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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Indiana High School Stage Collapse; Deadly Drone Mistake; Hundreds Protest Freddie Gray's Death; Loretta Lynch Confirmed as Attorney General; Calbuco Volcano Erupts in Chile. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired April 24, 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: Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman. About 30 minutes past the hour. Christine Romans is off this morning.

We have breaking news out of Indiana. About two dozen students at Westfield High School were injured when the stage collapsed. The stage they were dancing on collapsed during the rock show. Look at this video.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

BERMAN: You can see it. Completely give way and the chaos after.

Students were standing close to the stage and those who jumped in to help rescue these performers right after the moment, they relayed what they saw. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pieces of wood begun to collapse and then a falling of faces. I just saw this shock and look of shock and this moment of silence after it collapsed. A moment of confusion and then begun the screaming from parents and faculty and staff with a rush to the stage. I was in shock because I just watched approximately 20 to 30 people fall into a pit. It's still hitting me as to actually what happened.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was one girl who had nails in her leg and taken out on a stretcher. There was another girl with a dislocated leg. It was bad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One woman, about my age, she had a lot of scrapes and cuts on her face. Honestly, it seems to be from nails from the stage. But I -- that was the first person I helped out. I talked to her dad. I got her out of there as soon as she could. And then I just stayed down there. I tried to comfort a woman who her daughter was down there and I think she's fine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Westfield police say the injured were taken to the hospital. The police chief says most of the injuries luckily were minor. One student listed as critical will be OK. CNN affiliate WTHR reports the cause of the stage collapse is still

under investigation.

All right. Developing this morning, another big story. The United States counterterrorism program is facing serious fallout, this after the president's emotional announcement that two al Qaeda hostages, one of them American, were accidentally killed by a U.S. drone strike.

Among those killed in the January attack on the al Qaeda compound in Pakistan, two aid workers, 73-year-old American Warren Weinstein, and an Italian Giovanni Lo Porto.

For the latest, let's turn to CNN's Saima Mohsin.

Good morning, Saima.

SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

Remember when Warren Weinstein was abducted back in 2011, huge shock throughout the country. He was an aide worker who was much loved in Lahore among the people, but he's cared for and attended to as his family mentioned. And then news of the drone strike shortly after that overnight.

I have been speaking to one of the intermediaries involved closely with the negotiations, acting as an intermediaries liaison between the captors of Warren Weinstein and his family. That source telling me that the last proof of life was a phone call between Warren Weinstein and his wife Elaine back in June of 2014.

They were hopeful of another phone call or some form of proof of life and then they heard about this. The Pakistani government, too, John, reacting just in the last hour, releasing a statement talking about their grief and expressing condolences, but also pointing out the risk and unintended consequences as they put it of using such drone technology. Of course, Pakistan publicly, of course, contesting the use of U.S. drone strikes and the United States originally not admitting to carrying them out. We have seen that admission and human rights groups have pounced on that.

Back in 2013, CNN was given exclusive access to the U.N. special tours trip to Pakistan where he met with a number of drone victims. Pakistani drone victims caught up in the drone war in the tribal belt between Afghanistan and Pakistan. I met them, too.

And one of the human rights groups that represents them, lawyers represented them trying to get compensation for them has pointed out this is not the first time a drone strike has gone wrong -- John.

BERMAN: It is a controversial program and the White House itself admits, Saima, that what happened in January now raises legitimate questions about how the program should go forward. Our Saima Mohsin covering this tragedy.

The president said he takes full responsibility for the deaths of the two hostages. He offered his deepest apologizes. But the White House also had to explain why it took until Thursday to

publicly disclose the killings, which happened back in January.

Our senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta picks up that part of the story -- Jim.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[04:35:02] JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: John, President Obama says he authorized the disclosure of this operation as soon as his national security team was certain that these hostages were the accidental victims of this drone strike last January. The president personally apologized to the families of hostages, American Warren Weinstein and Italian aid worker Giovanni Lo Porto. Mr. Obama also made phone calls on Wednesday to Weinstein's widow and the Italian prime minister.

This all unfolded back in January when the CIA conducted a drone strike on a suspected al Qaeda compound near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. That strike was ordered by counterterrorism officials, not the president. After hundred of hours of surveillance, still after all of that, the White House said intelligence officials had no idea the hostages were there. After the operation, senior administration officials say they had indications Weinstein was dead back in February, but only confirmed his death within the last several days.

Here's what the president had to say about this operation.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is a cruel and bitter truth that in the fog of war generally and our fight against terrorists specifically, mistakes --sometimes deadly mistakes -- can occur. But one of the things that sets America apart from many other nations, one of the things that makes us exceptional is our willingness to confront squarely our imperfections and to learn from our mistakes.

ACOSTA: The White House is not using the word drones in talking about this operation. Aides are defending these kinds of air assaults, noting that two American terrorists, Ahmed Farouq, a leader from al Qaeda, the Indian subcontinent and Adam Gadahn, were killed in these strikes. The president has ordered a review of the operation. But we also understand, the CIA's inspector general is also expected to be on the case, as well as the intelligence committee in both the House and Senate. And the White House confirmed the families of the hostages will be offered compensation from the U.S. government for their losses -- John.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Our Jim Acosta at the White House.

Now, the family of Warren Weinstein says they never gave up hope that he was be released during his four years as an al Qaeda hostage. Gunmen abducted him from his home in Lahore, Pakistan. He is working as an aid worker, as a development expert. Those who abducted him were posing as neighbors bringing over food. His family spent years since working to secure his release. They appeared on television, they lobbied government officials. After Thursday's grim news, Warren's wife Elaine released a statement that says, "Were so hopeful that those in the U.S. and Pakistani governments with the power to take action and secure his release would have done everything possible to do so. And there are no words to do justice to the disappointment and heartbreak we are going through."

Elaine Weinstein called for an independent investigation into those hostage deaths. And our hearts go out to their family.

Breaking overnight, a convoy of nine Iranian ships believed to be carrying weapons to Houthis rebels in Yemen has reversed course at least for now. The Pentagon confirms that the vessels are now headed back north, seeming back in the direction of Iran. For the time being, this averts a showdown with the U.S. ships stationed off Yemen and the Arabian Sea. Among those ships, the U.S. aircraft carrier Roosevelt, which is monitoring the convoy from 200-mile distance with about 5,000 personnel on board and 60 war planes.

Attorney General Eric Holder can finally clean out his desk. The Senate on Thursday voted to confirm his successor Loretta Lynch, the vote pretty clear. This ended the process that began nearly six months ago. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and nine other Republicans joined with Democrats in support of her nomination. McConnell vote was something of a surprise.

Lynch will be sworn in on Monday. She will become the first African- American woman to lead the Justice Department.

The House committee investigating the 2012 Benghazi attacks wants to hear from Hillary Clinton twice. The Republican chairman is asking the former secretary of state and now Democratic presidential candidate to testify at two separate public hearings. The first in May would address her use of private e-mail while at the State Department. The second in June would cover specifically the issue surrounding Benghazi.

It's time now for an early start on your money. Alison Kosik is here with that.

Hey, Alison.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: And good morning. Break out the party favors. There is a new record for the NASDAQ. Yesterday, the NASDAQ closed at 5,056, at the top of the dot-com bubble. So, wait a second, the question is, are we headed for another crash?

BERMAN: No.

KOSIK: No, we're not. Fair question, but this isn't your father's NASDAQ.

These companies are well-established, they make money, they've got cash on hand. That adds more stability and kind of credibility to the NASDAQ. Another ice cream company yanked off the shelves because of listeria.

Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream recalled all of its product and closed all of its shops for now, after one sample was contaminated. The FDA is investigating and so far, the company is unaware of any illness from its product. The chain has more than 20 stores and sells its ice cream at grocery stores nationwide. This is only the latest listeria scare.

[04:40:00] Earlier this week, Blue Bell recalled all of its products, too, and people got really sick in that one.

BERMAN: Yes, it's sad when they go after our ice cream.

All right. Alison Kosik, we hope those people all do well. Thanks, Alison.

Forty minutes after the hour.

Protests have turned tense on the streets of Baltimore. Police clashing with demonstrators demanding answers in the death of a man mysteriously injured during his arrest. You can see our reporter right in the middle of this protest, right in the middle of the confrontation. We have these dramatic moments, next.

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BERMAN: New clashes between police and protesters in Baltimore who are demanding answers in the case of the Freddie Gray who died in police custody after suffering a severe spinal injury. At least two people were arrested in these demonstrations.

You can see our reporter Brian Todd right in the middle of it. Let's get the latest from him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, very angry protests on the streets of Baltimore tonight. We are in front of the west precinct of the Baltimore police department where the crowds have been very, very spirited, angry but largely peaceful. It seems like this pretty commonplace throughout the evening. You've got protesters talking to police, sometimes yelling at police, very angry at police and the police officers just being very stoic, listening to them, sometimes nodding their heads.

But by and large, this has been a very, very peaceful crowd. Earlier, we did see some confrontation between protesters and the police. When the police arrested two people and tried to take them into police vans.

[04:45:00] Some of the marchers who are on the streets then rushed to police. There was a lot of jostling around. We got knocked around a little bit. Some objects were thrown. Everybody was OK, though, and the crowd eventually kind of calmed down. Police got between themselves and other officers who are trying to make the arrests. That was the flashpoint of today. But, again, this crowd has been

self policing. Whenever people started to throw things, or really get more confrontational with police, some of the protest leaders have appealed to them to tamp it down, not to throw objects, not to get violent. So, that has led to the spirit of maybe some anger and some passion.

But at least so far tonight, John, no violence. John, back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Brian Todd, thanks so much.

When the penalty phase of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev trial resumes on Monday, the defense will take its turn trying to convince jurors to spare Tsarnaev from the death penalty. Prosecutors rested their case Thursday with emotional testimony from survivors of the marathon bombings.

Let's get the latest from CNN national correspondent Alexandra Field.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, Martin Richard's family stated they support life in prison but no chance of release and no chance of appeals for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. They did not testify for the prosecution in the penalty phase of the trial. But prosecutors did call a witness who described just how close the 8-year-old boy was standing to the bomb when it detonated.

An FBI photographer demonstrated to the jury that Martin was just 3 1/2 feet away from the pressure cooker bomb. Steve Woolfenden lost a leg in the blast. He said he could hear Denise Richard trying to comfort her dying son on the sidewalk next to him. His own three- year-old boy Leo is seen in this iconic photo being rescued by Boston police officer.

Survivors Heather Abbott and Marc Fucarile also called to testify about how they fought for their lives in the agony of the bombings. She has endured more than 60 surgeries. The prosecutors spent fewer than three days making their case for the death sentence. Next week, the defense will call their own witnesses as they argue for the jury to sentence Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to life in prison -- John.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Alexandra Field, thanks. Again, the defense begins its case on Monday.

Severe thunderstorms. The possibility of tornadoes.

Let's bring in meteorologist Derek Van Dam for an early look at the weather -- Derek.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, John. We are monitoring for the possibility of severe weather once again

today from the Gulf Coast states through parts of the Midwest. This is all thanks to a low pressure system developing just east of the Rockies. That's going to set the stage for the 33 million Americans in the path of the possibility of tornadoes, damaging winds and large hail.

Specifically, Kansas City, Wichita, Little Rock, Arkansas, all the way to Dallas Texas. By the way, that severe weather threat shifts eastward through the course of the weekend toward Nashville, Tennessee.

Here's the severe weather across the Midwest. Look to the east coast. We have high pressure dominating. That's going to bring deceiving sunshine overhead. I say deceiving because temperatures will run 10 to 15 degrees below where they should be for the Big Apple.

Today, Chicago, 56. If you are looking for warmth, head to Atlanta or perhaps into New Orleans. Temperatures will drop below normal, though, for the 6 to 10 day outlook for the region. Look at the rain this weekend from Louisiana right through the mid-Mississippi Valley.

BERMAN: Unwelcome rain there. Our thanks to Derek.

Thousands evacuated after a huge volcano erupts. Look at these pictures. Dangerous smoke, ash filling the air. Serious problems ahead. We are live with details, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:52:17] BERMAN: We have some remarkable pictures to show right now. Thousands of people evacuated from a smaller town in southern Chile, where a volcano has erupted twice already and it could blow again. Look at the ash cloud from the Calbuco Volcano. It is nine miles high. It is disrupting air travel, covering much of Chile and parts of neighboring Argentina, and up to two feet of ash. This is a problem.

I want to bring in CNN Shasta Darlington live from Santiago in Chile.

Good morning, Shasta.

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

Yes, these images are apocalyptic. The first eruption lasted 90 minutes, sending this huge mushroom shaped cloud of ash into the sky. We saw lightning, multicolored clouds, really cinematic if you will for those of us not that close to it.

But for the residents, it was absolute panic. Many of them rushed to evacuate. They lined up at gas stations to buy gas, to buy water. Now, of course, officials have evacuated more than 4,400 people.

They set up the zone about 13 miles wide around the volcano, trying to isolate it, keep people safe. Luckily, no one has been injured. There was a hiker that was missing, but he was found. What volcanologists are keeping an eye on is the activity. Calbuco

has calmed down, but they say it's unstable and it very likely that it will go off a third time. And this is important because we could see more of that ash which is just so damaging for livestock, for agriculture, airports closed down.

But also, if we see any significant amount of lava, that could also start melting the glaciers in the region and we could see flooding.

So, we're still very much on alert. The tourist towns around there are on alert. And officials say they could widen the area of evacuation if we see a third eruption, John.

BERMAN: Shasta, these pictures are remarkable to look at. Beautiful from afar, but cause for serious concern in the region. We will keep our eye on this.

Shasta Darlington, thanks so much.

Fifty-four minutes after the hour right now. If you are looking to buy a giant cable company, you may be in luck. One suddenly just became available. Details on one of the biggest mergers gone bust, next.

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[04:58:04] BERMAN: Does anybody really know what time it is? It's time for an early start on your money.

Alison Kosik here with that.

KOSIK: Good morning.

And we are seeing green arrows. Stock futures are pointing up. Could be another record day if that holds. Yesterday, the NASDAQ topped its record high that was set in March of 2000 climbing to 5,056. That's a major milestone because it means the NASDAQ has finally gotten over the dot-com double.

Does this record signal another bubble? It's a fair question. This ain't your father's NASDAQ. These companies are well-established, they make money and they got cash on hand.

Quicken Loans sued over improper mortgage lending. The Justice Department says Quicken violated federal rules when it made loans backed by the government. For example, Quicken allegedly requested inflated appraisals and the government says knowingly fudged borrowers' incomes to get FHA insurance. Quicken profited on these loans, even when borrowers defaulted, ultimately, that costs taxpayers millions of dollars.

Comcast is planning to abandon its $45 billion merger with Time Warner Cable. The reason is government scrutiny. The deal would have reshaped American media and given Comcast unique control over the market for broadband. Comcast is already the number one provider of cable TV and broadband, and Time Warner would have provided more customers in key markets like New York and Los Angeles. Sources say the change of plans could be announced later today. A big bombshell there.

BERMAN: And, of course, Time Warner Cable not associated with Time Warner, our parent company, which is why I can make fun of the deal. The results in your service will be negligible.

KOSIK: You think?

BERMAN: No matter what happens, your service in cable will be bad.

KOSIK: I think you're right.

BERMAN: Alison Kosik, thanks so much.

EARLY START continues right now.

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BERMAN: Breaking overnight. More than a dozen students hurt when their high school concert stage suddenly collapses. Look at this dramatic video. We'll have the details of what happened next ahead.

The White House apologizing after hostages are accidentally killed in drone strike.