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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Search for Teens Lost At Sea Races Clock; New York Prison Break: Mitchell Tells All; Donald Trump on the Defensive; NFL Upholds Tom Brady's Deflategate Ban. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired July 29, 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] ALISON KOSIK, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: If they are applying to George Washington University, the college just became the largest and most prestigious to make standardized test scores optional! Oh, my God, I can't believe it! Instead students can lean on their high school record and GPA. This is part of a growing trend with 40 schools adopting these test optional policies.
I wish it was around during my day. You know, I did really well in school but I couldn't take those tests.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: It would be interesting to see out optional is really it. People might still send them in.
KOSIK: Good point.
BERMAN: Alison, thanks so much.
EARLY START continues right now.
(MUSIC)
Happening now: the search intensified for two teens missing at sea for days. We'll tell you the new area being searched and why the boys' families are holding out hope this morning.
Confessions of a prison seamstress. Joyce Mitchell details her relationship -- intimate relationship with two dangerous killers and shares exactly how she helped them escape.
Donald Trump on the record on CNN about an aide's controversial comments about rape. That's coming up.
Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm John Berman. It's Wednesday, July 29th, 5:00 a.m. in the East. Christine Romans is off today.
Happening now, the search for two Florida 14-year-olds missing at sea is entering its sixth day. The Coast Guard has expanded the search area. It is now 41,000 square miles. That's about the size of Ohio. The boys' boat was found capsized Sunday, and there is now serious concern that Perry Cohen and Austin Stephanos can survive in the water for only so long. Still, Cohen's mother tells CNN she is convinced they are still alive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAMELA COHEN, MOTHER OF TEEN MISSING AT SEA (via telephone): We know our boys. We know the determination and the courage that they have. We know the skills that they have. We know how athletically fit and able they are. Both of our boys learned how to swim before they learned how to walk. And so, we just feel very, very confident that they will be able to stick through this. They know that we're coming for them and we will get them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Let's get the latest from CNN's Martin Savidge who is in Florida.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.
The Coast Guard has just completed its fifth night of searching for these two missing Florida teens and the search area goes all the way up to the coast of South Carolina. The question now becomes how long is this search going to actually continue on? The Coast Guard admits they are at that point of discussing about possibly bringing it to a close. They haven't admitted it yet, but they are talking about it, maybe what they have always said is that a person could last four to five days in the water given the conditions and we are at that point.
The thing is the Coast Guard doesn't know when the boys ended up in the water. Their boat was found Sunday. That is why the definitive lie is a little bit fuzzy here, but they admit that the time is running out.
Meanwhile, the family is trying to, as best they can, to prepare for that moment. In fact, they have a Go Fund Me account that has raised over a $100,000 which will be used to fund their own private search. It's one thing to be ready to carry on the search. It's another thing to be ready to carry that emotional burden when an official comes to you and says, there is no more hope -- John.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: Martin Savidge for us.
New details this morning in the New York state prison breakout. The woman who represented Richard Matt and David Sweat escape plead guilty to charges that could bring her up to seven years in prison. Fifty- one-year-old prison Joyce Mitchell accepted a plea deal that lets avoid the most serious potential charge. That would be involvement in a conspiracy to kill her husband.
Joyce Mitchell's lawyer denies she was involved in such a plot to kill Lyle Mitchell and Lyle Mitchell is standing by his wife and throwing some harsh words at the media. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Are you standing by her?
LYLE MITCHELL, HUSBAND OF JOYCE MITCHELL: One hundred percent.
REPORTER: Why?
MITCHELL: Because I love her.
And you guys are printing lies.
REPORTER: What kind of lies?
MITCHELL: I have nothing to say to you.
REPORTER: What kind of lies do you think we printed? Do you think the plea was a good idea?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: CNN's Alexander Field has the very latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, Joyce Mitchell was tearful in the courtroom as she accepted responsibility for her role in the escape pleading guilty to two different counts. At the same time, we are learning new details from her confession to police. She has admitted to putting hacksaw blades into the hamburger meat which was passed to the inmates but days after the escape she told investigators she was aware the two men were plotting to break out for three or four weeks before they managed to pull off that escape.
She also went into graphic detail about her relationships with both of the men, saying that she would write sexual letters to David Sweat and take naked pictures of herself. She says there was no sexual contact with Sweat but that Matt, one day, kissed her, taking her by surprise and other sexual encounters followed. She says Matt was the one who plotted to kill her husband Lyle.
She was asked to drive the get away car after the men broke out of the prison and she was told by them to bring a hatchet, a shotgun, and other provisions. Apparently, the two minute mates told Joyce they would all drive six to seven hours into the woods somewhere and hunker down for a week and then Richard Matt would split off and Joyce Mitch and David Sweat would be left together.
[05:05:05] But Mitchell told police she couldn't follow through with the plan ultimately because she loved her husband too much.
Lyle Mitchell was in the courtroom as Joyce accepted that plea deal. This plea deal protects her from having the district attorney pursue additional charges against her based on those sexual allegations and also the conspiracy to murder her husband. Joyce will be formally sentenced in September -- John. (END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: Alexander Field, thanks so much.
Donald Trump is standing by his man, even while creating some distance between himself and one of his special counsel, Michael Cohen. Cohen triggered an uproar when he told a "Daily Beast" reporter, "You cannot rape your spouse," which is simply untrue. Cohen was fielding a question about a rape claim lunged against Trump by his ex-wife Ivana in 1990s when the couple was divorcing.
Cohen has since apologized for the remark and Trump tells CNN's Don Lemon, the matter is closed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Do you stand by -- still stand by Michael Cohen?
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (via telephone): No. You have to understand, Michael was extremely angry because he knew it never took place. He knew this web site was a joke, considered a joke.
And he was angry and maybe he didn't understand the question. But, no, I don't, I disagreed with him. In fact, when I read it, I disagreed. I didn't know that he said, or who knows what he said because, frankly, I'm not sure they reported accurately, anyway. But assuming he said it, no, I disagree with that.
LEMON: But you still, I mean, you're not going to fire him or get rid of him?
TRUMP: No, I'm not. He was very angry because they issued a false story to get publicity for themselves and to try and make themselves relevant, which they are not. People have been fired all over the place from that one, and others are failing, as you know, in that world. A lot of them are failing but this one is a particularly bad one. A lot of money was spent on it and it's been a disaster.
And he knew that and he said to them, you know, you're doing the wrong thing. You do this, you're doing the wrong thing. So, what happened is he probably got angry.
No, I disagree with him. When I first saw it, I said, wow, you know, it's something I disagree with, but that's the way it is. You know, he is speaking for himself. He is not speaking for me, obviously.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Cohen says his comments were inarticulate and admits the reporter's question sent him into a tailspin.
A tight political space for Hillary Clinton this morning. She is refusing to take a position on the Keystone oil pipeline. The Democratic front-runner has never publicly stated with whether she favors opposes construction of the 1,200 mile pipeline stretching from Canada to the Gulf.
She avoided the question again when a voter in New Hampshire asked her about it. And later, she explained why.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I was the secretary of state who started that process. I was the one who put into place the investigation. I have now passed it off as obvious because I'm no longer there to Secretary Kerry. This is President Obama's decision and I am not going to second-guess him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Democratic rival Bernie Sanders told reporters it is hard to understand how Clinton can be so concerned about climate change but not oppose the Keystone pipeline. Bernie Sanders is against it.
Secretary of state John Kerry and other top administration officials will be back on chill for a hearing this morning trying to convince lawmakers to support the nuclear deal with Iran. On Tuesday, Kerry warned a house committee that if the U.S. walks away from the agreement, it will accelerate Iran's path to a nuclear weapon.
The White House has won over a key Democrat, at least one, Michigan Sander Levin the longest Jewish member of Congress and staunch reporter of Israeli announced he supports the deal.
This morning, an emergency NATO meeting called by Turkey has ended with a broad statement against terrorism. Turkey sought the meeting saying it faces increasing security threats along its border from ISIS but also other groups.
Senior international correspondent Arwa Damon joins us now live from Istanbul. Turkey getting involved in this battle at any level, Arwa, is a big deal.
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is. I mean, look, it's not necessarily a game-changer when it comes to the broader war against ISIS. But it most certainly is a change in how Turkey itself is playing the game, by getting for the first time actively involved in air strikes against ISIS targets inside Syria.
And this makes Turkey quite vulnerable to retaliatory attacks especially if we take a look what happened last Monday with the suicide bombing that killed 32 people in that border town of Suruc. But Turkey has also reopened its front line with another group that it at least considers to be a terrorist organization and that is the Kurdistan Workers Party, the PKK, going after their targets in northern Iraq where they have hidden camps in the mountains, but also going after them in Turkey's own borders.
We have, over the last few days, seen clashes breaking out and seen precision attacks being carried out by the PKK against members of the Turkish security forces. [05:10:00] So, this NATO meeting really an opportunity for Turkey to,
one, ensure that it does have the full backing of NATO and the allies, but also to present them with its own plan moving forward and to elude to something that we heard the Turkish president say, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and that is that they want NATO to be prepared for any eventuality, i.e., should Turkey be requesting additional military assistance.
But it does seem as if there has been a significant shift in thinking in Ankara, a realization that trying to sit this out on the sidelines was not working out in Turkey's favor and to maintain its political relevance in the region to make sure it has the support it needs to get actively involved in the anti-ISIS coalition -- John.
BERMAN: In fact, there is no sideline when it's seeping over the southern border.
Arwa Damon for us in Istanbul, thanks so much.
Let's get an early start on your money. Alison Kosik here with that.
Alison, how are stocks doing right now?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: Stocks had made a nice U-turn in the right direction and looks a good day for stocks so far. Asian shares are rallying, though we are still seeing a lot of volatility in the China stocks.
Shares in the Shanghai composite are up 3.5 percent after plunging earlier this week. Shares in Europe and U.S. futures also up as well. And we talk about bounce-back for the Dow yesterday, jumping 190 points, breaking a five-day losing streak.
So, today, we're going to be hearing from the Federal Reserve. Wall Street is going to be looking for any clues as to when the Fed will hike interest rates for the first time in almost a decade. And that hike could come as early as September.
Oil prices sliding even more this morning. Crude oil sitting around $47 a barrel. Prices have plunged almost 20 percent this month.
So, what's going on here? Well, there's a massive supply glut and sluggish demand around the world. So, that's great news for drivers and experts say by the end of the year, thousands of gas stations, John, will have gas prices below $2 a gallon!
And hopefully, consumers will go ahead and save or spend that money. You know, you always hope they spend that money to help the economy.
BERMAN: All right. Thanks, Alison.
A new Planned Parenthood video released by anti-abortion activists as lawmakers a plan to go forward to defund the organization.
Plus, new video this morning, fascinating video here showing the arrest of DUI arrest of Chattanooga gunman Mohammad Abdulazeez months before his deadly attack. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:15:20] BERMAN: New video this morning of Tennessee police pulling over the man who would go on to shoot and kill five members of the military two weeks ago. The video is from early in the morning of April 20th. Police pulled over Mohammad Abdulazeez for erratic driving. You can see right here. He was having trouble walking in a straight line. He gets irritated and refuses a blood test.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POLICE OFFICER: The reason why you wouldn't want to do the blood test?
MOHAMMAD ABDULAZEEZ: I don't feel I should be taken in right now.
POLICE OFFICER: OK. Fair enough.
ABDULAZEEZ: I mean, with my driving, was it --
POLICE OFFICER: It was, it was. I'm starting to smell the odor of marijuana. Do you have weed on you somewhere?
ABDULAZEEZ: No, sir.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Abdulazeez was shot and killed after his attack in Chattanooga on July 16th.
New controversy for Planned Parenthood. An antiabortion group released a new undercover video that shows an individual talking about pricing for aborted fetal tissue. It comes as Republicans in the Senate move forward with plans to vote on a bill aimed at restricting federal funding for Planned Parenthood.
CNN's Chris Frates has more now on this new video.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, John. The latest graphic and highly edited video from the activist group the Center for Medical Progress features an interview with a woman who used to work for a company that bought fetal tissues from Planned Parenthood.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The harder and more valuable tissue, the more money you get. So, if you can somehow procure a brain or a heart, you're going to get more money than just, like, Chorionic villi or umbilical cord.
FRATES: The video also includes a Planned Parenthood official discussing per organ pricing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think that per item thing works a little better because of how much you can get out of it? FRATES: Planned Parenthood says they don't use federal funds for abortions, or profit from fetal issue, saying any money received covers the procedure's cost.
DAWN LAGUENS, PLANNED PARENTHOOD: The politicians have not wasted one minute trying to go from finding the facts to turning things into a political circus.
FRATES: Abortion opponents gathered in dozens of cities on Tuesday, calling on Congress to defund the group. The rally in fronts of the U.S. Capitol drew three Republican presidential contenders.
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Today, the U.S. Department of Justice should open a criminal investigation into all of those individuals.
DR. BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Are we going to become a culture of life or a culture of death?
SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Today, I have good news. The Senate will vote on defunding Planned Parenthood before we go home in August.
FRATES: In the conference call with reporters on Tuesday, a Planned Parenthood executive said the video was put out by militant anti- abortion extremists who selectively edited the video -- John.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: All right. Chris Frates, thanks so much.
Planned Parenthood is responding to the video in a statement saying, "Based on a two-minute edited excerpt from a lengthy conversation, false and baseless accusations are being promulgated again about medical providers. The opportunity to donate fetal tissue has been a source of comfort for many women who have chosen to donate."
The father of Colorado movie theater James Holmes is expected back on the witness stand today for the sentencing phase of the trial. Robert Holmes told jurors on Tuesday he and his wife had now idea before the 2010 massacre that their son was mentally ill. The defense is also expected to call Holmes' mother today. The jury is weighing whether to sentence him to life in prison or death.
Authorities in Texas released new video of Sandra Bland in jail. They say the footage provides proof that Bland was alive and well at the jail in Waller County, Texas. And the video the say dispels some of the rumors that she died during her arrest and was perhaps dead in her mug shot. The 28-year-old Bland was found hanging in her jail cell after an arrest a routine traffic stop. An autopsy concluded it was suicide.
The woman who first accused Bill Cosby of sexual assault is questioning his self-described ability to read women's clues, given that she is gay. Andrea Constand made the revelation in court in a filing on Tuesday. Her attorneys want the 2006 settlement of her case against Cosby made public. Each side has accused the other of violating the confidentiality clause. Cosby is fighting to keep the entire case sealed.
So, Tom Brady's hope to overturning his four-game suspension -- yes, deflated. We said it. Andy Scholes with that and destroyed cell phones and all kinds of scandal in the bleacher report, next.
(COMMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:23:14] BERMAN: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell upheld Tom Brady's four-game suspension for his role in deflategate, says he destroyed his cell phone! The battle will now head to federal court.
Andy Scholes with more in the bleacher report.
Mindboggling, Andy.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.
You know, it's hard to believe this all comes from a game that the Patriots won 45-7. But here we are, Tom Brady's four-game suspension was upheld yesterday by Roger Goodell. Goodell said the most important factor in his decision was the fact that Brady destroyed his cell phone that contained the text messages that the NFL wanted to get a look at.
Brady's camp says that he always destroys his old cell phones when he gets a new one, but that didn't really fly with the NFL. Brady's agent Don Yee is calling this entire appeals process with Goodell a complete sham and Insisting that Brady has done nothing wrong.
This battle is now heading to federal court. An interesting move, the NFL actually filed suit first. They want the case heard in Manhattan. While Brady's team reportedly wants it in Massachusetts or with Judge David Doty in Minnesota who is known for siding with the NFL Players Association.
To other NFL news. The Arizona cardinals introducing Jen Welter as a member of their coaching staff yesterday. Welter will serve as a coaching intern during training camp and helping with the linebackers and she says she is excited to be the first woman on an NFL coaching staff.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEN WELTER, TRAINING CAMP/PRESEASON COACHING INTERN: I didn't even dream that it was possible. And I think the beauty of this is that, though, it's a dream, I never could have had. Now, it's a dream that other girls can grow up and have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: Some great news out of Kansas City. Safety Eric Berry has been cleared to practice with the Chiefs. This comes about eight months after he was diagnosed with lymphoma. [05:25:01] Berry had been undergoing treatment and including chemotherapy and radiation. He is expected to join the Chiefs today in Missouri.
All right. A couple of days after he was inducted into the baseball's hall of fame, Pedro Martinez having his number retired by the Red Sox last night. Boston hosting the White Sox. Top six. Mookie Betts makes an amazing catch and flies over the wall but wait. He dropped the ball when he landed in the bull pen! So after review, this was ruled a home run! A tough break for Mookie and Red Sox lost the game 9-4.
The Yankees, meanwhile, they beat the Rangers 21-5 last night. They have now won 8 out of 9, John. Yankees looking pretty good.
BERMAN: It's a great day, Andy, to be a Boston sports fan today. A great day! Thank you for all of that! Appreciate it.
SCHOLES: All right. Have a good one.
The search intensifies for two teens missing at sea. The new efforts to bring them home. That's ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: Happening now: the search widens for two teenagers missing at sea days after their capsized boat was found. We will tell you what is giving their parents hope this morning.
Sex, drugs and a killer plan. Prison seamstress Joyce Mitchell reveals intimate -- intimate relationships with two killers she helped escape.
Donald Trump on the record on CNN about an aide's controversial comments about rape. That is coming up.
Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman. About 30 minutes past the hour. Christine Romans is off this morning.
Happening now: the search for two Florida 14-year-olds missing at sea is entering its sixth day. Search and rescue ships and planes have expanded the search area further. It is now over 41,000 square miles.
