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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Sony Cyberattack Investigation; A Tale of Two Cubas; Stephen Colbert Says Goodbye; Spanish Man Crashes Car into Party HQ; Stocks Have Best Day in Three Years

Aired December 19, 2014 - 05:30   ET

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

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DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: Well, caving to the hackers. Some of Hollywood's biggest stars are slamming Sony for pulling the release of the controversial movie, "The Interview". The investigators now believe they know how hackers penetrated Sony's computer system.

And now that President Obama has said he will ease restrictions on Cuba, could that mean a visit from noe other than the President Raul Castro to the White House? What does the future hold for American business and trade in that communist country?

And saying goodbye the only way he could: Stephen Colbert, Big Bird, Cyndi Lauper, Bill Clinton, because they all get along. The wacky sing-a-long episode that brought the Colbert Nation to its knees with delight.

And welcome back to everyone to EARLY START. I'm deborah Feyerick. It is now almost 30 minutes past the hour, and we have new information this morning about the crippling cyber-attack on Sony Pictures that essentially forced the company to pull what is now an incredibly controversial film, "The Interview", from movie theaters.

Investigators believe that they know how hackers penetrated Sony's computer system. U.S. officials who were briefed on the investigation tell CNN that there is evidence that the hackers hacked into the system by stealing the computer password of a system administrator who effectively had total access to the company's network.

There is also word that U.S. officials are very close to naming North Korea as the potential perpetrator of the cyber-attack. Brian Stelter host of CNN's "RELIABLE SOURCES" joins us now to talk about the latest on this story.

Brian, George Clooney coming out last night with a letter about what's going on within Hollywood on what amounts to a massive cyber terror attack against a U.S. business.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: I think it's very revealing what he said. He was speaking to deadline.com. He said say that silly comedy. It says a lot about where we are. We have a responsibility to stand up against this, not just Sony, but all of us. And what he revealed is that he wrote many days ago this petition, this letter that he wanted lots of big Hollywood stars and executives to sign. This was before the threat against movie theaters. Nobody was willing to sign it.

He says no other competing studios are willing participate, no big actors willing to participate, revealing the tensions in Hollywood over the hacking. He says everybody needs to stand together against these threats.

FEYERICK: What's incredible is that it is not just the movie industry that's vulnerable. It's the banks and retailers. It's everything that we have been seeing. The nation's entire critical infrastructure could be hacked.

So the fact that Hollywood is sort of caving to this, do you believe that ultimately we are going to see a release or do you think at this point people are just so frightened until there is a U.S. response, they will follow along?

STELTER: I think there is so much backlash to the decision by Sony, but really by the theater owners not to release this movie. You know, it was originally the theater owners that said we don't want to put this in our movie theaters. That led Sony to cancel the film.

There has been so much backlash to that from the George Clooneys and Steve Corrells of the world that now we are going to see folks ban together and say this is enough.

The "New York Times" is reporting this morning it is not just Sony that's being threatened by the hackers now. It's also some of their vendors and some of their partners that are revealed in these leaked e-mails.

So I think there is probably a growing chorus saying we have to stand up against this in Hollywood. Because it is happening in Hollywood, we are all paying attention to it. Even though as you are saying lots of other companies and some other institutions can be affected by this same kind of hacking.

FEYERICK: And it's so interesting because the focus in the beginning was just on the sort of gossip e-mails about people behaving badly when it should have been red alert. This company has now been attacked --

STELTER: That is exactly what George Clooney was saying. That the press was distracted and Hollywood was distracted by these gossipy e- mails. That maybe, he's suggesting maybe that was part of the hackers' plan.

FEYERICK: Well, exactly because if you think about critical infrastructure. If somebody were to attack critical infrastructure, first of all, you don't know what would happen whether the lights would go off and the gas would stop flowing.

And that's why when you look at the physical attack or the cyber- attack that results in a physical attack, you have to look at both components of that to say -- and I think that's one of the reasons with the theaters.

Were they concerned about the physical attack or were they concerned about a cyber-attack within whether it was shouting down the whole theater system?

STELTER: There are a couple of layers to it. When the hackers on Tuesday invoked 9/11, there were concerns that movie goers wouldn't go to the movie so they wouldn't show up in the theaters for fear of a physical attack.

So that is what resulted in the cancellation of the movie in physical theaters, but they are also concerned about a digital hack. That is why it is not coming out online. That is why Netflix or Comcast or others aren't going to be letting you buy and watch the movie online.

There are concerns about that kind of hacking digitally as well. I have to say, though, I do think this movie will somehow get out. Some way, somehow, whether legally or illegally, whether it leaks or whether Sony wants to release it at some point. It's a kind of thing that can't be hidden forever.

FEYERICK: Right. What is fascinating, cyber security experts will tell you that everybody is in everybody's business and everybody's system, but the great equalizer is the fact that, you know, if one country attacks the other country, they'll attack back.

With North Korea, they are not tied into the financial system. They have less to lose. The fact that they are doing this on a movie that most people would have forgotten if in fact they even saw it.

Now people are going to see it just to make a statement that we support U.S. companies. You cannot do this to the country.

STELTER: Yes, there has been a lot of sentiment about that. Stephen King and many others, and you know, it is all sorts of folks involved in creativity involved in the arts and making media. This is something that crosses lines.

It is not just Hollywood. It's all sorts of media making. The web site, Gawker said to Sony yesterday. Give us a copy of the movie. We want to screen it for a crowd in New York. We'll buy the popcorn.

You know, I think that's not going to happen with Gawker, but we will see lots of offers like that. A lot of people want to rally around this movie to support freedom of expression.

FEYERICK: You raise a very good point. The FBI has been warning for years that in fact intellectual property, billions of dollars has been stolen by countries like China taking intellectual property, not investing a penny, but reaping the rewards of the U.S. innovation that has been out there. They will not do that technically with movies, but the fact North Korea would gamble it all on this seems a little crazy, no? STELTER: Yes. We did see the National Security Council of the Obama administration came out on Wednesday night and said we take these issues very seriously. That this was our freedom of expression and creative license very seriously and copyright as well.

FEYERICK: Yes. So well, it's going to be interesting to watch. I think everybody really wants to see what the administration is going to do because it's not Sony and that's what everybody has to realize. It is every single company and every single thing that is connected to the internet.

STELTER: The president will have the press conference this afternoon. I am sure he will be asked about North Korea.

FEYERICK: No question. All right, Brian Stelter, thanks so much. We appreciate your guidance, your insights on that. Thank you.

And President Obama will no doubt face questions about the Sony hack at the end of the year news conference today. Insiders also expect that he will field a lot of questions on a lot of other topics as well. They include executive action on immigration and historic move with regards to Cuba as well as the Senate's CIA torture report.

The White House is leaving the door open this morning for a possible future visit to the U.S. by Cuban President Raul Castro. Reporters pressed for details from the administration following Wednesday's historic announcement of plans to reestablish diplomatic relations between the two countries.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest compared a possible visit by Castro to earlier visits by leaders from countries that were not always friends and still are with checkered human rights records.

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JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president has had the leaders of both Burma and China to the United States, and for that reason, I would not rule out a visit from President Castro.

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FEYERICK: Interesting company. John Kerry says he hopes to return the favor becoming the first secretary of state in 60 years to visit Cuba and legally buy cigars, just kidding.

Meanwhile, the "New York Times" is reporting President Obama plans to act on his own to lift many of the elements on the trade embargo against Cuba in a move that is sure, as you can imagine, would provoke a furious sight with the new Republican Congress.

The White House says that the president plans to use broad executive powers to lift restrictions on travel and commerce, but also on financial activity as well.

No one is more eager to see the 60-year-old trade sanctions against Cuba lifted than the people of Cuba themselves. Whether Cuba with the terrible economy is ready for such as a massive influx of goods and U.S. tourists, well, that's another question. CNN's Patrick Oppmann has more from Havana.

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PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN HAVANA CORRESPONDENT: There are actually two Cubas, and this is the one that most visitors don't see. It's a pretty grim place. You see buildings are collapsing all around me. People are just hanging on. Part of that is due to the long time U.S. economic sanctions.

Part of that is frankly due to the Cuban government's inability to manage their own economy. So you talk to people here and you hear how they only make $20 a month. It's not nearly enough to get by, but it is what they have.

They have, of course, old cars passed down for generations. They keep running. They look like they could fall apart at any time. Some of them do. So when you talk to people really in impoverished neighborhoods like this one, you talk about the improved U.S./Cuban economic relations mean to them.

You talk about how they don't just want it to improve their economic relations, they need it to.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): You try to make things better so you'll have more. We have enough, but more would be better.

OPPMANN: This is the other Cuba, that one that's for international visitors who come into Cuba with hard currency to spend. You can see the streets are fixed. The walls are painted and the buildings are not collapsing. Is Cuba ready for all these changes? It doesn't appear so, but they are welcoming them just the same.

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FEYERICK: All right, well, tensions are running high inside and outside the courthouse where suspected Boston marathon bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, made his first public appearance in 17 months since his arraignment.

A friend during the hearing shouted out that she supports Tsarnaev asking the government to stop killing innocent boys. Meantime, outside, a victim who lost his leg in bombing confronted Tsarnaev supporter while shaking his prosthetic leg. Tsarnaev's trial is set to begin January 5th. The bombing victim is saying here is your proof.

Stephen Colbert filed his last report Thursday night. The pro- Republican comedian put on a show of shows in his "The Word" segment. He thanked the nation for supporting him in his crazy pursuits. He saved the Olympics and ran for president.

He broke out into the hit song "We'll Meet Again" bringing on all his buddies, Jon Stewart, Willie Nelson, Big Bird, Katie Couric and even CNN's Christiane Amanpour got in on the fun. And in true Colbert fashion, he bid his fans a farewell like only Stephen Colbert can.

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STEPHEN COLBERT, COMEDIAN: First and foremost, everybody who worked so hard every day to make something special, all of our friends and family for putting up with all our long hours, the network for the chance to begin with and of course, all the guests who came on, thousands of them. There are too many to thank. I'll thank Mavis Staples. Mavis, if you could call everybody tomorrow that would be great. Thanks.

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FEYERICK: You see him in a carriage. He said he was reporting from eternity at his last report.

Let's get an EARLY START on your money with Cristina Alesci. Cristina, stocks, stocks, stocks.

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: Yes. They are up around the world right now. European and Asia shares are higher so are U.S. stock futures after a massive rally yesterday. The Dow had its best day in more than three years.

It climbed 421 points or 2.4 percent. In the past two days, the Dow has added 709 points total. The best two-day gain since November the 2008. It is a big reversal from the past two weeks when stocks were actually sliding and everybody was talking about a pullback which never came.

So what is sending stocks higher? It is all about the Federal Reserve. The market is so addicted to easy money and since Fed Chair Janet Yellen indicated there was no rush to raise interest rates, stocks are getting a huge boost. Nice Christmas present for a lot of investors and traders out there.

FEYERICK: Yes, a little bit of a bonus there, for sure.

ALESCI: For all of the months, stocks are still down, but my hunch is that will change by the end of the month.

FEYERICK: Really, all right. Let's see where that goes. It depends on what we buy for Christmas. It is all writing. Cristina, thank you so much.

Coming up, is the Secret Service stretched too thin? A new report with shocking claims about a lack of staff training and even security issues protecting the White House. What's causing it? We will have the details. Stay with us.

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FEYERICK: Well, in the wake of recent fence jumping incidents at the White House, an independent review has found that the Secret Service is stretched beyond its limits and could use a much needed funding bump. It found a need for more training, more staff and concluded that the service is too insular and needs a director from outside of its ranks.

The review also recommended that the White House fence be raised, which is something the Secret Service has been asking for saying it needs to be at least four or five feet taller and also curve outward.

After intense pressure from federal regulators, Ford is expanding the recall of Takata air bags. Ford was one of five automakers encouraged to expand driver side air bag recalls nationwide.

The company is also expanding the recall globally adding nearly 500,000 more cars to the list. Ford said that it was aware of one accident related to the malfunctioning air bags.

And this morning, police in Kentucky are searching for a suspect who stole a car who drove off with a 20-day old baby in the backseat. Baby Henry was ultimately reunited with his parents Thursday after he was found in the car at a gas station in Fort Mitchell.

Two women in the area reported the vehicle to police because they recognized it from the amber alert.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was on my way to work. I saw the car and I just pulled in thinking there is no way that is the car. I saw the license plate. We ran up. I said are you seeing the same thing. We opened the door and the baby was inside.

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FEYERICK: Well, police say the car was stolen just seconds after Henry's mother walked inside a Florence gas station.

And happening this morning, Olympic gold medalist, Michael Phelps, his trial is taking place on drunk driving charges. That's to happen in Baltimore. Phelps had a blood alcohol level of 0.14 when he was arrested in September. That is nearly twice the legal limit. It was his second DUI charge in ten years. Phelps put his Olympic career on hold while he deals with these charges.

What little kid has not wondered whether the man behind the white hair and beard is the real Santa, well, 6-year-old Aaron Williams got a bigger than usual surprise when he pulled off Santa's beard. It turned out that the guy was his dad.

Air Force Senior Airman Nicholas Williams home on a 28-day pass from South Korea. Aaron got his one and only Christmas wish. Best present ever.

Well, let's take a look at what is coming up on "NEW DAY." Chris Cuomo is joining us now. Hi, there, Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": Those stories are just awesome sauce. You know you don't want to see anybody have the right thing happen to them more than the men and women serving our force. Deb, that makes that kid's Christmas. They are Santa's helpers. The real guy is very busy. Those people you see, those are Santa's helpers. This was a very special Santa helper.

FEYERICK: You bet.

CUOMO: All right, so the show this morning. Here is what we will do. This situation with Sony is much bigger than we understand. It is not about Hollywood. Not about a company. This is about an international terror attack.

The U.S. now says they have been quiet. The U.S. government, they say they have the proof and it points to North Korea. The question is what will they do about it? A team of cyber attackers is working to discredit countries outside Pyongyang. Can that be true? Who are they? How do we know this?

Most importantly, what will the U.S. do about it? Because if Sony is vulnerable, what about other big companies? What about our defense systems in the United States? A lot of really big questions here and what started off as a story about a silly movie.

We will take this on because the implications are so far beyond Hollywood. It is almost time to stop talking about that aspect.

FEYERICK: Well, absolutely, and you know, cyber security experts and law enforcement, the FBI will tell you every single company is vulnerable. So what happened to Sony, could be the tip of the iceberg. All right, Chris, thanks. See you in a few minutes.

And the U.S now confirming air strikes were successful in taking out three ISIS leaders. What this means for the militant group and the 1,300 U.S. soldiers now being deployed to Iraq.

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FEYERICK: Three ISIS leaders have been killed in U.S. air strikes. A senior military official telling CNN that two top level leaders and one mid-level leader were wiped out killed in multiple strikes last month.

This comes as the president signs deployment orders on Thursday for 1,300 troops to head to Iraq. Troops now going further field being deployed outside Baghdad.

Breaking news this morning, a 37-year-old businessman crashing a car into the headquarters of the country's ruling conservative party. Madrid police finding two gas canisters inside the car together with an unknown substance.

CNN's Al Goodman joins us live from Madrid. The motive and have they diffused this?

AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are not sure that there is a bomb to diffuse, but they obviously activated, Deborah, the terrorist protocol because the car made it into the entry hall of the party headquarters, which is just around the corner. The streets are still cut off.

I just walked down and took a look. It does not appear to be terrorism, but because of the gas cans and some unknown substances studied, that is why they cleared the area out. The metro underneath that area was cut off a short while ago.

They are trying to figure out what happened. This man in his late 30s said to be a businessman according to reports from police, is blaming the conservative government for his economic problems.

A ruling party spokesman in parliament a short while ago said he might have some sort of problems in the head, but clearly a security breach into the headquarters of the ruling security party which is normally guarded -- Deborah.

FEYERICK: All right, thank you. Potential act of desperation. We appreciate it.

Uber is off the roads in Portland. We will tell you about the company's latest hurdle coming up next.

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FEYERICK: Let's get an EARLY START on your money with Cristina Alesci -- Cristina.

ALESCI: Well, it is early Christmas for stocks this year. Take a look at this. Asia and European stocks are up a lot this morning. U.S. stock futures are too. Just to recap the week, Deb, yesterday, the Dow had its best day since 2011. It claimed 421 points.

Since Wednesday, the Dow had the strongest two-day performance in more than six years. Why all the optimism? The fed promised to keep the easy money flowing showing no rush to raise rates. Stocks are up, oil is still tumbling. That's putting big oil state Texas at risk of recession.

Look at the chart. Crude oil is sitting at $54 a barrel right now. In the summer, it was over 100. Prices slashed in half because of the supply boom in the United States, 40 percent of the oil comes from Texas. Now low oil prices could cause a recession in the state as producers dial back investment and cut jobs.

Uber is suspending service in Portland for the next three months. A judge asked the company to stand down while the city updates regulations to account for the car service. So it's really not all bad for Uber. It may soon have a legit way to operate in the area.

The car service is facing similar hurdles in cities around the world. Obviously, it's not the only challenge for Uber. It has had bad press lately.

Recently in Canada over that terrorist attack and the rates actually spiked around that time so the company came under a tremendous amount of fire for what looked like profiting off a very unfortunate and terrible subject. FEYERICK: Absolutely, no question. All right, Cristina, thank you. And "NEW DAY" starts now.