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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Teen Killed Near Ferguson; Christmas Storms Create Travel Mess; President George H.W. Bush Hospitalized; Tributes Grow to Slain NYPD Officers; "The Interview" Back in Theaters; Michigan to Harbaugh: Happy Birthday

Aired December 24, 2014 - 05:00   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, police shoot and kill a black teenager overnight in the town next to Ferguson, Missouri, tensions spiking yet again. We have the very latest.

Deadly tornadoes. At least four people killed when vicious storms ripped through the South. This ugly storm hitting during one of the busiest travel times of the year. We have what you need to know this morning.

Tributes and protests. Demonstrators ignore Mayor De Blasio's request and they take to the streets as the slain New York police officers are memorialized.

Good morning, welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans. John Berman has the week off. It is Wednesday, December 24th, Christmas Eve. It is 5:00 in the East.

Breaking overnight: police in Berkeley, Missouri, that's near Ferguson, they say one of the department's police officers shot and killed a teenager at a gas station after the teen aimed a handgun at police. 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.

Our affiliate there KMOV spoke with Toni Martin. She explains what her son's girlfriend told her about what happened last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TORI MARTIN, MOTHER OF VICTIM: His girlfriend told me that the police was messing with him. He was going to get up and run. He was trying to get up and run, they start shooting him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Berkeley police say St. Louis County detectives are now investigating. They say the teen drew a gun on police. But obviously, another very tense situation in light of everything we've seen over the past five months since Ferguson and Michael Brown's killing. Fierce weather ushering in a holiday travel system this morning. A

line of severe thunderstorms spawning 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

But the tornado system that tore through Marion County, Mississippi, killed two people and two more in nearby Jones County. Another tornado tore the roof off of this day care city, look at that, in Sumrall, Mississippi. There were 35 children and seven staffers at that center luckily. They were unharmed. They had been moved to a nearby bank for safety.

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

CNN meteorologist Ivan Cabrera joins us now with the latest on this storm system.

So, it didn't end last night. It's going to be awful, wet and messy today.

IVAN CABRERA, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it sure is. And unfortunately, that storm system went from nuisance to deadly and it did so very quickly yesterday. But I think we're going to transition back to nuisance here in that it is going to diminish, that severe weather threat, and in fact, that is happening as we speak.

Still, a tornado watch in effect for southern Georgia and northern Florida. But I think even that will be gone as far as the midday hours and just heavy rain event at this point here. The worst, in fact, has passed now to Atlanta. And down towards Tallahassee, better get another squall line moving through with heavy rain. They picked up 7 inches plus of rainfall yesterday, a record. They have not seen that.

So, we have more rain on the day, and now, this storm is pushing off to the north and east. And along with it will be heavy rain and very gusty winds. And so, we're going to watch that.

This thing will not get out of here until Christmas morning. And by then, we could even have light snow across extreme northern New England.

But the heaviest snow will be for Chicago. That's going to be on the back side of the storm system here. So, we're going to be talking about Chicago, picking up anywhere from three to five inches over the next 24 hours.

So slow going put we'll get through this here. Albeit, it's going to be wet and not snowing. And, of course, this time of year, we could do that as well. So --

ROMANS: We'll just take the point of view from Chicago and say it will be a nice white Christmas in Chicago. It will look beautiful. It will look beautiful there.

All right. Thank you, Ivan.

Nearly 99 million Americans expected to travel at least 50 miles for the Christmas holiday. Whether you're hitting the highway or hitting the airport, chances are you won't be arriving at your destination on time.

Let's bring in Rene Marsh monitoring the travel. She's live from Reagan National Airport.

And we've had sort of a foreshadow with the last couple of days, Rene, that this could be a messy travel time for millions of Americans.

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Right. You're absolutely right. You know, a lot of people will be driving because gas prices are as low as they are. And you just heard it, it's going to be a messy commute, it's going to be a messy ride if you're going by car.

As far as by air goes, we're going to see some delays today. We're already seeing them and it is pretty early. The national outlook, what it looks like right now, we're talking about creeping close to 2,000 delays at this hour. Again, it's still pretty early. So, all the boards like here at Reagan, they look good. I'm seeing many flights are on time.

However, you see cancellations at the obvious places like Mississippi, where those deadly tornadoes touched down yesterday. So, we see cancellations there. We're also seeing some cancellations, just a sprinkling, Maine and Indianapolis, most of that is an issue or function of heavy dense fog. So, we're having some visibility issues.

So, wide range of weather situations may mean that you're just going to have to be patient. We're also going to be watching Chicago O'Hare Airport. Looking at flight tracking Web site flightaware.com, they're seeing the most cancellations at this hour.

But according to our meteorologists here at CNN, they are going to be get something snow later on today. And if that snow happens to set up over Chicago O'Hare, that could be quite a mess. And we're going to be paying close attention to that.

But if you're one of these people on one of these early flights, you're in good shape. It's later that we're going to be paying close attention to what's happening with air travel, that day before Christmas, Christine.

ROMANS: Yes, it's always such a gamble to decide whether to stay home or go to grandma's and feel for those people who say this year I'm going to travel, and now, they could have kind of a sticky day.

Merry Christmas to you, Rene, and hopefully, everybody's not going to spend their Christmas Eve at the airport. Thank you.

There's breaking news overnight: former President George H.W. Bush has been taken to the hospital, complaining of shortness of breath. A statement from his office says the 90-year-old's trip to Houston Methodist Hospital is purely a precautionary measure. Bush was hospitalized two years ago for bronchitis, you'll recall.

A doctor at NYU School of Medicine tells us 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 things 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's not necessarily a danger. I mean, people are having 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 cough or might cause some shortness of breath.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: A White House spokesman says President Obama has been made aware of the elder Bush's hospitalization. The Obamas send the ex- 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, protesters jammed the sidewalks, chanting against what they call racist cops. On the other side, mourning, raw sadness 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 men.

(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 our heads in memory of Officer Ramos and Officer Liu.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: CNN's Martin Savidge is in Brooklyn for us. He's at the site of the memorial to the slain NYPD police 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 memorial site here. It was an unannounced visit. They spent some time.

And then 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 to say 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: Yes, very emotional. No question. Now, despite calls by the mayor, New York's mayor, for halts to demonstrations, until after the funeral services for these two officers. Protesters ignored Bill de Blasio. Protesters against police violence took to the streets of Ne York again last night.

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, several hundred 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, thanks for that, Miguel.

Time now for an early start on your money.

Merry Christmas, investors. Your Santa rally is here. The Dow above 18,000 for the first time in history, climbing 1,000

points since just last week. The Dow closed up 65 points for its second record close this week, 36th record high this year. That's just remarkable. The S&P 500 also a record 51st record for the year.

This is now the third year in a row of double-digit percentage gains for the S&P 500. And markets could keep climbing today. Right now, you can see their futures are slightly higher. The market jump came as the U.S. economy grew an incredible 5 percent last quarter. That's the fastest pace in 11 years. The second quarter was 4.6 percent growth. Making it the best two quarters since 2003.

And this has not gone unnoticed by consumers, by Americans. For the first time in seven years the majority of Americans think the economy is good. This is a remarkable turnaround, folks, a remarkable change in sentiment. Likely because of crashing gas prices where every drivers feels whereas half of Americans are invested in the stock market.

President Obama is enjoying a nice bounce in the polls heading into the New Year, with the economy ticking up and the president taking 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 got 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 gun smuggling ring, remember, 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 allegedly took 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 said 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.

An about-face from Sony. The company will release "The Interview" after all on Christmas Day in a limited number of theaters. Should moviegoers be worried about those threats?

And a terrible incident of road rage. A woman running a car off the road. It turns out this woman was arrested days earlier. Should she have even been behind the wheel?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Sony Pictures on again/off again plans to distribute the movie "The Interview" 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, accusations of, you know, the First Amendment being violated because the North Korean were throwing a fit.

Major theater chains dropped the film, Sony said it had no choice to pull off from distribution. But now, a reversal, more than 200 independent theaters will open with "The Interview" on Christmas Day.

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

Good morning, Kyung.

So, Americans will able to see this film after all, but it will not be in the 3,000 cineplexes that were originally scheduled.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Much smaller, 200 to 300, 300 max right now, independent theaters, Sony working out that deal to try to get the film shown somewhere on a theater.

The thing too that's important to remember, is that Sony has publicly said this is always their plan, to try to get it out. So, what's the next step for Sony? Perhaps to come up with a streaming deal or trying to get it shown on more screens.

Well, regardless of how many screens it eventually gets shown on, it's being viewed in the States as largely a victory. We saw Seth Rogen immediately tweet it was a victory.

Here in the Korea Peninsula, it was also seen as a victory, at least in South Korea. A lot of people are saying this is the right way to deal with North Korea. Even though the movie isn't going to be shown here, was never intended to be shown here, people are applauding it, especially the defectors who see this as an important tough stand versus North Korea.

As far as what's happening in the north, it's silent. We have seen propaganda films played on North Korea all day long. Not a single mention of the Sony hack, and, Christine, not a single mention of what's happened with their internet two days in a row. Not off the global map -- Christine.

ROMANS: It's a reminder, Kyung, about how different, how different North Korean culture and Western culture. This was a comedy, a satire. Many people would not have gone to see this movie and it really, really riled up the North Koreans who took it so seriously.

LAH: Yes, they certainly don't have a sense of humor, essentially when it comes to dealing with the supreme leader Kim Jong-un. Whenever you say anything within North Korea about Kim Jong-un, if it is not to reinforce the propaganda of the entire regime, you or your entire family can be sentenced to death or spend life in prison. Simply dropping a picture of him on the ground can land you in prison.

ROMANS: Wow, Kyung Lah, thank you so much for that, Kyung. And again, 200 independent theaters the film will be shown on Christmas Day. Thank you.

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.

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. How badly does the University of Michigan want Jim Harbaugh to become

their next coach? Look no further than the school's Twitter account. But will birthday shout-out and an eight-figure contract offer be enough?

Brian Mcfayden has details with "Bleacher Report", next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: All right. We had a stunner in the world of college basketball last night. And it wasn't without its share of controversy. Brian Mcfayden has more on this morning's "Bleacher Report" report.

Hey, Brian.

BRIAN MCFAYDEN, BLEACHER REPORT: Hey, Christine. Good morning to you.

Unranked UNLV wasn't supposed to hang out around with undefeated Arizona, but the Rebels must not have gotten the memo. UNLV traded blows back and forth with third ranked Wildcats to the very end. Nine seconds left, Arizona's Brian Ashley misses the three-pointer, oh, right here. That would have tied the game.

Take another look. Is that a gold tend with UNLV's Jelan Kendrick? You know, it doesn't really matter because the ref didn't call it, UNLV gets the major upset, 71-67. And the home crowd loves it. Time to celebrate.

The University of Michigan football program needs a new coach, and current 49ers coach and former Michigan man Jim Harbaugh -- well, he's the biggest name being floated around. So, what's Michigan's ace in the hole to lure Harbaugh back to Ann Arbor. How about a birthday card?

Michigan tweeted out this pic yesterday to the favorite son wishing him a happy birthday. Will it help? Can't hurt. Harbaugh is reportedly out as the Niners head coach after this weekend.

These are my favorite types of stories. NBA star Anthony Davis along with Pelicans teammates took 75 kids on a shopping spree at Toys R Us in New Orleans. But it didn't take long for the competitive juices to start flowing, Davis got posterized. Davis got his fair share of blocks on the kids. Looks like a whole lot of fun.

And don't forget a whole lot of action on Christmas Day. Check out our sister station, TNT, they have the Lakers/Bulls 8:00 Eastern followed by the Warriors and Clippers at 10:30 -- Christine.

ROMANS: I could be a beautiful. I love the idea of playing twister with these guys like 7 feet tall. Playing twister with those guys. Very cool.

All right. Merry Christmas. Nice to see you.

MCFAYDEN: Merry Christmas.

ROMANS: Deadly storms wreaking havoc across the country. Find out how it's going to affect your holiday plans.

And record setting day for Wall Street. The Dow sets a new high. Find out what it means for you and whether it can last.

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