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ISIS Kidnaps 90 People in Syria; GOP Regroups on Homeland Budget Impasse; Ice Storm Cripples Dallas; Putin: "Apocalyptic" War Unlikely; Pussy Riot Pays Tribute to Eric Garner
Aired February 24, 2015 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you so much. I appreciate that. Have a great day.
NEWSROOM starts now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, the Department of Homeland Security running out of cash. Now security workers are threatening to walk off the job if they don't get paid. What a D.C. stalemate could mean for our airports and borders.
Plus, a Netanyahu bombshell. His famous bomb cartoon warning of Iran's nuclear capabilities, not exactly accurate according to his own intelligence agency.
Also, poor Putin. Eighty percent of Russians think America is too tough on their president, but not punk rockers Pussy Riot.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His ethical principles.
COSTELLO: I talked to them about their American influences.
Let's talk. Live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.
This morning we're learning ISIS militants kidnapped at least 90 people from predominantly Christian villages inside Syria. Activists on the ground are reporting the terror group struck a string of towns in northern Syria on Monday and the militants reportedly bragged over walkie-talkies they had captured, quote, "crusaders."
CNN's Becky Anderson live in Abu Dhabi with more on this.
Hi, Becky.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, hello. Good morning. This is what we know at this point. ISIS militants abducting, as you
rightly point out, at least 90 Assyrian Christians from two villages in northeastern Syria. Now this information coming from a variety of organizations, not least the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights who said that, and I quote, "Reliable sources overheard ISIS militants talking on wireless devices about having detained some 56," as they described them crusaders in one village alone.
You'll be aware that ISIS or Daesh has attacked numerous minority groups, like the Assyrians, during what is this bloody campaign to create what they call a vast caliphate across Syria and Iraq under what is an extreme version of Sharia law.
And to give you some context for this, just this summer ISIS overran the city of Qaraqosh which is an historic Assyrian town of some 50,000 people in northern Iraq about 20 miles southeast of Mosul. And at the time ISIS issuing an ultimatum to Christians living there, convert to Islam, pay a fine, or face death by the sword, Carol. That's the latest.
COSTELLO: All right. Becky Anderson reporting from Abu Dhabi this morning.
A security scare in Paris. Police investigating after five drones were seen flying over the Eifel Tower early this morning. And the drones didn't stop there. They were spotted over several sensitive areas including the Bastille and the U.S. embassy.
In Washington, the clock is ticking. Senate Republicans are scrambling to prevent a partial shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security. That is the very people entrusted with keeping American safe.
With stakes that high, Republicans now in control of Congress don't want to face public blame and backlash so Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell is changing tactics. He wants to bring a separate bill to a vote this week.
This move comes after the Senate failed in four previous votes to move on a House-passed bill that ties DHS funding to immigration reforms. Now a separate bill would block President Obama's executive actions on immigration announced in November and it could pressure the GOP to pass a clean funding bill for DHS. The White House is adding its pressure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEH JOHNSON, SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: A shutdown of homeland security would have serious consequences and amount to a serious disruption in our ability to protect the homeland.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: CNN's White House correspondent Jim Acosta is standing by. But let's go first to Athena Jones with more on Mitch McConnell's idea. Good morning.
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
This new plan by Senator McConnell does nothing on its own to deal with DHS funding. That's a whole separate issue. The idea here is that by stripping out this immigration, this immigration issue that conservatives really want to see -- coupled with the DHS bill, by stripping it out as a separate bill and requiring a vote on that, it could give room to then later pass a clean -- so-called clean DHS funding bill that doesn't have any strings attached, doesn't have these immigration provisions attached.
The problem is that even this new bill bringing it up for a vote, that takes a lot of procedural hurdles that it has to overcome. The first vote wouldn't even be until Friday and that, of course, is the deadline for the DHS to remain funded. So this is one step along the way but it still doesn't make it clear at all that DHS is going to be funded.
Part of this move by Senator McConnell is also to try to put some pressure on Democrats who have questioned the president's executive actions on immigration but haven't really split from their party when it comes to blocking those votes on the DHS funding bill. So it's messy and complicated. The bottom line is it's still unclear right now whether DHS is going to be funded by Friday.
I want to read a tweet for you from Senator Claire McCaskill out of Missouri. She tweeted, "Let's pass funding for Homeland Security today to show unity against terrorists, then we can bring up -- then the R's," Republicans, "can bring up immigration for a vote immediately after."
All this shows is that the fight is still going on and it's still not clear what's going to happen -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Now see, I thought this wasn't supposed to happen because what we're talking about with this partial shutdown, it's going to affect, like, the TSA, right? Border Patrol, right? Secret Service?
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: So why haven't they worked on this before?
JONES: Yes, but those folks will still be at work.
COSTELLO: I know they'll still be at work but they won't be paid. And -- and come on, that's easy for a bunch of millionaires to talk about, like -- who are sitting on Capitol Hill and not so easy to talk about when you're a TSA agent making $30,000 a year.
JONES: Exactly. A lot of folks cannot survive or cannot afford to miss a paycheck or two. Most people don't -- their lives that way. People need their paychecks and our latest CNN poll shows that 53 percent of the American public would place the blame on the Republican Party if this matter isn't resolved. And so the clock is ticking -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right. Athena Jones reporting live for us this morning.
Let's head to the White House now and check in with Jim Acosta and the president's response.
Good morning.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Yes. You've heard of the fiscal cliff, now we have the Homeland Security cliff. And as you and Athena were talking about just a few moments ago, the impacts of a DHS shutdown would be pretty widespread.
Let's put this up on screen for you. Let's show you what we're talking about. We're talking about 30,000 employees of the Department of Homeland Security who would be furloughed. They would not be allowed to go to work. Another 100,000 plus, could be a lot more than 100,000, would work with no pay. That's right, they would show up for their jobs in places like border security, the Transportation Security Administration and the Secret Service who protect the president and work with no pay.
And so that is a very serious matter indeed and that's why the president said yesterday when he was meeting with the group of governors from around the country that there could be an economic impact as well. Here's what the president had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Unless Congress acts, one week from now more than 100,000 DHS employees, Border Patrol, port inspectors, TSA agents will show up to work without getting paid.
Now they all work in your states. These are folks who if they don't have a paycheck are not going to be able to spend that money in your states. It will have a direct impact on your economy, and it will have a direct impact on America's national security, because their hard work helps to keep us safe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And, of course, Carol, you were just talking about this deal that Mitch McConnell is trying to craft, the Senate majority leader. The question becomes, though, does the House of Representatives pass that and can they pass it in time before the funding expires over at DHS? That is the big show that we're all going to be watching at the end of this week.
As you know, you've seen this brinkmanship happen before. Sometimes when it gets to the very edge, you know, it's -- wiser minds prevail, but that may not be the case here because -- and you talked about this earlier, Carol, Republicans, you know, keep in mind, they feel like that there wasn't a huge cost the last time the government shut down. They won the Senate. They expanded their majority in the House and so the political motivation may not be there.
A lot of members of the Republican Party in the House just don't see a huge consequence for them if the Department of Homeland Security shuts down even for a brief period, even for a lengthier period. So that is why so much of this is very much up in the air at this point, Carol.
COSTELLO: All right. Jim Acosta, reporting live from the White House, thank you.
Fresh off a trip to Europe John Kerry heads to Capitol Hill today where he's expected to update senators on the nuclear talks with Iran. Both U.S. and Iranian officials admit progress has been made but key sticking points remain. Six countries are negotiating with Iran to assure the nation does not acquire a nuclear weapon. A new round of talks is slated for next Monday in Geneva as negotiators try to meet a March 31st deadline for an agreement.
Also Secretary of State Kerry will begin his day in Congress at the Senate Appropriations Committee. CNN will have coverage when the hearing begins. That's coming up 10:00 a.m. Eastern time.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, a big rig teeters off the side of a bridge while a plane skids off an airport runway. A dangerous ice storm slamming the south. We'll talk about that, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Texas is getting annihilated by a blast of brutal winter weather. Slick roads covered in snow led to this nearly 40-car pileup outside of Amarillo. And the danger is not over yet.
CNN national correspondent, Martin Savidge live in Stephenville, Texas, following the weather today.
Good morning.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Let's start off with some good news. And that is, the temperature is expected to get above freezing today, something it did not do yesterday. The bad news, though, there's another winter system on the way.
The last 24, 48 hours have not been easy here in Texas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SAVIDGE (voice-over): Breaking overnight, investigators say treacherous icy conditions may have caused this American Airlines Boeing 737 to skid off the taxiway. All 68 passengers and crew forced to evacuate from the emergency exit at the back of the plane.
More than 1,000 flights cancelled from Dallas's international airport where up to two inches of sleet and freezing rain fell on Monday. Drivers losing control, paralyzed by ice blanketing the roadways.
NINO ARZON, DALLAS DRIVER: There's a path that the cars have made, and I just kind of followed those paths.
SAVIDGE: Officials closing all Dallas independent school districts as the police department says they've responded to hundreds of ice accidents.
KRUNEL PATEL, DRIVER: I know that once, you know, your car gets out of control you cannot control it.
SAVIDGE: Take a look at this big rig hanging precariously off of a bridge in a busy Dallas interstate after hitting an icy patch. The driver making it out alive, but police say they'll have to use a crane to remove the 18-wheeler.
Meanwhile, the deadly roadways actually bring the community together. Dozens of good Samaritans with SUVs and 4-wheel drives scoured the icy roadways overnight looking for stranded motorists and hauling them to safety.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not very many people do it these days. It's one of those where you want to get out and help random people.
SAVIDGE: This, as dangerous levels of snow and ice --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hang on.
SAVIDGE: -- continued to accumulate. Winter storm warnings and watches stretch now nearly 3,000 miles from California to the Carolinas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SAVIDGE: Back here in Stevensville, you'll remember that yesterday the "American Sniper" trial, Carol, that had to be canceled due to weather. It is going to resume today, a little bit later. I'll be here to cover both the weather and the trial because that's just the kind of reporter I am, Carol.
COSTELLO: You're a hard working man, Martin Savidge, and we appreciate it. Thanks so much.
Still to come in the NEWROOM, the women from pussy riot are back with a video slamming President Putin and what they call state terror around the world. My interview with Masha and Nadia next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Russian President Vladimir Putin says, never fear, there's no apocalyptic end to the crisis in Ukraine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I believe such an apocalyptic scenario is unlikely and hope that it will never get to that point.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: That statement may seem odd to people since an apocalyptic war between Russia and Ukraine never really seemed to be on the table.
But that comment aside, Putin is in Paris, meeting with leaders from France and Germany, trying to work out a deal that could finally bring an end to months-long fighting in Ukraine.
CNN senior international correspondent Frederik Pleitgen is in Moscow following that story.
Hi, Fred.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol.
And, that meeting in Paris adjourned I'd say an hour ago. There was a statement by the French Foreign Minister that said what needs to happen is all sides need to stick to the cease-fire that is in place but has been very difficult so far to say the least.
One of the things that the rebels in Eastern Ukraine are saying, Carol, is they have started pulling heavy weapons away from the front line. The Ukrainians for their part are not doing that at all.
Meanwhile, the economic situation here in Russia remains a very difficult one. There's some new economy numbers that have been coming out showing that unemployment is doing very badly itself in Russia. The economy itself is doing very badly as well.
However, Vladimir Putin's approval ratings have been getting better seemingly with every time there are new sanctions imposed against Russia. One of the interesting things is that my colleague Erin McLaughlin did a couple of days ago. She went out and asked people how they feel U.S. is treating Vladimir Putin? Let's listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): The Americans should shut up, she says, they shouldn't interfere in our lives. They keep helping and helping. Putin is a good one. He's probably tired, poor thing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): My attitude towards America is bad, she said. The way I watch the news I realize that Americans want to get ahold of half of Russia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: So, there you have it. Some of the opinions there on the outskirts of Moscow.
And just one more thing, Carol -- the next approval ratings for Vladimir Putin is going to come out on Thursday. It appears he'll be better than he was the month before as, of course, the crisis in Eastern Ukraine drags on, Carol.
COSTELLO: Interesting. Frederik Pleitgen reporting live from Moscow. Despite the overwhelming support for Putin in the Moscow suburbs,
there is not universal love when it comes to Mr. Putin. It's just that overt criticism of Mr. Putin is underground or subversive as in the case of the feminist punk band, Pussy Riot.
They recorded their first song and video in English. It's called "I Can't Breathe", and what's inspired by alleged by police brutality in New York City.
Band members now Nadya and Masha talked with me from Moscow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO (voice-over): Back in December, Nadya Tolokonnikova and Masha Alyokhina witnessed tens of thousands of protesters marching through New York City.
CROWD: I can't breathe.
You can't breathe.
If I can't breathe.
You can't breathe.
COSTELLO: The words in Eric Gardner's death at the hands of the police moved them to make a music video.
(MUSIC)
NADYA TOLOKONNIKOVA, PUSSY RIOT: It's very touching moment for us and we really felt these words, and the situation with Eric Garner is our own situation.
COSTELLO: The video is a statement against what they call state terror around the world. It seeks to capture Garner's feeling of helplessness and their own feelings of helplessness living in a country that punishes free expression. Both served time in a Russian for performing in a Moscow church. The charge: hooliganism -- or as Mr. Putin put it, undermining the moral foundation of the nation.
They did not give up. During the 2014 Sochi Olympic gains, band members tried to stage an impromptu performance and were lashed with whips by Kazakh militia.
MASHA ALYOKHI NA, PUSSY RIOT: We are alive but we cannot do nothing. So we think that probably people will see this picture and they will not want to stay like this in this grave and do something.
COSTELLO: Both are outraged at Russia's aggression in eastern Ukraine. They say Vladimir Putin is burying his freedoms too.
TOLOKONNIKOVA: He refuses to adhere to ethical principles. It's not good story. You know, Stalin behaved in that way and it's bringing our country to very bad consequences.
COSTELLO (on camera): Do you feel safe talking with me freely like this? You're in Moscow.
TOLOKONNIKOVA: Yes. We are in Moscow, but the bad situation when you can ask her this question, you can ask her this in the first -- in the first of march we will be big demonstration and things like this, it's not really safe, but if you are -- if you are at a room, it's kind of (INAUDIBLE) --
They will at least hear us. It's a secret.
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Courageous young ladies, right? Wow.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM: is Benjamin Netanyahu at odds with his spy agency on Iran's nuclear threat? We'll talk about that next.
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