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EARLY START

President Trump Mulls Declaring A National Emergency As Government Shutdown Enters 16th Day; National Security Adviser Bolton Signals Pause In U.S. Withdrawal From Syria; Bohemian Rhapsody Surprise Winner At Golden Globes; Suspects Under Arrest In 7-Year- Old's Death; U.S. Trade Negotiators In China To Make Trade Deal As Clock Ticks Down. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired January 7, 2019 - 05:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:31:06] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I may declare a national emergency, dependent on what's going to happen over the next few days.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump weighing whether to use emergency powers to fund a border wall. The shutdown entering its third week with talks making no headway.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: National Security Adviser John Bolton contradicting the president, rolling back his decision to rapidly withdraw U.S. troops from Syria. The new conditions he lays out.

BRIGGS: After a weeklong search that gripped the nation, two men in custody connected to the murder of 7-year-old Jazmine Barnes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICOLE KIDMAN, ACTRESS, GOLDEN GLOBES PRESENTER: "Bohemian Rhapsody."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: A night of major upsets at the Golden Globes. We have all the highlights while you were sleeping. They looked famous and good.

BRIGGS: They looked glorious. Described as a lighthearted Hollywood celebration by the "Times."

ROMANS: And not a lot of politics. Not a lot about politics.

BRIGGS: And no politics.

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

BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. Thirty-one minutes after the hour. Happy Monday. The federal government shutdown entering its third week with no major progress. After three straight days of meetings over the weekend, the president's border wall still a barrier to a deal.

On Sunday, the White House laid out budget requests, which include $5.7 billion for what they're now calling a steel barrier, and $800 million to address urgent humanitarian needs.

Acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney admitting President Trump took his concrete wall off the table during talks with Democratic leaders Friday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICK MULVANEY, ACTING WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: Call it a wall, call it a fence. The president actually said he didn't care what you call it. He even offered to let the Democrats help him design something. He says as long as it's effective he doesn't care what you call it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The president now weighing whether to declare a national emergency at the border to fulfill his signature 2016 campaign pledge. Now, that idea -- a border emergency, facing some swift pushback from Democrats.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA), CHAIRMAN, HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Look, if Harry Truman couldn't nationalize the steel industry during wartime, this president doesn't have the power to declare an emergency and build a multibillion-dollar wall on the border. So that's a non- starter.

REP. ADAM SMITH (D-WASHINGTON 9TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT, CHAIRMAN, ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: Well, unfortunately, the short answer is yes, there is a provision in law that says the president can declare an emergency. And in this case, I think the president would be wide open to a court challenge saying where's the emergency?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the House will begin passing spending bills this week to reopen parts of the government. The first measure, funding the Treasury Department and the IRS so Americans can get their tax refunds on time. There is zero sign the Senate will take up those measures or the White House would support them.

White House correspondent Boris Sanchez has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Dave, as we've seen during other meetings between top administration officials and lawmakers, we're hearing two different sides as to what happened during these negotiations to reopen the federal government and potentially, fund some sort of barrier between the United States and Mexico.

President Trump, on one hand, tweeting out that this was a productive meeting on Sunday afternoon. People inside the room, though, are giving different accounts. According to sources, this meeting was not very productive.

One Democratic source explaining that Republicans presented to Democrats a specific outline and official justification for spending $5.7 billion on the president's long-promised border wall. That Democratic source feeling that the Republican presentation was incomplete, in their words.

On the other hand, Democrats have continued to maintain that they believe the federal government should first, be reopened before any talks about funding -- any sort of barrier could take place.

In the meantime, President Trump has continued referencing this potential drastic option of declaring a national emergency to secure funding for his border wall. The president talked about it on Sunday when he returned from a retreat at Camp David. I asked him what his thoughts on that were. Here is his justification.

[05:35:00] TRUMP: Well, we're looking at a national emergency because we have a national emergency. Just read the papers.

We have a crisis at the border of drugs, of human beings being trafficked all over the world. They're coming through. And we have an absolute crisis -- and of criminals and gang members coming through.

It is national security. It's a national emergency.

SANCHEZ: The president didn't really answer when asked if he had a specific deadline or something that he specifically had to see during these talks that would then trigger that drastic option -- ultimately, saying that we'd have to wait and see. That they'll get back to us soon.

The president also making waves with a bit of news about the actual material that the barrier is going to be made out of. The president moving from the concrete wall that he demanded just a few days ago on Twitter, now saying that he believes the barrier should be made out of steel because it would boost American business, not cause any obstructions, and potentially, be stronger than a concrete barrier.

The president also saying that it's partly because Democrats don't like concrete, Dave and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRIGGS: Boris, thanks. Two thousand eighteen when concrete was politicized.

Joining us this morning to discuss all of this, Princeton professor and historian Julian Zelizer. And he's the author of the brand new book "Fault Lines -- out this week -- A History of the United States Since 1974." Also, a CNN political analyst.

ROMANS: Good morning.

BRIGGS: Good to see you, sir.

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, HISTORIAN AND PROFESSOR, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY, AUTHOR, "FAULT LINES: A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES SINCE 1974": Good morning. How are you?

BRIGGS: Is there a national emergency, can he do it, and what do you make of the silence of congressional Republicans on this one?

ZELIZER: There's not a national emergency. This is an extension of the caravan -- a constructed emergency. It's manufactured.

He can do it. I think there's more room to use executive power and emergency power than some Democrats think. It can be challenged but I do think there's space for him to use it.

Senate Republicans, once again, are silent. By silence, they are complicit in the shutdown because if they wanted, they could vote for a bill with the numbers to override the president, and they're not. This is a decision they're making.

ROMANS: So he's forcing this border wall -- talking about a national emergency -- being able to fund it himself if he needs to. And he says that the people who are out of -- who are working and not being paid or are furloughed right now -- that they're with him -- that they understand him.

And he relates to the fact that they're not getting a paycheck. This will be the first week that they're not going to get their government paycheck.

Listen to what the president said Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I can relate and I'm sure that the people that are on the receiving end will make adjustments -- they always do -- and they will make adjustments. People understand exactly what's going on. But many of those people that won't be receiving a paycheck -- many of those people agree 100 percent with what I'm doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: There's just this glaring, flashing irony here that the people at the airports are not getting a paycheck. They protect us from the bad guys who are trying to get in.

And the people at the border are not going to get a paycheck and they're also protecting us from the bad guys trying to get in. But the president says he feels their pain and they're with him. ZELIZER: No, that's exactly right. He's not actually funding what is necessary to protect us and demanding a wall instead. And I think there's a lack of sympathy, both for the government workers who don't get their paychecks --

ROMANS: He tried to frame it as a strike at some point over the weekend, too.

ZELIZER: Right.

ROMANS: We want to talk about striking federal workers.

BRIGGS: That's new language.

ZELIZER: But they're not on strike. They're actually working and they're not going to get paid, and for the people who depend on these government services. But that lack of sympathy is problematic because it makes him refrain from negotiating. There's at some level a part of him that just doesn't care.

And so, if you're a Democrat, it's hard to flip someone if that's their perspective.

ROMANS: Historically, isn't the party that pushes the shutdown is the party that pays for it in the end. Is that right?

ZELIZER: Yes -- no, absolutely. That's what happened to Republicans in 1996 and that's why Gingrich conceded.

But he doesn't care about majority public opinions. They have a very different dynamic.

ROMANS: Yes.

BRIGGS: He's worried about the base.

ZELIZER: The public isn't with him --

ROMANS: Yes.

ZELIZER: -- but he just cares about the base.

BRIGGS: It's just looking like a semantic debate, which we hopefully can get away from.

But meanwhile, some continued fallout over the decision to withdraw from Syria. We know Jim Mattis, of course, stepped aside. The entire national security apparatus was upset by the president's decision.

And again, Trump said on December 19th on Twitter, "Our boys, our young women, our men, they are coming back and they are coming now."

Well, here's what his national security adviser -- his own NSA said in Jerusalem alongside Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOHN BOLTON, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: We're going to be discussing the president's decision to withdraw, but to do so from northeast Syria in a way that makes sure that ISIS is defeated and is not able to revive itself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: And the Kurds would be protected, insinuating it could take months, even years, directly contradicting what the president said.

Should American people be terrified at the decision-making with national security decisions or should they be, as Lindsey Graham said, happy -- applaud the president for reevaluating his decision?

[05:40:04] ZELIZER: No, because it's OK to reevaluate decisions -- that is good. But he didn't do it in a really smart manner, meaning he didn't talk to his advisers, he didn't talk to our allies. He just unilaterally said --

BRIGGS: He talked to Recep Erdogan.

ZELIZER: And now he's reversing himself, so that's not really strong foreign policy. He's not even going to stick with what he just said a few weeks ago after creating this kind of mess. That's not sound policymaking from the President of the United States.

ROMANS: All right, Julian Zelizer. Nice to see you. The book's called "Fault Lines." Can't wait to read it.

ZELIZER: Thank you.

ROMANS: Thank you. Nice to see you.

All right, while you were sleeping, "Bohemian Rhapsody" -- the surprise champion -- upsetting "A Star Is Born" for best drama at the Golden Globes last night. And, Actor Rami Malek scored best actor honors for his portrayal of Queen's front man.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAMI MALEK, ACTOR, "BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY": Thank you to Freddie Mercury for giving me the joy of a lifetime. I love you, you beautiful man. This is for and because of you, gorgeous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: "Green Book" won three Globes, the most of any movie -- best musical or comedy among the trophies for the road trip movie about the unlikely friendship between African-American pianist Dr. Don Shirley and his Italian-American driver.

Best actress in a drama -- Glenn Close earned a standing ovation for her tearful speech urging women to follow their dreams.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GLENN CLOSE, ACTRESS, "THE WIFE": We have to say I can do that and I should be allowed to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Best supporting actress winner Regina King vowing that her upcoming projects will be 50 percent female and she challenged others to follow her lead.

"A Star Is Born" took home one Globe. This surprised Dave Briggs. Lady Gaga winning for best original song, "Shallow."

BRIGGS: A great film -- good song.

Other big winners included best director Alfonso Cuaron and best foreign language film for his latest project, "Roma."

Christian Bale, best performance by an actor in a motion picture, musical or comedy for playing Dick Cheney in "Vice." And, Bail credited Satan as the inspiration for his performance.

Olivia Colman, best performance by an actress in a motion picture, musical or comedy for "The Favourite."

"The Americans" picked up best T.V. drama honors for its final season. And, "The Kominsky Method" took home best T.V. series musical or comedy prize.

ROMANS: There -- so if you couldn't stay up, now you know.

BRIGGS: We got you.

ROMANS: One of the men suspected in the shooting death of 7-year-old Jazmine Barnes is set to be charged with capital murder this morning. How police tracked him down after a weeklong search.

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[05:45:50] BRIGGS: Five forty-five eastern time.

And two suspects in the murder of 7-year-old Jazmine Barnes now under arrest. The "Houston Chronicle" reporting Larry Woodruff is being held on drug possession charges but has not been charged in Jazmine's death. The other, Eric Black, Jr., set to be formally charged today with capital murder.

Meantime, services for Jazmine scheduled for tomorrow.

CNN's Kaylee Hartung has the extraordinary details of how police tracked down that second suspect.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAYLEE HARTUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Dave, Christine, authorities say Jazmine Barnes' death is very likely a case of mistaken identity. That when a gunman opened fire on the car she was in, he believed somebody else to be inside.

We're told this investigation unraveled very quickly on Friday. Authorities had received a tip by way of activist Shaun King.

They then pulled Eric Black, Jr. over at a traffic stop and brought him in on a possession of marijuana charge. And once he started talking, he eventually confessed to being the driver of the car in which another man sat in the passenger seat and pulled the trigger on the gun that shot and killed Jazmine Barnes.

When it comes to the discrepancy between that composite sketch of a white man in his 30s or 40s that investigators were looking for for the past week, compare that to black -- being a black 20-year-old man. Well, authorities say there's nothing nefarious about the description they believe Jazmine Barnes' family gave, but that when they were caught up in the chaos of the moment, the white man in that red pickup truck was very likely the last thing they saw.

He is not a person of interest. They believe he is a witness and they do hope that he comes forward to discuss what he may have seen last Sunday morning -- Dave, Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right, Kaylee, in Houston -- thank you.

Kevin Spacey is expected to plead not guilty at his arraignment in a Nantucket, Massachusetts court this morning. Spacey charged with indecent assault and battery charges stemming from an incident at a restaurant involving an 18-year-old busboy.

Spacey's lawyers sought permission for him to skip that hearing but the judge ordered the 59-year-old actor to appear in person.

The accuser and his mother have said they do not plan to be there.

BRIGGS: Officials say flu is spreading faster with months left to go in the season. Numbers released Friday by the CDC show 19 states have high levels of flu activity. That's twice as many states as a week earlier, mostly in the southern part of the country.

The number of children who have died also rose. Two more reported in the week ending December 29th, bringing the total to the season to 13.

This year's flu H1N1, also known as swine flu, which tends to affect more children and adults under 50.

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

Markets around the world are mixed ahead of a new round of trade talks between the U.S. and China. You can see Asian stocks closed higher. European stocks opened slightly lower.

And on Wall Street, futures are essentially mixed here. I would almost call this unchanged -- barely moving.

You know, it was a really powerful rally, though, on Friday. The Dow closed up 747 points. That's 3.3 percent, the fourth-biggest point increase ever. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both up sharply as well. The U.S. economy added a much better than expected 312,000 jobs in December. And for the year, it was the best year for job growth in about four years.

The unemployment rate did tick up to 3.9 percent but that's because more than 400,000 people came into the labor force looking for work.

This week, investors may find more clues on the Fed's thinking. On Wednesday, the central bank releases minutes from last month's meeting.

All right, Americans may find themselves missing an agency they usually love to hate if this shutdown persists -- the Internal Revenue Service -- the IRS. The country's tax collector is among the federal agencies affected by the government shutdown now entering its 17th day.

During a shutdown, the IRS typically does not perform audits, it does not pay refunds. It does not offer assistance to taxpayers if they have questions, especially outside the filing system.

The agency currently operating with only 12 1/2 percent of its workforce. That's fewer than 10,000 federal employees.

And now -- for now, individuals who call the IRS with questions are greeted with a voicemail message. "Welcome to the IRS. Live telephone assistance is not available at this time. Normal operations will resume as soon as possible."

[05:50:00] Susan Zirinsky, the top producer of "48 HOURS," will be the first woman to run the CBS News division. Zirinsky will succeed CBS News president David Rhodes. He's stepping down in March. Rhodes' contract was set to expire in February as CBS is cleaning house after the scandals that have plagued the news division, the network, and the parent company.

In a statement, Zirinsky said, quote, "This may be a new role, but the mission is the same -- deliver quality, in-depth journalism, and engaging storytelling. CBS News has an incredible legacy to build on."

Zirinsky will also have the title of senior executive producer. That's a signal that she will still be closely involved in show production.

CBS did not immediately name a replacement of her at "48 HOURS."

BRIGGS: And congratulations to her.

Ahead, U.S. negotiators in China for two days of talks with Chinese officials, aimed at easing trade tensions. We go live to Beijing, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: So, U.S. negotiators are in China today for trade talks. This will be the first face-to-face discussions between the U.S. and China since Presidents Trump and Xi met in Argentina at the start of December and they agreed to this 90-day trade truce.

The deputy-level negotiators trying to figure out whether a deal can actually be struck before March first. That's the date President Trump has threatened to impose another round of stiff tariffs.

CNN's Matt Rivers has the latest live in Beijing.

And, Matt, come March first, there's $200 billion of Chinese products that now have a 10 percent tariff -- they'll see a 25 percent tariff. There's a lot of incentive to get a deal done here on the Chinese side.

MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, and you combine that with the fact that this trade war has already had a major impact on China's economy and that economy was slowing down before you even add in the trade war, Christine. So there is a lot of incentive on China's part to get a deal done. And you could also argue there's some incentive on the United States' part as well.

[05:55:10] But let's listen to what President Donald Trump said over the weekend -- the leverage that he's counting on when it comes to getting a deal done with China.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The China talks are going very well. I spoke to President Xi recently. I really believe they want to make a deal.

The tariffs have absolutely hurt China very badly. But our country is taking in a lot of money through tariffs -- a lot of money -- a lot of tariffs -- steel-dumping tariffs and others.

But I think China wants to get it resolved. Their economy is not doing well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIVERS: And I think there's a lot of people in the United States that will want to get it resolved as well because this trade war, ultimately, isn't going to make either economy any stronger. And we've certainly seen a lot of volatility in the stock market. A trade war truce would certainly help ease that volatility.

So really, you've got two days here -- during the day today and tomorrow -- the deputy-level really trying to lay the groundwork Christine for future talks with more senior-level leadership maybe later this month and into next month with that March first date looming over all of this.

ROMANS: All right, Matt Rivers for us -- thank you -- in Beijing.

BRIGGS: President Trump says his administration is negotiating a location for a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: North Korea -- we're doing very well. And again, no rockets. There's no rockets, there's no anything. We're doing very well.

I've indirectly spoken to Chairman Kim. And when I came here this country was headed to war with North Korea and now, we have a very good dialogue going.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: And they have those letters.

In his New Year's address, Kim Jong Un warned the Trump administration against continuing sanctions, saying North Korea will have no choice but to find a new way to achieve peace on the peninsula if the U.S., quote, "misinterprets its patience."

Mr. Trump first met Kim in Singapore last June. That unprecedented summit ended with vague pledges about nuclear disarmament.

ROMANS: All right.

An owner of a sushi restaurant in Japan forked over a record $3.1 million for a giant bluefin tuna at a New Year's auction in Tokyo. The fish tipped the scales at 612 pounds. The purchase doubled the previous record set in 2013.

The restaurant's owner said the tuna looks fat, fresh, and tasty, but admitted he might have paid too much.

BRIGGS: Yes, a bit too much.

All right, the NFL's wildcard weekend in the books and it was good to be the road team Sunday.

A wild finish and a heartbreaking one in Chicago. The Eagles took a 16-15 lead over the Bears on that two-yard scoring pass from Nick Foles to Golden Tate. Fifty-six seconds remaining -- that's when they took the lead.

But here, as time expired, Cody Parkey -- a chance to win it -- doink, doink -- upright cross bar. Heartbreak for Chicago and for the Romans family.

Eagles advance to play the Saints in New Orleans Sunday and the legend of Nick Foles continues.

In the early game Sunday, the Baltimore Ravens fumbled three times in their first eight offensive plays, and the Los Angeles defense just smothered rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson to lead the Chargers to a 23-17 victory. So, L.A. moves on to play the Patriots in New England next week.

ROMANS: And college football crowns its champion tonight. Number one Alabama taking on number two Clemson in Santa Clara, California. The Crimson Tide and the Tigers clashing head-to-head for the fourth straight season and the third time with the national title on the line.

Oh, it was a heartbreaker. "Clank You Very Much."

BRIGGS: Clank you very much for young Cody Parkey. And, you know, he's going to go up there with Steve Bartman -- I don't know -- and the goats in Chicago sports history. You hope he can redeem himself.

ROMANS: I -- look, I'm going to tell you something. I felt bad for him. I said, look, this guy -- this guy's got to live with this.

And my kids were like -- they had no mercy. They were -- they lost -- he lost that game and they were so upset. But, I'm sorry, Chicago.

BRIGGS: It was interesting. His Instagram feed showed a video where he practiced back in 2016 by hitting a light post.

ROMANS: No, no.

BRIGGS: So he's actually very good at hitting the upright, which he did six times in Chicago this year.

ROMANS: Oh, I'll get over it eventually.

Thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.

BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. "NEW DAY" starts right now. I'm sorry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I informed my folks to say that we'll build a steel barrier. They don't like concrete, so we'll give them steel.

SEN. DICK DURBIN (D), ILLINOIS: There's no requirement that this government be shut down while we deliberate whether it's a fence or a wall.

MULVANEY: We did not make much progress. Democrat negotiators were not there to talk about any agreement.

SEN. DOUG JONES (D), ALABAMA: I do not believe that holding government workers hostage is the way to determine how best to secure our borders.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If it goes on much longer, I am going to have to figure out what I'm going to do just to be able to eat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is NEW DAY. It is Monday, January seventh, 6:00 here in New York.

Happy Monday.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Happy Monday. I watched a lot of football this weekend.

CAMEROTA: Did you?

BERMAN: Yes, it was like for a --

CAMEROTA: Football was on this weekend?

BERMAN: Yes, football.