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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Losing the Battle Against ISIS Propaganda; Officials Confirm "Jihadi John's" Identity; DHS Funding Countdown; New Rules to Keep Internet Open; Judge Rules for Adrian Peterson

Aired February 27, 2015 - 05:00   ET

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

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Losing the war against ISIS. A grim assessment from the FBI as more teens leave their homes believed to be radicalized by the terrorists online. This morning, new information about the man identified as the ISIS executioner.

What we now know about the New York men accused of terror plots, the Canadian teens who may be on their way to help is and the new videos ISIS is releasing in Iraq destroying ancient artifacts for the cameras.

Team coverage breaking down the big story starts now.

Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans. It is Friday, February 27th, 5:00 a.m. in the East. John Berman has the morning off. Thanks for being with us.

A dire prognosis in the battle against ISIS this morning. The FBI's counterterrorism official testifying to lawmakers that America is in his words, losing the battle to stop Islamist militants from spreading their violent message online.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL STEINBACH, FBI ASST. DIRECTOR, COUNTERTERRORISM DIVISION: The foreign terrorists now has direct access into the United States like never before.

They know they can't travel, so what they're doing is they're putting out a very effective propaganda message through social media, through lots of platforms, saying, hey, if you can't come to Syria, do something in the U.S. or Western countries.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper also on Capitol Hill Thursday, painting an equally grim picture.

CNN's Pamela Brown has more on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Christine.

With Jihadi John, ISIS's high profile recruit, now unmasked, this morning, U.S. law enforcement officials say they are focused on the terror group's influence to attract new followers here in the U.S.

And law enforcement officials I have been speaking with have say we are going to keep seeing more ISIS-related cases, until the ISIS propaganda machine is shutdown, the machine that is fueling rapid recruitment in the U.S.

And that was the main topic of discussion among top law enforcement and intelligence officials on the Hill Thursday. In fact, U.S. intelligence chief James Clapper said in testimony on the Hill that you can't shutdown the Internet.

JAMES R. CLAPPER, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: The global media attention and widespread support in extremist circles for these attacks probably will inspire others to conduct similar attacks.

BROWN: He also said that 180 Americans have now tried to join the fight in Syria and that some have already returned to U.S. soil. And in regards to the global threat, he said the final accounting is -- once the final accounting is done, 2014 will have been the most lethal year for terrorism and the 45 years such data has been compiled. A very dire picture there -- Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Pamela, thank you for that.

Attorney General Eric Holder sits down with CNN to discuss the war on ISIS during "NEW DAY" at 7:00 a.m. Eastern. Don't miss that.

We are learning more this morning about the British accented voice of ISIS that the world has come to know as Jihadi John. Beyond his real name confirmed to be by officials as Mohammed Emwazi, a birth place in Kuwait, a privilege upbringing in London, and prospects for a bright middle class future. But many questions remain.

At the top of the list, what radicalized Emwazi?

CNN's Isa Soares is standing by live in London.

What do we know, Isa, about his possible motivation for joining is? It looks, as though, you know, a dozen years ago, this is a young man who could have had anything. It could have been anyone.

ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Good morning, Christine.

He looks normal when you actually speak to people here. You know, he was well-educated, came from a good family. This is a very good and middle class neighborhood. He's educated and went to a good university. So, the question is, what point exactly did the rational change? Or what point was he actually radicalized? There are two thoughts really here. One is from CAGE. It's a Muslim- led human rights advocacy group. They are the ones that know him. He got in contact with them, Mohammed Emwazi got in contact with them back in 2009, because he said he felt harassed by the U.K. services.

Now, he went as part -- he went to Tanzania and East Africa as part of what he told CAGE, a safari trip as a graduation present from his parents. En route, as he got there, he was stopped. He wasn't allowed to enter into the country. He was stopped. He was questioned. He put back on a plane.

Here he was interrogated. He was asked questions about his trip and about his thoughts regarding 7/7 and 9/11. He said he felt trapped. He felt harassed.

The CAGE said it was this that led him to being radicalized. Take a listen to what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASIM QURESHI, RESEARCH DIRECTOR, CAGE: When are we going to finally learn that when we treat people as if they are outsiders, they will inevitably feel like outsiders and they will look for belonging elsewhere. Our entire national security strategy for the last 13 years has only increased, alienation has only increased, people like they don't belong. Why? Because the narrative of injustice has taken root.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: So, he said he felt according to CAGE that he felt trapped. He told CAGE, Christine, MI5 tried to recruit him several teams. It was an officer by the name of Nick who had the conversation with him.

And this is what it says. I'm going to quote you here. This is what Nick told him. "You've got the whole world in front of you. You are 21 years old. You just finished university. Why didn't you work for us?"

He rejected it, and by then, he was told you will have a lot of trouble. You are going to be known. You're going to be followed. Life will be harder for you.

So, that's one argument. The other argument is being had here is that perhaps he was radicalized prior to the 9/11 trip. Many people saying that authorities knew that he had links some sort of links with Somalia. His intention of going to Tanzania wasn't a safari, was in fact to go link with a terror group al Shabaab -- Christine.

ROMANS: It is so difficult I think for a healthy mind to figure how you can go from -- I mean, if that is true, if what man from CAGE is saying, if you are oppressed like an outsider, to go as far as cutting someone's head off with a hunting knife, you know, there is a lot of dots in that connection.

SOARES: Indeed. ROMANS: I just feel so badly for the families of those who have been killed at the hands of Jihadi John, if they watch this unfold.

Isa, thank you so much.

Six months after the hour. In Canada, police fear six missing teenagers from Quebec have gone to Syria to join ISIS. And we are hearing new information this morning about the three New York men arrested in connection with an ISIS terror plot in this country.

Our Deborah Feyerick has more on that in about ten minutes.

With only hours left before the Department of Homeland Security runs out of funding, the Senate is set to vote on a funding bill that meets a key Democratic demand, namely a bill that does not also block President Obama's executive actions on immigration. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has promised a separate vote on immigration.

On the House side, the ticking clock has tempers flaring. The number two Democrat, Steny Hoyer is calling House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy a coward for cutting off his microphone mid-debate. Hoyer later apologized.

With the latest on the funding countdown, I want to bring in White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

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

Here we are hours away from the Department of Homeland Security running out of funding, which would mean that essential employees will have to go to work, but not be paid despite their mortgages and bills to pay. Tens of thousands of other employees would be furloughed. This is all over, of course, a political battle.

At this point, the Senate looks like it's poised to vote on what's being called a clean bill that would fund the Department of Homeland Security, but not tie it to simultaneously defunding the president's executive action on immigration.

In the House, there's a lot of Republican opposition to this. And the House Speaker John Boehner had the reaction to the continued barrage of questions on the subject.

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), HOUSE SPEAKER: When they make decisions, I'll let you know.

KOSINSKI: So, it's unclear if the House is even going to take up a vote on this clean bill.

The White House is putting the responsibility squarely on John Boehner's shoulders, saying that this isn't a partisan dispute anymore, it's a party dispute, accusing Republican leadership of falling down on the job and saying, really, the hard work has already been done on deciding the level of funding. The White House urging Republicans, as they put it, take the responsible course now -- Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Michelle Kosinski at the White House -- thank you for that, Michelle.

The IRS targeting scandal could turn into a criminal matter. The watchdog overseeing the agency confirms the disappearance of former official Lois Lerner's e-mails might involve criminal activity. Congress sequestered those emails from Lerner to determine whether agents targeted Tea Party groups applying for non-profit status. Lawmakers were told the emails were lost in a computer crash. Investigators have now reportedly recovered some of them.

Loretta Lynch now a step closer to become America's next attorney general, replacing Eric Holder. The Senate Judiciary Committee voting 12-8 Thursday to send her nomination to the full Senate for confirmation. If she is confirmed, she will become the first African- American woman to serve in that position.

Nine minutes past the hour. Time for an early start on your money this morning.

U.S. stock futures down slightly. Yesterday, stocks mostly declined. The NASDAQ kept climbing. Now just 12 points below 5,000, a level not seen since the dot-com bubble in 2000.

Regulators have voted for equal internet. Now prepare for a fight. These new rules known as net neutrality will give equal opportunity for Internet speeds and access for all Web sites. That means network owners like AT&T and Time Warner Cable, they can't slow delivery of certain sites or charge providers for faster access.

It's a big win for Web sites, Facebook, Twitter, AOL, the list goes on. Netflix called it a win for consumers. But Internet service providers like Comcast don't want additional rules, a light touch of regulation from the government, and they warned a legal fight to challenge this is coming.

Happening now, investigators searching for several Canadian teens who may be on the way to join ISIS in Syria. What we are learning this morning, right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: We're getting new details about the three Brooklyn men arrested for plotting to aid ISIS. Those who knew the two younger men telling "The New York Times" they had become increasingly isolated and enamored with the Islamic terror group's brutal violence.

We are also learning what the FBI is alleging about exactly how the older suspect paid for and organized the effort to send the youngest suspect to Syria so he could join ISIS.

CNN's Deborah Feyerick tracking that part of the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine, we were learning more about the 30-year-old alleged money man, Abror Habibov. He had conversations with the 19-year-old suspect, the one who was picked up as he tried to board a plane to Turkey. According to the FBI, the money man provided $1,300 to the young man and took him to the travel agency to help pay for the ticket to get to Syria to join ISIS. The money man promising him that he would pay his expenses, certainly enough to help him buy a weapon and then send cash if he needed once he got to Syria.

Now, according to the FBI, the money man did reach out to other individuals, asking them to chip in, to help defray the cost of this venture, saying that they should help to provide for the brothers. That's a code word for jihadists or wannabe jihadists.

Now, it's unclear when this money man arrived in the United States. But he was here long enough to open up a string of kiosks up and down the East Coast, at malls in Virginia Beach, Savannah, as well as Philadelphia. He did overstay his visa. About two years ago, he signed up as a part-time student at a technical college here in New York. Unclear whether that was an attempt to stay in the United States legally once his visa had expired. Right now, the FBI looking and following the money trail and tracking down those other individuals -- Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Thanks for that, Deb. It's so interesting.

Now, the recruiting arm of ISIS reaching deep into Canada now. Police confirming at least six young people from Quebec, including two women, left the country to join ISIS in January alone. At least three of them attended Maisonneuve College in Montreal. Students there stunned by the news.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It just makes us think, like, what were they thinking?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't believe some students could have their mind like blown by that and leave the country to go there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: A teacher at Maisonneuve College who taught in Arabic and Koran studies course, he has been linked to one of the students who left to join ISIS. The school has now canceled its contract with that teacher.

The ISIS assault on the Christian villages in northeast Syria is expanding. Nearly a dozen villages has been overrun in recent days and the number of hostages has now climbed into the hundreds. Now, outrage around the globe, as well as video capturing militants vandalizing a museum in Mosul. They're destroying artifacts that may be centuries old, destroying all of this in front of the cameras.

CNN senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman has more live in Irbil, Iraq.

And, Ben, what is their point in destroying these artifacts?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, if you listen to the man who appears on the five-minute video, and he is not identified, it is because they are idols. And according to the very sort of narrow interpretation of Islam followed by ISIS, all idols must be destroyed, particularly anything that predates Islam.

So, he says that God has ordered us to do this and we will do it. We will destroy these idols, these statues, these antiquities, even if they are worth billions of dollars. So, you see in the video first men toppling statues in the Mosul museum, then smashing them with sledgehammers.

In another clip, you see somebody with a drill defacing the iconic symbol of Iraq itself. These winged bulls of Nineveh. These date back to 700 BC. Now, obviously, not only within the world of archeology, but well beyond, the reaction has been shock and consternation. We heard the head of UNESCO, the United Nations cultural organization describing this act of vandalism as reprehensible and criminal. And UNESCO is calling for an emergency meeting of U.N. Security Council.

The head of the Iraqi museum also expressing shock. Now, there are some doubts as to whether all of these items are replicas or originals. Now, experts when they originally saw them, said they look -- some of them look like replicas. But then, upon further examination, they said no, in fact, some of them are very old statues in pieces and were put back together.

Now, we also had an opportunity to speak to a source in Mosul, well familiar with what's going on in the museum. And he says what you see in the video is really just the tip of the iceberg, that many other smaller valuable items have been sold by ISIS on the international black market for antiquities.

Now, antiquities have really been the object of a lot of ISIS destruction. Keep in mind that Iraq has 12,000 registered archaeological sites. ISIS seems to control 8,500 of them. Some they destroyed openly on camera, so to speak, the pictures being posted to the Internet. In other instances, apparently they have contacted with local people simply to bring in bulldozers and steal what they can -- Christine.

ROMANS: Wow, certainly fascinating video to watch, and a message that ISIS wants the world to see.

Thank you so much, Ben Wedeman.

Nineteen minutes past the hour.

A federal judge overturning the NFL suspension of star running back Adrian Peterson, slamming the league's handling of the case and ordering his reinstatement. But the NFL is not backing down yet. Andy Scholes has the latest in this morning's "Bleacher Report", that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Adrian Peterson had his suspension overturned by a judge, but his future in the NFL is still a big question.

Andy Scholes has more on this morning's "Bleacher Report".

Hey, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Christian.

Yes, we haven't seen Vikings running back Adrian Peterson on the field since last September. But yesterday's ruling in federal court clears the path for his return. Peterson was under an indefinite suspension by the NFL after being charged with child abuse. Yesterday, the federal judge determined that the NFL arbitrator exceeded his authority with the punishment. That means Peterson is now eligible for reinstatement.

But the league filed an appeal and Peterson put back on that commissioner's exempt list until the appeal is heard. Roger Goodell still the only person to take Peterson off that list.

Vanderbilt taking on Tennessee last night. Vande was drilling out the clock at the end, one of their players starts clapping in some of the volunteer players' faces. A Tennessee staff told Vanderbilt's coach Kevin Stallings what happened and Stalling just berated Baldwin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN STALLINGS, VANDERBILT COACH: We don't do that! (EXPLETIVE DELETED) Apologize! We don't do that! I'll (EXPLETIVE DELETED) kill you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Stallings released a statement after the game, apologizing for the way he handled the situation, saying, "One of our players acted inappropriately and violated what we believe to be is good sportsmanship following the game. In my haste to resolve the situation, I made a very inappropriate comment. While, obviously, it was not meant literally, it was still inappropriate. I apologized to the player immediately following the game."

All right. In the NBA last night, the red hot Cavs hosting the Warriors in what may be an NBA finals preview. LeBron James scored a season high 42 points, and the Cavs were able to hold the Splash Brothers Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson to just a combined 31 points, as Cleveland beat Golden State 110-99. They have won 17 of 19.

A little bad news, though, for the Cavs in this one. Star point guard Kyrie Irving, he left the game with an injured shoulder. He is scheduled to have an MRI later today.

When Olympic athletes go for goal in 2016, Los Vegas gamblers will go for the green. Yesterday, the Nevada Gaming Commission approved an amendment to state regulations, allowing sports books to offer betting on Olympic events. Now, wagering on the Olympics was outlawed in 2001 when Senator John McCain called for ban on amateur sports.

International sports looking great. Britain, Ireland, and Australia and other offshore Internet sites, they already allow Olympic bets. So, Christine, I found it very interesting. In Las Vegas, they're going to offer betting on event such as gymnastics and in the Winter Olympics, figure skating. We all know who wins those competitions. So, it could get a little fishy when it comes to betting on those events.

ROMANS: Oh man. People who love to bet will bet on anything. I'm sure they love the idea of betting on gymnastics.

Thank you so much. Nice to see you, Andy.

SCHOLES: All right.

ROMANS: Twenty-six minutes past the hour.

New information this morning about the man now identified as Jihadi John. What turned the man into ISIS executioner? We are live after the break.

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