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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

U.S. Ambassador Attacked; Snow Storm Slams the Northeast; Brown's Family to Respond to DOJ Report; Hillary Clinton Emails Subpoenaed; Obamacare in the Supreme Court, Again; Boston Marathon Bombing Trial

Aired March 05, 2015 - 04:00   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The American ambassador attacked in South Korea, slashed in the face before giving a speech. What was behind this attack? Those pictures are just awful. We'll also give you the latest on the ambassador's condition. We are live.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: A monster snowstorm from Texas through the Northeast. Thousands of flights are already canceled. Schools closing one after another. Millions of people facing a dangerous, dangerous drive to work. This morning, what you need to know.

BERMAN: Michael Brown's parents, they are set to respond to the federal investigation that cleared the police officer who killed their son. That investigation did find a pattern of discrimination inside that police department.

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

ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. It is Thursday, March 5th. It's 4:00 a.m. in the East.

Let's begin this morning with the U.S. ambassador to South Korea recovering this morning from surgery overnight after a knife attack in Seoul. Ambassador Mark Lippert slashed in the face as he prepared to give a speech. Officials say the surgery to repair the four-inch facial wound was successful. Police have a suspect in custody.

International correspondent Andrew Stevens tracking developments for us from Hong Kong. Let's bring him in now.

Andrew, what do we know? We know the surgery was successful. Do we know why this man attacked the ambassador?

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What we know at this stage is the man is described as having a history of unpredictable behavior, Christine. That's the official line from the police. And two years -- excuse me, five years ago, 2010, he was given a suspended two-year sentence after he threw a lump of concrete at the Japanese ambassador to South Korea.

This is a man, he was on the Council for the Korean Reconciliation and Cooperation. This was the group which invited Mark Lippert to speak this morning. Lippert was sitting at his table, this is what we're hearing. He was sitting at his table when he was approached by this man, Kim Il-jong.

And there was shouting -- apparently anti-U.S. slogans were shouted. He then jumped on the ambassador. In the ensuing scuffle, the ambassador was slashed in the face, on the right side of the face, and also several times we understand on the arm.

He was escorted from the building. The man restrained. The ambassador was escorted from the building. He was able to walk to his car being helped by some security there. He was then taken to the hospital.

That was two hours operation. Some 80 stitches he received in arms and face. He is expected to be in hospital for another two or perhaps three days.

Certainly, it is not life threatening. He is showing a bit of pluck here because he has already tweeted from the hospital. This is what he said in his tweet, which was, "I'm deeply moved by the support. I am doing well. I'll be back ASAP, to advance U.S.-ROK alliance."

That Korean writing you see on the bottom there. That says let's work together. That is from Mark Lippert. He signed it from his wife Robyn, Sejun and Grigsby. Sejun, his son, and Grigsby is his dog.

So, he is maintaining his sense of humor. As I said, not life threatening.

The man is in custody in police. As I said, he does have this history, Christine, described as unpredictable behavior. And he had already attacked several years ago, the Japanese ambassador to South Korea.

ROMANS: Unbelievable. We know the White House obviously sending out warm words of support to Mark Lippert. The ambassador, the U.S. ambassador, Mark Lippert, is a close adviser and friend of President Obama.

Thank you so much for that, Andrew.

BERMAN: Worked in the senator's office.

Those pictures are horrifying, and you have to wonder about questions about security around ambassadors. I guess they did not request any extra security because frankly they never expected they'd be a kind of issue there. But still, you have to wonder.

Four minutes after the hour.

An overnight storm is slamming a big chunk of the nation, up to a foot of snow from Texas up here to the Northeast.

ROMANS: It's unrelenting. It's miserable and unrelenting. What is your word? Mine is unrelenting. BERMAN: I think it's insulting. I'm just insulted by this. Nearly 90 million people under some sort of winter watch or advisory right now.

ROMANS: And, you know, the weather doing a number on travel. If you've got a flight today, you better check with your carrier first. Airlines have already grounded more than 2,000 flights. That number is going to keep rising. Now, the snow is falling hard just outside of Boston.

Boston, of course, has seen no snow. Wait, it is buried under 8 feet of snow and just over 2 inches from setting an all-time record.

Meanwhile, this scene playing out since the storm start, the roof of the Shell station collapsing in Fall River. No one seriously hurt. Thank goodness.

BERMAN: Snow and ice are all over the roads in Ohio. You can see there, the cars getting stuck on the streets, people having to do all the work there because the cars can't do it themselves. Not on that ice. Ugly.

ROMANS: Sleet and heavy snow sweeping across southern Indiana. Forecasters say up to a foot of new snow this morning. Up to a foot of new snow in southern Indiana. The storm shutting down schools, forcing businesses to close up shop there.

BERMAN: Severe weather hitting West Virginia as well, prompted an emergency declaration of emergency from the governor. You can see why there.

Flooding is a big concern in many areas. The latest storm could put another 8 inches of snow on that state.

ROMANS: Virginia is also dealing with dangerous flood conditions, heavy rain and melting snow which left parts of the state under water. Emergency responders are using rafts to reach people who are trapped in their homes by the floodwaters.

BERMAN: This is a real problem and it's affecting a big, big chunk of this country right now. Millions of people. How bad is it going to get? Will it get worse?

Let's check in with meteorologist Derek Van Dam tracking it for us -- Derek.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, John and Christine, over 90 million Americans are under a winter storm watch or warning or advisory, you can imagine this is going to somehow negatively impact their Thursday commute.

Just look how expansive this storm is, stretching all the way from central Mexico, Texas through the Mid-Atlantic States. There is quite a temperature contrast with this particular cold front as well. Very warm, moist air across the southeastern U.S. that cutoff right across the Tennessee River Valley, of course, cold enough for all snowfall to the north here Louisville, Kentucky, where temperatures range in the lower 20s, the middle 20s.

Now, our ice potential today not looking too good for the I-40 corridor, stretching anywhere from Mississippi through Tennessee and all the way to West Virginia. We have the possibility of a quarter to a half an inch of ice and on top of that, we have upwards of a foot of snow in some locations. Lesser amounts for New York City and nation's capital, but we could still pick up 4 to 8 inches throughout the course of the day.

Look at the temperature contrast -- Louisville, Kentucky, through Jacksonville, Florida. New York City, your temperatures are taking a nose dive as well.

Back to you.

BERMAN: Our thanks to Derek for that.

Big temperature drop there, what a problem.

All right. The family of the unarmed black teenager whose shooting death by police set up days of unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, that family is set to speak out this morning at a news conference in Ferguson. This is the first time we will hear their reaction to the Justice Department not to bring charges against the police officer who shot their son Michael Brown, that there simply wasn't the evidence there to bring any charges against Officer Darren Wilson.

The Brown family will also no doubt comment about the Justice Department's blistering new report about the Ferguson Police Department, the 102-page document details systemic discrimination against African-Americans by the city of Ferguson and its police department.

CNN's Sara Sidner is in Ferguson with the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ferguson mayor responding to the scathing report by the Department of Justice. The DOJ highlighting issues they say that blacks were unfairly targeted, especially during traffic stops and arrests and tickets. The DOJ saying that it seems the department and the city were more concerned about getting revenue than about public safety and that black folks paid the highest price.

ERIC HOLDER, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: A community where local authorities consistently approached law enforcement not as a means for protecting public safety, but as a way to generate revenue, a community where both policing and municipal court practices were found to be disproportionately harmful to African-American residents.

SIDNER: While the population is 67 percent black, at least 85 percent of those who were pulled over for traffic violations were arrested or ticketed were black. The Department of Justice pointing that it's that toxic background that was around and helped create what happened after Michael Brown was killed by Officer Darren Wilson. However, the DOJ did not find enough evidence to charge Darren Wilson

with civil rights violations. He was not indicted by a grand jury either.

However, the police chief and others inside the department may have to pay the piper. The DOJ talking about e-mails, including racist e- mails that were sent by the department. We do now know that the mayor has responded to those who have sent those e-mails.

JAMES KNOWLES, FERGUSON MAYOR: This type of behavior will not be tolerated in the Ferguson Police Department or any department in the city of Ferguson. Immediately upon leaving that meeting, the three individuals were placed on administrative leave pending an investigation. One has since been terminated.

SIDNER: A source close to the investigation tells me that the two others put on administrative leave will no longer work for the department either -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Sara, thank you for that.

Breaking overnight, Hillary Clinton speaking out after her State Department e-mails were subpoenaed by a House committee investigating the Benghazi embassy attack. The State Department is already looking into Clinton's use of a personal email account while she served as secretary, a possible breach of federal law.

The former secretary of state tweeting last night, "I want the public to see my e-mails. I asked the State to release them. They said they will review them for release as soon as possible."

Republicans also subpoenaed e-mails that Clinton stored on a private server she operated from her New York home.

BERMAN: Secretary of State John Kerry has arrived in Saudi Arabia, fresh off the latest round of nuclear talks with Iran. He is there to ease concerns because officials in Saudi Arabia are nervous about making any deal, the U.S. making any deal with Iran. The secretary is expected to discuss the unrest in Yemen and other Middle Eastern nations with the new Saudi king.

ROMANS: And back in Washington, the Senate failing in the attempt to override President's veto of a bill to approve construction of the Keystone oil pipeline. That final 62-37 vote was short of two-thirds majority Senate Republicans needed to override. Keystone was only the third time the president has exercised his veto power, the third time in six years in office.

BERMAN: The White House is warning the U.S. Supreme Court that the fate of health care for millions of Americans is in its hands this morning. The justices heard arguments Wednesday on the four-word clause in the Affordable Care Act that has the potential, so say the plaintiffs, to derail Obamacare. The White House is trying to make sure that the members of the court are aware of the stakes. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We would see millions of people lose health insurance. We would see prices likely go through the roof. And there is not a whole lot, frankly, that the government can do about it other than Congress passing legislation to fix it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: CNN's Pamela Brown has more from Washington -- Pamela.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, John and Christine.

It was a sharply divided court along ideological lines during these latest Affordable Care Act oral arguments. What happened here could impact millions of people. The stakes are very high.

And if the justices rule in favor of the plaintiffs, it could derail the Affordable Care Act.

So, there are a lot going on here and right out of the gate of liberal justices had some tough questions for the plaintiff's attorney and said that you have to look at the law as a whole and the context.

You can't just look at those four words really at the center of the debate established by the state. The justices said that it would be a death spiral if subsidies were taken away from the Americans and the 34 states what the federally run exchanges. However, on the other side of this, the conservative justices really focused on the fact the law has those four words, established by the state. It makes it clear according to the plaintiffs that that's what the law intended. They didn't intend for people in the states with federal run exchanges to have subsidies.

Chief Justice Roberts did not have a lot to say during the oral arguments. And I think that surprised a lot of people, because as we know, he upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, several years ago. So, all eyes were on him to see which direction he was leaning in. He did not want to tip his hand. Ultimately, it could come down to his vote or of course, Justice Kennedy who is the deciding vote in these cases so often. He was asking questions favorable to both sides.

So, it remains a mystery as to how the justices are going to rule and is bound to be a close case -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Thanks, Pamela, for that.

Time for an early start on money now.

Asian stocks mostly lower after China lowered its growth target from 7.5 percent to about 7 percent. European shares are optimistic. We're going to hear from the European Central Bank today and it could announce the exact timing of a $1.1 trillion bond buying stimulus program.

U.S. stock futures are up as well. They're trying to break a two-day losing streak. The Dow fell 106 yesterday. The S&P 500 also fell, pulling further back from those Monday records.

Coming soon to Wall Street, homemade crafts and jewelry. Online marketplace Etsy filed its IPO yesterday hoping to raise $100 million. About 1.4 million people use Etsy. Like many startups, Etsy still doesn't make a profit, but it's got a very strong brand recognition and a pretty devoted following.

So, Etsy heading to Wall Street.

BERMAN: My naval jewelry. You can get everything you need. All the best designs there.

ROMANS: Oh, John, TMI. TMI.

BERMAN: Right of the store.

All right. We now know the defense strategy to save the accused Boston marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a very surprising opening statement inside that courtroom. We'll have the latest, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Day two of testimony at the trial of accused Boston marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. On opening jurors saw graphic images and heard witnesses described the chaotic scene near the marathon finish line. Before that, during opening statements, the defense admitted that Tsarnaev took part in the bombing, revealing a window into their strategy for saving Tsarnaev from the death penalty.

We get more this morning from CNN's Alexandra Field.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine and John, the start of the trial marked by emotional testimony from the victims, graphic images never seen before. One video that particularly resonated inside the courtroom was taken from surveillance video inside a running store on Boylston Street. It's recorded at the time of the explosion. You can see a panel of glass blown out of the window, people from the street running to the store, trying to take cover.

At the same time, we heard testimony from the manager of that store who says he was the one in those videos grabbing clothes off the rack, running outside, trying to use those clothes to make tourniquets and trying to triage some of the injured who are out there on Boylston Street on the day of the marathon.

The prosecution made opening statement laying out the charges against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. They paint him as a self radicalized extremist who is bent on attacking America. A man with a plot that he planned to carry out alongside his brother.

He faces 30 charges, 17 of those charges come with a possible death sentence. In a move that may have surprise some people on the courtroom, the defense made their opening statements conceding the vast majority of the facts of the case. Saying that, yes, in fact, their client, the defendant, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was the man behind this attack.

But they went on to say the case they will make, the place they differ from the argument made from the federal government is what motivated Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. They say this is a young man preyed upon by his older brother, the true mastermind of this plot.

The plan here for the defense is to try and build some measure of sympathy for Tsarnaev. They feel that will be key when it comes to the sentencing phase of this trial and jurors are faced with the question whether or not they could choose the death sentence here -- Christine, John.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Alexandria, thanks for that.

We have more testimony today on tap in the trial of former NFL star Aaron Hernandez. The judge there dealt prosecutors a fairly significant setback. He ruled evidence that Hernandez was involved in a shooting with a friend a few months before Odin Lloyd was killed was not admissible in this case that he's on trial for right now. Hernandez is accused of fatally shooting Lloyd in 2013.

ROMANS: Scary moments on board a flight from Charlotte to Denver. The trouble begun after the plane landed. As the pilot taxied to the gate, the cabin suddenly filled with smoke.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALETA PIGLIACAMO, PASSENGER ON PLANE: Everything seemed fine. Two seconds after we hit the ground, you smelled something burning like electrical. And within a matter of 30 seconds, the cabin started filling up with some kind of real acrid smoke.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The captain, he said, "Evacuate the plane, evacuate the plane."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Wow, the 164 passengers and crew. They were able to evacuate safely on emergency chutes. No word yet on what caused that smoke condition.

BERMAN: Happening now: new progress in the fight to free a crucial Iraqi city from ISIS. We'll tell you about that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: A 17-year-old Virginia student is accused of being a recruiter for ISIS. The unidentified teenager was taken into custody last week. Right now, he is charged as a juvenile. But prosecutors want him tried as an adult. Federal investigators say the suspect helped the man travel to Syria where it is believed he successfully joined ISIS.

In a separate case, a California man was arrested while trying to board a flight to Turkey with a fake passport. He was indicted Wednesday for allegedly trying to support ISIS.

ROMANS: Iraqi forces reportedly making progress in a major offensive operation to retake the city of Tikrit from ISIS. Iraqi troops are said to be approaching the city from five directions to prevent escaping or bringing in reinforcements. This as ISIS released a new propaganda video shot in the battle zone around Tikrit. That video aimed at drawing new recruits to join ISIS in those fights.

BERMAN: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's big speech to Congress did not seem to move the needle back in Israel. Many Israeli political analysts thought the address was designed to give Netanyahu a bounce in the polls there. The election is in less than two weeks. Apparently as we just said, it had little impact. This a poll just released by Israel's Channel 2 News, 44 percent of the Israeli people think the speech strengthens support for the prime minister, 43 percent said it made no difference, 12 percent it weakened support for the prime minister.

ROMANS: All right. A knife-wielding man attacking a U.S. ambassador, slashing his face and arm while he was giving a speech. What motivated that attack? We go the latest, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)