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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

NYPD on High Alert After Cop Killings; North Korea Threatens More Cyberattacks; Christie Enters Cuba Debate; Pope Francis' End of Year Message; FSU Clears Jameis Winston

Aired December 22, 2014 - 05:00   ET

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

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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Tragedy and outrage. Police and New Yorkers on high alert after two NYPD officers were murdered in cold blood. Now blame is spreading as investigation into what led up to the deadly shootings gets under way.

North Korea making new threats against the United States and White House after President Obama said the U.S. would respond to the cyber hack on Sony. Will the U.S. put the regime back on the state terror list?

Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans. John Berman has the day off.

It is Monday, December 22. It is 5:00 a.m. in the East. Nice to see you this morning.

New York City police and the people they serve badly, badly shaken this morning by the murder of two police officers sitting in their patrol car in Brooklyn Saturday night. The NYPD stepping up security at police stations, changing protocols and investigating threats now in an unprecedented way.

We have details coming in on the shooting itself. Officials saying the gunman, Ismaaiyl Brinsley, he told two bystanders, "Watch what I'm going to do", before opening fire. He was then chased by two utility workers who happened to see the shooting. Brinsley shot himself on the subway platform moments later.

President Obama calling New York Police Commissioner William Bratton and the co-chair of his task force on 21 century policing, Charles Ramsey. The president expressing his outrage on these murders, these senseless murders.

The mother of Eric Garner speaking out and supporting -- and urging supporters of police reform, they must reject violence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GWEN CARR, MOTHER OF ERIC GARNER: Anyone who is standing with us, we want you to not use Eric Garner's name for violence, because we are not about that. These two police officers lost their lives senselessly. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: CNN's Alexandra Field is in Brooklyn this morning with the very latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine, people are deeply shaken. This is a city on edge and the men and women who were sworn to protect it are on high alert.

Sources telling CNN that extra security is being added at NYPD precincts and that various threats being made to the police department on different social media platforms are also being investigated. As many as 15 different threats all needing to be closely looked into by investigators trying to protect the men and women who serve this city.

This as the city grieves the loss of two officers assassinated at gunpoint in their patrol cars. Officer Wenjian Liu and Officer Rafael Ramos killed in this Brooklyn neighborhood.

And as the city grieves the loss of these two officers, tensions continue to rise between the mayor and the police officers union. Union leaders say that Mayor Bill de Blasio has the blood of these officers on his hands, lashing out at the mayor for his support of protests that have unfolded in this city over the last couple of weeks, following the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner. They say the mayor's support for protesters have put officers at risk.

The mayor says that right now, his focus is not on politics, with the union, but on the victims of the attack over the weekend. He says he's been spending time with the victims' family and hoping for peace in the city. At the same time, the mayor's office is responding to some of the comments made by the police officers union, saying that the rhetoric is overheated and that could be both divisive and cause people to become angry -- Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Alexandra, thank you for that in Brooklyn this morning.

Now, the tension between the NYPD and city hall was pretty evident after Saturday's shooting. Union leaders and a group of rank-and-file officers silently turned their backs on the mayor, Mayor Bill de Blasio, as he walked into the hospital where the two officers were taken. A move clearly meant as a sign of disrespect and a lack support for their mayor, their boss.

Dozens of New Yorkers gathered at vigils last night, lighting candles, singing prayers, remembering the two slain officers.

Thirty-two-year-old Wenjian Liu, a seven-year veteran, married just two months ago.

Forty-year-old Rafael Ramos, two years in the NYPD, the father of two sons. His youngest son 13-year-old Jaden Ramos posted a heart breaking message on his Facebook page. "Today, I had to say bye to my father. Everyone says they hate cops, but they are the people that they call for help. I will always love you and I will never forget you. RIP, dad."

The New York Yankees Silver Shield Foundation has announced it will pay all education expenses for Officer Ramos' sons.

Detectives are trying to learn more about the 28-year-old gunman who ambushed and killed them. They are looking into the claim by Ismaaiyl Brinsley's mother that he had undiagnosed mental illness. They are also digging into Brinsley's social media accounts. They're trying to learn whether his vow on Facebook to, quote, "put wings on pigs," and his references to the Michael Brown and the Eric Garner cases were real political protests or this was an excuse for a violent rampage.

That spree, that rampage began in Baltimore where Brinsley shot his ex-girlfriend Shaneka Thompson. Authorities say Thompson is expected to survive.

New York City is not the only city reeling from the shooting of a police officer this morning. In Tarpon Springs, Florida, 45-year-old Officer Charles Kondek, he was shot and killed early Sunday morning. Kondek was the 17-year-old veteran of the Tampa area department. He'd served for five years in the NYPD before that. A sheriff's spokesman said a 23-year-old suspect is in custody there.

Now to the other big story this morning. North Korea warning overnight that the huge cyberattack on Sony is just the beginning. A new statement from Pyongyang steadfastly denies involvement in the Sony hack, but it claims the U.S. government was behind the making of the Sony Pictures comedy "The Interview." And it threatens, quote, "counteraction against the White House, the Pentagon", and, quote, "the whole the U.S. mainland."

President Obama taking a cautious approach. He tells CNN's Candy Crowley he views this cyber hack as cyber vandalism, not cyber war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to be in an environment in this new world where so much is digitalized. That both state and non-state actors are going to have the capacity to disrupt our lives in all sorts of ways. We have to do a much better job of guarding against that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: CNN's Kyung Lah joins us now from Seoul, live from Seoul with the latest.

You know, Kyung, I mean, I don't want to look lightly on this, but when you look at the responses from the North Korean officials, sort of rambling and boisterous, I would say, response, where they say they were responsible for the Sony hack, but they threaten the citadels of America with hacking. How -- sort of -- I don't know. They contradict themselves.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, all the time. And that's the frustration in dealing with the hermit kingdom. You're experiencing what the U.N. envoy experiences. It is extraordinarily frustrating dealing with North Korea.

This statement verges on the nonsensical. North Korea saying we did not do this, but we support what has been happening with these outside agents.

I want to read a couple lines of the fiery statement that North Korea released overnight, saying, quote, "The army and the people of the DPRK are fully ready to stand in confrontation with the U.S. in all war spaces, including cyber warfare space to blow up those citadels." North Korea saying any future tack will bring achievements thousands of times greater than the hacking attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment. But, remember, North Korea saying we did not have anything to do with it. President Obama saying that he is going to review whether or not to put them back on the terror list, Christine.

ROMANS: Yes, the DPRK also saying that the U.S. government was behind the making of this comedy "The Interview."

What are Sony leaders saying about the controversy surrounding the whole thing? I mean, I know that the leader of the Sony Pictures in the U.S. spoke with Fareed.

LAH: What he is basically saying that they did not back down because of what happened to them with the cyber attack. That Sony simply did not have a place to play the movies, because the theater owners did not want to play the movie. He says they do intent to distribute the film. Here's what he told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL LYNTON, CHAIRMAN & CEO OF SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT: We have not caved. We have not given in. We have persevered, and we have not backed down.

DAVID BOIES, LAWYER FOR SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT: Remember, Sony only delayed this. Sony has been fighting to get this picture distributed. It will be distributed. How it's going to be distributed I don't think anybody knows quite yet. But it's going to be distributed. And what Sony has been trying to do is get the picture out to the public. But at the same time, the rights of employees and movie going public are protected.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: And the big word is how. I mean, when the lawyer says how, is it going to be streamed? Will it be released via DVD? Will there be any repercussions on that? Will they make any money? Because people do want to see it. I certainly that there's an international audience for it. There's a lot of people around the world talking about this movie, Christine. ROMANS: Ironically, for the North Korea leaders, more people are

interested in the movie now than it had just been released in the movie theaters. The president calling it cyber vandalism, an interesting use of words. The White House clearly trying to find the right strategy, not using the word "cyber warfare". You don't want to use the word war when you're talking about North Korea when they throw it around so freely in their response.

LAH: Exactly, because what you are seeing is the White House, the Pentagon, the FBI trying to dial down the rhetoric. That has been typically the position of the United States and not take North Korea seriously, but serious at the same time. Dial down the rhetoric. Tone it down.

North Korea, the spoiled child of Asia, always screaming, kicking and flailing their arms trying to increase the rhetoric, trying to increase and raise that ante.

ROMANS: And to get more attention, to get more recognition on the world stage.

Kyung Lah, thank you so much for that reporting this morning. Talk to you again very, very soon.

Nine minutes past the hour.

Gunfire at the Canadian border. U.S. officers shooting an unidentified Canadian man at the Ambassador Bridge. That's the span connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario. Customs officials say the man got out of his car, he was waving what appeared to be a gun as he approached the checkpoint. It turned out to be a replica gun. The suspect was shot in the arm. He has been treated and taken into custody.

Time for an early start on your money this morning.

Stock futures are higher, building off of last week's impressive weekly gain. The Dow and S&P gained more than 3 percent. The NASDAQ rose 2.4 percent last week.

That jumped thanks to the fed's assurance it would remain patient with the interest rate increases. Analysts expect the rally to continue this week. NASDAQ and S&P 500 have double digit gains. Portfolio managers out there trying to replicate last year's very, very good moves. So, they're in buying in the market.

Besides the Fed news, investors have also been betting that the oil shock maybe over. U.S. crude prices rose about $4 after hitting last week. This may signal the end perhaps of the falling oil prices for now, which have shed $40 in the past six months.

Until then, drivers can enjoy one benefit. Cheap gas. A survey reports the average price fell $2.47 per gallon Friday, 25 cent drop from just couple of weeks, down more than $1.25 since the peaks hit earlier this year. All right. It has been a banner year for Pope Francis. This morning,

he's giving his big end of year message to the Catholic Church. What he says about bold moves in move in 2014 and what he hopes to achieve next year.

And a sports legend in the hospital this morning. An update on Muhammad Ali's condition in just moments.

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ROMANS: With his pivotal role in normalizing relations between the U.S. and Cuba, Pope Francis capping off quite a year. Here is the pontiff live. These are live pictures. He just laid out his plans for the year ahead, including a visit to the U.S. since September.

I want to bring in CNN senior Vatican analyst, associate editor of "Boston Globe", John Allen. He has been watching all of this for us. He is at the Vatican where the pope is addressing the Catholic central government. It's known as a curia.

It has been quite a year for him, John. And you make a great point. There's really no international hot button issue that he has not weighed in on and actually not been a force in. What did he tell the upper echelons of the church and the Catholic faithful today?

JOHN ALLEN, CNN SENIOR VATICAN ANALYST: Well, you know, Christine, we were talking earlier about how Pope Francis is often a man of surprise. And we say that again today, as you say, traditionally this is the pope's state of the union address in which he looks back over the accomplishments of the previous year and kind of looks forward to the agenda for the next one. That's not the direction Francis went this morning. Instead, this was a very spiritual speech, targeted at the audience in that room, the Vatican Sala Clementine. This is the upper echelon of the Vatican's leadership.

And, basically, the pope led them through what he called the examination of conscience, trying to layout the spirit with which he wants them to approach their work. And it was all about avoid what he called the pathology of power. In other words, he doesn't want these guys to think of these guys of the masters of the universe. Instead, he was calling them on a spirit of humility and of service. He offered what he called a catalog of spiritual diseases, Christine, that to -- which he suggested the church's senior leadership is sometimes especially prone. Including things like thinking of yourself as indispensible, thinking of your subordinate as kind of tools.

He said, you know, I do not want you to become bureaucratic machines. I want you to stay flesh and blood human beings. And I think the key point was this idea that he said one of the diseases he talked about was the disease of excessive planning which he says does not leave enough room for freedom and spontaneity.

He says, when the church gets sick, it's when it thinks it can domesticate the Holy Spirit, that its has to leave room for the kind of free initiative to take a new an unexpected direction. That has been very much a hallmark of Francis papacy. And I think his message here this morning to these guys was, boys, you haven't seen anything yet.

ROMANS: I think that's so interesting, John, because -- I mean, you can sort of translate that philosophy to any business, any management kind of mentality, excessive planning, choking off spontaneity and creativity, and kind of killing the spirit of what you are trying to do. I think people see that in their work all the time.

The interesting about this, he is speaking to people who are essentially bureaucrats, the people who work for him. How does his new tone, how does his new tone play to them? I mean, are they receptive to his new management style?

ALLEN: Well, look, I mean, the Vatican is like any other complex bureaucracy. There's a wide range of personalities and temperaments in that room. Some are more receptive than others. I will say it is quite clear that Pope Francis is trying to take the church's senior management out of its comfort zone. That is saying, we've got to establish patterns of doing business. Of course, in the case of the Vatican, it'd been around for centuries. But he said, we need to stretch. We need to adapt.

If you ask, what's the reception to that in the room? Look, there's some nervousness and discomfort, but at the same time, I think the church's senior managers aren't blind, as they understand that Francis is playing extraordinary well. He is playing well in terms of public opinion.

He has revitalized the church and given it a sense of new lease on life. He has renewed the Vatican's diplomatic capital. As you said, we saw that just this week, with the role he played in paving the way for relations between the U.S. and Cuba.

I think they want all that to continue, and they realize the price is they have to be willing to step out of their skin, so to speak, and sort of get on board the train as it's leaving the station, Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Thanks for that, John Allen. A beautiful late morning in Rome. Thank you, sir, for that.

Breaking overnight: French police arresting a man suspected of driving a vehicle into a crowd of pedestrians Sunday in the city of Dijon. At least 12 people injured there. The suspect was held yelling "Allahu Akbar", Arabic for "God is great", as he mow down his victims. A day earlier, French police shot and killed a man who stabbed and wounded three officers while also shouting that same phrase.

A critical victory for Kurdish fighters driving ISIS forces from the heart of the northern city of Sinjar. Hundreds of Yazidi citizens under siege for over a month, they were rescued in Sunday's counterattack. ISIS positions in the region were a target of 47 U.S. airstrikes just last week.

New this morning, a United Airlines flight from Seattle to Newark, it has been diverted to Spokane after encountering engine trouble. United spokesman says the aircraft landed safely. There were no injuries reported. A new plane is being brought in to replace the one they are working with problem. We're going to get more details so we can keep you up-to-date as we get them. Again, that was Seattle, United Airlines, Seattle to Newark diverted to Spokane.

Legendary boxer Muhammad Ali recovering after being hospitalized for pneumonia over the weekend. Ali's spokesman says the illness was discovered quickly and that the former world heavyweight boxing champion's prognosis is good. Ali also suffers from Parkinson's disease. His spokesman says he is in stable condition and should be released soon.

Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston avoided arrest in an alleged sexual assault two years ago. Now he gets some more good news. Brian Mcfayden has details about that in the "Bleacher Report", next.

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ROMANS: Florida State University has cleared Jameis Winston of rape allegations at the code of conduct hearing.

Brian Mcfayden has more in this morning's "Bleacher Report".

Hi there.

BRIAN MCFAYDEN, BLEACHER REPORT: Hey. Good morning, Christine.

Former Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston, he has been cleared of any wrongdoing at the student code of conduct hearing from alleged 2012 sexual assault. Hearing officer, Justice Major Harding, ruled that the evidence before him was insufficient to satisfy burden of proof. The accuser's attorney told CNN that they are stunned and dismayed and will consider an appeal, but right now feel a little doped.

Jameis Winston was never arrested in the case and his Florida State Seminoles will participate in the first ever college football playoffs at the Rose Bowl in January 1st against number two ranked Oregon Ducks.

The sports world paid tribute to the two New York police officers, Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, who were killed Saturday afternoon. Giants coach Tom Coughlin wore a black strip on his left shoulder, and a peace sign under the team's new logo, or the New York logo as a tribute. Meanwhile, there were emotional before the Jets and Rangers and Nets home games where each team held a moment of silence. Also, the Yankees Silver Shield Foundation will pay for the college educations of Rafael Ramos's children.

The defending Super Bowl champ Seattle Seahawks clinched a playoff spot yesterday after the Cowboys beat the Colts and let everyone know they are the team to beat in the NFC. Marshawn Lynch was beast mode, angry and unstable on this 79-yard touchdown run. Lynch and Seahawks wrap up home field with a win next week against the St. Louis Rams.

The holidays are a time of giving. One Raiders player came up big for one very special girl. Menelik Watson donated his entire week's paycheck to 4-year-old Ava who has a rare heart condition. Ava was named captain for the game yesterday and her family were the guests of honor. Watson said he wanted the family to have a happy holiday, and that is why he decided to give them an entire game check which is worth some $18,000, an incredible gesture for the family having to deal with so much during the holidays -- Christine.

ROMANS: Absolutely.

All right. Thanks for that, Brian Mcfayden.

North Korea making new threats against the United States. The regime's new warning and accusations against the U.S. ahead.

And we are learning more about threats on the New York Police this morning, following the murders of two officers this weekend. A lot of news to get to you this morning. Details ahead.

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