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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Deadly Storms Slams Texas & Oklahoma; The War on ISIS: Iraq's New Plan. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired May 26, 2015 - 04:30   ET

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

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[04:30:44] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news this morning: the death toll is rising as deadly storms strike Texas and Oklahoma. At least six people are dead, a dozen more missing. This morning, communities are under water. A disaster has been declared and there are more storms on the way.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news this morning out of Iraq. Iraqis launching a new operation to take back territory seized by ISIS, but will it work? We are live in Baghdad.

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

ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. Nice to see you this morning. Thirty- one minutes past the hour.

Let's begin with breaking news in Texas and Oklahoma. Officials there warning storms that have killed at least six people could continue for weeks to come. In Hays County, one person confirmed dead and 12 are missing. Officials say the missing likely including some children. They are from two families gathered in a vacation home for the long weekend. That home washed away by a flash flood.

The ground is saturated. Forecasters are warning there may be more flash flooding is ahead. Texas Governor Greg Abbott added 26 more counties to the disaster declaration bringing the total to 37.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R), TEXAS: And we urge all citizens to get out of harm's way. Don't risk your lives by trying to not evacuate the water that may be rising.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Across the region, there had been hundreds of rescues and narrow escapes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my gosh! Stop, stop, stop. He needs to get out! Oh my God! Oh my God! (END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Wow. In Kendall County, after some harrowing moments, officials say the 68-year-old driver of that vehicle was able to get out of his SUV and make it to safety.

Elsewhere, crews rescued people by land and water. This was in Austin, Texas and also from the air. In Caldwell County, a National Guard Black Hawk helicopter pulled Danny Pullen from his truck after it was swept away in the current. Throughout the ordeal, Pullen stayed on the phone with his panicked daughter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANNAH PULLEN, DAUGHTER OF RESCUED MAN: I kept calling him over and over and I was like, are you OK? Are you OK? And he's like, I don't know if I'm going to make it. But he's like, I love you. I was like, hold on, please don't leave, please don't leave. I'm here for you. I'm here for you. He was like, I don't know what to tell you. I'm sorry.

DANNY PULLEN, RESCUED FROM FLOOD WATERS: It was about real quick three feet. It hit the side of my door enough to be more powerful than I'm going, five or ten miles an hour. It pushed me off the road so I could no longer go forward. I'm instantly go, I'm stuck here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Rainfall totals topping 12 inches in the last five days pushed rivers and lakes past flood stage. At Lake Texoma, at Texas/Oklahoma state line, water ran over the spillway there for only the fourth time since it was built back in 1957.

BERMAN: Flash foods wiped out entire neighborhoods over the weekend. In Hays County alone, officials say as many as 400 homes just washed away. Another 1,000 were badly damaged with 1,000 left homeless.

I'll just show pictures of a Whole Foods store. It's going to be some time before that reopens. Again, we see it there. Farms and ranches across the region also now face disaster with crops ruined and livestock as you can see scattered.

ROMANS: All right. The Blanco River which runs through Hays County swept past its previous record flood of 33 feet topping more than 40 feet late Saturday.

CNN's Ed Lavandera has more from Wimberley, Texas, on the Blanco River.

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ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, it's a staggering scene here in the central Texas town of Wimberley, Texas. All of this debris flooded and rushed out of the Blanco River as flood waters rise dramatically, quickly. Many people telling us that they only had a matter of minutes to escape from their homes. But it was described as a wall of water rushing downstream here in the Blanco River.

This, a refrigerator from the home upstairs. But it was really a lot of these trees, it's kind of hard to really describe just how -- give you the sense of how large these trees were that were swept away, washed out several bridges along the way.

[04:35:01] But there is a great deal of concern, John and Christine, about more rainfall in the coming days, and what that will mean for the flooding situation. The Blanco River crested more than 40 feet over its usual here in central Texas. So, a dramatic scene, intense, where these flood waters rising very quickly.

And because of that, because of there's so much saturation and because of a lot of the tributaries and creeks are already very filled, the concern is it will not take much more rain to create more flash flooding situations. And that is what the concern is.

The warnings going out to people, urging them to react quickly if the flood waters and the rain waters move back in to pay close attention to those situations, because it takes only a matter of minutes for these flood waters to get out of control -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Some of these rivers just hitting ridiculous records before cresting. And now, the violent storms also hit Oklahoma where rising waters forced scores of rescues there. Firefighters evacuated dozens of people in Twin Lakes as the raging Cimarron River at away at the foundations of the houses. Near Broken Bow, Oklahoma, crews raced against the swelling river trying to rescue 13 people stranded in a cabin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TROOPER JOE JEFFERSON, OKLAHOMA HIGHWAY PATROL: They are panicked or anything like that. We've been in phone contact with them at all times. So, they are fine. There's nothing hazardous as far as their safety just yet. It's just -- time is of the essence with the water rising.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Officials say a tornado ripped through the tiny town of Blue in southern Oklahoma on Monday afternoon, killing one woman and destroying several trailer homes.

ROMANS: A confirmed EF-1 tornado hit southwest Houston on Sunday with winds up to 100 miles an hour. The twister tore off roofs of several apartment buildings. City officials say the health department will help dozens of displaced residents moved to new homes now.

BERMAN: Severe weather stranded fans inside Houston's Toyota Center, after the Rockets beat the Golden State Warriors in game four. Fans did not seem to mind much of getting the order to stay in place as Dwight Howard greeted fans stuck inside. It's nice of him to do that.

No relief in sight for the storm weary residents of the South. Let's bring in meteorologist Pedram Javaheri tracking the forecast for us.

Pedram, what do we see?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Guys, you know, I don't think people really appreciate the force of the water when you see the flood videos. Unless you experienced the flooding and you see just about six inches of water, so ankle deep water. If it's moving swiftly, it can knock you off your feet. You bring that up to about two feet or knee high, and that's moving swiftly. It will move your SUV, and that's why we have hundreds and hundreds of water rescues across this region of Texas.

Unfortunately, the steering currents and the atmosphere and the meteorology set up, the jet stream, all of them in prime position yet again for tremendous rainfall, mainly across far eastern Texas and Louisiana and Arkansas now over the next coming couple of days. The climate prediction center releasing their forecast, looking ahead into the next week. So, especially, the first week of June, notice above average rainfall around Texas, way above average rainfall when you talk about portions of the eastern side of the country.

So, again, moisture not going anywhere anytime soon. We had 19 reports of tornadoes on Monday across this region. But much of them coming out of Oklahoma and also Texas with a couple out of Arkansas and the concern remains high for some active weather again. Tornado watch in effect around portions of New Orleans. Some active storms right around the I-10 corridor. These storms really training or think of box cars on a train. They fuel one after another. They roll right through Houston and that's why we had the flash flood emergency that's in place over this region with the tornado watch as the storms have exhibited some rotation in New Orleans under that tornado watch until 5:00 a.m. local time.

Notice the flood threat remains pretty high over the next 24 hours, and the severe weather threat also there as well. And now, a slight risk for about 49 million people, this includes Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Indianapolis, for at least some strong thunderstorms and some large hail and some damaging winds and again, a few tornadoes possible as well for Tuesday afternoon -- guys.

ROMANS: Pedram, that Blanco River, I just got to say that at one point, it really caught people by surprise. At one point in 30 minutes, it rose 17 feet. This is normally a slow, you know, meandering little river. I mean, it really pops there.

JAVAHERI: It's remarkable.

ROMANS: Unbelievable. All right. Thanks, Pedram.

BERMAN: Thanks, Pedram.

We do have breaking news from Iraq where the government announced an operation to retake Ramadi and the rest of Anbar province from ISIS. Ramadi maybe their ultimate target right now. They're not saying. That's where the offensive is. They are likely to meet stiff resistance. ISIS has been sending in reinforcements to that area. I want to get the latest from CNN's senior international correspondent

Nick Paton Walsh live in Baghdad this morning. Nick, what can you tell us?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, we are now hearing from the Iraqi prime minister, too, confirmation of what we initially it seems heard from the Shia armed groups will be at the tip of this particular counter attacks it seems, the al Hashd al- Shabi. That they are launching an offensive across Anbar province, which you say Ramadi is the capital.

[04:40:01] And also in the province to the north in Salahuddin, they are trying to cut supply routes from there particularly an old refinery town called Baiji that ISIS used into Anbar. This is the beginning of the rhetoric, it's fair to say. We hearing that Hashd al-Shabi, Shia armed group, talking about how they are pushing in with armed forces along the military and potentially to try to urge people from the disenfranchised alienated Sunni parts of Iraq as well, potentially, if that's what they are saying on paper is happening. That's echoed by Iraq's prime minister who says the police and military and the Hashd al-Shabi, their Shia armed groups are beginning this fight too.

Now, the prime minister, Haider al Abadi, pledges this they will soon see the liberation of Anbar. That may be a tall order. ISIS has had over a week now to prepare themselves for this coming counter attack and we know, of course, Iraqi security forces and the militia they work alongside and tribes, they work alongside, don't always talk of the same page.

So, a very complex task ahead, but after criticism from the Pentagon that the Iraqi army lacks the will to fight. That's the Pentagon chief Ashton Carter speaking, and after the Iraqi prime minister promising to begin the operation in the days ahead. We are now hearing these wide-ranging announcements that these operations are underway. Though, do these statements translate to fighting on the ground? Well, we'll see in the hours ahead.

But certainly now, this is perhaps this is the moment of truth for Iraq security forces and those Shia armed groups as well. Can they push ISIS out of the newly taken territories?

John?

BERMAN: How will the Shia militias be received by the Sunnis who lived in part of the country? We need reports back from those front lines.

Nick Paton Walsh, thanks so much from your reporting.

ROMANS: All right. Forty-two minutes past the hour.

Time for an early start on your money this morning. U.S. stock futures are lower right now after the long holiday weekend. With markets near record highs, this morning, we're going to get a look at home prices and consumer confidence. And big merger news his morning. Charter Communications will announce a $55 billion deal to buy Time Warner Cable and smaller Bright House Network this morning. Charter, the third biggest cable provider in the country. Time Warner Cable is number two.

Together, that company would have 18.8 million broadband subscribers, 17 million TV subscribers. Those numbers would be a big advantage when negotiating with channel owners and competing with Netflix. The merger, of course, has to pass government regulators. That stopped Comcast plan to buy Time Warner Cable earlier this year. So, watch that space this morning.

All right. The FBI investigating a series of threats against passenger planes this weekend. What we are learning about the threats this morning, next.

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[04:46:15] BERMAN: All right. New questions this morning after at least 10 phone threats against airline flights on this Memorial Day weekend kept law enforcement officials scrambling. Authorities were forced to search planes in Newark, Buffalo, Atlanta and New York. The Air Force even had to scramble fighter jets over the Atlantic to escort an Air France flight to New York.

Let's get more now from CNN's Jean Casarez.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, this all begun yesterday morning in regard to Air France Flight 22, which had taken off from Charles de Galle airport bound for JFK. A threat to that aircraft was called in to a law enforcement agency and that is why the North American Aerospace Command confirms with CNN that they actually launched two F-15 fighter planes to help guide that aircraft in.

The reason we're learning they did that is that the air France did not respond to the calls asking if they needed help. Well, the plane landed. Passengers were debriefed. Plane was searched. And nothing credible was found to substantiate that threat.

But the threats continued. Another one at JFK, American Airlines, Birmingham, England to JFK. They received a threat, not credible at all. But then airports switched, Newark airport, United Airlines from Madrid to Newark.

The plane landed. It was at a remote location the tarmac. It was searched, passengers were debriefed. Nothing was found to be credible from that threat.

And then, Atlanta, Hartsfield International Airport. Virgin Atlantic airplane, from Manchester, England, to Atlanta. It was a non-specific threat.

There was also something very curious on Monday, Memorial Day, that had a somewhat different scenario. Southwest Airlines plane at Buffalo Niagara International Airport was checked by an explosive detection K-9 unit at the request of the pilot. Once it landed, nothing was found. That plane went on.

But all in all, multiple planes received threats multiple airlines. And at least four different law enforcement agencies received the communications of those threats. The big question now for today is, who is responsible for this criminal behavior -- John, Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: I'm sure that investigation will turn up some key facts. Can't wait for that now.

A "Washington Post" reporter on trial right now in Iran, accused of espionage in court this morning, closed court. We are live with the very latest, next.

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[04:52:32] BERMAN: The trial began this morning for a "Washington Post" reporter in prison in Iran on espionage charges. Jason Rezaian has been held for 10 months. The Iranian judge president over the case has closed the trial to the public, barring even the wife and mother of the defendant from the courtroom. To call this justice may actually be an injustice in and of itself.

CNN's Becky Anderson monitoring developments for us from Abu Dhabi.

Beck, what's the latest?

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDEN: Yes, this is a troubling case. Jason was arrested along with his wife Yegy and two of their friends last July. Now, the others were released on bail after a couple of months.

But Jason remained in custody, at points even held in solitary confinement in what is Tehran's notorious Evin Prison. Now, it was unclear what he and the others had done wrong. There was speculation he could have been arrested over some of his writings or even his appearance on CNN's Anthony Bordain's "Parts Unknown" from Tehran, which was filmed only six weeks before Jason's detention.

But, John, by April of this year, it became clear that the charges against Jason were far more serious than initially thought. Now, the Iranian security establishment and judiciary say that he was illegally gathering classified information about Iran and passing it unto Washington, no real evidence has been presented to back out those claims, and there has been no fair judicial process so far so to speak.

So, what we know the judge assigned to the case is known to be close to the intelligence operators in Iran and accused of passing down politically motivated sentences in the past. Perhaps that this is at heart of this matter.

This is in many ways many people say a political trial. Jason a pawn in what is a wider power struggle going on inside Tehran, with the government of President Rouhani and the present hard line elements who may wish to embarrass him as he tries to strike this nuclear deal with the west by the end of the next month.

And perhaps they know that having an Iranian American reporter go on trial in Tehran is not good for the critics. And perhaps that's why they decided to trigger the trial now. The fate of Jason and the trial less perhaps about what happens in the closed court and it is closed and more about the give and take in the corridors of power in Tehran.

The first session is now over, very little detail as of yet -- John.

[04:55:02] BERMAN: A lot of people think it is simply a travesty that this American journalist caught in the middle of the situation.

Becky Anderson, thanks so much.

ROMANS: All right. A long weekend is a great time to see a movie, right? Not this year. A holiday box office bust to tell you about next.

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ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. Let's get an early start on your money this morning.

European stocks are down with growing concerns Greece will default on its debts. U.S. stock futures are lower too. Later this morning, we get a look at the housing markets. Expect to see home prices keep their recent momentum. Plus, a look at consumer confidence which fell last month.

A holiday flop at the box office. Typically Memorial Day weekend, one of the biggest weekends of the year, but this year, movies also brought in $190 million total. That is the lowest since 2001 and that is bad considering ticket prices have soared since then.

The key reason for empty theaters, Disney's "Tomorrowland" was a miss. It got mixed reviews and lackluster ticket sales. A lot of people thought this one was going to have, certainly the people who created it thought it was going to have a better debut. But a weak review and the worst Memorial Day box office.

BERMAN: People don't like the movies, they're not going to buy the tickets.

ROMANS: Yes.

BERMAN: All right. EARLY START continues right now.