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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Largest Auto Recall in History; The War on ISIS; Deadly Biker Gang Brawl; Patriots Won't Appeal Deflategate Punishment. Aired 5- 5:30a ET

Aired May 20, 2015 - 05:00   ET

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

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[05:00:06] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The largest auto recall ever at 34 million vehicles carrying air bags that can kill. Takata admitting, finally admitting its product is defective, and can be linked to five deaths and more than 100 injuries.

We're live with what you need to know this morning.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Does the White House need a new strategy to fight ISIS? ISIS gaining new ground in Iraq. We're live there with the latest.

ROMANS: And new information on what may have caused a deadly biker gang brawl in Texas.

Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. Nice to see you, everybody. I'm Christine Romans.

BERMAN: I'm John Berman. It is Wednesday, May 20th. It is 5:00 a.m. in the East.

And developing this morning, a huge recall of Takata air bags nearly doubling in size. The Japanese auto parts giant is recalling air bags from some 34 million vehicles. That is nearly one in every seven cars in the United States.

This is expected to be the biggest, and certainly the most complicated consumer product recall in U.S. history. It could cost billions and take years to complete.

At least five deaths and dozens of injuries are tied to these faulty air bags which can fire shrapnel in driver's faces if they deploy. The recall affect dozens of different makes and models including BMWs, Fords, Toyotas. The majority made, though, by Honda.

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

Good morning, Will.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John what has been especially frustrating for U.S. investigators have been the pushback from Takata, which is headquartered right here in Tokyo. We have witnessed the lack of transparency covering the story from here in Japan. When we stopped by Takata headquarters, we were told nobody was available. We were turned away.

Even today, when we called to confirm the numbers of this latest recall, we were given very little insight on what the company plans to do in the years and months ahead to struggle to fill an overwhelming number of orders four for replacement bags. Honda also based here in Japan, of course, they are looking at alternate safe suppliers to try to get air bags into as many of their cars as possible.

But with so many people, so many American drivers affected here, the number one step that people need to do, they need to find out if their vehicle is affected. The NHTSA has an online tool. You can go, you can put in your VIN number, you can search to see if your car is affected by this or other recalls in the last 15 years, John.

Something that every driver should do when you think about 1 in 7 cars in America could have potentially have very serious safety problems when it comes to their airbags.

BERMAN: Yes, I don't know anyone who makes their air bag in their vehicle, Will. I imagine it will create a lot of confusion trying to figure out if you're eligible for this recall. Hopefully, that app and that phone might help.

Will Ripley for us in Tokyo, thanks so much.

ROMANS: All right. Turning now to Iraq, where ISIS already capitalizing on its capture of the key city of Ramadi, by launching new small scale attacks on the next city to the east, a government held town of Khalidiya. This as Iraqis moved to counter the threat by sending more Shiite militia fighters into the largest 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 following the latest developments for us -- Jomana.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine, as you mentioned, Iraqi officials say that is, after it tightened its grip on the city of Ramadi, it launched small-scale attacks on security forces and tribal forces east of Ramadi in the area of el Khalidiya. This is between the cities of Ramadi and Fallujah. But they say that their forces were able to repeal these attacks.

Now, this is coming at the same time as we see the Iraqi forces mobilizing and amassing east of the city also to try and regain control of Ramadi. Now, these forces are made up Iraqi security forces, some tribes but they're primarily made up by the PMUs, the popular mobilization units that are predominantly made up of Shia militias. Now, this is going to be a very tough battle. It's nothing like the

Iraqis have seen so far. For example, we saw in Tikrit, that success within one month, with the support of U.S. coalition airstrikes. These PMUs and the Iraqi forces managed to liberate that city.

But the dynamics, the sectarian dynamics, especially in Anbar are very different. It's a whole different landscape in Anbar province. If we look at the past in 2006 and 2007, the United States was able to regain control of Anbar province from ISIS' predecessor at the time, al Qaeda in Iraq. But that was U.S. forces fighting on the ground. And also with the Sunni tribes fighting alongside them, the U.S. was able to recruit these thrives in the fight against al Qaeda.

[05:05:06] Now, a much more difficult situation, many of these tribes reluctant because of mistrust issues with the Shia-led government. And they say that they've heard these promises for months now to arm them. And they haven't really seen that materialize. A very long and tough battle ahead to try and regain control of Ramadi -- Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Thank you so much for that, Jomana Karadsheh, for us this morning.

BERMAN: The United States making adjustments to eye its ISIS strategy since Ramadi fell to ISIS. Officials say the president might now accelerate training and the providing weapons 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 clearly 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, of course, was the former secretary of defense, Robert Gates. The president's secretary of defense, with some scathing criticism over current U.S. policy.

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

(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: Jim Acosta, thanks for that.

During a campaign stop in Iowa, Hillary Clinton addressing the controversy over e-mails during her tenure as secretary of state. Questions about her using a private e-mail account to conduct government business dogged her presidential campaign.

Clinton on Tuesday urging 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 heartedly support.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: 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.

BERMAN Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has still not revealed his presidential intentions. You know, at some point, we need to stop saying that. This man clearly about to run for president officially, is not doing it totally officially just yet.

He was on Capitol Hill. He's courting Republicans for his still not officially announced presidential campaign. He asked a group of lawmakers to imagine what they could do with majorities in Congress and what he considers a bold conservative in the White House. The official announcement from Scott Walker will probably come at the end of June, after he finishes the Wisconsin state budget.

ROMANS: All right. Time for an early start on your money. Record high it's in stock market. The Dow needed just 18 points to do it yesterday. A second record-high close in a row. The stock market having a pretty good year so far.

In Los Angeles, big story, Los Angeles boosting its minimum wage to $15 an hour. Lawmakers in the country's second largest city voting to boost the minimum wage to 15 bucks by the year 2020.

[05:10:01] This is going to affect about 600,000 low-wage workers are going to get a raise. Wages will start gradually rising next July. For small businesses with fewer than 26 employees, they will have an extra year to phase in the increase.

Seattle and San Francisco have also raised their minimums to $15 an hour. Companies are raising wages as well. Walmart, the nation's biggest private employer, started boosting its pay in April.

You know, yesterday, Walmart blamed those higher wages for hurting profits and its stock sank over 4 percent.

For advocates for small business, they worry fewer new jobs created or maybe even layoffs as companies have to grapple with paying for a higher wage. A lot of the workers rights groups and worker advocates say it's the right thing to do. You can't less than that.

BERMAN: It would be interesting what happens in Los Angeles, because there are a lot of people making that minimum wage.

ROMANS: And it's a big city to make that move. It's a very big city to make that move.

All right. New information this morning what may have caused a deadly biker gang brawl in Texas, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: New this morning -- threats from North Korea. North Korea says it has nuclear weapons in reach. Pyongyang's National Defense Commission warns its country has the capability of miniaturizing nuclear warheads, a key step to fitting them on missiles.

North Korea is warning other countries not to challenge it. Recent assessments from the Pentagon have suggested Pyongyang does indeed have the capability to fire a nuclear-tipped missile.

[05:15:01] 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 one biker might have had his foot run over right before the bullets started flying. The bad blood between these groups went back decades. Investigators have already recovered dozens of weapons and they are still processing that crime scene.

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

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: Kyung Lah, thank you for that.

Four murder victims found dead in their burned out Washington, D.C. house last week were held overnight by more than one attacker. That's according to local television reports. Sources tell WRC whoever killed this man, Savvas and his wife Amy Savapoulos, their 10-year-old son and the family's housekeeper, whoever killed all four of them knew a lot about their 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 bloodhound to try to track down whoever torched it.

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: An Amtrak conductor critically injured in the deadly train derailment last week in Philadelphia is now suing the railroad for negligence. An attorney for 33-year-old Emilio Fonseca says he was taking a bathroom break when the train derailed, killing eight people and injuring more than 200. The conductor suffered a broken neck and a broken back. He's one of five people hospitalized, in critical condition.

BERMAN: Breaking overnight, an oil spill in part of the central California coastline. Officials say an oil pipeline ruptured near Santa Barbara, creating an oil slick that stretched for miles in that popular beach area. An estimated 21,000 gallons of oil has now spilled. The coast guard and the emergency crews are working to contain it and clean up that spill.

ROMANS: The cruise ship Norwegian Dawn has finally been freed after running aground while trying to leave Bermuda. Officials say a malfunctioned in the steering system forced the ship slightly off course and it ran aground on a coral reef. High tide, of course, then came and helped to push it off the reef and into deeper water, 3,500 passengers on board. No injuries have been reported. Experts will inspect that cruise ship before it sets off again, headed for Boston.

BERMAN: All right, the NBA is down to its playoff final four. But last night was a chance for the Knicks to screw up again, even though they weren't playing. How did they do this one? Who got the top pick in the draft lottery?

Andy Scholes with the details in the bleacher report, next.

ROMANS: Complaining about flying is nothing new. It may surprise you to learn that more people are actually, get this, enjoying this. That's according to a survey by J.D. Power and Associates who found satisfaction with air travel rose for a third year in a row.

Alaska Airlines ranked as a favorite, followed by delta and American airlines. Among low-cost airlines, JetBlue took first place for the 11th year running followed by Southwest. The survey found the keys to passenger loyalty were satisfaction with flight crew and in-flight services followed by costs and fees.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [05:23:09] BERMAN: The owner of the New England Patriots Robert Kraft says he will not repeal the punishment that his team was given for their alleged role in deflate-gate.

ROMANS: Andy Scholes has more in this morning's bleacher report.

Hey, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, guys.

This was a little surprising. All along, Robert Kraft has been very critical of the Wells report. He even had a Web site Wellsreportcontext.com made to go into detail why he thought the Wells report was unfair. All signs pointing to the Patriots punishment.

But, yesterday, at the league annual owners' meeting, Kraft said that he was standing down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT KRAFT, PATRIOTS OWNER: I don't want to continue the rhetoric that's gone on for the last four months. I'm going to accept reluctantly what he has given to us. And not continue this dialogue and rhetoric. And we won't appeal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Even though the patriots are not appealing their punishment, Tom Brady is still appealing this four-game suspension. Later today, Roger Goodell is expected to speak with the media at the owners meeting.

Rockets and Warriors opening you the Western Conference finals last night. This was a good one. James harden was hot in the fourth quarter. The cross-over, step up right here tied the game at 97-97. But from there, Steph Curry and Warriors went on an 11-0 run to put the game away. Warriors win 110-106. Dwight Howard left this game in the fourth quarter. He's having an MRI on his injured knee later tomorrow.

Game one of the eastern conference finals between the Hawks and Cavs starts tonight. You can see that at TNT at 8:30 Eastern.

All right. New York Knicks fans not in a very good mood this morning. The team had the second best chance of getting the first pick in the NBA draft, but they fell out of the top three ending up with the fourth pick. The Lakers on the other hand, all smiles. They jumped up to the second picking.

[05:25:01] The Minnesota Timberwolves they won the lottery for the first time in team history. This is the first time since 2004 that the team with the worst record actually ended up with the first pick in the draft.

To Stanley Cup playoffs. Blackhawks and Ducks in overtime. Andrew Shaw with the soccer-like moves using his head to put it in the net. But using your head is not allowed in hockey. So, the goal is waved off.

That will go into triple overtime. Marcus Kruger, nifty stick work forced the game-winner. Blackhawks won what turned out to be the longest game in franchise history. That series now tied at one game apiece. Had to stay up very late, guys, if you wanted to see the end of that one.

ROMANS: Sleepy kids in Chicago.

BERMAN: No doubt.

ROMANS: Some very sleepy children in Chicago.

BERMAN: Thanks, Andy.

ROMANS: All right. Happening now, the largest auto recall in America ever, 34 million vehicles endanger of a deadly defect. We are live with what you should do right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: The largest auto recall ever. Takata recalling nearly 34 million vehicles for a faulty air bag linked to five deaths, and more than 100 injuries. We're going to tell you what you need to know. And how to find out if your car is involved.

ROMANS: Terror gaining ground in Iraq. Is it time for the U.S. to change its strategy in the war on ISIS? We're live.

BERMAN: And new information on what might have caused a deadly biker brawl in Texas, as police warn about future attacks. We have the latest ahead.

Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.

ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. It's 30 minutes past the hour.