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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Markets Down Worldwide; Taliban Militants Storm Kabul Hotel; Sandusky's Adopted Son Alleges Abuse; King Crowned
Aired June 22, 2012 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN HOST: Global markets tank overnight, all over fears that Europe may be in an even deeper hole than we thought, dragging down your money this morning.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN HOST: Plus, a total bombshell, coming after testimony ends in the Jerry Sandusky trial -- from his son who says he was one of the victims of the accused child molester.
BANFIELD: And the King crowned. LeBron James winning his first NBA title in dominating fashion. We're going to take you live to the party in South Beach. Guaranteed, it is still going on this morning.
ROMANS: He said it's the best day of his life.
BANFIELD: I wouldn't doubt it.
Hi, everybody. Nice to have you with us this Friday morning. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Ashleigh Banfield.
ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. Zoraida Sambolin has this Friday off.
It's 5:00 a.m. in the East. Good morning, everybody.
BANFIELD: And it may be a good morning, it may not be such a good morning, depending how you look at things. Up first, the down arrows. Markets are down worldwide this morning after the ratings agency Moody's downgraded 15 of the world's largest banks.
And guess who happens to be sitting in this morning. The woman who knows everything there is to know about this.
Can you boil this down for those who don't eat, breath, and live economy and let us know what it means for us?
ROMANS: It means that your stock investments got hit yesterday and the global economy is slowing, and we're seeing the ramifications of that around the world. Fifteen of the biggest banks in the world, including five of the largest U.S. banks, were downgraded by moody's. Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley. Some of the largest banks in Europe, too, like HSBC, UBS, Barclays -- Moody's says these banks have, quote, significant exposure to volatility in the credit markets.
Banking analysts Mike Mayo tells us this move by Moody's will not change your day-to-day banking. I want to be clear about that. But this will affect business for the banks themselves to get loans and to lend and who will be willing to do business with them.
He also said this is likely to be the worst lending decade for banks since the Great Depression. That's something that you feel. The stocks for these banks are actually up a little bit this morning, because in short, the downgrades could have been worse and many say these ratings changes were already priced in. Stocks have had a very rough spring.
It was a rough day on Wall Street overall yesterday. The Dow plunged 250 points, almost 2 percent, and here's why: we have more concern about a slowdown in China, Germany and the U.S.: weak manufacturing data, the data from all of these countries a little bit weak yesterday, plus Goldman Sachs put out a report saying investors should sell S&P 500 stocks. Meaning sell them and let the prices drop and buy them later at a cheaper price. The S&P 500 dropped 30 points yesterday or 2 percent .
And last, this buzz bout the bank downgrades pushed stocks lower. Futures, though are up right now. Whatever happened yesterday happened you're going to feel it in your 401(k), but right now, futures are up a little bit, which we could se a bounce in the open, which is something that tends to happen after a big move in the market one day.
BANFIELD: So, literally, this could be a huge story for people late last night and the early morning risers who are watching us. And by market open, we're going to be and sailing into the clear?
ROMANS: I don't think we're going to regain almost 250 points. That's the other thing here. The other thing that's important for everyone to know -- look, we've seen these little signs for several months that the world is slowing and when Europe is slowing and world demand is slowing, that means jobs in this country are not going to grow.
All of this goes back to your 401(k), your ability to get a job, and there's also an election.
BANFIELD: I still can't believe you said the bank stops are up this morning, remarkable.
ROMANS: A little bit, a little bit.
BANFIELD: OK. We'll talk more about that in just a moment. In the meantime, another big story that developed overnight for you.
While the jury in the child sex abuse trial of Jerry Sandusky is preparing for day two of deliberations, you will not believe it, that two new accusers are coming forward with explosive stories of sexual abuse at hands of the former assistant football coach, and one of them is Jerry Sandusky's own adopted son. His name is Matt Sandusky. He is one of six adopted children of Jerry and Dottie Sandusky.
He's going public with his claims that his adopted father sexually assaulted him. He said he was prepared to testify against him in court.
Not only this, but a man named Travis Weaver is coming forward. Here he is, he's telling NBC that the abuse by Sandusky was accompanied by threats.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRAVIS WEAVER, SANDUSKY ACCUSER: He kind of pinned me down on the bed. And I told him if he didn't get off me I was going to call the police on him. And he just laughed at me and you know, forced me to stay on the bed, and told me if I ever said anything that nobody was going to believe me. And he would get my dad fired from Penn State.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Travis Weaver did not testify in this trial. He wasn't part of the charges, either. However, he has filed a civil suit against Jerry Sandusky. And in the next half hour, we'll be joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, Sara Ganim, who broke this story. She has watched it closely from the beginning and also the trial. She watched those closing arguments as carefully as anyone should. She's got some interesting observations to share with us later on.
ROMANS: Severe flooding in northeastern Minnesota is keeping rescue crews very busy this morning. They need a Coast Guard helicopter to pull Allen and Linda Johnson to safety Thursday in Thompson.
The two were left stranded by flooding caused by the overflowing Thompson reservoir. The flooding has decimated the neighborhood. It's only one of -- only one of the Johnson's neighbors remained inside his home.
BANFIELD: Lord, look at those pictures.
Speaking of water and weather, it looks like Florida could be in for a soaker this weekend, because there is a huge storm brewing in the Gulf of Mexico.
And Alexander Steele has been watching this for us overnight.
I think there was this big debate, will it or won't it by morning turn into a tropical storm? Do we know where it is at this point?
ALEXANDER STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, it hasn't really developed yet. So, there's a lot of unanswered questions. The good news, it's early in terms of development and also the good news, early in terms of awareness.
So let's show you what we do know. Here's the satellite picture. All eyes on the Gulf of Mexico, and the northern Yucatan Peninsula.
Now, here's what we're watching. It's an area of low pressure just beginning to develop now. Still disorganized, but getting more organized. Now, National Hurricane Center does have it becoming a depression in the next two days, next 48 hours. So the entire gulf needs to be aware.
So there are a few different scenarios possible. So how big it is, how strong it is and where it goes, all uncertain. But atmospherically, a few different models, taking it few different ways.
So, scenario number one, it's contingent on the jet stream. That's the driver in this thing that's going to push it or nudge it one way or the other. Jet stream scenario number one, we see a dip here in Texas and we see it kind of go a little bit farther north here. This is the scenario and kind of the most benign scenario.
Here's the area of low pressure, it moves it into Florida with just kind of some rain, yes, negligible compared to a different scenario. Scenario number two, the jet dips in the east, it's slower in moving and it brings as lot of rain and wind to Florida.
Scenario number three takes it to the west and puts the whole Gulf Coast in play.
So, all contingent upon the jet and the movement, so a lot still to figure out and follow these computer models. But just so you kind of are aware of what's happening in the Gulf right now.
BANFIELD: Yes, no matter the classification, Florida is going to have a lousy weekend weather-wise. Thanks, Alexandra. See you later.
ROMANS: OK. Breaking news this morning from the Afghan capital of Kabul. A Taliban militants storming a hotel, opening fire, sparking an ongoing gun battle with Afghan and NATO troops overnight. Three security guards, a police officer and two of the attackers are dead. This is according to the Afghan interior ministry.
So far, more than 20 civilians have been rescued from this hotel. But it's feared some may be dead inside. And others may have been taken hostage.
BANFIELD: Eight minutes past 5:00 on the East Coast. And if you think that's early, it could be very late. If you're in Florida because the party may just be getting start or not wound up on the streets of South Beach.
Here you go, the King has delivered the crown and there are the cheers. LeBron James leading the Miami Heat to their second NBA title in six short years.
It was a 121-106 victory, game five victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder and it's LeBron James's first championship. He also had a couple of great moments last night because he was named the MVP, very nice. Finishing off his remarkable season with a triple-double, 26 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds.
Afterwards, he seemed pretty darn pleased about the decision that he made to head on down south to Miami.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEBRON JAMES, WINS FIRST NBA TITLE: I knew what it was going to have to take and I was going to have to change as a basketball player and I was going to have to change as a person, you know to get what I wanted. I'm happy. I'm very excited, I'm very happy right now. To be a champion, nobody can take that away from me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: He says he's happy. He didn't sound so happy. But I'm sure he's pretty darn thrilled.
Next half hour, we're going to take live to the streets of Miami for a little taste of the celebration down there.
ROMANS: All right. She was verbally abused beyond belief. Taking unthinkable taunts from 12-year-olds, but now this grandma may never have to ride the bus again. Wait until you hear how viewers of this video have reacted and how much money they have donated. Anderson Cooper's interview with Karen Klein, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: She's captured the sympathy of the world. Now, a 68- year-old bullying victim reduced to tears by children is revealing exactly what she wants to happen to her tormenters.
But, first, a tiny clip of the disturbing video of that incident. The victim, Karen Klein, a bus monitor in Upstate New York tormented by these middle school kids for an agonizing 10 minutes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED KID: You're a troll. You're a troll. You're a troll. You old troll.
UNIDENTIFIED KID: How about I bring my knife and (EXPLETIVE DELETED) cut you?
UNIDENTIFIED KID: If I stabbed you in the stomach, I'd (EXPLETIVE DELETED), my knife would go through you like butter because it's all (EXPLETIVE DELETED) lard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Klein is a 68-year-old grandmother. She told "A.C. 360" host Anderson Cooper all she wanted was to make the teasing stop.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAREN KLEIN, BUS MONITOR: Trying to get it out of my mind. I was trying to make it go away. I was looking out the window. I was -- kept looking and front because I need to check on the other kids. I would like them to be at least kept off the bus for a year. Be forbidden to play any sports, at least for a year. Somebody mentioned community service and I thought that was a pretty good idea, too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: You know, we use the word teasing. I want to be clear -- this is not teasing, this is verbal assault. This is verbal assault on a bus, this is not simply teasing.
Support for Klein pouring from all over the world, a Web site raising funds to send her on a dream vacation has received almost half a million dollars in donations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KLEIN: I still can't believe it. I can't believe it. There's that much -- I don't know, I don't feel like it will come to me, anyway. So I don't think too much about it. I mean, it's -- it's a nice gesture. But I don't know. If it's for real or not, it sounds too good to be true.
ANDERSON COOPER, "A.C. 360" HOST: We've just learned one other thing that you don't know about. Southwest Airlines reached out to us today. They've been extraordinarily touched by your story. They wanted us to let you know that they'd like to send you and nine people to Disneyland in California for three nights, airfare, hotel and car all included.
KLEIN: You got to be kidding me. That's awesome. Nine people?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: And that bullying tape igniting a frightening ripple effect. Police say the four students accused of harassing Klein have gotten death threats.
The school district responding to he threats in a statement, quote, "People are outraged and they feel the students should be punished. While we agree that discipline is warranted, we can condone the kind of vigilante justice some people are calling for. This is just another form of bullying and cannot be tolerated. We all need to take a step back and look at how we treat each other. It's our job as educators and parents to teach children and lead by example. We encourage parents to use this as a springboard to begin a dialogue about bullying, respect and consequences."
Coming up, we'll speak to the founder of Reddit, Alexis Ohanian. That's the site that picked up the story, where it frankly went viral. And I'm curious, on Facebook and Twitter, tell me what you think the punishment should be for those kids -- very, very curious, if you think she's shown a little bit of mercy for those kids, would you be so merciful.
BANFIELD: And at EARLY START CNN, you can join in the Twitter conversation. It's interesting you said verbal assault.
ROMANS: Is it verbal assault? I mean, you know the legal more than I do. That's not teasing to me. Teasing is saying, you know, you're old.
BANFIELD: Yes. There is a case to be made for actual verbal assault. And it is something that the local police are considering at this time, charges. But don't forget, these are 12-year-old kids. So, we're not talking about kind of justice system that you and I would enter into. This is a juvenile justice system, if they do at all.
But, clearly, there's a bigger issue here, and that is, what is the message that everyone is getting from this. I think the school district made a good point. Let's not counter-bully, either. They are 12-year-old kids.
And even this victim herself has said that some of them didn't seem to even know what they were doing. That they were just trying to one-up each other as opposed to assault her.
ROMANS: But there are a lot of people have been saying, they're only 12, it's the mob mentality, cut them some slack.
I'm not ready to cut them some slack. There are a lot of kids who would never do something like that. Never, ever.
BANFIELD: Right.
ROMANS: So, these are kids --
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: Absolutely. And I think -- they should be off the bus and their parents should be responsible for getting them to and from school. Hey, if they want to bully, they can do it to mom and dad.
BANFIELD: It could be more serious if the police decide to charge.
So this conversation continues, make sure you check in with us on what you think about it.
It's 17 minutes now past 5:00. We also have a couple of other big top stories to get you up to date on. Not the least of this one -- markets in Europe and Asia trading sharply lower this morning, all of this in the wake of those downgrades for some of the world's largest banks.
U.S. stocks took a plunge yesterday, too. A bit of a bloodbath. Dow losing 250 points.
The stock futures here are up this morning. Yes. I did. Up. Like you, awake. Could see a bounce at the open. So stay tuned to Christine.
ROMANS: Taliban militants opening fire on a hotel in Kabul, triggering a gun battle with Afghan and NATO troops overnight. Three security guards, a police officer and two attackers are dead. This is according to the Afghan interior ministry. So far, more than 20 civilians have been rescued from the hotel. But officials say they fear others may be dead or taken hostage inside.
BANFIELD: Mitt Romney bobbing and weaving when it comes to taking a stand on immigration. He stood before Latino leaders near Orlando and criticized President Obama's recent decision to halt deportations for illegal immigrants who were brought to the country as children.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Some people have asked if I will let stand the president's executive order. The answer is that I will put in place my own long-term solution, that will replace and supersede the president's temporary measure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Governor Romney didn't really offer the specifics, though, about what his plan would be, an immigration plan that he might be willing to support. On the topic of support, a new CNN poll is showing that 48 percent of voters now support President Obama, that gives him a four-point lead over Governor Romney in the race for the White House.
ROMANS: Whether George Zimmerman goes to prison or goes free could come down to the tapes. Newly released video of Zimmerman given police his version of what happened just before he shot and killed Trayvon martin. Zimmerman reenacting the final moments of Martin's life.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE ZIMMERMAN, ACCUSED SHOOTER OF TRAYVON MARTIN: That's when my jacket moved up and I had my firearm on my right side hip. And my jacket moved up. And he saw it, I feel like he saw it, he looked at it. He said you're going to die tonight (EXPLETIVE DELETED). And he reached for it, but he reached like I felt his arm going down my side. And I grabbed it and I grabbed my firearm and I shot him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The Martin family doesn't believe that story. Their attorney told CNN's Erin Burnett last night, his credibility has to be questioned.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NATALIE JACKSON, ATTORNEY FOR TRAYVON MARTIN'S FAMILY: I think that credibility is an issue in this case, because you're going to have -- there's clearly a homicide that has been committed. Trayvon was shot by George Zimmerman. George Zimmerman is bringing forth a self-defense argument. His self-defense argument is that he was defending himself and the only person that is saying that and backing that up is George Zimmerman. So his credibility comes into play here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Next hour, we're going to compare what Zimmerman told police in this video reenactment of what he initially reported in his 911 calls. Is his story consistent? We'll let you decide.
BANFIELD: It is a battle over bones. Bones, believe it or not. Old bones.
ROMANS: Very old bones.
BANFIELD: But look at them. Wouldn't you want that? Why is the United States suing for custody of this million-dollar dinosaur skeleton? Well, I'll give you a hint. They say this thing was smuggled.
ROMANS: And if you are leaving the house right this minute, you can watch us any time on your desktop or mobile phone, go to CNN.com/TV.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: It's 5:25 in the East -- getting an early read on local news making national headlines.
The Justice Department going after two U.S. cities it says are controlled by polygamists. It's suing both towns, Colorado City in Arizona and Hildale in Utah, accusing them of carrying out orders of imprisoned fundamentalist Mormon sect leader -- there he is, you know him -- Warren Jeffs.
Jeffs is serving a life sentence for raping two underage girls. Official says he controlled both cities from behind bars, imposing new laws, such as a ban on dogs. The towns are accused of discriminating against residents who don't belong to the sect.
BANFIELD: OK. This next one is kind of gross, I mean, kind of gross to say the least, in fact. A new naked flesh-biting attack that's been reported in Florida. This is getting really out of hand it seems. Deputies in Manatee County say 26-year-old Charles Baker took off his clothes, and bit a chunk of a man's arm off in a drug- induced rage. He was at his girlfriend's house to visit his kids.
ROMANS: Oh, classy.
BANFIELD: Yes.
Police say he went absolutely berserk, he was screaming. He was throwing furniture. Another man present said he tried to calm him down and that's when Baker allegedly bit his bicep.
Now he's been charged with aggravated battery. Police say it is unclear whether the drug bath salts played a role. But they are saying that it's entirely possible.
ROMANS: All right. Here is the battle over bones we told you about -- the old bones. United States is suing to get its hands on a 70 million-year-old dinosaur skeleton. This is the tyrannosaurus bataar. It's a Mongolian cousin of the better known T-Rex. It's worth about $1 million.
Now, official says this skeleton was brought to the United States illegally. It was auctioned off in New York and the company who held the auction says, hey, it acted in good faith. The U.S. officials want to recover the skeleton and return it to Mongolia. They say it's, quote, "tremendous cultural and historic significance" to the people there.
BANFIELD: I like hearing that the U.S. wants to do that as opposed to the Mongolian government calling the U.S. government saying, give us back our bones.
ROMANS: Yes.
BANFIELD: Nice to know.
ROMANS: Was it Mongolia -- who was the president when the dinosaur lived? You know, I mean, there were no borders.
BANFIELD: Quick test, who is the current president?
ROMANS: Right.
All right. For an expanded look at al our news, head to our blog please, CNN.com/EarlyStart.
BANFIELD: When we come back after the break, we've got some bombshell news out of the Jerry Sandusky case, some real shocking allegations that his own adopted son has, saying that he was abused as well by the former Penn State coach. We're going to get a live report from outside the courthouse, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: His own son, shocking new allegations against Jerry Sandusky that the deliberating jury will not hear, at least, not officially.
BANFIELD: Plus, a TSA body scanner is apparently not stopping any terrorist attacks, ever. Just ahead, hear what the TSA is saying about that news.
ROMANS: And remember this video of a man being beaten on the side of a road, big new developments this morning in that case. That's coming up this hour on CNN.
BANFIELD: Hello, everyone. And welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Ashleigh Banfield.
ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. Zoraida Sambolin is off today. It's 31 minutes past the hour.
BANFIELD: Let's get you started with this top story, absolutely bombshell, just a bombshell in the Jerry Sandusky case as the jury continues to deliberate the former Penn State coach's fate. Sandusky's own adopted son, Matt, now says that he was also sexually abused by his father. And he was willing to testify in the sex abuse trial as well.
The jury is currently sequestered during these deliberations, and it's not supposed to hear about these new allegations. Matt Sandusky, now 33 years old, went to live with the Sanduskys as a foster child. He was 11 years old at the time. And he was involved in the Second Mile charity as well where the older Sandusky met his alleged other victims.
The older Sandusky is accused of abusing ten boys over a 15-year period, and he's facing up to 500 years in prison as well. Sara Ganim is the reporter from the "Patriot News" in Harrisburg. She won a Pulitzer Prize for her coverage of this case. She broke the story as well, and she's following the trial closely.
Boy, there's so much to go over with you, and it was such a stunning development last night, Sara, the fact that Matt Sandusky has come forward. Let's just start with this. The jury never heard this. Why not?
SARA GANIM, REPORTER, THE PATRIOT-NEWS: The jury never heard this because both sides rested their cases, and they went into deliberations with Matt Sandusky never being called to the stand. Now, this is interesting, Ashleigh.
In the very beginning of the trial, opening statement, Joe Amendola, who is Jerry Sandusky's attorney, referenced Matt, who is sitting with the Sandusky friends and family in the section of the courtroom reserved for them. He was sitting near Dottie Sandusky, Jerry's wife, and some of their other adopted children.
And Joe Amendola said that -- to jurors that they might hear from Matt as a witness for Jerry Sandusky. And about ten days later, right after the case wraps up and the jury begins to deliberate, we hear a completely different story out of Matt Sandusky through his attorney that he, in fact, had said sometime in the last few days -- but we're not sure exactly when he met with prosecutors and he was prepared to testify for prosecutors if they opened a rebuttal case.
Now, they never did that. As a point that I believe he met with prosecutors, the defense had already begun presenting their case. The prosecution had initially rested. They did have the opportunity for rebuttal, but they did not for whatever reason. And I don't know if that's a legal reason, call Matt to the stand.
BANFIELD: So, that makes a little more sense. But -- and it only makes sense in the technicalities of it. The prosecution presents its case, they close. Matt Sandusky possibly then approaches the prosecutors, gives them this revelation. And they can't reopen their case, because the defense is beginning. And then, when you get your rebuttal case, it's beyond the scope of direct, so you can't just bring that up, unless, like you said, Mr. Sandusky takes the stand, himself.
So, here is my question, what is the prevailing wisdom in this very perplexing situation that, perhaps, Matt Sandusky as he sat with the supporters of his father listened to one after the other account of other children and the way they say they were molested. They accused him of molestation and maybe he had a change of heart?
GANIM: You know, Ashleigh, that's hard to say why he did it and why he came forward at this point. I can tell you this, he was initially sequestered, because Joe Amendola had called him as a defense witness, like I said, but he came back into the courtroom. Right after opening statements, he came back in for the very first testimony, which was victim four.
And victim four mentioned him by name in his testimony saying that they had both been in the shower with Jerry Sandusky, at some point during the time when victim four says he was molested in the 1990s. And when the horsing around began and the horsing around was allegedly always led to worse abuse.
When the horsing around began, victim four said Matt left the shower. And when he was asked what Matt looked like when that happened. He said, he looked nervous. I never saw Matt Sandusky in the courtroom after that testimony.
BANFIELD: Oh, -- well, that is a very telling detail. Sara, great observation, great reporting on this. And obviously, going into day two of deliberations, who knows if we'll end up having a verdict in this case today. We'll talk to you a little later on. Thank you, Sara.
ROMANS: If you're waking up this morning and checking your 401(k), you might notice that yesterday was a big down day in stocks. The Dow down some 250 points, and I'll tell you, it was the second worst day for stocks this year, the second worst day this year. You could see that's our CNN money page showing you how stocks are doing right now.
A rout continuing overnight, although futures watching them closely in this country right now and also bank stocks moving up a little bit in the premarket. Look, here's what happened. You've got china slowing. You've Europe in crisis. You have a weak U.S. jobs market, jobs recovery, and then, you throw on this big downgrade of 15 major banks around the world.
And that was enough to really get the selling going. We'll watch very, very closely. Keep you up to date every 20 minutes or so what we're expecting for this morning.
BANFIELD: And then, also, making big news this morning, Mount Rainier National Park is closed this morning after a park ranger fell almost 4,000 feet to his death all at the same time as trying to rescue four climbers who were stranded. His name is Nick Hall (ph). He was preparing other climbers to be evacuated by helicopter when he, himself, fell while standing at an elevation of 13,700 feet. A 34-year-old Hall slid about 3,700 feet down the mountain's northeast side. A search team reached his body several hours later, but he was dead.
ROMANS: Updating breaking news now from the Afghan capital of Kabul. Taliban militants storming a hotel and opening fire, sparking a long gun battle with afghan and NATO troops overnight. The siege is now over. Three security guards, a police officer, and two of the attackers are dead.
This is according to the Afghan interior ministry. Forty-five civilians were rescued from the hotel. The death toll, though, is expected to climb higher.
BANFIELD: The clock is certainly ticking now on a possible House vote next week that could lead to contempt of Congress citation against attorney general, Eric Holder. It's all about the botched "Fast and Furious" gun operation. That's what's at the heart of this debate where guns were purposely put in the hands of drug cartels to track them across the border with Mexico.
The problem is, two of those guns, at least, many of the guns were lost, and two of them that were lost were found at the scene of a murdered border patrol agent, an American. Democrats are accusing the Republicans of playing politics with this whole story. The Republicans are firing back.
The House speaker, John Boehner, insisting that this contempt vote will not be called off unless the justice department turns over more documents.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER, (R-OH) HOUSE SPEAKER: We're trying to get to hear are the facts and the truth about where this program started, why it continued, and why an American border agent was killed as a result of it.
REP. NANCY PELOSI, (D-CA) MINORITY LEADER: What we have seen is a shameful display of abuse of power by the Republicans in the House of Representatives. They are holding the attorney general of the United States in contempt of Congress for doing his job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Well, ultimately, if Eric Holder is held in contempt of Congress, a decision about whether to prosecute him would have to be made by the justice department. Guess what, Eric Holder runs the justice department.
ROMANS: In a shocking turn of events, the victim of a brutal highway beat-down gets arrested for another road rage attack. The victim in this fight on the I-5 in downtown L.A., James Patterson, is accused in a prior hit-and-run incident, but police say he gave a man two black eyes.
He was book (ph) back in May on suspicion of DUI, hit-and-run, and battery, but he failed to show off on court. Patterson surfaced after this attack last week where he was on the receiving end of the violence. Police say his two attackers have turned themselves in and remain in jail.
BANFIELD: You know the full body scans at the airport? The ones you got to go through and you don't particularly love? They've generated a whole lot of controversy, but apparently, they are not helping the Transportation Security Administration catch any terrorists.
A top TSA official is admitting that the scans have quote "not resulted in the arrest or detention of any terror suspects," end quote. But the TSA's John Helenski (ph) is defending the use of such scanners. He says their presence is keeping terrorists away from our American airports.
ROMANS: All right. The king crowned. An all-night party. Our John Zerella -- what a tough assignment -- getting mobbed as LeBron James and the Heat take home an NBA title, and we're going to take you to South Beach. Wake up in South Beach this morning, folks.
(CROSSTALK)
BANFIELD: Or maybe you haven't gone to bed yet in South Beach. Yee ha, South Beach!
(LAUGHTER)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: The king finally has his crown. LeBron James and the Miami Heat are champions of the NBA, extinguishing the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games with 121-106 victory in Miami last night. James leading with 26 points, 13 assists, and 11 rebounds, capturing his first title along with MVP honors.
David Sutta of CNN affiliate, WFOR, joins us live from Miami this morning. And David, nice to see you. You know, the "L.A. Times" had this great line where they said, "The Thunder went from being precocious to bumbling." How was the last game?
DAVID SUTTA, WFOR REPORTER: I think people are calling them here "The Fizzle." They just didn't show up last night. The Miami Heat won by 15 points, but to be honest, it wasn't even that close. LeBron James gets his ring. Miami gets a second title. And I'll tell you, the fans absolutely loved it. 19,000 plus inside the arena going crazy.
And outside the arena, it was mayhem, perhaps, twice that. The amount of people just coming in to downtown Miami, taking over Biscayne Boulevard, they brought here in Miami. They do something a little unusual. They bring their pots and pans out, and they were banging them, all up and down Biscayne Boulevard. They shut down the roadway. People actually started climbing some of the highway signs out here, honking their horns. They had a fantastic time. The party went on for several hours. Miami police eventually got involved and disbursed everybody, but I'll tell you what, it was pretty calm. And to be honest, they were very happy with the results.
As you hear, the people driving by, their honking away here. And, it was a good time had by all, but I want to show you what's left here on the streets of Miami. It is a bit of a mess to clean up and down in the distance. You can see a little bit of toilet paper that's hanging that was dropped from the skyscrapers. It is going to be a mess to clean up.
But I'll tell you what, there's going to be a bigger mess next week. They're already talking about a parade. This is Biscayne Boulevard, the main thoroughfare here in downtown Miami. This is where they had the parade in 2006.
And we're expecting to see another parade sometime next week. They haven't specified an exact date. But we're telling all the Miami fans, today is not the day to call in sick. Next week, sometime.
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: Oh, yes. This party is not over, David. There's going to be a period on the sentence, and it's going to be sometime next week. Maybe an exclamation point. Nice to see you, David. Thanks.
SUTTA: You're welcome.
BANFIELD: And ticker tape is the kind of mess you want to clean up, isn't it?
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: That's right.
BANFIELD: It is now 46 minutes past 5:00 on the east coast. Time to get you updated with some of the top stories. And let's start with this one. Really remarkable story coming in from overseas.
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BANFIELD (voice-over): Six people dead. That number expected to get even higher after Taliban militants stormed a hotel, opened fire, and then sparked an all-out gun brawl between Afghan and NATO troops in Kabul.
Lucky to report, the siege is now over, but not before 45 civilians had to be rescued from this hotel. Three guards, a police officer, and two of the attackers apparently dying in this gunfight.
ROMANS (voice-over): Day two of deliberations set to begin in just a few hours in the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse trial. A bombshell yesterday when Sandusky's 33-year-old adopted son, Matt, claimed he'd been abused by Sandusky, too. He said he was willing to testify about it in court, but of course, the case is already to the jury. So, they won't hear it in the courtroom.
BANFIELD: Markets in Asia trading sharply lower this morning in the wake of downgrades for some of the world's biggest banks. U.S. markets also on the decline yesterday. The Dow, NASDAQ, and S&P 500 all dropping two percent-ish.
ROMANS: All right. A Texas man indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly threatening to use violence to stop construction of a mosque in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Twenty-four-year-old Javier Carrera (ph) is accused of violating the civil rights of the members of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro.
Prosecutors say he left a long message on the center's (ph) voicemail last September threatening to blow up the building.
BANFIELD: In Northeastern United States, it is certainly starting off to be a summer of heat wave. Severe heat and huge humidity the order of the day Thursday. Temperatures in the mid to upper 90s from Vermont all the way down to North Carolina. Over 400 cooling centers are open today in New York City.
(LAUGHTER)
BANFIELD: Seven hundred sprinklers are going to be turned up full blast in the city parks. That is an adorable picture. Can I tell you, those little kids? Precious. Not so precious if you have to be at work or on the New York City subway.
ROMANS: It was 85 degrees when I was coming in this morning. In the middle of the night, 85 degrees.
BANFIELD: I got one more for you. Eighty-seven for me where I was.
ROMANS: All right. President Obama trying to win over more Latino voters later today at a meeting of Hispanics later near Orlando. His appearance coming one week after announcing he'll stop deporting the children of many illegal immigrants. The president speaks two hours after Florida senator, Marco Rubio, addresses the conference.
BANFIELD: A millionaire's boat washes up onshore and he is not aboard. Coast guard is now searching the waters off of South Florida for Guma Aguiar who made millions of dollars in oil and gas. Coast guard says the boat's engines and lights were on, but he wasn't there. Aguiar is the father of four.
He converted to the Jewish faith and helped to build religious centers in Israel. He also has a record that shows arrests for stalking and making threats.
ROMANS: -- mystery.
BANFIELD: Yes. ROMANS: If you're looking to save money on rent, you may want to buy your home if you live in one of these 12 cities. The new places inside a report (ph) ranks the places where buying is much cheaper than renting, and Detroit tops that list. Orlando and St. Petersburg round out the top three. Results are based on the cost of a two- bedroom home.
ROMANS: If you want to spend your entire Friday singing the song "Take a Chance on Me" --
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: That's your cue, my dear. Then stick around for Stephen Colbert late-night laughs, next.
BANFIELD: Oh, by the way, if you're leaving the house right now, you can take Stephen Colbert right there and us.
(SINGING)
(LAUGHTER)
BANFIELD: Oh, Romans is singing.
ROMANS: I don't even know the words.
(CROSSTALK)
BANFIELD: This never happens. Romans singing.
So, look on your screen, that's the instructions for you if you want to take us with you on the phone, on your desktop, CNN.com/TV. All the instructions are there. Back in a moment.
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BANFIELD: Hey, nice to see you back here. It is 53 minutes now past 5:00 a.m. Time to take a look at what's trending on the interweb. And we have a kid who definitely had a bad night, a little six-year-old who really, really seriously hates the Miami Heat. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why are you crying?
UNIDENTIFIED KID: I hate Miami.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not -- the series isn't over.
UNIDENTIFIED KID: It's about to be. (INAUDIBLE) three more days Miami to win.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER) BANFIELD: What a sweet thing.
ROMANS: Take that kid to Vegas.
BANFIELD: I know.
ROMANS: That was a good prediction. Can you imagine?
BANFIELD: Seriously good prediction. We just want to let you know, though, little guy, it is OK that you cried over this, because even the grown-ups, the grown-up males will cry over sports.
ROMANS: Yes. Grown-up men over their chocolate milk crying --
BANFIELD: Can you believe his little predictions?
ROMANS: All right. Going back to a time when they didn't exist, the Tampa Bay Rays unveiling 1970s throwback uniforms that they will wear next week. It modeled by manager, Joe Madden (ph), who -- he might be the only Ray who was actually alive when these uniforms would have been fashionable. The Rays were only established in 1998, but they're still cashing in on this retro thing. One critic on Yahoo said they looked like Mom's Kitchen in 1976.
BANFIELD: I love that.
Hey, makers of the Smart Car are winning a Twitter war using, and they're using toilet humor to do so. All started when a critic of the very compact car tweet a joke that said, "Saw a bird had pooped on a Smart Car, totaled it." Funny.
Well, Smart Car USA fired back with funny yet impeccable mask (ph) saying that, "couldn't have been just one bird, sounds like more, like maybe 4.5 million birds," accompanied with a chart showing how many bird bowel movements it would take.
(LAUGHTER)
BANFIELD: -- to actually take out a Smart Car. Apparently, it would take exactly 4.5 million pigeons or 45,000 emus, which are rarely encountered in the urban jungle.
ROMANS: Oh, you have a --
BANFIELD: Full disclosure. I drive a Smart Car, and poop does not affect it.
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: Did you know that Sweden turns over its official Twitter account to a different citizen each week.
BANFIELD: What?
ROMANS: That's right. Colbert nation is threatening to cut off all diplomatic ties with the country, unless, he gets a crack at it, and he's serious. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE COLBERT REPORT": So, before things get ugly, let me make a last appeal with the words of Sweden's greatest living poet, Benny and Bjorn.
(LAUGHTER)
(SINGING) if you change your mind on the first in line, honey I'm still free, take a chance on me. If you need me let me know gonna be around. If you got no place to go if you're feeling down. If you're all alone with a pretty person, honey I'm still free. Take a chance on me. Gonna do my very best and it ain't no lie.
If you put me to the test if you let me try. Come on Sweden, give me the feed! We'll be right back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: It would be so much fun to sing karaoke with him, wouldn't it?
BANFIELD: I know, right. Come on, Sweden, take a chance on me. Gosh, that looks like -- it looks like it could be the next Broadway show.
(LAUGHTER)
BANFIELD: We're keeping a very close eye on the tropics right now, because there is a nasty little storm that is kicking up in the gulf, and it could be headed towards Florida. So, we're tracking the storm. We'll let you know if it's turning into one of those things we call a tropical storm. Coming up in a moment.
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