Return to Transcripts main page

Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Deadly Flood Emergency In Colorado; High Stakes Meetings; Weapons For The Rebels; Derek Jeter Out For Season

Aired September 12, 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)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Breaking news overnight. Flash floods wiping out homes in Colorado, killing at least one person. Indra Petersons is tracking the very latest on this storm.

ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): And fighting over Syria. Russia's president blasting President Obama accusing him of having his facts all wrong and on the verge of creating a new rise in terrorism.

BERMAN: And then caught on camera. You will not believe this. A mother using children to steal more than $100,000 in jewelry. How they pulled off this heist?

SAMBOLIN: I watched that whole video. That is just incredible. Shame on that mother. That is terrible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN (on-camera): All right. Welcome back, everyone. This is EARLY START. I'm John Berman.

SAMBOLIN (on-camera): And I'm Zoraida Sambolin. Thirty-one minutes past the hour.

BERMAN: And we are following breaking news this morning from Colorado where flash flooding in Boulder has turned deadly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN (voice-over): It's left that city all but cut off.

SAMBOLIN (voice-over): So, look at this, this is amateur video. It's from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Evacuations are being ordered at this hour with that part of Colorado being simply pounded by torrential rain. Up to half a foot overnight. Authorities now say multiple homes have collapsed. There is at least one person dead.

Rock slides are stopping the crews from getting to areas that they need to check for survivors. Indra Petersons is tracking this for us. It's just remarkable these pictures and you're always warning people, right, about the flash water.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Like literally, please, do not walk of this water. Do not even drive. Two feet of water will take a large SUV away. I always say it. Six inches of water, that's enough to sweep you off your feet. It's a huge, deadly powerful water -- flushing water that really is very deadly out there.

We're watching warning currently. We have flash flood warnings right around Boulder, Colorado. The reason for this, the heavy rain. We've been talking about this. Look at all the rain that fell overnight between 4:00 and 8:00 p.m. last night. We were talking about anywhere from several inches of water per hour. I mean, four inches in four hours of water.

Incredible amount of rainfall throughout the area. And unfortunately, the threat is not over with it yet. We're still talking about a large amount of rain expected in the region. So, what's going on? What's bringing all this rain into the area? Well, two things. We have a low out in the pacific here, so what does that do? We talk about winds going clockwise or counterclockwise around that low and then clockwise around the high.

The reason that matters those winds are so strong from the south that it's fueling all this tropical moisture from the south into that region. Then, you add a little bit of that cold air from that low. You get the instability to trigger those thunderstorms when you get these heavy, heavy amounts of rainfall.

Now, as we go forward in time, we talked about this not being over with yet. Another three to five inches of rain is still possible in the region and not just about rain over long periods of time. It's in short periods of time. And when you have that, unfortunately -- have the threat for flooding. And as many places here, we're talking about an inch of rain possible in half of an hour. Unbelievable amount of rain out there.

SAMBOLIN: That's incredible.

BERMAN: Too much too fast. Be careful if you are in Boulder right now. Officials are telling people not to leave their homes. Stay put for now until they clear this thing out.

Thirty-two minutes past after the hour right now. And now to the latest on Syria, secretary of state, John Kerry, has just arrived in Geneva for meetings with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov. This is a high stakes meeting with an awful lot on the table, including the proposal by Russia that Syria turn over hits chemical weapons to international monitors.

But, this comes just hours after Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, took to the pages of "The New York Times" to jab President Obama, writing an open letter to the American people. This was critical of American foreign policy, even of American attitudes. And the Russian leader continues to insist the U.S. should not launch strikes against Syria.

Phil Black is in Moscow for us this morning live. Phil, give us a rundown of just what this op-ed says and what was it designed to do, because it seems rather provocative? PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure, John. Well, it is an extraordinary effort by the Russian leader to reach the American people directly and tell them the Russian case, that is that Russian does not believe it is standing by the Syrian government. It says it's standing up for international law. Russia believes that any military strike is only going to help Islamists or potential terrorists within the Syrian opposition.

And Russia still believes very strongly that force doesn't work, and ultimately, it thinks that it was the Syrian opposition that was responsible for using chemical weapons, not the Syrian government. But there was some particularly tough language towards the end of this article where the Russian president directly criticized President Obama telling the American people they are exceptional during his recent televised address.

Here's a direct quote from Vladimir Putin. He said this, "He said it is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional whatever the motivation. There are big countries and small countries, rich and poor, those with long Democratic traditions and those still finding their way to Democracy."

He goes on to say, "We must remember that God made us all equal." That's even pretty diplomatic stuff for the Russian president, because when this issue is discussed here in the Russian capital, it's often described as American arrogance -- John.

BERMAN: American exceptionalism generally means this country's devotion to freedom and liberty around the world there. That statement from Vladimir Putin clearly provocative, a finger in the eye to President Obama. That aside, how important is the meeting right now? Secretary Kerry just arriving in Geneva today. How high are the expectations?

BLACK: Well, this is the first real test as to whether this latest diplomatic initiative to try to get Syria to give up its chemical weapons has any chance of succeeding. The Russians and the Syrians say they've been working on a plan, logistical plan, if you like as to how these weapons can be identified, located, secured, and perhaps, ultimately destroyed all within the context of an ongoing civil war.

The U.S. delegation says it's going to be looking, listening very closely to what they have to say to essentially determine if it's credible, is it possible? Are they serious? Can it be trusted? John.

BERMAN: All right. Phil Black live for us in Moscow this morning. Again, the news, secretary of state, John Kerry, just arrived in Geneva. These talks between he and the Russian foreign minister set to begin. Thanks, Phil.

SAMBOLIN: And we're learning this morning that the CIA is now for the very first time providing weapons to the Syrian rebels. A U.S. official telling CNN weapons purchased by the CIA are going to those fighting the Assad regime. But two rebel groups deny this. That as the U.N. is closer to releasing its report on what actually happened in last month's chemical weapons attack. Mohammed Jamjoom is live in Beirut this morning for us. And Mohammed, what do we know about where these weapons are going?

MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Zoraida, U.S. official is telling us that these weapons have begun being delivered to Syrian rebels in Syria, that they are not American made, that they are CIA funded and organized, that they started to getting to Syrian rebels in the last two weeks. They're described as light weapons, some anti- tank weapons and some artillery.

This is all in addition to the non-lethal aid that the U.S. has been providing to the Syrian rebels and opposition groups for the past year or so. What's interesting, though is we've spoken to opposition groups and we've also spoken today to the rebel free Syrian army. Their spokesman telling us, no, we have not started receiving any CIA funded weapons.

They say that they've gotten promises from U.S. and E.U. officials that they expect that weapons will start being delivered soon, but as of now, they say they have not gotten these weapons and they continue to say that this is what they need.

They want the U.S. and the E.U. to follow up on their promises, to follow through, to get these weapons to them because they believe that this will tip the balance in their favor in that brutal Syrian civil war that's killed at least hundred thousand people in over two and a half years of conflict -- Zoraida.

SAMBOLIN: All right. Mohammed Jamjoom reporting live for us. Thank you very much.

It is 38 minutes past the hour. Police near St. Louis are on the lookout this morning for a woman they say put two young children to work as thieves.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAMBOLIN (voice-over): Take a look at this. Surveillance video from a jewelry store in Granite City, Illinois, shows just what they say Jenesa Gray (ph) did, distracting a store clerk so the two children ages six and eight could make off with more than a hundred thousand dollars worth of jewelry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT PAOLUCCI, HURLEY AND COMPANY JEWELRY: The woman was basically blocking his view so the kids could go back and do what she told them to do. She would hand them her purse and then they would take the purse and go back there. And you can see their little hands going in and grabbing jewelry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAMBOLIN: Apparently, it's not clear what her relationship with the children is. Investigators have so far recovered about $10,000 of what the woman and these little youngsters are alleged to have stolen, but they haven't found her yet. So, earlier, I said it was the mom. That's what I had read in some reports earlier, but I guess, we don't have that confirmed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Nevertheless, still an awful, awful --

SAMBOLIN (on-camera): It's terrible. Those poor little kids.

BERMAN: Thirty-nine minutes after the hour right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN (voice-over): A controversial Missouri gun law will stay off the books. The state Senate was unable to muster enough votes to override a veto from the governor falling one vote short. The bill would have allowed any Missouri resident to own a machine gun and also call for the arrest of any federal agent who tried to take weapons away. Governor Jay Nixon vetoed this saying it was unconstitutional.

SAMBOLIN (voice-over): Investigators in Canada now say crude oil on a train that exploded and leveled a small Quebec town killing dozens was mislabeled. It was actually a more volatile type of oil than has been officially declared. That finding points to possibly lax inspections for the train. Though, it doesn't answer the biggest question, how did that train roll down the tracks, derail and then explode?

BERMAN: Right. What do you hear this? Fish are dying off by the thousands in Hawaii, suffocated by, of all things, molasses. There was a molasses spill. 1,400 tons of the syrup escaping through a leaky pipe into Honolulu harbor. The fish coming closer to shore or up to the surface are gasping for breath.

Official say they plan to let nature take its course because it's really not much they can do to clean this up. People are being told to stay out of the water since the dead fish could attract sharks or barracudas.

SAMBOLIN: Oh, how awful.

BERMAN: Crazy.

SAMBOLIN: Yes. They don't like molasses.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN (on-camera): Apparently not.

SAMBOLIN (on-camera): All right. Forty minutes past the hour. This isn't Moby Dick but very cool to see, nonetheless. Pictures of a rare white --

BERMAN: The White whale.

SAMBOLIN: That's a humpback whale. This is off the coast of Australia. Imagine seeing that. So, these images were captured by a boater as the whale named Migaloo floated by near the Great Barrier Reef. I could watch this all day. He is the most famous white humpback having first been spotted back in 1991 and its likely one of only a handful that exists.

Australia has actually granted him extra protection. Technically, no boats, no boats are allowed within 1,500 feet.

BERMAN: International restraining order --

SAMBOLIN: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

SAMBOLIN: They don't enforce it, right? These guys got much closer than that.

BERMAN: Beautiful.

SAMBOLIN: How can you tell when he's going to come up, right?

BERMAN: Beautiful.

SAMBOLIN: Gorgeous.

BERMAN: Chasing a white whale, though, apparently, you know, bad things happen when you try to do that.

SAMBOLIN: There he blows!

(LAUGHTER)

BERMAN: On that note, coming up --

(LAUGHTER)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANIE LIDDICK, TRAPPED ON CAR: It was the most terrifying moment of my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: A young mother and her child caught in a flood of hail trapped in their sinking car until one man risked everything to help. Amazing pictures.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAMBOLIN: Forty-five minutes past the hour. As we said, Colorado is getting hit with really bad weather this week, but that has led to this story of true heroism. This was Monday when a young mom and her daughter had to pull over in the middle of a hail storm. This is Denver. Take a look at these pictures.

(CROSSTALK) SAMBOLIN: It does look crazy. It looks like snow. The hail clogging a drain, nearly putting their car and them under water. That is when a good Samaritan driving by stepped in to help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LIDDICK: It was the most terrifying moment of my life. The car started taking on water. That was OK for a minute, but then it rose to about sea high and start filling the cup holders.

MERLE CORDOVA, RESCUED MOTHER AND DAUGHTER: She's waving at me, and I realize all that water flows down to a lake. Originally, I went in nose first but too much water was coming my truck, so I turned around and back then and allowed me to kind of hold on to my truck while I grabbed them.

LIDDICK: You know, he risked his pretty, pretty truck and himself. Not everybody would do it because nobody else did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAMBOLIN: My gosh. You better believe it. Mr. Cordova, good for you. He dropped the pair off to a school to get warm then went back and towed the car and then guess what he did? He went to work. And he says he is not a hero. Mr. Cordova, we disagree. You are, indeed. And she said, apparently, I guess other people had stopped or driven by and just ignored her.

BERMAN: (INAUDIBLE). That's for sure. That guy is a --

(LAUGHTER)

BERMAN: What a nice guy!

SAMBOLIN: I will agree with you on that.

BERMAN: What's coming up on "NEW DAY?" Chris and Kate, what's going on, guys?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning you two.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Boy oh boy. Did you read the op-ed from Vladimir Putin?

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Tell you about it, opposite world. You know, I rarely ask anybody. You know, you really should read that op-ed in "The New York Times."

BOLDUAN: Exactly.

CUOMO: -- that really come out of my mouth, but this one, you should. We'll talk to a bunch of experts this morning and get some context and the last time we saw someone play against tight (ph) the way the Russian president has in this op-ed and we'll tell you what it could mean for the deal in Syria.

Imagine, on 9/11, the Russian president lecturing Americans about not spreading terrorism. So, we're going to talk to you about that and figure out where diplomacy is in terms of legitimate end is in that situation.

BOLDUAN: And we're also going to talk to a 12-year-old girl and her mother. The 12-year-old did something very few people have done, survive the illness caused by a brain eating ameba. Caley Hardig (ph), we followed her story. She is going to be joining us along with her mom, Tracey, to talk about, what else, her incredible story of beating the odds and how she has gotten through and how her recovery is going so far.

SAMBOLIN: That little girl is not only surviving but thriving. If you see her as we've gotten to see through her recovery, she's just simply remarkable. I can't wait to see that. Thank you.

BOLDUAN: I know.

BERMAN: Wonderful thing.

SAMBOLIN: Yes.

BERMAN: Coming up here, a bad day for two big names and their fans right here in the Big Apple. Derek Jeter, the captain, out. Mark Sanchez, the bench warmer, hurt. Injuries claiming two New York sports. Well, one is a superstar and one, who knows where he's headed. The "Bleacher Report" is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAMBOLIN: So, yesterday was a rough day for some New York sports fans. First, the Yankees Derek Jeter says he is out for the season.

BERMAN: Rough season for the captain. And now this, Mark Sanchez, the Jets, I suppose, backup quarterback, could be done for the season, possibly forever with the Jets. Joe Carter has more in the "Bleacher Report." Good morning, Joe.

JOE CARTER, BLEACHER REPORT: Hey, good morning, guys. Yes, it's actually his right shoulder that is giving him all of the problems, his throwing shoulder. They say he has a torn labrum. And according to reports, the injury could actually require season ending surgery. He was recently in Florida where he was checked out by Dr. James Andrews, and after that visit, reports say that the quarterback has got a couple of options here.

He can have surgery now, and basically call it a season, or he can continue to rehab and try to play at some point, then have surgery at the end of the season. The feeling is whether he goes under the knife now or waits until at the end of the year, his days as a Jet are certainly numbered.

Now, Yankees shortstop, Derek Jeter, we definitely know he is done for the season. The team placed him on the DL yesterday, basically, for that same ankle injury he's been dealing with since last October. So, he was asked yesterday when he addressed the media, is it time for him to call it a career?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why? Just because of an ankle injury? No. Look, man, people have had a lot of injuries throughout the course of their careers. I've been pretty fortunate to play, what, 21 professional years, I think it is, and really only have one significant injury.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARTER: Marlins rookie pitcher, Jose Fernandez, hit his very first big league home run last night, and while the Braves did not like how he handled it. They did not think he was very professional. They did not like how he admired it too long and they also did not like how he spit at the teeth of their third baseman. That, obviously, brought both teams onto the field.

I will tell you, he acted like a rookie here, guys, but afterwards, he took the hard road and said he was wrong and he said he was embarrassed and he also said that he was sorry for the incident.

And turning right now on BleacherReport.com, LeBron James and his high school girlfriend, Savannah Brinson, are going to finally say I do this weekend. It's going to be a nice big beautiful three-day bash at the Grand Del Mar in beautiful San Diego. Travel and leisure called that the number one resort in California.

Jay-Z and Beyonce are expected to be there, some of the big stars, just to name a few. Obviously, guys, this is LeBron James' biggest decision after "the decision."

(LAUGHTER)

BERMAN: After the decision. I didn't get my invite to this yet, did you?

SAMBOLIN: No. I wouldn't wait around for one. Good for him. Congratulations.

BERMAN: There was also a pin sheet (ph) extra inning grand slam last night that led the Red Sox to win. We'll just throw it on there --

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: Joe Carter, thank you.

SAMBOLIN: It's not sports without the Red Sox.

BERMAN: No. I agree with that.

SAMBOLIN: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAMBOLIN: I could listen to this further. Can you do a little Barry White?

BERMAN: In my head, I'm doing lot of Barry White.

SAMBOLIN: Go ahead. Go ahead.

BERMAN: No, no. It's all happening.

SAMBOLIN: Oh, nice. We're going a little old school this morning with Barry White because he -- go ahead.

BERMAN: -- is about to be honored on the Hollywood walk of fame.

(LAUGHTER)

BERMAN: The deep voice star sang some of the sexiest songs ever --

SAMBOLIN: Yes, he did!

BERMAN: What is he the king of?

SAMBOLIN: He -- of begging (ph). I'd say the king of begging (ph).

BERMAN: He was never memorized in concrete on Hollywood boulevard before he died in 2003. It's a crime. But now, his widow and the founder of Motown will be there today to give him his place of honor. Barry White.

SAMBOLIN: Yes.

BERMAN: That is all for EARLY START.

SAMBOLIN: Nicely done, Berman.

BERMAN: Time for "NEW DAY." Chris Cuomo and Kate Bolduan, take it away.

BOLDUAN: Very, very White of you.

CUOMO: I'm strangely attracted to him.

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: The power of --

BOLDUAN: The power of --

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: The power of Berman.

BOLDUAN: Stop stealing my words.

CUOMO: Sorry.

Look at your clock, everybody. It's almost the top of the hour. That means here on "NEW DAY," it's time for your top news. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We have seen more cooperation from the Russians in the last two days than we've seen in the last two years.

CUOMO: Role reversal. Russian president, Vladimir Putin, addresses Americans pleading for restraint, calling the U.S. a bully. What will Secretary Kerry do when he meets the Russians this morning?

BOLDUAN: Breaking news. Deadly flash flooding happening now in Colorado. Parts of the state suddenly under water. The rescues are ongoing. We're tracking it all.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: The juror. Tom Hanks on jury duty? The lawyer who just had to talk to the star and how it all changed the course of the trial.

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. Welcome to "NEW DAY." It's Thursday, September 12th, six o'clock in the east.

And we're tracking two major breaking stories this morning. John Kerry is going to meet his Russian counterparts today in Geneva to begin to work out a deal to avert on strike on Syria, but making things more complicated, that Putin op-ed in "The New York Times.

He questions American exceptionalism and lectures the president about not using military force to get his way. we're going to have a lot of reaction from the U.S. and across the world to that this morning. Very controversial.

BOLDUAN: Very controversial. A lot of people are going to have a lot to say about that today. And also, if you're in Colorado this morning, you're watching this right now from our affiliate, KMGH. They've been in breaking news coverage throughout the night covering those deadly flash floods there -- deadly flash floods.

And there's at least one person killed, so far. Buildings destroyed and rescue crews are out this morning trying to save trapped residents. Look at all that water. One official telling everyone to move to higher ground. We're going to have much more in just a moment.

PEREIRA: And then, we dive back into the gun debate this morning. One state almost passed a law that would have made federal gun laws illegal. What does that mean? This, as another state is now allowing blind people to own guns. That certainly has a lot of people upset. We're going to get into all of that coming up.