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ISIS Threat Continues to Grow; Record Snow in Boston; Record Business for Plow Drivers; Congress on Vacation as DHS In Jeopardy of Losing Funding; SNL Celebrates 40 Years
Aired February 16, 2015 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: News of the killings only adding fears, though, that the threat of ISIS is growing, expanding from strongholds in Syria and Iraq to North Africa and over to Pakistan and Afghanistan.
I want to bring in CNN military analyst, Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona. Colonel, welcome.
LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Good morning.
COSTELLO: Good morning. You can see ISIS is now a threat in eight countries. The U.S. says it wants to defeat ISIS. Isn't mission creep inevitable now?
FRANCONA: I think so. We're going to have to address ISIS wherever it pops up. So as ISIS expands, we've got to take action to defeat it. And I think the authorization to use military force is broad enough to address that. It doesn't restrict operations to a specific area.
One question we might look at, is Egypt going to join the coalition now as an active partner? I think it was refreshing to see the Egyptians avenging Christian blood. There have been a lot of accusations against the el-Sisi government, that he really has not been aggressive enough in going after anti-Christian violence. And so I think this is a welcome sign.
COSTELLO: Egypt says it needs help, though. It's approached the U.N. So what should be done?
FRANCONA: Yes, Egypt has been in kind of a bad way since el-Sisi assumed power. As you know, the United States regarded that as a coup and has really restricted the flow of spare parts for his F-16 fleet. The F-16 is the weapon that they used last night. The Egyptians are having trouble keeping those aircraft flying. They also need parts for their Apaches to address the growing ISIS threat, not only in Libya, but on their other border over in the Sinai Peninsula.
So, you know, Egypt does need help. They need help from the United States and they need help from the international community if they're successfully going to do this. If the Egyptians are willing to stand up to ISIS, I think they need our support.
COSTELLO: I want to focus on Libya for a just a second because a few months back, Army General David Rodriguez said that ISIS was setting up training camps in Libya. So why didn't the United States bomb those camps?
FRANCONA: I think that would be the definition of mission creep. We're focused right now on what's going on in Iraq. We're paying -- you know, we're giving some attention to Syria. But, you know, Libya, in the meantime, has risen up as this area, it's kind of a lull of society. It's like Afghanistan was, you know, a decade or so ago and they were open -- you could put camps in there. The two countries you have to look at now are Libya and Yemen. These could be al Qaeda and ISIS strongholds. That's where we're going to see the training camps. They're going to need to be addressed as well. It's not just -- it's no longer just Syria and Iraq.
COSTELLO: So these ISIS terrorists who killed the Coptic Christian, they threatened Italy and, of course, Libya's not so far from Italy. What, about a thousand miles? So should Italy be afraid, because Italy also approached the United Nations for help?
FRANCONA: Well, you know, Italy and Libya have a lot of history when you go back over 100 years. We know that ISIS has designs on the former caliphate, which includes a good portion of Italy. So that was a threat directed at the Europeans in general, Italy in particular.
COSTELLO: Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona, thanks so much. I appreciate your insight.
We're learning new details about a plan to rescue Kayla Mueller. She's the American aid worker who was killed after being kidnapped by ISIS. According to an interview given to the Associated Press, Mueller's boyfriend, her Syrian boyfriend, Omar Alkhani, says he tried to free the imprisoned American by pretending to be her husband. Alkhani believed Mueller's captors would set her free if they believed the two were married. Instead of going along with the ruse, though, Mueller denied she was married and remained in ISIS custody. The rescue attempt was apparently made solely by Mueller's boyfriend without the backing of any government. He believes that she said that they weren't married to save him so ISIS wouldn't take him into captivity as well.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, OK, seriously, this snow thing is getting old. Ryan Young is in Boston.
Good morning.
RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
And who are you telling snow, snow and snow? And now the freezing cold. We'll tell you all about it coming up in a live, cold report.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Another week, another blizzard blasts the Massachusetts coastline. Snow whipping at near hurricane strength winds made for a dramatic rescue off Cape Cod. Here it is. This is the Coast Guard reaching a disabled sailboat. There you see it. Waves reached 25 feet. Imagine how cold they were out there. Following the storm, bitter cold. These images are enough to make you
want to grab an extra blanket or two or three or 500. And as I may have mentioned earlier in the show, Boston officially hit its snowiest month ever at 58.5 inches this weekend. And it's only the 16th.
Ryan Young drew the lucky straw. He's in Boston this morning. Good morning.
YOUNG: Good morning.
I've heard everybody else talking about how cold it is on their live shots and I'm like, are you kidding me? It is cold here. We've felt windchills of negative 25 and everyone else is talking about how cold it is.
Look, you look at this park here. All the snow that's left behind. There are snow mountains here the size of city buses. And we've actually seen that for ourselves. People are tired of this right here, a snow shovel. We saw people digging out yesterday after the blizzard. Sixteen inches all came down just on Sunday. But people are getting really tired of having to deal with this. We saw Zach (ph) walking with his son. What a cute face here.
COSTELLO: Awe.
YOUNG: Just -- are you tired of dealing with all this snow and all this cold?
ZACH BARBER, MASSACHUSETTS RESIDENT: Yes, I think everybody's a little tired of it. It's been three weeks and it's been a little bit too much. And the cold is just the icing on the cake, I guess.
YOUNG: Talk about those side streets because I know it looks great over here, but on those side streets in the neighborhoods, aren't -- isn't that where it's difficult?
BARBER: Yes, we live in Milton (ph). It's about eight miles south of here. And night before last I think the National Guard was out with a front-end loader widening our street all night. And, yes, the side roads are brutal. It's tough to get around. It's just not much fun.
YOUNG: And the little guy here, how's he handling it so far?
BARBER: He's been inside for two days straight. So we decided to dropped the wife off at work and we're going to go to the aquarium and try to let him walk around a little bit.
YOUNG: You've got to love the face. We had to stop them. I mean obviously you have to understand, everybody's dealing with cabin fever. Our crew has been working hard with everybody. You guys are going to head to the aquarium.
BARBER: We're going to head to the aquarium. Hopefully it's nice and toasty inside and let him -- let him get a little exercise.
YOUNG: Perfect. Perfect. Well, I hope you guys have fun. Thank you for stopping.
BARBER: You got it.
YOUNG: Hey, look that --
BARBER: Stay warm.
YOUNG: Thank you. That is really the story, how people are dealing with it. And I love it, the fact that folks here in Boston, for the most part, have been dealing with this with a stiff upper chin and just giving it right back to winter.
COSTELLO: I was amazed that Zach wasn't wearing a hat. Is he crazy? I think he's crazy.
YOUNG: Well, you know, we had him sitting in our truck just for a little bit and then we brought him out just for the interview.
COSTELLO: Oh, OK.
YOUNG: So I'm sure -- he's got a hoodie on. So I don't want to get him in trouble, but he's definitely got a hoodie on.
COSTELLO: Good, I'm glad. Thanks so much, Ryan Young, I appreciate it.
Of course the snow isn't all bad news for my next guest. I'm joined on the phone by Frank Ippolito, the owner of Ippolito snow services.
Hi, Frank.
FRANK IPPOLITO, IPPOLITO SNOW SERVICES: Hi. Good morning.
COSTELLO: Is there any way to describe in words how busy you've been?
IPPOLITO: Yes, we try to find the right words, but I think lack of sleep and a desire to rest, as our entire crew would tell you right now. They've been going as long as your last guest had said, for the last three, three and a half weeks.
COSTELLO: Can you even work with all that snow along the sides of the road?
IPPOLITO: You know, that's a really good point. That's the real big challenge because it really slows down our operation in terms of getting out there to serve our customers because, you know, we have to deal with the same issues, that we have to move really slowly and carefully down the street. As one guest said, side streets are very challenging. And you have to safely move. It's a lot of extra time. So you're right, it's challenging.
COSTELLO: So where are you putting all the snow?
IPPOLITO: Anywhere and everywhere there's an open piece of land that won't obstruct the view safely of a driver or prevent someone from getting out of a doorway or moving a car. So when all else fails on the site, we're actually hauling it away overnight to a local snow farm in an adjacent city of ours that we have a partnership with. And that farm is pretty full right now with snow.
COSTELLO: Wow. You know, I've -- I travel between New York and Boston often and I met a guy on the train from Michigan who said he was going to Boston to like make some money shoveling snow. Have you gotten a lot of offers from people out-of-state to work for you?
IPPOLITO: It's not just offers. We have, as I speak to you today, we have four folks in, two from Michigan and two from Ohio that we've augmented our staff with. That they know there's money to be made here in Boston, so they, you know, jumped in their equipment and spent the better half of a day driving up here. We've put them up at a local hotel and add them to our staff and they've been an immense help in letting us try to scale to these storms.
COSTELLO: Wow. So, speaking of money, how much have you made since, I don't know, since the latest blizzard hit?
IPPOLITO: Yes, with the next round of blizzards, you know, we continue to, you know, put two, three and four x of our revenue on top of the already lucrative winter. And it's allowing us to reinvest into more equipment to help serve the customers better. So that's one of the good things that yields this storm. It helps us get to our growth plan even faster because of the amount of the bad weather that Mother Nature is dealing us.
COSTELLO: So when you compare like last January's revenue to this January's revenue, how do they compare?
IPPOLITO: From season to season, I would say that there's a shift in the months this year because last year it came a little bit earlier. But, you know, we've seen a 3x, a triple in revenue from the beginning of this financial fiscal year, which is really nice to see.
COSTELLO: Well, good -- yes, I'm sure it is. Frank, thank you so much for being with me. I appreciate it. And stay safe out there. And try to stay warm.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, lawmakers take a week off as one of the most vital federal agencies is in jeopardy of being shut down. CNN's Athena Jones is following that story for us.
Hi, Athena.
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol.
That's right, the House and the Senate are at an impasse over funding for the Department of Homeland Security. At stake, more than 200,000 paychecks. More when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Lawmakers in Washington are on vacation this week as the agency that protects the nation's, borders, and coastal waters is in jeopardy of being shut down. Though essential employees, including TSA agents, would actually remain on the job, still others won't. Lawmakers are playing the blame game as usual, the House Speaker John Boehner telling "Fox News Sunday" he did his job and it's not his fault if the Department of Homeland Security runs out of money by the end of the month.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: It's time for the Senate to do their job. Listen, I've got a tough job here. So does Senator McConnell. But Senate Democrats are the ones standing in the way. They're the ones jeopardizing funding. Why don't they get on the bill and offer an amendment, offer their ideas. And let's see what the Senate can do.
CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS HOST: And what if the Department of Homeland Security funding runs out?
BOEHNER: Well then Senate Democrats should to be blame. Very simply.
WALLACE: And you're prepared to let that happen?
BOEHNER: Certainly. The House has acted. We've done our job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: CNN's Athena Jones is Washington. I thought Republicans controlled the Senate.
JONES: Well, good morning, Carol. They do. But here's the problem. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has tried three times to bring up the bill the House passed for a vote in the Senate. Senate Democrats are blocking it. They don't want to vote on this bill. It's not going to pass the Senate. Why? It's because the House includes plans to block the president's actions on -- executive actions on immigration. And many, many Republicans in the House do not want to see the president able to carry out those executive actions. The problem is the Senate is not going to pass this bill because there is not enough support to do so. Even if they pass the House's version of the bill, the president is not (sic) going to veto a bill that would block his own plan, plans that he announced just this past November. So that's the impasse we're at right now.
What's at stake, Carol? There are 240,000 -- more than 240,000 employees at the Department of Homeland Security. I believe we have graphic that shows what the plan would be. Essential employees would remain on the job: people like the TSA passenger screening folks would continue to work. But many of the employees who would be required to work would be doing so without pay until they can resolve this issue. Some of those folks the president laid out himself earlier this month: 40,000 Border Patrol agents, 50,000 of TSA aviation security screeners. So that's a lot of folks who would be without a paycheck.
So someone has got to blink. The question is who's going to blink, when are they going to blink? And also, Carol, are going to end up doing some sort of short term funding bill yet again so they can continue to hash out, on the Republican side, how to try to the block the president on this while still funding DHS? So it's a real mess right now, Carol. COSTELLO: I'm betting that's the way it goes. I'm also wondering why
the Senate went home. Why aren't they debating this important issue?
JONES: Well, that's the question we're all asking here. But they've gone home. They're home for this week. And when they come back, there's only going to be four legislative days left to clear all this up. And it's not looking good right now, so maybe we do end up with yet another short-term bill that kicks this can down the road again. Carol?
COSTELLO: I knew that phrase would rear its ugly head again soon. Athen Jones, thank you so much.
I'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY FALLON, TALK SHOW HOST: We are.
JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, MUSICIAN: We are.
FALLON: We are.
TIMBERLAKE: We are.
BOTH: We are two wild and crazy guys eating little chocolate donuts with a samurai.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: They are so talented. Comedy's biggest stars came out last night to celebrate four decades of "Saturday Night Live" from Tina and Amy to Bill and Will. Here's a look back at the best moments of the SNL's 40th anniversary.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TIMBERLAKE: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to "Saturday Night Live" 40th anniversary special.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll take horage (ph) for $200.
WILL FERRELL, COMEDIAN: It's who reads.
Let's hear what this celebrity has to say about his favorite cocktail.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, now, this golden (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whenever I have an important decision to make, I do the same thing. Up, down, up, down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love people who've been asking me, well, why is it that you can't get to the end of a sentence.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Impulse nuclearlysis (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's been a long time, lover (ph).
AMY POEHLER, COMEDIAN: "Saturday Night Live" turns 40 years old this week with a live 3-1/2hour broadcast that won an Emmy in the first ten minutes and lost it somewhere in the middle.
TINY FEY, COMEDIAN: Also joining us, one of the show's original producers: cocaine.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't cover your face. You make a tiki for your secrets.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I am definitely dancing with you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here for the first time is Nick Ocean to sing the Love Theme from "Jaws".
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jaws, get away from me. Jaws, get away from me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tonight's top ten list is the top ten things about SNL. And I just want to remind everybody that this show is actually live so you have to stay in down and locked position. All right? And that means you too, Kanye West.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: I don't know about you, but, boy, I needed that.
The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM after a break.
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