Return to Transcripts main page

Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Death Toll Rises in Historic Texas Flood; Six Top World Soccer Officials Arrested; White House Backs Ash Carter; U.S. and China Headed for a Showdown? Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired May 27, 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: Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.

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

[04:30:01] 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 -- more rain on the way. At least 18 people are dead, and more than a dozen people are still missing this morning.

In Houston, where the storms killed at least five, dramatic scenes like this have been playing out, as crews are rescuing people trapped in their homes, trapped in their cars. At least 2,500 waterlogged cars line Houston's roads and highways, abandoned by people who didn't follow the repeated advice of experts including 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: Many people, they didn't even see the water coming up, though. They didn't know.

BERMAN: Exactly. They were out there and the water was rising so fast. There were simply nothing they can do.

ROMANS: There were river where there were no rivers.

BERMAN: Governor Abbott called it the worst flooding Texas has ever seen. There's now a disaster emergency declared in 40 Texas counties. The National Guard has been deployed to help with the recovery.

In Houston, officials say some areas were badly damaged by the flooding. The mayor there says some areas were unaffected. You have to understand the pattern of what's going on here. To understand it, you have to know that the bayous wind through that low-lying city.

For the latest, let's turn to CNN's Ed Lavandera 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)

ROMANS: Thanks, Ed.

Now, before Houston was hit, there was another epicenter for flood damage, Hays County, between San Antonio and Austin. In the county seat, the city of rushing San Marcos River downed trees and flooded homes with 2 to 4 feet of water. Cruise resorted to using a bulldozer to rescue stranded people.

Look at that, using a bulldozer and all of those people in the bucket. BERMAN: That was Sunday. We're just getting a look at some of these

pictures now.

Elsewhere in Hays County, the threat came from the Blanco River. The record rainfall drove the Banco from its usual depth to 40 feet, 28 feet above its flood stage. Raging water knocked over trees, washed away some 400 homes.

ROMANS: Many of those in the Hays County town of Wimberley. The Blanco River tore through that village, ripping bridges right off their piers, uprooting trees. Just shoving cars off the roadways and wrecking them, and destroying scores of riverside homes by simply lifting them off their supports and carrying them away. Sadly, officials say at least three people were killed in Hays County, 13 people are missing, swept away in those floodwaters.

BERMAN: Among the missing, 11 people who were enjoying the holiday weekend at a family cabin in Wimberley. The skies opened up. The river tore the cabin from its foundation. And it just literally floated down the river. The cabin hit a bridge. That's when one of the victims, Laura McComb, is now missing with her two small children, used her cell phone to call her sister.

[04:35:04] She described her 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)

BERMAN: 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)

ROMANS: Just too much.

Severe storms hit the Oklahoma City as well. There was a confirmed tornado touched down in Custer County. This one in Blaine County. The storm dropping golf ball size hail. So far, no significant damage has been reported.

BERMAN: The region not finished yesterday with the threat of severe storms. We want to get a look at the forecast right now because there are new issues at hand.

Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joins us with that.

Hey, Pedram.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, good morning, guys. Nice seeing you.

You know, any additional rainfall is going to cause problems. And you know the scenes coming in and out of Houston on Tuesday morning when the sun came up, looking something like this. With thousands of cars literally stranded. But, yes, Harris County being the county where Houston is located, and the third most populated county in the United States actually averaged out the rainfall out there the entire county on Tuesday to be about 5.2 inches.

You do the math across Houston metro, that equates to 162 billion gallons of water. That is how much water this storm dropped over the region in 6 to 8 hours. Enough water for fill a sport venue 500 times over.

So, again, puts in perspective of why this particular storm is causing so much damage. And, unfortunately, you check the radar imagery, this is actually a severe warning a few minutes ago, they dropped but I bet we have wind gusts over 50 miles an hour with the storm system. Some hail certainly possible. And you can tell exactly where it's heading the next couple of hours if it stays intact, and that is concerning because it is putting down rainfall at about 3 inches in some spots.

So, if this gets over Houston, additional flooding going to be a real possibility here. You notice the next two days, 1 to 2 inches possible, northern portions from Dallas, towards Oklahoma, we're looking at the possibility of 6 inches of rainfall inside the next four days.

And the river gauge is absolutely astonishing, because nearly 200 of them reporting at or above stage. This is an ongoing event with no improvement in sight. And, again, the forecast looking beyond to next week showing above average conditions for more wet weather across portions of Texas, guys.

ROMANS: Wow.

BERMAN: They don't need it.

Thanks, Pedram.

ROMANS: Happening now: Iraq's army new gains against ISIS as Iraq tries to take back territory from the terrorist. We're live in Baghdad with the very latest this morning, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:42:45] ROMANS: This morning, the White House is standing behind controversial comments by Defense Secretary Ash Carter about the stunning fall of Ramadi. Now, Carter's questioning Iraqis' will to fight, claiming they outnumbered ISIS when the Iraqi military flood Ramadi. Iraqi government officials have strongly rejected the accusation.

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)

ROMANS: Meanwhile, Iraqi forces are launching a sweeping operation to retake Anbar province and other territories that have fallen to ISIS. I want to bring in senior international correspondent Arwa Damon. She's monitoring situations live from Baghdad.

And what do we know about this attempt to retake Anbar? How are they doing?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it seems right now, they're really focused on trying to beef up their presence in a number of key locations around Ramadi, for example, state television saying that currently government troops backed by these Iranian-backed Shia paramilitary forces and the Sunni tribes do have Ramadi surrounded on all sides.

But the battlefield is really a patchwork of very different crisscrossing front lines. And they exist both in Anbar and Salahuddin where these operations is taking place. We went to one of those two provinces. And there, we were there with paramilitary units. They were trying to cut off a key ISIS logistical supply route that it used to ferry its fighters and weapons in between territories that it controlled.

When this particular unit moved in yesterday morning, as this operation commenced, they did not come across any ISIS fighters in terms of straight face-to-face combat. But ISIS had left a number of roadside bombs hidden in the dirt alongside the roads.

[04:45:02] Some of them did explode. And there were at least 11 casualties.

Now, you were mentioning there the comments made by the U.S. secretary of defense about the Iraqis' will to fight. That is really causing some here to bristling saying it's the issue is not with the Iraqi's will to fight but the lack of leadership.

But the commander of this Shia force that we were with, was saying that anyone who is relying on United States as an ally in this fight against ISIS might as well be relying on a shadow. He blamed the U.S., or rather the central Iraqi's government's reliance for the United States for the fall of Ramadi.

It's quite clear at this stage, when you're out with these forces on the ground that there is only one key ally, and that is Iraq's powerful neighbor Iran. Iran is the one that they say is providing them with the advisers on the ground on these front lines. And when he did see that we weren't allowed to speak to Iranian advisers. Iran is providing them quickly with the weaponry that they need.

So, it's a very complicated situation right now. There are these multiple front lines that are emerging but it seems that the strategy at this stage is to block off ISIS logistical supply routes, retake key territory both Salahuddin and Anbar whilst they prepare for the advance into Ramadi -- Christine.

ROMANS: And to do all that, Arwa, without stoking any big sectarian divide at the same time?

DAMON: Exactly. And that's going to be really be key in all of this. Because at the tip of this sphere, you do have this Iranian-backed Shia paramilitary units and, yes, in some areas, the Sunni tribes are involved, but they don't have the weapon that they would need. They've been asking the Iraqi government for these weapons. The Iraqi government has pledged to provide them but it has not done them yet.

And not arming them, not arming the Sunnis sends perhaps a negative message, that they are not to be trusted and that's not something that the government can afford to do at this critical point.

ROMANS: All right, Arwa Damon for us in Baghdad this morning -- thank you, Arwa.

Six arrests made this morning in Switzerland, as the U.S. Justice Department six arrests are made as the U.S. government 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 are in Zurich that could give Sepp Blatter his fifth term as president. He is not among the group being charged but he is being investigated. This is rocking the soccer world.

BERMAN: It's rocking the planet Earth. I mean, soccer is the biggest sport on Earth right now. And FIFA prints money. They make billions of dollars in profit every year, and the accusations is some hundred million of it has gone to line the pockets of some of these FIFA officials. These are big accusations. So, watch this space, to be sure.

Forty-seven minutes after the hour.

The IRS has been hacked. The personal tax information of more than 100,000 Americans apparently has been breached. The agency says it's part of an elaborate scheme of online thieves to steal identities and claim fraudulent tax refunds. In 2013 alone, the IRS paid $5.8 billion in bogus returns to identity thieves. The IRS commissioner suspects the hackers are part of an organized crime syndicate.

ROMANS: Time for an early start on your money this morning.

U.S. stocks barely moving after an ugliest day of the month yesterday. The Dow fell 190 points. Ouch, that's about 1 percent.

Once again, it was related to fears the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates and soon. Why? We're seeing strength in the housing market, strength in the job market. And that could mean the Fed feels confident enough to raise interest rates in the next few months.

So, yes, things are improving but not every company is feeling it. Hewlett-Packard is the biggest job slasher in America. HP has announced 2,100 job cuts.

No surprise the companies with the most layoffs are in energy as oil prices have plunged. Schlumberger, Baker Hughes, Halliburton also of the top five. We've got a great piece on CNN Money this morning about the big job killers -- the biggest job killers in America. Even if the jobless rate is falling, you've got companies who are trimming their failure.

BERMAN: I just like how you say Schlumberger.

ROMANS: Schlumberger.

BERMAN: All right. Forty-nine minutes after the hour.

Tensions rising between China and the United States. A state-run newspaper in Beijing is calling a China/U.S. war inevitable. Really? We're live with that story, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:53:10] BERMAN: China is escalating the rhetoric in its dispute with the United States after American spy plane with a CNN crew aboard flew over disputed waters in the South China Sea. China has now lodged a formal complaint with Washington that vows to expand its military operations. So, how bad will this get with the two nations?

CNN's David McKenzie with the latest this morning from Beijing.

Dave, what's going on here?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, you had that editorial in the tabloid "Global Times", that's a state-backed publications, saying the war between U.S. and China overt disputed South China Sea is inevitable. That's certainly worrying rhetoric as escalating tensions in that area is putting China and the U.S. potentially on a collision course.

Now, it's also the fact that China has announced its new military strategy in the white paper. I have it right there, and it's saying it wants to have a more active military, a more robust military, using active defense, in particular, strengthening its navy in the region -- John.

BERMAN: So, how does this de-escalate? Is there any kind of off-ramp here for China?

MCKENZIE: Well, that's a very good point. It's an off-ramp potentially for China and the U.S. because, you know, the relationship between the two countries is not just about this one issue. There's a huge trade between China and U.S., trade negotiations ongoing. There's cooperation on climate change. So, I don't think either side wants to escalate beyond a certain point.

But because China claims these islands in the South China Sea and says it's a sovereign right to build military and civilian assets on those islands, and because the U.S. really wants to help its allies in the region, including the Philippines and others, you have this status quo which is very dangerous indeed.

[04:55:02] And some kind of accident or issue between the two sides accidentally is the biggest fear because, obviously, neither side wants to intentionally start any kind of conflict -- John.

BERMAN: Both sides making too much money in this relationship, to be blunt about it. But you do worry about some kind of mistake.

David McKenzie, great to have you with us this morning. Thanks so much.

ROMANS: All right. Fifty-five minutes past the hour.

You'll soon be able to get your Pizza Hut fix without artificial ingredients. Why even junk food is going natural now, next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

U.S. stock futures barely budge. But, boy, what a day yesterday, the Dow fell 190 points, the worst day so far this month. The housing market is improving, so is consumer confidence. That's supposed to be good news, right? Sort of. A strengthening economy could mean an interest rate hike is coming soon from the Fed. That was the problem in the stock market.

One crunch wrap, supreme, hold the artificial flavors. Yum Brands is cutting the artificial ingredients. Yum Brands owns Pizza Hut. And all the fake colors and flavors will be gone by the end of July in Pizza Hut. And then, Taco Bell will follow suit by the end of the year.