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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

FBI Seeking Your Help; 4 Terror Suspects Arrested in London; Battling Ebola; Wall Street's Sell-Off; Cardinals Advance to 4th Straight NLCS

Aired October 08, 2014 - 05:00   ET

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

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: To see more of my interview with Carlos Slim, head over to CNNMoney.com. He was here to promote a charity effort to hire disabled people in jobs. I am into hire hashtag, #Iamintohire is what they were proposing. Really interesting thoughts from Carlos Slim about the changing nature of how we work.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Indeed.

All right. EARLY START continues right now.

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BERMAN: The FBI wants your help identifying this man. An ISIS militant speaking perfect English. So, is he American? You'll here for yourself.

ROMANS: Scotland Yard arresting four suspects in London raid. What officials are saying the suspected Islamic terrorists were planning.

BERMAN: The CDC said they are confident they will stop Ebola in its tracks in the United States. Patients in the U.S. continue to fight for their lives, as a second possible case surfaces in Spain.

Good morning, everyone. We have news on that front in a moment. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.

ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It is Wednesday, October 8th, it is 5:00 a.m. exactly in the East.

This morning, the FBI wants your help in the fight against ISIS, wants your help. It's posting a video on its Web site in the hopes that someone knows this man and can help identify him. This man speaks perfect Arabic and perfect English with a clearly North American accent.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're here in the 17th division military base just outside the city of Ar-Raqqah. And we're here with the soldiers of Bashar.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ROMANS: I keep listening to how he says the word "outside."

Washington correspondent Joe Johns following the story for us. He has more on the hunt for this apparently American, maybe Canadian, ISIS fighter.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, this video appears to show a jihadi-spouting, ISIS propagandist, speaking very good English with a North American accent, also alternating speaking Arabic, delivering an on-camera tirade before he and other ISIS fighters appear to shoot a group of Syrian soldiers dead.

The Syrians had apparently been forced to dig their own graves. The man speaking has a mask over his face, which makes him unrecognizable. And authorities have been using advanced identification technology but had been coming up short. They are not even certain if he's American or Canadian.

The FBI posted portions of the video on its Web site, asking the public for help in identifying him. They say they're hoping someone might recognize this individual and provide the piece of information that helps them figure out who he is.

The FBI says this is part of a broader outreach to try to get the public to help identify people who are traveling overseas to fight with terror groups. And it goes without saying, that they are perhaps even more interested in learning the identities of American ISIS fighters who might be returning home -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: All right. Our thanks to Joe Johns for that report.

In Syria, at this moment, the strategic city of Kobani is about to fall in the hands of ISIS fighters, that according to several senior administration officials. They also acknowledge that saving that city is not a priority for the U.S.-led coalition.

Joining that coalition this morning is Canada. The Canadian parliament approved air combat missions against ISIS in Iraq, though not Syria. The move to deploy six CF-18 fighter jets as part of that coalition's strike force came after two days of debate by lawmakers.

The Prime Minister Stephen Harper praised the vote in a statement saying, "We do not take this step lightly. The threat posed by ISIL is real. If left unchecked, this terrorist organization will grow and grow quickly."

Of course, this does nothing for the people of Kobani, again that city on the brink of falling. We have CNN's Arwa Damon live with that dire situation coming up in about 10 minutes.

ROMANS: The Islamic military threat has London on edge this morning. Scotland Yard arresting four men Tuesday on suspicion of planning an act of terrorism. Officials are offering no details or specifics on what the four men all in their early 20s were planning.

CNN's Nic Robertson standing by live in London with more.

Nic, do officials believe there's a link here to ISIS, to Islamic terror groups like ISIS?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They do. These four men are still being questioned by the police at the moment. They're being accused of -- being suspected, at least, of preparing or instigating or commissioning acts of terrorism, Islamist terrorism.

They -- what we're hearing from the chief of police here in London is that this arrest is a serious case, he says, but it has linking goes back to Iraq and Syria which implies because it's Iraq and Syria, implies ISIS. The police are not saying that specifically.

What we do understand, though, is that this may have been a plot that the police have thwarted in its early stages, again, precisely, what type of plot that isn't clear at the moment. But they -- the police continue not only to question those four men, but they're investigating premises in the center and west of London, that were involved in the arrest operation. And vehicles that they seized, again, during that arrest operation.

Perhaps there will be more details forthcoming in the not too distant future. But is this very typical of British authorities not to give away any details, or very few details in these early stages -- Christine, John.

ROMANS: All right. Nic Robertson, thanks for that, Nic.

BERMAN: We'll turn now to the latest on the Ebola crisis. This morning the head of the Centers for Disease Control sounding confident that the U.S. can prevent a outbreak on U.S. soil. Thomas Frieden declared we will stop Ebola in its tracks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS FRIEDEN, CDC DIRECTOR: There are real signs of progress, not only in Dallas, but also around the world. We know how to stop Ebola.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: This morning, Thomas Eric Duncan is battling Ebola, fighting for his life in a Dallas hospital. Now, we are finding out more about his prognosis.

Here's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, Thomas Eric Duncan is still in critical condition here at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. And we have some more details about how he's doing. He's on kidney

dialysis. He's also on a ventilator to help him breathe. And he's under medical sedation which means his family can't speak with him.

But a press conference on Tuesday, his family did say there are some signs of optimism. For example, his blood pressure is back up. That's a good thing. Dangerously low blood pressure is a problem for Ebola patients. Also, they said his liver function is looking better and that his temperature has returned to normal.

Now, we think about this disease spreading within the city of Dallas, there's some really good news. So far, health authorities have been following Duncan's 48 contacts -- 48 people he came into contact with while he was contagious. And so far, none of them are sick.

And today is day 10. It's been about 10 days since any of them have had contact with Duncan. And usually on average, people tend to get sick about 10 days after they come in contact with an infected person.

But still, authorities will follow these people and monitor them for 21 days just to be sure -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Elizabeth, thanks for that.

A freelance NBC cameraman who contracted Ebola in Liberia is in reasonably stable condition in a Nebraska hospital this morning. Ashoka Mukpo is being treated with an experimental drug.

He said he's scared, relieved to be back home. He believes he was infected while spray-washing a vehicle where someone had died from Ebola. His parents got to see and speak to him Tuesday using a video hookup.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIANA MUKPO, ASHOKA MUKPO'S MOTHER: He actually looks quite good. I know he's been nauseated and, you know, having some of those symptoms. But he actually looks a lot better than I expected and that was a really heartening to see.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Doctors are cautioning it's much too early to tell whether he will fully recover.

BERMAN: Health officials in Spain now concerned about a possible another case of Ebola. A second nurse's assistant who was being monitor has just tested negative for the virus, but a third nurse's aide was hospitalized late Tuesday for monitoring. And now, we're learning that a dog belonging to the first infected nurse's assistant is being put down. Spanish authorities getting a court order to euthanize that dog fearing he might spread the virus. ROMANS: American workers slow to open their wallets to the Ebola

crisis. A CNN Money surveyed four major U.S. aid organizations found they received less than $20 million in donations combined. The U.N. says it will take $1 billion to stop the outbreak.

Bill and Melinda Gates are doing their part. Their foundation has just announced it is donating $50 million to fight Ebola.

Interestingly, they've been laser focused on malaria and other diseases. They've been able to take their infrastructure, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, take their infrastructure, use that expertise to really zero in on this one.

BERMAN: Good on them.

The battle against a wildfire in California's Yosemite National Park taking a terrible turn. An air tanker that was dropping retardant crashed near an entrance to the park. Rescue crews are working their way through tough terrain to try to reach the pilot who was the only person onboard that plane.

We're taking a look at our forecast right now. Indra Petersons is here with that.

Good morning.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning.

A little thunder last night depend wrong you are. I know Christine did. I had gotten maybe some light showers. But we're going to be watching today. Still, anywhere you have the jet stream, we're still going to be talking about some of that unsettled weather out there.

Meanwhile, into the Desert Southwest, remnants of Simon. They are still out there, so we do have the concern that we could be talking about some flooding out there.

All right. So, let's take a look at the maps here. We're looking at maybe some chances for showers, and even some wind as that system is making its way out. We're still talking about strong gusts that are going to be out there today.

As that cold front moves out, not good for anyone suffering with allergies out there. Meanwhile, keep in mind, down to anywhere from Colorado, all the way to the Carolinas, this is where our next area of unsettled weather is going to be. We're talking about two to four inches of rain out there, guys. That's going to be kind of the hot spot, of course, unless you're the Northeast dealing with gusty winds.

Temperature wise, it's a cold front. Look at the divide, there you go again, seeing some 50s all the way to the north, down to the south, still talking 80s even 90s out towards Dallas. And it's only an hour or so away. Definitely send us pictures at CNN, and we'll show them on NEW DAY.

Remember, this is going to be huge and it's going to be bright orange. BERMAN: If you can see through the clouds and rain here.

PETERSONS: Yes, that was my next thing, Northeast and Southwest. It's a little tough. But everywhere else, it looks --

ROMANS: That's why you're asking for the pictures, because you're not going to see it here.

PETERSONS: Pretty much, yes. Nailed it.

ROMANS: It's time for an EARLY START on your money this morning.

Asian and European markets lower. They're reacting to some weak numbers out of China. And they're also reacting to this big selloff in the U.S. yesterday. American stocks, U.S. stocks fell to its lowest level in months over worries about growth in Europe.

The Dow shed 272 points. That's the worst one-day drop in more than two months. The S&P 500, a two-month low there. Futures are slightly lower right now. So, we'll see if any of this follow through.

One bright spot in the U.S. economy, job openings, hit the highest level in 13 years. The Labor Department reported openings reached 4.84 million jobs in August. That means there were about two jobless workers for every opening. Analysts say it's a sign we should expect more declines in unemployment. You can see --

BERMAN: That's a good chart.

ROMANS: Look at that. In the recess, there were seven unemployed people for every job opening. That was almost just futile. But now, now, it's 2 to 1. Last week, the unemployment rate fell to 6 percent the first time since 2008.

BERMAN: Good news. Thanks for that.

ROMANS: You're welcome.

BERMAN: All right. Eleven minutes after the hour.

A new phase in the fight for a key Syrian city, as U.S. officials acknowledge Kobani will fall. We're live from the border.

ROMANS: And new concerns about chemical weapons in Syria. Authorities now say there are four additional facilities the Syrians failed to disclose. Why inspectors are questioning if there are even more. That's coming up on EARLY START.

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BERMAN: Overnight, coalition aircraft flying air strikes against ISIS fighters trying to take the city of Kobani. That's on Syria's border with Turkey.

A CNN crew captured footage of this bombing mission. But coalition efforts are looking increasingly futile. With several senior administration officials telling CNN on Tuesday that Kobani will fall and soon. Get this, those same officials say Kobani is not a U.S. priority. This despite pleas by the U.N. special enjoy to Syria for the international community to step in and help the Kurdish fighters to save that city.

Standing by live for us now in the Turkish-Syrian border is CNN's Arwa Damon.

Arwa, give us a sense of what's going on on the ground.

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's hard to imagine how that rhetoric from the U.S. is resonating here among of the Kurdish population who fail to understand how it is that the U.S. can just simply say that Kobani not a priority, and allow ISIS to take over when they have aircraft overhead.

That being said, John, there have been a smattering of air strikes that have made a difference on the ground. A senior Kurdish official that we spoke to in Kobani said that the fighters -- Kurdish fighters have managed to push ISIS to the perimeter of the city of Kobani. There have been sporadic clashes in the Southeast. We heard a number of explosions. Smoke has been rising on the horizon.

What you're seeing behind is the smoke rising, seemingly from the southwestern part of the city. But the fighters there, although they do feel that now perhaps they have made some gains against ISIS, do want to see and do believe that the U.S. and this coalition has a burden of responsibility, despite the fact that the U.S. is saying that it's not necessarily its priority.

They also want to see additional assistance from Turkey. A lot of anger and frustration with regards to Turkey's position when it comes to what is happening. The Kurds want to see Turkey allowing a corridor that would provide additional weapons support.

Turkey saying at this stage, that is something of a nonstarter. They're not going to simply arm the Kurdish fighting force. But the Turks did come out and say they would be willing to consider being part of a broader military operation, focused not on just taking out ISIS, but also on taking out the Assad regime. They will not however arm the Kurds until the Kurds officially join the Free Syrian Army.

So, a lot of underlying politics here when it comes to the tensions between the Syrians and the Kurds. And the Kurds also feeling like they're increasingly being victims of the overarching politics that are governing everything that is happening both in Syria and in Iraq, John.

BERMAN: All right. Arwa Damon for us on that border. It has to be incredibly frustrating for the people of that city as it falls in Turkey and the rest of the world simply watches. Thanks, Arwa.

ROMANS: All right. New concerns this morning about chemical weapons in Syria. According to the U.N., Syria has revealed four previously undisclosed chemical weapons facilities. Government officials claim three are for research and development. One is for production, 1,300 tons of declared chemical weapons have been removed from the country. Now, international inspectors are focusing on the destruction of Syria's weapons facilities.

BERMAN: So, where is Kim Jong-un? North Korea's reclusive leader has not been seen publicly in more than a month now. Officially, state media says that the 31-year-old Kim is, quote, "suffering from discomfort." What does that mean?

His absence has triggered wild speculation about whether he's still in control. This past week, a high level delegation from Pyongyang made a surprise visit to South Korea. He was not part of it.

But this is such a close up regime, that when something like this happens, it allows for this speculation, these conspiracy theories.

ROMANS: So interesting, because earlier this year there was the whole Dennis Rodman debacle. He made a couple of trips there. You've got Americans who have been tried. Some on trial, some sentenced to hard labor. These interesting kind of outreach, even to CNN's Will Ripley, with interviews, you just don't know what exactly is going on there. Interesting.

BERMAN: All right. Nineteen minutes after the hour.

The National League Championship series is set. The San Francisco Giants, one step closer to their third world series title in the last five years. They've got some work to do before they get there, I might say.

Laura Rutledge with the details in the "Bleacher Report", next.

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BERMAN: Raise your hand if you were up most of the night watching baseball.

The Giants and Cardinals advancing to the National League Championship Series. Gosh, it must be so hard being a fan of one of those teams when they go to the championship series every year.

ROMANS: Laura Rutledge has more on this morning's "Bleacher Report".

Hi, Laura.

LAURA RUTLEDGE, BLEACHER REPORT: Hi.

And, yes, real tough for those fans. The fans of Cardinals and Giants are used to seeing their team playing this time of year. In fact, both teams played each other in the NLCS in 2012. But the Cardinals had to get past the Dodgers first.

Controversial move by manager Don Mattingly, benching Yasiel Puig for game four. Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw on the mud. He was looking OK until right there, Matt Adams takes it deep with a three-run homer. That gives the Cards the lead for good. Cardinals win 3-2.

St. Louis is going back to the NLCS for a fourth straight season.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT ADAMS, CARDINALS 1ST BASEMAN: We've got spring training. They hammered it into us that this organization likes to win and knows they can win. So, that was a big thing that I picked up on and, you know, and I go by.

MIKE MATHENY, CARDINALS MANAGER: I just continue to fight, you never know when you might land something. And that's what they've continued to do, regardless of who it is against. And not giving the opposition too much credit to think that we're out of anything. I think that's something that is a learned straight. That these guys have done exceptionally well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RUTLEDGE: To San Francisco, we go. The Giants looking to wrap up their series against the Nationals. Hunter Pence pulls off this amazing leaping catch with zero regards to his own safety. His body slamming into the fence on the catch. Bottom seven, bases loaded. Nat pitcher Aaron Barrett throws the wild pitch that gives San Fran a 3-2 lead.

That's all the Giants needed. They're headed back to the National League Championship Series to take on the Cardinals.

Well, to the NFL where Minnesota Vikings star Adrian Peterson will be arraigned in a Texas courtroom today. He's expected to plead not guilty to a felony charge of child abuse. Peterson was indicted last month for allegedly using a switch or a small tree branch to discipline his 4-year-old son.

He's been on the NFL's exempt list. Still getting paid but barred from all team activities until his case is resolved.

Now, on a completely different note, you may remember that the Detroit Pistons usher who made a name for himself last season after a dance off with a young fan. Well, the usher is back and his moves are new and improve. A crucial part of his 2014 repertoire, twerking, of course.

And now, keep in mind, this is in preseason game and he's already in midseason form. So, really, the Piston dancers, they better watch out.

He actually has a Twitter, you guys. It's @dancingusher, almost 3,000 followers.

BERMAN: He deserves more than that for those moves. At least 4,500. Wow. Well, that's another 500 right there.

RUTLEDGE: I expect to you follow him, ASAP.

BERMAN: I want to learn from him, I want to follow him like a Jedi master. That's very impressive. ROMANS: A Jedi master.

BERMAN: All right. Laura Rutledge, thanks so much.

ROMANS: All right. Coming up on EARLY START, the FBI is asking you to help identify this man. An ISIS militant they say could be American.

BERMAN: And it has been nearly a week since the first case of Ebola was diagnosed in the United States. What has changed? How are the treatments going? We have new information for you this morning.

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