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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Men Arrested in ISIS Plot; Awaiting Word on Christians; Immigration Reform; Snow Moves North; Russia and Ukraine Economies

Aired February 26, 2015 - 04:30   ET

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

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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Plotting to join ISIS from here at home. New information in the arrests of three New York men accused of trying to help terrorists. And this may be just beginning this morning. The FBI now revealing they are tracking terror suspects in all 50 states.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm John Berman. About 30 minutes past the hour right now.

And happening now, three Brooklyn men in federal custody this morning, charged in connection with an alleged plot to join ISIS in Syria. Now these men also discussed committing acts of terror on American soil, including an attempt on President Obama's life. FBI agents arrested one of these men, a 19 year old, originally from Kazakhstan at JFK Airport preparing to board a plane to head to Turkey. Officials say his 24-year-old friend from Uzbekistan was due to follow later and a 30-year-old also from Uzbekistan allegedly helped organize and finance this operation.

Let's go to CNN's Deborah Feyerick with the latest from the federal courthouse in Brooklyn.

Deb.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, Christine, two of the three Brooklyn men were here in federal court. The hearing was delayed for a couple of hours because one of the men actually wanted an Uzbek translator so that he could understand all the charges and the documents that were filed against him.

The 19-year-old, he was picked up as he was on the jetway ready to board that plane to Turkey. That's when he was arrested. The third man, the money man, he was at a hearing in Florida. He owns a series of kiosks in Philadelphia, Savannah, Virginia Beach. That's how he makes his money. He sells kitchenwares, as well as replaces mobile -- or fixes mobile phones. But all three are facing conspiracy charges of providing material support to terrorists. The two wannabe jihadists who are here in this court, they actually wanted to get to Syria to join the terror group.

Now, both of the men did have back-up plans. The 19-year-old, the reason he had a back-up plan is because his mom had confiscated his passport fearing that he was going to try to get to Syria. His plan allegedly was to join the military, funnel information to ISIS, and then if he was caught, he would simply open fire on soldiers. His other plan was to buy an AK-47 and go out and shoot police officers, as well as FBI agents.

The 24-year-old, he works at the Gyro King (ph). He was going to actually try to get to Syria, but if that failed, then he allegedly told the FBI and repeatedly said that he was going to shoot the president once he got the green light from ISIS.

Now, the men were here in court. They're rather small. They're about 5'3", 5'4". Both of them wearing hoodies. Both told a judge that they understand the charges against them. They're scheduled to be back here on March 11th.

John. Christine.

ROMANS: A fascinating story. Now, the lawyer for one of the suspect cautions, we have not heard the whole story yet. The FBI's case against these three men comes partly from their social media postings and partly from a confidential informant. Attorney Adam Perlmutter says his client is not admitting or denying anything at this point, but Perlmutter is questioning the credibility of that FBI informant.

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ADAM PERLMUTTER, AKHROR SAIDAKHMETOV'S ATTORNEY: This is all information that is delivered to the FBI from a confidential informant that the government says in their own complaint they can't rely on the credibility of. And we only have, again, these small snippets of what my client allegedly said. We don't know the background. We don't know the context. We don't know how this confidential informant manipulated my client. He has not had to enter a plea yet. He has not been indicted yet. All that's happened is he's been presented on a complaint and there's no need for him to enter any type of plea or make any type of statement to that effect at this point.

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BERMAN: The FBI says that home-grown violent extremism is a nationwide problem with investigations now in all 50 states. Active investigations. FBI Director James Comey told state attorneys general at a speech on Wednesday that ISIS has developed a message and web- savvy package that can reach what he calls troubled souls in every corner of the country.

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JAMES COMEY, FBI DIRECTOR: ISIL in particular is putting out a siren song through their slick propaganda, through social media, that goes like this. Troubled soul, come to the caliphate, all right. You will live a life of glory. These are the apocalyptic end times. You will find a life of meaning here fighting for our so-called caliphate. And if you cannot come, kill somebody where you are.

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BERMAN: This morning, committees in both the House and the Senate will hear testimony on the ISIS terror threat from high level intelligence officials.

ROMANS: In northeastern Syria, activists say ISIS has kidnapped far more Christian villagers than we knew. More than 220 according to two human rights organizations. Families are anxiously awaiting word of the fate of the women, children and the elderly kidnapped from dozens of Assyrian villages. Advocates say they -- frankly they fear the worst.

In Iraq, officials say ISIS is facing more setbacks, losing territory to Iraqi security forces in Anbar province. For the latest, let's bring in CNN's Ian Lee.

Good morning, Ian.

Bring us up to speed on what they think happened to those Christian families.

IAN LEE, CNN REPORTER: Well, good morning.

Yes, Horrible news out of Syria. It took place when ISIS advanced on the string of Christian villages fighting the Christian militias there, as well as the YPG Kurdish fighters. Not much is known about what the fate of these people, but we have seen in the past, ISIS telling Christians when they took Mosul that they either had to convert, run or die. Now these people are their captives. We've also seen as well that female captives have been sold into sex slavery and even young girls as well. So it doesn't look good for these captives. And we heard that there are more that have been taken, over 200. And when the ISIS fighters also went into this town, they destroyed their homes, they destroyed their churches, really leaving their brutal presence there as their calling card really.

ROMANS: ISIS calling these families crusaders. But these are families who have lived peacefully in Syria for hundreds of years, right?

LEE: Well, yes, really thousands of years. The Assyrians really go back roughly 4,000 years in this part of the world. They were some of the first to adopt Christianity. And they have been living in these areas. These are not rich people. These are poor people who are from these villages. Really just making ends meet. And ISIS has been using that as one of their tactics.

When they went after Christians in Syria, in Iraq and (INAUDIBLE) calling it a (INAUDIBLE) crusaders, but really every time we see them target these Christians, they're not Christians who are fighting them. These are Christians who are just trying to go about their daily lives.

ROMANS: All right, Ian Lee in Cairo for us this morning. Thank you, Ian.

BERMAN: So terrorism obviously in Syria and Iraq. Threats of terror with possible crews (ph) here in the United States. And while that's happening, there could be a potential shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security. The Senate has now decided to send a clean DHS funding bill to the House of Representatives. That means no add-ons that were meant to overturn the president's immigration actions. Homeland Security funding runs out midnight on Friday. Law enforcement officials in big cities like New York are getting nervous.

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BILL BRATTON, NYPD COMMISSIONER: This is not the time to engage in activities that would threaten our counterterrorism capabilities, such as has been exhibited in the movement on this case, and effectively to hold our counterterrorism agencies hostage to political machinations in D.C.

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BERMAN: It's not clear yet whether the House will even vote on a clean DHS funding bill once it arrives later today or tomorrow. A short-term measure to defend the department -- fund the department through the next few weeks or months might be the only way to avoid furloughs.

ROMANS: All right, a defiant President Obama is vowing to push ahead on immigration, promising to aggressively appeal a Texas district judge's ruling blocking his executive actions on immigration reform. At a town hall in Miami, he said the pressure needs to stay on Republicans in order to pass comprehensive immigration reform. White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski has the latest.

Michelle.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, John and Christine.

Well, part of this impasse is that a federal judge in Texas essentially put on hold implementation of the president's executive order on immigration. But at a town hall meeting in Miami, where many in the crowd were asking him, why can't you do more on immigration, his tone was confident and defiant, saying he is absolutely confident that, first of all, the administration is on the right side of the law on this and will ultimately prevail. Even if they lose this first round appeal, that they would ultimately be successful in a higher court.

And, in the meantime, the president said that he is using this prosecutorial discretion to prioritize deportations on, as the White House keeps putting it, felons, not families. And that he's put out this directive to customs and immigrations officials that they're not supposed to be deporting people who are here working and raising families. He said that if that wasn't met, then there would be consequences.

He also put the onus on Republicans, saying it's about time to act for comprehensive immigration reform, but also on voters. With only about a third of eligible voters doing so in the last election, he asked then, why are you not doing your part on this? Why are you not participating?

John and Christine.

BERMAN: Our thanks to Michelle for that.

A key vote in the Senate today asked the judiciary committee to decide on sending the nomination of Loretta Lynch as attorney general to the full Senate. The vote comes as Republican opposition to Lynch seems to grow. The main roadblock for her confirmation to replace Eric Holder is her support for President Obama's sweeping immigration actions, the executive actions that he signed earlier this year.

ROMANS: All right, 40 minutes past the hour. Time for an EARLY START on your money this morning.

Asian shares claimed today. Look at Shanghai, up 2.2 percent. European stocks, U.S. stock futures have been higher right now. Yesterday, a mixed bag for stocks. But the Dow inched higher by just 15 points. It just takes 15 points to close at records these days. The Nasdaq snapped its latest winning streak in five years, pulled down by shares of Apple.

American Express users beware. Your interest rate could be going up. Some customers received letters this month warning of an increase in your rates. American Express says this will only affect a small percentage of the company's 55 million cardholders. They'll see an average hike of 2.5 percentage points. Such rate adjustments used to be common, but federal regulations changed in 2009 discouraging banks from making changes. And American Express won't tell us exactly how many cardholders this will affect, but those letters have been going out and customers have been noticing and they're going to keep a close eye, 2.5 percentage points.

BERMAN: Better interest -- better to notice now than when they start charging.

ROMANS: Yes, exactly.

Happening now, the south slammed by snow. A deadly storm grounding planes, cancelling schools, closing roads. Millions in the path of this thing. How hard this one will hit, right after the break.

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BERMAN: A storm-battered south dealing with a new round of snow and ice right now. Winter storm warnings in effect in 11 states, from Texas to the Carolinas. Nearly 900 flights canceled already today.

ROMANS: It's been three days of canceled flights, folks. Schools in Atlanta, Knoxville, Greenville, they're all closed. Charlotte, Raleigh and other districts in North Carolina are closed where six to 10 inches of snow is falling overnight.

BERMAN: In Mississippi, a two-year-old girl was killed in a car accident when the car she was in hydroplaned. Curfews do remain in effect for certain counties in the northern part of that state. Nine inches of snow in parts of Mississippi.

ROMANS: A state of emergency remains in effect in Georgia. Four inches of snow expected in Atlanta. Crews are treating the roads now. They're hoping to avoid a repeat of last year's disaster. Remember when ice virtually shut down Atlanta. They're trying to prepare for that today. Four inches of snow in Atlanta forecast (ph).

BERMAN: So how bad will it get today and how long will this last? Let's bring in meteorologist Pedram Javaheri for some answers.

Pedram.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: John and Christine, things beginning to quiet down across the southeast. Now the energy all shifted across northern North Carolina, southern Virginia belt (ph). D.C. starting to get a few flakes this morning as well. Generally one to two inches around the nation's capital.

But here we go across Chicagoland, we have had about three to four inches of snowfall into the overnight hours. I wouldn't be surprised if we get a couple more inches out of this. Generally going to be in the light variety before things tapers off. Springfield also seeing some snow showers. And St. Louis, if you're traveling there, a couple of inches could slow you down a little bit as far as the minimal delays expected across the airport there.

But here's the blockbuster snow across some of the higher elevations of the Rockies. Southern Rockies. We're talking about around northern New Mexico there's significant accumulations into southern Colorado, up to two feet expected to come down. I know the skiers and snowboarders are going to be loving life across that region.

But across the southeast, our storm system is on the move. Again, some rain showers on much of South Carolina. But get into northern North Carolina again, that's where we expect much of the snowfall to be left in place. Cold temperatures expected to continue. New York City generally into the upper 20s and low 30s all weekend, while Boston, a slight warming trend into the 30s by weeks end.

Here we go, warming trend in sight. Sometime in the early to middle portion of next week, we're talking 50s around D.C., while upper 40s possible in New York City, with nearly 70 down in the south, guys.

ROMANS: All right, thanks, Pedram.

United Airlines sending a strong warning to its pilots after frightening incidents involving four different flights. A January 9th bulletin from United to its pilots citing one flight that needed a last-second pull-up maneuver to avoid crashing and another that landed with less fuel and reserves than regulations require. United is ordering its pilots do double down on safety procedures.

BERMAN: Bobbi Kristina Brown suffering seizures according to a family source when doctors tried taking her off various medications. They were forced to put her back on the drugs. Twenty-one-year-old Brown is the only daughter of Whitney Houston. She remains in a medically induced coma after being found face down in a bathtub at her Georgia home nearly a month ago.

ROMANS: All right, as of midnight, recreational use of marijuana is legal in the nation's capital. The voter approved measure allows adults 21 and over to possess two ounces or less and grow up to six marijuana plants at a primary residence. The Washington, D.C., mayor ignored warnings from Republican lawmakers and threatened to throw him in jail is he went ahead with these legalization plans. Back in November 70 percent, 70 percent of D.C. voters approved the marijuana initiative.

BERMAN: The crisis in Ukraine taking a big toll on economies in Ukraine and Russia. But this morning, word that Vladimir Putin might be more popular than ever. We're live in Moscow right after the break.

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BERMAN: The Obama administration struggling with the idea of sending lethal weapon to Ukraine. General Philip Breedlove told Congress the White House is concerned such a move might escalate Russia's military involvement in the region. This as the fighting is taking a severe toll on the economies of both Russia and Ukraine. But even so, Russian President Vladimir Putin's popularity has never been higher. That is according to a new poll out just moments ago. For more now, let's go to a man with a very high approval rating, CNN's Frederik Pleitgen, live in Moscow.

Good morning, Fred.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not as high as Vladimir Putin's, John. Eighty-six percent is the latest number. That comes from the Levada Institute, which is a non-governmental organization here in Russia. And it's interesting, especially when you look at the backdrop of all of this, because you have a struggling economy here. You have sky high unemployment. You have a currency, the ruble, that's been in decline for a very long time and still a vast majority of Russians support Vladimir Putin.

It's interesting because I went out to Red Square just yesterday and we were asking people there how they felt their president was doing. And we went around for a very long time. We couldn't find a single person who had a negative opinion of Vladimir Putin. There are people who say they're not happy with the way the economy is going. There are some people who also say they're very concerned about what's happening in eastern Ukraine. But most of the people we spoke to said they believe this has all been induced by the west and that their president is standing up to the west.

Now, the big question of course on everybody's mind, not just here but elsewhere is well, is whether or not the situation will change in the east of Ukraine, whether or not there might be a real chance of that cease-fire holding. It appears as though, from reports that we're getting and from our correspondents in the field as well, that it seems like the pro-Russian separatists might be withdrawing heavy weapons from the front line.

However, the organization that's supposed to monitor all this, the OSCE, says they cannot verify that at this point. They don't know whether or not the separatists are pulling those weapons back or simply moving them around because they don't have inventories as to what heavy weapons the separatists have there on the front line and what routes they're taking to pull them back. So there might be a good sign there in Mariupol. Certainly what we know from the Ukrainians is that there's considerably less fighting now than there has been before. But whether or not that means that the cease-fire actually has a chance of holding, no one really knows at this point, John.

BERMAN: No, it's really hour by hour there, not even day by day. Fred Pleitgen for us in Moscow. Thanks so much, Fred.

ROMANS: All right, a new way to find the cheapest airline tickets. We get an EARLY START on your money, next.

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ROMANS: All right, let's get an EARLY START on your money this morning. Asian stocks climbed today. European stocks, U.S. futures following that lead. Yesterday, the Dow just needed 15 points to close at a record high and did so, but the Nasdaq snapped its losing -- longest, rather, winning streak in five years lead by a dip in Apple shares.

Another battle won in the low wage wars. Thousands of TJMaxx employees about to get a raise. In June, all employees will make at least $9 an hour. A $9 starting salary there. Next year it will go up to $10. There might have been some pressure from Walmart. Walmart did this last week, a very similar plan. You know, the job market is tightening. Companies need higher wages to recruit and keep good workers. Gap did this a year ago and reported a big jump in applications. So, if you want to keep workers and you want the best workers, retailers are learning you've got to pay them more.

The cheapest way to fly. Google it. Google's upgraded flights tool helps find the lowest fares, especially if your travel date is flexible. Google says more than half of people don't know where they want to go when they plan a vacation.

BERMAN: Somewhere warm now.

ROMANS: So, the new tool has interactive map with prices for destinations around the world. One thing missing, if prices will drop in the near future like Bing and Kayak.

BERMAN: EARLY START continues right now.

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