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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Peaceful Night of Protests in Charlotte; Tulsa Cop Charged with Manslaughter; Yahoo: 500 Million User Accounts Breached; New Video Shows Suspect Planting NYC Bomb. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired September 23, 2016 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: A busy night on the streets of Charlotte. Protesters, many of them out past a curfew. Another night of demonstrations after a shooting of an African-American man.
[04:30:05] His family is now speaking out after seeing the video of the shooting. What they say about his death.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, the officer charged with shooting another man, African-American man in Tulsa. She turned herself in to jail, now released on bail. She takes four years to life in prison if convicted. The latest details on that investigation.
BERMAN: Huge data breach at Yahoo. Over 500 million accounts. This could be a historically large hack. We'll tell you everything this means for your security and your NCAA pool, since that maybe the only way you use Yahoo.
ROMANS: And a state-sponsored actor?
BERMAN: They say. They say.
ROMANS: I want to know more about that.
BERMAN: All right. Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.
ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. Thirty minutes past the hour.
Very busy Friday morning. The breaking news this morning: a welcome sight on the streets of Charlotte, relative calm after a third night of protests triggered by the fatal police shooting of a black man, Keith Lamont Scott. For the most part, the demonstrations broke up over the last couple hours, well past the midnight curfew declared overnight by Charlotte's mayor.
You know, police decided not to enforce the curfew because officials said this demonstration remained peaceful. So, they let people continue to gather and march. Still, protesters are calling for the release of videos that show Officer Bradley Vinson shooting Keith Scott. This morning, the police chief is still refusing to make that footage
public. Now, he did allow Scott's family to watch the video. And what they say they saw is quite different from the events described by police.
Joining us live with the very latest from Charlotte, CNN's Nick Valencia.
Good morning, Nick.
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine.
Much different feeling on the streets of Charlotte, North Carolina, as protesters marched for a third straight night. If you remember 24 hours ago at this hour, there were business owners cleaning up from the riots, vandalized store fronts, windows smashed out, graffiti on buildings. That is not the case today, a very quiet scene on the streets of downtown Charlotte. And when we showed up, the National Guard was just starting to move out.
Earlier in the night, we saw protesters shaking hands of the National Guardsmen. They were also mingling with demonstrators. You mentioned that curfew was in effect at about midnight. So, going on about four hours now, demonstrators going past that curfew because things were going so peacefully, the police here didn't see a need to enforce it -- Christine.
ROMANS: So interesting. OK, what's the status for today? Do we think they're going to release that video? I mean, the family has seen the video. The public has not seen the video. The police chief says, you know, as for now, that the video is going to remain private.
VALENCIA: We have no anticipated timeline on if or when they will release the video. We know yesterday afternoon, the Scott family did watch it for the very first time. They released a statement through their attorney saying what they saw was ambiguous, that they did not clearly see a gun in the hands of Keith Scott. The police chief said to him, it was not definitive either.
But yesterday, we spoke to an official who saw two of those police videos and said that Keith Scott made an obvious threat toward police and made a decision that cost him his life. He said, this official that saw the video told us not only did Scott have a hand gun, but also an ankle holster. The Scott family refuting that interpretation of the video, saying that the public has a right to see it, if there are demonstrators frustrated, it is because of a lack of transparency by the police department. They have not indicated whether or not they'll release it.
But the mayor has said that she would consider it. Who knows if that will happen today. We should anticipate a press conference sometime this morning or this afternoon -- Christine.
ROMANS: All right. We're looking for that.
Nick Valencia, we know you'll be covering it for us -- thanks, Nick. BERMAN: All right. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, the police officer who killed
a different black man has been charged with felony manslaughter. Officer Betty Shelby just released on $50,000 bond. She checked herself in -- she turned herself in and was released. This all happened after midnight. She fatally shot 40-year-old Terence Crutcher after his SUV broke down in the middle of the road. Attorneys for the Crutcher family are happy charges have been brought. His sister said this is a small victory.
Let's get the latest. CNN's Sara Sidner is in Tulsa.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, the district attorney here has decided to charge Betty Jo Shelby. She is the Tulsa police officer who shot and killed Terence Crutcher and it was all captured from up above and from below in video, both from a helicopter and from some of the car cameras as they came on the scene.
Now, what he has decided to charge her with is serious. Though it is not the murder charge the family demanded, he has decided that she is either going to be charged with manslaughter first degree, heat of passion, which is a felony, or manslaughter first degree resisting criminal attempt, which is also a felony. These are very serious charges.
[04:35:02] And I say that because she is innocent until proven guilty. But if she is convicted, she faces a minimum of four years in prison and maximum of life in prison. This is all over the case of the death of Terence Crutcher, who is shown on video putting hands up, walking back to his car.
And this is where the evidence gets disputed with attorneys. Her attorney saying he reached toward or into the window of his car and she became worried and afraid for her life, and the defense attorney -- the attorneys for the family saying hold on a second, we think and have seen evidence that the window was actually up. No reason to fear him in the first place.
Now, we are seeing bits and pieces of information. This is from the Tulsa County district attorney chief investigator. He says that his investigation revealed and I'm quoting here that Officer Shelby actually walked up to the car before she deployed her weapon and she cleared the driver's side of the car and then proceed toward the passenger side of the car. And then she again saw Terence Crutcher.
So, their argument is she knew there was nothing to hurt her in the car, but she ended up using her weapon against him. The situation here has been calm when it comes to protests, and now, we will be going forward. The family fully expecting a very vigorous prosecution and trial -- John, Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Sara, thank you for that. President Obama says violence will not solve the problem of police
killing of unarmed black men. In an interview with ABC News, the president acknowledged the sense of frustration among African- Americans and the feeling that justice is as he put it not always color blind. But the president said that anger should be redirected toward reforming the system.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The way we change the system requires us to be able to reach out and engage the broader American community. And that requires being peaceful. That requires being thoughtful about what are the specific reforms you're looking for. The overwhelming majority of people who've been concerned about police community relations doing it the right way. Every once and a while, you see folks doing it the wrong way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: ROMANS: Donald Trump says he may visit Charlotte after Monday night's big debate with Hillary Clinton. Trump is calling for a national anti-crime agenda, claiming violent protests are making America look bad to the world. On Thursday, he ramped up his tough law and order message at a rally in Pennsylvania.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The problem is not there are too man police. The problem is there are not enough police. Police are entrusted with the immense responsibility and we must do everything we can to ensure they're probably trained and that they respect all members of the public and that any wrongdoing is always vigorously addressed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Trump also raised eyebrows on Thursday by tying the violent protests in Charlotte to drug use. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: And if you're not aware, drugs are a very, very big factor in what you're watching on television at night.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Trump offered no evidence to back up his claim. Later his campaign said he was not linking drug use to the protest. He was speaking in general terms about an increased in drug deaths in the country.
ROMANS: Meantime, Hillary Clinton injecting some comic relief into her preparation for the first debate with Donald Trump Monday night. Clinton staring down comedian Zach Galifianakis during this interview on his "Funny or Die" web series "Between Two Ferns."
Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZACH GALIFIANAKIS, BETWEEN TWO FERNS: What happens if you become pregnant? Are we going to be stuck with Tim Kaine for nine months? How does this work?
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I could send you some pamphlets that might help you understand.
GALIFIANAKIS: First, you supported Obama's Trans Pacific Partnership deal, and then you were against it. I think that people deserve to know. Are you down with TPP?
CLINTON: I'm not down with TPP.
GALIFIANAKIS: No, you're supposed to say, yeah, you know me like the hip hop group.
CLINTON: Don't tell me what to say.
GALIFIANAKIS: This has been a lot of fun, Mrs. Clinton. We should stay in touch. What is the best way to reach you? E-mail?
VOICE: You got mail.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: A bunch of funny things about that, first that they did it. It is a risk.
Second, the banner at the top was Hillary Clinton had pneumonia. It was the day that she had diagnosed with pneumonia. He asked Clinton if she was excited to be the first girl president and if she regretted losing the Scott Baio vote.
BERMAN: It is worth watching.
ROMANS: If you think this is an attempt to reach the millennials.
BERMAN: Oh, I don't -- it absolutely is. Look, Jay Carney, when Obama did it for health care, when the president did it to get Obamacare, Jay Carney said it was of the be idea he ever had, right?
[04:40:05] He was press secretary at the time.
Hillary Clinton wants to catch some of that magic and try to reach millennial voters, who she is not doing as well with as she needs to.
ROMANS: All right.
BERMAN: All right. Yahoo now says 500 million accounts have been hacked. This could be the largest data breach ever. Whoo-hoo, happy Friday. The information leak could have huge implications on your online security. That's more, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:45:10] ROMANS: All right. Yahoo confirming it suffered what may be one of the biggest data breaches ever. In fact, I can't think of one bigger than this. This is something the company said happened almost two years ago. Information associated with at least, get this -- half million, sorry, half a billion, 500 million accounts was stolen.
BERMAN: A lot.
ROMANS: It's a lot. So many, it is impossible to imagine, usernames, email addresses, encrypted passports. The hack does not appear to include bank and credit card information. Yahoo believes a state- sponsored actor. That's what they say, a state-sponsored actor is behind the breach. That means someone working on behalf of a country, of a government. They are working with the FBI to investigate.
CNN tech correspondent Samuel Burke is following the bombshell developments. He is live in London.
What do we know, Samuel?
SAMUEL BURKE, CNN TECH CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine, although not good for Yahoo users.
It's absolutely stunning. And you're right. This really is the biggest hack in history in terms of sheer scale. The closest one I can think of was MySpace, which only had 300 million accounts hacked, seemed like a lot at the time, but really nothing in comparison.
The bigger problem is what do you do if you are a user of Yahoo? And yes, they still exist, plenty of them.
Take a look, I want to put a list up on the screen that shows. You have to change your password especially if you haven't done so since 2014. Possibly more importantly, change your security questions and answers. What is your mom's maiden name? You can't change that, so you're going to have to go for a new question.
And most importantly, change other accounts with the same information, because, of course, if someone has your Yahoo username and password, you made that fatal flaw of using it on other accounts. So, maybe they can get into a place where you stored your photos, may you don't want all of your photos shared online. So, this really is a treasure trove of secrets just waiting to be burst.
ROMANS: State-sponsored actor, this sounds like something from a Jason Bourne movie.
BURKE: Well, it happens all the time. We hear about the same countries over and over again and while we don't know which one it is, it's absolutely incredible to think about a government pushing a group to do it or a group giving that information.
But at the end of the day, it doesn't matter who it is because they are selling it online and really for not that much money. So, it's valuable not just to a government or country, but hackers all around the world.
ROMANS: You see some of the state-sponsored activities undermine security and undermine democratic institutions and ways of life.
Let's talk about what it means for Yahoo's pending sale to Verizon.
BURKE: I'm flummoxed by this because I've heard rumblings about this in the tech and hacker community, really for months -- months and months. Verizon said they just found about this a couple of days ago, Christine. Usually, a company has to pay $200 an account when somebody gets that.
So, think about that. Multiple that by 500 million, that is more on the pending sale price of Yahoo to Verizon. It does put a question mark over the sale.
ROMANS: Gosh, over the past, what, dozen years, we covered how many CEO changes, how many reorganizations, how many challenges at Yahoo and just ready to be sold and boom.
BURKE: It's never good news at Yahoo.
ROMANS: All right. Thanks so much, Samuel. Thanks so much for that.
BERMAN: You are thinking what do hackers want with my NCAA pools or My Yahoo Sports accounts. The bottom line is they use that information somewhere else. Never a good thing.
New details on the New York bombing coming out with the suspect's father saying he told the FBI two years ago. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:52:43] BERMAN: There is new surveillance video of terror suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami planting a pressure cooker bomb last weekend on a New York City street. The just released video captures Rahami leaving a bag near a curb. Moments later, two men seem to remove the explosive device and take the bag with them.
A passerby actually kicks the bomb right there and keeps on walking. The device obviously did not go off.
Meanwhile, Rahami's father says he warned the FBI to keep an eye on his son because of his fascination of terror organizations like al Qaeda. The federal agents tell a different story, insisting that the senior Rahami, the father, recanted his claims about his son's terrorist inclinations, leading them to dismiss the matter as a domestic dispute.
CNN's Deborah Feyerick with the latest now on the investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, investigators still don't know the location of the bomb factory, the place where they believe Ahmad Khan Rahami may have built at least ten devices. Two of them very powerful pressure cookers. Now, investigators believe Rahami left New York City about three hours after the bombs detonated traveling from Manhattan through the Lincoln Tunnel into New Jersey.
They do not know or they are not saying where he was during those three hours. But they do believe at some point he did return to his family home. He engaged with family members. Officials say that the family members say he was behaving normally. This was before the FBI and New York police released a photo of him and he went on the run.
Meanwhile, investigators are searching for two men who may have unknowingly removed the pressure cooker bomb from the carry-on bag. It took the bag, investigators want it. They believe they could have crucial information, crucial evidence inside, including finger prints, because they still want to know whether Rahami acted alone.
As for his wife, she is back in the United States. As she is being questioned by the FBI, they want to know where he traveled in Pakistan and Afghanistan. They also want to know who he may have met with -- John and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Deborah Feyerick, thank you for that.
This morning, the ceasefire in Syria is hopelessly shattered. A second night of deadly air strikes targeting rebel-held eastern Aleppo killed 20 people and destroyed the city's main water pumping station. At least 50 people were killed the day earlier. Activists in the area say Russian forces are participating in the strikes along with Syrian government troops.
[04:55:04] Officials in Moscow not commenting.
BERMAN: Surprising moment at the U.N. General Assembly. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu invited Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to appear to the Knesset in Jerusalem. Netanyahu also expressed a willingness to address the Palestinian parliament in Ramallah, saying it would be better if the two sides were talking to each other. Abbas indicated he is willing to meet with Netanyahu face-to-face to pursue peace, but some Palestinian officials dismiss Netanyahu's latest offer as a new gimmick.
ROMANS: All right. Almost the top of the hour this Friday morning. Let's get an early start on your money. Stocks are riding a three-day win streak, thanks to the Federal Reserve holding rates steady. NASDAQ even hit a record closing high yesterday. Amazon shares at a record high as well. Dow futures dipping right now.
Stock markets in Europe and Asia mostly lower. Oil is down as well. The Dow is now 244 points away from a record closing high. We just need a move of 1.3 percent.
So, one big rally will get the average to a record. Now, chances are the fed will not hike rates at its meeting in November. So, the bulls think they are free to run unless the U.S. election gets in the way, of course.
ROMANS: The calls for Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf to resign, whoa, they're getting louder. The CNN Money investigation shows if he walks away, he could get $20 million payout. That includes $74 million worth of Wells Fargo shares, $23 million in cash and pension payment, $65 million in performance shares, stock awards and 401(k) unit. Even if Stumpf is fired, he would only forfeit a portion of these payouts.
It has been a rough week for the CEO and for the company and for shareholders, frankly. He was scolded by lawmakers in Capitol Hill Tuesday. Then, Thursday, eight senators call for a Department of Labor investigation into the Wells Fargo's firing of 5,300 employees in the fake account scandal. Now, last night, Stumpf resigned from a Federal Reserve advisory board.
All right. There's good news this morning. A couple of outrage stories now, there's some good news for you. For house hunters, those priced out of the market may finally be getting some relief. Here's why, for the first time since 2011, incomes are rising faster than home prices. That's good. The median home price climbed 5 percent in August compared to a year ago.
The average price is now $188,100. That's unless you live in Silicon Valley. That's according to Zillow.
Out last week, the Census Bureau reported that median household income increased 5.2 percent from $56,516 was the income in 2015.
BERMAN: Here is what I was worried about. Maybe it is another housing bubble. Do you know when you are in a bubble? It's only after the fact.
ROMANS: When you're paying $1,000 for a tulip bulb, you never really know. It's not a good idea. No, no, I'm going to just --
BERMAN: That is so disconcerting.
ROMANS: Tulip bulb frenzy. But no, you don't know you're in a bubble. Some people usually do when you're usually the outliers. But if you have incomes rising and you have savings growing and job market getting better, it would suggest the housing market should continue to improve.
BERMAN: It has very reason to.
ROMANS: Right.
BERMAN: All right. Well, that's good news. I'm going to go with that.
EARLY START continues right now.
(MUSIC) BERMAN: Hundreds of protesters, they broke a curfew in Charlotte. They marched throughout the night. This as the family of Keith Lamont Scott speaks out. They saw the video of his shooting and they have different account than police.
ROMANS: This morning, the Tulsa police officer who shot an unarmed black man booked into jail. She is now released o bail and facing charges of felony manslaughter.
BERMAN: Yahoo suffers what could be the biggest data breach ever, 500 million accounts hacked. So what does it mean for your security this morning?
Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.
ROMANS: Is there really security on the Internet? That's my question.
BERMAN: I don't know.
ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. It's Friday, September 23rd. It is 5:00 a.m. in the East. We'll get to that story in a moment.
But the breaking news this morning, a welcome sight on the streets of Charlotte. Relative calm this after the third night of protests triggered by the fatal police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott. For the most part, the demonstrations broke up over couple hours, well past the midnight curfew declared overnight by the mayor of Charlotte. But, you know, police decided not to enforce the curfew because the demonstrations were peaceful. So, they let the protesters stay.
Protesters calling for the release of videos that show Bradley Vinson shooting Keith Scott. This morning, the police chief refusing to make the footage public. But he did allow Scott's family to watch it and what they say they saw is quite different than the events described by police.
Joining us live with the latest from Charlotte, CNN's Nick Valencia.
Break us up to speed, Nick.
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine.
A semblance of normalcy has returned here to the streets of downtown Charlotte, a much different scene than what we witnessed 24 hours ago, 24 hours ago, businesses cleaning up the aftermath of the riots and vandalism that took place during those heated protests, those chaotic protests. That wasn't the case yesterday.
