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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Two Hundred Al-Qaeda Linked Prisoners Escape In Yemen; Gunmen Attack Kenyan University; Al Shabaab Claims Kenyan University Attack; Identifying The Victims Of Flight 9525; Stocks Futures Are Lower. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired April 02, 2015 - 05:30   ET

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

[05:30:00]

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, breaking news this morning, 200 al Qaeda-linked prisoners escaping in Yemen. We are live with that story.

Also breaking this morning, gunmen storming a university in Kenya, students attacked and gunshots going off like fireworks. We are live with the details on that developing story as well.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans. A lot going on around the world this morning, folks. It's 30 minutes past the hour. We welcome all of our viewers here in the U.S. and around the world.

This morning, we have breaking news on several fronts, first in Yemen. Nearly 200 prisoners with links to al Qaeda have escaped from a prison in the port city of Mukallah.

Ian Lee joins us live now. Ian is in Cairo. He is monitoring what's happening in a very chaotic situation in Yemen. What can you tell us, Ian?

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine, the assault took place in the early morning hours. We are hearing dozens of al Qaeda militants attacked the prison to free their comrades including a senior al Qaeda figure (inaudible) was also freed in this assault.

We are also hearing that they took control of government buildings inside that city as well. They held that area until government troops were able to come and we are told the militants fled away. But this is just showing how al Qaeda is growing more bold really as Yemen disintegrates into chaos.

Al Qaeda controls much of or large parts of the eastern part of the country. That is away from where a lot of the fighting is taking place between the Houthi rebels and the government-backed fighters in the western part of the country.

So far they have kept their heads down. This is one of the major attacks, but we have seen prison breaks like this before from al Qaeda. It just shows how they are still a very viable and formidable opponent in Yemen. The United States has been battling them for years and really coordinating with the government. The recent chaos this past week, the United States has withdrawn their military advisers and really scaled back their attacks and operations against al Qaeda. Al Qaeda in the Arabia Peninsula is one of the most dangerous branches of al Qaeda in the world -- Christine.

ROMANS: Absolutely. The big concern all along here, Ian, this breakdown in Yemen is going to provide simply a cauldron of bad actors without U.S. eyes to watch what they are doing and where they are going and what kind of attacks they could be plotting against the west.

LEE: That is right. Al Qaeda has been keen on exploiting the chaos their right now. Really we see these Houthi rebels taking control in a large part, but when you look at the eastern part of the country. It is a very large part of the country where al Qaeda can roam and operate really without any regard to the government or to any other security forces.

They really have control over that large part of that area. So it is a great concern for western governments especially because they had to withdraw the forces that were operating against al Qaeda. They were also training government forces who were helping them conduct the operations against al Qaeda. All of that has been put on hold. Something that al Qaeda is very keen on exploiting.

ROMANS: All right, Ian Lee, thank you so much for that this morning. Again, 200 al Qaeda-linked prisoners escaping from prison in what is a chaotic situation in Yemen.

More breaking news this morning in southeastern Kenya, gunmen taking hostages at a university campus in the city of Garissa. The Kenyan Red Cross says at least 65 people wounded at Garissa University College. Two have been killed. The militant group al-Shabaab is claiming responsibility for that attack.

The Red Cross saying, the gunmen have taken an unknown number of hostages, though 50 have been freed. Kenya's interior ministry tweeting, the militants are now cornered in one building.

This from the Red Cross, this picture of a building collapse, a building under construction behind the mall has collapsed, and fire brigade at the scene. CNN's Soni Methu is live for us now from Nairobi, Kenya. Soni, what is latest?

SONI METHU, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I believe the two situations or the two occurrences are completely separate at the moment because we are hearing this building in Nairobi was under construction. Thika Road Mall is just about 15-minute drive from the city center.

It is quite a busy area with quite a few people living around the area. So far we have had reports on the ground. Local media affiliates are reporting that at least two people have been killed and they are fears that more people could still be trapped in the building.

[05:35:08] This could be workers who were working on the construction. There could be people who also sell food or people walking in the area going about their business buying or selling. These are the people feared trapped inside. The rescue operations are still ongoing.

On the Garissa attack, the situation remains very sensitive according to the police. They cornered attackers in one dormitory, but according to the sources on the ground, they fear the attackers cornered the students in one area because now they have hostages and they have the upper arm.

We are yet to confirm the number of casualties. Two confirmed dead. According to those on the ground, eyewitnesses that have been interviewed and people on social media, they claim that the death toll could have risen or has risen. Some people claim at least eight people have been seen taken to the mortuary in Garissa hospital.

ROMANS: All right, so a chaotic situation on the ground there, still an ongoing situation in terms of the attack on the university. Authorities telling us, Soni, that indeed they have the attackers cornered, but still a lot of confusion about how many casualties overall because this is still happening. Soni, thank you so much for that.

I want to bring in Robyn Kriel. She is the East Africa bureau chief for eNCA News in Nairobi. Thanks for joining us this morning. They are cornered. This has been going on since 5:00 a.m. local time for several hours now.

You have students living at university and getting up and getting ready to go to their morning prayers, and these gun-toting al Shabaab militants coming in and firing indiscriminately. What do we know?

ROBYN KRIEL, ENCA NEWS EAST AFRICA BUREAU CHIEF: Well, it has been confirmed that these indeed were members of the al Shabaab and have been reading some material and an al Shabaab spokesperson has spoken to another news organization saying that we've killed many people. Kenyans will be shocked when they go inside.

I suppose they are talking about the final dormitory. Also, this is a typical al Shabaab attack, extremely precise. They will be very well armed. We saw in the Westgate attack that they were able to keep an entire mall under siege for hours.

We saw other attacks perpetrated by al Shabaab that they had weapons such as RPGs. We are also seeing some reports of some kind of explosive devices that they have. We are not really sure what sort of explosive devices they are.

Al Shabaab typical modus operandi is car bombs, using car bombs to usually disrupt the situation. We have not seen that. I'm sure police are investigating all the vehicles in that area. Another specialty of theirs is throwing grenades and suicide vests.

ROMANS: Kenyan authorities have fared fighting al Shabaab? I mean, some would say that al Shabaab has been diminished in Somalia because of Kenyan action and this is sort of revenge. How powerful is al Shabaab?

KRIEL: Yes, we have covered al Shabaab ever since they got pushed out of Mogadishu on the 7th of August in 2011. Since then they've essentially been on the run from African Union Forces. African Union Forces including the Kenyan defense force, which is why al Shabaab claims that attacks are various soft targets in Kenya and Nairobi along the coast and in Garrissa.

They've killed hundreds of people as a result. The AU has managed to push al Shabaab from its main hot spots including Kismau. That was a very well-known port, most recently where the Ugandan forces were forced out of the port. That was the last stronghold or headquarters.

That is where they would get weaponry and bomb making materials and revenue from the port. However, with the group like this, that is an affiliated with al Qaeda, they will get revenue from other sources.

They are committed to attacking Kenya for being part of the African Union Force. They commit attacks in Somalia on almost a weekly basis, sometimes very brazen attacks. They enter the most secure area on Christmas day in Mogadishu and killed a number of people there.

The amazon mission in U.N. headquarters so they are still organized. Their hit squads are precise. They operate in a very small numbers. They commit terror acts that will make the media broadcast their message. This is just another one of those.

ROMANS: And what they want is Sharia law and what they want is their form of radical Islam, and attacking a university where people are learning, boys and girls, men and women are learning, clearly fits into that soft target ideological role.

[05:40:10] Robyn Kriel, thank you so much for your expertise this morning for us. Thanks.

Happening now, negotiators are still struggling to work out a deal curbing Iran's nuclear program, back at the negotiating table this morning after pulling an all-nighter in talks in Switzerland.

Their determination to keep talking is one good sign. Word from negotiators they've made significant progress, another good sign. This is not a great sign. The Iran's foreign minister publicly calling negotiations with the west always problematic.

For the very latest let's turn to global affairs correspondent, Elise Labott at the talks in Switzerland -- Elise.

ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Christine. While the negotiators did work all night, they got a few hours of rest and showered and they are about to come back fresh for the talks to resume just 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 rollercoaster. The British and the French foreign ministers returned last night, an indicator that a deal was coming close.

The French foreign minister says we are 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 by June.

But still some sticking points about sanctions and about the amount of research and development that Iran could do towards the end of the deal. Now we are getting into one upsmanship, brinksmanship.

On the Iranian side, they are trying to divide this P-5 plus one negotiating world powers group saying that the west, when he talks about west being problematic, he says they are not all on the same page.

And from the U.S. side, they feel that Iran knows that the elephant in the room is Congress and this deadline. They are using that for the United States to try to force their hand.

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: All right, Elise Labott, thank you so much for that, Elise from Lausanne.

We are following breaking news all morning long. Hundreds of prisoners linked to al Qaeda escaping Yemen. Gunmen storm a university in Kenya. Students are attacked. Hostages held. Terrorists cornered, we're told, but still an active situation.

And a grim recovery at the crash site of Germanwings Flight 9525 as new claims of a video surface. Were the final moments on board that plane recorded? We are live with new developments on that front next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:41:14]

ROMANS: If there truly is an authentic video from inside Germanwings Flight 9525 in its final moments, it hasn't surfaced publicly yet. French police believed it doesn't exist at all, but prosecutors say if it does, whoever has it, better surrender it.

Meanwhile, search crews in the French Alps still going through the wreckage of Flight 9525. I want to get the latest from CNN's Erin McLaughlin. She is live in Le Vernet, France. Erin, what's the latest on the recovery at the crash site this morning?

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Christine. Well, authorities here say they are making good progress. They managed to recover all of the human remains visible to the eye and so their priority this morning really mean two-fold, about 60 workers on-site today. They are collecting personal belongings of the victims of Flight 9525 about 20 Alpine troops dedicated to that effort alone. They've been loading the personal belongings into large bags and lifting, air choppering the bags out of the site.

They are also digging because the impact of the crash was so great that they think parts of the plane as well as human remains may be buried beneath the soil. Normally they use sniffer dogs for the process, but the stench of jet fuel is so strong that the dogs are ineffective.

They did not collect human remains yesterday, but they are continuing to look today. They are also continuing to look for that other black box, the missing flight data recorder. They managed to recover the casing to that recorder.

But they are still looking for the recorder itself. It could provide them with valuable clues as to the last moments of Flight 9525, what sort of commands that plane was being given.

They hope they say that the entire recovery process, the belongings and the remains will be finished either tomorrow or Saturday. But the investigation, of course, Christine, continues.

ROMANS: All right, Erin McLaughlin for us in Le Vernett. Thank you, Erin.

We are following breaking news, hundreds of prisoners linked to al Qaeda escaping Yemen, gunmen storming a university in Kenya. Students attacked by terrorists, hostages taken. New details on both these stories next.

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[05:52:01]

ROMANS: This morning, we have breaking news on multiple fronts in Yemen. Nearly 200 prisoners with links to al Qaeda have escaped from a prison in the port city of Mukallah. 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.

And in southeastern Kenya, two people dead, 30 hospitalized with gunshot wounds following an attack on Garissa University College. The U.S. embassy says al Shabaab militants have taken an unknown number of hostages. The Red Cross of Kenya is announcing that 50 of those hostages have been freed. We will keep you updated on the story as more information comes in.

Now to Iraq and the liberation of Tikrit, Iraqi forces taking back the town from ISIS. Ground operations continue this morning to root out lingering insurgents as well as booby traps and land mines.

CNN was the only reporting team on the ground in Tikrit when the Iraqis planted their national flag in the heart of the town. The troops are preparing to retake the city of Mosul from ISIS control next.

All right, a big U.S. employer criticized for low wages almost unlivable wages now giving employees a much-needed pay boost. There is a catch, an EARLY START on your money next.

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[05:56:48]

ROMANS: Let's bring in CNN Money correspondent, Alison Kosik, for an EARLY START on your money this morning. Alison, what are futures doing?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. We are seeing futures lower at the moment. Yesterday, we saw the Dow fell 78 points to kickoff the second quarter. As April begins, investors are considering. Every economist is cutting their growth forecast for last question.

First quarter earnings are likely to disappoint with the strong dollar hurting corporate profits. Some experts are voicing concerns that stocks are overvalued. You see investors at the ready to kind of sell.

ROMANS: So the big corporate story this morning is an announcement from McDonald's late yesterday that it was raising wages for some of its workers. They have been under a lot of pressure to raise wages.

KOSIK: That is the operative word for some of its employees. This will start on July 1st. McDonald's will begin raising wages at least $1 more for local minimum wage. All employees, including managers, are going to get a pay bump.

The fastfood giant is saying its average hourly wage will be more than $10 by 2016, plus full and part-time workers will begin to accrue paid time off after a year because before this, they could not take a paid day off.

ROMANS: So what's the catch?

KOSIK: OK, so of course, there is a catch here. This is going to be giving 90,000 workers a raise. It applies to workers at the 1,500 McDonald's owned restaurants. It does not apply to franchise owned stores or about 90 percent of McDonald's locations.

There are some new perks for all of McDonald's 750,000 workers. The chain says it will pay for employees to earn high school diplomas and assist with college tuition and cover English language classes. With sales going down, happy employees make happy customers.

ROMANS: Also there is a lot of turnover in these businesses. When you look at the perks, it clearly speaks to the fact that a lot of people are getting in the low wage jobs and it is their job and career. Can they give them some talents and skills they can take on and move up the ladder? Thanks so much, Alison Kosik. Nice to see you. All right, a deadly attack at a university in Kenya. Students killed by terrorists, hostage situation, an active situation going on right now. "NEW DAY" picks up that story now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Terror attacks around the world this morning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Garrissa University is under attack. Gunmen wearing military uniforms burst onto the campus.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: In Yemen, hundreds of prisoners with links to al Qaeda have escaped after gunmen storm a prison.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Talks on Iran's nuclear program.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Each side blaming the other for the obstacles in the talk.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've asked that the leaders of the general assembly to recall the bill.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whether you agree or disagree on gay rights, these laws are not the same old same old.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I choose to be heterosexual. They choose to be homosexual.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He just started kissing all over my chest.

CAMEROTA: Did you actually have sex with any of these women?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota, and Michaela Pereira.

CUOMO: Good morning. It is Thursday, April 2nd, 6:00 in the east. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world, this is NEW DAY.

We have two stories breaking on our watch, masked gunmen right now storming a university in Kenya. Explosions and heavy gunfire heard breaking out.