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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Investigators Search for Missouri Police Shooter; Secret Service Scrutiny; Kerry in Egypt; The Battle for Tikrit; Average Wedding Cost Up to $31,000

Aired March 13, 2015 - 04:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now: investigators searching for the gunman who shot two police officers in Ferguson, Missouri. We are live with the latest this morning.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm John Berman. About 30 minutes past the hour. Great to see you today.

And we begin with the manhunt in Ferguson, Missouri, searching for the person or persons who shot two police officers there. Now, those two officers shot as a protest was winding down early Thursday morning. They have now been released from the hospital. One still has a bullet lodged behind his ear.

They were the first officers to be shot at a Ferguson protest in more than seven months since the Michael Brown killing. So far, several people have been questioned and released by police. No arrests. Now, overnight, the streets of Ferguson were peaceful with security overseen by county and state police.

I want to get a report live from the streets now of Ferguson.

Let's bring in CNN's Ryan Young.

Good morning, Ryan. What's the latest?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

As you can hear behind me, a steady rain, maybe that helped to keep the protesters away. But there has been call for relative calm, especially after the shooting. Those officers who were shot weren't engaged with anyone when the gunfire came from about 100 yards away. We've learned that investigators believe they have two persons of interest that they are now currently looking for. We're told the public is actually helping in making calls to help identify some people. But they are also still searching for the two people who they have identified at this point.

Now, overnight, we saw the protesters moving through the street, a smaller crowd than what we have seen before. Now, law enforcement has been talking about the fact their officers shot and it makes the situation obviously scary for them. And it's something they talked about with us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. JERRY LOHR, ST. LOUIS COUNTY PD: It's not every day a fellow officer gets shot or gets hurt. And so, this is kind a reality check for us. It's an ugly reminder of the hazards of profession.

And it certainly plays into the minds. It certainly plays into the thought process. You know, guys coming out here tonight versus guys coming out here two weeks ago, obviously, there is a different mindset, because it's now to become a reality -- a painful reality.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: Michael Brown's family calling for calm after the shooting. The two officers, as you said, have been released. But that investigation to find whoever fired those shots is still ongoing as the protests calm down especially under the rain -- John.

BERMAN: Two persons of interest, trying to locate them right now.

Ryan Young, thanks so much.

ROMANS: Overnight, President Obama spoke out about the police shootings during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel's show. The president offered hopes and prayers for the wounded officers and said he hopes the shooting will not overshadow the issue of racial bias in policing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What had been happening in Ferguson was oppressive and objectionable and was worthy of protest. But there was no excuse for criminal acts. And whoever fired those shots shouldn't detract from the issue. They're criminals. They need to be arrested.

And then, what we need to do is make sure that like-minded good spirited people on both sides, law enforcement who have a terrifically tough job and people who understandably don't want to be stopped and harassed just because of their race, that we're able to work together to try to come up with some good answers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Now, investigators working theory in Ferguson is that the shots were fired by a handgun maybe as far as 125 yards. If true, that is a remarkable feat of marksmanship, which is why many people have some doubts about just where exactly, how far away these shots came from.

With more on that part of the investigation, let's bring in Tom Foreman. He's in CNN's virtual studio.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Let's look at this crime scene from several different angles. And we start with the basic map. There's the police station over there. The big wide road in front of it, that's South Florissant road. And off to the side here, you see Tiffin Avenue.

Tiffin Avenue in the past has been the site from where some of the more violent interlopers into these protests have emerged. And there have been shots up here in previous protests.

So, here is the scene when the shooting took place. Police were still in front of the police station, protecting it. About 100 protesters remained. The group was breaking up across the street there when these shots came in from somewhere up Tiffin Avenue, according to the eyewitnesses.

Let's go down to the street level and look at this. When say up Tiffin Avenue, we do mean up, because it is a hill. So, it's fully possible that shots could be fired from that hill, they could fly in over the heads of the protesters and strike the police on the other side of the road.

But if you rotate this around and look directly up Tiffin Avenue, you could see why investigators have doubts about that, because the shots would have originated right at the limit of sight there and traveled 100 to 125 yards to get here based on these accounts. That's a really long shot for a pistol. They can be effective at that range, they can be lethal at that range, very hard, though, to be controlled very well and put the shot where somebody might want to put it.

That's much more likely to happen with even a skilled marksman at something like this range about a quarter or a less than the distance we are talking about. That doesn't mean it was fired from over here from the protesters, but it does mean that investigators have to look very seriously at that possibility.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Our thanks to Tom Foreman for that.

Now, there are new details this morning about the high ranking Secret Service agents reassigned after allegedly driving under the influence through a crime scene. Among the new pieces of information are the names of the agents. A source tells CNN that one is a top supervisor in the Washington field office, George Ogilvie. The other is Mark Connolly, a high ranking member of the president's security detail.

We are also learning that it was days before the head of the Secret Service learn what happened there.

Let's get more now from our White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, John and Christine.

Well, we're now finding out that the new director of the Secret Service who has put in place to try to clean up the agency's problems didn't even find out about this incident until about five days after it happened. That might have been later than some staff at the White House knew about it.

So, law enforcement sources now are telling us, of course, that shouldn't have happened. He should have been notified immediately and somewhere along the line of communication, it failed.

These sources, though, are also now pushing back against the growing outrage out there over there as well as some of the reporting, that these agents allegedly slammed through a crime scene investigation. It was investigating a suspicious package, and that they ended up slamming into a White House barrier or gate.

So, they are saying it did not quite happen that way. They say apparently these agents who are in the same government car drove under some crime scene tape that was there. They didn't drive over any evidence, but drove right past it. But that they were literally going one mile an hour, according to these sources, who also say that they merely nudged one of those orange barrel type barriers out of the way a few feet with their car so they could get to the first checkpoint.

Well, sources say that at this checkpoint, they rolled their windows, showed their badges for about 25 seconds and without incident were cleared through to the next checkpoint. They didn't need to roll down their window for that one, that their car was checked for explosives, and then they were on their way.

These sources say that this all lasted about a minute. There was no crash. No damage to the vehicle. And the agents never even got out of their car.

The fact is, though, there is that allegation that they were drinking. There was a suspicion that they might have been drunk. And also, the allegation is out there that a superior let them go home even though other officers at the scene allegedly thought that they should be at least tested for alcohol if not arrested.

All of this, of course, under investigation within the Department of Homeland Security -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Michelle Kosinski, thank you, Michelle.

Major world powers are discussing a resolution that would lift the United Nations sanctions against Iran if a nuclear deal can be reached. Nuclear talks with the Iranians resumes Sunday in Switzerland. Right now, there are eight U.N. resolutions banning Iran from uranium enrichment and from buying atomic technology. The Iranians want those U.N. sanctions dropped since the U.S. and the E.U. used them as a legal basis to impose their own, even more severe sanctions. BERMAN: Secretary of State John Kerry arriving in Cairo, ahead of the

new round of nuclear negotiations with Iran. There is a lot at stake right now for the secretary. He's got to deal with Iran, ISIS, instability in the Middle East, all of that expected to top the agenda during meetings with the Palestinian and Egyptian presidents and King Abdullah of Jordan.

CNN's Ian Lee is tracking developments live from Cairo for us.

And, Ian, this is a kickoff of a very important trip for the secretary.

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is exactly right, John. In Egypt, there's two really big issues on the secretary's plate. That is improving relations and security. Relations between Cairo and Washington have been cool over the past year and a half. The secretary trying to improve that, although fundamentally, the relationship is strong. They haven't been really warm with the current President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi.

But also on his plate is going to be security. Egypt is combating ISIS on two fronts in the Sinai Peninsula and in Libya. And I talked to some high ranking security personnel here in Egypt, and they tell me that it's not ISIS in Sinai, but really their western border with Libya that keeps them up at night.

And the United States and Egypt have not seen eye-to-eye on how to combat ISIS in Libya. Egypt wants a more hands on approach. They want weapons to go to the internationally government. They want to blockade to other parts of Libya. But what the United States wants and many members of the international community is a political solution, to get all the factions altogether to form a unified front against ISIS.

So, President Sisi will make his case against ISIS in Libya. But also, for weapons system as well. Egypt gets $1 billion in aid from the United States, although some of those weapons systems and parts have been held back since 2013's popular coup -- John.

BERMAN: All right. Ian Lee for us in Cairo. Again, just the beginning of an important trip for the secretary.

ROMANS: Republican lawmakers today may formally request access to Hillary Clinton's e-mails from her tenure as secretary of state. The House Oversight Committee has prepared to subpoena the messages and Mrs. Clinton if necessary to answer questions about her use of a private e-mail account to conduct government business. Clinton says it was a matter of convenience. Meantime, a State Department spokesperson at the time, Clinton did not have a government issued BlackBerry.

BERMAN: California, New York and 12 other states throwing their support behind President Obama's immigration plan, which would shield millions of people living in the country illegally from being deported. Attorneys asking an appeals court to lift the order by a Texas federal judge that froze the Obama plan or to limit its effect to the 26 states that are suing to stop the executive actions on immigration.

ROMANS: All right. Time for an early start on your money this morning. Asian stocks are up. Japan's, look at that, benchmark index in Japan, surging 1.4 percent.

BERMAN: Wow.

ROMANS: European shares are following that lead, so are U.S. stock futures.

Yesterday, good day for the Dow, climbed 260 points. A good day in what has been a wild week. This week, we had a 333-point plunge on Tuesday. With yesterday's gains, stocks are up once again for the year. Banking stocks led the rally. Big banks passed the Federal Reserve stress test. The question, though, remains, when will the Federal Reserve raise interest rates and how will the economy respond?

BERMAN: I want an answer to that question.

ROMANS: You know, Paul Monica (ph) at CNN Money is like, OK, the Fed is going to raise interest rates. Get over it. The Fed is going to raise interest rates.

So, we have been talking about it for so long, maybe it becomes a non event when it actually happens.

Forty-one minutes past the hour.

Carjacked by the Boston marathon bombers, this dramatic video capturing the moments one kidnapped driver managed to get away from the Boston bombers. What he said in court, next.

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BERMAN: Dramatic testimony of the trial of accused Boston marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Jurors hearing for the first time from the man who was carjacked at gunpoint by the Tsarnaev brothers shortly after they allegedly killed an MIT police officer. The victim described his harrowing ride and the terrifying decision to escape to run away from the terrorists.

Let's get more now from CNN's Deb Feyerick in Boston.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, Christine, the man who was carjacked by the Tsarnaev brothers took the stand and testified about his harrowing ordeal. He talked about how Tamerlan got into the car, pointed a pistol at him and said, "Do you know the Boston marathon explosions? I did it. I just killed a policeman in Cambridge."

The brothers took their hostage to a gas station where Dzhokhar Tsarnaev went inside and bought snacks for a trip to New York, according to Meng. And that's when Meng decided he was going to make a run for it. He quickly slipped out of the car, racing as fast as he could across the street. Surveillance video showing him entering a mini mart and begging the clerk who is very confused to call 911.

Well, the clerk did call 911. Police spoke to him on the line and realized that this was the break they had been waiting for.

The Tsarnaev brothers quickly leaving their path, their destruction about to end -- John, Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Deb in Boston, thanks for that.

A gun expert being grilled by both sides of the Aaron Hernandez trial. The Glock employee identified a black object that Hernandez was holding, you can see it there, in surveillance video. He's holding that just after Odin Lloyd was killed. That Glock employee identifying the object as a gun, and most specifically a Glock gun. The actual murder weapon has not been found.

Now, the judge denied a defense request to strike his entire testimony but did instruct jurors to disregard parts of it.

BERMAN: An American health care worker who contracted Ebola in West Africa is being flown to the National Institutes of Health in Maryland for treatment. Officials say the person was volunteering at an Ebola treatment center in Sierra Leone. This is the second patient to be treated at NIH. The first, Texas nurse Nina Pham, recovered and was released five months ago free of the disease.

Heavy rain making flash flooding a strong possibility from Louisiana on up to Indiana today. Let's get the latest from meteorologist Derek Van Dam.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, John and Christine.

We've got a soggy start to the early weekend. Low pressure system developing near the border of Louisiana and Texas, drawing in Gulf of Mexico moisture. That is going to spread to the East Coast of the United States by middle parts of the weekend. It will bring rain to New York and perhaps a rain/snow mix from Boston to the north. More on that in just a second.

You can see where the moisture is originating, straight from the Gulf of Mexico. Here comes the low pressure system moving throughout the Ohio River Valley this weekend. You can see where that cut off between rain and snow is located across the New England coast.

Temperatures today very mild and relatively warm across the Southeast, stretching through the main states. New York City, 43 degrees, 55 for the nation's capital, and for a St. Patrick's Day festivity, where we change the river near a shade of green near Chicago this Saturday, look at that, temperatures above average, 55 degrees.

But don't get too used to it. We have below average temperatures in the long-term temperature forecast.

Back to you. BERMAN: We'll take it.

ROMANS: For St. Patrick's Day in Chicago, I had, you know, 20 degrees and like 60 degrees. It's better when it's 60 degrees.

BERMAN: I wonder, you know, maybe during break, they'll tell me more stories about St. Patrick's Day in Chicago, because I feel like not all of them are TV ready.

ROMANS: It's really fun.

BERMAN: All right. ISIS joining forces with another deadly terror group as it fights Iraqi forces for control of a key city. We are live in Baghdad after the break.

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BERMAN: This morning, ISIS has a new ally accepting a pledge of allegiance from Boko Haram. This new alliance already evident online. Boko Haram's Twitter account features a new look with more video messages using the ISIS recruiting style. But the Twitter group is on a verge of a significant setback in Iraq. ISIS, this time we're talking about, forces have now almost completely driven out of Tikrit.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh is live in Baghdad this morning. Give us the latest update on this battle for this key Iraqi city.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, the Iraqi forces made up of Iranian backed Shiite militias say they are days away from taking full control of Tikrit, that operation that began on March the 1st. They say, so far, they have managed to regain control of more than 70 percent of that city.

But it might be too optimistic. It -- really, there are challenges ahead. So far, they are meeting resistance. ISIS is not giving up Tikrit so easily.

Along the way, according to commanders and fighters that our teams have been on the ground with on the frontlines around Tikrit say they are -- the roads are booby trapped, that ISIS has left behind hundreds of improvised explosive devices, in an attempt to halt this advanced and slow down these forces. But it does seem, John, as this point, that they are close to taking over Tikrit, it's just a matter of time.

And that is going to be a significant and major victory considered here by the Iraqis. ISIS has had control of Tikrit since June of last year. And it's not only going to be a victory for Iraqi forces, but also for Iran that has played a major supporting role for the Iraqi forces on that battle field.

BERMAN: It will be interesting to see what the ISIS forces there do next, whether this is strategic retreat to fight later on in Mosul.

Jomana Karadsheh for us in Baghdad, thanks so much.

ROMANS: All right. Berman, it's good thing you are already married. It's a good thing you're already married, because it costs a lot.

BERMAN: Wow, this sounds intriguing.

ROMANS: Engagement ring, wedding dress, party favors, turns out you can put a price on true love. The mind-blowing cost of a typical wedding, that's next.

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ROMANS: Let's get an EARLY START on your money this Friday morning. Stocks are mostly higher around the world. Looks like U.S. stock futures are following that lead. Also following the big rally from yesterday quite frankly, the Dow climbed 260 points. Another big swing in a week that included a 333-point plunge on Tuesday. With yesterday's gain, so stocks are now higher again for the year.

You can now trade stocks for free. Free stock trading. No commission. Sounds unlikely, but it's possible with the new app called Robinhood. There were 800,000 people on the wait list. But the founders of Robinhood decided to open it up everyone. They told me it is attracting a new kind of investor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLAD TENEV, CO-FOUNDER, ROBINHOOD: We have seen especially traction with first-time investors and millennial consumers. Our average customer is 26 years old, which is a completely different demographic that what other financial institutions. And it's someone starting out with a few hundred dollars in their account.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The big question I had is will the company be able to make money in the long run. I mean, it's not charging for commission. They say they'll be margin accounts, they'll get fees for that. Also on the money it makes from the money in your account when interest rates start to rise. They make a little bit more. So, anyway, watch that, Robinhood.

Are you tying the knot? I hope you saved up a lot of money because the average wedding now costs $31,000, up 4 percent from the year before. The biggest cost? The venue - averages $14,000. The engagement ring is next, that's about $6,000. Couples in Manhattan, no surprise, they face the biggest tab -- $76,000 on average. It's actually down; that's actually down because people are paying less for - they're paying less for savers, they're paying a little bit less for the invitations. Utah is the cheapest at $15,000.

And in that report I also saw the average price for a plate per guest is now like $68.

BERMAN: That's why you eat off Styrofoam and elope.

ROMANS: I know but it makes you remember, look at your friends and go are you worth $68? Do I know well enough to pay $68?

BERMAN: Christine Romans' friends, you can answer on Twitter.

EARLY START continues right now.

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