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EARLY START

New York Prison Guard Investigated; Healing in Charleston; Explosion in Afghanistan; Supreme Court to Rule on High-Profile Cases; Greece At Make-or-Break Moment; Report: ISIS Planting Mines at Palmyra. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired June 22, 2015 - 04:30   ET

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


CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Breaking overnight: a new focus -- a new focus on the manhunt for two inmates escaped from a New York maximum security prison. They've been on the loose for three weeks now. And then this possible sighting of convicted killers had officers chasing Richard Matt and David Sweat on opposite ends of the state.

[04:30:07] Just hours ago, a possible new sighting near Owls Head. That's just about 20 miles west of the prison in Dannemora. New York state police are on the scene with the command post. They have atvs and help from Vermont tactical troopers.

Meanwhile, search in Friendship, you can see how far away that is. That's near the border with Pennsylvania. That search wrapped up last night.

There's new investigations on the investigation into the escape. A corrections officer at the prison is being questioned. His lawyer tells CNN that police interviewed the guard on Sunday for 14 hours.

For that angle, the latest on that angle, let's turn to CNN's Sara Ganim in Dannemora.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, it seems the investigation is now focused on those paintings that Richard Matt was making behind bars. We already know that prison seamstress Joyce Mitchell received one of those paintings. She's now been charged with helping those two men escape by providing them the tools they used to break out.

And now, we've learned that 57-year-old male prison guard Gene Palmer also on the honor block where those two men were housed, he received one of those paintings as well. His attorney telling CNN that that is the focus of the investigation into him, the focus of the interviews, that police searched his home. They wanted to talk to him about that painting, about his relationship with those two men and with Joyce Mitchell as well. He knew all three of them. He had daily and constant contact with them. Because he was a guard on that block, as most guards do, to maintain a

good working relationship with the inmates for safety reasons. But his attorney told me 100 percent, he denied any knowledge of the escape plan. Take a listen to what he told me.

ANDREW BROCKWAY, ATTORNEY FOR CORRECTIONS OFFICER GENE PALMER: I can 100 percent confirm that he did not know that they were plan being to break out of the prison. These two people are psycho paths. They are master manipulators. They're obviously in prison for life, so they have nothing but time to develop schemes to take advantage of innocent people.

GANIM: Now, in addition to that, his lawyer also telling CNN that Gene Palmer was actually on vacation the night that those two inmates escaped. But he lives only a few blocks from here, a few blocks from that prison. And he told his lawyer that he was scared because he did know those two inmates and that people inside the prison could not believe that something like this could happen. And he tells me that he's continuing to cooperate, that he plans to cooperate as long as investigators need him to, that he wants to be exonerated because he believes that he did nothing wrong -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Sara Ganim for us in Dannemora, thanks so much.

Overnight, thousands of people joined hands in Charleston, South Carolina. They were demonstrating unity against the hate that drove a white 21-year-old to murder nine people in an African-American church last week. Police estimate 10,000 to 15,000 people formed a unity chain across the 2 1/2 mile long bridge between Charleston and Mount Pleasant.

We're learning more this morning about the gunman and his hateful writings. Officials are digging into the 2,000-word racist manifesto that appeared on a Web site registered to Dylann Roof.

CNN's Alina Machado is in Charleston with the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, even though that manifesto surfaced online over the weekend, the focus here in Charleston remains those nine lives who were lost. The manifesto is about 2,000 words long. It has very inflammatory language, not just about blacks but about other minorities. The manifesto was published on a web site that was registered to Dylann Roof.

And in it, the manifesto talks about a possible turning point, citing the Trayvon Martin case as a catalyst for change with Roof and perhaps what fueled what happened and also talks about why Charleston was chosen as a target.

I want to read part of it to you. The manifesto says, ends with, "I have no choice. I am not in a position to alone in the ghetto and fight. I chose Charleston because it is the most historic city in my state and at one time, it had the highest ratio of blacks to white in the country. We have no skinheads, no real KKK, no one doing anything but talking on the Internet. Well, someone has to have the bravery to take it to the real world and I guess that has to be me."

Now, CNN has not been able to independently confirm that, in fact, Dylann Roof was the author of that manifesto, but it again was published on a Web site that was registered to him. We do know the FBI is carefully looking at that document -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Thank you, Alina.

Now, the focus on Charleston is on the nine people slain in last week's rampage, as it should be. It's on the family, their friends, and this wounded community.

[04:35:02] On Sunday, the scene of tragedy became once again a house of worship and a place where the congregation could grieve and heal.

Our national correspondent Martin Savidge was there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, the church was filled to capacity and beyond. There were many people who felt that they had to be there. The couple I was sitting next to said they were simply walking by and then were felt compelled to walk into the church. On the other side of them was a woman whose family has been attending this church for over 100 years. A very mixed kind of congregation.

Initially, people were nervous. Security was tight. Uniformed police officers were patrolling in the outer aisles. And I think there were some nerves. But then the grand organ played, choir began to sing, and it just felt right.

Much of this service was very normal, normal in the sense of similar kind of hymns you would have, the kind of prayers you would have. And it was deliberately meant to be that way, to deliver back that sense of community and church after so much tragedy.

But you couldn't help but notice and certainly for the congregation, there were nine faces not there, including their own reverend. And so, at times you saw this congregation up on its feet dancing in the pews celebrating the life. And at other times, you could see people absolutely collapsed under the weight of grief.

And when that happened, other members of the congregation would come over and gently sit next to them, or put an arm around them, or in some cases actually love them and hold them close. It was very, very powerful, but I think also, too, people were wondering if they were going to talk about other issues that have been raised by this tragedy.

In the sermon, the reverend said this was not the time.

REV. NORVEL GOFF SR., LED EMANUEL AME CHURCH SERVICE: There is a time and place for everything.

AUDIENCE: Amen.

GOFF: And now, it's a time for us to focus on the nine families.

(APPLAUSE)

Oh, I know I'm right, because at this time we need to be in solidarity and praying for families and our communities around this state, and particularly in Charleston.

SAVIDGE: After the service was over, I asked a woman if it had helped her, and she said it did. But as a long-time member of the congregation, she said the pain runs so very, very deep -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Our thanks to Martin Savidge in Charleston.

Now, in the wake of the massacre, there are growing calls to remove the Confederate flag from the grounds of South Carolina's state capitol.

Charleston Mayor Joseph Riley explained the controversy to Jake Tapper.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEPH P. RILEY, JR., MAYOR OF CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA: It sends, at best, mixed messages and at worst, for people -- hateful people like Roof, it's an affirmation because they have appropriated something and used it as a symbol of hatred. So, I think that needs to go into a museum, and I think it will.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Republican Mitt Romney, you remember, ran for president, joined the call. He tweeted that the Confederate flag should be taken down saying, quote, "To many, it is a symbol of racial hatred. Remove it now to honor Charleston victims." President Obama tweeted in response, "Good point, Mitt."

ROMANS: All right. Breaking news now: The Taliban claiming responsibility for an attack on Afghanistan's parliament building in Kabul. This is video after a car bomb explosion. You can see smoke filling the air there.

Kabul's police say gunmen armed with rockets and AK-47s, they entered a nearby building but they were not able to get into the main parliament building because of heavy security. Officials say all the members of parliament in the building were evacuated unharmed. Unclear at this hour whether there were other casualties. BERMAN: It could be a huge morning at the Supreme Court. We are

waiting on decisions on two major cases, not clear whether they will come down today or whether it be next week perhaps. One of those cases, the decision on Obamacare. Federal subsidies provided through Obamacare specifically.

The exact question for the judges are which states were eligible for the federal tax credits that helped pay for insurance for some low and middle income Americans. Is it all 50 states or is it just the states with their own exchanges? The reason this is an issue is because of some language in the law.

The other major decision involves gay marriage, whether gay couples have the constitutional right to marry across the country. As part of that decision, a side issue really, the courts deciding whether states are legally required to honor same-sex marriages performed in other states. The opinions come out today at 10:00. Again, unclear whether these two major rulings happen today or perhaps next week.

ROMANS: And both of these rulings are potentially pocketbook issues for millions of Americans.

BERMAN: Yes, but on same-sex marriage in particular it is beyond that.

[04:40:01] This is a moral question. The court is deciding the constitutional issue, the very fundamental issue of whether gay couples have a right to marry constitutionally. So --

ROMANS: Even moral questions have price tags sometimes.

BERMAN: Fair point, fair point.

ROMANS: I'm just saying. And this could get Obamacare, the one issue.

Let's keep talking about money. European and Asian stocks are much higher. So, are U.S. stock futures. Looks like investors are betting on a last-minute deal in Greece's debt crisis.

It's really the end of the road for Greece. E.U. leaders meet to discuss a proposal for Greece. If no deal is met, Greece will default on its debts and potentially leave the Eurozone and that is a very big deal.

A mega-health care merger turns ugly. Anthem went public this weekend with its $54 billion bid to take over Cigna. Cigna's response: no way. In a letter released overnight, Cigna called the offer inadequate and disappointing.

Lots of consolidation in the health insurance industry as the Affordable Care Act changes the business model and there are concerns those mergers could be very bad for consumers. So, watch that space.

BERMAN: All right. Much more on Greece, looking for this bailout this morning. Officials are trying to avoid a potentially disastrous outcome. Of course, they may be choosing between two potentially disastrous outcomes, depending on who you believe. We'll have much more on that.

ROMANS: And Jordan Spieth may have won the U.S. Open, but he's not what everyone is talking about. What has golf fans shaking their heads, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:45:04] ROMANS: You cannot overstate how difficult this is right now for Greece. An international effort is underway to fix its mess, and its mess is colossal. A European Union official calling last- minute proposals from Greece's prime minister, quote, "good basis for progress," that's important, as Eurozone leaders gather in Belgium for emergency talks ahead of an International Monetary Fund repayment deadline.

CNN's Nina dos Santos is following the latest for us from London.

And I think a lot of people have Greece fatigue here. They've been hearing for months, Nina, about how Greece needs to pay its bills. It needs to be more austere. It will get a lifeline from the E.U., or it faces from being out of the euro.

What's different now? What's happening now?

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I bet a lot of those ministers that are taking part in those meetings, two key meetings by the way here, Christine, later on today in Brussels have a lot of Greece fatigue as well.

So, Greece's official bailout runs out at the end of the month. That is why it needs a life line here. There's been a life line in the cards for about five months, you know, worth about $8 billion to try and solve Greece's current financial impasse, but Greece hasn't come forward with the reforms that the creditors wanted to see to sign off of that.

That is why today is so crucial. Over the weekend, it seems as though yet more reforms have been put on the table. Whether that will be enough to mollify the stance of the creditors, who knows?

Now, how does this affect you if you're an international investor, particularly in the United States? Well, the reality is, is that at least you're safe in the fact that the Greek debt is largely held by the public sector now. The private sector debt is one being written down a couple of years ago.

So, it means when it comes to your 401k, it's not likely to include any Greek bonds or stocks. But the thing is, is that if they don't manage to get a deal this week, Christine, that means that the financial markets of the world could be left on edge again because we haven't had a country like Greece default on its debts and fall out of the Eurozone before. It is unprecedented territory.

ROMANS: If it were to fall out of the Eurozone, what would happen? Would it be mass joblessness, mass homelessness, an economy that crumbles? Or could Greece be OK?

DOS SANTOS: You know, it depends who you talk to here. If you talk to some economists, they say, well, actually the euro as a single currency is too strong for Greece, Christine. It would actually be better off if it went back to the drachma, that would be a currency that would be weak enough to actually help Greece on the path to recovery.

But, of course, remember that Greece has its debt in euros, people have salaries and mortgages in euros. It could be a nightmare if in fact they do come out of the Eurozone.

I should also point out that the Greek banking sector is on the brink today. We learned that about $8 billion was taken out of Greek banks just last week and that goes to exemplify how worried the Greek people are. They're taking their money out of the banks. They're not even putting their money inside the banks.

The Greek banking sector is a life support from the European Central Bank. So, it could be the banking sector that goes first before this deal is signed off.

ROMANS: A tiny, tiny economy with a very, very big, big footprint really for the E.U. and the rest of the world. Thank you so much for that, Nina dos Santos.

BERMAN: Defense Secretary Ash Carter is in Germany this morning. He will attend his first NATO meeting as defense secretary. He will speak today at a forum in Berlin calling for a united NATO.

The defense secretary says he will also lay out America's strong but balanced approach to deterring Russia's military aggression while accepting Moscow's role in helping allies fight terrorism and hammering out a nuclear deal with Iran.

ROMANS: Fire crews rushed to a plane at Newark airport overnight after the engine began throwing off sparks. Authorities say the Express Jet flight for United Airlines was preparing to take off for Savannah, Georgia, when the pilot noticed sparks coming from one of the engines. The aircraft immediately towed back to the terminal.

Express Jet said 41 passengers were put on a replacement plane. No one injured. Not clear what prompted that engine trouble.

BERMAN: Jordan Spieth, he won the U.S. Open and Dustin Johnson lost it, flat out blew it. This is Spieth right here. What he did after winning the Masters a few months ago, he birdied the 18th here, that's after double bogeying the 17th. He gave himself a one-shot advantage. This man, Dustin Johnson had a chance for an eagle at 18 but, no, he three putted. He three putted, missed the chance at a playoff.

ROMANS: That's how I golf. It takes me a lot.

BERMAN: Do you know he's engaged to Wayne Gretzky's daughter? As a side note.

ROMANS: Is he really?

BERMAN: But Jordan Spieth is the youngest back-to-back winner in years, the youngest U.S. champ since Bobby Jones in 1923. He now goes to Saint Andrews in Scotland trying to win three in a row next month.

ROMANS: All right. Golf takes a lot of time on the weekend.

BERMAN: No, this was a good one. This was a really good one.

ROMANS: All right. Forty-nine minutes past the hour.

ISIS committing new atrocities in an ancient city they captured in Syria. What they're doing in the city of Palmyra that could have devastating effects.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:53:45] BERMAN: New this morning, reports that ISIS is planting bombs and mines around the ancient ruins of Palmyra in Syria. "Reuters" says a London-based monitoring group is reporting on the ISIS tactic at one of the Middle East's most important historic sites.

CNN's Ian Lee monitoring the situation for us.

Good morning, Ian.

IAN LEE, CNN REPORTER: Good morning, Ian.

We've seen increased activity around Palmyra, Tadmur in Arabic, over the past 48 hours. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reporting multiple airstrikes in and around this city, killing at least 10 people, including children. We're also hearing reports that the Syrian regime is building up its forces on the outskirts of the city in a bid to potentially retake it.

Palmyra is strategically important as it sits on a crossroads leading to homes in Damascus. We don't know exactly why they're laying these mines. One reason could be they're preparing for a potential attack. This is a tactic we've seen them use successfully in Syria and Iraq.

The other potential is that they're going to blow up this ancient site and unfortunately we've seen this as well in Syria and Iraq, John.

BERMAN: There is so much to go around in that part of the world right now.

[04:55:02] Ian Lee, thanks so much.

ROMANS: All right. Taylor Swift takes on Apple, and guess what? The tech giant bends over backwards to keep her happy. The power of what a pop star's Twitter account is next.

BERMAN: Yes, don't mess with Taylor Swift.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: All right. Welcome back. Happy Monday. I'm Christine Romans. Let's get an early start on your money.

End of the road for Greece, folks. Investors are betting on a last minute deal to avoid a Greek default.

European stocks are much higher, so are Asian stocks. U.S. stock futures could see those big gains disappear if Greek debt talks hit another dead end.

No bad blood between Taylor Swift and Apple, get it, no bad blood? Swift threatened to pull her album "1989" from Apple Music. Apple is promoting a three-month free trial of the service and Swift objected to its decision not to pay writers, artists or producers during that time. She wrote a blog post, "We don't ask you for free iPhones. Please don't ask us to provide you with our music for no compensation." In response, Apple says it will change its policy. It will pay artists even during the free trial.

BERMAN: She's the most powerful human on Earth, Taylor Swift.

ROMANS: Oh yes. When she tweets, big companies like Apple listen.

All right. A huge weekend at the box office, folks. "Jurassic World," have you seen it? It was on top, bringing in $102 million in the U.S. for its second weekend, $102 million for a weekend. The movie has been a hit worldwide. It could pass the $1 billion mark today.

BERMAN: It's a lot of money.

ROMANS: The dinosaur sequel ended Pixar's box office winning streak. "Inside Out" came in second with $91 million.

BERMAN: Not bad either.

ROMANS: It's really a good show, though.

Pixar debut fell short of the number one spot since 1995. But it was not all bad news. It was Pixar's second biggest U.S. opening behind "Toy Story 3." I guess that "Inside Out", it's a real tearjerker -- I mean, apparently, it's a real tearjerker.

BERMAN: We got to check it out.

All right. EARLY START continues right now.