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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
U.N. Climate Change Report; Jackson Wrongful Death Trial; Bud Selig To Retire After 14 Season
Aired September 27, 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)
ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): And five months of emotional testimony comes to a close. The case now in the hands of the jury. The question, who is responsible for Michael Jackson's death?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sort of running for high office.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Uh-huh. Could there be another Clinton with her eye on the White House? Chelsea Clinton on the record about her possible ambitions for political office.
SAMBOLIN: That is one smart cookie. I was watching her interview and her mannerisms are so much like her mom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN (on-camera): She's been in the public eye now over 20 years. You know? She knows how to --
SAMBOLIN (on-camera): She knows how to handle it. That's right. Welcome back to EARLY START. Glad you're with us. I'm Zoraida Sambolin.
BERMAN: And I'm John Berman. About 31 minutes after the hour right now.
SAMBOLIN: A new U.N. report on climate change just came out overnight. It presents the strongest evidence yet that human activities are largely to blame for the warming of the planet. The panel scientists peg it to a 95 percent certainty. The report is a first issued in six years by the U.N.'s intergovernmental panel on climate change. Our Indra Petersons is breaking it all down for us. Indra, what does it say?
INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I mean, it's that big finding. It's that number right there, 95 percent sure. They're confident now that humans are playing a huge role in climate change. Not to say it's occurring but that humans are playing that role and that has gone up since 2007 where it was 90 percent. But even, look at this jump from 2001 where it's only 66 percent.
So, that confidence is growing amongst this group. So, who is this group? That's what everyone wants to know. Well, it has 250 authors from 39 countries. It's part of the U.N. here. You have a thousand experts in all these different fields nominated by each other. So, scientists nominating each other and then you get this big group of expert scientists and then you take this report and it's analyzed line by line from politicians around the world so that they can understand that and make this information effective in their policy making going forward.
So, that's the purpose behind the report. So, we know what to do with the information. Now, the big thing, I think, most people know when we talk about climate change is carbon emissions. They have been steadily been going up since the 1950s, 1970s. And with that, temperatures have been going up about 0.22 degrees per decade or since the 1950s about a degree Celsius.
Now, one of the reasons we talked about, that is why this is matter when it talks about ocean temperatures. Well, if it's warmer, then the ocean expands. So, with that, you have sea level rise. Think about Sandy and the role this played. So, here is the spectrum. If you have carbon emissions continuing on this high spectrum, by 2100, you could be talking about an extra three feet of that water being higher.
Now, people start to reduce their emissions, we could see that below a foot. But either way, even if we stopped emitting carbon right now, it's already there. Those emissions are going to be high. The skepticism on this, this only counts for the water that's already there. If it's warm and the Greenland ice sheet melts, you already have more water in the first place.
This number could go up as high as 20 feet. And a lot of people are upset. They're saying, what about that? I mean, that makes a huge difference in planning going forward.
BERMAN: That's devastating. I mean, three feet devastating. Twenty feet is unimaginable.
PETERSONS: Right. You can imagine all the controversy here with these numbers.
SAMBOLIN: Just scary information and the question is, what do you do with it, right? How do you affect some change? Thank you so much, Indra. Appreciate it.
BERMAN: Talking about scary and what do you do about it. Just three days left for Congress to avert a government shutdown. The Senate today is expected to vote on a stop gap funding bill that strips out language in the House passed version which would defund Obamacare. That sends it back to the House where lawmakers might try to beat the shutdown deadline.
That is not the only issue that Congress and the White House are facing. There is also the potential for a default without raising the debt ceiling. It's a separate issue from the government shutdown. Republicans say they will raise the debt ceiling under certain conditions. The president says he is not going to play that game.
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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To suggest America not pay its bills just to try to blackmail a president into giving them some concessions on issues that have nothing to do with the budget. I mean, this is the United States of America. We're not a deadbeat nation.
REP. JOHN BOEHNER, (R) HOUSE SPEAKER: The president says, "I'm not going to negotiate." Well, I'm sorry, but it just doesn't work that way.
REP. ERIC CANTOR, (R) VIRGINIA: We call the president now to sit down with us, Harry Reid to sit down with us and let's solve the problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Republican leaders point to new polls that they say suggest Americans want the president to actually negotiate on the issue of the debt ceiling. We'll see.
SAMBOLIN: And after five months of testimony, jurors in the Michael Jackson wrongful death trial are now actually deliberating that case. Singer's family is suing concert promoter, AEG Live, for billions of dollars. They're claiming the company that promoted Jackson's comeback concert is liable for his death as well. Here's Casey Wian.
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CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Michael Jackson never got the chance to perform what was supposed to be his ultimate comeback tour in 2009. He died of an overdose of the powerful anesthetic, propofol, administered by Dr. Conrad Murray. In 2011, Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to four years in prison.
Now, a different jury is deciding if concert promoter, AEG Live, must pay potentially billions of dollars to Jackson's heirs because they claim the company negligently hired Murray.
BRIAN PANISH, JACKSON FAMILY ATTORNEY: Michael Jackson died because a physician who had agreed to accept $150,000 a month, violated his ultimate Hippocratic oath and he was placed in that conflict of interest by AEG and there's no question about that in this case.
WIAN: AEG Live says Murray was never its employee and that he was entirely controlled by Jackson.
MARVIN PUTNAM, AEG LIVE ATTORNEY: The people in Michael's life were worried about his propofol use as early as late 1980s, early 1990s. That he was, by the 1990s, using it to sleep at night in hotels. This is in complete contradiction for plaintiffs have claimed which is this idea that, oh, this was a sudden new thing in Michael's life that happened for the first time with Dr. Conrad Murray.
WIAN: For five months, the jury heard testimony from Jackson's 83- year-old mother, Katherine, his ex-wife, Debbie Rowe, and by videotape, two of his three children. Fifteen-year-old Paris Jackson survived a suicide attempt during the trial. Other dramatic moments included the playing of Jackson family home movies never before seen publicly and the testimony of a Harvard doctor who said a physically deteriorating Jackson did not get REM sleep for 60 straight days while receiving propofol from Dr. Murray.
Casey Wian, CNN, Los Angeles.
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SAMBOLIN: Thirty-seven minutes past the hour. A fight between fans of rival baseball teams turns deadly in California.
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SAMBOLIN (voice-over): Jonathan Denver was wearing Los Angeles Dodgers gear Wednesday night as he walked with family and friends near the San Francisco Giants ballpark. They encountered a group of Giants fans leaving a nightclub.
An argument ensued. It turned physical and Denver was stabbed to death. One man has been arrested, and police are looking for two more.
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LOUIE PADILLA, NEIGHBOR OF VICTIM'S FAMILY: Just a tragedy and we have to stop! We have to stop and understand this is America's pastime. It's a great game.
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SAMBOLIN: That's insane. Sadly, this is not the first time the Dodgers/Giants rivalry has turned violent. Giants fan, Brian Stowe (ph), was attacked by two Dodgers fans after a game in Los Angeles. That was two years ago. He is still recovering from his injuries.
BERMAN (voice-over): That's just unnecessary and unacceptable.
Thirty-eight minutes after the hour.
The mother of a 14-year-old rape victim says the former Montana teacher who served just 30 days for the crime is still skating justice. Stacey Rambold was released from jail Thursday. He wanted no part of questions from CNN as he checked in with his parole officer. He later left.
The Montana judge who issued the sentence is now the target of protesters who want him removed from the bench and say they want to make sure something like this never happens again.
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MARIAN BRADLEY, MONTANA NOW: I think -- I think as long as we know that it's happening, we can acknowledge it and we can do something to change it. (END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Prosecutors of appeal Stacey Rambold's sentence. He is now a registered sex offender.
SAMBOLIN: All passengers are safe and sound after a flight from Houston to Seattle had to be diverted. Why? The pilot had a heart attack. United flight 1603 landed in Boise, Idaho, last night. The pilot was then taken to a local hospital. The 161 passengers and six crew members were re-boarded and flown to Seattle. I hope that pilot is doing well this morning.
BERMAN: Yes.
BERMAN: All right. We have some video out of Boston. You really just have to see. Three people jumped into action to rescue a man who had tumbled onto the subway tracks. You can see -- you could have seen just before the man walk off the edge of the platform and lying on the tracks before the people jump in there to help.
Really brave people. A spokesman for the Mass Bay Transit authority says the trains were actually stopped at the time, so the man was never in danger of being struck, but you know, who knows if those people knew that.
SAMBOLIN: See the guy with the baseball cap, he actually came all the way from the other side in order to help.
BERMAN: A lot of people there doing the right thing, helping out. And as you said, from far away in that case.
SAMBOLIN: That's fantastic. It's nice to see that.
All right. The federal government investing in a Motown comeback? Top White House officials are heading to Detroit today to propose almost $300 million in combined federal and private aid. The first infusion would reportedly be used to clear and redevelop rundown properties, improve transportation, and boost the police department. About two months ago, Detroit became the largest city ever to file for bankruptcy.
BERMAN: Hillary Clinton may be on the fence about running, maybe not. That may be an exaggeration. But her former --
(LAUGHTER)
BERMAN: -- husband -- I know, excuse me, her husband --
(LAUGHTER)
BERMAN: -- former president, Bill Clinton, told our Piers Morgan that she would make great president in 2016. Over time, though, he says his daughter would make an even better commander in chief. Well, the question is, is Chelsea interested in following in her parents' footsteps? She played a little bit coy with Piers Morgan.
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PIERS MORGAN, PIERS MORGAN LIVE ANCHOR: Have you ever thought of running for high office?
CHELSEA CLINTON, VICE CHAIR, THE CLINTON FOUNDATION: Well, Piers, people have been asking me that question for as long as I can remember. Literally, one of my --
MORGAN: What's the truthful answer?
CLINTON: Well, the truthful answer is, thankfully, the truthful answer, I guess. And I'm deeply grateful for my life now. I love my life. I love being able to do this work.
MORGAN: That's a brilliant politician's answer. This is what I mean. This is why you'd be so perfect --
(LAUGHTER)
MORGAN: -- talk an entire minute without referring remotely to either yes or no.
(LAUGHTER)
CLINTON: Well, the answer is I don't know. And that is the honest answer because, right now, I am grateful for my life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: That was a CNN interview last -- sorry. The CNN interview last month, Chelsea said she was open to the idea someday if she didn't like how her city, state, or country was being run.
SAMBOLIN: Well, talk about your catch of the day. Check this out. A team of alligator hunters in Lakeland, Florida is celebrating their giant catch. A 12-foot gator that was double the weight of them and the boat combined.
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HARRIS WOODSBY, GATOR HUNTER: Two people, 565-pound alligator. There's no way we could get him in the boat. He just stands (ph) on the bottom that's 20 feet deep. It's a big time rush. I mean, I think that's what keeps us going back every year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAMBOLIN: Good gracious. Every week, we have a new record with a gator. Good thing the gator is not alive. Meantime, did you see the little baby touching the gator? You wouldn't even if it was dead, would you, Berman? Look at you.
BERMAN: I've wrestled an alligator.
SAMBOLIN: He's sweating. He's sweating right now.
(LAUGHTER)
BERMAN: I have wrestled an alligator.
SAMBOLIN: All right. Four guys caught their own gator in Lake Seminole, Georgia. The digits, pretty impressive, 13 feet, 10 and three-quarter inches long, 620 pounds. It took all four of them just to hold it up.
BERMAN: Those are some big alligators. You know, we've been doing a lot of these alligator stories. A lot of people do write us and tweet us saying this is not fun for the alligators. They point out. Just saying.
SAMBOLIN: OK.
BERMAN: These are big alligators. They don't like this one bit in any --
SAMBOLIN: Thank you. Thank you for sharing that perspective. Appreciate it.
BERMAN: That perspective is out there.
SAMBOLIN: All right. Coming up --
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Might look a little bit different, but, they all want to do the same thing. They all want to be accepted for who they are.
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SAMBOLIN: Controversy sparked when a high school tells a 16-year-old cheerleader with Down syndrome to take a seat.
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SAMBOLIN: Forty-six minutes past the hour. The parents of 16-year- old Brittany Davila (ph) who has Down syndrome say cheerleading is her absolute favorite thing to do. She was made an honorary member of her Texas High School squad, but now school administrators say Brittany can no longer cheer because of a legal issue.
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BUFFY DAVILA, BRITTANY'S MOTHER: She cheered last week at the volleyball games, and then, yesterday, we went and it was a different coach and she can't do it because it's a liability. If the volleyball is going to fly off of the court and hit somebody, it's just as likely to hit somebody else as it is to hit her.
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SAMBOLIN: To hit her because she has Down syndrome? Brittany is still practicing with the squad while the Texas School District and the family try to work out some sort of a solution here.
BERMAN: I think there's got to be a way to work something out there.
SAMBOLIN: Absolutely.
BERMAN: The team likes having her. She likes doing it and it adds cheer into the stands, which is what it's designed to do in the first place.
SAMBOLIN: And it is inclusive which is the right thing to do.
BERMAN: All right. Let's take a look what's coming up on "New Day." Chris Cuomo and Kate Bolduan join us now. Good morning, guys.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to both of you. Happy Friday.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Global warming.
BOLDUAN: Yes.
CUOMO: New report out from the U.N. No joke. And we are to blame. That's really the headline out of this. Now, here's why it's even more interesting what we're going to talk about this morning, because it also is looking at the consequences that could be coming. You may think, oh, yes, for the west coast, right? No. The east coast. Some really dire predictions. We're going to take you through it.
BOLDUAN: We also have a story about a woman who was sentenced to 20 years in prison. We've talked about this before. She was sentenced for firing a warning shot to scare her allegedly abusive husband. Well, she's getting a new trial now and she made headlines, of course, after the George Zimmerman case because she had unsuccessfully tried to use a stand your ground defense.
We're going to talk with her attorney live about this new chance that she has for freedom. Her case has made a lot of headlines and a lot of people caring about the outcome.
BERMAN: All right. Guys, can't wait to see your show coming up. Those are for the late sleepers out there. For you people who like to get up very early, do we have something special for you?
SAMBOLIN: More Berman! More Berman!
BERMAN: That's right. A whole extra hour of me! Brace yourself, folks. Zoraida will be here too. EARLY START will be starting at 4:00 a.m. next week.
SAMBOLIN: So, do what I did already. Set your alarm clock an hour earlier with a really annoying, obnoxious buzzing sound, and hopefully, Berman could remember to do the same thing.
(LAUGHTER)
BERMAN: Talking about really annoying and obnoxious, I thought you were going to say my voice --
SAMBOLIN: Actually, no, I'll call you. How about that?
BERMAN: Talking about really annoying --
(LAUGHTER)
BERMAN: No, look, we're starting at 4:00. I encourage you to watch. It will be the best 4:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. hour you have ever spent awake.
SAMBOLIN: We may actually call you.
(LAUGHTER)
BERMAN: All right. Coming up, injuries, scandals, and poor performance on the field. The New York Yankees, yes, it's been a really rough season for them. They delivered another big blow that could cost them yet another player. Andy Scholes explains the more problems for the New York Yankees. That is this morning's "Bleacher Report." Hey, Andy. We'll see you in a bit.
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BERMAN: All right. It has been 19 remarkable amazing seasons, but after all that, it was a tearful Mariano Rivera who gave his final farewell at Yankees Stadium last night. His was genuinely touching. Andy Scholes joins us now with the "Bleacher Report." Good morning, Andy.
ANDY SCHOLES, BLEACHER REPORT: Hey, good morning, guys. Whether you are a Yankees fan or not, watching Rivera bid farewell to the Bronx last night definitely got the waterworks going. Rivera, he entered the game in the eighth inning and after retiring four straight batters, Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte, instead of manager, Joe Girardi, came to get him one last time.
Now, Rivera started falling and he's embracing both Pettitte and Jeter. And there wasn't a dry eye in the stadium when Rivera made his final walk towards the Yankees dugout.
All right. Well, Major League Baseball commissioner, Bud Selig, announced that he will finally retire from his post in January 2015. Selig has been running baseball since 1992 and his tenure has been filled with plenty of controversy from a canceled World Series to the steroids scandal. Selig also has made accomplishment to hang his hat on like interleague play and expanding the post-season. Selig will be 80 years old when he steps down in 2015.
The San Francisco 49ers look like they might have finally shaken off their Super Bowl hangover. Colin Kaepernick -- plenty of criticism from bans (ph) out for the team's first two offense (ph) -- two touchdown last night. Frank Gore racked up over 150 yards on the ground. The Niners absolutely crushed the Rams 35-11 and even their record at 2-2 on the season. Well, trending right now on BleacherReport.com is what Yankee's second baseman, Robinson Cano, is seeking this off-season in free agency. According to reports, Cano wants a ten-year deal worth more than 300 million.
BERMAN: $300 million!
SAMBOLIN: That's ridiculous.
SCHOLES: Guys, that would be the richest contract in sports. And to put it in perspective, the Red Sox, Dustin Pedroia, he currently has the richest deal for a second baseman. His deal is eight years, $110 million. That would be an absolute bargain if Cano gets $300 million.
BERMAN: They're about, what, $150 million apart right now in negotiating? That is a big, big chasm right there.
SCHOLES: I say no way he gets even close.
BERMAN: Zoraida is going for a 10-year $300 million contract for something.
(LAUGHTER)
SAMBOLIN: I can't even wrap my brain around that concept.
(CROSSTALK)
SAMBOLIN: I guess, if it was me, I would be criticizing so much.
(LAUGHTER)
BERMAN: Andy Scholes, thanks very much. We'll be right back.
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BERMAN: All right. That is all for EARLY START this morning, but please do not forgot, on Monday, we come to you at a special early, early wicked early time at 4:00 a.m.
SAMBOLIN: I think we're going to change the name of the show to "Wicked Early Start."
BERMAN: "Wicked Early Start." That's right. But for now, it is time for "New Day." Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan, have a great Friday and a great weekend, guys.
BOLDUAN: Thank you. You too. You guys, we'll see you in a little bit.
CUOMO: All right. TGIF. It's time for "New Day" to begin.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CUOMO: It's hot in here! A new report on climate change shows humans mostly to blame for global warming and the coming changes could be catastrophic. The details ahead.
BOLDUAN: A breakthrough deal. The U.N. Security Council could vote today on a draft plan to secure and eliminate Syria's chemical weapons, but can Syria be trusted to stand by it?
MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: High speed crash. A car going over a hundred miles per hour almost slams into a police cruiser. We'll tell you what sparked that break neck chase and what happened next.
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 Friday, September 27th, six o'clock in the east. TGIF, except, that does mean we're a day closer to a possible government shutdown. Three days out, now still, no compromise in sight. More concerning than time is tone.
The White House comparing Republicans to terrorists. Can paychecks and interest rates really be at risk because of all this partisan pandering? We're going to take you through where things stand and what's at stake?
BOLDUAN: Then, there are a lot of carmakers who advertise these amazing kind of high-tech systems. This really kind of a new trend. The systems are going to help you either avoid a crash or even stop the car automatically if it senses a collision is coming. But do they really work? One group put the cars to the test and we'll tell you how they all stack up.
PEREIRA: And, she is one of the biggest names in politics. She has even held office, herself. Chelsea Clinton sitting down with our Piers Morgan. Find out what she says about her mom's White House plans, and perhaps, her own political future.
BOLDUAN: But first, let's begin with a just released blockbuster report on global warming. It's the most thorough scientific study ever done on the subject and here is the disturbing headline that's just coming out. The U.N.'s intergovernmental panel on climate change concluding with near certainty that global warming is real and humans are mostly to blame for this.
