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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Gunmen Kill 19 Inside Museum; Reported Death Threats Against Caroline Kennedy; UVA Student Arrest Sparks Outrage. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired March 19, 2015 - 04:00   ET

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


[04:00:26] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Terror attack at the museum. At least 19 people killed, more injured. This morning, the search for accomplices still believed to be on the loose. We are live with the very latest.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now: investigators examining death threats against Caroline Kennedy. The U.S. ambassador to Japan reportedly targeted. What we are learning about the investigation this morning.

BERMAN: And breaking overnight. Calls for justice after a college student left battered and bloody during an arrest. An investigation has been launched into the police practices there. We have the very latest.

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.

ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It's Thursday, March 19th. It's 4:00 a.m. in the East. Nice to see you all bright and early this morning.

Developing this morning, a manhunt under way in Tunisia for three terrorists who escaped after attacking the Bardo Museum in Tunis. Police say five gunmen killed 19 people, most of them tourists, 22 were hurt, two of the terrorists were killed. No one has immediately claimed responsibility, though. The fear is that ISIS is behind this attack.

Senior international correspondent Arwa Damon live for us this morning.

Arwa, what's the latest?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

Well, behind me, you have the scene in front of the Bardo Museum, the very gate that those gunmen stormed through before carrying out that horrific attack. Very little detail on the identity of who these individuals gunmen may have been or the security apparatus here may have made in apprehending those three other accomplices that are still believed to be at large.

This has been a devastating blow for this nation. So many people we have been talking to expressing their horror and their sorrow at what took place. A taxi driver saying that this was the deliberate strike at the very core of this nation's economy by trying to take out its tourism industry. Amongst the victims, people from across Europe, from South America.

Tunisia, very much a tourist hub for so many individuals. Plus, up until now, Tunisia had been a success story of the Arab spring, the country that had managed to emerge holding democratic elections, bringing to power a fairly secular and moderate government. Speaking about government parliament just next door to the museum. It is still working and functioning.

People are very determined not to allow this kind of attack, to prevent them from moving forward. But also, many saying this is a wake up call for this nation. Some blaming the security apparatus, saying they were not adequately prepared for this kind of an attack. Some saying the threat posed by ISIS and neighboring Libya was being grossly underestimated.

Either way, this country right now facing a very different reality than they did before this horrendous attack took place, Christine.

ROMANS: And, Arwa, we know, just the day before this attack, the tourism minister assuring foreigner that it indeed, it is safe to come to Tunisia. It's a very important time of the year when summer bookings are happening right now. What do we know about where tourists are in this city today? Many of them return to the cruise ships that are there.

DAMON: Those were on those cruise ships docked in the port, as far as we are aware, have returned to those ships, may have already even departed. In terms of whether or not, there was a massive outpouring of tourists here, that does not seem to be the case at this stage. Though people are most certainly on edge understandably given what took place yesterday and given that three of those attackers are still at large, and how many other accomplices may have been unknown at this stage is unclear.

But this nation most certainly is very keen to demonstrate that it is safe to come. People were saying, look at what happened in France in January with the attacks on "Charlie Hebdo." And that has not brought France tourism to a complete standstill. People want the rest of the world to believe that they can come to Tunisia, but, of course, that's what happens over the few days is so vital. This country does have to prove that it is safe for tourists, especially for international tourists, because the nation is heavily reliant on tourism at this stage, to keep its economy going.

ROMANS: Yes, tourism, a very big part of that company, maybe 20 percent, almost a quarter of the economy.

Arwa Damon, thank you so much.

BERMAN: Happening now: Japanese authorities are investigating reported death threats against the American ambassador to that country, Caroline Kennedy. Local media say police are tracking the source of the phone calls to the U.S. embassy in Tokyo threatening to kill Kennedy.

[04:05:01] News of these threats came on Wednesday, just as First Lady Michelle Obama was arriving in Japan for a five-day trip to the region.

The U.S. State Department says it is working with Japanese authorities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEN PSAKI, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESWOMAN: We take any threats to U.S. diplomats seriously. We take every step possible to protect our personnel. We are working with the Japanese government to ensure necessary security measures are in place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Live for us right now in Tokyo following this, CNN's Anna Coren with the latest.

Good morning, Anna.

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, hi, John. Those death threats made to the U.S. embassy last month, and as you say, being taken very seriously here in Japan.

Now, we understand that it was a man speaking English who made the majority of those death threats to the embassy here in Tokyo, saying that he wanted to kill Caroline Kennedy. The U.S. ambassador to Japan who has been in the job for 16 months, she is very respected and admired here.

We also know the death threats made to the U.S. counsel general in Okinawa, which, of course, is where at least 50,000 U.S. troops are stationed.

But those death threats are obviously rattling authorities. We know that security has been stepped up and that police here in Tokyo are investigating.

But, obviously, you know, security heightened in the wake of the attack in South Korea several weeks ago in which the U.S. ambassador to South Korea, Mark Lippert, was attacked by that crazed man wielding a knife and serious injuries to the ambassador. He sustained cuts to his face and to his arm, had to get 80 stitches.

So, in light of that and now the death threats here in Japan, obviously all U.S. diplomats, their security is being looked at, John.

BERMAN: Certainly has to be taken very seriously in light of what happened in South Korea.

Anna Coren for us in Tokyo, thanks so much.

ROMANS: This morning, Secretary of State John Kerry remains in Switzerland for another day of talk was Iran. In Washington, the State Department offering assurances that Benjamin Netanyahu's resounding re-election as prime minister of Israel will have no affect on negotiations with Iran. That's despite of Netanyahu's ferocious attack on the nuclear deal, in a speech to Congress last month.

Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton siding with the prime minister at an event Wednesday. Cotton again defended his controversial letter to Iranian leaders, saying that America must stand with its traditional allies and against Iran's drive for what he called a regional hegemony.

Let's bring in CNN's Nic Robertson from the nuclear talks in Switzerland.

And, Nic, we know different parties to the talks have taken walks so far this morning. You've been able to shout some questions. What are they saying?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we are able to ask a few questions. The Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif took a walk this morning and in a few minutes will sit down with Secretary Kerry. We know the two of them met twice yesterday. Most of the meetings yesterday were on the technical issues, you know, as they try to build consensus.

So, I did ask the Iranian foreign minister what progress is being made. This is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Mr. Zarif. Good morning. CNN, sir. Can you tell us --

JAVAD ZARIF, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Good morning to you.

ROBERTSON: Have you made progress, sir?

ZARIF: We are making progress. But there are issues that need to be resolved.

ROBERTSON: Which issues?

ZARIF: Even more progress is needed. Huh?

ROBERTSON: Which issues need progress, sir?

ZARIF: All of them. No, some of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: So, that was interesting that he said instinctively all of the issues, and then corrected himself to say some of them. You know, it is hard to tell at the moment just how much progress is being made. When it comes to technical issues, you cannot make progress on one issue and park it and leave it alone.

The State Department continues to say this is like a Rubik's cube. You move some pieces, but try to move another and that effects other things. So, really, it is all still in play. And perhaps, most significantly here, Secretary Kerry has said it is not the technical. It's the political decisions that need to be made by Iranian side that are most critical.

So, when you look at the way the talks went yesterday, mostly technical talks rather than political. And no big foreign ministers coming here, you get the sense that that big issues, the political ones, yet to be bridged -- Christine.

ROMANS: I know it is complicated on so many levels, but to see him laughing and smiling and joking. The fact that these two parties are even talking about this, it's something we -- unheard of even a few years ago.

ROBERTSON: Yes, sure. You get the sense here that, you know, outside of those meetings and I have to say Switzerland is incredibly beautiful. The sun is out and spring is in the air. You are holed up inside a meeting, inside there.

[04:10:01] Who in their right mind would want to stay stuck in a hotel?

And we've certainly seen Secretary Kerry come out and go for rides on his bicycle.

But I think this is all play that goes on here. And when I say play, it's the imagery of these talks. You have Secretary Kerry going for rides on his bicycle to relax. We saw him doing that just yesterday.

Zarif comes out for his walks. They both want to show for the cameras, they're here to do business, but they're also relaxing, they're also putting on a good face.

Yesterday, Zarif came out of a meeting late at night, and an Iranian journalist shouted out to him, sir, are you a lion or are you a fox? Meaning, are you a fighter or are you a runner? He said that "We Iranians are all fighters." So, I think that gives you a sense everyone has their game face on here. And you see that most of all when they come outside the hotel to take that tiny bit of relaxation away from the intensity of the talks -- Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Nic Robertson, in beautiful springtime in Lausanne, Switzerland, thank you for that, Nic.

BERMAN: Bicycle diplomacy. Something new.

ROMANS: Yes.

BERMAN: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's stunning victory on Tuesday's election has the White House now reassessing its options with Israel. Sources tell CNN that the prime minister's divisive comments about Arabs and the fact that he ruled out the possibility of a Palestinian state just before polls were closed there raise very significant concerns for the Obama administration.

Listen to the reaction from the State Department.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PSAKI: Certainly, the fact that he's changing his position is -- has an impact. I'm not going to prejudge what we'll do. The election was yesterday. Those comments were made two days ago. So, I'm sure we'll continue to discuss.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Now, Secretary of State John Kerry has called the prime minister to congratulate him on his victory. President Obama not yet. The White House only says that the president will call the prime minister in the coming days.

ROMANS: All right. Time for an early start on your money.

The Federal Reserve is out of patience and Wall Street is thrilled about it. U.S. stock futures up this morning after a big, huge rally yesterday after the Fed statement. The Dow ended up 227 points, above 18,000 again. The Fed dropped its promise to be patient as it plans to raise interest rates, the first hike in interest years in nine years.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen stressed the Central Bank will not be impatient either, and that a rate hike is unlikely in its next meeting in April. That's what was key here for the rally. No surprise there. Wall Street has been betting on an increase in June or later.

The Fed also lowered its growth targets and its inflation targets. So, while dropping the patient, also saying, you know, the economy might not be as robust as we thought, which means there could be more time before there's a rate hike.

BERMAN: All right. Twelve minutes after the hour right now.

A college student covered in blood, slammed to the pavement while being arrested. An investigation is being launched, question being police using excessive force here. We have the latest overnight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:15:55] BERMAN: Breaking overnight: racial tensions flaring at the University of Virginia after white police officers arrested a black student outside a popular bar. The student, 20-year-old Martese Johnson was taken to the ground. You see blood on his head. Cell phone videos of the incident quickly spread on social media, triggering angry demonstration on the UVA campus last night. Johnson himself made a brief appearance to urge his fellow students to remain calm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTESE JOHNSON, ARRESTED UVA STUDENT: Regardless of your personal opinions and way you feel about subjects, respect everyone. We are all part of one community. We deserve to respect each other, especially in times like this. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Johnson is charged with public intoxication and obstruction of justice. He is the elected member of the university's honor committee in charge of community relations.

The Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe is calling for an investigation into this arrest. The university president also drawing attention to a big concern there.

ROMANS: The jury of the trial of accused Boston marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will hear more testimony today about evidence recovered from the scene of a shootout between police and the Tsarnaev brothers in Watertown, Massachusetts, days after the marathon attack.

In court Wednesday, prosecutors focused on the deadly weapons in their positions, including two homemade bombs.

CNN's Alexandra Field has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine, John, jurors got a glimpse of part of the arsenal of homemade bombs, including a Tupperware container stuffed with two or three pounds of explosive powder with fuses on top of it. They also saw two pipe bombs that never detonated, those pipe bombs about two inches in diameter. One of them formed in an "L" shape. A bomb tech who testified said it was similar to an improvised grenade designed to stop where it landed without rolling away.

Those pipe bombs were recovered at Laurel Street, the scene of the shootout with Watertown police. That's the scene where the investigators recovered the Tsarnaev car, a green Honda Civic. The jurors got to see the items found in the car, including Tamerlan Tsarnaev's wallet, his driver's license still inside it.

Also, a receipt for two backpacks bought at a target the day before the marathon bombings and two white gloves covered in blood. One investigator testified that the blood on those gloves is a match for Sean Collier's DNA. The MIT officer killed in his squad car just hours before that shootout in Watertown -- Christine, John.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Thanks to Alexandra.

The former U.S. Air Force mechanic, he's accused of trying to join ISIS in Syria, he pleaded not guilty. Forty-seven-year-old Nathan Webster Pugh entered the plea at this arraignment in New York Federal Court on Wednesday. He was arrested two months ago after being deported from Egypt back to the United States. He allegedly flown from Egypt to Turkey, his intention was to get to Syria and fight violent jihad with ISIS. Prosecutors say that FBI agents found Pugh was viewing ISIS propaganda online.

ROMANS: Court documents reveal Robert Durst may have been ready to run when he was arrested in New Orleans last weekend. He had more than $40,000 in cash on hand, and neck to neck latex mask to disguise himself. He is currently being held in the mental health unit of the Louisiana prison on drug and weapons charges.

The 71-year-old Durst also faces a first-degree murder charge in the death of a close friend in 2000. The FBI looking into other unsolved murder cases in areas where Durst has lived.

BERMAN: Testimony resumes this morning in the trial of former NFL star Aaron Hernandez, accused of killing his friend Odin Lloyd. A Massachusetts police officer testified about footprints found at the crime scene. One consistent with a Nike sneaker that Hernandez is seen wearing in surveillance video shortly before and after Lloyd was killed. On cross-examination, the earlier report in which officers said testified that the shoe print lacked sufficient quality for comparison.

ROMANS: Police in Colorado investigating a disturbing and gruesome crime.

[04:20:01] A 26-year-old pregnant woman responding to an online ad for baby products came to a home in the town of Longmont where she was attacked by a stranger who police say stabbed her and cut the baby out of her uterus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was shopping on Craigslist. And she came to the house to pick up baby clothes. Once she got here, she got assaulted -- she was assaulted and stabbed and her baby was removed. It's a difficult day for a lot of people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The attacker was arrested at the local hospital where she's brought the deceased baby, claiming she had a miscarriage. The victim was being treated at the same hospital. Horrible story!

BERMAN: Members of the Kappa Delta Rho fraternity at Penn State could face criminal charges for posting lewd pictures of women on the private Facebook page. Police say if any of the frat brothers had romantic relationships with the women and posted the photos without their consent, they will be charged under the state's revenge porn law. The fraternity has been suspended for one year and Penn State's president said some members could be expelled.

ROMANS: All right. Breaking overnight: police identifying the man they say is behind the deadly shooting spree in Arizona. Details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Breaking overnight: police have identified a suspect that went to a shooting rampage in several locations in Mesa, Arizona. One person was killed, five wounded.

[04:25:02] The alleged shooter, a neo-Nazi with an extensive criminal history. He is in custody this morning.

CNN's Stephanie Elam has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, Mesa police are saying Ryan Giroux is behind the shooting spree that happened here yesterday morning. They say it started here at a motel that's right down the street. They believe there's an altercation inside one of the hotel rooms and then Giroux they say shot three people outside of that room, killing one man and wounding two women.

They also went on to say that after that, he encountered one adult student at nearby East Valley Institute of Technology and shot him as well.

They then believe that the suspect went on to carjack a Honda before breaking into an apartment and shooting a man there. He then went to an apartment complex the next one over and shot another man there in another apartment. Both of those men are expected to live.

Police believe at this point that he was trying to rob them. They were able to track down Giroux because mesa SWAT were able to corner him inside of a vacant second floor condo. That's where they found him. They tasered him, took him into custody, took him out to the hospital to get him checked out and continuing to interview Giroux to learn more about him.

Now, if you take a look at his picture, you can see he's got a lot of tattoos, one that actually says "skinhead" across his forehead and his eyebrows. But it's not clear at this point is whether or not his beliefs -- his alleged beliefs have anything to do with these crimes that were perpetrated here yesterday -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Stephanie Elam, thanks for that. Quite a mug shot, I would say.

BERMAN: Happening now, the search for accomplices in the deadly terror attack at a museum. Tourists killed as gunmen stormed the building. Who was behind the attack? Could more people still be on the run? We are live after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)