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Starting Point with Soledad O'Brien
Wildfire Near Canon City Forces "Cautionary" Move; "Lost At Sea Without A Compass"; Woman Tracks Down Alleged Killer; Return Of The "Triumph"; Naked Man Terrorizes Train Station; Dodgers And Diamondbacks Brawl; Spurs Cool Off Heat; Tiger And Sergio Speak Out At U.S. Open; Tebow Debuts With Patriots; Pain In The Pump
Aired June 12, 2013 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to STARTING POINT, everyone. I'm John Berman.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Christine Romans. A developing story, fires still burning out of control in the Rockies. Crews are battling five separate blazes in Colorado right now. Officials say the smoke and the flames near Canyon City are forcing a prison to evacuate 800 inmates as a precaution. This fire, there is zero containment of the black forest fire near Colorado Springs. It's consumed more than 7,500 acres, displaced 5,000 people. The weather has been no help at all. Conditions are hot, dry and windy.
BERMAN: Hot, dry and windy, not what they want to hear on the ground there. So let's get to Indra Petersons right now who is tracking the weather for us. Hi, Indra.
INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning. Of course, as we go through the afternoon conditions get worse. It's get hotter. It gets drier and windier. That's what we're continuing to watch this morning. We're looking at those low relative humidities. The nation is so easy to tell where it's driest and why we continue to see wildfires and why it's so difficult to get any recovery as you go through the afternoon the relative humidity drops down to single digits.
The other thing we've been watching is the low in California. A very dry low now has picked up moisture and made its way right to the Midwest. What we're watching is also notice the jet stream, the strongest winds here notice the location talking about Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, that same location today is right where that boundary is with the warm, moist air and the cold, dry air.
Notice the stationary front. So with that, we're looking at the threat for severe weather. Today, it is a moderate risk. We're not only talking about tornadoes, but something we don't see as often, very long-lived straight line winds could be out there as damaging as tornadoes and the potential is high today.
We're looking at places like Chicago, Indianapolis and even Columbus today unfortunately that threat moves in towards the Atlantic region and mid-Atlantic tomorrow.
BERMAN: Millions of people should be paying attention to this right now.
ROMANS: At least everyone in the quad cities because that's right there in those straight line winds. All right, thanks, Indra.
A lot of people would like to know where Edward Snowden is hiding this morning, the man who told the world about the NSA's secret data mining operation. He's laying low for now and so is his girlfriend, Lindsay Mills is her name. We don't know much about the woman Snowden left behind, but she wants the world to know she's hurting.
Miguel Marquez is live in Honolulu where Mills and Snowden used to live. Good morning, Miguel.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning there, Christine. We're learning a lot more about that girlfriend, Lindsay Mills, but we also know that, there were questions about what she knew and when she knew it and where she is now. But we also know that when Mr. Snowden left for Hawaii, he left for good.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARQUEZ (voice-over): The man at the center of the controversy left everything behind for his beliefs.
EDWARD SNOWDEN, NSA LEAKER: You have to make a determination about what it is that's important to you and if living unfreely, but comfortably is something you're willing to accept.
MARQUEZ: Snowden says he cut his ties cleanly with everyone he knew or was close to including his girlfriend, Lindsay Mills, who lived with him here in Hawaii. Mills' father says his daughter dated Snowden for some five years, but met him only a few times.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's always had strong convictions of right and wrong and it kind of makes sense, but still shocking.
MARQUEZ: Snowden prepared for that shock telling "The Guardian" my primary fear is they will come after my family, my friends, my partner, anyone I have a relationship with. Snowden told "The Guardian" law enforcement had already been in touch with Mills.
In her blog adventures of a world traveling pole dancing superhero just days ago June 10th, Mills wrote, "My world had opened and closed all at once, leaving me lost at sea without a compass." She and Snowden moved out of this rented home just outside of Honolulu on May 6th. He told "The Guardian" he left for Hong Kong May 20th telling Mills he'd be back in a few weeks but leaving the reason vague. What's curious she also packed everything up and left for the mainland.
(on camera): As the story unfolds and people in the neighborhood here are more cautious about going on camera. One thing several neighbors have told us that they found peculiar about this situation is that when they looked at this garage, they saw boxes all the way to the top of the windows here. The question is where have those boxes gone and the contents of the house? (voice-over): Mills' father told CNN his daughter is now on the west coast visiting friends, just when she left Hawaii still a question. So is whether she had any clue about her boyfriend's plans. On her blog, she says Snowden's family was in town on May 17th just three days before he left his life behind.
Her next post on June 3rd, she wrote, "The past few weeks have been a cluster jumble of fun, disaster and adventure." Six days later her boyfriend revealed he was the source of the leaked security documents triggering as many questions as answers.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARQUEZ: Now there are so many, many questions out there. One thing that investigators would like to know is where are the contents of the house? It is not clear whether or not any warrants have been served either here in Hawaii or anywhere in the mainland and where all the contents of their house have gone. Christine, John, back to you guys.
ROMANS: All right, Miguel, thank you so much.
BERMAN: After 26 years a daughter's tireless search for her father's killer is finally paying off. Jocelyn Martinez was 9 when her father was shot and killed. She spent the last decade tracking down the man police say killed her father. Now that suspect is behind bars and the NYPD says the credit really is largely hers. Commissioner Ray Kelly said Tuesday that the case should never have been closed and for Jocelyn Martinez it never was.
CNN's Poppy Harlow joins us now with this really amazing story.
POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, talk about perseverance. I asked her how did you get the perseverance to search for the alleged killer of your father? She said "I'm a New Yorker." You know, Jocelyn Martinez is the only child of her father, Jose and it took her years and a lot of help from the internet, but less than $300 to track down the man police say killed her father.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This was his last birthday.
HARLOW (voice-over): It's like a dream for Jocelyn Martinez.
(on camera): What is your greatest memory of your father?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Those parties we had at the restaurant.
HARLOW (voice-over): After 26 years her father's alleged killer arrested, his capture thanks in large part to her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My family told me don't ever forget that name.
HARLOW: Jocelyn was just 9 when her father was murdered in 1986. Jose Martinez was shot and killed outside the New York City restaurant he and his wife owned, but the suspect, Justos Santos fled to the Dominican Republic. The NYPD says the murder case was closed in 1988 after receiving information that Santos was jailed in the Dominican Republic. What the NYPD didn't know, just a year later Santos was released.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They should not have closed the case.
HARLOW: In 2006, Jocelyn started hunting online for her father's alleged killer delving into background.com.
(on camera): What did you find?
JOSELYN MARTINEZ, INVESTIGATED FATHER'S MURDER: I didn't know I had so much stuff, I really didn't.
HARLOW (voice-over): But after years of searching --
MARTINEZ: I'm like I think I have something. Let me look. Let me look. I said, my God, but I had this person in the background check right at the top.
HARLOW: She took what she found here to the 34th Precinct in November.
MARTINEZ: Because November is the anniversary of my father's death and I get upset.
HARLOW: Police say it's only because of her efforts they were able to capture Santos.
RAY KELLY, NYC POLICE COMMISSIONER: Obviously she made a concerted effort and it paid off.
HARLOW: A police source tells CNN after Santos was arrested in Miami Thursday he confessed to murdering Jose Martinez.
(on camera): What do you think your dad would say?
MARTINEZ: You know, I think he would just hug me and smile, he would smile a lot.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: I think he certainly would smile. NYPD detectives now in Miami with Santos, they plan to bring him back to New York on Friday. He will be arraigned next week. He faces second-degree murder charges. You know, guys, what I found so interesting I asked her why in 2006, did you really delve into this.
She said because it never sat with me well that my father's killer wasn't jailed in the U.S. and she read a book "Coach Yourself To Success." I'm not kidding. She said it was this book that drove her to dive in and try to find him.
BERMAN: That's amazing. When he is in the courtroom here finally, does she plan to go and face him? HARLOW: She doesn't. She said, look, I checked this off my list and I want to move on with my life. I'm 26 years old, a singer and actress. She wants to focus on that. This is now over. She'll follow it, but she has no desire to confront him. Interestingly, she told me she does not use his name ever and found it pretty ironic that this happened just before Father's Day.
BERMAN: What perseverance and what bravery.
ROMANS: I love her and wish her the best and her family.
All right, the court marshal for Fort Hood shooting suspect, Major Nidal Hasan is facing further delays. Jury selection was supposed to get under way last Wednesday, but Hasan's decision to represent himself has prompted a series of motions and hearing. Hasas could face the death penalty if convicted in a 2009 attacks that left 13 dead. He's now asking for a three-month delay to prepare his case.
You're look pictures right now -- live pictures of the Carnival cruise ship "Triumph" docking in Galveston, Texas and preparing to hit the high seas again. You might recall an engine fire -- an engine room fire on the "Triumph" left thousands of passengers stranded in the Gulf of Mexico in February, with no power and no working toilets. Repairs are complete. The ship set said Thursday on a four-day cruise, a cruise that is completely sold out.
BERMAN: Unbelievable.
All right, some video you just have to see this morning and you still won't believe that you don't want to. A naked man terrorizes people at a San Francisco BART rail station and it's all caught on camera.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police is on their way. Ma'am run, run.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: This actually happened last month, but the video is only now being released. That man, 24-year-old Einer Perez is seen doing a lot of things, lunging at people doing a backwards bicycle. That right there is some kind of hand spring back flip all while naked. There's got be laws against that kind of thing. Friends describe his behavior as completely out of character. He surrendered, was taken to the hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. He was later released. Police charged him with misdemeanor battery.
ROMANS: That's Berman's favorite video of the morning.
BERMAN: I'm horrified by it. I can't even say the words naked acrobat. It makes me squirm.
ROMANS: You just did. All right, check out this amazing video.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My God! Are you kidding me?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Are you kidding me? A group of fishermen off the coast of Alaska thought they were reeling in a halibut, but instead they hook much bigger and deadlier, a killer whale. One of the fisherman posted the footage on his Facebook page. It's really fun to watch.
BERMAN: Just ahead on STARTING POINT, the Dodgers, Diamond Backs benches cleared after three got nailed by pitches including that fastball to the face of a young star. We're going to show you the brawl that then ensues.
ROMANS: Then fashion is fashion, and beauty is pain, but why? A new study looks at just why women continue to wear painful high heels no matter the cost. You're watching STARTING POINT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: It was a wild scene at Dodgers Stadium last night, an ugly brawl between the Dodgers and Diamondbacks. This is one you have to see. Andy Scholes joins us now with more on "The Bleacher Report." Good morning, Andy.
ANDY SCHOLES, "BLEACHER REPORT": Yes. Good morning guys, what a crazy scene this was. It started in the bottom of the sixth when the Dodger's rookie Feenamm Yasi Elpuig took a fastball right to the face. The ball goes right off his nose. Puig, he was down for a while, but amazingly he stayed in the game.
Zach Grienke retaliates by hitting Miguel Montero. The bench is clear, but no one got into it at this point, but that definitely changed in the bottom half of the inning. Grienke first pitch from Ian Kennedy comes right at him. After that, it was on. The bullpens run in, punches start to fly and half of the brawl looked like it was taking place in the early '90s as Mark McGwire, Don Mattingly, Matt Williams and Kirk Gibson, they were all in the middle of the fighting.
BERMAN: Old men fighting.
SCHOLES: Three Dodgers and three Diamondbacks were ejected. Suspensions and fines, they are likely coming from many involved in this one.
The NBA finals has been tied 1-1. The team that has won games three has gone on to win the championship, 93 percent of the time. That's good news for the Spurs because they absolutely crushed the Heat last night in game three. Lebron James, he continues to struggle, only made -- or he missed 11 of his first 13 shots. He finished with just 15 points.
And Spurs meanwhile they were red hot from beyond the arc all night set an NBA finals record hitting 16 three-pointers. Danny Green, he made seven from downtown and led the way with 27 points. While reserve Gary Neal, he had 24 points in the game. The Spurs end up with the third largest victory in finals storing willing 113-77. They take 2-1 lead in the series. Game four is tomorrow night.
Well, Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia shook hands on Monday at the U.S. Open, but no verbal apology was given by Sergio in that moment for the fried chicken comment he made last month towards Tiger. But verbal apology or not, Tiger says he is ready to just move on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIGER WOODS: No we didn't discuss anything. Just came up, said hi and that was it. It's already done. We've already gone through it all. It's time for the U.S. Open and we tee up in two days.
SERGIO GARCIA: I did leave him a handwritten note and hopefully he can take a look at it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: Tebow mania has arrived in New England. He practiced with the Patriots yesterday. They are in the first day of their three-day minicamp. The Patriots signed Tebow as a quarterback and he's expected to compete with Ryan Mallett for the right to backup Tom Brady. After yesterday's practice, Tebow did not take any questions, but he did talk about joining the Patriots.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIM TEBOW, PATRIOTS: I'm very thankful. It's such an honor to be a Patriot and play for Coach Belichick and for Coach McDaniels and learn under Tom and be a part of this great franchise and part of a very successful franchise and I found that out firsthand, I've lost to him several times so it will be a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to learning under great people so that's all I got but thank you all so much and God bless.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: All right, John, say Tebow wins the backup job and Tom Brady goes down this season, how confident are you that Tebow can win games for your Patriots?
BERMAN: I can't even think of that scenario. I'm mad at you for thinking or even suggesting Tom Brady goes down. That's unthinkable. Lot of Jets fans here in New York who think that the Patriots will figure it out and make them look even worse so looking forward to that, Andy.
SCHOLES: We'll see what happens.
BERMAN: Thanks, Andy.
ROMANS: All right, NASCAR's Denny Hamlin is in need for speed and also crusades for cystic fibrosis. He says a cure can't come fast enough. Check out this edition of "Impact Your World."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DENNY HAMLIN, NASCAR DRIVER: Hi. I'm Denny Hamlin. We can make an impact on finding a cure for cystic fibrosis. Cystic fibrosis is a respiratory disease that affects breathing, the lungs don't function the way they should and eventually you'll need a lung transplant. My first experience was with my cousin. I never understood why he had to take so much medicine every single day until I got a little bit older and realized that he had a disease that, you know, there was no cure for.
We started doing different events and started the short track showdown a couple years after that and really have just grown the foundation over the last few years and contributed to cystic fibrosis as well as children's hospitals in the Richmond area. We hope that CF is something that people will recognize as cystic fibrosis, but we eventually hope CF means cure found. Join the movement, impact your world at cnn.com/impact.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: It's good for Denny Hamlin. It's so nice to see.
All right, ahead on STARTING POINT, they say beauty is pain. That's what they always tell me. A new study has found the exact moment women feel pain in their high heels and why they keep wearing them anyway. You're watching STARTING POINT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: So, it's no secret that many women have a long-standing love affair with shoes, but it's often more love/hate than we admit. A new study is providing some answers about why women often choose couture over comfort.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS (voice-over): J. Lo's are expensive and designer. Kelly Pickler seeks revenge in hers. When it comes to women and heels, most say the higher the better, but not all boots are made for walking. A new survey conducted by England's College of Podiatry finds the average woman begins feeling pain after one hour and 6 minutes of strutting around in her stilettos. Despite the agony, 43 percent of women say they have continued to wear uncomfortable shoes.
JAMIE FREEDMAN, WEARS HIGH HEELS: I'm 32 and I'm bunion free and I've been wearing heels my whole life. I'm going to still rock them.
ROMANS: The 36 percent of women say they'd wear shoes that don't fit in the name of fashion.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can't go to a party without heels.
DR. JACQUELINE SUTERA, PODIATRIC MEDICINE AND SURGERY: High heels can cause stress fractures and tendonitis and all types of bone spurs and also encourage bunion and hammer toe formation. It happens every day.
ROMANS: New York City Podiatrist Jacqueline Sutera says women should know that a sexy pair of shoes may be causing some not so sexy problems for your feet.
SUTERA: They do develop over time, but even younger girls are having problem with their feet due to high heel use.
ROMANS: Fancy footwear has even taken a toll on shoe (inaudible) Sarah Jessica Parker who glamorized couture shoes on "Sex And The City." She recently said that all that time in stilettos ruined her feet. Still, most women can't give up their shoe lust so maybe the best solution is to pack a pair of flats.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: And doctors also say flip-flops aren't a good choice to wear all the time. They recommend a well fitting, round toe shoe with a heel about one inch high.
BERMAN: Thank you for telling me about the flip-flops. That's where I was going to go.
ROMANS: Sarah Jessica Parker said my feet are done, I have to wear flats. All those years of wearing high heels, you have to pay.
BERMAN: Beauty is pain.
Ahead on STARTING POINT, thousands evacuated as wildfires spread across Colorado. We are live on the ground tracking the very real danger at the top of the hour. This could just be the beginning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Our STARTING POINT this morning, thousands evacuating the flames as wildfires in Colorado destroyed homes and burned acres of land. We're live on the ground with the latest on this danger.
BERMAN: As the director of the NSA prepares to testify in Washington, what will he say about the agency's leaked surveillance program? Plus, why there is a new focus on the journalist involved.
BERMAN: Getting into an accident in one state could require you to hand over your cell phone. Does a new law go too far to prevent destructive driving?
