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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
U.K. Elections: Conservatives Keep Power; Tom Brady Addresses Deflate-Gate Report; FBI: Thousands of ISIS Followers in U.S.; Tornadoes Flatten Communities. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired May 08, 2015 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:14] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight: a stunning election result in the U.K. All the polls were wrong. Way, way wrong.
So, what does this mean for the key U.S. ally? What does it mean for the United States? We'll break down all of the results, ahead.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Tom Brady on the record about the deflate-gate report. But it's what he isn't saying that's raising questions this morning.
BERMAN: The tornadoes tear through communities and they have been deadly, and it's not over yet. We have the very latest on what you need to know.
ROMANS: Another night of tornadoes.
BERMAN: Yes, rough.
All right. Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.
ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It is Friday, May 8th. It is 4:00 a.m. exactly in the East. Nice to see you this morning.
We have breaking news from the United Kingdom. It had been forecast as a close election, but returns coming in this morning show solid gains for the incumbent Conservative Party. Prime Minister David Cameron will keep his job. This as the Scottish National Party makes big gains at the expense of Britain's leading opposition party, Labour.
We want to go live now to CNN's Erin McLaughlin, live in Edinburgh, for the very latest.
Good morning, Erin.
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine.
Shocking, historic, unprecedented -- all words that are being used to describe this election. You know, going into this, many thought British Prime Minister David Cameron would struggle to hold on to Downing Street. The math simply did not look like it was in his favor. The polls really showing people thought a hung parliament. But those polls seeming to be wrong this morning. His Conservative Party on track, according to some projections, to win an outright majority in parliament and if not that, then enough seats to at the very least, form sort of workable government.
And Prime Minister Cameron could not be more pleased. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Some people say, in fact, I've often said, there is only one opinion poll that counts, and that's the one on election day. And I'm not sure that's ever been truer than it is today and tonight.
This is clearly a very strong night for the Conservative Party. I think we've had a positive response to a positive campaign about safeguarding our economy, about creating jobs, about a record that government over the last five years. But above all, a plan for the next five years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCLAUGHLIN: Meanwhile, here up North, an absolute revolution in Scotland. The Scottish National Party, which is the same party that was behind that referendum for independence back in September, they wanted to break up the United Kingdom, a referendum that failed.
Well, they managed to go from six seats in parliament to a record for them, 56 seats out of a total of 59. People here in Scotland wanting to send a very strong message to the Westminster establishment that they want change. The question now becomes a conservative government, what sort of concessions are they willing to make to the people here in Scotland, especially when you consider many people here already talking about a second Scottish referendum -- Christine.
ROMANS: Second Scottish referendum -- perhaps breathing new life in that movement for Scottish independence. Thank you so much for that, Erin.
BERMAN: All right. Three minutes after the hour.
Developing overnight: Tom Brady speaks. The New England Patriots quarterback says he does not have any knowledge or any reaction to the NFL report concluding that it is more probable than not that he was aware of footballs being deflated before the AFC title game.
You can hear that raucous crowd in Salem State University in Massachusetts. They cheered as Brady took the stage for a pre- scheduled chat event. He said he had not had time yet to digest the deflategate report, even though it was 30 hours after its release. It took me about an hour to read it.
National reporter Deborah Feyerick has the latest from Boston.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine, John, Tom Brady arrived by helicopter, and when he got here to the stadium at Salem State University, he was given a standing ovation, people cheering and chanting his name. The host, the moderator and sportscaster Jim Gray, he essentially got right down to it, saying he wanted to tackle the elephant in the room. When he mentioned the deflategate report, when he mentioned the investigator Ted Wells, he was basically -- the crowd booed extremely loudly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(BOOS)
(LAUGHTER)
JIM GRAY, SPORTSCASTER: What is your reaction, Tom, to the Ted Wells' report?
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Who cares!
TOM BRADY, PATRIOTS QUARTERBACK: Yes, I can't usually say those things, but I don't have really any reaction, Jim.
[04:05:00] I -- our owner commented on it yesterday. And it's only been 30 hours. I have not had much time to digest it fully. But when I do, I'll be sure to let you know how I feel about it, and everybody else.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
GRAY: Are you that slow a reader?
(LAUGHTER)
BRADY: Well, my athletic career is better than my academic career. So, I'm used to reading Xs and Os. This was a little bit longer.
GRAY: When do you plan to address this publicly?
BRADY: Hopefully soon, hopefully soon. There's still a process going forthright now. I'm involved in that process. Whenever it happens, it happens. I'll certainly want to be comfortable in how I feel about the statements that I make.
GRAY: So, since no statements right now will speak for you and you don't want to get into the details. How are you handling this controversy? Is it bothering you?
BRADY: You know, I dealt with a lot of things in the past. I dealt with this three months ago before the Super Bowl. I dealt with adversity over the course of my career and life, and I'm very fortunate to have so many people that love me and support me.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
BRADY: Thank you. FERYERICK: The crowd supportive before he began speaking and certainly after he was done. Again, very supportive environment. They were here to see a man who they adore, Tom Brady -- Christine, John.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: All right. Deb Feyerick for us at Salem State University.
Now, Tom Brady you saw there was pretty passive -- his agent not passive at all. Don Yee denies Tom Brady had any knowledge of the balls deflated. He told Anderson Cooper that Brady will eventually speak for himself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DON YEE, TOM BRADY'S AGENT (via telephone): He will address this, you know? But keep in mind, Anderson, he had a rather chaotic press conference right after the AFC championship game where he faced all of the media then as well as we spent one entire day in front of four investigative attorneys from Mr. Wells' law firm.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: The importance of the statement, he said Brady is completely innocent when pressed by Anderson. He said, yes, in my opinion, he is innocent. Yee also sent a scathing letter to -- you know, a public letter reaction to the NFL, to this report, essentially attacking the report, attacking the people who made the report saying it was motivated by money, perhaps.
ROMANS: I'm really surprised Tom Brady did not have a prepared remark. He knew he was going to be in front of all those people, in front of cameras, in front of a reporter. I'm really surprised he did not prepared remarks.
BERMAN: Well, his agent, you know, has the heavy hand earlier that day in a press release. And then Brady sat down and he just didn't want to talk about it.
ROMANS: Didn't want to talk about it. All right.
Seven minutes past the hour.
Developing this morning: the FBI is holding a conference call with local law enforcement later today, seeking help finding violent extremists, extremists like Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi, both shot by police as they attacked the Texas contest to draw the Prophet Muhammad.
FBI Director James Comey telling reporters that perhaps thousands of extremists in the U.S. like Simpson being fed what he called ISIS poison online.
Multiple officials now telling CNN that Simpson was in private contact with overseas jihadists overseas who were encouraging some kind of attack, although the sources say Simpson likely choose the target on his own. We are learning FBI warned Garland police about Simpson's interest in this cartoon contest. They were warned about it just hours before he came there and attacked.
CNN justice correspondent Pamela Brown has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, John and Christine, FBI Director James Comey met with a small group of reporters and said the FBI actually sent a warning to local authorities in Garland, Texas, three hours before Elton Simpson arrived with his accomplice and opened fire.
We learned that the FBI sent a picture to local authorities and a possible license plate. But this was just a bulletin. The FBI apparently had no idea that Elton Simpson had left his home in Phoenix, Arizona, and was driving to Dallas in order to launch this attack. It only saw Simpson's social media post talking about the event.
Of course, a concern was that he was someone, an extremist that they had their eyes on, that they had an investigation on tweeting about this. So, they alerted authorities. Apparently, the FBI had a list of people of possible extremists who may want to target the event and Elton Simpson was part of the list.
Also, Director Comey talked about the hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. who are following ISIS online. He said it's a big concern. And there are hundreds of investigations into possible extremists.
[04:10:01] He said it's like finding a needle in a haystack. And increasingly, that needle is invisible -- John and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: Our thanks to Pamela Brown for that.
A senior commander for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was killed by a U.S. drone strike that happened in Yemen. Nasr bin Ali al-Ansi had become the public face of the terror group appearing in some of the high profile videos, including the one taking credit for the "Charlie Hebdo" attack in Paris. A statement released by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula confirms that al-Ansi, his son and six al Qaeda fighters died last month in the port city of Mukalla. The White House, which really doesn't comment on drone strikes, is not commenting about this.
ROMANS: The Senate has overwhelmingly passed a bill giving Congress the right to review any nuclear agreement with Iran. The vote was 98- 1. The measure prevents President Obama from lifting sanctions against the Iranians for 30 days, giving lawmakers time to decide whether to reject a deal or take no action at all.
Even if Congress disapproves, the president could veto that action. Opponents are not likely to have enough votes to override him.
BERMAN: The NSA's controversial phone surveillance operation is illegal. That is the finding of the federal appeals court in New York. A three judge panel ruled that program exceeds what the Congress authorized. The judges did not address if it violates the Constitution.
Let's get more now from CNN White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, John and Christine.
Right. So, this federal appeals court ruled that the government's collection of these vast stockpiles of telephone data is actually illegal under the Patriot Act. That the collection exceeds the scope of this law as it was intended, and it's one that the judge's wrote, the sheer volume of information sought is staggering.
The court, though, didn't rule it was unconstitutional, and they sent it back to the lower court. But the section of the Patriot Act that the government interpreted to collect this phone data expires next month anyway. So, it is up for review.
The Patriot Act was established in 2001 after September 11th. It was then renewed by both Presidents Bush and Obama. So, President Obama allowed this collection to continue, but he has since said that he agrees that now that it's expiring, it should be reformed.
There has been legislation proposed. There had been ideas out there, such as this -- data could be collected, but stored by a third party so that the government wouldn't own it and control it. And the government would have to ask permission on a case-by-case basis when it wanted to access this kind of data.
Some in Congress, though, lately, especially given the threat of ISIS, have been saying, let's look at this and let's not water down this kind of legislation because it's necessary to national security -- John and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Michelle Kosinski at the White House, thanks for that.
Time for an early start on your money this Friday morning. Good day so far for stocks. European shares are up. A boost from the U.K. election results. Asian shares, U.S. stock futures are also higher.
The big story, of course, comes later this morning. The jobs report for April due out at 8:30 a.m. So, that will likely direct what happens in trade here in the U.S.
Blue Bell Ice Cream won't be back on shelves anytime soon. A new government report shows that the company knew about the listeria contamination as far back as 2013 but did not recall its products until late last month. Inspectors found Blue Bell's process for cleaning equipment inadequate. Plus, a number of sanitary concerns like employees not washing their hands. Blue Bell says it thought problems discovered in 2013 were taken care of. An extensive cleaning will mean Blue Bell stays out of stores longer than expected.
BERMAN: All right. Thirteen minutes after the hour.
Millions of Americans bracing for severe storms. Tornadoes tearing through their communities. We're going to tell you what damage was done and, really, what is still to come.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:16:53] BERMAN: A new round of severe weather leaving damage in its wake across the Midwest and, really, a huge chunk of the United States.
ROMANS: Three tornadoes confirmed in northern Texas. Warnings, alerts, advisories for storms and flood remain in place in nearly two dozen counties. So, this is still happening folks.
Hail the size of golf balls also coming down there. Near Denton, Texas, overnight, a lightning strike apparently setoff a natural gas well explosion. There was even a 4.0 magnitude earthquake that rattled the region.
BERMAN: Several tornadoes also tearing through Oklahoma. Police say one woman died after her storm shelter flooded. At least a dozen others were injured. Tornadoes flattened neighborhoods. Look at these pictures. Oklahoma's governor declared a state of emergency in 12 counties.
ROMANS: All right. Rain expected in parts of Colorado over the next few days. But northeastern Colorado saw a tornado briefly touched down Thursday. No damage reported there. The storm again bringing heavy rain along with the storm. Colorado Springs pelted with up to 8 inches of hail.
BERMAN: In South Dakota, a storm with strong winds collapsed the roof of a building on the Cheyenne Indian reservation. Dozens of people who were for a tribal meeting, they were temporarily trapped inside. Looking at these pictures, you know, what's amazing, only four people suffered injuries.
ROMANS: More than 18 million people -- 18 million people this morning under a threat of severe storms today.
Meteorologist Derek Van Dam tracking the forecast for us this morning -- Derek.
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, John and Christine. Thursday brought another round of severe weather to the central plain states. This time, nine tornadoes were reported. One was actually just north of the Denver metro area. The other across portions of Kansas and just north of the Dallas Ft. Worth region. Strong storms once again in the forecast today unfortunately.
We have a set up that looks like this -- very dry and cool air settling in, thanks to an upper level disturbance over the western half of the United States that is filtering the atmosphere clash ahead of the warm gulf air that's been streaming ahead of our low pressure system. Those are going to collide today, bringing yet another possibility of severe storms.
This is our high resolution radar imagery. I want to take note across the central portions of Oklahoma, specifically between Oklahoma City and Wichita Falls. That's where we have a moderate risk of severe storms today, including strong, long track dangerous tornadoes.
Back to you.
BERMAN: All right, Derek. We're going to keep an eye for that, for sure.
The mayor of Baltimore is getting her wish. The Justice Department is expected to announce today that it will launch a full-scale investigation into the Baltimore Police Department. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake asked the government to investigate the pattern and practice of excessive force by police. Attorney General Loretta Lynch hinted at the decision during a congressional hearing on Thursday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LORETTA LYNCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL: Although the city has made significant strides in their collaborative reform efforts with the community-oriented policing services office, I have not ruled out the possibility that more may need to be done.
[04:20:00] I assure you, senators, that I am listening to all voices.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: The Justice Department is already conducting an independent investigation into the arrest of Freddie Gray.
Baltimore has seen a surge in gun violence that began with riots last month after Gray died in police custody.
ROMANS: All right. The U.S. with a controversial plan, a new plan to fight ISIS in Syria. We are live with those details right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: The U.S. military now training Syrian rebels for the fight against ISIS. The program launched Wednesday in Jordan. The Pentagon plans to train more than 5,000 handpicked Syrians each year at locations in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Jordan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ASH CARTER, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: These are highly vetted individuals, that's an important part of the program. Second, the training takes place in a secure location. And third, of course, our people who are participating in the training are very experienced.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: I want to bring in CNN's senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh live from Beirut.
And, Nick, I got to tell you, when we look at what is happening there, it's a hornet's nest of allegiances and counter-allegiances. How are they handpicking what kind of success do we expect from handpicking Syrian rebels to train?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they certainly have a list of 3,000 at this stage who are willing to participate in the tens of thousands involved in the fighting in Syria.
[04:25:04] That's a very small number. And 400 of those have been approved to be trained. Now, that training will include medical training, communication, the use of radios, small arms. Effectively to make them pretty well-equipped and cohesive fighting unit. But 400 of them, the first round being 90 trained by 400 U.S. trainers. So, actually, from the start, outnumbered by those who train them.
But I think the hope is this will begin to gain traction in rebel ranks who perhaps don't necessarily feel too much affinity with the extremists, and the extremists to get a bit of funding, too. Potentially some sort of ability to counter the rise of more radical rebels in the ranks. But also, where do they end up doing the fighting?
They are supposed to protect their villages and towns from ISIS and fighting ISIS. Of course, there are exceptions with fighting the regime or other rebels, too, at some point. And then, of course, when does the U.S. intervention there stop? Do they use air support to protect them if they're under attack? Is this the end of U.S. military involvement or is this, as others say, a very long overdue bid to try and put something on the ground inside Syria that actually reflects Western interests to how they'd like that conflict to end -- Christine.
ROMANS: Yes, there's a lot of questions there.
Nick Paton Walsh, thank you so much for that, Nick.
All right. Breaking this morning; a big night for conservatives in Britain. Election results are in and we are breaking it all down live, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROMANS: Breaking overnight. Election night in the U.K., a big night for conservatives and good news for Prime Minister David Cameron. We're breaking down results for you live.
