U.S. and China Announce Historic Climate Deal; Israel Accused of Launching "Religious War:"
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news this morning: the U.S. and China unveiling a groundbreaking new partnership to stop climate change, dropping greenhouse emissions to historic lows over time. We're live with a new surprising agreement and what this means for U.S./China relations going forward.</s>CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, tensions rising in the Middle East for Palestinian president accusing Israel of igniting a religious war as violence escalate near holy sites. We are live in Jerusalem with the very latest this morning.</s>BERMAN: Ferguson on edge as the grand jury gets ever close to revealing whether the police officer who killed unarmed teenager Michael Brown will be charged. Missouri's governor releasing his plans to deal with possible protests as Michael Brown's parents weigh in. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.</s>ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It is Wednesday, November 12th. It is 4:00 a.m. in the East. Nice to see you. Thank you for joining us. We begin this morning with breaking news: President Obama and Chinese President Xi announcing a major historic climate change agreement. It promises to cut both countries' greenhouse gas emissions by 1/3 over the next 20 years. In the U.S., the agreement calls for 80 percent reduction greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. CNN's David McKenzie joining us live from Beijing. David, tell us more about this climate deal?</s>DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a big deal and it's been put through after months of secret negotiations between the U.S. and Chinese. President Obama calling it an historic deal to reduce greenhouse emissions by both the U.S. and China. Let's take a listen to the president.</s>BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is an ambitious goal but it is an achievable goal. It will double the pace at which we're reducing carbon pollution in the United States. It puts us on a path to achieving the deep emissions reductions by advanced economies that the scientific community says is necessary to prevent the most catastrophic effects of climate change.</s>MCKENZIE: Well, the U.S. says it's going to drop the CO2 emissions up to 26 percent, to below pre-2005 levels, below pre-2005 levels. China says it's going to peak its emissions levels in 2030. That might seem a long time away, but it's the first time that the Chinese have said they're going to cut any kind of emissions at all -- Christine.</s>ROMANS: The deal puts the U.S. and China closer but it could distance between China and Russia potentially?</s>MCKENZIE: Well, it could. Certainly, China and Russia looking pretty close recently. They've recently made progress on gas deal between the two countries. But it certainly seems on the greenhouse emissions the U.S. and China is in lockstep. They are saying they want to be the two countries which honestly create about a third of the global emissions to really show the way forward for other countries as important negotiations happen next year in Paris, for longer lasting CO2 emissions cuts -- Christine.</s>ROMANS: Yes. As they say, the two biggest economies, the two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases. Thanks so much for that David McKenzie for us this morning.</s>BERMAN: The president doesn't have to deal with China. It has to do with Congress with the steep reduction in this climate change agreement set up a potential area of tension between the president and Congress, which will be controlled by Republicans starting next year. Just hours from now, the Congress begins its lame duck session. And among the issues on the Senate's agenda, the keystone oil pipeline, which has long been on the Republican wish list now may have some more bipartisan support. The president says he's waiting for a full regulatory review before he weighs in.</s>ROMANS: All right. An al Qaeda leader in Yemen who was top priority leader for the U.S. has been killed in a strike there. A Yemeni official and two U.S. officials telling CNN that Shawki al-Badani was killed. This happening during a surge in fighting in rival factions in the Arab nation. The fighting is so intense now that the U.S. military is updating plans to potentially evacuate U.S. personnel. U.S. ambassador to Yemen, Matthew Tueller, has been targeted by terrorists before. One of his friends told us he's worried for Tueller's safety.</s>AMBASSADOR EDWARD W. "SKIP" GNEHM, FORMER U.S. DIPLOMAT IN YEMEN: I'd say he's in a great deal of danger, just because you have all of these factions, fighting around the country. At least a couple of them would like to take out the embassy and him because of the role -- positive role that we play and he plays in trying to pull together these very factions into a coalition government.</s>ROMANS: Any military involvement and evacuation would happen only after the U.S. ambassador asks for it. So far, that has not happened.</s>BERMAN: New this morning, tensions on the rise in Jerusalem. The Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas is accusing Israel's prime minister of starting a religious war. This going on at the same time that Palestinian factions are fighting amongst themselves for control. Hope for unity among Palestinians at peace with Israel seemingly more remote than ever following recent bloody attacks on Israelis by Palestinians near holy sites in East Jerusalem, and a retaliation simply a violent combustible combination of events on the ground there. Our CNN international correspondent Nic Robertson is live this morning from Jerusalem. What's the latest, Nic?</s>NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, the fiery rhetoric and current tensions are literally and figuratively as well igniting the sort of tinderbox situation on the ground. Overnight last night, an ancient synagogue was fire-bombed and a Palestinian mosque torched. It is a community of about 200 people. It's been essentially burned beyond use is how we understand the situation at the moment. What you had last night and yesterday, the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of trying to foment and set a religious war over access to religious sites in Jerusalem. Within hours of that, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Prime Minister Abbas is lying, that he is an unreasonable partner for peace at the moment. That he is not helping the situation that he's inflaming the situation. So, you have this very strong language by both leaders, and the tensions on the ground, because of the recent killings, now resulting, it appears at least, on face value and certainly that's the read everyone has here, that these religious sites, mosque and synagogue, both fire-bombed last night. And that comes hard on the heels yesterday of a young Palestinian man shot dead it appears, by the Israeli defense force soldiers there, say that a young man was aiming a homemade gun at them when they shot at him. And he later died in the hospital, John.</s>BERMAN: Nic, as we said, that's just an awful combination of factors right there. Any sense that there is anyone in an official position on either side trying to de-escalate the tensions right now?</s>ROBERTSON: The understanding on both sides here appears to be that neither -- neither the political leadership here in Israel wants to see this situation escalate. The prime minister's put more troops out on the ground in the West Bank that absolutely wants the situation to de-escalate and keep the temperature of this down. And there's a fundamental understanding as well that the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas also doesn't want to see the situation ignited. But you have these more radical Palestinian groups and factions who are actually calling and inciting people on the sidelines of this, towards violence, praising the two people involve in the fatal stabbings, the two people responsible to the fatal stabbings on Monday this week. That was Islamic jihad that did that. So, there is a sense that at a leadership level, no one wants this. But the situation on the ground is at a level that they potentially cannot control. It is one major incident short, people believe, politicians here believe, of igniting something that will potentially get out of hand, John.</s>BERMAN: All right. Nic Robertson for us in Jerusalem this morning, watching the situation. We'll check back in with you in a little bit.</s>ROMANS: Right. A nuclear deal inked between Russia and Iran now prompting major concerns in the West. Russian officials say they're building up to eight new reactors for, quote, "peaceful use of atomic energy in Iran." Both countries are under sanctions by the West, but the announcement suggests Moscow is demonstrating it has no plans to slow down its nuclear operation. The move comes less than two weeks before Iran's negotiations with Western powers over its nuclear activities are set to expire.</s>BERMAN: The two-month-old cease-fire in Eastern Ukrainian coming undone as the fighting rages again today. Pentagon officials say Russia has amassed some 8,000 troops along the Ukraine border and it has also stepped shipments of heavy weapons to separatists in the recent days. U.S. and Ukrainian officials also say a convoy that Russia claims was humanitarian did not go through an independent inspection. An Obama administration official conceived U.S.-led sanctions are hurting Russia economically, but have not deterred Russia when it comes to Ukraine.</s>ROMANS: All right. Nine minutes past the hour. Time for an early start on your money. U.S. stocks pointing slightly lower this morning. But stocks are the highest they've ever been, right up here in record territory. Yesterday, stocks barely budged but it was enough to have a record. The Dow and S&P both climbed 1 point. The record high closes, S&P 500 40th record close this year. It's up 10 percent for the year. That's the important number here, up 10 percent for the year in the S&P 500. Breaking news overnight, five banks have agreed to pay $3.3 billion in fines to U.S., British and Swiss regulators. That includes Citibank, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, RBS and UBS. Now, these banks accused of trying to manipulate foreign exchange rates to benefit their own trading positions. Barclays backed out of the settlement and still is being investigated. So, watch those things today.</s>BERMAN: Ten minutes after the hour. Missouri's governor revealing new plans of a possible protest at the grand jury -- whatever the grand jury decides, whether to charge police officer Darren Wilson who shot and killed unarmed Michael Brown. This as Brown's parents opened up about how they want the community to react. We're live with what they have to say, next.