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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Teens Missing at Sea: Search Intensifies; New York Prison Break: Mitchell Tells All; Donald Trump on the Defensive. Aired 4- 4:30a ET
Aired July 29, 2015 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:15] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now: the search intensifies for two teens missing at sea for days. The new area being searched and why the boys' families are holding out hope this morning.
Confessions of a prison seamstress. Joyce Mitchell details her relationship with two dangerous killers and shares exactly how she helped them escape.
Donald Trump on the record on CNN about an aide's controversial comments about rape. That's coming up.
Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm John Berman. It's Wednesday, July 29th, 4:00 a.m. in the East. Christine Romans is off today.
Happening now, the search for two Florida 14-year-olds missing at sea is entering its sixth day. The Coast Guard has expanded the search area. It is now 41,000 square miles. That's about the size of Ohio. The boys' boat was found capsized Sunday, and there is serious concern that Perry Cohen and Austin Stephanos can survive in the water for only so long.
Still, Cohen's mother tells CNN's Kate Bolduan they are still alive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAMELA COHEN, MOTHER OF TEEN MISSING AT SEA (via telephone): We know our boys. We know the determination and the courage that they have. We know the skills that they have. We know how athletically fit and able they are. Both of our boys learned how to swim before they learned how to walk. And so, we just feel very, very confident that they will be able to stick through this. They know that we're coming for them and we will get them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: CNN's Martin Savidge is in Florida with the very latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. The Coast Guard has just completed its fifth night of searching for these two missing Florida teens and the search area goes all the way up to the coast of South Carolina. The question now becomes how long is this search going to actually continue on? The Coast Guard admits they are at that point of discussing about possibly bringing it to a close. They haven't admitted it yet, but they are talking about it, maybe what they have always said is that a person could last four to five days in the water given the conditions and we are at that point.
The thing is the Coast Guard doesn't know when the boys ended up in the water. Their boat was found Sunday. That is why the definitive lie is a little bit fuzzy here, but they admit that the time is running out.
Meanwhile, the family is trying to, as best they can, to prepare for that moment. In fact, they have a Go Fund Me account that has raised over a $100,000 which will be used to fund their own private search. It's one thing to be ready to carry on the search. It's another thing to be ready to carry that emotional burden when an official comes to you and says, there is no more hope -- John.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: All right. Thanks, Martin.
New details this morning in the New York state prison breakout. The woman who represented Richard Matt and David Sweat escape plead guilty to charges that could bring her up to seven years in prison. Fifty- one-year-old prison Joyce Mitchell accepted a plea deal that lets avoid the most serious potential charge. That would be involvement in a conspiracy to kill her husband.
Joyce Mitchell's lawyer denies she was involved in such a plot to kill Lyle Mitchell and he is standing behind her, throwing some harsh words at the media.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Are you standing by her?
LYLE MITCHELL, HUSBAND OF JOYCE MITCHELL: One hundred percent.
REPORTER: Why?
MITCHELL: Because I love her.
And you guys are printing lies.
REPORTER: What kind of lies?
MITCHELL: I have nothing to say to you.
REPORTER: What kind of lies do you think we printed? Do you think the plea was a good idea?
(END VIDEO CLIP) BERMAN: Lyle Mitchell right there.
CNN's Alexander Field was the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, Joyce Mitchell was tearful in the courtroom as she accepted responsibility for her role in the escape pleading guilty to two different counts. At the same time, we are learning new details from her confession to police. She has admitted to putting hacksaw blades into the hamburger meat which was passed to the inmates but days after the escape she told investigators she was aware the two men were plotting to break out for three or four weeks before they managed to pull off that escape.
She also went into graphic detail about her relationships with both of the men, saying that she would write sexual letters to David Sweat and take naked pictures of herself. She says there was no sexual contact with Sweat but that Matt, one day, kissed her, taking her by surprise and other sexual encounters followed. She says Matt was the one who plotted to kill her husband Lyle.
She was asked to drive the get away car after the men broke out of the prison and she was told by them to bring a hatchet, a shotgun, and other provisions. Apparently, the two minute mates told Joyce they would all drive six to seven hours into the woods somewhere and hunker down for a week and then Richard Matt would split off and Joyce Mitch and David Sweat would be left together. But Mitchell told police she couldn't follow through with the plan ultimately because she loved her husband too much.
[04:05:00] Lyle Mitchell was in the courtroom as Joyce accepted that plea deal. This plea deal protects her from having the district attorney pursue additional charges against her based on those sexual allegations and also the conspiracy to murder her husband. Joyce will be formally sentenced in September -- John.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: All right. Alexandra, thanks so much.
Donald Trump is standing by his man, even while creating some distance between himself and one of his special aides, special counsel Michael Cohen. Cohen triggered an uproar when he told a "Daily Beast" reporter, "You cannot rape your spouse," which is simply untrue. Cohen was fielding a question about a rape claim being launched against Trump by his ex-wife Ivana in 1990s when the couple was divorce.
Cohen has since apologized for the remark and Trump tells CNN's Don Lemon, the matter is closed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Do you still stand by Michael Cohen? DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (via telephone): No. You
have to understand, Michael was extremely angry because he knew it never took place. He knew this web site was a joke, considered a joke, and he was angry and maybe he didn't understand the question. But, no, I don't, I disagreed with him. In fact, when I read it, I disagreed. I didn't know that he said, or who knows what he said because, frankly, I'm not sure they reported accurately, anyway. But assuming he said it, no, I disagree with that.
LEMON: But you still, I mean, you're not going to fire him or get rid of him?
TRUMP: No, I'm not. He was very angry because they issued a false story to get publicity for themselves and to try and make themselves relevant, which they are not. People have been fired all over the place from that one, and others are failing, as you know, in that world. A lot of them are failing but this one is a particularly bad one. A lot of money was spent on it and it's been a disaster.
And he knew that and he said to them, you know, you're doing the wrong thing. You do this, you're doing the wrong thing. So, what happened is he probably got angry.
No, I disagree with him. When I first saw it, I said, wow, you know, it's something I disagree with, but that's the way it is. You know, he is speaking for himself. He is not speaking for me, obviously.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Cohen says his comments were inarticulate and admits the reporter's question sent him into a tailspin.
Tight political space for Hillary Clinton this morning. She is refusing to take a position on the Keystone oil pipeline. The Democratic front-runner has never publicly stated with whether she favors opposes construction of the 1,200 mile pipeline stretching from Canada to the Gulf.
She avoided the question again when a voter in New Hampshire asked her about it. And later, she explained why.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I was the secretary of state who started that process. I was the one who put into place the investigation. I have now passed it off as obvious because I'm no longer there to Secretary Kerry. This is President Obama's decision and I am not going to second-guess him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Democratic rival Bernie Sanders told reporters it is hard to understand how Clinton is so concerned about climate change but not oppose the Keystone pipeline. Bernie Sanders is against it.
Developing this morning, a new rift in the Republican marks. Congressman Mark Meadows filed a rare request to have House Speaker John Boehner ousted. The motion to vacate the chair has only been tried once before, 105 years ago. It failed then. Meadows says he is trying to force a family conversation among Republicans an end what he calls is a punitive culture in the party.
Secretary of state John Kerry and other top administration officials will be back on chill for a hearing this morning trying to convince lawmakers to support the nuclear deal with Iran. On Tuesday, Kerry warned a house committee that if the U.S. walks away from the agreement, it will accelerate Iran's path to a nuclear weapon. The White House has won over a key Democrat, at least one, Michigan Sander Levin the longest Jewish member of Congress and staunch reporter of Israeli. He announced he supports the deal.
Time now for an EARLY START on your money. Alison Kosik is here with that.
Good morning, Alison.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
Seeing stocks making a huge turn. It looks like a good day for stocks so far.
Asian shares are rallying, but we are still seeing a lot of volatility in the stocks in China. Shares in the Shanghai composite are up 3.5 percent today. That's after plunging earlier this week.
Shares in Europe also higher and U.S. stock futures in the green as well.
So, a bounce-back for the Dow yesterday. It wound up jumping 190 points, breaking a five-day losing streak. Today, we are going to be hearing from the Federal Reserve. Wall Street is looking for any clues as to when the Fed will hike interest rates for the first time in almost a decade and that hike could come as early as September.
Oil prices still sliding even more this morning. Crude oil down 1 percent right now. Sitting around $47 a barrel. We have seen prices plunge almost 20 percent this month.
What is going on here? A massive supply glut and sluggish demand around the world. So, that's great news for drivers and experts say by the end of the year, thousands of gas stations are going to be below $2 a gallon! What?
BERMAN: Yes, it's great news for drivers and really nothing to make the prices go up again, at least in the foreseeable future.
KOSIK: Not that we can see.
BERMAN: All right. Alison, thanks so much.
KOSIK: Sure.
[04:10:00] BERMAN: A new Planned Parenthood video released by anti- abortion activists as lawmakers move forward with a plan to defund the organization. Let's talk about the growing controversy.
Plus, newly released video showing the DUI arrest of Chattanooga gunman Mohammed Abdulazeez months before his deadly attack. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: New video this morning of Tennessee police pulling over the man who would go on to shoot and kill five members of the military two weeks ago. The video is from early in the morning of April 20th. Police pulled over Mohammad Abdulazeez for erratic driving. He has trouble walking in a straight line. You can see it there. He gets irritated and refuses a blood test.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POLICE OFFICER: The reason why you wouldn't want to do the test?
MOHAMMAD ABDULAZEEZ: I don't feel I should be taken in right now.
POLICE OFFICER: OK. Fair enough.
ABDULAZEEZ: I mean, with my driving, was it --
POLICE OFFICER: It was, it was. I'm starting to smell the odor of marijuana. Do you have weed on you somewhere?
ABDULAZEEZ: No, sir.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Abdulazeez was shot and killed after his attack in Chattanooga on July 16th.
New trouble for Planned Parenthood. Antiabortion group released a new video that talks about pricing for aborted fetal tissue. It comes as the Republicans in the Senate move forward with plans to vote on a bill aimed at restricting federal funding for Planned Parenthood.
CNN's Chris Frates with more now on the video.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, John. The latest graphic and highly edited video from the activist group the Center for Medical Progress features an interview with a woman who used to work for a company that bought fetal tissues from Planned Parenthood.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The harder and more valuable tissue, the more money you get. So, if you can chow procure a brain or a heart, you're going to get more money than just, like, Chorionic villi or umbilical cord.
FRATES: The video also includes a Planned Parenthood official discussing per organ pricing.
[04:15:00] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think that per item thing works a little better because of how much you can get out of it?
FRATES: Planned Parenthood says they don't use federal funds for abortions, or profit from fetal issue, saying any money received covers the procedure's cost.
DAWN LAGUENS, PLANNED PARENTHOOD: The politicians have not wasted one minute trying to go from finding the facts to turning things into a political circus.
FRATES: Abortion opponents gathered in dozens of cities on Tuesday, calling on Congress to defund the group. The rally in fronts of the U.S. Capitol drew three Republican presidential contenders.
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Today, the U.S. Department of Justice should open a criminal investigation into all of those individuals.
DR. BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Are we going to become a culture of life or a culture of death?
SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Today, I have good news. The Senate will vote on defunding Planned Parenthood before we go home in August.
FRATES: In the conference call with reporters on Tuesday, a Planned Parenthood executive said the video was put out by militant anti- abortion extremists who selectively edited the video -- John.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: All right. Chris Frates, thanks so much.
Planned Parenthood is responding to the video in a statement saying, "Based on a two-minute edited excerpt from a lengthy conversation, false and baseless accusations are being promulgated again about medical providers. The opportunity to donate fetal tissue has been a source of comfort for many women who have chosen to donate."
The new head of the Transportation Security Administration has unveiled details of a planned agency overhaul. Peter Neffenger says changes in security and screenings procedures will be made to address some glaring lapses over the past few months. It will involve retraining thousands of TSA airport screeners to better detect weapons and other illegal items.
The father of Colorado movie theater James Holmes is expected back on the witness stand today for the sentencing phase of the trial. Robert Holmes told jurors on Tuesday he and his wife had now idea before the 2010 massacre that their son was mentally ill. The defense is also expected to call Holmes' mother today. The jury is weighing whether to sentence him to life in prison or death.
Authorities in Texas released new video of Sandra Bland in jail. They say the footage provides proof that Bland was alive and well at the jail in Waller County, Texas. It dispels some of the rumors that she died during her arrest and was perhaps dead in her mug shot. The 28- year-old Bland was found hanging in her jail cell after an arrest a routine traffic stop. An autopsy concluded it was suicide.
The woman who first accused Bill Cosby of sexual assault is questioning his self-describe ability to read women's clues, given that she is gay. Andrea Constand made the revelation on a court filing on Tuesday. Her attorneys want the 2006 settlement of her case against Cosby public. Each other is accused of violating the confidentiality clause. Cosby is trying to keep the entire case sealed.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell upheld the four-game deflategate suspension for Tom Brady, which could prompt the Patriots quarterback and the players union to make a federal case of it, they say they will file in federal court today. Goodell said by destroying his cell phone, Brady tried to cover-up evidence of his role in the, quote, "underlying scheme to alter footballs". Brady's agent blasted the decision calling the appeals process a sham. The NFL Players Association says it will file an appeal on behalf of Brady and that will be in federal court.
The heat wave in the northeast, man, it is bad. Let's get to meteorologist Ivan Cabrera.
IVAN CABRERA, AMS METEOROLOGIST: John, the heat continues into the weekend, John. This is going to be an extended heat wave. In fact, I think will go into early next week. We are talking about temperatures that continue in the 90s.
Now, there are two things going on here. Yes, we have the 90s and then the triple digit heat indices down across the Southeast. But in the Northeast, what we have going on here is an extended period of temperatures that we are not used to but the heat warnings and advisories continue for the Deep South as temperatures will feel like about 105 to 110.
That happens a lot during the summer. This doesn't usually in New York. In the 90s and Saturday and Sunday and I think early neck week, Philly doing the same thing and even warmer in D.C. with the temperatures in the mid-90s.
Now, the difference I think will be Friday. We are going to have this boundary, cold front moving through. It's not going to cold after that. In fact, the temperatures will not even budge but it will feel noticeably drier by the time we get into Friday and that will feel fantastic and heat indices at the air temperatures in the low 90s. Also watching for severe weather potential across the Southeastern U.S. over the next couple of days -- John.
BERMAN: All right. Ivan, thanks so much.
A Minnesota dentist now admitting to hunting and killing a beloved lion in Zimbabwe. We are live with new developments right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:23:27] BERMAN: New this morning, authorities in Zimbabwe see a Minnesota dentist is responsible for killing one of that country's most beloved lions. Walter James Palmer of Eden Prairie is expected to pace poaching charges. The task force in Zimbabwe says he paid at least $50,000 to track and kill Cecil. Cecil is the famous protected lion who was being tracked by researchers at Oxford University. Look at that beautiful black mane.
Let's bring in CNN's David McKenzie live from Lion's Rock in South Africa.
Good morning, David.
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. It's certainly causing outrage around the world and authorities are looking for this Minnesota dentist, Walter Palmer, as you suggest. He says that this was, in fact, him.
But he says this hunt was legal. I want to read you a statement. He said, to my knowledge, everything about this trip was legal and properly handled and conducted. "I had no idea that the lion I took was a known local favorite, was collared and part of a study until the end of the hunt. I relied on the expertise of my local professional guide."
It seems, John, he is passing the buck onto his professional guides who he would have hired. They, in fact, are in a court today in Zimbabwe to face charges -- John.
BERMAN: David, it's not just about this one lion, Cecil. Albeit, Cecil is such a symbol for so many people, but a lot of people are calling a ban on trophy hunting altogether.
MCKENZIE: Well, that's right. You know, this is sparked renewed controversy over trophy hunting where professional hunters take clients and they will pay top dollar, tens of thousands of dollars, to kill lions and other big game animals.
[04:25:07] You know, I'm here at lions rock. We spent the day here seeing how they help rehabilitate big cats who could have been slated to be shot. In fact, there is a whole industry in Southern Africa where lions are just bred to be killed by hunters and conservation groups say despite the fact that somebody comes into conversation from hunting, that this is a brutal practice that needs to be ended, and this case, this symbolic case, is certainly adding to their argument -- John.
BERMAN: David McKenzie for us in a beautiful location yourself. It's been fun looking at beautiful pictures of that lion, albeit a lion that is now deceived. David McKenzie, thanks so much.
The search intensifies for two teens missing at sea. The new efforts to bring them home, that's ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: Happening now, the search widens for two teenagers missing at sea days after their capsized boat was found. I'll tell you what is giving their parents hope this morning.
Sex, drugs, and a killer plan. Prison seamstress Joyce Mitchell revealing intimate -- intimate -- details of her relationship with two dangerous killers she helped escape.
Donald Trump on the record on CNN about an aide's controversial comments about rape. That's coming up.
Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman. About 30 minutes past the hour. Christine Romans is off this morning.
Happening now, the search for two Florida 14-year-olds missing at sea is entering its sixth day. The Coast Guard has expanded the search area and it is now more than 41,000 square miles, that's about the size of Ohio.
