State of the Union: The President's New Agenda; Tracking Paris Terror Attackers
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: President Obama defiantly pushing his agenda in the State of the Union Address, proposing free community college, higher taxes for the wealthy and promising to veto bills that dismantle his executive actions. We're breaking down the big moments, and the response they're generating this morning. Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.</s>JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm John Berman. Great to see you. It is Wednesday, January 21st, 4:00 a.m. in the East. President Obama, he struck a confident tune last night, seemingly undaunted as he gave his first State of the Union Address to an entirely Republican-controlled Congress. The president put forward the agenda of an economic populous, really, aimed at ensuring the middle class enjoys the fruits of economic recovery. Senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta has details.</s>JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, this was not a speech from a president who sees himself as a lame duck. In the State of the Union Address, President Obama came out and declared the nation's economy is on the rise. But he also offered up his prescription for lifting up the middle class, raising taxes and fees on the wealthy and big banks in exchange for new tax breaks or middle income earners. Now, as part of the middle class economics scheme, the president also talked about free community college, but he also covered other subjects. He asked lawmakers to give him a vote to authorize force on ISIS. He called on Congress to lift the embargo on Cuba, slammed the Keystone pipeline, vowed to veto Iran's legislation. But he also called on the country for a better kind of politics at this turning point of the presidency away from 9/11 and the financial crisis, and towards the future. Here's what the president had to say.</s>BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Fifteen years into this new century, we have picked ourselves up, dusted ourselves off, and begun again the work of remaking America. We have laid a new foundation. A brighter future is ours to write. Let's begin this new chapter together. And let's start to work right now.</s>ACOSTA: The president will take his message to Idaho later today, and then Kansas on Thursday. Those are both red states. But a Democratic source tells me the president will be visiting more red states in the coming months. He wants to engage Americans who don't agree with him to sell his agenda. And also coming soon, the president's budget, which includes that tax plan one Republicans have already deemed dead on arrival -- John and Christine.</s>ROMANS: All right, Jim Acosta. And, of course, the Republicans took a much dimmer view of the economy on their rebuttal following the president's speech. Freshman Iowa Senator Joni Ernst spoke of stagnant wages and lost jobs, and the hurt caused by cancelled health care plans. And she seized on the mandate for change that Republicans believe they won in the November elections.</s>SEN. JONI ERNST (R), IOWA: Americans have been hurting, but when we demanded solutions, too often, Washington responded with the same stale mindset that led to failed policies like Obamacare. It's a mindset that gave us political talking points, not serious solutions. That's why the new Republican majority you elected, started by reforming Congress, to make it function again. And now, we're working hard to pass the kind of serious, job creation ideas you deserve.</s>BERMAN: Away from Capitol Hill, the president's speech got mixed reviews. The CNN instant poll found a generally favorable response. Fifty-one percent of Americans who watched the speech had a very positive reaction. That is up from last year. And significantly better than George W. Bush received at the same point in his presidency. Political figures, many of whom are mulling White House bids for 2016 also weighed in, Hillary Clinton praised the speech saying, "It pointed the way to an economy that works for all." She added, "Now, we need to step up and deliver for the middle class." On Facebook, Republican Jeb Bush praised Joni Ernst's rebuttal and advised the president to be mindful of the strong message American voters sent in November and work with the new Republican congressional majority.</s>ROMANS: The State of the Union was all about the middle class, of course. The state of the middle class. The president wants to make childcare more affordable. He's proposing a $500 tax credit for couples who both worked. Those couple who make up to $120,000 a year. He also wants to triple the child care tax credit to $3,000. The president also pushed changes to education.</s>OBAMA: By the end of this decade, two and three job openings will require some higher education, two and three. And yet, we still live in a country where too many bright striving Americans are priced out of the education they need. It's not fair to them. And it's sure not smart for our future.</s>ROMANS: He's proposing free community college for millions and wants to eliminate the benefits of 529 savings plans. That's part in an attempt to streamline all the education tax breaks and target students who need the most help. So, how is he going to pay for all this, raising the capital gains tax, from 20 percent to 28 percent? That takes it back to Reagan era level, eliminating the so-called trust fund loophole that lets wealthy Americans pass on assets tax free and by new taxes on megabanks. That's the plan. Can it pass? Republicans say, no way. They say the proposed tax changes are not serious.</s>BERMAN: I don't think it's about passing, that's the thing. I think it's about reframing a debate to be about the middle class.</s>ROMANS: Absolutely. The president's had a hard time finding where that sweet spot is. The economy getting better but wages have been stagnant. This is the president saying I'm for the middle class and we have to figure how to make sure the economic recovery is shared by everyone.</s>BERMAN: It's also saying, look at the numbers, look at this news, let's feel good about it. And for the first time, some Americans, more Americans seem to agree with him on that. So, it will be interesting to see how it plays. Social media was buzzing about the speech, many of them. Many of people on -- well, a lot of people took to social media, Twitter and Facebook to talk about it. One particular part of the speech went viral. Let look.</s>OBAMA: I have no more campaigns to run. My only agenda -- I know, because I won both of them.</s>BERMAN: Look, I actually think that was the moment of the speech and the one that we'll remember. He said, "I have no more campaigns to run." There was a pause, Republicans cheered, and then the president interjected, it wasn't scripted. Had he planned it? We don't know. But he then say, "Because I won both of them", which, you know, it was a confident President Obama who took to the stage last night, or at least that was the tone he wanted to project.</s>ROMANS: It will be interesting to see if this congress will be able to find some bipartisan job creation stuff that they do some stuff this year, and it's not just no, no, no. Because there are some parts of the proposal that Republicans have been on board with before. Everyone wants to create jobs for the middle class, everyone wants to create some relief for the middle class, can they figure out?</s>BERMAN: Usually this time, though, the president with a veto pen may be the one technically who was saying, no, no, no. The Congress maybe passing things and the president vetoes it.</s>ROMANS: Right. Turning the tables. All right. Republicans did stand up to cheer the president a few points, notably when he invoked America's fight against global terror.</s>OBAMA: We stand united with people around the world who've been targeted by terrorists, from a school in Pakistan to the streets of Paris.</s>ROMANS: President Obama gave much the same support to French President Hollande in a phone conversation earlier in the day. Later today, the French prime minister set to outline new anti- terrorism measures at a news conference in Paris. All this as investigators in Paris pore over new surveillance video obtained exclusively by CNN. It appears to show the Paris gunman Amedy Coulibaly and his partner Hayat Boumeddiene as they case a Jewish institution in Paris. Let's turn to senior international correspondent Nic Robertson live in Paris, with the latest on this investigation. Good morning, Nic. And it's just chilling to look at that video.</s>NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Christine. One of the things you notice about that video is the way that Hayat Boumeddiene is dressed. It's very sort of scanty clothing there. The idea, of course, that they were not trying to portrait their Islamist-leaning. So, they wanted to blend in and look like another couple out on the streets, while in the meantime planning acts of terrorism. We're also learning details from the prosecutor this morning. He said they have made good progress in the investigation against Coulibaly. But what they're saying is very, very interesting. The prosecutor giving the first name of the four people who are still being held. He said that one was called Willie, one Kristof, one Torino, the other Michael. None of these are Muslim names. He said that these -- that three of the four men were associated with Coulibaly when he was buying the car that was used to drive him to the kosher supermarket. They're also involved in buying weapons. So, DNA, the other one, Michael, the fourth one, found on item of clothing, at the crime scene, the police say. So, the impression created here is that Coulibaly was drawing on support perhaps criminal elements. Three of them had criminal records, according to the prosecutor, rather than other people moving in as Islamists circles here -- Christine.</s>ROMANS: Really interesting to see that video. All right. Nic Robertson, thanks so much for that this morning, Nic.</s>BERMAN: Happening now in Belgium, the country's public prosecutor is getting set to address a police operation Tuesday very close to the border with France. So far, officials have only said that 82 people were evacuated from 33 apartments and the operation went calmly. No comment yet on whether this was a terror-related operation as suspected. Officials are searching for Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the suspected ring leader of the ISIS-linked Belgian terror cell. CNN has obtained a tape of Abaaoud defending his tactics. Listen.</s>ABELHAMID ABAAOUD, SUSPECTED RINGLEADER: It's not fun seeing blood spilled, but it gives me pleasure from time to time to see blood of the disbelievers run because we grew up watching, we've grown up, seeing on TV, in the whole world the blood of Muslims being spilled.</s>BERMAN: He calls on Muslims to find honor through jihad and martyrdom.</s>ROMANS: Now to Yemen where Shiite Houthi rebels have successfully staged a coup that have overtaken the presidential palace in Sana'a. Yemen's minister of information telling our Nick Paton Walsh the president is no longer in control in Yemen. There are concerns that a government collapse could send the country into a full-scale civil war, a turn of events that could be exploited by radical groups like al Qaeda. There are also growing concerns about U.S. interest there. A U.S. embassy vehicle was shot near an embassy checkpoint Monday night. Two warships have moved into the Red Sea. They are ready to evacuate Americans from the U.S. embassy if need be.</s>BERMAN: Breaking overnight, a Palestinian man has been arrested after nine people were stabbed on a bus in Tel Aviv. Israeli police are calling this a terror attack. The attacker was eventually chased down, shot by police and arrested. This is the latest in the string of attacks against the Israelis in recent months. Several of them have been deadly. The Islamic group Hamas, which controls Gaza, praised the stabbings as brave and heroic. Eleven minutes after the hour. Happening now: Japan working to free hostages held by ISIS. But will it pay? Will Japan pay the $200 million ransom? We're live with the latest developments next.