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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Manhunt for Escaped Killers: New Tip; Pool Party Chaos: Officer Resigns; The War on ISIS: more U.S. Troops to Iraq?; Cavs Hold Off Warriors, Take 2-1 NBA Finals Lead. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired June 10, 2015 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:00] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The police officer at the center of a pool party controversy, he is now off the job, resigning after being caught on camera pointing his gun at unarmed teenagers.

The White House with a possible new plan to take back territory seized by ISIS. More U.S. troops could be sent to Iraq. We are live with the latest developments.

Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans. It is Wednesday, June 10th, 5:00 a.m. in the East. John Berman on assignment this morning.

Happening authorities pursuing a couple of important new breaks in that manhunt for two convicted killers escaped from a maximum security prison in upstate New York.

The first break: a source tells CNN investigates now think a woman who worked with Richard Matt and David Sweat at the Clinton correctional facility planned to pick them up after their escape on Friday but a source says Joyce Mitchell changed her mind at the last minute and then wound up in the hospital suffering panic attacks. Mitchell son Tobey rejecting any suggestion she voluntarily helped those inmates, telling NBC News there is no way she was having an affair with one of the men.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOBEY MITCHELL, SON OF PRISON WORKER: She is not the kind of person that's going to risk her life or other people's lives to let these guys escape from prison.

She definitely wouldn't have an affair against my father, and it definitely wouldn't be with an inmate. There's no truth to that.

REPORTER: There is a report out there that your mom went to the emergency room with a panic attack. Did that happen?

MITCHELL: Yes. She was, in fact, in the hospital that evening. I don't know the exact details. I just know that she was having severe chest pains and she was concerned about that.

My mom, she worries a lot about everything. I mean, especially with me. People might say no matter what, I wouldn't do that. Well, when

you're put in a situation where family members threatened or other family members might be, you know, threatened or at risk, you do a lot of things that you wouldn't think you would do. And in my family, family always comes first.

REPORTER: Were there threats, Tobey?

MITCHELL: I have no idea.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: There is a second break in the case. A witness report of two suspicious men spotted walking down a road in rural Willsboro, some 40 miles south of that prison.

That's where CNN's Jason Carroll picks up the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine, for several hours, a number of law enforcement were out here on the ground, searching by foot and by air. This after on Monday night, they got a tip that two men were spotted walking around during the middle of a storm in the middle of a street when a car approached, apparently, those two men took off. That set off a lot of red flags. That's also what set off this massive search out here where we are located it's just about 40 miles south of where the prison is located. So you can imagine why this search effort was under way here.

Again, searching by ground, searching by air in terms of the ground search and the property where we are, it's bordered by a train tracks on one side, by a river on the other side. At one point, officers walking shoulder-to-shoulder as they conducted their search throughout the woods. . it wasn't just a search in the woods, but they also checked security cameras, resident security cameras and security cameras from businesses as well. So far, we're told that has turned up nothing.

So, it's going to be another restless day for many residents in this rural area -- Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. It sure will. Thank you for that, Jason.

Now, for days, authorities have been warning just how dangerous Richard Matt and David Sweat are. Few people understand that threat like Matt's accomplice in a 1977 crime. A man named Lee Bates. Bates served 15 years for his role in the kidnapping and murder of businessman William Rickerson.

Now, Bates told Anderson Cooper he watched Richard Matt brutally beat Rickerson over a 27-hour period in an unsuccessful effort to get money from the man.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEE BATES, MATT'S ACCOMPLICE IN 1997 MURDER: Torture is probably an understatement because once he -- at different points during the commission of what was the crime there, he used duct tape to tie Mr. Rickerson up. He beat him with anything and everything that he possibly can, a knife sharpener, security device, the club for my automobile.

He physically grabbed Mr. Rickerson's hands and pulled his fingers back until they snapped, punching him, beating him. Starting from in the house throughout the car ride and then eventually when he opened up the trunk and Mr. Rickerson told him, I'll take you to the money, let me out, and Richard Matt there then said, "I don't believe you, I don't believe you. You've been playing games with me, I don't believe you."

And in a fit of rage, he reached into the car, grabbed Mr. Rickerson by his head and snapped his neck in front of me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Bates says he was afraid of Richard Matt then and is still afraid of him now.

[05:05:00] A dramatic new development this morning in McKinney, Texas, where the police officer at the center of that pool party melee is stepping down. Protesters have been calling for Corporal Eric Casebolt's badge, even his prosecution after he drew his gun on those unarmed teenagers.

The host of the pool party tells CNN she's happy Casebolt has resigned.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TATYANA RHODES, HOST OF POOL PARTY: I feel that he could have done way better, performed better and acted better toward teens in this situation. Just like in the video, his peers were working way better, more appropriately than he was.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: For the very latest, let's turn to CNN's Nick Valencia. He's in McKinney.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine, the huge news on Tuesday night was the announcement of the resignation of Officer Eric Casebolt, the officer in question of that viral video posted over the weekend showing him wrestling a young teenage girl to the ground. The police chief of the McKinney police department came out and called his actions indefensible. He said of the 12 officers that responded to the incident on Friday, 11 of them acted appropriately, but Officer Casebolt wasn't one of them. CHIEF GREG CONLEY, MCKINNEY POLICE DEPT.: Eric Casebolt has resigned

from the McKinney Police Department. As the chief of police, I want to say to our community that the actions of Casebolt as seen on the video of the disturbance at the community pool are indefensible.

VALENCIA: This much is clear. We're told that the incident began with the physical altercation between an adult and a young teenager. We're told by one of the witnesses who wasn't within earshot of this but said that others heard it, that it began when an adult started hurling racial slurs at the young black teenagers. Neighbors that we spoke to there in the community say that just wasn't the case. One African-American resident in that subdivision where this incident took place on Friday said it was the teenagers that were causing the commotion and that the chaos didn't start until they started hopping the fence.

Now, this has created some division within the community and the case is far from over. Some are asking for charges to be brought against Officer Casebolt -- Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Nick, thank you for that.

Now, McKinney police have dropped the charges against one person arrested following that chaos. An 18-year-old named Adrian Martin.

This morning, the Secret Service and Capitol Hill police investigating two separate bomb threats that force evacuations of a Senate hearing and the White House briefing room. Reporters were moved to a separate building while the Secret Service kept the president and his family in place in the White House. Officials say they covered up TV cameras to protect the methods used to investigate bomb threats. Secret Service officials declined to discuss any potential connection between the two threats.

Another embarrassing development for the Secret Service. Turns out dozens of newly hired officers have been signed to the White House and other sensitive posts without the proper national security clearance. Some of them even having information to classified material. A rush to hire new personnel in the wake of the host of security lapses is being blamed. The Secret Service director promising to fix that problem quickly.

Time for an early start on your money this Wednesday. Asian stocks lower after one of the world's major equity indexes it will not stocks traded in Shanghai and Shenzhen over concerns about China's market restrictions. European stocks, U.S. stock futures looking more brighter. They're up right now.

God news for job seekers, there were 5.4 million job openings in April and that is a record the most since the government started tracking openings 15 years ago. That means for every job opening, there are fewer than two people looking for work. That is a ratio that has improved dramatically and slowly ticked down from about seven job seekers for every job opening during the height of the recession, a terrible number, fewer than two now.

All right. The shocking new security problems for the TSA and new plan to keep America's airports safe from terrorists, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:12:04] ROMANS: To the war on ISIS now. The White House considering a sweeping new strategy in that war on ISIS. This plan calls for a new military basis in Iraq's Anbar province, manned by hundreds of U.S. military trainers and advisers.

Let's get the latest from CNN's Jomana Karadsheh.

This is a shift in strategy since Ramadi, the fall of Ramadi. More U.S. advisers but not anybody in a combat role.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, here is what we know, Christine, according to U.S. officials. The administration is now considering sending 500 more troops to Iraq. That is in addition to the more than 3,000 who are already in country at this point. Many of those 100 would be train Iraqis.

Now, it's unclear how many are dedicated to training, how many others will be in roles like security, air support, medical support and other tasks there in Iraq. Also, we are being told that other considerations is expanding as you mentioned the number of training sites in Iraq, possibly potentially looking at another training site in Anbar province, that is the majority of which is under the control of ISIS, as we have seen in recent weeks. The group managed to gain more territory there, major setbacks for Iraqis with ISIS claiming control of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province.

And another thing being considered is training Sunni tribes directly, not arming them, but U.S. forces training these Sunni tribes. As we know, this is key part of the U.S. strategy. They really want to see the Sunnis brought on board to try and shift the balance in that fight against ISIS as this is a replication pretty much of the strategy adopted back in 2006 and '07 in the fight against al Qaeda in Iraq where we saw real change in that battle really changed the tide in that war against al Qaeda. So, hoping this could happen again.

And this is, of course, we are hearing from U.S. officials, the decision is expected to come soon. And final decision on how many troops, where they will be based and what they will be doing in Iraq, Christine.

Of course, really adding to the urgency that something needs to happen fast as we have seen ten months into the military campaign, ISIS is still a very capable group and able to go on the offensive and gain fresh territory.

ROMANS: All right. Jomana Karadsheh, thank you for that.

Stunning testimony from the inspector general, the Department of Homeland Security, John Roth, appearing before a Senate Homeland Security Committee, slamming the TSA for a host of shortcomings, including a failure to detect 73 airport employees who were hired despite being on a federal database of possible terrorists.

[05:15:02] We get more from CNN's Rene Marsh.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christine, on Capitol Hill, serious questions raised about whether the TSA is capable of protecting the flying public from terrorists. The agency is struggling with low morale, faulty airport screening equipment, officers failing to detect weapons and fake explosives, and inadequate vetting of airport workers.

Now, lawmakers are calling for a complete overhaul of the agency. The TSA was not at this hearing, but the Department of Homeland Security inspector general was. He told lawmakers, quote, "He is deeply concerned about TSA's ability to execute its important mission."

Those are sobering words from the government auditor behind a scathing report, revealing TSA cleared more than 70 people with links to terrorism to work at U.S. airports. The inspector general was also behind the recent covert bomb threat that TSA officers failed miserably at airport checkpoints.

Now, some of the possibilities is more bomb sniffing dogs and better communication between agencies, sharing information about individuals on terror watch lists. We should point out that CNN reached out to TSA for comment but they have not yet responded -- Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Rene Marsh, thank you for that. We are learning new details this morning about the charges against former House Speaker Dennis Hastert. He emerged from hiding to plead not guilty Tuesday in federal court in Chicago. The 73-year-old Hastert is charged with structuring cash withdrawals from banks and lying to the FBI about why. Prosecutors believe he was buying the silence of a former student to cover up allegations of sexual abuse.

The FBI says Hastert made 106 withdrawals of less than $10,000 to avoid bank reporting requirements. They say he promised to pay $3.5 million to the person identified in the indictment only as individual A. Hastert has not been charged with sexual abuse.

He will not officially join the presidential race until Monday. But Jeb Bush, he is polishing his foreign policy credentials during a three-nation trip to Europe. Bush meeting Tuesday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, urging the country's political leaders to take a tough line for Russia for its aggression in Ukraine. He travels later today to Poland and in Estonia where the focus is expected to remain on the crisis in Ukraine.

Attorneys for six Baltimore police officers charged for the death of Freddie Gray and filing a motion for Marilyn Mosby to recuse herself from the case. Now, they cite an e-mail sent by Moscow back in march asking police to target the very intersection where gray was arrested with enhanced drug enforcement efforts. Freddie gray was arrested in April and suffered a fatal spine injury while being transported in a police van.

ROMANS: In Ferguson, Missouri, a petition to recall the mayor of the troubled St. Louis suburb has fallen short. The county board of election commissioner says the petition was 800 signatures shy of putting 18,000 needed to the recall of Mayor James Knowles before the voters. The group behind it has ten more days to gather additional signatures. Ferguson's mayor has been under fire since the Justice Department found a pattern of racially biased policing in the city following the Michael Brown shooting.

Louisiana's Red River at its highest level since 70 years. Flooding has turned neighborhoods in Shreveport into lakes. Many homes completely under water.

The Red River cresting at 37 feet. That's a full 7 feet above flood stage. Officials expect it to remain well above the flood level through the weekend. My goodness.

Will the flooding continue in Louisiana? Let's bring in our meteorologist Pedram Javaheri for an early look at your weather.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, good morning, Christine.

That's right, the Red River major flooding ahead of us and especially farther down the stream and how the nature of the volume of water works. We know the major levels reached across portion of Shreveport, 37 feet is where we sit. Notice downstream, the purple circle here indicating more major flooding ahead of us. And in Alexandria, minor but expect to increase before the water feeds off into the Mississippi over the coming couple of days.

You look at the forecast, the rainfall certainly not going to be helpful but notice most of it stays south of Shreveport. But still, some of this water will feed into the rivers where major flooding could be expected. And you look at the broad prospective.

We're now getting word that May was the wettest single month in recorded history for the United States. In fact, over 400 percent above average in a few spots for the entire nation as a whole.

But you take a look. We had over 400 reports of tornados as well. Most since 2011, wettest May on record for Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado. You had the second earliest tropical storm in the way of Ana that made landfall earlier in the month.

And you look ahead to today's forecast. Severe weather expected. Generally a very narrow path stretching out of the plains on into portions of the northeast. Temperatures in New York toasty, getting up into the 90s the next coming couple of days.

ROMANS: All right. Pedram, thank you for that.

Advantage Cleveland.

[05:20:00] LeBron James leading the Cavs to a big win in front of a raucous home crowd as they grab a 2-1 lead in the NBA finals. Andy Scholes in Cleveland with the bleacher report, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: All right. LeBron James was just unbelievable once again last night, leading the Cavs to a game three victory over the Warriors in the NBA finals.

Andy Scholes live at Quicken Loans Arena with this morning's bleacher report.

Andy, what a win for the city of Cleveland last night.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Christine.

The atmosphere here in Cleveland last night was just incredible. You know, this city has so many bad things sports wise happen to them. It's really unreal. But they are channeling that into a slogan this year, all in. They're no longer saying there is always next year. They are now saying there is this year and they displayed giant banners with that saying before the game last night.

LeBron, he went to bow to the man who won this city's last championship, 51 years ago, Browns running back Jim Brown right before the game. And, wow, LeBron, amazing once again, almost hit his head on this slam in the first quarter. He was so pumped. He had 40 points in this game, nearly missing another triple-double.

And what can you say about Matt Dellavedova? The undrafted point guard has become LeBron's running mate this series. He played amazing defense on Steph Curry and a foul late in the game. He had 20 points.

The Warriors made this interesting game late, but this was Cleveland's night. Cavs win, 96-91.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[05:25:03] LEBRON JAMES, CLEVELAND CAVALIERS: As loud as they were, they need to go home now and start soaking up a lot of tea, drinking a lot of tea for the next 36 hours whatever the case may be because they need to be as loud on Thursday night. Need you guys to get those voices right. They will be unbelievable Thursday night as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Now, Dellavedova was so exhausted after chasing Steph Curry around all night, diving for loose balls, and he had to go to the hospital with severe cramping. He got an IV and will be re-evaluated later today. Dellavedova used to play rugby in Australia as a kid so I imagine he will be just fine.

Elsewhere in the sports world last night, Giants rookie pitcher Chris Heston looked like a rough night against the Mets. He hit two batters in a row in the fourth inning but then he went on to throw a no- hitter! He struck out 11 while walking none! First no-hitter of the Major League season and the fourth year in a row now that the Giants have had a pitcher throw a no-hitter. As you see back out here in Cleveland. Where I'm standing, they were

partying last night like they had won the NBA finals and why not? This win that they had in game three, the biggest win sports wise this city has seen probably ever.

ROMANS: LeBron James wants them all to rest their voices. He wants that energy and enthusiasm back. Rest your voices and drink some tea.

All right. Thanks, Andy.

SCHOLES: All right.

ROMANS: All right. A new tip this morning narrowing the search for two killers who made a stunning prison break as we learn about possible help. You won't believe the possible help they may have had in their escape. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)