Return to Transcripts main page

Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Historic Texas Flood: Death Toll Rises; Six Top World Soccer Officials Arrested; White House Backs Ash Carter; Obama's Immigration Legacy on Hold; Cavs Reach NBA Finals. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired May 27, 2015 - 04:00   ET

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


[04:00:17] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news this morning: the death toll rises in Texas. Historic flooding destroying communities, neighborhoods under water, rescuers struggling still to save people who are stranded. And it's not over yet. More severe storms are on the way.

Good morning. And welcome to EARLY START this morning. I'm Christine Romans.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm John Berman. It is Wednesday, May 27th. It is 4:00 a.m. in the East.

And we do have breaking news this morning. Tens of thousands of people in Texas and Oklahoma clean up following historic flooding and now brace for the very real possibility of more. At least 18 people are dead. More than a dozen are still missing.

And in Houston, where the storms killed at least five people, crews continue to rescue those trapped in their homes. At least 2,500 waterlogged cars line Houston's roads and highways.

Look at that. They were just abandoned by people caught in the deluge despite the warnings.

Listen to Texas Governor Greg Abbott.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R), TEXAS: Don't drive in the rising water. You know the common phrase, "Turn around, don't drown." It has a sense of reality to it right now that we need everyone in the state of Texas to heed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: You know, the water rose so quickly, though. Some people were completely swept off the road, caught off guard. The governor called the flooding the worst Texas has ever seen. He declared a disaster emergency in at least 40 counties. The National Guard deployed to help with the recovery.

Now, in Houston, officials say some areas were badly damaged by the flooding while others were largely unaffected. Key to understanding, the patterns of many bayous that wind through the low-lying city.

For the very latest on that, let's turn to CNN's Ed Lavandera. He's in Houston.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Emergency officials here in the city of Houston describe the flooding scene around this area as a mad house. More than 1,000 cars stranded on roadways because people racing and rushing to get out of the way of these walls of water that flowed into the bayous that you see throughout many parts of the city of Houston. This is a bayou that cuts and winds its way normally rather quietly around downtown Houston. But as you can see, embankment to the other, the water levels here rose dramatically. In fact, at some point, at its worse point, reaching just to that bridge that you see behind me.

These waters spilled out everywhere. Emergency officials and city officials here in Houston say there are still a number of people that are considered to be missing. So, search and rescue operations continue.

Waiting for these floodwaters to recede so they can get into some of the hardest hit neighborhoods and to continue the search processes in homes and throughout neighborhoods, very dramatic efforts going on. We saw some rather ingenious kind of operations going on as well. Fire rescue teams trying to get to people making 911 calls, abandon ambulances and lower lying cars traded them in for public works vehicles. These massive trucks and use those as makeshift ambulances to pull people out some of the hardest hit neighborhoods.

So, a dramatic scene here. The good news is, is that for most of the day, it did not rain. However, in the coming days, more rain is continued -- is expected to be in the forecast. And that means these floodwaters could rise up quickly again.

And state officials across the state are warning people, once these flash flood situations emerge to react quickly. We've heard time and time again from people around the state, that it takes just a matter of minutes. Water around their ankles and then just minutes later, they find themselves in knee deep water.

So, state officials urging people to react quickly. Take the warning seriously, when these flash flood warnings go in effect -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Our thanks to Ed Lavandera there. You can just see those bayous. You can see the water, and how it rose so quickly.

Another area that saw major damage in Texas -- Hays County, which is between San Antonio and Austin. In San Marcos, the rushing San Marcos River just tore out trees and flooded homes with 2 to 4 feet of water. Crews are using a bulldozer to rescue people stranded in their homes in the swiftly rising water. ROMANS: Always in Hays County, the threat came from the Blanco River. The record rainfall drove the Blanco from the usual depth of 5 1/2 feet to over 40 feet. That's about 28 feet above its flood stage and it happened so quickly.

The raging water knocked over trees and washed away 400 homes.

BERMAN: Many of those homes were in the town of Wimberley. The Blanco River tore through that village, ripping bridges from their pier, uprooting trees, wrecking cars.

[04:05:00] Scores of riverside homes were torn off their supports and just carried away.

Officials say at least three people were killed in Hays County, 13 people still this morning are missing.

ROMANS: Among the missing, 11 people who were enjoying the holiday weekend in a family cabin in Wimberley. When the skies opened up, the river tore the cabin from its foundation and it floated downriver.

The cabin hit a bridge. It's roof torn off. That's where one of the missing victims, Laura McComb, used her cell phone to call her sister. She described her desperate situation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIE SHIELDS, SISTER MISSING IN FLOOD: She called me and said, I just want you to know the ceiling has caved in. And the boat -- the house is floating down the water. And tell mom and dad that I love them. I love you, and pray.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: CNN's Ana Cabrera is in Wimberley with the latest on the destruction there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, the devastation here in Wimberley is remarkable. We're hearing from residents that the water rose so fast and with such force, it was like a tsunami hit. You can see the house behind me buckled. And now that the waters receded, you realize just how high the water came. The Blanco River lies behind those trees, and at the peak of the storm, the river rose more than 30 feet in just two hours.

We got a chance to visit the heart of the devastation, where we saw home after home, torn to bits and pieces. Some homes completely gone, nothing left but the concrete slab foundation. In all, more than 1,400 homes were damaged or destroyed just in Hays County alone.

We talked to one man who lost his home. And he said he was there with eight other people when the river started rising. Many of them were asleep. It was dark. They rushed to higher ground, while they couldn't see much, what they heard was horrific. NEAL TINSLEY, RESIDENT: Just loud cracking and breaking. You can

imagine, it was probably houses breaking apart and flowing down the river.

CABRERA: It must have been terrifying.

TINSLEY: It was. It was. But I got out, so that's good.

CABRERA: The water was so powerful it ripped trees right out of the ground. Some of those trees were 500 or 600 years old, we're told. They've endured past floods. This one was just too much -- John, Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: The picture is just stunning. Again, most of that flooding happened on Sunday there. And we're just now getting our first look at how bad the situation is.

Severe storms hit the Oklahoma City area as well. There's a confirmed tornado that touched down in Custer County, also one in Blaine County. The storms dropped hail, but so far, no significant damage has been reported.

ROMANS: And the region is not finished with its weather woes. More severe storms are in the forecast.

Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri has more on that.

Just amazing amount of water and the damage it can do.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, absolutely, absolutely.

Unfortunately, we're seeing more severe storms at this very hour, guys. On radar imagery, notice this, just north of Houston, severe thunderstorm warning issued a couple minutes ago right there, for about a 70-mile stretch north of Houston. There's been an area around the town of Crockett, right off of I-45, about 10,000 people impacted by this, we know large hail, damaging winds with that storm system as it pushes in.

But the concern is if this gets anywhere near Houston, more than rush hour, but additional rainfall causing significant flooding to be in place to be exacerbated. And you take a look, the model takes the next round of wet weather unto Louisiana. By this afternoon, 4:00, 5:00 in the afternoon, they begin to redevelop again around central Texas. So, we're going to watch this for potential for additional flooding.

And guess what, river gauge, just checking on the latest number, 186 of them reporting at or above flood stage at this very hour. Scattered about Texas on to Oklahoma, of course, if you have flooding upstream, the water and just by the nature volumes of water move, it will cause increase in river gauges downstream.

So, you think conditions are improving, but if it's raining hundreds of miles north, it can cause problems. The forecast next three to four days notice additional heavy rainfall around Eastern Oklahoma, up to six inches in a few spots. Houston could pick up an additional 1 to 2 inches over the next four days. So, this something that we're following, guys, as we head closer to the weekend.

ROMANS: All right. Pedram, thank you for that. That's a lot more rain coming. That's going to be tough for them.

BERMAN: Yes.

ROMANS: All right. Nine minutes past the hour.

More breaking news this morning: six arrests made this morning in Switzerland as the U.S. Justice Department gets set to announce corruption charges against senior officials at FIFA, the world's soccer governing body. Following years of investigation, the department is expected to charge as many as 14 people with taking bribes and kickbacks.

FIFA members in Zurich for an election that could give Sepp Blatter's fifth term as president. He is not among the group being charged but he is being investigated.

And again, the Justice Department is expected to announce charges soon.

BERMAN: You know what the biggest story on planet Earth today, it's this one. Everyone's a soccer fan.

[04:10:02] This is soccer's governing body. This is huge news.

ROMANS: Yes.

BERMAN: And this is not the head of FIFA, but it's everyone who works for him. And a lot of people think this group has stunk with corruption for years.

ROMANS: Wasn't there an investigation that was closed with no findings of corruption but the U.S. kept going at it.

BERMAN: Yes, keep going. This is Loretta Lynch, who is now the attorney general. When she was attorney in Brooklyn, she led this investigation. Now, these charges coming from the Justice Department. It will be very interesting to see what we find out.

All right. This morning, the White House is standing by controversial comments made by Defense Secretary Ash Carter about the stunning fall of Ramadi. Carter, of course, questioned Iraqis' will to fight, claiming they outnumbered ISIS when they fled Ramadi. Iraqi government officials have strongly rejected that acquisition.

But the White House is backing the defense secretary's comments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: What Secretary Carter said is consistent with the analysis that he's received from those who are on the ground, who are looking at the situation.

REPORTER: Does the White House agree with that assessment with the defense secretary, the Iraqi forces just showed no will to fight?

EARNEST: Well, that's certainly been a problem that we've seen in the past that's what allowed ISIL to make significant gains last summer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Now, the government of Iraq claims it is launching a sweeping operation to retake Anbar province, including Ramadi and other territories that have fallen to ISIS.

I want to bring in our senior international correspondent Arwa Damon watching the situation from Baghdad.

Good morning, Arwa.

Arwa Damon, can you hear me in Baghdad?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Different key provinces -- yes, hi, John. Good morning.

And the Iraqi government has launched sweeping operations across two Iraqi provinces in both Anbar and Salahuddin.

(AUDIO GAP) Ramadi is located. That key city according to Iraqi state television, course, (AUDIO GAP) army and the police. But also these unconventional Iranian-backed Shia paramilitary units, they're also trying to employ the Sunni tribes.

Now, there are multiple front lines. This is very much a patchwork battlefield. And we went to one of those areas that is right by Salahuddin and Anbar, a key former logistical route for ISIS that it used to move its fighters and its weapons around the various territories that it controls.

And we were with one of these Iranian-backed Shia units who were moving into this area that runs along a berm, but also is a very critical (AUDIO GAP) from the north to the south of the country.

This morning, they said they did not have any confrontation with ISIS fighters, but they have planted a number of roadside bombs, and at least 11 casualties in those explosions. Interesting, too, the fact that we saw but we're not allowed to speak or film Iranian --

(AUDIO GAP)

BERMAN: All right. That's Arwa Damon in Baghdad. Obviously, there are communication difficulties. But Arwa noting that it's the Shia militias really leading the charge in this new offensive in Anbar province against ISIS. The Shia backed, Arwa was saying, by Iranian advisers. She was not able to speak to them but our cameras did get pictures of them. So, our thanks to Arwa for that report.

ROMANS: All right. The IRS has been hacked. The personal tax information of more than 100,000 Americans breached. The agency says it's part of an elaborate scheme by online thieves to steal identities and then claim fraudulent tax refunds. In 2013 alone, the IRS -- yes, the IRS, paid $3.8 billion in bogus returns to identity thieves. The IRS commissioners suspect the hackers are part of an organized crime syndicate.

BERMAN: A federal appeals court delivered a severe setback in President Obama's executive actions on immigration. It denied the administration's request to begin granting illegal status and work permits to millions of undocumented immigrants while lawsuits play out. Now, if the Supreme Court does not lift the injunction that is delaying the immigration policy changes, the president could be out of office before the matter is resolved.

ROMANS: All right. Time for an early start on your money this morning. European and Asian stocks are mostly higher right now. U.S. stock futures are barely moving here.

But yesterday, folks, it was an ugly day for stock investors. The Dow tumbled 190 points, the worst day in May. Once again, that was related to a Fed interest rate hike. New home sales are rising. Consumer confidence is up. Manufacturing is looking better.

All numbers we got yesterday, if the economy is gaining steam, gaining momentum, the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates and soon. Those expectations boosting the value of the dollar, the dollar rose against the euro and other major currencies.

A very strong dollar has hurt big companies from Coca-Cola to Procter & Gamble and many others. So, as the dollar gets stronger, that hurts their profits, that hurts stock prices, that's how it all works together.

[04:15:02] BERMAN: Good news is tough, good news is tough for investors, isn't it?

ROMANS: Good news is bad news. Look, higher interest rates are coming. I've said it a thousand times. We don't know exactly when. No one knows exactly when. Higher interest rates are coming.

BERMAN: So, brace yourselves.

Strict new rules for the Cleveland police. The Justice Department finds the department guilty of excessive force and makes big new demands. We'll tell what you the changes are, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Welcome back.

Following months of negotiations, the city of Cleveland and the Justice Department have announced a settlement aimed at sweeping changes in police practices there. The deal could make Cleveland a model of reform for big city police departments.

CNN's Erin McLaughlin is in Cleveland with the details. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, Cleveland's mayor said this agreement takes police reform to another level. The court-ordered consent degree was announced on Tuesday. It calls for the Cleveland Police Department to retrain and review its officers to make sure they use force properly. The terms will be supervised by an independent monitor over a five-year period.

ROGER CANAFF, FORMER PROSECUTOR: The community, when they figure, wow, this is the top level of government. This is the most universal, the most powerful level of government. When they're actually stepping in and getting involved, then probably we're going to -- we're going to see our needs get met a lot quicker than when he might going through local politics or even within the states.

MCLAUGHLIN: New Orleans, Seattle and Cincinnati all have similar agreements. The Cleveland decree was the result of the Department of Justice investigation that concluded in December. It found the department to have a pattern of using excessive force.

One of the examples cited in that report, the 2012 fatal shooting of two unarmed people following a car chase. Over the weekend, the officer charged in that incident was acquitted, triggering mostly peaceful protests.

The other investigation into police misconduct outstanding, including the death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, but community leaders say they are worried there could be unrest in the long summer ahead -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[04:20:00] BERMAN: All right. Thanks to Erin for that.

Chilling new video of a street shoot-out in Chicago captured on the dashboard camera of a parked car. Two men are seen shooting each other in broad daylight. Look at that. Police say bullets were bouncing off the concrete. No one amazingly was injured.

Detectives are using the video to track down the gunman. Just one example of the gun violence that marred the Memorial Day weekend in Chicago. Police reported 56 shootings, 12 of them were fatal.

ROMANS: All right. Amtrak announcing it will begin installing cameras to monitor engineers in heavily traveled areas in the northeast. The decision comes in the wake of the deadly derailment in Philadelphia that killed eight people and injured 200 earlier this month. Cameras will be initially installed in 70 locomotives. Some lawmakers said Amtrak needs them in every locomotive nationwide.

BERMAN: A new candidate expected to join the race for president today. We'll have the details right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BERMAN: A big kickoff rally for Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator formally launched his campaign for president on the lovely shores of Lake Champlain in Burlington, Vermont. Sanders outlined his vision for what he calls a political revolution, taking direct aim at Wall Street, and the billionaire class, saying he is putting the top 1 percent on notice.

The self-described Democrat socialist, I think he has a long shot to the challenge to Hillary Clinton in the Democratic race.

[04:25:01] ROMANS: Yes, he wants the top 1 percent to pay for free college for America, for the rest of us.

Meantime, another Republican may be joining the race for the White House. Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum expected to announce today whether he'll make another run for president in 2016. Santorum was runner-up to Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination back in 2012.

BERMAN: LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, they are going to the NBA Finals. James had 23 points and the Cavs finished a four-game sweep of the Atlanta Hawks, 118-88. They won the Eastern Conference title. There's Kyrie Irving.

This is the second finals appearance in franchise history for the Cavs, the first game in 2007 when LeBron played for them as well. They will face the winners of the Warriors/Rocket series. Golden State up three games to one.

You know, this is LeBron's fifth straight trip to the NBA finals, fifth straight trip which is feat that matched since 1960s when like 45 players for the Celtics did it because they won nine titles in the row.

But it hasn't been done in a long, long time. So, it turns out LeBron James is good at basketball.

ROMANS: Very good at basketball.

BERMAN: Good at basketball.

ROMANS: All right. Twenty-six minutes past the hour.

The death toll is rising in Texas. Historic floods burying communities and guys, it's not over yet. More rain coming. We've got the forecast and new developments, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Breaking news this morning: the death toll is rising in Texas. Historic flooding there leaving communities under water, and it is not over yet. We will give you the forecast with more storms on the way.

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

ROMANS: Nice to see you this morning, folks. I'm Christine Romans. It's 30 minutes past the hour.

We begin with that breaking news this morning. Tens of thousands of people in Texas and Oklahoma cleaning up after historic flooding and they're bracing for the likelihood of more.