Pistorius Charged with Premeditated Murder; Police Raids in Turkey; Newtown Shooter Inspired by Norwegian Shooter?
ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening right now: Olympic icon Oscar Pistorius in court for the murder of his girlfriend. His lawyers are arguing for bail. And officials are moments away from making a ruling on whether the murder was premeditated.</s>JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: That's a big decision. Meanwhile, a possible motive for Adam Lanza. Was the Newtown gunman trying to outdo another killer?</s>SAMBOLIN: And it is the last chance for ex-cop Drew Peterson. The convicted killer's lawyers with a final appeal today before tomorrow's sentencing.</s>BERMAN: And a career move for Michael Jackson's son. He's going into the entertainment business -- sort of. So welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.</s>SAMBOLIN: And I'm Zoraida Sambolin. It is Tuesday morning. It is 28 minutes past the hour. We're happy you're with us. And we begin with the story, with dramatic developments happening right now in the case of Oscar Pistorius. The Blade-Runner-turned- murder-suspect is in court right now. He is seeking bail. The magistrate just ruled, quote, "He can not completely exclude premeditated murder and planning." Pistorius breaking down, he was sobbing. His defense denies the killing was premeditated and at one point argued girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp's death was not even murder. The prosecution maintains Pistorius put on his prosthetic limbs and walked 20 feet and then shot through a locked bathroom door killing Steenkamp. And all of it happening within unprecedented crush of cameras in the courtroom and huge crowds of people trying to snag a seat inside the courtroom.</s>BERMAN: The big news there, of course, though, is the magistrate in South Africa ruling that they are going to go ahead with this case accusing him of premeditated -- premeditated murder. The magistrate there saying he cannot rule out that possibility.</s>SAMBOLIN: Can't rule it out.</s>BERMAN: Interesting. All right. As this is happening, as he is being denied bail in that courtroom in South Africa, Oscar Pistorius' girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp is being laid to rest along the southern coast of South Africa. Nkepile Mabuse reports from Port Elizabeth near the site of Steenkamp's funeral.</s>NKEPILE MABUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm standing outside Victoria Park crematorium in the seaside town of Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape where friends and family of Reeva Steenkamp have gathered to pay their last respects and more than a thousand kilometers from here at the Victoria magistrate's court. Oscar Pistorius is appearing in a court of law accused of her murder. State prosecutors are arguing that this is premeditated murder saying that Oscar Pistorius armed himself, attached his legs, and shot her repeatedly through a bathroom door. Oscar Pistorius' defense is saying he thought that she was a burglar. These arguments went on in the morning with Oscar Pistorius sobbing uncontrollably at times. And here, people just want two answers, why did this happen to a person they describe as kind and loving and someone who everybody, they say, loved back. Nkepile Mabuse, CNN, Port Elizabeth.</s>BERMAN: All right. Our thanks to Nkepile Mabuse. Again, the news just out of South Africa, the magistrate there, the judge ruling that he cannot rule out the possibility that the murder there, the shooting from Oscar Pistorius to his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. He cannot rule out that it was premeditated. They're going ahead with this case. He's being charged with premeditated murder.</s>SAMBOLIN: And that should officially deny bail as well. I was reading. We have not confirmed that, but it should. We'll get those details for you. Thirty-one minutes past the hour now. Also new this morning, police raids in Turkey targeting members of a leftist militant group that has claimed responsibility for a suicide attack at the American embassy in Ankara. That was earlier this month. CNN's Ivan Watson is live in Istanbul, Turkey with more details for us. Good morning.</s>IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Zoraida. That's right. Turkish police conducting country wide operations targeting at least 167</s>SAMBOLIN: I'm terribly sorry. We've lost Ivan there. We're going to try to get him back for you. There he is. There we go. Sorry about that, Ivan. We lost you there for a moment.</s>WATSON: Hi, Zoraida. It looks -- hi. It happens. It happens. But that's right. The Turkish police arresting more than 100 people believed to be linked to a violent leftist group called DHKPC, the revolutionary people's liberation party front which claimed responsibility for this deadly suicide bombing on February 1st against the U.S. embassy in the Turkish capital that killed a Turkish guard and wounded a Turkish journalist. Now, there was a member of this group named Ejuvet Shunly (ph) who was believed to be the suicide bomber. He had served prison time before being released in 2000 after going on a hunger strike and suffering brain damage as a result of malnutrition. He is believed to have been the bomber. The group, itself, published a manifesto and gave its reasons behind the attack. It claimed that the U.S. was carrying out an imperialistic agenda in the Middle East. It voiced opposition to the deployment of U.S. anti- missile patriot missile batteries that have been deployed in the last month in Turkey to protect Turkish cities from the war in neighboring Syria. This group accused the U.S. of trying to colonize Syria itself. The irony here, Zoraida, is that the rebels inside Syria are very angry at the U.S. for not providing enough support, not providing them weapons in their battle against</s>SAMBOLIN: That was CNN's Ivan Watson reporting live from Istanbul, Turkey. We apologize for those problems that we're having with his microphone. I'm sorry. With his microphone.</s>BERMAN: It's a long way away, but Ivan is doing his best to report that story for us.</s>SAMBOLIN: All right. Thirty-four minutes past the hour. Developing story this morning, CBS News quotes law enforcement sources saying Newtown gunman, Adam Lanza, was driven by violent video games and an obsession to kill more people than Anders Breivik, who murdered 77 people in Norway. That was back in 2011. They say Lanza targeted Sandy Hook Elementary School because it was the easiest target with the largest cluster of people. Twenty children and six adults died at Sandy Hook. Connecticut police dismiss the CBS report calling it speculation.</s>BERMAN: So, new limits on police presence in city schools. Today, police in Denver public school officials will sign an agreement that specifically denies when police officers should step in and when educators should, instead, handle problems with students. They're hoping the agreement will cut down on the number of Denver students ticketed or arrested in school.</s>SAMBOLIN: And former Chicago area police sergeant Drew Peterson will be in court today making a last ditch bid for a new trial. Peterson was convicted last fall of first-degree murder in the 2004 bathtub drowning of his third wife, Kathleen Savio. Sentencing is set for tomorrow. The 69-year-old Peterson faces 20 to 60 years in prison. His fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, by the way, is still missing.</s>BERMAN: Some big business news. Officials in Japan say they have discovered a problem in a second battery onboard a Boeing 787 Dreamliner that was forced to make an emergency landing last month after its main battery failed. The officials say a slight swelling was found in the auxiliary power unit's battery cells. The FAA grounded all 50 Dreamliners following the incident in Japan and a battery fire in a Boeing 787 that was parked on tarmac at Boston's Logan Airport.</s>SAMBOLIN: And investigators are trying to figure out what caused a fire that killed three young children in an apartment fire. This is in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Authorities say the children -- my goodness, three-year-old twins and a one-year-old girl may have been left alone in the apartment by their parents.</s>BERMAN: The parents of a pregnant 16-year-old Texas girl who tried to force their daughter to get an abortion have had a change of heart after she took them to court. They've given her permission to carry the baby and marry the father, 16-year-old Evan Madison. Madison spoke last night to CNN's Piers Morgan.</s>EVAN MADISON, BABY'S FATHER: I knew it wasn't going to be easy at all, but I really didn't imagine this all happening. But I knew that some of her parents, many of her family were going to have a definitely a negative reaction. But I never intended on this happening. We're always determined to have a baby.</s>BERMAN: The girl claimed her mother threatened to slip her an abortion pill and took away her phone and car to pressure her into aborting that child.</s>SAMBOLIN: Thirty-six minutes past the hour. Florida's big python hunt is over, and the final tally is -- incredibly underwhelming. More than 1,600 people took part in the month long Florida Everglades python challenge, but they caught only 68 Burmese pythons. State officials have been trying to curb Florida's population of non-native snakes.</s>BERMAN: Just 68, huh?</s>SAMBOLIN: Yes. Apparently, they're really difficult to actually shoot.</s>BERMAN: Let someone else try to catch them. All right. Big news in entertainment. Michael Jackson's eldest son, Prince, may be the next king of entertainment news. The 16-year-old has become a guest correspondent on "Entertainment Tonight." His first assignment, interviewing the stars of the upcoming film, "Oz: The Great and Powerful." Welcome to the business, Prince.</s>SAMBOLIN: It is fun to see him. So, missing at sea. Coming up, the search under way right now after a small boat and its crew vanishes.</s>BERMAN: And the whole world waiting on a royal revelation. Brace yourselves, ladies and gentlemen. It is coming, the Duchess of Cambridge about to show off her baby bump for the first time. We are live in London coming up.