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EARLY START

Hurricane Michael Aiming For The Florida Panhandle; President Trump Apologizes To Justice Brett Kavanaugh; Turkey Says Saudis Should Prove Missing Journalist Left Consulate; Limo In Deadly Crash Failed Inspection. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired October 9, 2018 - 05:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:30:23] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RICK SCOTT (R), FLORIDA: This storm will be life-threatening and extremely dangerous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Forecasters say Hurricane Michael is gaining strength as it heads for the Florida Panhandle.

JOE JOHNS, CNN ANCHOR: New York's governor says the stretch limo that crashed, killing 20 people, never should have been on the road.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to apologize to Brett and the entire Kavanaugh family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The president apologizes to Justice Brett Kavanaugh for what the -- what he now called a political hoax.

JOHNS: Justice Kavanaugh joins the Supreme Court today as Republicans hope for a Kavanaugh wave with the midterms now just four weeks ago.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Joe Johns in for Dave Briggs.

ROMANS: Nice to see you this Tuesday morning. I'm Christine Romans. It's 31 minutes past the hour.

Let's begin with the breaking news here on the weather front.

The Florida Panhandle bracing for Hurricane Michael this morning. Currently a category one hurricane, Michael is expected to strengthen to a category three by the time it hits the Panhandle midday Wednesday.

We've got states of emergency declared in both Florida and Alabama, and emergency officials have ordered evacuations in at least 10 counties now -- some mandatory, others voluntary.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott strongly urging people to heed all the warnings.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT: Every family must be prepared -- every family. Remember, we can rebuild your house but we cannot rebuild your life. Take this seriously and keep your family safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Our meteorologist Chad Myers is there for us, live on the scene in the Weather Center. Chad, what is the very latest on Michael here?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, the goods news Christine is that we're not waking up to a category three hurricane yet.

It built in some dry air overnight. You can see this little band of lighter white colors right through there -- that's the dry air -- and that's good news.

We don't really want this thing to be any stronger than 90. That would be an amazing landfall. That would be a near-miss.

I mean, it's still going to be a storm but if this thing continues in the water for 30 more hours, I believe it still certainly has that chance to get to the 120 mark, and that's where the landfall forecast is right now -- 120 miles per hour -- very close to Panama City Beach or maybe toward Apalachicola. We'll have to see.

Hurricane warnings are posted all the way from Cedar Key all the way back over to almost Pensacola, which means you will see hurricane conditions in the next 36 hours in this red zone. It goes all the way to Albany, Georgia because we're not going to lose a lot of intensity after landfall.

Tallahassee, you need to prepare for trees that are going to be falling down. There's just no question about that. This happens every time.

St. Marks, you need to prepare for a storm surge. It could be 12 feet right into your city. I was there for Ivan when it surged into St. Marks right through Bo Lynn's Grocery. And if you've ever been there it's the nicest little town you've ever seen.

But this place here will certainly see that intense surge here, intense wind here, and then flooding rainfall here. So kind of a three-pronged storm as we typically get.

This is the windfall forecast, though. Here's the eyewall of the storm -- Panama City. So everyone here going to see 100-mile-per-hour winds in that eyewall itself.

So this isn't going to be a pinpoint or is it going to be my house or is it going to be five miles down the road. No -- this is going to be 40 miles either way where we'll see these hurricane-force winds absolutely right on shore.

It's the surge that's going to be a problem, though. We will see eight to 10 feet -- maybe even 12 feet of surge there into Apalachicola Bay and that's what we're truly concerned about.

We're taking care of our crews here.

There's not a lot of homes through here but certainly, the little communities that are there are right on the water, likely not more than five feet above ocean. And so if you get a 12-foot surge and your house is only five feet above the ocean, you know it's going to be wet and you need to be out of there.

Water will kill you. The wind can hurt you but the water will kill you in this one, especially with a 12-foot surge, Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Wednesday landfall and we know you'll be watching every moment until then. Thank you so much, Chad Myers.

President Trump apologizing to new Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during a ceremonial swearing-in event at the White House. Every sitting member of the Supreme Court was there in attendance, along with top Senate Republicans.

The president painting Kavanaugh as the victim of a political hoax.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: On behalf of our nation, I want to apologize to Brett and the entire Kavanaugh family for the terrible pain and suffering you have been forced to endure. Those who step forward to serve our country deserve a fair and dignified evaluation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The president also falsely claimed the allegations against Kavanaugh had been disproved.

[05:35:00] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: In our country, a man or a woman must always be presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. And with that, I must state that you, sir, under historic scrutiny, were proven innocent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The president trying to use the confirmation of Judge Kavanaugh as a campaign asset, attacking Democrats as quote "evil people" for what he called their disgraceful treatment of his nominee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: A man that did nothing wrong, a man that was caught up in a hoax that was set up by the Democrats using the Democrats' lawyers, and now they want to impeach him. I've heard this from many people.

I think it's an insult to the American public. And I think you're going to see a lot of things happen on November sixth that would not have happened before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: In a matter of hours, Brett Kavanaugh takes his seat on the Supreme Court for the first time. He says the grueling and often ugly confirmation process tested but did not change him, insisting he will be an independent and impartial justice from day one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRETT KAVANAUGH, ASSOCIATE JUSTICE, U.S. SUPREME COURT: The Senate confirmation process was contentious and emotional. That process is over.

My focus now is to be the best justice I can be. I take this office with gratitude and no bitterness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: Kavanaugh went on to say he hopes to become a force for stability and unity on the Supreme Court.

ROMANS: All right, let's bring in political economist Greg Valliere, chief strategist at Horizon Investments, live in our Washington studio.

Good morning, Greg. So glad to have you this morning. So much going on here.

GREG VALLIERE, POLITICAL ECONOMIST, CHIEF GLOBAL STRATEGIST, HORIZON INVESTMENTS: Yes.

ROMANS: I want to -- I want to listen first to the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and what he thinks of this moment post- Kavanaugh means for the midterms.

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SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: What I think this has done for us is provide the kind of adrenalin shot that we had not been able to figure out how to achieve in any other way. So we see that movement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Do you agree? Will there by what they're calling a 'Brett bounce'? Is this good for the Republicans and can they sustain it for the next 29 days?

VALLIERE: Well, it's good this morning, Christine.

I think that the Republicans have a foil -- it's George Soros and Maxine Waters, and Michael Avenatti -- not that they are the entire Democratic Party, but they do have a foil. And I think that in red districts or purple districts where the Republican base was kind of indifferent they're motivated now, so it makes a difference.

But today is what, October ninth? Who knows what's going to happen between now and Election Day? There could be more wild cards.

JOHNS: And the other thing I think that's very interesting, Greg, is when you look at the Trump poll numbers his approval rating has actually improved --

ROMANS: Five points.

JOHNS: -- right, since we started going through the whole Supreme Court back-and-forth.

Is the kind of thing that is sustainable for this president, again, using Democrats as a foil?

VALLIERE: Well, Christine and I talk often about this economy being so red-hot right now.

ROMANS: Yes.

VALLIERE: Maybe too hot in some regards in terms of interest rates and the dollar. But sure, that helps the president.

You know, I still think the House goes to the Democrats. But this tidal wave of a 40-45 seat gain the Democrats were talking about around Labor Day -- I think it's a high surf warning. Maybe the Democrats pick up 25 or 30. That's enough to take the House but it's not going to be a tidal wave.

ROMANS: Greg --

JOHNS: The Senate -- the Senate out of play, by the way, still. Is that what you're believing? I'm sorry.

ROMANS: That's OK.

VALLIERE: I think the Republicans pick up a seat, maybe even two, in the Senate. Several states like Tennessee and Missouri have moved a point or two toward Republicans since Kavanaugh.

ROMANS: Let me ask you about the president's approval rating because some people are saying this is Kavanaugh -- that's where the bounce is. I think there's a lot of the economy in there.

VALLIERE: Yes.

ROMANS: We saw a number last week -- 1969 is the last time we've had an --

VALLIERE: Yes.

ROMANS: -- unemployment rate this low. How much of it is the economy?

And also, the front page of "The Wall Street Journal" this morning talks about these deepening -- U.S.-China strains deepen. Yet, I think that's working for the president in some cases, isn't it? I mean, there are people --

VALLIERE: Absolutely.

ROMANS: -- on the right and the left who are glad he's being tough on China.

What's your -- what's your sense of why the bounce?

VALLIERE: You know, you go to the Rust Belt, Christine -- you go to Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan. People there like this fight with China. They're not upset about. They want to see the U.S. get tough on China, so I think that's actually helping Trump.

JOHNS: And I guess one of the biggest questions with this president is you're a couple of years out from running and looking back on this, is he actually going to be -- sort of rewrite history in the midterms and keep the margin close?

VALLIERE: Well, I think the key is do we overdo it? I think this president wants a red-hot economy. Right now, we're going at four percent. You can't sustain four percent without interest rates going higher and --

[05:40:00] ROMANS: Right.

VALLIERE: -- without global emerging markets starting to worry.

So I think something --

JOHNS: A moving (ph) economy.

VALLIERE: -- sustainable could work. But yes, I think the economy, right now, is definitely in his favor.

ROMANS: Yes.

Let's talk about -- let's talk about the Senate quickly because there's this -- there's this Web ad that's getting --

JOHNS: Right.

ROMANS: -- a lot of --

VALLIERE: Right.

ROMANS: -- social media attraction this morning.

The director, Richard Linklater, who's in Texas, made a -- did this sort of anti-Ted Cruz social media push that a lot of people are talking about overnight -- listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SONNY CARL DAVIS, ACTOR: Somebody left a note on my door the other day. It said, "Ted Cruz, tough as Texas." (Laughing)

I mean, come on, if somebody called my wife a dog and said my daddy was in on the Kennedy assassination, I wouldn't be kissing their ass. You stick a finger in their chest and give them a few choice words or you drag their ass out by the woodshed and kick their ass, Ted. Come on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Anyway, Richard Linklater is --

JOHNS: That is funny.

ROMANS: -- trending on Twitter this morning --

VALLIERE: Yes.

ROMANS: -- for that. But it just shows you sort of the 2018 environment we have.

You know, we should say "RealClearPolitics" still has -- still has that Senate seat leaning GOP --

VALLIERE: Yes.

ROMANS: -- but I think it's a sign of the times.

VALLIERE: Well, at some point, Texas changes demographically. But in this race, you've got to make Cruz the narrow favorite.

ROMANS: All right.

JOHNS: Right, absolutely. And who's going to remember that, really? I mean, that was a fight between Cruz and the president two years ago, for God's sake.

VALLIERE: Yes, I don't even remember what happened two weeks ago.

(LAUGHTER)

ROMANS: I know. That's why I think that with a month to the midterms --

JOHNS: Yes.

ROMANS: -- anything can happen with a month to the midterms.

VALLIERE: Right.

JOHNS: Yes. All right, thanks.

ROMANS: So, all right. Greg Valliere, so nice to see you this morning. Thank you, sir.

JOHNS: All right.

VALLIERE: All right, you bet.

JOHNS: You got it -- all right.

So, troubling new details about the accident that claimed 20 lives in Upstate New York. What officials now say about the limo that crashed.

ROMANS: And a daring escape caught on video. Watch two guys get out of jail in garbage cans.

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[05:46:06] JOHNS: Turkey's president says it's up to Saudi Arabia to prove its claim that a missing Saudi journalist actually left the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, the last place he was seen.

Jamal Khashoggi is a writer for "The Washington Post." The one-time Saudi royal court insider has become a prominent critic of the government.

Turkish officials say Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate. They claim -- it's a claim the Saudis vehemently deny.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh is standing by live at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Jomana, what's the latest?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Joe, today, CNN has obtained an image from surveillance cameras around the consulate showing that moment when Jamal Khashoggi walked into that building last week at 1:14 local time. This is the last known image of him before he mysteriously disappeared.

Now the fact that he entered the consulate has never been in question. This is something both Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and everyone else seems to confirm that he did visit the consulate.

Of course, as you mentioned, Saudi Arabia has claimed that he left a short time after that and that is why it is the video of him leaving is what Turkish officials are pushing Saudi Arabia to release to really back up their claims that he did, indeed, leave that building.

We know that Turkish officials are working on this investigation around the clock, they say, and they're looking at everything -- video from around the consulate, who entered and who left the consulate, and who came into the country.

One thing, specifically, they're very -- they're really looking at is a group of 15 Saudis who they say entered the country that day. They were inside the building at the same time and they left. And it included a number of officials.

Right now, Turkey has put the ball in the court of Saudi Arabia to prove that Jamal Khashoggi did leave the consulate, Joe. JOHNS: OK, thanks for being there for us. Jomana Karadsheh in Istanbul.

ROMANS: All right.

In New York, the limousine involved in the deadliest U.S. transportation accident in almost a decade should not have been on the road. According to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the modified vehicle was inspected by the state last month and failed. Its driver was not properly licensed.

Twenty people died in the disaster, 17 of them birthday party guests.

The town most of them called home now reeling from the shock.

Our Miguel Marquez has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine, Joe, this is an accident that has just punched a hole through the heart of this community in Upstate New York. This is a small town. The people who died -- a nurse, a teacher, a coach, people who worked with the intellectually and developmentally disabled.

Overnight there was a vigil -- a massive -- thousands of people showing up to this. One of the people who spoke was a congressman who represents this area.

REP. PAUL TONKO (D), NEW YORK: I've always known it to be a loving community. As I gather with you this evening, I see it manifested in a very powerful expression.

Look at the bridge filled with people, the walkways filled with people. And family members, know your loved ones are loved by their community.

MARQUEZ: The investigation into this horrific accident is ongoing and it is an intense investigation. Specifically, they are looking at that 2001 Ford Excursion. It was modified -- chopped in half, stretched out. It had gone through an inspection just about a month ago and it did not pass that inspection, say officials.

The driver was supposed to have a commercial driver's license. He didn't have that either.

They have been in contact with the owner, who is in Pakistan at the moment, but the company is cooperating with investigators. They have seized several of the vehicles from the company. They've also issued a cease and desist order, so the company will not be operating pending this investigation.

[05:50:13] But right now, this little town of Amsterdam, New York is just really trying to come to terms with this grief that they are experiencing right now. It has just shattered this community -- Joe, Christine. (END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS: Miguel Marquez there. Thanks for that.

Two inmates who escaped over the weekend from a Kentucky jail are now back in custody.

Take a look at this surveillance video of Justin Stumler and Jeremy Hunt escaping Saturday night by hiding in garbage cans that fellow inmates rolled outside for pick-up. You can see the two men popping out of the bins.

Stumler was apprehended Monday morning thanks to a police tip. Hunt was caught by authorities a few days later after pursuit.

ROMANS: All right, let's get a check on "CNN Business" this morning.

Global stocks mostly lower today. There was a sell-off in China that sparked concerns about slowing global growth. Beijing had to inject cash into its struggling economy to spur growth as it faces a trade war with the U.S.

It was a mixed day on Wall Street. The Dow rose a little bit. The S&P and the Nasdaq fell.

It's the third-straight down day for the Nasdaq -- two reasons. The possibility of slower growth hurts risky stocks like tech and their rising bond yields. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury hit a 7-year high Friday.

The bond market was closed yesterday for Columbus Day.

Netflix is buying its first production studio, expanding its media empire to New Mexico. The streaming giant will buy ABQ Studios in Albuquerque. Netflix already films some of its series in New Mexico, like the western "GODLESS," but it plans to film at least three more in the state.

Netflix is framing this as good for New Mexico, bringing $1 billion in spending and 1,000 jobs per year. But, Netflix is also getting $14 million in local tax breaks and incentives.

Netflix ramping up production of its original content. It's going to spend $13 billion this year alone.

Facebook wants to put a camera in your house, but will consumers trust Facebook always listening in? Facebook releasing its first-ever hardware -- a camera and a smart speaker called Portal.

Portal is built specifically for video calls. It's able to zoom in on a person's face and follow them as they move around the room.

It's a bold move for a company facing privacy concerns, but Facebook knows this and says privacy is built into quote, "every layer" including a plastic cover that slides over the camera.

I'm not ready.

JOHNS: No, me neither. Facetime -- I'm good enough with that.

President Trump takes aim at Taylor Swift. That's coming up, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:57:20] JOHNS: Taylor Swift shaking off some comments from President Trump. Here's the president one day after Swift called on her fans to vote for Phil Bredesen over Republican Congressman (sic) Marsha Blackburn.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Marsha Blackburn is doing a very good job in Tennessee. She's leading now substantially, which she should. She's a tremendous woman.

I'm sure Taylor Swift has nothing -- or doesn't know anything about her. And let's say that I like Taylor's music about 25 percent less now, OK?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: Swift also endorsed Democratic Congressman Jim Cooper, who is running for reelection to the House of Representatives.

Late-show hosts mining Brett Kavanaugh's swearing-in for comedy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY FALLON, NBC HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON": On Saturday night, Brett Kavanaugh was sworn in as Supreme Court justice. He said it was a night he'll never forget because he wrote it on the weird calendar he'll keep for 30 years -- let's see, 1989.

TRUMP: I want to thank the FBI. I thought the FBI was incredible. They worked hard and they worked really fast.

And I hear the report was really a detailed, thorough, professional report. So I want to thank them.

JIMMY KIMMEL, ABC HOST, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!": Is this the same FBI that's doing the witch hunt right now? I thought they there -- oh, never mind. Nothing means anything anymore.

Stormy Daniels has been on the road promoting her book and you'll never guess who she ran into at the airport last night. She tweeted, "Michael Cohen just said hi to me in the airport. I meant to take a flight to New York but I think I just landed on Mars."

That's right. The president's former lawyer Michael Cohen ran into Stormy Daniels at the airport. Just out of habit he wrote her a check for $130,000.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ROMANS: All right, that's in case you missed it last night.

Thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.

JOHNS: And I'm Joe Johns. "NEW DAY" starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT: This storm will be life-threatening and extremely dangerous.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is looking to make landfall on the Panhandle as a category three.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is supposed to be really bad. I'm not looking forward to it.

TRUMP: I want to apologize to Brett. You, sir, under historic scrutiny, were proven innocent.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Of course, he has not been proven innocent.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This has sent a very clear message to women that we're not taking you seriously.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's raising enthusiasm on both sides. This is dividing the country. Where is this going to go?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is NEW DAY. It is Tuesday, October ninth, 6:00 here in New York.

And we do start with very stormy weather because the Gulf Coast and the southeast U.S. are bracing for Hurricane Michael. Forecasters say the storm will strengthen to a category three hurricane before making landfall in the Florida Panhandle sometime tomorrow.