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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Protests Lead to Riots in Baltimore; Rescue & Aid Workers Struggle In Nepal; Boston Bombing Trial: Life or Death. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired April 28, 2015 - 04:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:30:52] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Our breaking news this morning: Baltimore burning. Buildings destroyed. Stores looted. Officers attacked. Demonstrators furious over the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, the man who died following the mysterious injury during his arrest.

Complete coverage on our big story this morning begins now.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans. Thirty-one minutes past the hour.

There is breaking news this morning. West Baltimore might be described as a war zone after more than 12 hours of rioting. New fires this morning. More stores being looted.

Overnight, police officers under attack from rioters. The governor declaring a state of emergency. Baltimore schools are closed today in the interest of student safety. A 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. curfew begins tonight.

National correspondent Jason Carroll is out of the middle of it all overnight. He has the very latest for us.

Now, Jason, there are still fires burning. There are still firefighters trying to put out at this hour. Have the crowds subsided?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, things are looking relatively calm, at least for now. I know a number of people here in Baltimore are hoping that situation lasts.

Let me sort of set the scene for where we are right now, Christine. Standing here on West North Avenue where you saw the arrests yesterday afternoon and last night. If you look up the street, you can see some members of the state troopers who are there -- who have been holding their position in riot gear. You've got a Bobcat here, an armored here as well.

I am told they gained that position. They're going to hold that position throughout the day. Much more in terms of law enforcement out here on the city and on the ground today.

People are still reeling in terms of what they saw last night. A lot of people here in the city, city officials, local residents did not expect to see the amount of rioting and looting they saw last night. Groups of rioters started by looting a CVS, then burned it to the ground. Then, it was a liquor store and check cashing store.

They threw rocks. They threw bottles at police, other objects. Fire crews unable to do their job when some of the rioters came out and put holes in their hoses. It made for a very difficult situation, raised a lot of questions about the response. A lot of people questioning, did the city's mayor do enough. She spoke about that late last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR STEPHANIE RAWLINGS-BLAKE (D), BALTIMORE, MARYLAND: I think it is, again, I want to thank the governor for his support for being here and Baltimore as we bring order. It is a very delicate balancing act to make sure you protect people's right to free speech, their right to protest. The fact people exploited the opportunity to protest with violence and looting doesn't mean I don't have a duty to protect people's right to be heard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: The mayor also brought up Ferguson in terms of her defense. She said she learned from Ferguson in how overreacting to a situation can make a situation even worse. Although there was violence on Saturday, when they saw some looting there on Saturday, she said they still felt they had the situation under control.

As you know, it was only until today when she requested the governor send in the National Guard. Some people were questioning why that wasn't done earlier, she still stands by her decision -- Christine.

ROMANS: Clearly, though, the pictures we're seeing, Jason, are not of a city or neighborhood under control. What, if anything, are they doing differently as dawn breaks and they face a curfew tonight, anger still simmering over the death of Freddie Gray?

CARROLL: Well, the anger has been simmering for quite some time. It is still here.

In terms of the difference -- well, one thing is clear. They already have more forces on the ground, which they did not have earlier.

[04:35:02] I mean, you heard the police commissioner say at one point, they were outnumbered and outflanked. So, that hope is today, that is not the situation, that they have more troops on the ground to help them if things happen to go south.

So, you will see a different response. You do have a curfew that will be in place as well. So, these are some of the things that city officials are hoping will make a difference today.

ROMANS: All right. Jason Carroll, thank you so much for that, Jason.

Officials say Monday's riots started with a message that spread on social media about a purge. It's a reference to a 2013 thriller in which crime is temporarily legalized. Baltimore police responded to that spreading rumor on social media, the spreading call on social media. They sent hundreds of officers went to a local mall and hub that is used by high school students. Students started throwing bricks and stones at the officers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY BATTS, BALTIMORE POLICE COMMISSIONER: We had information yesterday that the Mondawmin Mall, we're going to have a large purge of high school students from across the city move to Mondawmin Mall. We had pretty close to about 250 to 300 police officers staged in and around the mall at the time the youth got out of school. Stones been thrown at them. The officers proceed northbound to push the youth in the northerly direction. The officers were caught on an incline to which a number of officers got injured. One officer knocked out, hit in the head, he was taken to the hospital.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Freddie Gray's family has called for calm on the day of his funeral. They were quick to speak out against the violence when it began to happen. Family members say Freddie Gray would never have wanted this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD SHIPLEY, FREDDIE GRAY'S STEPFATHER: Earlier today and we had a beautiful home service and to see that it turned into all this violence and destruction I am really appalled. Family, I love you. We are supposed to be in this for justice. But is it just us?

FREDERICKA GRAY, FREDDIE GRAY'S SISTER: I think the violence is wrong, and Freddie Gray wasn't a person for violence. Freddie Gray wasn't that type of person who break into no stores or none of that. I don't like it at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Just about 40 miles away in Washington, Attorney General Loretta Lynch faced a crisis in Baltimore, just hours after her swearing in Monday. After an evening meeting with President Obama, Lynch issued a statement saying, "I condemn the senseless acts by some individuals in Baltimore that have resulted in harm to law enforcement officers, destruction of property and a shattering of the peace in the city of Baltimore. I will bring the full resources of the Department of Justice to bear and protecting those under threat and investigating wrongdoing, and securing an end to violence."

White House Correspondent Michelle Kosinski has more on the reaction to these riots.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

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

Well, so far, we have seen a restrained, pretty low key response from the White House on this. And that's similar to what we have seen in some prior incidents where police abuse has been alleged and there have been big demonstrations. I mean, in those prior incidents, what we heard behind the scenes here at the White House were things like, well, if the president, you know, these questions if he will go there or if he will deliver a specific statement. What good would that do at this point? And might it even inflate the situation or escalate it in some way?

So, right now, the White House is putting this firmly in the hands of the Department of Justice, this brand new -- I mean, hours into her swearing in Attorney General Loretta Lynch. And the president met with her. She updated him. They talked about DOJ resources that could be used there in Baltimore.

It was Loretta Lynch who delivered the statement to the public condemning what she called senseless act of violence, and talking a little bit about the kind of federal resources that at this point, in addition to the investigation, could be used in Baltimore, people on the ground, community relations, community policing, people from the civil rights division.

But we're also seeing outreach from the president. I mean, he had a phone call with the Baltimore mayor yesterday. The White House is not saying if that was pre- or post riots. And he also had a call with the Maryland governor.

I think what's interesting is that the White House is that reading out, or putting out a summary of the call with the mayor, but not the one from the governor. It seems like what we're hearing from other sources is they talked about some planning, maybe some logistical things that the White House doesn't want to talk about at this point. What the Maryland governor said, though, is the president supported what they are doing at this point, and that he may even send the attorney general herself there to Baltimore.

Other than that, that's where the White House is standing right now. The president isn't speaking directly on this, but they definitely want to get the message out that they are engaged through the Department of Justice -- Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Michelle in Washington with that.

Let's turn now to the earthquake in Nepal. The death toll from a huge 7.8 quake now stands at 4,400, most of them in Nepal.

[04:40:07] Officials say at least 8,000 people were hurt. Rescue and aid workers in Nepal struggling with the scale of this disaster, confronting supply shortages, that is just in the capital of Kathmandu. In the countryside, the death and damage have yet to be tallied.

Standing by live for us with the very latest, CNN's Ravi Agrawal in New Delhi.

And, Ravi, I know "Reuters" reporting one official saying that they think the death toll could top 10,000. It's just too early to tell.

RAVI AGRAWAL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is too early to tell. Right at the start of the crisis, experts said that the first 72 hours are the most crucial period if you are to find survivors. We are past that period now. So, if anyone is strapped in debris in Kathmandu or the rural areas, the chances of them surviving is slim.

The information that we're getting, Christine, we're almost getting it on two different plains. On the one hand, we know what is going on in Kathmandu, we know that people are rushing out of their homes and homes have been compromised. If there is one ray of light to that, we know the worst. The army is there and they are helping, and aid is reaching Kathmandu.

The second plain of information, we don't know what is happening in the rural parts of Nepal. And that's what people are most worried about. How do you get aid to those parts of Nepal when there are no roads? When you try to go those areas, mountainous areas, there are landslides.

So, there are a lot of problems in rural Nepal. India has been trying to help out. The Nepalese helicopters are trying to get here. But really, this death toll of 4,400 is likely going to go up because we simply don't know the worst that has happened so far.

ROMANS: Ravi, we look at buildings that have been pancaked, three-story buildings that have been pancaked, we know the income per person in that country is something like $1,000 a year. It's a relatively poor country. The infrastructure building is poor. The housing construction is poor.

Do we think that they are still finding survivors in these piles of rubble at this hour?

AGRAWAL: Hard to say, Christine. I mean, the last person I spoke to on India's national response team, they said that, you know, they found a few in the last 24 hours, but really that number is really dwindling. It is hard to find anyone anymore. And in the rural parts, well, you need to get there first.

ROMANS: Whole villages likely wiped out in the rural parts of the country. Thanks for that, Ravi Agrawal from New Delhi this morning.

Happening right now, a daring rescue operation at the top of the world is over. Helicopter pilots risking their lives at the peak of Mt. Everest. Look at this -- they're rescuing stranded climbers from the highest point on the planet. The latest word now all of those climbers have been saved.

I want to go live to London and Erin McLaughlin has been following this rescue effort for us -- Erin.

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Christine.

That's right. And this immense tragedy, a glimmer of good news from Mt. Everest. I was speaking to some climbers earlier today who say that the last of those stranded climbers were rescued from Mt. Everest this morning.

This after really what was an incredible rescue mission underway all day yesterday. Choppers zipping up the mountain side, about 100, 200 climbers believed to have been stranded up there. They've been evacuated by chopper because an area known as the Khumbu Icefall was completely ravaged by the aftermath, the aftershocks from that quake rendered impassable avalanche.

Now, they have been brought back to base camp which is devastated by the earthquake. There was an avalanche passed through there.

I was speaking to a 17-year-old climber from Boulder, Colorado, by the name of Matthew Moniz. He told me of his sheer terror as he was hiding behind a rock as the avalanche passed through. Once it passed through, the entire camp came together to try to rescue the injured. Recovered sadly the dead, at least 17 killed, including four Americans.

Moniz told me he spent all day yesterday carrying the injured to a makeshift clinic. And they were using a makeshift clinic because the real clinic had been completely wiped out. He said this morning the camp is calm. He said that the adrenaline and numbness that he felt is wiping away as they realize just the tremendous pain and loss.

He said that they are waiting for the Kathmandu airport to open up to international flight so he could go home. Now, incredible, there is a group of climbers, about 100 of them, who still say they want to try to climb Mt. Everest, and they are waiting to assess that ice fall I was talking about to see if they can pass through.

[04:45:02] ROMANS: Wow, unbelievable.

All right. Erin McLaughlin, thank you so much for that. Glad that that rescue operation is complete.

We are continuing to follow the news in Baltimore this morning. Protests turning into riots. The governor of Maryland is angry and speaking out. We've got more on that ahead on what's happening right now on the street.

Plus, how the Boston bomber's attorneys are trying to keep him off death row, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: We are following this breaking news out of Baltimore. Baltimore erupted into violence shortly after the funeral of Freddie Gray. Rioters setting fires, looting stores, throwing rocks at police and firefighters, 15 officers injured in the mayhem. More than two dozen people arrested and angry Governor Larry Hogan declaring a state of emergency and ordering the national guard to the city.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. LARRY HOGAN (R), MARYLAND: This is lawless gangs of thugs roaming the streets causing damage to property and injuring innocent people, and we're not going to tolerate that. All of it was disturbing. It's hard to say anyone saying when you see -- when the law enforcement officers hurt and injured, when police cars were on fire, when buildings are being set ablaze, it was -- it was very disturbing. We called everybody together in advance of the city requesting. So, we were fully ready to engage immediately.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:50:01] ROMANS: Public schools in Baltimore will be closed today. The mayor of Baltimore announcing a citywide curfew from 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. That begins tonight.

The defense calling eight witnesses on the first day of their case in the penalty phase of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev trial. Tsarnaev's attorney rather trying to spare him the death penalty, told jurors the convicted marathon bomber was the product of a dysfunctional family and easily fell under the spell of his brother Tamerlan.

Lawyer David Brock (ph) added that sending Tsarnaev to a super max prison would be a fate worse than death, which would deprive Tsarnaev of a martyr's death.

Alright. We are continuing to follow the breaking news out of Baltimore. Buildings and cars set on fire, stores looted, officers attacked, just a night of horror. Baltimore's mayor defending how she handled that chaos. More on this ahead, next.

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ROMANS: A state of emergency now in effect in Baltimore. The city boiling over after the funeral of Freddie Gray, who died after being injured in police custody. Now, more than two dozen arrests. Rioters setting fires to stores and looting stores, throwing rocks at police, throwing rocks at firefighters.

Fifteen officers injured in the mayhem. The National Guard called in to help restore order.

[04:55:02] Baltimore mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake faced a strong criticism that she acted too slowly to shut down the rioting. But she says she had to balance strong enforcement against protesters' free speech rights.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAWLINGS-BLAKE: Listen, I am going to protect people's right to protest. The fact that people exploited that does not mean I did not have an obligation to protect people's right to protest. I never said nor would I ever say that we are giving people space to destroy our city. So, my words should not be twisted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The Baltimore Orioles baseball game postponed last night. Public schools in the city closed today, the mayor announcing a week long citywide curfew 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. That curfew begins tonight.

All right. Breaking news this morning: those riots spreading through the streets of Baltimore. We are live with what's happening right now, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

ROMANS: State of emergency in Maryland. Baltimore is burning. Riots breaking out over the death of Freddie Gray, a man who died after being mysteriously injured after being arrested earlier this month. Protests turning violent, buildings set on fire, stores looted, stores vandalized. Police officers attacked.

We have breaking news coverage beginning now.

Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans. It is Tuesday, April 28th. It is 5:00 a.m. in the East.

A lot going on overnight in Baltimore. Breaking news there this morning. West Baltimore might be described as a war zone after more than 12 hours of rioting.

New fires this morning, more stores looted. And overnight, police officers under attack from rioters.