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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
New Video From Asiana Crash; Dozens Dead In Iraq Violence
Aired January 15, 2014 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Dramatic new video showing the chaos after the terrifying jetliner crash in San Francisco. New questions this morning about just what happened. Was it carelessness that killed a passenger needing help on the runway?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Could a middle school shooting have been prevented? New information this morning on what the shooter may have told his classmates before the attack.
BERMAN: And we have breaking news this morning. A bomb blast killing dozens in Iraq, violence sending that country back into chaos. Fears of civil war once again on the rise. We're live.
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ROMANS (on-camera): Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
BERMAN (on-camera): And I'm John Berman. Thirty-one minutes past the hour right now.
Dramatic new video this morning raising more questions about what fire crews did in their response to the crash of Asiana Airlines flight 214 last summer. That crash left three people dead, including a teenager who died after being run over by firefighting rigs. And the video obtained by CBS News shows crews acknowledging that a victim, 16-year- old Ye Meng Yuan was on that runway.
The coroner says she was alive at the time, and the video clearly shows crews were warned to be careful and to be mindful of her laying there on the runway.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoa, whoa, whoa, stop! That's a body right -- there's a body right there. Right in front of you.
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ROMANS: The family of the victim is suing the city, claiming the fire crews were reckless. San Francisco's fire chief has said the firefighters were making some very difficult decisions. BERMAN: Now, to the new development this morning at a shooting at a middle school in Roswell, New Mexico. Police say a 12-year-old walked into a gym and opened fire seriously wounding two classmates before the school day had even started. The boy is now in custody. The classmate is in the hospital. And the teacher, John Masterson (ph), is being considered a hero for convincing the alleged shooter to put down his weapon.
The town held a vigil overnight to show it's solidarity, praise those who brought the shooting to an end, and reflect on what happened there. This morning, investigators are asking did the boy warn others about what he was planning. Some who knew the shooter say he may have been bullied.
ROMANS: New allegations this morning about the NSA's spying programs. New allegations. The "New York Times" says the agency is putting software and hardware in more than 100,000 computers around the world. The technology apparently works even if the machines are not connected to the internet. An experts say that computers can be used to launch cyberattacks, though, there's no evidence any machines within this country were altered.
That as the Senate has been talking about spying and whether the agency's programs have prevented any terror attacks. Members of a White House committee went before the judiciary committee making their argument that the NSA needs to be reformed. And many of the senators agreed.
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SEN. PATRICK LEAHY, (D) VERMONT: This phone record program is not uniquely valuable enough to justify a massive intrusion on Americans' privacy.
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ROMANS: President Obama set to make a decision about the future of the NSA's spying programs by Friday.
BERMAN: Meanwhile, the NSA leaker, Edward Snowden, is being called a hero this morning. And he has a new job, sort of. He's taking up a new role as a member of the board of the Freedom of the Press Foundation. That group was founded by Daniel Elsberg (ph) who famously leaked the Pentagon papers during the Vietnam War. Elsberg says Snowden is not a traitor and says the former NSA contractor has done more for the constitution than anyone he knows.
ROMANS: The deadline is today for more answers in the investigation into the closure of lanes on the George Washington Bridge. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, they operate the bridge, its set to respond questions from the Senate Transportation Committee about the closure now linked to two top aides to New Jersey governor, Chris Christie. Christie addressed the scandal again during his state of the state address saying his administration let the people of New Jersey down.
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GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE, (R) NEW JERSEY: I'm the governor. And I'm ultimately responsible for all that happens on my watch both good and bad. Now, without a doubt, we will cooperate with all appropriate inquiries to ensure that this breach of trust does not happen again.
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ROMANS: State lawmakers ramping up their investigation into the lane closure and whether Christie lied when he said he knew nothing about it. As a federal probe, it's looking into whether his administration misused hurricane Sandy relief funds. A completely separate issue for him to pay for a tourism ad at campaign featuring his family.
BERMAN: In Washington today, the House is expected to approve the huge $1.1 trillion spending bill to fund the government into October. The Senate is likely to do the same by week's end. This would avert another government shutdown. And it reverses many recent cuts including some to the military.
The future less bright for the 1.3 million Americans who have lost their unemployment checks. The Senate could not reach a deal to start sending those checks again. Two votes failed. And for now, there's little chance that the benefits will be extended anytime soon. Hypothetically, the Senate could revisit the proposal but the soonest that would happen is by the end of the month there does not seem to be the will or the comedy with a key there to get that done in the Senate right now.
ROMANS: Those checks about 300 bucks a week. You'll see that in economic figures for sure.
It was the best day for stocks Tuesday and the momentum carrying over this morning to stock futures and around the world. The Dow gained 115 points breaking a four-session losing streak. The NASDAQ and S&P 500 each gaining one percent. In Europe, you got markets in London, Frankfurt, Paris all higher right now. And in Tokyo, stocks closed with a gain.
The stock Tesla is up one percent this morning, that's after a big gain on Tuesday for the high-end electric carmaker. Tesla said sales in the fourth quarter were better than expected. And shares of GM, General Motors, higher this morning. GM says it will pay its first quarterly dividend in nearly six years. Thirty cents a share.
This payout a sharp turnaround following one of the largest bankruptcies in U.S. history. And I'll tell you something, John, there will be people who say, look, they're going to pay shareholders and they got out from underneath the bailout with 10 billion -- they -- you know, taxpayers paid $10 billion for that bailout in the end. Shareholders are going to get a payout.
BERMAN: Sure there'd be paying a tax -- interesting question.
All right. We have some breaking news from Kuwait right now where secretary of state, John Kerry, is pledging $380 million to help those displaced by the conflict in Syria. That as Israeli's defense minister is issuing an apology for what he said about this country's top diplomat.
Moshe Ya'alon was very critical of Secretary Kerry for what he called a, quote, "misplaced obsession and messianic furor over the Mid East peace process." The defense minister is saying now that he appreciates the secretary's many efforts towards peace.
ROMANS: President Obama travels to North Carolina today for a speech focusing on manufacturing innovation. Previewing his remarks, the president says it's all hands on deck in his administration for accelerating the economic recovery. Mr. Obama will cite (ph) a manufacturing hub initiated in North Carolina that exemplifies how a private public partnership can help grow the economy and create well- paying jobs.
BERMAN: And one of the things that a lot of people want to know, what should you wear today?
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Will it be warm? Will it be cold? Will it be raining? Only one person can answer those questions. Indra Petersons, here with a forecast, answers that.
INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I suggest a great suit, maybe like a reddish orange tie.
BERMAN: I think it's a great idea --
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ROMANS: Do I need an umbrella?
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PETERSONS: No. It depends on where you are. Obviously, not for the entire nation, but no, in the northeast today, that system that was here today, notice, well offshore right now. So, we're kind of in between that system and the next cold front that's making its way in. Very easy to see that. You guys are all meteorologists now. Notice on the radar how light this next system is. It's going to continue to dry out as it progresses off to the east and kind of goes over land.
So really just mostly cloudy conditions is all that's going to be expected. You can actually feel the system itself as it makes its way across. The bulk of the moisture stays offshore, so off the coastline. So, really, right along the eastern seaboard, really, the extra clouds is going to be the big thing there. Cooler temperatures as that cold front does pass, but not a huge change there.
Only a couple degrees with each system. The next system is going to bring a lot cooler air with it because it's coming farther north from Canada. So, it brings that cold air down along with it. Keep in mind, as this system kind of makes its way across tonight and through tomorrow, look for some snow maybe around the Chicago area, the upper Midwest.
Also, potentially, some blizzard-like conditions not from the heavy snow as this moisture starts, but some stronger winds are going to cool and kind of blow the snow on the ground around. Otherwise by the weekend, it makes its way to the northeast. And again, the system too not really bringing a lot. The big thing as temperatures by the weekend in the northeast going back down to the 30s which is where they should be.
BERMAN: That's OK.
PETERSONS: I guess, for January, February, it's fine.
BERMAN: All right. Thanks, Indra.
ROMANS: Thanks, Indra.
BERMAN: Breaking overnight, dozens killed as bombs explode in Iraq. Violence threatening to throw that country even deeper into chaos. Could its government be in serious trouble? We're live.
ROMANS: And a history of violence. New allegations about a man accused of murder inside a movie theater over a text message.
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ROMANS: Breaking news this morning from Iraq where dozens are dead after a series of attacks in Baghdad and Baquba. It's the second day of deadly violence there in Iraq amid new warnings the country is growing closer to civil war. Michael Holmes live in the Iraqi capital this morning. Michael, what's the latest?
Michael Holmes, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Christine. Certainly, not on a good path right now. Six car bombs just this morning in a matter of couple of hours in Baghdad alone. You mentioned Baquba, an IED there went off at a funeral tent (ph). So far, 26 killed, 87 wounded and that's just today. This is becoming a daily thing. It's happening every day.
Now, it's still not the open-arms sectarian conflict that everyone has been fearing as opposed to these daily individual attacks, but everyone is worried it's heading that way. I was talking yesterday to the former prime minister, Ayad Allawi and he says time is running out for the government to get Sunnis onside after years of excluding them -- Christine.
ROMANS: So, Michael, a top Sunni leader says that the Iraq government is following the Americans' advice in dealing with this crisis. How involved is the U.S. right now in what's happening in Iraq?
HOLMES: Yes. You're talking about (INAUDIBLE) Mutlaq who was the Washington deputy prime minister here. And as you say, a Sunni blaming Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister, for the blast (ph) but also urging Washington to get more involved, citing they had a legal and moral responsibility. It's fair to say the U.S. is more involved now than they have been according to critics of the al-Maliki government.
The U.S. has pretty much dropped the ball in the years since the withdrawal back in December 2011, allowing Nouri al-Maliki to continue with sectarian politics that he has for years, really, and he's alienated the Sunnis and allow that breeding ground to develop for the more radical elements as al Qaeda-linked fighters to come back into action and we've seen them, of course, being very active of late -- Christine.
ROMANS: Certainly a tinderbox and a very dangerous situation there. Michael Holmes, thank you.
BERMAN: Staying in the region, Egyptians are back at the polls today voting on a new constitution, this, amid violence that has now taken at least 11 lives and arrests of some who called their countrymen to boycott the vote. The new constitution would be a major step for the country which has been in the state of chaos since the ouster of the Democratically-elected president, Mohamed Morsi.
ROMANS: Clean water for drinking, cooking, and bathing is flowing this morning to more than a third of the 300,000 West Virginian residents affected by a chemical spill last week into the Elk River. Officials are allowing taps to be turned on in sections so as not to overload the system. Many businesses and restaurants in downtown Charleston have now reopened. A federal investigation into that spill is under way.
BERMAN: More questions this morning about the landing of a Southwest Airlines jet at the wrong airport. Investigators are now asking were the pilots distracted by an airline dispatcher who was in the cockpit with them. The dispatcher has now been placed on leave and had permission to ride in the so-called jump seat on the flight from Chicago to Branson, Missouri that mistakenly landed instead at a county airport six miles away.
Investigators are now reviewing the cockpit voice recorders and plan to interview the crew and the dispatcher to get to the bottom of what happened here.
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MARK WEISS, FORMER AIRLINE PILOT: There's a myriad of reasons that are going to be looked at so that that NTSB hearing when they come up with that probable cause will say, OK, how do we mitigate this so this doesn't happen again.
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BERMAN: Drug and alcohol tests are now complete for the crew. The results are not yet in.
ROMANS: This morning, there are no clear answers to a deadly train derailment in New York. Now, the NTSB has issued its preliminary report on what happened. The report came to no conclusions about the cause of that derailment that left four people dead. It offered no suggestions on how to prevent it from happening again. It did disclose that the derailment caused $9 million in damage.
BERMAN: We could find out more today about the priest sex abuse scandal in Chicago. The archdiocese there plans to release historical files to the attorneys of victims showing how the church handled these abuse complaints. The files deal with 30 priests and 40 victims. The current head of the archdiocese, Cardinal Francis George, insists that he never protected any priest knowing to be an abuser.
ROMANS: A major case about abortion and free speech goes before the Supreme Court today. It involves a Massachusetts law setting up a buffer zone to keep protesters away from clinics. An appeals court said the law was valid and balances the rights of protesters, patients, and workers at those clinics. But anti-abortion groups say they should have the right to talk to patients walking into health care facilities.
BERMAN: Legal recognition of gay marriage one step closer this morning in Oklahoma. A federal judge there has ruled that the state's amendment barring gay marriage is unconstitutional. They called it an arbitrary, irrational exclusion based on moral disapproval. His decision, though, was on-hold, pending an appeal. Gay couples will not be allowed to wed as the state decides if it will take the case to a higher court.
ROMANS: He's still in jail this morning. The 71-year-old former police captain accused of opening fire in a Tampa area movie theater and killing a man. Curtis Reeves (ph) was denied bail during his first court appearance. Police say an argument between the two men started because the alleged victim was texting.
Now, a woman has come forward to say Reeves threatened her for the very same reason just weeks before saying when she heard about the shooting, it gave her chills.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I had to pull over the car because -- that could have been us. He gets up. He's like, "Can you do me a favor? Can you please just stop texting?" It was just so close to home, you know? It really makes you think how things could have went.
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ROMANS: She said he even followed her to the bathroom and it really made her uncomfortable. Reeves' attorney said his client opened fire in that Tampa theater because he was in fear for his safety.
Let's take a look at what's coming up on "NEW DAY" this morning.
BERMAN: Kate Bolduan joins us now. Good morning, Kate.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, you guys. Unfortunately, we are talking about another shooting we're tracking, the very latest on that deadly school shooting in New Mexico. A 12- year-old, a 12-year-old child is now in custody accused of injuring two young classmates. We're going to talk with the student who knows the suspect well and witnessed the shooting. What does he think set off this young, young student? We're going to have that.
And then, we also have a "NEW DAY" exclusive for you. We're joined by the American who is finally free after he was jailed in the United Arab Emirates for nine months all for posting a satirical video online. It was all a joke and he was put behind bars for nine months. It's a story that we've been following very closely. Shezanne Cassim is going to be joining us live with his family to talk about this entire experience, and now, what's next for him.
ROMANS: I can't wait to hear from him. You know, it's so ironic, they put him in jail because, I guess, bad publicity they thought from his video that no one saw. Boy, they got a lot more bad publicity now about, you know, the legal rights --
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ROMANS: You know, they really stirred up a whole lot of trouble for their own image around the world. Kate Bolduan, thanks so much.
BOLDUAN: Thanks, guys.
ROMANS: Coming up, Justin Bieber's friend busted for drugs at Justin Bieber's house.
BERMAN: Oh-oh.
ROMANS: What happened? Brand new overnight when we come back.
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ROMANS: All right. We're a little over two weeks away from the Super Bowl. And today, we're set to find out more about just what will be done to keep the NFL championship game safe. It's going to take place at Giants Stadium in New Jersey on February 2, with many events taking place in New York City.
Law enforcement has been conducting numerous drills and the run-up to this big game, plans to limit access to the Meadowlands Complex on that day.
Firmer NFL players in the league are weighing their option this morning now that a judge has rejected $765 million settlement over concussion. The judge saying the deal didn't set enough money aside to cover expenses for 20,000 retired players. Now, both sides have to decide whether to re-work the settlement or litigate the case ahead that process that could take years.
Breaking overnight, a friend of Justin Bieber's is now out of jail after being arrested at the singer's home. Rapper, Lil Za, was picked up on drug charges as sheriff's deputies search Bieber's L.A. mansion. They were looking for surveillance video that might shed some light on whether the singer was involved in an egg attack on his neighbor's house.
All right. We're going to show you this video from TMZ shot by the neighbor. He claims he saw Bieber on his property. The sheriff's office says Bieber cooperated with the deputies but did not answer questions.
Coming up, a big day for Apple and China. Why the tech giant's stock is soaring in "Money Time" next.
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ROMANS: Welcome back to EARLY START. It's "Money Time." A nice day for stocks yesterday. A triple digit gain for the Dow, a better bank earnings, and also retail sales giving investors a shot in the arm. The Dow industrials up 115 points. The NASDAQ and the S&P 500 each up more than one percent.
Shares of General Motors higher right now in pre-market stock trading. GM says it's going to pay its first quarterly dividend in nearly six years. The 30 cent a share payout represents a sharp turnaround. Remember, this was government motors, right? It filed one of the largest bankruptcies in U.S. history in 2009.
It took, in the end, $10 billion bailout from taxpayers. But now, things have turned around and U.S. auto sales in general having their best year since 2007.
Apple stocks also up this morning about 1.4 percent. Apple iPhones will begin selling through China Mobile, that's the world's largest carrier. That happens on Friday. Huge market. China Mobile's chairman says there's already been strong demand in iPhone orders. He also said that the deal with Apple won't be limited to just handsets.
It entails broad cooperation between those companies. He's declined to give more details on just how extensive that cooperation will be.
And the building we're broadcasting from right now, the Time Warner headquarters, close to being sold. A deal could be announced Thursday, this is according to "The Wall Street Journal." It's going to include backing from Abu Dhabi and Singapore. The $1.3 billion transaction will be one of the biggest in the wave of deals involving foreign government investors in commercial U.S. real estate.
Overseas investors are seeking places to park their money and the commercial real estate mark in the U.S. has been popular. For (ph) investment in the U.S. real estate was about 12 percent of all purchases last year. Time Warner spent about half a billion dollars to build the ted quarters (ph) a decade ago. The company planning to build another tower, Manhattan's far west side.
"NEW DAY" starts right now.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have one student or female subject possibly shot.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Middle school shooter. A student opens fire, two hit and hospitalized, one fighting for his life. Even more shocking, the shooter's age, only 12 years old. We're live at the scene. BOLDUAN: Breaking overnight. New video from the chaotic moments just after the Asianic crash in San Francisco. Firefighters trying to put out the flames. What it tells us about how the young woman died on the runway.
CUOMO: New details inside the movie theater shooting that left one dead. The shooter, an ex-cop, now says the shooting was justified. Wait until you hear why. We'll hear from those who know the gunman well.
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 Hump Day, Wednesday, January 15th, six o'clock in the east. New this morning, the shooting at a middle school in Roswell, New Mexico has brought us a disturbing low. The age of the shooter just 12 years old. More than a thousand people attended a vigil last night for the two students wounded after coming face-to-face with an armed classmate.
One of them, an 11-year-old boy is now fighting for his life. And once again, a teacher was forced into a potentially deadly confrontation and was somehow able to get through to the shooter. CNNs Stephanie Elam is live in Roswell -- Stephanie.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Chris. It's another American school devastated by a shooting here on the campus, but what's most shocking is the age of the shooter, just 12 years old.
