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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Bystander Who Shot Video Steps Forward; City Officials Face Angry Crowd; Boston Marathon Bomber Found Guilty; President Obama Travels To Jamaica; Kerry: U.S. Will Side Against Iran In Yemen; Severe Weather Rips Through Midwest; Stock Futures Point Lower
Aired April 09, 2015 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:30:00]
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: New information from the witness who filmed a police officer shoot and kill unarmed black man, Walter Scott, what he is now revealing about that shooting as the victim's mother tells CNN what she thinks about the man who killed her son.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Guilty of all charges, but will the Boston marathon bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev get the death penalty, we will take you inside that courtroom.
ROMANS: Breaking overnight, a new Secret Service scandal revealed. Details ahead. Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
BERMAN: I'm John Berman. It's 30 minutes past the hour right now. New this morning, changes in the South Carolina City in the wake of a police officer's arrest on murder charges.
Among the changes, North Charleston City officials promised to outfit every officer there with a body camera and the city fired Officer Michael Slager as he now sits in jail awaiting a bail hearing.
On Saturday, of course, Slager shot and killed 50-year-old Walter Scott as Scott ran away following a traffic stop. We have now seen this dramatic video. Slager says that Scott tried to grab his taser, but this disturbing video does show Slager firing eight shots at Scott for about 25 feet as Scott was trying to run away.
The man who took the video has now stepped forward telling NBC News what happened in the moments before he began recording. National correspondent, Jason Carroll, is in North Charleston with the latest.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, Feidin Santana said he was on his way to work on Saturday that's when he spotted Officer Slager and Scott in some sort of a struggle. He says the minute that the two hit the ground, he pulled out his cell phone and started recording.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FEIDEN SANTANA, RECORDED POLICE SHOOTING: They were down on the floor. They were down on the floor before I started recording. They were down on the floor. I remember the police had control of the situation. He had control of Scott. Scott was trying to get away from the taser -- the taser, you know, you can hear the sounds of the taser.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: Scott's family calling Santana basically a hero for coming forward and sharing his video. Someone else speaking out in behalf of Santana is the city's mayor.
The city's mayor and police chief actually faced an angry crowd at one point during a press conference specifically when they were questioned about something that happened after the shooting.
There seems to be a question about whether or not the officers performed CPR on Scott. Listen to what happened when the police chief was questioned about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EDDIE DRIGGERS, NORTH CHARLESTON POLICE CHIEF: At the end of it, what I saw was a, I believe to be a police officer removing the shirt of the individual and performing some type of life saving, but I'm not sure what took place.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't know if CPR was performed?
DRIGGERS: I was told that lifesaving -- they tried to save his life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: The police chief also unable to answer questions about the officer's taser. Where was it? The video seems to show, at least this is what the family believes -- they believe that the video shows Officer Slager trying to plant that taser next to Scott's body.
Police chief was unable to answer that question when pressed on that particular subject certainly that is what Scott's family believes. They also said as painful as it is for them to see that video, they say they are very, very grateful that this young man came forward and presented the video to them and to investigators -- Christine, John.
ROMANS: All right, Jason Carroll, thank you, Jason. Now the mother of shooting victim, Walter Scott, says she forgives the police officer who shot and killed her son.
A woman of deep religious faith, Judy Scott tells CNN's Anderson Cooper that she has seen the video of the shooting, but she could not watch it all the way through to the end. Even so, she says she does not hate the officer who shot her son in the back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDY SCOTT, SHOOTING VICTIM'S MOTHER: I'm supposed to be really angry and upset and raging and all that, but I can't because of the love of god in me. I can't be like that. No, I don't. I feel forgiveness in my heart. Even for the guy that shot and killed my son. ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "AC360": You feel forgiveness?
SCOTT: Yes, for him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: We're learning more this morning about now former officer, Michael Slager. North Charleston officials say Slager's wife is eight months pregnant. The city will continue paying for her health insurance until the baby is born.
The 33-year-old Slager has two stepchildren. Personnel records show Slager, like Walter Scott, served in the U.S. Coast Guard. After joining the North Charleston Police Department in 2009, Slager became highly proficient in taser use scoring 50 out of 50 on certification exams.
[05:35:07] BERMAN: Of course, that matters here because the taser was involved in this incident.
The jury in the Boston marathon bombing case will now weigh whether Dzhokhar Tsarnaev should be executed, that is after finding him guilty of all 30 counts. As that verdict was read on Wednesday afternoon, the 21-year-old stood with his head bowed and hands clasped. CNN's Alexandra Field has more details from the courtroom.
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine, John, this is the moment that so many people waited so long for nearly two years they waited to hear the verdict. Now 30 counts Dzhokhar Tsarnaev found guilty in each and every one of them.
He strode into the courtroom. He listened as each count was read out loud. He made just a glimpse and looked at the jury, but for the most part, he looked at his hands. He looks down. He looked at his attorney by his side, really no outward show of emotion which has been typical for him throughout this trial.
Twelve jurors deliberated for just under 12 hours before arriving at the verdict. Eleven of those jurors didn't seem to look over at the defendant and didn't seem to want to make eye contact. They kept their eyes forward looking at the judge and clerk.
One juror was trying to get a closer look at Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. That juror would not have seen any outward display or any sign of surprise from the defendant himself. A lot of people were in the courtroom to hear the verdict.
Family members of the victims killed in this case, survivors of the bombing. The gravity of the situation, you could feel it inside that courtroom. It was very quiet. People sat still. A few of them dabbing tears away from their eyes, but really no large expressions of emotion.
People just sort of listening in and wanting to hear every word and that word guilty said over and over again. We heard from survivors, who came out after the verdict was read. Some of them said they didn't really have the sense of closure, but certainly this is piece of the puzzle for a lot of them.
There is some sense of justice for some of them, but this trial is not over yet. The 21-year-old's life is now in the hands of the jury. The penalty phase which jurors will consider the death sentence could begin as early as next week -- Christine, John.
ROMANS: Alexandra, thanks for that. Survivors of the Boston marathon bombing sharing their reaction to the guilty verdict was handed down against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REBEKAH GREGORY, BOSTON BOMBING SURVIVOR: I don't believe that there will ever be justice brought to this no matter if he does get the death penalty or he remains in prison for the rest of his life. I do believe, however, that he should be held accountable for his actions and I'm very thankful for each of the jury members that are making him do that.
KAREN BRASSARD, BOSTON BOMBING SURVIVOR: I don't know what justice is. I'm grateful to have him off the streets. I'm grateful to show everyone, the world, that it's not tolerated. This is not how we behave. We are grateful that everybody has worked hard to make it known that we are not going to allow this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker said Dzhokhar Tsarnaev deserves to be executed for the crimes he committed.
BERMAN: Breaking overnight, a Secret Service supervisor has been placed on administrative leave following allegations of sexual assault. The "Washington Post" reports a female agent is alleging that a manager in the Security Clearance Division made quote, "unwanted sexual advances" after the pair returned to the office from a party on March 31st. The Secret Service says appropriate action was taken and that this incident is now currently under investigation.
ROMANS: The White House could announce its intent to remove Cuba from the state sponsored terrorism list. The State Department recommending Cuba's removal since Cuba has not provided support to terrorist groups within the last six months. White House officials wanted to make the announcement before the Summit of the Americas later this week. Once announced the Congress would then have 45 days to vote or block it.
BERMAN: President Obama is in Jamaica this morning on the first leg of a journey that takes them to a historic meeting with 48 leaders of Caribbean nations. He then heads to the Summit of the Americas in panama where he is likely to see Cuba's Raul Castro.
Top administration officials say that security and energy top the agenda. One of the president's first stops in Jamaica is a tour of the Bob Marley Museum and also one of the homes of the former legend. The president says he still has all of his Bob Marley albums.
ROMANS: All right, time for an EARLY START on your money. European and Asian shares are mostly higher. Hong Kong is at a seven-year high. U.S. stock futures are down a little bit right now.
Yesterday was a quiet day, a bit of a gain though because stock investors think an interest rate hike may be put off until September or later.
All right, the rich are getting richer. This is new data from the IRS, the top 400 taxpayers made $336 million on average each in 2012.
[05:40:04] Compare that to an average $220 million just a year earlier. They paid about $56 million in taxes. That comes out to about 17 percent of their income. Some paid taxes below 10 percent. That average tax rate is 16.7 percent.
BERMAN: All right, the war escalating in Yemen, the United States and Iran taking sides, opposing sides. Secretary of State John Kerry has a new warning for Iran this morning. We will tell you what it is after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:44:10]
ROMANS: Secretary of State John Kerry with a new warning to Iran. Kerry says efforts to negotiate a nuclear deal will not stop the U.S. from siding with Saudi Arabia against Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen. Iran is deploying its navy off the coast of Yemen. Secretary Kerry tells PBS the U.S. has also been tracking Iranian supply flights into Yemen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: We're well aware of the support that Iran has been giving Yemen. Iran needs to recognize that the United States is not going to stand by while the region is destabilized.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson, joining me now from Southern Saudi Arabia. Good morning, Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine. Well, the Yemeni foreign minister has been saying exactly the same thing that Iran has been supporting the Houthi rebels.
[05:45:04] We've heard from the Saudi spokesperson leading the coalition here, the military coalition saying that Iranian war ships, ones putting out to sea into the Gulf of Aden are welcome in international waters.
However, they are not allowed to come within the terrotorial waters of Yemen. If they do that that would certainly escalate tensions here. The Saudi spokesman is saying that right now the territory waters of Yemen are controlled by the Saudi-led coalition.
We are also hearing of some aid supplies that are just beginning to get into Yemen at the moment into the port city of Aden, about two- and-a-half tons of medical supplies to be delivered to Doctors Without Borders and international Red Cross.
They brought in two sets of medical teams as well as surgical teams to help out in hospital there, but the plight of the people in the country beginning to cause increasing international concerns, a 100,000 people forced from their homes by the fighting.
More than 500 killed, 300 of them are civilians. We have now heard from the Iranian president talking about what Secretary Kerry had to say. Talking about what the Yemeni foreign minister had to say.
The Iranian president said there should be talks and an end to fighting to protect the civilians in the country. However, what he also said is the future of the Yemeni people should be in the hands of the Yemeni people. That is a clear message to the United States and Saudi Arabia to stop interfering in his opinion inside Yemen -- Christine.
ROMANS: All right, Nic Robertson for us this morning in Saudi Arabia, thanks for that, Nic.
It's 46 minutes past the hour. Time to take a look at what is coming up on "NEW DAY." Alisyn Camerota joins me this morning. Hi, Alisyn.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Hi. Good morning, Christine. It's nice to see you. So we will be digging into today's top story. That is the eyewitness who filmed that deadly police officer shooting in South Carolina is speaking out for the first time about exactly what he saw happened. So what have we learned from his account and how this account compared to what the official police incident report says happened.
Plus will the Boston jury give the marathon bomber life in prison or the death? We'll talk with survivors of the Boston bombing attack, how did they feel about what should happen next.
And Dr. Ben Carson will be joining us again on "NEW DAY." His last appearance was memorable and controversial. What can we expect this time? We will get his take on the South Carolina shooting as well as his reaction to the current field of presidential contenders.
Is he going to officially throw his hat into the ring anytime soon maybe even today? We'll get all of that -- Christine.
ROMANS: Thanks, Alisyn.
Severe storms tearing through the Midwest, this is not over yet, the threat facing 90 million people this morning. I'll bring that to you next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:51:36]
ROMANS: Millions are in the path of violent storms moving across the country this morning. Severe thunderstorms ripped through parts of the Midwest Wednesday. Large hail, heavy winds, flash flooding, damaged buildings and leveled trees. This morning, residents are left to pick up the pieces after a tornado tore through Missouri.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought the roof was going to come off. I could hear the hail popping. Every once and a while, I looked out and went back to the bathroom. It was horrible. I could not see anything. I kept waiting for it to get done with. It would start in again. I looked out. I thought, my Lord.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Thousands are still without power in Missouri and Illinois. Ninety million people facing possible severe weather today. Meteorologist Derek Van Dam is tracking those storms for us.
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, John and Christine. The same storm system responsible for the severe weather across the Midwest this Wednesday continues to march eastward.
We really do have a collision of two different air masses. Warm and moist air from the gulf colliding with our cool and dry Canadian air behind our cold front, that sets the stage for more severe weather today.
In fact, we have 95 million people under the risk of large hail and damaging winds and possibility of isolated strong tornadoes. Keep in mind this does include Chicago, Detroit, Cincinnati and all the way south to Nashville, Little Rock and just outside of Dallas.
Here is the storm system continuing to move eastward. High pressure will eventually clear out the skies and make for a pretty decent weekend across the Midwest including the Chicago and Detroit area.
Our forecast radar shows quite a bit of heavy rainfall moving from Illinois through Wisconsin and even parts of Michigan and the Ohio River Valley. Temperatures today will be rather cold for New York, 46 degrees for your daytime high compare that to 86 in Atlanta. Not too bad. Back to you.
ROMANS: All right, Derek, thanks for that.
You may want to take a second look at the hummus sitting in your fridge right now. Details of a major recall next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:30:00]
ROMANS: All right, time for an early start on your money this morning, European and Asian shares mostly higher, Hong Kong, a seven- year high for Hong Kong stocks. U.S. stock futures are down bit.
The fed still has a lot of concerns about the American economy right now. The strong dollar is stunting economic growth, subpar consumer spending, and sluggish wage growth, something a lot of Americans have complained about. All of those reasons could be why an interest rate may come a bit later than expected.
A big recall for one of the most popular hummus makers in the country, Sabra is recalling 30,000 cases of hummus because of potential listeria contamination.
Listeria can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in children and elderly people. Others may suffer from nausea, high fever and severe headache. The FDA is urging anyone with that hummus to get rid of it.
All right, the witness who recorded a deadly police shooting sharing his story, "NEW DAY" picks up that story right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He just want to get away of the taser. The police officer just shot him in the back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I strive to protect and serve.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What would have happened if there was no video released?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The police are supposed to protect the people.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thirty counts found guilty in each and every one of them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I may be standing on one fake leg, but I'm standing here, stronger than ever.
ROMANS: Violent storms moving across the country right now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can hear the hail popping, I thought, my Lord.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It's Thursday, April 9th, 6:00 in the east. Michaela is off. We got John Berman here with us. It's always a pleasure and we do have new information for you about the deadly encounter between a South Carolina police officer and a motorist that he pulled over for a broken taillight.
The eye witness who shot the video that changed everything in this case is speaking out for the first time. What happened in those critical moments before Walter Scott was shot repeatedly in the back?
This witness knows and will tell you. Does the officer's account really add up and what is still not being investigated about this situation.
CAMEROTA: This, as the North Charleston Police Department takes swift action, firing Officer Michael Slager as he faces murder charges. The police force saying they'll make changes as the state takes over the investigation. We begin coverage with Martin Savidge, in South Carolina this morning. What do we know, Martin?
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn. Well, by now everybody is familiar with that infamous video that was taken by a bystander. But there are actually other videos, a number of them, dash cam videos that were taken by the police. The question is, what do they show? We may get a look at them today.
