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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Giants and Royals to Battle in World Series; Pistorius Gets Five Years for Homicide; Isolation Ends for Dozens in Dallas; Kidnapped School Girls to be Released?
Aired October 21, 2014 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDY SCHOLES, THE BLEACHER REPORT: Christine, they are. You know, you walk around Kansas City and you can feel the excitement. Royals have waited a long time for this. They have not been in the World Series since 1985. With that drought, it ends here tonight.
Now the fans, they've got a lot to cheer about during this playoff run the team is on right now. The Royals have won eight straight games to start the post season. No team has ever done that before.
Now their opponents, the Giants, well, they're unlike the Royals in the fact that they are used to the trips to the fall classic. They're looking to win their third World Series in the past five years. But will they be able to stop the Royals' magical run? Well, the fans here in Kansas City certainly hope not because they have waited a very long time for this moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You hope for this day to come. You wait and you wait and you wait, in 29 years and now it's here, you're like, you know, it paid off.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have been here all of my life. Season tickets with my dad. Unbelievable. 1985 was awesome. 2014, again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: Kaufman Stadium is going to be rocking here tonight for game one. First pitch set for a little after 8:00 p.m. Eastern tonight.
All right. Monday Night Football and my Houston Texans facing off against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Texas jumped out to a quick 13-0 lead, but then had an epic and I mean epic collapse. In the final three minutes of the second quarter, they gave up 24 points.
BERMAN: What?
SCHOLES: That's right. Three minutes, they gave up 24 points. It was unreal. The Steelers won the game. 30-23.
All right. Enough about that. Back out here to Kansas City. Of course, I got to tell you, guys, everyone is so excited about this game tonight. Ticket prices are going through the roof. A standing room only ticket to get into the Kauffman Stadium tonight. It's going for more than $580. No one wants to miss out on tonight's game one. 29 years in the making.
ROMANS: Wow. 29 years. Have fun, Andy.
BERMAN: Yes. Have a great time.
ROMANS: We'll talk to you tomorrow morning.
All right. Breaking news this morning. The blade runner sentenced to five years in prison. Five years for Oscar Pistorius. We are live from outside the courthouse.
BERMAN: And the CDC issuing new guidelines in the fight against Ebola as dozens of quarantined people breathe a sigh of relief this morning. So what is next? Straight ahead.
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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
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JUDGE THOKOZILE MASIPA, PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA: Culpable homicide. The sentence imposed is a maximum imprisonment of five years.
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BERMAN: Five years in prison. That was the sentence. That was the Judge Masipa in Pretoria delivering the sentence. Oscar Pistorius sentenced to five years in prison just a short time ago for culpable homicide which in the U.S. justice system is something like manslaughter. He was sentenced to that for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day 2013.
Now Oscar Pistorius also was sentenced to three years on a firearm charge, but that sentence was suspended. So the headline here, sentenced to five years, although not guaranteed he will serve the full five years.
We have a lot of questions about this and about what happened today. We will take you to South Africa for some deep analysis in just a few minutes.
Meanwhile, there are and new guidelines this morning in the fight against Ebola. The CDC, which has taken a beating in recent days over its handling of the Ebola crisis, announced new guidelines for healthcare workers.
The guidelines focus on personal protective equipment or PPE. Advising more and better hands-on training. Protective equipment worn so no skin is exposed and health care workers are advised to partner up so someone observes every step involved in putting on and taking off any kind of protective gear.
The new guidelines are out as monitoring ends for dozens of people who had contact with the first Ebola patient in Dallas, Thomas Eric Duncan. CNN's Alina Machado is -- is in Dallas with more on that part of the
story.
ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine and John, the number of people who are being monitored is expected to decrease as more people reach the end of their 21-day monitoring period without showing symptoms. So far at least 43 people have been cleared here in Dallas County. These are people who had direct contact with Thomas Eric Duncan before he died, and this group includes five children who will be returning to school today for the first time in weeks.
There is some concern, though, here about how these children are going to be received, especially those who are related to Louise Troh, Duncan's fiancee. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDGE CLAY JENKINS, DALLAS COUNTY: As a parent, I'm extremely concerned for Louise's middle-school son. Middle schoolers are some of the most ferocious and scary animals on the planet. And to be dropped into a pool of middle schoolers after all that he's been through, I need your help, parents. I need your help to treat that young man with the kind of love you'd want your own child treated with.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACHADO: We are expecting Dallas County officials to give us an update later this morning on the people who are still being monitored -- Christine and John.
ROMANS: All right. Alina Machado, thank you for that.
Thirty-eight minutes past the hour. Time for an EARLY START on your money this Tuesday morning. Looking at Asian shares they closed lower. Chinese GDP rose 7.3 percent.
Hey, that sounds great, right? Well, it's -- you know, the weakest in almost six years. European shares are higher. U.S. stock futures are barely budging so far. The market trying to return to calm at least for now after a really loud week last week.
One stock to watch this morning is Apple. Shares are up about 2 percent. Apple sold 39 million iPhones last quarter. That includes two weeks of iPhone 6 and 6 Plus sales. Apple expecting sales to spike again during the holiday season.
But not every category wowed. Apple sold 12.3 million iPads. That's down 13 percent from last year.
BERMAN: Wow.
ROMANS: It's the third quarter in a row of shrinking tablet sales for Apple.
BERMAN: We'll see if the new release coming up. ROMANS: Yes.
BERMAN: You know, in the next months makes any big difference there.
Thirty-nine minutes after the hour. The breaking news this morning. Oscar Pistorius sentenced to five years in prison, but the question is, how much time behind bars will he actually serve? That is just one of the questions we want answered when we're live outside the courthouse when we come back.
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BERMAN: Olympian Oscar Pistorius sentenced just a short while ago to five years in prison for culpable homicide in the shooting death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. The Steenkamp family is expected to hold a news conference within the hour. Prosecutors, their office says it is disappointed in the verdict and might appeal the judge's sentence.
Our legal analyst Kelly Phelps is standing by live in Pretoria for us.
And Kelly, you watched that verdict. We all did. It was sort of stunning in how stoic this seemed was at the time. What do you make of this judge's commitment to as she says balance?
KELLY PHELPS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, I think the verdict was quite remarkable in many respects. You can tell that she has the prospects of an appeal weighing very heavily on her because she was at pain to explain in great detail, in great length the reasoning behind the verdict that she -- the sentenced that she ended up issuing.
And I do think to a large extent she will have made it quite difficult for either side to appeal this judgment. And that was because she placed it in the context of how broad the spectrum of what is considered an appropriate sentence is. And it is only a sentence that is shockingly inappropriate that is then ripe for appeal.
So I think she did a good job in balancing a lot of competing interest, a lot of public pressure and remaining as she has done throughout this trial focused very squarely on the principles of law that are guiding her.
BERMAN: And, Kelly, five years in prison in this case doesn't necessarily mean that Oscar Pistorius will serve five years in prison, does it?
PHELPS: That is absolutely correct. It was issued and a portion of the Criminal Procedure Act that gives the commissioner of Correctional Services, who we saw testifying in this hearing, the discretion to convert the sentence of imprisonment into correctional supervision once he has served at least one-sixth of that sentence. So in other words, after about 10 months, he would be eligible to be -- to have the sentence converted to correctional supervision.
But that is solely in the discretion of the commissioner. It's not necessarily an automatic occurrence. BERMAN: Yes. But a minimum now of 10 months, a maximum of five years
in prison for Oscar Pistorius. We await official word from both the prosecution and defense on whether they will appeal and also we expect to hear from the Steenkamp family as well. Kelly Phelps, thanks so much for being with us from Pretoria.
ROMANS: A lawyer for the Steenkamp family saying justice has been served. We want to hear directly from the Steenkamps. They should be holding a news availability this morning.
All right. Let's take a look at what's coming up on "NEW DAY." Alisyn Camerota joins us this morning.
Hi, Alisyn.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, good morning, guys. Great to see you. So we also will be following that breaking news. Oscar Pistorius has been sentenced to five years in prison for killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Does that punishment fit the crime? And what about that appeal? We'll have a live report from South Africa at the top of the hour.
And we'll look at those new CDC guidelines for hospital workers to follow when handling Ebola patients. What has changed exactly? And will these be enough to keep workers safe from exposure?
So we will talk to the World Health Organization. That has taken a lot of criticism during this crisis. Plus a former surgeon general and our own Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
So all of that and more at the top of the hour when Chris, Michaela and I see you.
ROMANS: All right.
CAMEROTA: Back to you, guys.
ROMANS: Can't wait. Thanks, Alisyn.
Also this morning, Nigeria says it has negotiated a cease-fire with Boko Haram and more than 200 kidnapped school girls will be set free. But why has the militant group Boko Haram refusing to confirm this deal? All the details straight ahead.
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BERMAN: The Nigerian government insists that more than 200 kidnapped school girls could be released this week. After Nigerian officials allegedly signed a cease-fire deal with the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram. But the terror group is not commenting on the supposed deal and even launched bloody attacks on two villages last weekend.
Now government officials in Nigeria say they will continue negotiations with Boko Haram despite the apparent cease-fire breach if there ever was a cease-fire to begin with. Standing by live in the Nigerian capital Abuja, CNN's Isha Sesay.
And, Isha, you know, what's the situation there?
ISHA SESAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, John. Well, despite the ongoing attacks that you just referenced there, speaking to a senior Nigerian government official, they are moving towards a deal. A deal that would secure the release of these 219 missing school girls. Talks underway as we are told in nearby Chad and they are still thrashing out the details of any final deal.
But this Nigerian official keen to street this, John, that they are willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that the girls are returned home to their loved ones. Going so far as to being quite specific on our air yesterday, saying the girls will be back this week. This is what we are learning from the senior official that the girls will be returned soon.
Of course, as you can imagine here on the ground in Nigeria, a great amount of anxiety from those who've been involved in efforts to have the girls returned, the Bring Back Our Girls campaign. They say they are greeting all of this, watching all of this with cautious optimism -- John.
BERMAN: I think caution is the key word there. To a certain extent, it's not up to the Nigerian government if Boko Haram does not agree to it and does not abide by whatever deal is supposedly met.
Our Isha Sesay for us on the ground in Abuja, thanks so much.
ROMANS: All right. The next package you send or receive could cost you more. Wait, gas prices are going down. So why is it going to cost more to send a package? We're going to answer that question in an EARLY START on your money next.
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ROMANS: It is 5:56 a.m. in the East. Let's get an EARLY START on your money this morning.
U.S. stock futures slightly higher. The market trying to return to calm at least for now. Apple shares are up about 2 percent before the opening bell. Apple sold 39 million iPhones last quarter.
Chipotle shares are down more than 4 percent right now. The fast casual chain reported growing sales in profit but it warned of higher food costs. Chipotle's CEO said millennials, they are looking for food like Chipotle offers and they're shunning traditional fast food. That trend has been true for McDonald's lately.
We're going to hear from McDonald's later this morning.
Faulty airbags may be deadly. Reports this morning that police are investigating a woman's death after a car accident. She was found with a stab like wounds to her neck which may have been caused by exploding airbag. Her Honda Accord is one of 7.9 million cars recalled for having flawed Takata airbags. Federal safety regulators are now stepping up efforts to get owners to bring in any affected cars.
Sending packages through UPS is getting more expensive. UPS will increase rates for services in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico by an average of 4.9 percent. That hike will take effect on December 29th. It won't be applied to holiday shipping fortunately.
UPS will also start charging for shipping based on size and weight of the package, not just the weight of the package.
Rival FedEx had similar changes last month. Those take effect in January. This rate hike, by the way, comes as fuel prices have been declining. So that must be for profits.
BERMAN: Size and shape, you said peculiar-shaped packages.
ROMANS: A very -- yes. Not just -- not just the weight. The size and the weight.
BERMAN: Interesting.
All right. There is a lot of news this morning. Breaking news out of South Africa. Oscar Pistorius sentenced to five years in prison. Will he serve that long, though?
Also the CDC issuing brand new guidelines in the battle against Ebola.
A lot to cover. "NEW DAY" has that starting right now.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news, Oscar Pistorius sentenced for killing his girlfriend. Five years in prison. And get this, he may only have to serve 10 months.
The question, was this justice?
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: And breaking overnight. The CDC releasing brand new guidelines for health care workers. Could they have prevented the infections in Dallas? This as more nurses speak out what they're saying about their hospital.
MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Passing grace. Oscar de la Renta who designed dressed for the world's biggest stars and America's first ladies has died. We look back at the man who redefined the red carpet.
CUOMO: Your NEW DAY starts right now.
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY, with Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan and Michaela Pereira.
CUOMO: Good morning to you. Welcome to NEW DAY. It's Tuesday, October 21st 6:00 in the East. I'm Chris Cuomo along with Alisyn Camerota.
CAMEROTA: Great to be with you. CUOMO: Always. Always.
We begin with breaking news. Oscar Pistorius has lost fans, sponsorships and now he will lose his freedom, but not for as long as many might think.
Less than an hour ago a judge in South Africa sentenced the blade runner to five years for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013.
CAMEROTA: Last month, Pistorius was convicted of culpable homicide, dodging a murder rap. All along he maintained his innocence, claiming he shot Reeva after mistaking her for an intruder.
So let's go live to Robyn Curnow in Pretoria with the very latest.
How is the response there, Robyn?
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I was inside court. And I've been in court every day for the past few months. And it's been -- hasn't it -- such a dramatic, convoluted, drawn-out delayed process but today when Oscar Pistorius was made to stand up and the judge delivered that judgment, absolutely no emotion. No gasps of relief or shock.
