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North California Gets Hit with 6.0 Magnitude Earthquake; Peter Theo Curtis Released from Captivity; Jackie Robinson West Loses Little League World Series to South Korea; Funeral for Michael Brown Tomorrow

Aired August 24, 2014 - 17:00   ET

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

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. We are following two major stories today. In the last few hours an American held hostage by Islamist rebels in Syria has been freed. Peter Curtis had been there since 2012.

Northern California hit by the largest earthquake in 25 years. That's where we begin now. Governor Jerry Brown issuing a state of emergency as cleanup from a strong 6.1 earthquake begins across Northern California.

Downtown Napa took the brunt of the impact causing structural fires and historical buildings, like this one, to collapse. At least 120 people were injured, six critically, including a young child. Thankfully no one was killed.

Across the region, entire stretches of roadway are split in two and the picturesque wineries that mark the Napa countryside received extensive damage. In a news conference a short time ago, officials addressed concerns about the city's infrastructure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE RANDOLPH, NAPA FIRE DEPARTMENT: The majority of what we have been doing for the last several hours is assessing damage of a lot of our buildings in the downtown area, making sure there was no imminent rescue and happy to say there has not been.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: According to the U.S. geological survey, 15,000 people experienced severe shaking. But hundreds of thousands more felt the jolt even very far from the epicenter. This was the strongest quake to hit the bay area since 1989. Now, the question on everyone's mind, is another quake, the big one, on the way?

I want to bring in CNN's Kyung Lah. She is in Napa, California, right in the epicenter there.

Kyung, we are seeing the structural damage. What are they focusing their efforts on right now in terms of cleanup and preventing more damage?

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are trying to assess how bad the damage is, especially here in historic downtown Napa. And I want you to walk closer with me. We can't get much closer than this. Because what you are seeing over here, bricks. On an ordinary day this is where people are sitting. There are tables, people are dining and those bricks fell where the tables are and that's the gaping pool left behind when those bricks fell.

You can see this entire building has been compromised. The concern of officials here is the aftershocks. What happens when the aftershocks hit? It's not just here in this one corner. It's damage we have seen throughout this block, throughout all of downtown Napa.

They are trying to figure out whether buildings need to be red tagged, where they are simply not able to be entered at all. This is on they are trying to figure out how much this will cost. And for the business owners that can get in, they have to figure out how to do the mop up.

This is wine country. A lot of pictures that we're seeing on social media, people we're talking to, it is broken bottles, a lot of precious money that's been lost by these wine makers as the red wine and white wine is spilling from broken barrels. So a lot of today is concerned about the economic cost and how many homes have been damaged, how many people they know who have been hurt. We are hearing that there are at least 100 and also how many structures have been lost, Jim. You have seen the pictures of the mobile homes on fire. People are still trying to assess the home that they lost, their personal homes -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: You know, this happened in the middle of the night. You imagine damage like we have there behind you that happening in the daytime when people would have been walking those streets.

But looking ahead, Kyung, you mention aftershocks. That's a major concern. How do they do cleanup, the repair, et cetera, when they have to worry about what could be significant aftershocks at this point?

LAH: Very carefully. They have to do it very, very carefully. And you look -- look at this building. If you see, there's virtually no way to enter this building safely. And that's why the authorities have asked us to stay this far back. Because if there is an aftershock, let's say we have that 5.0 that a lot of meteorologists and seismologists say is likely possible, then what happens to this building? It very easily could collapse and all of these bricks become dangerous to the people nearby.

SCIUTTO: All right, Kyung Lah, right in the middle of the epicenter of this earthquake in Napa. Thanks very much for joining us.

We want to get the big picture now. This is the strongest quake being mentioned to hit the California bay area in 25 years. So, is this mean the big one may not be far behind? We have CNN's meteorologist Chad Myers.

Chad, I know this is not an exact science, but we know the instability in the fault lines in California. When we have a quake like this does that increase the chances of a bigger quake in the near term?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I don't think so. Because this wasn't even on the San Andreas fault line itself. In the system, yes, I get that. But the San Andreas Fault runs off shore here. This is a different fault, a Napa Fault. Between two other faults. Now, it is part of the same system. This North American fault, let's play this thing here. This specific plate is moving to the north. I get all of that. But this I don't believe gets anywhere near to that point where we say it is a precursor to the big one, I don't think so.

Napa right there seeing some pretty good shake about 17,000 people, saw significant shaking. Down here, where there's no dots there are very few people. This couldn't really have happened in a better spot, other than Napa, of course, in the San Francisco bay area a. All day we have been talking about how the bay area got hit. The bay area felt something.

But if you think about San Francisco, of Oakland and east bay, a shake, a jolt but not the devastation we see up in Napa. Think about that same jolt in downtown San Francisco or Oakland or anywhere along the east bay. Really, that's the story today. And I know this number has been changing and it is getting on people's nerves the 6.0, 6.1. My producers hate this.

Earlier today, the USGS tweeted out and said it is 6.05. We don't know whether to round it up or round it down. We will keep working on that. So finally, just in the past few minutes they rounded it up to 6.1. That's why the number has changed on the screen.

But look at all of the aftershocks already. That was the first one, their first earthquake right there, 6.1. And since then all of those aftershocks already on the map and more to come. Buildings that are damaged, the problem is there is a brick waiting to fall off. A 3.0 or 3.5 could make some of the bricks fall down. You need to stay away from damaged areas -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: Now Chad, can you put this in to context of the previous big quakes we know well out of that area, including the one 25 years ago. The famous one that struck during the World Series and going back to 1906, rather. How big is this in comparison?

MYERS: This is the shake map. And it really is, this one tells a big story. This tells you, if you see red it is called violent shaking. There's the red. There's the size of the red for this quake. Here is the Loma Prieta red eerie here, much bigger. These are just about to scale.

And now look at the red area here, all the way up and down. This is the 1908, somewhere around 7.8 to 8.0 for the 1908. We don't know exactly because we didn't have the technology out there then. But a lot more shaking here -- small, large and then obviously, much, much bigger. This was not along the main fault. There was still a violent shake for the people out in Napa and they have days and days of picking that up.

SCIUTTO: No question. In the middle of it, I'm sure it felt though big in the middle of it but great to have the context there.

Thanks very much, as always, Chad Myers in Atlanta.

Turning now to a breaking news story out of the Middle East, an American journalist held by Islamist rebels in Syria for almost two years has been freed.

Peter Theo Curtis was captured in 2012. He is expected to be reunited with his family soon. In a statement released by the family, Theo Curtis' mother says this, quote, "my heart is full at the extraordinary dedicated, incredible people, too many to name individually, who have become my friends and tirelessly helped us over these many months. Please know that we will be eternally grateful. With we are so relieved Theo is healthy and safe and he is finally headed home after his ordeal. But are also saddened by the terrible, unjustified killing last week of his fellow journalist Jim Foley at the hands of the Islamic state in Iraq and Syria."

CNN international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh on this story for us.

Nick, truly an incredible contrast with what the family of Jim Foley had to deal with days ago and now incredible relief for the Curtis family. Any idea how this came about? One who died and one who miraculously, in light of what is going on in Syria, freed today.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the key thing is the groups that were holding them -- Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS. ISIS, who held Jim Foley. Jabhat al-Nusra who held Peter Theo Curtis.

Yes, both are Al Qaeda affiliates, both describe as terror groups by the United States. But actually often fighting each other. So some may interpret on this decision the timing in particular to finally handover Peter Theo Curtis. If it was the group who still held him because it is a mess Syria. Syrian rebels are maybe trying to clean up their image in the eyes of the west, particularly giving they are occasionally at odds with ISIS inside of Syria.

So a complicating picture but certainly also relief for the family. Should bear in mind, too, a bizarre choice of geographic location to hand him over, on the Golan Heights between Israel and Syria. Could it bear in mind that Peter Theo Curtis e was abducted in northern Syria nearly two years ago and held in Aleppo for quite some time in the north. So he took a very long route right down to come out via Israel. But we do know a little bit about hi time in Aleppo because his cell mate actually escaped back last year and spoke to me in August. Talked about how they shared that cell, how both had been tortured, deprived of food and how they tried to escape.

The plan was for Peter Theo Curtis to push Matt through a window in that cell. Matt got through. He tried to pull Theo behind him. Theo got stuck. Matt he had to make the agonizing call and made decision to leave rather go back and both face the consequence that they did.

But today, when I spoke to him he was so relieved that Peter Theo Curtis was finally free, in tears actually and just really, really relieved that this part of his ordeal, the fact that he had no closure because he did not know what happen to Peter Theo Curtis was finally behind him. So two very relieved and more Americans today -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: Nick, you have been to Syria. You have been in touch with the families of other captives who have been held there. And of course, we saw the circumstances of Jim Foley's grisly death a few days ago. Make you can explain to our viewers how remarkable it is for an American, for a journalist, for a foreigner, but an American in particular to manage to escape from Syria's one of this groups, with his life.

WALSH: Well, with Matt, they did was they really spent a lot of time in that cell looking at the potential witnesses and because the torture got worse, because they more worried about their life, and they perhaps knew the American government doesn't negotiate or pay ransoms certainly on the surface, they just made the decision to try to escape. And when Matt got out, he actually described how he ran blindly down the road barefoot to try to find somebody who could help him. He came across some people he was familiar with actually a rebel unit he had been with before and they arranged for his safety. That was deeply harrowing for him. A rare occasion in a successful escape too. And a rare occasion where an American's release has been negotiated from inside of Syria. Much negotiations happen over European hostages. We don't know the precise details of how Peter Theo Curtis release was negotiated. The families say the American Qatari government and some private individuals were involved. There is no suggestion openly, money change town, although, the family has admit, they don't adamantly know who about the technical position about exactly what occur. But they say a huge relief today. And ongoing anxiety about other Americans still held -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: Great point. Tremendous contrast the relief for Curtis' family after so much pain for Foley's family a few days ago. Thank you very much, Nick Paton Walsh in London.

We will have more ahead on Peter Curtis' release from captivity in Syria.

Also ahead, more on the earthquake that hit northern California early today, including a look at what insurance will cover, what it won't cover.

Plus, we will take you live to Ferguson, Missouri, where there's been a day of peaceful rallies as well as preparations for Michael Brown's funeral tomorrow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: This just in to CNN News. President Obama has been briefed about the release of American Peter Curtis by Islamist militants in Syria. Of course, this also comes only hours before the president returns to Washington from his vacation in Martha's Vineyard.

CNN's Erin McPike is joining us now from the White House.

Erin, do we know if the White House or White House officials say they knew that negotiations were underway for Curtis?

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, certainly we have heard today from officials in the U.S. government, both the state department and of course national security adviser Susan Rice. That the U.S. government worked for 22 months with two dozen countries to get this release.

But what we understand from the family was the Qatari government was very useful in negotiating this release. The president was briefed today on this by the assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism in Monaco.

And I want to read to you a statement that we have from White House deputy press secretary Eric Schultz. He said the president shares in the joy and relief that we all feel now that Theo is out of Syria and safe. But we continue to hold in our thoughts and prayers the Americans who remain in captivity in Syria. And we will continue to use the tools at our disposal to see that the remaining American hostages are freed.

Now, John Kerry, the secretary of state said in a statement earlier today that the tools they will use include intelligence, military and diplomatic, but obviously the White House is telegraphing a message that they are not ending this. Of course they are thinking of other hostages that are in Syria at this time. But the president, when he returns from vacation tonight and throughout the next week, will obviously be focused on what the strategy is going to be with regards to Syria -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: All right. Erin McPike at the White House, certainly deep contrast to the sorrow, the shock, the murder of Jim Foley and now this great relief.

I want to bring in CNN law enforcement analyst Tom Fuentes and our national security analyst, Bob Baer.

First, Tom, I mean, remarkable turn of events in just a few days, Foley's death and now a release. What are you hearing about what made the difference here? Is it really the nature of the group that was holding him?

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: That's a big part of it, Jim. But the U.S. government has a huge program called personnel recovery. It includes the intelligence community, law enforcement, the military, and for the most part n this situation, the FBI has a big part of that because any capture or murder of a U.S. citizen anywhere in the world is a violation of U.S. law and the FBI has the lead in that.

So what happens in a case like this, and I worked in this program when I was in the bureau. I consulted for it three years after I retired, the program involves every possible way to identify any American being held, who's holding them, what are the circumstances? What is that group like? What are they likely to want it is Somali pirates just want money? You know, who's involved in this thing? And then to employ any diplomatic means, any country that can be brought in to play a part in possibly trying to get the release of that person.

Now, the U.S. government does not pay ransom for hostages to get them back. But at the same time, the U.S. government does not obstruct a ransom payment. Although, we're told in this case there was no payment but is up to the family or employer, or if it is a subject of a company. But it's a big program. And most people have never heard of it.

SCIUTTO: All right, Bob, this was not ISIS. We know what ISIS is capable of. We saw just a few days ago with Jim Foley. This is al- Nusra. But al-Nusra, is a terrorist group, also al Qaeda ties, you know, it once months before the ISIS' emergence. We were talking about al-Nusra as the worse of the worse there. Why would a group like al-Nusra give up an American journalist in light of all that is going on in Syria and Iraq right now?

ROBERT BAER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, I think the key clue is the family has thanked Qatar. They are one of the major funders that jumped out to al-Nusra. They have sending a lot of money since 2011 just like they did to the Libyans. They have an enormous amount of influence because they are writing the checks.

Now, obviously, whether they paid money but anyone jumped out to Nusra, has to listen to Qatar and Qatar want to please Washington. Bowe Bergdahl, same thing. They helped to negotiate his release. So I think that he is very lucky because he wasn't taken by ISIS obviously and there are intermediaries to jump out to Nusra to where s there isn't to ISIS.

SCIUTTO: That's a fascinating point, Bob. Because you get to an issue that's been a real problem in Syria which is the fact that countries such as Qatar which is a U.S. ally, as a U.S. based -- aid base in Qatar are supplying some of these groups with weapons, with money and have control over them.

Tom, is that a worrisome sign to you? Obviously, there is a good result here that you have an American freed. But if Qatar is talking al-Nusra, one of the groups that is causing a lot of the mayhem there that shows what a messy situation it is.

FUENTES: Well, it does and it shows that they can do good and they can do bad here. I agree with what Bob just said. In addition, you could have the mere fact that the beheading of faulty has put fear in their mind. Both thinking maybe the U.S. has had enough, maybe at some point, it is not just going to airstrikes, but we are going to send in, you know, commandos in to Syria. And maybe they want some degree of distance or separation between the extreme violence of ISIS and their less extreme violence. Still violent but maybe they want to show themselves as not being quite as bad as ISIS. Don't come after us. You have to go after those guys.

SCIUTTO: You know, Bob, a big concern for Americans, of course, is ISIS and other groups in Syria to Americans. This is one very direct threat, the American journalist that have been captured here, but also concern about attacks on the U.S. homeland. Michael Hayden, the former NSA and CIA director told me earlier today in an interview that he believes it is matter of time before ISIS strikes the U.S. homeland. Do you share that concern?

BAER: Absolutely. Hayden is absolutely, totally right. They have the will. They have the capacity to get people. They have the sympathizers here in this country as we speak. And I just couldn't imagine they are not going to attempt to take revenge.

Now whether they successfully kill a lot of people or not is something else, you know, I can't -- I just don't know enough about it. But I think they will try. And I think as we approach September 11th, we should, you know, be braced for something.

SCIUTTO: Right. September 11th, they often use anniversaries for attacks like for instance the attack on U.S. consulate in Benghazi.

I wonder, Tom, before we go, if I can ask you, you have odd circumstances in Syria right now where in effect the government of Bashar al-Assad and the U.S. were on the same side because they are both fighting ISIS. Do you see any potential of even limited cooperation with the Assad government, intelligence sharing perhaps, to push back against ISIS?

FUENTES: Yes. We could be having that kind of deal going on behind the scenes with them or with Iran under the old enemy of my enemy is my friend. So we don't know all of the back channel stuff that is going on right now but anything is possible when it comes to that.

SCIUTTO: Well, this is one good headline out of that region in the last months to see an American freed. Thanks very much Tom Fuentes and Bob Baer.

Here at home more on the 6.1 California earthquake ahead, including a look at how it compares to the hundreds of earthquakes that hit around the world every day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: One of the most frightening aspects of an earthquake before us is they come without warning. Also unnerving about today's quake in northern California particular, was it happened when most people were sleeping, in the middle of the night. Still, hundreds of earthquakes strike around the world every single day.

CNN's Chad Myers is here to explain. Chad, what can only be an alarming fact, hundreds of times a day, how is that possible?

MYERS: You know, 130 of these same type earthquakes, 6.0 to 6.9, current year on the globe. It is like one every three days, less than three days. And typically they are in the ocean or someplace where people don't live. But here, on this one right over Napa Valley, that 6.1 earthquake sure did a lot of damage. And in fact, we just got some brand-new numbers from the USGS. It is called the pager data. And they will send this out to us after they know how big the quake was. There is about a 48 percent or so chance of a billion dollars or less. A billion dollars because that says 1,000 million, and my fourth grader will tell you that's not how you say it, Daddy. But you get the idea, a thousand million is a billion dollar or a little bit better than that. More than 50 percent chance of this being a billion dollar quake. That's something staggering when you realize it didn't even happen in a densely populated area. It only hit one town, one counter, one area. You know about Carneros (ph) and on of toward Napa. That's the kind of damage that this is going to do and this is the kind of damage losses that for many of them, for these people, especially business losses some don't have insurance for that.

SCIUTTO: Billion here and billion there. Soon you will be talking about real money, right?

You have heard about the early warning system that UC Berkeley tested out here and it worked. It is experimental, but it worked and it gave a ten-second warning. It doesn't seem a lot. They make the point that it would at least give you a warning, for instance, to slow down high-speed trains or open elevator doors. You know a lot about quakes. Would this make a real difference?

MYERS: Yes. It seems more impressive than it is when you talk about trying to get 20 or 30 seconds. And I heard you are talking to the developer a little bit. And you can only get that if you get distance away from the epicenter. And if you get distance from the epicenter you get less shaking. This system works by finding a shake. It is already shaking. It is not a Doppler-indicated tornado. This is already shaking. There's some type of shake at the epicenter.

Now, the speed of light or electrons, a lot faster than the speed of the shaking. So in less than a second, the signal can go down here and the warning can go off. That is instantaneous almost. But the shaking takes a while. So there's one second, there's two seconds, there is three seconds, there is four seconds. So even though the warning got there immediately, the shaking said, hey, something is already shaking. It takes ten seconds for that shake to get to that point. So the distance -- if you get a minute's worth of warning, by the time you get over here, somewhere to Reno, it is not shaking at all because it is attenuated, the shake is closer to the middle. So that one to two second warning, very close to the epicenter is going to be the most important thing. We can't stretch close to the epicenter, the 20 seconds because it has to start shaking first before the warning goes off.

SCIUTTO: It is pretty fascinating, the idea that the warning getting there faster than the shakes do, really interesting. Thanks, as always, for explaining it. Chad Myers in Atlanta.

Coming up next on the day, Islamic rebels set free one American. Mourners gathered in New Hampshire to remember James Foley, the American journalists executed by ISIS last week. We will have more on that memorial service next.

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SCIUTTO: A memorial mass was held today for the slain American journalist James Foley. Foley's mother and father joined dozens of supporters at the service in his hometown of Rochester, New Hampshire. Foley's parents stood in front of the mourners and gave thanks to everyone. The crowd then gave them a standing ovation. Painful moment for that family. The grisly video of Foley's beheading by an ISIS militant was circulated online around the world last week. Now British officials tell CNN they are close to identifying the man who killed him.

Joining me now is Jamie Detmer. He is a reporter and international correspondent for "the Daily Beast." He knew James Foley out in the field.

I wonder if you can tell us, you know, for those not familiar with James, what drove him to report from such dangerous parts of the world? Because for instance, he was captured before in Libya and yet he went back to a place like Syria where he knew the risk was great. What drove him?

JAMIE DETMER, CORRESPONDENT, THE DAILY BEAST: He was a dedicated journalist. I mean, our paths crossed several times in southern Turkey and northern Syria. I'm a little older than him. What impressed me about him is he felt he was bearing witness. That there necessity to chronicle what happens in war zones and particularly what happens to innocent civilians caught in the middle of war.

He was a dedicated professional. He was not reckless. He was careful. I mean, there will be and I think a second (INAUDIBLE) second guessing whether he made mistakes. But this man was a man who saw journalism as public service in much the same way as previous critics that came to journalism late. He was a teacher. He saw teaching as a public service. So this was in a sense of a public servant.

SCIUTTO: You say you haven't watched the video of his death and I will say I joined you. Because it is just not an image I want to see. But you said you did that because that's not the way you want to remember him. How do you want to remember him?

DETMER: As a fearless professional who had compassioning seamed in his character. I have seen the still photographs and I heard from friends that he -- the still photographs show him kneeling there ramrod straight with tremendous dignity. And that somehow isn't surprising.

He had a raised from religious faith which I think under pinned part of his character. But he wanted to connect, I think, emotionally to the people with his fantastic under pinning for journalism. I want to remember him like that.

As a Mideast correspondent, I watch a lot of these videos and I feel sometimes there is almost collusion that if we had less publicity for some of these videos maybe they would stop murdering people but that may be wishful people.

SCIUTTO: Now, it is a strong argument, it is a very fair point. I want to ask you because today, of course, we had this tremendous contrast, the tragedy, the shock, the horror of Foley's murder earlier in the week and now the release today of Peter Theo Curtis, another journalist captured in Syria. Another American held for two years. What can you tell us about him and what do you know about his release? DETMER: Well, I never met Theo Curtis. There are about 30 western

aid workers journalist who are held. But we don't know all the numbers because that media blackouts on some these abductions.

I have heard from European government sources tonight in two countries that some money did change hands from the Qataris for the release of Theo Curtis. Obviously, it's a relief he's out getting any of these people out is a relief. But of course he wasn't held by the Islamic state. He was held by Jabhat al-Nusra. And I think it is a fair point to suggest that Jabhat al-Nusra may be concerned about the fallout from James Foley's murder and not so much in regards to bombing raids and runs by U.S. air force, but also to how the Turks to react to this who have allowed the border in many ways to be open to some of the jihadists and allowed them logistical space in southern Turkey. I think al-Nusra may be concerned that space will be closed down and trying to distinguish itself from the Islamic state.

SCIUTTO: Let me ask you this because you know that the U.S. government is very opposed to the payment of ransoms for journalists anywhere, the terror journalists or any captives anywhere where there's is a different of opinion with Europe.

For folks like you, James Foley and others who travel there, what's your opinion of whether it makes the problem worse, the threat of kidnapping worse or that it is a necessary thing to do.

DETMER: It is a hard question because I suppose if I was sitting there two years, I'd hope someone would pay money for me. But I'm a veteran journalist. I have covered a lot of conflict stretching back to Northern Ireland troubles in the '80s. I suppose I have an intellectual sympathy with the American and British position that if you pay ransoms it will encourage more ransoms.

On the other hand Americans are being held hostage when there is not a likelihood there will be payment for them. It is a very difficult question to answer. Very difficult one. It comes both was. Intellectually I support the position, emotionally at less so.

SCIUTTO: Well, Jamie, that. We appreciate your thoughts. A friend of James Foley. More details, as well, on the release of Peter Curtis. Thank you for joining us.

Still ahead, we are going to take you live to Ferguson, Missouri where things are calm today as the town gets ready for Michael Brown's funeral. That is tomorrow. He was 18.

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SCIUTTO: Michael Brown was supposed to be starting college this month. Instead, his parents are going to have to bury him tomorrow. The funeral for the 18-year-old Brown will be at a Baptist church in St. Louis. Up to 5,000 mourners are expected to attend. Brown's extended family alone totals nearly 500 people. And the White House is sending three officials to the service.

Hours ago, supporters of the officer who fatally shot Brown marched on the streets of Ferguson. Those supporters say they have raised more than $400,000 for Officer Darren Wilson who's gone in to hiding.

Our Stephanie Elam joins us now from Ferguson. Stephanie, I see that Michael Brown's father has asked for the protest to end tomorrow. He wants a calm day at the funeral. Is that what you are expecting there? Is that what you are seeing in other rallies that have gone on today and in recent days?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the rallies that we have seen in the last couple of days, Jim, have been well attended for the weekend, as you might expect even though it is really, really hot out here. But at the same time, the tone has definitely changed from where we seen it earlier in the week.

Most people that I talked to are focusing on what tomorrow they say should be about, about saying good-bye to this 18-year-old who lost his life two weeks ago and that's what they want the focus to remain on. The funeral is expected to start at 10:00 a.m. central time here tomorrow. And they are expecting a huge turnout for this event. As you were saying it is going to be 5,000 people, 2500 can fit the sanctuary itself and there are overflow rooms for another 2500 as well. The police say that they will be on hand for crowd control and to make sure the roads are still flowing, as necessary around there. But overall the focus is on saying good-bye and not so much on the protest tomorrow.

SCIUTTO: Stephanie, you have been there a long time, in some of the worst of it, how do you explain the change in mood from those violent protests, there was a lot of danger the tear gas, et cetera, to what we are seeing now, much calmer protest on both sides even in support of Officer Darren Wilson?

ELAM: Yes. All of the protests going in to this weekend have been very calm. They have been peaceful. There have been people rallying behind police officer Wilson. They have raise for him over $400,000 and various different channels to support him and help him with legal fees and maybe even moving, potentially with livelihood if he is not able to work again. And at the same time, the protests and the marchers that we have seen here have been peaceful.

And I think on both sides there's been sort of calibration. We have seen people from the community step in and say, let's march, let's remember why we are out here, why we are doing this. But at the same time, keep it peaceful.

And at the same time, the police were saying that every night, they would go back to the drawing board and see what did that was right, see what didn't work and adjust it for the night coming up. And so, that sort of -- the checks and balances on each side that wasn't there necessarily a week ago has been in place now.

And so, I actually saw with my own eyes. I saw community leaders coming in and helping to calm nerves. And I saw other police officers checking other police officers when things were coming off those really tense days. So there has been an effort on both sides to bring down that energy and it sustained through the weekend. SCIUTTO: Well, that's great to hear. Thanks very much, Stephanie

Elam on the ground. Tomorrow, reminder, the funeral for Michael Brown, tomorrow.

In a moment, we are going to return to the other top story, the 6.1 earthquake that struck northern California early this morning causing extensive damage to Napa and Sonoma counties.

And coming up why insurance isn't going to help most of the residents there?

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SCIUTTO: The pictures speak for themselves, major damage to businesses and roads and homes, but despite living in a state known for its active fault lines, most Californians do not buy earthquake insurance.

CNN money business correspondent, Alison Kosik, joins me now. So Alison, why not buy it, particularly when you're worried about the big one coming, right?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, there a few reasons. For one, people are thinking, you know what, it can't happen to me. It has been so long since we had an earthquake, I don't need it. So you're seeing everybody kind of being lulled into a false sense of security because of the length of time from the big one to the next earthquake. Also, there's a thinking that the government is going to come in and give assistance. That is not a given.

And the third reason, the cost. It is expensive to have earthquake insurance. How expensive? It's an average of $860 per month. That's not cheap, because that's over and above the homeowner's insurance.

If you see people who own or rent in California are not required to have earthquake insurance. This is over and above and that's just an average, which mean, if you live in a more risky area, of where quake could happen, if your home is made of a certain, you know, because it made of something the insurance company think that it would more risky, it would tumble more, it is going to be more expensive and how much the home is worth of all those things factor in to how people with pay for that extra earthquake insurance.

SCIUTTO: We have like $10,000 a year. It is kind of like getting flood insurance in a flood zone, may just be too expensive to make it worthwhile, right?

KOSIK: It could be. But, you know, it is worth it if you have it because it gives things that your homeowner's policy doesn't necessarily cover. Let's say the earthquake insurance, not only covers the home itself, it covers the property inside the home. Some give -- some policies give cash for emergency repairs. Other policies give cash for temporary lodging, especially if your home is badly damaged or its destroyed.

I talked with the CEO of the California earthquake authority, Glenn Pemoroy. He says if you have earthquake insurance at this point, he says get on the phone and get the ball rolling so you can get that help.

SCIUTTO: I really would like to note deductibles are too on those insurance.

KOSIK: Funny you ask, it could anywhere from 10 to 15 percent. That's a pretty high deductible.

SCIUTTO: Yes, for sure. No question. So you are paying even if you are covered on the insurance?

KOSIK: Of course, yes.

SCIUTTO: Well, thanks very much, Alison Kosik, as always.

Still ahead, how big a threat is ISIS? Our next guest says the group is more dangerous than al Qaeda on 9/11. And he says President Obama doesn't have the guts to stop them.

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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN, the world's news network.

Well this just in moments ago, South Korea has won the little league world series. They beat Jackie Robinson West, the team from Chicago made up entirely of African-American players. The final score, 8-4. Jackie Robinson West is the first team from Chicago to qualify for the finals since 1967. The mayor from their hometown, Rahm Emanuel, called them the pride of Chicago. Kudos certainly to South Korea, but you can hear the sighs of disappointment around the newsroom when we saw that headline come through.

Well, now back to one of our top stories, the lightning fast advances of the Islamic state in Iraq and Syria have taken many in the west by surprise. And there is no clear consensus on what should be done to stop them. Republican senator Lindsey Graham today raised the Specter of U.S. ground troops, which President Obama has already ruled out.

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SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: We need to take everything -- put everything on the table. We need to hit them in Syria. We need to help free Syrian army mobilize so they can fight them on the ground. When it comes to ground troops if our military commanders tell thanks we need ground forces to defeat ISIL, which is a threat to the United States, so be it. We have got to win and stop these guys.

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SCIUTTO: I want to bring in retired army lieutenant colonel and Pentagon consultant, Robert Maginnis.

Bob, you say you doubt President Obama, because you're saying about this president, I want to make your words right. You say you doubt he has the intestinal fortitude to take on ISIS. This is in an editorial that's been just recently published. Why do you think that is? And do you think that the chain -- the beheading of James Foley this week might change that calculus?

LT. COL. ROBERT MAGINNIS, (RET.) U.S. ARMY: Most certainly politics is at play here, Jim. The president has known for some time that he is not going to put boots on the ground. He has been saying that consistently. You know, they -- we go back and we think about when the Syrians were using chemical weapons. He said the red line and yet, you know, he didn't follow up on that.

There are a host of issues. We are downsizing our military. You know, we have disappointed the Ukrainians. You know, the politics of fall election, all of these really mitigate against the president going forward, plus the fact we don't have the strategy and who in the world are you going to find out there to ally with us, given, you know, the problems we have in Libya, you know, we are exiting Afghanistan and we exited Iraq and now we are back again.

So, all of these issues, when you come together, you know, really spell a very, very dire circumstance that, you know, I'm not really sure how we are going to solve this crisis.

SCIUTTO: Let me ask you this though, because to be fair, the president ordered military air strikes in Iraq a couple of weeks ago, the continuing every day. We are told by U.S. officials that the administration now considering air strikes inside Syria. So there's been an evolution of the policy, now some steps. What would U.S. troops on the ground add and how would the U.S. get

out of that? How would it determine success? How do you avoid another long occupation like you have seen in Iraq and Afghanistan?

MAGINNIS: Great question. The reality, Jim, is as General Dempsey said on Thursday, you know, you're not going to solve this from the air. You have to have boots on the ground. And now is it going to be like an '03 invasion into Iraq? You know, it depends upon how serious you are.

The problem also is in Syria, you have over 100 different groups that are fighting against Assad. You can side with Assad. You can side with the other side. You can use them as proxies going through Iraq and Iran. You can cut off finances. There are a host of things, you know, I think the best thing that likely is going to happen, we are going to try decapitation. We are going to try to destroy -- basically kill the head people of ISIL. We are also probably going to cut off all the financial support we can as best as we can. We are going to ally ourself with the Kurdish forces in the eastern part of Syria. We have already helping the Peshmerga in northern Iraq.

So, those are the things we can do. But short of ground forces in their enlarged numbers, we will not be able to defeat ISIL, as General Dempsey said the other day in detail. And that's really what we need to do.

SCIUTTO: Lieutenant colonel Bob Maginnis, thanks very much, calling for the prospect of ground troops again in Iraq and Syria. Thanks very much for joining us.