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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Peaceful Protests in Ferguson; Cease-Fire Holding in Gaza; Iraq Prime Minister Steps Down; Russian Convoy; Pope in South Korea
Aired August 15, 2014 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: After four nights of violence turned this city into a battle zone, the governor of Missouri finally stepped in ordering state police to take over jurisdiction replacing the Ferguson police force.
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GOV. JAY NIXON (D), MISSOURI: These are, you know, deep and existing problems, not only in Missouri, but in America. And this has clearly touched a nerve. And that nerve is not merely from this horrific incident that happened just a few short days ago or any of the interim things. It touches a deeper nerve.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: There is a lot of pain in that town right now, in Ferguson right now. Ed Lavandera got a firsthand look during last night's demonstrations.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, it was one of the more powerful demonstrations we've seen this week here in the St. Louis area as about 1,000 people gathered in the shadow of the Gateway Arch here in downtown St. Louis in what was billed as a national moment of silence in honor of Michael Brown, the teenager that was gunned down in the town of Ferguson, Missouri, last weekend. About 1,000 people, an extremely diverse crowd that we saw gather here today and listen to a variety of speakers. Many people here carrying out that chant that we've heard and started to hear more and more throughout this area where people -- one person would say, hands up, and the crowd would responds by saying, "don't shoot." And that is a pose that we have seen in many parts of this area. People have come together and demonstrated in the wake of the shooting of Michael Brown.
And one of the more powerful moments here, too, some of the family member of Michael Brown, including his mother and Michael Brown's sister, made an appearance here. And didn't speak at the event, but came and did a live interview with CNN. And they were surrounded by hundreds of people here at our live shot location. Many people coming and offering their support and condolences to the family as they battle through this very tragic situation.
John and Christine, back to you.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Our thanks to Ed Lavandera on the ground in Ferguson.
The parents of Michael Brown have been assured by Attorney General Eric Holder that the circumstances surrounding their son's death will be fully investigated. Family members say that and the removal of the Ferguson Police Department from monitoring the situation on the ground right now is bringing them much need solace.
ERIC DAVIS, MICHAEL BROWN'S COUSIN: At the present time, we have no trust in the Ferguson Police Department because there was no transparency. They have not reached out to us. Actually, today was the first time that they did reach out to us, but we did not feel like we needed to sit down with someone when they took five days before they would even come out and reach out to the family to say, we express our sympathies. And we still did not want to talk with them at this time because of the delay.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Michael Brown's shooting has stirred passions all across the country. Over 1,000 demonstrators tied up traffic last night in New York's Times Square. Police made several arrests. More than 100 communities across the country held vigils honoring Michael Brown.
ROMANS: All right, the Gaza peace talks appear to be back on track. A five day cease-fire brokered in Cairo holding this morning between Israel and Hamas. Now, Palestinian negotiators expressing some cautious optimism that a deal can get done. This as the State Department confirms its placed greater scrutiny on U.S. arms shipments to Israel during that fighting in Gaza. The Israelis are now gearing up for a legal battle against international allegations they committed war crimes against the Palestinians. The U.N. human rights council investigating those charges. Frederick Pleitgen this morning joining us live from Gaza.
And we can say the calm holds there, doesn't it, Fred?
FREDERICK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean the calm is really something that's uplifting a lot of people here in Gaza. I can tell you, Christine, I was actually out here late last night and it was one of the few times that you could see many cars on the streets. You saw a lot of people on the street. It's really interesting to see that when people know that they're not going to see bombs raining down from above, they're not going to have rockets fired from their territory, how fast they come back out and try to get some sort of semblance of normalcy.
But as you said, it seems as though at this point in time there's some hope for optimism in these negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Of course, both sides are still saying that it is still a very difficult road ahead. And the big dividing points are, on the one hand, the security concerns that Israel has and on the other hand the economic concerns that the Gazans have, that Hamas has, of course, as well.
The Israelis fear that if they lift the blockade here of Gaza -- it has, of course, been under blockade since 2007 -- that it could allow Hamas to put weapons in here a lot more easily, especially if a sea port is allowed to open here and, of course, also if the border crossings are opened as well. There's a lot of issues that are very touchy and the Egyptian mediators are saying that they want to exclude some of these issues in the initial talks. What they are talking about is possibly lifting some of the blockade in the early stages and then talking about things, for instance, of allowing Gaza to open a sea port, talking about that at a later point and time.
Another big issue here is the release of Palestinian prisoners in return for the return of the remains of Israeli soldiers who were killed here in the fighting. That's something that they're talking about. Maybe also negotiating that a little further down the line. But it seems as though, and this is probably the most important part, it seems as though both sides want some sort of long term agreement. They're still very far apart. As I said, there's still a lot of very touchy points there, but both sides have said they don't want another round of fighting to ensue. And that's certainly something that will be good news to a lot of people here in Gaza who have obviously witnessed a lot of very horrible things in the last -- over a month or so.
Christine.
ROMANS: Yes, I'll say. All right, Frederick Pleitgen for us. Thanks, Fred.
BERMAN: Thirty-five minutes after the hour right now.
His departure really did seem inevitable. Iraq's embattled prime minister, Nuri al Maliki, finally agreed to step down, clearing the way for his successor, Haider al Abadi, to form a new government. This move drew praise from the Obama administration. Secretary of State John Kerry is now urging Iraqis to unite under the new prime minister, the prime minister-designate, al Abadi, against the threat from ISIS.
This threat is becoming quite formidable. A U.S. intelligence official tells CNN ISIS is now a credible alternative to al Qaeda with fighters from around the world traveling to Syria to join. This coming as the Yazidi leaders are really disputing U.S. claims that the ISIS siege of Mount Sinjar is over. They claim tens of thousands of people are still stranded on that mountain facing dire conditions.
I want to bring in Nick Paton Walsh tracking these developments live from Baghdad.
Some of these Yazidis on that mountain, Nick, and some U.N. officials who are up there monitoring the situation, not at all happy that the U.S. has essentially said the situation isn't as bad as they thought.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Certainly and we'll see this one now play into the deeply political environment about U.S. military involvement here on the ground. White House advisers, you know, it seems preempting the Pentagon, suggesting that an evacuation operation could be eminent and then the Pentagon coming out and saying it isn't as bad as we thought. Of course an independent assessment of what's happening up on that mountain will take some time and these people are scattered over a vast geographical area. It's going to be hard to pin down the exact numbers.
But this drama, John, playing out as we have an alternative situation here in Baghdad. A political deadlock, which today seemed so close to potentially dragging Iraq toward a coup or further political meltdown. Then, last night, Nuri al Maliki, prime minister for eight years here and the man Washington accused of dragging this country towards that sectarian division which allowed ISIS so much space in the north of the country with the Sunni community to actually get into Iraq's society, he finally went on state television and resigned. Stepped back and said the prime minister-designate, supported by Washington, Haider al Abadi, could now get on with the job of running a government. Very self-pitying, self-justifying in his speech, but saying the words everybody had waited for days to hear and everyone had thought was on the wall in terms of political writing here for a long time since Iraq and Saudi Arabia and eventually everybody had turned their back on him.
The question now is, can Haider al Abadi bridge this massive rift between the Shia, who effectively (ph) so much to government here in Baghdad, and the Sunnis, who feel disenfranchised and are in the areas where ISIS militants have so much weight. It's a massive task, but it's massively important for the United States because, as you mentioned, al Qaeda is considered perhaps a secondary threat to ISIS in terms of that pose (ph) to America and combatting ISIS can best be done, many U.S. officials believe, through strengthening the Iraqi army here. They didn't want to do that until they saw a government of national unity here in Baghdad that could represent all Sunni, Shia and Kurds, all the different groups that make up Iraq. Potentially, Haider al Abadi now has a chance to try and do that. It's a massive task. If he succeeds, though, we might see more U.S. aid coming to help the Iraqi army push ISIS back. If they don't do that, the Middle East, frankly, is in severe trouble.
John.
BERMAN: This could, could be a turning point. Let's see what happens. Nick Paton Walsh is live for us in Baghdad. Thank you so much.
The size and scope of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, it might be a lot worse than reported. The World Health Organization says the crisis is being vastly underestimated with evidence of unreported or unreported cases mounting. The Center for Disease Control puts the death toll now at nearly 1,100 with another 900 people fighting the disease. ZMapp, the drug that has helped two Americans fully recover from Ebola has arrived in Africa. No patients have received it yet. Liberia officials are trying to decide who gets the first of the supply.
ROMANS: All right, time now for an early start on your money this Friday morning. European stocks up on hopes the European Central Bank will step in to prop up stalled growth. That stalled growth we told you about yesterday. Asian stocks ended the day higher. U.S. stock futures pointing higher. Stocks made gains yesterday. Now at the highest for the month. Stocks trading at low volume though of course because of summer vacations. $38 million, that's the price tag for this 1962 Ferrari GTO. It just
became the most expensive car ever auctioned. This Ferrari was wrecked early in its life. The damage was so bad, it went back to the factory where workers essentially produced a new car. $38 million for a car. It is a record by far. But some experts thought this car would go for more than $50 million.
BERMAN: What does it do? I mean does it fly? Does it swim? Does it give you a back rub? Well, you know, what's the sound system like?
ROMANS: I mean you could buy a Picasso for that, right?
BERMAN: Yes, but you can't drive a Picasso. Or it's much harder to drive a Picasso.
ROMANS: You know what, I bet you nobody's driving that car. You get that -- you spend $50 million -- $38 million on a car, are you going to drive it or you going to sit there and look at -- you're going to build a living room around that with like big armchairs and watch it.
BERMAN: Maybe you can put it on your wall like a Picasso.
ROMANS: No, I don't think so. I mean that's hash tag obsessions of the one tenth of one tenth of one tenth of one percent.
BERMAN: Hash tag someone's too rich and it's not me.
Forty minutes after the hour. Breaking news this morning. Ukrainian border guards now examining hundreds of Russian trucks lining their border. This, as we're learning now that armored Russian vehicles have entered Ukraine. We're live with this breaking development, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: It might be just a matter of hours now before we learn what is really inside the trucks in the mysterious Russian convoy. Russia insisting all along that these 260 trucks contain humanitarian aid for the people of eastern Ukraine. Right now, Ukrainian guards are being allowed to inspect those vehicles. However, we're learning that armored Russian vehicles, this according to the Ukrainians, have just entered Ukraine. That's an alarming headline. Let's learn more about what's going on there. Will Ripley live from Kiev this morning.
Will, what can you tell us?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, a Ukrainian government source confirming to CNN just within the last few minutes what others who have been imbedded with this convoy have also been reporting and witnessing firsthand, that Russian armored personnel carriers, a convoy of them, have been spotted crossing the border into Ukraine. Armored personnel carriers are used to transport infantry troops and whatnot into the battlefield. They're essentially like tanks on wheels. But all that has been seen are the carriers themselves. We don't know what or who is inside. We don't know where we come from. We can only report what's being observed on the ground. And we also need to point out that this, according to the Ukrainian government, is nothing new. For months now they have been sounding the alarm, making claims that Moscow has denied that Russian armored personnel carriers, Russian weapons, heavy weaponry have been -- have been smuggled across the border, often under the cover of darkness. So we need to be clear that this is not a signal of a full-scale invasion.
But actually, just now, visual confirmation on the ground of what the Ukrainian government says has been happening for quite some time which also kind of allows us to understand the skepticism about this humanitarian convoy that Ukrainian inspectors are looking at right now because you have the Ukrainian government saying, look, we believe, and now we're getting it confirmed, that Russia has been supplying weapons, or at least weapons have been coming from Russia into Ukraine. And now this offer of humanitarian aid. So why -- why under the cover of night act one way and then the cover of daytime offer up help? A very interesting situation we're going to be following closely. We're expecting an official update on this from the Ukrainian government possibly within the next hour, John.
BERMAN: The -- it's a paradox, Will, here because on the one hand it seems like Ukraine's being accommodating, inspecting these carriers, the aid convoy, to allow it in. On the other hand they're also saying, hey, look, there are Russian military vehicles in here as well. Confused by what message Ukraine is trying to send right now.
RIPLEY: Well, Ukraine, obviously, doesn't want to be in the political situation or the humanitarian situation where they are turning away legitimate help for hundreds of thousands of its citizens who are suffering right now in Donetsk and Luhans (ph). These are people who badly need the food, water, medical supplies, tents, sleeping bags, the type of items that Russia claims it is offering.
But at the same time, you have government officials here saying they -- all along they needed to inspect this convoy just to be sure, that inside these white trucks weren't exactly the kind of weapons that they suspect Russia has been funneling in to these pro-Russian rebels, helping prolong this conflict where now civilians are dying. Eleven more civilians killed overnight. Fifteen people killed yesterday, including three children at a bus stop. More than 20 children killed in this conflict so far and the United Nations saying more than 2,000 have died since mid-April. The death toll doubling in just a matter of weeks. So, you know, yes, there's skepticism. But nonetheless, it appears now Ukraine is willing to allow Russian aid into the country, even as they follow these reports of armored personnel carriers also crossing the border illegally, heading right towards the battle zone.
BERMAN: A lot of activity, a lot of mixed messages right now on that heated border. Will Ripley, glad we have you in Kiev monitoring the situation. We're going to check back in with you in a little bit, see what you've learned.
ROMANS: All right, the army's two-month investigation of Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl's disappearance and capture in 2009, that investigation wrapping up today. Bergdahl was questioned for two days by the lead investigator, Army Major General Kenneth Dahl. Officials expect his final report will be ready for review in about three weeks. The findings could determine if Bergdahl faces any punishment for his actions. Some who served with him in Afghanistan claim he deserted his post.
BERMAN: Happening now, South Korea getting its first visit from the pope in 25 years. We'll tell you the message he is bringing to tens of thousands this morning, right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Pope Francis pleading for North and South Korea to reconcile their differences. The pontiff making the first papal visit to South Korea in 25 years. The North marking that occasion by test firing short range rockets before and after his arrival. Paula Hancocks live from Seoul this morning.
Paula, it's the young people of Asia, the young people who seem to be the pope's focus on this visit.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Christine. And no more so than today. He's currently sitting in front of several thousand Asian youth and they have -- some of them have been chosen to ask him questions, which he will be answering just shortly. One of those questions from a Korean young girl was basically, what do you think of North Korea? What should we think of North Korea? So, obviously, that will be a very interesting answer to hear.
We actually heard from North Korea a little earlier today. They said that those rockets, those projectiles they fired yesterday, were, in fact, for liberation day. They wanted to specify that they weren't for the pope's arrival. But, of course, many people were suspicious about that. But certainly the reaction here in South Korea has been very, very warm.
We saw him a few hours ago going into a stadium of 50,000 people, showing that he has earned his nickname of the rock star pope. Everyone was extremely excited to see him. And, of course, it is a fairly small church, still, the Catholic Church in this country, but it is the fastest growing church. And there are a lot of young South Koreans coming to the church and young Asians coming to the church, which is why the pope decided he needed to come to this particular area. It's very important, he believes, to talk to the young people of Asia to secure the future of Catholicism.
So certainly a very interesting time for South Koreans. They have welcomed him with open arms. And, of course, North Korea will be watching it very closely as well. They were invited to come down, some of the Catholics up there, but Pyongyang said no they were not going to come. They blamed a joint military drill between U.S. and South Korea, which starts on Monday.
Christine.
ROMANS: All right, thanks so much for that, Paula Hancocks.
All right, it's 55 minutes past the hour. When we come back, we're going to take a look -- an early start on your money.
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ROMANS: All right, let's get an early start on your money this Friday.
European stocks are higher on hopes the European Central Bank will step in to prop up growth. Asian stocks also ended the day higher. U.S. stock futures are pointing higher right now. Stocks made gains yesterday and are now at highs for the month. Another factor driving stocks higher, hopes for progress in the Ukrainian crisis. The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, changed his tough rhetoric a bit yesterday, saying Russia would try to end the conflict as soon as possible. We'll watch to see how that might swage fears in the markets.
All right, Coca-Cola, a big consumer story. Coca-Cola trying to energize its brand. The company is buying a 17 percent stake in the energy drink maker Monster for about $2 billion. This is basically a brand swap. Coke will hand off its energy drinks like NOS and Full Throttle and then Monster will add its non-energy drinks like teas and lemonades to Coke's portfolio. See, Coca-Cola trying to reposition itself as America's -- as Americans drink less soda. Its drink production fell about 2 percent last year, while Monster's climbed 7 percent. Shares of Monster, guess what -- guess what they're doing right now in pre-market trading?
BERMAN: (INAUDIBLE).
ROMANS: They're up 20 percent. So if you're an investor in Monster, you're just going to see a little pop. A little energized pop in your pop this morning.
BERMAN: Monster gains, you might say.
ROMANS: Monster gains. Twenty percent. That's a big move.
BERMAN: Were you concerned I was coming in to your shot there a little bit?
ROMANS: You did -- well, I -- I saw your forehead kept coming in while you were deeply -- deeply --
BERMAN: She's pushy. She's going, go, go, go. That's what she's saying the whole time. All right.
ROMANS: Get out of my camera.
BERMAN: For our viewers around the world, "CNN NEWSROOM" is next.
For those of you here in the U.S., EARLY START continues right now.
