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New Day

Duchess Catherine in Labor; Royal Baby Watch; Phoenix Swamped by Flash Floods; Wild Weather; Roller Coaster Nightmare; At Least 54 Dead in China Quake; Protests for Trayvon Martin

Aired July 22, 2013 - 06:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news, the Duchess of Cambridge in labor. Catherine is in at the hospital at this hour as the nation waits for the biggest birth in decades. We have the story covered like no one else.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Daring rescue. The major city submerged by monsoon flooding. The dramatic moments. Drivers are plucked from their cars by helicopters all caught on tape.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Copycat killer? A grisly discovery in Cleveland. Three women murdered, a man in custody and fears there may be more victims. We're live with the latest.

CUOMO: Your NEW DAY starts right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan, and Michaela Pereira.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: Good morning, everybody. Welcome to NEW DAY. It's Monday, July 22nd, 6:00 the East. I'm Chris Cuomo.

BOLDUAN: Good morning, everyone. Happy Monday. I'm Kate Bolduan. We're joined by news anchor, Michaela Pereira.

PEREIRA: Good morning.

BOLDUAN: A lot going on including this, the moment has arrived. The moment so many have been waiting for, us included. So, let's take a look at some live pictures of St. Mary's Hospital in London. The Duchess of Cambridge or Kate, as so many call her affectionately, is inside at this very moment in labor, in the early stages of labor. The royal baby announcement could come at any moment.

CUOMO: We are all over it. We have a team of reporters, royal watchers, all here to walk us through these key moments. When, how, and what we find out about the birth? There are all these procedures and processes and guessing. It's going to be great. What is Prince William's role in the birth? We're going to go through that. And why will this baby be so much different than those before? We're going to really give you everything we can this morning.

PEREIRA: And you're excited about it.

CUOMO: I am. I mean, this is my birthing suit.

PEREIRA: Excellent. Of course, we have so much other news going on we'll be covering. We have details on that horrible accident on a Six Flags roller coaster left a mother dead.

Also the pope making his very first trip to his homeland of South America today, we'll follow that.

And also we have a follow-up for you, that NEW DAY exclusive, we were the first to report that Congressman Steve Cohen famously caught tweeting a swimsuit model he thought was his long lost daughter, really wasn't her father. We finally hear from him today.

CUOMO: So much but let's start with this big deal that's going on over in the U.K. The palace has confirmed that Duchess Katherine is in labor right now. So let's get straight to CNN royal correspondent Max Foster live outside St. Mary's Hospital in London. Max, we've been waiting to have something to actually talk to you about and today is that day. How excited are you, Max?

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was pretty exciting, I have to say. I was -- we got an early tipoff this morning at dawn. It turns out that the duchess actually came around the back of the hospital about five hours ago. We obviously rushed down to the hospital and then had the e-mail confirming it a couple of hours later, again, a huge sense of excitement here because, as you say, we have been here for a week waiting for this information.

I can tell you that the labor is progressing normally. That's the update that we've got. So good news for Kate and there was a couple of cars that came around the back, just Kate and William and a security detail. So just Kate and William inside, pregnancy, labor going very well I'm told.

CUOMO: All right, Max, appreciate it. We will be coming to you many times throughout the morning is my guess. Keep us up to date if you hear anything before we do.

BOLDUAN: I'm sure at this point Max feels like it's his child as well. Feel like I'm in labor with her. All right, the royal family anxiously awaiting the big news, of course, so let's go to Buckingham Palace where CNN's Erin McLaughlin is also standing by. What are you hearing there, Erin?

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kate. Well, there's a sense of excitement and anticipation here outside Buckingham Palace as the news has spread that the Duchess of Cambridge has been admitted to hospital in the early stages of labor. People are here wishing her a very healthy and safe delivery. If you took a look over that way, you can see through the traffic, the crowds have assembled really for the changing of the guard, which is a daily tradition here in the United Kingdom. But shortly no doubt we'll expect crowds to be assembled for the posting of the royal birth notice. It will be placed on an easel, the very same easel that was used to announce the birth of Prince William over 31 years ago. That's where we'll find out the sex of the baby, the weight of the baby, the time of birth. People here very excited.

BOLDUAN: All right, Erin, keep an eye on it for us. We'll be back to you throughout the show. Thank you so much.

CUOMO: Got the moment. You have the majesty. You have the mystery. Kind of reminds me of when they had their wedding. I was over there covering that. It was very kind of same feel. Let's bring in royal contributor, Victoria Arbiter. Victoria is an expert on the royal family, grew up in Windsor and Kensington Palace herself. Great to have you.

VICTORIA ARBITER, CNN ROYAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning.

CUOMO: Always good to have you. So the specialness of this, take us through a little bit of things that happen here that don't happen ordinarily other than the millions of sets of eyeballs in anticipation.

ARBITER: Well, yes, as you say, apart from that. Really you only get an heir once every generation. It's been 31 years since we've had an heir to the throne. What's most exciting to me about this baby, it's going to be the first time since 1894 the reigning sovereign has three direct heirs to the throne living. Queen Victoria was the last person to have that so really when you think of the history and grandeur of the occasion that's very exciting.

But now we're not going to hear anything else from the palace until the aid walks out of the front doors of the hospital. That's when we'll know the baby's even been delivered. Then you got the ceremony of the police escort to Buckingham Palace, the announcement being put on the easel.

I like that they've really managed to include some drama in all of this. In this world of Twitter, Facebook, social media you can put it out. It would be round the world in a nanosecond. It's kind of over. At least we're giving this future heir to the throne some real pomp and circumstance in announcement.

BOLDUAN: And of course there's always a lot of -- any baby there's a lot of excitement around the name. What will his or her name be? When it comes to a royal and the next heir to the throne, it's especially important.

ARBITER: It's very important, yes. The royal family generally choose dynastic names. If you look at every titled member of the royal family that's currently living and that was born into the royal family, they have a dynastic name, Anne, Elizabeth, Andrew, Edward. So we're going to see something like that from William and Kate. By nature they are very traditional. We got Katherine, Elizabeth, William, Phillip, Arthur, Louis. You know, we're going to see something that has a familial history. PEREIRA: And not very traditional. Yet they come from a lineage that is steeped in tradition. How do they walk that line? They want to be their own style of parents. They want to bring this baby into the world that we know it today. How do they manage that yet stay true to tradition?

ARBITER: Well, Diana is largely credited with giving her boys a very normal childhood. But she actually had an easier time of doing that simply because she didn't live in the multimedia age we live in today. Diana was able to take the boys to fast food restaurants, to the movie theatre, theme parks. Occasionally a paparazzi photographer would see them.

But generally they could go largely unnoticed. William and Kate are not going to have that opportunity. If Kate's just walking the dog in Kensington Gardens it surrounds the internet seconds later. So I think they're going to have quite a hard time balancing their desperate desire to be normal while also adhering to the traditions of the royal family.

BOLDUAN: Even before they get there, when do you think we'll actually see the first pictures of the royal baby? That is something that, you know, the relationship with the press has been a very difficult one obviously for William and Harry. But when do you think we'll see the baby?

ARBITER: We're all, of course, hoping when they walk out of the hospital we may get a glimpse of the baby. Of course, Diana had William and Harry swaddled so tightly, you couldn't see is there a baby in that blanket. So I think William and Kate are probably going to do something quite similar.

Two weeks on, three weeks on, there'll be official photographs. That will be the first time we see the new parents with their baby. They'll be released in an official capacity. This is why I think William and Kate are going to just hide away after the baby's born. Of course, those photographs are going to be worth a fortune, anything that is unauthorized. So William is going to be very aware of that.

BOLDUAN: Very interested in controlling their press and controlling that relationship especially when it comes to their first born or any of their children.

PEREIRA: The queen has to be the first to be told. Does she get first visiting rights or is that as grandmother and also the reigning monarch do you get that right?

ARBITER: Well, the queen did go and visit all of her grandchildren in hospital except Beatrice. Her birthday was August 8th. The queen's already in Bellmoro. They don't change their plans.

BOLDUAN: When the queen had Charles the king was at a squash game.

ARBITER: Prince Phillip was down in the gardens playing squash. It's a different generation. There are a number of royal fathers that were in the room when babies were born. Going back to Prince Albert, Edward VII, Charles was in the room. Prince Phillip when Charles was born was reportedly down playing squash.

CUOMO: William will be in the room as far as we know?

ARBITER: Yes. William has every intention. He plans to be a very modern father, very hands on. They have not hired a nanny. He's expecting to change nappies right alongside Kate. So, yes, he will be in the room.

PEREIRA: The home secretary won't be. That used to be a tradition. Which I think would be a little awkward.

ARBITER: Very awkward.

CUOMO: Explain what it is. We're saying it like people know and they don't. What is the tradition?

ARBITER: Well, James II was largely believed to have had a baby smuggled into the palace and so there were thoughts that perhaps this was not the legitimate heir to the throne. Since that time they have the home secretary present either in the room or right outside the room to witness the birth of the baby. The last time that happened was in 1936 with Princess Alexandra. The queen's father said I think we're down with this.

BOLDUAN: I think that's probably very good for the monarchy. All right, Victoria, stick with us. We obviously have so much more on this breaking story throughout the morning including how different giving birth is between the United States and the U.K. There are lots of differences. We're going to be tracking it all.

CUOMO: It'll be great. There's a tale we can give you about this process just last hour. That'll be very good. Also people flashing in front of the screen. That's OK. It's breaking news. That's how it works. Pay no mind to that.

All right, we're going to go to the other big story that we're following this morning, raging floods after a week of smothering heat. Let's take a look at some picture here. This is the Phoenix area Sunday, two inches of rain in an hour. That opened the flood gates leading to one dramatic rescue after another.

We have team coverage of that as well. Meteorologist Indra Petersons is tracking severe weather in several parts of the country for us, but first let's get to Stephanie Elam live from Apache Junction, Arizona. Good morning.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Chris, Kate, and Michaela. It's one of those things. It rains in the mountains, comes down in the washes and it happens really fast. There were many people who got caught out there in the water.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAM (voice-over): Raging monsoon waters flooded parts of the Phoenix area on Sunday. Leading firefighters to a series of dramatic rescues caught on camera, at least half a dozen people brought to safety. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is pretty bad. I mean, I think the worst I have seen so far. I've lived here for three years.

ELAM: Emergency crews braved the thigh high flash floodwaters that swallowed whole cars in its wake, one rescue after another after another. Watch as emergency crews rush to the aid of these two 19- year-old boys in Apache Junction who crawled out of their submerged SUV to a small patch of land nearby.

LON EDER, MESA FIRE DEPARTMENT: At that point their natural instinct is to get out of the vehicle. At that point they're going with the flow of the water, which is very powerful.

ELAM: A helicopter hovers above, lowering a harness, lifting one of the teenagers across the rising waters to safety. The second snaps pictures of the scene even appearing to take a self-portrait mid rescue. Firefighters conducting rescues by air and land, lowering a ladder from a fire truck to rescue this couple stuck in a pickup truck for nearly an hour before following a safety line to land.

And just west in Scottsdale, a firefighter carries this woman to dry land as the water consumes her car. A similar fate for this Corvette, carried some 100 yards by the floodwaters. The driver, rescued.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He got out of the vehicle and was sitting on top of it. The water was so high that you couldn't see the vehicle at all.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ELAM: Nothing like a selfie mid-rescue, but that's what it looked like that 19-year-old young man was doing. Overall it's still very humid out here and still very muddy, and still some leftover remnants out here of the water. But the good news to tell you, no injuries reported. Everyone was rescued.

BOLDUAN: Great note. All right, Stephanie, we'll get back to you. Thanks so much for that.

From the flash flooding to lightning storms, a relief from the heat has arrived, but clearly at a pretty big price. Indra Petersons is here with more on this wild weather. So what are we expecting now, Indra?

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. We really can't get it straight, right. First, we had all the rain in June. Now it's July, we had all that heat. Yes, we're right back to the rain. Having lived in Arizona, as we just described it's exactly how it happens. This monsoonal thunderstorm, you get heavy thunderstorm and a heavy rain so quickly that the water rises very fast.

With that we're talking about the flash flood watch today as well. It's going to last the next several days as long as we have the monsoonal thunderstorms. I've been waiting for this. To share the good news, yes, finally temperatures are where they should be, anywhere from the Ohio Valley all the way into the northeast about 10, 15 degrees cooler than where they were last week.

It feels really good out here. We are going to be watching a little change with that. Of course, we have low pressure, warm front and cold front, really kind of extending anywhere from Michigan all the way down through Kansas. With that, all that warm moist air means thunderstorms, showers.

So we have the heavier thunderstorms. One to two inches of rain is possible. Otherwise really just kind of a scattered thunderstorm with most importantly, can I say it, cooler weather. Thank you very much.

BOLDUAN: Great way to start a Monday. Thank you so much, Indra. We'll watch it with you.

CUOMO: Yes, we'll be coming back to the weather throughout the morning.

But we're also following developments this morning from Texas. An investigation is under way into how a woman fell to her death from a roller coaster at the Six Flags Amusement Park in Arlington. CNN's Ed Lavandera is following the story live in Texas. Good morning, Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Chris. Rosie Esparza, his sons described her in a Facebook posting as a mother who lived adventure. It was her first trip here to Six Flags. It was supposed to be a fun day, but it turned into an unspeakable nightmare.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA (voice-over): The Texas Giant starts with a spine tingling drop. This is where witnesses say they saw Rosie Esparza fall from the wooden roller coaster. Carmen Brown was next in line to get on the ride when she heard the horrific screams.

CARMEN BROWN, WITNESS: She goes up like this. Then when it drops to come down, that's when it released. She just tumbled.

LAVANDERA: Some witnesses told local news media that Esparza told a Six Flags employee she was worried that her seat restraint had not locked properly. Esparza's son and other family members rode along with her. They had to ride out the 2-minute roller coaster fearing the worst the rest of the way.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They were screaming when they came back and they are trying to get out of the restraint. They were screaming we got to get my mom.

LAVANDERA: Six Flags over Texas Hurricane Harbor refuses to answer questions on camera, but in a written statement says we are committed to determining the cause of this tragic accident. It would be a disservice to the family to speculate regarding what transpired. According to a National Safety Council analysis of amusement park injuries there were just over 1,200 ride-related injuries in 2011.

About 4 percent of those caused serious physical harm. Roller coaster accidents accounted for about 28 percent of the injuries. But industry observers say amusement parks are loosely regulated and that it is Six Flags that will be in charge of conducting the investigation, not an outside independent agency.

KENNETH MARTIN, AMUSEMENT PARK SAFETY ANALYST (via telephone): Whatever organization comes in, whomever comes in, their work is the property of Six Flags and it will remain the property of Six Flags because there's nothing in Texas or many other states that make them have to release that information.

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LAVANDERA: The Texas Giant Roller Coaster ride, Chris, has been closed pending further investigation. We tried asking Six Flags how long they anticipate this investigation will last, but they did not respond to that question -- Chris.

CUOMO: All right, Ed, thanks for being on that for us this morning. Appreciate it.

BOLDUAN: Well, there's clearly a lot of news developing at this hour. So let's get straight to Michaela for some of the headlines.

PEREIRA: Good morning to the two of you. Good morning to you at home making news, breaking overnight, fears the death toll could rise after a strong earthquake hits North Western China. At least 54 people are dead. More than 300 others reportedly injured. State media reports the quake hit near the province of Gansu and tremors are still being reported.

A gas line catches fire in Eastern Virginia shooting flames 30 feet up into the air. Fire crews working late into the night to contain the blaze. Ten houses in the neighborhood were evacuated. The house closest to the fire thankfully was unoccupied at the time. York County Fire Department would not confirm lightning sparked the fire, but the National Weather Service reports lightning did hit a gas line.

People in three California communities told to evacuate ahead of the devastating Mountain Fire are now being allowed to go back home. Evacuation orders lifted in Idyllwild, Fern Valley and Pine Grove. There is a new concern that potential that heavy rain will trigger mudslides around the burn areas. The Mountain Fire has consumed more than 27,000 acres. At this point, it's 68 percent contained.

The first trial involving the sudden acceleration of Toyotas gets under way this morning in California according to "The Associated Press". A jury will decide if the automaker is liable for the death of a 66-year-old bookkeeper killed when her 2006 Camry accelerated to 100 miles an hour before hitting a telephone pole and a tree. The outcome could determine whether Toyota will be held liable in dozens of other unintended acceleration cases.

Pope Francis now on route to Brazil on his first trip as pontiff overseas. He's scheduled to arrive in Rio de Janeiro this afternoon for a week-long visit. Brazil is home to the world's largest Catholic population. Some 1 million pilgrims are expected to pour into Rio for the week of events jointly referred to as World Youth Day. Quite a discovery. 14,000 feet below the surface of the Atlantic parts of two F-1 engines from the historic Apollo 11 mission that landed man kind on the moon. They were found and brought to the surface by an expedition team financed by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos. America's Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon during the mission 44 years ago this week.

Amazing. What a find. What a discovery. So great we can put it on display for people to say.

CUOMO: Fourteen feet below the surface. That is amazing.

BOLDUAN: Anything you go down 14,000 feet to bring it back up is amazing.

PEREIRA: A feat on itself.

BOLDUAN: No, I'm kidding.

All right. Coming up next on NEW DAY, we are following today's big breaking news as everyone awaiting the arrival of a future king or queen. There are several differences in how babies are delivered in the U.K. and in the United States. And we're going to break it all down for you.

CUOMO: We're also following what's hot back here at home. One week after a jury acquitted George Zimmerman, emotions are still running high. The president weighs in, but critics are attacking him for it. We're going to give you the latest on that. Stay with us.

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BOLDUAN: Welcome back to NEW DAY, everyone.

You're taking a look right now of live pictures outside St. Mary's Hospital in London, where Catherine, the duchess of Cambridge, is in the early stages of labor. Very exciting news for everyone. We're following the huge excitement over the royal birth and we'll bring you the latest developments as we get them in.

CUOMO: First this morning, we're going to talk about what's happening back here at home.

Thousands took to the streets this weekend one week after the acquittal of George Zimmerman. Some were defending Zimmerman, others protesting the not guilty verdict, and loudly calling for change. Their voices were met by politicians on both sides of the aisle, including an emotional plea from President Obama.

CNN's Brianna Keilar is at the White House with that this morning. Good morning, Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Chris. Many Americans who were upset with the not guilty verdict in the George Zimmerman case are now looking toward Washington, specifically the Obama administration, to pursue federal charges against George Zimmerman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR (voice-over): In Houston late Sunday, some tense moments as Trayvon Martin supporters marched close by a group backing George Zimmerman and stand your ground laws.

PROTESTERS: No justice, no peace!

KEILAR: Earlier, emotional rallies in some 100 cities across the country. Echoing President Obama's extraordinary personal comments, trying to explain the pain African-Americans are feeling.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago.

KEILAR: Protesters demanding federal civil rights charges and supporting the president's call for states to reconsider stand your ground laws.

OBAMA: If Trayvon Martin was of age and armed, could he have stood his ground on that sidewalk? And do we actually think that he would have been justified in shooting Mr. Zimmerman who had followed him in a car because he felt threatened?

KEILAR: Republican John McCain says stand your ground laws need to be rethought.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: And I'm confident that the members of the Arizona legislature will, because it is a very controversial legislation.

KEILAR: Beyonce and Jay-Z came out to stand with Trayvon's mother, Sybrina Fulton.

In Friday night, Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake ended a Yankees concert with the song "Forever Young."

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Still, if you listen carefully to what President Obama said, you'll notice he didn't opine about the outcome of the George Zimmerman case. Instead, he talked about people looking inward. In a national conversation, soul searching within their churches, their workplaces and their homes, asking themselves about whether they judge people based on the color of their skin -- Chris.

CUOMO: He was also careful about any federal charges.

KEILAR: Sure.

CUOMO: Obviously this has become a bigger conversation that the country is having. And probably one it should.

Brianna, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

About 24 minutes past the hour. Now, we're going to take a break.

When we come back a gruesome discovery in a Cleveland suburb: three women murdered. Was it a copycat serial killer? That's the question officials are asking. They're also trying to figure out if there are more victims. We're going to take you live to the scene.

BOLDUAN: Do not worry, we are following the breaking news. The world anxiously awaiting this morning the future queen or king of England to arrive. Duchess Catherine in labor at St. Mary's Hospital right there.

We're going to take you live to London for the royal baby watch.

CUOMO: True or false? Main male name, Bruno.

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