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American Hostage Freed In Syria; U.S. Prepared To Strike ISIS In Syria; Dozens Of Aftershocks Rock California; Michael Brown to Be Laid to Rest; 3 Grieving Mothers Speak Out

Aired August 25, 2014 - 06:00   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to NEW DAY. It is Monday, August 25th, 6:00 in the east. I'm John Berman joined this morning by Alisyn Camerota. Great to meet you.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: Great to meet you as well. You're everywhere.

BERMAN: Chris and Kate are off this morning. We are going to begin with President Obama and his top advisers bearing down for a war possibly against ISIS. The commander-in-chief back from his vacation meeting this morning with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.

This amid increasing concerns by some at least that ISIS could try and attack the United States. This comes as American held captive in Syria for almost two years finally granted his freedom.

Now officials in the United Kingdom are working to identify the man seen on video executing James Foley one week ago. This as multiple reports say that three more Americans remain in enemy hands.

Senior international correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh begins our coverage this morning. So many developments to talk about, Nick. Good morning.

NICK PATON WALH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, that key decision in Washington, do they take the fight against ISIS to Syria as well as Iraq weighing down on Barack Obama now. But there has been a rare piece of positive news because one of the rivals to ISIS also linked to al Qaeda.

Also considered a terrorist group were holding this American hostage, Peter Theo Curtis for potentially two years. Pressure it seems, negotiations with the U.S. government and Qatari authorities did lead yesterday to his eventual release.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH (voice-over): After a week of horror, finally some good news, an American held hostage in Syria by Islamist rebels for nearly two years is free. The 45-year-old peter Theo Curtis, a freelance author and journalist released Sunday after being held by a Syrian rebel group with ties to al Qaeda.

His family thanking the government of the U.S. and Qatar for their efforts. While the U.S. is has denied any involvement and details about his release remain unclear. Curtis was handed over to United Nations peacekeepers in the Dolan Height then released him to U.S. government officials.

These videos show Curtis during his last few months in captivity. In this video a rebel points a gun at his head while Curtis speaks rapidly as if under duress. Curtis was captured near the Syrian- Turkey border in October 2012.

And held in Aleppo with American journalist, Matthew Schener, the two locked up for months before planning their escape. Schener breaking free through a window with Curtis' help. Curtis however got stuck trying to escape.

MATTHEW SCHNER, FREELANCE PHOTOJOURNALIST KIDNAPPED IN SYRIA: I'm pulling him and pulling him as hard as I could. We weren't making any headway and we were making too much noise. The windows were open and the lights were above me and the sun was coming up.

PATON (on camera): You must have known then you had to leave him?

SCHENER: Yes. One of the hardest things I have ever had to do. I'm not going to have closure until he is home.

WALSH (voice-over): Curtis' release comes just five days after ISIS released a video of one of its militants beheading American journalist, James Foley. On Sunday his parents releasing a letter on Facebook that they say he composed on captivity.

He talked about sharing one cell with 17 others and playing games made up of scraps they found. Foley had a fellow hostage memorize the letter dictating it to his family upon release. British officials close to identifying the ISIS militant responsible for the beheading.

Experts say he speaks with a distinctly British accent. Investigators making headway using clues in the video to pinpoint the killer out of hundreds of British Muslims who joined ISIS.

PETER WESTMACOTT, BRITISH AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: We put a great deal of resource into identifying this person. I think we're not far away from that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH: John, clearly it's not exactly known what the technical details around this release were. It suggested it was on humanitarian grounds, no money changed hands. The Qatari government as well is the decision to release it on the Israeli border, a lot of questions unanswered, but one American family very happy.

BERMAN: Now the family says they have been told that no ransom was paid. But what exactly the Qataris did to secure its freedom still unknown. The important thing, though, he is back with his family. Nick Paton Walsh, our thanks to you.

CAMEROTA: Well, U.S. military leaders say they are ready to launch air strikes against ISIS in Syria if need. The White House making it clear it will, quote, "Take actions if threats are made directly against America."

This as militants seized a key government air base in Syria and took control of an entire province. Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, joins us now with all of the dramatic details. What's the latest, Barbara?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alison. The seizure of that air base in Northern Syria now said to give ISIS control over a wide swath of that region. The U.S. military is always ready for air strikes anywhere, they will tell you.

But the question now is whether President Obama will take the step and authorize those air strikes. We simply do not know at this hour. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel expected at the White House later today. The debate right now, does ISIS truly present a direct threat to the U.S. homeland?

Could they attack here? Most intelligence officials will tell you no, that is not their goal at the moment and they really couldn't carry it off. They are, however, a regional threat.

The U.S. already conducting those air strikes against ISIS inside Iraq in order to protect U.S. interests. So the question, will the U.S. take the step and go across the border. What would have to happen before air strikes in Syria could occur?

Officials tell us there would have to be a number of reconnaissance flights most likely by U.S. drones to find the actual targets, the realtime targeting intelligence, where ISIS is at a given point in time. That will have to happen before any air strikes could occur if the president authorizes them -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: All right, Barbara, we'll be talking to our military experts throughout the morning about that as well. Thanks so much for the update.

Joining us now to talk more about the release of U.S. hostage, Peter Theo Curtis, is his former roommate and friend, Matt Wormser. Matt, thanks for being here.

MATT WORMSER, FRIEND OF PETER THEO CURTIS (via telephone): Thank you, Alisyn, for having us.

CAMEROTA: OK, so tell us how you got to know Theo, as you call him.

WORMSER: We were high school roommates at a little school down in Southern Vermont. We started the summer together way back when and became friends and decided to become roommates at that point. We spent two years together living in way too small of a dorm room and have been great friends, needless to say, ever since.

CAMEROTA: So Matt, most Americans were not aware that Theo was a hostage during these past 22 months in Syria, but I know that you and his family, of course, were painfully aware that he was gone for these two years. What were they like?

WORMSER: It was very surreal for me. The first nine months he was -- we had no idea where he was. To be perfectly honest, he was in the middle of an intense civil war, and personally I held out very little hope at that point. Shockingly enough we found out nine months in he was, in fact, alive and that was fabulous news.

Of course, the terrible news was he was being held by an al Qaeda affiliated terrorist group. A little bit out of the frying pan and into the fire there. So it's been quite a roller coaster.

Needless to say, the roller coaster I've been through is a fraction of what Nancy, his mother and his sister and his cousins have been through, through this whole thing. It's been difficult certainly, but I feel privileged relative to his immediate family certainly.

CAMEROTA: Did Theo ever talk to you about his dangerous assignments and what he was doing in places like Syria?

WORMSER: Well, there are people out there -- it was very clear from my early stages of my friendship with Theo that he was not destined to spend his days in an office as I do. He's an individual with an intense curiosity about the world, with an intense desire to gout and tell stories that aren't necessarily told in the primary media.

He's a person who has an incredible facility with languages and incredible curiosity. He would go into countries and befriend people from the elites to the street corner sweepers. That's really what made him passionate about his work. That's what makes him very good at what he does.

Certainly he was well aware of the risks that he understood. He's a person without children. So in many ways it's a risk he assumes eyes wide open.

CAMEROTA: So Matt, tell us how you got word that he had been released.

WORMSER: My wife and I got a voice mail from his cousin and we've actually been out on our boat all day long. We were in a news blackout as it were. My wife came sprinting up to me saying, he's free, he's free. It was an extremely happy moment, needless to say.

CAMEROTA: Matt, we hear you're motion and we can only imagine what these two years have been like for you and all the people who love Theo. We appreciate you sharing a piece of your personal story with us this morning.

WORMSER: All too happy to.

CAMEROTA: We hope you get to see him soon.

WORMSER: Thank you very much.

BERMAN: I can't imagine what his friends and family have been through especially this last week. It must be so emotional to get word that he's free.

CAMEROTA: First to hear that he was captured and to feel so helpless. They said it was like having a friend with a terminal illness because it was hard to enjoy themselves while they knew that he was in captivity.

PEREIRA: And also not getting to spend any time comforting them or reaching out to them, right? That's the other aspect of it.

BERMAN: That's going to be quite a reunion when that does happen.

Now to the aftermath of the violent earthquake in California. People in wine country now dealing with dozens of aftershocks, but many getting back to business this morning. The quake made a mess of downtown Napa. It was so powerful, even the buildings there retrofitted to withstand tremors, even those buildings were damaged.

About 100 homes considered unfit to enter this morning. Thousands are still without power. Schools in the area are closed today. Napa's airport is open even though you can see there most of the windows on the air traffic control tower were blown out in this earthquake.

Dan Simon following all the latest for us from Napa. Good morning, Dan.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. It's a disaster zone here in downtown Napa. You have streets blocked off. You got debris all over the place. You can see this building got hit hard. On the bottom was a sidewalk cafe. On the top you had some offices.

I tell you what, it was a terrifying 20 or 25 seconds. Folks in this area say it's some of the worst shaking they have ever felt. Now we're about 24 hours since the event and the extent of the damage is still unknown.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIMON (voice-over): The cleanup effort in Napa continues this morning while crews work to restore power to thousands left in the dark after Sunday's earthquake. The first moments of the powerful quake caught on camera, rattling residents out of their sleep at 3:20 a.m.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's an earthquake.

SIMON: Striking the bay area at a whopping 6.0 magnitude, the strongest felt here in 25 years.

MARLOW DANIEL, NAPA RESIDENT: It kept going, kept going and kept going. I felt like I was on a raft in the ocean almost.

SIMON: In downtown Napa, just six miles southwest of the epicenter, historical buildings and homes sustained heavy damage. Pieces of this courthouse and other structures crumbled to the ground. Authorities reporting over a hundred injuries including a young child seriously hurt when a fireplace collapsed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was shocked to see people's homes, people's offices on the floor and crooked to know that this is life changing.

SIMON: Business owners in the wine country also reporting being hit hard. Hundreds of gallons of wine spewing from a crack in this storage tank.

GAVE NEWZOOL, LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA: A wine maker right across the street from us, they were devastated, dozens and dozens of their barrels collapsed.

SIMON: Fires broke out following the quake destroying dozens of homes, broken water mains hampering efforts to extinguish the flames. Fire crews having no choice, but to let these mobile homes burn to the ground. Experts now warning residents of aftershocks.

JOHN PARROTI, CHIEF OF THE CALIFORNIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY: We think there's probably over 50 or 60 aftershocks now. The largest one being a magnitude 3.6. We do think the aftershocks will continue for several weeks.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIMON: Well, the Napa Valley wine industry still taking stock of all the damage. We know for some wine makers the toll will be significant. In the meantime, here we are in downtown Napa. We know the cleanup will begin today.

Really the main concern for the area is repairing the infrastructure, getting those waterlines, making sure there are no gas leaks and, of course, getting the power turned back on.

BERMAN: Dan Simon, our thanks to you. A lot of work there, clearly right behind you.

Calls for silence and peace this morning in Missouri as Michael Brown's family prepares to say goodbye. The 18-year-old will be laid to rest this morning in St. Louis. Three White House officials are expected to be on hand for the funeral service.

As days of violent protest have given way to relative calm in Ferguson, Brown's father is pleading for a day of silence today to honor his son's memory. CNN's Stephanie Elam live in St. Louis with more this morning. Good morning, Stephanie.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. It's been more than two weeks since Mike Brown died. After all of the violence we've seen, all the protests, it's finally a moment for his family and friends to say goodbye.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAM (voice-over): For more than two weeks how he died has kept a town in turmoil. But now Ferguson, Missouri, is preparing to remember Mike Brown for who he was.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's his name?

PROTESTERS: Mike Brown!

ELAM: The funeral for the 18-year-old will be held at a Baptist Church in St. Louis. The service will be open to the public, with up to 5,000 mourners expected to attend. Three White House officials will be in attendance, including Marlon Marshall who went to high school in St. Louis with Michael Brown's mother.

LESLEY MCSPADDEN, MICHAEL BROWN'S MOTHER: He was only 18. He had a chance to make a mistake and correct it. Just like the officer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hands up, don't shoot!

ELAM: At a peace rally in St. Louis Sunday, Trayvon Martin's mother called for respect of basic human rights.

SYBRINA FULTON, TRAYVON MARTIN'S MOTHER: Because Michael Brown had a right to live. He had a right to see another birthday.

ELAM: Michael Brown, Sr. asked for the focus today to be on remembering his son, not protesting.

MICHAEL BROWN, SR., MICHAEL BROWN'S FATHER: All I want is peace while my son is being laid to rest. Can you please, please take a day of silence?

ELAM: In another part of St. Louis over the weekend, a show of support for Darren Wilson, the officer that fatally shot Brown.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My name is Darren Wilson. We are Darren Wilson.

(CHEERS)

ELAM: While Wilson remains in hiding, his supporters held rallies and marches. Organizers say they have raised over $400,000 to help Wilson with relocation expenses, security and legal fees.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We will stand by Officer Darren Wilson and support him until justice has been reached.

ELAM: Brown's family, too, wants justice, but today, they pause that pursuit to bury their son.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ELAM: And the sanctuary in the Baptist Church, as you can see behind us, it actually can fit 2,500 people and then there's overflow rooms that will accommodate another 2,500. They expect it to be widely attended. They're also expecting several political figures as well as a few celebrities to show up as well here today, John.

BERMAN: Quite a morning there to remember Michael Brown.

Stephanie Elam in St. Louis -- thanks so much, Stephanie.

And in just a moment, we're going to hear from Michael Brown's mother, as well as two other mothers who lost their sons in shootings, Trayvon Martin's and Shawn Bell's mothers sit down to talk to Don Lemon, along with Michael Brown's mother. This is a CNN exclusive. It is very emotional. You'll want to see this.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Very hard for her to find comfort. But I'm thinking that those two women can relate and there's a measure of comfort there I hope.

CAMEROTA: They have been in her shoes.

PEREIRA: They have.

All right. Let's take a look at more of your headlines.

Good morning to the two of you, by the way, and good morning to you at home.

The hope for a cease-fire in the Middle East growing grim yet again. Overnight, Israel says rockets landed in communities near the Gaza border, there were no injuries. This as Palestinian officials at least 16 people were killed by Israeli strikes Sunday, including a Hamas financial leader. Four Israelis were also injured in a mortar strike near the Gaza border.

Breaking this morning, Russia says it plans to send another convoy into Eastern Ukraine in the coming days. The first convoy delivered aid on Friday. That was not authorized by Ukraine. In the meantime, Ukrainian prisoners were paraded throughout the streets of Donetsk on Sunday. Crowds in the pro-Russian stronghold have hurled bottles and insults at dozens of captured soldiers. Tomorrow, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with Ukrainian officials to discuss the ongoing conflict.

Authorities are investigating a security scare that forced a flight from Dallas to San Diego to make an emergency landing. American Airlines Flight 362 had to divert to Phoenix with 179 passengers and six crew members aboard. It came after a series of tweets targeted a Sony executive who was aboard the flight. The tweets say explosives were on board the plane. Passengers and crew were boarded to land safely in San Diego.

Past my big time, but a big night at the MTV Music Awards.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

PEREIRA: They say that she was the queen of the night. Beyonce had one of the night's biggest performances when she accepted the Video Vanguard Award from hubby Jay-Z. He brought daughter Blue Ivy up on stage, a little family moment, and putting to rest any rumors out there, John Berman.

Miley Cyrus took the Video of the Year Award for "Wrecking Ball". A former homeless accepted the award on her behalf in a really moving speech.

And rapper Common took the stage to call for a moment of silence for Michael Brown, the unarmed teenager that was killed in Ferguson, Missouri.

BERMAN: I'm just glad Beyonce was finally recognized. I think she's overlooked often for her talent.

(CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTA: She's the pinnacle of every award show. You just bring Beyonce.

BERMAN: Tony's, Emmy's, Nobel Prize. She's always there winning something.

Nineteen minutes past the hour.

Next up for us on NEW DAY, a CNN exclusive, three mothers who lost their sons to very public incidents of gun violence. How did they get through this turmoil? Don Lemon sits down with the mothers of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Sean Bell.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIE BELL, SEAN BELL'S MOTHER: I used to say losing my son was like part of your body, but you remember what that part of your body has done for you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Welcome back to NEW DAY, everyone.

As the family of Michael Brown prepares to lay him to rest today, his mother Lesley McSpadden is receiving support from two women who know her pain too well. Sybrina Fulton lost her son Trayvon Martin in 2012, when he was shot and killed by George Zimmerman. Valerie Bell's son Sean died in a barrage of bullets by New York City police in 2006.

In a CNN exclusive, the three mothers -- they came together to speak about their loss. Don Lemon sat down with them. He's live in St. Louis.

That must have been a remarkable gathering, Don.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: It was remarkable. And I dare to say, John, it is probably the most emotional interview that I've ever had to conduct. I mean, what do you ask these two mothers?

But they did open up, and the mother of Michael Brown opened up as well. As you said, Trayvon Martin died in 2012, Sean Bell died back in 2006. It was the morning of his wedding. They were at a bachelor party. And police, plainclothes and detectives shot about 50 shots into the car killing him and injuring two of his friends. Of course, we know Michael Brown just died two weeks ago.

I sat down with this interviews and it was the first time they met and it was really emotional to see it all unfold. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We got it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We got it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We got it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We got it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We got it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We got it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We got it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We got it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, mama. God bless you. God bless you.

LEMON (voice-over): An emotional embrace.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just lean on him and he going to cover you and he going to cover your family and he's going to make sure you're OK.

LEMON: The mothers of Trayvon Martin, Sean Bell and Michael Brown meeting for the first time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep your head up so we can see your son in you.

LEMON: We stepped out of the room --

(on camera): We'll see you in a few minutes.

(voice-over): -- giving them time alone before starting our interview.

(on camera): What can these women -- they can offer you something that the guys can't, right, that husbands can't.

LESLEY MCSPADDEN, MICHAEL BROWN'S MOTHER: Yes.

LEMON: What can they -- what can they offer you?

MCSPADDEN: Speaking to me from experience. They're offering me something right now. I can't tell you what it is. But it's something. And something is more than nothing.

LEMON: When we were standing there waiting to meet her, you turned to Valerie and Sybrina, and you said, are you having flashbacks of this moment?

BELL: Yes, we did.

LEMON: When it was the day before, the home going -- BELL: Yes, the flashback is my son eight years ago, that was my

flashback, and thinking of her at that time. Her son was 10 years old when it happened.

I thought to say to her, keep the memories in your heart that's going to help you to continue to carry on with your son and believe and have a faith in God who also help you, and close family members. That's what keeps the memories of my son. He used to tell me, ma, I got this. So, I'm telling you, ma'am, you got this. It's OK to cry, scream, I still do with eight years, but you got this.

SYBRINA FULTON, MOTHER OF TRAYVON MARTIN: You have to focus when he was smiling. You have to focus on his first day of school. And you have to focus on Christmas Day and things like that, the happier times and put a picture up when he was happy, and you have to focus on those. Just don't focus on the death. That's going to eat away at you.

LEMON: And, Lesley, you know, it's hard and you're probably thinking right now that I'm sure it doesn't seem real to you, but these ladies are examples that you can survive this. I don't know -- I can't -- maybe I'm not putting it in the right words, but can you ever be whole again or can you ever -- how would you put it?

FULTON: Yes, I don't think it's a matter of being whole. What I think it is is a matter of a new life and this is the new life. This is -- I can never go back to who I was and what I was because I'm missing something very precious in my life and something very special.

BELL: Losing my son was like losing a part of your body, but you remember. You remember what that part of your body has done for you. If you lose an arm, you know what that arm did. My thing is keeping the memories that will keep you carry on.

LEMON: I want you guys to talk about it, because it's going to be very difficult and you have dealt with it, is character assassination. I think you describe it as character assassination, one of you. What do you mean by that?

FULTON: That means that people that don't even know her son is going to say negative things about him just to portray him in a different light, in a negative light, just to try to justify what happened.

LEMON: Is that one of the hardest parts, or are you on thinking about people talking about your son?

FULTON: No, the hardest part for her is going to be the home going service. As I have said, that is the absolutely worst day of her life as a mother, because there is no words that can bring comfort to her as a mother by seeing her son in a casket.

LEMON: Do you go around the house in the kitchen, do you talk to Trayvon?

FULTON: Absolutely, absolutely.

LEMON: Do you?

BELL: Yes. If I know something has to be done, "Ma, I got this," that's his favorite saying, "Ma, I got this."