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Americans Possibly Aiding The ISIS Media Machine; Historic Drought Cripples California; Joan Rivers Memorial Service
Aired September 06, 2014 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "Time" magazine today had some very odd figures. They were suggesting only about 30 women from the west had gone to Syria. In fact, UK intelligence sources are saying 50 alone from the UK. The Swedes have officially admitted 30 from Sweden, so we could be looking at 200 to 300 of them.
POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. No matter what the number is, it is a big problem and a terrifying reality as we've seen play out for the parents of that young woman who was recruited. Michael Weiss, Jamie Dettmer, thank you. We appreciate it.
Top of the hour now, 4:00 Eastern here. I'm Poppy Harlow. You are in the "CNN Newsroom." the news continues right now.
Welcome back. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. You're in the "CNN Newsroom." 4:00 eastern here in New York.
More airstrikes today in Iraq. U.S. fighter jets and drones fired on ISIS humvees and trucks. The Pentagon said the strikes were to support Iraqi forces battling ISIS fighters in extreme northern Iraq. This makes for a total of 133 U.S. air strikes on ISIS positions in Iraq.
Karl Penhaul live from London with us. Karl, appreciate you joining us. ISIS holding another western hostage, a British man who we have seen on video. What do we know about his condition today?
KARL PENHAUL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Poppy, the critical thing is that ISIS could, in fact, be holding several more western hostages, but a lot of these cases have been covered by kind of a blackout. It's because both the U.S. and British governments have preferred the media not to talk about these cases for fear of endangering them even further.
What we do know in general terms about this group of hostages is that some may be aid workers. Others may be media workers and in the case of the man that appeared in this latest ISIS propaganda video, David (INAUDIBLE) Haines, he appears to be an aid worker. He's from Scotland and he was working for a French aid group when he was abducted in northern Syria last year near one of the refugee camps.
It could be that he was perhaps giving safety and security advice to that convoy. But little more than that we know about him. The British government has said only this last week that they're looking at all options to see what they can do to rescue him. Now, within those options presumably would mean if they could to rescue him by military force and we do know that he was part of the group that both the U.S. and British security services tried to rescue back in July. An operation that failed.
Another interesting thing in the case of all these western hostages emerging today we've heard from a French journalist, Nicolas Inan (ph). He was one of the French journalists who was released by ISIS back in April. And he believes that he's identified one of his kidnappers and this is a French-Algerian man who has been arrested in France in relation to an attack on a Jewish museum in Brussels. You might remember that that took place back in May, but, of course, intelligence services will be keen to grill him and see what he can offer in terms of information about where and how these hostages are being held. But certainly desperate times for this group, Poppy.
HARLOW: No question about that. Karl Penhaul, appreciate the reporting on this throughout. Thank you.
In the meantime, President Obama today delaying executive action on immigration reform at least for right now. The White House says there will be no action until after the November midterm elections. A short time ago I asked Florida Senator Bill Nelson why he supports the president's decision. Listen -
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BILL NELSON, FLORIDA: And I think the president was correct to hold off. If we can't get the Congress read specifically the House of Representatives to move in the lame-duck session right after the election, then the president needs to go ahead and use his executive authority to do as much as he can.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: Well, the president's decision is also getting plenty of criticism. House Speaker John Boehner says "the decision to simply delay smacks of raw politics." He wants to see the president abandon taking executive action altogether.
Some immigration advocacy groups are furious as well over the delay. Christina Jimenez of United We Dream said "the president's latest broken promise is another slap in the face to the Latino and immigrant community."
We turn now to the death of comic legend, superstar Joan Rivers at the age of 81. Also plans for family and fans, friends to say their final good-byes as Rivers' daughter, Melissa, was leaving her mother's apartment this morning in New York City she commented on all the tributes calling them, "amazing."
Our Alexandra Field is outside of their home in New York City. Alexandra. I know you were there when Melissa Rivers walked out with her young son obviously. An incredibly hard time for them, they were so, so close. We know now the funeral will be held tomorrow in New York, right? ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Poppy, we know the memorial service will be held tomorrow morning just a few blocks from Joan Rivers' New York City apartment where I am standing right now. That service will take place at Temple Emanu-el here on Fifth Avenue. It's going to be attended by friends and family of the late Joan Rivers.
We know that this is a private ceremony. While the comedienne lived her life very much in the public joking about just about everything this is going to be an event for those who really, truly knew Joan. But certainly over the last week fans have had a chance to express their outpouring of love and support for the entire Rivers family.
Right behind me you can see, again, outside of Joan's apartment, the flowers and notes that people have been leaving here for Joan Rivers. You can see some people walking by right now. This is the kind of thing we've seen here over the last couple of days. People just wanting to express their grief and their love for a legendary comedienne who never recovered after she was taken to Mt. Sinai in critical condition earlier this week, Poppy.
HARLOW: Yes, you know, it's been amazing to see all of the stories that people have been saying about her. And, you know, I think her twitter handle is something like a simple girl with a dream and look how much she accomplished. Really a woman who made us all laugh and really there was nothing that she wouldn't say. Our thoughts are with her and her family.
Alex, thanks for the update. We'll get to you with more.
And also, coming up tonight, here on CNN, 7:30 Eastern our spotlight, our special on comedienne Joan Rivers. Learn about her life, her times, her groundbreaking career only here on CNN 7:30 Eastern time.
Also this big news in the world of sport. A dramatic upset, folks, at the U.S. Open that happened right this afternoon, right here in New York, number one seed Novak Djokovic defeated. He lost in four sets to Japan's Kei Nishikori, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 and 6-3. Nishikori who is the number 10 seed in the tournament will be the first-ever Asian man to reach a grand slam final. Congratulations to him.
All right, coming up next here in the "Newsroom," ISIS uses a very slick media campaign to win recruits to its ruthless cause and some terror experts think an American could be behind that media operation. We'll discuss next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: New developments in that search for a married couple on an unresponsive plane that crashed near Jamaica. A Jamaican military source tells CNN possible debris was spotted about 24 nautical miles north of Port Antonio. Jamaica's coast guard will try to track down that debris, of course, and the single engine plane flew for a few hours yesterday passing Florida where they were supposed to land unresponsive before crashing.
Relatives say that the New York couple, Larry and Jane Glazer were the ones on board. The Glazer's adults children said last night, they are, of course, devastated by the loss of their parents. It happened so suddenly. Jamaican and U.S. crews did find an oil slick in that area last night. We'll update you with more information, of course, as we get it.
Meantime, he is fluent in both English and Arabic and if his college degree in computers is any indication he has a way with technology. Then there's his interest in radical Islam. Put it all together and authorities say former Boston resident and U.S. citizen, Ahman Abu Masra (ph) could be a good fit inside the ISIS social media machine.
Our Deborah Feyerick has more on the man authorities believe may be the next ISIS weapon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Intelligence sources say it makes sense that ISIS would want to recruit a guy like American Ahmed Abu Samra. He grew up near Boston, holds both a Syrian and U.S. passport and graduated from Northeastern University in Boston with a degree in the field of computer technology. Believed to be in his early 30s, Abu Samra is fluent in both English and Arabic. The FBI released this audio recording they say is Abu Samra, it's unclear who he is speaking to.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They don't have a warrant. They don't have a right to do that. Make sure you tell your mother that next time because they might (INAUDIBLE) her.
FEYERICK: Although authorities will not confirm Abu Samra's role in ISIS, if any, a law enforcement official tells CNN that they're looking in to whether he might be involved in the murder group's media wing. Specifically its English social media including Facebook, an online magazine and twitter which recently suspended the group's account.
Abu Samra's friend American (INAUDIBLE) was accused by the U.S. of heading the media wing of Al Qaeda in Iraq which morphed into ISIS. He's currently serving 17 years in the U.S. for providing material support to terrorists. Both men were indicted together in 2009, accused of attending terror training camps in Yemen for the purpose of traveling to Iraq to kill U.S. troops.
Abu Samra was last seen in Syria with a woman and child believed to be his wife and daughter. Ironically two years ago, the FBI tried using social media specifically Facebook and twitter to find Abu Samra.
MARIE HARF, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESWOMAN: Obviously, we take very seriously the threat of American citizens who join terrorist organizations. We take additional care when thinking about options for taking them down the battlefield that your citizenship cannot serve as a shield if you take up arms against the United States.
FEYERICK: Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE) HARLOW: Our thanks to Deborah for that.
Think about this if ISIS can find recruits in the United States it doesn't need terrorists to sneak into this country. How can officials here identify aspiring jihadis before they carry out an unthinkable attack? That's next.
Also this as the Ebola outbreak continues to spiral at 4:30 Eastern Time right here on CNN our Dr. Sanjay Gupta talks to the man in charge of the U.S. response.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Poppy, the Ebola outbreak it continues to accelerate. The CDC warning that the window to get this epidemic under control is closing. I'm going to talk to the guy now in charge, he's the administrator of USAID and he's in charge of the American's Ebola response. What he's got planned 4:30 Eastern.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: They are extremely well funded, well organized, and have a very highly produced social media presence, but is ISIS getting help from web experts right here in the United States in your backyard possibly?
Let me bring in CNN national security analyst and former CIA operative Bob Baer. So Bob, we just played this piece before the break about Boston native Ahmed Abu Masra and his potential connections to ISIS. When you look at this, it is a misperception many experts are saying to think that these are thugs, uneducated. These are extremely well educated, technically savvy people. What is it that you think is allowing ISIS to so effectively recruit Americans and even if not recruit them to carry out jihad then to carry out their message through social media?
BOB BAER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, Poppy, they're sophisticated on all sorts of levels. The encryption system that the hostage takers, the ones that killed Foley and Sotloff, it's a Maryland company. I called them yesterday to ask for a comment and they didn't call back. How ISIS got their encryption system. It's an encryption system with no back door and this gives you an idea how adept they are at technology and not only social media and the rest of it.
And this is what concerns me about them is this western element which we didn't really see in Al Qaeda to this degree. I mean, this group is head and shoulders above Al Qaeda.
HARLOW: When you look at what the U.S. knows and doesn't know about ISIS. Obviously we don't know everything the government knows or doesn't know, but, look, even David Gergen was saying this week it's surprising how little intelligence the U.S. government has on ISIS. Do you agree?
BAER: Oh, absolutely. The hostage, you know, rescue attempt, they had no idea where they were there a couple days before. But the fact is we have no sources inside ISIS that I know about. And, you know, the fact that they missed on those hostages tells the story. This is a radical group. It's not the fault of American intelligence because these are true believers or psychopaths as some people call them, so not getting inside this group doesn't surprise me. And, again, it's a new group and it came out of nowhere. It took over Mosul, nobody, look on the net, nobody predicted this in the government or outside. So, they can move stealthily.
HARLOW: And, you know, we heard defense secretary Chuck Hagel saying in his exclusive interview this week with our Jim Sciutto, saying look air strikes are only part of this campaign. But you still - look, a stable Iraq government is part of what needs to happen still, though, saying there are not going to be U.S. boots on the ground.
However, when we had you on about a month ago you and I were talking about whether or not there need to be air strikes against ISIS in Syria. The talk about that has increased substantially since then. Some saying it's an exercise in futility just to target ISIS in Iraq. Is it?
BAER: It is. You know, the capital of ISIS is in Syria. It's Iraka, where the hostages were being held until May when a few were released. I'm sure they moved them after that. But you have the leadership there. So, there will be an attempt to assassinate or decapitate the group in Syria.
But the point is what happens afterwards and this is what worries me. Because we don't have a policy. If we ally with Iran or even Bashar Al Assad, we are becoming party to what effectively is a civil war which could make things worse. So we need a comprehensive policy. We need Saudi Arabia part of this. And we need the rest of the Arabs, too. We all have to get on board. This is dangerous to every single regime ones we like and ones we don't like.
HARLOW: Yes, no question about that. Bob Baer, stick around. We're going to have you on more in the 5:00 hour. One thing I want to really discuss as a former CIA operative having the little intelligence that we do have, how do we best combat them? We'll talk about that. More ahead in the next hour. Thank you, Bob. Appreciate it.
All right. Next in the "Newsroom" how bad is California's drought? So bad experts say it could actually cause earthquakes. A devastating crisis for the golden state. We'll talk about that next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: Really strong storms taking a toll on cities across Michigan overnight. Heavy rain and lightning left 350,000 people in Detroit without water. A man was killed in the Detroit suburb of Warren when he was electrocuted by a power line that fell right in his own backyard. The same storm system is threatening the northeast today.
And in one of California's worst fire seasons yet to date, a wildfire is forcing families from their homes near Yosemite National Park. Flames have already scorched several hundred acres there. That fire only 25 percent contained. Also this historic really does not even begin to describe it. Entire California communities with no running water. River and lake levels down hundreds of feet. And as if things couldn't get any worse, scientists believe the depletion of ground water could lead to increased earthquake activity on the famed San Andreas fault.
Dan Simon shows us some of the more dramatic images of that California drought.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A healthy and full lake in northern California. There's only one problem this picture is three years old.
(on camera): And now I'm walking on top of that very same bridge. Take a look. It is a virtual desert. This is what drought looks like in the state of California.
(voice-over): Here's another before and after side by side. And just when this drought couldn't seem any worse, new research indicates that the depletion of ground water in the state may actually trigger earthquakes. More on that in a moment.
First, this is Lake Oroville. A boaters' paradise at least when it's full. More importantly, it's a reservoir storing water. Ultimately piped into homes and for agriculture, helping to grow much of the nation's fruits and vegetables.
JOHN PRIETO, GENERAL MANAGER, LAKE OROVILLE MARINA: We have 167 miles of shoreline.
SIMON: John Prieto took us on a boat to see that shoreline and it's even more astounding up close. The lake seems more like a narrow river. The drought has created a canyon. A hillside of rock that's normally covered by water. The water level is down by more than 200 feet. It's a common sight throughout the state. Most of California's major reservoirs are less than half full.
(on camera): What would we be seeing?
PRIETO: We would be seeing the water up probably halfway up that hillside at this time of the year.
SIMON (voice-over): More than 80 percent of the state is either in the extreme or exceptional category. The highest levels. It's meant things like no showers or running water for several communities. An increase in wildfires. Brown and neglected public parks and farmers losing their crops.
JESSE RODRIGUEZ, GRAPE FARMER: It's, like, warning. It's death. Our product is dead.
SIMON: Jesse Rodriguez grows table grapes and estimates he'll lose 40 percent of his crop this year due to the drought.
RODRIGUEZ: The water is the main thing here. Without water we cannot survive.
SIMON: With low reservoirs farmers are having to pump water out of the ground and if all of that wasn't bad enough there's new information from researchers who believe the depletion of ground water in California's Central Valley could destabilize the infamous San Andreas fault and trigger earthquakes.
The study published in the journal "Nature" concluded that removing so much weight in the form of ground water causes the earth to spring upward and the change in pressure can cause those quakes.
PEGGY HELLWEG, UC BERKELEY SEISMOLOGICAL LABORATORY: Earthquakes are these mysterious things that happen under our feet, so having a way for people to cause these earthquakes to happen is unsettling.
SIMON: Experts say the quakes would be small and unlikely to cause any damage. Still, it's yet another example of why this drought is causing so much stress to both the land and the mental well-being of nearly an entire state.
Dan Simon, CNN, Oroville, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: Dan, thank you for that.
I'm Poppy Harlow, in New York. Coming up at 7:30 Eastern, CNN Spotlight on comedy legend Joan Rivers right here on CNN. Learn about her life and her groundbreaking career. That special coming up later tonight.
"CNN NEWSROOM" continues at the top of the hour. Right now "SANJAY GUPTA, M.D."
