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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Huge Expansion in Takata Airbag Recall; The War on ISIS; Deadly Biker Gang Brawl. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired May 20, 2015 - 04:30   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Terror gaining ground in Iraq. Is it time for the United States to change its strategy in the battle against ISIS? We're live.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: And new information on what could have caused that deadly biker gang brawl in Texas, as police warned about the future attacks. The very latest, ahead. That's unbelievable crime scene that they are still processing there. Unbelievable.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

BERMAN: And I'm John Berman. Great to see. It is 30 minutes past the hour.

And developing this morning, a huge recall of Takata air bags nearly doubling in size. The Japanese auto parts giant recalling air bags from about 34 million vehicles. That is nearly one in every seven vehicles in the United States. It is expected to be the biggest and most complicated consumer product recall in U.S. history. It will cost billions. And it will take years to complete.

At least five deaths and dozens of injuries are tied to the faulty air bags, which can fire shrapnel to drivers' faces as they deploy. The recall affects dozens of makes and models including BMWs, Fords and Toyotas. The majority seem to be made by Honda.

CNN's Will Ripley is standing by live in Tokyo with the very latest.

Good morning, Will.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, John.

We have continued to reach out to Takata to try to not only confirm information, but to get an interview, to have them answer why it has taken so many years to now acknowledge what has been suspected by investigators for quite some time. That these air bags, something in them was causing them to go bad. And minor accidents turned into deadly accidents.

In one case, there was a father hit with that shrapnel from an exploding air bag and he bled to death in front of his 17-year-old son. U.S. investigators despite the denials from Takata here in Tokyo, they kept pushing forward, they kept investigating. And that is why you now have the largest auto recall in history. Thirty-four million vehicles as you said, one in seven cars on the road.

Of course, the U.S. government doing what it can. The NHTSA putting out this search tool, which is available online, you can type in your car's VIN number to check to see if it's affected by this recall or any other in the last 15 years. You can, of course, call your dealer, John, and if there are car is affected and if it's safe to drive.

BERMAN: Right, it's not as simple as knowing the make and model, you know, or you're looking at your tires when there was a tire recall. It's complicated figuring out who makes your air bags. There's going to be a lot of questions, Will, I imagine, by American drivers this morning.

RIPLEY: Sure. And this is a company that has put air bags in a tremendous amount of vehicles, not only in the United States but around the world. That 34 million figure, that's for the U.S. alone. We're hearing possibly 53 million cars globally affected by this. That's a lot of people with potentially dangerous air bags.

And they're still not exactly sure what causes this defect to take place. Remember, initially, they were talking about humidity. It's now obviously expanded beyond that. But, yes, people need to get their air bags replaced, but it's going to take a long time and a lot of money to get it done.

BERMAN: All right. Will Ripley for us in Tokyo -- thanks so much, Will.

ROMANS: All right. Turning now to Iraq where ISIS is already capitalizing on its capture of the key city of Ramadi by launching new small-scale attacks on the next city to the east, the government-held town of Khalidiya. This as the Iraqi government moves to counter the ISIS threat by sending more Shiite militia fighters into largely Sunni Anbar province. The Iraqi cabinet also reaffirming its commitment to arming Sunni tribesmen. The local officials who are in Ramadi before it felt say the Shiite-dominated central government failed to keep earlier promises to send enough support and weapons.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh is following all the very latest developments for us -- Jomana.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christine, as you say, the Iraqi forces have managed to repeal small scale attacks on the town of Khalidiya, this is east of Ramadi, between the cities of Ramadi and Fallujah.

This at the same time as they're also amassing troops east of Ramadi. This is a combination of Iraqi security forces and also members of the popular mobilization units. These are volunteers but primarily made up of Iranian-backed Shia militias and some Sunni tribal fighters.

Now, we don't know when this counter offense to try to happen. But it is going to be a very tough battle. Not like we've seen in the past, for example, with Tikrit, where Iraqi sources managed to retake that city in one month without offensive backed by U.S. airpower. Anbar is a very complex place, a sectarian dynamics there. A lot of

concern about these Shia militias going into the Sunni heartland. And if we look at the past and how Anbar was gained back from al Qaeda, it was with the presence of U.S. troops on the ground in 2006 and 2007, and also Sunni tribes fighting alongside the U.S. military, something that might be more difficult this time.

[04:35:01] Only a few Sunni tribes are fighting ISIS. Others are reluctant because they say they've had the promises to arm them in the past. They haven't seen that happen yet, and a lot of mistrust between them and the Shia-led government -- a very complex situation promising long fight -- Christine.

ROMANS: Sure does. All right. Jomana, thank you for that.

BERMAN: The United States making adjustments to eye its ISIS strategy since Ramadi fell to ISIS. Officials say the president might accelerate training and the weapons sale to Sunni fighter, or providing weapons to Sunni fighters. U.S. strategy has hinged on Iraqi troops and local fighters being able to stand up and stop the ISIS advance. That did not happen in Ramadi, it's a failure that some Republicans are laying at the president's feet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: We know that hope is not a strategy. The president's plan isn't working. It's time for him to come up with a real overreaching strategy to defeat the ongoing terrorist threat.

ROBERT GATES, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: I think even had there been no ISIS, that it would have been far better for us to maintain some presence, some troop presence in Iraq, for a much longer period of time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: That's former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, the President Obama's former defense secretary, who is very critical of the administration's current policy.

CNN's Jim Acosta has more from the White House -- Jim.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, the president met with his national security team on the battle with ISIS. The meeting was only scheduled to include Defense Secretary Ash Carter, but ended up involving every security official from the vice president to the secretary of state and the CIA director.

And even though the White House is calling the terrorist group's capture of Ramadi over the weekend a, quote, "setback," officials say they're not conducting a formal review of the strategy for defeating ISIS. But aides are saying they're looking at options for what they're

calling an Iraqi-led mission to retake Ramadi. And pressed repeatedly on the mounting bipartisan criticism of the president's strategy, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest lashed out at all the second guessing.

Here's what he had to say.

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The thing is, we have to sort of decide what our approach to these issues is going to be. Are we going to light our hair on fire every time there's a setback in the campaign against ISIL? Or are we going to take very seriously our responsibility to evaluate those areas where we succeed and evaluate where steps are necessary for us to change our strategy where we sustain setbacks?

ACOSTA: The White House is not indicating that any U.S. ground forces will be going into Anbar province. Instead, White House officials say the assistance will come in the form of more air strikes on ISIS positions in Ramadi. Earnest points to other past battles in Kobani and Mt. Sinjar, where the U.S.-led coalition racked successes after questions were raised about the president's strategy.

As for Ramadi, the White House says its' the president's goal to see ISIS driven out of that city -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. During a campaign stop in Iowa, Hillary Clinton addressing the controversy of her e-mails during her tenure as secretary of state. Questions about her using a private e-mail account to conduct government business have dogged her presidential campaign. Clinton on Tuesday urged a speedy release.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have said repeatedly, I want those e-mails out. Nobody has a bigger interest in getting them released than I do. I respect the State Department. They have their process that they do for everybody, not just for me, but anything that they might do to expedite that process, I heartily support.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: You know, she hasn't really been talking to reporters. She's not been talking to people, not reporters. So, addressing that directly --

BERMAN: Reporters are people. I would just like to clarify that.

ROMANS: You know, not all reporters are people -- no, I'm kidding.

The Clinton comments coming after a federal judge rejected a State Department to release 55,000 pages of Clintons by next January. The judge said the department should consider releasing the e-mails in batches.

Also this morning, "The Wall Street Journal" reports that when Mrs. Clinton was secretary of state, her staff scrutinized and sometimes blocked the release of politically sensitive documents that were legally requested as public records through the Freedom of Information Act. I'm sure there's been a lot of FOIA requests for Clinton-related documents.

BERMAN: Indeed, there have.

All right. Thirty-nine minutes after the hour.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has still not revealed his presidential intentions, at least not officially, but he certainly appears to be in full campaign mode. That was during a visit to Capitol Hill.

The Wisconsin governor was courting House Republicans, showcasing his gubernatorial credentials. He's asked a group of GOP lawmakers to imagine what they could do with majorities in Congress and what he calls a bold conservative in the White House. Governor Walker says he expects to announce his 2016 plans at the end of June, mystery to no one. That will come after finishing the Wisconsin state budget.

ROMANS: All right. Time for an early start to your money.

Stocks hit a high. Dow, it only took 13 points yesterday, Berman, for the Dow to hit a record. That was enough for a record close, second in a row.

[04:40:00] Four cancer charities called out as shams. The FTC is naming the Cancer Fund of America, Cancer Support Services, Children's Fund of America, and the Breast Cancer Society. These charities are run by members of the same extended family. The government says they conned donors out of $187 million from 2008 to 2012.

They're accused of spending 97 percent of donations on private fund- raisers or on themselves. That includes gym memberships, dating websites, luxury cruises, concert tickets. Only 3 percent went to local cancer patients. Both the Breast Cancer Society and the Children Fund of America are being dissolved.

Just a reminder, you know, you do good, whenever there's a crisis around the world, or just because you want to do go, always do your homework.

BERMAN: Right. And there are a lot of great charities.

ROMANS: They're really are. They're really are.

All right. New information this morning on what may have triggered a deadly biker gang fight. They're still processing that monster crime scene. We've got more on that, after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BERMAN: A bloody shoot-out between rival biker gangs in Waco, Texas, may have been triggered by a minor parking lot incident. Nine people were killed, 18 others wounded in the chaos there. Police say a biker might have had his foot run over right before the bullets started flying. Investigators have already recovered dozens of weapons and they are still processing that crime scene.

Let's get more now from CNN's Kyung Lah in Waco.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[04:45:00] KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Christine.

Investigators have continued to go car to car, and what they're pulling automatic are even more weapons. We saw them pulling out long rifles, handgun, even a bulletproof vest. This is adding to the cache of weapons they've already recovered here at the scene, some 100 weapons, they say, that number now continuing to climb.

Meanwhile, a manhunt today ended up in a peaceful resolution. There were three suspects, according to the sheriff's department that were released on a lower bond. Their bond was set at $50,000 because they weren't arrested here in this parking lot. They were arrested just outside the perimeter.

But when the police found out they had a lower bond, their bond was revoked. There was a previous manhunt. Those three suspects were brought in. Their bond now set at $1 million just like the other 170 suspects.

And we're also learning more details from the police about how all of this began. They mentioned this started over a parking spot. Well, it may turn out that one of the bikers had his foot run over. That it could have started from something that simple. Nine people killed, according to a preliminary autopsy report. All of them killed with gunshot wounds. They were between the ages of 27 and 65 -- John, Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Kyung Lah, thank you for that.

Four murder victims found dead in their burned out Washington, D.C. mansion last week were held overnight by more than one attacker. That's according to local television reports. Sources tell WRC, whoever killed Savvas and Amy Savapoulos, their 10-year-old son and the family housekeeper, whoever committed those murders knew a lot about the family's day-to-day routine.

Meanwhile, police have released video of the family's Porsche, it was found burning in the parking lot of a Maryland church. Investigators are using a bloodhounds to try to track down whoever torched it. Again, the killer or killers is still on the loose.

BERMAN: Prosecutors in Baltimore releasing new details to support their position that the arrest of Freddie Gray was illegal. Statements and court papers from the state's attorney office say that Gray was arrested before police even knew he had a knife at all. And they did not find the weapon until Gray was already handcuffed and placed in a prone position. Police lawyers maintain Gray's arrest was proper because he possessed an illegal weapon.

ROMANS: All right. A pair of twisters touched down in Texas inflicting some serious damage. Check out the video of this tornado taken from this car in the town of Mineral Wells. That's just west of Dallas.

You can see the funnel cloud in the distance. This is the aftermath. You can see mangled pieces of metal. Parts of the town ripped to shreds. Meantime, one person hurt when a tornado touched down east of Austin. That twister caused pretty bad damage in the town of Giddings. Listen to folks who experienced it first hand.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw the roof peeling off flying through the air. That's when we knew we had to get inside.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I heard stuff flying around. I thought it was hail. Then I saw a piece of tin fly by. Not ever being in one or on one, pretty scary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: There is more severe weather on tap for today. Let's bring in meteorologist Pedram Javaheri for that.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, John and Christine.

Let's start you off across the northern tier of the country. How about these temperatures, midwinter causing some of these. About 27, that is some 10 degrees below average this morning Chicago is 44 degrees, also, on the cold side but not unheard of to see freeze threats watches and warnings in effect across the northern tier of the Great Lakes and northern portion of the country.

But cool temperatures, of course, needless to say to the south, severe weather, across west Texas, the sunny skies come back along areas of the east. Look at Dallas, the big story there has been 21 inches or so of rainfall that has come down, 6 1/2 is what is considered normal. Dallas only 21 inches in all of 2014.

Of course, tornadoes across this region on Tuesday, 27 of them on Tuesday. 27 of them coming out of Texas and Oklahoma. The threat considerably high, especially south of Oklahoma City. Here are the area for the severe weather, large hail. Some tornado possible around San Angelo working away from far Texas over the next 24 hours.

ROMANS: All right. Pedram Javaheri, thank you for that. A new arrest this morning in this elaborate London jewel heist. We're live with the details right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:53:12] BERMAN: All right. Big news in one of the most high- profile heists the world has seen in some time. Nine men have now been arrested in connection with this brazen jewel heist in London's jewelry quarter. Hundreds of millions of dollars of jewels and valuables lifted from safety deposit boxes but now there are arrests.

CNN's Max Foster with the latest from London.

Good morning, Max.

MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi. Yes, what the interesting about this is the ages of the men arrested. Nine of them, all between the ages of 43 and 76. So, the tabloids are making light of this, saying diamond-old geezers, and you've got the son as well, diamond-wheezers they went for. They're pointing out three suspects are pensioners with a combined age of 533, which is remarkable when you see how this is a very old-school type burglary, where they burrowed through a wall to through these safety deposit boxes.

And the suspects are at trial, or been arrested in relation to theft, which is upwards around $300 million worth of jewelry in the safety government boxes from that Jewelry quarter and small businesses who are actually furious this has happened, of course. You can see there, the leftovers of what happened there. These guys are being questioned still today. The latest update from police is that they've been kept in.

But, John, this is an extraordinary raid, 200 police officers, several adjusters in and around London, so a big operation. An alarm went off at the time when this was going on. And they didn't go along to check it out. That's why they're taking this so seriously now, John.

[04:55:00] BERMAN: Hey, Max, when it happened, it actually happened over several hour, maybe even over days. Perhaps they didn't need to be young to pull it off. They could move at their own pace.

Max Foster for us in London, thanks so much.

ROMANS: You say old age, I say experience. That's a lot of experience.

BERMAN: Yes.

ROMANS: All right. News about banks behaving badly this morning, with the price manipulating the key interest rate. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: All right. Good morning, I'm Christine Romans.

Let's get an early start on your money this morning. Another day, another record. The Dow inched up 13 points yesterday, but with stocks high that's enough for a record-high close. The second day in a row for the Dow. It's like stocks keep climbing. Of course, it's good for your

portfolio. Netflix, for example, it's never been as high. It's up 80 percent this year. A lot of household names have really soared.

UBS paying more than $500 million in fines to the U.S. government for manipulating markets. UBS will plead guilty to fraud and pay a $203 million fine for influencing London's benchmark interest rate. The bank will also pay $42 million to the federal research related to its foreign exchange business. The Justice Department expected to announce similar agreements.

The St. Louis Federal Reserve's Web site hacked. Visitors in late April were redirected to a phony site looking exactly like the St. Louis Fed. That means visitors were lured with a false sense of safety, thinking they were on an official Federal Reserve site. When they attempted to login there, hackers could access their usernames and passwords. No word yet on the full extent of that hack.

BERMAN: Not very nice.

ROMANS: No.

BERMAN: All right. EARLY START continues right now.