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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Sentencing For Castro; Weiner Standing By Morgan; Obama and McCain Teaming Up; Shooting in Florida; A-Rod Decision Friday; Lindsay Lohan's Released from Rehab
Aired August 01, 2013 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Gridlock in Washington, but President Obama may now have a new unlikely ally.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): And I do. Midnight weddings as gay marriage becomes legal in two more states today. Not everyone, however, celebrating.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PEREIRA (on-camera): Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Michaela Pereira.
BERMAN (on-camera): And I'm John Berman. Great to see you this morning. Thirty minutes after the hour.
PEREIRA: It is sentencing day for Ariel Castro. The Ohio man has already pleaded guilty to raping and torturing three young women he kidnapped and held captive for nearly a decade. Castro is expected to speak in court today. His sister says his statement will show, quote, "the other side of Ariel Castro," not the monster that he is reported to be.
New court documents lay out his crimes in excruciating details. The women were kept chained in locked rooms. They only ate once day and showered once a week. And they were repeatedly raped. One victim, Amanda Berry, gave birth to Castro's daughter while in captivity. Castro's plea deal allows him to avoid the death penalty. Instead, he'll serve a life sentence plus a thousand years.
Prosecutors say it was important to detail Castro's crimes so that he could never be considered four parole. Now, while in court today, Castro could actually come face-to-face with one of his victims. Michelle Knight is expected to make an impact statement. In a thank you note to the Cleveland Police Department, Knight wrote, "It is comforting. Life is tough, but I'm tougher. Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, she became a butterfly. Thanks."
BERMAN: This will be a dramatic morning, and we will be covering all morning right here on CNN.
Thirty-one minutes after the hour. Meanwhile, Anthony Weiner is standing by his embattled communications director, Barbara Morgan, keeping her job after apologizing for a curse-filled rant against the former intern. That intern wrote a tell-all article about the Weiner campaign in the "New York Daily News." She has accepted Morgan's apology.
Weiner's chief spokeswoman has posted a picture of her swear jar on Twitter. It's overflowing with $50 and $100 bills. It's actually pretty funny. Morgan tweeting "Not my best day, got to pay up."
PEREIRA: The curious turn of events. An attorney for embattled San Diego mayor, Bob Filner, is blaming the city for the mayor's legal troubles. He says that Filner never received sexual harassment training which is required by the state of California. He contends that the city should pay to defend him in a suit file by his former communications director.
San Diego city council has denied funds for Filner's legal defense. In all now, eight women have come forward to accuse the mayor of unwanted sexual advances.
BERMAN: The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and Explosives finally has a new director after seven years, if you can believe it. The Senate confirming Obama-appointee, Todd Jones, yesterday by a 53- 42 vote. It was not easy, however. A lone holdout Alaska Republican, Lisa Murkowski, initially refused to vote to end a filibuster of the nomination.
But after a whole lot of pressure, I mean a whole lot, there was heavy drama on the Senate floor, she gave in, allowed the vote to happen and Jones was confirmed.
PEREIRA: Well, five years ago, they fought a bitter battle for the White House. It was pretty clear back then that John McCain and Barack Obama didn't exactly like one another. Fast forward to 2013, suddenly, the Arizona senator and the commander in chief are getting quite chummy. You know what they say about strange bed fellows. Here's Dana Bash.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Only a few months ago you couldn't turn on the TV without seeing John McCain railing against President Obama.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: This president and this administration has either been guilty of colossal incompetence or engaged in a cover- up.
BASH: But now, a 180.
MCCAIN: I think there is a more of a desire to work together than I have seen in some time.
BASH: Suddenly, McCain is Obama's go-to guy to get things done on immigration, striking a deal allowing confirmation of half a dozen Obama nominees and now heading to Egypt with Republican, Lindsay Graham, at the president's request.
MCCAIN: We do have relationships with many of people in Egypt because of our past encounters.
BASH: Back when they were rivals for president, it was hard to imagine McCain and Obama emissary anywhere.
MCCAIN: Who is the real Barack Obama? I guess, he believes that if a lie is big enough and repeated often enough, it will be believable.
BASH: In 2008, did you ever think that you'd be President Obama's Republican deal maker?
MCCAIN: No, because I thought --
(LAUGHTER)
MCCAIN: No. Look, I worked on a lot of issues with President Clinton as well as the Republican presidents. So, it's not as if I haven't done this before.
BASH: He certainly has. It's how McCain got a reputation as a maverick, a moniker he often more proudly but also abandoned at times especially since losing to Obama in 2008. In 2010, a Senate GOP primary challenge forced him to the right, far from bipartisan compromise.
Now, sources close to McCain tells CNN he's stepping up more as a statesman in part because he doesn't like where younger conservatives want to take the GOP. He's called the whacko birds and chastise them on the Senate floor.
MCCAIN: We're here to vote. We're not here to block things.
BASH: McCain told us that he credits Obama's new chief of staff, Denis McDonough, a former Hill staffer with understanding how to reach out. This is how Democratic negotiating partner, Chuck Schumer, explains the turnaround.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER, (D) NEW YORK: This has always been the real John McCain. He went into remission for a few years, but he's back. And thank God he is.
BASH: McCain describes it this way.
MCCAIN: Since his re-election, the president, I believe, has looked at his legacy as all presidents do in their second term and we have had the opportunity to work together on a number of issues.
BASH (on-camera): I asked McCain is if this also him working on his own legacy. The 76-year-old McCain answered me by volunteering that he's going to decide in a year or two whether he's going to run for re-election or not in 2016. That sounds like someone thinking about his legacy.
Dana Bash, CNN, Washington. (END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: Fascinating. Thirty-six minutes after the hour.
Love was in the air just after midnight at the Mall of America and all across Minnesota. Dozens of couples eagerly tie the knot the moment that same-sex marriage became legal. That was at 12:01 a.m. Minnesota becoming the 12th state along with Washington, D.C. to allow same-sex marriage.
PEREIRA: Same-Sex marriage also legal in Rhode Island starting today. Weddings are plan throughout the state. Protesters from the conservative Westborough Baptist Church in Kansas are threatening to stage demonstrations at the state house, Brown University, and city halls in Providence, Pawtuxet, and Cranston.
BERMAN: The governor of Illinois is set to sign a bill today legalizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Illinois will become the 28th state in the country to make medical marijuana legal. The measure is said to include some of the toughest standards for patients and caregivers for crying (ph) both to undergo background checks.
PEREIRA: North Dakota's controversial new abortion law blocked by a state judge. The measure would require doctors who perform abortions to admitting privileges at local hospitals. Now, that would have forced the state's only abortion center in Fargo to shut down. The judge issued an injunction blocking the new law after the center for reproductive rights in New York filed suit on behalf of that clinic in Fargo.
BERMAN: A lightning strike injuring dozens of soldiers at Ft. Carson in Colorado. One is hospitalized in critical condition this morning. Officials say the group of soldiers was taking part in training exercises near an air field when the lightning hit. That happened Wednesday afternoon. This is the second time in a month that a group of people have been hurt by a single lightning strike in Colorado.
PEREIRA: A New Jersey bus driver facing criminal charges for a deadly chain-reaction crash. Police say this man, 48-year-old, Idou Darmola (ph), hit a light pole that fell on a stroller Tuesday killing an eight-month-old infant and injuring seven other people. That driver is now charged with death by auto reckless driving and using a cell phone while operating a vehicle. He faces a court hearing later this morning.
BERMAN: And another amusement park accident to report this morning. A woman suffered a head injury after falling from a ride at the Montana State Fair. Investigators are trying to determine exactly what happened there. But witnesses say the operator of the zipper ride didn't notice that the woman was trying to get off.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The guy wasn't paying attention at all. Like, they didn't even try to look. He was like, his people were already in the cart. And so, he's like, oh, we can start the ride now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They should be paying a little bit more attention.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They should know more about their rides and pay attention to everything, because they, like, expect the unexpected because anything can happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: This incident comes on the heels of several roller-coaster accidents including one in which a woman plunged to her death from the Texas giant coaster at Six Flags in Arlington.
PEREIRA: Let's turn to weather now. Hurricane Gil is churning and gaining some strength in the pacific. That's the movement. Indra Petersons is tracking the storm. Indra taught me that. Good morning, Indra.
INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: (INAUDIBLE) pretty awesome.
(LAUGHTER)
PETERSONS: Yes. We are definitely tracking Gil. It's actually strengthened now at category 1 hurricane. Steady winds here. Eighty miles per hour. Now, it's a category 1 hurricane, but it can strengthen to a category 2 hurricane. Now, the reason for this is it could potentially go over some warmer waters. Now, the track, that's always a big question, right, with hurricane. Where is this going?
Well, if it goes to north even a little bit, it starts to get in cool waters. Remember, we need the water temperature 79 degrees Fahrenheit or above for the intensity to remain. Otherwise, we'll start to see it the weekend. If it goes to the south, we're actually going to see it strengthen, but to the north, keep in mind, even to weekends, we're actually bringing it close to Hawaii. So, we actually want it to go to the south and the good news (INAUDIBLE) completely farther down to the west.
Well, that's the good news with it. Well, we are going to be looking at here is really the low that's continuing to bring some showers into the area today. So, pretty much anywhere from Pennsylvania all the way through Jersey, even down to the southeast, we've had the chance for some scattered showers. What a beautiful day it was yesterday. That all goes away.
We're not the only ones here in the mid-Atlantic. We're talking about rain kind of hanging out towards Kansas, Nebraska, and even out towards Montana, I should say. And that's actually where we have that severe weather threat today. So, we're going to be watching for that as well. A lot of severe weather as usual going on around the country. Isn't it great, guys?
(LAUGHTER)
BERMAN: All right. Thanks, Indra. Coming up, locked in a holding cell and abandoned for days. This is amazing story of survival from a man who thought that police have left him to die.
PEREIRA: What a story to tell.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PEREIRA: Welcome back to EARLY START. Police in Springfield, Virginia going door to door this morning looking for the men who took part in a violent mob attack Monday night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PEREIRA (voice-over): We want to show you some video from a neighbor's surveillance camera. Fifty teens -- up to 50 teens at nearby party spilling on to his front yard and a brawl breaks out.
You can see several people kicking and punching one young man. That young man was able to walk away from the incident without serious injury. Police have not made any arrest so far, and it is still unclear what exactly caused that fight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: All right. We're hearing for the first time now from the San Diego man who was left in a holding cell for five days by the D.E.A. without food or water. Twenty-five-year-old Daniel Chong (ph) was detained after a drug raid at a friend's house last year. He tells CNN that the nightmare incarceration drove him completely insane. He took drastic measures to survive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIEL CHONG, LEFT IN DEA CELL: Eventually, your survival instincts do kick in and you start to realize what you have to do which is drink any fluid that's around which was my urine at the time and I went ahead and did that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: What a crazy story. Chong just settled a lawsuit with the federal government for $4.1 million.
PEREIRA: Talk about some traumatizing events.
BERMAN: He's been through a lot.
PEREIRA: He has really been through a lot. Hopefully, he's whole life ahead of him to try and recover from some of that.
Forty-five minutes after the hour. Let's check in on the folks on "New Day."
BERMAN: Hello, Chris Cuomo and Kate Bolduan. What's going on up on the seventh floor? KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A whole lot. Good morning, guys.
PEREIRA: Good morning.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All right. Obviously, the big story, first up, for us is this one out of Florida. We're going to take you back there, because the story of another shooting, another unarmed man, this time by police, 15 shots fired at a man in his own driveway.
Why? Well, police say they he failed to comply. What was going on here? We're going to have the sheriff on live to answer obvious pressing questions.
BOLDUAN: And we're also going to show you some new and pretty shocking video that's sparking some outrage and adding another black eye if it's possible to SeaWorld's reputation. This time, we're seeing a video here. It shows a dolphin that seems to be stranded on the ground outside of its enclosure and people don't really think to be doing anything about it.
The question is, what is the theme park saying about the latest controversy? What are they going to do about it? We're going to talk more about that today.
CUOMO: Then we have a treat on the show, especially for me. Legendary newsman, Dan Rather is here. Why? Well, the big reason is that there's a new CNN documentary exploring the Nixon administration. Of course, Mr. Rather knew how to sink his teeth into a story, and really, he's a hero to so many young journalists in this business for how to speak truth to power.
So, we're going to get his take not just on Nixon but how reporting has changed and what he makes of some of the big scandals that are in the media today. It's going to be a real treat. I hope he doesn't beat me up too badly.
CUOMO: Oh, you'll be fine. I think we're all looking forward to that conversation to get a little insight. And I love the fact that we're young reporters.
(LAUGHTER)
BERMAN: You know, I've seen the Nixon documentary out of sneak peak at it. It is outstanding.
BOLDUAN: It looks fabulous.
BERMAN: The footage is just breathtaking. These people all seem so young. Pictures you've never seen before, I assure you. All right. Chris, Kate, thanks so much.
PEREIRA: Looking forward to that.
BERMAN: Coming up, an NFL star caught on camera making racist remarks. What his teammates are saying now? This is strange. Coming up next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: So, with a lifetime ban from baseball, reportedly on the table, it looks like A-Rod may be ready to cut a deal. Andy Scholes joins us now with more in the "Bleacher Report." Hey, Andy.
ANDY SCHOLES, BLEACHER REPORT: Hey, good morning, John. Well, all along, A-Rod's lawyer has said that they were focused on appealing whatever punishment Major League Baseball sends their way. But now, the Yankees third baseman maybe singing a different tune.
According to ESPN, A-Rod's representatives are negotiating a settlement with Major League Baseball that could land him a lengthy suspension. MLB reportedly wants A-Rod to sit out a minimum the rest of this year and next year. The Yankee slugger has reportedly been shown volumes of evidence linking him to performance-enhancing drugs in the South Florida clinic at the biogenesis.
Sources said MLB also has evidence that A-Rod attempted to obstruct their investigation. That's the main reason why they are looking to punish him for a possible -- with a possible lifetime ban. An announcement could come as early as Friday.
Well, Eagles' wide receiver, Riley Cooper, apologized yesterday after video surfaced of him using a racial slur at a Kenny Chesney concert. Cooper said he was drinking that night, but that was no excuse.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm disgusted and I'm sorry. That's not the type of person I am. I wasn't raised that way. I have a great mom and dad at home. And, they're extremely, extremely disappointed in me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: The Eagles fined Cooper an undisclosed amount for his actions. The Eagles' quarterback, Michael Vick, and most of his teammates said today have forgiven Cooper for his poor choice of words.
Well, the pro-bowl as we know it is no more. No longer will it be the best of the AFC versus the NFC. Instead, they will have a draft to determine the two teams. Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders will help pick the two sides along with two fantasy football champions from NFL.com. The game will also have plenty of rule changes such as no kickoffs and possession changing after each quarter.
The Giants at Phillies last night. You got to check out this catch. Pablo Sandoval got a rip (ph) a foul ball down the line. Look at this, the fan with the hat is going to make the grab. Take another look. Good thing he did, too, because the girl right below him was ducking for cover. And John, I'm going to call this a pretty lucky catch because if you saw the video, he kind of turned his head, closed his eyes and just stuck the hat out there. Lucky for him it landed right --
BERMAN: That is excellent use of the hat there. I'm impressed by that. Lucky maybe but impressive nonetheless.
SCHOLES: All right. I'm more of a guy who would go for it with my hands.
BERMAN: All right. Andy Scholes, braver than most, appreciate it.
(LAUGHTER)
BERMAN: We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: Welcome back, everyone. About 56 minutes after the hour. Taking a look at the top CNN Trends on the web this morning. New details this morning about Lindsay Lohan's release from rehab. The actress has finished a court-order three months stay in rehab and will spend the next few days with a sobriety coach to ease her transition. And she'll have to keep going to therapy. The troubled star, she has a lot going on right now.
Her movie "The Canyons" open this week, and she has the deal with Oprah Winfrey's network for an eight-part documentary series that will chronicle her post-rehab life.
Simon Cowell is about to become a new dad. The "X-Factor" judge reportedly fathering a child with socialite, Lauren Silverman. She is the estrange wife of one of Cowell's best friends, New York real estate mogul, Andrew Silverman. Cowell and Silverman have reportedly been dating for several months. So far, no comment from the expectant father.
And just in time for the dog days of summer, comes the debut of dog TV. This is real, folks. DirecTV launches the channel today. It's for stay at home dogs, and it's designed to keep them so preoccupied that they'll forget about chewing on the furniture or going to the bathroom where they should (ph). Dog TV will cost you $4.99 a month if you're willing to pay.
Producers say the programming is specially designed for dogs' unique hearing and vision. And guess what? No commercials. But, again, if it does go up against EARLY START, we will crush it. So, dogs, beware.
That is for EARLY START this morning. Time now for "New Day" which will also crash Dog TV, I promise. Chris and Kate, take it away.
BOLDUAN: Less for viweers (ph).
(CROSSTALK)
CUOMO: "New Day" is Dog TV. We're trying to get that audience as well. I like that it's for stay-at-home dogs.
BOLDUAN: Well, you know, working dogs.
CUOMO: Student dogs. BOLDUAN: Right. Exactly. Student dogs, they must stick with --
(LAUGHTER)
CUOMO: All right. It's almost the top of hour and that means here on "New Day," time for the top news.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CUOMO: Judgment day. Breaking new details, what life was like for the Cleveland three in captivity? Ariel Astro to be sentenced this morning and one of the woman he victimized will be there to face him.
BOLDUAN: Lifetime ban or career save? Alex Rodriguez reportedly now in talks with Major League Baseball. The league wants a ban. Can they make a deal that keeps him in the game?
PEREIRA: Caught on tape. George Zimmerman busted for speeding, a gun in his glove compartment and the whole thing recorded on dash-cam video.
CUOMO: Your "New Day" starts right now.
ANNOUNCER: This is "New Day" with Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan, and Michaela Pereira.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CUOMO: Good morning, everybody. Welcome to "New Day." It's Thursday. That's absolutely true. It is also August 1st. Six o'clock in the east. I'm Chris Cuomo.
BOLDUAN: Good morning, everybody. I'm Kate Bolduan. We're here with news anchor, Michaela Pereira.
We have a lot coming up this morning, including the latest allegations from the Edward Snowden leaks on just how far the NSA spying program goes? Can they search your entire online life with just a few key strokes, and really, minimal oversight. We're going to break down what is true and what isn't true. There seems to even be a discrepancy there.
CUOMO: Also, we're going to take you back to Florida. Another unarmed man shot, this time, by police 15 times. The man was in his own driveway. Police say he failed to comply, but with what? Big questions. And the sheriff is going to join us live to answer them.
PEREIRA: And we've both seen those airline ads probably even try to get some of the $69 to fly across the country kind of fares, but are they too good to be true? Now, one airline may have to pay a hefty fine for advertising a flight for $66 but had no seats available at that price. We're going to tell you what you need to know to get your deal.
CUOMO: That's how they get you.
PEREIRA: Hmmm.
CUOMO: That's how they get you.
All right. But first this morning, all eyes today on a Cleveland courtroom where Ariel Castro will receive his sentence for holding three women captive for a decade. Castro is expected to speak at length and one of his victims may speak as well. This as we get shocking new details of the women's lives of captivity from their own diaries.
