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EARLY START

Search for Two Missing Teens Off Florida Coast; Obama in Final Hours of Africa Trip; Stocks Falling on China Selloff; WV Woman May Have Led Police to Serial Killer. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired July 28, 2015 - 05:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:30:47] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: New overnight the search for two missing teens off the Florida coast growing in size and scope. A new resource is now in the search. The zone has grown to almost 40,000 square miles. We will hear why the parents are holding out hope.

The president was in last minute business this morning before leaving Ethiopia. What did he say about his host country that could sour this historic trip? We have a live report just moments away.

And then the race for president, these two men lashing out against the president, some candidates lashing out against each other, a dramatic race to get on the debate stage.

We'll tell you what they had to say, coming up.

Welcome back to EARLY START everyone. I'm John Berman. Thirty-one minutes past the hour. Christine Romans is off today.

Developing this morning, the search for two 14-year-old boys from Jupiter, Florida, lost at sea has now refocused further North, about 60 miles off the coast of Jacksonville and enlarge to an area of the size of Indiana.

Coast Guard officials say they've been searching for searching for Perry Cohen and Austin Stephanos for 72 hours now night and day. They are not giving up hope.

And here are the boys' mothers who spoke last night to Anderson Cooper.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAMELA COHEN, MOTHER OFMISSING 14-YEAR-OLD PERRY COHEN: Both boys are very, very comfortable on the water. And we both and we said that they're just as comfortable on a boat and on the water as they are on land. They're avid fishermen. They're avid swimmers. They are extremely athletic and very skilled and knowledgeable about being on the water which is one of the reasons why this search and rescue has maintained the force that it has because there is such strong belief that they will be rescued and found very soon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Let's get the latest in the search now from CNN's Martin Savidge in Florida.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning John, of course, the families continued to be hopeful that those two teenagers will be found alive and well.

But the Coast Guard actually says, you know, there is actually reason to have that hope. They say, one, they're aggressively searching. But two, given the weather conditions that are out there in the Atlantic that they are seeing, it is possible that a person even in the water could survive for four to five days. This would be day four.

One troubling factor is, of course, that their boat was found upside down and they weren't with it. Now, we don't know how it got upside down. We don't know exactly when that happened. The authorities say that they send a rescue swimmer down to investigate.

One of the things he noticed of the vessel was that the engine cover of the upward was off. Could that indicate maybe they had some kind of mechanical breakdown of some sort.

And then, later that afternoon, Friday, we're talking, some very severe storms went by, which on land may not seem that bad, but when you're out in the water in a small boat, that could actually be very bad.

And then also, the finding of the boat itself, the coast guard says there's actually a good and bad about it. The bad, of course, is the fact that you didn't find the two young men with it. The good is it gives then a very specific area to search and by using drift and current models, they can extrapolate.

The bad is it is much harder to find a person in the water than it is to find a boat. But again, back to what I started with, there is still reason for hope. John.

BERMAN: Martin Savidge for us in Florida.

Happening now, President Obama is in the final hours of his trip to Africa, a trip that has focused on the fight against terrorism and for human rights. But President Obama is coming under fire for ignoring Ethiopia's own human rights issues during his time there.

The president praise the country's government as democratically elected even has his aides express concern about the integrity of those elections.

This morning, Mr. Obama becomes the first U.S. President ever to speak before the African Union.

CNN's Robyn Kriel joins us now from Addis, Ababa with the very latest. Robyn.

ROBYN KRIEL, CNN AFRICA CORRESPONDENT: Good morning John, earlier today, President Obama met with members of civil society.

So it's no doubt that the issues of human rights is still foremost on the president's agenda. Despite the fact that he did have such tempered words about the democratically elected government of Ethiopia. Those were his words.

Many human rights groups are criticizing Obama's visit here saying that he should not, by visiting those country that he was legitimizing the government of Ethiopia which has been criticized for its lack of freedom of speech, for example, locking up opposition members, accusing them of terrorism and various other violations as well, saying that he was legitimizing it by their visit.

[05:35:19] He will be as you said addressing the African the African Union this afternoon.

One of the issues he will touch on there, no doubt, will be human rights as well within the entirety of the African Union. Something interesting that has popped up as a result of this address is the fact that Robert Mugabe, President Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe. He was notably absent from the A -- the African Summit that was held in the United States. He was not invited according to President Obama's White House team.

And we believe he will not be there today because of his ways to -- his decisions to govern his country in the ways that he has according to the White House, as well as his sanctions at the United States and other countries have had on Zimbabwe for a number of years. John.

BERMAN: All right, Robyn Kriel for us in Ethiopia. Thanks so much, Robyn.

President Obama took time in Ethiopia to slam two Republicans who want his job with Donald Trump calling him a disaster and Mike Huckabee accusing him of marching Israel to the door of the oven. The president fired back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The particular comments of Mr. Huckabee are -- I think part of just a general pattern that we've seen that is -- would be considered ridiculous if it weren't so sad. When you get rhetoric like this, maybe it gets attention and maybe this is just an effort to push Mr. Trump out of the headlines. But it's not the kind of leadership that is needed for America right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Mike Huckabee not backing down. The former Arkansas governor reissued his warning that the nuclear deal with Iran could lead to Israel's demise.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE HUCKABEE, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Three times I've been to Auschwitz. When I talked about the over door, I have stood at that oven door. I know exactly what it looks like, 1.1 million people killed. For 6,000 years, Jews have been chased and hunted and killed all over this earth.

And when someone in a government says, "We're going to kill them," I think, my gosh, we better take that

seriously.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: And Donald Trump advanced his view that the Iran nuclear deal and the president are, in his opinion, bad for America.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's probably the worst president in the history of our country. He's a very divisive person which is why he brings this kind of stuff

up.

And he should have devoted more time to working on a good nuclear deal with Iran instead of what he's doing, because he has just been a disaster for our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: This morning at 10:00 Eastern, Secretary State John Kerry, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz will testify in front of the House Foreign Affairs Committee about the Iran nuclear agreement.

Just getting underway this morning, a crucial meeting in the battle against the ISIS, a NATO session called Turkey to discuss dramatic new steps in the fight with ISIS as well as some other security threats along Turkey's border.

For the first time, Turkey has entered the fight launching air strikes and allowing U.S. planes to use Turkish bases.

At the top of the agenda's day, the establishment of a so-called Safe Zone to protect Syrian refugees from ISIS, the 60-mile long area along the Syrian border would be patrolled from air by Turkey and the United States.

In Medford, Massachusetts, a 30-year veteran police detective has been placed on leave for threatening to shoot a motorist in the head. That motorist defined as Michael happened to have a camera mounted on his dash board when off-duty Detective Stephen Lebert pulled him over Sunday night for driving a wrong way through a traffic circle.

At first, Michael says he tried to back away because Detective Lebert was not in uniform.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL: Oh, I didn't know you were a cop. DET. STEPHEN LEBERT, POLICE OFFICER: I'll put a hole right through your -- head.

MICHAEL: I didn't know you're a cop.

STEPHEN LEBERT: I'll put a hole right through your head. Pull over.

MICHAEL: OK, OK, OK, OK.

STEPHEN LEBERT: You're lucky I'm a cop because I'd be beating the -- out of you right now.

MICHAEL: Geez.

STEPHEN LEBERT: Give me your license.

MICHAEL: I also want you to know...

STEPHEN LEBERT: Give me your license.

MICHAEL: I also want to let you know, OK, I just want to let you know I also have a dash camera.

It was definitely nerve wracking when someone is like, "Hey, I'm going to shoot you." Digging for his gun, telling me he's going to shoot me. I'm like, "It's a bit extreme, don't you think?"

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: I wanted to let you know I have a dash camera. Medford's police chief calls executive leverage actions troubling.

A California teenager is in police custody this morning after a missing girl was found dead. Madyson Middleton was last spotted Sunday running her scooter at her family's Santa Cruz apartment building.

Police found the 8-year-old's body Monday in a dumpster inside the complex.

The 15-year-old suspect also lived there. He is being questioned by police. So sad.

[05:40:02] Joyce Mitchell due in court today, the former Dannemora prison employee will be arraigned for her alleged role helping Richard Matt and David Sweat escape from Clinton Correctional Facility last month.

It took authorities nearly three weeks to track down the pair before police killed Matt and wounded Sweat.

Be sure to tune in tonight for Special CNN Report, "The Great Prison Escape" investigates how this all went down. It airs tonight at 9:00 Eastern only on CNN.

It is time now for an EARLY START on Your Money, Alison Kosik's here with that, good morning.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning to you.

And in China, it was a rough one. We saw stocks falling even more this morning. Shanghai's benchmark index falling 1.7 percent today, that follows an 8.5 percent plunge yesterday, the worst drop since 2007.

We've watched Chinese stocks tumble in recent months. It was breathtaking, wiping out trillions of dollars. And we're seeing the effect of that in stocks around the globe blasting commodities like oil. We're seeing prices fall there.

But for today, at least, it looks like other markets shaking it off. European stocks are up a bit and so are U.S. stock futures. And that could mean the end of a five-day losing streak for U.S. stocks.

BERMAN: That's hope.

KOSIK: So, that's hope.

Prisoner could soon take college courses on the government's dime. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Obama administration will restore pell grant for some prisoners. That would cover almost $6,000 a year in tuition fees and books.

This is going to be an experiment to see if education programs can keep convicts from returning to prison repeatedly. And it's a part of a broader push to overhaul the criminal justice system. Prison population has actually grown dramatically in the last few decades.

You know, this is a second chance for them to try to get a better education to not go back.

BERMAN: Alison, part of the series justice reform, the president's been doing with sentencing guidelines and the like (inaudible) and thanks so much.

A serious burst of heat moving toward the northeast and it's going to get worse. Let's get to meteorologist Ivan Cabrera with more.

IVAN CABRERA, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And the heat continues to build, in fact, John, we'll going to be talking about temperatures here in the 90s with an extended period, incredible, Washington, New York, Boston, also into the upper 80s to around at 90. The humidity is going to make it feel even hotter over the next few days.

And the 90s will continue into the weekend so there will be no relief in sight. This is going to be a big deal.

Further south and west, this is where we have the heat warnings that are going to affect Kansas City, St. Louis. There, the temperatures will feel like there are about 105 to as high as 115 as you factor in the humidity through the afternoon. So, we're going to watch that closely. Look at Dallas. You've been to the 100s. You're going to stay in the 100s right through the end of the week here. That is going to be brutal stuff.

And again, we talked about temperatures that approach those levels. Heat warnings will be in effect for the next few days.

All right, we're tracking storms today damaging wind potential. Large hail and some isolated tornadoes from Iowa heading up towards the Minneapolis and into portions of international what falls. So we'll watch the storms as they continue to build later on this afternoon. John.

BERMAN: All right, Ivan, thanks so much. A woman shoots and kills her attacker in West Virginia. But did she do police a favor and help them solve several cold cases? This is a strange story.

We'll tell it you to you next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:46:45] BERMAN: A woman in West Virginia who killed her attacker in self-defense may have inadvertently led police to a serial killer.

Investigators now suspect Neal Falls may be connected to murders in several states.

The woman who survived the attack tells police she fought him off, grabbing his gun and firing the fatal shots.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HEATHER, ESCORT KILLED ATTACKER IN SELF-DEFENSE: When he strangled me, he just wouldn't let me get any air. And when he laid the gun down to get the rake out of my hands, I shot him.

I know he was there to kill me. I could tell he had already done something because he said that he was -- and going to prison for a long time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Police say evidence in Falls' car could link him to a string of murders in other states.

Let's take a look what's coming up on "NEW DAY".

Alisyn Camerota joins us now. Good morning, Alisyn.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": Hello, John Berman, great to see you.

So as, you know, the search for those two teenage boys still missing off the coast of Florida, it continues at this hour.

We will talk with three people who were lost at sea for 20 hours earlier this month. They had to fight off sharks but they survived. How did they do it?

Also Planned Parenthood on the defensive after controversial videos appear to show officials negotiating the sale of fetal tissue.

Now, some in Congress are trying to defund the group.

A top executive at Planned Parenthood joins us to talk about this, this morning.

All of that and more when we see you at the top of the hour.

BERMAN: Yeah, you literally see me up there at the top of the hour.

CAMEROTA: I look forward to that.

BERMAN: All right, Alisyn, thanks so much.

A million dollars in gold found in a shipwreck 300-years-old. Who tracked it down and where?

Find out next.

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[05:52:06] BERMAN: It is now official. The Boy Scouts of America has lifted its blanket ban on openly gay adult scout leaders and employees.

Reaction is pouring in. And the change is sparking strong resistance from some quarters especially Mormon officials.

Church of the Latter-day Saints, the largest single sponsor of Boy Scouts, says it may leave the organization. In a statement, the LDS church says it is deeply troubled by the policy change despite it compromise alone religious based groups to accept their own policies on the log divisive issues.

New York's LaGuardia Airport gets no respect and really probably don't deserve all that much. It was one the worst airport in America.

Vice President Biden even compared it to a third world country.

Now, LaGuardia is getting a much needed makeover. New York Governor Edward Cuomo with Vice President Biden at his side announced a $4 billion plan to completely redesign LaGuardia. They said it will break new ground -- they'll break ground next year with a completion date set for 2020.

U.S. Olympic Committee is looking for a few good cities to bid for the 2024 Summer Games now that Boston has withdrawn. Boston had been the U.S. candidate but pulled the plug on its bid on Monday.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh declined to sign the host city contract that would make Boston responsible for Olympic cost overruns. A lot of people in Boston never got fully behind this bid. Runner-up Los Angeles expressing interest in taking Boston's place, they already have a stadium.

With NFL training camps getting underway, the Arizona Cardinals are breaking new ground hiring the first female to coach in the league.

The Cardinals announced Jen Welter has been added to their staff as a training camp and preseason coaching intern. Welter expressed her appreciation on Twitter saying she is honored to be part of the team and gave special thanks to Arizona head Coach Bruce Arians.

There is actual gold in the shallow waters off Florida's treasure coast. The salvage operation uncovered more than a million dollars worth of gold coins and artifacts from a shipwreck fleet nearly 300- years-old. It includes a rare gold coin made especially for the king of Spain.

The discovery actually came a few weeks ago but was kept under wraps until now.

Times keep getting tougher for the American family. Why the typical family's wealth has continued to shrink in the last few decades, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:57:45] KOSIK: Welcome back. Let's get an EARLY START on your money. I'm Alison Kosik.

Another rough day for stocks in China, tumbling even more this morning, Shanghai's benchmark index falling 1.7 percent today, that follows 8.5 percent plunge yesterday, the worst drop since 2007.

Now right now, it looks like other markets are shrugging it off. European stocks, they're up a bit so our U.S. stock futures.

Yesterday, the Dow fell 128 points. Stocks has dipped for five days in a row on concerns about global growth and a looming interest rate hike.

The typical American family is poorer than it was 25 years ago. Median family wealth is now about $81,000, that's a 5 percent decline since 1989. Why?

Income has stagnated. The middle class is struggling with rising costs. When you look at the typical net worth by race, everyone is actually gotten wealthier. But it's the diversity of the population with Blacks and Hispanics taking up the bigger share that's causing the country median wealth to fall. So, there's still a big wealth gap there with white on top.

A desperate search picking up steam for two teens missing up in Florida coast.

"NEW DAY" starts now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A frantic search began on the sea and from the air. The two 14-year-olds remain missing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In warm water, you can survive for quite a few days.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know he's coming home. I just want him home now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't give up. This is about our children.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Obama's approval remains steady, but voters have a big problem with one tough issue.

TRUMP: I'm tired of watching these all talk, no action politicians.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Full contact campaigning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The name calling from all sides really needs to stop.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not the way we're going to win elections.

OBAMA: We're creating a culture that is not conducive to good policy or good politics.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ten rounds went off.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Survivors of the Lafayette shooting speaking out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I screamed to everybody. "He's reloading. Get the hell out of here now."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Tuesday, July 28, 6:00 in the East.

Chris is on assignment this morning. John Berman joins us. Great to have you here.

Meanwhile, up first, the search continues for two Florida teenagers lost at sea.

[06:00:02] The two 14-year-olds Perry Cohen and Austin Stephano is missing since Friday afternoon when they set out on what was suppose to be a routine fishing trip.