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EARLY START

Four People to Back Up Christine Blasey Ford's Claim; World Leader Laugh at Trump; Bill Cosby Gets 3 to 10 Years in Prison; Birthday Bungee Jump; Pope; Church is "Giving It Our All" on Sex Abuse. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired September 26, 2018 - 04:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:31:24] DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, four people with sworn declarations that Christine Blasey Ford told them about the alleged sex assault by Brett Kavanaugh. The Senate committee vote on the Supreme Court nomination set for Friday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Didn't expect that reaction, but that's okay.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The world literally laughs as the president claims extraordinary progress at the United Nations. He chairs a Security Council meeting with Iran the major focus.

BRIGGS: America's dad waking up behind bars. Bill Cosby gets three to ten years for sex assault.

ROMANS: How did you celebrate your 50th birthday? Will Smith decided to face his fear with a bungee jump over the Grand Canyon. That is pretty cool. He's pretty cool.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

BRIGGS: That's how he rolls. I'm Dave Briggs. Yet to celebrate mine. But now the bar has been raised.

Four-thirty-two Eastern Time.

We start with some breaking news overnight. "The USA Today" reports attorneys for Christine Blasey Ford have provided the Senate with signed declarations from four people who say she told them in recent years about Brett Kavanaugh's alleged sexual assault from decades ago.

One declaration is from her husband whose knowledge was already reported. The three new people are coming forward with information saying Ford total them about the alleged incident between 2013 and 2017. No eyewitness accounts, but they speak to knowledge of the incident before those accusations were made public.

ROMANS: So, one of these people say that Ford was especially angry at the light sentence for Brock Turner. That's the USC swimmer that got a six-month term for a sexual assault on an unconscious 22-year-old. Ford is said to have told her friends at a playground while they were watching their kids that she was bothered because she was assaulted years earlier by someone who is now a federal judge in D.C., later naming Kavanaugh in an e-mail sent after Anthony Kennedy retired.

BRIGGS: Now, just over 24 hours until the Senate hearing that could seal Kavanaugh's fate. The vote on his nomination already set before Ford has yet been heard. The Judiciary Committee scheduling the vote for Friday morning at 9:30.

ROMANS: Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley is leaving open the possibility the vote could be further delayed, but the committee's ranking Democrat Dianne Feinstein slammed the speedy vote. First, Republicans demanded Dr. Blasey Ford testify immediately. Now Republicans don't even need to hear her before they move ahead with a vote?

BRIGGS: Committee Republicans announcing that an Arizona sex crimes prosecutor, Rachel Mitchell, will be on hand to ask at least some questions for their side. At least one critical GOP vote appears to be wavering a bit. Alaska Senator Murkowski telling "The New York Times", it's not about whether or not Judge Kavanaugh's qualified. It's about whether or not a woman who has been a victim at some point in her life is to be believed.

And Murkowski later added this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Should there be a full FBI investigation into the allegations of Kavanaugh's past?

SEN. LISA MURKOWSKI (R), ALASKA: Well --

REPORTER: You have --

MURKOWSKI: It would sure clear up all the questions, wouldn't it?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Murkowski also wants the Judiciary Committee to hear from a second Kavanaugh accuser, Debbie Ramirez.

Around the time Murkowski said that on Tuesday, the president forcefully rejected Ramirez's allegations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Now a new charge comes up, and she said, well, it might not be him, there were gaps.

[04:35:00] She said she was totally inebriated. She was all messed up and she doesn't know it was him, but it might have been him. Oh, gee, let's not make him a Supreme Court judge because of that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: A senior Republican Senate aide said those comments were not helpful. A source says Republicans have to tread incredibly lightly to keep moderate GOP senators on board. The president wasn't exactly playing along later when he fired off this tweet -- Democrats are playing a high-level con game. Pray for Brett Kavanaugh and his family.

BRIGGS: President Trump returns to the U.N. today for a series of meetings with world leaders. Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, Shinzo Abe of Japan, and Britain's Theresa May. The president will also chair a Security Council meeting focused on Iran.

On Tuesday, he addressed the U.N. for the second time as president. The president has repeatedly claimed that under previous administrations, the world laughed at the United States. Well, yesterday, it literally happened to Trump's face.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: In less than two years, my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country.

America's -- so true.

(LAUGHTER)

Didn't expect that reaction, but that's okay.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Diplomats in the room said it played out as it sounds there. The rolling laughter as the translations went through, laughing at the ego of the president of the United States.

Mr. Trump went on to push his America-first agenda stressing U.S. sovereignty and insisting the global migration crisis can be solved by making all other countries great again. But the president's main focus on Iran, accusing the regime of sowing chaos, death, and destruction, and he urged other countries to join the U.S. by putting economic pressure on Iran.

Afterward national security adviser John Bolton went even further --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BOLTON, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: The murderous regime and its supporters will face significant consequences if they do not change their behavior. Let my message today be very clear -- we are watching, and we will come after you. If you harm our citizens, if you continue to lie, cheat, and deceive -- yes, there, indeed, be hell to pay. (APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Iran immediately lashed back at the U.S. Here's what President Hassan Rouhani told the U.N.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HASSAN ROUHANI, PRESIDENT OF IRAN (through translator): It is unfortunate that we are witnessing rumors in the world who think they can secure their interests better or at least in the short term ride public sentiments and gain public support through the extremist nationalism and racism and through xenophobic tendencies resembling a Nazi disposition.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: CNN's Fred Pleitgen has reported extensively from Iran. He joins us live with the latest.

Fred, good morning. What's your reaction here?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Dave.

I mean, you saw -- heard those words from President Hassan Rouhani, pretty strong words, talking about a Nazi disposition there. One of the things we've been monitoring is Iranian social media and also reactions from Iran itself. It seems as though if it was President Trump's intention to try and weaken Rouhani, it seems as though he's achieved the exact opposite.

There's an outpouring of support for President Rouhani from Iranians, especially on Iranian social media, which has literally been blowing up with criticism of President Trump, accusing him of being rude and impolite. And we have to keep in mind also, Dave, that this is at a time that President Rouhani in Iran is actually quite an embattled leader. He's had trouble with the Iranian economy ever since the U.S. got really tough on Iran. And also, there's a big problem between the hard-liners and the moderates around Hassan Rouhani.

But now, it appears as though those forces seem to be uniting. It was interesting to hear Hassan Rouhani not only rip into president Trump but essentially also accuse President Trump of character weakness and intellectual weakness, as well, and saying that he wouldn't want a meeting with President Trump because he believes that it would be nothing more than a photo opportunity. So certainly you can see those sparks flying between the two countries there. It seems as though we might see more of that later today, as well, Dave.

BRIGGS: We will. The president we'll hear from 5:00 Eastern Time. Fred, thanks.

ROMANS: House Republicans are planning to subpoena the Justice Department for memos written by former Deputy Director Andrew McCabe. Those memos said to document explosive comments by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein last year. Sources say Rosenstein suggested secretly recording conversations with the president and discussed invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Mr. Trump from office.

BRIGGS: Rosenstein, who oversees the special counsel's Russia investigation, has denied the allegations. He went to the White House Monday expecting to be fired, but that did not happen. Rosenstein is set to meet with the president at the White House on

Thursday.

[04:40:01] Two officials say it would be a mistake to assume he'll be fired at least for now.

The controversy fueling calls from conservative Republicans for Rosenstein to testify before Congress this week.

ROMANS: Bill Cosby sentenced to three to ten years in prison for drugging and sexual assaulting Andrea Constand at his home 14 years ago. The disgraced comedian and actor escorted from the courthouse in handcuffs with his bail revoked.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN STEELE, MONTGOMERY COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: He used his acting skills and endearing TV personality to win over his victims and then keep them silent about what he did to them. So, now, finally, Bill Cosby has been unmasked, and we have seen the real man as he's headed off to prison.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Cosby also ordered to pay a $25,000 fine and the prosecution's expenses as part of his sentence. His lawyers filed an appeal. Cosby's wife Camille was not in the courtroom Tuesday. Her husband's spokesman calling the trial the most racist and sexist in the history of the United States.

ROMANS: Operations are back to normal at Delta Airlines after it was forced to issue a ground stop on all flights for at least an hour. Delta blaming a technology issue. It's always a technology issue.

Flights already in the air were not disrupted. Some air travelers taking to social media to air their frustration. Others offering up compliments to the flight crew. One man thanking the gate agents for bringing donuts to the passengers as they waited on the tarmac.

BRIGGS: Dunkin' Donuts?

ROMANS: Doesn't look like Dunkin. It looks like an airport donut.

BRIGGS: They're in the news only because, you know, donuts has been removed from the name.

ROMANS: No donuts, just Dunkin.

BRIGGS: Yes.

ROMANS: Could the effects of climate change make some national parks disappear? An alarming study that says that's the case.

BRIGGS: And two women are the new voice of Thursday night football. History has been made.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:46:02] ROMANS: Federal Reserve likely raising interest rates today. Investors aren't freaking out just yet. The Fed Chair Jerome Powell speaks today at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The central bank is expected to raise interest rates now for the third time this year and signal that another hike is on the way.

So far, Wall Street is shrugging off higher rates. The Dow and S&P 500 hit all-time highs last week.

So, why does it matter then? Well, higher rates affect borrowing. That should lead to slower corporate growth.

And for consumers, for you, this means higher rates on loans, mortgages, credit cards. But the U.S. economy is strong, thanks largely to all those tax cuts for companies. The economy grew 4.2 percent in the second quarter, the fastest pace in years. While the rate hike is expected, what's not known is how the Fed will deal with risks to economic growth like the escalating trade war, ballooning deficits.

Powell will likely address these issues today as well as a presidential influence. Over the summer, the president criticized the Fed and Powell saying he was, quote, not thrilled that Powell was raising interest rates. But when the economy has been strong, raising interest rates is what you do to make sure that a strong economy doesn't overheat and cause inflation and turning to something dangerous.

BRIGGS: A clash between Powell and Trump ahead.

An alarming new study finds climate change ravaging our national parks. Scientists from U.C. Berkeley and the University of Wisconsin found by the year 2100. California's Joshua Tree National Park could lose 90 percent of its namesake trees. The risk of wildfires in Yellowstone could increase tenfold, transforming the park into scarred grasslands.

ROMANS: Ice sheets in the North are expected to melt and flow into the sea, eventually making glacier national park's name obsolete. Researchers observed data between 1895 and 2010. They concluded temperatures in national parks rose twice as much, and precipitation plunged compared to other parts of the country.

BRIGGS: NFL history about to be made in the broadcast booth. Hannah Storm and Andrea Kremer will be the first all-female NFL broadcast team when they call Thursday night's match-up between the Minnesota Vikings and L.A. Rams. The two veteran sports broadcasters and journalists will be behind the mic for 11 Thursday night games this season that will stream as part of Amazon Prime Video's NFL package. Amazon says viewers will have several audio options for Thursday night football, including the number-one team of Fox, Joe Buck and Troy Aikman.

Congratulations to both of them.

ROMANS: A 9-year-old dachshund who lost part of her skull to cancer has a new one thanks to 3D printing. Researchers at a veterinary college in Canada teamed one Cornell University to remove a tumor on the front of Patches' skull. It was pushing dangerous close to her brain and eye socket. It was so large it started weighing down her head and growing into her skull. Poor thing.

Surgeons replaced the missing piece of her skull with a 3d-printed plate. It is the first procedure of its kind in North America. We're told Patches is recovering and feeling much better. Remarkable.

BRIGGS: Tremendous.

All right. If you're out in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut, yesterday you got drenched. Heavy rain --

ROMANS: Whoa!

BRIGGS: -- across the tri-state. Rising floodwater from Tuesday's heavy rain forced firefighters to rescue more than 100 people from flooded factories in Fairview, New Jersey. More of the same in store for more than 40 million in the Northeast today.

Here's Ivan Cabrera.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN CABRERA, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, guys, morning.

Before we begin to dry out and cool off, another round of showers and storms, the potential even for severe weather as the slow-moving boundary is still on top of us. We had severe weather yesterday across the Ohio valley. It has shifted east.

We're talking anywhere from D.C. to Philly through New York and up into New England. The yellow you see there. That is for low risk, but it's still present, some gusty winds, potential even damaging winds as the line of storms continues to roll through. We'll have that developing, especially through the afternoon. There you see it coming in.

Now, the back side of it, you see the clear air. That is our weather, but it won't be here until late in the week.

[04:50:00] For now, we have more rain that's going to be on the way. Just won't be particularly heavy across the Northeast. It will be further down south.

There's the temperature change. Highs in the 50s and 60s today across the Great Lakes., but we're still in the 70s here. The front then finally makes it through. So, we're talking highs back in the 60s with clearing skies.

Going to be a fantastic weekend with sunshine and low humidity. Never too early to look forward to Saturday and Sunday -- guys.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRIGGS: Ivan, thanks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four, three, two, one --

(CHEERS)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: That is actor Will Smith bungee jumping out of a helicopter into the Grand Canyon to celebrate his 50th birthday. The jump was live streamed Tuesday on Smith's YouTube channel. He described the experience as going from absolute terror to pure bliss. Smith says he made the 1,000-foot leap as a way to overcome a long-held fear and raise awareness and donations for education campaigns by the group global citizens.

We in?

ROMANS: I don't know. The going down and then coming up is what I don't know if I can handle.

BRIGGS: I want no part of bungee jumping.

ROMANS: I jumped out of a plane once. That's good for one time.

BRIGGS: I trust that more. I'm with you.

ROMANS: All right. Nike's summer sales were strong. A hot streak that predates Colin Kaepernick. But guess what? Investors weren't impressed.

More on CNNMoney, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:56:03] BRIGGS: Pope Francis says the Catholic Church is, quote, giving it our all in its fight against sexual abuse. In flight returning from Estonia, the pope told reporters the Pennsylvania grand jury's report showed a marked decrease in the number of priests who abused minors in recent years but added even if one priest abused a boy or girl, that is monstrous.

For more on the Holy Father's remarks, let's bring in Delia Gallagher in Rome.

Delia, good morning. It strikes one as, again, too little, too late. Is it moving us forward?

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, let me tell you, David, the pope had a 55-minute press conference last night in which he managed to avoid journalists' questions on specifics about sexual abuse insisting that he wanted to talk about his trip to the Baltics. The last few minutes he made general comments about sexual abuse which he referenced and his impressions of the Pennsylvania grand jury report which he said showed a decrease in the last seven years of sex abuse cases.

But, of course, that largely misses the point that the Pennsylvania grand jury report and other reports coming out around the world are showing that there is a problem of cover-up and accountability. What happened to those priests on the part of bishops and, indeed, the Vatican.

And those were some of the questions that journalists and others would like answered. So, the larger point of the pope's remarks last night were not about what he said but the fact that he had the opportunity to address a number of specific questions on this pressing issue internationally on sex abuse. And he didn't take that opportunity, David.

BRIGGS: Delia Gallagher live for us in Rome this morning. Thank you.

ROMANS: All right. Let's get a check CNNMoney this morning.

Global stocks mixed today as investors wait on another interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve. The Fed chief, Jerome Powell, speaks today at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The central bank expected to raise rates for now the third time this year.

On Wall Street, the Dow and S&P 500 closed lower. The Trump administration once again talking tough on trade. The top U.S. trade official warning Canada it has until this weekend for NAFTA renegotiations, and time is running out.

If Ottawa does not agree, the U.S. plans to move forward with or without Canada. That's right, a NAFTA without Canada.

Nike's summer sales were strong. A hot streak that predates Colin Kaepernick and that ad campaign. Last quarter, Nike sales grew double digits, profit up double digits, but investors seemed to want more. Nike shares fell 4 percent overnight. They could see a bigger boost this quarter.

These results were before Nike made Colin Kaepernick the face of its "just do it" campaign. The former 49ers quarterback sparked a fire storm when he knelt during the national anthem to protest police brutality. He's not played in the felt in the NFL since 2016. Nike says Kaepernick is a win with younger customers. Nike executives say the campaign prompted record engagement.

Just call it Dunkin, just Dunkin'. Dunkin Donuts is officially dropping donuts from its name. In January, Dunkin Brands will remove donuts from all ads, packages, signs, social media. Dunkin is relabeling itself as a beverage-led company, mainly focusing on coffee.

You're a Dunkin coffee guy, right?

BRIGGS: Oh, yes.

ROMANS: Coffee makes up 60 percent of Dunkin' Donuts' sales.

Dunkin' isn't the only company rebranding itself with a name change. Weight Watchers will be WW, focusing on wellness instead of weight loss.

BRIGGS: Like when you have an old friend get married, they still remain that old name. It's always going to be Dunkin' Donuts to us, but a good rebrand ahead.

All right. EARLY START continues right now with the latest on the Supreme Court confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh.

(MUSIC)

BRIGGS: Breaking news overnight, four people with sworn declarations Christine Blasey Ford told them about the alleged sex assault by Brett Kavanaugh in recent years. A Senate vote on the nomination is set for Friday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Didn't expect that reaction, but that's okay.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The world literally laughs as the president claims extraordinary progress at the United Nations.