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EARLY START

Obama Posts YouTube Video to Iranian People; Museum Massacre: ISIS Claims Responsibility; U.S. to "Rethink" Israel Approach; Solar Eclipse Hits Europe. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired March 20, 2015 - 04:30   ET

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


JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm John Berman. Thirty minutes past the hour right now.

[04:30:01] And breaking overnight: President Obama is taking his case for a nuclear deal with Iran directly to the Iranian people. The talks in Switzerland seeming stalled on certain political issues, like timeframes and sanctions. The White House posted a video on YouTube, in it, the president urging Iranians to push leaders to agree to what he calls a reasonable deal to lead to what he calls a better path, including its easing of sanctions and more jobs for young Iranians.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The days and weeks ahead will be critical. Our negotiations have made progress, but gaps remain. And there are people in both our countries and beyond who oppose a diplomatic resolution. My message to you, the people of Iran, is that, together, we have to speak up for the future we seek.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Senior international correspondent Nic Robertson at the talks in Lausanne, in Switzerland.

Nic, we see this message from the president. We have a new message from the Iranian foreign minister as well.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We do, John. He is just about right now due to sit down with Secretary John Kerry. Those meetings have -- the timeframe of those meetings has changed over the recent few days. They seem to have made progress in some areas. They still got tough choices to make.

But it does appear as if the political issues are emerging as the bigger issues. I asked this morning the Iranian foreign minister if he believed a deal is still possible by the March 31st deadline. This is what he told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Do you think a deal is possible by the 31st of March?

JAVAD ZARIF, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: I think a deal is possible anytime. It defends on the political will, whether there is a political will to reach one. It's possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Now, that's significant because earlier in the week, he was talking about technical issues, saying the big issues are the stumbling blocks. Secretary Kerry had been saying, no, they were political issues. Now, he also is saying that it's political issues.

I also asked him about his response to President Obama's new year's message and an urge to get this deal done. He said to me, "I've already tweeted that". I'll read you what he said in the tweet. He said, "Iranians have already made their choice. Engage with dignity. It is high time for the U.S. and its allies," and this is where the kicker comes, "It's high time for the U.S. and allies to choose, pressure or agreement."

That sounds like push back either on the message or the pressure he feels that is getting in these talks here. That the United States must choose: back off on the pressure if you want an agreement with Iran -- John.

BERMAN: You know, I read that the same way, Nic. You know, a lot of the things you read from Javad Zarif, particularly on Twitter, are somewhat conciliatory. That was a little bit more firm. So, it will be interesting to see what happens over the next day. Nic Robertson for us in Switzerland, thanks so much.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Happening now, officials in Tunisia weighing an audio message, apparently from ISIS, that claims responsibility for the attack on a landmark museum there. Tunisian officials say 23 people were killed, including one who died later at a hospital. Two of the attackers died. Authorities have arrested nine more people in connection with this. But ISIS is not the only jihadist group to claim it was behind the museum attack.

I want to bring in CNN's Phil Black for us this morning in Tunis.

What do we know this morning?

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine, you are right. There has been competition online among jihadist groups, claiming responsibility for this attack.

But the ISIS claim is notable. U.S. officials say they have no reason to doubt its authenticity necessarily. It is an online recording, praising the work of the two gunmen who gunned down, and responsible for the deaths of 23 people, mostly tourists on the streets of this capital Tunis on Wednesday.

It doesn't just praise them, though. It warns of more attacks to come. Crucially, it doesn't contain any evidence, suggesting there was a direct link between this attack and the command and control structures of the ISIS hierarchy. It is heartland of Syria and Iraq, suggesting what this could be, what people have been calling another ISIS franchise, a situation where locals, inspired by ISIS, its messages, its goals, have organized and conducted an attack very much autonomously, but still in that organization's name.

The authorities here have not commented on this, what group they believe was responsible. You are right, they arrested nine people, four for direct involvement they say in planning the attack. It is the people of Tunisia coming to terms with this attack, its brutality and its potential consequences.

Today is this country's Independence Day, always significant especially so in the wake of the terrorist attack. As people are expected to take to the streets in rallies in what many hope will be an act of defiance, solidarity and unity against those responsible for organizing an attack against this country's economy, its political system, because they believe they targeted what at the moment it depends upon most, and that is international safety, security and perception that encourages tourists to visit this country, Christine.

[04:35:11] ROMANS: All right. Phil Black for us in Tunis this morning -- thank you, Phil.

BERMAN: Developing this morning: the White House says it is reassessing parts of its relationship with Israel. That as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is walking back some of his controversial remarks he made just before Israeli voters went to the polls. The prime minister says he did not mean he is against a Palestinian state. What he said on Monday there will never been one while he is in office, only that political realities will prevent it. The White House does not seem to be buying that explanation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: I haven't changed my policy. I never retracted my speech in Bar-Ilan University six years ago. I don't want a one-state solution. I want a sustainable, peaceful two-state solution.

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Words matter. And that is certainly true in this instance. And I know very well that the Israeli prime minister is aware of that. And he was talking about something that even he would acknowledge is a very important issue, an issue that has serious consequences for the country that he leads.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: I want to bring in Oren Liebermann live in Jerusalem for us.

Oren, when you hear the White House say it will reassess parts of the relationship with Israel, that's a very powerful word.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN REPORTER: It is, John. And there are a lot of options for the White House specifically because the relationship between the U.S. and Israel is so broad and so deep, there's security coordination, there's financial help, there are diplomatic relations.

Now, both leaders have said, oh, that will remain very strong. They've reassured both countries here. But the White House has other options with the word "reassess". The U.S. has used the Security Council veto at the U.N. to reject the number of resolutions against Israel, and for example at the International Criminal Court, the U.S. has discouraged Palestinians from pursuing a case. So, all of that could be under the word "reassess", John. The White House says a lot of options how they want to use that word specifically.

BERMAN: How are Israelis, particularly the right, taking Netanyahu's effort to walk back his comments here?

LIEBERMANN: Well, nothing specific from the right yet. We haven't seen a comment from some of these other right wing parties we expect from his coalition, like Naftali Bennett's Jewish Home. They are viewed as more right wing than Likud. And that's just as telling, they are not asking him to clarify that.

Now, it is worth noting that Netanyahu's apparent flip-flop here from before the election of no Palestinian state. There will be no two-state solution. He didn't fix that in the hours after he said, or in election day where he made a number of statements. He corrected our impression, our impression of that statement after he was will reelected, John. That's certainly worth noting.

BERMAN: Absolutely worth noting. Oren Liebermann for us in Jerusalem, thanks so much.

I should add, there is another piece of news overnight there. We learned that House Speaker John Boehner will be visiting Israel in the next couple weeks.

ROMANS: All right. Thirty-seven minutes past the hour.

Christians are being driven out of Syria by ISIS. Attacks by the terrorists forcing Christians across the border into Lebanon by the thousands. The Lebanese government lifting visa restrictions to let them in. More than 1.2 million Syrian refugees have now entered the country, along with 500,000 Palestinian and Iraqi refugees. It's virtually crippling Lebanon's economy.

BERMAN: The White House is leaning toward slowing down the troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. The original plan was to reduce the troops from about 10,000 to just over 5,000 by the end of 2016. But that is now reevaluated because attempts to start peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban have stalled. And attacks by al Qaeda are expected to continue well into next year.

ROMANS: The head of the Secret Service insists the scandal to rock the agency has been exaggerated and overblown by the media. Joseph Clancy telling lawmakers two agents never crashed their car into a White House barricade and were driving only one or two miles an hour when they brushed against a plastic barrel. And he claims no one at the agency manually erased videotapes of that incident. The video may have been automatically deleted. Clancy says he's trying to determine whether that video can be recovered.

BERMAN: The U.S. is losing the battle against hackers, that is according to the U.S. Cyber Command chief. The government's effort to fight computer hacks are not working and the U.S. has reached a tipping point. Admiral Michael Rogers has told lawmakers the nation needs to boost the military's cyber offensive capabilities. He claims the current approach is too defensive. The White House is concerned that a more aggressive approach could harm diplomatic relations.

ROMANS: Time for an early start on your money.

Asian shares finished the day higher. Tokyo and Shanghai at records. European stocks, U.S. stock futures following that lead.

Yesterday was a down day, 117 points is what the Dow fell, the six-day in a row of triple digit swings. Even Apple couldn't push the Dow higher. The stock fell almost 1 percent on its first day of trading as part of the Dow.

So, what is the greatest challenge today's leaders face?

[04:40:00] In an exclusive interview with Treasury Secretary Jack Lew yesterday, I asked him what keeps him up at night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACK LEW, TREASURY SECRETARY: I'm pretty tired at night. So, I'm not going to say anything keeps me up at night. But something that I think I am -- most people in leadership positions worry about today in a way that they didn't a few years ago is cyber security. It is just -- it is a new phenomenon where the risk is great and the learning curve has been fast. I think we in the Treasury Department as a sector lead for financial services have been doing an effective job moving quickly in that space. But as a kind of an economy, as a country, it's an area where we really need to be on our guard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The banks are very concerned. Banks have been spending hundreds of billions of dollars to fight the hackers. In addition to cyber security, Jack Lew, the Treasury Secretary says America needs to be pro-active on infrastructure investments. We need to be doing more infrastructure.

BERMAN: I noticed one thing, it was windy at the port there.

ROMANS: It was so windy.

BERMAN: But completely unruffled, Jack Lew has got something amazing going on with his hair, like not a strand out of place.

ROMANS: I'm not sure that there's been much commentary about Jack Lew's here. But --

BERMAN: There should be more.

ROMANS: There should be -- well, I think it's equal opportunity to talk about, you know, men and women's hair.

BERMAN: Forty-one minutes after the hour.

A college student left bloody after being arrested by police. He is now refuting what officers say happened that night. We have new details ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: The FBI joining an investigation in Mississippi into the death of the African-American man who was found hanging from a tree.

[04:45:02] Fifty-four-year-old Otis Byrd had been missing for more than two weeks. Authorities say he was found with a bed sheet tied around his neck and skull cap on his head. The exact cause of death has not been determined. Authorities cannot say at this point if his death was a suicide or a homicide.

BERMAN: We're following developments concerning allegations of police brutality in the arrest of a black University of Virginia student outside a bar in Charlottesville this week. The attorney for 20-year-old Martese Johnson disputes reports that the student had a fake ID card. Johnson was charged with public intoxication and obstructing justice. He needed 10 stitches to close a gash in his head after the arrest that has sparked new controversy about excessive force by police.

CNN's Nick Valencia has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, students I've spoken to who know Martese Johnson say that they're not only shocked that this happened, they're shocked that this happened to him, a student who was one of the most prominent student here on campus with ties to the university. Police say he was uncooperative during the arrest, his lawyer says that Johnson was the victim of excessive force.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At no time throughout the encounter did Martese present, as has been reported by some in the media a fake ID. Nevertheless, Virginia ABC officers who are present on the scene questioned my client about being in possession of false identification. The conversation resulted in my client being thrown to the ground, his head hitting the pavement. The officer's knees pressed into his back, his face and skull bleeding and needing surgery.

VALENCIA: The Virginia state police they've launched a criminal investigation, a comprehensive one that will look into the conduct of the officers involved in the arrest -- John, Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right, Nick. Thank you for that.

The attorney for real estate heir and accused killer Robert Durst says that the FBI is trying to link Durst to other cold cases. They must not have much on him to begin with. Defense are investigation whether Durst could be connected to unsolved murders in California, Texas, New York, New Hampshire and Vermont. Durst is not expected to be extradited to Los Angeles on a murder charge until next week at the earliest.

He faces a hearing Monday in New Orleans where he is being held on drug and weapons charges.

BERMAN: Testimony resumes this morning in the trial of former NFL star Aaron Hernandez, accused of murdering his friend Odin Lloyd. On Thursday, jurors heard from 100th witness in this case -- a woman who testified that she danced with Hernandez at the Rumor Nightclub two nights before Lloyd was killed, and that he was aggressive, agitated and left the club angry.

Guess what? A new winter storm comes to the Northeast today. And by the time it hits, it will not be winter.

Meteorologist Derek Van Dam is tracking the storm for us -- Derek.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, John and Christine.

It's supposed to be the time when we say good-bye to winter and hello to spring, officially beginning at 6:45 this evening. But with weather maps looking like this, you're probably not having confidence in your meteorologist this morning.

Well, we have a low pressure that will bring a rain/snow mix to the nation's capital, snowfall for the Big Apple by about lunchtime and heading back from tonight. So, be careful along that I-95 corridor. In fact, upwards of 36 million people under a winter weather advisory from central Pennsylvania through parts of Southern New York. Two to four inches with local heavy amounts across Central Pennsylvania.

Your forecast looks rather winter-like for the Big Apple. But if you're looking for warm, head to Atlanta. Temperatures top out in the lower 70s today.

We have a stationary front across the Gulf States that's going to bring some rainfall to that region, could become significant in the Houston area. Temperatures topping out about 80 degrees for New Orleans. But look what's headed our way to end of the weekend, another cold blast for New England.

Back to you.

ROMANS: It's almost over. It's almost over. We can just get through this one, right?

BERMAN: Allegedly.

ROMANS: Happening now, celestial Friday. A solar eclipse happening now, we have live pictures. Beautiful. We are live with the view, next.

BERMAN: Turn around --

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:52:42] BERMAN: Turn around, Europe. An eerie darkness is covering that continent right now. Look at that. The result of -- well, not a total eclipse of Europe, but partial eclipse of the heart. The phenomenon many folks in that region will not see again until 2026.

Let's get more from CNN's Isa Soares, covering the development for us.

Hey, Isa.

ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning John. Good morning, Christine.

Yes, the eclipse has already started. If you are seeing images, it is only a sizeable, it's sizable chunk really is being taken off the sun. You can see that parts of Europe will be able to see it. Parts of North Africa, even parts of Middle East and even North Asia.

What you're starting to see is that there will be strongest in places like in the region (INAUDIBLE), the Faroe Islands as well. They will see a full solo eclipse, completely covered, really full darkness expected in those places.

It's expected to last between a minute 30 in Faroe Islands, even or slightly longer than that. And in Torshavn, in fact, John, you know, hotels there have been booked since 2008. People here where I am have been cueing up for quite a while, because, as you can see from the skies, it is very, very cloudy. So, people have been cueing because they are trying and hoping to make the most use of the telescopes that are just behind me, because here, it is so cloudy, there is concern they won't be able to see the full or partial eclipse.

But we are expecting about toughly 20 minutes, it will go slightly darker. That's what we are told. That's what many people here are expecting to see. The last one was in fact in 1999. And like you said, the next one will be in 2026.

So, exactly what happens? What's the science or nature behind the spectacle? What happens is the eclipse happens when the moon passes between the sun and the earth. As it passes through, it blocks out the sun. And that's exactly the minute you get the country's plunging into darkness.

And many of you have been asking, how is that possible? Surely, the sun is bigger than the moon. Exactly, it is bigger than the moon, 400 times bigger than the moon, but it's also 400 times farther away from the Earth.

And for all the users in North America, John and Christine, do not fret for not to see it, if won't get a chance to see it, you will, according to NASA, until -- you've got 563 million years to catch one.

(LAUGHTER)

[04:55:10] ROMANS: OK, Isa Soares, thank you so much for that. I love that. Darkening Europe for a few minutes. Hotels booked since 2008 to get the best pictures. Cool.

Fifty-five minutes past the hour. Could a woman soon be on the $20 bill? An early start on your money, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Happy Friday. Let's get an early start on your money at the end of the week.

Looks like a good end of the week for stocks. Asian shares finish the day higher. European stocks, U.S. stock futures also higher. Yesterday, the Dow fell 117 points. You know, that was the sixth day in a row of triple digit swings. It was also Apple's first day as a Dow component and not a great start. The stock fell almost 1 percent.

Gender equality still has a ways to go. But yesterday, the Treasury Secretary Jack Lew hinted we may soon put our money where our mouth is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: When will a woman be on the $20 bill? Do you have that power and can it happen?

LEW: We have been looking at a range of issues how to modernize our currency. And I'm not gong to make any announcement today. But we are looking at a lot of interesting things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Yes, they have been looking into this. They've been hearing all of you -- online, there is a big push to put a woman on the $20 bill. And, of course, the next question -- no word yet who would be on the $20 bill.

BERMAN: It's either Beyonce, Christine Romans or Janet Yellen. I pick Romans.

ROMANS: You're talking about modernizing our currency. Maybe that means even more of a refresh than just a new face on the bill. We'll be have to see.