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EARLY START

Trump Versus Roberts; Will the Balloons Fly?; Parents Drop Baby From Window During Inferno; Lakers Win in LeBron's Return to Cleveland. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired November 22, 2018 - 05:00   ET

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


[05:00:15] KAYLEE HARTUNG, CNN ANCHOR: The public battle you never thought you'd see is playing out on Thanksgiving. A public war of words between the commander-in-chief and the chief justice.

DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: A Thanksgiving freeze taking over the Northeast. Wind chills in the single digits. Is this enough to ground the balloons in the Macy's parade?

HARTUNG: And heart pumping survival in Dallas. A fire engulfs the building forcing people to escape through windows, including a one- year-old dropped into a stranger's arm below.

Good morning. And welcome to a special Thanksgiving edition of EARLY START. I'm Kaylee Hartung.

Among the things we're thankful for today, for most of our crew, an extra hour of sleep.

BRIGGS: Oh, yes, it was extra. Hour late we are.

I'm Dave Briggs. Good morning, Kaylee. Good morning to all of you.

It's Thanksgiving Day, November 22nd, 5:00 a.m. in the East. It feels like 6 degrees outside. We'll check in on the parade in a moment.

We start, of course, with politicians. One thing we can be sure President Trump is not thankful for this year, the federal court system. And that has led to a remarkable back and forth with Chief Justice Roberts.

It started Tuesday after a federal judge in California rejected a new administration move on asylum claims.

HARTUNG: The ruling temporarily blocks the president's plan denying asylum to those crossing the border illegally. The frustrated president slammed the judiciary. Yesterday, Chief Justice Roberts reprimanded him and now President Trump is counter-punching, as he's been known to do.

Senior White House correspondent Jeff Zeleny is traveling with the president for the holiday. He has more from balmy West Palm Beach.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Dave and Kaylee, President Trump will be waking up again in Mar-a-Lago in this Thanksgiving Day, after spending Wednesday here in South Florida, in an unprecedented and unseemly fight with the chief justice of the Supreme Court. Now, it comes after the president was criticizing a federal appeals court judge in California for temporarily blocking the president's asylum order.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They file in the Ninth Circuit. This was an Obama judge. I tell you what, it's not going to happen like this anymore. Everybody that wants to sue the United States, they file their case in almost, they file their case in the Ninth Circuit. And it means an automatic loss, no matter what you do.

ZELENY: That, of course, led to Supreme Court chief justice to do something he rarely does, weighing in on a political matter. He issued a rare statement saying there are no Obama judges. There are no Bush judges. No Clinton judges. There is simply an independent members of the judiciary.

Well, the president remarked back on Twitter saying yes, there are indeed Obama judges. And then he brought the judiciary into the ongoing fight with the border. So, it's unclear if the president is keeping that fight up today as he celebrates Thanksgiving at Mar-a- Lago. But certainly, an unusual fight to pick with the Supreme Court chief justice.

Now, the president has had words before with John Roberts. That was before, though, he took office, but never have we seen something like this. The president of the United States and the chief justice of the Supreme Court back in a back-and-forth. No word if John Roberts is going to reply to the president. We asked the Supreme Court last evening about that and did not hear back. That would be unusual in and of itself -- Dave and Kaylee.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRIGGS: All right. Jeff, thank you.

After the set back in court, the Trump administration is preparing to implement sweeping new measures, forcing asylum seekers to wait in Mexico, while their cases are processed. "The Washington Post" reports the new rules that would take effect as soon as tomorrow, according to a Department of Homeland Security memo. Current rules generally allow asylum seekers to enter the U.S. as long as they establish a fear of a return to their home country. Many of the thousands of migrants making their way to the U.S. say they are fleeing gang violence, persecution and poverty.

HARTUNG: The 92nd Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade is set to begin in hours here in New York. And as is tradition, the giant balloons are slowly inflated the night before the parade. This morning, though, with record-breaking cold and strong winds in the forecast, the big question is, will the stars of the parade actually fly?

BRIGGS: We will check in with Miguel Marquez shortly, but perhaps the cold broke up our camera feed because as I mentioned, it is 6 degrees in terms of how it feels out there. We'll check in with Miguel in a bit to see if those balloons are going to fly.

But let's check out the forecast now with our meteorologist Derek Van Dam.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Kaylee and Dave. And happy Thanksgiving to you and all of our viewers.

Of course, the big story, the bitterly cold temperatures impacting the Northeast. You'll have to bundle up to step outside this morning. Twenty-plus record low temperatures being set just this morning alone.

[05:05:03] And that continues into tomorrow morning as well, with another 20 or more record low temperatures. And you factor in the wind and it gets extremely cold outside.

Of course, that impacts the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. We are monitoring those conditions very closely. The good news is there is light at the end of the tunnel. Winds relax and temperatures slowly start to rebound.

But we have to get over two bitterly cold morning temperatures where wind chill values remain in single digits for the most part. Now, actual high temperature is 27 degrees for the Big Apple, 39 for Chicago, the nation's capital is 35, a balmy 60 for Atlanta.

Look at the temperatures warm up into Saturday and Sunday for New York City, with a bit of rain by Saturday afternoon.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRIGGS: All right. Derek, happy Thanksgiving, my friend.

A government report on the human impact of climate change report will be published tomorrow on Black Friday. It was long scheduled for release in December, prompting speculation it is buried on a day few people are paying attention. The report is a follow up to an assessment last November concluding there is no convincing alternative explanation for the changing climate other than human activities.

And what might be the most oversimplified remark, President Trump confused climate with weather again with a tweet. Quote: Brutal cold blast should shatter records. Whatever happened to global warming?

HARTUNG: Rudy Giuliani says special counsel Robert Mueller is not done seeking answers from President Trump. The president's attorney tells CNN Mueller could still ask Mr. Trump for more questions on obstruction of justice, but Giuliani signaled the president's legal team will fight any questions they believe violate executive privilege. On Tuesday, the president submitted written responses to the special

counsel's office, relating to possible collusion with the Russians during the campaign and transition. Giuliani says the president's lawyers are willing to answer follow-up questions from Mueller's team.

BRIGGS: A scary moment for nearly 300 holiday travelers aboard an Amtrak train last night. It was headed from Montreal to New York, when two cars broke away from the rest of the train as it was moving. One passenger said he saw it happened from his seat in another car. He said another passenger in the car yanked the emergency brake.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILLY OSHER-DUGAN, PASSENGER: We were at the front where the cars separated. We saw the sparks in the front by the entry where you walk between the cars. All this noise and then we slowed down and the rocks started flying in. We finally slowed down to the point where we stopped. We were not sure what was going on. It was a little scary. Overall, everyone was calm.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Apparently, no one was hurt. Passengers were put on another train and arrived in New York overnight. Amtrak is investigating what went wrong.

HARTUNG: More than 40 people in Dallas are without a home for Thanksgiving, but they are lucky to be alive after their apartment building caught fire. The halls of the building were already engulfed in flames. One mother and father had to break the window and drop their 1-year-old baby out the window and into the arms of a man below.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHUNTARA THOMAS, FIRE SURVIVOR: She is only one. To know she still gets to live another day is just -- words can't even describe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Baby Kirsten is doing well. Her dad got 22 snitches. A total of three people were injured, include a firefighter who suffered burns. They were all expected to be okay.

HARTUNG: And authorities in New Jersey say a family of four found dead at their burned mansion had been killed before the home was set on fire. His body was found Tuesday in front of the home had been shot. The burned bodies of the homeowner's wife and children were found inside.

BRIGGS: While police investigated their deaths, authorities have charged his brother with arson, that is for another fire he said his own home 11 miles away. Authorities say he torched the house while his wife and two daughters were inside. No one thankfully was hurt. Paul's attorney says he is innocent of the arson charges and any potential that maybe filed. HARTUNG: Authorities say the number of people unaccounted for in the

Camp Fire has fallen to 563. That's a drop of more than 300 from Tuesday. On this Thanksgiving holiday, a team of nearly 1,000 people will continue searching for people. The Camp Fire in Northern California has burned more than 150,000 acres. It's 85 percent contained, 83 people have died.

BRIGGS: Butte County plans to reopen schools on December 3rd. Many classes will be moved to different buildings and locations. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, was raised in Chico, will donate $1 million to the Camp Fire relief efforts.

All right. Let's go outside to the bone-chilling cold where Miguel Marquez is awaiting the 92nd Macy's Day parade.

Happy Thanksgiving, Miguel.

[05:10:01] MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Happy Thanksgiving. Look, sorry about that earlier. I was having turkey earlier.

BRIGGS: It happens.

MARQUEZ: This is where all of the floats are. It is cold out. But, look, New Yorkers are a hardy bunch. I think it's going to be just fine.

The old knee tells me the balloons are going to go. On the floats, everybody from the Barenaked Ladies, John Legend, and I may not make it through today, Diana Ross and her entire family. These are the balloons.

There's 43 of those smaller ones, like you see the Macy's balloons, and then 16 character balloons. There are four new ones this year. Those are the ones.

If the winds get over 23 miles an hour, if they gust over 34, then they may have issued and they will have to ground the balloons. But I'm telling you, the knee never fails me. I think the weather is going to be just fine and it will go off without a hitch. It will be a great day.

This is the parade route. We walked ten blocks to get here. People already lining the route and waiting with their breakfast on their laps. I don't know how they are going to last for the next several hours until this parade kicks off.

Back to you, guys.

BRIGGS: Well, you're going to have to do it. So, we assume we'll get you a hat or cover up those ears, my friend.

Thank you, Miguel Marquez.

I think that was the paw patrol chase float coming up, right?

HARTUNG: You would know that better than I.

BRIGGS: I'm a big paw patrol fan. I think that's he was making an appearance there.

HARTUNG: Well, now, flash the cash and get away with murder? The publisher of "The Washington Post" with the stinging critique of the president's response to Jamal Khashoggi murder. Saudis now are responding. We have a live report, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:15:54] BRIGGS: Five-fifteen eastern time.

A powerful response from "The Washington Post" after the president gave Saudi Arabia what amounts to a pass on the murder of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The paper's publisher and CEO Fred Ryan writing on the opinion page, quote, a clear and dangerous messages has been sent to tyrants around the world, flash enough money in front of the United States and you could literally get away with murder.

Now, a day after Mr. Trump said maybe Crown Prince Mohammed was involved and maybe he wasn't, the top Saudi official is using the president's cover to shield the crown prince.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh live for us in Istanbul this morning.

Jomana, good morning.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Dave.

It was expected that the Saudis are going to be pleased with the president's statement. That it would come as a relief after all of the pressure they have been under when it comes to this case. But not only are they pleased with that, but they are using this basically to back up their claims that the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had nothing to do with the killing of Jamal Khashoggi and to support their narrative that so many people around the world have been skeptical about that this was a rogue operation, that it was not government sanctioned.

In an interview with CBS News, the Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir was asked specifically about the CIA report. And what he said was what we heard is the president say the CIA report is not what people say it is. And we have to go by this. He said if anyone has any evidence, they should provide it to the Saudi prosecutor and it will go to Saudi courts. Dismissing the idea they will ever accept an international investigation or anyone questioning the crown prince.

This is coming at the same time we hear the rising calling from Turkey for an international investigation. The foreign minister just a short time ago meeting with the foreign policy chief of the European Union, also saying again that the time has come now for international investigation.

This is after the Turkish government has really been frustrated with the lack of cooperation from the Saudis saying they are incapable of a transparent and credible investigation, Dave.

BRIGGS: Yes. We should note the president also thanking Saudi Arabia yesterday for lower oil prices.

Jomana Karadsheh live for us in Istanbul -- thank you.

HARTUNG: Well, Facebook's outgoing head of communications is taking the blame for working with the PR firm which spread opposition research about Facebook's critics. Elliot Schrage wrote in an internal memo on Tuesday: responsibility for these decisions rest with leadership of the communications team, that's me. This move could be interpreted as a way of saving Chief Operations Officer Sheryl Sandberg, as questions linger about how she was involved.

BRIGGS: And "The New York Times" reported last week, Facebook hired the Definers public affairs firm that Sandberg played a central role. Sandberg admitted Wednesday she has received e-mails about Definers after saying last week she did not know Facebook hired the firm.

Coming up, LeBron James feeling the love as he returns to Cleveland for the first time as a Laker. Andy Scholes has more in the "Bleacher Report."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:23:35] BRIGGS: LeBron returned home to Ohio to face the Cavs for the first time as a Laker.

HARTUNG: Andy Scholes has more in this morning's "Bleacher Report."

Andy, I want to bed before that game tipped off. What did I miss?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: You missed LeBron getting a warm welcome this time around coming back to Ohio. Remember last time back in 2010 when LeBron returned? I mean, he was enemy number one. The fans just let him have it back then.

Fast forward seven years later and one championship for the city, it was much a different. LeBron getting a big ovation. They played a tribute video for him highlighting everything he has done on and off the court. LeBron ended up scoring 32 points in this game, leading the Lakers to a 109-105 win.

Now, before heading to the arena for the game, LeBron said his day started off great because he got to spend it with the kids at his I Promise School in his hometown of Akron.

All right. Of course, we got football today since it is Thanksgiving. We've got big-time golf tomorrow, Tiger versus Phil. Our own Hines Ward got a chance to sit down before both of them at the match.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HINES WARD, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: I love the shade you are throwing back and forth. Phil, you came out with the classic material saying they won't go the distance. You would take it on the 17th hole. Tiger, what are your feelings about Phil's prediction?

TIGER WOODS, GOLF LEGEND: He's right. We won't get that far. I'll beat him before that.

(LAUGHTER)

[05:25:01] WARD: It's going to end before, right?

WOODS: I'm sorry.

PHIL MICKELSON, GOLF LEGEND: You know, Tiger is an underrated smack talker, OK? He doesn't get the credit for his smack talk because he does it so understated and he does it under his breath so nobody else can hear other than you. He does a great job of that.

But this match, he's going to be mic'd. And that funny side is going to come out.

WARD: To me it is like Ali/Fraser. What is the mind set coming into the match play?

WOOD: To win.

MICKELSON: For me, it's a little more than that. I obviously -- I want to win. It has been decades of him getting the best of me. It is the opportunity for me to get the better of him in this one little moment.

SCHOLES: All right. Tiger is a 2 to 1 to win the match. You can watch it on the "Bleacher Report" app. You can order it on pay-per- view. Guys, a $9 million winner take all prize is on the line. Phil joked that is just enough for those two guys to make it uncomfortable. It takes $9 million.

HARTUNG: Of course, the side bets, too. Phil saying he baited Tiger in the $200,000 prize if he birdies the first hole. Love it.

BRIGGS: The side bets and mic'ed up aspect. That will be a lot of fun.

All right. Thanks, Andy. Happy Thanksgiving, my friend.

SCHOLES: You too, guys.

BRIGGS: All right.

HARTUNG: Coming up here on EARLY START, Chief Justice Roberts rebukes President Trump after comments criticizing a judge. And the counter- puncher in chief did not let it slide.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)