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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Monster Blizzard to Hit Northeast; ISIS Apparently Kills Japanese Hostage; President Obama to Visit Saudi Arabia; Sherman: NFL Won't Punish Patriots

Aired January 26, 2015 - 05:00   ET

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

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Bracing for impact. Folks, a monster historic storm set to pummel the Northeast. This is a catastrophic blizzard expected to bury 20 million people from New Jersey to Maine in feet of snow, packed with hurricane-force winds. This morning, thousands of flights are canceled as cities prepare for blackouts, whiteout road conditions. We are tracking the storm and the big impacts that we're having this morning.

Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. Happy Monday. I'm Christine Romans.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm John Berman. It is Monday, January 26th. It is 5:00 a.m. in the East.

And, look, the Weather Service is using "historic" and "life- threatening to describe this monster blizzard set to hit parts of 12 states. Worst case, snowfall amounts could range from 2 to 3 feet from Boston to New York. And I got to say, it's not just the snow here. The winds could be devastating. The New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio warns the forecast to blow in tonight, it could break records.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK: This literally could be one of the top two or three largest storms in the history of the city and we need to plan accordingly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: You know, they are planning. They've seen this coming. Cities around the Northeast and Midwest have been on this for days. Columbus, Ohio, put 70 to 80 plows on the roads with drivers working 12 hours shifts. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation will have 400 trucks out in the Philadelphia area, plowing and salting their way through this epic storm.

ROMANS: All right. Epic. So, let's bring in meteorologist Pedram Javaheri for the potentially devastating storm. I mean, there is a lot of snow. The winds, the winds are what make this dangerous, I think. PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. The winds make it

very dangerous. Even far after the storm system is gone, we think those winds could be 40 to 50 miles per hour, come even Tuesday and Wednesday morning. And that will be enough to blow around all the snow that we've seen coming in 24 or so hours.

But here's the perspective, some light snow showers moving in toward the nation's capital into Philly and New York. Generally, 1 to 3 inches expected later on this afternoon. By tonight, things really begin to ramp up here. The storm system parts off the Eastern Seaboard there, blizzard conditions begin to kick in, a full-blown nor'easter. The storm system comes in with so much moisture, so much potency here that we could see snowfall rates 2 to 3 inches per hour, potentially going on for 10 to 12 hours across portions of the northeast.

So, 50 million people impacted by wintry weather. About 20 million now under the blizzard warnings across this region. When you have the wind powerful enough at 35 to 40 miles per hour, visibility down to less than a quarter of a mile. The airports are taking this seriously with over 2,000 flights canceled.

Philadelphia is one of the models, up to 9 inches. New York, about 22. And look at he bull's-eye up in Rhode Island, to Connecticut, even around Boston, around up to 20 inches possible.

Look at this other model, this American model really downplays New York and brings it down to around 8 inches, but Boston goes up to 26 inches. So, a lot of variance here as far as how much snow is going to come down, what we can tell you here if this gets up to around 20 inches, it will break the record books with the top three scale of snowiest days across New York City. And this amount of snow with the school closures, there's going to be probably power outages, you should expect delays -- I should say power outages could last several days across portions of the northeast with the wind gusts of 50 to 70 miles per hour.

So, definitely, a serious storm system shaping up here, guys.

BERMAN: Hey, Pedram, the last few years we had storms like, this one storm after another after another. One of the problems has been finding a place to put to show. This one, it all comes very, very quickly with damaging winds that last. We don't expect more snow over the few days after this, do we?

JAVAHERI: No, not in the immediate future. New York City has put aside about 2,000 plows and 120,000 tons of salt have set aside. So, the good news right now, it doesn't look like we will get another storm, at least a significant one, to push through after this. This one, John and Christine, we have seen six inches in New York City so far. We should have 11. And, of course, we had some this past weekend. So, this storm with 20 inches could triple what you've seen so far this season.

ROMANS: Wow, unbelievable. I know New York emergency officials asked the National Guard for high axle vehicles so they can actually drive over for emergency response in these neighborhoods where in the past, when you had less snow than this, they had trouble getting down some of these blocks. Just so much snow.

Pedram Javaheri, thanks for that. We'll talk to you again very, very soon.

You know, the airlines are bracing for this thing. You have thousands of flights delayed. Canceled actually -- 1,900 now is the number. Another 1,600 have canceled tomorrow. Those numbers are going to go grow.

Several Airlines like United and U.S. Airways plan to halt all Tuesday operations at certain airport. And the backlog will make traveling a nightmare through the end of the week.

You heard Pedram said that there is no snow on the back end of this. So, hopefully, this is an early week experience, but the ripple effect will be felt. Airlines are waiving change fees to rebook flights in dozens of airports.

Last year, remember, the winter weather was damaging to the economy. Local governments pummeled with big bills for snow removal and treatments and salt. People hunkered down at home instead of shopping. The overall economy took a hit. The GDP contracted more than 2 percent in the first quarter. I'll tell you, though, the first quarter last year, it was just storm after storm after storm. This is one big storm all at the same time, which will have its own different challenge.

BERMAN: It's going to stink, but hopefully, it stinks for a day or two and we get back on with our lives.

All right. We're going to follow this all morning and bring you the developments.

Meanwhile, happening this morning, some devastating news in the story of two Japanese hostages being held by ISIS. The video that purports to show is beheaded one of the men, Haruna Yukawa. A known is supporter posted this video online of the other man, Kenji Goto, holding what looks like a photo of Yukawa's headless body.

On the voice claiming to be Goto, the man who is alive, blames Japan for not saving the other man by paying $200 million ransom. That is the ransom is demanded. The voice also says ISIS will drop the demand and release Goto in exchange for a convicted female terrorist who is now facing the death penalty in Jordan.

Right now, we are learning this morning and this is breaking news. Japan has an envoy in Jordan to coordinate with every side in this hostage crisis.

So, what exactly does that mean?

CNN's Will Ripley is standing by live in Tokyo with the latest -- Will. WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, the fact the

Japanese government sent delegates from Tokyo to Jordan is a sign of just how urgent of this situation right now. The number one priority is trying to work out a deal to get the one surviving hostage, Kenji Goto, safely out of the country and back home to Japan, back home to his wife, his two daughters and his very upset mother.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUNKO ISHIDO, MOTHER OF KENJI GOTO (through translator): I am a mother. I cannot bear this. I got to believe in everyone's effort. Otherwise, I cannot live. The human fighting to each other, this is not the samurai warlord era.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: But it's going to be very, very difficult and the Japanese government officials, including the chief cabinet secretary are acknowledging this. It's going to be quite a struggle to meet the ISIS demands. All that Japan can do is talk to Jordan and ask them to hand over a high profile prisoner, a convicted terrorist. It is a difficult position for any country to be put in.

But it's critical for the Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who had protesters outside of his residence just last night, people demanding that he bring this hostage home. Some even accusing him of causing this situation by publicly announcing assistance for the coalition against ISIS, something they say he could have done privately knowing all the while that there were two Japanese citizens in the hands of ISIS. Now only one of them remains alive.

BERMAN: It does seem that as this public debate rages on what to do in the situations, there is a difference in Japan in public opinion on perhaps paying the ransom versus pushing for the hostage exchange, Will.

RIPLEY: Absolutely. Keep in mind, though, this is a pacifist country that is just now the prime minister trying to put it out on the geopolitical stage. The Middle East trip and taking the stand against ISIS is part of the prime minister's new mission for Japan. But taking a stand against a brutal enemy of ISIS that has done despicable things comes with a price as Japan is learning with the horrible death of Haruna Yukawa and the life of Kenji Goto in great danger right now.

BERMAN: All right. Will Ripley for us in Tokyo -- thanks so much, Will.

One American woman does remain captive at the hands of ISIS. She was taken hostage on August of 2013, while on humanitarian mission in Syria. White House chief of staff Denis McDonough says that intense efforts are being made to bring her home safely.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DENIS MCDONOUGH, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: We are obviously continuing to work those matters very, very aggressively. We are sparing no expense and sparing no effort both in trying to make sure that we know where they are and make sure that we are prepared to do anything we must to try to get them home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: ISIS has demanded more than $6 million for the woman's freedom, along with the release of a Pakistani neuroscientist convicted in the United States of trying to kill a U.S. army captain.

ROMANS: President Obama is trying to preserve millions of acres of animal habitat in Alaska, a move already drawing fierce opposition for some Republicans. The president says he will ask Congress to designate 12 million acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as wilderness, the strongest level of federal protection. It would forbid a range of activities including drilling for oil and gas, construction of roads. The measure is not likely to make it through Congress.

BERMAN: The Senate is expected to resume its intense debate on the bill that would approve the controversial Keystone oil pipeline. A final vote in the Senate is expected this week. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has vowed that it will be the first piece of legislation the Republican Congress sends to President Obama. The president has promised to veto this bill.

ROMANS: All right. There is a showdown looming between the White House and Congress over nuclear talks with Iran, with negotiations hitting up between the two countries. Republican leaders are now threatening to impose new sanctions against Iran. Something the Obama administration could derail the talks.

That's not the way the top Republican in the House and Senate it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: I'm very concerned about the Iranians, the threat that they could be developing a nuclear weapon and I believe and I think the House believes that more sanctions, if they don't come to agreement, are in order.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNEL (R-KY), MAJORITY LEADER: Under the proposal we are considering, those enhanced sanctions would only occur if a deal is not reached. In other words, it further incentivizes the Iranians to reach an agreement because they know things would get considerable worse if they did not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: An interesting side note to all this. Iran's foreign minister Javad Zarif summoned to appear before the country's parliament to explain why he took a private 15-minute walk with Secretary of State John Kerry earlier this month during a break in the talks of Geneva. The walk is widely seen in Tehran as a diplomatic blunder, but on the outside, it's just diplomacy.

BERMAN: You know, we have breaking news out of Washington. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest says the White House is investigating a device or drone that landed on the White House grounds. The Secret Service is inspecting the device. Early indications according to the White House press secretary are that this device poses no threat.

ROMANS: Interesting.

BERMAN: This shows you the threats now of modern technology. Obviously. You know, it doesn't take much. A remote controlled airplane. You can put it in the airspace above the White House and that is a big risk.

ROMANS: FAA is working with companies to figure out the rules of the road so to speak, going to be for the air ways using drone.

BERMAN: It is a drone lands on the White House grounds, some device investigating. We will bring you more when we get it. We'll get something from the White House reporter in just a minute.

The president is in India defending his counterterrorism strategy in Yemen. We'll talk to our White House reporter on that and the latest information on the device that landed on the White House grounds. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: All right. The Northeastern U.S. is bracing for a huge blizzard. So big the forecasters are saying maybe one of the biggest nor'easters in history. Snowfall forecasts up to 3 feet from Boston to New York. The National Weather Service tweeting 18 to 23 inches for the current in the New York City area, winds gusting from 55 to 65 miles an hour, 1,900 flights canceled for Monday. More than 1,600 flights canceled for Tuesday.

You've got several airlines, United and Delta saying they're going to cease operations all together in the Northeast airports.

Now is the time to prepare. Snow is expected to fall tonight. Heavy snow is tomorrow. Tomorrow is the no-go day. Wednesday, the clean up day. Today is the prepare day.

BERMAN: It is.

ROMANS: A lot of schools closing early today. New York Stock Exchange usually stays open, very rare for the exchange to close. We have calls out to see if tomorrow is the exception just because of the volume of the snow --

BERMAN: And don't get caught up if it is 10 or 15 or 20 inches. The winds is going to blow. There are going to be blizzard conditions here and that is what is going to be dangerous. So, just stay home, period.

Other news at 15 minutes after the hour.

Yemen falling into political chaos. Emergency session of parliament there was canceled and lawmakers were turned away at the door. The president and prime minister and cabinet resigned last week when the Houthis took over. President Obama insisting the U.S. counterterrorism in Yemen is unchanged and working, saying that killing militants with drones there is better than, quote, "playing whack a mole with massive U.S. deployments in perpetuity." The U.N. Security Council set to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis in Yemen this morning.

Our White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski joins us live from New Delhi in India.

And, first, Michelle, though, I want to ask you about the news we got a few minutes ago. That there's some kind of drone or device that landed within the White House grounds. What's the latest, Michelle?

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, apparently, it is reported it was a drone. Today, the White House press secretary did address these questions about what that was. And he said there was a device. That's all he is saying at this point. It was recovered from White House grounds.

We are looking at pictures of the White House around that time of morning at 4:00 a.m. We could see what looked like search lights illuminated on the north lawn. We don't know if the device landed there. You definitely could see activity.

The press secretary said it doesn't look like it poses any threat to anyone at this time. But that's s an interesting concept, the thought of a drone being able to land or crash or thrown or something on to the White House lawn.

You think of a plane trying to fly over White House air space. That would be intercepted by jets. Jets could be scrambled to get it out of White House air space. If it was a big enough threat, it could be shot down.

But a drone, I don't know if there's a protocol for that. It is possible the secret service has something to deal with that kind of threat. We have not been able to reach them on the details this morning, when you think about something small, a device. We don't know how big this device was. You could walk by the White House gate and throw a football or people have thrown other things like a backpack or a pile of papers over the fence.

So, it is possible to get something on the White House grounds, but to my knowledge, this is the first time we heard of something like a drone possibly being found there, John.

BERMAN: It was a small plane that crashed on the White House lawn that happened about 20 years ago. So much has happened since then and these situations. It is a sign of the times, Michelle. The secret service and White House has to address going forward. Michelle Kosinski for us in New Delhi, following the president's trip and this new piece of information -- thanks so much, Michelle.

ROMANS: All right. The prosecution and defense in the Aaron Hernandez murder trial expected to choose the final 12 jurors and six alternates today from the pool of 53. Opening statements are scheduled to begin on Tuesday. John and I both doubt that will be able to happen, there's a lot of snow coming to the Northeast.

The former NFL star is charged in the death of semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd. Hernandez has pleaded not guilty. He faces murder charges in a separate case where he's accused of killing two men he met in the Boston nightclub back in 2012.

BERMAN: Federal trial of accused marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will not begin today because of a delay in the jury selection. Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty for Tsarnaev. The judge has been questioning suspected jurors at length about their feelings on capital punishment. That has slowed the process. You know, the area where it is, east of Massachusetts, this is not strong death penalty sentiment there.

Tsarnaev is charged in the 2013 marathon attack that killed three people and injured more than 260.

Twenty minutes after the hour.

So, Seahawks star Richard Sherman is sounding off now on deflate-gate. That as his team arrives at the Super Bowl. Does he think the Patriots will be punished?

Andy Scholes with the details in the "Bleacher Report", next.

ROMANS: Airlines seem to be in a bidding war for business travelers loyalty, but not the ones who like to travel on a cheap. Both United and American Airlines have changed their frequent flyer programs to appeal to high spending business travelers.

If you fly United starting March 1st, miles will not be based on miles. Not distance. Miles based on how much you spend which can depend on many factors from carrier imposed surcharges and departure dates. The amount of points earned will also depends on your elite level.

Delta made a similar move earlier this month.

So, what does that mean for the budget conscious traveler? It will take you longer to earn a free flight. For example, under Delta and United's new rule, a flight to New York to Salt Lake City under the old system will be worth 4,000 points. Now, you buy a ticket for $411, you earn 2,000 points.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Super Bowl week is here. That is the good news. The bad news is -- well, deflate-gate still drawing attention.

ROMANS: Andy Scholes has more in this morning's "Bleacher Report". Hey, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, BLEACHER REPORT: Hey, good morning, guys. Yes, it doesn't look like the NFL is going to conclude their investigation anytime soon. Tom Brady said again last night, the league still hasn't spoken with him about deflate-gate. He doesn't think they will before the game. So, it looks like all this deflate- gate talk is going to continue as we head in the media day on Tuesday.

The defending champion Seahawks arriving in Phoenix yesterday. And Richard Sherman not holding anything back when asked about the Patriots role in deflate-gate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD SHERMAN, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS COMEBACK: Will they be punished? Probably not, you know? Not as long as Robert Kraft and Roger Goodell are still taking pictures at their respective homes, you know? I think he was just at Kraft's last week before the AFC championship, you know? You talk about conflict of interest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: The Patriots are scheduled to have a fan rally at city hall later today at 11:00 Eastern. The team will get on a plane and get out of town before the big storm hits.

NFL holding the pro bowl last night. They used the game as a testing ground for new technology when reviewing plays, instead of going to the big booth on the sideline, they used a tablet on the field. Players also live tweeting during the game on the sidelines. As for the action, J.J. Watt had a typical game, a fumble and interception. He is the MVP as his team won, 32-28. >

Mike Krzyzewski, he now has more wins than syllables in his last name. Coach K getting his 1,000th wins yesterday as Duke rally to beat St. John's at Madison Square Garden. He is the first NCAA coach to reach the milestone. This is Coach K's 35th season at Duke. He's lead the Blue Devils at four national titles and 11 final four appearances. So, congratulations to him.

Guys, I'm getting on a plane to Phoenix. I'm looking forward to media today tomorrow to watch Bill Belichick to answer questions for an hour about deflate-gate.

BERMAN: He's not going to. I bet he won't answer it. I bet he'll say, asked and answered them, here to talk about football. He made clear on Saturday, that is all he would say on Saturday. Mr. Belichick has a way of saying only what he wants to say, Andy.

SCHOLES: I can imagine tomorrow is not the day he is looking forward to the week where he has to sit and answer questions for an hour.

ROMANS: I can guarantee the press corps will keep talking about it. Thanks, Andy.

BERMAN: Fly safe, my friend.

SCHOLES: All right. Thanks. BERMAN: The Northeast about to be brought to a standstill. Pay attention. A catastrophic blizzard of historic proportions could bury cities. We're talking Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston, the megalopolis. Airlines are cancelling thousand of flights. Cities are bracing for unprecedented impact. We will breakdown what you need to know right after this.

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