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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Second Prison Worker Arrested in Prison Escape; Source: DOJ Likely to Pursue Hate Crime Charges in Charleston Massacre; New U.S. Hostage Policy; Boston Bomber Apologizes to Victims; 50 Million Facing Severe Weather Today. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired June 25, 2015 - 05:30   ET

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


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JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, a second prison worker arrested in a plot that freed two dangerous killers. What he told his attorney that his biggest mistake was.

[05:30:03] New charges could soon be coming for the Charleston church shooter as the first of his victims is laid to rest today.

And the Boston Marathon bomber breaks his silence. He apologizes for his crimes. We will tell you what his victims had to say. That's ahead.

Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman. 30 minutes past the hour. Christine Romans is off today.

And we do have breaking news this morning. A New York state prison guard has posted bail. He is out of jail. This happened overnight following his arrest in connection with the shocking escape of two convicted killers nearly three weeks ago. 57-year-old Gene Palmer -- this is video of him, the perp walk overnight -- he is expected to plead not guilty at a hearing today. Investigators tell CNN that Palmer gave the inmates tools to fix circuit breakers in the catwalk behind their cells. Now Palmer told detectives he supervised the work and later reclaimed the tools, but this is the same catwalk that Richard Matt and David Sweat used in their escape.

For the latest, let's turn to national correspondent Jason Carroll in Plattsburgh, New York.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, that prison guard was arraigned Wednesday night. He's now in custody, facing several serious charges, including promoting dangerous contraband, destroying evidence, and official misconduct. I'm told that these are low-level felonies and at one point, he could have faced an even more serious charge of aiding and abetting.

But because he was cooperating with investigators, I'm told the district attorney chose not to pursue that particular charge. But still, serious charges nonetheless for his alleged involvement in all this. His attorney tells me that his client did admit to passing on that frozen chunk of hamburger meat to Richard Matt inside, that frozen chunk of meat there were those hacksaw blades but there by Joyce Mitchell. Joyce Mitchell, also the prison employee who convinced Gene Palmer to pass on that chunk of frozen meat.

Once again, he was arraigned on those charges Wednesday night. His attorney tells me he will be entering pleas of not guilty.

ANDREW BROCKWAY, GENE PALMER'S ATTORNEY: I believe that he was conned by Joyce Mitchell. She duped him. And looking back on that, he can't believe that someone would take advantage of him. He knows he made a mistake and that he shouldn't have done what he did but I think at the end of the day, he's a man of integrity. He has taken a polygraph test. He passed the polygraph test.

The district attorney has stated that he does not believe that Mr. Palmer aided and abetted the escape of Mr. Sweat and Mr. Matt. And that's what the story should be here.

CARROLL: And Palmer's attorney also wanted to make is he clear that his client says he did not know what was inside that slab of meat and had no knowledge at all about any escape plan -- John.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Our thanks to Jason for that.

There is new information this morning in the Charleston church shooting case. Overnight, law enforcement sources told CNN that the Justice Department is likely to pursue hate crime charges against the gunman. That is in addition to nine state murder charges. Also last night, bible study began once again at Emanuel AME, just one week after the killing there. The interim pastor Norvel Goff discussed Jesus saying that, quote, "Because he lives, we can face tomorrow."

CNN's Martin Savidge has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Morning, John. It was last Sunday when members of Mother Emanuel Church reclaimed their church, the sanctuary. But it was last night, in a very courageous move, that members of a bible study group actually reclaimed the space where this horrible massacre occurred one week ago. And the public was allowed to join them.

There were 150 of us that went inside and I sat in the back of the room. I didn't lose anybody, and just walking into that space, it was incredibly powerful because it just seemed to still reverberate with that sense of tragedy.

But that said, you can see people who were embracing one another before the study began, and it was that long kind of embrace, that hold on to me and let's hold it together kind of embrace. But then the reverend, Reverend Goff, began and he said, look, we're starting again our service here, our bible study, and we will never be the same, but we will continue on.

And from that he launched into a whole night of sort of talking about the power of love and also about the gift of forgiveness. And in some of the key lines that he brought out were this one. He said last Wednesday dark powers came over Mother Emanuel and God, in his infinite wisdom, said that's all right, I got the nine. That's of course a reference to the Emanuel nine as they're now referred to.

There were times of laughter; there were of course times of soulful prayer. There were victims' family members who were there, and there were reminders. There were places you could see cutouts, where bullet holes obviously had been.

[05:35:00] But he finished really by saying, and spreading his arms to the room, and saying this territory belongs to God. In other words, reclaiming this terrible scene, taking it away from terror and giving it back to the people of the church. John.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Very moving. Martin Savidge, thanks so much.

Breaking overnight, five former key advisors to President Obama on Iran said they are concerned that the pending nuclear deal may fall short of the administration's own standard of a good agreement. The advisers, among them former CIA director David Petraeus, have written an open letter that expresses concerns about concessions that the White House may make on the way to a deal. A senior administration official tells "The New York Times" that the concerns written in the letter, quote, "in large part track with the American negotiating position."

President Obama is telling the French president Francois Hollande that the U.S. will abide by commitments not to eavesdrop on French leaders. This comes after reports that the U.S. spied on Hollande and two of his predecessors. Secretary of State John Kerry denies any ongoing surveillance and says it will not happen again, which of course doesn't address what happened in the past.

Unusual drama on Capitol Hill as a House committee grilled the director of the Office of Personnel Management over the worst ever breach of U.S. government data. Katherine Archuleta will face new questions today from a Senate committee. Archuleta disputes CNN's reporting that 18 million current, former, and perspective government workers may have been affected. She says those numbers are preliminary, unverified, and approximate. She stands by the original estimate of 4.2 million people, which is still a lot.

New this morning, we are learning how many Americans are currently being held hostage overseas. An adviser to the president says about 30 Americans are being held captive now, most by drug cartels, but many by terror organizations. The White House has rolled out a new policy that protects families of hostages from prosecution if they independently decide to pay ransom to terrorists.

U.S. policy is to never pay ransom, a policy one former hostage tells CNN is not working.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Many of the families told us that they, at times, felt like an afterthought or a distraction. That too often, the law enforcement or military and intelligence officials they were interacting with were begrudging and giving them information. And that ends today. I'm making it clear that these families are to be treated like what they are, our trusted partners and active partners in the recovery of their loved ones.

DAVID ROHDE, FORMER TALIBAN HOSTAGE: I don't know of any studies that show that American and British citizens, because their governments don't pay, are somehow being kidnapped less because of those government policies. When I was in captivity, my Taliban captors, they simply thought the U.S. government secretly did pay ransoms. That's false but they really believed it.

So, captors aren't hearing the message or believing it. And you know, even if they think, you know, they're not going to get money for an American or British captive, they still can use them for publicity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: The families of several American hostages killed in the last year call the changes a step in the right direction.

A pretty big victory for President Obama after the Senate approved fast track trade authority. The vote sets up a chance at a legacy- making deal for the president, joining the markets of a dozen Pacific Rim nations accounting for 40 percent of the global economy. Now, if a deal is reached with other nations, Congress would still have to approve it in an up or down vote. They would not have a chance to make any amendments. And approval is uncertain, to say the least.

The IRS is under renewed scrutiny this morning. The House Oversight Committee will hear testimony from officials investigating former IRS director Lois Lerner and her e-mails, up to 24,000 of them missing because agency employees erased the backup tapes. Congress requested Lerner's e-mails following allegations that the IRS targeted Tea Party groups applying for non-profit status. Agency officials told lawmakers last June that an unknown number of e-mails had been lost when Lerner's computer crashed in 2011.

It is time now for an EARLY START on Your Money. Alisyn Kosik here with that. Good morning.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you. I'm seeing some red arrows for European stocks. Asian stocks closing mostly lower, but some green arrows for futures here in the U.S. after a rough day yesterday. Stocks tumbled after Greece's debt talks ended without a deal on the table. The Dow fell 178 points or 1 percent. The Nasdaq, the S&P 500 also falling about 1 percent.

Listen to this, the investigation into the Takata airbag recall isn't going well. That's the stunning revelation from the company's own CEO. He said it during a news conference -- during actually a conference call yesterday. He said investigators haven't figured out why the airbags are exploding and he didn't know when the investigation will end. The exploding airbag problem has been linked to at least 8 deaths, and 1 in 7 cars in the U.S. have been recalled.

[05:40:03] Now, about that press conference, the CEO hasn't made a public appearance since June of last year, but today he's going to hold the news conference, the first since that recall began. We'll see if he inspires any more confidence.

BERMAN: Yes, we'll see. Has not been incredibly forthcoming to date. Thanks, Alison.

The Boston Marathon bomber now says I'm sorry. Dramatic moment -- he apologized before being sentenced to death. But we'll tell you what his victims now have to say. That's right after the break.

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BERMAN: Dramatic moments inside a Boston courtroom. The Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, he never said a word during the trial. But just before the judge formally sentenced him to death, Tsarnaev stood up and spoke, apologizing to the families of the victims and survivors. They also had their say. CNN's Deborah Feyerick has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, it was a very powerful day at the sentencing of marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, as about two dozen survivors and relatives of those who died gave victim impact statements.

One amputee, Heather Abbott, who said, "He did not break me. The memory of those killed will be kept alive by those who survived his terror."

The family of 8-year-old Martin Richard basically condemning what he had done, saying, "He chose to accompany his brother. He chose hate. He chose destruction. He chose death. We choose love. We choose peace."

[05:45:00] Among those defiant was amputee Rebecca Gregory. She essentially said, "We are Boston strong. We are America strong. By choosing to mess with us was a terrible mistake. How's that for a victim impact statement?"

Now, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev did offer an apology to the victim's families saying he was sorry for the lives he had taken, the suffering he caused and the damage he had done. He also did confess saying, "The bombing, which I'm guilty of, if there's any lingering doubt, I did do it along with my brother."

But for several family members and for officials here, it was too little too late. The U.S. attorney Carmen Ortiz saying, what Dzhokhar Tsarnaev did not say was he did not renounce terror and he did not renounce violent extremism -- John.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Let's take a look at what's coming up on "NEW DAY". Michaela Pereira joins us now.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": Good morning, John. How are you, my dear?

BERMAN: Hanging in there. All alone today.

PEREIRA: This is how we only ever get to talk now, which is really quite sad. We have to do something about that.

Look, we have a busy show coming up today. We're following the growing calls to remove the Confederate flag. Alisyn is in South Carolina once again this morning where the debate began after that horrifying massacre at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston. We are going to speak with two former South Carolina governors, from both sides of the aisle, who both want that flag removed from the state house grounds. And we're going to speak with a state lawmaker whose great- grandfather was a Confederate soldier about why he believes the flag needs to come down. All of this is happening of course as the state senator and pastor of Mother Emanuel Church lies in state. We're going to speak with his cousin, a cousin of Reverend Clementa Pinckney, about the victims, their legacy, and so much more.

BERMAN: It will be a moving few days in South Carolina, to say the least. Thanks, Michaela.

Severe storms creating so many problems across the country. It's not over yet. We have an important forecast for you, right after the break.

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[05:50:34] BERMAN: Severe storms across the country with damaging hail, heavy rain that's caused street flooding, and high winds toppling tress, and more of it is lined up for today. In Denver, look at this. Flash flooding making the streets look like some kind of water park. That is insane. Cars going every which way as drivers try to maneuver through, which they probably shouldn't be doing at all.

Tree limbs breaking in the midst of the powerful rain and hail that hit Denver and the surrounding communities. Look at that. In some neighborhoods, the water was so intense from the flash flooding, it was waist high and made getting around very, very hard.

This is Georgia. People this morning making up to pretty bad destruction there. Severe storms toppling trees, destroying mobile homes at the Whistling Pines park in Tyrone. Residents are having a hard time coping with the sudden devastation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You come home and everything is gone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of the stuff is lost, but we're alive. I'm so glad my daughter is alive. It scared me. Because I really thought we were going to die.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Let's get more on the severe weather. Let's get straight to meteorologist Derek Van Dam. Derek.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good Thursday, John. We have a series of low pressure systems moving from west to east. This is across the Plains States to the Mid-Atlantic. This is going to spawn off the possibility of severe weather once again. Starting to sound a bit like a broken record if you ask me.

We have roughly 50 million Americans under the threat of severe weather today, mainly damaging winds and large hail are the main concerns. It does include Denver, Kansas City, St. Louis, Indianapolis, as well as the nation's capital. You can see that enhanced risk of severe weather with that shading of yellow.

Here's the storm complex moving across the Ohio River Valley. Eventually, late in the day, across Washington and Philadelphia. We start to get that daytime heating from the sun and we start to see the thunderstorms start to develop.

The Western half of the U.S. starts to warm up, including the Pacific Northwest, roughly 15 degrees above average heading into the weekend. But we get a break from the extreme heat over the eastern half of the U.S. Look at New York City's forecast. Still one more day in the 80s today, but cooling off into the low 70s by the weekend with even chances of rain and more of the same for Washington, D.C. Back to you.

BERMAN: All right, Derek, thanks so much.

So it is the hottest ticket in New York right now and it's not for a Broadway show or a sporting event or even EARLY START: The Musical. We have an EARLY START on Your Money, next.

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[05:56:52] BERMAN: Time now for an EARLY START on Your Money. Alison Kosik is here with that. Good morning.

KOSIK: Good morning, we are seeing red arrows for European stocks. Asian markets closed mostly lower. But here in the U.S., stock futures are higher after a pretty rough day yesterday because the Dow fell 178 points. The Nasdaq, the S&P 500, also fell almost 1 percent. And, oh yes, the Greek drama continuing. The clock is ticking on a deadline to reach a debt deal with international creditors. That deadline is next Tuesday. And if there's no agreement, a Greek exit of the European Union is likely. Talks will be continuing later today. We are a wasteful bunch. Americans are throwing away $640 a year in

food. That's according to a new study by the American Chemistry Council. Food waste is a major pollution problem, but only 15 percent of people said they're concerned about its environmental impact. It's actually the biggest item in landfills where it sits and releases that yummy-smelling methane gas, a powerful greenhouse gas.

BERMAN: Nothing better.

KOSIK: You know what day it is? It's draft day for the NBA. But if you want a chance to be part of the action, it's going to cost you. Tickets on the floor are going for $223 while the average price is $92. The top price that someone paid for a -- people are paying for tickets at this point is $350. All this to watch NBA Commissioner Adam Silver just kind of tick off a list of names.

BERMAN: It's not that. It's not that. It's to see the trades, it's about hope, it's about the future.

KOSIK: Oh, I know. Hope and future. Give me a break.

BERMAN: It's about all of us, really. You're our number one draft pick, Alison Kosik. Thanks so much.

KOSIK: Awesome.

BERMAN: All right, a couple minutes before the hour right now. A second prison worker arrested in a plot that freed two dangerous killers. We have new details on "NEW DAY" starting right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Clinton Corrections officer Gene Palmer is now the focus of a lot of key questions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Facing several serious charges including promoting dangerous contraband.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Palmer did not know what was inside the package.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Destroying evidence and official misconduct.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The only mistake he made was trusting Joyce Mitchell.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Boston bomber speaks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He said I'm sorry for the lives I have taken, the suffering I have caused, and the damage I have done.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I regret having ever wanted to hear him speak, because what he said showed no remorse.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Confederate flags coming down in more states.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The future of the flag overshadows the mourning in South Carolina.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It Is my hope that, as South Carolina senators, that we will stand up for what is best and good about our state.

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota, and Michaela Pereira.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to "NEW DAY", Thursday, June 25th, 6:00 in the East. As you can see, Alisyn in Columbia, South Carolina, because the demand only growing to remove the Confederate flag in South Carolina.

But first, we have another prison worker facing charges in the New York prison escape. Gene Palmer due back in court today accused of loaning the escaped killers tools behind bars and tampering with evidence.

Let's begin our coverage with CNN's Boris Sanchez live in Owls Head, New York. Now, Boris, you are where they believe that these convicts were hiding in a cabin, and now they say they may have found something in the cabin that's much more dangerous than food.

[06:00:06] BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDNET: Chris, the only thing officials have confirmed was in that cabin was a pair of boots that the inmates apparently left behind.