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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Severe Storms Kill 7, Injure Dozens; Trump to Clinton: Be Careful; U.S. Embassy Warns of "Possible Threats". Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired December 24, 2015 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:18] BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Seven people killed as storms pound the South and Midwest. We are tracking the damage and what you can expect on Christmas Eve.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump warning Hillary Clinton: be careful. Even more new drama in the race for president.

SANCHEZ: And news this morning, U.S. citizens visiting China being warned about a possible threat in a popular tourist area. Armed police now on the scene.

Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Boris Sanchez.

KOSIK: And I'm Alison Kosik. It's Thursday, December 24th. It's 4:00 a.m. in the East. And at least seven people killed, dozens more injured as a line of deadly Christmas week storms from the Gulf Coast to the Upper Midwest, spawning rain, winds and hail and tornadoes.

I want you to look at this twister here, amazing, tearing across the landscape in northern Mississippi.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, man. I hope it's not hitting houses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: Unfortunately, it did. Major damage reported to homes and vehicles and power lines along the tornado's path.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We actually did see it happen. He actually looked out the window and saw the grass circling and tons -- well, it wasn't really trash, but tons of our neighbor's house blowing into the yard to the interstate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: Emergency Mississippi officials say four people were killed in the state and 40 injured. In one case, a 7-year-old boy in a car with his family died when a tornado came through. SANCHEZ: And just north of there, across the state line in southern

Tennessee, authorities reported two people dead and two missing when a tornado tore through Perry County.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were in the house. We heard the wind picking up. We dashed to the storm shelter. We had 45 seconds and it just hit. We walked out of the storm shelter, everything was fine.

REPORTER: What does it look like?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It looks like a waste land. There's nothing left.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: Nothing left. And in Arkansas, a teenager dies after fierce winds and heavy rain uprooted a massive tree causing it to topple over and slice through the home. Oh my gosh, look at that. The image says it all. You can see a small part of the tree sticking out of the window.

A neighbor down the block says the storm was so intense, she immediately took cover.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everything was just moving side ways and the sound of the wind and I just jumped and ran.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: Four other people inside the home, including an 18-month-old girl survived. The baby was taken to the hospital and it said to be doing OK.

SANCHEZ: In the meantime, Alabama hit with massive flooding. It looks like a lake in the center of the neighborhood. Highways shutdown after nearly 3 feet of water hit. You can see the size of hail stones. Imagine that hitting your roof and hitting your windows as well.

KOSIK: This trailer here ripping to shreds in Illinois. The wind so strong, it came apart like a house of cards. Widespread damage reported throughout the state, with power knocked out to thousands of people, just amazing.

SANCHEZ: Yes, for the latest now, let's bring in meteorologist Pedram Javaheri.

Pedram, we were joking about the unseasonably warm temperatures and we're going to have a barbecue on Christmas Day. This is the ugly side of that. We don't typically see these storms until at least April. PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right. Yes, March, April

and May is really when the storms flourish to this intensity especially, Boris and Alison. Good morning to you guys.

You know, the threat certainly is not over because we know about one and half million people still underneath the tornado watch. That includes Tuscaloosa, Livingston, Alabama, Birmingham, Scottsboro, Chattanooga, Tennessee. In this region, there is still some rotation on the storms, conditions favorable to spawn tornadoes inside the next at least an hour or so across this region.

And take a look at the storms beginning to flourish. Look at the super cell thunderstorms, the ones that separated one by one. You have storms as such and they keep the energy to themselves and they can spawn. There has been a history of tornadoes with this particular line of weather over the past 24 hours and now, the threat extends for Thursday afternoon for 40 plus million people. It is a lesser threat with damaging winds and isolated possibility of tornadoes, stretching as part north as areas around the D.C. metro and points southward there for severe weather.

But take a look at this. Nearly 200 storm related reports, 22 of them associated with tornadoes on Wednesday afternoon. I want to show you what happens climatologically speaking, the month of December easily the quietest month of the year, 24 for any given December is how much you would expect in the way of tornadoes.

[04:05:03] So, they get 22 in one day. Absolutely remarkable, and unfortunately, the tragic side of this, we knew of only ten tornado related fatalities from the 1st of January to Tuesday afternoon on Wednesday alone, there were seven fatalities. Forty percent of all storm fatalities occurring there in just one day, here is the highest we had in 1925 and also in 1910, 12 fatalities occurred.

It appeared one of the tornadoes appeared on the ground for 130 miles across northern Mississippi. If that is verified over the next couple of hours, we are talking about an event that is 1 in every 10,000 tornadoes. It is incredible to think this happened the day before Christmas Eve. That kind of tells you about the severity of these storms, even this kind of the season.

KOSIK: Severe storm, warm weather, very unusual indeed. Pedram Javaheri, thanks so much.

JAVAHERI: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Big changes are coming for millions of people traveling this holiday season. AAA says 5.8 million people are planning to fly in the next couple of weeks and they may notice new procedures at the airport's screening line. TSA can now order passengers to go through the body scanner, even those who ask for a full body pat-down instead.

The TSA says security considerations warrant the change on a case by case basis. It says the scanners can catch non-metallic bombs that a pat-down might have missed. Worrying news this morning for Westerners in China. British and

American embassies in Beijing are warning they have information about possible threats against Westerners visiting the popular shopping district in the capital around Christmas.

Joining us now live with the latest, CNN's Alexandra Field.

Alexandra, good morning.

We know there is increased security at the shopping centers. What is so specific about this threat that has force them to take action?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, neither embassies are saying exactly what the threats are, what the intelligence is that they have. They are simply warning westerners that they have information about possible threats. And they are naming Sanlitun, a popular shopping area.

So, both of the embassies put out warnings they need to be vigilant on or around Christmas. They warned their government personnel of the same thing. But there was a second sort of concurrent development here, Boris, in which Beijing's public security bureau also issued its own warning, raising the alert level to yellow. They actually sent out a message on social media, letting people know they would see security officers at all medium and large malls and supermarkets.

Now, the Beijing public security bureau didn't make any mention of the warnings that were put out by the U.S. and U.K. embassies. Instead, they said that this was a reaction to simply the larger crowds that would be out in the streets because of holiday shopping and because of added entertainment at this time of year.

But the Beijing public security bureau did also mention Sanlitun, again this shopping area which was specifically named by both of the embassies. Again, no information about what this potential threat to be, but the embassies say it would target Westerners. That's why they are being very clear with their warning, whereas the public security bureau is telling everyone to expect the armed officers. A sight that, frankly, you really don't see often in Beijing except a political meetings or during politically sensitive times, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Very interesting distinction between what's coming out of Beijing and what the embassies were saying.

Alex Field, reporting on the situation there, thank you.

KOSIK: Turning to politics this morning, Hillary Clinton putting the accusations of sexism directly on Donald Trump in the wake of his crash language about her 2008 primary loss and use of the restroom. Trump again defending those remarks late last night on FOX News.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, to me, it was to mean she got beaten badly. I mean, that's what happened with Hillary. She got beaten badly. But to me, that's really a reference to getting beaten and really -- you know, decisively.

When I said it, nobody in the audience thought anything about it. They clapped. They didn't view that as being a horrible thing. And then, all of a sudden, I get back in and people are calling about it. And, you know, when they checked it out, some pretty quality people have been using that term over the years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: Meantime, Clinton's campaign is wrapping up it's combativeness as Trump warns about taking him on directly with the poll numbers soaring.

CNN's Sunlen Serfaty has the latest from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Boris and Alison.

Well, Donald Trump now has a dominating lead in the Republican field. This new CNN/ORC poll shows that Trump on top with 39 percent. That's more than double his closest opponent Ted Cruz. And Trump's lead is even more definitive when measured by the depth of his support on issue after issue, on handling the economy, on immigration and ISIS.

Voters all said Trump is the best equipped candidate by a commanding margin. Now, meanwhile, Trump is in this war of words with Hillary Clinton. Clinton speaking out responding to Trump's vulgar rhetoric about here, saying she thinks Trump has a penchant of sexism.

[04:10:05] HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I really deplore the tone of his campaign and the inflammatory rhetoric that he is using to divide people.

SERFATY: Now, Donald Trump is hitting back tweeting out, quote, "Hillary, when you complain about a penchant for sexism, who are you referring to? I have great respect for women. Be careful."

Now, Clinton also notably saying in that interview that she doesn't want to personally respond to Trump personally because he thrives on that kind of exchange -- Boris and Alison.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: All right. Sunlen, thank you.

Ted Cruz meantime turning his feud with the media over an editorial cartoon into a fundraising opportunity. "The Washington Post" cartoon mocked Cruz's use of his daughters in a political ad, depicting them as organ grinders monkeys.

Cruz and others blasted the cartoon which "The Post" then removed from its website. Now, Cruz is sending email out to supporters saying that cartoon proves the liberal media is desperate to attack and destroy him and his family. Then he asked for donations. Cruz was asked about that on the campaign trail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: You circulated this e-mail fundraising emails today that had "The Washington Post" editorial at the top of it. Do you think that's hypocritical that you're asking (INAUDIBLE) for that and then using it to raise money?

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Listen, I appreciate that number one the media yesterday decides the right thing to do is target my girls, to attack a 5-year-old and 7-year-old and now turning another attack. Thank you for that sentiment. Let me suggest a simple rule that everyone ought to follow. Leave the kids alone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: And meantime, Ben Carson has fallen to 10 percent in the latest CNN/ORC poll tied for third with Marco Rubio. Carson's plunge from second place has sparked reports like one in Wednesday's "Washington Post" of a big campaign shakeup like budget and staff cuts. But Carson told CNN's Don Lemon last night that no such cuts are planned.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: "The Washington Post", quite frankly, had their story already written before they talked to me. And they were convinced that I was going to fire everybody and we were going to just go in a different direction. That's absolutely not true.

I said, you know, we are constantly looking at everything and we're going to continue to look at everything. No one is ever 100 percent guaranteed they were always going to be there. And that as the organization grows and our responsibilities grow, you know, some things may have to change. We may have to add some people. We may have to change some people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: And Carson says expenses are what he calls are dropping now he is past the costly start-up phase.

SANCHEZ: Happening now, the battle to retake Ramadi from ISIS. Iraqi forces say they're within a mile of ISIS held government compound in the strategic city 70 miles from Baghdad. But a military spokesman says progress is slow, especially dismantling thousands of improvised explosive devices one by one.

CNN's Robyn Kriel is following events for us from London. She joins us now with the latest.

Robyn, good morning.

Thousands of IEDs, Iraqi officials telling us it takes over an hour each to dismantle. So, this operation is moving very slowly. What other challenges are they facing?

ROBYN KRIEL, CNN AFRICA CORRESPONDENT: Well, as far as, it is not just IEDs, it's also suicide car bombers. We understand that yesterday, Iraqi security forces encountered at least four of these and that the security forces we're told were able to dismantle them before they caused any harm to their soldiers.

Also sniper fire, constant sniper fire. There are about 250 to 300 ISIS hard lined fighters that are waiting to battle it out to the death, we understand, with the Iraqi security forces. The U.S. air strikes continue this morning. We understand they hit a number of strategic areas not just in this city, but around the city, but also in the Hawija city, they dropped a number of ammunitions. We understand it is going successfully.

They are saying that they are making head way to the key government compound. That is really what they want to do. Raise their flag over that compound and regain some dignity after the humiliating defeat back in May.

SANCHEZ: Certainly, this would be an important, not only strategic but also important symbolic victory for the Iraqi forces. Robyn Kriel, thank you.

KOSIK: All right. Time for an early start on your money. Markets are slipping a bit around the world. Europe is mixed, but major indexes in China and Japan are lower. U.S. futures are taking a cue from that performance.

And it's a short session today on Wall Street. Volume likely to be light. U.S. markets close at 1:00 p.m. and they're closed tomorrow for Christmas Day.

[04:15:01] A little breather today wouldn't be a surprise, as with the trade, considering the Dow surged 185 points yesterday.

That marks nine straight days of triple digit moves for the Dow, but the index is still negative for the year. The S&P 500 is back in the black. The key to the markets comeback in recent days, we're seeing a stabilization in oil. Crude oil trading above $37 a barrel right now, great for consumers who are looking to have a little extra money in their pockets to shopping for the holidays.

SANCHEZ: Good for consumers. Not so great for the markets.

KOSIK: Absolutely.

SANCHEZ: Controversy this morning after a Disneyland bound Muslim family is barred from entering the United States. Were they targeted because of their religion? Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: A British Muslim man said he and his family were barred to board a plane bound for the U.S. because of their religion. Mohammad Tariq Mahmood was headed to Disneyland with his two kids and several relatives. They were waiting at the gate at Gatwick London Airport when he was informed they would not be allowed to board the plane on orders of U.S. homeland security.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHAMMAD MAHMOOD, BARRED WITH FAMILY FROM TRAVEL TO U.S.: They didn't want to give us and explain to us what was the problem, because the kids were asking me what the problem, whey we're not going. We asked them, what should we tell our kids to what's going on?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Let's bring in CNN aviation and government regulation correspondent Rene Marsh -- Rene.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION AND GOVENRMENT REGULATION CORRESPONDENT: Alison and Boris, nine members of the British Muslim family were at the gate when they were denied boarding for the flight to California. The carrier, Norwegian Airlines, said it was at the instruction of U.S. Homeland Security.

But the family says they haven't been told why. That is fuelling frustration overseas. The family includes seven children. They say they had valid U.S. immigration documents and had been planning and saving for the trip to Disneyland for months. The more than $13,000 they say they spent will not be refunded.

[04:20:04] Now, U.S. Customs and Border Protection told CNN, quote, "The religion, faith or spiritual beliefs of an international traveler are not determining factors." CNN has learned some members of this family had dual citizenship in the U.K. and Pakistan, and it's believed a family member's email address could be associated with a suspicious Facebook page that mentioned al Qaeda.

But the family denies this. Now, we don't know if that is why they were not cleared to board.

Meantime, CAIR, the nation's largest Muslim civil rights organization, is asking the Department of Homeland Security to prove whether a Muslim ban is being implemented informally -- Boris and Alison.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOSIK: OK, Rene. Thanks for that.

And there is word this morning that U.S. immigration agents are preparing to carry out a series of raids aimed at deporting hundreds crossing the border illegally. "The Washington Post" is reporting those familiar with the operation say it will be targeting adults and children who were ordered removed from the country by an immigration judge. The raids could start as soon as early January.

SANCHEZ: New details revealed about the terror attack that killed six U.S. soldiers. Were warning signs missed? Next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: We are learning more this morning about the deadly attack on U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Six American air force personnel killed in a Taliban terror attack.

[04:25:00] CNN's Barbara Starr joins us with new information on just how the suicide bomber got past the checkpoint at Bagram airfield and why that blast was so devastating.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Alison, Boris, new details now about the six fallen Air Force members as the remains are brought to the United States and families prepare for funerals. We now know it was an Afghan suicide bomber on a motorbike who got past an initial Afghan security checkpoint. The Afghan security forces not realizing the bike was packed with explosives and small metal ball bearings in the internal spaces.

No suicide vests they could see. All explosives were packed inside the bike. The motorcycle apparently then approached the troops. They were on a narrow path surrounded by walls. So, when the blast went off, it was concentrated in a small area and the ball bearings packed with explosives causing absolutely devastating damage to the troops. A total of six killed. Three additional wounded.

It has been one of the most devastating attacks for U.S. troops in Afghanistan as the situation there gets more and more difficult every day, fighting with Afghan forces and still going on in southern Afghanistan. U.S. troops are not out in the field, but they are advising the Afghans in Helmand province and southern Afghanistan as they battle the Taliban there -- Boris, Alison.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOSIK: OK, Barbara, thanks for that. My heart goes out to the families of the troops.

SANCHEZ: Tragic six families had to lose heroes so close to Christmas.

KOSIK: Absolutely.

SANCHEZ: Seven people killed, dozens more injured as severe storms pound the South and Midwest -- the damage done and what's still on the way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: Deadly storms barreling through the country. Seven people killed, dozens more injured. We are tracking the damage and what you can expect today.