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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Al Shabaab Claims Kenyan University Attack; 200 Al-Qaeda Linked Prisoners Escape in Yemen; Iran Nuke Talks Stretch Another Day; Is There A Fight 9525 Video?; "Fix" for Indiana Law Almost Ready. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired April 02, 2015 - 05:00   ET

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

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[05:00:24] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news this morning: Gunmen storming a university in Kenya. At least 30 injured. Gunshots going off like fireworks and an active situation right now. We are live with the very latest developments.

Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans. It is Thursday, April 2nd, 5:00 a.m. in the East.

We welcome all of our viewers here in the U.S. and around the world.

Let's begin with this breaking news -- breaking news this morning: al Shabaab gunmen attacking a university campus in southeastern Kenya. Two people reported killed and at least 30 people wounded at Garissa University College, four critically.

Now, according to the Kenya Red Cross, the militants have taken an unknown number of hostages. We know 50 hostages have been freed.

According to Kenya's interior ministry, the gunmen are now cornered in one dormitory. And this, this new information just in from the Kenya Red Cross, look at this image of a flattened building. It says a building under construction behind the mall has collapsed, fire brigade at the scene. That is one photo we're watching.

CNN's Soni Methu is live for us now from Nairobi, Kenya.

What can you tell us is happening now, Soni?

SONI METHU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, just the latest from the police is that out of the four hostels in the school, they have at least secured three of them. And you reported rightly, attackers have hostages in one of the dormitories that securities have yet to be able to secure. At the moment, they still have not confirmed the number of casualties. But soon after that information by Red Cross (AUDIO GAP) four in critical condition. Seven more have been to hospital (AUDIO GAP) in critical condition --

ROMANS: All right. We are having trouble with her feed.

So, I want to go to David McKenzie. He is also standing by, watching the developments here for us.

You're seeing the pictures there, David. David, you spent years reporting from Nairobi for us. You know Kenya. You know al Shabaab, you know, the realities on the ground.

Bring us up to speed here. This is still an active situation. We know that three of the dormitories have been cleared. That some hostages have been released, but this is still a terror attack that is underway.

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right. And as Soni was reporting, the security forces are trying to corner the terrorists, the gunmen. There are several of them who appear to be using automatic rifles as well as possibly have grenades and even suicide vests.

So, this will be a tricky scenario. As it draws out and gets longer, it will certainly create a great deal of panic in that region and potentially give al Shabaab more exposure, which is one of the main reasons they'll be doing this kind of attack -- Christine.

ROMANS: Who are al Shabaab?

MCKENZIE: Well, they are a group that did control big parts of Somalia, neighboring to Kenya for several years. They were pushed back by the African Union forces in heavy fighting in a protracted campaign.

Now, al Shabaab has shifted from trying to create Islamic state in Somalia. They are becoming a classic terror group, targeting soft targets in Kenya. They obviously, you may remember, threatened to attack U.S. malls in recent months, a threat that many people did not take seriously.

But what we can see, they are greatly reduced as an operational force. They can strike the soft targets like university and strike fear into Kenya -- Christine.

ROMANS: Yes, a university, soft target, for sure. Also, its young people, it is education, and it is young men and young women and Garissa is relatively close to a porous border with Somalia.

MCKENZIE: Well, that's right. About 90 miles from Somalia. This border is very easy to cross both ways. And that's been a difficult scenario for Kenya.

Since the Kenyan military invaded Somalia essentially in 2011, it's opened itself up to the threat and the reality of attacks by al Shabaab. Most infamously, of course, in 2013 when al Shabaab took on that mall in Nairobi Westgate Mall and held people hostage for hours.

It would appear based on the information we have now that this is a similar sort of operation, that they'll try to drag this out -- of course, terrible for the parents and families of those who are at the university.

[05:5:07] Garissa is in a part of Kenya that's often seen as marginalized and not well developed. And this university is only a few years old. So, terribly tragic for the institution. And certainly, the Kenyan forces, both police and military, will be watched closely in this operation because they were roundly criticized for how they dealt with previous terror attacks in Kenya.

ROMANS: Do we know was there any prior intelligence or if they were worried about this or any kind of warning?

MCKENZIE: Well, the U.S. embassy did put out a sort of general warning quite recently. They do this quite often. In fact, the Kenyan government has criticized the U.S. and U.K. and others for putting out travel advisories. Clearly, in this case, they may have been on to something. There wasn't any actionable or specific attention to that.

I have been speaking to my sources on the ground in Kenya, they say they have been rumors circulating and potential intelligence that there would be an attack on a university. They did beef up security at several key universities in Kenya. I do not know what level of security there was at this institution in Garissa. Certainly, it was in the mind's eye of both the public and security forces.

So, it will come out if they had actionable attention to get to this. But now, all the focus will be trying to contain the situation, take out those hostage takers and hopefully have more survivors from this horrific attack, Christine.

ROMANS: Yes, hopeful, because this is still something that is happening here. You have active gunmen cornered we're told in one dormitory, cornered but still there, and potentially still hostages.

David McKenzie, thank you so much. Keep working your sources on the ground and we'll talk to you again very, very soon.

Six minutes past the hour.

This breaking news in Yemen: nearly 200 prisoners with links to al Qaeda have escaped from a prison in the port city of Mukalla. A senior security official tells CNN that early this morning, dozens of attackers took control of government buildings, including the city's central prison, the central bank, and a radio station.

Ian Lee joins us live now. Ian, a chaotic situation already in Yemen, and now 200 al Qaeda linked militants essentially let out of a prison.

IAN LEE, CNN REPORTER: Yes, that's right, Christine. This happened in the eastern part of the country, an area that has been relatively left alone during this recent crisis. A lot of that taking place in the western part of the country. Al Qaeda are really not showing a presence during this fighting, laying low. They have had some attacks that had been attributed to them.

But they've really been content with allowing the Houthis rebels and the government-backed militias and army fight each other and leave them to themselves. But now, we are seeing that this jail break took place in the eastern part of the country, an area that is well known for being infested with al Qaeda fighters, this attack taking place going after this government prison.

This is a bold move by al Qaeda and shows that their resurgence. Now, the United States has been battling them in Yemen for quite a few years now, and they pulled out when that security situation started to disintegrate. Now, it looks al Qaeda is resurging at least in the eastern part of the country -- Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Ian Lee with the developing situation there -- again, a jail break, 200 al Qaeda linked prisoners escaping, just showing the chaos that continues in Yemen. Thank you, Ian, in Cairo for us.

Happening this morning, negotiators still struggling to work out a deal, curbing Iran's nuclear program, pulling an all-nighter talks in Switzerland, their determination to keep talking is one good sign.

Word from negotiators that they made significant progress is another. But there were some less optimistic signs as well, including Iran's foreign minister, he publicly called negotiations with the west, quote, "always problematic".

For the very latest, let's bring in global affairs correspondent Elise Labott. I think that always problematic could probably go both ways, couldn't it, Elise?

ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Christine.

Well, the negotiators did work out night. They got a few hours rest. They showered and they are about to come back fresh for the talks to resume shortly.

But, you know, even though they are starting again, they are going two days past the deadline, there is a lot of uncertainty in these talks. It's really been a roller coaster.

The British and French foreign ministers returned last night, an indicator that a deal was coming close. The French foreign minister says they were in the last final meters, but those final meters are the most difficult. They've been talking about the same sticking points on this political framework agreement for a longer comprehensive agreement to be negotiated by June. But still, some sticking points about sanctions, about the amount of research and development that Iran could do towards the end the deal.

[05:10:04] But now, we are getting into one-upmanship and brinksmanship. On the Iranian side, they are trying to divide this P5-plus-1 negotiating world powers group. The West, when he talks about the West problematic, he says they are not all on the same page.

From the U.S. side, the elephant in the room is Congress and this deadline. They are using that for the United States to try to force their hand, because even though Congress is threatening to impose sanctions against Iran, it really seems that the U.S. desire to get a deal to show something to Congress is a factor in these talks, Christine.

ROMANS: Let me ask you about what Iran regardless of what happens with the framework or any kind of deal, what Iran has gained already? I mean, Iran has been at the table for days now with the world's -- some of the world's biggest, most important powers.

Has Iran managed to lift itself up diplomatically and legitimize itself just by doing this process?

LABOTT: Well, a little bit. I mean, they have gotten some economic benefit from suspending sanctions in the interim agreement that's been going on. But they have been at the table for a week.

The Iranian foreign minister is better at playing to the press, playing to his own domestic constituency. We barely hear from Secretary Kerry at all. We try to door stop him going to lunch, but the Iranian foreign minister is talking to his press every day, we're waiting for him, he's talking to us and getting the Iranian narrative out there.

So, even though Iran is the weaker party at these talks, they are the supplicant, they are trying to get out from the sanctions of the West. They certainly are the tough negotiator. And everybody sees them as such. I really feel they are the ones that are dictating a lot of what is going on here in Lausanne, Christine.

ROMANS: So interesting.

Elise Labott for us in Lausanne, thanks, Elise.

Eleven minutes past the hour.

We are following breaking news all morning: gunmen storming a university in Kenya. Students attacked.

Plus, hundreds of prisoners linked to al Qaeda, they escaped prison in Yemen.

But, first, happening now: grim recovery at the crash site of Germanwings Flight 9525 as this new video -- new video -- claims of a video surfaced. Were the final moments onboard that plane recorded?

We're live with new developments, next.

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[05:16:01] ROMANS: If there truly is an authentic video from inside Germanwings Flight 9525 in its final moments, it has not surfaced publicly yet. French police believe it doesn't exist at all. Prosecutors say if it does, whoever has it, better surrender it.

Listen to a reporter with the French publication "Paris Match" telling Wolf Blitzer he watched it with his own eyes. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FREDERIC HELBERT, PARIS MATCH: What is the most impressive in this short video is the sounds and noise. The deep impact is that noise of people screaming and screaming again.

WOLF BLITZER, CNNA ANCHOR: How many times, Frederic, have you actually watched the video?

HELBERT: Maybe about 100 times.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Wow. Meanwhile, search crews in the French Alps still going through the wreckage of Flight 9525.

Let's get the latest from CNN senior international correspondent Frederik Pleitgen. He is in Dusseldorf, Germany, for us. Sort of a lot of drama around the cell phone video. Is it real? How did it get into the hands of these newspapers to be viewed?

We just don't know if it's legitimate yet. We cannot confirm its authenticity.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No, we can't. We can't confirm the authenticity at all, Christine.

However, I do have to say that the "Bild" newspaper of Germany which I've been very close to touch with its management, they say they absolutely stand by their story. They say that this video from their side at least has been verified. They, of course, are working very closely with that French publication "Paris Match", and also with that journalist who was talking to Wolf Blitzer there.

Now, the French authorities for their part as you said, they've sort of have been coming out with mixed messages. On the one hand, they said that they believe the paper reports about this video are under true and unwarranted. However, they also at least in one press release, also confirmed that they did find at least parts of cell phones, but they also said that none of the cell phones video, if indeed there was any or no cell phone video has been used in the investigation. They said that if anything could be retrieved, it would be sent to labs first to be viewed there.

So, at this point in time, they are saying as you said, that no cell phone video has been used yet. If somebody has cell phone video, they better come up with it as fast as possible.

But one of the things that we also have to keep in mind, Christine, is that this entire investigation has been mired by leaks. One of the things that happened, of course, is that the transcript of the cockpit voice recorder apparently was leaked. Then, the head of the BEA, the French investigating authority, was questioned by police because of the leaks going on specifically for a times report.

So, this is certainly not something that if a video is out there, it would be out of the question that it would have been leaked to the press, Christine.

ROMANS: I know, and people are hungry for information, but at the same time, you want to make sure the information is valid and you want to make sure that it's -- you're sensitive to the needs of families.

Tell me a little bit about the recovery effort. We were talking to Erin McLaughlin a little bit earlier. She said human remains have not been found in the last day or so. The impact of that jet into the mountainside, they're actually digging for plane parts underground.

PLEITGEN: They're digging for plane parts underground. One of the things that they've also said is that they are obviously also still trying to find the flight data recorder. That second black box, which, of course, could yield some very important information as well.

One of the things that they've said is that possibly, the impact of that flight hitting the mountain, we know it was at high speed. We know that people who are in the early stages of investigation has said that the plane had literally been obliterated by the mountain side. They think that it might have been jettisoned out of the rubble, that it may have landed in the gravel and the shale around the crash site, and they certainly are digging there as well.

But as you say, right now, the recovery effort while still difficult, have become easier because they managed to get that access road all the way to the crash site. But we have seen from the video that emerged from the crews working there, still difficult, very difficult terrain and very difficult weather conditions in Europe at the moment.

[05:20:01] However, it seems as though progress in spite of all that is quite good. The French president, of course, came out and said he believes that all the victims will be identified by the end of the week, which is a lot faster than they thought they would. And we'll wait and see whether or not that other flight data recorder is recovered and see what else they find there in the rubble.

So, certainly, a very, very difficult operation and one where the head of Lufthansa came out yesterday. Of course, he was at the crash site and thanked the crews for the hard and very good work that they are doing out there -- Christine.

ROMANS: Thanked the crews, but did not answer questions about the timing of when they knew that co-pilot had a problem. And that still a big question -- yes, that may not have been the time and place. But, clearly, people want answers to that, more answers to that.

Fred Pleitgen, I know you're digging. Thank you, sir. Talk to you very, very soon.

Twenty minutes past the hour. We're following breaking news all morning lot. A lot going on.

In Yemen, hundreds of prisoners linked to al Qaeda escape prison.

In Kenya, gunmen storm a university there, students attacked, hostages taken. Then, lawmakers and two states scrambling to change the law that

protesters, companies, even the NCAA have called anti-gay law.

All of this coming up next.

Too many seats and not enough passengers may be behind U.S. airlines slowest start in four years. The Bloomberg airline index saw its smallest first quarter gain since 2011. If it keeps up, the cost of your plane ticket could drop, so could revenue. And that scares investors. Bloomberg reports five of the six biggest U.S. airlines have already increased capacity this year, either by cramming in more seats on planes, or flying larger models.

One exception so far, American Airlines.

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[05:25:04] ROMANS: Happening now: Indiana lawmakers are hours away from announcing a deal to quote fix the state's controversial religious freedom law. The new law intense drawing fire from gay right supporters across the country. They call it simply a silence to discriminate.

Corporations and government officials in other states now threatening to boycott Indiana. Officials set to unveil a deal modifying the new law this morning.

CNN's Miguel Marquez is in Indianapolis for us. He's got the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine, it appears we have a fix after a long, long day here at the capitol building in Indiana. The Republicans meeting in that room behind us for about five hours in total. All of the Republicans caucusing.

Besides that, they were meeting individually for much of the day. All business here suspended until they can deal with this Religious Freedom Restoration Act and how they're going to fix it and get it to the governor's desk.

Brian Bosma, the speaker of the House here, is the guy at the center of all this. He is the one that's been charged with coming up with this. Late last night, he came out after a long, long conference. We could hear some clapping and cheering in that room along the way.

He came out and told us what he thought about the deal.

BRIAN BOSMA (R), INDIANA HOUSE SPEAKER: We did start the session with that bill. Those who advocated for it to strengthen religious freedom, and we all think that's the right thing. The question is removing the specter that's been raised, discrimination and denial of service, facilities, some other things. So, that's what we're focusing on.

MARQUEZ: The timing of this still tricky. What has to happen is they have to make it public. He wanted to talk to other individuals before making that language public.

He wouldn't go into details about it. He said that it would not include a repeal. It would not include certain provisions like a non- discrimination act. And he wouldn't say what was in the language of this fix.

He does say that once they agree, though, they will take it to conference committee and it will be voted on in both houses here, the House and Senate in the legislature in Indiana. And then it will go to the governor's desk, possibly by as early as this afternoon -- Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Miguel Marquez, thank you for that, Miguel.

Arkansas lawmakers also furiously working on changes to their religious freedom bill. The governor there, Asa Hutchinson, he said he will not sign the bill passed by lawmakers in Arkansas. It is a bill similar under fire in Indiana. Hutchinson responding to demonstrations objections from Arkansas-based businesses. Walmart's CEO said, Governor Hutchinson do not sign this bill and even had dissent within his own family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ASA HUTCHINSON (R), ARKANSAS: It has divided families and there is clearly a generational gap on this issue. My son Seth signed the petition asking me, dad, the governor, to veto this bill. And he gave me permission to make that reference, and it shows that families and a generational difference of opinion on these issues.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: A replacement bill intended to address Hutchinson's concerns passed the state Senate last night. Legislative leaders hope to get it to the governor's desk by the end of the week.

And when the world's largest retailer and the largest private employer in the United States is saying, don't sign this bill, Mr. Governor, you really take that seriously. These are people who create jobs.

More businesses taking action in Indiana.

CNN Money correspondent Alison Kosik joins me.

So, in Indiana, Alison, Salesforce making a dramatic drastic promise here to its workers.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: And this is interesting, because we are hearing of the dozens of companies expressing outrage, but now, we're hearing about the biggest tech employer in Indiana moving employees out of the state. Salesforce is already reducing its investments in Indiana because of the religious freedom law.

And now, CEO Marc Benioff says, he told our Poppy Harlow that several employees have asked for transfers and he's agreed he's supplying relocation packages.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARC BENIOFF, CEO, SALESFORCE: I just got an e-mail on the way here from the studio from another employee who said, look, I don't feel comfortable living in this state anymore. You've got to move me out. And I gave him a $50,000 relocation package and said, great. You are clear to go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: A $50,000 relocation package. Putting your money where your mouth is, right?

Benioff says the controversial law has already cost the state tens of millions of dollars. That could grow to hundreds of millions of dollars if nothing changes. You wonder if this pressure is going to make a difference.

ROMANS: Wow. That is something.

All right. Thanks so much, Alison.

We are following breaking news. Hundreds of prisoners linked to al Qaeda escape prison in Yemen.

Gunmen storm a university in Kenya. Students are attacked by terrorists. There's a hostage situation. We're told that terrorists, though, are cornered.

All of these developments after the break.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

ROMANS: All right. Breaking news this morning: 200 al Qaeda linked prisoners escaping in Yemen. We are live with that story.