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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Europe Targets Russia with New Sanctions; Snowstorm Slams Northeast; Grammys: Big Wins & Performances; Soccer Fans Clash with Police in Egypt
Aired February 09, 2015 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Ending the crisis in Ukraine. President Obama and other world leaders trying to stop the violence. This morning, the United States considering arming Ukrainian military against pro-Russian rebels. How will Russia respond? We have live team coverage breaking down the very latest this morning.
A new huge storm slamming the Northeast. Records could be broken. This morning, flights are grounded. Schools canceled. People warned to stay off the roads. A morning commute could prove treacherous. We will tell you what you need to know, ahead.
And a big night at Grammys. Performances, big wins and big surprises. We break it all down. It's coming up.
Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman. About 30 minutes past the hour. Christine Romans is off today.
We begin with the West struggling to stop the carnage in Ukraine. German Chancellor Angela Merkel meeting face-to-face with President Obama in Washington this morning. Merkel favors sanctions against Russia if Vladimir Putin does not agree to end the fighting in Eastern Ukraine by Wednesday. President Obama facing mounting pressure to arm Ukraine, something Merkel strongly opposes.
Our Frederik Pleitgen is live in Kiev this morning. Good morning, Fred.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.
And the E.U. is actually getting together earlier today and they are deciding on whether or not to expand sanctions against certain Russian individuals. It's not additional sanctions against whole sectors of the Russian economy, however against individuals. However, one of the things that we always need to point out is that until this point in time, sanctions have had virtually no effect on Russia as it pertains to the battle there in Eastern Ukraine. It has not made Russia change its course at all.
And so, certainly, the people here in Kiev, the government here in Kiev, does see the upcoming talks there in Minsk in the capital of Belarus said to happen on Wednesday probably as the best chance of trying to get some sort of cease-fire agreement going. There is however still a lot of work that still needs to be done.
There are consultations today in the German capital of Berlin, where all parties to these negotiations, the German, the French, of course, the Russians and the Ukrainians are going to have working level meetings to try and hammer out a new agreement to finally get a cease- fire going. So, I wouldn't say that there is an air of optimism here in Kiev, that the fighting could come to an end soon, but certainly they are saying at least right now, all sides talking to each other and trying to hammer something out.
And, of course, in the backdrop of that, Ukrainians have seen cease- fires in the past. However, of course, those have laid in shatters only days after they'd been signed. That's one of the reasons why they want what they call defensive weapons from the U.S. It's a big topic here in the Ukrainian capital, John.
BERMAN: Indeed. So many of these agreements have been broken very, quickly.
Frederik Pleitgen for us in Kiev. Thanks so much.
As Fred mentioned, European leaders say they are moving forward with a new round of sanctions against Russia, targeting nine unidentified organizations in nearly 20 Russian or Ukrainian individuals. The highest profile target appears to be Russia's deputy defense minister.
I want to go live to Moscow and bring in senior international correspondent Matthew Chance.
Do the Russians feel, Matthew, that they are close to peace?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Russians publicly, of course, say that they are in favor of peace, that they already agreed to a cease-fire that was broken in Minsk before, the capital of Belarus, in September. But they blame the Ukraine government side for failing to uphold that truce. And so, that's been one of the things that's characterized this whole process.
Both sides blaming each other for violating the terms of earliest cease-fires, a complete lack of trust, not between with the warring parties on the ground but between the West and Russia. I mean, the West regards virtually everything that Putin says with the high degree of skepticism. And Russia believes that this crisis in Ukraine, the fighting in Ukraine is a part of a broader attempt by the West to undermine Russia and deprive it of its natural sort of sphere of influence. And so, underlying this whole crisis in Ukraine is this growing distrust between Russia and the West, John.
BERMAN: And, Matthew, we know that the sanctions, the Western sanctions, haven't stopped Russia's involvement in eastern Ukraine, but what effect are they having inside Russia itself?
CHANCE: They are having an impact, definitely. The economy is suffering here extremely severely. But much of that is not to do with the sanctions, but drop in oil price. Russia is highly dependent on its exports of crude oil, the finances, the crude oil prices virtually halved, more than halved over the course of the past several months. That's had a real impact.
The sanctions imposed by the United States and European Union have made matters worse. They compounded the problems. They cut off individuals and companies in Russia from Western financial markets. That's made it much more difficult to refinance loans and things like that.
But it's really the oil prices having an impact. And more importantly, the sanctions have had no impact whatsoever on Russia's policy. They are still backing those pro-Russian rebels in the eastern Ukraine, although, of course, they say they only give them political and diplomatic backing, it hasn't detracted from the level of support that the Russians are giving them.
BERMAN: Matthew Chance for us in Moscow, thanks so much.
Secretary of State John Kerry insists the West has the unified front in its effort to stop the conflict in Ukraine, but there is a lot of disagreement over the issue of whether or not to arm the Ukrainian military in their struggle against the Russian separatists. That makes diplomacy delicate.
Let's gets more now from Erin McPike.
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ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The ongoing crisis between Ukraine and Russia is certain to top the agenda of the meeting today between President Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. And we'll hear from the two of them later today in a press conference after that meeting. That's all happening as the debate is growing between American and European leaders about whether providing lethal aid to Ukraine could be counterproductive that it would escalate the situation with Russia, rather than deescalate it.
Now, that debate will be a key point of preliminary diplomatic talks in Berlin tomorrow and again at a proposed peace summit in Belarus on Wednesday.
Remember, the Obama administration is still hoping for a political solution to this crisis, but they are leaving an opening. Secretary of State John Kerry was in Europe for a security conference over the weekend, and on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday, he left room for the U.S. to alter its strategy if Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn't stand down. Listen here.
JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF THE STATE: The solution is a political diplomatic one, but President Putin has got to make the decision to take an off-ramp. And we have to make it clear to him that we are absolutely committed to the sovereignty and integrity of Ukraine, no matter what.
MCPIKE: Kerry and Vice President Biden continued to stress in Europe this weekend that Ukraine does have the right to defend itself, but they're obviously trying to stop short of creating conditions for an all-out war. Although as some Republicans are now calling on the administration to provide that lethal aid, it appears some senior officials are beginning to open the door to some new option.
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BERMAN: Erin McPike, thanks so much.
DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson is warning that now is not the time for Congress to play politics with funding for Homeland Security. Some Republicans are trying to reverse the president's executive actions on immigration in any spending bill for Homeland Security, any funding bill for homeland security. DHS funding dries up in less than three weeks. The secretary says if this happens, 30,000 DHS workers will have to be furloughed. He says America's security will suffer.
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JEH JOHNSON, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Just say, well, we'll just make them come to work without pay, first of all, is a real challenge for working men and women of my department. Second, it means furloughing at least 30,000 of our department and cutting back very significantly on our operations, our operations to pursue homeland security. So, this is not a situation to make light of in these challenging times. We need a fully-funded Department of Homeland Security.
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BERMAN: Johnson is asking for an increase in funding over last year's level. He says he needs the money to pay for extra Secret Service agents for the 2016 presidential election and more equipment for state and local police agencies.
If an agreement is not reached in the coming weeks, it will be impossible to extend nuclear negotiations with Iran. That is according to hat Secretary of State John Kerry says. He insists that major points of agreement must be in place by next month. He claims the Iranians have had more than enough time to prove their nuclear program is peaceful.
Boston and much of the Northeast in the grips of another snowstorm. Snow falling hard in parts of New England with some areas facing up to more than two feet more of snow. Boston still digging out from 55 inches of snow, and the mayor says there is no place to put it all.
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MARTY WALSH, BOSTON MAYOR: Adding to last week's snowfalls in a span of time, this is an unprecedented area that we're heading in now here in the city of Boston as far as the amount of snow.
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BERMAN: Parts of New England have already seen half a foot of snow overnight. Let's get the forecast from meteorologist Karen Maginnis.
KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: John, we are focused on Boston because it is staggering. This is the third snowstorm that we have seen in as many weeks. And already piled up is 63 inches of snowfall, way above where they should be for this time of year. They are wondering where to put the snow, the snow-zilla. Removing the snow from some of the railroad tracks. It's hard to keep up.
They are saying schools are closed. If you don't have to get out in this, don't, because some areas could see between 12 and 24 inches of snow. And then after the snowstorm, we're looking at some of the coldest temperatures that we have seen all season. Just to the south of Connecticut, this is where we are looking at the icy mixture on Long Island and to New York and extending towards Philadelphia, even just to the north of Baltimore, those roads are going to be slick, they're going to be dangerous.
You may not see much in the way of accumulation, but nonetheless, the impact is going to be great. The impact is going to be not just on the roads, but for air travelers, it's going to be slowing, expect some lengthy delays. About 43 million people expected to be impacted -- John.
BERMAN: All right. What a mess. Thanks, Karen.
Time for an early start now on our money. Cristina Alesci is here.
Good morning.
CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
Stocks are not having a great morning. Futures are moving lower. That aside, stocks are finally on track this year. Last week, the Dow climbed almost 4 percent. And that made up for some big losses in January. We're actually up for the year right now. But there's a lot to consider, including concerns about Greece's debt and its fed interest rate hike.
And, of course, we are watching oil. Crude oil prices stabilized a bit in the last few days, hovering around $52 a barrel right now. But it is unclear if prices have found a floor or if this is just a pause in the seven-month slide.
And the biggest oil worker strike in 35 years is getting larger. Another 1,400 workers joined in yesterday. That's on top of 3,800 already protesting at 11 plants, what they call unsafe working conditions, John.
There hasn't been an impact at the pump so far because there hasn't been any kind of supply disruption. But perceptions about supply disruption could impact pricing going forward. So, we'll have to watch that, keep a close eye on whether or not your gas bill will go up.
BERMAN: Yes, that has effect of raising gas prices, as the overall price of oil has been falling.
All right. Cristina Alesci, thanks so much.
ALESCI: Exactly.
BERMAN: The music industry's biggest night. It was very big for singer/songwriter Sam Smith. He took home four Grammys, including two of the biggest prizes, song of the year and record of the year for "Stay with Me".
Album of the year went to Beck, which was a big surprise for a lot of people. He also won best rock album. Beyonce won for best R&B performance for the song "Drunk in Love." Joan Rivers won a Grammy in the best spoken word category. Her daughter Melissa was there to accept the award on the behalf of her late mother.
As always the show featured many live performances. Who is that? It's Madonna performing her new song "Living for Love."
That's Tony Bennett along with Lady Gaga. They have been on tour together.
And that is Rihanna and Kanye West and also Paul McCartney doing their song "For Five Seconds." Yes, big night.
Forty-two minutes after the hour. Dozens killed outside Cairo soccer stadium. Dramatic video capturing this chaos. What started it all? We are live in Egypt right after the break.
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BERMAN: Egyptian government has suspended all Premier League soccer matches in that country after a deadly clash Sunday between fans and police. The government newspaper reports that 30 people were killed before the game even started. They blame the violence on stampeding fans who did not have ticket.
Ian Lee is live in Cairo this morning.
Ian, what went on here?
IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, we are getting a better picture of what took place. Thousands of soccer fans tried to enter the stadium through a narrow metal gateway. Some described it as a cage. That's when a surge of fans tried to force their way in without tickets. This is according to the ministry of interior. Then, they used tear gas to disburse them.
The resulting stampede is where we're getting a lot of these deaths. People trying to run away, fleeing for their lives only to be trampled to death. And we have pictures of the morning after that show a lot of the shoes of the people who died and also people who tried to run away and ran out of their shoes.
I went to the morgue last night after the incident. Family members waiting outside to collect the bodies of their loved ones. One father told me that his son, his only child, went to the game to enjoy a great soccer match, but now, he is picking him up at the morgue.
A lot of blame going around, some blaming the fans for trying to enter. But a lot going to the government and police force, saying that they did not have the safety measures in place to make sure something like this didn't happen.
BERMAN: Which is shocking Ian given the history of the violence at soccer games in Egypt over the last several years.
LEE: That's right. 2012, actually almost three years ago, over 70 people were killed in clashes between rival soccer fans at a stadium in the northern coast city of Port Said. They suspended matches after that. After that, they would not allow fans to attend matches. And really, it was only until recently, just the past few weeks that they started to allow fans to attend these matches again and we are getting another incident like we saw in Port Said.
BERMAN: All right. Ian Lee for us in Cairo. Pretty disturbing there. Thanks so much, Ian.
Coalition air strikes are pounding ISIS targets in Syria and Iraq. At least a dozen attacks were launched in Mosul, that's a city in northern Iraq that has been occupied by ISIS for months. Kurdish forces are now trying to surround Mosul to cut off supply lines from Syria for ISIS. This as the parents of American hostage Kayla Mueller plead with ISIS to contact them, they believe their daughter is still alive, that despite claims by the extremists that a Jordanian air strike killed her last week.
Bill Cosby cancelling shows after a new accuser comes forward. What a former model says the comedian did to her. That is next.
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BERMAN: Alabama's top judge has ordered all other judges in the state not to perform same sex marriages, even though they become legal starting today. Chief Justice Roy Moore claims that a federal judge's decision to strike down the state's ban on gay marriage last month is creating confusion and disarray. Moore insists that any marriage between individual of the same sex in Alabama is invalid. Gay couples are expected to line up for marriage licenses later this morning. It is not clear whether they will be granted them.
Potential billion dollar settlement and concussion claims against the NFL is reportedly close to be approved by a federal judge. The deal was expected to cover some 20,000 retired NFL players. It would compensate players who develop dementia or neurological problems related to concussion suffered during their careers. Critics say that the NFL should have to pay even more.
Former fashion model is the latest Bill Cosby accuser. The comedian cancelled back to back show in Boston on Sunday. Helen Gumpel claims that Cosby made sexual advances toward her while in his dressing room on the set of the Cosby Show. At least 15 women accused the 77-year- old Cosby of sexual assault. He has not been charged with any crime.
An alarming new report this morning revealing how vulnerable your car could be to hackers. An early start on your money, next.
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BERMAN: Let's get an early start on your money. Cristina Alesci is here with that.
ALESCI: Yes, a rock start for stocks this morning. Futures are lower, that's because there are a few things weighing on the market right now, especially those negotiations over Greece's bailout. But that aside, stocks seem to be on track this year.
Last week, the Dow climbed almost 4 percent, and that made up for big losses in January. We're actually slightly up for the year.
Now, yet another place we are vulnerable to hackers, our cars. A report from the senator's office out today finds will are major security gaps in almost every vehicle that uses wireless technology. That means hackers can take control of the car or collect the driver's personal information.
But get this, the majority of automakers are sharing that information with third parties. That includes where the driver has been and where the car is parked. Nowhere is safe for your personal information these days.
Sheryl Sandberg says women get stuck with most of the office house work. That sounds awful. In a "New York Times" op-ed with Morton Adams Grant (ph), the Facebook says women are expected to be nurturing and communal, but men on the other hand are expected to help colleagues -- are not expected to help colleagues.
They write, someone has to take notes, serve on committees and plan meetings. And just as happens with house work at home, that someone is usually a woman. There's a couple of interesting anecdotes in the story. One of which is a woman sitting in a board meeting and several junior people around her. The chairman of the board instead of asking those junior people for a soda, turned around and asked a woman to go fetch a soda for him.
So --
BERMAN: I have to check that out.
ALESCI: Colorful examples there.
BERMAN: Thank you so much.
ALESCI: Of course.
BERMAN: EARLY START continues right now.
