Return to Transcripts main page

Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Egypt on Edge AS Deadline Passes; Edward Snowden in Limbo; Yarnell Hill Fire 8 Percent Contained; Dennis Rodman Wants a Nobel Peace Prize; Homer Bailey Pitches First No-Hitter of Season; A $10,000 Tip

Aired July 03, 2013 - 05:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Egypt in chaos. Deadly protests intensify in the streets as the country's president refuses demands to step down. We will take you live to Cairo.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The hunt for NSA leaker Edward Snowden gets bizarre, forcing down the plane of a president. So, was a world leader trying to sneak Snowden out of Russia? This international fiasco playing out before cameras this morning.

HARLOW: And this is just bizarre. Dennis Rodman, NBA superstar, reality show winner, world peacemaker? Not even close. Why the retired hall of famer thinks he should be in the running for the Nobel Prize?

BERMAN: Top three he says. At least top three.

HARLOW : Unreal. All right.

BERMAN: Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.

HARLOW: I'm Poppy Harlow. It is 31 minutes past the hour. More now on our top story this morning, political crisis in Egypt that is turning more dangerous and more deadly by the hour. Overnight, clashes at Cairo University have left at least 16 people dead, hundreds more injured as supporters of President Mohamed Morsi squared off with their opponents who want the president out. Morsi is refusing to bend saying he is the legitimately elected president. Now, the clock is ticking.

The Egyptian military has given Morsi just a few more hours to resolve the crisis or, they say, they will step in.

Our Reza Sayah has been following this now for days. He joins us live from Cairo. Reza, the military put this 48-hour deadline on Morsi to meet the demands of the people. We now have less than six hours left. Do we have any idea exactly what the military plans to do if we reach that deadline?

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's not exactly clear, Poppy. And that only adds to the suspense and the intrigue. And the military really put the spotlight on themselves with this ultimatum and the deadline today, the ultimatum to the president and the opposition factions to solve this conflict. Otherwise, the military said, it would step in. But if the conflict is not resolved, then indications are it's not going to be, what's the military prepared to do?

This is really a high stake showdown. It could potentially turn violent. In some cases, it has. And what makes this so dramatic is now you have three factions, the armed forces, the president, his supporters, and the opposition all drawing their lines in the sand and all making provocative incendiary statements. Last night in a televised speech, President Morsi saying he's willing to die to protect the legitimacies of this democratic transition.

Then, you have the armed force in a Facebook message saying they're willing to give their lives before allowing what they called extremists, terrorists, and the ignorance to jeopardize and threaten the Egyptian people. So, these are in your face statements that set the stage for potential explosive situation today and a lot at stake, Poppy.

HARLOW: And we know, Reza, there are a number of reasons why the people are there protesting this government. We've seen crime escalating in the streets there on Cairo. We've seen Egypt's economy that crumbled in 2011. We have not seen that come back. There are a number of complaints. But it's interesting, because the military is going out of its way to say this is not a coup. Why are they so adamant about that?

SAYAH: Well, whether they say it's a coup or not, when you seize power, when you overthrow someone, that's the definition of a coup.

HARLOW: Right.

SAYAH: But they've made it clear that they don't want to remain in power. They just want to be in for what they call some sort of transition just like they did last time. And there's no sign that they want to remain in power. But certainly, Poppy, they've injected themselves right in the middle of this intense political conflict.

HARLOW: Absolutely. Reza, keep an eye on it for us. And of course, we'll be checking in with you often throughout the day. Thank you.

BERMAN: We're going to turn now to a diplomatic standoff that has been unfolding over the last several hours possibly connected to Edward Snowden. No country has accepted his asylum request yet. But Bolivia's president had been stuck in Vienna amid rumors that he may have had Snowden on his plane. That's right. Accusing the president of trying to sneak out Edward Snowden.

This president, the president of Bolivia is expected to be leaving shortly now that Spain has said he can fly over their airspace. That's the latest. Atika Shubert is following this story for us from London. This whole thing very strange, Atika.

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Very strange and it's turned out into a diplomatic disaster. It's pretty unheard of to force a president's fly down and not allow them to fly over their airspace, but that's apparently what happened last night. Spain has just now, however, agreed that he can land in the Canary Islands for refueling stop before continuing on their journey.

That was their original plan before they got diverted to Vienna, Austria. We also have more details from Austrian officials that say they have checked everybody on the plane, including the six passengers which include the president and five crew. A police officer also went through the plane as part of a voluntary check and did not find anything. No Snowden aboard.

BERMAN: All right, Atika, appreciate that. So, that plane will be allowed to return to Bolivia with their president on board. Atika Shubert in London this morning, thank you so much.

HARLOW: Meantime, Pope John Paul II has stepped closer to sainthood this morning now that a Vatican commission has officially credited him with a second miracle. That's seen as a final formal obstacle to him being canonized. Pope Francis will have to sign off on that in the end. It is expected that practice (ph) could be completed by the end of the year.

BERMAN: In Canada, a pair of the police call self-radicalized are facing charges that they tried to blow up a government building on that country's birthday. Authorities allege the man and woman placed pressure cooker bombs at the legislature building in Victoria, British Columbia on Monday, which was Canada Day.

But police have infiltrated the plot and made sure that the bombs were inert, which means they wouldn't work. Police say the duo had no ties to any terror group or the Boston marathon bombings.

HARLOW: And off the coast of Honduras. There is a search underway for two Americans and six other people feared lost at sea. The eight passengers were on a motor vote that left the Roatan Island on Saturday in route to Utila Island. It's not very far away. It's a trip that usually takes just a few hours. But apparently, their boat never arrived. The coast guard, also the Honduran navy are searching for the boat and the eight passengers. So far, nothing has turned up.

BERMAN: The Fourth of July shaping up to be a wet one, but not where rain is needed the most. Up and down the eastern seaboard, there is a threat of thunderstorms, heavy rain, flash flooding. Some areas still reeling from storms and torrential downpours over the past week that caused significant flood damage.

HARLOW: And a punishing heat wave continues to scorch much of the west. Finally, though, a little bit of relief in sight. Temperatures not expected to be quite as hot in the northwest. The Great Basin and the Northern Rockies today as they were yesterday. But parts of the southwest may still hit 120 degrees. Sin City, you're going to see a high of 113 today.

BERMAN: There's some good news this morning for that massive wildfire burning near Phoenix that killed 19 members of an elite hotshot fire crew. The Yarnell Hill fire is now eight percent contained. That is a vast improvement. It seems to be holding about 8,400 acres. Some 200 homes and other structures have been destroyed.

HARLOW: All right. Our Indra Petersons is looking at the forecast for us this morning. What can you tell us, Indra?

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. What we need is rain in the west. We need to dry out on the east, obviously. We actually are starting to feel a little bit of a pattern chain. Most of the fire dangers actually shifting farther to Pacific Northwest, including Northern California and Nevada. Now, there's a reason for this. We keep using this word, the monsoon.

What is that? We typically see storms coming from the west to the east except in the summertime, in the southwest, a rich of high pressure goes north. So critical because what it actually allows is the moisture from the gulf to get into the southwest. And that is helpful because it actually relieves that fire danger. They get those monsoonal thunderstorms in the afternoon and you see that fire threat.

You can actually see here. That to go (ph) from July to August, by August, you eliminate that fire threat in the southwest. So, that's good news. We're starting to see more of that moisture pool into that region. Now, the biggest thing to keep talking about is all the heat. Yes, we're seeing a hint of relief over the next several days. When I say hint of relief, I don't want to focus on it too much.

We're still, even we cool down, a good 10 degrees above normal. Unfortunately, on the holiday weekend, that is not a good thing. As far as the east coast, we're still talking about heavy rain. More scattered in nature to the northeast and once you go to the southeast. Look at this heavy rainfall, keep in mind. We've already broken records for June for the amount of rain they've seen.

And now, we're adding another three to five inches. The flooding threat will be high. And unfortunately, that doesn't mean more showers for the Fourth of July there. So, really, whether you're in the west or east, you still have the bad news as far as the heat and flooding.

HARLOW: Yes. Absolutely. Tough, tough weather on both coasts. Thank you, Indra. Appreciate it.

A heartwarming story for you now coming to us from California, and it was caught on camera.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW (voice-over): A Fresno firefighter was going through a home after a house fire with the camera that was mounted to his helmet when he saw that. Do you see that? He saw a kitten lying there, seemingly breathless, lifeless, scooped it up, rushed the kitten outside, started treatment on that tiny kitten, giving it oxygen, and then within minutes.

CORY KALANICK, FIREFIGHTER: It's a pretty cool thing that we're able to help the kitten out.

BERMAN (voice-over): Oh.

HARLOW: Bringing the kitten, seemingly, back to life with that oxygen. The kitten was returned to his owner. No update yet on how the kitten is doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN (on-camera): All right. Good for him. Good for that firefighter. Good for the kitten. That's so nice.

Forty minutes after the hour. Coming up, President Obama has one, so why not Dennis Rodman? Why the basketball star turned international activist thinks he deserves a Nobel Peace prize?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right. Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. So, Dennis Rodman wants his Nobel Prize. The retired basketball star and self-styled international diplomat tells "Sports Illustrated" that he did important work when he went to North Korea and met with Kim Jong- Un. Rodman says "keeping us safe is not really my job." He says, "It's the president's job."

But Rodman goes on to say, "I'll tell you this, if I don't finish in the top three for the next Nobel Peace Prize, something is seriously wrong." Really, Mr. Rodman? He thinks, also, apparently, that the president and Kim Jong-Un could be friends, that the North Korean leader, he says, just wants to talk to the president, apparently, about basketball.

HARLOW: If the stories unreal -- it was unreal when I first heard about it, and it's unreal now.

BERMAN: Welcome to planet Earth --

HARLOW: Thank you.

BERMAN: All right. Let's take a look at what's coming up on "NEW DAY" with earthlings, Chris Cuomo and Kate Bolduan joining us now. Hey, guys.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR, NEW DAY: Good morning.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR, NEW DAY: Well, obviously, we're still looking at the Zimmerman trial. Oh, what a difference a day makes, my friends. All the pundits and legal looker honors were saying that the prosecution had blown the case. But yesterday, we'll show you why there is such a reversal of fortune. We have our legal experts, Sunny Hostin, Danny Cevallos, and Tom Mesro (ph) all here to unpack it for you.

BOLDUAN: Someone is saying a sea change for the prosecution yesterday.

And another story that we're watching -- something we've been watching really closely. Growing outrage after a 19-year-old man is jailed for apparently joking on Facebook about a school shooting. A very bad joke, if it was, clearly. His family is campaigning to get him set free. And we're going to hear from his mother live in the show.

CUOMO: And caution, do not fall asleep during this pastor's sermon.

BOLDUAN: If you need a reminder.

CUOMO: Oh, boy. Well, you shouldn't do it, anyway. This guy, preacher, caught on camera exploding in his congregation, insulting them one by one. We have the tape. I was not there.

BOLDUAN: Look at him. Watch out.

BERMAN: Went from Sunday sermon to Sunday smackdown.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

BERMAN: It's like full contact preaching right there. Something to see.

BOLDUAN: I'm going to steal that. Don't tell anybody. Full contact preaching. I like that.

BERMAN: There you go. All your yours. All right. Thanks, guys. Can't wait to see it.

Coming up, history on the diamond to tell you about, a hard-throwing Texan pitches won (ph) for the record book. He was oh so close to a perfect game. It was still an awesome game. Maybe not perfect. The "Bleacher Report" coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right. Cincinnati Reds' pitcher, Homer Bailey, dominated the Giants last night throwing the second no hitter of his career. Pretty close together, too. Andy Scholes joins us now with more in the "Bleacher Report." Hey, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, BLEACHER REPORT: Hey. Good morning, guys. Well, last night's jam from Homer Bailey was the first no hitter of the season. And ironically, Bailey also threw the last no hitter of the last season. So, he's the first pitcher to throw another a no hitter, and then, another before anyone else since his idol, Nolan Ryan, did it back in the 1970s. Now, bailey had his bat ball going all night, striking out nine giants.

The hard-throwing Texan allowed just one walk in the seventh inning. Other than, that he was perfect. Baileys is the third Reds pitcher to throw more than one no hitter, and he's just one of four active pitchers to have multiple no-nos.

Well, Dodgers rookie phenom Yasiel Puig just finished the greatest first month by a batter in major league's history, and he's showing no signs of slowing down. Puig homered again last night against the Rockies, now hitting 443 with eight home runs and 17 RBIs through just 27 games. And his first, his 44 hits in the first month in the big league is the most by any player not name (ph) Joe Dimaggio.

And a big debate now is, should Puig be named an all-star even though he's only played for just a month. We'll find out next week.

Well, Alex Rodriguez began his road back to big league last night with a Charleston RiverDogs. This is A-Rod's first rehab game since having surgery on his hip back in January. Now, he ended to a double play in the first inning, and then he struck out in the third to end the night, 0 for 2. Not the best start, but A-Rod is just happy to be back out on the field.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX RODRIGUEZ, BASEBALL PLAYER: It's always a little exciting to go out there. People are excited out there. It's fun. We're human beings. We always go to go out there and play. You always want to play well. But I'll tell you, it's been nine months. It's been a long time. So, it's good to get back out there and take some of the rust off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: A-Rod hopes to rejoin the Yankee players this month.

All right. According to the "Orlando Sentinel," while Tim Tebow and Aaron Hernandez were teammates at the University of Florida in 2007, Tebow had to play peacemaker during a bar fight in both Hernandez. A police report from the incident said that Hernandez punched a bouncer on the side of the head, bursting his eardrum.

Tebow apparently tried to, quote, "resolve the conflict" by telling Hernandez to leave the scene. And Tebow even offered to pay the bill. No charges against Hernandez were ever filed. So, guys, just another example of Tim Tebow playing the good guy.

BERMAN: You know, Tebow may take Hernandez's job. I mean, the Patriots need a tight end. Tebow man (ph) to step in and play that position now.

SCHOLES: We'll see if that happens.

BERMAN: All right. Andy, appreciate it.

HARLOW: Thanks, Andy.

All right. Coming up, talk about grateful. Jeanne Moos has the story of a man who left a really big tip for a burger and fries. Why? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: So, there are tips and there are tips. Jeanne Moos has the story of a very big gratuity that one activist left for a restaurant owner and he has even more to give.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What kind of a guy leaves a $10,000 tip on burgers and fries? One who's won $25 million playing the Canadian lottery. Clifford Luther owns the Old West Express in Saskatchewan.

CLIFFORD LUTHER, OLD WEST EXPRESS OWNER: I have to pinch myself every so often just to realize how generous he was.

MOOS: Lotto winner Bob Erb was on a road trip when he stopped at the diner to eat. The two men ended up chatting. Cliff spoke of his daughter who had just been diagnosed with cancer. Bob said he lost his 26-year-old son a few years back. On his return trip, Bob stopped by the diner again for a bite.

VOICE OF BOB ERB, LOTTO-WINNING PHILANTHROPIST: And I said, "Hey, I didn't get a chance to stop in a bank machine, can I write you a check? I said, "For lunch?" He said, "Ah, no, no. I'll buy your lunch. I said, "No, no, no." I said, "I'll leave you a check and a tip."

MOOS: A $10,000 one. Not quite as big as the check Bob got last year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here's your check for $25 million.

MOOS: Since then, he figures he's given away $7 million, most of it to shelters and good causes in his hometown of Terrace, British Columbia.

(on-camera): Giving away money isn't Bob Erb's only habit. He's been smoking pot for over 40 years.

ERB: I generally smoke 10 to 15 joints a day and seven days a week, 365 days a year.

MOOS (voice-over): With his new found riches, Bob Erb, we swear that's his real name, Erb has been funding the fight to legalize marijuana. Even on that exciting day when he was introduced as the lotto winner

ERB: I need to relax a little bit, guys.

MOOS (voice-over): Maybe you think these lyrics explain the $10,000 tip --

(SINGING): Because I got high, because I got high, because I got high.

MOOS: What a great full emotional dad knows better.

LUTHER: You know, he said go and visit your daughter. Make sure you get out there and see her. So, yes.

MOOS: A pot lover won the jackpot, and now, he's spreading around his potluck.

Jeanne Moos, CNN -- LUTHER: I said well they're good burgers and fries, but they're not that good.

MOOS: -- New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: I mean, there's a guy that can satisfy a lot of dream and a serious case of the munchies. All of the same time.

HARLOW: A little pot good for the heart. I don't know. In this case --

BERMAN: What a great guy, though, to do that. That's fantastic.

HARLOW: Love the story.

BERMAN: Terrific story. All right, guys. Let's bring in "NEW DAY" anchors, Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan. Give us what you got, guys.

BOLDUAN: Good morning, guys. We're just trying to figure out how anyone is still awake and moving around after 10 to 15 joints a day.

HARLOW: Right.

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: That's crazy.

BERMAN: No knowledge.

BOLDUAN: Berman just plead -- that's all I'm saying.

CUOMO: This story makes no sense. We must move away -- John, Poppy, good to see you. It's almost the top of the hour. You know what that means on "NEW DAY," time for the top news.