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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Flight Lands At Wrong Airport; Gates Defends Memoir; Stocks Struggle In 2014
Aired January 13, 2014 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Breaking news overnight. Passengers jolted, tires burning as a Southwest Airline slams on its brakes, landing at the wrong airport, not far, folks, from the edge of disaster.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): The wait for water may soon be over in West Virginia days after a chemical spill contaminated the water supply for hundreds of thousands of people! New developments released overnight.
BERMAN: And the future looks more golden for an unlikely "Golden Globes" winner. How the race for Oscar changed overnight? The intrigue, the glamour, coming up.
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ROMANS (on-camera): Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans, intriguing, glamorous, not us.
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BERMAN (on-camera): That's the "Golden Globes." Not us so much at all. I'm John Berman. Thirty-one minutes past the hour right now.
ROMANS: All right. Our top story this morning, many questions this morning about a scary mistake that happened overnight in Missouri. A Southwest Airlines 737 with 129 people on board landed at the wrong airport, an airport not designated to handle big, commercial jets. Now, the airline and the FAA and the people on board that flight want to know how did it happen. The jet was supposed to land in Branson, Missouri. Instead, it touched down at a county airport about seven miles away.
The runway there, half the length of most major airports. Passengers say they smelled burning rubber as the jet landed. And when they got off the plane, they realized they were only a few hundred feet from the end of the runway and a few hundred feet from a major highway that runs past it. For those coming to pick them up, they never expected to get a call sending them to someplace else.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JODELL FITZWATER, PASSENGER ON SOUTHWEST FLIGHT: We had like a really rough landing. We were all like moving pretty close to the seats as we were landing, because the runway, I guess, is too short for the plane. And so, then, they just came on and said that we had landed at the wrong runway.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then we got a call saying the plane has landed at an airport nearby. With that, we were thinking, OK, there is only one other airport, and it was the C of O airport, and we're thinking, surely, not a jet plane could land there.
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ROMANS: Oh, but surely it did. Southwest says everyone is safe. Buses were sent to pick the passengers up and bring them to the right airport. Now comes the investigation why it landed there in the first place.
BERMAN: Could have been much, much worse.
Breaking overnight, someone in West Virginia may finally get a chance to use their tap water again today. This comes five days after a chemical spill led to hundreds of thousands of people being told to not drink, don't bathe, or even wash your clothes with what was coming out of the tap.
West Virginia American Water today plans to set up zones where water use is once again allowed, but they're urging customers to flush their plumbing systems and do not do anything until they know that they are in the clear.
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GOV. EARLY RAY TOMBLIN, (D) WEST VIRGINIA: I believe that we're at a point where we could say that we see light at the end of the tunnel. I ask all West Virginians to continue to be patient as we work to safely restore service to the affected areas.
MICHELE ROSE, RESIDENT: I would probably wait, test myself. I can tell if I could still smell it before I would trust that I can use it. I don't know, a few days, maybe to a week to actually consume it.
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BERMAN: You can certainly understand that concern. An investigation is now under way into Freedom Industries, the company where the chemical spill took place. Its president insists it is doing all it can to prevent further spills. A federal prosecutor is promising to take any appropriate action against whoever is responsible for this.
ROMANS: Subpoenas could come as soon as today in the scandal many are now calling Bridgegate involving New Jersey governor, Chris Christie, in the closing of a route to the George Washington Bridge.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ROMANS (voice-over): That as some in the state are talking impeachment. The head of the state legislative committee investigating the scandal says if Christie knew about what happened, if Christie lied about it, the state assembly would consider impeaching him.
And even some well-known Republicans are now saying while they believe the governor was telling the truth when he said he didn't know what two top former aides were doing, if he was lying, his political career is likely over.
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SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: I think he stated very clearly, he should have known. I think he stated it very clearly and very openly and honestly, and that's why he has to answer every single question. Is this a blow to him? Obviously. How permanent it is? I think we will know in the days and weeks ahead.
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ROMANS: Many in the Republican Party praised Christie for coming forward to talk about the scandal. They praised his performance when he said he was humiliated, he was sorry, he should have known. And even the mayor who was the seeming target for the shutdown said he takes Christie at his word.
BERMAN (voice-over): The NSA's phone surveillance program is being blasted this morning as ineffective and even unnecessary in the fight against terrorism. The New America Foundation says that a new report due out today that its analysis shows the bulk collection of phone records has had no discernible impact on preventing terror attacks and only factored into one case involving money being sent to a terror group in Somalia.
The findings echo a White House panel's assertion that the program is not essential to preventing attacks.
New details this morning about the problems with the health care overhaul, and it's one again involving a website, this time, it's the Spanish-language version of healthcare.gov. Users report that pages on the site link to English-language forms and call the translation so clunky, they're hard to understand. Federal officials insist they're working to make the site better.
ROMANS: President Obama and Senate Republicans battling over appointments to this -- taking the battle over appointments to the Supreme Court today. They're fighting over the president's power to temporarily fill high-level position that requires Senate confirmation. The constitution says he can only do it when the Senate is in recess.
The courts already have ruled the president overstepped his authority in January of 2012 by appointing two temporary nominees while the Senate was in session. BERMAN: The Senate vote -- set to vote today on a bill to extend long-term unemployment benefits for more than a million people, but hope is fading this morning over any chance of this passing. A group of Republicans is balking because they do not like the way Democrats plan to pay for it.
They're also upset about the procedures in the Senate right now. It is looking unlikely this morning that this measure will get the votes that it needs to pass.
ROMANS: A lot of the people thought that they were going to be able to resolve that.
BERMAN: Fell apart over the last five days.
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ROMANS (on-camera): All right. Stocks around the world rising this morning, except for futures here in the U.S. Let's look at Asia's main indices. They just closed higher. Europe opening higher. Right now, here at home, futures point to a modestly lower open for the stock market. The Dow is down nearly one percent so far this year, the first time it started lower since 2009, but things could turn around this week if banks come in with some solid earnings.
JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, many others set to report their quarterly report card. These companies are already trading at record highs. Their stocks are at record highs. Solid earnings could be just what we need, especially after last week's terrible jobs report. The thinking is, if banks are doing well, it's partially because people are more confident, taking out loans, a good sign, so it goes, for the economy.
It could be a big day for General Motors. The automaker might sweep the car and truck of the year awards at the Detroit auto show! The Corvette and the Cadillac CTS are in the running in car category. The Silverado is gunning for the truck award.
BERMAN (on-camera): All right. Speaking of awards, this morning, there are a whole bunch of new favorites in the Oscars race after a night of real surprises at the "Golden Globes." "American Hustle" won three statues, including Best Comedy, Best Actress in a comedy for Amy Adams, and there she is, Best Supporting Actress for Jennifer Lawrence.
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BERMAN: I think she's very talented. Cate Blanchett, you see her right there, also picking up a Golden Globe for her turn (ph) as a title character in "Blue Jasmine." "12 Years a Slave" won for Best Drama, but the male acting awards went to other films. Leonardo DiCaprio, I predict him, he won for his role in the "Wolf of Wall Street," and Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto won as well for "Dallas Buyers Club."
"Gravity" picked up the Best Director award. And in television, it was "Breaking Bad," really a surprise winner, "Brooklyn 99," they both win big. Each getting awards for Best Series. Best Actor went to Bryan Cranston and Andy Sandberg.
ROMANS: And Bryan Cranston was talking to our Nischelle Turner before on the red carpet beforehand. He said it'd be a nice way to sort of put a period on the end of the sentence of the show. You know, to end the show with an award for the show.
BERMAN: You brought up Nischelle Turner. She was the real star last night at the "Golden Globes," as always.
ROMANS: She did a great job. She is one talented young woman. Let's give her the Golden Globe.
BERMAN: She wins it.
ROMANS: All right. New this morning, Dennis Rodman on his way home from North Korea and opening up about the mistakes he made on his trip to the communist country. We are live with Rodman's latest apologies.
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BERMAN: Breaking overnight, get ready, folks. A new apology from Dennis Rodman. He's now on his way home after leaving North Korea and that controversial trip that ended without freedom for an American missionary held there for over a year. Rodman is defending the trip but also admitting he is sorry for what he could not do. Anna Coren is live in Beijing for us this morning. Anna, you know, what is Rodman saying now?
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, it was a very emotional Dennis Rodman who touched down in Beijing International Airport today, obviously, transiting before heading to the United States. You know, he has been under a lot of pressure, and it was a much calmer, somber Dennis Rodman that we saw today. He did apologize for not being able to do enough for Kenneth Bae.
Of course, there was a great deal of expectation on him to use his friendship to somehow secure the release of that American missionary who was sentenced to 15 years hard labor after he was convicted of attempting to overthrow the state. But as Dennis said, you know, he is not a politician, he is a sportsman. So, let's have a listen to what he told us a bit earlier today.
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DENNIS RODMAN, FORMER NBA PLAYER: I'm sorry about all the people that's going on -- I'm sorry. I'm not the president. I'm not an ambassador. I'm Dennis Rodman, just an individual. Just showing back there that we can actually get along and be happy for one day. I love to see -
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COREN: So, as you heard there, Dennis Rodman defending his trip. This, of course, was his fourth trip to the hermit kingdom. And John, there are reports that he may be returning to North Korea as early as next month.
BERMAN: And you said it was a very different Dennis Rodman that we saw today, but certainly, there was no criticism from Rodman. He didn't say anything critical about The North Korean regime, did he?
COREN: No, absolutely not. You know, we know that, obviously, he and Kim Jong-Un, the North Korean dictator, are good friends. He said that he is sorry what's going on in North Korea. But, you know, he stated from the very beginning that he doesn't really want to get into politics. I mean, we know that Dennis Rodman is a walking, talking headline, but you know, at the end of the day, he is the highest profile American to have spent time with Kim Jong-Un.
And John, interestingly enough, we spoke to, you know, Charles Smith yesterday, spent quite a bit of time with him, actually, and he said, you know, people questioned why they're such good friends, because Charles is somebody who's rather measured and quite thoughtful in what he says. And he said, you know, at the end of the day, Rodman's, you know, he comes from a good place. His heart is in the right place.
And there was a lot of pressure on him as far as his kids were concerned. He said that, you know, he knows that he's been a bad father to his three children, and he really wanted this trip to go well so that his children would be proud of him. So, I think he's very disappointed that it hasn't panned out the way that he had hoped and that, you know, he has attracted as much controversy as what he has had over the last week, John.
BERMAN: No end to this controversy. As you said, he plans a return trip sometime in the near future. Anna Coren for us in Beijing, thanks very much.
ROMANS: All right. In the buffalo area this morning, they'll be cleaning up, drying out, trying to save what you can, that after serious flooding. More than two feet of water streamed across roads and into basements in West Seneca, New York, as ice and snow there has really piled up and then melted.
It was so sudden, big chunks of ice, almost icebergs floating into neighborhoods, but the water, it was the water that did most of the damage.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I came out here, and my goodness, it's a river going down there!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Chaos. A little chaos. I'm sure there's some people that are a little frantic right now or a little worried about their houses.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My husband said, "what's that noise in the basement?" I said, "I don't know." I looked out the window, I said, "oh, my God!" It's up to -- I'm just -- I'm loss for words.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ROMANS: Frigid cold, then all that snow, and now warm temperatures and now water. Ice jams blamed for flooding in several towns, but the waters are now, thankfully, receding.
BERMAN: Let's bring in Indra Petersons right now to get a sense of what the forecast will look like for today. Good morning, Indra.
INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning. It's actually going to be a nice week. We're going to be cooling off, but nothing is going to be gradual. We were dealing with this really extreme highs and lows. This time, we're going to be cooling off, but it's going to be a series of cold fronts that make their way through that will eventually bring that cold air in. Here's the important part, though.
There's the cold air that's expected to move in. The arctic air, everyone's talking about what we saw last week, those cool temperatures are still going to be staying well north of the area. So, don't freak out. We're going to be talking about temperatures cooling off in many places, even as they cool off, they will still be above normal. We're just so high above normal right now that it's going to be feeling a little bit cooler.
So, here's what we're watching for today, the first cold front making showers kind of right around the gulf by this evening. They'll be extending all the way into the Ohio Valley, then by overnight in through tomorrow, we'll see that kind of spreading from the northeast down to the southeast. You kind of want to watch this low.
It crawls right up along the coastline, so as long as it stays really close to the coastline, the bulk of the showers are actually going to be offshore. So, we'll be monitoring where that actual system goes. Keep in mind, there's another system behind that. Again, each one of these are going to be cooling us off only about five to ten degrees. So, eventually, by the end of the week, it will feel cooler, but it won't be like this drastic wake-up.
BERMAN: To be clear, we should not freak out?
PETERSONS: Do not freak out, yes.
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PETERSONS: I want to say that again. Do not freak out, yes.
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BERMAN: All right. Indra, thank you so much.
ROMANS: Thanks, Indra.
BERMAN: Puerto Rico still checking for damage this morning after a strong 6.4-magnitude earthquake rocked the northern coast of the island overnight. The epicenter of this quake was located in the Atlantic, just 60 miles from the capital of San Juan. And it was Sunday that was the fourth anniversary of the devastating earthquake that killed more than 100,000 people in Haiti.
Another pretrial day in court today ahead of the sentencing of Jodi Arias. Attorneys will be sorting out any last-minute issues before a jury takes up the case next month. Last year, Arias was convicted of first-degree murder in the killing of her former boyfriend, but a jury failed to reach a decision on sentencing. Prosecutors are still seeking the death penalty.
ROMANS: All right. Let's take a look at what's coming up this morning, this Monday morning, on "NEW DAY." Good morning, guys!
BERMAN: Kate Bolduan, we will pass it over to you. Run with this, like the Patriots did on Saturday.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm going to. I'm going to only talk to Christine today, because John Berman, you and I are at odds over the football game. We'll talk about that later.
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BOLDUAN: A lot coming up in the show, as you well know, guys. We have a CNN exclusive as Chris Christie continues to deal with the fallout of the bridge scandal. That continues. We're also learning that he's facing another investigation this week. Federal officials are looking into a multimillion dollar tourism campaign that used superstorm Sandy relief money.
The question here, were the governor's re-election needs put first ahead of the state's needs when you're talking about superstorm Sandy? Details that you're only going to see here, that's also ahead.
But we're also going to be following Alex Rodriguez planning to fight his season-long suspension in federal court. The new punishment trims his original ban to just, oh, 162 games, but A-Rod insists that he never used performance-enhancing drugs. We have an exclusive interview with his lawyer, Joe Tacopina, about the case. He'll be responding right here on "NEW DAY." We'll have that ahead.
BERMAN: He's got a lot of answers -- a lot of questions --
BOLDUAN: A lot of questions to answer. That's for sure, right?
BERMAN: That's for sure. All right. Kate, thank you so much.
BOLDUAN: Thanks, guys.
ROMANS: Thanks, Kate.
Coming up, Robert Gates defending his attack on the White House this morning. Why the former secretary of defense is not apologizing for his new memoir, next.
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ROMANS: Former secretary of defense, Robert Gates, defending his new memoir sharply criticizing the Obama administration, including the president and vice president. He'll make several appearances in the coming days, a real media blitz, but he told CBS he was disturbed by the president's seeming lack of conviction at the importance of the war in Afghanistan and by the vice president's seeming insistence that the military was lying.
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ROBERT GATES, FORMER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: It's one thing to tell the troops that you support them. It's another to work at making them believe that you believe as president that their sacrifice is worth it. President Bush did that with the troops when I was secretary. I did not see President Obama do that.
Where I had a particular problem with the vice president was in his encouragement of suspicion of the military and the senior military with the president.
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ROMANS: Gates says his book is an honest account and he wanted to be blunt and candid as he was while in office.
In Iraq, there are new developments this morning in the fight against militants linked with al Qaeda. The prime minister of Iraq, Nouri al- Maliki, now says he will not launch a military assault on Fallujah to try to drive out those militants. He's calling on local residents and tribesmen to lead the fight instead.
Coming up, last year, a very good year for stocks and your 401(k). This year, why isn't it looking as bright? What's happening on Wall Street and what you need to know in "Money Time," next.
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ROMANS: Welcome back to EARLY START. It's "Money Time." Wall Street cannot find its mojo. The Dow set for its fourth straight decline, and it's not just the Dow. All the major averages are down so far for this year. Now, the declines for 2014, they're not huge, but it's not usually what you see when you start a new year. Historically, stocks rise at the beginning of the year as new money flows into the market.
Big concerns about your identity and your security this morning. First, Target was hacked, now, Neiman Marcus. The hack at Target could be the biggest in retail history. It's possible up to 110 million customers were attacked, so what should you do? Don't wait for Target or Neiman, for that matter, to contact you. Change your account number immediately.
Susan Grant from the Consumer Federation of America says the suspicious of scammers who are now looking to get even more info from you.
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SUSAN GRANT, CONSUMER FEDERATION OF AMERICA: They could get calls or e-mails from scammers asking them to confirm their information or telling them to click on something that would load spyware on to their computers and steal their personal information that way.
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ROMANS: Other things you can do, check your bank statement regularly, don't answer any calls or e-mails requesting personal information.
And finally, it's not often you see the chairman of the Federal Reserve at the "Golden Globes"? What? Well, Janet Yellen wasn't exactly at the "Golden Globes," featured instead in a Microsoft Bing commercial last night that profiled notable women of 2013 along with Malala and Gabby Giffords. Janet Yellen is the first woman to lead the Federal Reserve. That makes her one of the most powerful women not just in the U.S. but in the world.
And speaking of firsts, another woman making some big headlines, Mary Barra (ph). She held her first public appearance last night since being named CEO of general motors. She's the first woman to head the American automaker, and she will open the Detroit auto show today.
"NEW DAY" starts right now.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They just came on and said that we had landed at the wrong runway.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Breaking overnight, air scare. A Southwest Jet lands at the wrong airport. The runway half the size of the intended one. The plane comes to a screeching halt to avoid rolling into a highway. How did this happen?
BOLDUAN: CNN exclusive. Another investigation surrounding Chris Christie, this time, into how he spent money to help New Jersey rebuild after superstorm Sandy. Were re-election needs put first? The details you'll only see here.
CUOMO: Golden night. Perhaps, one of the most surprising Golden Globes, yet, rambling speeches, shoes being tossed, and the winners, Jennifer Lawrence, Leonardo DiCaprio, taking home big prices. We have all the must-see moments.
Your "NEW DAY" starts right now.
ANNOUNCER: This is "NEW DAY" with Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan, and Michaela Pereira.
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CUOMO: Good morning. Welcome to "NEW DAY." It's Monday, January 13th, six o'clock in the east.
Breaking overnight, a Southwest Airlines jet with 125 passengers on board landing at the wrong Missouri airport and the landing was a nail biter. The Boeing 737 was supposed to touch down in Branson last night. Somehow, the pilot landed seven miles away at Taney County airport. That's where it was instead of where it was supposed to be. And get this, the runway was less than 4,000 feet. That is meaningful for a plane that size.
