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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Sundown Deadline Set for ISIS Hostages; Airlines Hit by Spike in Online Bomb Threats; More Snow for New England; Hezbollah Missile Kills 2 Israeli Soldiers; Boko Haram Trains Children to Kill

Aired January 29, 2015 - 04:00   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Time is ticking down for two hostages captured by ISIS. A sunset deadline set for a prisoner swap. ISIS demanding the release of a prisoner in exchange for these hostages. This morning, negotiations are underway. We are live with new developments overnight, right now.

Good morning, everyone. A lot going on this morning. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Christine Romans. It is Thursday, January 29th. It is 4:00 a.m. in the East.

Happening right now, that clock is ticking down for two hostages being held by ISIS. Terrorists threatening to kill captured Japanese journalist Kenji Goto and Jordanian fighter pilot Muath al-Kasasbeh, if the government of Jordan refuses to release the convicted the female terrorist.

Now, the message purportedly from ISIS setting a new deadline for a deal. There are just hours left. CNN cannot independently verify the authenticity of the audio recording. This morning, Jordan's government says it is willing to make a prisoner swap. There may be hope then for the hostages held by ISIS.

I want to bring in CNN's Will Ripley, live in Tokyo.

Will, a Japanese envoy has been in Jordan for days now. What do we know about the status of these negotiations?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, very little being said publicly, as you might imagine. But, when we were talking this time yesterday, as the other deadline was approaching, of course, ISIS set a new deadline. Then in the hours that followed, where there was no news, the only hope we were told here in Japan was that ISIS would somehow confirm that Kenji Goto, the Japanese journalist and Muath al- Kasasbeh, the Jordanian pilot, were still alive.

Now, as far as we know, ISIS has still not provided proof of life of that Jordanian pilot. But if this voice on this new audio is Kenji Goto, then it does say that he is still alive and that ISIS continues to use him as a tool to deliver their propaganda messages. Now, this is -- it doesn't sound like it would be encouraging news,

but for Japan, in a sense, it is, because it shows that Goto somehow still has value to ISIS. In this new video, they are basically saying that if this terrorist, Sajida al Rishawi, is not taken to the Turkish border and exchanged for Goto, so, in other words, in his message he said, if they don't swap me for her at the border, then the pilot is going to be killed. Notice that this message did not specifically threaten Goto's life.

Now, as we know with ISIS, it is highly unpredictable. They are notorious for brutality and for breaking the rules, breaking promises. So, this is a very, very volatile and unsettling situation for not only the family of the pilot and his country, but Kenji Goto's family and the country of Japan and the Japanese government as well, Christie.

ROMANS: Yes, you're right. I think volatile is the best word to describe it. Volatile and terrifying.

Will Ripley, thank you so much for that, Will.

BERMAN: New concerns about a surge of bomb threats against U.S. airlines; dozens of flights affecting thousands of passengers. U.S. officials say the spike in threats on social media started a couple weeks ago. They believe most of the 50 or so threats that followed are copycats. Now, in the end, none of these threats prove credible. Still, it is worrisome.

CNN's Rene Marsh is at New York LaGuardia airport with the latest on this story -- Rene.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christine and John, it used to be that bomb threats were called in, but now, they're being delivered by social media. It also used to be a situation that happened only once in a while. But a U.S. official is telling CNN it is becoming an every day occurrence. You're seeing the uptick specifically this month after a bomb scare on a flight from Atlanta to Raleigh on January 17th.

Following that incident, we are told that there were more than 50 similar incidents. Now, the FBI is investigating all of these social media threats. They are tracing computer IP addresses to track down these culprits. We should note this is a federal crime. The punishment could meantime behind pars or even a hefty fine.

At this point, the question is, well, what's causing the uptick? You talk to law enforcement officials. They are blaming the publicity surrounding these incidents -- Christine, John.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Rene Marsh, thanks for that, Rene.

The secretary of homeland security says there is no credible threats against Sunday's Super Bowl. He is confident the game will be safe and secure. Jeh Johnson says adjustments to security had been made this year, with the emergence of ISIS on the international scene -- everyone entering the University of Phoenix Stadium on Sunday will be scanned and patted down.

BERMAN: New England is getting a breather from all the snow. But it's not going to last long. More snow is on the way.

Jennifer Gray has the latest from Boston.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: John and Christine, here are in Boston, things are getting back to normal. Slowly, but surely, though, most of the interstates have been cleared. Most of the main roads have been cleared as well.

However, a lot of those second streets not completely clear. They called off school another day today.

One of the other things is the snow piles around the city, some of them as tall as I am. They can't even see the kids waiting on the bus stop. And so, they had to cancel school for another day.

In fact, temperatures are going to continue to be very, very cold here. In fact, today is going to be one of the warmer days we had in a five-day span with temperatures getting to the mid-30s. But we are going to see temperatures bottom out again in the teens by the time we get to Saturday.

Yes, another storm system rolling through once again on Friday into Saturday. That's going to bring another round of snow. Models still not coming together. Some models say we could get an inch or two of snow. Other models say we could get four to five inches.

So, this could possibly be another plowable event for Boston. Of course, look at all the snow behind me. We had more than 24 inches of snow. It almost made the top five snowstorms all time for Boston. It did make the number one January snowiest storm. It has been a mess across the city. Of course, they were prepared. And so, things weren't as bad as they could have been.

With school canceled again, that city is trying to get back up and running, of course, and then more snow on the way. Definitely not what people want to hear -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Jennifer Gray, thank you for that, in snowy Boston this morning.

Cuban President Raul Castro announcing a list of demands that he says must be met by the United States before the two countries can normalize ties. Castro says the United States has to return the base at Guantanamo Bay and lift a 50-year trade embargo and pay hundreds of millions of dollars in damages to Cuba. He claims further attempts at diplomacy wouldn't make sense if those issues aren't resolved.

Many Cuban Americans in Florida think that's the wrong way of -- they think that hundreds of millions of dollars the other way, taken and seized properties and the like. The State Department is not commented on Castro's remarks.

BERMAN: Day two of the Senate confirmation hearing for Loretta Lynch, President Obama's choice to be the next attorney general. With Lynch in the hot seat on Wednesday, Republicans aimed much of their fire at the outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder. While Lynch defended the president's actions on immigrations, her position on legalizing marijuana puts her at odds a little bit with the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LORETTA LYNCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL NOMINEE: Marijuana is still a federal crime, and it is still a crime not only to possess but to distribute under federal law. It is still the policy of the administration and certainly would be my policy if confirmed as attorney general to continue enforcing the marijuana laws, particularly with respect to the money laundering aspect of it. Where we see the evidence that marijuana is ad noticed in cases in my own district, it brings with it organized crime, but great levels of violence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Lynch promised to be guided by the constitution, she says. Not politics. If confirmed, she would be the first black female attorney general.

ROMANS: The controversial Keystone pipeline bill is expected to pass in the Senate today. The move will end close to four weeks of debate on this legislation. Now, if the measure does pass, it will be squared with a version that cleared the House earlier this month. President Obama has consistently threatened to veto the bill in its current form.

BERMAN: President Obama, Vice President Biden and the new Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf will be the featured speakers when House Democrats meet for a big strategy session in Philadelphia today. The policy retreat is designed to develop a new party message for the 2016 election. One Democrat calls it the huddle before the big game. Rebuilding the middle class will be a dominant theme.

Though, there was a no bidding war, but Air Force officials say the president's new plane will be a Boeing aircraft again. The Boeing 747-8 was picked to be the next Air Force One. It was between that plane, the Boeing plane, and the Airbus A380. They're the only two four-engine wide body aircraft that meet the needs of the Air Force One mission.

It would have been shocking had the White House not picked Boeing and gone with a European carrier. I mean, it's unthinkable in a way. So, it's hardly a surprise.

ROMANS: All right. Time for an early start for your money this morning.

Rough morning for stocks around the world, Asian and Europeans are lower right now.

U.S. futures barely moving so far. Yesterday, the Dow fell almost 200 points. The S&P 500 closed 1.4 percent lower. Treasury yields sank the lowest since May 2013. Yes, it's not a bad time to refinance if you can. Those yields very low.

The selloff picked up speed after the statement from the Federal Reserve. The Central Bank is upbeat about the U.S. economy, and that means interest rate hike is probably coming relatively soon.

Also rattling the prices, oil prices are still falling here. Crude oil about $44 a barrel right now. A six-year low, prices slipped 4 percent, dragging energy stocks down with it. The government reported record high crude oil inventories in the United States, another result of the global supply glut that's driving down prices.

We have been seeing these corporate earnings that the decline in oil prices while fantastic for you drivers, is rattling the nerves of corporate executives. I mean, the energy sector was a big driver of jobs in the past few years. Now, you're going to see job cuts there.

BERMAN: Interesting to see it.

ROMANS: All right. Ten minutes past the hour.

Happening now: are Israel and Hezbollah on the brink of war? Exchanging fire after two soldiers are killed. We are live with the latest this morning right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Happening this morning, Hezbollah supporters are celebrating and bracing for war after a Hezbollah missile attack kills two Israeli soldiers. Seven Israeli soldiers wounded in the anti-tank missile attack Wednesday. This in a disputed area on the border with Lebanon and Israel. Israel Defense Force fired back with targets shelled in Lebanon. A U.N. peacekeeper in Southern Lebanon died in the fighting. It's not clear whether he was killed by Israeli or Hezbollah fire.

Senior international correspondent Nima Elbagir is in Beirut, Lebanon, for us with the latest.

What can you tell us, Nima?

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There really is a sense of baited breath here, Christine. Overnight, the Israel Defense Force has confirmed that it launched air strikes inside Syria, saying that they hold both Iran and Syria responsible for the latest developments. This is after that positions on Mt. Herman came under mortar attack.

Hezbollah for its part, as you said quite rightly, defiant, but on the streets of what could come? What could this become? For many people, this really conjures the spectrum of 2006 when we had similar tit-for- tat attacks that mushroomed in all out war between Israel and Lebanon.

The consensus seems to be what is the political calculation for the Israeli prime minister? What is Benjamin Netanyahu thinking two weeks before the elections in Israel? The hope is that cooler heads will prevail. We already had the State Department spokesperson speaking out and calling for restraint, saying that they respect Israel's right, they acknowledge Israel's right to defend itself, but hoping in this instance, that there will be restraint shown. Here on the streets of Lebanon though, they are watching and they are waiting, Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Nima Elbagir in Beirut for us -- thank you for that this morning.

BERMAN: All right. As the former NFL teams prepare to play in the Super Bowl, Aaron Hernandez goes on trial for murder. Opening statements scheduled for today. Hernandez is accused of killings semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd. The 12-person jury and six alternates consist of 13 women and five men. Patriots owner Robert Kraft and head coach Bill Belichick were both on the potential witness list for this trial, really interesting that it's beginning just days before the Super Bowl.

ROMANS: A temporary reprieve for three death row inmates in Oklahoma. The Supreme Court ordering the state to postpone lethal injection, executions, using a controversial sedative until the court rules on a challenge involving that drug. The sedative Midazolam has been cited in problematic executions in three states, including Oklahoma. Now, it's not clear if the high court's order allows Oklahoma to carry out executions without using that drug.

BERMAN: Breaking overnight, a near brawl at St. Louis City Hall meeting to discuss the creation of a civilian oversight board and monitor police. It started out peacefully enough last night until police union official Jeff Roorda got into a heated exchange with a local alderman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pardon me. Please have a seat and do -- first of all, excuse me. First of all, you do not tell me my function.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, no.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: One woman claims the mayhem erupted when Mr. Roorda shoved her. The police union official denies pushing her. And we want you to see the wrist band that Roorda was wearing. It reads, "I am Darren Wilson", a show of support for the former police officer who shot and killed Michael Brown in nearby Ferguson. A local clergy man says Roorda flaunted that wrist band, igniting tension that led to the near brawl. ROMANS: All right. The number of measles cases linked to an outbreak

at Disneyland theme parks in California keeps growing. Health officials report at least 68 confirmed cases now in California and five other states. Meantime, a high school in Riverside County, California, has banned 66 students who haven't had measles vaccinations and classes for the next two weeks. They will have to be medically cleared or have proof of immunization to return.

BERMAN: California health officials are waging war against electronic cigarettes, claiming they are a public health threat. They need to be regulated like tobacco products. They released a report saying e- cigarettes emit cancer-causing chemicals and contribute to new generation of users getting hooked on nicotine. They also acknowledged that more research is needed to determine the long-term health effects.

This is a big, wide open, new category, wide open, new health issues that I think health officials, not to mention industry, will be dealing with for some time.

ROMANS: Fast growing -- very fast growing market that is popular with millennials and younger people.

BERMAN: All right. Eighteen minutes after the hour.

Boko Haram attacks a new time, and this time, posting a new generation of fighters. The disturbing developments and shocking pictures right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Some stunning images putting the brutality of Boko Haram on full display. The terror group has photos on Twitter apparently showing a military training camp for children. Kids are seen holding and aiming AK-47s. The pictures have the State Department ramping up efforts to curb the recruitment and indoctrination of children by terror groups. Shocking to see.

CNN's Diana Magnay has more for us.

Good morning, Diana.

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, John.

Well, these photos were posted on Twitter handle which only came in to being last week, purports to be the official mouthpiece of Boko Haram, (INAUDIBLE). And these two photos as you say, show extremely young children holding AK-47s. Intelligence sources we've spoken to say they have no reason to doubt their authenticity.

Of course, it coincides -- it correlates with what we know of Boko Haram's practice of abducting and forcibly recruiting children. They have kidnapped hundreds of children over the last years of their reign of terror in the northeast of Nigeria.

With that said, we don't know if these children are some kidnapped hostages or whether they are, in fact, the children of the Boko Haram sympathizers.

Now, this coincides also with a really ramped up level of video production. The fact this Twitter handle has appeared and has been posting other videos. There were two posted yesterday.

One was an interview with the official spokesman allegedly of Boko Haram. Where you see both men with their faces blurred. Discussing the takeover of Baga and the reason why they decided to capture this strategic town and then in their words make it part of the Islamic State in Africa.

I think it is important to mention this. The ramping up of the production video values, if you will, coincides and seems to model what ISIS is doing in Iraq and Syria. The fear, of course, is whether this is anything more than just an emulation, whether it involves into another relationship -- John.

BERMAN: All right. Diana Magnay covering this for us. The pictures -- they tell a grim, grim story. Thanks, Diana.

ROMANS: All right. North Korea may be trying to restart the nuclear bomb reactor. The facility has been shutdown for five months.

But the U.S. Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins says recent satellite imagery shows ramped up activity at the five-megawatt Yongbyon plant. It is believed North Korea is storing several crude nuclear bombs at that facility. North Korea has offered to stop all nuclear testing if the U.S. scraps its yearly military drills with South Korea. That offer has been rejected by the White House.

BERMAN: All right. Twenty-four minutes after the hour.

ISIS setting a deadline for a prisoner swap, promising to kill two hostages if a convicted terrorist is not freed. The negotiations going on right now as that deadline approaches. We have live team coverage right after the break.

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