Transcripts For CNNW EarlyStart 20130404

0 he's a friend of mine, and i'm happy for him. we're going back to the center of the earth now to be with the lizard people. missile crisis on the korean peninsula, washington walking a fine line as the north talks again of a nuclear attack. murder at one of the most secure spots in america. a manhunt under way right now after a shooting at ft. knox. man versus shark. new this morning, a surfer suddenly attacked at a vacation hotspot. you guys probably heard the news i'm going to be taking over for "the tonight show" next february. >> i want to congratulate our good friend, jimmy fallon. he is a hell of a guy. >> passing the baton on "the tonight show." leno's out, fallon's in, and while you were sleeping, both hosts had a little something to say about it. good morning. welcome to "early start." i'm christine romans. >> i'm john berman. zoraida is off this week. it is thursday, april 4th. it is 5:00 a.m. in the east and we're going to start with the military situation. it seems ever more perilous this morning. warships launching, new missile defense systems deployed and the language getting flat-out dangerous. the korean peninsula might be the world's number one hotspot right now, the north threatening to block workers from the south from entering a shared industrial complex, even vowing to shut the facility down. pyongyang also promising attacks on the u.s. with a smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear force, and north korea also warns the moment of explosion is fast approaching. and will the pentagon announce it's moving a ballistic missile defense system to guam two years ahead of schedule, and there is also word out of washington this morning that it wants to try to dial down the rhetoric. we are all over this story this morning. dan lothian is live from washington, but we're going to begin in south korea with jim clancy. >> reporter: a spokesman for south korea's defense ministry was clear that details are not going to be released, but it is believed the north koreans are moving or repositioning some medium-ranged missiles to the east coast. now, that is where the u.s. already has a couple of destroyers as well as a radar platform to monitor a suspected upcoming missile test. at the same time the news came from washington that an advanced antimissile system was going to be deployed in guam. that is the site of one of the largest u.s. bases in the pacific. now, in other news, the threats against the united states just keep coming, repeats, really, of what we saw last week, saying the u.s. had better ponder over the grave situation. the moments of explosion is approaching fast. the north koreans repeated those threats against the u.s. mainland, hawaii and u.s. bases here as well as u.s. forces in south korea. the south korean defense ministry noted that it was prepared for anything but said it was unlikely there would be a major event. the south koreans and the americans are keeping a close watch to ensure that the north koreans don't take advantage of the situation to engage in some kind of a smaller strike. meantime, the only symbol of cooperation between north and south continued to have more problems. and once again, the north said that it would pull all of its 53,000 workers out of the kaesong industrial complex that's located just on the northern side of the demilitarized zone inside north korea. it's a joint venture with some 123 south korean firms whose workers are no longer able to enter kaesong. some do remain inside the facility, but they report that they are running out of the raw goods in order to carry out manufacturing and assembly. all in all, a very tense time, but at the same time, the u.s. and south korea continue their military maneuvers that are really aimed to be a deterrent to the north, a deterrent that has worked for many years. jim clancy, cnn, seoul. all right, concern in the white house this morning that the flexing of u.s. military might has pushed north korea too far. according to the "wall street journal," the obama administration has decided to turn down the volume. white house correspondent dan lothian live from washington on that part of the story for us this morning. dan, this report reveals that the administration has a game plan for showing military force, but it also says the white house is now dialing back. why? >> reporter: well, you're right. i mean, the report talks about sort of this playbook, if you will, that has specific steps that was signed off on by the administration. essentially, the u.s. flexing its muscles to try to turn down the temperature, not only in north korea but also in the region there. but this report pointing out that the steps that the u.s. has taken may have been more provocative, may have pushed and provoked this new leader, kim jong-un, more than intended, so they're dialing things back just a bit. keep in mind that the u.s. presence has been increasing in the region in recent weeks starting back on march 8th when the u.s. flew b-52s as part of what was described as a routine mission. then about 2 1/2 weeks later, a repeat mission was also conducted. and then on the 28th, about two days later after that last b-52 mission, stealth bombers were sent to the region. earlier this week, navy ships sent just off the coast as well with a platform for radar communications and so forth. and then just yesterday, the u.s. announcing that a missile defense system would be sent to guam in recent weeks. so, all these steps part of a playbook, according to the report, but now put on hold as the u.s. tries to assess the situation there in north korea. >> and it's just so hard to gauge what the reaction's going to be of the north koreans. i mean, quite frankly, it's, you know, it's a hermit -- we just don't know how they're going to react, so how do you balance strong response while not pushing north korea into a corner? >> reporter: you know, that is such an important question, and i think, you know, it has been very confusing for u.s. officials because as everyone has been saying, you know, there has been sort of this history of these kinds of threats, but there is this sense now that this new leader may be more unpredictable, perhaps more dangerous than his father. nonetheless, defense secretary chuck hagel says that the u.s. cannot take any chances. >> it only takes being wrong on once, and i don't want to be the secretary of defense who was wrong once. so, we will continue to take these threats seriously. i hope the north will ratchet this very dangerous rhetoric down. there is a pathway that's responsible for the north to get on a path to peace, working with their neighbors. >> again, the warning to north korea is to stop this kind of rhetoric, these provocative acts, because they will only serve to isolate them from the international community. christine? >> dan lothian in washington. thanks, dan. >> ten minutes after the hour. happening right now, the search is on for a man who opened fire at ft. knox, killing a civilian worker for the u.s. army. remember, this is one of the most secure locations on earth. investigators in kentucky say yesterday's shooting took place in a parking lot. they describe it as a personal incident. it triggered a temporary lockdown of ft. knox that's been lifted, but security is still heightened at the entrance and exit gates. the victim's identity has not been released. also happening now, a manhunt for two members of the white supremacist gang 211 crew. they're wanted in connection with the murder of colorado state's prison chief tom clements. 37-year-old james lohr and 31-year-old thomas goulee are considered armed and dangerous. authorities say one or both of them could be headed to nevada. an el paso county sheriff spokesman would not say whether the pair knew evan ebel, the man suspected of killing clements. and a disturbing letter, by the way, has surfaced, written by ebel to a friend back in 2006. in it, he discusses fantasies about catching prison guards once he's freed, torturing and eventually killing them. the letter is signed with a swastika and he calls himself "big bad evil evan ebel." ebel was killed in a shoot-out with texas deputies last month. coming up tonight on cnn's "ac 360," an exclusive interview with the wife of murdered colorado prison chief tom clements. new this morning, hours ago, the state of connecticut putting the nation's toughest gun laws on the books less than four months after the massacre at sandy hook elementary school. early this morning, the state house passed a measure that adds more than 100 guns to the list of banned assault weapons and selling large-capacity magazines is illegal. governor dan malloy is expected to sign the bill at noon. much of the law takes effect as soon as the ink hits the paper. a southern california man hospitalized in hawaii after a giant shark takes a bite out of his leg. this horrifying incident happening wednesday morning at kanipawi beach off the coast of maui. the victim described the shark's head as the size of a basketball. he's being treated for two huge gashes to his side. a fellow surfer from detroit saw it happen. >> at one point, i saw a large shadow come right underneath me. i really thought it was a seal. a few minutes later, i heard this kerplunk, a large splash. there was just me and another guy, so it hit me that was probably a shark. >> authorities say based on the injuries, the shark was probably eight to ten feet long. and that beach is full of kids, surfers, people watching whales. i mean, this is a really packed beach, a lot of people go there in maui. a search is going on this morning for a shipyard worker missing after a carnival cruise ship broke loose from a dock. carnival says the "triumph," you know that one, is now secure, but no word where that worker is. the fire department says he and another man were inside a guard shack when near hurricane-force winds blew it into the water in mobile, alabama. on twitter, fire officials say the coast guard and other agencies now consider the search a recovery operation. the "triumph" was docked at the shipyard for repairs following a disastrous february cruise. okay, one hiker has been found, but his friend is still lost in the backcountry of orange county, california. the two cal state fullerton students went hiking on sunday but couldn't find their way out. their cell phone died before searchers could nail down their location. 19-year-old nicholas destroya was found last night about a half mile from his car dehydrated and confused, but alive. searchers are confident they will final 18-year-old kyndall jack. former basketball coach mike rice is apologizing for his shocking behavior in the practice video that's gone viral. rice was fired after the video surfaced showing him abusing players and shouting gay slurs. rice says there's no explanation for what's on that tape. meantime, the school's athletic director is now under scrutiny for his handling of the case. ken frenetti saw the video last fall but decided a fine and punishment was enough for rice. jay leno is out and jimmy fallon is in as host of "the tonight show" beginning in february of next year. fallon was emotional as he talked about it last night. >> i'm just so excited to just keep working hard and we're trying to make the best show that we can along with you guys. i've got to say thanks to jay leno for being so gracious. i know this whole thing -- [ applause ] it means so much to me to have his support. >> so, this is what the nbc late-night transition will look like. this is the second time we've seen this. after congratulating fallon, jay leno couldn't help but take another shot at his employer. >> i just have one request of jimmy. we've all fought, kicked and scratched to get this network up to fifth place, okay? now we have to keep it there. jimmy, don't let it slip into sixth! we're counting on you! we're counting on you, jimmy! >> nbc is moving "the tonight show" from los angeles back to its original home in new york city. i think even the original sound stage. they're rebuilding the studio. >> welcome back to new york. everyone was talking about it last night, though, on late-night tv, letterman. >> andrew cuomo, the governor of new york, even issued a statement on it. >> everyone is talk being this. 12 minutes after the hour. coming up, a sheriff shot to death in his patrol car. we'll have more on the brazen attack and the suspect. a live report coming up next. welcome to the new new york state. what's the "new" in the new new york? a new property tax cap... and the lowest middle class income tax rate in 60 years... and a billion dollars in tax breaks and incentives. new opportunities for business. over 250,000 new private sector jobs were created over the last two years. and 17 straight months of job growth. with the most private sector jobs ever. lower taxes, new incentives, new jobs, now that's news. to grow or start your 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