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Eyes on the Diplomats; Black Forest Fire 65 Percent Contained; Two Toddlers Missing; Awaiting Major Supreme Court Decisions; The Power of Friendship; Spurs Beat the Heat in Game 5; Kim-ye's Baby Arrives

Aired June 17, 2013 - 05:30   ET



CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: With world leaders meeting this morning, brand-new accusations of international intrigue. Spying on your allies?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The Nazi next door. An escaped Nazi war criminal hiding out in Minnesota? Arrested after 70 years, what the 94-year-old suspect and his family are saying now.

ROMANS: And new Miss USA has been crowned. The 25-year-old beauty who took that title.

BERMAN: Here she comes. Oh, I guess that's Miss America, not Miss USA.

Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.

ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. It's about 30 minutes past the hour.

BERMAN: And there are new allegations of spying this morning from the man who leaked so many details of the NSA's wiretapping programs. "The Guardian" newspaper reporting that during 2009's G-20 summit in London, the British and U.S. governments were involved in monitoring the computers and calls of foreign delegates.

Chief White House correspondent Jessica Yellin is in Sligo, Ireland, where these latest accusations, I imagine, have to be causing quite a stir this morning, Jessica.

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, John. Good morning, and they are. The latest revelations from "The Guardian" will certainly put a chill on an already tense meeting set for this afternoon. "The Guardian" alleges that classified documents show the U.S. tried to intercept then Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev's phone calls at the 2009 G-20 summit. Now, President Obama is set to meet Russia's current president, Vladmir Putin, this afternoon.

They'll discuss topics ranging from disagreements over Syria to Afghanistan and the fight against terrorism. And you know, these latest allegations are not going to warm the mood in the room. Now, Putin has already said earlier this week that in Russia, spying is only done within the framework of the law. That's an apparent tweak at the U.S. Now here -- the U.S. says all surveillance is done legally as well, but clearly, some tension there.

Now, as you point out, in another sense, "The Guardian" article could help share some blame for U.S. spying, because that article it alleges in the 2009 G-20 summit, the British set up internet cafes to monitor e-mails from diplomats and download their passwords for future use. So, at the very least, the president, President Obama, could argue, well, the U.S. is not alone in its snooping.

British intelligence is not commenting on the report. And the U.S. says all these reports are irresponsible and egregious and will damage counterterrorism efforts. At the very least, John, the timing of this report is going to ensure maximum discomfort today.

BERMAN: Maximum discomfort, indeed. Jessica Yellin in Ireland this morning where I have to believe these new revelations are going to create quite a mood as this conference begins. Thanks, Jessica.

ROMANS: All right. Cautious optimism on the fire lines in Colorado this morning. The Black Forest fire, the most destructive in the state's history, is now 65 percent contained. Some evacuees are now being allowed to return to their homes, but authorities say it's still not safe for thousands of others, because winds could stir up hot spots.

The Black Forest fire is now 65 percent contained. It's burned through about 16,000 acres. It's already destroyed nearly 500 homes, and it's blamed now for two deaths. Our Indra Petersons tracking the weather for us this morning. Good morning.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Good morning. At least, now, in Colorado, things are a little bit calmer. The humidity is up. The winds are down, but that could change by midweek. I actually want to show you, notice the relative humidity, about 47 percent. So, in these overnight hours, you don't have that beating sun on you, but they start to get that recovery.

We go through the afternoon, of course, we see those numbers fall. But not as low as we saw last week. They're not going down into those single digits similar to last week. In fact, numbers are looking a little bit better. I want to talk about also what we're looking at in the northeast today. We're going to be talking about some rain, one to two inches where we've already had rain that's still going to be in the forecast.

It's starting with our maps. There we go. Now, they're back. Notice in Colorado Springs, here's the forecast, 80 percent chance of showers for them today and through Tuesday about 78 degrees for them as well. And then, again, by Tuesday and Wednesday, we're goint to start talking about high pressure building in and temperatures really warming up there.

Thirty percent chance, by the way, in the tropics to see a little bit of circulation develop. Now, this is down right by the Yucatan Peninsula. So, we're talking about not really looking at that huge sort of development, but either way, I have to go toward the least on her (ph) endurance today, a chance for heavy rain and wind for them. But good news, (INAUDIBLE) not looking for any threats of hurricanes right now.

ROMANS: All right. Thanks, Indra.

BERMAN: Thanks, Indra.

The family of a Minnesota man now rushing to his defense over accusations that he was a Nazi commander during World War II.


ANDRIY KARKOS, SON OF MICHAEL KARKOC: "Records do not show that Karkos had a direct hand in war crimes," end quote. And that's the God's honest truth. My father was never a Nazi.

BERMAN (voice-over): The Associated Press says the 94-year-old Michael Karkoc was a commander of the Ukrainian self-defense legion, a group accused of atrocities, even liquidating a small village, leaving dozens dead. But when he came to the U.S. in 1949, he said he was a carpenter who performed military service. (INAUDIBLE) now among those demanding an investigation.

ROMANS (voice-over): Violence at a church in Utah. Police say a man walked into the St. James Catholic Church in Ogden north of Salt Lake City during mass Sunday morning. He fired one shot into the back of another man's head. The injured man said to be recovering in the hospital. No official word yet on their connection. The parishioners say the victim was the gunman's father-in-law.

BERMAN: A Chicago hospital is under investigation accused of trying to defraud Medicare and Medicaid with unnecessary throat surgeries. "Bloomberg News" saying federal officials are asking why the hospital performed so many tracheotomies, a procedure to open a hole in the windpipe. An FBI affidavit claims patients were left sedated so they could not breathe on their own, making the surgery necessary and up to $160,000 per case.

ROMANS: Authorities in two states are looking for young children missing for weeks now. First, in Toledo, Ohio where hundreds spent the weekend searching for Baby Elena Steinfort. She's the 18-month- old who vanished back on June 2nd. Her mother is in jail charged with child endangerment. Court records say she admitted her daughter was seriously hurt but didn't seek treatment for her.

In Utica, New York, a person is on -- a search is on, rather, nine- month-old Levon Wameling (ph). He's been missing for more than two weeks, but police say his father never reported it. Now, the family is begging for information.


AMY WARNEY, MISSING LEVON'S MOM: If you know anything or if he's alive or dead, just please, call the Utica police so I can put him to rest.


ROMANS: The baby's father apparently told police he left the 9-month- old on the front porch after being locked out of his home. When he came back, he said the baby was gone.


BERMAN (on-camera): New York City's Michael Bloomberg, the mayor here, has already banned smoking and tried to ban large sodas. Now, "The New York Times" says he wants the city that never sleeps to start composting food and turning into biofuel. The plan will require residents to separate food scraps from their regular garbage. It will be voluntary to start with. Similar recycling plans are in place in dozens of smaller cities nationwide.

ROMANS (on-camera): There's a new Miss USA. Miss Connecticut, Erin Brady, is a 25-year-old accountant. She beat out 50 other women for the title. In the Q&A section, she answered a question about the Supreme Court decision to uphold widespread collection of DNA evidence. She'll represent the U.S. in the Miss Universe contest and will work to raise awareness for breast and ovarian cancer.

BERMAN: I like the previous photo. She looked so surprised.


BERMAN: There, she looks happy. It was like those surprise, relief, and then happiness.


ROMANS: All right. Coming up, some of the biggest, most contentious issues face in the country. Same-sex marriage, affirmative action, a possible major turning point, the Supreme Court could rule this morning.

BERMAN: And one carjacker messes with the wrong mom. The length that one Texas women went to keep her kids safe.


ROMANS: Queen Elizabeth's husband, Prince Phillip, has left the hospital where he's been recuperating since abdominal surgery June 7th. The Duke of Edinburgh is 92 years old. We're told he walked out unaided.

BERMAN: Well, the end of its term fast approaching, the Supreme Court miss (ph) today the issue rulings possibly on some of the most controversial topics facing the notion. Joe Johns is to look at four of the biggest cases still pending before the higher court.


JOE JOHNS, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Outrage on all sides and questions dividing the country for years. At stake, affirmative action, voting rights, and same-sex marriage.


JOHNS: And what the court decides could keep the country split for years to come.

RON BROWNSTEIN, SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: These are critical decisions, because it does effect the future kind of our social relations, our workplace, educational opportunity. In many ways, this is the central, jagged line in our politics that the Supreme Court is going to be poking at with both of these critical decisions.

JOHNS: Hanging in the balance, legacies of the civil right movements, whether public colleges can use race to decide who gets admitted. And the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which attacks discrimination at the polls. Legal experts think votes could be overturned.

THOMAS GOLDSTEIN, SCOTISBLOG.COM PUBLISHER: What would surprise me this term if the court upheld affirmative action or the Voting Right Act, I think, that would be a big surprise.

JOHNS: The Obama administration has fought hard to keep both, but the irony is those leading the charge, President Obama and attorney general, Eric Holder, as African-Americans, are living proof of how much times have changed. The same-sex marriage cases are no less important, dealing with state and federal laws restricting (ph) the rights of gays and lesbians.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We become not just more accepting, we become more loving as a country and as a people. Hearts and minds change with time. Laws do, too.

GOLDSTEIN: This is a conservative court, conservative ideologically and conservative in the sense of liking to take baby steps. And so, it seems very unlikely that they would make some big, radical move.

JOHNS (on-camera): A U.S. official tells CNN that authorities actually were able to hone in on Snowden very quickly as the source of the leaks right after "The Guardian" newspaper went to the administration initially to tell them what they had. At that point, security officials began to figure out who had access to that type of document and what had been downloaded, but they apparently were a little too late.

Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.


ROMANS: All right. It's a new day here at CNN. Our new broadcast begins just a few minutes from now.

BERMAN: It is called "NEW DAY." And Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan here with us to tell us what's coming up, guys.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": We're just excited that we showed up on set on time. (LAUGHTER)

BOLDUAN: So, we're already succeeding today.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": It's very good. How does my tie look? How does my tie look?

BOLDUAN: It is good.

CUOMO: I've got big news, JB. I've got big news. We've got an exclusive poll for you this morning. CNN letting America know the president's numbers are taking a beating. Is it because of the intelligence scandals? Why is he losing so much with young people? The biggest headline, his trustworthiness is at an all-time low. Why? We'll tell you about it.

BOLDUAN: Also, poll numbers coming out about How Americans feel about the NSA leak and surveillance. Oh, but here's another one for you, guys. Vladimir Putin and the Super Bowl ring.

CUOMO: Hmmm.

BOLDUAN: This is a very interesting story.

CUOMO: Was it a gift?

BOLDUAN: Was it a gift?

CUOMO: Was it a theft?

BOLDUAN: Was it a theft? We're going to find out. That's what's coming up on "NEW DAY."

CUOMO: The intrigue, guys. The intrigue. I mean, you got Phil Mickelson. We all know what happened here, JB. What a shot he had. Everybody thought he had it in the bag this time. Not to be why. We'll take you through what made the lefty wind up second for record time. Although, second is very cool. Very cool.

BOLDUAN: I'll take second. I'll take second in the U.S. Open. But, Phil Mickelson, always a bridesmaid, it appears.

CUOMO: He's won his majors. But there's a one (ph) to this day. I'm a big fan of the lefty, JB. A big fan.

BERMAN: Look, I love Phil Mickelson. He said it broke his heart yesterday. At 43 years old, he said it may have been his last best chance to win the U.S. Open. Second is good, but six times second place of the U.S. Open, not with any big time --

BOLDUAN: It gets a little old, I guess.


BOLDUAN: All right. We'll see you, guys. BERMAN: We could be more excited. We will all be watching "New Day." That's coming up in like 16 minutes. You guys go and make your last second preparations, especially you, Chris.

CUOMO: I'm working on my arm moves, John.


BERMAN: Do some push-ups and get ready for the show.

ROMANS: I'm assuming they had a good night sleep and they had their Wheaties this morning.

BERMAN: That's going to be diet.

ROMANS: Can't wait to see that.

All right. A quick thinking. A Houston area mom is being called a hero for fighting off a carjacker. Dorothy Baker (ph) of Baytown, Texas was leaving the drugstore with her two and five-year-old sons when a robber apparently popped out from the backseat of her van and he was holding a knife.

He demanded money, told her to drive to an ATM to get it, but she had other ideas, driving into a telephone pole instead, knocking the robber off balance and the knife out of his hand, punching him and kicking him out of her car.


UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He got out and he started running. And the next thing I thought was, if he gets away, he can do this to somebody else. I turned, intending to clip him in the side or something to get him to stop. And, I ended up actually running completely over him.


ROMANS: He's in the hospital and baker says don't call her a hero. She was just doing what she needed to protect her kids.

BERMAN: The Heat's big three unable to stop the Spurs. San Antonio smashing records to crush Miami in game five of the NBA finals. They are now just one victory away. Can the spurs pull off the ultimate upset?

Also, Barry Manilow turns 70.

ROMANS: Speaking of old guys.


ROMANS: All right. Sibling fight. That's a fact of life, right? How harmful can it be? Apparently, it's very harmful. New research in the Journal Pediatric says bullying among siblings can lead to depression, anxiety, and anger. And it doesn't matter if the aggression is mild or severe. They warn it can be just as bad for your child's mental health to be bullied by a sibling as bullied by a classmate.

Parents to (ph) researcher say it especially to look out for one side of interactions where it's one sibling who is consistently the victim. One child who is more often than not on the receiving end, not the delivering end of the abuse.

BERMAN: This will really make you think.

ROMANS: Yes. It really does.

BERMAN: All right. This is a little more of an uplifting story to tell you about right now. The power of friendship. San Diego fourth grader Travis Selinka (ph) is battling a brain tumor. So, to show support, 15 of his elementary school classmates shaved their heads so Travis would feel right at home when he returned to school.


KARIN ROBERTS, 4TH GRADE TEACHER, EL CAMINO CREEK: Without even me knowing it, one of the boys got together with his mother and they planned a whole thing at this barber shop.

LYNNE SELINKA, TRAVIS' MOTHER: Fifteen boys went into that barbershop. Fifteen men walked out. I mean, it was just -- it was overwhelming. It was overwhelming. And everytime I think about it, it brings tear to my eyes.


BERMAN: Me, too. Fifteen boys walked in. Fifteen men walked out. That is lovely. Travis says the gesture by his classmate and friends has made a lot -- has made this whole thing a lot easier.

ROMANS: Oh, that is so --

BERMAN: I love that. Look at them. Those guys are awesome. Great job, guys.

All right. Sports news, after crushing the Heat last night, the Spurs are now one win away from winning their fifth NBA title. Andy Scholes joins us now with more on the "Bleacher Report."

ANDY SCHOLES, BLEACHER REPORT: Hey, good morning, guys. Well, just when it looks like the Heat were going to take control of the series after winning in ball out basket game four, the Spurs changed things up and answered right back with a blowout of their own. Last night in game 5, Gregg Popovich needed to find a way to get Manu Ginobili going, so he put him in the starting lineup for the first time in over a year, and boy, did it work.

Ginobili had a season high 24 points to go along with 10 assists. It was just a one point game in the third quarter, but that's when the Spurs went on a 19-1 run. Danny Green on fire once again. He smashed the NBA finals record at three pointers hitting six more, while scoring 24 points. Spurs cruise to a 114-104 win. The series now shifts back to Miami for game six tomorrow night with San Antonio just one win away from their fifth NBA title.

Well, yesterday's final round of the U.S. Open turned out to be another heartbreaker for Phil Mickelson. Lefty had the lead heading into the final round and did an amazing shot on the tenth. Look at this. He holes it in from the fairway. That was an eagle and had him back in the lead, but Mickelson would bogey three of his final six holes.

He finished second for a record sixth time at the U.S. Open. And while Mickelson struggled through his final round, English man Justin Rose (ph), he had a solid day. Rose shot even par, and that was good enough to win his first major of his career. It's been quite the journey for Rose. After turning pro in 1998, he missed his first 21 cuts. But now, he's finally got the monkey off his back with the U.S. Open win.


JUSTIN ROSE, U.S. OPEN CHAMPION: It's just a really nice thing to have that cleared off the plate now, fairly early. And I'm quite -- assess that so early what the future holds, how to re-evaluate my goals. In the moment, I'm just -- dreams are paying off.


SCHOLES: Well, just one day after getting hit by a line drive in the head, Rays' pitcher, Alex Cub, is out of the hospital. Cub was struck in the head by line drive. Look at that, guys, hit him right in his head near his right ear. That was the fifth inning of Saturday's game. Cub was taken out on a stretcher, but he tweeted from the hospital that he was OK.

All tests normal. And he was diagnosed with a concussion. The Rays replaced him on the seven-day concussion list, but there's still no timetable for his return to rotation. But guys definitely good to have him out of the hospital. And I said, he tweeted from there telling everybody he was OK. So, that's definitely good news for him and the Tampa Bay Rays.

BERMAN: Such a good news. He's one of the most terrifying than you will see on a baseball line and to see that happened. It's so nice he's doing well. Such a good kid. All right. Thank you, Andy.

ROMANS: Keeping up with the Kardashians. A new member joins the clan. How is new mom, Kim, doing? What the proud family is tweeting, coming up.

BERMAN: The baby is tweeting already.

ROMANS: You can't begin your week without this information.


ROMANS: Celebrity power couple, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, they're now the proud parents of a baby girl. The child who weighed less than five pounds is delivered Saturday in Hollywood. So far, the couple known for oversharing has not officially confirmed their daughter's name or even that the baby was born.

But Kim's sister, Khloe, tweeted that mother and daughter are just fine. She called the newest member of the family a miracle. Grandma, Kris Jenner, also tweeted out Happy Father's Day to Kanye.

BERMAN: The baby is going to soon. How do you say like gaga in 140 characters or less?


ROMANS: This is the most important news of the week, I think.

BERMAN: I think so. And we're going to kick off this week. It is a "NEW DAY." Anchors Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan are here. What you guys have coming up?

BOLDUAN: You guys are like, finally, we can stop talking about your show and you can actually do your show.


BOLDUAN: Thank goodness.


CUOMO: We got big news. That's what the show is all about. We got a new poll talking about President Obama's number. A really historic hit. He took especially to trustworthiness --


CUOMO: -- which no politician want to play with the question is why and what can he do about it?

BOLDUAN: Yes. And this morning on "NEW DAY," we also have, we're going to ask House Majority leader, one of the top Republicans in the House, Eric Cantor, what he knew before the news came out on those NSA surveillance leaks. Lots of topics to talk about with Eric Cantor as well.

And plus, this one. You guys are talking about it this morning. I know Berman is a sports fan. You, as well, Christine. Super Bowl ring smackdown. The president of Russia accused of stealing a diamond encrusted ring from the owner of the New England Patriots. Vladimir Putin says it was a gift, the Patriots owner saying not so much.

CUOMO: We're going to go through what it takes to make it a gift, pars this legally. Then also, just a little bit of basic Patriots intrigue. What does it mean about that franchise, John Berman? We're going to get into that very deeply.

BERMAN: You know what, we'll take Tom Brady. They can have the ring.


BERMAN: Although I will say that it's never a good idea to mess with a guy's got nuclear weapons.

BOLDUAN: Agree. Agree.
