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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

New York Inmates Practiced Their Escape; Another Black Church Burns: Latest In Series of Fires; Greece Defaults on Loans; Chris Christie Joins GOP Race; U.S., Cuba Reopening Embassies; U.S. Women Advance to World Cup Final. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired July 01, 2015 - 05:00   ET

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


[05:00:00] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: EARLY START continues right now.

(MUSIC)

BERMAN: Stunning new details on how two killers broke out of prison. We are talking about the months of planning. Why their first escaped route wasn't big enough. A new round of prison workers suspended. We have the very latest ahead.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, another black church burns. Flames erupting as the FBI investigates six other recent church fires across the South, investigating those fires for arson.

BERMAN: And Greece defaults on its debt, failing to pay $1.7 billion back. This is something no developed country has ever done or not done as the case may be. What will happen now? Unchartered territory. We just don't know. We are live with the details.

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

ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. It's Wednesday, July 1st. Hello, July! Five a.m. in the East. Nice to see you all this morning.

New this morning, captured prison escapee David Sweat recovering quickly from two gunshot wounds, his condition has been upgraded to fair. He apparently is spilling the beans big-time. Revealing key details about just how security broke down at Clinton correctional facility in upstate, New York. Sweat says he and Richard Matt actually practiced their escape the night before they broke out of prison. He says they reached a manhole but decided it was not isolated enough. So they picked a different manhole on the night of the real escape.

Following this for us with all of the new details, national correspondent Jason Carroll.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, David Sweat's condition has been upgraded to fair and he is telling investigators a lot, filling in many details about the escape, telling investigators that he was the, quote/unquote, "mastermind" of the whole escape plan and that falls in step from what we are hearing from a source who tells me that David Sweat had a reputation at the prison of being somewhat technically minded and the smarter of the two.

He also said they did a dry run the night before and they had been planning this up to six months. They only used those hacksaw blades to cut a hole in the prison wall and through a pipe to lead them to freedom. He also talked about who was involved and who was not involved -- meaning Joyce Mitchell, he says, was involved. She was supposed to be the getaway driver. But Gene Palmer, that prison guard here, the one who smuggled in that piece of frozen hamburger meat -- well, according to David sweat, he says Palmer knew nothing of the escape plan.

Also, someone is coming to his defense. His mother who says her son is not the only one to blame for the breakout.

PAMELA SWEAT, PRISON ESCAPEE'S MOTHER: I still say to this day, is that woman and whoever else was involved and didn't give them that stuff, those guys never would have broke out of jail. So, I kind of -- you know, I blame them, as well as the two guys, David and the other guy.

CARROLL: And, John and Christine, we're also getting new details about Richard Matt and what happened up until his very final moments. Apparently, he found some things on the way when he was out on the loose. He found things like food, pop tarts and M&Ms, but also liquor, some sort of grape-flavored liquor that he apparently was drinking just before he was shot.

He also had a shotgun that he fired several times in a trailer. One of those bullets striking a vehicle that was passing by. And that's what triggered the whole thing.

Also, we are getting a picture coming to us, also a very gruesome picture, some viewers might find it disturbing just a few moments after Richard Matt had been shot. He was wearing boots, he was wearing a green jacket and dark pants. The coroner saying it looked as if he was dressed to be hidden there in the woods. He was a man who lived a very, very violent life and he came to a violent end -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Our thanks to Jason Carroll.

A stunning shake-up in prison leadership. Three top Clinton correctional officials are now on paid leave, along with nine members of the security staff. We are also hearing from the brother of the sheriff's deputy murdered by David Sweat. He is furious at all of the privileges that Sweat had in the prison's honor block.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVEN TARSIA, BROTHER OF DEPUTY WHO SWEAT KILLED: We were told that he would look in cells, the cell the whole time and that is all he would ever do is look at a cell, look at walls, come out for half an hour a day, you know, and put in a cage like a dog, which he is. He was able to use computer and talk to his friends, relatives, and have people come and see him, and that really ate us up on that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Yes, that honor block is now shut down.

The lawyer for prison tailor Joyce Mitchell says she is ecstatic the manhunt is over and that, quote, "no harm came to any other person." Mitchell is ecstatic but she is still sitting in jail charged with helping Matt and Sweat escape.

Attorney Steve Johnston tells CNN she believes her prayers were answered.

And there is more good news for Mitchell. The lawyer for her husband says that Lyle Mitchell plans to stick by his wife.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[05:05:00] PETER DUMAS, ATTORNEY FOR LYLE MITCHELL (via telephone): He is still in love with her, to put it bluntly. And I think he plans on waiting for her. We have spoken about the fact that he may -- he may still be an employee of the Department of Corrections and community services here in New York, and what that would mean if his wife was in prison at that point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Wow. What a situation. According to investigators, Mitchell planned to pick up Sweat and Matt and help them get to Mexico. First, go to West Virginia and then go to Mexico, lost her nerve at the last minute. The plan she may have killed her husband at some point. It's really, really --

BERMAN: There's FBI investigators who say that they probably would have killed her husband, they probably would have killed her right away and then taken the car and run. So, a lot of intrigue there.

Breaking overnight: federal agents investigating a fire at an African- American church in Greeleyville, South Carolina. As many as 50 firefighters worked to put out that plays at Mt. Zion AME Church.

So far, officials do not know what started this fire. Twenty years ago, the same church burned down in a spate of 20 arsons blamed on the Klan. This fire -- the new fire is the latest of a series of blazes at African-American churches and other churches across the South and this is raising a lot of concern. The fires at churches in Florida, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, all of those fires have happened since the shooting rampage at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston on June 17th.

ROMANS: All of them under investigation this morning. All right. Donald Trump defiant, defiant in the face of widespread

criticism over his remarks about Mexican immigrants during his campaign kickoff announcement two weeks ago. Now, the billionaire rising in polls, telling supporters he stands by his words. You will recall, even a couple of weeks ago, he said that Mexican immigrants were rapists, some may be good people but they are criminals coming across the border.

Trump is also firing back at the network he claims is now in breach of his contract with him. The co-host of the American Miss USA telecast, "Dancing with the Stars" professional dancer Cheryl Burke and MSNBC news anchor Thomas Roberts, they announced that they are withdrawing. They will not be the hosts of that event.

We get more from CNN's Athena Jones.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Christine.

The Donald Trump/Univision/NBC Universal feud is heating up. Trump filed a $500 million lawsuit against Univision on Tuesday for breach of contract. This is after the company cancelled those plans to air the Miss USA pageant, which Trump partly owns. And he hasn't ruled suing NBC for doing the same thing.

And the billionaire businessman is standing by those inflammatory remarks he made about Mexican immigrants that sparked this whole controversy two weeks ago.

Take a listen to what he told a crowd of supporters in New Hampshire last night.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And I understand everybody loves what I'm doing in terms of the border because we have to stop the illegals from coming in.

JONES: And Trump is also trying to turn the tables on NBC and Univision.

He's blasting them for abandoning the Miss USA contestants. Take a listen.

TRUMP: What NBC and Univision did to these young women was disgraceful. They ever had them in mind.

JONES: The defiant Trump isn't backing down. And if the last several days are any indication, this is surely not the last we're going to hear from him on this front -- John, Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: And he is rising in the polls. All right. Athena, thank you for that.

This morning, Greece is the first developed country to default on a loan from the IMF, the International Monetary Fund. Greece did not make its $1.7 billion payment, a payment due yesterday. It is now cut off from important IMF resources from its life line until a payment is made.

Now, leaders made a desperate last-minute attempt to buy more time with a new bailout, it was rejected. Now, Greek's future in the Eurozone is uncertain. Citizens will vote on Sunday and a no vote to the most recent bailout offer from Europe could mean saying no to Europe and no to the euro.

No country has left the eurozone before and causing a lot of uncertainty for the world markets. The European shares are bouncing back from this week's losses after that missed payment. U.S. stock futures are up too but remember on Monday, they fell 350 points, a lot of ground to recover.

Greek officials expected to make yet another bailout request today, but European leaders say now that Greece has become the first developed nation ever to go into default, terms of a new bailout would be tougher, not easier.

That's just what has the White House worried. President Obama concerned about Greece leaving the euro, calling European leaders, pushing them to soften the terms of a deal and find a path toward a resolution.

Joining us now with the latest on this growing crisis, CNN's Isa Soares live in Athens.

And around the world, people just very concerned about what could happen here for Greece. And, you know, Greece has now defaulted on its obligations. Once that happens, ISA, once that happens, it makes it very difficult to enter new agreements because they have not been able to keep up with their end of the bargain.

ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, absolutely. I think they are saying they are returning to the table, Christine. They say we want to talk, but already, relationships have already been damaged somewhat in Europe.

[05:10:00] And I think that's why I think we are hearing from a lot of European ministers this morning, including German chancellor who in the last 24 hours or so, according to reports we are seeing, that she should want the referendum to go ahead on Sunday and perhaps if the yes vote wins, their hope is that Alexis Tsipras may step down. When he spoke two days ago to the nation, he said the yes vote won, he would step down.

So, Europe is perhaps thinking if that goes that way, then they can do a better job with the new government, because given the fact they have been, you know, been talking six months on end and they haven't reached any sort of solution, that may make matters worse. So, in the eyes of Europe, on the IMF, this current government has made everyone's life harder, not just in Europe but also, more importantly, their own people, Christine. ROMANS: Level of impatience on both sides is just unbelievable, and

the ramifications around the world if you start to see the euro crumble, the eurozone crumble, it's really difficult to even map out.

Isa Soares, thank you. Keep us posted.

BERMAN: A new milestone in improving relations between the United States and Cuba. The two countries set to make simultaneous announcements today and reopening embassies in Havana and Washington, also exchanging ambassadors and biggest step in developing full diplomatic relations. This is the first time in more than five decades.

Let's get the very latest from CNN's Jim Acosta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, this has been in the works for months but now, the reality of ending decades of Cold War tensions with Cuba is fast approaching. Senior administration official say both the U.S. and Cuba will announce later on this morning that they have reached an agreement to reestablish diplomatic relations and reopen embassies in Havana and Washington.

For now, both governments have only had small intersection official but now those offices will become full-blown embassies. The president and Secretary of State John Kerry will have more to say on this later on in the morning. And State Department spokesman John Kirby told CNN Kerry may travel to Havana for the opening of that embassy.

Here's what he had to say.

JOHN KIRBY, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: Clearly, that's something we are entertaining right now, but I don't have anything to talk to in terms of his travel right now. What we're focused on less the travel schedule and more the effort here and achieving the president's objective of restoring diplomatic negotiations with Cuba. What that looks like, how that is processed, how we do that over time.

ACOSTA: And the White House has not ruled out a presidential trip to Cuba before President Obama wraps up his time in office -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Our thanks to Jim for that.

We have new developments in the race for president. Thousands of e- mails for Hillary Clinton released overnight. We've been poring through them. We will tell you what they have to say.

That coming as there is a new candidate in the race for president. What is Chris Christie's plan for a reemergence? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [05:15:56] ROMANS: Breaking overnight. A new batch of e-mails from Hillary Clinton's private e-mail address. It's the only e-mail address Clinton had when she was secretary of state. That's a violation of government rules. Among almost 2,000 e-mails in this batch, exchanges with President Obama's top aides, including David Axelrod. Axelrod has previously said he was unaware Mrs. Clinton was using a private e-mail address.

The e-mails released last night amount to 3,000 pages worth. It's a tiny fraction of the 55,000 pages she has turned over for processing.

BERMAN: There is a new candidate in the Republican field. Chris Christie is number 14 to get in. But he says that his experience makes him unique. He says he and only he has what it takes to take on the tough issues.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I wake up every morning knowing that I have an opportunity to do something great. I don't do something great every day. I'm human. But every morning, I wake up with an opportunity to do something great. That's why this job is a great job and that is why president of the United States is an even greater job for a greater number of people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: You know, Chris Christie's approval rating in New Jersey is only 30 percent, 55 percent disapprove. He's spending a lot more time in New Hampshire and then New Jersey. Now, the Granite State is probably more important to him than New Jersey.

ROMANS: Yes.

Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush, he is worth as much as $22 million. The former Florida governor releasing 33 years of tax returns Tuesday. That's the most ever revealed by a presidential candidate. His net worth estimated between $19 million and $22 million. His bank account exploded after he left the governor's office and earned big bucks on speeches, consulting, and sitting on corporate boards.

You point out that this stops at 2014 --

BERMAN: This doesn't include 2014. They say they will release that in October. 2014 could be very interesting because that's when he's sort of disentangled from the boards or whatnot he was on. So, it would be interesting to see.

All right. We have new fallout this morning concerning Ferguson, Missouri. Draft report from the Justice Department criticizes Ferguson police for their response to the unrest in the city after Michael Brown's death last summer.

The reports cite a number of missteps by police there. Ferguson police, St. Louis City, the county and state highway patrol all named in the report. They have been cited for poor tactics, including the use of tear gas, snipers, and military equipment. The report says it aggravated tensions during the protests. The full report is due to be released in the coming weeks.

ROMANS: And this is something reporters on the ground had talked about and reported on at the time, and there were a lot of people in the crowds who are saying, noting that along the lines. Interesting to see that report verifying all that.

Now, the Oklahoma Supreme Court has ruled that Ten Commandments monument on the state capital grounds, is a religious symbol, it must be removed. The decision overturns the district court judge who determined the monument could say. The Oklahoma attorney general says the monument is historical. But the court disagreed saying it was, quote, "obviously, religious in nature" and has led some state lawmakers to call for impeachment of the justices who voted against the monument.

BERMAN: All right. Team USA, they are going to the ship! The American women, they beat number one seed Germany! Carli Lloyd, she knows how to bury a penalty kick. They are going to the World Cup Finals.

Andy Scholes with the heroic victory in the bleacher report, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:22:55] BERMAN: They are going back to the finals where they belong. The U.S. world cup team, they beat the number one seed in the world, Germany, in the semifinals.

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

Hey, Andy.

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

Yes, what a win is right. Team USA knew all along they would likely have to get past the top ranked Germans if they wanted to win it all. Last night in semifinal game, well, it lived up to the billing. The game remained scoreless into the second half.

Germany had a golden opportunity to take the lead on a penalty in the 60th minute but their shot would be wide left. Moments later, Alex Morgan gets taken down in the box, giving the U.S. a penalty of their own and Carli Lloyd who has been awesome in the past few games has been brilliant drilled it home to give the U.S. the lead. Lloyd would then find Kelley O'Hara in the 84th minute to put this game away, as Team USA pulls off the offset, beating Germany 2-0 to advance to the World Cup Final.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JILL ELLIS, COACH, USA: We knew we had this in us. You know, this team had a lot of confidence and, you know, we have done a really good job of blocking out you guys and distractions and, you know, I think just focus on what we need to do and you know, we had every belief we could win this game.

CARLI LLOYD, MIDFIELDER, USA: It's just been a collective team performance but we didn't come here just to make the final. We came here to win it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Team USA now awaits the winner from tonight's match between England and Japan. The final will be Sunday night at 7:00 Eastern.

All right. The NBA free agency period is now up and running. No decisions yet from the big fish on the market, LaMarcus Aldridge and Marc Gasol.

But Anthony Davis has a huge new contract! The Pelican's big man re- signing with the team five years and $145 million. That will make him the richest player in the NBA when his deal kicks in during the 2016 season.

All right. NASCAR is implementing a voluntary flag exchange this weekend at Daytona International Speedway. Fans are not banned from flying the Confederate flag at the raceway.

[05:25:00] But NASCAR is encouraging to trade them in, in exchange for a United States flag. NASCAR already banned the Confederate flag from any official areas of its tracks. They say they are currently working on a plan on how to completely eliminate them from the infield.

Guys, back to the women's World Cup, you know, United States four years ago played Japan in the final and lost that game in a heartbreaking penalty kick 3-1. So, you know if they could choose which team they want to face on Sunday, I bet they want a rematch against Japan.

BERMAN: Yes, and they're not taking anything lightly. I think as soon as that game was over last night, they realized they have one more to go. It was the best game I have ever seen. It really was. It was absolutely thrilling.

ROMANS: This guy has been on cloud nine.

BERMAN: It was so good!

ROMANS: So excited.

BERMAN: They were so good.

SCHOLES: Yes, they definitely saved their best game against Germany last night. The people criticizing them all tournament long how the offense just wasn't clicking. They had a lot of opportunities last night. Alex Morgan missed like three in the first half and luckily she got taken down in the box right there and got Carli Lloyd a penalty kick and got the team going, and what a clutch performance by the team. BERMAN: Or maybe outside of the box, some of the calls were

controversial but we will take them when they go our way!

Andy Scholes, thanks so much.

SCHOLES: All right.

ROMANS: Thanks, Andy.

BERMAN: All right. We have new details this morning on how two killers broke out of prison. As some of the prison employees, a really surprising number, taken off the job. New developments right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: A captured killer tells all. Revealing new details of his prison break, the months of planning, and why the first escape route wasn't good enough.

A new historic black church burning in South Carolina overnight.