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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Sundown Deadline Set For ISIS Hostages; Jordan Willing To Swap Prisoners; More Snow For New England; Keystone Pipeline Up For Vote; Aaron Hernandez Murder Trial Begins

Aired January 29, 2015 - 05:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Deadline fast approaching to save the lives of two hostages held by ISIS. Their lives threatened to be killed in just hours if the convicted terrorist is not released.

This morning, negotiations are going on, but will officials give in to the terrorists demands? We have live coverage breaking down what happened overnight that begins right now.

Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Christine Romans. It's 30 minutes past the hour. Happening now, the clock is ticking down for these two hostages held by ISIS. The terrorists threatening to kill captured journalist, Japanese journalist, Kenji Goto, and Jordanian fighter pilot, Moaz al-Kasasbeh, if the government of Jordan refuses to release this woman, a convicted female terrorist.

The message is purportedly from ISIS setting a new deadline for a deal, there are just hours left. CNN can't independently verify the authenticity of the audio recording.

This morning, Jordan's government says it is willing to make a prisoner swap. There are maybe hopes for these hostages being held by ISIS. I want to bring in CNN's Will Ripley. He is live for us in Tokyo. He's been following every twist and turn of this.

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

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christine, you know, as you point out, this truly has been a roller coaster of emotion not only for the families of these hostages, but also for people of Japan and the Japanese government.

Their envoy in Jordan has been there working literally around the clock trying to make this deal happen. We've talked about the fact that ISIS has continued to make their own rules up as they go along. They keep setting different deadlines.

But now, we are about four hours away from this new deadline and the feeling here is that if this prisoner exchange is going to happen, if Kenji Goto is going to get out of this alive, it is going to happen in the coming hours because this new propaganda video where a voice purportedly Goto's, it lays out what the terms very clearly.

ISIS is unwilling to hand over that Jordanian pilot, Moaz al- Kasasbeh, but they are willing, according to this message, to exchange the life of Kenji Goto in return for Sajida al-Rishawi, that Iraqi woman charged and sentenced to death in a terror attack from 2005.

You know the backstory by now. But Jordan, understandably, is hesitant to hand over a prisoner without securing the safety of their own citizen.

But at this point, the message relayed by Goto, the Japanese officials, Jordanian government officials are taking very seriously that ISIS says this pilot will be killed in a matter of hours if this prisoner exchange doesn't take place.

Again, the message makes clear that Goto's life will be exchanged for Sajida Al-Rishawi. Now again, ISIS is unpredictable and they are brutal. We don't know if they are going to keep their promise if indeed Jordan comes through and allows this to happen.

If there is any hope in this now more than week long hostage crisis that Kenji Goto could make it out, this is the time. It is right now.

It is also a very dangerous time because if this somehow falls apart, not only could Kenji Goto's life be in jeopardy, but the life of the pilot could be in grave danger as well. We just have to wait and see what happens -- Christine.

ROMANS: All right, Will Ripley, we know you will be watching and reporting and bringing us any developments that happen this morning. Thank you.

BERMAN: I want to turn to Jordan right now and get their view. Officials, as Will just say, they are willing to release convicted female terrorist, Sajida Al Rishawi, but only in exchange for the Jordanian pilot, Moaz al-Kasasbeh's freedom.

They have asked ISIS for proof of life, evidence that the pilot is alive and safe, but so far ISIS has not provided this proof. Jordan's foreign minister tells CNN the Japanese journalist, Kenji Goto, would be part of the prisoner exchange, but they also say that their pilot is the priority for them.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh is following the story for us from Amman. There is wiggle room there, Jomana. I mean, do you get the sense that Jordan would be willing to go through with this deal if the pilot was the only one to be freed?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It does seem that this is what Jordan wants to do, John. They want to secure the release of their captive, the Jordanian pilot, Moaz al-Kasasbeh. They are under so much pressure here domestically whether it is from the influential tribe that Moaz al-Kasasbeh comes from or the public here.

People want to see this pilot released. Now, the real issue is, John, what Jordan is offering in exchange for the pilot. Yes, they are saying they are willing to release Sajida Al-Rishawi, this convicted would-be suicide bomber.

But what they are offering is not what ISIS is asking for. This is one of the main issue here, what ISIS wants is a direct swap, Sajida Al-Rishawi for Kenji Goto. If that doesn't happen, they say they will kill the Jordanian pilot.

There has been no talk whatsoever publicly of what ISIS wants in return for the Jordanian pilot. They are not putting that on the table. What they are saying is they will spare his life if the exchange takes place.

Jordanian officials have said for the past few weeks there have been indirect talks with ISIS negotiations to try and secure the release of the pilot, but we do not know what demands are behind the scenes and asking for the return of Moaz al-Kasasbeh.

So it really is a very tense time here in Jordan. We are hearing from the military only a very brief statement, John, in the last few hours saying, they are working to verify this new recording and again, reiterating the message we have been hearing from Jordanian officials. Their top priority is Moaz al-Kasasbeh, their own citizen.

BERMAN: The shifting timeline from ISIS is only adding to the anxiety, no doubt. Jomana Karadsheh for us in Amman, thanks so much.

New concerns to tell you about, about a surge of bomb threats against U.S. airlines, talking about dozens of flights affecting thousands of passengers, U.S. officials say the spike in threats on social media started a couple of weeks ago.

They believe most of the 50 or so threats that followed are copycats. In the end, none proved to be credible. CNN's Rene Marsh is at New York's LaGuardia Airport with the latest on the story -- Rene.

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION AND GOVERNMENT REGULATION CORRESPONDENT: Christine and John, it used to be that bomb threats were called in, but now they are 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 everyday occurrence. They are seeing an 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 bars or even a hefty fine. At this point, the question is what's causing the uptick. You talk to law enforcement officials and they are blaming publicity surrounding these incidents -- Christine and John. ROMANS: All right, Rene Marsh, in Washington, thank you for that. New England is getting a bit of a breather from the snow, but more is on the way. Jennifer Gray has the latest from hard hit Boston.

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

However, a lot of those second streets are not completely cleared. That is why they called off school for another day today. One of the other things is the snow piles around the city, some of them as tall as I am. They cannot even see the kids waiting on the bus stop.

So they've had to cancel school for another day. In fact, temperatures are going to continue to be very, very cold here. Today will be one of the warmer days that we had in a five-day span with temperatures getting to the mid-30s.

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. Model is still not coming together.

Some models say we could get 1 to 2 inches of snow. Other models say we could get 4 to 5 inches. So this could possibly be another plowable event for Boston.

Of course, look at the snow behind me. We've had more than 24 inches of snow. It almost made the top five all-time snowstorm for Boston. It did make the number one January snowiest storms. It has been a mess across the city, of course, they were prepared and some things were not as bad as they could have been.

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

BERMAN: All right, Jennifer Gray, thanks so much. Cuban President Raul Castro is announcing a list of demands that he says must be met by the United States before the two countries can fully normalize ties.

Castro says the U.S. has to return the base at Guantanamo Bay, lift the 50-year trade embargo, and pay hundreds of millions of dollars in damages to Cuba. He says that further attempts to diplomacy would not make sense if those issues are not resolved.

The State Department has not commented on Castro's remarks, but you do wonder if these demands were made clear before the thaw that was announced last month.

ROMANS: That still looks pretty frosty from the Raul Castro's side of things. All right, the controversial Keystone pipeline bill expected to

pass in the Senate today. The move will end close to four weeks now of debate on this legislation. If the measure does pass, it will be squared with the version that cleared the House earlier this month. President Obama has consistently threatened to veto this 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 strategy session in Philadelphia today.

This policy retreat is designed to help develop a new party message for the 2016 election. One Democrat calls it the huddle before the big game. They will talk about rebuilding the middle class and how to help bridge the economic disparity that Democrats talk about in the country.

ROMANS: Speaking of money, it's time for an EARLY START on your money this morning. European and Asian shares are lower. U.S. stock futures are barely moving right now.

But yesterday was a big day, the Dow dropped 200 points. Selloff escalated when the Federal Reserve said it was upbeat about the economy. Wait, if the fed is upbeat why are investors selling stocks because it means there could be an interest rate hike relatively soon.

Facebook is officially a mobile company and it is paying off. Facebook started selling mobile ads in 2012. Today, more than 2/3 of Facebook ad revenue is coming from mobile. That's a big win for Facebook as uses switch from desktops to their phones.

The company posted strong profits and growing its users. There is one thing that investors are worried about, though. Facebook's costs are exploding as the company spends a lot of money to make investments.

Another company with impressive earnings is Apple. We told you yesterday that Apple had a great, great report. Its shares climbed 6 percent on the best profits in corporate history.

The best profits in corporate history and record iPhone sales. Even the CEO of the company, Tim Cook, said it is hard to comprehend the success of those products.

BERMAN: With 30,000 iPhones an hour?

ROMANS: With 30,000 iPhones an hour, it is really remarkable. A lot of people talking about, wait, who needs Steve Jobs? I mean, a lot of people said Apple would never been the same without Steve Jobs. Tim Cook just posted the best quarter ever.

BERMAN: It's 41 minutes after the hour. Chaos erupts when St. Louis police meet with their community. Shouting and shoving. This was ugly. This is after one union official chose support for the man who shot and killed Michael Brown. The video is next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: As his former NFL team prepares to play in the Super Bowl Sunday, Aaron Hernandez is preparing to go on trial for murder. Opening statements are scheduled today. Hernandez is accused of killing semi-pro football player, Odin Lloyd.

The 12-person jury, six alternate, consists of 13 women and five men. Patriots Owner Robert Kraft and Head Coach Bill Belichick are both on the state's list of potential list of witnesses.

BERMAN: Breaking overnight, a near brawl at a St. Louis City Hall. A meeting to discuss the creation of a civilian oversight board to monitor police has started peacefully enough last night until police union official, Jeff Rorda, 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: One woman claims this mayhem erupted when Mr. Rorda shoved her. The police union official denies pushing her. I want you to see the wrist band he was wearing, "I Am Darren Wilson" obviously show support for the former police officer, who shot and killed Michael Brown in nearby Ferguson. A local clergy member says Rorda flaunted that wrist band which ignited tension that led to this near brawl.

ROMANS: All right, 47 minutes past the hour, tensions rising in the Middle East. Israel firing back after a deadly missile attack, is war with Hezbollah imminent? We are live with the very latest this morning.

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BERMAN: Happening this morning, Israeli leaders meeting to decide whether to escalate on the Hezbollah missile attack that killed two Israeli soldiers. Seven Israeli soldiers were wounded in this anti- tank missile attack on Wednesday in a disputed area on the border between Lebanon and Israel.

The Israel Defense Force fired back shelling targets in Southern Lebanon. A U.N. peace keeper in Southern Lebanon died in this fighting. It is not clear whether he was killed by Israeli or Hezbollah fire.

CNN's Atika Shubert is right on the border for us with the latest. Good morning, Atika.

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. You might be able to hear the line of drones above us. We are just a few miles from the border actually over that hill is Lebanon. It is on high alert. Things are so far quiet. That's good. More than 24 hours after the Hezbollah rocket attack and the

artillery fire retaliation by Israeli force. In that rocket attack, two Israeli soldiers died and they are now being buried in the military cemetery. That is where the funerals are taking place.

A lot of family members are now asking why their vehicles were not more heavily fortified. This is something that the military is now looking into whether or not they should have been more heavily shielded, whether or not they were more vulnerable to attacks.

That is one of the lines of investigation the military is looking into. But the more immediate concern, of course, is whether or not this will lead to an escalation of the conflict. So far, it has not.

Defense minister earlier this morning told army radio that they have received a message from U.N. peacekeepers on the Lebanon side that Hezbollah does not want to initiate anymore attacks. That could mean things stay quiet for now -- John.

BERMAN: It was devastating. In 2006, I was there. So many Israelis died from missile attacks from Hezbollah as well. It does not seem those sides want to escalate at this point. Atika Shubert for us on the border, thanks so much.

ROMANS: New this morning, sad but not unexpected news of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH-370, which disappeared last March flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, Malaysia's head of civil aviation making an official declaration at a news conference that all 239 passengers and crew are now presumed dead.

Declaration makes it possible for families to pursue compensation from the airline and from private insurance. The search for MH-370 continues, of course, the search for the wreckage on the sea floor a thousand miles west of Australia.

BERMAN: A milestone for those families. All right, good news for your 401(k). Good news. Stick around for this. An EARLY START on your money is next.

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ROMANS: Let's get an EARLY START on your money. Stock futures pointing up right now after a few brutal days, folks, yesterday, the Dow fell almost 200. It fell 300 on Tuesday. The Federal Reserve, though, voicing confidence in the U.S. economy that could mean an interest rate hike is very soon.

On oil prices we are watching those rattle the markets here. U.S. crude oil is around at $44 a barrel this morning, a six-year low. Big record supplies in the U.S.

McDonalds CEO is out, Don Thompson retiring after months of lousy sales. Just last week McDonald's reported a 21 percent drop in earnings. That is not good. Declines in restaurant traffic.

McDonald's struggling to offer something millennials want like Chipotle and Panera. The company's chief brand officer, Stevie Easterbrook will take over in March. The stock is up 3 percent right now.

Retirement savings hitting a record. According to Fidelity, the average 401(k) balance climbed to $91,000 average, a bump from year earlier and a 30 percent increase from 2011. The stock market has tripled since the low in 2009. You can see it in those 401(k) balances.

Last year, the S&P 500 had a third year in a row of double digit gains. Fidelity says the gains are also thanks to higher worker contributions which I think is really interesting. Wages are flat, but people have been contributing more to their 401(k).

BERMAN: Let me just say happy birthday to you. I won't see you. So happy early birthday.

ROMANS: What did you get me?

BERMAN: A lot, big fat nothing.

All right, a lot of news this morning, the deadline for the lives of two hostages held by ISIS is fast approaching. NEW DAY starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Time is ticking down for two hostages captured by ISIS.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not sure that Jordan can go ahead without an assurance that they're going to get their pilot back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will never give up. They're holding the world hostage by doing this.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": The terrorists will pay the full price.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is Hezbollah attacking IDF and Israel has the right to defend itself.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just saw a sham of a process.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He started pushing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two or three other anti-police radicals rushed over and it escalated from there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's unfortunate that the city has the kinds of divisions that it presently has.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Thursday, January 29th, 6:00 in the east, almost. There's a new recording, audio, it is purportedly from Japanese hostage, Kenji Goto, and it says the Jordanian government has until sunset today.

That's about three and a half hours from now to bring a convicted female terrorist to deter --