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New Day

Flossie Targets Hawaii; Philadelphia Swamped; Peace Talks Begin Tonight; 75 Egyptians Killed in Cairo; Bus Plunges Off Bridge; Deadly Church Bus Crash; Driver Charged in Deadly Boat Crash

Aired July 29, 2013 - 06:00   ET

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


(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have personally never been on anything quite this difficult before.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Wild weather coast to coast. Flash floods cripple the nation, hail in Vegas, even trouble in paradise. Hawaii getting its worst storm in 20 years.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight. Dozens killed as a tour bus crashes in Italy. And, in the U.S., another bus crash carrying a church group, leaving three dead and many more injured. We have the latest.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: To catch a thief, more than $50 million in jewelries stolen from a ritzy hotel in Cannes in a brazen plot straight out of Hollywood. The manhunt is on this morning.

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. It's Monday. Little stretch --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: July 29th, 6:00 in the East. I'm Chris Cuomo.

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

PEREIRA: Good morning.

BOLDUAN: We have a lot of news this morning, including hope and fear in the Middle East, all happening at the same time. Hope as the U.S. gets Israel and the Palestinians back to the negotiating table today, the first time they've agreed to talks in three years.

But also fear as violence erupts in Egypt. More than 70 people dead, and we're going to get into all of that with our reporters as well as Christiane Amanpour. CUOMO: And what a story we've had unfolding over the last few days. We're going to bring you details about a horrible boating accident destroyed a family in the making. Listen to this, a groom left without his bride to be and his best man. Now, the driver of that boat facing criminal charges. We'll tell you why.

PEREIRA: And check this out. This is Russian president, Vladimir Putin. A man paying (ph) for judo, horseback riding shirtless, so much more. Here he is catching a giant fish and giving it a big old wet kiss. The controversy and debate this morning, is the Kremlin lying about how big the fish truly is?

CUOMO: The kiss isn't controversial.

PEREIRA: No, no, no.

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: No. It's just the fish tale aspect of it.

CUOMO: Respect it.

BOLDUAN: All right. We'll get to all of that.

But up first, devastating weather creating chaos really in every corner of the country this morning, at this hour, Tropical Storm Flossie is bearing down on Hawaii. Further east, they are recovering from record shattering rainfall in Philadelphia, while flash floods in North Carolina have turned deadly. Indra Petersons is tracking all of the extreme weather for us this morning. Good morning, Indra.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning. I mean, look at that rainfall, over eight inches of rain in Philadelphia yesterday. That broke the all time record for rain in one day and they weren't the only ones this weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETERSONS (voice-over): Slow moving thunderstorms drenched the nation from east to west with North Carolina experiencing the worst of it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can only see the top of the car, and I was like, my God.

PETERSONS: Surging floodwaters turned the streets into rivers, making cars and mailboxes barely visible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have personally never been on anything quite this difficult before.

PETERSONS: A rain swollen creek claimed two lives, the current too strong for a 10-year-old girl and a 48-year-old man.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The water is up and it's dangerous.

PETERSONS: Near hickory, firefighters had to rescue this woman by piggy-back, after rising waters left her car stranded.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was raining so hard. I did not see like any of that.

PETERSONS: Philadelphia International Airport recorded nearly eight inches of rain in just six hours. That's a new all time record. In terminal "A," the strong storms caused the power to go out. That's not all. The torrential rain flooded the interstates, leaving cars stranded, and traffic backed up for miles.

Out west, a similar story. In Arizona, a tour bus leaving the Grand Canyon was overpowered by a flash flood. The bus flipped on its side and was swept 300 yards downstream. All 33 passengers managed to crawl out a window to safety. And the sun and blue skies in Hawaii will soon be replaced with dangerous winds and heavy rain. Tropical storm warnings and watches up as Tropical Storm Flossie closes in. Some parts of the island could get six to ten inches of rain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PETERSONS: Here's your update on Flossie right now. Very easy to see actually when you take a look, kind of weakening and kind of tearing apart as it enters an environment of shear or winds changing with height, currently about 50 miles per hour. It's still a tropical storm as far as the timing of this. It's actually sped up and moved a little bit further to the south.

The latest thinking here it looks like Monday morning their time, the Hawaiian time, about 10 a.m. it should make landfall. We're talking anywhere from 6 inches to 10 inches of rain, 15 inches of rain where we're seeing the stronger winds and then she'll make its way to Oahu, still pounding about a good 4 inches to 8 inches of rain in that area.

Definitely a lot headed that way still. Of course, we did have the remnants there of Dorian. The good news that is completely dissipated, 50 percent chance it's regenerates. If it does, it goes back into space again so not a big deal.

BOLDUAN: So Dorian is out, but Flossie's going to leave a mess. OK, Indra, thank you so much.

CUOMO: All right, we leave the weather to go to the world and the headline is hope and fear across the Middle East today. The hope, peace talks set to begin tonight in Washington between top Israeli and Palestinian officials. The fear, the situation in Egypt becoming more volatile as the military plans to clear out pro-Morsy demonstrators from Cairo.

CNN will take you everywhere the story is. Christiane Amanpour is in London. Reza is in Cairo. Let's begin at the White House where CNN's Brianna Keilar is standing by. Good morning, Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Chris. This is just the beginning, I will stress with the Obama administration and observers of the Mid East conflict and attempts at peace are more encouraged than they've been in years. That is because Israeli leaders agreed to release 104 Palestinian prisoners. These are people convicted of killing Israelis, some of them, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it painful for the entire nation, but this has been a demand of the Palestinians so it is a sign of good will by Israel.

Secretary of State John Kerry will be shepherding this process. Meetings begin tonight here in Washington. They are expected to last nine months. Huge outstanding issues here, though. Israel is not thus far capitulating on Palestinian demands that it stop building those new settlements in contested areas like the west bank.

And also the borders that will be used as a starting point for negotiations, they are still undecided. Part of this cabinet vote allows any deal that's struck to go to a vote before Israeli voters as well -- Chris and Kate.

BOLDUAN: All right, Brianna, thanks so much. We have much more to talk about on that later this morning.

But let's go to Egypt right now where there was bloodshed overnight, really all over the weekend. In the city of Grappa one soldier was killed and eight wounded in an attack on a military camp. Over the weekend, more than 70 Egyptians were killed in Cairo, most of them supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsy.

Let's get the latest on all of this. Reza has been following it all in Cairo. So Reza, what's the latest this morning?

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you get the sense here, Kate, that this conflict is getting closer and closer to a decisive stage. You have the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of the ousted president on one side, the military backed interim government on the other. They've been in a deadlock. What's different is the rhetoric, the threats, they're intensifying, the violence is increasing, more people are being killed, and what could be coming is more bloodshed.

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SAYAH (voice-over): In Egypt, fear and nervous anticipation is growing for a decisive crackdown on the supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsy. For nearly a month, thousands of Morsy backers have staged a sit-in at an East Cairo neighborhood. They won't leave, they say, until Morsy is president again. At this point, chances of a comeback for Morsy and his Muslim Brotherhood movement seem smaller than ever.

Morsy and several aides are still in custody. Several Brotherhood leaders are wanted by authorities, and increasingly, Morsy supporters are being killed. Scores were shot to death on Saturday when they clashed with security forces. It was the deadliest day in Cairo since Morsy was toppled from power on July 3rd.

Human rights groups have condemned what they call the government's excessive use of force, but the interior minister said it was pro- Morsy protesters who attacked first. Police never fired their weapons, he said. Plenty of amateur video and pictures seemed to show otherwise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAYAH: What's remarkable here is the lack of outrage and sympathy for some of the protesters who have been killed. The growing violence is concerning Washington. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry over the weekend calling on both sides to scale down, but the concern is no one listening, and on Sunday more signs that bloodshed could be coming. The military is warning demonstrators to go home, otherwise risk decisive action -- Chris.

CUOMO: The hope had been that the military would calm things down. Now seems to be going the opposite direction. That's the current concern. Reza Sayah, thank you very much. Appreciate the reporting this morning.

For more on these developments in the Middle East, we're going to turn now to CNN's chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour, also the host, of course, of CNN international's "Amanpour." She's in London, most importantly, one of the few to have spoken to all sides in this situation. Christiane, great to have you as always. You've spoken to the players. Is there a real chance for progress in Mideast peace talks?

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, you can imagine that there are so many naysayers, particularly because of the failed attempts in the past, but so many people do have hope that this time there may be a small window of opportunity. Now that the United States is now appearing to be fully committed, certainly, Secretary of State John Kerry has put his money where his mouth is. He's done many, many shuttle trips to the Middle East, and he's really put this front and center of his agenda.

It appears also that crucially he has the support of the White House because, without President Obama's active backing and engagement, it won't really matter much. But apparently the White House is also prepared to back this to the hilt, and that's going to be incredibly important.

I spoke to Zippy Livny, she is the Israeli chief negotiator, she's coming or in Washington already, and the meeting will be tonight, along with Saud Arakat, who is the Palestinian chief negotiator. Zippy Livny says, listen, we have to get to final status talks. It's in our best interests. Remember, the Israelis know that they must have a peace settlement somehow because otherwise the idea of a Jewish state is compromised.

The idea of a two-state solution, the longer it goes, is compromised. Palestinians need to make the bitter compromises that are necessary in order to have their long stalled state for themselves, and they want to do it as well. There are still outstanding issues, and these talks tonight are going to be talks about talks. This isn't the actual negotiation. This is the negotiation to see whether they can actually get down to starting those negotiations.

CUOMO: Well, the things that have been put on the table that Hamas is threatening won't be dealt with, and that's why they're denying these talks in Washington won't mean anything. Prisoners are on the table, release of prisoners from Israel to the PLO, right, that's one thing. Land and border concerns, do you believe they can get addressed even in Washington, D.C., with these two parties?

AMANPOUR: The thing is they have to, Chris. Prisoners are the easy thing. They always do a little bit of prisoner release before any of these meetings, and honestly, given the scale of the incredible difficulty, borders, Jerusalem, and refugees, they've done the easy thing, but both leaderships have said they're going to put whatever deal they come to a popular referendum.

To this day by a small majority at least, both Israelis and Palestinians, the ordinary people, still want a peace accord. You're right. Hamas is out there governing a big part of the Palestinian territory in Gaza. They don't like this at all, but you know, the parameters are set, the Clinton parameters as they were.

People know that it's going to be based on 67 borders more or less with a give and take land swap. That has to happen according to the negotiations then how to deal with all the Palestinian refugees and the security issues.

CUOMO: So we see the United States in two different positions here, a strong position holding these talks, both parties coming to see them in Washington, that's good. On the Egypt front, now a more dicey proposition for the United States, right? They were can backing the military. They won't call this a coup. They're still sending money, but it doesn't seem we're getting the transition expected. What do you think about that situation?

AMANPOUR: Well, I think it's incredibly dicey. Look, without the United States neither the Israeli-Palestinian situation is going to be resolved and the U.S. has a huge role to play in Egypt as well. Already Secretary Kerry including the British foreign secretary and many, are calling on the military and the interim leaders to pull back from the brink, to make sure there isn't this consistent violence.

And to somehow get back to what they want, which is a national reconciliation and a return to civilian democracy. The more this killing goes on, the more this sense of us and them goes on is going to be very difficult to bring all sides of the Egypt political equation together.

CUOMO: Christiane Amanpour, thank you so much for the perspective from London. Always great to have you on NEW DAY -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: All right, Chris, thanks so much. Two terrifying bus crashes to tell you about this morning. One in Indiana, a pastor and his wife dead. More on that one in a second.

The second crash we want to tell you about is breaking overnight in Italy. A bus plunges about 100 feet off a bridge, killing at least 38 people. Senior international correspondent Dan Rivers is following the latest developments on this bus crash from London. What are you hearing, Dan? DAN RIVERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's a horrific scene, Kate, this morning. They're still trying to assess exactly what happened, exactly how many people died, but it looks like at least 38, as you said. These were Catholic pilgrims on their way back from a shrine east of Naples in the Avellino Province. The bus came down a hill over a bridge and plunged about 100 feet into a ravine.

They don't know why it happened. They're looking about possible tire failure, perhaps brake failure. It hit about 11 cars on the way down that road before it fell off that bridge. They're still looking for the bodies, at least 38 dead. Some 10 survived, but sadly, there are children among the fatalities -- Chris, Kate.

BOLDUAN: All right, Dan, thanks so much.

CUOMO: All right, so one there in Avellino, and then we go to Indianapolis, the site of another bus crash. Investigators trying to narrow down what caused the driver of this church bus to lose control just minutes from home, the pastor and his pregnant wife among the dead. Christine Romans here with the latest.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It's such a sad story. The youth minister and his wife, they are expecting their second child next month. It was a bus quite frankly packed with teenagers on its way home from a camp in Michigan and then the unimaginable happened. Now this entire community is in mourning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS (voice-over): It was a terrifying scene, a bus toppled on its side. Luggage and items from inside tossed about outside. The driver told witnesses the brakes gave out as he made a left turn. It toppled, landing atop a concrete barrier. They were just a mile from their destination.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pretty tragic accident, as it typical, pretty quick response by a lot of people. Some of the teenagers are hurting pretty badly, and you can see that in their faces. A lot of the adults in there are helping them even though they're shook up.

ROMANS: On board, a church group, mainly teens and children, returning from camp. Pastor Chad Phelps and his pregnant wife, Courtney, both in their 20s, were among the dead. Their 2-year-old son was injured but survived, the third victim, 51-year-old Tanya Weindorf, a mother of five.

JEFF LEFFEW, DEACON, COLONIAL HILLS BAPTIST CHURCH: All of these folks were special to us as members here, our friends, our family here at the church is going to be going through some tough days.

ROMANS: As of Sunday night, eight people were still in the hospital, and a community built on faith, now relying on it more than ever.

LEFFEW: Our church grieves now. They're with God in heaven now, we know that without a doubt, but we grieve the fact they're not here with us. We miss them. (END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: A mile from home. There have been no criminal charges filed at this time. The investigation is under way to see if mechanical failure is to blame for that crash. It was loaded with teens, 40 people on that bus, 19 of them hurt, some of those teenagers still in the hospital. One is in critical condition.

BOLDUAN: What is so scary to so many people, this bus ride from camp to home is something that kids and families and parents are doing all over the country this summer.

ROMANS: Teens at church camp, almost home after a week in Michigan, on the way to the church to be picked up by their parents.

BOLDUAN: Can't make sense of it. All right, Christine, thank you so much.

A lot of news happening this morning, another plane in trouble, let's get straight to Michaela for some of the stories.

PEREIRA: All right, Kate. Good morning to you all of you. Good morning to you at home.

Making news this hour: a flight from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to St. Petersburg, Florida, making an emergency landing in Georgia Sunday night because an indicator light in the cockpit indicated the possibility of fire on board. Emergency slides were deployed. All 155 passengers evacuated. An FAA spokeswoman says now there was no fire, and thankfully, no one was injured.

We are learning that a child was among five people killed when a chopper went down in northeastern Pennsylvania. That helicopter was reported missing Saturday. It was found Sunday in a remote wooded area. Three men and one woman also died. The FAA and the NTSB are now investigating what caused that crash.

So much for the laid back surfer lifestyle. Things got totally out of control in Huntington Beach, California, last night, after the weeklong U.S. Open of surfing competition wrapped up. Riot police were called in. They used pepper balls to break up brawls in the street. Crowds tipped over port-a-potties, smashed windows, looted local businesses. We're told there were at least eight arrests.

And a defiant Anthony Weiner says he's staying in New York City's mayoral race. But he's going to have to find a new campaign manager. He quit over the weekend. Weiner has been under increasing pressure to drop out of the race after admitting that his sexting habit continued, even after he resigned from Congress in disgrace back in 2011.

And talk about a million dollar baby. PGA tour star Hunter Mahan is a proud papa this morning. He got the call. His wife went into labor early Saturday morning as he was about to begin the third round of the Canadian Open with a two-stroke lead. That win would have been worth over a million bucks. But Mahan walked off the course, withdrew from the event, and did what he needed to do to fly home to Dallas to be with his wife and at her side.

We're proud to report Zoey Olivia Mahan was born early Sunday morning. We're told that she and mom are doing just fine. And she's got -- well, dad won't mention that to her when she misbehaves. Listen, little one, I bypassed $1 million to be here.

BOLDUAN: (INAUDIBLE) bring you this world.

PEREIRA: Exactly.

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: I'm sure it was not even a close call for him.

PEREIRA: Congratulations.

BOLDUAN: Love that name, Zoey Olivia. Beautiful name.

All right. Michaela, thanks so much.

Coming up next on NEW DAY: a bride-to-be and best man killed in a horrifying boat accident in New York. And now police are filing criminal charges. A live report ahead.

CUOMO: And then some good news. Cleveland kidnapping victim Amanda Berry stunning a huge concert crowd by showing up at the stage. Real thrill for everybody, especially her. We'll tell you about it.

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CUOMO: Welcome back to NEW DAY, everybody.

A second body has been pulled from New York's Hudson River after a horrific boating accident on Friday night. A bride to be and her fiance's best man went missing overnight when their boat slammed into a construction barge in the darkness. Now, the driver of that boat facing criminal charges.

Alina Cho is live in Piermont, New York.

Good morning, Alina.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Chris, good morning to you.

This was meant to be a celebratory cruise on the water just two weeks before a wedding, but not long after leaving a marina Friday night, this boat ride quickly turned fatal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHO (voice-over): The investigation into Friday's horrific boat accident that killed the bride-to-be and best man will now focus on a timeline -- what happened and when.

SHERIFF LOUIS FALCO, ROCKLAND COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE MALE: What we're going to do is we're going to bring in an accident reconstruction team.

CHO: Authorities say the driver of the boat, also a friend of the couple, was intoxicated charged with vehicular manslaughter and vehicular assault. Investigators are also looking into claims the barge that the boat hit did not have proper lighting.

CHIEF WILLIAM BARBERA, ROCKLAND COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: You put an immovable object that's dark in the path of recreational boaters, you have a recipe for disaster.

CHO: Lindsey Stewart and Brian Bond were planning to marry on August 10th. They decided to take a boat ride Friday night up the Hudson River. The small power boat carrying six people hit a construction barge near a bridge. Thirty-year-old Stewart and best man Mark Lennon were killed.

RAYMOND LENNON, MARK'S BROTHER: I'm the big brother but his heart was a lot bigger than mine. He's -- he's -- he was my rock.

CHO: Bond, the groom, and four others, including the boat's driver, suffered serious injuries.

BARBERA: They seemed very smitten with one another and very much in love.

CHO: At the home they shared, a make shift memorial. Lindsey Stewart's family told CNN, pray for our loss.

CAROL STEWART, LINDSEY STEWART'S MOTHER: She is supposed to be married two weeks from today. It just can't end like this.

CHO: A tragic ending to what was supposed to be a great night on the eve of a wedding.

BARBERA: Rather than have a joyful wedding, there will be wakes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: And this morning, we're told the groom is still in the hospital with severe head injuries, but imagine having to deal with this physical recovery while also dealing with the emotional pain of losing both your bride to be and the best man at your wedding.

Chris and Kate, that is exactly what Brian Bond is dealing with right now.

CUOMO: Alina, thank you very much. He literally lost his future. You know, the juxtaposition --

BOLDUAN: In one second.

CUOMO: -- the shot behind Alina so beautiful, the golden water and the bridge, and yet such a horrible situation.

BOLDUAN: Wedding two weeks from now. That's how much their life has changed in such a horrible way in a split second. All right. We'll have much more on that ahead. Plus, coming up on NEW DAY, a concert crowd in Cleveland gets an unexpected surprise. Recognize that face? Kidnapping victim Amanda Berry walking on that stage sporting sunglasses and a smile.

CUOMO: Good for her. A comeback we need to see.

How about this one? Fifty-three million dollar jewel heist in a hotel in France. Sounds like a movie. Right under the nose of security guards. How did they pull this off? We'll tell you what we know.

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