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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Female Suspect Killed in D.C. Case; Shutdown Politics Go Global; Tropical Storm Karen
Aired October 04, 2013 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOE JOHNS, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Today, Washington, D.C. is recovering from more pandemonium as authorities try to figure out why 34-year-old Miriam Carey rammed that White House barricade and led police on a crazy chase up here to the United States Capitol, just two weeks after the Navy Yard shooting.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHNS (voice-over): A heart-stopping scene unfolding outside the U.S. Capitol. The dramatic moments caught on tape by camera crew, watch as a woman reportedly 34 years old speed away in a luxury car -- careening through the streets with police in hot pursuit.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have report of gunfire on Capitol Hill. If you're in an office building, shelter in place.
JOHNS: Officers, politicians, staffers and bystanders sent running.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody this way now!
JOHNS: Hunkering behind whatever they could find.
Secret Service says the incident began at 2:14 after a verbal exchange with one of their uniformed officers. The woman ramming her black Infiniti sedan into a security barrier about a block from the White House. After police asked her to get out of the car she drove away, leading them to a high-speed chase down Pennsylvania Avenue, all the way to the east side of the Capitol, Secret Service on her tail.
ED DONOVAN, U.S. SECRET SERVICE SPOKESMAN: This unauthorized vehicle approached a checkpoint. Our officers acted appropriately. The vehicle then fled and in fleeing, struck one of our officers as it departed the initial scene.
JOHNS: The suspect drove around Garfield Circle, careening toward the Capitol East Front, one of the most secure buildings in the country. Just moments later, her car crashed outside the Hart Senate Office Building.
Perceiving a threat, police opened fire. No weapons found inside the Infiniti.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I heard the gunfire, five or six rounds, my wife and I dropped to the ground. DYLAN PRICE, WITNESS: I was walking to the capitol building and 30 seconds later as I hit this point, three or four cop cars sped past me and 30 seconds after that, I heard a series of loud pops and a gun going off. Looked like it was from outside.
JOHNS: Inside the vehicle, a 1-year-old girl believed (AUDIO GAP). An officer pulled her from the car and took her to the hospital.
One of the two officers injured was hurt after hitting this barricade during the high speed pursuit.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Holy (EXPLETIVE DELETED)!
CATHY LANIER, CHIEF, METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT: This does not appear to be in any way an accident. This was a lengthy pursuit. There were multiple vehicles that were rammed. There were officers that were struck, and two security perimeters that were attempted to be breached. So, it does not appear in any way this is an accident.
JOHNS: Officials say both officers are in good condition and recovering, as the city still reeling from the deadly Navy Yard shooting, reliving moments of fear once again.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JOHNS: Hospital Center said the U.S. Capitol police officer injured in the chase has been relieved and Miriam Carey's 1-year-old is in good condition and in protective custody -- John and Zoraida.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Joe.
Our thanks to Joe Johns at the Capitol, where obviously, you know, the emotions, pouring through right now after the chaos a few weeks ago at the Navy Yard.
ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. And I'm sure people are shocked a little girl was inside of that car, right? Hopefully, she is OK.
So, we are learning more about the woman behind the wheel in the Capitol security scare. Law enforcement sources tell CNN she is 34- year-old Miriam Carey. She is from Stamford, Connecticut.
She apparently had a history of mental illness. According to Carey's boyfriend, he contacted police last December, telling them that she was acting delusional. He says she claimed President Obama had put Stamford on lockdown and she was under electronic surveillance. He told the police he feared for his infant daughter's safety. The boy says Miriam Carey suffered from postpartum depression.
BERMAN: The politics now of the shutdown is now having a global impact. President Obama has called off his long planned Asia trip. That announcement came late last night. A key meeting was on that trip with Vladimir Putin to talk about Syria.
Today is day four of the freeze. Check out the clock right there at the bottom right hand of your screen. It could be another day of bickering in Washington. Now, both sides are looking from the shutdown to a looming clash over the debt ceiling.
But I have to say, there may be the first glimmer of hope we have seen in a while here -- a notion that Speaker Boehner may be ready to make a move that could end this whole thing and get the government back to work eventually.
Here's CNN's Brianna Keilar.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With the government partially shut down and the United States careening towards defaulting on its debts in mid-October, House Speaker John Boehner made a key admission about the debt ceiling. A Republican who spoke to CNN after a private meeting with House GOP members said Boehner informed them he will not allow a default to happen even if it means relying on votes from Democrats.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MINORITY LEADER: I'm all wired up here.
KEILAR: In a city that lives for an open mike moment to pull back the curtain --
SEN. RAND PAUL (R), KENTUCKY: I just did CNN. I just go over and over again. "We're willing to compromise. We're willing to negotiate."
KEILAR: Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and fellow Kentucky Senator Rand Paul delivered.
PAUL: I don't think they poll-tested we won't negotiate. I think it's awful for them to say that over and over again.
MCCONNELL: I do too.
KEILAR: But at a campaign style event in Maryland.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hello, everybody.
KEILAR: President Obama pulled a bit of an ace out of his sleeve, sounding the alarm for a key voting bloc: seniors.
OBAMA: In a government shutdown, Social Security checks still go out on time.
KEILAR: As he explained why defaulting is worse than a government shutdown.
OBAMA: In an economic shutdown, if we don't raise the debt ceiling, they don't go out on time.
KEILAR: He, again, pressured House Speaker John Boehner to fund the government and drop Obamacare concessions.
OBAMA: Call a vote. Put it on the floor. And let every individual member of Congress make up their own minds. They can show the American people, are you for a shutdown or not?
KEILAR: Even a car chase and shooting on Capitol Hill brought into the chaos in Washington. The two federal officers injured are both working without pay because of the shutdown.
Brianna Keilar, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SAMBOLIN: So, it's back to work for some government employees. FEMA put a temporary halt to the temporary layoff, as it gears up for Tropical Storm Karen, expected to strike the Gulf Coast this weekend.
The agency furloughed 86 percent of its staff but many are called back. Why? They need to help protect life and property.
BERMAN: All right. We have some big news brewing right now off the Gulf Coast, literally bracing for tropical storm Karen. Right now, that storm is gaining strength out in the Gulf of Mexico. Landfall is possibly as a hurricane expected this weekend. Storm watches are up from Louisiana to the Florida panhandle.
We have our Indra Petersons live in Pensacola, Florida.
Give us a sense of the latest, Indra.
INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, good morning, guys.
Definitely kind of feels like a typically morning here in Pensacola, Florida, this morning. We're seeing gusty conditions. We even had a few bouts of rain here and there, but we all know that is quickly changing as we head into the weekend. We have Karen now in the Gulf.
And it's been unusually quiet season which now suddenly could be turning active. This could be actually our first hurricane to make landfall on the U.S. mainland. Let's talk about those current conditions right now. You can actually see, we are seeing about 65- mile-per-hour steady winds right now, kind of moving to the northwest at 10 miles per hour. So, that's definitely we are going to be monitoring here.
It could strengthen as we go in through the evening hours. So, that is something we are watching, to be borderline tropical storm or a weak category 1 hurricane. Now, something to keep in mind, whichever way it goes you're still going to be feeling generally the same effects. Take a look at the landfall expected to be most likely late Saturday, in through early Sunday. What are we talking about here, about four to even eight inches of rainfall, especially in the right side of where it does comes ashore, you're going to be talking about the higher surf, you're talking about strong rip tides and, of course, those strong gusts.
Something I do want to point out. We have been talking about rain here in the Southeast for so many months. They very above average for rainfall, so it doesn't take much wind to really uproot any trees. So, that's going to be a concern as well, and, of course, the power outages.
So, let's talk about pretty much the only two hurricanes that have already formed this year, we had Humberto that's kind stayed out to see. We had Ingrid which is in Yucatan and it did not hit us.
So, this is very interesting how late we are starting to see the developments and the activity here. The last storm to actually hit a major hurricane was actually Dennis. So, you know, it has been some time and it's definitely they are aware of in this area.
Now, I also want to talk about another big concern across the country today and that is going to be that storm that continues to make its way through the Midwest, already producing heavy amounts of snow there right through Wyoming. It's going to continue to push east today.
And the biggest concern here is going to be a severe weather outbreak. So, blizzard conditions first. You got Wyoming, and it moves into the Dakotas.
Blizzard conditions -- I mean, high winds 60, 70 miles per hour and low visibility and possibility about a foot of snow. That same system makes it way east. It hits all that warm air, and you're talking about the threat for tornadoes today really anywhere from Minnesota all the way down through Oklahoma. So, that's going to be a big concern as well, a lot going on today.
SAMBOLIN: Wow.
BERMAN: To recap, blizzard conditions, tornado situations, and what could be a hurricane hitting the Gulf Coast where Indra Petersons is waiting right now.
Indra, great to have you down there. Appreciate it.
SAMBOLIN: And coming up, caught on tape -- a deadly shoot-out between a soldier and police. See the incredible dash cam video of the chilling encounter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shots fired, shots fired! 53-26, shots fired!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SAMBOLIN: So, welcome back to EARLY START.
A very special trip today for Pope Francis, visiting the birth place of his name sake, St. Francis of Assisi. He is the first pope to take the name of the 13th century saint and that saint is known for renouncing his wealth and embracing the poor.
As CNN's Ben Wedeman reports, the new pope has taken on more than just the name. He is live in Rome with that for us this morning.
Good morning, Ben.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Zoraida.
Yes, definitely, Pope Francis has said many times that he wants the church to be poor and serve the poor and that is very much the theme of his visit to Assisi today. It is, of course, St. Francis' feast day.
He has already departed from prepared remarks that were distributed by the Vatican press office in -- in these off the cuff remarks, he condemned the world's obsession with money, money, vanity, and pride. Now this is a pope who, for instance, has said he is not going to be using the papal apartments. He drives around the grounds of the Vatican in an old used car.
This is a man who really is pushing this theme that the church should serve the poor and that poor should come, above all else. Just earlier this week in a newspaper interview, he said that the two greatest evils of the world at the moment are youth unemployment and the solitude of the elderly.
So, very much pushing this theme of advocating the -- those who are less privilege in society. It's an 11-hour visit to Assisi. Pope Francis is 76 years old but he clearly has the energy to carry it through -- Zoraida.
SAMBOLIN: You know, Ben, John Berman and I were just talking about the pope, Ben. We were talking about his humility and the impact that he could perhaps already have, being so much greater and so much larger than anyone envisioned. Even President Obama, this past week, talking about how impressed he is by this pope.
WEDEMAN: Well, in fact, observers are calling what he is doing at the moment is fall offensive -- trying to push this message of advocating those who are less privileged. And he really isn't missing any opportunity. You know, under previous popes, we didn't have quite so much work covering popes, but Pope Francis definitely is keeping the media and the church very busy.
SAMBOLIN: That's interesting. That's an interesting perspective. He is certainly walking the walk and talking the talk.
Ben Wedeman, thank you very much.
BERMAN: Humility is such a rare thing in life in general. But in public life, even more. What he has been able to do is focus so much attention on an area in this world that needs so much more attention, the poor and the underprivileged.
Look, I'm not Catholic and I'm impressed what he is able to do in a short period of time.
SAMBOLIN: I think a lot of people feel that way and they feel like there's a lot of hope for the Roman Catholic Church which has taken a lot of hits, as you very well know. And so, he could make a huge impact, if he hasn't already, which is what you were saying.
BERMAN: I think he has already made an unbelievable impact in virtually no time at all.
All right. It is 16 minutes after the hour.
Police have identified a major suspect in the brutal beating and slashing of that SUV driver here in New York city. He is believed to be the man seen here smashing in that window with the helmet. Police say he could be in custody soon. On Thursday, bikers came out in defense of another rider charged in the incident.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you look at the video, the man waves first at the SUV, telling him to "move over, stop," because you're driving erratically, that man ignored that. And then he got fun of him and said, let me slow down to see if I can slow this man down. That man did not slow down an ounce. He hit the bike.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: I don't think they are ever going to agree on this. The wife of the SUV driver is defending her husband's action which left a biker paralyzed. She says the bikers left them no choice and put her family in grave danger.
SAMBOLIN: Dramatic dash cam video. Come on over. It's a shoot-out between a suspect and Oregon state trooper during a traffic stop. The officer orders the suspect to get back in the car. Look at this. He refuses and then that happens.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I told you, you were speeding.
(EXPLETIVE DELETE)]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fifty-three, twenty-six, shots fired! Shots fired, 5326, shots fired!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAMBOLIN: Oh, my gosh. So the trooper there was wounded. The suspect was killed in that incident.
BERMAN: That is awful. What is going on the roads right now?
An incident of extreme road rage in Kentucky now to tell you about. A doctor accused of firing a gun at another driver during a harrowing high speed confrontation. David Kollar says he begun taking this video because of the car's reckless and dangerous actions -- the car's. When the driver pulled up next to him, he saw the gun.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DAVID KOLLAR, ROAD RAGE VICTIM: I was scared. After the shot was fired, I'm like, OK, I'm not hit. I don't feel anything. I looked around in the vehicle thinking, you know, that had to hit somebody but I didn't see any bullet holes or anything.
REPORTER: Your heart must have been beating fast?
KOLLAR: Yes. It was a little crazy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: The suspect, Dr. Perrin Dobyns has pleaded not guilty and he is due in court for a preliminary hearing next week.
SAMBOLIN: Police arrested a 22-year-old Montana newlywed on Thursday. They say she confessed to pushing her husband off of a cliff just eight days after their wedding. Jordan Graham is charged with first and second-degree murder and also with making a false statement to the police. The arrest comes three months after the alleged murder at Glacier National Park. Graham is due in court for her arraignment later today.
BERMAN: So, this is interesting. A new consequence for teen bullies -- cut it out or face arrest. Police in Connecticut collar a 12-year- old for repeatedly bullying a 12-year-old friend. The girl was charged with disorderly conduct and released to her parents. Police say the alleged victim's parents came to them after their daughter talked of suicide. They say the alleged bully was really more likely to face anti-bullying classes than jail time.
SAMBOLIN: A criminal couple behind bars. Police have charged the pair in a high priced heist. This all happened in Florida. The husband allegedly caught on tape fleeing the scene in a 200,000 Aston Martin. Police say he left the multimillion dollar mansion with more than 400,000 dollars in jewelry and cash. But not before leaving the woman of the house bound and gagged.
The couple faces armed burglary and assault charges. The owner of the home is the male suspect's boss!
BERMAN: Wow. Sounds like quite a crime.
Coming up, Twitter causing the whole world to go a twitter. Wall Street abuzz, and the tech world abuzz, about its $1 billion dollar IPO plan.
SAMBOLIN: Plus, how markets are reacting in day four -- 77 hours and counting of the government shutdown.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: It is always about the money, money, money.
Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone.
Christine Romans is here with money, money, "Money Time." CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I know, I am. The futures are a little bit higher this morning, and the Dow yesterday below 15,000 for the first time in a month. So, watch your 401(k) this morning. It's all, of course, budget drama, and the treasury secretary, Jack Lew, says if Congress doesn't raise the debt ceiling soon, everyone will suffer.
He's got an op-ed this morning in "USA Today", Lew says the U.S. should not have to pick and choose which bills it pays. He writes, "How can we decide our veterans and maintain food assistance for children in need or sending Medicare payments to hospitals."
And even those who depend on government programs, Lew says a default could slam the stock market affecting everyone's retirement and could cause interest rates to spike. So, increased concern from Treasury Department official about what is not happening with Congress.
All right. At a time we need good quality jobs, Congress has sent 800,000 people home with no pay. Hmm. And the critical jobs report will not be released as usual today, because some of those workers the Congress sent home were government economists.
But we do get this one reading on jobs and this is from economist Mark Zandi who says now, Washington budget battles have cost us at least 1 million jobs over the last few years -- a million jobs gone because of the budget bickering. It's created uncertainty for businesses and entrepreneurs. They are holding back instead of investing in hiring.
He estimates without increased political uncertainty, we'd have an unemployment rate at 6.6 percent. The current rate sits at 7.3 percent. And, of course, we won't know what will happen in September because the government shuts down and we will get the jobs report at 8:30.
All right. Do you tweet?
BERMAN: Yes.
ROMANS: I know. You have more Facebook than tweet, don't you?
SAMBOLIN: I use Facebook to actually double post. I do. I do.
ROMANS: Would you invest in Twitter?
SAMBOLIN: No.
BERMAN: Not sure.
ROMANS: Until now, you haven't had chance but now you will have a chance. Because Twitter plans to raise $1 billion. It's going to offer shares to the public. Ticker symbol TWTR. We expect the IPO by November 9.
We've got the first public filing is now from Twitter and we know it's not making any money and it's spending heavily to grow. Company lost 79.4 million bucks on $317 million in sales last year. It's on track for bigger losses this year. Still ad sales are growing.
A lot of people wondering if the company can make money, how it's going to do it? Certainly, a dose of excitement again in tech stocks. It's been a year now since the botched Facebook IPO. I want to show how some of these stocks are doing. Facebook this year up 85 percent. Microsoft, look at that, it's another widely held tech stock of 27 percent. Apple is down 9 percent this year, although it's recovered a little bit more recently.
But there's a lot of excitement again in tech stocks, in tech in particular. A lot of people excited this morning about a potential Twitter IPO, TWTR.
SAMBOLIN: Salivating I think they are calling it.
Thank you so much, Christine. Appreciate it.
ROMANS: You're welcome.
SAMBOLIN: So, be sure to catch more with Christine on "YOUR MONEY" this weekend, Saturday at 9:30 a.m., and 2:00 p.m., yes?
ROMANS: Yes.
SAMBOLIN: And Sunday at 3:00.
BERMAN: Do not miss it. It will be huge.
SAMBOLIN: And coming up, new details in that frightening and deadly car chase on Capitol Hill. We are learning more about the woman who officers shot to death. Joe Johns is on the scene and has the very latest for us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SAMBOLIN: Crisis at the Capitol. A woman with a child inside her car leads police in a high-speed chase from the White House to Capitol Hill. A collision, then shots are fired. It force add lockdown on Capitol Hill.
