Can World Powers Negotiate Syria Cease-Fire?; Russian Airstrikes Hit Close to Turkey.
ROMANS: Secretary of State John Kerry is calling for immediate cease-fire in Syria. He is in Germany right now for a meeting of major world powers. There is growing concern on two fronts -- over Russia's full throttle air support for the Syrian regime's offensive against rebel forces. Not only is it threatening the peace process. It's also triggering a refugee crisis of overwhelming proportions. CNN has live coverage of both of these developing stories, these developing angles, starting with Nic Robertson in Munich -- Nic.</s>NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, good morning, Christine. The talks that will get under way here later today really critical for the peace process. If they can't hammer something out here, those talks that got off the ground a couple weeks ago in Geneva and the pause button hit because the Russian air strikes and the Syrian government ground forces campaign around Aleppo got to such a momentum, the U.N. felt all they could do is pause the talks rather than break them up completely. The meetings here today, if they can't break that log jam, then the hopes for the meaningful peace process will breakdown. That will happen here. What we are hearing from the Russians right now is they are proposing a cease-fire the 1st of March. This is what the ambassador to the United Nations said.</s>VITALY CHURKIN, RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: We have a number of discussions with the United States, including the possibility of a cease-fire and also some humanitarian discussions. Very important discussions too.</s>ROBERTSON: The reality here is though that Russian credibility is at a low. They are regarded by the 18 nations and country groups meeting here today as the one single country along with Iran and, of course, the Syrian government that are causing the casualties in the conflict to escalate seriously at the moment. So, right now, it does seem to be a hard sell. What we know the opposition is looking for here is to see humanitarian access across the country. That is going to be key for them. However, the test is really going to come. Will the Russians compromise and move up this cease-fire to something meaningful and can they be trusted on it?</s>ROMANS: All right. Nic, thank you.</s>BERMAN: All right. Of course, there is the human toll to what is going on. Russian air strikes in Syria now coming dangerously close to the Turkish border. This is shifting the dynamic, the battle on the ground while destroying or uprooting the lives of so many civilians. For more on that part of the story, we turn to CNN international correspondent Arwa Damon in southeastern Turkey, where you can see the impact of that refugee flow -- Arwa.</s>ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. If you will remember when the Russian air strikes allowed the Syrian regime to cut off a vital supply line from Turkey to rebel held areas of Aleppo, they not only hampered supply routes for rebel fighters, they also caused a massive humanitarian crisis when it comes to trying to get much-needed food supplies in, but also causing tens of thousands to flee toward Turkey's borders. And since the regime managed to take over and cut off that supply route, they cut rebel held areas in half and they have been moving closer toward Turkey's borders. In the last 24 to 48 hours, air strikes happening about a ten minute drive away from the Turkey border, causing tens of thousands more to flee as well. Meanwhile, Turkey says it has an open-door policy, but its gates do remain closed. In the aftermath of these airstrikes, I mean, it is absolutely devastating and heartbreaking and violence that is only too familiar in Syria's war zone. One video posted to YouTube showed a little girl in complete shock. She was bloodied. She had shrapnel in her head that doctors were trying to remove. She was trying to speak but she quite simply couldn't. And this is just one example of the countless lives that this ongoing fighting has been claiming. Meanwhile, not many are really putting a lot of hope in the fact that the cease-fire talks will actually amount to anything. The opposition fighters say they have been betrayed too many times by the international community, while the Syrian regime for its part has massive support from Russia, but also from numerous other actors on the ground to include Iraqi militias and, of course, vital support that it does get from Iran.</s>BERMAN: Why should they hope there would be success in the peace negotiations after all they have seen over the last several years? Arwa Damon for us in Turkey, thanks so much.</s>ROMANS: All right. Fifty-six minutes past the hour. Let's get an early start on your money this morning. It's drop -- big drop in oil prices is sending global stock markets tumbling. Crude now below $27 a barrel. The Dow futures, John, down almost 300 points. Europe is sinking as well. Stocks in Hong Kong plummeting after the holiday break. In the midst of that emergency water crisis, Flint, Michigan, also has a major housing problem now. Look at this, the average vacancy rate in Flint is 7.5 percent. That's nearly five times higher than the nationwide average of 1.6 percent. These are new numbers crunched from RealtyTrac. One in 14 houses in Flint are vacant. The five zip codes close to the city center, one in five homes is empty. Wow. The city's housing market was hit hard during the great recession. Prices were up last year. Now, there are signs that the water crisis is straining Flint's housing recovery. The median home price fell by 8 percent in December alone, 8 percent. The biggest drop in the country. A Twitter shares taking a nose dive. The company lost 2 million users in the fourth quarter of last year, breaking the total to $350 million. Compare that to Instagram, which has more than 400 million, and the king of social networking, Facebook, 1.6 billion active users. Twitter stock getting crushed. It is down 67 percent over the past year. Shares down another 3 percent pre-market trading. It's going to get nailed this morning. What is behind the drop? Ad sales not growing quickly enough. Rumors of sales have been swirling around the tech community for months. It turns out some people are addicted to Twitter but --</s>BERMAN: Don't look at me.</s>ROMANS: But investors are not addicted to Twitter at the moment.</s>BERMAN: No, that's the last thing you want if you're a social media company and you're not growing, it's really awful.</s>ROMANS: And making money from what you're offering and getting buy-in on the things you are offering to users. Yes.</s>BERMAN: All right. EARLY START continues right now.</s>ROMANS: In just hours, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton face-off on the debate stage in what could be a pivotal moment in the Democratic race for president. The new strategies going into tonight.</s>BERMAN: Republicans, they take the race to South Carolina where bare- knuckle politics is a national past time. Frontrunner Donald Trump with a big event overnight. What he said and how his opponents plan to take him down, that's coming up. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.</s>ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It is Thursday, it's February 11th. It is 5:00 a.m. in the East. We are just now hours away from the showdown in the race for president. PBS Democratic debate will air right here on CNN tonight. And it's crystal clear where Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are drawing new battle lines for this face-off, minority voters. After a high profile meeting with Al Sharpton in Harlem, Bernie Sander hit "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert". He repeatedly addressed the issue of racial oppression. He addressed whether his political revolution he's calling for could end in violence.</s>STEPHEN COLBERT, THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT: Those who make peaceful revolution impossible make violent revolution inevitable, is what John Kennedy said. If your answer is not the answer, is violent revolution inevitable?</s>SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I wouldn't -- I certainly hope not. But I hope and what the goal of this campaign is about is to look at the civil rights movement, look at the women's movement, look at the gay movement -- understand that when people come together, we can accomplish enormous things.</s>ROMANS: That debate tonight takes place in Milwaukee. It's at 9:00 p.m. Senior Washington correspondent Joe Johns has the latest for us.</s>JOHNS: John and Christine, this morning, the focus is turning to Milwaukee and pivotal debate there tonight between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. It's so important because the former secretary of state lost momentum in the drubbing she took in New Hampshire, she is already trying to make changes to her campaign to appeal to younger voters.