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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Movie Fact and Fiction; AirAsia Search; U.S. Skiers Killed in Avalanche; U.S. Ski Team Mourns Loss of Olympic Hopefuls; Argument Over Allowance Ends in Murder?; GOP Control Senate for First Time Since '06

Aired January 06, 2015 - 16:00   ET

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

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: A snowstorm couldn't stop school picture day for Vice President Biden, and the brand-new Congress sworn in today.

I'm Jake Tapper. This is the lead.

The world lead, divers called off as the search for AirAsia Flight 8501 and the 123 souls still missing stalls yet again. But now CNN has new details showing that the pilots missed a key briefing on dangerous flying conditions they were headed right into. Could that have contributed to the crash?

Our pop culture lead today. It could be a contender for that tiny little golden statuette. But the movie "Selma" was just shut out from another awards ceremony after critics charged it too much license in rewriting the relationship between Martin Luther King and LBJ. So, just where should filmmakers draw the line between fact and fiction?

And the sports lead. In three years, they could have been draped in Olympic gold. Instead, two U.S. skiers, one just a teenager, die in an avalanche of snow and rocks doing what they loved, how the story of these young men poised for victory became instead a tragedy.

Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

Oh, that closing bell. We begin today with the money lead and stocks sliding down a fiscal hill, the Dow taking another dip today, falling off more than 130 points. That's a bit of a rebound. The Dow was down nearly 200 points a couple of hours ago, this after it plummeted 330 points Monday.

Cristina Alesci is in New York.

Cristina, oil prices keep on dropping and the Dow right along with them.

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Cheap oil should be a good thing, but the fact is it's fallen too far and too fast.

That has caused a little bit of a shock to the system. There are three main systems why this is very bad. One, major oil companies, most direct impact. Their stocks have been down since June really about 26 percent. Now, the broader market is going with it. Also, oil is seen as a bit of a gauge of economic activity. Remember, it's used in everything from manufacturing to transportation

to construction. So, when demand is week, investors start to get nervous that economic activity isn't where it needs to be. Also, lower oil could cause instability in places like Russia and Venezuela, countries that rely on oil revenue for most of their economic activity and revenue.

Those are the three main reasons. And there may be some more pain to come here, Jake. And one of the indications is that investors are actually shifting their money into safer investments like bonds. And that doesn't bode well for stocks going forward.

TAPPER: All right, Cristina Alesci, thank you so much.

Now to our national lead. And so many people across the country waking up this morning and not wanting to leave the house. It's technically been winter for two weeks already. But today it really felt like it, windchills in the Midwest so cold that they actually could kill and freeze any exposed skin, according to the National Weather Service.

Folks were detoured from their Christmas returns, instead raiding hardware stores for shovels and salt and tools needed to fight as many as 15 inches of snow in some places, before retreating inside, taking shelter from subzero temperatures.

This morning in and around Chicago, where five to seven inches of snow piled up, the city dispatched more than 300 snowplows to try to clear the streets, while overnight in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, snow parachuted down on major cities and temperatures barely cracked 20 degrees, making for a slow, slippery and dangerous commute in Philadelphia, in New York and right here in Washington, D.C., where reportedly some anchors had to ditch their cars by the side of the road.

At least the Internet got its daily dose of cute. There's D.C.'s hometown panda cub Bao Bao doing a tumbling routine in the snow, the one nice image I saw of the snow today.

(WEATHER UPDATE)

TAPPER: Turning now to our world lead and more bad weather, except in a different part of the world, adding to the wait for families whose loved ones have still yet to be found.

Today, search-and-rescue teams hurriedly looking for wreckage and bodies from AirAsia Flight 8501 called the search off early again because of monsoon-strength rains and winds. Investigators say they have spotted several large pieces of debris and have extended the search area to the east. But progress is excruciatingly slow; 123 people remain unaccounted for.

Only 19 have been identified, given names so far. And surely adding to the grief these families must feel, new information comes that the pilots of the fated jet missed a chance to talk with meteorologists about the dangerous conditions they were about to fly right into. CNN aviation correspondent Rene Marsh has the latest details -- Rene.

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, CNN is told that this is the weather report that the pilots did not pick up themselves. CNN is told that AirAsia staff did not pick up this report with the details about the weather conditions at all the airports along their flight path, including storm clouds that stretched up as high as 48,000 feet.

Now, that revelation has sparked policy change at AirAsia and Indonesia's overall aviation system.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARSH (voice-over): New video from one of the two American ships searching for AirAsia Flight 8501, they're among more than 40 vessels, 20 helicopters and 97 divers deployed to the search zone.

BAMBANG SULISTYO, INDONESIAN NATIONAL SEARCH AND RESCUE CHIEF (through translator): The USS Fort Worth detected sonar of two metal objects, but we still need to confirm if this is part of the plane.

MARSH: One object, about 56 feet long, the other, 14 feet, elsewhere, a life vest, safety cards and bodies recovered, a total 39 of the 162 people on board pulled from the Java Sea. Muslim religious leaders on a search helicopter pray for the victims. Indonesia's military chief now offering to take families to the crash zone for some closure.

GEN. MOELDOKO, INDONESIAN MILITARY CHIEF (through translator): I will prepare Hercules and ships either tomorrow or anytime. I will offer my help to the families of the victims.

MARSH: Today, monsoons, rains, muddy water, high waves and poor visibility hampered the dangerous underwater search for the plane's black boxes. The boxes have locator pingers that can be detected with sensors. But each day of delay, the batteries come closer to running out. The manufacturer tells CNN fresh batteries were installed just last year. They will fade in another three weeks.

This document obtained by CNN shows the official government weather report forecasting conditions the pilots would encounter. Indonesian government officials tell CNN there's no indication AirAsia staff picked up a hard copy, potentially a missed opportunity to discuss the report with the agency.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not necessarily seeing these things as any indication of negligence on the carrier's part, on the crew's part. I mean, it depends. We don't know exactly what weather information, what weather data the crew didn't allegedly see and how relevant that is to what happened.

MARSH: The airline says the pilots got the documents electronically, but since the crash, Indonesia now requires pilots to do face-to-face briefing with flight operations officers about conditions on the flight path.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARSH: Well, AirAsia also now requires a face-to-face weather briefing between pilots and the government's weather agency. AirAsia's handling of the weather information is now being investigated by aviation authorities there in Indonesia.

They expect the results of that investigation to come in another one to two weeks. Essentially, did they do things properly, did they have all the access to the information that they needed before taking off?

TAPPER: And what needs to be done so this doesn't happen again.

Rene Marsh, thank you so much.

I want to go to CNN's David Molko now, who is live in Surabaya, Indonesia.

David, as we said, divers were told earlier today to stand down. Are conditions going to cooperate? Will they be able to get back into the water?

DAVID MOLKO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jake, just about an hour until first light here in Surabaya.

We're going into day 11 of the search-and-rescue effort. Jake, it seems like we talk about this every day at this time. On Sunday, no visibility, Monday, no visibility. Tuesday, they couldn't even get divers into the water. So coming up on Wednesday morning, hoping to do it again, the forecast, again, looking better, but they have been saying that every day. And we know that conditions can change out there in a split-second.

You know, we got a good look at the weather conditions from the USS Sampson, the destroyer out there, getting a good look at the American search effort, choppy seas, hazy visibility.

Jake, some other news. The other U.S. asset in the region, the USS Fort Worth, picking up two other objects on its sonar, large objects, the largest one about 55 feet, so roughly a little less than a wing of the Airbus A-320. Of course, they can't confirm any of these objects, seven large ones now, until they can get either divers or cameras in the water -- Jake.

TAPPER: David Molko live in Surabaya, Indonesia, thank you so much.

In our buried lead today, he's the handsome son of a wealthy hedge fund founder who is suspected of murdering his own father and staging it to look like a suicide. And now police are calling him the prime suspect in a fire that burned down a rival hedge fund manager's Hamptons home. That story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

The sports lead now: they were considered the next generation of stars on the slopes for the U.S. ski team and Olympic hopefuls for the 2018 Games in South Korea. But now their team and the ski racing community is in mourning after the lives of Ronnie Berlack and Bryce Astle were tragically cut short in an avalanche on the Austrian Alps.

Twenty-year-old Berlack and 19-year-old Astle were part of a group of six ski racers when it happened. Their four teammates who escaped unharmed said they tried everything to rescue their friends but the two ended up buried beneath about 10 feet of snow. It took search teams almost an hour, that's because neither had on gear designed to send out signals in the event of an avalanche.

CNN's Rachel Nichols is live in New York.

Rachel, there were avalanche warnings in the area before these guys hit the slopes. Do we have any idea if they knew that?

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, we'll never know that for sure. But there was a lot of information available out there. These conditions had been going on for a few days. There were warnings on TV, on the radio, signs around various ski slopes. In fact, there have been some minor incidents already at some other neighboring slopes.

But as we've heard from other skiers in the last 24 hours, when you're an elite skier, you hear these things over and over from time to time, and you do unfortunately start to become a little numb to just how dangerous the conditions are and what you are doing out there. That really also applies to where these skiers were. Remember, they went off the marked path, off the place you and I would normally ski and back into the more wild, ungroomed area. And they were more susceptible there to the shifting snows.

Again, that's something that a lot of elite skiers do. But it is dangerous. And when they were buried under the snow, it took about 60 search and rescuers nearly an hour to find them. And, of course, that's too late.

TAPPER: So sad.

The U.S. ski team is involved in a World Cup event in nearby Croatia today. How are they managing just 24 hours after this disaster happened?

NICHOLS: Yes, it's really devastating. The skiers were all given the option not to participate. Most of them did, wanting to do it in honor of these two young skiers.

You see the American flag at half mast. They had a moment of silence for the skiers before the event. Also, a lot of the American skiers were wearing black armbands, on their helmets, they put tape with the two guys' initials, but, obviously, very difficult.

Their head coach isn't even there at the event. He flew back to Austria to be with this younger, developmental team. Sort of like the minor leagues in skiing. How a major league team will have a minor league. Well, the U.S. team has this minor league squad, it's a developmental team. And the head coach flew back to Austria to be with them.

It's just been incredibly difficult for these young guys, many of them who were there when the incident happened. They said they've gotten great support from neighboring countries, others in the ski teams and the ski community. But there's no way to deal with this. It's just a huge loss.

TAPPER: So sad. Rachel, thank you so much.

In other sports news, it is a half mile tall, as steep as the side of a skyscraper and it is as smooth as a sidewalk. Take a look at how steep we're talking about. And yet somehow some way two men are nerve-rackingly close to climbing the dome wall of Yosemite's notoriously El Capitan rock formation and they're doing it without using roofs. The climb is being called the hardest in the world.

Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson are the veteran rock climbers who decided to take on the nearly impossible feat. No one's ever climbed the doom wall without using ropes and bolts to help get to the top. The only ropes they're using if you see them in the picture there, they're in place to catch them if they fall. The men are hoping to reach the top of El Capitan by Thursday, but they say the climb could stretch into the weekend.

Turning now to the buried lead -- a Princeton graduate who ran in the upper crust part of New York's socialite circles, he walked into a courtroom in designer duds to face charges in the murder of his own father. Sources say Thomas Gilbert Jr. killed his dad because he was ticked off that his wealthy parents were preparing to reduce his allowance.

Today, we learned Gilbert may be under investigation for another crime, a police source tells the "Associated Press". Gilbert is suspected of burning down a Hamptons mansion owned by the friend of a family turned rival.

CNN's Alison Kosik is live in New York with details on this case, which can only be called bizarre.

Alison, we're talking about a guy who seems to have had everything going for him.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Seems to have.

You know, this is the guy who went to the best schools. His hangout was the Hamptons, which is considered a playground for the rich.

But here's the thing, his parents supported him financially and that may have been his undoing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KOSIK (voice-over): Police say it was murder staged like suicide of a millionaire by his own son. Thirty-year-old Thomas Gilbert Jr. has been charged with murdering his hedge fund founding father Thomas Gilbert Sr. with a bullet to the head. He did not enter a plea when appearing in court on Monday.

Today, new details are surfacing about Gilbert Jr.'s past run-ins with the law. Police won't say if they have a motive in the murder yet but know Gilbert Jr.'s parents were supporting him financially. There are reports they were cutting his allowance. The violence unfolding here late Sunday at Thomas Sr.'s upscale Manhattan apartment.

Police say Tommy arrived and quickly asked his mother to get him something to eat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She went to get some food for Jr. About 15 minutes after that, she had a bad feeling and decided to return. She got back to the apartment about 15 minutes later and she found Sr. on the floor with a bullet hole in his head.

KOSIK: Police found the gun on Gilbert's chest, making it look like a suicide, but a search of Tommy Jr.'s apartment suggested otherwise.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a shell casing envelope with the serial number of the gun that was recovered at the crime scene -- substantial amount of physical evidence to use.

KOSIK: Police also found indications of a fraud operation at his apartment. Prosecutors allege Gilbert Jr. had a skimming device and 21 blank credit cards, adding 22 charges of forgery to the murder and gun charges.

This wasn't Gilbert Jr.'s first encounter with the law. He was arrested in September for violating a protective order filed by another hedge fund player, Peter N. Smith. The Smith family home in the Hamptons later burned to the ground in a case that's being investigated for arson.

Tommy Gilbert's one-time girlfriend, socialite Anna Rothschild, told the "New York Post," "He was a loner, but murder? This was the last thing in a million years", she said, "that I thought he could do."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOSIK: And Tommy may have been preparing to follow in his father's footsteps. Last May, he filed with the SEC to raise money for his own hedge fund. The firm representing Tommy Gilbert declined CNN's request to comment on the case -- Jake.

TAPPER: I'll bet they did.

Alison Kosik, thank you so much.

Coming up next, it wasn't exactly an overwhelming vote of confidence. John Boehner will remain speaker of the House. But with so many in his own party voting against him, are his problems just beginning?

Plus, the former Navy SEAL who says he killed Osama bin Laden is now under criminal investigation. Could he face charges for speaking out? He'll join me live next with his side of the story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

Our politics lead now, the 114th Congress is officially in session with Republicans in control of both the House and the Senate for the first time since 2006. They say their first order of business will be passing the Keystone pipeline legislation which this afternoon the White House said President Obama will not sign into law.

Most Americans are not expecting much to change in Washington. A new CNN poll released this morning finds 47 percent of respondents believe there will be no difference in what's accomplished by this new Congress, 37 percent said more will get done, 15 percent said less.

Congressman John Boehner fought off a challenge from Tea Party Republicans or the folks Boehner likes to call the "hell no" caucus, and he was reelected House speaker.

CNN's chief congressional correspondent Dana Bash is live on Capitol Hill.

Dana, take a look at this little snippet of Vice President Biden greeting the new Senate Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEPH BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Who's this guy? How are you? Are you doing OK? He said, grandpa, can I talk to a Democrat?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Grandpa, can I talk to a Democrat? Lots of hugs and smiles today. And even in cute moments like that one, an undertone of real harsh division.

BASH: Absolutely. But I think, I'm glad that we played that because I'm in the hallway here. You can maybe see a little bit behind me, this building is filled with family, with friends. This is very much the first day of school feel whereas somebody said to me passing by, everybody starts with an "A." And that's definitely the atmosphere.

And I think what you just played is also noteworthy because the irony is, and, you know this, Jake, if there is a deal to be done on big issues, it might be those two very men, the vice president, Joe Biden, and Mitch McConnell, because they've done so in the past I believe three times when things have been incredibly intense. The two of them have come together and formed a deal.

So, that was maybe a foreshadowing. Who knows?

TAPPER: Speaker Boehner squashed his opposition. He was reelected speaker this afternoon. He's had trouble controlling House Republicans to say the least.

Do you think that they are more rebellious now than they were even during for instance in the government shutdown?

BASH: You know, perhaps in some ways. At the end of the day, there were 24 Republicans who actively voted against John Boehner. One Republican abstained. So, there were 25 effectively against him. And that was double what we saw two years ago when 12 Republicans voted against him for House speaker.

The difference is there are more Republicans now. It's a historic high, 246, highest Republican majority since 1928, I believe.

So, to answer your question -- yes, excuse me, they're a little bit unruly here. Yes, they probably do feel the ability to be more rebellious when they're trying to make the point that they don't think that the leadership has gone the way they want it, not so much because of his ideals but because of the process.