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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Severe Storms Hit The Plains; ISIS "More Than Inspiration" To Texas Attackers; Stocks Fall Around The World; NFL Issues Deflategate Report; Sources: Police Investigation Doesn't Support Charges; Highest-Paying College Majors. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired May 07, 2015 - 05:30   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: -- waking up to assess the damage. We are tracking the storms live ahead.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The Patriots likely cheaters. It is more probable than not that Tom Brady is at the center of this. The deflate-gate report is out. It does not look good for the Super Bowl champs. Andy Scholes is breaking it all down for us.

BERMAN: The case against several officers in the death of Freddie Gray, it all hinges really on a hinge, a key piece of evidence, the knife. What does this knife mean to the case against them? We'll explain. Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.

ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. It is nice to see you all this morning. It's 30 minutes past the hour. Breaking overnight, severe storms tear across the Great Plains, dozens of tornadoes flattening homes, injuring at least 13 people and dropping heavy rain that produced flash flooding.

BERMAN: This morning, they are assessing the damage in Oklahoma. Dozens of homes were torn apart in the Oklahoma City area. A flash flood emergency was declared in the metro area for the first time in history. It had so many flooding issues that followed these storms.

The main airport in the city canceled flights for the entire night. I want to show you Norman, Oklahoma. It's about 20 miles from Oklahoma City. You can see the cars trying to work their way through the roads, just submerged by the flash flooding.

The areas of Amber and Bridge Creek, that creek that's at south and west of the metro area, they too are reporting heavy, heavy damage.

ROMANS: The severe storms produced at least nine confirmed tornadoes in Kansas. People at the north central part of the state are assessing the damage now that the strongest storms have moved through.

Two homes were severely damaged in Sedgwick County. One of them lifted off the foundation. Winds so powerful trees snapped in two and tombstones toppled at the cemetery. No reports thankfully of injuries.

BERMAN: Huge twister to show you in Southern Nebraska. Look at that video, stunning. The man who actually took that video said he saw the twister destroy the town of Hardy. Not far away from this in Roseland, Nebraska, another possible tornado just pulled homes right off their foundations and sent others into splinters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLEO MOUSEI, ROSELAND, NEBRASKA RESIDENT: It is like what you see on TV. Never thought I would see it in real life. I saw one cloud and then I saw it dissipate. I saw two clouds meet as one. We could hear the sound of a train. Our ears started popping because of the air pressure. We went down to our locker room.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: The heavy rains that came with the storms. You can see what it did to the creeks and the rivers there. The flash floods just hit across the state.

ROMANS: What a night. Meteorologist Derek Van Dam is tracking the severe weather for us. Derek, what's the latest?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, John and Christine. Terrifying video coming out of the Midwest there, this is our peak season. May typically we receive about 276 tornadoes in the central U.S. Just in one day, 24 hours, folks, we reported 46 tornadoes anywhere from Nebraska to Kansas and Oklahoma to Texas and even Eastern Colorado.

Currently our threat at the moment, severe weather watch box that's in effect for at least the next couple of hours. It expires at 7:00 a.m. near the border of Texas and Oklahoma. We are under the gun once again.

We have the possibility of severe weather for basically the same locations. We have a collision of air mass, very warm and moist air from the Gulf of Mexico interacting with the dry air mass coming off the Colorado Rockies. That spells severe weather once again.

Upwards of 9 million Americans under the threat today of large hail and damaging winds, we cannot rule out the possibility of isolated tornadoes, Kansas and Oklahoma and central and northern portions of Texas.

By the way, Oklahoma actually had its third rainiest event in all time recorded history just over 7 inches of rain falling in a 24- hour period. By the way, 5 inches of that occurring within a two-hour period. No wonder they had flash flooding across this region.

This is our computer models for the next 24 to 48 hours. We have a significant amount of rain once again for the greater Oklahoma City region. That could spell more flash flooding for that area.

BERMAN: History in Oklahoma is not the kind they want at all. Thanks, Derek. Appreciate it.

Developing this morning, investigators are becoming increasing confident that the two men, who tried to attack a Texas contest to draw the Prophet Muhammad. They are confident they were acting alone.

Officials say they have not found any evidence that Nadir Soofi and Elton Simpson had direct orders from ISIS. But officials and a CNN analysis show that Simpson was in contact through social media with several ISIS sympathizers and recruiters including a British ISIS fighter in Syria, Junaid Hussain.

U.S. lawmakers are concerned enough about terror recruiting through social media that it will be the subject of a Senate committee hearing later this morning.

CNN justice correspondent, Pamela Brown, is in Phoenix with the very latest.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, an ominous warning from a key ISIS operative, who may have been connected to the Texas attack.

On Tuesday, he tweeted out "you ain't seen nothing yet." Hussain is believed to have been connected to Elton Simpson, one of the Texas gunmen.

[05:35:07] In fact, they were tweeting around the time of the attack. Officials I have been speaking with say Junaid Hussain is a, quote, "real problem."

The concern is that he could inspire other Americans to launch an attack. He is very active on social media. We know that Hussain not only exchanged tweets with him, but other terrorists.

In fact, the officials I've been speaking with say that in part is the reason why the FBI reopened an investigation into Elton Simpson in the past few months. In fact, I'm told that he was a priority investigative subject, which allowed law enforcement to use all the resources available.

I'm told he was monitored, but did not have 24/7 surveillance. I have been talking to a family friend who is close to the Simpson family. That friend says that the family is in shock. That it had no idea about Elton Simpson's extremist leanings.

The father just saw Elton in the past couple of weeks and did not detect any issues whatsoever. I even spoke to Elton Simpson's brother. He was visibly shaken up and called it a tragedy -- John and Christine.

ROMANS: All right, Pamela in Phoenix, thank you, Pam.

This morning, a new video is providing our first look at Elton Simpson. He appeared in a 2012 fundraising video for the Phoenix mosque he attended with the other attacker, Nadir Soofi.

In that video, Simpson talks about the power of prayer as a form of spiritual armor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ELTON SIMPSON, SLAIN GUNMAN: It recharges your imam as well when you come together and you pray five times a day with your brothers. You are reminded about the hereafter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The mosque president tells CNN that a few months ago Simpson completely stopped attending services there.

BERMAN: The mother of Nadir Soofi says she called her son to chew him out when she heard he had bought an AK-47 rifle assault rifle. Sharon Soofi heard about the Craigslist purchase from her younger son, Ali, who lived in the same Phoenix apartment as Nadir and Elton Simpson.

Three weeks ago, Ali moved out. The "Wall Street Journal" report said he was worried about Elton Simpson's radical interpretation of Islam and his efforts to influence and isolate his brother, Nadir.

Sharon Soofi says that her son, quote, "I had all the hopes and dreams that he would grow up and have a good life and raise a family and be successful.

For whatever reason, he thought that wasn't what he needed to do. Something else called him to take the path that he did." Nadir Soofi is scheduled to be buried today outside Kansas City.

ROMANS: All right, time for an EARLY START on your money this morning, not a very good day for stocks so far. European shares down quite a bit as the U.K. heads to the polls in a closely fought election in a very long time.

Asian shares and the U.S. stock futures are down. It's a continuation of yesterday really, though. The Dow fell 86 points.

New York's governor is pushing higher wages for thousands of fast food workers frustrated with failed attempts to raise the statewide minimum wage. Governor Andrew Cuomo is convening a panel to study the fast food industry.

Then he can raise wages based on the finds. That is his hope. Cuomo says the income gap in fast food is extreme with CEOs making almost $24 million a year. Entry level fastfood workers making almost $17,000 a year.

BERMAN: Interesting. All right, the Super Bowl champions now the book is out. More probable than not that some employees cheated and what about Tom Brady? Well, more probable than not, he was generally aware of it. Andy Scholes breaks it down in the "Bleacher Report" next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:42:20]

BERMAN: All right, so no smoking gun, but a month's long investigation by the NFL into deflate gate finds that two New England Patriots employees probably did release air from footballs for the AFC Championship game and that Tom Brady, more probable than not, he was generally aware that this was going on.

Andy Scholes joins us now with the "Bleacher Report." Hi, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS: John, these findings, they really could not have been worse for the Patriots. You know, there is no hard evidence that the Patriots and Tom Brady that they were involved in deflate gate, but there is just a mountain of circumstantial evidence that they did in fact intentionally deflate footballs during last season.

Now the most damning evidence were these text messages between Jim McNally and Patriots locker room attendant, who actually referred to himself as the deflater and John Jastremski, a Patriots equipment assistant.

Now here is an example of an exchange between the two in October of 2014. McNally says, "Tom sucks. I'm going to make that next ball an expletive balloon." And Jastremski replied, "Talked to him last night. He actually brought you up and said you must have a lot of stress trying to get them done."

Now McNally and Jastremski also discussed via text McNally receiving autographs and shoes for supposedly altering footballs. A couple of findings that don't make Brady look very good in this report were one, he hadn't talked to Jastremski on the phone in six months, but once deflate-gate broke, they spoke multiple times for more than 20 minutes.

And two, he refused to turn over 80 text messages and/or e- mails to help the investigation speaking of Brady. In terms of the actual deflate-gate game against the Colts, the report cites that McNally took the game balls in the bathroom adjacent to the field at the stadium.

He stayed there for about 100 seconds, which the report said was an amount of time sufficient to deflate 13 footballs using a needle. Now Patriot's owner, Robert Kraft, released a statement on the Well's report.

It read in part, "To say we are disappointed in its findings, which do not include any incontrovertible or hard evidence of deliberate deflation of footballs at the AFC championship game would be a gross understatement."

He goes on to say, "We will accept the findings of the report and take the appropriate actions based on those findings as well as any discipline levied by the league."

Now guys the report did find that Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick had no knowledge of any wrongdoing, but of course, now the big question is how will the Patriots be punished, will they lose draft picks or be fined and will Tom Brady be suspended?

You know, we have never seen something like this before so we really don't know what to expect from the NFL.

BERMAN: We have to hear from Tom Brady also. He hasn't spoken publicly yet since this report was released.

ROMANS: He has to speak about it.

BERMAN: I have to believe that will come at some point today. Andy Scholes, thanks so much.

ROMANS: All right, 45 minutes past the hour. Police officers charged in Freddie Gray's death are fighting back. They are disputing a key piece of evidence. How they could end up exonerated next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:48:54]

ROMANS: Welcome back. It's 48 minutes past the hour. Baltimore police not seeing eye-to-eye with the city's top prosecutor. The police investigation into the death of Freddie Gray does not support the charges filed against the department officers.

At least that's what sources briefed on both the police and prosecutor's investigations are telling CNN. Lawyers are challenging a key finding in the state's attorney, Marilyn Mosby's case.

Now Mosby claims Freddie Gray's arrest, the arrest was illegal because the knife Gray was carrying was legal. The knife was not a switch blade. But lawyers for the officers say the blade was illegal in Baltimore. We get more on all of this from CNN's Athena Jones.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): According to Maryland State law, a knife is illegal if the blade deploys with a push of a button without manual assistance.

(on camera): Legal or illegal, it all comes down to a spring.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely. This is the one that gets closer to what you call a switch blade. When you click that, it clicks the rest of the way open.

JONES: It's spring assisted, but it's still legal.

[05:50:04] (voice-over): If successful, the knife argument could derail the case against the officers says a former prosecutor who has been critical of the charges and how quickly Mosby filed them. If the knife is illegal --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Those two arresting officers will be completely exonerated. Her whole case depends upon those two.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: That report from CNN's Athena Jones. Meanwhile, the mayor of Baltimore, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is now asking the Justice Department to expand its inquiry into this case in addition to whether Freddie Gray's civil rights were violated. That mayor is asking for a broad investigation into the patterns and practices of the Baltimore Police Department.

BERMAN: In just a few hours, testimony resumes in the penalty phase of the Dzhokhar Tsarnaev trial at Boston. The jurors are expected to hear more from the defense about the super max prison where the convicted marathon bomber would spend the rest of his life if they decide against the death penalty. On Wednesday, a former brother-in- law testified that Dzhokhar went along with anything his brother, Tamerlan, said to do.

ROMANS: Emotional testimony in a Colorado courtroom Wednesday from a woman who survived the Aurora movie theater massacre, but he lost a friend in the carnage. James Holmes accused of killing 12 people and wounding 70. Sandy Phillips lost her daughter. She has been in court each day since the trial began and has no plans to stop going.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDY PHILLIPS, DAUGHTER KILLED IN COLORADO MOVIE THEATER SHOOTING: You get through the day. You're exhausted. You go home. You try to eat something. You go to bed. You prepare yourself as best you can to go through it the next day. But it is extremely hard and it is extremely hard when you hear that you're supposed to have empathy or sympathy for the person that butchered your children. I can't do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Two graduate school professors also testified on Wednesday, they described Holmes as cocky and socially immature. Holmes has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. If convicted of the most serious charges, he could face the death penalty.

BERMAN: Hillary Clinton preparing to rake in some big money in her White House bid. She is courting donors to give her super PAC, "Priorities USA Action." Backers of that super PAC are hoping to raise up to $300 million in what could easily be the most expensive presidential election in history. The former of secretary of state is admitting potential donors today during a campaign going through California.

ROMANS: Rick Santorum could be joining the growing field of Republicans running for president. The former Pennsylvania senator who says he will make an announcement on May 27th in his hometown of Butler. Santorum beat eventual nominee Mitt Romney in the 2012 Iowa caucuses and outlasted the party's other candidates. This time around, he is pulling at the back of the pack.

BERMAN: He was this time around four years ago. He made it a close race.

Tensions are running higher in California right now facing a serious, serious drought. Governor Jerry Brown is under fire for imposing mandatory restrictions on water usage. He is asking municipalities to cut back as much as 36 percent and he is in a tough argument with his critics. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOVERNOR JERRY BROWN (D), CALIFORNIA: It is a challenge that is needed to deal with California's water. I'm here to deal with the problems that I'm given. I did not invent these problems.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: California's four-year drought has killed more than 12 million trees. Rivers are so low that salmon are carted away in trucks and driven to the sea.

ROMANS: It is really a big, big problem. Want to make a lot of money? I'll tell you what to study in college next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:57:19]

ROMANS: Welcome back. Nice to see you. I'm Christine Romans. Let's get an EARLY START on your money. Stocks lower around the world right now. European shares down quite a bit as the U.K. votes in the most closely fought election in a very long time.

Asian shares, U.S. stock futures are down too. This all started yesterday really, the Dow dropped 86 points with oil prices rising and the fed chief, Janet Yellen, said stock values are quote, "quite high."

All right, do you want to make a lot of money? Do you want your kid to make a lot of money? Major in engineering. According to a new report this morning, nine of the ten highest paying college majors are yes, engineering. Number one is petroleum engineering. Workers with that degree made $136,000 a year.

The second highest is pharmaceutical sciences with $113,000 a year. Over the lifetime, these graduates will earn millions more than those in the lowest paid fields like education and social work. Comparative literature is not on the top of the list.

BERMAN: You know, money is not everything, money can buy a lot of things, but money cannot buy you?

ROMANS: Love. It can't buy you love and plus, if you are not good in engineering, then find something else that you can use in the science, technology, engineering and math field, right?

BERMAN: You can design love.

ROMANS: The highest paid English majors are science writers. Did you know that?

BERMAN: All right, tornadoes, they are tearing through the center of this country right now. A lot to go over. "NEW DAY" starts now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This large multi-vortex tornado is getting ready to cross Highway 14 in Kansas.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It just came right over this hill. It actually flung the basement doors open.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We could hear the sound of a train. Our ears started popping.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For the very first time we are seeing and hearing from Elton Simpson himself.

SIMPSON: When you come together and you pray five times a day with the brothers, you're reminded about the hereafter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He expressed to me admiration specifically for Osama Bin Laden he used the word hero.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is the Patriots quarterback a cheater?

SCHOLES: There's a mountain of circumstantial evidence that they intentionally deflated the footballs.

BRADY: I feel like I've always played within the rules. I would never do anything to break the rules.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Thursday, May 7th, 6:00 in the east. A tornado outbreak in the southern plains destroying homes, overturning cars, more than 40 tornadoes reported overnight in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: The storms injuring at least a dozen people in a mobile home park in Oklahoma City, and forcing officials to declare a flash flood emergency for the first time in the city's history. Shutting down roads and grounding all flights.

CNN meteorologist, Chad Myers is in the CNN Weather Center with our top story. How's it looking, Chad?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, it's going to continue from now until today and longer all the way into the weekend, 46 tornadoes yesterday.