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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Buried in Boston; Obama Delays Decision on Arming Ukraine; Markets Face Greek Drama; ISIS Releases New Propaganda Video

Aired February 10, 2015 - 05:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now: snow buries the Northeast again. Setting new records, closing schools and grounding flights, making it near impossible for drivers to get anywhere and get this -- it is not over yet. There is a new storm on the horizon. We will give you the forecast.

Ending the war in Ukraine, U.S. and other world leaders pushing for peace, but unable to agree on just how to get there. We'll give you the latest on that front as well.

Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman. Christine Romans is off today. It's 30 minutes past the hour.

We begin with the city of Boston battered and buried by two more feet of snow. That's two new feet in the third major storm in two weeks. It is shattering snowfall records. Boston snow depth registers 37 inches.

That's the deepest ever recorded. The weight of all that snow is too much for roofs. Look at the sheet metal plant. Seven workers were trapped inside when that roof collapsed. They did make it out safely.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Suddenly heard a big hissing sound, knew right away what it was.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Real quiet and all of a sudden, there was like a hissing sound and a creaking sound. And all of a sudden, the ceiling just buckle on underneath.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The guys working with started yelling get out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Let's go live to Boston and bring in Rosa Flores, who has been digging out everyone on the streets there. Good morning, Rosa.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. You know, it is really turned into a deja vu experience for Bostonians. Waking up and seeing all of the snow that you see around me. Now task number one is you get up and you have to clear your sidewalk. Of course, this is why these mounds of snow keep on getting higher and higher. You see them all over. Here's where it becomes treacherous. Imagine driving down the street, you are sitting in your car and this is what you see. You can't see what's around you.

Take a look. You can see the mounds are everywhere. The streets are narrow or not. They are still covering the snow banks. Now, the other place where the snow is packing is roofs. It can be very treacherous and very dangerous.

Take a look at this video because we were actually on a roof top with a company that is paid to remove the snow from the rooftops. They say it is a very tedious process and it is very difficult. They have to work slowly because it is very dangerous for them to work in those conditions.

Now the snow has to go somewhere, right? It is ending up in something called a snow farm. We have video of this, it is pretty much a parking lot that has transformed into mounds of snow and the snow melter turns the snow into water.

Now I want to show you one more thing because these mounds of snow they are really, really high. Let me measure this quickly for you. We are about 47 inches. You think that is a snow drift. No, my friends, Boston, this season has gotten more than 6 feet of snow.

You never know what you will find in the mountains, John. Take a look, parking meter, parking meter, John. You never know. Again, it's one of those things that makes it dangerous. You think it is fluffy snow. No, there is something there. Sometimes you find cars in these mountains of snow. Just on the side of the road.

BERMAN: Do not dive into the snow bank. You don't know what is under it. Rosa Flores is on the streets there. Lift with your legs, not with your back when you are shoveling. You will last longer. Thanks, Rosa.

A dangerous mix of snow and ice triggered a deadly 15-vehicle pile-up on the New Jersey highway last night. One person was killed and dozens more injured near Cranberry, New Jersey that's just outside Manhattan.

Four tractor-trailers and two box trucks were involved in this wreck. Police say the I-95 corridor became very slick, very fast when the temperatures plunged below freezing.

There could be more extreme weather on the way for the northeast. You will want to hear this. Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri is tracking the storm.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good Tuesday morning, John. Yes, after a Monday that brought a daily record, 14.8 inches of snowfall. Back in 2013 on the same exact date we had the same exact amount. It is all beginning to push offshore as it begins to move away we have winter weather advisories in Philly and Baltimore and D.C. wintry mix in the early morning hours. In the afternoon, mostly sunny skies expected to break out in the northeast. Not a bad set up, windy and cold, but sunny. The big story is Thursday into Friday. One storm system goes closer to land. If that is the case, we are seeing significant accumulations by Friday, potentially over a foot.

If we have the snowstorm push offshore, the accumulations will be less, higher amounts over a foot for Boston and 4 to 6 inches for New York by Friday morning. The cold air supports this late into the week arctic air and low temperatures in Boston in the single digits and highs on Sunday in New York, 11 degrees -- John.

BERMAN: No chance to melt. All right, Pedram, thanks so much.

Secretary of State John Kerry, the highest ranking U.S. official to endorse sending arms to Ukraine. He shared his feelings with lawmakers, but President Obama is taking a wait-and-see approach.

The president met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreeing to hold off on a decision until Merkel meets Wednesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Let's get more now senior White House correspondent, Jim Acosta.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: John, President Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel tried to show a united front when it comes to dealing with the Russian aggression in Ukraine, but the two leaders, they sounded very far apart on that key question of sending arms to the Ukrainian military.

The president made it clear he may well take his confrontation with Russian President Vladimir Putin to the next level and ship arms to Ukraine to fight those pro-Moscow separatists. Here is what the president had to say at a news conference here at the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What I've asked my team to do is look at all options. What other means can we put in place to change Mr. Putin's calculus and the possibility of lethal defensive weapons is one of those options that is being examined, but I have not made a decision about that yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: But Chancellor Merkel wants the White House to wait at least until Wednesday when she is expected to sit down with Putin to try to hammer out a peace deal.

But with Russia already is accused of violating past agreements and sanctions having little effect on Putin, the Obama administration is dropping plenty of hints it may move forward with those arm shipments if the talks fail.

But in a sign of the internal debate within this administration, the president downplayed the impact of helping Ukraine defend itself. Worth noting the president was asked whether he had a red line for dealing with Vladimir Putin. He offered no red line for when Russia might go too far -- John.

BERMAN: All right, Jim Acosta at the White House. The next big location in the discussion is Belarus. The leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France, and Germany, scheduled to meet face-to-face tomorrow. The leaders of all four countries have been communicating for days, but can they reach a deal to end the bloodshed in Eastern Ukraine?

Let's bring in Erin McLaughlin live from Moscow watching this. Good morning, Erin.

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. All sides say they want a peaceful resolution to this crisis, but all sides continue to blame each other as well. Today, we heard from the spokesperson for President Putin, who he criticized the west saying that they are trying to destabilize the situation in Eastern Ukraine with talks of sanctions as well as potential weapons supplies to the Ukrainian government.

We've also heard from the Russian defense ministry announced that they will now allow Ukrainian military inspectors into the region of Russia which is on the border to southeastern Ukraine. They will be allowed there until February 12th.

No word yet if the Ukrainian military is actually going to take them up on that offer. This is an attempt on the part of Russia to counter those accusations, ongoing accusations from the west that Russia continues to supply military personnel and equipment fueling this conflict.

It could also potentially be seen, this announcement as a gesture of goodwill ahead of the talks scheduled for Minsk tomorrow. As to the contents of the ongoing negotiations, well, few details have been made public.

There is talk of a potential demilitarization zone. But it remains to be seen just how far apart these two sides are from some sort of compromise -- John.

BERMAN: Interesting to see if they all sit down together and talk tomorrow what comes of it. All right, Erin McLaughlin in Moscow for us. Thanks so much.

Let's get an EARLY START on your money right now. Cristina Alesci is here with that.

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, a bit of a cliff hanger in Greece weighing on the markets and whether or not that country can come to some sort of agreement with the lenders. Worst-case scenario, of course, is the Greek default or an exit entirely from the Eurozone.

Those are weighing on markets around the world. Asian shares ended the day mixed and European shares are following that lead looking a bit cautious this morning.

U.S. stock futures aren't moving just yet. Yesterday, of course, the Dow fell 95 points, and what happens here on out will depend in part on Greece, but also on companies reporting earnings. We will hear from Coca-Cola today before the bell.

A slew of consumer companies reporting this week that will give us a check on just how healthy the American consumer is -- John.

BERMAN: All right, Cristina Alesci, thanks so much.

ISIS releasing a new video of journalist hostage, John Cantlie, his chilling words raise new questions. We're live with the latest next.

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BERMAN: As soon as today, President Obama could formally ask Congress to authorize the use of military force against ISIS. This comes one day after the release of this latest ISIS propaganda video, which shows hostage, John Cantlie, a British journalist, being forced to report for the terror group. His opening comments do sound ominous.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN CANTLIE, BRITISH JOURANLIST HELD HOSTAGE BY ISIS: Hello. I'm John Cantlie. In the last film in the series, we are in the city where it's been at the heart of the fighting since summer of 2012.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: He said the last film in this series. That does have some officials concerned what ISIS may do to him. Still no word on the fate of American hostage, Kayla Mueller, the State Department says it is working around the clock to determine whether she is still alive.

New intelligence does reveal that ISIS is planning to kidnap more western and international hostages in countries such as Lebanon and Jordan that as Iraqi troops prepare to launch a major ground offensive to take back parts of Iraq that are now controlled by ISIS.

Let's bring in Phil Black live from Erbil in Northern Iraq. Good morning, Phil.

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. Let's talk about the hostages you mentioned. First of all, the British journalist seemingly doing a reporter's job on what you would expect reporting from ISIS-controlled territory.

But of course, the expectation, the understanding is that Cantlie is in fact not acting under his own free will. He has filed a number of these ISIS videos. This one comes from the area around the Syrian city of Aleppo.

He talks about damage inflicted he says by both Syrian raging forces and by international coalition as well while generally painting a picture of a community thriving under ISIS control. It is distinct from previous videos featuring this man because of that statement.

He says it is the last in the series and that is ominous because of the way we have come to understand the grotesque, dramatic ways in which ISIS has recently been executing high value and western hostages.

That, of course, very much adding to the concern about the current condition or the safety or whereabouts of Kayla Mueller, the 26-year- old American aid worker, who has been a long-time ISIS hostage.

ISIS recently said that she had been killed in an air strike conducted by the Jordanian military. A lot of skepticism about that statement, but since that statement, there has been no word indicating where she is or the other where she is alive or whether she is alive and well or otherwise.

Meanwhile here in Northern Iraq, it is ISIS that is very much under military pressure. It is on the frontlines of the region. The Kurdish fighters believed they are increasingly containing ISIS preventing it from striking out and capturing new territory.

And the latest important development Kurdish-Peshmerga fighters with the assistance of air power captured three objectives, bridge hits north of the city of Mosul.

All of this effort to contain and stop ISIS is the first step and is expected to be followed by a major military operation in the coming months to clear that remaining ISIS-held territory and that includes the Iraqi city of Mosul -- John.

BERMAN: Phil Black for us in Erbil. A lot of activity not far from where Phil is right now. Thanks so much, Phil.

Let's take a look at what is coming up on NEW DAY. Alisyn Camerota joins us now. Good morning, Alisyn.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": Hi, John. Great to see you. So we are covering the historic snowfall throughout the northeast. It has paralyzed the region. Boston has never seen this much snow in the space of one month and that's saying a lot for Boston. You won't believe what that city is doing to get rid of the snow now.

Also, we are watching the violence in Eastern Ukraine. Russia and European leaders meet tomorrow to discuss a peace plan. Will President Obama arm the Ukraine soldiers? We are talking about the experts about what happens if diplomacy fails.

Join us at the top of the hour when we talk about all of that and, John, stick around until the end of the show because Chris and I took on a fitness challenge for a great cause, PTSD. You have to see how we pulled off this fitness challenge.

BERMAN: I hope you won. That guy cheats. Alisyn, thank you.

It's 47 minutes after the hour right now. Same-sex marriage now legal in a new state, but this time, state judges are refusing to back down. There's a battle brewing. We will explain next.

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BERMAN: Happening now, controversy in Alabama. Despite getting the legal go ahead from the U.S. Supreme Court, many Alabama counties have refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Even though they were supposed to start on Monday instead at least 53 of 67 counties are following the chief justice of the state in defiance of the court order. He called for judges allowing same-sex marriages to be pun punished.

The measles outbreak spread to three more states and Washington, D.C. The Centers for Disease Control now reports 121 cases of measles in 17 states and the nation's capital. The largest number of cases, 88, is in California where the outbreak began at Disneyland. The resurgence in measles is largely due to the growing number of people not having children vaccinated or delaying vaccinations.

Jeb Bush is releasing a whole bunch of e-mails. The former Florida governor and really a guy who seems to be running for president right now, just released 275,000 e-mails from his eight years as Florida's chief executive along with the first chapter of a new e-book now posted on his web site.

Chris Christie in Iowa again, this is trip number 13 to Iowa for Chris Christie, who is not the governor of Iowa, but governor of New Jersey. He is testing the waters for a possible 2016 presidential bid. The governor spoke at a Republican fundraiser Monday night. In a poll of likely Iowa caucus goers, Governor Christie tied for eighth place among potential Republican contenders.

Senator Marco Rubio from Florida is sending a signal that he is serious about a White House bid in 2016. The Florida Republican has hired a former Mitt Romney aide to oversee his political activities in the east. He directed two New Hampshire primary campaigns for Governor Romney.

Oil prices rising again, an EARLY START on your money next.

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BERMAN: Time now for an EARLY START on your money. Cristina Alesci is here with that.

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: Looks like markets are taking a pause right now. U.S. stock futures are barely moving. It's really too early to tell if we can shake off yesterday's slide. That is what I'll watch for. The Dow dropped 95 points.

Of course, worries about Greece's debt and bailout conditions are dragging markets around the world. Investors are weighing the possibility of a Greek default or even worse an exit from the Eurozone entirely.

So we have to talk about oil because is the plunge finally over? Oil prices have been hammered for months, but they seem to be stabilizing now hovering around $52 for several days. Is this rebound here to stay or is this just a pause?

No consensus on that. The international energy agency says spending cuts and fewer rigs are re reducing supply. One analyst is warning of $20 oil in the near future. That would be incredibly destabilizing for many countries around the world. We will have to see how that plays out.

BERMAN: Will it go down or go up or stay the same? One of those will happen. Cristina Alesci, thanks so much.

A monster snowstorm buries the northeast and guess what, there's more coming. "NEW DAY" has that starting right now.