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Duchess in "Early" Labor; Arizona Flooded with Torrential Rains; Congressman Tweeting Young Model Speaks Out; 230-Lb Tuna Capsizes Boat; Phil Mickelson Wins 2013 British Open

Aired July 22, 2013 - 05:30   ET



CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: There's news from London this morning, a royal baby is finally on the way. Yes, the Duchess is in labor. We're live at the hospital.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Arizona underwater? Torrential rains drench the Phoenix area, leaving roads there looking like rivers. High drama in the desert with dramatic rescues all caught on camera.

ROMANS: And the granny drummer revealed.

PEREIRA: I love this story.

ROMANS: What we're finding out this morning about this woman whose rocking drum solo had so many asking, "Who is that/"

PEREIRA: She is fierce. Know that to be true. Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Michaela Pereira in for John Berman this morning.

ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans, in for Zoraida Sambolin this morning. It's 5:30 in the East and we have a big top story this morning. Our top story is Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, she is now in a London hospital in what officials say is early labor.

Max Foster is live outside St. Mary's Hospital with the very latest. Early labor as we know, Max, can mean it's hours from now. Who knows? What are we learning this morning?

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: It could be hours, could be days, couldn't it?

ROMANS: Yes, it could.

FOSTER: She came in to hospital in early labor suggests that she wasn't induced. So, as planned, she wants to have a natural birth, and it looks like that is happening. So, she's in the hospital. She came in around 6:00 a.m. no call time, so about five hours ago. And then, we got the formal announcement a couple of hours after that once it's done some initial checks on her and realized that she should stay in.

So, yes, it's all happening. She got a full medical team, I'm told, inside. She has her own royal obstetricians. She has the hospital stuff. She's got consultants. This is the best of the best here. It's a teaching hospital and a very famous maternity unit. So, she is getting the best possible care. She arrived earlier just with William, one other car, not the big motorcade. As far as we know, it's just Kate, William, and the medical team inside.

ROMANS: Sure. Just like every other couple, you know, run of the mill, walking into the hospital, but this is not run of the mill. This will be the heir to the throne, the third in line. This will be Diana's first grandchild, the late Diana's first grandchild. One of the reasons why so many people are just so keen about this whole story, Max.

FOSTER: And also, that was the door where we saw Diana with William for the very first time. So, this is the same hospital doing the same sort of process. Those pictures were iconic, have been played out ever since. So, this is why they're going to show you just in one direction how much media interest there is here. It's to let you to (ph) going down the road. On the other direction, you got the same again.

And we've also got lots of members of the public now arriving as well. So, the police put up these barriers. And eventually, the public will be allowed right up to there, i gather. But a huge amount of police, and this is just one location, because at Buckingham palace, also, you got another big set up there as well. Huge interest in this one.

ROMANS: Wow. I can't imagine being a mother in labor with the whole world watching! Unbelievable. OK, Max Foster, we'll keep checking in with you, Max.

PEREIRA: We are joined by CNN royal commentator, Victoria Arbiter. You know, I was -- good morning to you. Very early morning.


PEREIRA: I was thinking about what Max was saying about, you know, some of the things that Kate wants. How much is about what she wants and how much is dictated by tradition?

ARBITER: Well, obviously, there is a lot of tradition involved, but you'd be surprised how much William and Kate are really laying the groundwork to saying, yes, we appreciate the formality and approach calls, but we're doing things our way. We saw it with the wedding. There were so many personal touches. And it's interesting you say just like any other couple showing up at hospital, because, technically, they are.

We believe William drove her. He tends to drive them wherever they go. And yes, they would have had a car following them with protection officers. But overall, they tucked her away. They probably don't have the television on. And Kate is very good about not tuning into all of that. William and Harry, we know they read everything, they watch everything. Kate doesn't.

ROMANS: You know, it's interesting, because Victoria told me earlier that she thought that they probably don't know the sex of the child. They're very traditional in that kind of way. Probably, it wasn't a big -- this country would have a big, you know, like, a big shower. They're waiting to find out.

ARBITER: That's right. I mean, I think the general feeling in the UK is there are so few surprises in life, why not have one. And William and Kate think there's the added pressure of the fact that if they knew, it meant to sort of, then a whole slew of people knew. It's better this way. And as we know, they are very good at keeping secrets.

We didn't know Kate's wedding dress until she got out of the car at Westminster Abbey. So, I think it will be very exciting for them. Their first child, obviously. They don't know the sex of the baby, and so, we wait.

PEREIRA: The very same hospital where both the boys were born, but I'm thinking about the contrast from those so many years ago. We're now in the age of Twitter.


PEREIRA: The great Kate wait has been, you know, trending all over twitter. I imagine that that's, again, another place where tradition will change a little bit. They still will have the easel outside the hospital, outside the palace announcing the birth of the baby.

ARBITER: Yes. Well, the palace aides have said they're really keen for this baby to born during sociable hours. So, basically, they can have the drama --


ARBITER: I know, because they have to let the queen know first. And so, they said if it's from 10:30 at night until 8:00 in the morning, the queen will be asleep. So, nobody can know.

PEREIRA: Don't wake the queen.


ARBITER: And this is kind of what I love about America, because if it was born at two o'clock in the morning here, the sirens would be extra loud. And you'd make sure everyone was awake (ph) to know, but no. In the UK, it got to be very civilized. And so, no, but they said that this is a future heir to the throne. So, they were keen to keep a sense of drama, because it could be on Twitter, but then it would be an anticlimax. They may as well make its way.

PEREIRA: The pomp and circumstance. Why not?

ARBITER: Exactly. They will cut (ph) the hospital, the police escort, the easel, and then, you know, we all find out.

ROMANS: All right. Victoria Arbiter, it's so nice to see you. And we will be talking to you again over the hours and days, I'm sure. Thank you so much. ARBITER: Thank you.

ROMANS: CNN's Zain Verjee is outside Buckingham Palace this morning. Zain, what's the latest there?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, guys. Everyone is really excited behind me. You can see how the crowds have been gathering. Everyone is taking photographs. This is going to be a big day if the baby is born today. People have been so enthusiastic about the baby.

Let me just give you a little bit of an update. A little before 6:00 a.m. local time, there were a couple of cars, kind of a low key convoy that pulled up to the St. Mary's Hospital in Paddington in London. She went into the wing called the Lindo Wing to have the baby. We're hearing from the palace that the labor is progressing normally. Guys, that's pretty much all we're going to hear.

The next piece of detailed news we'll probably get officially is that the baby is born. So, we continue that great Kate wait for just a little bit longer. And I have to wait a little bit longer to open this nice, pretty chilled bottle of champagne.


ROMANS: The labor is progressing normally, which means it could be going very slowly. It could be taking a really long time. She's watching television. Will is tapping his foot.

PEREIRA: Very good point.

ROMANS: It could take a very long time.

VERJEE: Or to happen right away. Who knows?

PEREIRA: You better have an ice bucket for that bottle of champagne. It could get a little warm. Warm champagne, not good.

VERJEE: Right. It's supposed to be the hottest day, actually, in London. So, it would be fantastic if the baby is born on a day that London never normally sees or it could be born tomorrow in which case we're having pouring rain. And by the way, guys, if the baby is born today, and I don't know how into astrology you are, but it's going to be a cancer. And if it's born tomorrow, it will be a Leo. Check those horoscopes.

PEREIRA: All right. Fantastic.

ROMANS: Zain, thanks.

PEREIRA: Keep it on ice is what I say.


PEREIRA: All right. Let's talk a little bit of weather here. The valley of the sun. Look at this. Swamped by monsoonal type rains. It's much as two inches falling in the Phoenix area Sunday. All that rain led to treacherous flash flooding. It turned roadways into water ways, stranding drivers, and prompting a series of dramatic water rescue. Some of the worst flooding was apparently reported in Apache Junction, Arizona.

ROMANS: Look at that car.

PEREIRA: That's unbelievable. Rain buried roads carried vehicles along like boats. I got to tell you, the terrain there can't absorb it the same way. They're not used to get in that kind of rain. The heat wave that's gripped much of the nation may be subsiding, but severe weather, certainly as you can see there, is still impacting many areas. Our Indra Petersons, you have been a busy lady tracking all those for us.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. It really is unbelievable. A lot of people keep asking, what are these monsoonal rains especially in the west that we keep talking about. Well, typically, weather goes west to east, but in the summertime, big dome (ph) of high pressure comes and we start to see some showers pulling into the gulf. All that moisture pulls into the gulf and we start to those showers moving in from the east -- direction.

So, that's what we're dealing with heavy thunderstorms, but keep in mind, that does bring relief for firefighters on the other side of this. As Michaela just said, they really can't handle that rain in those dry conditions. That ground really isn't meant for it. So, we're talking the threatening of floods over the next several days. So, we went from dry heat to the threat of flash flooding in that area.

Talking about a weather pattern chain. Look at what we saw in the Midwest into the northeast. Heavy rain, I mean, right along the cold front. Some of these places, look at Leesburg, Ohio, 3.69 inches. So, right along that cold front, we saw some of these heavier shows, and that's really going to be the story here. It does have one piece of good news here, though. It brought relief.

Cooler temperatures. Average temperatures that we should be seeing this time of year finally in the forecast. New York today just 80, feeling a lot better than that 105 and 110 with the heat index we were looking at last week. So, what's coming up for the next several days? Well, low pressure is just to the north. Warm front and cold front kind of pulling off that. So, all that moisture coming out of the gulf is going to be with us.

And what it really just means is we're going to be talking about scattered thunderstorms. So, with that, yes, some of the areas will see some heavier showers. Where we see the heavier thunderstorms, and of course, those are tough to predict. One to two inches of rain.

So, we can see them pretty much anywhere, of course, the heavier showers mostly likely expected right along the cold front. So, we're going to be talking about really anywhere from Green Bay all the way down to Kansas City. So, that's what we'll be watching for. But I'll tell you what, I am much happier with scattered showers in the forecast than 105 and 110.

ROMANS: Breaking that heat was just key.


PEREIRA: It makes such a difference.

PETERSONS: Huge difference. I'll tell you firsthand.


ROMANS: Thanks, Indra.

PETERSONS: All right. Pope Francis heading today for Brazil to oversee this year's World Youth Day celebrations. This is his first overseas trip as a leader of the Catholic Church. It is steeped in the symbolism, too. He is the first Latin-American pope returning to his home region at a time when the church there is losing parishioners.

He's expected to tour Rio in an open top vehicle and visit a shantytown of Favela there, continuing its emphasis on service to the poor. Significant trip, for sure.

Coming up, Kathryn Jackson taking the stand. The King of Pop's mother breaking down in court telling the jury her son was not a freak.

ROMANS: And a dramatic rescue in Hawaii as one man is trapped when his boat capsizes while hooking a 230-pound tuna. You have got to see this. Stay with us.


ROMANS: Good morning. Welcome back to EARLY START this Monday morning. This has been a hot topic for days now. The congressman caught tweeting a young model during the State of the Union address, he thought, he thought that young woman was his daughter. A "NEW DAY" told you exclusively. A DNA test showed she wasn't. Well, Congressman Steve Cohen is breaking his silence and he talked with our Dana Bash.


DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, how did it feel, congressman, when you found out that the woman you thought was your daughter is really not?

REP. STEVE COHEN, (D) TENNESSEE: I was totally stunned. I didn't -- when I took the DNA tests, I did it to satisfy her need. She said that she didn't know who her biological father was and her mental health, she needed it, but I thought it was just perfunctory. So, I felt confident for sure that it's going to come out that I was the father. When I found out i wasn't, I was floored.

BASH: How did you initially think that she was your daughter? Did you get a phone call from the mom? COHEN: No, I thought about the mother. I couldn't sleep one night and I Googled her, and it came out that she had a bio written up on her web page, and it said she had a daughter born on the 22nd of April in 1988 and that kind of -- when we were together.

BASH: This, obviously, was not meant to be public. It was because you sent a tweet during the "State of the Union," you know, professing your love for her, and people are wondering who it was, and you said wait a minute, it's my daughter. Talk about what this has been like for this to be in the public arena.

COHEN: It's not comfortable. I mean, it's a personal issue. I'd like to maintain it personal.

BASH: Is there any concern now about the fact that she has had these three sort of tumultuous years thinking, going from thinking one man is her father to another and the back to him about just kind of the emotional roller coaster she's been going?

COHEN: We've both been on a roller coaster, and I understand that. I would like to think that the experience she's had at getting to know me has been good for her. I mean, going to the white house, which she and I did. It was the Christmas party, and I was proud to have her there and introduced her as my daughter.

BASH: Now that you know that you're not her father, what's your relationship?

COHEN: Well, we still communicate. I still care about her greatly. And I think she cares about me. And I hope and plan to continue to have a relationship. And, I think of her still as my daughter.


PEREIRA: An interesting story for sure. One we've been watching.

ROMANS: I can't believe that story, actually.

PEREIRA: I know.

ROMANS: I mean, every twist is more --

PEREIRA: Exactly.

ROMANS: Unbelievable.

PEREIRA: Word just into CNN now. We told you this story about the 24-year-old Norwegian woman convicted in Dubai of having sex outside marriage after reporting that she had been raped. Well, she has now been pardoned.

Marte Deborah Dalelv claimed she was sexually assaulted by a co-worker while on business in the United Arab Emirates. She had been sentenced to 16 months in prison. It's not clear now that she's been pardoned if she's going to stay in Dubai or she will leave. ROMANS: Michael Jackson's mother will be back on the witness stand when her wrongful death trial against concert promoter resumes this morning in Los Angeles. Katherine Jackson faces more cross- examination from lawyers for AEG Live. She became confused and tired during questioning on Friday, and the judge adjourned the court early. Jackson's believe claim (INAUDIBLE) AEG is liable for her son's death.

PEREIRA: Here's the big story with a happy ending. A man had to be rescued off Hawaii -- in Hawaii when his boat capsized. Guess what caused it? A 230-pound tuna. The fish apparently grabbed on to a fishing line, pulled hard, by the way, throwing Anthony Whitman (ph) into the water and overturning his 14-foot boat. His leg was actually caught on the line.

Luckily, he was able to shake himself free. And when rescuers got there, he was sitting on top of the upside boat. Oh, and by the way, the tuna was still on the line. There it is. A couple of friends who came and saw the boat to shore discovered that. They got to keep the fish, by the way, as a bit of thank you for their help in saving him.

ROMANS: I lost my boat, but I kept the fish.


PEREIRA: My thought is, and we'll bring in "NEW DAY" anchor, Chris Cuomo, because he is our resident fisherman. Don't ever fish for a fish that is bigger than your boat.


PEREIRA: True or false?

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR, NEW DAY: Can they lose guideline?


CUOMO: You always want to go for the biggest fish, but Kate and I were just talking about how lucky he was that the fish stayed on the boat.

PEREIRA: Absolutely.

CUOMO: Oh, and that he lived.

PEREIRA: Oh that, too.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR, NEW DAY: And that he survived.



ROMANS: I mean, adding tied up, he, himself, tied up in the line.


BOLDUAN: That guys is like, I for some reason, don't have a taste for tuna anymore.


CUOMO: Exactly right.


BOLDUAN: Who isn't is my question?

CUOMO: What's today? Is it your birthday?


BOLDUAN: It's not my birthday. It's going to be someone's birthday, though.


ROMANS: Maybe tomorrow might be someone's birthday.


BOLDUAN: I'll tell you, guys, I woke up in sympathy labor pains I was so excited.


BOLDUAN: It was kind of ridiculous, but we're going to be watching that, right?

CUOMO: Could have been gas, by the way, just so you know.


CUOMO: The baby -- she's in the Lindo Wing, it's called, right? The Lindo Wing of the hospital. I am a little less urgent. Having been through this three times, she went in there this morning, seems to be a very intentional entrance into the hospital. It could mean that we're, you know, some hours away. We don't know much detail about her birthing plan.

BOLDUAN: Right. It's true.

CUOMO: Right? If this is an induction, if they're going to induce --


CUOMO: We don't know. So, I'm in the father mode. Very calm.

BOLDUAN: Very clam.

CUOMO: Very clam.

BOLDUAN: Letting it happen.

CUOMO: We're happy she's there. We've got a cover. We have, what, 1,500 or 1,600 people --

BOLDUAN: Every single person. The interns are also going to be reporting live. We're going to be all over it as we should be. It's fun to cover, fun, happy events.

CUOMO: That's exactly right. I was going to say that, but not as well. It is nice to have something that will definitely shed joy, we're hoping, and has significance certainly to that culture. So, we're going to be all over. What else do we have?

BOLDUAN: We got lots of other headlines we're watching over the weekend. We have dueling protests across the nation this weekend between supporters of George Zimmerman and those angered by his acquittal. Well, now, the focus is really shifting to stand your ground laws especially one in Florida and many other states around the country. Many asking, is it time to review those laws, change those laws.

CUOMO: Interestingly, there had been a little bit of a trend in states moving away from them. Now, some states are saying they're emboldened by this. So, we're going to take it on. We're actually going to have a debate on the show today. We have people with very different takes on this.

BOLDUAN: I'm actually really looking forward to that.

CUOMO: Showing what the kind of range of discussion it is on it. We're also going to talk about two major big political comebacks.


CUOMO: We've got -- you see them on your screen right there, Eliot Spitzer and Mr. Anthony Weiner. Both, obviously, we know their back stories. We're going to look a little bit at how they're approaching their comebacks and we're going to look at their wives roles, right, because there are a little different takes on the situation.

BOLDUAN: Different approaches to these comebacks. How the wife plays especially when there's a scandal surrounding any politician? That's always something everyone watches, and now, what roles do these wives have in their comeback?


BOLDUAN: We have three "Cs."

CUOMO: We have three "Cs." We have comebacks, we have controversies, and we have conception.

BOLDUAN: I was wondering whether how you're going to do that.

PEREIRA: Not so much conception.

BOLDUAN: Well, there had to be a conception.


PEREIRA: All right. Thanks, guys.

Coming up, A-Rod's big comeback on hold. Why he won't be coming back with the Yankees today? We got the "Bleacher Report" coming up. I wonder if they're on baby watch on the "Bleacher Report."


ROMANS: All right. Phil Mickelson came back from behind for his first British open win. He calls it the best round of his life. Joe Carter has more on this morning's "Bleacher Report." Good morning, Joe.

JOE CARTER, BLEACHER REPORT: Hi. Good morning, Christine. Yes, Mickelson. Wow! Yesterday, he came out of nowhere. He started yesterday's final round, five shots back when the other golfers like Tiger out and Scott Lee West would start crumbling. Phil put his foot on the gas and never looked back. Just few weeks, if you think about it, he was gutted emotionally and beaten down after he finished second at the U.S. open for the sixth time, I might add.

And to go from that moment to this moment is incredible. So, at the age of 43, he finally wins his first British open championship.


PHIL MICKELSON, 2013 BRITISH OPEN CHAMPION: I played some of the best golf in my career. It feels amazing to have this championship and then to make it even more special to have Amy, Amanda, Sofia and Evan here to share this moment, it really is special. It's a day that I'll always cherish and always remember.


CARTER: Well, Yankee fans are going to have to wait a little longer for the 2013 big league debut of Alex Rodriguez. He was on schedule to rejoin his team tonight, but there's been a little snag in the plan. A-Rod strained his quadriceps muscle in his leg during a minor league game and now has to sit out at least seven to ten more games. Rodriguez turns 38 this week and he just finished rehabbing from hip surgery.

He hasn't played a major league game yet this year. They're hoping, hopefully, he will get back in the next one to two weeks for his game, but it's been an interesting off season and season, if you want to call it that.

ROMANS: Yes. The A-Rod drama continues. All right. Joe Carter, thanks, Joe.

We'll be right back.


ROMANS: It's about 5:59 in the east. That's it for EARLY START. It's "NEW DAY" now. Happy Monday morning, folks.

BOLDUAN: Hey, there, Christine. Good morning. Good morning.

CUOMO: Good to see you, but you got to go because it's the top of the hour and that means it's time for the top news.