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Kurds Battle ISIS near Syrian-Turkish Border; British Parliament Authorizes Air Strikes in Iraq against ISIS; University of Virginia Student Still Missing; Pennsylvania Police Continue Search for Alleged Cop Killer; Congressional Responsibility for Authorizing Military Action in Iraq and Syria Debated; CNN Hero Helps Poor Moms With Everyday Necessities for Their Children

Aired September 27, 2014 - 10:00   ET

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

JOE JOHNS, CNN ANCHOR: A horrific crime right in the heartland -- an Oklahoma man accused of beheading his ex-co-worker, and now the FBI wants to know, who is he, and was he trying to convert people to Islam?

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the skies are busy this morning. Some fliers, though -- I know you're still stranded at airports accross the nation, all after yesterday's traffic nightmare in Chicago. Today, we are learning new information about the man behind all of it.

JOHNS: And there's a new Clinton in the world this morning; Bill and Hilary now officially grandma and grandpa.

PAUL: Congratulations to them -- we'll talk more about that as well.

But we do want to say hello to you on this Saturday morning. We're so grateful for your company. I'm Christi Paul.

JOHNS: And I'm Joe Johns, in for Victor Blackwell. It's --

PAUL: So good to have you here!

JOHNS: It's very good to be here. It's 10:00 o'clock, and you're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

PAUL: We want to begin in northern Syria this morning because the skies are new with air strikes against ISIS there.

JOHNS: Those air strikes happening near the border city of Kobani where ISIS militants are the battling Kurdish fighters.

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JOHNS: The Kurds have been trying to push ISIS back.

PAUL: Our cameras have been captured had battle unfold. It is really something to see. Take a look at these pictures coming in. The U.S. led coalition is getting bigger by the day, we're told.

JOHNS: Word this morning, British Royal Air Force warplanes are now helping U.S. fighter jets parole the skies over Iraq. And the U.K. says they are ready to strike if needed. Overnight U.S. warplanes and drones hit ISIS tanks, Humvees, checkpoints, and bunkers in Iraq and Syria.

PAUL: We're covering the fight against ISIS from all angles. Joining us retired major general James "Spider" Marks, a CNN military analyst, and Shadi Hamid, a fellow at the Brookings Institution Center for Middle East policy, also CNN's Arwa Damon near the Turkish-Syrian border. Thank all you for being with us. Arwa, I want to go to you first. As you are there at the border where that fierce battle has been going on between ISIS militants and Syrian Kurds, are you seeing any fighting there fight now? What it's been like, say, in the last couple of hours?

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right now we're still hearing sporadic small arms fire on the hillside that's out of eyesight at this stage. The Kurdish fights forces have managed to push ISIS back, gaining key territory. This is the front towards this town of Kobani which is effectively in this part of the country the last town standing against ISIS.

It does seem, though, from the cheering that we're hearing on the other hillside, the other direction of us, that perhaps the Kurds have made more gains, because whatever the crowd that's been here since this fighting first broke out this close to the Turkish border yesterday, they cheer whenever the Kurds manage to make significant gains.

Now what the Kurds are telling us, though, is that they do want to see more coalition air strikes. They want to see more support here because they are barely holding ISIS back. And this is key territory, because if they do manage to breakthrough to Kobani, they will be right up against the Turkish border. The fighting here that began well over a week ago when ISIS first pushed through the very villages and towns has sent some 200,000 people fleeing from Syria, most of them Syrian Kurds, into Turkey.

Now, to try to beef up the fighting force here we've been hearing numerous reports of Turkish Kurds coming back across, but, again, people saying they need more reinforcements. They may not necessarily be outnumbered, but when it comes to the types of equipment and military machinery that they have at their disposal, the Kurds basically have small arms weapons, they have some artillery, they have some machine guns. But they say they are up against ISIS tanks, doing their best they can to hold this threat, but, again, many people wondering how it is that the coalition air power can be flying overhead and is not directly striking these various different ISIS targets to break the siege on the town of Kobani.

PAUL: All right, Arwa, I have to tell you, I feel like I'm hearing popping, and I don't know if that is gunfire or something that I'm hearing behind you. Is that what is happening right now? And I'm just curious, how safe do you feel? What kind of safety do you have around you, because essentially you are in a warzone?

DAMON: Well, we're close to the war zone. The popping that you're hearing, the sounds are on the other sides of the hills. We can't actually see whose firing from this vantage point, but the noise does carry. Earlier in the day the fighting happening a lot closer to where we were. But we're still on the Turkish side of this border, so, relatively speaking, fairly safe.

There had been yesterday some rounds that landed on the Turkish side of the border we were hearing from the villagers who are around us. But, again, it's a very odd and slightly surreal situation because people have been watching this back and forth between ISIS and the Kurdish fighting force from this hilltop, entire families gathering here since yesterday watching it unfold, again, cheering whatever the Kurds are able to make advances. But all of them taking the opportunity of us being here to come up and ask the question of, again, the coalition is in the air. How is it they are not coming to help us break the siege of Kobani?

PAUL: Thank you so much for bringing us what is happening there right now. Do stay safe to you and your crew, and thank you.

JOHNS: Let's talk more about the battle against ISIS. Retired major general James "Spider" Marks is a CNN military analyst, and Shadi Hamid is a fellow at the Brookings Institution Center for Middle East Policy, also the author of the book "Temptations of Power." General, Marks, good to see you. When do you think British jets are going to strike? And any idea what targets they are going to go after? Will they be the same targets of opportunity we've seen U.S. fighters go after?

MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: They'll first enter into what's called the ATO, the air tasking order, as soon as possible. They could do that immediately. That's simply, and the Brits and the United States have worked together for years. The United States Central Command is running this air tasking order, so that integration will take place instantaneously.

The Brits I think initially will go after targets in Iraq. The primary effort there is to continue to give the Iraqi security forces and Kurdish forces up north in Iraq some time and space so they can get their stuff together. So I think they will go after targets initially in Iraq. The United States and the other coalition partners will continue to strike the targets Syria to further isolate those forces in Iraq, because you know the priority is to reestablish the border with Syria.

Clearly what you have now in Syria along the Turkish border is an example of where the enemy has a vote. The plan was to isolate in Iraq first and then go after those additional targets. Now ISIS has dispersed and is going in the direction of Turkey. That would be a major problem were they to try to get up any closer or to engage Turkish forces. If you were going to have the Turks come across the border, the ISIS forces in that area would not have a chance at all.

JOHNS: Shadi, the growing anti-ISIS coalition has been targeting ISIS through these air strikes, of course. What do you think? Is that due to an overarching military strategy or is it more about countries simply not eager to send in troops to fight on the ground?

SHADI HAMID, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION'S CENTER FOR MIDDLE EAST POLICY: First of all, everyone has been quite reluctant in this. And even if we are talking about the British, who are normally one of our closest allies, they have said they will not launch air strikes in Syria. To do that they would need another parliamentary vote to authorize it. And one of the reasons for that, that the Labor opposition parliament, was concerned that strikes in Syria would actually end up benefitting the Assed regime. That's the same reason the French have not been working with us on Syria, because, again, there is a concern that without a broader strategy to seriously support the so-called moderate rebels, air strikes are not going to be enough. And they might actually benefit the Assad regime. So I think the problem here is there is still a gaping hole in our Syria strategy, and there is a lot of lack of clarity. We just don't know what the end game is.

JOHNS: General Marks, something talked about on the Pentagon briefing on Thursday, I believe, this notion of a target rich environment becoming less rich over time. Do you think there will be a point where the coalition has more or less maxed out the benefit of air strikes?

MARKS: No, you are not going to reach that point, but that statement really leads you to the understanding that ISIS is very adaptive. They understand the conditions that they have created and the conditions that they are in right now, which is they are going to disperse as effectively as they can so that they make themselves more difficult to strike from the air.

There are still targets in Syria that the coalition can go after which will further isolate and degrade ISIS, primarily its moneymaking capabilities and its ability to continue to train and launch other operations. So you are going after command and control, you are going to after headquarters. Those fixed locations can be struck, not easily, but can be struck with some degree of precision. You then have to, as we've discussed all along in order to be truly effective against ISIS, on the military piece of this overarching strategy is you are going to have to have soldiers on the ground go after them.

JOHNS: And I guess maybe to both of you. When you look at the situation at some point, you know, watching all the different battles, you have to ask yourself, how long do you think these Kurd fighters can actually hold out given the onslaught from ISIS?

HAMID: So I think this is part of the problem here that the Kurds are confused. They have been hoping and waiting for U.S. support. And up until now it really hasn't been forthcoming, and that is why they still are at risk of defeat. And if we look at the effect of more than six weeks of air strikes in Iraq, even there the battle lines haven't changed significantly. Yes, ISIS has not been able to gain more territory, but they haven't lost significant territory either. So this shows I think the weakness of a strategy very much oriented around air strikes and doesn't have clear answers on what "Spider" Marks mention on the soldiers on the ground, the local forces, Iraqis and Syrians, who need to actually take this fight to ISIS themselves.

JOHNS: General?

MARK: We can't want it more than the Iraqis or the Kurds or the Syrian Kurds or the Turks. And right now we are demonstrating and we are trying to push, and that is what leaders do. We are trying to move in a direction that gets the locals to stand up. The only way ISIS will be defeated will be from the inside. It will have to collapse from the inside, and that is moderate Arabs standing up and saying no more. We're not going to stand for this.

JOHNS: Shadi Hamid from the Brookings Institution and Major General "Spider" Marks, thanks to your both.

HAMID: Thank you.

MARKS: Thank you.

PAUL: Meanwhile, we have these fierce of an ISIS copycat right here in the U.S. What investigators are saying about a man accused of beheading his coworker.

JOHNS: Plus, he's been on the run for two weeks. So are police any closer to catching the suspected cop killer? Alexandra Field is following that for us.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, there, Joe. Police are still confident they are going to get him. But how do they know he's still in the area? We'll talk about some of the new clues that they've uncovered coming right up.

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PAUL: So 14 minutes past the hour right now, and the FBI is looking into whether the man accused of beheading a coworker in Oklahoma, yes, here in the States, may be linked to radical extremist. Police say Alton Nolan, who you see here, stormed into a food processing plant Thursday and beheaded basically the first person he saw. This happened right after he was fired.

JOHNS: Witnesses say Nolan tried to convert some of his coworkers to Islam. Let's bring in CNN's national reporter Nick Valencia. So what's the deal?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL REPORTER: It's certainly a barbaric act and it has so many concerned that this could be tied to something more. Here's what we do know about the suspect. We know that he has a lengthy criminal history dating back to 2009, things that include possession of a controlled substance as well as assault on a police officer. In fact one of our affiliates caught up with a state trooper who had an encounter with the suspect. You're looking at him here from a past arrest. And she talked about her reaction when she found out that he was accused of beheading someone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LT. BETSY RANDOLPH, OKLAHOMA HIGHWAY PATROL: In a split second he exploded out of the car, hit me in the chest and pushed me back. I lifted my hand up thinking my finger was gone it hurt so bad. My fingers had gotten tied up in the chains. I wish I'd have killed him, you know? I was never afraid of him or I would have.

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VALENCIA: Strong words that you are not accustomed to hearing from a state trooper or law enforcement. What we do know about the suspect today is he is in stable condition, still in the hospital. What we know so far anyway is that police have not yet spoken to him because up until last night he was still sedated. We're expecting the police to talk to him, perhaps glean more information. They are looking at the social media footprint to see if there are any ties to radical extremism.

PAUL: Obviously he's going straight from the hospital to the police department.

VALENCIA: We think. Yes.

PAUL: OK, so we do know in the midst of all this, have to recognize someone who deserves some recognition this morning.

VALENCIA: And this is what the community there wants to talk about. They don't want to talk about this grizzly act. They want to talk about the person that stopped it from being any worse than it already was, a guy named Mark Vaughan. He is the owner and runs Vaughan Foods. He's also a reserve deputy with the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Department, and he was armed at the time when he saw the suspect beheading one of his coworkers. The incident happened shortly after the suspect was let go from work, and it's this man right here who the community is saying stopped so many more lives from being attacked or assaulted. So he's the real hero in all of this, guys.

PAUL: No doubt about it.

JOHNS: Nick Valencia, thanks so much for that.

PAUL: Thanks, Nick.

JOHNS: After two weeks of looking for the man police suspect of killing a Pennsylvania state trooper, investigators say they believe they are close to finding him. And it may all have to do with a cell phone call Eric Frein made to his parents. Alexandra Field joins us live from Monroe County, Pennsylvania. Alexandra, what are you learning?

FIELD: Hey, there, Joe. We know this cell phone call was a pretty key piece of this investigation. What we've been told by a law enforcement source is that last week Eric Frein used his cell phone to make a phone call to his parents. The phone rang just one time and then Frein hung up, but it was long enough for investigators to track him to this area where they have focused had search for the last two weeks. There have been a number of reported sightings of Frein. Right now Pennsylvania state police tell us they believe he is playing some kind of game with them. Here is what they said.

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LT. COL. GEORGE BIVENS, PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE: I suspect he wants to have a fight with the state police, but I think that involves hiding and running since that seems to be the way he operates. He is probably not going to come out and have a face to face confrontation.

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FIELD: While the search continues for Frein, there is also an investigation into Frein's background. Police say that they have learned from looking at a hard drive that he had been planning for a confrontation with officers for months, actually years, saying that he had spent a lot of time researching things like police manhunts, law enforcement technology, survival skills. They have also learned that Frein had experimented with explosive and that is why they are telling all of the officers in these woods behind me to be aware and be care for the possibility of booby traps out there. Christi, Joe?

JOHNS: Have they picked up evidence that he's still in the area?

FIELD: They continue to say that they are confident he's out there. And that's based on a few factors. One, they have found some of his possessions, including an AK-47. They do still believe that he's armed and dangerous. They've also found some of his cigarettes. There have been the sightings. And then more recently police tell us that they have been looking at some of structures out here, empty and abandoned houses. And they say they are finding new signs that some of those structures have been tampered with. So when you put all these things together police are able to tell us that they really do believe that he continues to be in the search area they have been covering and searching with up to 1,000 officers, frankly.

JOHNS: Alexandra Field, thanks so much for your reporting.

PAUL: Meanwhile, think about this -- 2,400 tips and still no sign of missing UVA student Hannah Graham. CNN's Jean Casarez is in Charlottesville, Virginia, with the latest. Hi, Jean.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi. Jesse Matthew spent his first night right here at the regional jail. Meanwhile a brand new search has started for Hannah Graham. We'll tell you all about it right after this.

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PAUL: All right, 22 minutes past the hour right now. And police may be a step closer to figuring out what happened to missing UVA student Hannah Graham this morning. Remember, she disappeared two weeks ago, but the prime suspect in her disappearance, 32-year-old Jesse Matthew, is back in Virginia for the first time this morning since they found him in Texas. Police believe that he was the last person with Graham before she vanished. CNN's Jean Casarez is live in Charlottesville Virginia. What do we know about his condition at this point this morning, because he has been transferred back, and anything he may or may not have told police yet?

CASAREZ: Well, he spent his first night here at the regional jail. He is in segregation, so away from the other inmates. He was given the opportunity, the jail tells me, to make two phone calls free of charge when he got booked in, and he chose not to do that. He spent the night in his cell on a mattress.

Now, we are just learning from the county police that a brand new search is beginning today this morning for Hannah Graham. They are bringing out the helicopters, we are told, and professional search crews are going to search the rural areas.

You know, Charlottesville, the city is 10 square miles, but the county I'm in right now, it is more than 740 square miles, and a lot of it is baron land. While that search is going on there are so many questions that are still left unanswered about what happened in the final moments that Hannah was seen two weeks ago today. I spoke with the owner it have Tempo Restaurant, which is really front and foremost in all of this. He says he saw Jesse in his restaurant two weeks ago last Friday night in the early morning hours, but he said he was by himself. He didn't see him with one particular woman. He was very excited, very animated, and a local radio talk show host agrees.

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CORY BAREFOOT, INVESTIGATION REPORTER: I spoke with people who were partying with Mr. Matthew that night. I spoke with people who were in Tempo. And they described his behavior as disturbing, erratic, aggressive. He was constantly tracking these women around the bar, putting his arm around them, touching their hair, touching their backs, touching their legs. And one of the young women with whom I spoke told me that she finally had to tell him "Keep your f-ing hands off me." And that took place about an hour before he ran into Hannah here on the downtown mall.

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CASAREZ: And Christi, law enforcement is still asking people to call into that tip line if you know anything. They are actually bringing in more 911 dispatch operators today from Fairfax, Virginia so those that have been working around the clock can have a rest. As far as Jesse, his first court appearance is not until next Thursday. Christi?

PAUL: So Jean, obviously first and foremost the primary concern is finding Hannah. Is there anything you know, you are an attorney, that would help encourage this man to talk?

CASAREZ: Humanistic behavior, wanting to help. If he knows anything, you know, he's been charged with abduction, which is kidnapping.

PAUL: Right.

CASAREZ: And so police have probable cause to believe that he was the last person to see her so he would have some answers. And they have some time to question him because of this emergency situation, not on his guilt or innocence, but just where is she. That's allowed under law. As far as whether he spoke, we don't know. But they obviously are searching today in an area that they believe could have possibility of finding her. They must believe it's credible.

PAUL: We just hope for her and her family they do so. Jean Casarez, thank you so much for the update. We appreciate it.

CASAREZ: Thanks.

PAUL: Joe?

JOHNS: Coming up, the politics of striking ISIS. Lawmakers in London hold a rousing debate over the use of military force, while the United States Congress runs for reelection. Does the public discourse even matter? Our political panel weighs in.

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PAUL: Early on a Saturday, I hope the day has been good to you so far. I'm Christi Paul.

JOHNS: And I'm Joe Johns. British fighter jets right now are flying over Iraq and ready to attack ISIS following yesterday's vote by parliament to join the U.S. led coalition. Prime Minister David Cameron made an emotional appeal to lawmakers, who debated for six hours before voting.

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DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: This is not 2003, but we must not use past mistakes as an excuse for indifference or inaction. We will play our part in destroying these evil extremists. We will support our Muslim friends around the world as they reclaim their religion. And once again our inspirational armed forces will put themselves in harm's way to keep our people and our country safe. I pay tribute to their extraordinary bravery and service, and I commend this motion to the House.

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JOHNS: In the meantime back in the U.S., members of Congress are in recess back in their home districts campaigning for reelection. Joining me now, our political commentator Republican strategist Kevin Madden, and Democratic strategist Robert Zimmerman. Robert, did the British parliament handle this the right way, with a public debate and a vote?

ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Absolutely they did. And it's an important wakeup call for many members of Congress. In fairness, let's also remember that unlike Saddam Hussein, who clearly was an evil sociopath but not a threat to our nation, and much of the material that was brought up by the Bush administration was made up or false, we know for a fact that ISIS, the Khorasan, and also al Nusra clearly represent a direct threat to our country. So it's clearly appropriate for president -- great potential is what I should say. So it's clearly appropriate for President Obama to take action in the

short-term. But without question Congress does have an obligation to engage in a very thorough debate, very aggressive hearings on this topic, and to take action. And that is clearly what has to be done. Go figure, Joe, who would ever believe the one time they reach bipartisan consensus in our Congress is to head for the doors in a time of crisis?

JOHNS: Kevin Madden, John Boehner, the Republican House Speaker, said this week that, quote, "doing this with a whole group of members who are on their way out the door, I don't think that's the right way to handle this." So Kevin, Congress authorized use of force in Iraq a month before the 2002 midterms. Why is this different? Isn't Congress just punting so members don't have to take a position before the election occurs?

KEVIN MADDEN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I think what John Boehner is trying to do is explain the currents up on Capitol Hill rather than justify them. I think the big difference here is that there does seem to be a little bit of a lack of clarity of exactly what it is the president would want the Congress to vote on. If you remember the president had already made the case now that what he has is an AUMF, an authorized use for military force, from 2002 that he can use in order to take these strikes. And he hasn't asked for Congress to offer him a new one. So unless he does go up there and say to Congress or say to John Boehner or to members of the Senate that I need a new level of authorized force in order to take action against Syria, I don't see where there would be sort of new Congressional action outside of that request.

JOHNS: My point to you is members of the Congress, some members of Congress have been complaining that the United States president has been usurping their authority particularly in this area. And this would seem to be a chance for them to step up. Doesn't it make them look weak or shirking their duty?

MADDEN: That is the point.

ZIMMERMAN: Well, in fairness to the Congress, they did in fact vote for the authorization for the aerial bombing missions into the Syria and did stand in bipartisan fashion, so they did step up on that. But in the larger picture, clearly Congress has a responsibility to step forward. And this argument, Kevin, that you were putting out that somehow they don't have the constitutional right to step up or there is not a clear plan.

MADDEN: I didn't make that argument. That is not the argument I was making.

JOHNS: Well, what argument were you making?

MADDEN: I was saying that the president got exactly what he wanted as far as the authorization that he was looking for to take these strikes. Outside of Title 10 he was looking for funding and he was looking for authorization to fund or to train some of the troops over there. ZIMMERMAN: Sure.

MADDEN: And that is what he got.

ZIMMERMAN: But my -- go ahead Joe.

JOHNS: I just want to move on quickly to Chelsea Clinton. She gave birth to a daughter, Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky, and some might argue that makes Hillary Clinton a very popular grandmother in American politics. Robert, how do you think this role impacts her possible run for president?

ZIMMERMAN: For anyone who's had the opportunity to be with both President Clinton and Secretary Clinton recently, they can tell you their relationship with their daughter, their family is so beyond partisan politics. Their pride and excited about being grandparents trumps everything political.

But I will give you one heads-up that Kevin and I are both watching, political observers are very astute to in terms of whether Hillary Clinton will run, and that is if the baby is wearing a the onesy pantsuit. So keep an eye on that.

JOHNS: Kevin Madden, just jump in real quick, will you? What do you think? Is this going to affect her possible run for president?

MADDEN: No. I don't look at something like that through the lens of politics. I think that is something that, you know, they have a consideration as a family and they are just enjoying the joy of having a grandchild. I think some folks maybe when they experience that they are less likely to want to go out and have to spend all that time at rubber chicken dinners in Iowa and traveling and staying in hotels all across the country, but that is a personal decision.

JOHNS: All right, Kevin Madden and Robert Zimmerman, thanks so much. Good to see you both.

ZIMMERMAN: Thank you.

MADDEN: Good to see you.

PAUL: Rubber chicken dinners don't sound good in Iowa or anywhere else, whether you're a grandparent or not. Travel chaos continues with thousands of you unlucky flyers today. I know many of you may be sitting in the airport watching us right now, wondering when am I going to get home. More than 600 flights are still canceled right now in the wake of this fire and suicide attempts near one of the world's busiest airports.

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PAUL: All right, the FBI has charged an FAA contractor in connection with the fire that disrupted more than 2,000 flights yesterday and more than 600 more today. Those poor folks at the airports.

JOHNS: Just unbelievable. Police searched Brian Howard's home. They say he sent a Facebook message warning of he was about to do. Howard is accused of setting a fire in an air traffic control facility near Chicago. He's now charge with felony destruction of aircraft or aircraft facilities.

PAUL: CNN's Jennifer Gray has more for us here, because even a day after the fact, Jen, more than 600 flights still at this hour?

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, since this morning. So this created a ripple effect basically yesterday because flights couldn't get into Chicago, they couldn't get out. So it grounded planes all over the country. We are still playing catch-up. Like you said, about 600 as of today, so pack your patience if you are headed to the airports no matter where you are in the country.

Here is the misery math, and its name says it all -- 86 cancellations just in the past couple hours for Chicago O'Hare. It has caused delays in D.C., New York. The most affected airport out of south side of Chicago is here, right here in Atlanta. And so that is what we are going to see as we go throughout the day. It could take several days to catch up.

And this is flight aware. And you can see the planes coming in to Chicago, out of Chicago, and we are starting to pick up, but it is going to take time for things to get back on track. Here are the latest cancellations from flightaware.com, Chicago O'Hare, outbound, 282 cancellations, inbound, 325. We have seen Midway Airport, not quite as many, 35 outbound cancellations, 34 inbound. And then it just trickles down, Atlanta, LaGuardia, JFK also seeing cancellations, and you can imagine the delays are just huge. And so expect this today and possibly tomorrow as well.

JOHNS: Thank you for that, Jennifer. Just unbelievable the number of flights canceled.

PAUL: I hope you have good books and good reading in there.

This is a question I think a lot of people have right now. Where is Congress in terms of their mindset when it comes to the fight against ISIS? There have been new air strikes in Syria already this morning. Could U.S. boots on the ground eventually follow? Congresswoman Barbara Lee and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen joining us in just a few minutes, cannot wait to hear from them. Stay close.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Well, as bombs are dropping on ISIS targets in Syria and Iraq now this morning most Congress members are back home campaigning for upcoming midterms, right. Both houses of Congress did vote, though, to fund and train Syrian rebels. Lawmakers have left unresolved the issue that would authorize military action in Syria specifically. So let's talk about this with Democratic Congresswoman Barbara Lee of California and Republican Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida. Ladies, thank you both so much for being with us.

REP. BARBARA LEE, (D) CALIFORNIA: Thank you. PAUL: Sure. I want to start with you, if I could please,

Representative Lee. You cast the sole dissenting vote against authorizing the Bush administration to use military force in the wake of 9/11 of course. Now if Congress were to vote on authorizing military force, where would you stand?

LEE: First of all, we have not even had a debate nor a resolution to come forward, and I must say that we wrote to the speaker August 28, Congressman Jones, myself, and McGovern, requesting an authorization and a full debate and a vote. We have to talk to the American public about the costs and consequences of this. And this is our constitutional responsibility. So we haven't even seen a resolution. I know several members are working on one, but I think the first thing we are talking about is not why we are not in Congress debating these very grave issues. This is our constitutional duty and responsibility. We should be in Washington talking about the costs, consequences, and alternatives, non-military solutions to this very, very grave war and crisis that we are in.

PAUL: Congressman Ros-Lehtinen, what do you say to that? Why aren't you having that debate right now?

REP. ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, (R) FLORIDA: Well, I hope that the president soon presents to Congress an authorization resolution that would authorize these air strikes. He believes that he already has the authorization. I believe that even if he does it would give him greater weight to have the U.S. Congress backing him. I believe that there is sufficient support in the U.S. Congress, in the House and the Senate, to support this military action.

I disagree with my good friend Barbara Lee. I don't think that there is a non-military, diplomatic solution to these monsters, these barbarians, who is just a few weeks beheaded a constituent of my Congressional district, Steve Sotloff, a journalist. And these guys are going to continue. It is going to be a problem for us for our national security and for our interests in the region. So I support what the president is doing. I support what our military is doing. And we wish that these guys, our enemies would respond to a non- military, diplomatic solution. I don't think it is possible.

PAUL: Congresswoman Lee, go ahead. What do you think could be a non- military solution to this?

LEE: First let me say this. We have three branches of government, right, the executive, legislative, and judiciary branch. The constitution requires the Congress to authorize the use of force, to authorize war, to declare war, not the president. And so I fully disagree again with Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen and others who believe the president has to come and craft a resolution for us. That is the basic problem. We in Congress have to do our job, and a debate would lay out what the options are.

We are talking about a comprehensive solution. I think the president at the United Nations and in other forms have talked about the regional strategies. There have to be political solutions to this. We have an operation now that's taking place with the military strikes, and we have to talk about ground troops. We know the strikes aren't going to work in themselves only with strikes. Who is going to provide the ground troops there? So the debate in Congress would lay out what the costs and consequences are and what the options are. But Congress has to do that, not the president. This is not his job. We need to first of all repeal those first two resolutions, because we are in a new war or a new front on the war, and so the American people deserve to hear members of Congress talk about it, debate it, and make some clear, hard decisions.

PAUL: OK, Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen, what do you say to that?

ROS-LEHTINEN: I agree we do need a debate. We did authorize to train these so called moderate Syrian rebels. Probably they are going to be getting trained in Saudi Arabia even though that was not as specific as where they are going to be trained. But I do agree that we should be debating. We should have a vote. And I hope that we have that vote soon. I don't know that logistically it is going to happen before the elections, but I hope that we do have the vote.

My only problem with the president and what he's doing is that he won't carry it through. He doesn't seem fully committed. You are right, an air war is not enough. I don't think we should rule out troops on the ground. I know folks are sometimes aghast when we say that. But if we are going to be in it, we've got to be in it to win it with our allies. I'm glad this has an Arab face to it. There are a lot of those countries that are helping us. But we shouldn't rule out any option and we should give great flexibility to make sure we get the job done.

ISIL is not going to stop. They may be calling themselves any other sort of name. It's a global jihadist terrorist network, and we've got to be in a 9/11 mentality that this threat continues to this day.

PAUL: And there are people who fear that this threat is already here in the U.S. Last word, Congresswoman Lee, what are your final thoughts here?

ROS-LEHTINEN: Well, I think, first of all, Homeland Security, I believe, is prepared. I believe that we have to be very careful. We have to make sure that all of the strategies that our Homeland Security and police force have put in place are adhered too of course within the context of protecting civil liberties.

But I think that really makes the point with regard to military strikes and engaging in another war. We have to come up with solutions that are really going to address our own national security here in the United States, and also ensure that the region steps up and takes care of their region and makes sure that the war that is taking place and the sectarian violence and the varied horrific ISIS, which we all agree should be dismantled, destroyed, and really dealt with in a very strong way. But we have to figure how to do this in a very rational way from our country and ensure that more violence does not create more violence and more terrorist organizations, which then will become even more of a threat.

PAUL: All right, Representatives Barbara Lee and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, thank you both so much for taking the time for us this morning. And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Having a new baby is a jolt, right? We all know that in many respects. But a New Jersey mom is helping ore moms who know all too well how expensive a new baby can be, too.

JOHNS: And this morning you're going to meet Bridget Cutler and why she decided to step up and provide help to new mothers who really need it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIDGET CUTLER, CNN HERO: I love being a mom. It is the most rewarding thing I've ever experienced. On the flipside, the financial burden of having a child is just tremendous. So many people have such an abundance and so many other strive to afford even the basics. I remember reading an article, and it was about a mother who decided to give her child up for adoption because she couldn't stand to hear her crying from hunger. I just thought that no mother should be faced with that choice. That was when I decided that I need to do something.

I started to collect excess baby gear. And that was when Moms Helping Moms was born.

Boys' clothes are to the right, girls' clothes to the left.

We have drives at our storage space. We like to call them shopping space because they are essentially shopping. They are just not paying anything for it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've been out of work about 10 months. New clothes, diaper and wipes, they are a constant expense.

CUTLER: These are great. Just take one more.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was hard to afford the things that I needed for my kids without an income.

Thank god.

The things I got today will allow me to put that money towards rent or my bills.

CUTLER: Every child deserves a fair start. And if what we are doing helps bridge the gap between people from different backgrounds even in a small way it is definitely worth all the hard work.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: So Thursday Anderson Cooper is going to announce this year's top 10 heroes, and voting begins to choose the CNN hero of the year at that point. So that's next Thursday morning on NEW DAY and on CNN.com. JOHNS: More than 250 hikers reportedly are stranded after a Japanese

volcano erupted. Those hikers are scurrying to try to get away from the billowing cloud of ash and small rocks. Eight people were reported seriously hurt and seven knocked unconscious on Mount Ontake. Rescue crews have been dispatched. No lava flows are reported. This volcano last erupted in 2007.

PAUL: I wouldn't want to be climbing and see that, good heavens.

JOHNS: Not at all.

PAUL: You know what, go out there and make some great memories today. We are so grateful to have spent some of the morning with you.

JOHNS: And thanks for watching. But stay right there because there is much more ahead in the next hour of CNN Newsroom.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Joe and Christi, good to see you guys. Have a great morning.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: Did I cut you off too soon? OK, cool. You make it a great day. Thank you so much.