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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

South Carolina Ravaged by Floods; Oregon Campus Massacre Survivor Speaks Out; Doctors Without Borders Demands Investigation on Strike; North Korea Set to Release NYU Student. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired October 05, 2015 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:56] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Catastrophic flooding in South Carolina. Parts of that state just devastated. Rescues from the raging waters. This kind of rain seen once every 1,000 years. So how bad it's going to get? We have the answers ahead.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: A witness to a murder spree speaking out to CNN. A woman who was inside the classroom during last week's massacre at an Oregon community college shares her story of fear and survival. You don't want to miss what she said.

BERMAN: A bad situation in Afghanistan gets even worse. An airstrike kills more than 20 people at a Doctors Without Borders hospital. A U.S. airstrike apparently to blame. What does the Pentagon now have to say? We are live in Afghanistan.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.

ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. Nice to see you this Monday morning. Thirty-one minutes past the hour.

Deadly unprecedented flooding in South Carolina. The governor deploying 600 members of the National Guard. With the state experiencing rainfall totals never seen before. The governor calls it a once in a 1,000 year weather event. It's killed five people so far. Triggering more than 200 water rescues. Roads all over South Carolina shutdown by flooding. Cars and trucks washed away.

Just look at this aerial view of Huger, South Carolina. Water levels there rising so fast. Check this out. The Coast Guard had to airlift a mother and her 15-month-old infant to safety. And look at these folks in Columbia rescued after being caught in raging waist-deep waters.

BERMAN: Just look at that.

ROMANS: I know. Set to begin with state capital today. Torrential rain and floods leaving some with no choice but to completely rebuild.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have lost everything. What I've got on my body is what we have. Pretty much everybody down that hill there have lost everything this morning. Our vehicles, our clothes, our everything. But the best thing is that we still have our lives. We still have our lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Columbia seems to be getting the worst of it right now.

ROMANS: Yes.

BERMAN: Parts of that state swamped by 18 inches of rain or more in a single 24-hour period.

ROMANS: Almost hard to imagine. Eighteen inches in a day.

BERMAN: That's crazy. Catastrophic flash flooding with more rain in the forecast. Let's get the latest from meteorologist Pedram Javaheri -- Pedram.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Now, guys, one of the more remarkable rain events that I've ever seen here across the United States. And you take a look at some of the numbers when it comes to just opening the record books for rainfall totals, you have to go back to 1979, we have Hurricane Claudette dropped 45 inches, an all-time record to this day. That took place in southern Texas. In Houston Tropical Storm Allison dropped 37 inches. And of course our South Carolina event now indirectly related to Joaquin but still with the storm in place drawing some moisture from Joaquin, upwards of two feet rainfall coming down in recent days over this region.

You put the models, though, as far as the rainfall total, I should say, over this region, the observed rainfall totals, about a 60-mile stretch of land. That's a wide area, stretching from the coast all the way out there towards the capital where we saw a 10 to 20 inch corridor of rainfall. It's absolutely mind-boggling. You do the math on this, about four trillion gallons of water came down across the state of South Carolina.

And of course in some places, as you guys said, historic to say the least when you're talking about a one in a 500-year event across portions of areas just outside of Columbia down towards Charleston. It was one in a 1,000-year event, meaning that every single year, you have a one in 1,000 chance of this occurring so the next time this would occur, of course, recurrence interval would be 1,000 year period. But you take a look. Here goes Joaquin. You see some of that moisture still drawn in there.

There's another upward level disturbance parked in place so we're still tapping in some of the moisture from Joaquin and the rainfall could pick up on the order of 1 to 2 inches over the next 24 hours.

I'll leave you with this, guys. Rain gauge observation, I should say a flood gauge observation up to 17 feet shattering a nine-foot record previously set. And when this occurred, it actually broke the observation gauge and floated downstream eventually so we don't know how high the water got but it broke at 17 feet. Incredible across this region of Columbia.

ROMANS: It is incredible. It's just incredible and still going on. Pedram Javaheri, thanks for that.

Thirty-five minutes past the hour. has discovered a 225-square mile debris field in the Caribbean Sea in their search for a missing containership. The Jacksonville, Florida, based vessel Alfaro was carrying a crew of 28 Americans, five Polish nationals. It was on its way to Puerto Rico and went missing near the Bahamas last week during Hurricane Joaquin.

[04:35:13] Now search crews are finding wood, cargo, Styrofoam, life jackets, and an oil sheen in the debris field. But still no positive confirmation it came from the missing containership. The Air Force and the Navy assisting the Coast Guard in this search. They have already covered more than 70,000 square nautical miles.

BERMAN: The father of the murderer who killed nine people and wounded nine others at a community college in Oregon insists he had no idea where his son got his weapons and he refuses to comment on his mental state. He says he was stunned to learn that his son owned 13 guns. He claims those guns are to blamed for last week's campus massacre and demands to know how anyone can get so many weapons so easily.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IAN MERCER, GUNMAN'S FATHER: It has to change. It has to change. How can it not? Even people that believe in the bear -- the right to bear arms, you know, what right do you have to take people's lives? That's what guns are, the killers. As simple as that. It's as simple as that. It's black and white. What do you want a gun for?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Well, we have a CNN exclusive now. Tracy Hue was inside the classroom where the shooter killed his victims one by one. She suffered a bullet wound to her hand. She survived. She spoke about the ordeal to CNN's Sara Sidner.

SARA SIDNER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, this is the first time we're hearing a firsthand account from someone who was inside of Umpqua Community College in classroom 15 at Snyder Hall when a gunman came in and started shooting people one by one.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRACY HUE, SHOOTING SURVIVOR: I was sitting in the front of the classroom facing the teacher when everything happened. He just came in and shot in towards the back of the wall and told everybody to get in the center of the room on the ground.

SIDNER (on camera): So did he hit anyone? Did he hit anyone when he first shot that first shot?

HUE: No. He just got everybody's attention and then everybody looked over there to the door and he had guns with him and he was armed. He had a bulletproof vest on. And he didn't seem like he was like anxious or anything. He just seemed like he wanted to do that. And he seemed happy about it. He didn't seem stressed. He didn't seem nervous.

But when he came in, he told everybody to get on the ground. So everybody tried to huddle to the ground. And the girl in the wheelchair tried to get -- she got off and tried to get down on the ground.

[04:10:12] SIDNER: Wait, there was a woman in the wheelchair during all this?

HUE: Yes. And she had a dog with her, but the dog was just on the ground. And she got off the chair. She went on the ground. And then he told her to get back on the chair. And then she tried to climb back on the chair and then he shot her.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: She says after she witnessed that, she knew that he would have no mercy, not on anyone. She said she lived because the person next to her was shot in the head and the blood ended up covering her body. He thought she was dead and she played dead, so that she could live -- Christine, John.

ROMANS: That account is just harrowing.

Hillary Clinton expected to release her plan to curb gun violence today. Her proposal expected to draw the most discussion using executive action to close loopholes in current gun laws. Clinton wants to label anyone a high number of guns in the business of firearm dealing and subject to the same regulation as retailers. That would close that so-called gun show loophole.

BERMAN: Yes. The gun show loophole.

ROMANS: This just days after Clinton said she wanted to lead a, quote, "national movement to counter the NRA." She is the Democratic frontrunner. She's holding a town style -- town hall style event today in New Hampshire.

BERMAN: Outrage in Afghanistan this morning. The group Doctors Without Borders is demanding an independent investigation of a deadly bombing at a hospital in the Afghan city of Kunduz. At least 22 people were killed by the blast. 12 staffers, 10 patients. The Pentagon acknowledges it may have accidentally hit the facility during a military operation.

Let's go live to Kabul and bring in CNN's senior international correspondent Nic Robertson.

Good morning, Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, John. Doctors Without Borders are being very strong in their statements today upon hearing that the Afghan government said that Taliban were hiding out in the compound. Doctors Without Borders are saying that they are disgusted by what they're hearing from the Afghan government, implying that U.S. and Afghan forces together decided to raze the hospital to the ground because Taliban forces were in there. And they went to say it utterly, again these are very strong words. Utterly contradicts what they heard from the U.S. military that potentially this was collateral damage.

[04:40:03] NATO is beginning a very quick investigation -- an international investigation that they say they will have results -- some results within a few days. They say what happened, the airstrike was called in because U.S. Special Forces assisting and advising Afghan was taking direct fire from the Taliban. This they say was happening in close proximity to where the hospital was.

But what MSF, Doctors Without Borders is being very, very strong and keeps demanding because they believe this speaks to a much bigger issue of safety and security for all medical workers around the world in conflict zones. An independent, international transparent investigation. They say they don't think a party involved in the incident should be investigating it -- John.

BERMAN: And they are really, really upset about this. Nic Robertson for us in Kabul, thanks so much.

ROMANS: All right, 41 minutes past the hour. Time for an EARLY START on your money this morning. Good start, John, to the week so far. European and Asian stocks are higher. U.S. stock futures are up just a little bit here.

Big company news this morning, American Apparel fired for bankruptcy today. Remember it's that edgy apparel company that's been plagued by --

BERMAN: It used to be so hot.

ROMANS: Debts tumbling -- yes, like too hot. Almost like pornographic hot. Tumbling sales. Long legal battle with its founder Dov Charney. The parent groups who said it was advertising too seductively. Watch that one there. Also a deal many years in the making is almost done. The U.S. and 11 other countries are hashing out the final terms of the Transpacific Partnership. And they expect a deal today.

The TPP would knock down tariffs to import quotas for 40 percent of the world's economy. The partners of this are 40 percent of the world's economy. It would make it cheaper to import from and export to new Asia Pacific markets. Critics warned it is a terrible deal. There will be winners and losers and the losers will be American workers. They want the details which have been negotiated in private to be revealed. So we haven't heard the last on that.

Tension running high in Israel after a series of deadly attacks by Palestinians. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now taking action. We're live in Jerusalem next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:45:45] ROMANS: Breaking overnight. At any moment, North Korea expected to release a South Korean college student who was taken into custody back in April. 21-year-old Won Moon Joo was accused of crossing the border from China illegally. He has permanent residency in New Jersey. He was traveling abroad after taking a semester off from New York University. He's expected to be turned over directly to South Korean officials.

CNN's Kathy Novak monitoring developments live from Seoul. And we've seen him a couple of times. You just saw him there with Will Ripley in a recent interview. He went there because he was curious and he wanted to start something, he says. And now he's been in custody for some time. What's happening now?

KATHY NOVAK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right. He told Will Ripley back in that interview that he wanted to cause a great event. That he wanted to be able to say that a regular college student could cross into North Korea and be returned home safely. There was huge fears for months and months about what would actually happen to him. Of course, Won Moon Joo could have been facing some serious punishment in North Korea.

And he had been saying in the media that he hadn't been able to contact his family for the entire time that he was being held in North Korea. Now we are hearing from South Korea's Unification Ministry that the North Korean authorities had reached out to say that they are returning him at the borders. So now what happens next is the question, because as a South Korean citizen, he was not allowed to just simply cross into North Korea.

South Koreans have to get special permission if they want to go into North Korea and there are strict laws in this country about having any contact with North Korea. So The National Intelligence Service here says it will investigate whether Won Moon Joo broke any laws. And they'll certainly want to be bringing him in for questioning -- Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Kathy Novak, thanks for that. Keep us posted of any developments this morning -- any developments there. Thanks.

BERMAN: All right. New this morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatening a harsh offensive against terrorism after a wave of deadly violence. On Saturday, a 19-year-old Palestinian killed two Israelis and injured two others in a knife and gun attack in the old city of Jerusalem. That makes four Israeli fatalities in two separate attacks in a matter of days.

In response, Israeli police are now barring Palestinian men under the age of 50 from attending prayer services at the Al-Aqsa compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount.

CNN's Erin McLaughlin live from Jerusalem this morning.

Good morning, Erin. This is a very tense situation that seems to be getting much worse by the minute.

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, John. Things here in Jerusalem are extremely tense. Israeli authorities, according to media reports, are considering a range of additional security measures in response to the latest violence. We're expecting a decision on that out of a cabinet meeting to be held later in the evening. This after what was a very bloody weekend.

On Saturday a Palestinian man from Ramallah entered the old city, stabling two Israeli men, according to Israeli Police, and injuring an Israeli woman and an infant child before police shot the attacker dead. Hours later, outside the old city, according to Israeli Police, they shot and killed a 19-year-old Palestinian man after they say he had stabbed an Israeli boy. Accounts that Palestinians deny. They say they've been chased by an Israeli mob seeking revenge.

All of this culminating really in some extraordinary security measures. They closed the old city to Palestinians. Yesterday, I was there at the old city and there was an eerie calm. Palestinians I talked to are very upset at the restrictions.

BERMAN: All right, Erin McLaughlin, live for us in Jerusalem. Thank you so much. One of the big problems right now, the sides simply are not talking. There's simply no dialogue to try to reduce the tensions there.

ROMANS: And a lot of frustration on the streets. A lot of frustration.

All right. Hillary Clinton showing off her comedic chops with an appearance on "Saturday Night Live." We've got the highlights. We've got the punch lines. And what it means politically for the Democratic frontrunner next.

[04:49:46]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: All right. Hillary Clinton playing the comedy card on the season premiere of "Saturday Night Live." The real Hillary appearing in a sketch with her "SNL" alter ego Kate McKinnon. The real Hillary playing a sympathetic bar keep named Val.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE: It really is great how long you've supported gay marriage.

KATE MCKINNON, ACTOR: Yes. I could have supported it sooner.

CLINTON: Well, you did it pretty soon.

MCKINNON: Yes. Could have been sooner.

CLINTON: Fair point.

(LAUGHTER)

MCKINNON: Val, I'm just so darn bummed. All anyone wants to talk about is Donald Trump.

CLINTON: Donald Trump? Isn't he the one that's, like, uh, you're all losers?

(LAUGHTER)

CLINTON: Maybe you should take a vacation.

MCKINNON: A vacation?

CLINTON: A vacation.

MCKINNON: What did you say?

CLINTON: A vacation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did somebody say vacation? Oh, my god. They're multiplying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Hillary's appearance ended with the two of them breaking into song doing a rendition of "Lean On Me."

I have to say, she seemed relaxed. She seems to have good timing.

BERMAN: The Donald Trump --

ROMANS: Her impression of Donald Trump, lowering her voice is good.

BERMAN: I think we'll hear that again for sure.

ROMANS: All right. Grabbing cash from an ATM. If it's not at your bank, that transaction will cost you big.

[04:55:01] ATM fees, folks, are soaring. I'll tell you why next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: All right. Happy Monday. I'm Christine Romans. Let's get an EARLY START on your money. Stocks around the world are higher. It looks like a bounce in the U.S. too, and here's why. The conventional wisdom now is that weak jobs report of the U.S. Friday, John, means the Fed will not raise interest rates this year.

BERMAN: What a tease. What a tease.

ROMANS: I know. I'm telling you. There was a big drop in markets on Friday. And then they rebounded back. The idea of being, yes, maybe the economy is slowing a little bit or there's just a setback. But that means the Fed will hold off.

All right. Big news in company news this morning. American Apparel filed bankruptcy today. You know, American Apparel, made in the USA, an edgy apparel company. It's plagued by debt, tumbling sales and a long legal battle with its founder Dov Charney.

ATM fees are soaring. A new survey from Bankrate finds the average fee for using an ATM that's not tied to your bank account rose to $4.52 on average. That's up 21 percent over the past five years. Banks are under pressure to reduce other kinds of fees. By law, they have to cut other kinds of fees like overdraft fees. Right? Overdraft charges? People also aren't using ATMs as much as they used to. So the burden of maintaining the machines is falling to fewer users.

All right, "The Martian" opening near a box office record.