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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

NYC Police Officers Shot Overnight; Racing the Clock to Find AirAsia Flight 8501 Wreckage; Arctic Chill Moves In; Boehner Faces Rebellion on Right; Serena Williams Takes Coffee Break

Aired January 06, 2015 - 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: two New York City police officers shot in the line of duty, just days after two others were killed. This as tensions rise between the city's mayor and its police department.

We are live as the latest drama unfolds.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now: more setbacks in the search for AirAsia Flight 8501. Storms keeping divers out of the water. Muddy waters leaving divers out of the water. The clocks are ticking down to find the plane's black boxes and also recover the deceased.

We are live with the frustration families and investigators were feeling this morning.

ROMANS: An arctic chill blasting millions this morning. Temperatures plunging up to 40 degrees. We are tracking how low the mercury will fall and how long it will last. Wow, it's cold out there, folks.

Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans. It's nice to see you.

BERMAN: I'm John Berman. It's Tuesday, January 6, 5:00 a.m. in the East.

There is breaking news. Overnight, two New York City police officers were shot responding to a robbery call at a store in the Bronx. Officials say both officers are now hospitalized. One of them is in critical condition.

Police are hunting for two gunmen. They are on the loose. There is a $10,000 reward offered for any information that will help lead to their arrest.

The shootings come against a backdrop of very high tension between New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and city police officers following the ambush murders of two officers last month. The mayor addressed the rift for the first time at a news conference on Monday. He said the officers who turned their backs on him multiple times, he said they were disrespectful.

At the same time, the mayor downplayed a little bit a drastic plunge in arrests for low level offenses. The drop of more than 90 percent in some categories of arrest and summonses is raising concern of about a possible work slowdown by New York City police officers.

We are joined this morning by national correspondent Miguel Marquez. He is following all aspects of the story.

Miguel, let's start with these two police officers shot overnight.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the main thing to point out here is that these were plain clothes police officers who were on duty. They were not targeted like the previous police officers, Detectives Liu and Ramos, who were assassinated in their patrol car. They came upon a robbery. It is not clear they were wearing their protective vests at the time as it sounds like they were getting off their shift when all of this went down.

One of them is shot in the arm and back. The other one in the arm and the chest, both expected to survive. One in surgery at the moment. All of this against the backdrop of great anger against the mayor by police because of their concerns that he's siding too much with protesters, saying that the blood is on his hands, some of them, for the deaths of Officers Liu and Ramos.

For the first time, the mayor took a pretty strong hand against his own department.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK: Those individuals who took certain actions the last week -- or last two weeks really -- they were disrespectful to the families involved. That's the bottom line. They were disrespectful to the families who lost their loved ones. And I can't understand why anyone would do such a thing in the context like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: Now, Police Commissioner Bratton had asked, asked police officers not to turn their backs at the second funeral for Detective Liu on Sunday. Many, hundreds, perhaps thousands, did do that. The police commissioner also saying that he didn't understand it, why make a political statement at the event like this. All this also against the backdrop of whether or not there is a downturn or slowdown amongst police officers here.

For two weeks in a row now, we've had far fewer arrests and summonses across the city. Very, very low numbers.

But they say there is a lot going on. It's the holidays, police officers are two in every single patrol now. You had thousands of police officers serving time and duty on the protests here. They spent $35 million in overtime alone just on the protests.

So, it has been an extraordinarily busy time. Everything aside, they are drilling down to see if there is a slowdown. They said they will take action if there is.

BERMAN: But the number of arrests, the drop has been drastic. MARQUEZ: It has. But it's also -- the crime is also down. The press

conference was all about how much crime is down. They are not making marijuana arrests anymore. They're not doing stop and frisk as much as -- nearly as much as they were before. So, there's a lot of factors coming together. They are looking at 911 calls to see how long it takes to respond.

They are trying to figure out if there is a slowdown. I spoke to unions yesterday. They said they have not called for a slowdown, but cops are human as well. They may be feeling protective at the time.

BERMAN: This is the headline on "The New York Daily News" today. But, obviously, this is gripping the city right now. It says, "End this war now." They mean a war between the city's police and city hall.

MARQUEZ: It feels like a war. It feels like a powder keg out there. And the world is watching New York, because it is a global center. And I think people are concerned out there. What they want people to understand is it is a safe city. What is getting out there, though, is this is a city at war with itself.

ROMANS: And there are two police officers shot and there are suspects on the loose right now. A reminder what a dangerous job they are doing.

Thank you so much for that, Miguel.

Disappointment and concern in Indonesia this morning as crews searching for AirAsia flight 8501 race the clock in harsh conditions. The more time passes, the harder it becomes to find the wreckage from the flight and harder it will be to identify the deceased. Hope that rough weather would break today was dashed and none of the nearly 100 divers in the search zone have been deployed.

CNN's Anna Coren is live with us in Surabaya, Indonesia.

Anna, it is evening there. What's the latest?

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christine, as you say, it was such high hopes that the weather would actually break today. They even sent out two divers to see what the conditions. They got to the bottom and they said that visibility was zero.

So, those divers, those 97 divers have been on stand by for the entire day. There are vessels out there, there are planes flying over. And they did in fact locate another two bodies. They have been retrieved, taking the number now to 39 bodies.

They are now on their way to Surabaya, to the hospital here where they will be handed over to the disaster victim identification unit. They have the painstaking job of ID-ing these bodies.

I was speaking to the head of the unit earlier today. He said that so far the bodies that have been brought in are intact. So, they have been able to identify them quite quickly. It is up to 16 of the number they have been able to identify and release those names to the public. His concern, however, as the days go by, we are now at day 10, the bodies start to decompose in the water.

Let's have a listen to what he had to tell me a bit earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTON CASTILANI, HEAD OF INDONESIA'S DISASTER VICTIMS IDENTIFICATION UNIT: From the first days, you can find dead bodies in very good condition. So, that's why you can just identify them using fingerprints. But lately, you will find that the dead bodies are more decomposed. And after the next few days, you will find maybe not in an intact body. You will find fragmented body or maybe worse than that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: That was Dr. Castilani heading that DVI unit.

It's a multinational effort. There are now more than 250 forensic officers flown in from countries in the region to help out in this huge effort that is underway.

But the hope is, Christine, they will find the wreckage and that the majority of the passengers and crew will be in that wreckage. They believe they are still strapped into their seats on the bottom of the sea floor in the Java Sea. That is the hope so they can retrieve the bodies and bring them back and hand them back to their families to give them proper burial.

ROMANS: Must be just agony, every waiting moment must be agony for those families. Thank you so much, Anna, in Surabaya.

BERMAN: Eight minutes after the hour.

When Congress reconvenes today at noon, Republicans will be in control of the House and the Senate for the first time since 2006. There are some bumps in the road for the Republican Party. First is the fact that a president can veto any bills he wants, including any potential rollback of Obamacare, or attempt to get in a way of his executive action in immigration. And also, there is this concern of a small rebellion. Symbolic, mostly, as some conservative House Republicans are set to vote against reelecting John Boehner as speaker of the house.

Our chief congressional correspondent Dana Bash with the latest on this -- Dana.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, the big question on this opening day of the new Congress is how big will the rebellion against John Boehner be on the vote for House speaker? To put in perspective, when the new Congress is sworn in later today, there will be 246 House Republicans. And so far, there only about a dozen who say they're going to oppose John Boehner for the job of speaker.

So, those in the Republican leadership who I talked to say this is really just the group that they not so lovingly call the "hell no" caucus, because they're usually no votes on just about everything.

The House speaker is elected, remember, by the entire House. So, Boehner has to get a majority of all House members, 218, and that means he can afford to lose 29 Republicans and still be elected speaker.

I talked to his aides and confidants all day yesterday. They said they are monitoring this insurrection, but not that worried.

Here is Tom Cole, the Republican congressman who is a Boehner ally.

REP. TOM COLE (R), OKLAHOMA: This is a last moment sideshow. But the sad thing is it distracts from what our message ought to be. We ought to be talking about the Republican agenda, about the possibilities now that we have the Senate, about Keystone, about fixes on Obamacare, trade, regulatory reform, those types of issues.

Instead on the opening day of the Republican Congress, we've got Republicans, you know, at odds. And that's just unfortunate. It steps on the story and doesn't accomplish anything productive.

BASH: The argument that Cole and others make is that you can't replace someone with no one. And right now, there is no other House Republican who raised as much money or campaigned for as many people, or has the leadership experience and skills that comes close to getting 218 votes to be the speaker of the House.

Cole, who you just heard from, and other members of the team who I talked to, say that they are making calls to rank-and-file Republicans, just to be safe.

But, you know, if Boehner isn't deposed as speaker, he is going to start the Congress back on its heels a bit because of this rebellion, no matter how big it is -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Dana, thank you for that.

Senator Dianne Feinstein calling for new laws and policy changes that will bar the U.S. government from torturing detainees. The outgoing chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, she spearheaded a five- year investigation into the use of these enhanced interrogation tactics by the CIA post-9/11. She just sent a letter to President Obama calling for better CIA oversight and says she plans to introduce legislation in this new Congress that would outlaw torture and ban the spy agency from detaining prisoners.

BERMAN: Kurdish forces are slowly beating back ISIS fighters in the battle for the town of Kobani. A monitoring group says the Kurds now control 80 percent of the northern Syrian city after recapturing the government square. Fourteen ISIS militants reportedly killed in Monday's battle. U.S. led airstrikes in the region helped the Kurds gain the upper hand there.

ROMANS: Eleven minutes past the hour. Time for an early start on your money.

An ugly start to the new year for stocks. U.S. stock futures down a bit right now after a selloff yesterday. Dow dropped 331 points. S&P also fell about 2 percent.

The main reason? Oil. Crude oil fell more than 5 percent yesterday. And it's still sliding this morning, sitting below $49 a barrel right now.

Experts now predict oil could fall as low as $30 a barrel before finding a floor, although no one knows for sure. Prices are falling on weak demand, weaker global demand. That is causing concerns about a global recession. It's also because of a supply glut here in the U.S.

Low prices are great for drivers, but devastating for energy producers in countries who depend on oil revenue. This is probably the biggest story in business right now, this huge decline in oil prices. Good for consumers, but really destabilizing.

BERMAN: Everyone has issues. You know, it affects your 401k, it also affects geopolitical relations, everywhere.

ROMANS: Yes, absolutely.

All right. Happening now: a polar plunge across the country. Millions facing fast falling temperatures. How low will they go and how long will it last? Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: All right. The coldest blast of arctic air so far this winter is hitting the U.S. right now.

BERMAN: Yes, many states seeing temperatures up to 35 degrees below average for early January.

Look at South Dakota, slammed by snow and sub-zero temperatures. You see people out there trying to get around because they are strong in South Dakota. It's South Dakota. A half foot of snow is expected in areas there.

ROMANS: Chains on the tires and go. They could have used chains there. A 20-car pile up closed down part of the Interstate 80 near Des Moines. We're told several people were taken to the hospital. Fortunately, they are expected to be OK.

BERMAN: To the East, snow coming down hard in Fulton, New York. Three inches falling per hour there. Officials say the lake-effect snow prompted more accidents than 911 dispatchers could even count.

ROMANS: Frightening moments for a mother in Maine, driving with her son, ice and snow flew off the car in front of her, shattering her windshield. Fortunately, no one was hurt. Heather Rosinmeld (ph) told our affiliate WMTW her adrenaline was pumping.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It could have been worse. It could have been an accident, you know? It could have gone through my windshield.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Oh, she is lucky.

Those temperatures are pushing south and east from the Midwest.

Let's get to meteorologist Pedram Javaheri for an early look at your weather -- Pedram.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, good Tuesday morning, John and Christine. Let's talk about what's happening here nationally.

Pretty impressive set up when it comes to massive Arctic air across the central and northern tier of the country. Some snow showers in the forecast out there in northeast. But the major metro cities generally are going to see light flurries across the region, not much in the way of accumulations. But this area of high pressure among the strongest areas of high pressure we have ever seen across the Lower 48. It kind of sets up in place and anywhere surrounding this region, you're going to have generally clear skies. But it looks like it's nice outside.

But look at the wind chills. Tuesday morning, 8:30 in the morning, local time, anywhere from 22 to 20 below zero across portions of Chicago up to Minneapolis. Come Wednesday morning, even colder. Chicago touching 30 below zero, and almost 40 below zero in and around Minneapolis.

Of course, we know some schools have been closed here because of how cold it is. You don't want your kids outside. But for some buses, even the diesel buses having a tough time starting today. So, certainly not a setup that you want with these temperatures across the board.

National perspective, 5 is the best we can do in Minneapolis. Highs getting up into the mid-20s around New York City. Even colder still come Wednesday across that region.

Let's send it back to you.

BERMAN: All right. Our tanks to Pedram.

A member of the grand jury that cleared Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson in the Michael Brown shooting is suing to lift a gag order preventing them from speaking publicly about the case. A federal lawsuit named the St. Louis County prosecutor as defendant. It says the unidentified grand juror wants to talk about the experience to contribute to the national conversation on race relations. It is a crime for grand jury members to speak out without permission from the court. ROMANS: Survivalist Eric Matthew Frein will stand trial. At a preliminary hearing Monday, a judge ruled there was sufficient evidence against Frein. He is charged with murder in ambush-killing of trooper Bryon Dickson outside his barracks in September. Alex Douglas was critically wounded. Frein arrested after a 48-day manhunt. Prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty.

BERMAN: The son of the hedge fund founder Thomas Gilbert is charged with murdering his father. Police arrested 30-year-old Thomas Gilbert Jr. after his 70-year-old father was shot to death in the family's New York apartment. Police say the motive was the parent's plan to cut Gilbert Jr.'s allowance. They say the son visited his parents Sunday and asked his mother to leave to speak privately with the father. When she returned, Thomas Gilbert Sr. was dead. Police found the son hours later at his own apartment.

ROMANS: Day two of the jury selection trial of accused Boston marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. The defendant was in court Monday. Tsarnaev is facing 30 criminal counts in the 2013 marathon bombings, which killed three people, injured 260 others. And he's also charged in the murder of an MIT police officers days later.

Seating a jury could take as long as a month. Prosecutors and defense lawyers reportedly they had discussed a plea deal in which Tsarnaev would get life without parole. But those talks failed. The federal prosecutors would not take the death penalty off the table.

BERMAN: Attorney General Eric Holder will represent the Obama administration at a funeral for former New York Governor Mario Cuomo. The former three-term governor will be laid to rest at Manhattan church latter this morning. Cuomo died of heart failure on New Year's Day at the age of 82. On Monday, a host of dignitaries paid respects at a wake for Cuomo. Among them, the Vice President Joe Biden and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

ROMANS: United States ski team is reeling this morning from the deaths of two up and coming stars. Twenty-year-old Ronnie Berlack of Vermont and 19-year-old Bryce Astle of Utah, they were killed in an avalanche in Austria. Four other skiers who were with them, they managed to escape with their lives.

BERMAN: Same-sex marriage is now legal in Florida. The statewide ban ended at midnight. Florida becomes the 36th state to legalize gay marriage. On Monday, couples of Miami-Dade County, they got to jump on things with marriage license in hand. Two women who sued the state for the right to marry, obviously overjoyed and shared the news with their adopted son.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFED FEMALE: We got it!

(CHEERS)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have been in a committed relationship, full of love and joy. And now, three children for ten years. So, for us, it's just a piece of paper, but it's a nice validation from the state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: U.S. Supreme Court has a chance to take up the issue of same- sex marriage again this week. Justices will consider whether to act on cases that could perhaps help settle the matter nationwide.

ROMANS: All right. The latest from the Centers for Disease Control says this season's flu bug still has not reached its peak and is widespread in 43 states. Officials say it is particularly nasty this strain of flu and this year's vaccine is not as effective as usual. Twenty-one children have now died from influenza.

I was talking to a pediatrician expert the other day on NEW DAY who said still get a flu shot, because it could mitigate -- you know, it could mitigate some of the effects. Still need the flu shot, but wash hands your hands everybody. It's really a nasty bug this year. Be careful.

BERMAN: It's a big deal.

ROMANS: Twenty-one minutes past the hour. U.S. tennis star Serena Williams struggling in a match in Australia when she suddenly got an urge a espresso. I could use an espresso right now. That will get through this match.

Wait until you hear how the match turned out after she had her caffeine buzz. Andy Scholes in the "Bleacher Report", drink up, Andy, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Tributes pouring in for ESPN's Stuart Scott. Last night, North Carolina remembered one of their proudest alum.

BERMAN: Andy Scholes with more now in the "Bleacher Report".

Good morning, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, BLEACHER REPORT: Yes, good morning, guys.

Yes, Stuart Scott, he never shied away from letting everyone know he went to UNC. And last night, as the Tar Heels hosted Notre Dame, the school paid tribute to Scott. They held a moment of silence before the game. And the entire team wore Stu patches on their jerseys. The student section held up Stu signs during the game.

And every time a Tar Heel would hit a three, the students would also yell Scott's famous catch phrase, Booyah, and this game was closed. UNC, though, came up short, losing to Notre Dame, 71-70.

Now, a three-way trade in the NBA last night. The New York Knicks sent J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert to the Cavs. While Cleveland sent Dion Waiters to the Oklahoma City Thunders. The Thunders sent their first round pick back to the Cavs. Now, you might be asking, what do the Knicks get? They got basically nothing. The made this trade to get J.R. Smith off the books for next season. The Knicks have lost 12 in a row. They currently have the worst record in the NBA.

All right. Serena Williams needed a pick me up yesterday during her match in the Hopland Cup in Australia, after being swept in the first set. She asked the side judge for a cup of Joe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SERENA WILLIAMS, TENNIS PLAYER: Is it illegal to order an espresso.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She said anything there, I need an espresso.

WILLIAMS: Is that allowed?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Apparently, it is legal to order an espresso during a match. It worked. After losing the first set, 0-6, Serena dominated the next two, 6-3, 6-0. And afterwards, guys, she called it her miracle coffee. Just like us. Miracle coffee gets us going through the last hour.

BERMAN: EARLY START keys to victory.

ROMANS: No, she is just an athlete who knows her body and she knows she needed something.

SCHOLES: That's amazing.

ROMANS: That's awesome.

BERMAN: I'm surprised they could get it to her.

SCHOLES: They're pretty quick with it, too.

ROMANS: All right. Thanks, Andy.

Have a good one, guys.

ROMANS: Breaking news this morning: two New York police officers shot in the line of duty. Two more officers shot in New York just days after two others killed. This as tensions heighten between the department and city's mayor. We are live with the very latest on the breaking situation after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)