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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

"Everything Is Gone"; Toronto Showdown; Princeton Considers Foreign Vaccine

Aired November 18, 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: It's on the ground! It's on the ground! (EXPLETIVE DELETED)

ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Deadly storms wreak havoc on the Midwest. Dozens of tornadoes turning towns into complete rubble. We are live as residence try to pick up the pieces this morning.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): I got to tell you, people, the pictures we are seeing from there this morning are simply stunning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN (on-camera): Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.

SAMBOLIN (on-camera): And I'm Zoraida Sambolin. It is 31 minutes past the hour.

And up first, of course, it's the tornado terror in the Midwest. Dozens of devastating twisters touching down Sunday, killing six people in Illinois. Rescuers with flashlights going street-by-street overnight, they are looking for victims. One woman who hid in a bathroom with pillows over her head until the storm passed opened her door to find the rest of her home was gone.

So, let's get right to CNN's Indra Petersons. She is live in the devastated town of Washington, Illinois this morning. And we've just been watching behind you, as the sun comes up, it is a devastating sight.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I mean, truly unbelievable, especially when you think about the fact that this is November. We typically see these kind of storm systems in the springtime. But we look behind me. Exactly what you're talking about. We are talking about the bark literally being stripped off of these trees. You're seeing power lines down right now and you're seeing some trailers flipped here.

And it's so hard to tell, but this is actually a residential area. You can't even see when you compare this to the Google map what it looked like before. You can't even find the resemblance of what it looked like before. You're just seeing some of these interior walls here left. The roofs completely gone. And really, over to my left, even though you can't see it right now, we actually have an auto parts store which even has parts of the exterior with brick on it.

That thing is basically leveled. You just have those interior walls where we always say that bathroom on the lowest level currently remaining. So, we know these very strong winds ripped through the area. So, a lot of people are saying, how did this happen and how did it happen in November? Well, one of the things to know is the temperatures here were a good 20 degrees above normal yesterday.

Still not as warm as what you would see in the springtime, but there were these strong winds coming out of the south. I mean, even 70, 80- mile-per-hour winds were reported in the area. So really though, stronger winds made up for the difference in the temperatures you would typically see in the springtime. And then on top of it, you had the jet stream right in place and you had a system making its way across the country.

So, you had all of those elements combined perfectly together to bring us what typically is a springtime outbreak. I mean, 81 reports of tornadoes. Yes, that's preliminary. Some of them will be (INAUDIBLE) likely to see those numbers come down, but even 500 reports or so of storm damage from just wind and that is the key. The National Weather Service is going to have to come out here and they're going to have to measure the damage.

That's how they decide whether this is an EF-3 or an EF-4 or even an EF-2. They actually look at every piece of damage and they say what kind of wind, how strong would the winds be to produce this kind of damage? And then they go back to a chart and they chart it all out and decide how strong this tornado actually was.

The little caveat here is we had this 80-mile-per-hour winds already out there. So, they're going to have to isolate what part of this damage came from just the strong straight line winds and what part of this damage actually came from rotation of the tornadoes. That's a little bit of a tricky job they have for them today, but regardless, for the residents here, truly, truly devastated as they're left with nothing.

Let's talk about what is going on across the country. So many will concern, obviously, when we saw the storm move across yesterday. That same storm system now really hanging out on the east coast. It's made its way already out of the D.C. area. It is now currently kind of hanging out in the mid-Atlantic and lingering in the New England and the morning hours. There is not a slight risk. So, that is the good news.

However, we're talking about maybe an inch of rain. The story there will be these winds again. We still have that system that has those strong winds out there. So, good 30, 40-mile-per-hour winds could be hanging out into the mid-Atlantic. Look for flight delays there and stronger winds if you're on the Great Lakes, even 50, 60 mile-per- winds in that region. So, we're going to be monitoring that, and of course, some lake-effect snow. As far as here in this region, keep in mind, it was a cold front that's partially the reason we had this outbreak. So, today, we are left with temperatures 20 degrees cooler than yesterday. I mean, the bite is out here. You can hear the wind kind of ripping out here a little bit this morning. Temperatures are feeling like they're pretty much freezing this morning.

The one piece of good news I have, it will remain dry for at least two days or so. There is a system that will bring some heavy rain by the middle of the week, but for at least this initial stage of cleanup right now, we have about a good 48 hours, guys.

SAMBOLIN: That is excellent news. Thank you, Indra, for that. Appreciate having you there this morning.

I just want to mention, we talked about the six dead in Illinois, and there's a hospital in the area in Peoria, Illinois that sent out a tweet. It was OSF St. Francis Medical Center. And they said 54 tornado victims were taken to their hospital. Sixteen of them had been admitted. And what they're saying the injuries are, they include rib, femur, pelvic breaks, eye injury, cuts and abrasions.

BERMAN: It's from the debris --

SAMBOLIN: That's flying around. That's exactly what they said. It was all the debris that was flying. So, smart for a lot of those people to take cover. I think it saved a lot of lives.

BERMAN: Oh, yes.

SAMBOLIN: Thirty-six minutes past the hour.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAMBOLIN (voice-over): This morning, two North Carolina foster parents are behind bars after police make what is an absolutely shocking discovery at their home. Dorian Lee Harper (ph) and Wanda Sue Larson facing charges after an 11-year-old boy was found handcuffed to a porch (ph) with a dead chicken around his neck.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF EDDIE CATHEY, UNION. CO., NC SHERIFF'S OFFICE: Certainly, our deputy was shocked and when we talked to him and realized what had happened, we were very proud that he went the extra step and just a small animal case he was investigating and discovered this child sitting there on the porch. Just pitiful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAMBOLIN: Crazy. That officer was actually responding to a call elsewhere. So, Larson the woman here, is a social service supervisor. Four other children who lived in the home were placed in the custody of social services.

BERMAN (voice-over): That's just -- SAMBOLIN: Unbelievable.

BERMAN: All right. Safety officials investigating a Colorado mine where two workers were killed and 20 were others injured on Sunday. The operator of the mine says there was no cave-in or collapse. They're blaming the deaths on a release of carbon monoxide. Two of the 20 workers who were taken to the hospital have been released. Authorities are trying to determine whether a small explosion on Saturday may be released the poison gas.

SAMBOLIN: So, take a look at this dash cam video of a dangerous traffic stop. Oh, yes. You're going to do that again in New Mexico, involving a van filled with a mom and five children. Arianna Ferrell (ph) was pulled over for speeding last month. She and her 14-year-old son scuffled with the officer who pulled her over and when she tried to drive off, cops opened fire.

After a four-minute chase, Ferrell pulled over and surrendered. She is facing charges for fleeing an officer, reckless driving, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Her son is charged with battery against an officer. This is really a crazy story, because when she was stopped, she actually got back into her car and pulled away and that's really what incited police to chase her and then have to pull her over again. So, you really wonder, you know -- it's --

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN (on-camera): Well, it looks like a chaotic --

SAMBOLIN (on-camera): Oh was awful.

BERMAN: -- awful, dangerous situation with all of those kids in that car.

SAMBOLIN: Yes, it was, it was. But, you know, I just say, why did you pull off in the first place because then they have to go chasing you.

BERMAN: Right. Thirty-eight minutes after the hour.

Another wild story continuing with Toronto mayor, Rob Ford, going head-to-head today again with city council members seeking to strip him of most of his remaining powers. Councilmembers were considered motions to delegate his duties and reallocate the operating budget. Ford would kind of in effect become a mayor in name only -- actually, I think, has spoken to Rob Ford. We'll hear a little bit from that interview later today

SAMBOLIN: Doesn't his TV show launch today, too?

BERMAN: I think he has -- yes, the panel show begins tonight.

SAMBOLIN: Yes. All right. Must-see TV.

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: It's not live is what the producers told us last week.

SAMBOLIN: That's probably very, very smart.

BERMAN: Right.

SAMBOLIN: All right. Thirty-nine minutes past the hour. A breakout of a deadly disease at one U.S. University. Why doctors are turning for help overseas to keep the students safe? That's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAMBOLIN (voice-over): Welcome back to EARLY START. It is 42 minutes past the hour.

More on our top story here, come over to your TV and look at this. The deadly tornadoes, more than six dozen of them touching down in the Midwest Sunday. Do you hear that man? He's praying. In Washington, Illinois, two hours southwest of Chicago, homes are flattened. Trees and power lines are down. Six people in Illinois were killed. Dozens more were injured. For many survivors, there is simply nothing left to go home to.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our house was just beyond the deck. This was my business. And we had -- we had bedrooms above the garage, so the car here where our bedrooms. And yes. I mean, a lot of people have a pile of rubble still. I mean, I don't have anything! My whole -- it's gone! I don't know where it went!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: It's gone. A lot of people saying that this morning. In Gifford, Illinois, Champaign County officials confirmed three tornadoes touched down at the same time Sunday afternoon and damaging or destroying more than 200 homes. Six people are treated for injuries there. The water system in that village now has just been knocked out.

SAMBOLIN: So, more than 60,000 homes are without power in Indiana this morning. Kokomo, Lebanon, and Lafayette were hit the hardest. Two people were hurt in Lebanon when ferocious winds and a possible twister -- I know.

BERMAN: Looks like Armageddon.

SAMBOLIN: I know.

BERMAN: Apocalyptic view right there.

SAMBOLIN: It threw their semi-truck from a parking lot on to nearby I-65. That's a (inaudible). All right.

(END VIDEOTAPE) SAMBOLIN (on-camera): So, CNN is tracking all of the latest developments on the storm. Keep it here all morning for in-depth coverage as the sun rises on this horrific devastation.

BERMAN (on-camera): Really interesting story out of one of the country's most prestigious universities. Fear spreading this morning on the campus of Princeton. There has been another confirmed case of meningitis B, and now, the Ivy League school is looking overseas for help. Here's Alexandra Field.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Princeton university officials are meeting to discuss possible vaccinations on campus. It's an effort to on combat an ongoing outbreak of meningitis B which can cause life-threatening illness. The New Jersey Department of Health says the first case developed when a student returned from spring break in March.

After additional cases were reported, an outbreak of the disease was declared in May. A total of six students and one visitor to Princeton are linked to the outbreak. The latest case was diagnosed last week. That student is still hospitalized.

ADAM KROP, STUDENT: I remember it was pretty instant, you know? She went from feeling almost fine to next minute, 103 fever.

FIELD: Bacterial meningitis is rare and the strain causing this outbreak is very rare in the United States. It's not included in currently available vaccines. The bacteria can cause infections of the lining of the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms include headache, fever, vomiting, rashes, and stiff neck.

Those infected need to be treated right away and even those who recover can suffer serious complications such as hearing loss, brain damage, and limb amputations.

DR. MARK WHITMAN, CAPITAL HEALTH REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER: Treat it quickly so community that may have other cases has to be aware of the symptoms because the quicker you put someone on antibiotics, the more likely they are to recover.

FIELD: To combat the disease, the CDC has FDA approval to import the only vaccine for meningitis B as an experimental drug. It's called Bexsero and is approved in Australia and Europe but not yet in the United States. If university and health officials agree to offer the vaccine, it will be available on a voluntary basis, something the students will likely consider.

KRISTIE SCHOTT, PRINCETON STUDENT: I think a lot of people are concerned for the fact that it didn't go away over the summer after everybody left.

FIELD: Alexandra Field, CNN, Princeton, New Jersey.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BERMAN: So, the vaccine in question is said to be safe. It has not yet been approved in Britain and the U.S. because of its cost and its effectiveness. The vaccine does not work for about 10 percent of the people who take it. I got to say, I went to college and, you know, sanitary conditions are not one of the things that pop to mind at least in the --

SAMBOLIN: You know, I talked to a doctor over the weekend and he said he highly recommends that they do look at vaccinating all the kids there. So, I'm always skeptical, you know, if it doesn't have approval.

Anyway, so, let's take a look what's coming up on "NEW DAY." Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan joining us this morning.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, guys.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, guys. How are you? I'm sorry. It comes a little different here. I'm out in Illinois. We're in Washington County this morning. 15,000 people. It's about 150 miles south of Chicago, and this is one of the hardest hit areas from this string of tornadoes. They had the most tornadoes here late season in the last 20 years.

And what you're looking at behind me is just a sample of the kind of devastation here. We'll show you later on. I mean, these are well groomed lawns. You know, this is a beautiful suburban community. These are strong two-story homes and they just been torn down to nothing. The mayor is walking around right now. He's got a hand-held radio. He's going home-to-home.

They're still searching. This was really bad here. One man said it was like the wind had hands the way this tornado just selectively destroyed things. Sometimes, you see what you see here, but it's actually much worse than other areas here which is why we're waiting for the National Weather Service before we give numbers on the intensity.

But we're going to be talking to people who lived through it. Thank God they had basements here. Thank God it was a Sunday. People were -- a lot of them were in church. A lot of them were at home so they were able to heed the warning sirens that came here. We'll take you through everything that happened.

A hundred million people who were threatened by these storms in 26 states. So, we'll take you through it, and of course, we will tell you a lot of what happened here in Washington County because it's so bad, guys.

BOLDUAN: And we're also going to be talking about that mayor in Canada, guys. Rob Ford refusing to back down in Toronto. He's now well-known for his admission for smoking crack. Well, he is set to appear before the city council in just a few hours where they're going to really basically try to strip him of whatever that he has left as the mayor of Toronto. Well, do you have a question of how worried Ford is about his own job? He says he wants to run for prime minister of Canada. That's how not worried he is. That's a CNN exclusive you want to miss. An interview with Rob Ford ahead on "NEW DAY," guys.

BERMAN: We'll be watching that. All right. Thank you so much.

Something else do you want to put a smile on your face? It is time for our "Morning Rhyme." This is the best tweet of the day. Why don't you do this one?

SAMBOLIN: Oh, really? OK. It comes from Jason Flores who writes "Zoraida has been anchoring a lot without fussing. Maybe John Berman can do the same without cussing." So, here's what happened. I went to Atlanta on Friday. I hopped on a plane so I couldn't anchor an afternoon show with you. I leave you alone and what do you do?

BERMAN: I may have sworn on the television.

SAMBOLIN: On live television!

BERMAN: For which I am deeply sorry, folks. But it was your fault for not being with me. You need to stay with me.

SAMBOLIN: And I'm going to tell you something. I predicted that that you would blame me for it.

BERMAN: It's got to be someone's fault.

SAMBOLIN: It's viral. I'm going to tweet it out.

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

BERMAN: Please come up with your own morning rhyme. Tweet us with the hash tags, morning rhyme and EARLY START. We'll probably be right back.

(LAUGHTER)

BERMAN: Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. Great to see you this morning. It is "Money Time" and Christine Romans is here.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. All right. I got a number for you. The most important number of the day, 38.3. That's the magic number. If the Dow Industrials can gain 38.3 points today and hold on to 4:00 p.m., it will be another major record and a milestone. Dow 16,000. Only 38 points away. Last week's rallies put stocks within striking distance of these milestones.

The Dow is up 1.3 percent last week. The NASDAQ up 1.7 percent. The S&PINSKY, you can it there for the year, let me show you. Hoo! The Dow is up 22 percent. The NASDAQ up 32 percent.

(CROSSTALK)

ROMANS: I had so many years of bad news, you guys on the money beat (ph). It's just nice to show you those numbers. Investors have poured $34.1 billion into stock-based mutual funds in the past few weeks. So, of course, is now the time to start taking money off the table. That's what everyone is asking me, and I asked one of the biggest investors in the world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHAMED EL-ERIAN, PIMCO: At some point, you need to get off this wave because this wave cannot last forever. Now, no one can tell you whether it's within the next few months or within the next few years, but at these levels of evaluation, we think it's about time to take some money off the table and be more cautious.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: I really wish I could tell you when and somebody could tell you when they just can't tell you. Other investors, Ned Reilly (ph) for one is somebody who says he's still buying stocks and you should, too, because everyone says that, you know, this is a bubble or it's getting too lofty. Well, they're kind of wrong.

All right. So, to give you some perspective, the S&P now only two points away from 1,800. It now has a total value of $16 trillion. Here's a question for you on Monday morning. Do you hate your job?

BERMAN: No.

SAMBOLIN: Love it.

(LAUGHTER)

ROMANS: Americans hate their jobs more than anyone else in the world according to a monster.com new survey. Leading the list, 15 percent of us hate going to work. The UK, Germany, France, Canada followed up, but the U.S. holds the record with the big share of people who hate to go to work.

SAMBOLIN: I mean, I would prefer to be independently wealthy and never have to work another day in my life, but, I love my job.

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: 2:06 a.m. alarm goes off and I smile. I'm like, yes, let's do it.

SAMBOLIN: Such a liar.

BERMAN: All right.

(LAUGHTER)

BERMAN: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right. Welcome back, everyone. So, do you want to know what it's like to be seconds away from plunging off a 40-foot cliff?

SAMBOLIN: No.

BERMAN: Look at this. Last month in Utah, Angelica McCall (ph) took a spill on her ATV and slid down a mountainside. Look at that! To the edge of a sheer drop-off. Her husband held on to her four-wheeler to keep her from tumbling on top of her while their friend, John Damme (ph), raced into action. Once John saved Angelica, he began sliding toward the edge of the cliff himself.

He says he dug his hills in. Wow! And somehow managed to climb to safety. They're all OK, despite these insane pictures we're showing you this morning.

SAMBOLIN: Crazy. So happy they're OK. If not, we wouldn't be telling this story. All right. That is it for EARLY START. Time for "NEW DAY." It starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO (voice-over): This morning outbreak across the Midwest complete destruction.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's just completely gone.

CUOMO: At least six people dead, entire communities destroyed as more than 80 tornadoes touched down. Witnesses in the path of the storm praying for tear lives.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our Father, who art in heaven.

CUOMO: At this hour, many still in the dark, some not knowing if their homes are still standing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm devastated. I just feel sick.

CUOMO: We're live on the ground in one of the hardest hit areas.

BOLDUAN (voice-over): Plus, a CNN exclusive. Toronto's infamous mayor, Rob Ford, giving his first interview face-to-face only to CNNs Bill Weir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They can make fun at me. They can laugh at me all they want. They don't know Rob Ford.

BOLDUAN: Does he think he's an addict? The latest coming up.

ANNOUNCER: This is "NEW DAY" with Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan, and Michaela Pereira.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO (on-camera): Good morning and welcome to "NEW DAY." It is Monday, November 18th. We are in Washington County. It's six o'clock in the east, five o'clock central time. That's where much of the Midwest will be waking up to a new reality after the most late season tornadoes in 20 years hit just yesterday, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yes, Chris. It's amazing, that videos, devastation is just amazing. We're also going to be talking this morning about our exclusive interview with Mayor Rob Ford and a look at Wall Street as well where the Dow could top a new milestone today. We'll tell you what that means for your investments. But first, of course, let's get straight back to big story that you're following, Chris.

CUOMO: Look, and the headline is, Kate, massive storms just sit down, big twisters leaving a trail of destruction across several states. We're coming to you as I said from Washington, Illinois this morning. It's a community of about 15,000 people, about 150 miles or so from Chicago. You're looking at the pictures of the damage. It is extraordinary. Debris was found 100 miles away. Now, I want to give you some context of what's behind me right now, OK?

What you see are these torn up trees and homes, but I want to show you the Google map if we can get that for people to see it. Do we have the Google map of what this looked like before just so you get a sense of before and after.