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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

New Details on Freddie Gray Arrest; Yemen in Crisis: Is Iran Sending Weapons to Rebels?; Senate Set to Vote on Loretta Lynch Nomination; Knockout Ticket Prices. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired April 23, 2015 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, we're learning that officers involved in the arrest have spoken to investigators. What are they saying? We have new details ahead.

There is new concern this morning over just what is inside Iranian cargo ships moving towards Yemen. Is Iran arming the Houthi rebels? And if they are, what are U.S. ships going to do about it? We're live.

Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman. Thirty minutes after the hour. Christine Romans is off today.

New this morning, we are learning five of the six Baltimore officers involved in arresting Freddie Gray have provided statements to investigators. Now, Gray somehow suffered a fatal spinal injury in police custody earlier this month. This new video, and it is hard to make out, shows the last time Gray was seen in public. He appears to be motionless lying in the door of a police van.

Court documents say the events leading to Gray's death began when he saw police officers and just took off running. A police union lawyer says the officers did not need probable cause to arrest Gray, that his decision to flee was enough.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL DAVEY, FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE ATTORNEY: They pursued Mr. Gray. They detained him for an investigative stop. Had he not had a knife or an illegal weapon on him, he would have been released after the proper paper work was done. However, in this case, he was in possession of a spring loaded knife, which is in violation of Maryland law, at which time he was arrested. Everyone keeps going back and forth that there was no probably cause. In this type of an incident, you do not need probably cause to arrest. You just need a reasonable suspicion to make the stop and that's what they had in this case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: The officers' lawyer says they did not cause Gray's fatal injury. They say they do not know how it happened.

New protests against excessive force are set for today in Baltimore. The peaceful protests became very tense on Wednesday as frustrated demonstrators pushed and shoved and threw bottles at police.

Our national correspondent Miguel Marquez has been part inside those protests. He's now with us with the latest -- Miguel.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, this is Western District Police Station. It's become now ground zero for protesters as they look for answers in the death of Freddie Gray. Today, his body was prepared to be released to the family. The lawyer for Freddie Gray says that they will conduct their own autopsy on the body before the funeral. The pastor that will eventually hold that funeral or conduct it says that it will be days after that that his funeral will be held for Mr. Gray.

Protesters here at the Western District and across the city tonight -- they are promising to come back later in greater numbers today, in thousands they are saying down at city hall. And on Saturday, they are talking about in the tens of thousands. We will see if that turns out.

Another thing that is happening here, as protesters gather at the police station, they are also breaking off in smaller groups, moving throughout the city, blocking traffic in certain places. But now, they're going to move a lot of the protests from this area to city hall and hope to continue to press for answers -- John.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Miguel Marquez in Baltimore, thanks so much.

Happening now, Defense Secretary Ash Carter says he is worried that the Iranian convoy headed toward Yemen may be bringing advanced weaponry to Houthi rebels. Carter was not willing to say the U.S. would forcibly board those Iranian ships to stop those vessels, but he did not rule it out either, telling reporters, quote, "we have options".

This happening as the Saudi-led coalition continues to pound Houthis with new air strikes today. A day after declaring the air campaign being finished. The secretary-general of the United Nations is expressing hope that it will end as soon as possible. There seems to be little hope for an end anytime soon.

CNN's Becky Anderson is following the events for us with the latest.

Good morning, Becky.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

The Saudis insist that this action is consistent with the end of the month long Operation Decisive Storm phase one, as it were, and Operation Renewal of Hope, phase two, which they say is part political and part military. Now, these air strikes are to continue to protect civilians from militia while behind the scenes, all willing stakeholders work on the implementation of this U.N. resolution 2216 that everybody is talking about.

But it's not just in the air or on the ground that things are let's say nuance. It is on the waters of what is the poorest countries, you rightly point out that things are getting complicated. Witness what could be this impending showdown with the U.S. warships entering the Gulf of Aden led by the U.S. aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt and an approaching flotilla of Iranian cargo and military ships.

[04:35:04] Now, the U.S. officials say their mission is to monitor Iranian cargo vessels that could deliver arms to Houthi rebels. The Iranians have been saying for some time they have a legitimate reason to be on the waters. They are on the regular piracy mission. They've also admitted there maybe aid on those boats.

But whether the U.S. Navy will actually move to block those Iranian ships from entering Yemeni waters is a completely different matter, of course. The Saudis have said they are willing to intercept if those ships hit Yemeni waters.

This, of course, as Iran and other world powers meet for what is a second day of nuclear talks in Vienna, seeking to finalize that deal by June the 30th. Meanwhile, leaders of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, GCC as we know it, are going to meet in the Saudi capital, we are told, on May 5th for a consultative meeting, expect that to focus on Yemen and Iran's Middle East ambitions.

That is, of course, John, a week ahead of the same Gulf leaders meeting with President Obama at Camp David. Some seriously complicated calculations for everybody involved in what is a very messy situation -- John.

BERMAN: Yes, nuance doesn't even begin to cover it. And, of course, there are some 100,000 people displaced in Yemen who don't really care about the nuance right now.

Becky Anderson, thanks so much.

North Korea may already have 20 nuclear warheads and could double that number by next year. That assessment comes from nuclear experts in China and was shared with the U.S. this February. This is according to report in "The Wall Street Journal". Officials in Beijing are growing more concerned about acceleration in North Korea's nuclear programs. South Korean defense officials warn the north is actively working on a militarizing a nuclear device that could fit on the tip of a missile.

Republicans are warning their final report of the 2012 Benghazi attack and the role that Hillary Clinton played at the State Department at the time might not be ready until just before the 2016 elections. The head of the committee handling the investigation says he would like to wrap things up by the end of this year, but claims that the administration stalling things could push things back.

Now, on the subject of Benghazi, presidential hopeful Rand Paul skipped his own Senate Relations Committee hearing yesterday to appear on a radio show where he blasted Hillary Clinton for her handling the Benghazi attacks. The hearing he missed involved funding for the State Department to improve security for American interests overseas.

The Pentagon is scrambling to move dozens of detainees out of Guantanamo Bay. This could be seen as an attempt to stay a step ahead of lawmakers who are threatening to block future transfers and derail the president's plan to shutdown the military prison. Defense officials are hoping to resettle 57 of the remaining 122 inmates by the end of the year, resettle them in countries that still have not agreed to take. No word on how the administration plans to deal with the remaining detainees who've been deemed too dangerous to release.

It took more than five months, but Congress is set to make some history today. Loretta Lynch is set to make approval to be the next attorney general and the next African-American to hold the post. This comes after lawmakers cleared a legislative hurdle that had stalled her nomination.

Let's get the latest from Athena Jones.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATHENA JONES, CNN REPORTER: Good morning, John.

Well, today is the day that Loretta Lynch will finally get a vote in the full Senate. She waited longer for a vote than any attorney general nominee since the Reagan administration. Now, as you know, this vote was delayed for week because Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell insisted that the Senate first had to deal with a bill fighting human trafficking.

That bill got stuck in a partisan debate over abortion language. Once agreement was reached to move forward on that bill, it was able to pass yesterday afternoon with unanimous support.

That brings us to today. Now, we expect that vote to happen to around 2:00 p.m. today. Now, at least five Republican senators have said they plan to vote for Lynch, with the support of the 46 Democrats, that brings her to the 51 votes she needs for confirmation, although a lot of Lynch supporters both on and off the Hill hope she gets a lot more votes than just the 51 she needs.

Still, if everything goes as expected, this will be a history-making moment. Lynch was born in the segregated South and she's going to become the first black woman to head the Department of Justice.

We'll be watching closely to see how things develop -- John.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: All right. Athena Jones for us in Washington.

It is sentencing day for David Petraeus. The former CIA director and general pled guilty last month, admitting he shared classified document was his biographer and lover, Paul Broadwell, and lied about it to the FBI. The maximum sentence would be a year in prison and a $100,000 fine. The federal prosecutors are expected to recommended two years provision and a $40,000 fine. [04:40:00] It's time now for an early start on your money. Alison Kosik is here with that.

Hey.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

It looks like it's going to be a lower start for stocks when the opening bell rings. But there's a lot of foreign investors to get through before that opening bell rings.

This morning, we're going to get earnings from Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, Hershey, GM, Southeast, it's going on and on. It's a big day for earnings.

You look at yesterday, stocks climbed. NASDAQ hit a new high for the year and it's closing in on the all-time high that was set 15 years ago during the dot-com era.

Google wants to replace your cell phone provider. The search giant just launched a whole new thing called Project Fi. It's a wireless service across the U.S. It's going to cost $20 a month for talk and text, including Wi-Fi hook ups and international coverage, plus another $10 per gigabyte of data use. That makes Google's plans to $15 to $20 cheaper than similar plans from AT&T and Verizon. The service is going to default to free Wi-Fi when that's available.

There's the catch, though. It's invitation only so far. And so far, it's untested by consumers. Also, it's only available on one phone, Google's Nexus 6.

But you know how these things go. You'll never know if it will get to iPhone.

BERMAN: You know, Google wanting a piece of the market. Interesting to see how to do the math on how those gigabytes add up. It could get expensive if you use six a month, like some people do.

Thanks, Alison.

First, jurors were shown a picture of Boston marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev flipping off a camera. Prosecutors show the picture first. Now, the defense wants jurors to see the video. We'll explain why, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:45:03] BERMAN: Happening today, prosecutors are expected to rest their case in the sentencing phase of the Boston marathon bombing trial. A crude gesture made by Dzhokhar Tsarnaev while in lock up following his arrest has become a flashpoint in court. The convicted bomber flipped off a camera. And now, lawyers on both sides are using this image in their arguments.

CNN national correspondent Alexandra Field has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, prosecutors say that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is a remorseless killer. They showed the jury a picture of him giving the middle finger to a camera. But the defense, they went a step forward, actually playing that video for the jury. The video was made by a surveillance camera in the holding cell at the federal courthouse. It was recorded three months after Dzhokhar Tsarnaev being arrested.

Defense officials hoping to take the sting out of the image of Dzhokhar giving that middle finger. Prosecutors said he has shown no remorse for his actions. He's being convicted on all 30 counts already. But defense attorneys wanted to provide some context to what was seen in that still image shown by the prosecution.

In the video, Dzhokhar is seen walking around the cell. He sits down for an extensive period of time. He's also seen looking into the camera and fixing his hair, before throwing up some kind of a V shaped sign and then giving the middle finger.

Tsarnaev's life is on the line. Jurors will determine whether or not he gets sentenced to death. But first, prosecutors are calling witnesses to tell to the pain and suffering they experienced as a result of the attacks inflicted by Tsarnaev and his brother, Tamerlan.

Jurors heard from Lingzi Lu's aunt, about Lingzi's mother traveled from China to the United States after the attack. She hoped at the bridal store, picking out a pink bridal gown to bury her daughter in.

They heard from Sean Collier's stepfather who talked about identifying his stepson's body with a bullet between his eyes.

And they heard from Adrianne Haslett Davis, a dancer who lost part of her leg in the bombing. She talked about what would be a final good- bye to her husband, about calling her parents and telling them these might be her last words with them. Davis testified at some point with tears in her eyes when she got off the stand walking on a prosthetic, giving him a glare. He never looked back out to her, John.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Alexandra Field in Boston.

The family of Michael Brown is taking legal action against the city of Ferguson, Missouri. His parents will hold a news conference to announce a wrongful death suit against Ferguson. Last summer, the unarmed black teenager was fatally shot by Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson who has since left the force. A grand jury declined to file charges against Wilson, and the federal investigation also cleared him. The shooting and grand jury decision, of course, sparked protests in Ferguson and around the country over the use of force by police.

She may have forgiven Aaron Hernandez for murdering her son, but the mother of Odin Lloyd is going forward with a wrongful death lawsuit she originally fired back in 2013, just after Lloyd was killed. Hernandez was convicted last week of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole. The attorney for Ursula Ward says he will petition the court to unfreeze the assets of Aaron Hernandez now that the Lloyd case is close. The lawyer plans to call the former NFL star as a witness when the civil case goes to court.

Thousands making dangerous, often deadly voyages to escape catastrophes in their home countries. Even for those who survive, this story does not end well. We'll explain live, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:52:28] BERMAN: Humanitarian crisis is unfolding on the shores of Italy this morning. Desperate refugees are arriving by the thousands. Italian officials fear they will be overwhelmed within weeks. Other European nation, including the Netherlands states they will not find homes here.

CNN's Barbie Nadeau live for us from Rome this morning.

And, Barbie, this is something Europe deal was all the time and they desperately want help in the rest of the year.

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: That's right. Not just help in rescuing people at sea, but the rest of Europe to take responsibility in housing these people.

You know, the trip across the Mediterranean is a small step in the long voyage. Sometimes, these migrants and refugees have been on the road for weeks, maybe months before they even get to Libya. They make the crossing and they've got another problem. They are put in refugee camps, they've got taken advantage of by more human traffickers to take them out to where they want to go within Europe. They live in unbelievably difficult situations, even once they get to land.

Today, European Union officials are meeting to try to come up with a policy what to do with the migration problem. But in Italy, they are dealing with realistic situation of just simply saving lives so people don't drown, John.

BERMAN: Interesting. They want a policy, but they have to have a will to help in some of these countries, and that will, that political will simply doesn't exist, Barbie.

NADEAU: That's right. And, you know, so many of the people that come into Italy don't actually want to stay here. There is a very unsaid, unwritten policy here. Italians often turn a blind eye while people leave the refugee camps and make their way into northern Europe. It's the only way to accommodate the problem. There are around 70,000 people in refugee camps right now. But Italy really only has space for 63,000.

A lot of people are sleep in the rough. A lot of people are camping out. In some situations in Sicily, for example, where they bulk of the people come, they put people, families, sick people, old people in hotels in order to just try to help them get enough rest to put them in a camp or just try to, you know, be in a situation to move. It's just a desperate situation.

But the season when both people usually come hasn't even started yet. We usually see this happen in late May and early June. So, there is a lot of concern here this is going to be a very long summer dealing with this refugee crisis, John.

BERMAN: The worst could be yet to come. Barbie Nadeau, thanks so much.

[04:55:00] Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will soon meet in a boxing ring. You will not believe how much a ticket could cost you. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Time now for an early start on your money. Alison Kosik here with that.

KOSIK: Good morning to you.

It looks like U.S. stock futures are pointing down right now. But it's still early. We've got a lot to go through before the bell. This morning, we'll be hearing from different companies for earnings, including Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, Procter & Gamble, GM, Southwest, the list going on and on.

Yesterday, you look at how stocks did. They climbed. The NASDAQ is at the high for the year, and closing in on its own all-time high that was set 15 years.

Tesla wants to do more than just sell you a car. It wants to power your house. The electric car company will unveil a new battery next week. So, how would this work? Home batteries would power up overnight when energy companies charge less for electricity, then they can be turned on for the day to power a home.

You sound skeptical.

BERMAN: No, I can't imagine the power companies will like this.

KOSIK: Well, they are joining in.

Listen to this -- Tesla is already testing a project out in California. The batteries cost about $13,000. But California's Pacific Gas & Electric is offering a 50 percent rebate.

BERMAN: Interesting.

KOSIK: If you are planning to see the Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao fight in person, I hope you've been saving up your dollars. Tickets are finally going on sale for the May 2nd. Face value starts at $1,500 a ticket. But the median price on the secondary market is expected to top $11,000.

Here is a little context for you. Super Bowl tickets went for $3,300 this year. Floor seats are priced at $50,000. [05:00:03] And guess what? Promoters for the fight say, eh, we don't

think these steep prices are going to keep fans away.

BERMAN: Interesting. You can imagine how much it would have cost three or four years ago when these fighters were actually both in their primes.

KOSIK: Imagine that.

BERMAN: Alison Kosik, thanks so much.

EARLY START continues right now.