Return to Transcripts main page
Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Interstate Adoption Battle; Judge Rules in Favor of Paula Deen; CVS: Must Be 18 to Buy Nail Polish Remover; Gaga's New Single Out Early
Aired August 13, 2013 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CNN ANCHOR: A teenage girl back home now after being held captive for days. She's just finding out what happened to her mother and her brother as her family now begs for privacy.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Evacuations underway. More than 90,000 acres scorched in a massive wildfire.
SAMBOLIN: Look at that.
BERMAN: Take a look at that, burning through Idaho.
SAMBOLIN: An amazing fete on the golf course. One man does the unthinkable, landing two holes in one in a row.
BERMAN: Not a young man, by the way. We'll tell you how not young in a little bit.
SAMBOLIN: How not young?
BERMAN: How not young.
Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.
SAMBOLIN: And I'm Zoraida Sambolin. Nice to have you with us this morning. It is 30 minutes past the hour.
BERMAN: We're going to start right now with Hannah Anderson. Hannah Anderson is waking up back in San Diego this morning for the first time since the 16-year-old was kidnapped more than a week ago. She was taken on a long distance journey that ended in the Idaho wilderness. Her captor, now dead.
Authorities say Anderson was held against her will and is only now just finding out that her mother and eight-year-old brother were killed. Her father is asking for privacy as the family grieves and tries to heal.
An intense fight continues this morning between a biological father of a three-year-old girl and her adoptive parents. They want Veronica return nearly two years after she was taken from them, but the father is refusing and he's now been arrested.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We asked what are you waiting for. With every passing hour, we fear more and more for her safety and well-being.
SAMBOLIN (voice-over): Matt and Melanie Capobianco (ph) say what happened to their daughter amounts to kidnapping.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We prayed the courts would do the right thing and they did. Now, we pray that those who are holding Veronica will do the right thing.
SAMBOLIN: It all started when the couple adopted now three-year-old Veronica back in 2009. They raised her for two years before a court forced them to return her to her biological father, Dustin Brown (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's doing great. She's a wild kid and very excited. Full of energy.
SAMBOLIN: Brown had initially waived his pa rental rights during the adoption proceedings, but later, changed his mind and filed suit using a little known federal law that protects Native-American children from being separated from their parents. Brown is part Cherokee.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She doesn't quite understand it. She has seen pictures of them with here. She says I know that's me, but who are they? I mean, I just tell her that were some people that love you, too.
SAMBOLIN: The case went all the way up to the Supreme Court who, in June, ruled in favor of the Capobianco Family. Justices said the federal law does not apply in this case since Brown waived his parental rights. Brown was ordered last week to appear at a court hearing to start the process of returning Veronica to the home of the Capobiancos. But he was charged with failing to show up. He turned himself into police on Monday.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm willing to go to jail for my daughter. This is my family. And I'll protect them. And I mean, if it takes me going to jail for it, so be it.
SAMBOLIN: The Capobianco say they understand how Brown feels, but they urge him to do the right thing and return Veronica.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know better than anybody how it feels to have to hand over a child. And, you know, we understand the pain. We understand what they're going through. We know they care about her. We know they love her. One way or another, she's going to come home.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SAMBOLIN (on-camera): Is she not the cutest thing you've ever seen? Where Veronica is now? Dustin Brown's wife says she's safe and with her grandparents. She is at an undisclosed location. Brown wants his case brought back to Oklahoma, the state where Veronica was born and where she has been living. The Capobiancos just want Veronica back in their home in South Carolina. BERMAN: It's a heart-wrenching story.
SAMBOLIN: Oh, it just. It pulls on every heart string. You feel for the little girl. She's adorable.
BERMAN: All right. Thirty-three minutes after the hour. Michael Jackson was nearly half a billion dollars in debt when he died in 2009. He was tapped out.
That's according to a forensic accountant testifying for the defense of the Jackson Family's wrongful death trial. He says Jackson routinely spent more than he earned, especially on jewelry and also at his Neverland ranch.
The Jackson Family is suing AEG Live claiming the promoter negligently hired Dr. Conrad Murray leading to the superstar's death.
SAMBOLIN: A brain-eating amoeba has stricken a 12-year-old boy in Florida. And doctors say that little boy right there, he is fighting for his life. While the source of the rare infection is still unknown, his family says the boy was knee boarding in a ditch near his home. The dangerous organism can be found in warm, fresh water lakes, ponds, rivers and even canals. Federal health officials say that only 28 cases have been reported in the United States in the last ten years.
BERMAN: In South Carolina, former banking executive, Chris Latham, remains locked up this morning after a judge refused to grant him bond. Latham is accused of taking part in a murder for hire plot to kill his estranged wife while they're going through divorce. Nancy Latham and the couple's daughter are in court in Charleston for the bond hearing.
She, her daughter Emily and their attorney will join Chris and Kate for an exclusive interview this morning on "NEW DAY." That's at 7:30 Eastern Time.
SAMBOLIN: In Idaho, evacuation now as a massive wildfire just continues to swell. Look at these pictures. The elk fire, east of Boise has grown to more than 90,000 acres. It is only five percent contained. And, it's not clear how many homes have been destroyed in that area. The fire officials say the damage could be significant.
BERMAN: You hear that cracking? That is amazing. That is from a cell phone capturing the moment a sinkhole swallowed up part of a resort near Orlando. Guests at the Summer Bay Resort only had a few minutes to get away. Amazingly, none were injured, but many left their personal belongings behind. One building completely destroyed. Two others are being evaluated now for structural damage.
Question right now, what is the situation we saw the fires out west? We know some big rains headed. What's in store for weather, Indra?
INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. We're looking at, really, we look at Boise overnight. Was the potential for rain in the area? You can see just a couple of lightning bolts in the area. This was actually a concern. They were more worried since it's been so dry that it could spark additional wildfires. So, we're looking at those thunderstorms really clearing out currently.
As far as the red flag warnings, there's no red flag warnings by that specific fire, but in Idaho, as a whole, we are looking at some of these dry conditions, low humidity and high heat. Now, looking forward into the week, we're going to be watching. There's actually ridge of high pressure building. So, with that, temperatures will be going up.
The biggest concern really that their concern at this point in time are going to be some of those winds, especially the thunderstorms move in and move out with behind that generally calmer conditions but warmer conditions into the forecast. We'll be monitoring that. Otherwise, we were talking about these heavy rains.
Yes, still talking about unbelievably heavy rains right through the middle section of the country. Oklahoma City once again dealing with the thunderstorms this morning. Heavy rain continuing throughout the day, so that flooding potential remains high. Good news, though, by the middle of the week, things are going to calm down. Thunderstorms in the forecast but not as strong as what they've been seeing really for the last week or so.
The other thing we're going to be watching is this huge cold front here as this kind of pushes through the mid-Atlantic today. We're going to actually have the potential for some severe weather throughout the area. In similar to last week, it's going to kick through quickly to the northeast and mid-Atlantic, bringing about one to two inches, maybe some places three inches of rain today there.
But on the southern portion, the tail is going to stall out, again. That means heavy rain into the southeast. So, all that moisture streams in from the golf. That warm humid air, also some of that tropical moisture will produce, look at these rain totals. We're talking heavy amounts of rain in places that are just saturated.
Two to four inches of rain possible in the next three days. By Sunday, five to eight inches of rain possible around the gulf, especially Florida. Unbelievable how much rain they've had.
BERMAN: Zoraida is complaining. It's inconvenient for her. She has a lot of plans --
(CROSSTALK)
SAMBOLIN: I have a lot of outdoor plans.
(CROSSTALK)
SAMBOLIN: We're not getting saturated like that. Thank you so much, Indra.
All right. Thirty-seven minutes past the hour. Now to the legal troubles for celebrity chef, Paula Deen. A new development is set to have her very pleased. As Michaela Pereira reports, a judge has ruled in her favor on a question of race.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to apologize to everybody.
MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Some good news for Paula Deen in the case that brought down her multimillion dollar empire. The embattled TV shop has been cleared of the racial discrimination claims filed in a lawsuit by a former employee.
On Monday, a judge ruled that a former manager of Deen's Savannah Retaurant couldn't be the victim of racial discrimination targeting African-American employees because she is White, writing, "At best, plaintiff is an accidental victim of the alleged racial discrimination."
DANNY CEVALLOS, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It was a very big victory, because summary judgement motions are incredibly rarely granted. It tells us a lot about the strength of the plaintiff's claims, that they were very weak.
PEREIRA: Deen's reps tell CNN they are pleased with the ruling. As Miss Deen has stated before, she is confident that those who truly know how she lives her life knows that she believes in equal opportunity, kindness, and fairness for everyone. It was in the deposition for this lawsuit that Deen first acknowledged using the "N" word and so Deen was stressed into a second trial of sorts, this time, in the court of public opinion.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The day I used that word, it was a world ago. It was 30 years ago. I had had a gun put to my head.
PEREIRA: Deen and her family went on the defensive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our mother is one of the most compass compassionate, good hearted, empathetic people that you'd ever meet.
JAMIE DEEN, PAULA DEEN'S SON: It's completely absurd to think that there's an environment of racism in our business.
PEREIRA: The scandal led to a devastating domino effect as Deen was dropped from deal after lucrative endorsement deal.
CEVALLOS: The sad truth is that even if you are wrongfully sued in America, your best recourse ultimately is to just lick your wounds and move on.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SAMBOLIN: And our thanks to Michaela for that report. And this isn't the end of Deen's legal troubles. However, she still faces claims of sexual harassment and abusive treatment from that exact same lawsuit.
And, coming up, you need an ID to buy liquor and cigarettes, but how about that nail polish remover? Why one drugstore chain is cracking down? BERMAN: And jellyfish invasion. Why swimmers being very, very careful?
SAMBOLIN: That hurts.
BERMAN: It does -- to some Florida beaches. Watch out there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SAMBOLIN: Welcome back. It is 43 minutes past the hour. So, you now have to be 18 years or older to actually purchase nail polish remover at CVS Pharmacies in New England. IDs are required. So, take them with you. And there's a limit on the number of bottles you can buy.
The drugstore chain is implementing this new policy because a key ingredient in nail polish remover, which is acetone, is also used to illegally manufacture methamphetamine. Did you know that?
BERMAN: You know, I never learned it on "Breaking Bad." It's one of the things, this information. Hmmm, interesting.
All right. The jellyfish biting off the coast of Volusia County, Florida. Look at that.
SAMBOLIN: -- scarier.
BERMAN: Including now the area near Daytona Beach. Tourists beware. Wind currents are pushing large numbers of these jellyfish to the beaches, and swimmers really paying the price.
SAMBOLIN: Yes.
BERMAN: More than 200 people had to be treated for stings last weekend. This invasion is expected to end once the winds changes directions.
SAMBOLIN: Have you ever been bitten by --
BERMAN: I have. Not those big ones, but the --
SAMBOLIN: It really hurts.
BERMAN: Yes, it does hurt. It hurts for a long time.
SAMBOLIN: So, be careful.
Forty-four minutes past the hour. Neighbors in a Beijing high-rise are not too happy with one professor Xang (ph) who demolished his penthouse apartment and turned it into this. His own version of a mountain top villa. This personal palace includes rock gardens and plenty of greenery as you see sticking up from the top there.
So, the people who live below say the construction caused leaks. It caused cracks and that the professor hosts late-night jam sessions at ear splitting volumes as well.
BERMAN: Nothing worse than neighbors doing late-night jam sessions.
SAMBOLIN: Well, they want that place torn down? You think they'll get it accomplished?
(CROSSTALK)
BERMAN: All right. Forty-five minutes after the hour. So, what are the odds of making not one, but eight back-to-back hole in ones? I don't even think they put odds on something like that. But, there was an 81-year-old golfer, fast Eddie Manderville. He did it playing his favorite course in Minneapolis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EDDIE MANDERVILLE, HAD BACK-TO-BACK HOLES IN ONE: I had eight hole in ones. So, I thought I saw everything but never two in a row.
(LAUGHTER)
MANDERVILLE: Unbelievable.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a beautiful thing in America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAMBOLIN: It is a beautiful thing in America.
BERMAN: Congratulations. You've passed 80, 81 years old. In case you're wondering, the odds of getting two holes in one in an entire 18 rounds of golf -- around golf course is one in 67 million.
SAMBOLIN: Kind of your odds of winning the lottery, right? That's incredible.
BERMAN: You have a better chance of hitting two holes in one than winning the lottery. But it's still low, low odds.
SAMBOLIN: All right. So, let's take a look at what's coming up on "NEW DAY." Chris and Kate are joining us now. Good morning to you.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR, "EARLY START": We're questioning, was the hole in one verified?
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR, "EARLY START": The second one.
BERMAN: You're calling the 81-year-old golf, a Fast Eddie from Minneapolis a liar?
BOLDUAN: I never once said liar.
CUOMO: it's a question. You're now being, you know, accusatory and mean.
(LAUGHTER)
BERMAN: You guys are tough journalists right there. SAMBOLIN: I say give it to the 81-year-old.
(CROSSTALK)
BOLDUAN: We report, you decide.
CUOMO: Anybody called Fast Eddie deserves whatever he says out.
(CROSSTALK)
BOLDUAN: It cannot be your nickname. You're neither fast nor named Eddie.
CUOMO: True. True. The first part is even more true than the second.
(LAUGHTER)
CUOMO: My real name is actually Edward.
(LAUGHTER)
CUOMO: All right. So, this morning on "NEW DAY," we're going to stay with this story. We started with you at the beginning of this, the horrible news about what happened at that home in San Diego all the way through Hannah's incredible rescue and what went down in that operation. We have new details for you.
But we're also going to stay with it because what happens next for Hannah Anderson matters. Her father is going to need help. She is going to need help. So, we're going to take you through what happens now in a situation like this as well as new information from some of the people who helped rescue them, new information about how that operation actually happened, because this was against the odds as well to bring someone home like this.
BOLDUAN: Definitely against the odds. My goodness. A happy ending, at least, a partial happy ending for that family.
And we're also going to talking about a controversial crime fighting program in New York. They say it's been very successful in keeping the crime rate low, but it was ruled unconstitutional by a judge. So, does stop and frisk violate constitutional rights or is it a necessary crime fighting tactic needed in a big city like this? We're going to debate this with "CROSSFIRE" host Newt Gingrich and Columbia professor, Marc Lamont Hill. Very passionate on both sides.
CUOMO: We'll have Sunny Hostin here as well to give us what the decision was so you can understand what the background is before you get into the debate.
Also, this goes under the category, is this wrong, question mark? Ivy League educated doctor looking for love in an unusual way.
BOLDUAN: What's wrong about that? CUOMO: He's a plastic surgeon. He will give you free medical procedure if you go on a date with him. Whom does he pick, is it fair, is it right, is it wrong? We'll have --
BOLDUAN: Setting his standards a little high. We'll talk about it.
BERMAN: At least he's a doctor, right? At least he's a doctor offering --
SAMBOLIN: He's not a bad looking guy, either.
(CROSSTALK)
BOLDUAN: I'll give you Botox if you date me.
(LAUGHTER)
BERMAN: I'm just saying. That's what one advantage (ph) there.
SAMBOLIN: I'm kind of with you on that one.
(LAUGHTER)
SAMBOLIN: There you go.
BERMAN: Appreciate it.
Coming up, Mike Tyson stepping back in the ring, but not in the way you might think. We're going to tell you what is next for Iron Mike. it is in this morning's "Bleacher Report."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: Welcome back, everyone. A San Francisco Giants fan has come forward and apologized for throwing a banana in the direction of Orioles outfielder, Adam Jones.
SAMBOLIN: Andy Scholes has more in this morning's "Bleacher Report." Good morning.
ANDY SCHOLES, BLEACHER REPORT: Good morning, guys. Well, a fan called the "San Jose Mercury News" yesterday to fess up to throwing the banana in the direction of Adam Jones, but he said the accident was not racially motivated. Fan said he grabbed a banana off a catering cart and just chunk it on the bail out of frustration near the end of the Orioles 10-2 over the Giants on Sunday.
He said he did not mean to insult the Orioles outfielder. Jones, meanwhile, spoke about the incident before last night's game calling the whole situation unfortunate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At first, you know, I have no hard feelings about it. It's just an unfortunate thing to happen. You never know what could be thrown towards players in our backs return (ph). You never known what could be thrown in our direction. So, I think I just look at it as a safety issue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: What's the last thing you want to do on your day off? Go to work, right? Well, apparently, that's not the case for these Boston Red Sox players, Dustin Pedroia, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and Jonny Gomes attended the Blue Jays/As game yesterday on their day off. These guys play 162 games during the regular season, but they still can't get enough baseball. Hey, at least they had some pretty good seats.
All right. Mike Tyson is returning to the ring, but he won't be lacing up the gloves. Tyson's comeback to the world of boxing as a promoter and president of Iron Mike Productions. Tyson says he is excited about the new endeavor and that he wants to work with young fighters.
This first event will be August 23rd in New York. Guys, you've seen Mike Tyson on the "Hangover" movies. He's got a new cartoon coming up on Cartoon Network, and now, he's going to be a promoter.
(CROSSTALK)
BERMAN: Mike Tyson Enterprise. All right, Andy. Appreciate it. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SAMBOLIN: Taking a look at the top CNN Trends this morning. Listen up, Lady Gaga fans or should we call you little monsters. Her latest single is out, it's a week early.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAMBOLIN: Like it? It is the first track off her new album "Artpop." It was supposed to come out August 18th. Gaga took to Twitter on Monday declaring a, quote, "pop emergency." A music emergency. With the title like applause, it seems (ph) you to realize just what this song is about. Gaga sings, applause, of course, is a thing she loves.
BERMAN: All right. It was a big romantic gesture that now has some Las Vegas police force in hot water trouble. It seems a Qataris DJ Ashba which is -- he is part of the latest iteration of the Guns N' Roses band, he was given a ride along in a Las Vegas police helicopter over the weekend along with his girlfriend.
He posted pictures on his Instagram account. The journey ending in a field near police headquarters where he asked her to marry him. Now, Internal Affairs is investigating whether any policies were violated when two civilians were giving the very public trip. How romantic is a police ride along in a helicopter and that a proposal.
(LAUGHTER)
BERMAN: What does that tell you about what you think about your --
SAMBOLIN: This is a problem, right? I don't consider that romantic.
BERMAN: There's going to be some trouble, I think, for some of those Las Vegas policemen.
SAMBOLIN: All right. So, to check out other top CNN trends, head to CNN.com/Trends.
BERMAN: That is all for EARLY START. It is time for "NEW DAY." Chris and Kate, it's all yours.
BOLDUAN: Good morning, guys. We'll see you in a bit. Thank you so much.
CUOMO: I think we should do a four-day series where each of the four of us discusses their marriage proposal, like you know, how it happened and all that.
BOLDUAN: Yes. We need to -- it's hard --
CUOMO: It's an idea. Throw it out there. What do you think --
BOLDUAN: Marinade on it. We'll let you know.
CUOMO: But first, it is almost the top of the hour which means here on "NEW DAY," time for your top news.
