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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
AirAsia Flight 8501: Black Box Search; Boston Bombing Trail Begins; Congress Back in Session; Prince Andrew Sex Claim Again Denied
Aired January 05, 2015 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening right now: divers in the water searching for victims in wreckage of AirAsia Flight 8501. Investigators focused on finding the jetliner's black boxes. But this morning, a big setback in the search. We're live with the very latest.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Happening today: jury selection begins in the Boston marathon terror trial. What victims of the attack are saying about the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
BERMAN: Bracing for battles. The new Republican-led Congress back in Washington, D.C. today. But will we see compromise or gridlock?
Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.
ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It is Monday, January 5th. Time to really get the year started. It is 4:00 in the East.
Let's get started with this: right now, searchers are trolling the Java Sea hoping to find more wreckage from AirAsia Flight 8501. More bodies to reunite with loved ones at least found so far today. And, crucially, crucially the black boxes which could lead -- could she light on what cause the jetliner to crash with 162 people aboard, sparking hope and disappointments. Searchers found a collection of large objects may be the fuselage, but one piece has turned out to be a wreckage from a ship.
Let's turn to CNN's Anna Coren live for us now from Surabaya, Indonesia -- Anna.
ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Christine, late this afternoon, three more bodies were identified, located and brought to the hospital at the headquarters of the operation, two males and a female. Well, that now takes the number of bodies that have been recovered to 37, 13 have now been identified, but you are talking about 162 passengers who were on board that ill-fated AirAsia flight 8501 that crashed on the 28th of December, now nine days ago.
Now, the problem for the recovery team is they are racing against the clock. The reason being is that the bodies are deteriorating in the warm tropical waters in the Java Sea. And if they can't get them with the skin intact on their finger tips, then they're going to have to resort to teeth and bones to identify these bodies. So, they are having serious problems out there. Yes, 57 divers went down today when there was a window of opportunity.
Well, the weather has since come in and that has really hampered efforts once again. They are coming across a really rough condition. There is a lot of mud at the bottom of the ocean floor. And officials here are telling us that if the plane is found in that mud, if that is where it is, in fact, they're going to have great difficulty to get it out. It's really going to delay the process. I mean, we are talking about weeks, if not months, before they are able to get it.
And that is when they find it. You know, we are talking about an area, huge area, that has been expanded and they currently scouring it with the international efforts. The U.S. says it's part of the operation to try to locate the debris, the bodies and, of course, those black box flight recorders, Christine.
ROMANS: Many of our aviation experts said that part of the ocean right now, that part of the sea relatively shallow. There will be other wrecks. There will be maritime remnants there that could really hamper things.
All right. Thank you so much for that, Anna.
BERMAN: Three minutes after the hour.
Leading Senate Democrat says President Obama needs to hit back harder against North Korea. Outgoing Foreign Relations Committee Chair Robert Menendez says the president was too tame when he described North Korea's alleged hacking of Sony Pictures as cyber vandalism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ROBERT MENENDEZ (D), SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: The one thing I disagree with the president on is when he characterized the action here against Sony by North Korea as an act of vandalism. You know, vandalism is when you break a window. Terrorism is when you destroy a building. And what happened here is that North Korea landed a virtual bomb on Sony's parking lot and ultimately had real consequences to it as a company and to many who work there. So, I think there has to be a real consequence to this, otherwise you will see it happen again and again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: On CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION", Menendez called for stronger measures like such as putting North Korea on the list of state sponsor of terrorism. Pyongyang is lashing back on the new sanctions, saying they will only strengthen its commitment to a military first policy.
Will Ripley is standing by live in Beijing with the latest this morning.
Good morning, Will.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. And it's interesting to hear this statement now coming out of North
Korea. Of course, we expected fiery rhetoric, but one interesting thing that they are doing is they are mentioning the international news coverage they are monitoring closely, which reports about the skepticism from some private cyber security experts in the United States and elsewhere that perhaps the Sony hack was an inside job and not directly linked to North Korea as the U.S. government alleges. Of course, these sanctions are a clear indication that the United States believes in North Korea and was behind the Sony hack and is willing to take action in the form of sanctions, which could really hurt the regime's ability to take in weapons from exports.
But North Korea, basically, what they are tying to do is say that the U.S. is only doing this to build a shaky case against them. And they are trying to paint the picture that North Korea is once again being bullied by the United States government, John.
BERMAN: All right. Will Ripley for us in Beijing, covering this -- thanks so much, Will.
ROMANS: The terrorism murder trial of accused Boston marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev begins this morning with jury selection. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Tsarnaev. He is charged with plotting the 2013 marathon bombings. Along with his late brother, bombings that killed three people and injured more than 260 others.
Bombing victim Heather Abbott lost her foot in the attack. She says she will be in the courtroom during the trial.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HEATHER ABBOTT, BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING VICTIM: Several people I am now close with will be testifying. So, I want to be there to support them. I think, you know, this is my only chance to kind of experience what this might bring for me if there's any sort of closure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges against him.
BERMAN: Washington is bracing this morning for the returning members of Congress who reconvene tomorrow. Republicans will formally take control of both chambers for the first time in nearly a decade. Of course, gridlock maybe in the future.
Republicans leaders will push, no doubt, for revisions in Obamacare and they already say they will work to undue some of the president's executive actions.
The president says he will work with Congress, but he also notes his veto pen will be at the ready.
ROMANS: Meantime, House Speaker John Boehner will face a challenge from the Republican rank-and-file. Texas Congressman Louis Gohmert announced Sunday that he's offered as a candidate for speaker. Gohmert says of Boehner's tenure that, quote, "After years of broken promises, it is time for change."
BERMAN: Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has taken a step toward possible presidential run in 2016. Huckabee announced this weekend that he is ending his show on FOX News. He calls it a necessary move as he explores a second presidential bid. The former governor says no final decisions will be made until the spring. He needs to figure out how to raise money. That was a problem for him in 2008.
President Obama is making South Asia a foreign policy priority to start the New Year. The president and Secretary of State John Kerry plan to visit India later this month. And then, the secretary will likely head to Afghanistan and Pakistan before the president host Afghanistan's new leaders at the White House in February.
ROMANS: All right. Time for an early start on your money. Asian stocks mostly lower this morning, but European stocks are up. The euro at a nine-year low against the dollar. Investors expect the European central bank to start bond buying stimulus measures.
U.S. stock futures barely budging before the second -- the second, count them -- trading day of the year. Not much movement in stocks so far. But experts polled by CNN Money are expecting solid but smaller gains this year.
Oil prices still trying to find a price floor. Crude oil hit a new five-year low this morning, sitting at about $52 a barrel right now, $52 a barrel. The price has been slashed in half since the summer. Gas prices have been slashed too. The average price per gallon of regular is now $2.20, the lowest since 2009. And if you are anywhere in New Jersey, you can find it cheaper than that.
BERMAN: News for New Jersey this morning.
Eight minutes after the hour.
Happening this morning: an investigation into what caused a deadly plane crash that killed everyone on board, except a brave miraculous 7-year-old girl. How she made it to safety, ahead.
ROMANS: Plus, a touching tribute for a murdered NYPD officer. But it's how police treated New York's mayor that's making the headlines. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: Federal investigators are hoping to speak to the 7-year-old Illinois girl who survived a plane crash in Kentucky that killed her parents, her sister and her cousin. Sailor Gutzler walked a mile and near freezing temperatures to find help after the small plane went down to the woods Friday night. NTSB officials say Sailor's account of the crash could help them determine what cause it.
Listen to Kentucky police. They're just blown away by the little girl's courage and her remarkable resilience.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LT. BRENT WHITE, KENTUCKY STATE POLICE: I was literally distraught by how calm she was able to and the ability for her to give us information, you know? She was obviously, but probably in shock. After trying to raise her family and get them to communicate with her, and I think even touching some of them, she indicated to us that she believed her family was deceased, but that she hoped that they were just sleeping.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: NTSB officials removed the wreckage of the plane on Sunday. Funeral arrangements for Sailor's family are still pending.
ROMANS: The little girl hiked through the woods to find the barefoot and in summer clothes and hiked and found a house and said, "I have been in a plane crash. Can I stay here?" Unbelievable. I just feel for that little girl and her family.
All right. Twelve minutes past the hour.
New York City police officers again turning their backs on their embattled mayor, Bill de Blasio. It happened Sunday during the mayor's eulogy for assassinated NYPD Officer Wenjian Liu. Hundreds of officers turning away from a video feed of de Blasio after their boss, Commissioner Bill Bratton, asked them to keep politics out of the funeral, but bridges clearly seem to be burned.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROY RICHTER, PRESIDENT, NYPD CAPTAINS ENDOWMENT ASSOCIATION: There is a anti-police issue in the nation right now. Our two assassinated brothers are -- it's a clear example of that anti-police environment. You know, many of our officers feel betrayed by the elected leaders that we have and the public that we serve.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: There are reports of minor confrontations between officers during Liu's funeral. Many members of the force agreed with the commissioner that a funeral is not the place for political statements against the mayor.
BERMAN: Jury selection begins this morning in the murder trial of Pedro Hernandez, the 53-year-old man who confessed to the 1979 murder of 6-year-old Etan Patz. In 2012, Hernandez told investors he lured Etan into the basement into a bodega in lower Manhattan, strangled him and left him in a box on the street. But this man has since recanted. Hernandez has an IQ of 70 and has mental problems. Prosecutors will have to make their case with no body or no crime scene evidence.
ROMANS: About 100 U.S. soldiers starting the year in quarantine at a military base in Washington state. They just returned from West Africa where they helped to build treatment centers for Ebola victims. They will now be monitored for 21 days as a precaution and will not allowed to have physical contact with family members. About 50 more U.S. troops stayed behind to continue that mission.
BERMAN: A U.S. health care worker is being monitored closely at a hospital in Nebraska this morning. Officials say the patient experienced a high risk of exposure to Ebola while working in Sierra Leone. The worker is not showing symptoms of infection and is not considered infectious at this point. The Ebola outbreak in West Africa has now claimed nearly 8,000 lives.
ROMANS: New Yorkers and the nation preparing to say a final good-bye to former Governor Mario Cuomo. A wake will be held today with Vice President Biden and his wife Jill scheduled to attend a viewing this afternoon. Cuomo's funeral is tomorrow morning at St. Ignatius Loyola Church in Manhattan. The former governor died of heart failure with his family by his side on New Year's Day.
BERMAN: This morning, the tributes are pouring in for former ESPN sports anchor Stuart Scott who died Sunday after a long battle with cancer. He was 49 years old. Scott is being remembered for his special talents and personality which included the memorable catch phrases in sports. He was a remarkable and fantastic individual.
ROMANS: And great dad.
BERMAN: And a great father.
In a statement, President Obama said, over the years, Stuart Scott entertained us and in the end, inspired us with his courageous fight.
ROMANS: What are some of his phrases?
BERMAN: Booyah!
ROMANS: As cool as the other side of the pillow.
BERMAN: As cool as the other side of the pillow.
ROMANS: Millions of people across the nation are bracing for a major winter storm. It's already prompted watches, warnings and advisories, for 14 states from Washington, all the way to Ohio. Look at Spokane, at the international airport there, you can see crews out on the tarmac working to clear the snow. As you can imagine, there were delays, of course. Some areas in Washington saw up to 11 inches of snow.
BERMAN: Residents in Illinois using snow blower, shovels, anything, to clear the snow that's been falling there. Flows, which also seem to work --
ROMANS: Shorts in Chicago. I love people in Chicago.
BERMAN: I'm not sure that healthy that is.
ROMANS: If you are watching football all day.
BERMAN: Chicago, they are not watching. Green Bay and (INAUDIBLE) and Bears not at all.
The frigid temperatures are making things obviously very icy there, but nice for sledding. There are the plows. One man said he had a very large scare on the road.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At first, it was a little bit tough conditions. Actually I almost swerved off the road.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Icy conditions prompting accidents in Missouri. Check out the damage to this SUV. Fortunately, we're told, in that case, no one was seriously hurt.
BERMAN: The same storm system spawning a line of severe storms in the south. At least nine confirmed tornadoes touched down in Mississippi and Alabama, damaged homes, injured an infant.
One woman was in her house when she suddenly heard a deafening sound.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was just like you hear them say a train is coming. It was just like a train coming. It was hitting the house.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The stormy weather and frigid temperatures set to continue all week.
Let's get to meteorologist Pedram Javaheri for an early look at your weather this morning -- Pedram.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good Monday morning to you.
Let's talk about what's happening nationwide right now. Pretty massive area of high pressure in place across portions of the Southeast and Central Plains. And as high pressure in place and you have generally clear skies and very cold temperatures across the northern tier of the country, Minneapolis taking a significant drop in the temperatures over the past couple of days, up to the 30s, down to the 11 degree temperature range. Chicago, uniform trend right now, but things are about to get much colder over the next two to three days.
Look at the high temperatures in Minneapolis, best they can do, 9 degrees today. Wind chills, 45, 50 below portions of Minnesota. Similar story out of Chicago. A lot of that cold air eventually will make it to the Southeast and the Northeast as well.
Introduce a few snow showers for you across the Northeast. Look at how expansive this cold air is here, as it settles, as the coldest air gets to the southern states by Wednesday morning. We are talking about getting down to 13 or 15 degrees in the overnight hours, even as far south as Atlanta.
High temperature trend, Chicago, goose egg on Wednesday, the best they can do for a high temperature. While around New York and Boston, the temperatures drop in the upper 20s on Tuesday and Wednesday. The best bet for snow in both Boston and New York looks to be on Tuesday, about one to two inches in the forecast.
Let's send it back to you.
BERMAN: We can handle one to two inches.
All right. The Dallas Cowboys and the Indianapolis Colts moving on in the NFL playoffs. The Cowboys trailed for most of the game, but rallied in the fourth aided by an outrageous call by the referees. Outrageous, picking up a flag on a clear pass interference. Nevertheless, they went on to beat the Detroit Lions 24-20. They will play the Green Bay Packers next week in the divisional round.
In the AFC, quarterback Andrew Luck led the Colts to a 26-10 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. The Colts will now play the Denver Broncos.
In other divisional playoffs next week, the Baltimore Ravens who looked awfully good and fortunately good on Saturday, they will play the New England Patriots. The Carolina Panthers travel to Seattle to face the defending champion Seahawks.
ROMANS: All right. Buckingham Palace caught in an alleged sex scandal. What one woman is saying about Queen Elizabeth's son. We're live as the drama and controversy unfold, after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: The militant group Boko Haram has seized an army base in northeast Nigeria. The weekend attack in the town of Baga sent troops scrambling. Many people who live in Baga fled by boat to neighboring Chad. Boko Haram militants are also believed to be behind a deadly bus attack in northern Cameron. On Saturday, a local official said at least 15 people were killed in that attack.
BERMAN: Happening now, the frantic search for survivors after a seven-story apartment building collapsed in Nairobi in Kenya. One person is rescued, more than eight hours after the building fell. It is unclear how many people may be trapped in the rubble. Search teams are trying to work quickly and delicately in order to avoid collapsing air pockets where some of the survivors still might be. At least two people were killed. More than three dozen were injured.
ROMANS: Buckingham Palace is ramping up its defense of Prince Andrew, emphatically denying for the third time now that the royal had sex with an underage girl. The allegation against the prince comes in a lawsuit filed in Florida. It claims billionaire Jeffrey Epstein sexually exploited at least four women when they were minors and forced them to have sex with powerful people, including Prince Andrew.
CNN's Max Foster is following the story for us. Good morning, Max. We understand that just within the last hour,
we've learned the name of the accuser.
MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Buckingham Palace has been really cornered on this one. Allegations were contained in some legal notes presented in court in Florida on Friday. And ever since, there have been more and more accusations coming out of the British newspapers over the weekend.
So, "The Mail" on Sunday, for example, in an interview with Virginia Roberts, who is the woman at the center of the case, and that meant Buckingham Palace had to respond yet again. And even just now had another response, making it four in total, Christine.
They're responding to allegations that Virginia Roberts actually met the queen. And they are saying, they've just told me, there is nothing to suggest this is true. We have no record of such a meeting.
But the allegations were essentially that she was kept as a sex slave for Jeffrey Epstein and his friends. Over a period of four years, rather, three years, she was forced to have sexual relations in three separate geographical locations with Prince Andrew, in London and New York, but also in the British Virgin Islands, Epstein's home, where there was actually an orgy of underage girls, according to the allegations.
But Buckingham Palace being very clear that there is no evidence to this at all. Prince Andrew is not party to this in Florida. So, he hasn't gotten any legal addressed. And they feel they have to respond in some way to this because the lawyers aren't getting the opportunity to do that in court. So, they are saying it is completely untrue, all of this. Prince Andrew flew back to London last night. He must be meeting with his legal teams to try to discuss a way forward, but they certainly there's no truth to this very severe allegations at all.
ROMANS: Jeffrey Epstein has been embroiled in these sorts of accusations before, part of an ongoing legal drama for him. Is he friends with the prince? Is Prince Andrew friends with Jeffrey Epstein, do you know?
FOSTER: They certainly were friends, lots of photos of them together. And we know that because Prince Andrew, he apologized for the friendship back in 2011 after Epstein was convicted of sexual offenses. I think Prince Andrew thought that was the end of it. But up until that point, it was just guilt of suspicion by association. Really, this latest set of legal papers directly point a finger at Prince Andrew for the first time, which is why there is this huge amount of concern at Buckingham Palace today.
ROMANS: All right. Max Foster -- thank you for that.
Happening now, divers back in water searching for victims in the wreckage of AirAsia Flight 8501. The possible new leads as time to find the plane's black boxes ticks down. We are live, next.
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