Return to Transcripts main page
Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Ohio High School Shooter Escapes; John Kerry Travels the Middle East; Oscar Pistorius Verdict
Aired September 12, 2014 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news this morning. Prison break. A notorious teenage killer and school shooter escapes. A statewide manhunt put into effect. How did someone convicted of killing three school classmates managed get out in the first place? New developments overnight.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news. Oscar Pistorius guilty of culpable homicide. That is in the shooting death of his girlfriend. So will the Olympic hero now go to prison? We are live in South Africa with what comes next.
ROMANS: Happening now. Hunting ISIS in Syria. Surveillance flights now tracking these terrorists as we've learned the organization may have tripled in size. We have the very latest on that.
BERMAN: Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.
ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. It's 31 minutes past the hour.
BERMAN: A whole lot happened overnight.
Breaking news, a teenage killer who escaped prison over night is back behind bars in Ohio. We are talking about 19-year-old T.J. Lane. He was captured hours after a prison break last night.
Now you remember him, he is serving three life terms for the 2012 murders of three students at a high school there. Remember the smirk that he wore in that courtroom during the trial. He broke out of Allen Oakwood Correctional Center in Lima overnight along with two other inmates. One of them has also been recaptured already.
I want to bring in Ted Rowlands live on the phone on his way to Lima.
Ted, a lot of people asking right now, how, how a school shooter serving three life sentences, how on earth does he break free?
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via phone): Yes, and how on earth was he in a medium to minimum security facility? That is something that the warden has said they're going to be looking into.
Lane actually didn't get very far. He was captured 100 yards away from the main perimeter fence of the facility. And they knew about his escape relatively quickly after he scaled a fence, apparently, and they were able to set up a law enforcement perimeter. So his movement was limited. They ended up getting him with a helicopter equipped with infrared capability. But you can imagine -- I mean, he was out for six hours, you can imagine what was going on at Chardon and at Chardon High School.
They've canceled classes at all Chardon schools for today so that people can spend time with their families because this just brought up all of the old wounds. And you can imagine the anxiety that they went through in that community overnight and with the people in the community near the prison here in Lima went through as well. But again, the headline is that they do have him in custody, but a lot of questions need to be answered as they follow up on this.
BERMAN: And think about the fear you're mentioning right there in that community. Closing schools with unrepentant school shooter on the loose. At least for a short time.
Ted, what else do we know about the two other men? Namely is there anyone still on the loose right now?
ROWLANDS: One more individual on the loose. A 45-year-old male. The other prisoner that escaped was caught first before Lane and he was caught within an hour of the original escape. And we don't know exactly how they got over the fence. If they were working together. All of that still hasn't been disclosed by the prison. They did hold a short press conference after the capture of Lane. But we're expected to get more information after they've captured -- they are very confident they will capture the third inmate.
BERMAN: We will bring you that news conference when we do get more information from the scene.
Thanks so much to Ted Rowlands headed their right now to find out what he can.
ROMANS: More breaking news this morning. Oscar Pistorius guilty of culpable homicide for killing his model girlfriend. Now prosecutors try to get bail revoked for Pistorius. A judge in Pretoria already clearing him of the most serious charge. She ruled yesterday the prosecution failed to prove premeditated murder. Pistorius also found guilty of one of three gun charges against him.
We're going to have our Kelly Phelps live from South Africa with more on this stunning verdict in about 10 minutes.
BERMAN: All right. Listen to this. ISIS has as many as three times more fighters than previously thought. That bombshell now from the CIA which reports that stronger recruiting for the terrorist group is the cause for rapid growth from about 10,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria to as many as 31,000 now.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State John Kerry's swing through the Middle East is having some success. Ten Arab nations have signed on to fight is issuing a joint statement Thursday vowing to do their share. The secretary insists the clash with ISIS is not a war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: I think that's the wrong terminology. What we are doing is engaging in a various significant counterterrorism operation. And it's going to go on for some period of time. If somebody wants to think about it as being a war with ISIL, they can do so. But the fact is, it's a major counterterrorism operation that will have many different moving parts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: CNN's Ivan Watson has been watching the secretary's trip through the Middle East.
You know, before we said he had some success gathering support for Middle Eastern allies. But in that region it is not purely smooth sailing right now, is it, Ivan?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's not, and he's traveling today to Turkey, which you think would be an ally of the U.S. It's a member of the NATO military alliance. But Turkey has not spoken out in support of President Obama's campaign against ISIS yet, unlike 10 other Arab countries that have stepped forward and Washington will need Turkey's help because this country borders both Iraq and Syria.
It is basically -- has been an underground railroad for thousands of jihadis traveling from North Africa and from Europe to get into Syria to join ISIS. In the past, Turkey has allowed its air bases to be used by U.S. war planes that have conducted operations in the Middle East. As far as we know, it has not allowed that to be repeated in this case yet.
So John Kerry is going to need Turkey's support. But again, the Turks have not stepped forward to help their American allies. And that may be in part because ISIS was very clever back in June when they mounted their surprise attack, captured the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.
John, they also captured the entire Turkish consulate in Mosul. Capturing its consulate general and nearly 50 other diplomats and security forces and family members. The Turks are terrified that if they come out visibly in support of the U.S. and its anti-ISIS campaign, that those diplomats, those civilians could also be beheaded like those poor American journalists -- John.
BERMAN: Serious mitigating considerations for Turkey and some of the other nation in that region.
Ivan Watson, thanks so much.
ROMANS: Embarrassed and appalled by the U.S. government. Those are the words from the mother of James Foley, one of the two American journalists beheaded by ISIS. Diane Foley insisting officials in Washington did not do enough to rescue her son while he was in captivity.
She tells CNN's Anderson Cooper, her efforts to get her son freed were viewed as an annoyance by the U.S. government and she says the FBI were coming to her for information about her son.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR, AC 360: There was a rescue effort apparently made.
DIANE FOLEY, JAMES FOLEY'S MOTHER: Yes. Late. Very late. Yes.
COOPER: You wish it had been sooner?
FOLEY: We feel that the location -- their location was known for more than a year.
COOPER: It was?
FOLEY: Yes. They had been moved a couple of times. That's true. When there was a movement of ISIS from Aleppo to Raqqah. There were several moves in that transition. But there was also two times when they were at a location that we were aware of for months.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Diane Foley went on to tell Anderson officials in Washington threatened her with prosecution if she tried to raise ransom money to free her son. U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice defended the government's work in the Foley case telling CNN she and government officials, quote, "work very hard" to try to be supportive to try to provide what information she could.
Diane Foley has launched a foundation to save others from the trauma she experienced. She says the James Foley Legacy Fund will help other journalists reporting from conflict zones and help their families, too.
BERMAN: 39 minutes after the hour right now. Dramatic videos, severe storms flooding the south. The threat not over yet. Indra Petersons is tracking this one. We'll have that right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: All right. This morning, ESPN is reporting that Ray Rice told NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell when they met in June that he punched his then fiancee in a hotel elevator. That contradicts what Goodell has been saying that he only learned what happened after seeing the video this week and that his June meeting with Rice was, quote, "ambiguous" concerning details.
Goodell is under fire for his handling of the case. He has appointed former FBI director Robert Mueller to conduct an independent investigation. Despite accusations that the NFL commissioner knew more about the tape than he's letting on, the Baltimore Ravens owner is defending the commissioner.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE BISCIOTTI, BALTIMORE RAVENS OWNER: I believe Roger when he says he never saw it. If the allegation is true that it got to the league office, then somebody was negligent in not getting that to Roger. I've known Roger for 14 years. He's dedicated his life to the NFL and as a man, I can't believe that he saw that video and gave a two-game suspension.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Remember, the commissioner works for and with the team owners there.
Meantime, CBS and the NFL Network dropped a Rihanna performance from this Thursday night football pregame show. The pop star was herself a victim of domestic violence. As for the game, the Ravens beat the Steelers, 26-6.
ROMANS: Despite the controversy around Ray Rice, the NFL making more money than ever. The league made $10.5 billion in 2013. That number will rise this year. The NFL has already locked in broadcast rights fees of about $5 billion for the year. That's almost $1 billion more than last year. Additionally DirecTV pays $1 billion a year to show out of market gains nationwide.
All that money works in favor of Roger Goodell. He oversaw the negotiations with the networks. NFL games consistently have some of the best ratings on television. Advertisers love them because fans are likely to watch them live. Fans don't skip commercials.
Time now for an EARLY START of your money. U.S. stock futures pointing slight lower this morning. European stocks mostly lower as well.
Amazing when you look at the money. Huge. When -- just to follow the money.
BERMAN: NFL's prince catch in the back grove.
ROMANS: Absolutely.
BERMAN: I mean, they make a fortune.
ROMANS: Absolutely.
All right. Take a look at the massive flooding in Memphis, Tennessee. Rescuers freeing this man from the sinking car. There's just seconds to spare here for this guy as he gets out through the window. An entire neighborhood north of downtown had to be evacuated. 4.4 inches of rain at Memphis International Airport. More than doubling the previous record set way back in 1965.
BERMAN: You remember that.
ROMANS: Yes, I remember that clearly.
A flashflood watch for the area remains in effect through tonight.
You were talking about -- you were talking the Boston Red Sox in 1950s.
BERMAN: I've read about that in the history books.
ROMANS: Yes.
BERMAN: You lived through the flooding.
(LAUGHTER)
BERMAN: Record rainfall also rocking Mississippi. There is a state of emergency declared in Desoto County, three hours north of Jackson. Seven inches of rain falling in four days.
ROMANS: Wow.
BERMAN: That triggered rescue after rescue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm just thankful that they came and got us out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have people running around, knocking on doors, getting dogs out. Couches were floating in the bottom floor apartments. I mean, it was bad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: What will happen today? What will happened this weekend?
ROMANS: Indra knows.
BERMAN: Indra knows.
Indra Petersons is here with the forecast.
INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I wish I could say there were no showers but it's not exactly the case.
I do want to remind everyone, you may have heard a couple of days ago there was this solar flare that was bringing a geomagnetic storm to earth. Yes, but there's going to be radio waves out there today but there is a plus side. You can actually see the northern lights way down low. I mean, you're talking from Pennsylvania even all the way back through Oregon, there is going to be a chance.
Everyone asking where's the clouds. Remember, if there's clouds, it's going to be tougher to see those tonight. So keep in mind, we want to know where the rain is every day. Well, today in the southeast, no, you're not going to see the northern lights there but that is where we're going to see the concentration of the scattered showers especially around the Carolinas. That kind of that bull's-eye, that short wave that we saw the energy just yesterday. So watch out for that.
Meanwhile, by tomorrow, definitely more difficult to see those northern lights into the northeast because you're going to get showers, northeast all the way down even into the southeast. So Saturday not a pretty day for the eastern half of the country. By Sunday, though, it does get better. Still unfortunately in the southeast, you're still talking about being rained out almost all weekend long there.
Temperature wise, look at that cool air still filtering. We're talking about 40s and even New York City maybe out towards D.C. today, talking about a good 15-degree temperature drop out towards the mid- Atlantic. Watch out for that. It's only going to continue to see those temperatures go down into the northeast as we head through the weekend. Just want to tell you real quickly, all the way in Atlantic, yes, there is another storm. Edward is out there. But looks like for now the models are curving it out to sea even east of Bermudas. We hope it stays that way.
ROMANS: Edward. OK. Thank you.
Oscar Pistorius guilty of culpable homicide in the death of his model girlfriend. Will he go to prison? We're live in South Africa with the very latest ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: All right. Breaking news this morning. A little more than an hour or two ago, Oscar Pistorius found guilty of culpable homicide. What's happening right now, prosecutors are asking the judge to revoke his bail.
Kelly Phelps is live from Pretoria this morning.
And Kelly, we understand that as of this moment, Pistorius is behind bars, but that could change very soon.
KELLY PHELPS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Absolutely. And that's correct because his conditions have materially changed now. He has now been convicted of two offenses and that means that the bail conditions that previously applied to him applied to him in the context of him being an innocent man until he was proven guilty. He has now been proven guilty and therefore bail needs to be determined afresh. And until that determination has been made it is correct that he's held in a holding cell in the court.
BERMAN: It would be unusual, perhaps, if they revoked bail given that they let him walk free when he was charged with premeditated murder.
But let's -- let's now talk about the charges he has been found guilty of. Culpable homicide. What possible prison term might he face for that? When will he learn that fate?
PHELPS: Well, culpable homicide is subject to discretionary sentencing. So the judge has a very large spectrum of sentences available to her that she must interpret and apply in accordance with recognized sentencing principle and practice. And that can end up in a very severe sentence in prison. For example, another case of culpable homicide when 10 school children were killed resulted in an eight-year term. But equally if often ends up with an entirely suspended sentence and no time in prison. And we will find that out at the sentencing hearing which is separate to the trial.
BERMAN: And Kelly, this has been a long process listening to the judge issue the verdict over the last day and a half. Any hints perhaps from her demeanor or her word choice or how she's behaved toward Oscar Pistorius whether she might be inclined to issue a stiffer sentence?
PHELPS: No. We don't -- we cannot draw that kind of conclusion yet. And the reason I say that is that sentencing is a much broader inquiry than the inquiry into verdict during trial. And there's a much a broader range of evidence that is considered to be relevant to the determination of sentence that is yet to be put before the judge because she will only engage with that at the sentencing hearing.
So while we certainly got a clear indication yesterday that she was thoroughly unimpressed with Mr. Pistorius as a witness during the trial, that is not the basis on which she needs to issue his sentencing decision. So we simply don't know until we've seen all of the mitigating and aggravating factors put forward by either side.
BERMAN: I have to say the system is much, much different than we're used to here in the United States. That's why it's so great to have you to provide this analysis.
Kelly Phelps in Pretoria, thank you so much.
ROMANS: All right. A major U.S. company agreeing to a multimillion dollar fine for bribing Russian government officials. An EARLY START on your money next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Time for an EARLY START on your money Friday edition. Stocks around the world mostly down this morning. European shares lower as well. U.S. stock futures pointing down. Not a great end to a mediocre week. But folks, stocks still very near record highs. The Dow and the S&P 500 both down less than 1 percent from all-time peaks.
Hewlett-Packard in trouble for bribing Russia. A judge ordered HP to pay almost $60 million for bribing government officials in Moscow. According to the plea bargain the company paid off the -- paid off the prosecutor general's office to win a big contract. HP used money set aside in a secret slush fund. The company also pleaded guilty to paying bribes in Mexico and Poland.
It's a reminder about transparency and competitiveness and that some countries have a much better systems to do business than others.
BERMAN: Interesting indeed.
All right. Thanks for watching. Enjoy your weekend. "NEW DAY" starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: T.J. Lane and two other inmates escaped from the Allen Correctional Facility.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight. A notorious school shooter escapes from prison. A massive manhunt to capture him. He infamously smiled when sentenced for killing three. How did he get out?
MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Also breaking. Oscar Pistorius found guilty of culpable homicide in the killing of his girlfriend but cleared of premeditated murder. How much time will he serve?
CUOMO: Happening now, the U.S. flying surveillance flights directly over Syria. Scoping out potential ISIS targets. This, as CNN learns ISIS' fighting force may be twice the size previously thought. We are live with the latest.
Your NEW DAY starts right now.
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY, with Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan and Michaela Pereira.
CUOMO: Good morning, welcome to NEW DAY, it is Friday, September 12th, 6:00 in the East. Michaela and I clearly here at the helm. Kate under the weather today.
PEREIRA: No -- and don't anybody panic, it's not the baby. Yes, she was feeling a little ill this morning so she's at home resting.
CUOMO: True. True. That -- we don't have that breaking news.
PEREIRA: No. Not yet.
CUOMO: But we do have a lot of other breaking news.
