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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Manhunt for Escaped Killers: New Breakthrough; Tamir Rice Shooting: Will Officers Be Charged?; The War on ISIS: U.S. Expands Presence in Iraq. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired June 12, 2015 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:17] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: A possible breakthrough this morning. The manhunt for two killers who escaped from prison. Tracking dogs picking up the prisoners' scent. Could investigators at last be close to capturing these men?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: A stunning development in the case of a child playing with a toy gunshot and killed by police. What a judge is now recommending.
BERMAN: And is the U.S. set to open new military bases throughout Iraq? Details on the new White House strategy to battle ISIS. We're live.
Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.
ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. Nice to see you, everybody. Friday, June 12th, 4:00 a.m. in the East.
Let's begin with the search for two dangerous inmates on the loose in Upstate New York, growing more desperate entering its seventh day. The latest potential breakthrough has investigators focusing on this wooded area three miles from the maximum security prison where Richard Matt and David Sweat escaped. Police believe search dogs have picked up their scent.
Life in the region -- life is on hold for thousands of people. Towns are on lockdown. One law enforcement official warning that the longer the search goes on, the more likely it is these two will commit a new crime.
We'll get more this morning from CNN's Miguel Marquez.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, the search is still very much on here, just east of the prison where these two individuals escape. We are about four miles from the encampment that the officials found. They say that the scent dogs are searching the area behind us. We're about four miles from there.
This roadblock has been tight now that night has fallen. People in this neighborhood are paranoid, even afraid to leave their own homes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't sleep last night. I got home in time before they blocked the road off, but shortly after I got home, they closed both ends of the Trudeau Road and they wouldn't let my sons come home last night.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like I'm going crazy being indoors. I feel like a prisoner in my home because I've got all the doors locked. They closed the windows. I have ladders outside. So, I imagine things and I look out the window often. Everywhere I drive to work, I'm scanning to see if I see any unusual activity.
MARQUEZ: Officials say they have thrown everything at this. Some 600 leads have come through that they're trying to figure out which are the best quality leads. They have some 500 searchers here on the scene. There was a helicopter up earlier. And they expect to search until they find them -- John and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Miguel, thank you for that.
Now, new details this morning about the female prison worker who may have helped the two convicted killers escaped. It turns out correction officials received an anonymous complaint about Joyce Mitchell over her relationship with one of the inmates. She was not disciplined. Mitchell has told investigators inmate Richard Matt made her, quote, "feel special." So far, she has not been charged.
BERMAN: According to a Cleveland municipal court judge, there is probable cause to charge two police officers in the fatal shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice last fall. The community leaders had asked the judge to intervene, although right now, his ruling now is largely symbolic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL MALONEY, ATTORNEY FOR OFFICER FRANK GAMBACK: It is important to realize we are in no different spot than 24 hours ago. Prosecutors still have to make the decision.
RACHELLE SMITH, COMMUNITY ORGANIZER: It was great to see people using the tools that are available to them in the system and taking them and using them to find justice, no matter how small the steps.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Legally no difference from public policy and political standpoint perhaps is different spot.
A grand jury will ultimately decide, along with the prosecutor whether the officer is charged. Tamir Rice was playing with a pellet gun when he was shot dead just seconds after officers arrived on the scene.
ROMANS: All right. The U.S. is looking to deploy a new "lily pad" strategy to combat ISIS in Iraq. Joint Chiefs chairman, General Martin Dempsey, says the best way to defeat these terrorists is to expand America's footprint in the region. That means setting up a network of bases in Iraq with hundreds of U.S. troops deploying to train Iraqi forces.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KIRBY, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: The key component is to improve the Iraqi security forces, improve their capabilities and their confidence on the battlefield.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Proposed locations for the lily pad base locations include Baghdad, Tikrit, Kirkuk, Mosul.
Let's get the latest from CNN's Ian Lee in Cairo.
Ian, what exactly does that strategy entail? What does that mean exactly for U.S. troops in the commitment and the commitment of U.S. boots in the region?
IAN LEE, CNN REPORTER: Christine, that puts them close to the frontline, not on the frontline. What they will do is training the Iraqi fighters and the military as well as Sunni tribal fighters in communications, shooting and how to move on a battlefield, especially in an urban environment.
[04:05:07] They're also going to be working on command and control and logistics and resupply. These were reasons why Ramadi fell in the first place. But also, we need to point out what U.S. troops won't be doing. They won't be going to the frontlines and fighting. They won't be calling in any air strikes. And it's likely that they won't be leaving the base.
ROMANS: The speaker for Iraqi -- for Iraq's council of representatives is due to meet U.S. Vice President Joe Biden today. What is expected to come out from that meeting in particular?
LEE: The speaker of parliament is talking about some things that worry him. He wants to see more training and more weapons for Sunni tribal fighters. He is the highest ranking Sunni member of government. He says that the government -- the central government, the Shia-dominated government hasn't been forthcoming with the weapons.
He says that is key to building confidence between the two sides. The U.S. government also saying they're going to be focusing on training these Sunni tribal fighters and giving them weapons. Again, getting to that political deal where both sides are confident with another.
ROMANS: All right. Ian Lee in Cairo, breaking it down -- thanks, Ian.
BERMAN: A huge day on Capitol Hill coming up. A critical showdown over the signature trade measure, the Pacific trade bill plays out in the House today. A vote is expected this morning and as a senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta tell us, it is the Democrats who could wind up killing this deal.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, the White House is going to be waking up with some big worries over whether its trade agenda can survive the next 24 hours on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers are set to vote on two major pieces of trade legislation. One that funds a program that helps workers who lose their jobs to outsourcing. The other that grants the president so- called fast track authority to negotiate trade deals.
In a furious scramble for votes, the president called House Speaker John Boehner and deployed top administration officials such as White House chief of staff Denis McDonough to Capitol Hill to twist the arms of House Democrats who were opposed to the president's agenda.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest talked about that effort on Thursday. Here's what he had to say.
JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: That fact is that everybody from the president on down, including many members of his team here at the White House and his economic team across the administration, are making an aggressive case to members of Congress about why they should support this.
ACOSTA: These trade votes in the Congress are a key test to the president's influence on Capitol Hill. A defeat could potentially block the president from finalizing a transpacific trade deal he has sought for years, one the White House firmly believes is crucial to keeping the U.S. competitive with China -- John and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Jim Acosta, thanks for that.
The cyberattack on federal government computer systems may be far worse than the Obama administration has acknowledged. Officials initially said just over 4 million current and former employees were affected. A government workers union now says hackers stole personal data and Social Security numbers from every federal employee and retiree and as many as 1 million former government workers. It is believed China is behind that attack. Officials in Beijing deny any involvement.
BERMAN: On the heels of that huge government data breach, the Senate failed to push forward the bill designed to straighten cybersecurity. The information sharing measure would allow government investigators to access computer networks and records of private companies. Senate Democrats objected to the move by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to attach the cybersecurity bill to larger defense policy legislation.
ROMANS: Major shakeups for the top of companies. Rupert Murdoch stepping down as CEO of 21st Century Fox. This guy is a legend in the media business. The 84-year-old is one of the world's most influential media executives. Murdoch built an empire including 21st Century Film Studio, Fox studios, Fox broadcast networks, and Fox News Channel.
And questions this morning about his sons James and Lachlan will fill his shoes. James will be CEO, Lachlan will be chairman with his father, sort of a power-sharing deal.
Over at Twitter, CEO Dick Costolo is out. Twitter has struggled to add new members and generate revenue from ads. Many investors have been calling for him to step down in the past year. The stock is up before the bell, which means investors like it that there's going to be somebody new at the helm. The chairman and co-founder Jack Dorsey, he'll be the interim CEO while the board looks for a new leader. Some big, big moves in the corporate suites over the last 24 hours.
BERMAN: All right. Nine minutes after the hour.
A Virginia teenager and his role as a recruiter for ISIS. A teenager. New developments ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:12:46] BERMAN: A Virginia teenager is pleading guilty to terrorism charges. Seventeen-year-old Ali Shukri Amin faces up to 15 years behind bars. He admitted to a judge he helped his friend get to Syria to join ISIS, and was the secret voice behind a pro-ISIS Twitter account.
Let's get more now from CNN senior Washington correspondent Joe Johns.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, Ali Shukri Amin tweeted, blogged, promoted and recruited ISIS followers all over the Internet for about eight months with the big reveal came on Thursday, as the FBI said the face behind that enormous online presence was actually a teenager from northern Virginia. A teenager they had been investigating for helping ISIS sympathizers with their financing, pleading guilty now to giving material support to ISIS after the FBI tracked him down, recruiting for the terror group.
Authorities said he dropped out of the Manassas, Virginia, high school in February, was the blogger for jihad, the brains behind a controversial, now suspended, Twitter handle known as @amreekiwitness, which promoted itself as dedicated to raising awareness about the upcoming conquest of the Americas.
Prosecutors say Amin was instrumental in helping an 18-year-old from the D.C. suburbs actually travel to Syria to join ISIS. The Justice Department has filed charges against that other individual too, but he is believed to be overseas.
Amin was also helping ISIS sympathizers financially by teaching them about the virtual currency known as bitcoin. That included directing people how to use bitcoin and how to use bitcoin anonymously. Amin's lawyer says his client's fervor and support for ISIS was all about opposing the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad. Amin joins a growing rank of promising young Muslims in America who have been lured into radical Islam online -- John and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right, Joe Johns. Thank you, Joe.
The FBI arresting the third suspect in connection with the terror plot targeting police officers. Nicholas Rovinski will be arraigned today in federal court in Boston. Agents searched his Rhode Island home as part of their investigation into an alleged beheading plot by Usaama Rahim.
[04:15:00] Rahim, of course, was shot and killed last week after lunging at police and FBI agent with a knife as they tried to question him.
BERMAN: Gruesome new details from the quadruple murder on the Washington, D.C. mansion. Three family members and their maid were killed.
We have now learned the father endured horrific torture. A law enforcement officer told CNN that Phillip Savapoulos was strangled, beaten, stabbed and burned and had trauma to the back of his head. A search warrant and accompanying affidavit revealed that a baseball bat with what appeared to be blood on it was found in one of the rooms.
ROMANS: Terrible story.
A black University of Virginia student beaten and bloodied during an arrest last March will appear in court this morning where prosecutors are expected to drop charges against him. Authorities said Martese Johnson acted agitated and belligerent after being turned away from a bar in March. The 20-year-old needed 10 stitches -- 10 stitches to his head and face. The arrest sparked a public uproar and a state police investigation.
BERMAN: This morning, Jeb Bush is on the third and final leg of his European tour. He is in Estonia, talking transatlantic security with representatives of the Baltic States. This comes ahead of his formal announcement Monday that he is entering, officially, the 2016 Republican race for president, a race that he essentially had been running for months.
ROMANS: He is on this tour with his wife. You have not seen his wife until now, Columba. You know, this will be have to be a public role which many people close to her is uncomfortable for her.
BERMAN: But she has acknowledged she will be out there much more than she has in the past.
ROMANS: All right. Half a dozen Republican candidates and presumptive candidates set to make their pitch to big donors this weekend. They're all descending on Utah for Mitt Romney's third annual retreat. Lindsey Graham, Marco Rubio, Carly Fiorina, John Kasich, Scott Walker and Chris Christie, wow, that's quite a lineup there. Among the activities planned, skeet shooting, horseback riding and a hot air balloon ride.
BERMAN: I wonder if they all go up on the ride, a hot air balloon ride together --
ROMANS: While there's skeet shooting going on.
BERMAN: While there's skeet shooting, you got to be careful with that.
All right. Some surprising comments from Rick Santorum, usually considered a solid social conservative. The former senator who did once compare homosexuality to bestiality. But listen to this, listen to what he told CNN's Erin Burnett when she asked him if he would accept an endorsement from Caitlyn Jenner.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If Caitlyn Jenner wanted to endorse me, would I accept the endorsement? The answer is, if that's the way she feels about my candidacy, sure. Never ask anyone why they're voting for you because you probably won't like the answer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Santorum seems to shift his position on climate change, saying he is open to the idea that humans are a contributing factor.
You know, Santorum as a candidate is a fascinating thing. This is a guy who will go out and campaign. He's gotten a lot of heat because he's been through a few diners in Iowa where there's no one there or one or two people there. But he'll do it. He will do the work to try to win over voters. He's a very interesting campaigner to be out there with.
ROMANS: And he doesn't care why they vote for him. He's not going to ask why you vote for him. Just vote for me.
BERMAN: Yes.
ROMANS: All right. Hillary Clinton will hold her first official campaign rally since entering the race tomorrow on New York's Roosevelt Island. She is expected to share a story about her mother, Dorothy Rodham, who was abandoned by her parents in a depression era. It's all part of the former secretary of state's attempts to position herself more as a fighter of America's middle class.
BERMAN: Stormy Friday on tap for millions of Americans. Let's get to meteorologist Derek Van Dam for an early look at the weather.
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, John and Christine, we have a steamy weekend for the eastern half of the United States.
This is the set up. We have a ridge of high pressure that is just off the East Coast. This is drawing in very hot and humid weather.
Take a look at the four-day forecast for the Big Apple. We should reach 85 today, middle and upper 80s through the weekend as well. More of the same from Philadelphia, although you will break the 90-degree mark today and perhaps into Saturday.
Now, factor in the humidity levels and this is what it feels like on your skin, 96 for the nation's capital. Lexington, Kentucky, 92. Nashville at 93 degrees.
Other concerns with all of this heat is the quality of our air. Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Philadelphia all have air quality alerts, on top of that with extreme heat advisories for Baltimore and Philadelphia. So, the City of Brotherly Love is looking to be steamy and hazy as well.
The cold front will sweep eastward, triggering a few thunderstorms over the eastern parts of the U.S., some of which could be strong and severe just east of Detroit, Buffalo, to Pittsburgh and Cincinnati has a possible of rain today as well.
Back to you.
ROMANS: All right. Thanks for that. I'll take the possibility of rain I guess.
BERMAN: All tied up in the NBA finals. The Golden State Warriors, they came up big in Cleveland. They routed the Cavs 103-82. It wasn't really that close for game four of the series and now heads to Oakland for game five on Sunday.
LeBron James had a bit of a scare in the second quarter. He collided with a cameraman. You see it there. He ended up with a bloody gash on his head.
Look, there was tough defense on both sides here.
[04:20:00] This was a very, very physical game. It is turning into a physical series considering the high flying, high scoring nature of the Golden State Warriors. LeBron James says he was OK after all this, just ended up with a headache.
ROMANS: Wow. They are playing that game hard and when they crash, they crash hard.
All right. The Germanwings investigation now looking beyond the pilot who flew into the mountain. Could others be held criminally responsible for this disaster? We're live, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Welcome back.
A French prosecutor has opened a criminal inquiry into the crash of Germanwings Flight 9525. A panel of judges will now decide whether the airline or any individuals should be held responsible for failing to monitor the mental health of that man, the plane's co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz. Lubitz was seen by at least seven doctors, including three psychiatrists in the month before the crash of the jetliner in the French Alps.
I want to go live to Paris and bring in CNN's senior European correspondent Jim Bittermann -- Jim.
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENT: Christine, yes, just the month before, seven doctors. In the years before, in the five years before, he went to 41 different medical doctors and psychiatrists about his problems. Basically, those problems were that he was fearing his loss of eyesight. He complained that he only had 30 or 35 percent of his sight at night.
The doctors examined that and when they examined it, they discovered that, in fact, there was no, as they put it, organic reason that eye sight should be affected which suggests it was some kind of a mental problem.
[04:25:10] He also complained about being depressed. The psychiatrist put him on anti-depressants. Then he said he could not sleep because of the anti-depressants. There were a lot of signs this was a troubled young man and one psychiatrist questioned whether or not he was as they put it apt to fly.
So, the question is should anyone have known this? Now, Germany has very tough doctor-patient secrecy laws. Apparently, some of the doctors felt that they couldn't report what they were finding because of those laws. But the prosecutor is going to take a look at that and see if by any chance, there should be someone held criminally liable in this case, Christine.
ROMANS: All right. Jim Bittermann for us in Paris this morning, thanks, Jim.
BERMAN: Really close call in the skies over the Black Sea. U.S. officials tell CNN that the U.S. fighter jet flying at high speed came within ten feet of U.S. Air Force reconnaissance plane last month. The incident took place in international air space. The Russian flew alongside the American plane and broke off and shadowed the American aircraft before leaving the area.
ROMANS: All right. The manhunt for two killers who escaped from prison refocused this morning after police dogs picked up the inmates' scent and troubling new information about the woman who may have helped the men escape.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: A new breakthrough in the manhunt for two killers who escaped from prison. Blood hounds may have picked up their scent. Could investigators be getting closed to catching their men?
BERMAN: A stunning development in the police shooting of a boy who was playing outside with a pellet gun.
