Return to Transcripts main page
Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Tropical Storm Bonnie Soaks Carolinas; Trump Addresses Rolling Thunder Rally; Cincinnati Zoo Mourns Death of Gorilla; Migrant Crisis in Mediterranean Continues. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired May 30, 2016 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:17] ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: Dangerous holiday weather stalking the Carolinas and barreling North, threatening to end the holiday on a wet and stormy note for millions. And now trouble at one of the nation's busiest airports. We'll tell you where.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump's campaign warning a third party candidate would put Hillary Clinton in the White House. This comes as the Libertarians pick their nominee and a never Trump Republican suggests a new challenge is waiting in the wings.
KOSIK: And zoo officials in Cincinnati facing serious questions after they made the call to kill a gorilla to save a boy who climbed in. Was the use of force necessary? We'll tell you what zoo officials are saying.
ROMANS: It is hard to watch those pictures.
KOSIK: It really is.
ROMANS: It really is hard.
KOSIK: Well, good morning. And welcome to a special holiday edition of EARLY START. I'm Alison Kosik. Welcome back, Christine.
ROMANS: Thank you. Nice to see you, Alison. I'm Christine Romans. It is Monday, it is May 30th, that's Memorial Day. It is 4:00 a.m. in the East.
All right. Tropical storm Bonnie slams into the Carolinas wrecking the holiday weekend for many with heavy rain and widespread flooding along coastal South Carolina. Now Bonnie is headed North.
Who's Memorial Day will Bonnie disrupt next? Our team coverage begins with CNN's Jennifer Gray. She's in South Carolina.
JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Christine and Alison, what is now left of what was Tropical Storm Bonnie being very stubborn across South Carolina. In fact, practically stalling out, leaving flooding rains across some areas in the state. In fact, Sunday, portions of I- 95 completely shut down.
And as we know, I-95 is that major interstate that a lot of people use to get to the coast. And with it being Memorial Day weekend, lines of traffic with people stuck in their cars for hours as they slowly exited the interstate and had to detour around the flood.
And so conditions are expected to improve over the next couple of days. However, off and on showers could linger across South Carolina as we go through Memorial Day, and then as the storm continues to push to the north conditions will improve across South Carolina -- Alison and Christine.
KOSIK: OK, Jennifer Gray, thanks for that.
And big question, of course, where exactly are the remnants of tropical storm Bonnie expected to head now. Meteorologist Derek Van Dam joining us with the latest.
Good morning.
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Christine and Alison.
(WEATHER REPORT)
VAN DAM: Back to you.
ROMANS: All right, Derek. Thank you for that.
Officials at New York's JFK Airport are warning of delays and huge lines this morning. The operations drastically slowed by a computer crash Sunday afternoon. The server crash affects terminal seven and the airlines operating there including British Airways, Qantas, Iberia, Cathay Pacific and others. At the delay's peak, some 1500 customers were waited to be checked in manually.
KOSIK: Ouch. All right. To politics. Today Donald Trump is off the campaign trail for Memorial Day. But we have new details on his hunt for a running mate.
Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski says the vice presidential search is now down to a very short, short list. Lewandowski is heading up the VP search and tells "FOX News Sunday" his team is now vetting the few who remained what he called a very small list. This as Trump gave a speech Sunday at the Rolling Thunder motorcycle run honoring POWs. Trump promising that tomorrow he'll give a full accounting of money brought in at his veterans' fundraiser that happened earlier this year.
CNN's Scott McLean has more on that.
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alison, Christine, Donald Trump delivered what was a pretty typical campaign speech in a pretty atypical setting. Thousands of bikers were there to pay respect to and raise awareness of POWs and soldiers missing in action.
[04:05:04] Now this was not a Trump campaign rally and so there were a lot of people who were just passing by, but many of them were veterans. Trump got a pretty warm reception from the crowd. He slammed Hillary Clinton, saying if she were elected, POWs would not be coming home.
He also hit all of his usual talking points. Trade, the Second Amendment, rebuilding the military, and of course, veterans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Our veterans have been treated so badly in this country. You have a secretary that last week said no, the wait time doesn't matter. Forget about wait time. I know people, and I've gotten to know so many vets, and we just raised almost $6 million for the vets because I didn't do a television show. I said, let's do this. And we're announcing on Tuesday all of the groups that we put up this money, and we raised this tremendous amount of money because we love the vets.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCLEAN: Now that money he mentioned was raised when he skipped a FOX News debate a few months ago. Since then he has been dogged by questions about where the money went. So as you heard he's planning a full accounting of the funds raised tomorrow to try to put that issue to bed.
But Trump is also facing new questions about comments he made about Senator John McCain last year, saying he was only a war hero because he was captured in Vietnam. This weekend on CNN, former Senator Bob Dole, who is a Trump supporter and a decorated World War II veteran himself, said he would push Trump to apologize for the comments.
We asked Trump's campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, whether Trump plan to apologize. His response was, "not that I'm aware of" -- Alison, Christine.
ROMANS: All right, thanks for that.
You know, Donald Trump blasting at a suggestion that a third party conservative presidential candidacy may be imminent. Pundit and "never Trump" leader William Kristol -- Bill Kristol seeming to predict or maybe promise as much in this cryptic tweet. "Just a heads up over this holiday weekend. There will be an independent candidate, an impressive one with a strong team and a real chance."
Trump lashing back in a series of tweets, "If dummy Bill Kristol actually does get a spoiler to run as an independent, say goodbye to the Supreme Court." Also this, "The Republican Party has to be smart and strong if it wants to win in November. Can't allow lightweights to set up a spoiler indie candidate."
KOSIK: On the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders says it is on Hillary Clinton to win over his supporters if he loses his fight for the nomination. Sanders telling "Meet the Press" that he's still fighting to win but that if he does not, Clinton must make her case to his supporters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: At the end of the day, whether it's Secretary Clinton or Bernie Sanders or Donald Trump or anybody else, the way you gain support is through the candidate himself or herself.
So my job is to make sure that Trump does not become president. And I will do that. But it is -- if Secretary Clinton is the nominee, it is her job to reach out to millions of people and make the case as to why she is going to defend working families and the middle class, provide health care to all people, take on Wall Street. Deal aggressively with climate change. That is the candidate's job to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: Sanders also warning Clinton against picking a running mate who is too cozy with corporations or Wall Street.
Clinton has no scheduled events today. She is back on the trail tomorrow with events and fundraisers this week in New Jersey. The other state holding its primary next Tuesday in addition to California.
ROMANS: The Libertarian Party now has its presidential ticket. It took two ballots at the Libertarian convention in Orlando. The delegates finally settled on former New Mexico governor, Gary Johnson. For vice president, they picked former Massachusetts governor, Bill Weld. Libertarian activists believe their ticket could play a pivotal role in 2016 with both Clinton and Trump viewed unfavorably by large numbers of voters. Their nominee directed much of his fire directly at Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARY JOHNSON, LIBERTARIAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I'm taking him on, on the fact that he wants to deport 11 million illegal immigrants. Taking him on on wanting to build a fence across the border. That's nuts. Taking him on when he says that Mexicans are murderers and rapists when -- and it's incendiary as a border state governor. It's incendiary to 50 percent of the population of New Mexico that he's talking about Hispanics and Mexicans in this way when the absolute opposite is true. To call him out on what is really racist. It's just racist.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: Houston Police still don't know why a gunman randomly opened fire on innocent bystanders with a high-powered rifle on Sunday killing a man as he sat in his car. A total of seven victims were shot before police killed the suspect. The gunman also fired on police cruisers and shot at a police helicopter hitting it several times. Two injured officers were treated and released. Another armed man, described as a possible suspect, was wounded by officers.
ROMANS: It has been a bloody holiday weekend on the west side of Chicago. More than 40 people shot in a string of nearly two dozen shootings, four of them fatally. Among the dead, a 15-year-old girl who was shot as she rode in a jeep on Lakeshore Drive.
[04:10:05] The police planned to beef up patrols in the area today. Last Memorial Day, 12 people were killed, 44 wounded in Chicago. KOSIK: President Obama will be joined by Defense Secretary Ash Carter
at Arlington National Cemetery later this morning to pay tribute to America's fallen soldiers. He's going to be laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns for the final time as president after hosting a Memorial Day breakfast honoring military service organizations.
A tragedy at the Cincinnati Zoo. A boy climbs into the gorilla enclosure and that decision ends up costing the gorilla its life. How are officials defending gunning down one of their most prized animals? That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Heartbreak and anger over the decision to shoot and kill a gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo in order to save a 4-year-old boy. At first, Harambe, a 17-year-old lowland gorilla, appeared to be trying to protect the boy who somehow fell into a moat inside the habitat.
[04:15:07] The situation took a terrifying turn and zoo officials felt they had no choice but to bring in their dangerous animal response team.
We get more this morning from CNN's Jessica Schneider.
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alison and Christine, visitors here at the zoo are wondering just how this could have happened. Zoo officials say a 4-year-old boy went under a rail, through protective wiring, and then over a moat wall dropping 15 feet into the water below.
Zoo officials say the situation was so urgent that they had to act quickly. They took the gorilla's life, killing him, they say, in order to save that little boy. They say that they had no option. They said any use of tranquilizers just would have taken too long.
That little boy was in the moat for about 10 minutes. The gorilla tossed the boy and, at times, stared at the boy. That was until the dangerous animal response team took action and killed the gorilla.
The zoo director, Thane Maynard, said it was the only option and he also released this statement, saying, "We are heartbroken about losing Harambe, but a child's life was in danger and a quick decision had to be made by our dangerous animal response team."
Harambe was 17 years old, 450 pounds. That response team moved in after they tried other options. They did try getting the gorillas out of the exhibit, but when only the female gorillas responded they had to take that action against Harambe.
The little boy was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. He's actually home from the hospital now. But here at the zoo, there's a mix of emotions. People are sad, they're angry, and they're confused about how this could happen. In fact, there's a growing memorial inside the zoo itself with flowers around a statue of a gorilla just outside the Gorilla World exhibit. And we even saw some people out here today saying justice for Harambe.
They had signs. But again, zoo officials saying killing that gorilla was the only option -- Christine and Alison.
ROMANS: Wow. They have to investigate how the child got over the barrier into the moat. You know, what happened there. But also the fact that they couldn't use the tranquillizer because they thought it might --
KOSIK: That it's going to take too much time.
ROMANS: And it might anger it. You don't know what the gorilla would do on being hit by the tranquilizer dart before it actually --
KOSIK: And --
ROMANS: It's hard to watch.
KOSIK: And if you listen, the one concern as well, of many concerns, you heard the parents and the adults, you know, calling out to the child. That could have also made the gorilla very nervous, got him more agitated. So as time went on, I think that you're seeing zoo officials thinking well, time is of the essence to do something as quickly as possible.
ROMANS: Ten minutes in that moat. Unbelievable.
KOSIK: So difficult to watch that video. Incredible.
ROMANS: All right, 17 minutes past the hour.
The number of migrants fleeing to Europe is climbing as is the number who don't make it alive. A sharp rise in just the last week. We're live in Europe with the latest on that story next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:22:25] ROMANS: Breaking overnight. The Iraqi military launching an operation to storm the ISIS stronghold of Fallujah. A military spokesman says Iraqi forces with the help of Shiite have already retaken several villages from north and west of Fallujah from ISIS. Hundreds in Fallujah mostly -- most of them are women and children are now fleeing as Iraqi forces make major gains. Security forces evacuating about 760 people. But the U.N. refugee agency says tens of thousands of people are still caught in the middle of intensified bombings.
KOSIK: A deadly week for desperate migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe. A series of shipwrecks leaving dozens dead with hundreds more missing and feared dead. Most of the victims on three ill-fated boats trying to flee countries like Somalia and Sudan.
CNN senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman tracking the latest developments live from Rome. So help me understand this because I understand that this time of year
the waters are supposed to be calm. What's happening here that hundreds are dying?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know that there are hundreds of thousands of people, refugees and migrants, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa waiting in Libya to cross. Now with the onset of summer, the seas are much calmer. And so the human traffickers who run this deadly business start to put people at sea. But they're putting them to sea on boats that are barely seaworthy.
At best in fact one of the worst incidents that took place last Thursday, Alison, was when at least 650 refugees and migrants were crammed onto a boat that perhaps takes just a few dozen at best. That boat was pushed out to sea. It didn't even have a motor. It was towed by another vessel equally crammed with people. Out into international waters when it started to take on water and sink. The other ship simply cut it loose, it went down. Hundreds of people missing in that incident. Some of them were rescued.
The Italian Navy and Coast Guard are saying that in just the space of the last week, 14,000 people were picked up at sea. And of course, because the seas are much calmer, we expect more and more people to try to make this perilous crossing from Libya -- Alison.
KOSIK: Such a heartbreaking outcome to such a desperate situation.
All right, CNN's Ben Wedeman. Thanks so much.
ROMANS: The World Health Organization dismissing calls for the Rio Summer Olympics to either be moved or canceled. WHO officials argue holding the games in Brazil will not alter the spread of the Zika virus since the virus is already present in 60 countries.
[04:25:12] That assessment brushing aside the concerns of a coalition of doctors and scientists. They fear holding the games in Brazil may lead to new outbreaks in places like Africa and South Asia.
KOSIK: American rookie Alexander Rossi has 66 to 1 long shot is the winner of the 100th Indianapolis 500. And he's still not quite sure how he pulled it off. Rossi took a big gamble and decided to pass up a late pit stop. And he wound up running out of fuel just as he crossed the finish line. His engine was actually sputtering in the final lap and his car had to be towed to the victory party. Well, at least he made it there.
ROMANS: He sure did. All right, 26 minutes past the hour. A potentially dangerous weather system churning up the East Coast this morning. The Carolinas already drenched. Millions could see more of the same. We've got your latest holiday forecast.
Hint, it's wet. Next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
