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FBI, DHS Warn About American Youth Joining ISIS; Messy Wintry Mix Impacts 90 Million; U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Attacked; Hillary Clinton Wants People to Read Her E-Mails

Aired March 05, 2015 - 10:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, concern growing about American teenagers wanting to join ISIS. A source telling CNN the FBI and Homeland Security warning police across the country that it's investigating lots of cases.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAVAD ZARIF, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: You can either have sanctions and continue to seek the path of confrontation, or try to resolve this issue through negotiations and through an agreement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: That's Iran's foreign minister hopeful about nuclear negotiations. What he told our Christiane Amanpour exclusively about Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu's comments to Congress.

And you're looking at live pictures in Washington, D.C. as another winter storm barrels across the country. More than 90 million people affected including drivers stuck for hours and hours in Kentucky.

Let's talk. Live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

Breaking news out of Washington where the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are issuing a joint warning for law enforcement across the country. The reason? Growing fears that American boys and girls are seeking to join ISIS. It comes after two recent arrests including a 17-year-old from Virginia.

Joining me now, CNN's Brian Todd. He has more.

Good morning.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. A lot of disturbing news this morning about young people trying to join ISIS, as you just mentioned.

The FBI and Department of Homeland Security, we're getting word now, sent a joint warning to law enforcement agencies across the country about their concern of a growing trend of girls and boys wanting to join ISIS. That's according to another law enforcement official who spoke to CNN's Pamela Brown.

This source says law enforcement is tracking a lot of cases regarding this and is really concerned here. This comes after the arrest of a 17-year-old Virginia student, a high school student in northern Virginia last Friday.

We just got word of this last night. He was taken into custody for helping to recruit for ISIS. That's according to federal law enforcement officials. He's alleged to have helped a slightly older adult travel to Syria, helping to arrange that person's travel and also distributing messages to a network of contacts on behalf of that adult in an effort for him to join ISIS.

Now that also comes in the wake of the arrest of a 21-year-old California man named Adam Dandach. He was indicted just this past Wednesday, yesterday, for attempting to offer himself and material support to work under ISIS' control.

So you have this trend here, Carol, of young people being arrested for either trying to join ISIS or allegedly trying to recruit for ISIS.

What's interesting here is that this warning that Pamela Brown got word of from the FBI and Department of Homeland Security lays out motivations for why boys and girls want to help out ISIS. Now according to our sources, it says for boys, they tend to be older, going over to fight and wanting to be part of a group of foreign fighters and they want to attack inside the U.S. like in the Brooklyn case that we reported on last week.

For girls, this warning says the motivation is that they tend to be younger and have a fanciful notion of what life is like in Syria. They often want to go over and to become Islamic brides. So the trend here and serious word going out from law enforcement officials warning law enforcement agencies about the trend of younger people being recruited for ISIS and their motivations for doing that.

COSTELLO: All right. Brian Todd reporting live from Washington, thank you.

A wintery mix is impacting more than 90 million people. Philadelphia, yes, you're in the path. The slushy snow already falling, seven inches possible today. As for poor Boston, the city is fewer than two inches from recording its snowiest season on record. So far nearly nine feet of snow has fallen.

To Kentucky where the governor has now declared a state of emergency, I-65 just south of Louisville shut down. State police say hundreds of drivers have been stuck for nearly 12 hours. The National Guard has been activated.

Also shut down, our nation's capital. So let's head outside in Washington, D.C. and check in with Joe Johns.

Good morning, Joe.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. It's just gotten started in earnest here in the nation's capital. You can see the United States capitol behind me. Schools are closed here, the United States government is closed, in fact. And the snowplows were out very early in the morning, but it didn't really do any good because it rained and rained and rained here in the Washington metropolitan area.

And then later the snow came. That caused problems, of course, here on the streets because the people who have the snowplows were not able to put down sand and salt and to try to pre-treat the roads. A good thing that there was not much of a rush hour here in Washington.

One interesting note, the delegate for Washington, D.C., Eleanor Holmes Norton, has called on authorities to allow sledding here on Capitol Hill. But so far authorities have said no because of concerns for their safety and also security -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Oh, bah humbug. Really?

(LAUGHTER)

JOHNS: Yes, I know.

COSTELLO: Yes. I know. Well, try to have fun out there anyway, Joe, because I know we were looking forward to sledding.

(LAUGHTER)

Joe Johns reporting live --

JOHNS: Yes, right.

COSTELLO: Yes, exactly. Joe Johns reporting live from Washington.

All right. Let's head back to Kentucky where things are really awful. Joining me on the phone now is Lt. Col. Kirk Hilbrecht from the Kentucky National Guard.

Welcome, sir.

LT. COL. KIRK HILBRECHT, KENTUCKY NATIONAL GUARD: Yes, thank you, ma'am.

COSTELLO: Thanks for being with us, Colonel. I just talked to a woman named (INAUDIBLE) last hour, she's been stuck on I-65 since 10:00 last night. That's just crazy.

HILBRECHT: Well, help is on the way. As you can imagine, this is a significant weather event for everybody in the commonwealth. And we don't normally have this kind of snow, not once but now twice. And our Kentucky National Guardsmen were dispatched early this morning after emergency management folks needed our help. And so we are rendering assistance to those that are stranded, not only on I-65, both 10 miles north and south of Elizabethtown but also in western Kentucky, too.

There's a large stretch of road there just west of Paducah where we also have some stranded motorists. But also in different counties throughout the commonwealth we're rendering ambulatory assistance. So our Humvees and other equipment are following ambulances. So whenever they get a call and they can't go past where their vehicles will allow them to, the EMS folks will get on our vehicles and we'll help render aid.

COSTELLO: It's just difficult to understand how this sort of thing could happen. Nobody should be trapped in their car anywhere in the United States for six hours or more.

HILBRECHT: Well, I know that the Emergency Management folks from all of these different areas have been doing their best. And then as their first line of defense, last night we all had a conference call to ensure that the emergency responders were ready. And so those that were prepositioned that the local officials would call on were there first. And as you can imagine they, too, were trying to circumnavigate this weather. So when we got the call, we came to the aid and that's what we're doing now.

COSTELLO: Is it because you don't have enough, you know, snow removing equipment or salt?

HILBRECHT: Well, I'm sure there's a lot of things. I mean, specifically in the I-65 corridor area, there is -- there was an accident that happened that kind of (INAUDIBLE) the people to actually get to their vehicle sites themselves. So we have equipment that can actually get around those accident areas. And so that's what we're doing right now.

COSTELLO: All right. Well, good luck out there because this just brings to mind what happened in Atlanta not so long ago, and it was ugly.

Lieutenant Colonel Kirk Hilbrecht from the Kentucky National Guard, thanks so much.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, an American ambassador slashed in South Korea. Why the -- why North Korea is calling it punishment. We'll talk about that next.

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COSTELLO: Punishment, that's how North Korea describes a gruesome knife attack on the U.S. ambassador to South Korea, Mark Lippert. This was the scene earlier in the capital city of Seoul. Authorities say this man, a 55-year-old North Korean sympathizer, attacked the ambassador while screaming anti-American sentiments.

Let's bring in CNN's Andrew Stevens. He's in Hong Kong with more for us.

Hi, Andrew.

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. The South Korean president has also been saying this was an intolerable attack, not only on Mr. Lippert, but on the alliance between the U.S. and South Korea as well.

The U.S. president, Barack Obama, is always -- has also been in contact with Mark Lippert. So this certainly is echoing around the world. This attack I mean. It started off as a fairly routine morning. But just before he was about to give his speech, he became the victim of this vicious and apparently politically motivated attack.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVENS (voice-over): A horrifying scene. Blood dripping down the face of U.S. ambassador to South Korea, Mark Lippert. The diplomat undergoing nearly three hours of surgery overnight, receiving more than 80 stitches on his face alone.

Lippert slashed by a 10-inch knife in the face and arms moments before delivering a speech in Seoul Wednesday. The weapon slicing open his left forearm, damaging the nerve system for his fingers. The gash on his right cheek four inches long and an inch deep.

South Korean surgeons say if the facial injury was any deeper, it could have been life-threatening.

MARIE. HARF, STATE DEPARTMENT DEPUTY SPOKESMAN: He's one of our top Asia policy experts in the U.S. government.

STEVENS: In this new surveillance video you can see the suspect, 55- year-old Kim Ki-jong, leaving his home and arriving at the venue.

According to witnesses, once inside, Kim pushed the diplomat from behind onto a table before assaulting him. Bystanders tackling him to the ground as police rushed him out of the conference room. Witnesses say they heard Kim yelling anti-U.S. sentiments, shouting, "The South Korea-U.S. military drills must stop," a reference to the annual war games which North Korea sees as a provocation.

Authorities say the assailant has a history of similar attacks.

In 2010 Kim received a suspended two-year prison sentence for throwing a piece of concrete at a Japanese ambassador to South Korea.

President Obama calling Ambassador Lippert wishing him a speedy recovery. The two close since Obama started in the Senate in 2005.

Lippert tweeting from the hospital, "Doing well and in great spirits, will be back ASAP to advance U.S.-South Korean alliance."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STEVENS: Certainly, Carol, when you look at the pictures of Mark Lippert just after that attack, he does look remarkably calm and cool given what he's just gone through.

Also interesting, too, that this is obviously going to raise questions about security measures taken around the U.S. ambassador in South Korea. Even though it is such a strong ally of the U.S. The Seoul Police saying that they didn't get any instructions from the U.S. embassy about any need for heightened security at all. And this was seen, as I've said, fairly routine speech, talking about the prospects for peace on the Korean Peninsula -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Andrew Stevens. Thanks so much, Andrew, reporting live from Hong Kong.

Today a spokesman for South Korea's president condemned the attack saying, quote, "This incident is not only a physical attack on the U.S. ambassador but also an attack on the U.S.-South Korea alliance so it's never tolerated. We wish a fast recovery of Ambassador Lippert and also offer a deep consolation to his family."

Let's talk more about this attack with senior vice president of the Korea Society, Stephen Noerper.

Welcome, sir. Thank you so much for being here.

STEPHEN NOERPER, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, THE KOREA SOCIETY: Thank you, Carol.

COSTELLO: So let's talk about security first. The venue was surrounded by 25 police officers, there were five police officers inside but there were no metal detectors. Should there have been?

Well, that's hard to say. South Korea is a democracy, it's a very safe place. They have very low gun ownership. It's very strictly controlled. So with the transparency in a modern democracy and the give and take, it wasn't something anyone could have anticipated.

COSTELLO: But there's lot of anti-American sentiment in the world right at this moment.

NOERPER: Well, there is. But it's actually a place where America polls very high among the South Korean population. The alliance is 60 years old and it's one that is very, very strong indeed. So this comes as a great shock mainly to the South Korean people as well. Because they don't anticipate these extremists in their midst.

COSTELLO: So North Korea is making hay of this, right, because it was a North Korean sympathizer who did this. So what does North Korea hope to gain by praising this attack?

NOERPER: Well, it's extremist behavior and North Korea is an extremist regime. It's a regime that's guilty of gross human rights atrocities. There are concerns about its missile and nuclear development. So it's turn with the type of rhetoric, the bellicose rhetoric that we've heard from North Korea. They're simply taking an advantage of an extremist who is acting in this gross way.

COSTELLO: So was this an aberration then? How concerned should we be about our ambassador?

NOERPER: Well, there will no doubt be a step-up in security. And Ambassador Lippert is a true professional. He's somebody who's served the nation and served South Korean-U.S. relations very, very well. And so one would anticipate that certainly there'll be much more rigorous security as we go forward. But it's a critical relationship, it's one of the most vibrant economies. South Korea is a place that's prosperous because of American assistance and because of a shared relationship.

So it's one where this comes as a shock, a surprise to everybody involved, and trying to avoid playing to the rhetoric of the North Koreans to avoid that is important at this time.

COSTELLO: Thank you, sir, for being here. I appreciate it.

NOERPER: Thank you, Carol.

COSTELLO: I do.

Just two days after Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu stood before Congress and warned lawmakers of a potential nuclear nightmare, Iran is fighting back. Its foreign minister sat down with CNN's Christiane Amanpour. He says those stark warnings against the U.S. brokering a deal on Iran's nuclear program were meant to fuel American panic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZARIF: Well, there was no effect on the negotiating table, but I can see that he is trying and some people who associate with him tried to create an atmosphere that of -- an atmosphere of hysteria, an atmosphere of fear-mongering based on lies and deception that tried to prevent a deal from taking shape. And I do not see why because the only reason, the only explanation that you can have here is that some people consider peace and stability as an existential threat because it cannot be threatening to anybody unless you want conflict and tension and mistrust and crises.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Minister Zarif went on to say the U.S.-led talks are very close to a deal.

Speaking of Benjamin Netanyahu, his speech got a mixed review here in the United States. But back at home, the Israeli audience was -- well, it was much more positive. And that may be critical given the tough re-election Netanyahu faces in two weeks.

According to a new poll from Israel's Channel 2, 44 percent of those polled say Netanyahu's speech strengthened their support for him. Roughly the same number of people said it had no effect at all. And notably only 12 percent said the speech weakened their support.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says she wants the public to see all of her e-mails. Has she already opened the door for Democrats to find another possible presidential candidate? Is that possible?

We'll talk about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: If you want to read Hillary Clinton's e-mails when she -- when she was America's top diplomat, she says go right ahead. The former secretary of state tweeting, "I want the public to see my e- mail. I asked the State to release them." They said they will review them for release as soon as possible.

Of course this comes amid the firestorm over Clinton using her personal e-mail account while she was running the State Department.

So let's talk about that. I want to bring in CNN national political reporter Peter Hamby.

Welcome, Peter.

PETER HAMBY, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER: Hey, Carol.

COSTELLO: Hi, Peter. You've written a piece for CNN.com saying this controversy is actually firing up the Democratic Party's anybody-but- Hillary wing.

(LAUGHTER)

So tell us more about that.

HAMBY: Yes, look, there's been a lot of discussion about the practicalities of using this e-mail address. But there are political considerations going on as well. There is a part of the Democratic Party that has been skeptical of Hillary Clinton for a variety of reasons for many years now. These are people who want a more progressive candidate in the race, Democrats who want a younger candidate in the race, someone who might not be from the past, they want a fresh face.

Whatever the reason, you know, I was on the phone with Democrats all day yesterday, in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, these very political states that nominate our nominees, and they're saying, hey, we told you so. This is just one more reason why we need a competitive primary with many different candidates because this story is another example of Clinton baggage.

This is an example of the Clintons being secretive, of surrounding themselves with yes, men and yes, women who don't question their suspicious decision-making.

Again, this is not to be mistaken for the broad opinion of the Democratic Party. But as I put it, the anybody-but-Hillary wing of the Democratic Party is saying, I told you so. We need a competitive Democratic primary and not a coronation.

COSTELLO: Well, of course, we all know that anybody-but-Hillary part of the Democratic wing wants Elizabeth Warren to run, right? So will she change her mind? Because she keeps saying no, I'm not going to run, but we know how that goes in the world of politics.

(LAUGHTER) HAMBY: Yes. Look, Warren has been pretty careful about saying she's not going to run but leaving a little bit of room in the race. A poll out of Iowa today has Clinton now leading Elizabeth Warren by 42 points.

I do want to point out, Carol, I don't think it's especially true that it's just Elizabeth Warren that people who aren't for Clinton are looking for. I think there are a variety of reasons that people want someone other than Hillary Clinton.

Yes, Elizabeth Warren is a very popular progressive figure. She's probably the leader in the anti-Clinton crowd. But people, again, there's a generational thing happening in the Democratic Party. People want fresh faces. You know, some people are supporting Martin O'Malley, for example, you know, the former governor of Maryland who's carved out a progressive space, but is also, you know, a younger figure who's out there talking about the power of technology and good government.

Obviously we've seen former Senator Jim Webb from Virginia out there, he's sort of a self-style populist who can talk to white working class voters. We've got Bernie Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont who's out there making a progressive case as well.

So yes, Warren is the main anti-Clinton figure, but there are some other figures out there who do have some opportunity.

COSTELLO: OK. We'll see what happens.

Peter Hamby, thanks as always. I appreciate it.

HAMBY: Thanks, Carol.

COSTELLO: Still to come, Duke University addresses a handling of a report of sexual assault allegations against the men's basketball player who was eventually dismissed from the team. We'll dig deeper next.

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