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Bronx Derailment; Cyber Monday; U.S. Urges North Korea to Release Americans; Biden Aims to Calm China-Japan Tensions; Controversy after Officiating Blunder; Derailed Train Cars Being Uprighted

Aired December 02, 2013 - 09:30   ET

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

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In a press briefing which is scheduled for later on today. Now that second recorder we're told is on its way back here to D.C. to be downloaded. We know that investigators, they are still looking for video that may have captured the derailment. They do not know yet if this train had cameras that captured images, but we should know that soon. Also, investigators have not yet interviewed the train crew, including the conductor. We are told, though, that that will be done either today or tomorrow.

Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Now we know the speed limit, at least on the straightaway, the straight parts of the track, is 70 miles per hour. But the train was supposed to slow to about 30 when it went around that curve. Apparently it did not and that's why it derailed. Do we know how fast the train was going?

MARSH: At this point the NTSB tells us that they still do not know how fast the train was traveling. We know that, as you said, the approach was 70 miles per hour, the curve is 30 miles per hour, but those recorders do record information like the speed of the train. So the NTSB tells us they may know how fast that train was going later on today.

At this hour, they continue to document the scene. This morning the railcars, which were flipped over on their sides, we know that they were turned upright. But this is their first full day at the site, Carol.

COSTELLO: We -- I've also read reports that members of the train's crew says the conductor tried to apply the brakes and nothing happened. What do we know about that?

MARSH: Again, that will be something that the NTSB will be looking into because those recorders will tell the investigators, were the brakes applied at a certain point, when were the brakes applied, and how fast was the train when -- how fast was the train going when these brakes were applied. So all answers that we're still looking for, but at this point -- at this point we don't have those answers.

COSTELLO: All right, I'm sure you will follow this story. Rene Marsh reporting live from Washington.

Checking other top stories this morning at 32 minutes past the hour.

Another train derailment, this one in southern New Mexico. It killed three railroad workers over the weekend. Investigators say the locomotive was pulling eight cars when it derailed and plunged about 40 feet into a ravine. Only the workers were on board the freight train, operated by Southwestern Railroad. The cause of the derailment is still under investigation.

A new wave of protests sweeping across the Ukraine. Some call it a revolution and are demanding a nationwide strike starting today. Nine years ago, a popular revolt drove the prime minister from office and now demonstrators want the current president booted out. The government is fighting against protesters with stun grenades and tear gas.

China took a big step forward in its space program today. It launched an unmanned lunar probe called the Chang'e-3. And if all goes well, it will make a soft landing on the moon later this month. China would become the third country after the United States and Russia to land a rover on the moon.

Investors are getting their first chance to react to the holiday sales weekend as the opening bell ring - there it is, it rang on Wall Street. I guess it already range about three minutes ago. December kicks off with several key economic reports, including the latest jobs numbers, all due this week.

Amazon, the mega online retailer, has plans for something that could revolutionize the industry. In the not-too-distant future, Amazon says it will use drones to deliver the things you order online right to your doorstep. Take a look. It looks like mini helicopters, right? Amazon says they'll have a range of about 10 miles and won't have anyone controlling them. They'll be autonomous. No waiting either. The company says it can deliver orders same day. Here's Amazon President Jeff Bezos.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF BEZOS, PRESIDENT, AMAZON: We can do half hour delivery.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Half hour delivery?

BEZOS: Half hour delivery and we can carry objects we think up to five pounds, which covers 86 percent of the items that we deliver.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Mr. Bezos says the drones could start delivering in four to five years, maybe as early as 2015 if the FAA changes the rules. Other companies are thinking about drone deliveries too. Among them, Domino's Pizza.

Happy Cyber Monday, or should I say happy cyber week. Yes, retailers will offer deals all week long to entice you to spend more money and that's especially important in light of a tepid Black Friday. On average, shoppers dished out $407 over the Thanksgiving weekend. That's down from $423 per shopper spent last year.

Now those numbers despite the fact more people shopped until they dropped on Thanksgiving day. That's up 27 percent from last year. With me now to talk about this, David Wessel, the economics editor from "The Wall Street Journal."

Welcome, David.

DAVID WESSEL, ECONOMICS EDITOR, "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL": Good morning.

COSTELLO: Good morning.

OK, so these numbers are a bit confusing because Walmart execs told me they had their best Black Friday sales ever. Target says it had a very successful start. Yet people spent less overall. So what does that say about our economy?

WESSEL: Well, first of all, the data we get on -- from the retailers at this time of year is almost always contradictory and confusing. I mean they are not always completely forthcoming because they don't want to discourage people from shopping.

I think the most interesting thing we saw over the weekend, besides the fact that a number of retailers decided to be open on Thanksgiving Day, was that 40 percent of the sales were online. In a sense, Cyber Monday is an acronymism (ph). Cyber Monday dates from the days when people had slow Internet at home and they came to work on Monday after Thanksgiving and ordered. But now that so many people have broadband, people are shopping online all the time and the retailers are scrambling to catch up with consumers.

COSTELLO: Well, I'd shop online too in light of, you know, the incidents you see in the stores every Black Friday because there always seems to be a fight somewhere and that can't help retailers, right?

WESSEL: Right. Well, of course not. But I think people like going to the stores. We at "The Wall Street Journal" and others did stories following teenagers around the mall and that's very social. You can do that. I am having a hard time imaging the day when our lives will be like the Harry Potter - you remember when the owl came into the big dining hall and they dropped packages from your mom.

COSTELLO: Yes.

WESSEL: Can you imagine sitting at your desk and your mom sends you that scarf or tie and the drone hovers over your desks and drops it. It's amazing.

But I think you actually have to -

COSTELLO: I -

WESSEL: Go ahead.

COSTELLO: No, I'm just laughing because I can't imagine that day. I really can't. And I think it's coming sooner than we think.

WESSEL: Could be. I think you raised a good point, though, about what does this tell us about the economy? I think if you add it all together, people are being very cautious, people are shopping for discounts, the retailers are building that in, and until wages really start to pick up and unemployment comes down more constructively, faster, retailers are going to be swimming upstream to try and get people to spend money because a lot of people are being kind of tight this year.

COSTELLO: And you can see why, because Congress has yet to pass a budget, right?

WESSEL: Absolutely.

COSTELLO: The effects of Obamacare have yet to sink in. So you would -- you understand consumers are a little nervous and they don't want to spend as much money.

WESSEL: Right. So I think those consumers who have jobs, who are lucky enough to have money in the stock market, which is soaring, who are relieved that the value of their house is going up, those upper-end consumers, they'll probably spend pretty readily. And I expect that the retailers who serve them will see a pretty good Christmas.

But people who serve that mass market, where wages haven't been rising, where, you're right, people may have some anxiety about health care, I think they're probably less worried about the budget than they are their paychecks and their health care. Those retailers are going to have to work hard to get people to spend.

COSTELLO: Well, you know, you've touched on something. You know, the stock market is on fire. Banks are profitable. The upper 1 percent doing just fine. So is this just the story of the American economy?

WESSEL: It is definitely one story of the American economy. And I think you're starting to see more political angst about this. I mean all across the country in these little scattered places, Washington, D.C., today, the Seattle airport, their -- municipalities starting to raise the minimum wage, which is something that they haven't done for some time. I think that's one response to people saying, we got to do something to even out the prosperity a little bit so that it's not so much concentrated at the top. But the forces that are putting a wedge between winners and losers in the economy are very strong, technology and globalization, and they're not going to go away.

COSTELLO: David Wessel from "The Wall Street Journal," thanks so much for sharing this morning. We appreciate it.

WESSEL: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, two Americans detained in North Korea. Now the U.S. government is pleading with officials there for their release. Up next, we'll hear from the sister of one of those detained men, an 80 - what, an 80 plus year old man who had to apologize for his part in the Korean War. Strange but true. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: U.S. officials are pleading for the release of two Americans detained in North Korea. On Saturday, a National Security Council spokeswoman urged North Korea to let 85-year-old Merrill Newman return home to the United States. Newman is a Korean War veteran. He was detained in October, just as his tour group was leaving the communist country. Over the weekend, Korean state media released this video of Newman reading a handwritten, scripted apology for so-called crimes committed during the Korean War. The U.S. is also pushing for the release of a second American, Kenneth Bae, who's been in prison since last year. Earlier this morning, Bae's sister spoke to CNN's Chris Cuomo about the last time she heard from her brother.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TERRI CHUNG, SISTER OF KENNETH BAE: Last time we've had any news of Kenneth was when my mother was visiting back in October. So she was there from the 11th through the 14th. And she got to visit him in the hospital. And we haven't had any updates since. And at that time, I think his condition had improved some because he had been hospitalized for several months but, you know, he has chronic conditions that require ongoing attention by his doctors at home, which is why he needs to come home now.

CHRIS CUOMO, ANCHOR, CNN'S "NEW DAY": Help us understand that a little bit. Was he injured during his detention or how did he become ill? How long has he been in the hospital?

CHUNG: He's been in the hospital since August 5th. He's had some medical conditions, pre-existent prior to North Korea. He had diabetes, he had enlarged heart, hypertension and my understanding is, while he was in labor camp, some of his injuries from before, he had some back injuries and a leg -- radiating leg pain, that had reoccurred during his hard labor because he was working in the field eight hours a day for six days and I think his body - and I think he has some malnutrition as well. He had lost 50 pounds during his 80 days of hard labor and I think his body simply started to just give out and that required --

CUOMO: Fifty pounds in 80 days? Just to be clear, he's not being held in a hotel. He was in a hard labor camp?

CHUNG: That's right. You know, it's hard to describe the kind of just sheer pain and agony that our family has been enduring for the past 13 months. Just the uncertainty and just, you know, not having him be -- come home, especially for the holidays, has been particularly difficult. You know, this is the second Thanksgiving we spent without him and, you know, Christmas is coming up and we really are hoping and praying that he'll be home by Christmas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: On Saturday, an ambassador from Sweden visited Newman to deliver medication. Newman is believed to be in good health, but U.S. officials say they are deeply concerned about both men.

All new in the next hour of NEWSROOM, a baby born with a serious heart defect denied a transplant.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was scared that he was going to die. There was actually a point where we were planning his funeral.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The doctors told them the transplant was too risky. But his parents say the real reason Maverick was denied a heart is because he's developmentally disabled.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you think they just sort of discredited his life, discredited his future?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely. And if they were to say otherwise, they would be lying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Ahead, a couple's fight to save their son. That's all new in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Checking our "Top Stories" at 50 minutes past the hour.

Pope Francis had his first meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Vatican today. The two men talked about obstacles locking teeth between Israel and the Palestinians and about the new international deal covering Iran's nuclear program. CNN is learning the Pope will visit Israel in May.

Police are investigating the death of a man in the parking lot outside Arrow Head Stadium at Kansas City. A fan who had just left the Chiefs-Broncos game last night found someone in his car. There was a fight. Police say the intruder later died at the hospital. And he had simply gotten to the wrong car we don't know but we do know three people are in custody.

Ice on a highway outside Worcester, Massachusetts being blamed for a 70-vehicle pileup; two people were seriously hurt and all 35 taken to hospitals. A car that's coming over a rise slid on the ice and wound up becoming part of the tangle of cars and trucks. The pileup stretched 500 yards closing Interstate-2 94 hours.

Police arrested a Seattle man after he allegedly stole a ferry boat and took it on a joy ride. Investigators say he also hinted at a bomb threat which scrambles the Coast Guard and the SWAT team. Officers storm the boat and the man was arrested without a fight. He told police he just wanted to take the ferry to west Seattle. In weather the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season will go down as the least active in more than three decades and nothing like 2012. There were just two named storms this year Umberto and Ingrid. And both were weak Category 1 hurricanes. Experts are having trouble explaining why the Atlantic spawned so few storms.

Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Tokyo earlier this hour. he's there to help ease tensions rising between Japan and China over a disputed territory of the East China Sea. What's been a war of words between governments is now threatening to spiral out of control as military plane for the United States, China and Japan and South Korea continue to fly through that disputed air zone.

CNN's Anna Coren has more on Biden's delicate mission.

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Carol U.S. Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Japan as part of the week long trip to Asia amid new tensions here in the Asia Pacific region. It follows China's announcement of an air defense identification zone over disputed territory between China and Japan. Well last week the United States got involved flying unarmed B-52 bombers over the area along with several Japanese surveillance planes. Well the Chinese responded by scrambling F-16 fighter jets.

Vice President Biden hopes to not only diffuse the tensions but also reaffirm Americas commitment to the region. While U.S. foreign policy has been dominated by the Middle East the Obama administration continues to maintain its (inaudible) to focus on Asia pivot to counter the military and economic rise of China.

While in Japan he will meet with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and newly appointed U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy. The Vice President then heads to China where he's expected to ask later to clarify China's intent with the air defense zone. He will then travel to South Korea where the North Korean nuclear program will be high on the agenda. Back to you -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Anna Coren reporting this morning.

Still to come to the NEWSROOM third down first it all got a little confusing for the Washington Redskins but we do know one thing. The Redskins lost the -- that would be "game". The Redskins lost the game. "Bleacher Report" is coming your way next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: An officiating blunder during last night's game has the Washington Redskins and their fans crying "foul". Andy Scholes has more on the controversy. Poor Redskins -- just can't win anything.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS: It's been a rough year for the Redskins. And this call may have caused them the game against the Giants. This is a very confusing sequence so try to stay with me here, Carol, ok.

COSTELLO: Ok. SCHOLES: They're down seven points with two minutes to play. On second down RG3 -- he's going to complete this pass and it looks like it's going to be just shy of a first down. All right. But the chains were moved and the Redskins thought they had a first down.

So then after this incomplete pass, watch the down marker closely. It's going to go from first down to fourth down.

COSTELLO: Oh.

SCHOLES: So to recap it we went from second down to first down to fourth down. That definitely affected the play pulling I'm sure --

COSTELLO: Sure.

SCHOLES: -- but technically, the mistake by the officials didn't matter because the Redskins Pierre Garcon was stripped of this ball. The Giants would take over and they were going to win by a touchdown.

There's one playoff (inaudible) a lot. Giants now 15 out of six.

COSTELLO: At least the Redskins have no playoff.

SCHOLES: Right. At least it doesn't hurt too badly, yes.

All right. Here's a team that does have a lot of playoff. Peyton Manning and the Broncos -- Peyton Manning had another Peyton Manning kind of game. He threw five touchdowns and the winner of the Chiefs, four of them went to wide receiver Eric Decker. Big day for him -- he finished with 174 yards receiving and a franchise record four touchdowns. The Broncos held off a late Chiefs rally to win 35-28. They are now back on top of the AFC with a record of 10-2.

Still trending on BleacherReport.com today, the incredible finish from the Auburn-Alabama game. Take a listen to the Tigers Radio calling this epic touchdown.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 56-yarder. It's got -- no does not have the leg. And Chris Davis takes it in the back of the end zone. Running after the 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50 -- 45 there goes Davis.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh my God.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Davis is going to run it all the way back. Auburn's going to win the football game. Auburn's going to win the football game.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: We've got a lot of Alabama fans in the studio.

SCHOLES: You know, somebody tackle him. Somebody tackle him.

COSTELLO: He didn't even appear winded. He was just like -- SCHOLES: The YouTube fan reactions to this are incredible. You got to take a look at it.

All right. Anyway -- this game is called the best one of all time and I agree. It's probably the best part of the football game.

And finally, you guys. Check this out Carol. This is the Calgary Hitmen hockey game after the first goal. This is the 19th annual teddy bear toss. After they scored, it just started raining teddy bears. This is almost 26,000 -- I couldn't even say it right.

COSTELLO: Is that right?

SCHOLES: 26,000 teddy bears were thrown onto the ice -- they all go to kids for the holidays. Great cause and look at the videos. It's great. Watch the players having such a great time at that. Once they started stacking up the players are diving on the piles of teddy bears. It's a pretty cool deal.

COSTELLO: Who has to pick all those up?

SCHOLES: Those poor arena workers.

COSTELLO: It's for a good cause, right.

SCHOLES: Yes. Maybe they get to keep one.

COSTELLO: I hope so.

Andy thanks so much.

SCHOLES: Right.

COSTELLO: Next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.

Good morning. I'm Carol Costello, thanks so much for joining me.

At this hour crews are uprighting the train cars following that deadly derailment in the Bronx. You are looking at live pictures from the scene. All seven cars of the Metro-North commuter train jumped the track yesterday killing four passengers and critically injuring 11 others as it went around a curve.

New York governor, Andrew Cuomo, told CNN's "NEW DAY", investigators are looking at what part, if any, speed might have played.

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: There are two black boxes. One was in the cabin, the front; one was in the back. They've downloaded both. That will give you the speed of the train whether the train was going too fast. There's a 70-mile per hour speed limit just north of where we are. Trains are supposed to slow down to about 30 miles per hour for the curve. They'll tell you if the brakes were applied. If they were, when? So that really should narrow --