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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Teen Opens Fire in Nevada Middle School; Technology And Obamacare; Headstone Controversy; Forbes: NFL's Most Disliked Players
Aired October 22, 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)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is especially difficult because, you know, we got there and the kids were running out. They were scared. They were freaked out.
MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Armed with his parents' gun. A 13-year-old boy goes on a shooting spree inside his middle school.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Politics, connections, or any other reason you can think of will not play a role in our review of this case.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): A prosecutor promising justice in a town where a high school football star is accused of raping a teenage girl and getting away with it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My daughter was willing to give her life, you know, for our country and then -- and then this place, they say that, you know, we're sorry, the monument comes down and we will refund your money.
PEREIRA: A family honoring their loved one's memory heartbroken when a cemetery tells them to take down a memorial.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN (on-camera): Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. Great to see you this morning. I'm John Berman.
PEREIRA (on-camera): And I'm Michaela Pereira. It is 31 minutes past the hour.
BERMAN: They are mourning today in a Nevada community after a deadly shooting at a middle school. A lot of people gathered to pray, hours after a 13-year-old student opened fire and killing a teacher and wounding two other students before turning a semi-automatic handgun on himself. The shooting happened just before the morning bell on Monday.
Witnesses say the teen pulled his weapon out and just started shooting. And that's when a teacher, 45-year-old Michael Landsberry (ph) tried to talk the boy into putting the gun down. This teacher was a former marine. He served several tours in Afghanistan. He was a hero as a teacher, a hero as a marine. He was shot and killed and, again, today being hailed as a hero.
The motive this morning is still unclear, but some people are suggesting that the boy may have been bullied.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TABATHA NEWTON, MOTHER OF CLASSMATE: He always had a smile. He was always, you know, just a very nice boy to everybody. And so, it's just -- you know, I just find it difficult to -- to get that he, you know, he got bullied, but that he didn't have anybody to talk to, that he didn't have anybody to go to in the school before he decided to do this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: The teen apparently took the handgun from his parents, and Reno police say it is too early to say if he was targeting anyone specific.
PEREIRA: More promises from Washington about fixing the problems with the Obamacare website. Many have tried to log in to sign up for coverage through the insurance exchanges, but the site still sluggish and, in some cases, unresponsive. Now, as Casey Wian reports, the question is, why wasn't this prevented from the start?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Way more glitches than I think are acceptable.
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Glitches?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The website launch was rockier than we would have liked.
WIAN: Rockier?
OBAMA: We're working out the kinks in the system.
WIAN: Kinks? By now, it's clear that stronger words are needed to describe the web launch of Obamacare.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: It's been a fiasco.
WIAN: The White House struggled to answer questions about what many have said was inadequate testing prior to the launch of the website.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you know whether the website was beta tested?
JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: In terms of the types of testing, I just don't want to pretend to be an expert in -- what I can say is that -- the system has not worked as effectively and efficiently as, obviously, as we wanted it to, the president, the secretary or anybody wanted it to.
WIAN: The Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, says the online marketplace needed five years of construction. In reality, she said, quote, "we had two years and almost no testing." Catherine Srekovich is an executive of Navigant Consulting, a contractor hired to help set up the health care exchanges.
CATHERINE SREKOVICH, MANAGING DIRECTOR, NAVIGANT: I think it's not so much a surprise initially. I think the fact that there seems to be so much ongoing problems noted is more of the surprise.
WIAN: The largest Obamacare contractor is CGI Group, a Canadian firm that developed much of the website's architecture. In a statement, CGI said it and other contractors, quote, "are working around the clock for the improvement of healthcare.gov, a system that is complex, ambitious and unprecedented. We remain confident in our ability to deliver continuous improvement in system performance and a more positive user experience," but that's not enough for some critics.
MCCAIN: Send Air Force One out to Silicon Valley, load it up with some smart people, bring them back to Washington, and fix this problem.
WIAN: Matt Mullenweg is one of those smart people from Silicon Valley who founded WordPress which says it hosts one in five websites.
MATT MULLENWEG, FOUNDER, WORD PRESS: You know, a software, they say, you can have it fast, cheap, or good. Pick two out of three and it sounds like they went for the fast and cheaper. The launch day was probably picked politically and the software and everything else is backed into that.
WIAN (on-camera): We may find out if that's truly what happened when a Congressional committee holds a hearing on Thursday. Several contractors are expected to appear and Secretary Sebelius is expected to testify next week.
Casey Wian, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: Missouri judge has appointed a special prosecutor to review rape allegations by a teenage girl.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN (voice-over): Daisy Coleman says she was assaulted by a high school football star when she was 14. The charges against the then 17-year-old boy were dropped last year. Coleman claims that's because the boy comes from a prominent political family. And newly appointed special prosecutor, Jean Peters Baker, says this case does warrant a review.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEAN PETERS BAKER, PROSECUTOR: This case will be thoroughly reviewed. Our review of this case will be without fear and without favor. I have assembled a special staff in what we call our special victims unit. I'm to assist with this case. (END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: National headlines really thrust this small town of Maryville, Missouri, into an uncomfortable national spotlight. Today, there is a rally planned in support of the alleged victim.
PEREIRA (voice-over): We may be finding out more now by just how those two convicted murders in Florida may have obtained the forged documents that set them free. In an exclusive interview with CNN's Nick Valencia, the head of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said seven inmates have tried submitting fraudulent release documents since 2009, five of them at the very same prison where Charles Walker and Joseph Jenkins were held.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GERALD BAILEY, COMMISSIONER, FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT: We have a confidential source that has advised us that there was a cottage industry, if you will, where an individual was able to construct these documents for $8,000.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you looking at this, perhaps, being an inside job?
BAILEY: That is a consideration that it was -- that they had help inside either the prison or inside the clerk of the court's office.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PEREIRA: State officials have apparently been investigating this issue for a year and had warned prosecutors to be on the lookout for fake release papers. As for the two men who walked out of prison last week, the investigation is now focusing on just who may have helped them obtain those documents that ultimately set them free.
BERMAN: Gay marriage in Tennessee, the subject of a new federal lawsuit. Four couples all married in New York or California say Tennessee is violating their constitutional rights by refusing to honor their out of state marriages. Tennessee has a voter approved constitutional amendment that defines marriage as being between a man and a woman.
This legal avenue which could eventually get to the Supreme Court is really the last remaining barrier to full same-sex marriage across the country.
PEREIRA: Meanwhile, New Jersey's governor is ending his effort to stop same-sex marriages in his state as the first same-sex couple tie the knot there. Chris Christie's spokesman announced an appeal would be dropped saying that the state Supreme Court spoke clearly when it denied a stay and let marriages go forward.
And though Christie disagreed with the ruling, his spokesman said it was the governor's duty to abide by it.
(END VIDEOTAPE) BERMAN (on-camera): Many, many people expected to go outside today. Many people.
PEREIRA (on-camera): You know, that is probably a true statement.
BERMAN: Fact check it is, in fact, the case. A lot of people going outside. What might they face? Indra Petersons is watching the weather this morning.
(CROSSTALK)
INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Go back inside?
BERMAN: Exactly.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
PETERSONS: I mean, it depends on what you like, right? I mean, if you like to have the cool weather, you're going to love this, because we're going to start to see a change. Now, mid-Atlantic and northeast. So, still, a beautiful day. I mean, look at the temperatures. Beautiful. Philadelphia, 67, New York City today looking for 66.
Gorgeous out there but notice almost a 20-degree temperature drop right on the other side of this cold front. Let's take you in tomorrow when that cold front actually makes its way east and you'll start to see those temperatures go down big-time. So, what's going on? This cool pool of air the jet stream has really kind of dipped down and will eventually make its way farther east in through tomorrow.
So, everyone is really going to be feeling that chill. As far as the Midwest, look at Chicago today. Your high only 41 degrees, Cleveland, your high today, 50.
That's a good 20 degrees below normal for Chicago and even have a little bit of rain and snow in the mix, then that low makes its way east into the mid-Atlantic and northeast today, a little bit of rain overnight tonight and with it, not only just a little bit of rain and snow, not snow for us for Chicago, also those cool temperatures. I know --
BERMAN: Oh, you had me nervous there for a second.
PETERSONS: Now, looks so good, right?
PEREIRA: It's interesting how things have really changed just in the last few weeks. It really has.
PETERSONS: I mean, literally, big pattern changes, actually finally here.
BERMAN: We have seasons out here on the east coast. Welcome! Welcome --
PETERSONS: I love it.
BERMAN: Thank you, Indra. Appreciate it.
So, if you saw someone for the first time in ten months, what would you do? For one, Pittsburgh area mother, this was her chance to find out. Her son, Sergeant Kelvin Munoz (ph), has been deployed in Afghanistan since last December. That is him behind that bouquet of flowers. He went to her place of work at Sam's Club and gave mom the ultimate surprise.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEANETTE CARRERO, MOTHER: Oh, my god!
(CRYING)
CARRERO: I can't explain how happy my heart is just like jumping inside me right now. I mean, I can't explain it. I can't. Oh, my gosh!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Sergeant Munoz apparently planned the surprise for two weeks. Obviously got the flowers there, well-executed, well done, and you can see his mom just so, so grateful.
PEREIRA: It so added emotionally, too, because when you think about how -- what it takes to pull something like that off. You worry that anything could go wrong. She might spot you. She might come out to the parking lot when you're sneaking up, but also the emotion of just seeing her for the first time.
BERMAN: -- everyone around. Just so --
PEREIRA: What a great moment! I don't think they'll ever forget it.
BERMAN: Congratulations to all of them.
PEREIRA: Coming up, controversy at a cemetery. The family of a fallen soldier is told the headstone for their loved one must come down. We'll tell you that story next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PEREIRA: Welcome back to EARLY START. The family of an army veteran and representatives from the Cincinnati cemetery where she was buried are set to meet today. They're going to talk about this controversial monument. You see it. Giant headstones of Spongebob Square Pants. They were put up on the grave of Kimberly Walker (ph). She was a giant fan of the cartoon character.
And when the 28-year-old was allegedly murdered by her boyfriend, her family decided to honor her with this unique memorial. The family says the cemetery told them at the time the headstones were OK until they were put up about two weeks ago, then suddenly, the cemetery told them to take them down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEBORAH WALKER, MOTHER: It was really heartbreaking that, you know, I couldn't give my daughter, you know, basically what she gave us serving in the military and that was our freedom to live here in the united states, you know, so that really hurt. I just felt, you know, we were just trying to honor, you know, her wishes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PEREIRA: The cemetery now says it will work with the family to come up with a solution at its own expense to properly memorialize Kimberly Walker. A tough situation.
BERMAN: It is a tough situation because you want the family to be able to get -- you know, serve out the final wishes for this young woman.
PEREIRA: And they're grieving.
BERMAN: They are grieving. But you also have to respect the wishes of everyone else.
PEREIRA: Absolutely.
All right. So, we have been having a little bit of fun in the Twitter sphere, the "Morning Rhyme," our tweets of the day. Apparently, the first one that has caught our attention is from MugzyMVP (ph). It said, "For everything, there is a season. I hope December in D.C. is the time for compromise, common sense, and reason."
BERMAN: It rhymes and it's true.
PEREIRA: And it's pointed.
BERMAN: And now, I want to say thank you for playing so well.
PEREIRA: I love a good rhyme.
BERMAN: -- on the "Morning Rhyme." You did so well!
PEREIRA: Thank you!
BERMAN: So, we are declaring you one of the winners today with this rhyme. Michaela writes, "All I can manage is a lazy retweet. Also forgot this set shows my feet!"
(LAUGHTER)
BERMAN: It is true.
PEREIRA: It is true. It is true. It is true. There they are. Under there.
BERMAN: Everyone, you can always join in and tweet us with your morning rhyme.
PEREIRA: This is really fun thing that you and Z have come up with. I love this.
BERMAN: -- great job playing, and we really appreciate all the things you said.
PEREIRA: It's no easy task when you haven't had much caffeine or fresh air.
BERMAN: We have dozens today that did not make the cut, but we love them, and we reach -- all of them. Thanks for playing #morningrhyme, #EARLYSTART.
PEREIRA: You know, it's kind of a bone of contention that handsome, Chris Cuomo, takes great umbrage that you never really truly respected his travish (ph) mockery rhyme. You know that he sings this tune. He cries. He weeps, really.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. He's very angry, and he's now giving you the silent treatment. So, this conversation we're about to have is going to be brief.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Got to give you the face of cha-cha my three-and-a-half-year-old --the stink eye. Ready?
BOLDUAN: Aw! That hurts.
(CROSSTALK)
CUOMO: Whenever candy is taken from outside her immediate vicinity. Anyway, I'll get over it. I'll get over it because we've got a lot of news today for me to talk about. So, it will distract me. One, talking about little girls. The little girl that we showed you, she was found living with that gypsy couple in Greece. Well, there's an American couple -- first of all, over 200 tips came in from families who are looking for their children who thought maybe this could be their child.
One American couple really believes that this could be their daughter, Lisa Irwin. The FBI is now talking to Greek authorities. There are other parents, as we told you, is this their child? We'll give you the latest.
BOLDUAN: And we're also following another big story this morning. Another tragic school shooting, this time, a beloved math teacher was shot and killed trying to get a student to put his gun down. Two other students were hurt before the young shooter took his own life. It's such a sad story.
A community clearly in mourning this morning. We are learning more about that heroic teacher, a military veteran, who tried to save lives. We're going to have much more, many more details on that story ahead.
PEREIRA: His heroism extended beyond his time in the military. BERMAN: An amazing teacher. All right, guys. We'll see you in a little bit. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: All by myself here. I've driven Michaela off. Actually, we're going to give you football highlights from what may have been the worst football game ever. It took nearly half the season, but, the good side of it for the Giants fans is they won this awful game on "Monday Night Football." Andy Scholes is here to break the madness all down for us. Hey, Andy.
ANDY SCHOLES, BLEACHER REPORT: Hey. Good morning, John. Usually, you know, Monday nights are reserved for one of the best matchups of the week. Well, as you said, last night's game featured the 1-4 Vikings taking on the 0-6 Giants. Record wise, this was the worst matchup ever on "Monday Night Football" and the game was pretty ugly as well.
A bright spot for the Vikings was wild man, Jared Allen's sack. Check it out. He goes around the offensive lineman, grab Eli, and brings him down. Now, while Eli went down there, he did not throw an interception for the first time in a game -- didn't throw an interception in the game for the first time this season. The Giants would end their worst start in nearly 40 years. They got to win 23-7.
Forbes releasing its annual list of the most disliked athletes in the NFL. Topping the list once again is Eagles quarterback, Michael Vick. Fans clearly haven't forgotten about his dog fighting scandal and they haven't forgotten about Manti Te'o's fake girlfriend either. Even though Te'o claims he was duped. He still comes in as the second most hated player in the league.
Ndamukong Suh, Ben Roethlisberger, and Mark Sanchez round out the top five. The list was based on an online survey.
One of the top stories in the lineup section on BleacherReport.com today is about the amazing accomplishment of six-year-old Keelan Glass (ph). Keelan recently became the youngest person ever to run a half marathon. She not only completed the race. She did in pretty good time, crossing the finish line in two hours and 46 minutes. And Keelan wasn't just running just for that record. She was doing it to raise money for charity. Good for her.
All right. This may be the coolest thing a band has ever done. During their halftime performance Saturday, the Ohio State Band paid tribute to Michael Jackson. They put (ph) an outline of him and then they proceeded to moonwalk across the field! Incredible. They ended their performance with a split. John, what's your guess. How long did it take to choreograph this?
BERMAN: Thirty years.
(LAUGHTER)
BERMAN: Twenty hours a day for 30 -- I can't believe that. I can't believe what they managed to pull off there.
SCHOLES: That is the most astonishing band performance. I don't know if that'll ever be beat.
BERMAN: They should win the game just because of the band performance there. That has got to be more impressive than anything that happened on the field. Andy Scholes, you blew my mind. Thank you so much. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: That is the voice of Kelly Clarkson to whom we say a big congratulations this morning. The singer celebrating after tying the knot with fiance, Brandon Blackstock. Clarkson confirmed the news on Twitter sending out a picture of her now husband planting a kiss on her head. The ceremony took place Sunday at a farm in Tennessee.
The couple originally planned, I guess, a more lavish wedding, but that was scrapped over the summer because of their busy schedule. Still, it looks like the thing was awfully nice. Congratulations to them.
That is all for EARLY START this morning. It is time for "NEW DAY." Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan, and Michaela Pereira with whom you have absconded with from the show right next to me. Take it away, guys.
BOLDUAN: We will keep her. Thank you, John. We'll see you a little later.
CUOMO: She's a good man, but it's time for you to get your top news. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The outcome is her coming home because we're not going to stop until it happens.
CUOMO: Missing child found? An American couple think this little girl found living with a Roma couple in Greece is their missing daughter. Is this the end of their search? Details straight ahead.
BOLDUAN: Another tragic school shooting leaves a teacher and the young shooter dead. This morning, we're learning more about the marine hero who risked his life to protect his students.
PEREIRA: Celebrity scandal. Superstar singer, Cee Lo Green, charged with drugging a woman as more serious charges are dropped. Could the entertainer find himself behind bars? That courtroom drama ahead.
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 Tuesday, October 22nd, six o'clock in the east. The Florida inmates who were mistakenly released from jail, remember, they've forged papers. It turns out they're not the exception. Apparently, this has happened at least seven times before. This morning, we take a look at what's going on here and see how they plan to make sure they can keep dangerous criminals from just sneaking their ways back on to the streets.
BOLDUAN: Really amazing.
Plus, we also have a new CNN poll out this morning showing Americans are not too optimistic about the economy. Right now, only 29 percent feel the economy is in good shape. That's the lowest since December. And so, all eyes are on the new monthly job report set to be released later this morning. Will the outlook get better or worse?
PEREIRA: And you'll recall the men recorded themselves knocking over that ancient boulder at a Utah State Park? Well, apparently, they've been given the boot from the Boy Scouts. They violated a leave no trace policy in natural areas. Also, controversy growing. The guy right there who shoved over the rock, well, he had filed a disability lawsuit before this whole incident. How could that be?
CUOMO: But first this morning, breaking overnight, could a mystery child discovered in Greece be American? Police suspect the girl was abducted by a gypsy couple. So, now, it's whose child is this? The parents of a Missouri girl, do you remember Baby Lisa, missing since 2011, they say this could be her and the FBI is getting involved. Let's bring CNN's George Howell. He's in Kansas City with the very latest. Good morning, George.
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Chris, good morning. Here, in front of the family's home, you can see, no lights are on. The family is still asleep.
