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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Racist Fraternity Video Fallout Grows; Police Shooting Under Investigation; Senate Republicans' Letter to Iran; General Dempsey in Baghdad; The Thaw is On; Obamacare Costs Down; New Paris Terror Arrests; Stock Futures Down
Aired March 10, 2015 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Sent packing. An Oklahoma University fraternity booted from campus after a video showing students engaged in a racist chant. More from the outrage campus and community, moments away.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: A new battle between the president and Republicans over Iran. Republican senators warning they have the final say on a nuclear deal, forceful reactions from the president ahead.
ROMANS: And the Iraqis appear on the verge of regaining control of Tikrit from ISIS. America's top general vowing ISIS will be defeated. A live report from Baghdad just moments away.
Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
BERMAN: I'm John Berman. It's great to see you. It's 30 minutes past the hour.
New fallout this morning from the disturbing video at the University of Oklahoma, you see it right there, the racist chant from some fraternity members, has led the national organization of Sigma Alpha Epsilon to close the chapter.
The university has evicted members from the fraternity house there. The house was vandalized over the weekend with the message tear it down. University President David Boren announced that he would seek the permanent expulsion of SAE members involved especially those leading the chant.
ROMANS: The repercussions just beginning. A top football recruit from Dallas area declaring that he is de-committing, he will go elsewhere. Current OU football player, Eric Striker, went on a tear on Snapchat outraged about that racist video.
After he cooled off, he told CNN he was hurt by the damage the video has done to the school's reputation. He backs the call to expel those responsible.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIC STRIKER, UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA LINEBACKER: It is playing out and straight. It is out there. I'm not saying it hasn't happened before. This is something that really extreme. Not saying that the little things that happened before should be pushed under the rug.
But you know, we believe that President Boren is taking the right actions and investigating and doing the right thing, you know, more than just suspensions and expelling these students, the people responsible for it, the people on the bus.
This is how we feel that that action should take place. Students should be expelled that had something to do with that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Early Monday, hundreds of students marched silently to protest the video. They were joined by President Boren who declared that quote, "Real sooners are not racist."
More demonstrations are planned for today in Madison, Wisconsin following the fatal police shooting of an unarmed biracial teenager. On Monday, hundreds of college and public school students protested the killing of 19-year-old Tony Robinson walking out of classes and peacefully marching to the state capital.
From Madison, CNN's Ryan Young has the latest.
RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, we saw the frustrations really rolling over here in Madison, Wisconsin as thousands of people walked toward the state capital to show displeasure of the shooting death of the teen.
If you look behind me, you see the growing memorial for 19-year-old Tony Robinson. This memorial has been growing throughout the afternoon. In fact, they've been raising signs here so that they can show their support for this young man.
They tell us they plan to have more protests. A lot of questions involved in the case. Originally, police were called here because of a disturbance. Once the police officer arrived, he said he heard some noises on the inside of the home.
Once he went inside a struggle happened and shots were fired on the inside. The 19-year-old was pronounced dead. Now this community wants answers. One thing that we have noticed, protests here have remained peaceful.
They want to make sure people to understand this is not another Ferguson. They plan to push forward and ask more questions and get to the bottom of this -- John and Christine.
ROMANS: All right, thanks, Ryan for that. An embattled judge in Ferguson, Missouri resigns. The action comes after a scathing report accusing Ronald Brockmeyer of using his court to fund this city on the back of poor minorities.
Judge Roy L. Richter now taking his post besides hearing Ferguson's pending and future city cases, the Missouri Supreme Court is also tasking Richter with making, quote, "needed changes" to help restore public trust and confidence in the Ferguson courts. Richter begins his new post on March 16th.
BERMAN: New this morning, a new feud between the White House and Republicans after 47 Republicans in the Senate signed an open letter to Iran. The letter declares that any nuclear deal with Iran could be null and void after President Obama leaves office unless Congress has its say. Leading the charge is Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TOM COTTON (R), ARKANSAS: I support a good deal that stops Iran from getting a nuclear weapon today and tomorrow and ten years from now and forever. The president has already said that a deal could have as little as a ten-year sunset on it.
National security advisor said that Iran could have uranium enrichment abilities, the critical component of developing a nuclear bomb. Whatever else the terms of the future deal might be, those terms make the deal unacceptable to the United States and to the world because they paved the way for Iran to get a nuclear weapon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Now the president responded suggesting that Senate Republicans are essentially forming an alliance with Iranian hardliners who also oppose a nuclear deal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I think it is somewhat ironic to see some members of Congress wanting to make common cause with the hardliners with Iran. It is an unusual coalition. I think what we are going to focus on right now is actually seeing whether we can get a deal or not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Now Vice President Joe Biden lashed out at Senate Republicans at a statement. The vice president said, "The letter expressly designed to undercut a sitting president in the midst of international negotiations is beneath the dignity of an institution I revere.
This letter and the guise of a constitutional lesson, ignores two centuries of president, and threatens to undermines the ability of any future president, whether Democrat or Republican to negotiate with another national on behalf of the United States."
Nuclear talks with Iran resume when Secretary of State John Kerry meets with his Iranian counterpart in Switzerland on March 15th.
ROMANS: Now to the bloody struggle for control of Tikrit. Iraqi forces on the offensive for a solid week now trying to liberate the hometown of Saddam Hussein from ISIS. America's top general, Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey in Baghdad vowing the terror group will be defeated. Let's go to Baghdad and bring in CNN senior international correspondent, Ben Wedeman. Good morning, Ben.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine. Yes, General Dempsey was here in Baghdad. He met with Iraqi prime minister, defense minister and his message was that the U.S.-led coalition is and will lead the fight against ISIS.
The United States and its coalition partners have since last September launched more than 2,000 air strikes on ISIS targets in Syria and Iraq. The U.S.-led coalition has also trained more than 5,000 Iraqi soldiers as well as Peshmerga fighters in the north of the country.
So given that all eyes in Iraq at the moment are on Tikrit, where, of course, there is Iranian involvement and a contribution to that effort. General Dempsey wants to remind the Iraqis that the U.S. and its coalition partners are indeed playing a big role.
As far as the situation in Tikrit goes, Iraqi forces which are essentially led by the Shi'a paramilitary forces with the Iraqi army and police playing a supporting role do seem to be making significant progress.
We saw at the frontlines of smoldering ISIS vehicles, bodies around them that had been hit just a day before yesterday. In three days, in fact, these Iraqi forces had managed to advance 50 miles to the very edge of Tikrit.
When we were there, they were just one mile to the east of the center of the city. Yes, there is an Iranian role being played there. I had the opportunity to speak to four Iranian advisers at the front line. They described themselves as volunteers.
What we did hear from the Iraqi commanders is that yes, they say they're proud and happy to have the Iranian advisers on the ground helping them. One of them telling me it is better to have four Iranian advisors on the frontline than 400 American advisors sitting in the green zone in Baghdad -- Christine.
ROMANS: Ben Wedeman, thank you for that, Ben.
BERMAN: Hillary Clinton will answer questions on what some are calling the e-mail scandal that has been dogging her for weeks. A news conference or a sit-down interview could come within 48 hours according to a source.
The former secretary of state is expected to say she did use a classified government e-mail system at the State Department, but could not use it with her Blackberry because the system was too antiquated.
The White House now says that the president and the former secretary did exchange e-mails during her tenure at the State Department suggesting he knew or saw she used a private e-mail account.
ROMANS: Another incident involving a train and a vehicle on the tracks. This happened Monday in North Carolina. A New York-bound Amtrak train slamming into a tractor-trailer that got stuck trying to make a difficult turn, the driver jumped out just before impact.
One of the train cars derailed. The conductor and nearly 60 passengers suffered injuries. None of them is life threatening. This is the third train crash since last month. There were deadly incidents in New York and California.
BERMAN: The early thaw is on. Finally, warmer than normal temperatures spread across the country along with some pretty heavy rainfall. Let's get to meteorologist, Pedram Javaheri for an early look at the weather.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: John and Christine, the wet weather is really going to be really hampering a lot of travel across parts of the south mainly around the gulf coast and eventually by the early afternoon hours some of the wet storms will make their way towards Washington, Philly, and New York.
After 2:00 in the afternoon, you will get about half an inch at the very most and generally under 1 inch of rainfall in the forecast. There is the bull's-eye over Central and Eastern Tennessee, 4 inches to 6 inches is possible through the remainder of this week. In the Carolina coastline, over 1 inch of rainfall.
But you know, a lot of talk, of course, in recent months about historic snow across parts of the country. A daily record came down in Italy in recent days. The 101 inches came down in 18 hours across the mountains in Italy.
Silver Lake, Colorado that is where the record was in place for the previous most snow in one day, 76 inches back into the 1920s. In Boston, so far this season, almost 106 inches has come down for the entire winter season.
This 101 inches, by the way, would be taller than the world's tallest living man right now which is 8'3" tall. This would be more than his height there, very impressive sight.
ROMANS: All right, thanks for the perspective, Pedram. Let's get an EARLY START on your money this morning. The stock market set to open lower, really good gains yesterday, though. Markets in Europe and Asia are down this morning.
A new estimate show the president's landmark healthcare reform will cost less than the government projected. The Congressional Budget Office says Obamacare will cost $506 million over the next five years, 29 percent lower than the initial estimate in 2010.
Several reasons for the decline are moderate growth in health care spending, slower enrollment, and the Supreme Court ruling that allows states to decide whether to expand Medicaid. Over the next ten years, 22 million Americans are expected to enroll through these individual exchanges, but 25 million will remain uninsured, surprising number.
All right, 41 minutes past the hour. More arrests in connection with January's terror attack on a kosher market in Paris. One of these arrests, a stunner, a police officer, how a police officer was associated with the gunman. A live report from Paris right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: New arrests linked to the Paris terror attack. Four people were taken into custody with alleged ties to Amedy Coulibaly, the gunman and hostage taker at the kosher supermarket. Among the arrests are a police woman and her boyfriend. Jim Bittermann is live for us in Paris with the latest. Good morning, Jim.
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. The latest is the prosecutor's office announced that the hold on the four suspects is going to be continued for another 24 hours. Basically, the prosecutor in terrorism cases can put people under questioning for up to six days in terrorism cases without laying charges.
Some point along the line, though, we suspect he will come out and say what these charges are against the four people. The most startling of the four is the police woman, who worked not only a police woman involved, but worked at one of the police intelligence agencies in the eastern suburbs of Paris, a super-secret operation.
She apparently, according to reports, converted to Islam two years ago. About three weeks ago, she told her superiors that she, in fact, she knew Coulibaly and she knew the associate of Coulibaly who was apparently her boyfriend who was picked up. She was suspended at that point from her duties at the center.
BERMAN: Raises a lot of questions. Again, the suspects will be in custody or people in custody for several more days for questioning. Jim Bittermann in Paris, thanks so much.
ROMANS: All right, let's take a look at what is coming up on NEW DAY. Alisyn Camerota joins us this morning. Good morning.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": Hi, guys. Great to see you. So of course, we will be talking about the White House and the Republicans locking horns over that letter the GOP Senators sent to Iran's government warning against the nuclear agreement with the U.S.
Well, the Obama administration is firing back accusing them of undermining foreign policy. We will speak live to the author of the letter, Senator Tom Cotton. What does he hope to accomplish.
Also we will have much more on the fallout from the video of members of the fraternity in Oklahoma singing racist chants. We will hear from student activists and the president of the University of Oklahoma live.
What does the school plan to do about this and how about colleges across the country? Do others have race relation problems? We will get into all of that when we see you at the top of the hour.
BERMAN: Great. It's an important discussion. So they have been buried for thousands of years. Now some coins and jewelry uncovered by explorers, a remarkable discovery, we will tell you where and how they got there next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: Testimony resumes this morning in the trial of accused Boston marathon bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. On Monday, jurors saw a compilation of surveillance video showing the Tsarnaev brothers before and after the bombs went off. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev faces the death penalty in the attack that left three dead and 264 injured.
ROMANS: The crisis in Ukraine will be the subject of a Senate hearing looking out ways to counter Russian aggression. Meantime, Vladimir Putin is revealing for the first time that the plan to annex Crimea was ordered weeks before the Crimean referendum on self-determination. Putin said the referendum was the main reason for Russia's annexation of the Crimean peninsula.
A group of Israeli cave explorers stumbling across an ancient treasure, silver coins and jewelry. Archaeologist estimated more than 2,000 years old. The two silver coins were minted during the reign of Alexander the Great. Experts believe the valuables were hidden by local residents who fled during a period of unrest.
BERMAN: I bet they are valuable. A comic genius has died. Sam Simon, co-creator of "The Simpsons." He was also a legendary philanthropist. He gave millions of dollars to charitable causes, mostly to rescue animals and feed the hungry.
After being diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2013, Simon pledged to donate all of his fortune to charity. He died on Monday. He was connected to the first four seasons, but lucrative separation agreement.
ROMANS: He gave all of that money away.
BERMAN: HBO's new streaming service coming soon to a screen near you, but just what screen and how much money are we talking about here? An EARLY START on your money next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Let's get an EARLY START on your money this morning. U.S. futures are down slightly. Stocks in Europe and Asia are lower. The market had a nice rally on the sixth and anniversary of the bull market. The Dow and the S&P 500 are now in positive territory for 2015. Nasdaq is the big winner so far this year, up more than 4 percent.
HBO is coming to Apple. For $14.99 a month, Apple customers will be able watch HBO on Apple TVs, iPhones, and iPads without a cable subscription. It is called "HBO Now." It's the first for the company, which is owned by the Time Warner and CNN. It will be available in April exclusively to Apple customers. It will likely expand other distributors after three months.
An Ivy League education going digital, Yale will begin offering a master of medical science degree for students who want to become physician assistants. According to the "Wall Street Journal," the program begins next year. The same admissions standards will apply to both the campus and the online programs.
BERMAN: It is easy to get in.
ROMANS: It's hard. More than 1,000 people apply for about 40 spots on campus each year. Yale could enroll hundreds more with the online program. It is interesting how technology is slowly changing the ivory tower.
BERMAN: How much does it cost? Yale is $900 million a year. The online program is half that.
ROMANS: If you can get in, great. If you can pay for it, even better.
BERMAN: Right. The president and the Republicans digging in their heels in the Iran negotiations, each trying to show Iran who is in charge, "NEW DAY" picks up that story right now.
