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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Rocket Launch Makes History; Charles Bolden Interview; Booker "Very Upset" at GOP; Task Force: Prostate Cancer Test Not Worth Risk; "El Loco" Captured By Mexican Army
Aired May 22, 2012 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ANNOUNCER: And launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as NASA turns to the private sector to resupply the International Space Station.
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ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: It's a beautiful thing. The first successful launch just over an hour ago of a space station supply spacecraft. We're going to take you live to Florida in just a few moments.
ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, Newark, New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker speaking out about this whole Bain private equity debate.
Hear what he had to say about his critics and the president.
BANFIELD: And a major slide in Facebook's stock. This is a big deal, and a big drop. Details, straight ahead.
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Ashleigh Banfield.
SAMBOLIN: And I'm Zoraida Sambolin. We're very happy you're with us.
We are bringing you the news from A to Z.
Five a.m. here on the East, so let's get started.
Up first, boldly going where no private spacecraft has gone before.
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ANNOUNCER: One, zero -- and launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as NASA turns to the private sector to resupply the International Space Station.
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SAMBOLIN: What a sight, huh? It happened not too long ago, a rocket built by the commercial space flight company, SpaceX, blasting off just a little over an hour ago from Cape Canaveral, launching the unmanned Dragon capsule to the International Space Station. It is the world's first commercial space station supply flight. NASA is hanging its hopes on the mission now that the retired space shuttles are museum exhibits.
John Zarrella is live in Miami.
And, John, I was watching you as it went into space. You were very excited about this. No glitches this time, right?
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, no glitches. You know, Zoraida, this is huge. You cannot understate how important this launch is. It really paves the way for a whole new era in space flight. In fact, the White House issuing a statement just a short time ago saying it represents the potential of a new era in American spaceflight.
Only four nations in the world have the capability and have ever actually rendezvoused and docked with the International Space Station. What SpaceX is attempting to do is to do pretty much just that. To send a spacecraft to the International Space Station and rendezvous, not dock in this case, but berth. The station's robotic arm will reach out, grab SpaceX's Dragon capsule and pull it into the station.
I talked with Elon Musk, the CEO and founder of SpaceX, about three weeks ago, and this is not just a test flight, his Dragon capsule is actually carrying supplies.
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ELON MUSK, CEO, SPACEX: So we're going to be carrying about half a ton of supplies, it's going to be mostly, it will in fact almost entirely be supplies that are valuable once they're received at the space station. But it's OK if they get lost on the way there. So if the mission doesn't succeed, then it's not -- it's a small loss.
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ZARRELLA: So you know, they're taking dry goods, they've got a computer on board. And Elon told me, he thinks they're taking some underwear, you know, those packages.
I'm not kidding, it's the truth. You need them up there. Just like you need a beer.
SAMBOLIN: I suppose so. I suppose.
So what happens next? Are they thinking about taking humans up into space?
ZARRELLA: That would be the next step for these commercial companies and SpaceX is vying, along with four or five other companies, to get the NASA contract to take humans. SpaceX has the contract, along with Orbital, to take supplies. But there are four or five companies vying to take humans. NASA is going to pick one or two probably this summer, so SpaceX is in the mix for that as well.
Next step is the cruise stage with the Dragon capsule and the next step will be the rendezvous and hopefully the berthing with the ISS -- Zoraida. SAMBOLIN: And, John, how long does that take?
ZARRELA: A couple of days. By tomorrow they'll have rendezvoused and will check out the systems, they'll have Dragon do a fly-under of the International Space Station. If all of the systems check out, all of the software is working, then the following day, they will go ahead and attempt the actual berthing.
So we should know by Thursday, Friday, at the latest, if this all works.
SAMBOLIN: This is very exciting, we're so happy to have you there, John.
ZARRELLA: Sure.
SAMBOLIN: All right. Thank you very much.
And coming up at 5:20 Eastern, we'll talk to the head of NASA, administrator Charles Bolden, about why there is such an historic day for space flight.
BANFIELD: It is four minutes past 5:00. And a brand new poll showing President Obama and Mitt Romney in a dead heat over who can fix the economy. Overall, the president leads Romney by just three percentage points in a new "Washington Post"/ABC News poll.
But on issue number one, the voters, they're pretty knotted up at 47 percent. More than half of those asked said that the economy is the number one issue going into the election.
SAMBOLIN: Newark, New Jersey mayor, Cory Booker, Obama supporter and rising star in the Democratic Party is mad this morning and firing back after an ad from the Mitt Romney campaign used his own words against him -- when he described as nauseating the Obama campaign's attacks on Mitt Romney, the businessman.
He went on MSNBC last night and said the GOP crossed the line.
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MAYOR CORY BOOKER (D), NEWARK: I am upset. I've been taken out of context. I've been used to support a cynicism. If there's any honor in what they're saying, Mitt Romney would have come out and said you know, like Obama did, the Citizens United decision is going to hurt our democracy. He would have come out and said the negativity on our side, I'm going to talk about us, has got to stop.
If he wanted to stand with me, he would say, you know what? I stand with Cory Booker, let's stop the super PAC money, let's stop the negative campaigning, let's talk about the issues.
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SAMBOLIN: President Obama doubled database on the attacks by the Romney camp. Bain Capital is a little angry also. We have a statement from them. It says, quote, "The Marion plant was a challenging situation in a business that was performing well overall, growing revenues and adding jobs, our control of Ampad ended in 1996. Fully four years before it encountered financial difficulties, due to overwhelming pressure from big box retailers, declines in paper demand and intense foreign price pressures. Despite political attacks that emphasize a few companies that have struggled, the facts are that during that Bain Capital's ownership, revenues grew in 80 percent of the more than 300 companies in which we have invested."
BANFIELD: One year ago today, a deadly tornado ripped through Joplin, Missouri, killing 161 people and destroying 8,000 homes and businesses. President Obama traveled to Joplin, yesterday, to speak to the graduating class at Joplin High School. He called students and their town, an inspiration, and reminded them that they are tough enough to overcome any obstacle.
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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes, you will encounter obstacles along the way. I guarantee you, you will face setbacks and you will face disappointments. But you're from Joplin, and you're from America and no matter how tough times get, you'll always be tougher.
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BANFIELD: Volunteers from all over the country are headed to Joplin, this morning, to help with continued rebuilding efforts there.
SAMBOLIN: Eight people were shot during an altercation that followed last night's NBA playoff game in Oklahoma City. Police say one victim is now in critical condition. Seven others suffered wounds that were nonlife-threatening. It all happened around 11:35 Central Time, about two blocks from Chesapeake Energy Arena, as crowds were leaving the Lakers/Thunder game. Oklahoma City police say several people have been questioned, but so far, no arrests.
A government task force says the tests to screen for prostate cancer is bad medicine. A panel of health experts is recommending that men no longer get the routine PSA tests. The reason? They say the tests are not reliable. That they give false positive results 80 percent of the time and may lead to treatments that do nor harm than good.
Many urologists are insisting that those tests save lives of the prostate cancer is the second deadliest cancer among men behind only lung cancer.
Federal agents again under investigation. It's a sex scandal. A congressional source tells CNN three Drug Enforcement Agents are accused of hiring prostitutes in Cartagena, Colombia. The source says it's a separate incident from the one involving military and Secret Service agents. Even though it took place at the same time, in the same city, ahead of President Obama's trip to a summit there. BANFIELD: America's top diplomat in Kabul will be stepping down. Administration officials say that Ryan Crocker is the ambassador to Afghanistan, is expected to leave his post sometime this summer. Crocker took over last July.
SAMBOLIN: Reality replacing the hype. Facebook reeling this morning after shares sank 11 percent in the first day of trading without the full support of the company's underwriters. Facebook's stock now $4 below its initial public offering, wiping out more $10 billion of the social network's market value.
Even if you didn't buy a single share, Facebook still may be costing you. So make sure you check your 401(k).
BANFIELD: And that's why they say when all those executives have billion-dollar portfolios, it's just on paper. It can go that fast. Ten minutes past 5:00.
"Oceans 11" -- this was not. How two men tried to take down a casino with a pair of sunglasses and a bad wig.
It's all coming up.
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SAMBOLIN: Welcome back. Thirteen minutes past the hour.
Let's get you up-to-date, here's Christine Romans.
Good morning.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, ladies.
It's liftoff of the first private mission to the International Space Station. A rocket built by the commercial spaceflight company known as SpaceX blasting off at 3:44 this morning, launching the unmanned Dragon capsule to resupply the ISS. In mission is a bid to replace the retired space shuttle fleet.
There's plane in the front yard, more than 1600 people without power overnight after a small plane took out power poles and crash-landed in front of this house in Glendale, California, last night. According to the "L.A. Times," the pilot, the only person on board, was able to get out of the wreckage and he is expected to be OK.
The FAA tells us the pilot reported engine trouble, was trying to make it to nearby Van Nuys airport when he went down.
A police manhunt in Michigan for an inmate who escaped en route to a court appearance. Police say Everett Allen Robinson attacked a sheriff's deputy, stole his gun, and then drove off in the deputies patrol car. They're warning local residents this morning that Robinson is armed and dangerous.
It wasn't exactly the perfect, just a dumb guy in a wig trying to rob casino. A man scheduled to appear in court after police say he tried to pepper-spray a blackjack dealer and grab $115,000 in chips at the Bellagio.
This is no "Oceans 11," folks. The eye in the sky of course always watching in Sin City, police say casino staff wrestled him down. His wig and sunglasses fell off during the struggle. While a suspected accomplice got away.
BANFIELD: That always happens, doesn't it? The wig and the sunglasses come off.
ROMANS: That was a brave and dumb move.
BANFIELD: H probably said if it wasn't for the pesky teenagers who caught him.
Christine Romans, thank you.
The struggle to contain wildfires in Arizona has been one heck of a problem this season and it's not getting any better these days. Rob Marciano is with us live.
I've been reporting on this for the better of six days, I didn't think it would take that long to get those fires under control.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Usually they get a break, weather- wise, but this fire hasn't. More winds and heat is going to be building here in the next couple of days. Video out of Arizona, just north of Phoenix, this Gladiator Fire.
Like Ashleigh said, we've been reporting on this for a week now. Still only 19 percent contained. They've got over 1,100 personnel on this thing working it.
About an hour north of Phoenix, tourist mining town, all sorts of assets in there trying to control this thing. Weather is not going to cooperate. The last two days it's been a little bit better, but still only 19 percent containment.
The heat obviously is one factor, 108 to 112 for the forecast today, for this area, including parts of extreme southern California. And the winds are going to kick up today and tomorrow. We're looking at extreme fire danger over the next 48 hours.
Off to the east coast, we've got a front that's not going to be moving very much. So, over the next couple of days, you're going to see the threat for showers. You saw it yesterday. New York, some light rain right now, the I-95 corridor towards Boston.
These will linger on and off throughout the day today and tomorrow as well. Temperatures hold in the 70s.
A quick note on what was tropical storm, what was tropical storm, Alberto, now just a depression. We knew it wouldn't do a whole lot. We'll continue to head off the sea. We're watching something in the Eastern Pacific, which could become a hurricane in the next day.
Guys, back up to you. SAMBOLIN: Thank you, Rob.
Sixteen minutes past the hour. It's time for your early reads, is America's love affair with the automobile officially over?
BANFIELD: No.
SAMBOLIN: The "Washington Post" reporting Americans are not only driving less, Ashleigh but fewer are buying cars at all. A quarter of adults in Washington, D.C., don't even have a car.
And while high gas prices and unemployment are partly to blame, listen to new social technology has created a world people can connect with friends and family without leaving the house. Fewer young people are bothering to get a driver's license, instead they're moving to cities with strong public transportation. And, you know, the services like the zip car and the apps like bike share have introduced new ways for people to get around without having to own a car.
BANFIELD: Something tells me there's some Ferraris for sale in Palo Alto, right now. And a lot of people snapping them up. Although the price drop, maybe not so much
Speaking of cars and maybe not getting in your car, it turns out traffic congestion is easing up in a lot of American cities, according to a new report out in "USA Today," says that congestion dropped 30 percent just between 2010 and 2011 in 100 of America's largest cities. The plunge -- no surprise -- has a lot to do with higher gas prices and, of course, our economy that was somewhat sluggish. The recovery has been slow and that's reflected your gas pedal.
Apparently, the cities with the biggest drops in gridlock, Minneapolis, Akron and Honolulu. The cities that saw the biggest increase in traffic congestion were Tampa, Miami, Houston. Those are the cities that also saw the biggest increases in job growth. So folks who got the job --
SAMBOLIN: Correlation there.
BANFIELD: Had to get to work somehow.
SAMBOLIN: All right. An historic day in space flight. The first commercial spacecraft is headed to the International Space Station right now. We're going to talk live one-on-one to the head of NASA after the quick break.
Stay with us.
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BANFIELD: A historic launch to the International Space Station this morning, the first from America without a NASA logo slapped on the side of the rocket. This rocket was built by a commercial spaceflight company known was SpaceX, and it blasted off at about 3:44 this morning Eastern Time, launching an unmanned Dragon capsule to resupply the International Space Station. The mission is a bid to replace the retired space shuttle fleet. And for an exclusive interview, we're thrilled to be joined to talk about the significance of this launch with NASA administrator, Charles Bolden.
Charles, thank so much for getting up early with us early this morning, although I think you've been up all night. This must be somewhat bittersweet in that this is not a NASA effort, but it's a joint effort of sorts.
CHARLES BOLDEN, NASA ADMINISTRATOR: That makes it incredible, Ashleigh. It is a joint effort. I have to congratulate the SpaceX team for the absolutely incredible job that they've done in getting to this point.
It's Small Business Week. They're a small business and so small businesses around the country should feel really good.
BANFIELD: A small business. But those entrepreneurs out there, the mom and pop, this is a $100 million initial investment. So, it's a pretty significant, you know, set of I guess you can call it conglomerate at this point.
Tell me about this though. For anybody who isn't really familiar, this is unmanned. But the hope is that it will take people like you and me and other astronauts up into space, not far from now, right?
BOLDEN: That's the hope. You know, this is the first step, the commercial resupply services contract that SpaceX will be entering into once they complete these two demonstrations that are going to happen on this flight.
But for us, down the road is private provision of access to low earth orbit. To companies similar to SpaceX or Boeing or Sierra Nevada or many others that are competing right now to get a contract.
BANFIELD: OK. As we look at these fabulous pictures from an hour and a half or so ago, it looks like everything was successful. If all goes according to plan, this will actually link up with the space station and the astronauts on board will start off-loading all the gear. What are you sending up?
BOLDEN: That's absolutely right.
It's -- I'm not exactly certain what all the payloads are the ones that I'm the most excited about are a group of student experiments, because I had an opportunity to meet with some of them both Saturday and this morning. But the astronauts as you said, a couple of days from now will, when SpaceX manages to close Dragon, close to the International Space Station, they'll reach out, grab with a remote manipulator, the mechanical arm and actually attach it to the International Space Station. Then open the hatch.
And the astronauts will begin to go in and get things like clothing and some of the student experiments out. BANFIELD: So, let me ask you about the safety issues, if we're looking ahead to the manned flights, right now, we're relying on the Russians. Is this commercial effort safer than say dealing with the Russians, who we don't have a whole lot of control over?
BOLDEN: You know, we, Ashleigh, to be quite honest, we have a significant amount of control over the Russians. They're part of the partnership. But what's really important is not control as much as it is, the fact that the United States will once again be in the lead, will be providing our own vehicles to take our own astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station.
It's fine to rely on partners, but that's not where the greatest nation in the world wants to be. We want to be taking astronauts and cargo on our own vehicles. Today was a huge day in the step to getting there. So, you know, we're on the way and people should hang with us.
BANFIELD: Just quickly, what can you tell me about the remains on board. I'm hearing the remains of about 300 people, including one of the, one of the actors from "Star Trek" sent into space today?
BOLDEN: Ashleigh, I really can't tell you very much about it at all. I just learned about it myself Friday night. As you know, this is a private launch and SpaceX as a private company can contract with other -- with other customers and that is what they did there.
So I will let you talk to Elon Musk and his team about some of the other cargo that's aboard. I don't want to guess and I don't know very much about it other than the fact that I think you're right.
BANFIELD: I think it's a crazy, wild story. ABC News reporting that James Duhan who played Scottie on the original "Star Trek," along with 306 others.
Hey, Charles Bolden, congratulations, nice work, good to see you this morning. And I look forward to many more conversations in the future.
BOLDEN: Hey, thanks so very much and thanks for giving us the time. Hello, America, and world and you know, welcome to the future.
BANFIELD: It's America, isn't it? Thanks, Charles, good to see you.
SAMBOLIN: It's 27 minutes past the hour. After the hype comes the fall, Facebook investors losing big. How bad is it? And where is the bottom? Wish we had a crystal ball to be able to tell you that. Christine Romans has some perspective for you coming up.
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ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Don't get a prostate cancer test. That is the word from a government task force on preventative health care. Find out why, coming up. ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Plus, a Mexican drug lord arrested and charged with chopping off the heads of nearly 50 people. How he was caught? Straight ahead.
SAMBOLIN: And it's called milk shaking. Find out what it means and how it's helping horse trainers get an illegal leg up on the competition.
BANFIELD: And a woman finds $1,800 at an ATM. Just sitting there. What does she do? She returns it.
SAMBOLIN: Got to love that.
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BANFIELD (on-camera): Yes. And she's going to join us live this hour to tell us how she's so awesome.
(LAUGHTER)
SAMBOLIN (on-camera): Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Zoraida Sambolin.
BANFIELD: Hi, everybody. I'm Ashleigh Banfield. Thirty-one minutes now past the hour. Good to have you here with us.
SAMBOLIN: It is good to have you here.
So, if you're thinking about getting screened for prostate cancer, you may want to reconsider. In a controversial move, the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force is recommending men do not undergo regular prostate cancer screening saying that it does more harm than good. CNN's Alina Cho is here with more details.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's incredible.
SAMBOLIN: It is really, because you find it standard procedure, right?
CHO: That's right. And a lot of people were really surprised about this. You know, less you think this only affects a small slice of the population, think again. I mean, this will, by some estimates, affect at least 44 million men. So, this is something that a lot of people should listen to. It is something that for many people is simply hard to understand.
Now, why wouldn't you get tested for prostate cancer? Well, an influential federal panel says it's not always best to catch cancer as early as possible. Now, we're going to explain that in just a second, but stay with me here. It is why the United States Preventative Services Task Force is now recommending against what's commonly referred to as the PSA test.
Now, the task force is saying that at best, PSA screening, remember, this is a simple blood test, may help only one in 1,000 men avoid death from prostate cancer and may do harm, because most prostate cancers found by screening are slow-growing, not life-threatening, and will not cause a man any harm during his lifetime.
Now, what can cause harm is actually the treatment. Most men who are in the words of some, over-diagnosed, will suffer serious side-effects from treatment they may not need like impotence, incontinence, possibly even death. So, this is something -- this is the case where the risks, in the words of some doctors, far outweigh the benefits.
SAMBOLIN: Oh, this is going to be highly controversial, because -- I mean, and we're not saying -- if you have a history of cancer in your family, you should still get screened?
CHO: The jury is still out on that. I mean, some doctors are saying yes. I mean listen, use your best judgment. But if you're not a doctor, I mean, as you can imagine, a lot of men are going to be confused. Do I get tested or is it not going to be the best thing for me. So, it's interesting, the fallout was swift on this.
And remember, this is not the first time that this panel has weighed in with something controversial. The same panel made waves when it recommended that women in their 40s should skip routine mammograms. Remember that story?
SAMBOLIN: Yes.
CHO: Now, as for the PSA test, which as I mentioned earlier, is a simple blood test, the American Cancer Society has not recommended routine PSA screenings since the late 1990s. But, the American Urological Association still recommends that men get their baseline screenings at age 40 if they wish to be tested.
The bottom line for the task force, as I mentioned earlier guys, the benefits in the words of some, outweigh -- the risks, rather, outweigh the benefits on this one.
SAMBOLIN: All right. This smells a little bit of money, right? And so, you start to wonder if this is a final recommendation, does that mean that insurance companies will not cover the test?
CHO: Well, that's a good question. You know, some states already have the mandate to cover these routine PSA tests. But you have to wonder, with this new recommendation which will officially be out on Monday, what will happen next. Will states go back? Who badly need the money right? Go back and say, should we be covering this? So, you're absolutely right. You're absolutely right.
BANFIELD: It reminds me of the old mammogram --
CHO: That's not even that old.
BANFIELD: The mammogram recommendation.
CHO: And that's right. And remember, the same panel.
BANFIELD: Scary.
CHO: It was. It was. BANFIELD: Very scary.
CHO: It was. A lot of women sat up and took notice. And a lot of men will pay attention to this.
SAMBOLIN: You know what, I like to remind people to go to their doctors before they make any decisions on their own, right? Because at the end of the day --
CHO: Interestingly, you know, one of the recommendations is that instead of telling men not to get tested, maybe the best course of advice is to actually educate primary care physicians a little bit better about how to read these tests more accurately and give people treatment only the people who need the treatment the treatment, you know? So, we'll have to wait to see.
SAMBOLIN: OK. Alina Cho, thank you very much for that. we appreciate it.
CHO: You bet.
BANFIELD: It is now 35 minutes past 5:00. This one is harrowing. They call him El Loco, a.k.a., The Crazy One. A fierce Mexican drug lord is now behind bars after officials say he dumped 49 decapitated and dismembered dead bodies on a highway near Monterrey. Daniel Elizondo (ph) was captured by the Mexican army.
Soldiers say that he tried to get away by throwing grenades and shooting at them. Elizondo (ph) is the leader of the Zetas drug cartel. And messages claiming to be from the Zetas (INAUDIBLE) any responsibility for the killing. So far, none of the bodies has been identified.
SAMBOLIN: Yes. It's been really difficult to do that.
Well, it could mar a magical run. The trainer of the horse that won the first two legs of the Triple Crown now facing new questions about giving horses performance-enhancing substances. Trainer, Doug O'Neill has been accused by the California horse racing board of giving horses something that they call milkshake, which is an illegal blend of baking soda, sugar, and electrolytes that is actually poured down a horse's throat or fed through its nostrils.
It's supposed to fight fatigue. So, let's be clear, the winner of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, I'll Have Another, has never tested positive. And the trainer's brother insists they play by the rules.
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DENNIS O'NEILL, BROTHER OF ACCSED, DOUG O'NEILL: Originally, the thought was, you had to milkshake a horse. We had to actually Google to find out what that meant. And nobody has ever been caught milk shaking a horse as far as I know. Doug sure hasn't. We've never milkshaked a horse. We wouldn't know how to do it. It's never been done by us or anybody in the barn.
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SAMBOLIN: I'll Have Another is trying to become the first thoroughbred since affirmed back in 1978 to claim horse racing's most famous prize.
BANFIELD: Thirty-seven minutes now past 5:00, and we're "Minding Your Business" this morning. The U.S. stock futures up ahead of the opening bell this morning, and that's after closing higher yesterday across the board. Bouncing back from the worst week, I want to say the worst week ever. But it wasn't the worst week ever, it was the worst week of the year last week.
The tech-heavy NASDAQ gaining the most, actually, among them closing up almost 2.5 percent higher to start the week.
SAMBOLIN: And one of those stocks we've been talking about for a while, Facebook, having a bit of a rough start since its IPO. I believe that's an understatement. Christine Romans is here this morning.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You're right.
SAMBOLIN: I was telling people earlier to check their retirement accounts for it.
ROMANS: I don't think --
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: This probably isn't in your 401(k) yet. I mean, portfolio managers, some of them, are not going to be allowed to buy a risky IPO for, you know, a plain vanilla mutual fund for some time, and it won't enter into the big stock averages or indices probably for a month or a quarter at least.
But, 25 percent of this offering went to individual investors. The Facebook founder and his team wanted to make sure that the little guy could get a piece of this, and if the little guy did, the little guy is down more than 11 percent right now. You know, look, Mark Zuckerberg, himself, was not a little guy. 2.13 billion he has lost in his paper stock holdings.
That's how much he's lost, because look, every time the stock drops $1, he loses $534 million because he owns so many of them. For most of you, it's not quite that much that you're losing, but you're looking at yesterday and saying, wow, 11 percent off the value of Facebook? What kind of IPO start was this?
There were no technical problems at the NASDAQ, so you can't blame that. This was a rough start by any stretch of the imagination. That's what Facebook shares look like, down 19 percent since their IPO. That top very light line that you can see, that's what the NASDAQ has done. That dark black line is what Facebook shares have done.
And just to give you some insight, yesterday, most of the competitors of Facebook were all up a one, two, three, four percent on the NASDAQ. So, when we say IPOs are risky, this is an extreme example of why IPOs are risky, because they don't always go up. There's still egg on the face of Morgan Stanley, of the NASDAQ, as people are still sorting out exactly what was the drama on Friday.
BANFIELD: Right. Isn't Facebook a little angry over this and actually taking some action or investigating?
ROMANS: Well, I mean -- look, they're hurting in the pocketbook, right? And you also have all of these paper millionaires who, in 90 days, are going to have a lockout period that's going to expire. I keep talking about that.
If you want to buy a house, you want to buy a big car, if you want to monetize your Facebook investment, there are a lot of people who are going to be on doing that as well in about 90 days. So, there's still pressure on the stock.
SAMBOLIN: Lots of expectation for them, too. It's really tough --
ROMANS: I know. It's hype versus reality. And now, we're in the reality part.
SAMBOLIN: All right. Thank you, Christine.
ROMANS: You're welcome.
SAMBOLIN: It is 40 minutes past the hour. More than a year after Japan's earthquake and tsunami disaster, parts of the U.S. could now be looking at a big environmental problem. A live look from the Alaska shoreline is coming up for you.
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SAMBOLIN: It is 43 minutes past the hour. Welcome back to EARLY START.
Alaska's coastline is no stranger to random debris, but new concerns over pollution and health risks are being raised after marine debris linked to the March 2011 tsunami in Japan is making its way across the pacific. We're talking a potential for an environmental disaster on the scale of the Exxon Valdez.
CNNs Casey Wian is live in Yakutat, Alaska. Nice to have you this morning. I was reading in the "Alaska Dispatch" that they are used to random gifts they like to call them. Why is this so different?
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it really is different, Zoraida. And, where I'm standing is on an estuary about 20 miles outside of the town of Yakutat. It's a small fishing village, 650 people live there. Just about a quarter-mile over that water is the black sand spit. And that's where, look at this, we found all of this debris that has washed up onto the shore.
And as you mentioned, it's not uncommon for debris to wash up on to these shores. Locals are saying they're seeing things they've never seen before like this insulation, which is sprayed into the interior of buildings. They believe that that is from the Japanese tsunami. Also, these big black buoys used in oyster farming, they're seeing these for the first time.
They're seeing a lot of Styrofoam from Styrofoam buoys that they've never seen before washing up, also seeing consumer products like this aloe vera juice with Japanese writing on it. And not too far from here to the northwest is Montague Island, and that's where some of the most significant debris is washing up. Let's take a look at that.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The influx of the tsunami debris really concerns us mostly because of the amount of Styrofoam that's coming and also the toxic chemicals that are coming. We think they're going to have a really detrimental impact on environment out here, long-term.
Little bits of Styrofoam all up and down this beach. A big chunk of Styrofoam just fresh came in. This is going to take years to clean this mess up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIAN: And cleaning this mess up is beginning right now. There are volunteers, environmental groups, scientist, going out to some of these beaches that are affected and picking this debris up. It's a massive, massive job. There's so much of it. This is the lightweight stuff that is coming first.
There's more stuff coming over the next year or two that they're very, very concerned about. And then even down the road, Zoraida, what they're worried about is once they collect all this stuff, how are they going to get it off the island? These villagers in this area say they can't afford to do it. And they say they want some help from the federal government to try to clean up this mess.
SAMBOLIN: Well, Casey, and you got to figure that this is also affecting the marine life quite a bit as well. We appreciate that report.
WIAN: Absolutely. Things like this, when it breaks --
(CROSSTALK)
WIAN: -- these things break up when they break up into small little bits, the birds eat it sea life eats it, and then, they think they're full, and so, they don't grow. They're easier targets for predators. And some people are saying that they're seeing birds dying off at a greater rate than they've ever seen before. Always a big problem for the animals.
SAMBOLIN: Do they have a plan for that, as well?
WIAN: They are still formulating those plans. The big priority is to get it cleaned up, and they don't know what they're dealing with completely yet, because they don't know how much toxic chemicals are out in the water.
One thing they are saying is there were some initial concerns about radiation, and they've done Geiger counter tests on a lot of this stuff, and none of it has shown any abnormal levels of radiation. So, that is being sort of downplayed as a concern, but they really don't know what's out there. They don't know what's going to hit them.
So, they're just, in some ways, waiting to see what it's going to be and then try to react to it as best they can.
SAMBOLIN: All right. Casey Wian live for us in Yakutat, Alaska. Thank you for that report.
BANFIELD: It's 47 minutes now past 5:00 on the east coast. Let's get you up to date with the top stories. Here's Christine Romans.
ROMANS: Good morning, Ashleigh.
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ROMANS (voice-over): The first private space capsule in history on its way to the International Space Station this morning. A rocket built by the commercial space flight company known as SpaceX blasting off at 3:44 a.m. eastern this morning, launching the unmanned dragon capsule to resupply the space station.
New this morning, tragedy in India. Right now, at least 14 people there killed in a train accident. Thirty-five people injured. Officials believe the driver of a passenger train missed a red light and crashed into a cargo train. Three coaches of that passenger train were involved in the wreck.
California prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for a 24-year-old former marine. charged in a serial thrill kill spree. Itzcoatl Ocampo (ph) is accused of brutally stabbing four homeless men in December, in January, and a mother and her son last October. Ocampo is scheduled to be tried in September on six counts of murder -- Zoraida and Ashleigh.
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BANFIELD: All right. Thank you, Christine. It is 48 minutes now past 5:00. Talk about temptation, a Florida woman goes to the ATM just finds a nice $1,800 wad of bills waiting for her there.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I had the money in my hand, I just looked around, there was no cars.
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BANFIELD: Doing the right thing is not always easy. Find out what she did after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BANFIELD: What would you do if you pulled up to an ATM and sitting there was $1,800? Just sitting there. Nobody else around. Would you keep it? Would you call the police? Would you go to Vegas? All right. This is the exact scenario that a Florida woman came across when she went to her ATM, and she did what you hope everybody would do -- she turned it in.
Joining me now on phone is the Good Samaritan who found and returned the cash, Adriana Allen. Adriana, can you hear me?
VOICE OF ADRIANA ALLEN, RETURNED $1,800 FOUND AT ATM: Yes, I do. How are you?
BANFIELD: You are my favorite person of the year, honestly. That is a terrific thing you did. It's cash. Nobody would know. Can you explain what happened when you drove up to that ATM?
ALLEN: Well, I was driving in just to make a transaction and to my surprise, I found $1,800 just in the deposit slot. I had to pull that money in order to make the transaction. So, when I had the money in my hand, right away I said, oh my god, what am I going to do with this money.
And I got in my car, dialed 911, got assistance from the operator, called a police officer and I had to wait like 15 minutes until he came, I gave the money to him. We made a report, and that was the end.
BANFIELD: And that was that? Did you, did you ever have that fleeting moment where you thought -- it's cash. It's just sitting here. What do I do? Or did you immediately know, I got to call 911?
ALLEN: No. You know what, I immediately no. I come from a Cuban family with a very strong belief that you are what you earn. So, the only money you keep is what you earn. And that's the way to do things. I mean, I did with my heart told me to do.
BANFIELD: I understand your mom was in the car with you. Did that have any effect on you?
(LAUGHTER)
ALLEN: No, not really. I mean, I knew I had to do that. In the area that we were, I mean, there was a lot of hard-working people. And I knew that money was from somebody that had worked very hard.
BANFIELD: It's 18 --
(CROSSTALK)
ALLEN: And you know, this time -- I mean, everybody needs their money. So, the right thing to do was to call the authorities and give the money back.
BANFIELD: So, Adriana, real quickly, as I understand, it was 18 $100 bills in an envelope that you couldn't get back into that deposit slot.
ALLEN: It's not even in an envelope. And you're right, they were all 100 bills.
BANFIELD: Not even in envelope. Just staring you straight in the face.
ALLEN: It was not in an envelope, and I tried to push it back in. Of course, they would not go in.
BANFIELD: Real quickly, any idea about the status of the money at this point, because sometimes, it's finders keepers. If the person doesn't now show up and I know they have cameras and I know they're looking into it, but what have they told you?
ALLEN: No. They haven't say anything. So, I truly don't know what they're going to do with the money. I know through their reporters yesterday, they were trying to find through the bank who it belongs to, but I have no idea what's going to happen with the money.
BANFIELD: Well, I hope the rightful owner does come forward. It's little hard to describe Cash, but if the rightful owner doesn't come forward, Adriana, I sure hope you get that money because you're a great person and a great American. Thanks for being with us this morning.
ALLEN: Oh, I'm proud to be an American. And, you know, everybody should do the same.
BANFIELD: Amen. Thank you for being on our show today, Adriana. Take care.
ALLEN: You're very welcome. You, too.
BANFIELD: Say hi to your mom for me. OK. Bye-bye.
SAMBOLIN: I love her. Raised to believe you are what you earn.
BANFIELD: Isn't that great?
SAMBOLIN: Love that.
All right. Fifty-five minutes past the hour here. Historic day for space flight this as the first private launch to the International Space Station. Up next, we'll hear from the head of NASA and the head of SpaceX, the company that launched today's rocket. Stay with us.
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