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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Report: Missouri Teen Shot by Officer; Christmas Storm Nightmare; President George H.W. Bush Hospitalized; Tributes Grow to Slain NYPD Officers; NY Congressman Pleads To Tax Evasion

Aired December 24, 2014 - 04:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Deadly tornadoes. At least four people killed when vicious storms rip through the south. This ugly storm system is hitting during one of the busiest travel times of the year. We have what you need to know this morning.

Breaking news: President George H.W. Bush hospitalized overnight. The 41st president being treated for shortness of breath. Details ahead.

Tributes and protests. Demonstrators ignore Mayor de Blasio's requests as New York police officers who are killed are memorialized.

Good morning, and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans. John Berman has the week off. It is Wednesday, December 24th, Christmas Eve. It is 4:00 a.m. in the East.

Breaking overnight: Police in Berkeley, Missouri, right near Ferguson, Missouri, say that one of the department's officers shot and killed a black teenager at a gas station after the man aimed a handgun at the officer. Now, this was just after 11:00 p.m. Central Time. "The St. Louis Post-Dispatch" reports the victim is 18-year-old Antonio Martin identified by his mother Toni Martin. We will bring you details.

Fierce weather ushering in a holiday travel system this morning. A line of severe thunderstorms spawning deadly, deadly tornadoes on the Gulf Coast. One twister ripped through Amite, Louisiana, damaging several homes, knocking down trees and power lines. No injuries reported there, thankfully.

But this tornado system that tore through Marion County, Mississippi, killed two people. Two more in nearby Jones County. Another tornado tore the roof off this day care center in Mississippi. Luckily, all 35 children and seven staffers at that center were unharmed. They were moved to a nearby bank for safety.

Mississippi's governor declaring a state of emergency in the wake of these storms. And all that, just the beginning of the weather trouble for holiday travelers.

CNN meteorologist Ivan Cabrera joins us with the latest on this storm system and his Christmas forecast.

Good morning and merry Christmas Eve, Ivan. IVAN CABRERA, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, merry Christmas Eve.

Incredible here that we're talking yet another storm, one of our busy travel week since Thanksgiving.

I'll say this, Christine, I think what's going to happen today is we're going back to what is supposed to be, a nuisance storm. It's going to delay us at the airport. It's going to make for slow travel across the roads but it is not going to be as life-threatening as it was for good friends in Louisiana and Mississippi.

We still have this hour have a tornado watch spots for the southern part of Georgia and panhandle of Florida. I think severe wind threat early this morning, certainly possibly. But that will diminish as we head through the next several hours, and which is really going to be looking at a big heavy rain event here with gusty winds to boot. In fact, we have flood watches that are still posted for most of Georgia, almost here, and parts of Alabama as well and northern Florida. That's part of the storm here, but that's all going to be rushing up north and east. We'll show you those watches in a second here.

But look at Tallahassee, water rescues yesterday, unbelievable, 7.44 inches they've never accumulated that amount of rain on December 23rd as they did on yesterday. But at this point, conditions beginning to improve there, then the rest of us across the western seaboard will now be getting in on the storm. That means heavy rain, gusty winds, yes, for the big cities, for the big airports, and I think we're looking generally at 60 to 90-minute delays at the big airports. And snow at the backside of the storm system, Christine, that will bring 3 to 5 inches of white Christmas for Chicago.

ROMANS: All right. Well, good for Chicago. Meanwhile, I'm going to get out my umbrella.

Thank you so much, Ivan. We'll talk to you again soon.

All right. Three minutes past the hour.

Breaking news overnight, former President George H.W. Bush has been taken to the hospital complaining of shortness of breath. A statement from the office says the 90-year-old's trip to Houston Medical Hospital purely precautionary. Bush was hospitalized two years ago for bronchitis. Dr. Devi Nampiaparampil of NYU School of Medicine says doctors will be taking a close look at the former president's heart and lungs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. DEVI NAMPIAPARAMPIL, NYU SCHOOL OF MEDICINE (via telephone): At the age of 90, I mean, the thing that we would be most concerned about in general is heart disease. Is it a sign of a heart attack? Is it something else that's going on with the heart?

If it's somebody that's had bronchitis before, you might wonder, well, could there be something happening with the lungs? You know, could this be something related to asthma? Or anything along those lines. So, you always check the heart and lungs. You check what is most dangerous first. But at the same time, this president has been in very good health, you know, in general, compared to a lot of people his age.

But it could be something that is not necessarily a danger. People have a lot of heavy meals, right, for the holiday problems for the holiday season. Sometimes, you have reflux or have other things that trigger a call or might cause some shortness of breath.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: A White House spokesman said that President Obama has been made aware of the elder Bush's hospitalization, adding that the Obamas send the ex-president, the former president and his family their good wishes.

Turning now to New York, still a city in turmoil, caught on one side between continuing anger over police violence as protesters jammed the sidewalks chanting against what they call racist cops. And the other side, mourning over the murder of two police officers with tributes across the city, to Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu.

Mayor Bill de Blasio leading a moment of silence at city hall in honor of the fallen police officers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK: I want to ask everyone assembled here, and everyone who is watching and listening all throughout New York City, all throughout our nation, to now bow other heads in memory of Officer Ramos and Officer Liu.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: CNN's Martin Savidge is at Brooklyn for us at the site of the memorial to the slain NYPD officers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine.

The tributes and the memorial here continue to grow as people are drawn as they have been for the past several days. Last night, there was another tribute that was done. This one involving lights in the city of New York. City hall had requested that public buildings as well as landmarks dim their lights for five minutes from 9:00 to 9:05 as part of a tribute to those officers that were killed here in Brooklyn.

It was actually 24 hours of tributes. Earlier in the day, the mayor, Mayor de Blasio, and his wife came to his site here. It was an unannounced visit. They spent some time.

And later in the day, the mayor held a moment of silence at city hall. There's also a moment of silence here as a number of officers that

were gathered and the public, again, took part. The funeral for the first officer, that's Officer Rafael Ramos, is going to be held this weekend. The White House has already announced that vice president will be here. And it's also announced that the mayor of New York will also be attending, that despite the calls by some saying that he should stay away given the divide that's been noted between the police department and the mayor's office.

But those political experts and those in law enforcement that I talked to said it would be unheard if the mayor didn't attend. It is bound to be a very emotional time -- Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Sure is. Thanks for that, Martin.

Now, despite calls by New York's mayor for a halt to demonstrations until after funeral services for these two officers, protesters against police violence, they took to the streets of New York again last night, ignoring that request from Bill de Blasio, the mayor.

CNN's Miguel Marquez was right in the middle of it. Here's his report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine, we're in middle of Lexington, 116th Street. The crowd here, 700 strong. It's gotten to be more vociferous throughout the night. It started in the middle of the shopping district near down Fifth Avenue as shoppers on Fifth and then, Madison, and a little shocked to see them coming down the street, racism in the police, as they say. This as the mayor has asked them not to do this very thing.

These people protesters making the point that they will continue to protest. They see the shootings of these police officers here and the protests that they are conducting tonight and in previous night as two separate things. And they do not want them to -- they do not want to be quiet. They said they will not be quiet. That's why they've taken to the streets.

Police worked very hard for much of the night to keep on the sidewalks as they got farther up town. That ended. They have moved up the streets. Police have been incredibly restraintful so far, allowing them to go to the streets, blocking traffic and helping them along -- Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Miguel Marquez, thank you for that report, Miguel.

Time now for an early start on your money. Christmas is tomorrow but Santa is already here. The Dow sped past 18,000 for the first time ever, claiming 1,000 since just last week, 1,000 points since December 16th. Unbelievable.

The Dow closed up 65 points for its second record close this week, 36 records this year. The S&P also managing a record, 51, number 51 for the year. That means the S&P 500 on track for the third year in a row of double-digit percentage gains, remarkable rally. And you probably have seen it in your 401(k).

We expect markets could keep climbing. That's a read now of futures slightly higher. This market jump comes as the U.S. economy grows robustly. Yesterday, we learned that the economy grew 5 percent, an incredible rate last quarter, the fastest pace in 11 years. With the second quarter's 4.6 percent growth, that's the best two quarters since 2003, which has not gone unnoticed by consumers.

For the first time in seven years, Americans think the economy is good. A majority of Americans think the economy is good for the first time in seven years. A remarkable, remarkable turn around in sentiment, likely because of crashing gas prices. That's probably really helping how people feel about the economy right now.

President Obama is enjoying a nice bounce in the polls heading into the New Year, with the economy ticking up and the president taking decisive action on immigration and Cuba. The latest CNN/ORC poll puts his approval rating at a 20-month high.

Here are the numbers, 48 percent of Americans now approve of the president's job performance, 50 percent do not. President Obama enjoying an increased support among women, independents and millennials, a demographic that helped get him elected twice.

A former Navy SEAL who claims he killed Osama bin Laden is now under investigation. CNN has learned that the Naval Criminal Investigative Service is trying to determine whether Robert O'Neill revealed classified information. The former SEAL Team 6 member made several television appearances last month, retelling the story of Operation Spear, the incursion into Pakistan that led to bin Laden's death.

That brazen ring that involving current and former Delta Airline employees is being called a huge wake-up call for the nation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENNETH THOMPSON, KINGS COUNTY DA: Now, this scheme really poses a threat in terms of terrorism. They could put guns on the plane this time. They could have easily put a bomb on one of those planes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: This, as we're getting our first look at surveillance video, one of the subjects, that's Mark Henry, at both Atlanta's Hartsfield- Jackson Airport and JFK Airport. The Delta employee was fired in 2010 after taking at least taking 17 guns on the commercial airlines -- from Atlanta to New York City airports. Three other people are charged in the probe. A TSA spokesperson says the agency is investigating and will use the findings to improve current security processes. A collision on the tarmac at New York's LaGuardia Airport, an American

Airlines jet with 149 passengers on board, clipping wings with a Southwest Airline plane carrying 143 people. It happened Tuesday morning. The Southwest Boeing 737 sustained extensive damage to its wing tip. Nobody was injured. The FAA is investigating.

All right. The plot thickens for Sony. "The Interview" now getting its Christmas Day release after all. Why did Sony change its mind? And should theaters showing the movie be worried about threats?

And a terrifying road rage incident caught on camera. A woman hitting another car trying to force it off the road. It turns out this woman had been arrested just days earlier. Should she have even been behind the wheel?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: All right. Sony Pictures on again/off again plans to distribute this controversial movie "The Interview", well, it's on again. The comedy about an assassination attempt on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has had, let's say, a rough month, a massive cyberattack on the studio followed by threats of a possible real world attack on theaters showing the film. When major theater chains dropped the film, Sony said it had no choice to pull off from distribution. But now, a reversal and theaters set to open "The Interview" on Christmas Day.

CNN's Kyung Lah is live in Seoul with the latest.

Good morning, Kyung.

This has been quite -- this has been a Hollywood drama almost. You couldn't write this script, I don't think. Some 200 independent theaters will be showing the film now after all, why the change?

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, remember, Sony said this is something that they always planned. They always planned on getting the movie out there. But when the major theaters decided to not show it, they had to find another path.

So, this is their path according to Sony. They're going to release it to the independent films. They're planning about 200 screenings right now. It was a small faction what was originally planned on those big theaters, the 3,000 theaters that had originally planned on releasing it.

But it is still a symbolic victory. What could lie next is perhaps a screening deal, perhaps more theaters to show it. We just have to see what the rest of the week shows. Seth Rogen did immediately tweet this was a victory for freedom.

As far as the reaction here on the Korean peninsula in South Korea, it's also being cheered that they want to see this, at least the people who are defectors, who want to use it as propaganda, against North Korea. But as far as North Korea, the silence has been deafening. We've been monitoring North Korean television all day. It's been the typical propaganda fair. Films about Kim Jong-il, Kim Jng-un, about how great the regime is. Not a single mention about the Sony hack. Not a single mention about the Internet which was taken off the grid, Christine, now two days in a row -- Christine.

ROMANS: No bluster from the North Koreans on all of this. Is it possible that authorities in the United States, looking at some of these responses from North Korea over the past few days has determined that it is bluster, that there's no reason -- no safety reason why this film can't be shown?

LAH: Well, remember, you have to take North Korea with a grain of salt. They are the spoiled child of the east. They will scream, they will pout, they will throw their diapers.

The question is, is how serious is the target? Meaning, can North Korea actually launch another cyberattack? Because that's the new realm. They are sophisticated enough that they can plan the next step? That's a big concern.

After the Sony hack, you simply cannot underestimate North Korea. That is what the United States is learning, certainly, South Korea is dealing with that as well. So, that's really a very difficult dance that they have to -- that they have to move, walk -- the word is escaping me.

(LAUGHTER)

ROMANS: Lots of metaphors to choose from, spoiled child, difficult dance, choreography, a ballet. Forty-four million dollars to make that film. They hope to recoup maybe $20 million in the opening day, when they were at 3,000 theaters, now with 200. Clearly, somebody's going to lose some money on this one. But will Sony save face? That's the question.

All right. Thank you so much, Kyung Lah. We'll talk to you again very, very soon.

Authorities in Sydney, Australia, arresting two suspects on terrorism charges. One of the suspects allegedly had documents in his home detailing plans to attack government targets. Australian federal police do not believe that an attack was imminent and there's no specific threat against the prime minister or any other official. But they are beefing up security in high-visibility locations for the Christmas holidays.

The U.S. has paid $3.2 million directly to Alan Gross to settle a lawsuit by his company over his imprisonment in Cuba. The check was cut by the U.S. Agency for International Development. Gross' firm, Developmental Alternatives of Washington, D.C., had been seeking $7 million related to costs of his five-year long incarceration. The direct payment to Gross settles the company's claims.

A dramatic road rage incident caught on tape. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's pushing us off the road. Yes. She's pushing us off the road. She's coming for us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Two women in California frantically called police, reporting they were cut by the driver of a Ford Explorer.

At one point, the driver identified as Deirdre Orozco got out of her car, banging what looked like a sheriff's badge on the victim's car window. An officer came to the rescue, look at that, Orozco was arrested.

A congressman who was just reelected pleads guilty to tax fraud? Will Michael Grimm stay in office or will he be forced to resign?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: New York Congressman Michael Grimm vowing to stay in office despite pleading guilty to felony tax evasion charges Tuesday. The Republican also admitting publicly to hiring undocumented workers, lying under oath, obstructing federal and state officials.

CNN's Tom Foreman has the latest on the story from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Christine.

Congressman Grimm came out of court both chastened and defiant. Chastened in that for the very first, he's publicly saying, yes, I did something wrong, I did help falsify a tax return. This is related to a business he ran, a restaurant, where he was accused of all sorts of things, including hiring people who are here illegally, falsifying records, basically trying to hide a lot of money from the tax man.

He said that he did do that and that he was wrong. But he was defiant in this sense, once again, he echoed a theme that he's raised all along, which is that this is a political witch hunt of people just out to get him.

Listen.

REP. MICHAEL GRIMM (R), NEW YORK: I know that some of people are going to use to demonize me. They've going to use this for political purposes, like they've done for the last three years. And for every person that's made a negative comment, there have been more than tenfold that have made very positive comments, they're telling me how they're keeping me in their prayers and how they're thinking of me.

FOREMAN: He won't be sentenced for several months now. He could get up to 30 months. He may get no time at all, it's all up to the judge, we'll have to stay about that. But the big question is, will he remain in Congress? And right now,

he is saying, yes, he will. There is a lot of pressure on Republicans, certainly from the Democratic there is, for him to be taken out of office and for him not take his seat again.

But he's saying he's going to. He also says he's spoken to the leadership, to John Boehner's office, won't talk about what they said, but that he's going to stay in that office. So, that theme has not changed all along. He's always said he was elected unanimously by the people there in New York. And that he intends to fulfill the office that they elected him to. That is not going to change at all despite his guilty plea -- Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Tom Foreman for that in Washington, thank you, Tom.

A major change in the rules governing blood donations could add hundreds of thousands of pints to the blood supply every year. The FDA plans to lift the ban on gay men giving blood. The new rule let them donate one year after their last sexual contact. Some critics say that the waiting period is still discriminatory and it's too long because a test can detect HIV within weeks. The ban went in effect in 1983, in the early days of the AIDS epidemic.

Here's something you don't often see a reporter getting high on TV.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Burning behind me is 8 1/2 tons of heroine, opium, hashish and other narcotics.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The BBC's Quentin Sommerville, he just -- he couldn't keep it together while reporting on a pile of burning narcotics. Apparently, he got a contact high, and he got a complete giggle fit from it. Wow.

All right. Twenty-five minutes past the hour.

Deadly storms wreaking havoc across the country. Find out how this nasty weather will affect your travel plans for the Christmas holiday.

A record setting day for Wall Street, folks. The Dow, a record high. Have you checked your 401k -- have you seen what stocks have done over the past three years? I'm going to tell you where it's going from here and what it means for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)