Return to Transcripts main page

Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Boko Haram Pledges Loyalty to ISIS; Walk Away from Iran?; 5 Arrests in Putin Opponent's Killing

Aired March 09, 2015 - 04:00   ET

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

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Worst fears realized in the fight against terror. ISIS and Boko Haram said to be joining forces. How can the West slow their united force of brutality? Details moments, away.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Nuclear talks with Iran down to the wire. Now, President Obama says he is willing to walk away. He is warning Tehran it has to agree to what he calls a reasonable deal. We will tell you where the president draws the line.

ROMANS: And bizarre developments following the shooting death of a political foe of Vladimir Putin. Five suspects appear in court, a sixth suspect blows himself up as police close in. All the developments this morning.

Good morning. Welcome to early start. I'm Christine Romans.

BERMAN: I'm John Berman. Good to see you. It is Monday, March 9th, 4:00 a.m. in the East.

And new this morning, America's highest ranked general I think just arrived in Iraq. Joint of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey is set to hold talks with Iraqi officials and U.S. commanders. The general's visit comes as the new offensive begins in the war against Islamic terror, not in Iraq however. Hundreds of troops from Chad and Niger are launching ground and air attacks against Boko Haram in northeastern Nigeria. That offensive begins one day after Boko Haram pledged its allegiance to ISIS. In an audio message purportedly recorded by the group's leader.

I want to bring in our senior international correspondent Nima Elbagir live in London this morning.

What's the latest, Nima?

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

Well, it definitely gives you a sense that Boko Haram is feeling that squeeze. They have been losing territory to the combined multiregional force of Chad and Niger. And this new offensive is big part of. But it's also important to point out that they also have been pushing

back. We have had the horrifying attacks across the north of Nigeria over the weekend in which dozens of people lost their lives. And now, of course, this audio message purported to be from Abubakar Shekau, the leader of Boko Haram. If it is true, most of those we have been speaking to, they have no reason to believe it isn't, this will give ISIS an arc of allegiance that really travels to extremist groups, from one coast of Africa to the other and breaks it out of the containment policy that the U.S. and coalition allies have been trying so hard to maintain in Iraq and Syria.

For Boko Haram, what do they get out of it? Well, a raised propaganda profile. For groups like this, John, usually translates into two lifelines of foreign recruitment and foreign donation. And it's also, for both of these parties, it's about bringing together two pretty big brand names if that's not to facetious to put it, two brand names in terms of this inflection of horror and terror on the civilian communities. And it really gives the sense of an internationalization of this extremist problem that the U.S. and its allies are facing, John.

BERMAN: Nima, it also shows how ISIS, while it maybe being blunted on the ground in places like Iraq and in northern Syria, and this Kurdish region, it is expanding at least elsewhere at the same time.

Nima Elbagir for us in London, thanks so much.

ROMANS: More priceless antiquities destroyed at the hands of ISIS militants. The government of Iraq is investigating claims that ISIS has attacked the ancient archeological site of Khorsabad in northern Iraq. In just the last few weeks, the extremist group has smashed artifacts at the Mosul museum and raised millennial old archaeological sites Nimrud and Hatra. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called the destruction a war crime.

President Obama is promising he'll walk away from the nuclear deal with Iran unless it includes tight inspections and what he calls unprecedented transparency. With just weeks until the deadline for the outline of the deal, the president says he thinks an agreement can happen.

CNN's Erin McPike has more from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, the president said he and other foreign leaders have offered Iran an extremely deal and he explained to this weekend to CBS just why he's optimistic.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think it is fair to say that there is an urgency, because we now have been negotiating for well over a year and the good news is, is that during this period, Iran has abided by the terms of the agreement. We know what's happening on the ground in Iran. They have not advanced their nuclear program. We have been able to rollback their 20 percent highly enriched uranium during this period of time. It's given us unprecedented access into what they are doing. So, we are not losing anything through these talks.

MCPIKE: He also conceded that there are some gaps in the negotiation negotiations, but he said he believes he'll know in about a month's time if Iran seems willing to accept this deal. We should also point Secretary of State John Kerry has been traveling overseas the past week consulting with U.S. allies on this issue -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Our thanks to Erin for that.

New this morning, police in Russia have arrested five suspects they say in the killing of the top opposition figure in that country, Boris Nemtsov. A sixth suspect blew himself up after a standoff with police. With these suspects right now to appear in court, the looming question is, did they act alone or on orders from someone higher up.

I want to turn to our international Matthew Chance with the latest.

Good morning, Matthew.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

That's right. These five suspects have appeared in court over weekend. One of them has confessed to the killing. He has been named as Zaur Dadayev. He's from Chechnya, as all of them are. And the other four are protesting their innocence and so, very interesting situation.

Boris Nemtsov, of course, prominent opposition leader in the country, one of the lines of inquiry has been that it wasn't because of his political activities, it was because of opposition's comments he made. Remember the "Charlie Hebdo" attacks in Paris earlier this year, essentially he spoke out against that. The line of inquiry that was always being pursued, one of them by officials here is because of that he was targeted and killed, not because of his opposition to the Kremlin. Obviously, you might see that as very convenient for the Kremlin who many opposition figure say is responsible for the killing of Boris Nemtsov.

But nevertheless, that line of inquiry appears to be borne out by the official investigation at the moment. In fact, the pro-Kremlin Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has spoken out, actually praising the self-confessed assassin, saying that he was a brave and true Russian patriot, John.

BERMAN: Matthew Chance for us -- so many questions there. I'm not sure we will ever get complete answers. But thanks so much for that report.

ROMANS: Breaking overnight, the president of South Korea paying a surprise visit to U.S. ambassador Mark Lippert in the hospital. Officials say she went immediately to see the ambassador after returning from the Middle East. Lippert is recovering after his face was slashed by a man opposed to joint military drills being conducted by the U.S. and South Korea.

BERMAN: Hillary Clinton is set to make a public appearance here in New York City. Not clear whether the former secretary of state will directly address the e-mail scandal that has been haunting here days, whether she's going to take question. She will be in the Times Square Theater with daughter Chelsea and Melinda Gates for women's rights event, as one of her biggest supporters urged to break her silence and explain why she used a personal e-mail address to conduct government business at the State Department.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D), CALIFORNIA: What I would like is for her to come forward and say just what the situation is, because she is the preeminent political figure right now. She is the leading candidate, whether Republican or Democrat, for the next -- to be the next president. I think that she needs to step up and come out and stay exactly what the situation is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Senator Feinstein, she says if Clinton does not address the email scandal now, that silence is going to hurt her.

ROMANS: What a turnout in Selma, Alabama, to mark the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. Tens of thousands of people stood as one last night to remember the violent confrontation between police and protesters that helps bring about the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The weekend wrapped with a commemorative march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Attorney General Eric Holder spoke to the crowd, saying despite our progress, the right to vote is now under siege.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC HOLDER, ATTORNEY GENERAL: Without adequate political power and representation, people of color continue to be marginalized, stigmatized, brutalized, and denied their very humanity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: On Saturday, President Obama and first family led a way across the Selma bridge, hand in hand with Georgia Congressman John Lewis, who was a leader in the 1965 march.

BERMAN: Testimony resumes this morning in the trial of accused Boston marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Last week, jurors heard gripping testimony from survivors, including one who lost both legs and helped police identify Tsarnaev. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in that attack that killed three people and injured more than 260.

ROMANS: A police forensic expert will be back on the stand today in the murder trial of former NFL star Aaron Hernandez. She testified Friday that the DNA of both Hernandez and his alleged victim Odin Lloyd were present on a marijuana blunt found at the crime scene. Jurors could also hear testimony today from a baby sitter regarding his state of mind the night of the killing. BERMAN: A protest rally will be held this morning on the University of Oklahoma campus after a video surfaced apparently showing fraternity members there engaged in a racist chants. The Oklahoma chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon has been shut down after a video emerged, showing people chanting a slur suggesting that blacks would never been admitted to the fraternity. The fraternity leadership has apologized, I think the national leadership apologized, saying it is disgusted that a member, any member would act in such a way. Vile stuff.

All right. That noise you heard across much of the country Sunday was a collective sigh of relief as people enjoyed the great day.

ROMANS: The great melt is beginning.

BERMAN: It smelled like spring to me a little bit out there.

I want to get to meteorologist Pedram Javaheri for an early look at your weather.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: John and Christine, good morning to you.

You know, 40s and 50s never sounded so good. We still do have some wintry weather in place, generally north of Pittsburgh, eventually towards Williamsport with snow showers possible, mainly in the morning hours. We do have about 4.5 million or so people underneath winter weather advisories from say Philly to Allentown eventually towards Tom's River for some morning flurries.

Possibly, New York gets in on some flurries, no accumulations and way too warm for any of it to be sustained to the afternoon hours. The big story down around the Gulf Coast, from Houston outwards to Austin to San Antonio, about 11 million people dealing with flash flood watches that are in place here, where the next couple of days where some heavy rainfall possible, moisture coming in from the Pacific and also the Gulf. So, you know plenty of rain to go around in the next coming days.

Two to four inches around Houston by mid to the latter portion of the week, from Birmingham up towards portions of Tennessee, four to six inches possible, mild weather across the south with all this rainfall -- look at Atlanta, 70 or so, gets up to the mid-70s. Plenty of rainfall in the forecast on New York and Boston, not too bad, low to mid-50s possible by the middle portion of the week -- John and Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Thanks for that, that's your weather.

Here is your money. Asian and Europe markets mostly lower this morning, following the U.S. market plunge on Friday. Most Americans welcomed that solid jobs report we told you about, but investors worried. That means the Fed will raise interest rates sooner.

The Dow tumble 279 points, the NASDAQ, S&P 500 each lost more than 1 percent. All three averages lost nearly 2 percent for the week. And right now, futures are lower again.

But Wall Street has one thing to celebrate, the bull market turned six years old today.

BERMAN: What do you get a bull market when it turns six?

ROMANS: I know, what a fine young man, or young woman it is. On March 9th, 2009, the S&P 500 hit a low of -- look at this, 676. It climbed 206 percent since then. That makes it the fourth longest bull on record. Look at that. John, that's pretty amazing.

Most analysts believe the bull has enough steam to make it to seven years old. It is not age that kills a bull market. It is worries about recession. We don't have a worry about recession in the U.S. right now.

BERMAN: Glad to hear that.

ROMANS: OK, there you go.

BERMAN: All right. Twelve minutes after the hour.

A new police shooting leaves a teenager dead. Now, residents in one Wisconsin community are demanding answers and perhaps getting ready to take action. We have a report from Madison, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Welcome back.

Emotions running high in Madison, Wisconsin, after the fatal shooting of an unarmed teenager by police. Now, this has sparked days of protest in the state capital. And there is a word of a possible high school walkout today, along with more demonstrations.

We have more from Rosa Flores in Madison.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, a very tough time for this community. You see hundreds of people have come together here in Madison, Wisconsin in solidarity, in support of the family of Tony Robinson.

Now, he is the teenager who was shot and killed by police. We have seen gatherings like these throughout the weekend, this one about prayer and reflection.

Earlier Sunday, there is a much charged protest where protesters actually confronted police. I want to show you around, because there's a small memorial here, people are just leaving flowers and other mementos. And then, take a look, this is still a crime scene. You can see crime scene tape. People are not allowed in or out of the house where this happened. You can see the police officers are still here.

Except for the woman that lives next door. She allowed us in. And she said that she heard everything unfold.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I heard the pounding on the door.

FLORES: Was that the police?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. He forced the door open, went upstairs. I don't know what happened. I heard just more scuffling. I don't know.

FLORES: Like a commotion or something?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Something going on. Then when there was a running down the stairs. I heard the shots.

FLORES: A lot of people in the community making a lot of reflection, including the police chief. I did talk to him about regaining the trust of the community and what it's going to take. He tells me it's going to take a few things. First of all, owning up to what happened, apologizing to this community and also having his officers be part of the community again day-to-day -- John.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Rosa Flores, thank you for that, Rosa, in Madison.

BERMAN: You can see the discussions they are having right now as they are trying to move on there.

Seventeen minutes after the hour.

We are a year into the search for MH370. Now, a new report sheds some light on what might have slowed efforts early on. We're going to take a look, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: The search for Malaysia Air Flight 370 can't go on forever, the words of Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, one year after the disappearance of MH370. Abbott says crews are 40 percent done with a 23,000 square mile search off the coast of Australia. He is insists he is reasonably optimistic of success. Meanwhile, finding of a report of a team of experts reveal the batteries on the data recorder had begin to expire. As for the flight crew, no unusual behavior uncovered of the pilots or crew.

BERMAN: Today marks eight years since America's longest held hostage first vanished in Iran. Robert Levinson disappeared from Iran's Kish Island eight years ago, while on a mission for the CIA. The family of the former FBI agent has released a statement reminding the world that Levinson is a husband, a father and a grandfather. They are urging the government Iran and the United States to work together to try to resolve this case and bring him back to the U.S. Levinson turns 67 tomorrow.

ROMANS: Two California women may have to face a judge in Italy for carving their initials into the wall of the Colosseum in Rome. The women, ages 21 and 25, not only scratched the letters "J" and "N" on this landmark, they proudly took selfies in front of their handwork. Police officers quickly caught, the last tourist who defaced the Colosseum was fined $25,000. Bad idea.

BERMAN: A former employee is demanding 100,000 euro from the Vatican for the return of two rare Michelangelo documents stolen nearly 20 years ago. The theft is also being revealed for the first time this weekend. The Vatican police are investigating. The church spokesperson says a nun notified officials in 1997 that the documents which are about 500 years old have gone missing. One of them reportedly featured the artist's signature.

ROMANS: Right. Student leadership at the University of California- Irvine rejecting a resolution to ban the American flag and student government offices. That resolution calls the flag a symbol of colonialism and imperialism. The post on the UC-Irvine Web site says the misguided measure was passed last week by undergraduate members of the student council and not endorsed by campus leaders or the university system.

BERMAN: The record setting attempt to fly a manned solar powered plane around the world is under way from Abu Dhabi. The Solar Impulse-2 embarking on a five-month mission that includes flights across the Atlantic and Pacific. The plan is to hop from continent to continent spreading the message of clean technology. Solar Impulse-2 is wider than a 747 jumbo jet but weighs less than a large SUV. It features 17,000 solar cells lining the tops of the wings.

ROMANS: That is why it is so big.

BERMAN: I hope they don't face any clouds. Fly fast, Solar Impulse- 2.

ROMANS: How about fly about the clouds?

All right. A stunning discovery in Utah. A baby still alive 14 hours after the crash that left the car upside down in the Spanish Fork River. A nearby fisherman spotted the vehicle, rescuers found the 18- month-old girl still strapped in her car seat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The witness said there was an arm in the vehicle.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It became apparent the driver was deceased, but we also noticed there was a small baby in the backseat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Grabbed the baby in my arm, raised its head up out of the water as I released the seatbelt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The child was passed to me, and I just ran up to the ambulance with the child.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: She is in critical condition at a Salt Lake City Hospital. Her mother who was driving died in the crash. Can you imagine just how quick those rescuers must have been once they realized the baby was in the car seat?

BERMAN: It's incredible to think of how long she survived. You know, I assume she was on the car seat. It goes to show that these car seats can be incredibly protective even if the mother who was driving the car, you know, did not make it.

ROMANS: Wish her family the best of luck.

BERMAN: I would love to talk to someone like Sanjay to find out about babies, how resilient they are and how -- I mean, it's crazy.

ROMANS: Best of luck to the family as it mourns as tries to rebuild. She is in critical condition, good luck to her, as she tries to recover.

BERMAN: Twenty-six minutes after the hour.

ISIS and Boko Haram, they are each such barbaric organizations on their own. Now, a new alliance between them is in the works. What does this mean now in the battle against terror?

We'll tell you, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)