center where about 1,000 people work.

According to law enforcement, law enforcement officers arrived within about five minutes of when this shooting started, but law enforcement official's tactical teams did not have to use their weapons. Christine and Dave -

BRIGGS: Brian Todd, thank you. Full week after Florence hit the Carolinas. The storm's impact is still being felt.

[05:15:00] Take a look at these satellite images, polluted water carrying sediment and debris from the Carolinas into the ocean. You can see the water changing from light blue to dark blue as material gets dumped into the Atlantic.

ROMANS: Death toll from the storm now up to 41 people across the Carolinas and Virginia, 31 of those fatalities happening in North Carolina. The state's governor, Roy Cooper, says nearly 74,000 people still without power.

While rivers in North Carolina have crested and are receding now, several South Carolina Rivers are still rising. CNN's Nick Valencia has more from Conway, South Carolina.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Dave and Christine, this has been described by residents here as a slow-motion disaster. As hard as some of the residents here have been hit by Hurricane Florence with flash flooding, city officials warn it is only going to get worse. And it's not a matter of if but when this river behind me, the Waccamaw River, overflows.

It was already about four feet past the flood level with the expectation that it's going to go perhaps up to 21 maybe even 22 feet and crest on Monday or Tuesday. In fact, city officials here were going door-to-door. Over 900 homes were knocked on to try to warn residents to evacuate now while they can.

Some of these areas I mentioned were overcome and inundated by flash flooding from Hurricane Florence. That flash flooding receded long enough for residents to go inside to some of their homes, collect their belongings, because as I mentioned city officials say that more flooding is on the way. Dave, Christine -

BRIGGS: Nick Valencia reporting. Police charging a man with murder in the stabbing death of a Washington, D.C. woman who was jogging Tuesday evening. Based on surveillance footage, authorities say 23- year-old Anthony Crawford stabbed 35-year-old Wendy Martinez. Police tracked down Crawford in a park on Wednesday after what police say was an unprovoked attack. Wednesday (ph), Wendy Martinez was recently engaged.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

KRISTINA MOORE, WENDY MARTINEZ'S FRIEND: Wendy should have been shopping for her wedding dress on Friday. There is a hole in our hearts that will never be replaced.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BRIGGS: There is no word whether Crawford yet has an attorney.

ROMANS: More than 66 tons of ground beef recalled after a deadly E. coli outbreak. 18 people were sickened. One of them died. The company Cargill Meat Solutions says the beef was distributed nationwide. Officials say the recalled meat was produced June 21, and there is concerns some of this may still be in your freezer. The beef was produced under a number of brand names. For a complete list, see our story at CNN.com.

BRIGGS: At least 57 Detroit public schools have been tested positive for high levels of copper, lead, or both in their drinking water. And test results for 17 more schools are pending. Last month, the district had to turn off all drinking water in the school buildings because some showed elevated lead and copper levels. The city's water department blames aging plumbing systems. Lead consumption can be particularly harmful to children causing impaired cognition, behavioral disorders, hearing problems and delayed puberty.

ROMANS: There are some school districts across the country that because of the expensive gutting and redoing the plumbing, they're bringing in, you know, good old-fashioned water bubbler serviced, you know -

BRIGGS: Yes.

ROMANS: - by companies that bring the water in just because the risk for children is too high.

BRIGGS: It's hard to believe that Flint - thing reporting 2014 and we still haven't ridded that city. OK, ahead, it took almost two years, but the Cleveland Browns and their fans can finally embrace in the victory column. (inaudible) with what Baker Mayfield pulled off last night.

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[05:23:00]

BRIGGS: The streak is over. For the first time since Christmas Eve of 2016, the Cleveland Browns have won a regular season football game. Coy Wire, has the bleacher for this morning from Austin, Texas. Good morning, my friend.

COY WIRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Dave. Good times, what's going on though? The Browns have more wins than the Steelers; they're undefeated at home in 2018.

Browns fans going crazy like they just won the Super Bowl, but no, they just won a game. A regular season game, but it's for the first time in 635 days. Rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield came out in the field like Maximus in the Gladiator.

He comes on to the field in the second quarter; they were down 14 to zero, after Tom Tyrod Taylor went down with a concussion. And Mayfield just owned the field. I mean, he's out there slinging passes around the field.

The former number one overall draft pick took complete control. He lead the Browns to a pair of touchdowns and this right here, he caught a two point conversion. Good times as I said in Cleveland. After the game, the former Heisman Trophy winner said many many things that have Browns fans feeling quite hopeful. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

BAKER MAYFIELD, FOOTBALL QUARTERBACK: It's definitely up there, being the first NFL game I've played in. First regular season one that actually counts, so it's definitely up there for me. Got some great memories but just getting started.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

WIRE: Now while the Browns got their first taste of victory, some of their fans got to taste some brews. Bud Light, the victory fridge is opened up, they were packed with free beer in the event that Cleveland won a game.

At least ten bars across the city unlocked these things and they were celebrating in to the wee hours of the night, packing the streets and a parade like they have just won the championship.

Hey, the Boston Red Sox, they're celebrating too. They are popping bottles, the fan's celebrating as the players there clench the American League east title for the third straight year with an 11 to 6 win over the hated New York Yankees. Champagne showers for everyone, and the party's going to continue as they go to Cleveland for a weekend series.

[05:25:00]

WIRE: All right, Tiger Woods putting on a show at the Tour Championship in Atlanta. The former world number one is making his first appearance there in five years. Tiger sinks the eagle put on the last hole to grab a share of the lead with Ricky Fowler after the first round. We'll keep an eye on that action as the weekend continues.

Now, I am in Austin for tomorrows in state showdown between the University of Texas and number 17 PCU. I'm amercing myself here in Texas culture. I stopped at the iconic Allan's Boots and they have about 18,000 pairs of boots from the classic to the quirky to your favorite team.

They even have one pair that costs $13,000. Look at this, made of American Gator, no cowboy outfit though of course complete without a cowboy hat.

Now, I also got to meet an Austin celebrity. UT's 1,700 pound Texas Longhorn Mascot, Bevo. He did a three year $4.8 million deal with Chevy who named him the - a pickup, the official truck of Bevo, did you know that, how about Bevo even attending George W. Bush's inauguration in 2004.

It's going to be a - a great weekend. We're here as part of our (inaudible) tailgate. Dave, I know you are supremely jealous of me, but I will take full advantage of this weekend here in college football, Texas.

BRIGGS: Austin, Texas, one of the great cities in America. Did you pick up some boots?

WIRE: I did not pick up the boots yet, they're more expensive than I was thinking-

BRIGGS: Yes.

WIRE: I did get a hat though.

BRIGGS: Yes.

WIRE: And so, the morning goes on. That may be seen on T.V.

BRIGGS: I saw that on Instagram, good look for you Coy, enjoy your time in Austin. Thank you, my friend. All right, Romans, over to you.

ROMANS: Yes, I don't recommend trying to expense $13,000 boots on your expense account, Coy, smart man.

All right, 26 minutes passed the hour. Christine Blasey Ford wants to make sure of she does testify against Brett Kavanaugh, it's on her terms. What she's asking for and what the president now says about the timeline for confirming his Supreme Court nominee.

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