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EARLY START

Deadly Snow Storm Slams Upstate New York; Israeli Government Promises Harsh Punishment; 20 Million Vehicles Affected in Takata Air Bag Recall; New Accusation Against Bill Cosby; Skipping Black Friday?

Aired November 19, 2014 - 05:30   ET

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


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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: A deadly snowstorm. The lake-effect storm slamming upstate New York. A staggering 6 feet of snow. A state of emergency declared as rescue crews race to help those stranded and the country faces the coldest November day in decades.

Homegrown terror. A Virginia woman in custody, her neighbors shocked after authorities raided her home. Her secret endeavors and her alleged ties to the terror group ISIS.

Nationwide recall. The feds demanding fixes to more than, get this, 20 million vehicles from nearly a dozen automakers, removing potentially explosive air bags from those vehicles immediately.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans. 30 minutes past the hour this morning. John Berman has the morning off.

All right, let's start with this deadly snowstorm burying Buffalo, New York, this morning. Guess what, more snow is on the way. Upwards of 5 feet already on the ground in some parts of Erie County and at least another foot is expected. Abandoned vehicles turning roads into parking lots. County officials declaring a state of emergency banning unnecessary travel while crews try to clear the roads. At least four people this morning are now dead, one in an auto accident, three others from cardiac arrest while shoveling the snow. In at least one of those cases, emergency crews were unable to transport the 81-year- old victim because the roads are impassable.

There's one bit of good news in all of this. Firefighters had to deliver a baby in a firestation because they couldn't get the mother to the hospital. Buffalo's fire commissioner reports this morning the baby girl is safe and healthy.

The giant snowstorm is not finished with western New York state yet. CNN meteorologist Jennifer Gray is up to her waist in this story for us. She's in Buffalo with more. Jennifer.

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Christine, welcome to South Buffalo. This is lake-effect snow in full force. You can see the blowing snow. Snow is coming down, sometimes at 2 inches per hour. There are areas around Buffalo that have received almost 50 inches of snow. Another 2 feet possible tomorrow. By the time this is said and done, low-end estimates could be 70 inches.

And just look at this. Cars over here completely buried. We passed cars left and right that were completely stuck. And look how powdery this is. When you just get in it, and then it's so fluffy. We're estimating this is a ratio of 15 to 20 to 1. That means you take 15 to 20 inches of this snow, you melt it down, and it equals 1 inch of water. So this is very, very powdery.

The plows have been out here all day, though. Driving is just treacherous, though. And it is very dangerous out here. Most folks are just staying at home, which is a good idea. We are going to get another round of this Thursday into Thursday night. And so this could be one of the worst lake-effect snow events this area has ever seen. Christine.

ROMANS: Wow, it's just unbelievable. These totals. Is there any relief in sight for Buffalo? Indra Petersons, these numbers are unreal.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: They're unbelievable, because it's so cold. You just heard Jennifer tell us that ratio, 15 to 1. The reason you have such a strong ratio there is because the air is just that cold. So we're talking about records being set here. This could be an epic snowstorm.

Now most snow we've ever seen in 24 hours anywhere in the United States, that was 76 inches in Colorado. They could already be breaking those records with totals like these. And, keep in mind, this is only the first wave of the storm.

What is going on? That long stretch (ph) of water, that water much warmer than this crazy cold arctic air that's been going over it. So with that, they're releasing all that snow, piling up at the end of the lake. But keep in mind, it's about location, location. Because notice Buffalo just on the northern tier here. So you look at places just south of them, they're seeing that huge difference as far as these totals.

Right at the airport in Buffalo, only about 3.9 inches. Three miles the southeast, that's a big difference. 42 inches of snow. So that's the big change we'll keep talking about. Yes, the snow will start to die down today, but another wave of cold air is expected again right over the lake. So, with that, more snowfall, in addition to what they're already seeing. Expected by the time we go through tomorrow, there goes round two for the rest of us. It means round two of these temperatures.

I mean yesterday already, all 50 states somewhere had a temperature below freezing. Again, today, we potentially could be seeing that. I mean, right now, Atlanta is only 21 degrees. We're talking about record-breaking lows here in through the morning and wave after wave, and this is still expected to make its way through. So no relief just yet.

ROMANS: No relief just yet. All right, thanks, Indra, for that. New details this morning about that horrific attack on a Jerusalem

synagogue. Two Palestinian cousins barged into a temple in the western part of the holy city on Tuesday with a gun and butcher knives, killing four rabbis and killing a police officer. The Israeli prime minister calling the attackers, quote, "human animals" on Tuesday night.

For the latest, I want to turn to CNN's Atika Shubert, live in Jerusalem. And, Atika, Israeli officials promising a harsh response to these attacks.

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are promising a harsh response. In fact, they've said that they will demolish the homes of the two assailants. They've already arrested a number of their relatives and trying to figure out exactly how they coordinated this attack and exactly what triggered it.

We may see more reactions as a result. We've already seen, for example, the demolishing of a home of another attacker, the one who carried out the October 22nd attack on a light rail station here, killing two people, including an infant. So we can expect more of that from security services, but we could also see far more wide- ranging implications, such as the loosening of gun laws to allow citizens to carry open weapons in the event of an attack, for example. That would be more long term. But it does go to show, the mood on the city now is quite on edge and quite tense. And people are waiting to see what will happen next, Christine.

ROMANS: All right, Atika Shubert. I know you've been following it for us. Thank you, Atika.

36 minutes past the hour, a Virginia woman is in jail this morning for allegedly working with ISIS. Police say 29-year-old Heather Coffman conspired and attempted to provide materiel support to the Islamic terrorist group. Investigators built their cases against Coffman with information from a series of undercover interviews and from her own inflammatory social media posts. Her neighbors are obviously in shock.

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TODD LAUTERBACH, NEIGHBOR: Astonished by this. I can't even believe that literally something like this is happening right in my backyard. Horrifying what they're doing. I mean, it's one of those things where I can't even comprehend someone sympathizing. It's just sickening.

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ROMANS: Coffman is expected to appear at a hearing today in Virginia.

Police caught the man suspected in a fatal subway shoving in New York City. Kevin Darden was arrested Tuesday at his mother's house. Authorities say the 34-year-old has a long rap sheet. He's also accused of pushing another man onto subway tracks earlier this month. Wai Kuen Kwok was killed Sunday when Darden allegedly pushed him in front of an oncoming V train. All right, congratulations going out this morning to CNN's Hero of the

Year, Pen Farthing. The former Royal Marine Seargeant founded nonprofit that reunites soldiers with stray dogs they befriended during combat tours in Afghanistan. The group Nowzad Dogs is named after a stray he adopted during the war. Pen Farthing will be a guest on "NEW DAY" later this morning and you can see the entire event, "CNN HEROES: AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE", on Sunday, December 7, at 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN. Congratulations to everyone for all the great work they did this year.

Time for an EARLY START on your money this morning. Asian stocks ended the day lower. European stocks mixed at this hour. U.S. stock futures barely budging, but, remember, stocks keep inching higher. Yesterday, the S&P 500 climbed to a record close, the eighth in the last ten trading highs. And its 43rd closing high this year. The Dow also closed at a record. Stocks boosted by some good news, some good signs for the German economy, and by Japan's decision to delay a planned sales tax hike. But global growth still very much a concern going forward. The Federal Reserve will publish minutes from its October meeting later today. We'll be watching that very closely for any hint as to a timeline for when the Fed might raise interest rates.

The other big business story, consumer story, this had morning, a nationwide recall of vehicles for a faulty device. As many as 20 million cars on the road now that need to be fixed. What you need to do to keep your family safe, next.

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ROMANS: Welcome back to EARLY START.

Federal safety regulators now seeking a nationwide recall of vehicles with Takata air bags that could potentially explode. The expanded recall would affect some 20 million vehicles from ten different carmakers. Airbag explosions have been linked to at least five deaths. The regulators demanding more information from the Japanese air bag manufacturer, which has so far been dragging its feet on the request.

CNN's Will Ripley is live in Tokyo. And this is a huge recall. That many cars on the road right now. This is something that everyone needs to pay very close attention to, Will.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely, Christine, because these air bags have the potential to explode and shoot shrapnel at the drivers and passengers. People have died. Many people have been injured. And here at the company headquarters in Tokyo, we tried to speak to somebody in person to ask them how they're going to handle the demand for repair kits in this expanded recall.

We were turned away but a statement was e-mailed to us later, Takata basically saying they are not convinced that this problem goes beyond the regional recall that they're struggling to keep up with demand right now. We're talking about 8 million cars. They can barely get enough repair kits put together, only about a third of the repair kits by February for that regional recall. And if they have to then increase the number exponentially, there are going to be many drivers on the road in the United States who are told that their cars need to be fixed but there simply aren't the parts to fix them.

Takata though saying that this expanded recall could mean that they're going to have to start sending those valuable and rare repair kits to areas where they might not be needed, where people might not be in danger. And the company here in Tokyo is saying that that could actually cost people their lives.

ROMANS: all right, Will Ripley for us this morning. Obviously a really scary situation and you need to talk to your dealer immediately if you're think you are one of those recalled vehicles.

I want to take a look at what's coming up on "NEW DAY" now. Chris Cuomo joins us this morning. Hello, Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": Oh, no, look at the snow. That's what my kids were saying last night when I got home from the Heroes event. And it's just not stopping. So it's really a weather story, but it isn't; it's about what's happening to the people on the ground. Christine, we'll be taking that on.

One of the stories, just one of them you're going to hear about, is the Niagara women's basketball team. So they go, they play their game in Pittsburgh, they want to get home. They can't. The bus gets stuck, five hours, ten hours, 15 hours, 20 hours. I'm not kidding. It just keeps going. They run out of food, water. Snowmobiles are coming up to help them. And yet, they get on Twitter, social media. The kids today, they can really sustain themselves with that alone, it seems. Right? And the coach comes on with us this morning to say how he kept the team together. And it did start to get a little dire so we're going to talk to them.

We're also going to talk with the fire commissioner this morning about some of the emergencies that they're responding to up there. It's really not just about, ooh, how much accumulation is there? People's lives get changed often in a horrible way. We're going to deal with that. Not getting to the hospital on time, all of this stuff is happening up there. And it's not over. In western New York, Christine, as you know, they know how to deal with snow. And this is overwhelming. So we're going to get up there and deal with the urgency.

ROMANS: You know, people who are from -- Chad Myers and Wolf, I mean, it's been since the 1970s they've seen anything like this. So much accumulation in such a short amount of time.

CUOMO: You say lake-effect --

ROMANS: Yes.

CUOMO: Lake-effect makes it falsely benign, in my opinion.

ROMANS: It's lake-effect --

(CROSSTALK) CUOMO: It's a lake-effect punch in the face. It's not a real punch in the face.

ROMANS: Hey, it was nice to see you last night at Heroes.

CUOMO: Yes, you looked beautiful.

ROMANS: Thank you.

CUOMO: I thought you'd get nominated.

ROMANS: Thanks Chris. We'll talk to you soon, all right?

46 minutes past the hour. Another alleged victim coming forward. Supermodel Janice Dickinson now claiming she, too, is a victim of sexual assault at the hands of comedian Bill Cosby. You'll hear from her next.

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ROMANS: Iconic comedian Bill Cosby facing another accusation of sexual assault, a new accusation. TV host and former model Janice Dickinson telling "Entertainment Tonight" she met Cosby in Lake Tahoe in 1982 to discuss a possible role on "The Cosby Show".

Listen to her describe what she claims happened at the end of the evening.

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JANICE DICKINSON, FORMER MODEL: After dinner in my room, he'd given me wine and a pill. And the next morning I woke up and I wasn't wearing my pajamas. And I remember before I passed out that I had been sexually assaulted by this man.

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ROMANS: We've reached out for comment from Cosby's team. His lawyer sending a statement to The Wrap website calling Dickinson's accusations, quote, "an outrageous, defamatory lie." CNN has learned Netflix is postponed the release of the comedian's stand-up special, "Bill Cosby 77". It was scheduled to begin streaming the day after Thanksgiving.

New video this morning that appears to show Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson getting involved in an altercation on the job in 2013. It comes as the embattled Missouri town awaits a grand jury decision whether to indict the officer for the shooting death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown.

Listen as Wilson approaches a resident for having derelict vehicles on his property.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's your name, sir? (BARKING)

DARREN WILSON, FERGUSON POLICE OFFICER: If you want to take a picture one more time, I'm going to lock your ass up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, I'm not taking a picture. I'm recording this incident, sir. Do I not have the right to record?

WILSON: No, you don't.

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ROMANS: The video is grainy but CNN has obtained a Ferguson police report confirming that was Wilson responding to that home last fall. This as a Justice Department panel begins reviewing the polcie response to those 16 days of protests in Ferguson after Michael Brown was killed.

The death of University of Virginia student Hannah Graham has officially been ruled a homicide. But according to the medical examiner, exactly how she died is still undetermined. The 18-year-old vanished in September after a night out with friends. Her remains were discovered, following a month-long search, some ten miles from where she was last seen in Charlottesville. The suspect in her disappearance, Jesse Matthew Jr., is currently in jail on charges in an unrelated case.

Breaking overnight, another Westerner diagnosed with Ebola. This time it's a Cuban doctor working in Sierra Leone. Felix Baez Sarria is being sent to the University Hospital of Geneva in Switzerland for specialized treatment. The physician came down with a fever of more than 100 degrees on Sunday and was diagnosed with Ebola the following day. It is unclear how he caught the deadly virus.

The head of the Centers for Disease Control is asking Congress to put more than $6 billion in emergency federal funding into the fight against Ebola. Thomas Friedman (sic) telling lawmakers the CDC is work on borrowed dollars. He says the only way to protect Americans from Ebola is to stop it at the source in West Africa. He likened the spread of the virus to wildfire.

All right. Those crazy mob scenes on Black Friday -- hey, maybe they're a thing of the past. We're going to get an EARLY START on your money next.

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ROMANS: Let's get an EARLY START on your money this morning. Stock futures pointing slightly lower. It might be finally time to snap that record streak perhaps. The S&P 500 climbed to a record close yesterday, the eighth in the last ten trading sessions. The Dow also closed at a high.

Apple also set a record. It closed at about $115 a share. That stock is up 47 percent this year. And Apple is the most valuable company in the world, worth about $670 billion. With the stock on this big rally, some speculate Apple could one day be worth $1 trillion.

Traveling around Thanksgiving, it can be a nightmare of course, but it only happens once a year, right? Well, a new report says we're going to soon face that level of airport gridlock year-round. More people are traveling, but airport infrastructure isn't keeping up. The U.S. Travel Association says right now about half of airports have holiday- like congestion once a week. In the next six years, all major airports will experience weekly gridlock if things don't improve. That means longer security lines, crowded terminals, and more flight delays.

Most Americans plan to skip Black Friday shopping this year. According to a new study by Bankrate, 40 percent of Americans plan to shop on Black Friday, and a big chunk of those, they're going to stick to online shopping. They want to avoid crowded stores. Black Friday has developed a reputation for long lines and overly aggressive deal hunters. Plus, shoppers know that deeper discounts could come close to Christmas.

There is a lot to get to this morning. Live coverage of this huge snowstorm eclipsing the northeast and freezing temperatures across the nation. "NEW DAY" is covering that and more starting right now.