[John Berman, Cnn Anchor:] Happening right now. A key ruling in a murder case against Olympic icon Oscar Pistorius as he breaks down in court pleading for bail.
[Zoraida Sambolin, Cnn Anchor:] And a possible motive for Adam Lanza. Was the Newtown gunman trying to outdo another shooter?
[Berman:] Hacker headquarters. This Shanghai office tower said to be where Chinese hackers carried out attacks against the United States.
[Sambolin:] And a career move by Michael Jackson's son. He's going into the entertainment business, sort of. He's sort of going into our business. Welcome back to EARLY START. Nice to have you with us. I'm Zoraida Sambolin.
[Berman:] And I'm John Berman. It is 30 minutes after the hour right now.
[Sambolin:] And we have new developments right now in the case against Olympic Blade Runner Oscar Pistorius. Pistorius now charged with premeditated murder. We're still waiting for a decision on bail. The hearing is on a lunch break right now and is expected to resume soon.
[Berman:] Joining us now is CNN legal contributor Paul Callan. He's a criminal defense attorney and a former New York City homicide prosecutor. And the news we're just getting in it's just happening this morning is a judge in South Africa has determined that they can go forward with this case as a case of premeditated murder. What does that mean for Oscar Pistorius?
[Paul Callan, Cnn Legal Contributor:] Bad things for Oscar, because if it's a premeditated murder case, he faces life in prison under South African law. They don't have the death penalty there, by the way. He could be out after 25 years. But he's unlikely that he'll get bail if there is substantial evidence that this is a premeditated, planned murder.
[Sambolin:] So, you are part of his defense team. How do you move forward now?
[Callan:] Well, the interesting thing is that press reports have said his defense is going to be this was accident, that he thought maybe there was a burglar who had broken into his house and he fired shots through the bathroom door. By the way, what came out at the hearing today, very interesting, the bathroom only 10 by 10 x 10. He gets up, he puts his blades on, his artificial limbs on, gets his gun, walks 20 feet, 22 feet to exact, to the bathroom and then opens fire. Of course, his girlfriend is in the bathroom, she's hit by three shots, three of the four shots. Now, if the girlfriend was staying with him that night, and he wakes up in the middle of the night, isn't he going to assume the girlfriend is in the bathroom?
[Sambolin:] Well, there were
[Callan:] I'm sure that's what prosecutors will say it.
[Sambolin:] There were some reports that she did arrive between 5:00 or 6:00 p.m. and she was in her night gown. So, how do you argue that?
[Callan:] Well, I don't know. Unless she got into the burglary field as opposed to the modeling field, I would say Blade Runner has got a little problem here. However, there could be another fact pattern that we don't know about. Maybe she left. Maybe there was a fight. Maybe he's going to claim, I woke up in the middle of night, I heard noises, I thought a burglar was in the bathroom and I fired shots in protection.
[Berman:] One of the most interesting thing that you have both brought up in the last minute or two is the reports in the press about this or that. One of the most interesting things about the South African legal system is it's so different than ours. No jury. Explain to me the significance of that.
[Callan:] Well, it's a radically different system. It's a judge-based system. They use magistrates. And as a matter of fact, if this case goes to trial, eventually, there could be a plea, of course. But if it goes to trial, a judge single judge will hear the case and he'll have two civilian advisers who will sit in on the trial and they can give him their opinion, but he's not bound by it. So, it's a very, very different than the American jury trial system. And, of course, the police are leaking a lot of information in this case.
[Sambolin:] Incredible.
[Callan:] I mean, we see that happen in cases in the United States as well. So, that's not surprising, but it can deprive someone of a fair trial.
[Sambolin:] And there's also no death penalty.
[Callan:] There is no death penalty in South Africa. It was eliminated a long time ago. So, that's off the table here. But the difference between a premeditated murder and an accidental murder, huge difference under South African law.
[Sambolin:] How long before this goes to trial do you think?
[Callan:] Well, a normal case would take a very, very long time. You know, there are inefficiencies in the South African justice system that caused people to think it's a bad system. But I think with a celebrity involved, it will move quickly. You know, it reminds me of a famous athlete in the United States that got charged with murdering his ex-wife, O.J. Simpson. Very, very similar to this South African case.
[Berman:] Paul Callan, thanks very much again. Again, they're having a lunch break right now in South Africa. We are awaiting news about whether Oscar Pistorius will get bail, with this premeditated murder charges, highly, highly unlikely. Paul Callan, thanks very much.
[Sambolin:] Great talking to you. Thank you.
[Callan:] OK. Always nice talking to you. All right. Another developing story this morning. CBS News reports Newtown, Connecticut, gunman Adam Lanza may have been trying to outdo another notorious killer, if you can believe it. Anders Breivik murdered 77 people in Norway. That was back in 2011. Law enforcement sources say Lanza was motivated by violent video games and a strong desire to kill more people that Breivik. Twenty children and six adults died in the Newtown shooting. Connecticut police dismiss the CBS report. They are calling it speculation.
[Berman:] So, new information just this morning that a secret unit of the Chinese military is behind a massive computer hacking campaign against the United States. A report by the computer security firm Mandiant says a division of the People's Liberation Army is responsible for sustained hacking attacks against American interests and may be operating out of this nondescript 12-story tower in Shanghai. Sandra Endo is live in Washington. This is pretty startling news, Sandra. So, how did Mandiant obtain this information?
[Sandra Endo, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes, absolutely, John. The fact that America has been hacked by the Chinese military, that's according to a new report by the American cyber security firm Mandiant. It says it has linked one of the world's most prolific groups of computer hackers to the Chinese government. And the security firm traced the activity of four networks near Shanghai, with some operations taking place in a building, housing a secret division of China's military. Now, the report claims over a six-year period, hackers have stolen large volumes of intellectual property, blueprints, and business plans. The report does not list, though, the companies that have been hacked. The Chinese government, on the other hand, dismisses claims, saying China is also the victim of cyber crimes and claim most of their attacks come from the United States.
[Unidentified Male:] Internet hacking is an international issue, it should be dealt with through international cooperation based on trust and mutual respect. Making baseless accusations based on premature analysis is irresponsible and unprofessional. And it doesn't help solve relevant issues. China resolutely opposes any form of hacking activities.
[Endo:] Outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said last year, cyber attacks could cripple Wall Street or disrupt the power grid. It's certainly a big concern now. President Obama addressed the threat of cyber crimes in his State of the Union speech last week and signed an executive order to strengthen the nation's cyber security network John.
[Berman:] All right. Sandra Endo in Washington no doubt we will be hearing more about this in the coming days. Thanks, Sandra.
[Sambolin:] Thirty-seven minutes past the hour. We're checking the stories trending on CNN this morning. New York City news anchor Rob Morrison will appear in a Connecticut courtroom today to face domestic violence charges. Morrison, an anchor at WCBS TV, was arrested early Sunday morning in Darien, Connecticut, after allegedly choking his wife, CBS business anchor Ashley Morrison. Police say Morrison made verbal threats against his wife while he's being processed.
[Berman:] So, Burger King clearly not having it their way lately. First, traces of horse meat found in European beef supplier and now, the company's Twitter page has been hacked. Someone substituted the golden arches of McDonald's for the Burger King logo, and made it seem like Burger King had been bought out by its rival.
[Sambolin:] I know this is terrible, but I laughed hysterically because they were actually very clever when they did this. It's funny.
[Berman:] It's funny.
[Sambolin:] All right. Thirty-eight minutes past the hour. Michael Jackson's oldest son Prince may be the next king of entertainment news. The 16-year-old has become a guest correspondent on "Entertainment Tonight." His first segment, he'll be interviewing the stars of the upcoming film "Oz: The Great and Powerful."
[Berman:] So, years of journalism school, no doubt, paid off for Prince.
[Sambolin:] Chaos inside a Laundromat. One customer caught on camera unloading on two others. That story is coming up.
[Berman:] Plus, a first-hand look at what it's like to be caught in a ferocious blizzard. We'll tell you all about that, coming up.