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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Search for Escaped Inmates: Day 7; Tamir Rice Shooting: Will Officers Be Charged?; The War on ISIS: U.S. Expands Presence in Iraq. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired June 12, 2015 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:00] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: 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?
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: A stunning development in the police shooting of a boy who was playing outside with a pellet gun. So will officers now be charged with murder?
ROMANS: The U.S. increasing presence in Iraq set to open new military bases. Live with details on this new White House plan to fight ISIS.
Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
BERMAN: Good to see you today. I'm John Berman. Thirty minutes past the hour.
New information this morning in the nationwide manhunt for two escaped killers. The latest potential breakthrough has investigators focused this morning on a wooded area three miles from the maximum security New York prison where Richard Matt and David Sweat escaped. Police believe that search dogs have picked up their scent. Life in that region is on hold for so many people. Towns are on lockdown. People told not to leave their homes and one law enforcement official warns that the longer the is search goes on, the likely it is that these two killers will commit a new crime.
Let's get more 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)
BERMAN: All right. Our thanks to Miguel on the scene right there.
There are also new details about the female prison worker who may have helped the two convicted killers escaped. It turns out that corrections officials received an anonymous complaint about Joyce Mitchell over her relationship with one of the inmates. It is not clear which one that complaint was about. She was not disciplined. Mitchell has told investigators that inmate Richard Matt made her feel special. So far, she has not been charged. She is said to be cooperating extensively with investigators.
ROMANS: All right. There is probable cause to charge two police officers in the fatal shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice last fall. That's according to a Cleveland municipal court judge. Community leaders had asked the judge to intervene, insisting they don't trust prosecutors, but his ruling is largely symbolic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL MALONEY, ATTORNEY FOR OFFICER FRANK GAMBACK: It's important to realize we are in no different spot than 24 hours ago or 10 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 are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: A grand jury will ultimately decide whether the officers are charged. Tamir Rice was playing with a fake gun, a pellet gun actually when he was shot dead just seconds after officers arrived on the scene.
BERMAN: And the United States is looking to deploy a new strategy to fight ISIS in Iraq. Joint Chief Chairman Martin Dempsey says the best way to defeat the terrorists is to expand the U.S. footprint in the region. That means setting up a network of bases in Iraq, a sort of lily pad strategy with hundreds of U.S. troops deploying in separate areas 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)
BERMAN: Some of the proposed locations in Iraq for these small bases, these lily pad bases, include Baghdad, Tikrit, Kirkuk and Mosul. Of course, ISIS controls Mosul, so it'd have to be near Mosul.
Let's get the latest from CNN's Ian Lee this morning. Good morning, Ian.
IAN LEE, CNN REPORTER: Good morning, John.
Yes, these are going to be centers of security operations within the conflict zone close to the frontlines. Not on the frontlines. What they will do is training Sunni tribal fighters and Iraqi security forces on communications, how to shoot, as well as moving on the battlefield. And that's going to be crucial when they tried to take these densely populated areas, these cities. how to fight in an urban environment.
[04:35:01] They are also going to be working on command and control and logistics and resupply. Now, these last three were contributed to the fall of Ramadi. Iraqi fighters saying they did not have the ammunition to keep the fight going.
It is also important to point out what U.S. forces won't be doing. They won't be on the frontline. They won't be calling in air strikes. It's likely that they won't be leaving their bases, John.
BERMAN: All right. Ian Lee for us, it will be interesting to see what the reaction is to the bases inside Iraq. Appreciate it, Ian.
ROMANS: All right. A critical showdown over the president's signature Pacific trade bill plays out in the House today. A vote on the measure is expected later this morning.
As Senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta tells us, it's the Democrats could scuttle the president's 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 Trans Pacific 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: Thanks, Jim Acosta, for that.
So, what exactly does the deal mean for American workers? I just spoke with the Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker. I asked her what happens if we don't get this deal. She told me it's essential for the middle class.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PENNY PRITZKER, COMMERCE SECRETAR: For the first time, labor standards are enforceable within the trade agreements and resources are being set aside to increase the amount of enforcement that we're doing. By raising labor standards for our trading partners, we are making the American worker more competitive globally.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: So, that's the administration line. Of course, the critics say of all the trade deals over the 20 years or so, the U.S. doesn't do a good job of making sure though those labor standards get enforced. There is a feeling in the middle class that over the past 20 and 30 years going back to NAFTA, they feel the middle class is in a worse position today than it was then.
BERMAN: It also wasn't answer to your question of what happens if it doesn't pass today? This is going to go down to the wire. It is a very tight vote.
ROMANS: It will be. But it's the Democrats are pushing against it. I'll tell you something else, they just don't feel like the trade deal is good for the typical worker. One thing they are putting in for the deal is also this trade adjustment sort of insurance they are putting in. Worker whose do lose their job will have help from the government for a while. Isn't that an admission that you know the Americans will lose their jobs? So, another tricky part.
BERMAN: Stay tuned. It will be interesting.
All right. The cyberattack on federal government computer systems may be far worse than the Obama administration acknowledged. Officials initially said that 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 denied any involvement.
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. I'm telling you the media world is abuzz this morning. Murdoch has built an empire including 21st Century Film Studio, 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, a sort of a power-sharing deal.
So, over at Twitter, the CEO there is out. Dick Costolo. Twitter has struggled to add new members. Many investors have been calling for him to step down for the past year. Now, he stepped down, the stock is up before the bell. I always wonder how it feels to be.
BERMAN: Yes.
ROMANS: Twitter chairman and co-founder Jack Dorsey will be the interim CEO, while the board looks for a new leader.
BERMAN: The media world abuzz and a atwitter as the case may be in this case.
ROMANS: Yes.
BERMAN: All right. Thirty-nine minutes after the hour.
There are disturbing new details this morning of murders of a Washington, D.C. family held captive in their home.
[04:39:52] The gruesome details that investigators are now revealing in this case, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: New information this morning about the grisly scene inside a Washington, D.C. mansion where three family members and maid were murdered. A law enforcement official tells CNN that the father, Philip Savapolous endured unimaginable torture.
Our justice correspondent Pamela Brown has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, we are learning more about some of the evidence taken from the home, that mansion where the quadruple homicide happened, including a bloody baseball bat, hair follicles, foot prints, as well as fingerprints.
Investigators hope these clues lead them to perhaps more suspects involved in the case beyond Dyron Wint who is now behind bars. He worked for the family's company more than ten years ago. His DNA was allegedly found on a piece of pizza crust in the home.
Also, a law enforcement official tells me that Philip Savapoulos, the father, was strangled, in addition to being beaten, stabbed and burned.
I've been speaking to experts about this, what does that mean? And they all say that this shows, whoever did this was enraged, had hostility toward Mr. Savapoulos. It is such an intimate way to kill someone. We know that Mr. Savapoulos had apparent trauma to the rear of his head, according to court documents, but the source I've been speaking with says it's unclear if that was from the bloody baseball bat found in the bedroom where the three victims' bodies were found.
Also, the official says investigators are still going through phone records and texts, trying to pin down who also may have been involved in the quadruple homicide, who else may be a suspect here.
[04:45:06] The official says there are multiple search warrants related to the case that have not been unsealed, which is an indication authorities are trying to keep a close hold on a lot of the information and leads they have. What we do know, what we are being told is police continue to look at two women who purchased money orders with money believed to be from the $40,000 dropped off to the home while the victims were being held hostage.
A separate law enforcement official tells me that investigators have been perplexed as to why Savapoulos' assistant who dropped that $40,000 to the home changed his story multiple times. But at this point, we're being told investigators don't believe he was complicit in the crime, although they haven't reached any conclusion. This is still an active investigation -- John and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Pamela, thank you.
Politics now, Jeb Bush on the third and final leg of his European tour. He is in Estonia today talking transatlantic security with representatives of the Baltic States. The Bush trip meant to showcase his foreign policy chops ahead of the formal announcement Monday that he is entering the 2016 Republican race for president.
BERMAN: Half a dozen Republican candidates and presumptive candidates, let's just call them candidates, they are headed to Utah right now. Romney-a-thon. They will be there for Mitt Romney's third annual retreat.
Who's there? Lindsey Graham is going. Marco Rubio, Carly Fiorina, John Kasich, Scott Walker and Chris Christie. Among the activities they will be participating in, skeet shooting, horse back riding, obstacle course and hot air balloon ride.
ROMANS: Obstacle -- no obstacle course.
BERMAN: No, I made that one up. Everything else is true.
ROMANS: Skeet shooting would be what I would do. What would you do?
BERMAN: I would sleep and go to the spa. Get the mud mask with mint.
ROMANS: That's an image.
BERMAN: Very nice skin. It doesn't happen naturally, I'm telling you. You got to work at that.
ROMANS: All right. Rick Santorum, moving on -- Rick Santorum looking more and more like a Republican moderate these days. The former Pennsylvania senator who once compared homosexuality to bestiality tuning it down this time around.
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)
ROMANS: Santorum shifting his position on climate change, saying he is more open to the idea that humans are a contributing factor.
BERMAN: Big weekend in politics. Hillary Clinton will hold the first major rally since officially entering the presidential race. The rally will be Saturday in New York's Roosevelt Island.
What she's going to do is she's going to talk about part of her life that she hasn't discussed all that much. Discuss her mother, Dorothy Rodham, and how her mother was abandoned by her parents in the depression era. This is part of the attempt to fill in some of the blanks in her life and perhaps humanize herself to voters who know her as first lady or secretary of state or senator or presidential candidate.
ROMANS: Everyone is going to appeal to the middle class. Every one of these candidates is going to try to appeal to the middle class. It feels like they are not getting ahead.
BERMAN: This is more than I was born in a log cabin, as I understand the middle class.
ROMANS: Abe Lincoln was born in a log cabin, and grew up in a log cabin. Except, he didn't really promote it, he didn't people about it. He felt like that was a negative for his --
BERMAN: He didn't have good political consultants, that's the issue.
ROMANS: Yes, media trainers.
BERMAN: That's right.
ROMANS: A new criminal investigation launched into the Germanwings crash that killed 150 people. The pilot deliberately flying the plane into a mountain. But could others be found culpable? We are live.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:52:20] BERMAN: New this morning, 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 individual should be held responsible for failing to monitor the mental health of 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, some surprising details this morning.
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely surprising and kind of shocking, John, to tell you the truth.
This news about the criminal investigation, it comes none too soon for the families involved in the passengers involved in the crash. Andreas Lubitz basically was a very depressed young man and a lot of people seemed to have known that. According to the prosecutor, Lubitz saw 41 different psychiatrists and doctors in the five years leading up to the crash and seven in just the month before the crash.
He was complaining about sight problems. Basically, he was worried he was losing his vision. He said that he had 35 percent of his vision at nighttime. But the doctors said they could find no organic cause for this, suggesting that it was related to mental problems.
He was depressed according to the prosecutor and sometimes only sleeping two hours a night. So, the question is, and this is where the criminal complaint may arise, should anyone have taken action, should anyone have known this and is anyone negligent in this case? So, who should be brought into a courtroom? John?
BERMAN: Interesting that much blindness could be psychosomatic. Also, so interesting that so many people came in contact with them. Apparently, no one said anything.
Jim Bittermann, thanks so much for being with us.
ROMANS: All right. Thanks for that, Jim.
The world's oil supply is soaring. The oil supply getting bigger and bigger. Some good news at the gas pump, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:58:16] ROMANS: Good morning. I'm Christine Romans. Let's get an early start on your money.
European stocks are down. So are stock futures.
Greek debt talks hit yet another roadblock. Does it feel like Greek debt drama brings it down or down? It's crazy. The IMF made the decision to walkway from negotiations yesterday because of some major differences --
BERMAN: You know, there is no drama like Greek debt drama.
ROMANS: Greek drama is the kind of oldest drama there is, isn't it?
BERMAN: Yes.
ROMANS: Stocks yesterday climbed a bit, thanks to good retail sales. They showed signs of strength. American consumers, you know, buying clothes, buying cars, buying stuff for their houses.
Oil prices are falling this morning down 1.5 percent right now, because the supply glut is getting bigger. Supply from OPEC countries reached 31.3 million barrels a day last month. That's the highest levels since 2012, more than the official target set last week. OPEC trying to pump oil and hold on to the market share while the U.S. and other major producers are holding steady, too. Global production outpacing demand by more than 2 million barrels a day. As long as that happens, that's pressure on oil prices and that's good for gas prices for you.
And it should be harder for criminals to steal your identity and tax refund next year. It's a joint effort. The IRS and state tax companies are coming together. What does this mean for you? Well, the experience filing your taxes should be largely the same, but behind the scenes, software makers will share information, alerting the government to any attempt to hack or suspicious returns. This after a staggering rise in tax scams and hacks at the same time that there had been budget cuts to the agency, making it more difficult for you to talk to a human person to figure out how to fix it.
BERMAN: Yes, it's a painful enough process already.
ROMANS: Yes.
BERMAN: EARLY START continues right now.
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ROMANS: A new breakthrough this morning in the manhunt for two killers who escaped from prison -- tracking dogs picking up the prisoners' scent.
