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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
AirAsia Flight 8501: Searching for Wreckage; Boston Bombing Trail Begins; Congress Back in Session; Royal Sex Scandal Allegations
Aired January 05, 2015 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: A setback in the search for AirAsia Flight 8501. This morning, divers in the water trying to recover victims and find pieces of the plane's wreckage. But right now, investigators are only finding frustration. We are live with what we are learning this morning, next.
Happening today: the Boston marathon terror trial set to begin, a jury to be selected to try suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. What victims of the attack are saying about the trial this morning.
In just hours, the new GOP-controlled Congress gets to work. But will compromise or gridlock prevail? We're breaking the big decisions ahead. Why only those choices? Compromise or gridlock.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Take option C.
ROMANS: All right. None of the above.
Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
BERMAN: I'm John Berman, about 29 minutes after the hour right now.
And this morning, there has been a setback in the search for AirAsia Flight 8501. At least one of the objects discovered by the search team had turned out to be part of a ship, not the aircraft. Officials have been scouring the Java Sea hoping to find more wreckage and bodies. At least three bodies have been found so far today. The crucial piece of evidence is the black boxes, but still no progress to report. There are still no pings detected. Over the last few days, searchers have found several large objects that they had believed could be connected to the fuselage, but the discovery of an object is not shows how arduous this process is.
Let's turn to CNN's Anna Coren live for us now from Surabaya in Indonesia.
Good morning, Anna.
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, John.
Yes, it is a frustrating and a very slow task to try to locate the wreckage of AirAsia Flight 8501. They have been on it now for nine days. Yes, they discovered three more bodies this afternoon and identified more. So, that takes the number to 37 retrieved and 13 identified. You are talking about 162 passengers who were on board the ill-fated flight that left here in Surabaya on 28th of December to Singapore. Forty-two minutes into that flight, it lost all communication. And now, it is believed it is at the bottom of the java sea.
And as you say, they have located four items through sonar, believed to be the aircraft. They certainly had hoped that a much larger piece of the wreckage, up to 18 meters in length, was also part of the aircraft. Unfortunately, that has turned out to be a shipwreck. But certainly, the families of victims, you know, they have been coming to the crisis center every day trying to learn more information every day.
And those who are identifying the victims say they are racing against the clock. The reason being is that these bodies are decomposing in the warm tropical waters. And as I say, up to day nine now. It is feared the skin on the finger tips will no longer be used to identify these bodies. So, they will now have to use the teeth and bones to make that identification. And that's a much longer process.
But officials here have offered families a trip to the search site. They are willing to fly them up there so that they can pay their respects, they can lay flowers, and that may perhaps somehow ease the pain and suffering that they are going through. But, you know, as far as the officials on the ground going through, you know, their own difficulties, the weather is against them, the waves and storms constantly. We are in the middle of monsoon season.
And on top of that, there is this thick layer of mud on the bottom of the ocean floor, which is causing problems for divers. There is like zero visibility. So, you know, this is going to be such a long process to find the bodies, to find the wreckage. And as you say, find the black box flight recorders which, of course, will have that essential information everybody so desperate wants.
BERMAN: Anna Coren for us in Surabaya, the work goes on nine days now. Thanks, Anna.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. 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, plotting them along with his late brother -- bombings that killed three people and injured more than 260 others.
Bombing victim Heather Abbott lost her foot in that attack. She said she will be in the courtroom during the trial.
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HEATHER ABBOTT, BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING VICTIM: Several people I'm very close with will be testifying. I want to be there to support them. 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: Members of Congress are on their way back to Washington this morning where they will find a significantly redrawn political landscape. Republicans take control of both the House and Senate when they reconvene tomorrow.
Republican leaders have vowed to cast votes to try to undo parts of Obamacare. Also, they're going to battle the president's immigration reform plan, the executive actions. But the president says he will use his veto pen when necessary. At this point, both sides are promising to look for common ground. We'll see if that works.
CNN's Erin McPike has the lat latest.
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ERIN MCPIKE, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, on the Sunday shows, the Republicans took a conciliatory tune, saying they want to work with the president. And meanwhile, White House spokesman Eric Schultz spoke with our Jim Acosta while the president was traveling in Hawaii and outline the areas where they can coordinate.
ERIC SCHULTZ, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: It looks (ph) like corporate tax reform to make sure that our tax code is fairer and simpler. Infrastructure, which would help create jobs. And it's trade deals, which will help open up new markets to American manufacturing. These are area where Republicans have been supported in the past, and that's why he is eager to work with Congress to get those done.
MCPIKE: And President Obama is hitting the road this week. He's going to Tennessee, Arizona and Michigan to sell some of his initiatives.
Meanwhile, Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, the incoming majority leader, sat down with CNN's Dana Bash and outlined how the president can work with Republicans.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MAJORITY LEADER: Now, he needs to talk to us, and that's good, because when the American people elected divided government, they're not saying they don't want anything done. What they are saying is they want things done in the political center, things that both sides can agree on. And in the conversation last week, we talked about the things where there are may be some agreement.
MCPIKE: First up, the Keystone XL pipeline. Republicans say they have the votes to push that through the Senate. Then, the question becomes, does the president veto it? John and Christine?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: All right. Our thanks to Erin McPike in Washington. House Speaker John Boehner will face a challenge from some members of
his party. Texas Party Congressman Louis Gohmert announced Sunday that he is offering his name as candidate for speaker. Gohmert says of Boehner's tenure that, quote, "after years of broken promises, it is time for a change."
ROMANS: And former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee taking another step toward a possible run for president in 2016. Huckabee announced this weekend that he is ending his FOX News show, calling it a necessary move as he explores a second presidential bid. Huckabee says no final decision will be made until the spring.
You say he's got to raise money.
BERMAN: I think he raised $16 million total in 2008. Think about that. I mean, now, they are estimating you need $75 million by Iowa.
ROMANS: Wow, he did great in Iowa in 2008.
BERMAN: He won 2008.
ROMANS: He did great in Iowa, and then fizzled completely after that.
BERMAN: He did.
All right. Thirty-six minutes after the hour.
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. Then, the secretary will head to Afghanistan and Pakistan before the president hosts leaders at the White House in February.
ROMANS: All right. Time for an early start on your money.
U.S. stock futures barely moving to start the second trading day of the year. Experts polled by CNN Money expect solid gains this year, but not double digit returns, the double digit returns you've seen in the past few years.
Oil prices keep sliding this morning. Crude oil had a fresh five and a half year low. Crude oil, $52 a barrel right up. Prices have been cut in half since the summer and they are expected to stay low through the year. That means drivers can expect gas prices to stay low. The average price for a gallon of regular, $2.20.
BERMAN: Wow.
ROMANS: We're going to get a look at December auto sales later this morning, expecting strongest sales in six years. Demand for trucks and SUVs, surprise, surprise, outpacing smaller car sales. When you get low gas prices, people kind of forget. And then they --
BERMAN: So, five years, when gas is $6, that Suburban, though, is going to be expensive.
ROMANS: Yes, exactly.
All right. Thirty-seven minutes past the hour.
Somber ceremony for a New York police officer killed in the line of duty. But it's what hundreds of officers did to the New York's mayor that's causing the controversy this morning, next.
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BERMAN: New York City police officers, some of them at least, showed their anger once again at New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, during a memorial for Officer Wenjian Liu. They turned their backs one the mayor. This is the second time in days that members of the force have turned their backs on Bill de Blasio, upset at what they believe is his lack of support for the police corps. A week ago, officers used the same gesture at the funeral for Rafael Ramos, who is also shot to death, murdered, as he and Officer Liu sat in their patrol car.
CNN's Miguel Marquez went to Detective Liu's service and has this report.
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MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, it is just the end of the funeral procession here for officer, now Detective Wenjian Liu. If you can hear this, it is the bagpipes, ceremonial bagpipes from NYPD coming back.
I'm looking about a half mile, as far as I can see, down 65th Street here in Brooklyn. All I can see is that wall, that ocean, that sea of blue, just an incredible turnout. NYPD preparing for some 25,000 police officers, probably thousands more citizens from the area here who turned out. The funeral was touching. Can't really say it was a funeral, but series of speeches in the Buddhist tradition.
The mayor speaking very highly of Wenjian Liu, relating two stories. One, this is a guy who is a fisherman, an avid fisherman who loved fishing. And whenever he caught a big one, he would like to share it with the family.
Also, that Detective Liu was somebody who loved to care for people. That on a single call, that he's talked to the family, that he related the story that there was an old elderly man who had fallen down. Liu stayed with him for hours until he was able to get back up. He wasn't physically injured, he just wanted some company. And that's a sort of guy Detective Liu was.
His cousin getting up and saying that Detective Liu, someone that we know as Wenjian Liu, they know as Joe.
So, this was a family that moved from Canton, China, 20 years ago and become fully Americanized. This is the end of the ceremony.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We would like to thank everyone for expressing your sympathy and support. Detail, dismiss! MARQUEZ: The dismissal of the second funeral, a very tough time for
the NYPD and the city of New York. I can tell you that here in front of the church, none of the officers turned their backs on the mayor as he spoke. A little farther down, there were a few.
I spoke to one detective, retired detective who said he saw thousands of police officers turn their backs farther down the way. Still a lot of rancor, still a lot of upset. But the mayor has now met with the five police unions, the level of rhetoric has been brought back. And clearly, the mayor has spent a lot of time with both the Ramos family and Liu family in recent days. Things may be moving in more -- things may be on more stable ground as the New York police helicopter flies closely overhead -- John and Christine.
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ROMANS: All right, Miguel. Thank you for that, Miguel Marquez.
Jury selection begins this morning in the murder trial of Pedro Hernandez, the 53-year-old New Jersey 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. He has since recanted. Hernandez has an IQ of 70, he has a mystery of mental problems. Prosecutors will have to make their case with no body and no crime scene evidence.
BERMAN: 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 build treatment centers for Ebola victims. They will 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.
ROMANS: A U.S. health care worker is being monitored closely at a hospital in Nebraska this morning. Officials say this 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.
BERMAN: 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. The 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. He was 82.
ROMANS: (INAUDIBLE) Cuomo this morning.
Tributes are pouring 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 some of the most memorable catch phrases in sports. In a statement, President Obama said over the years Stuart Scott entertained us and in the end, he inspired us with his courageous fight against cancer.
BERMAN: Yes. By all accounts, a terrific guy, and as you say, a terrific father.
Federal investigators are hoping to speak to the 7-year-old Illinois girl who miraculously survived a plane crash in Kentucky that killed her parents, her sister and her cousin. Sailor Gutzler walked a mile in near freezing temperatures to find help after the plane crashed in the woods Friday night. NTSB officials say Sailor's account of what happened could help them determine the cause.
Listen to Kentucky police. They are understandably blown away by the little girl's courage and her just unbelievable resilience.
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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 distraught, 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: She walked through the boots barefoot in 40 degrees.
ROMANS: She was in summer clothes. They were coming from Florida back to Illinois. So, she was in summer clothes.
BERMAN: Unbelievable.
NTSB officials removed wreckage of the plane on Sunday. Funeral arrangements for Sailor's family still pending.
Millions across the nation bracing for a major winter storm prompted watches and warnings and advisories for parts for 14 states, from Washington all the way to Ohio. This was Spokane International Airport. Somewhere back there, there are crews on the tarmac. It's hard to see them through the snow.
As you can imagine, there were serious delays. Some people in Washington saw up to 11 inches of snow.
ROMANS: Folks in Illinois using snow blowers in their shorts, shovels, anything to clear the snow falling there. Plows also out in full force to keep the roads safe. But the frigid temperatures are making things icy. One man said he had a huge scare on the road.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At first, it was a little bit tough conditions. Actually I almost swerved off the road.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BERMAN: Icy conditions prompting large number of accidents in Missouri. Look at this damage to this SUV. Fortunately, luckily, no one was hurt.
ROMANS: That same storm system spawning a line of severe tornadoes in the South. At least nine confirmed tornadoes touched down in Mississippi and Alabama. That wicked weather damaged homes and injured an infant. One woman was in her house when she suddenly heard that telltale sound of a tornado.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was just like -- you hear them say a train is coming. That's the way it was. It was just like a train coming and it was hitting the house.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: The stormy weather, frigid temperatures set to continue this week.
We want to go to meteorologist Pedram Javaheri for an early look at the weather.
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.
ROMANS: Pedram, thank you so much for that. Forty-nine minutes past the hour.
A member of the Britain's royal family accused in a sex scandal. We are live with the drama enveloping Buckingham Palace this morning, next.
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BERMAN: All right. New this morning, Buckingham Palace ramping up its defense of Prince Andrew, emphatically denying for the fourth time that the prince had sex with an underage girl. The allegation against the Duke of York comes in a lawsuit filed in Florida. It claims that billionaire Jeffrey Epstein sexually exploited at least four unnamed women when they were minors and allegedly forced them to have sex with powerful people, including Prince Andrew.
CNN's Max Foster following the story for us.
Max -- and, Max, just within the last hour, we learned the name of the accuser.
MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, her name is Virginia Roberts. And the reason her name came out is she gave an interview to "The Mail" on Sunday n the U.K.
Also another publication outlining her allegations against Prince Andrew which came to our attention when they were within court documents filed in Florida. Very severe accusations, she claimed she was forced to have sexual relations with the prince when she was a minor in three separate geographical locations in London, in New York. But also, in Epstein's home in the U.S. Virgin Islands, actually, an orgy there with underage girls. And according to the court filing, Epstein said to give the prince whatever he demanded and required and to report back to him with details.
The palace refuting this on every level. Prince Andrew was out of the U.K. over the weekend but he's arrived back. But the strongest worded palace statement, if I could call it that over the weekend was it is emphatically denied that his Royal Highness Duke of York had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Roberts. The allegations made are false and without any foundation, John.
BERMAN: Does he face any kind of legal jeopardy either in the U.K. or I suppose in the United States, Max?
FOSTER: Well, the issue here is that Prince Andrew hasn't had a chance to have his say in court filing, and that's the issue that the palace has got. They wouldn't normally comment on legal proceedings. But because he doesn't have any redress here, they want to get involved.
How does he get involved in this and have his come back? Well, it is very difficult. In the U.K., if it happened in the U.K., there'd be libel proceedings he could take against her. But in the U.S., he wouldn't have much success on that because it's different set of laws, of course. So, he is left cornered at the moment. BERMAN: All right. Max Foster covering this story for us -- thanks
so much, Max.
ROMANS: All right. It is inevitable. Prices are going to go up this year, I promise you. What you can expect to pay more for when we get an early start on your money, next. It won't be gas.
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ROMANS: All right. Happy Monday. Let's get an early start on your money today.
European stocks moving lower right now. The euro is at a nine-year low against the dollar, as investors expect the European central bank to start bond buying stimulus measures. U.S. stock futures are barely budging before the second trading day of the year. Experts polled by CNN are expecting solid but smaller gains in 2015.
Oil prices still sliding. Crude oil right now about $52 a barrel, a new five-year low. The price has been slashed in half since the summer.
General Motors is bringing coupons straight to your car. Say you look up directions to the nearest Dunkin Donuts while driving, you might be offered a deal on coffee. Drivers will also be able to use Priceline to make reservations, hotel reservations on the go. The discounts will go straight to drivers through GM's Onstar service, giving advertisers a new way to access potential customers.
New year, new higher price tag. You can pay more for staples this year, including coffee. A drought in Brazil is making your caffeine fix pricier. Also, burger and steaks, red meat prices, John, are expected to climb 5 percent this year.
BERMAN: Shame.
ROMANS: You have to go vegan. 2015 is the year of the vegan for you, sir.
And finally, SUVs -- low gas prices are driving up demand for bigger vehicles. For more things, you will pay more for, sorry, I'm just a bearer of the bad news. I don't make it, CNNmoney.com.
BERMAN: But just to review here, there are economists who say we need more a little more inflation.
ROMANS: Absolutely, absolutely. I would like to see some inflation wages. That's what would make me happy.
BERMAN: I think the theory is that if you see some the items out there, wage and inflation goes up as well. And that's good for everyone. Hard to understand, but a truism, nonetheless.
ROMANS: Just don't tell me that when I need a cup of coffee.
BERMAN: EARLY START continues right now. (MUSIC)
