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Protests Resume in Ferguson; FAA Reports More Close Calls; American Killed Fighting for ISIS; Freed American Hostage Now Back in U.S.

Aired August 27, 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 ANCHOR: Nice for them.

Up first this morning, the fight against ISIS hits home. An American, Douglas McCain, has been killed fighting in Syria for ISIS. His death comes as the United States considers options for slowing the ISIS threat in Syria and it raises fresh concerns about the reach of ISIS which is trying to recruit from around the world.

CNN White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski has the very latest for us this morning.

Good morning, Michelle.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, John. Right. While the Obama administration has authorized surveillance flights over Syria and looks into what options might be available leading up to potentially airstrikes. Now we see that the reach of this barbaric terrorist group ISIS has affected the U.S. in more ways than one with this American citizen who grew up in Minnesota now killed fighting with ISIS inside Syria.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KOSINSKI (voice-over): His name was Douglas McArthur McCain, killed last weekend in the outskirts of Aleppo, Syria. U.S. officials confirm the 33-year-old was fighting for ISIS. Battling other groups who are all battling the Assad regime.

McCain's devastated family told CNN he converted to Islam years ago and eventually traveled to what they thought was Turkey. They communicated with him over Facebook only days ago and say they had no idea the father and one-time San Diego area restaurant worker with a history of minor arrests and citations had devoted his life to violent jihad.

KENYATA MCCAIN, DOUGLAS MCCAIN'S COUSIN: That's not who he was. For him to be in Syria fighting for a terrorist group, that doesn't make sense. My mom and my dad and our family, we're like -- we don't understand it.

KOSINSKI: The U.S. believes more than 100 Americans have traveled to Syria to take up arms.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've never won. KOSINSKI: Earlier this year this 22-year-old Florida man became the

first American to carry out a suicide bombing in Syria.

REAR ADM. JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: You have citizens that are getting radicalized, going over there and then there's a real concern that they could take what they have learned and come back home and conduct terror attacks.

KOSINSKI: President Obama has been meeting with his National Security team to determine what is next. And if airstrikes, which are sounding increasingly certain, and what role will Congress play in authorizing them. Under what legal justification?

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: America does not forget. Our reach is long. We are patient. Justice will be done. We have proved time and time again we will do what's necessary to capture those who harm Americans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOSINSKI: The U.S. has made it clear that they will be working with international partners moving forward, not only with countries like Britain and France, but obviously regional partners are extremely important at this point, and also we know that this issue of foreign fighters has been worrisome to other countries as well.

It was just this week that the London mayor called for anyone going to Iraq or Syria from their country to be considered guilty instead of innocent of terrorism on their return and for anyone known to be fighting over there to be stripped of their British citizenship -- John.

BERMAN: Certainly raises questions in Britain and concern. Raises questions and concern here at home, too.

Michelle Kosinski, thanks so much -- Alisyn.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, John, for more on Douglas McCain's background and how an American becomes radicalized let's bring in former CIA case officer Patrick Skinner. He's the director of Special Projects at the Soufan Group and CNN national security analyst Juliette Kayyem. She's a former assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security under President Obama.

Good morning, guys.

PATRICK SKINNER, FORMER CIA CASE OFFICER: Good morning.

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Good morning.

CAMEROTA: Patrick, let me start with you. It seems like no one in his family or around him knew that this was happening with Douglas McCain. You heard Michelle Kosinski's piece there. He's described as always smiling. He was a joker in high school. He was not an isolated guy. He was not a simmering cauldron of resentment.

So how does someone like this become radicalized?

SKINNER: Well, that's almost a textbook definition. But after all these cases as you hear the families express shock and they always say he's the last person because they -- these people are quite adept at hiding. They're disaffected to begin with, just clearly something wrong. They're kind of removed from -- they're only fringes of society, they're not hard core criminals but they're just not in the mainstream. And so it's really understanding that it's actually a stereotypical recruitment.

The person needs to belong, and so in my experience the need to belong to something, something bigger than yourself, is almost always the paramount driver.

CAMEROTA: So, Juliette, you know, you heard Michelle there. He had this long list of very minor infractions with the law, providing a fake I.D., driving on a revoked license, disorderly conduct. So as Patrick says he was wayward in some way, but none of those were really red flags.

What would authorities have done to spot him before he went off to the Middle East?

KAYYEM: Why, that's a great point in the sense that it's important to remember that authorities had spotted him before, so it's clear that they are tracking Internet behavior, what is being said and done on the Internet, but most importantly his travel. It's the travel that would have triggered a review of McCain's conduct, of where he was going and who he might have affiliated with.

But, look, in most instances it is not like there is a T-shirt that says, I'm about to be radicalized. I mean, you know, as Patrick said, this is a process of a disaffected, maybe the sociopathic, people who are looking to belong. They find it on the Internet or they find it through these organizations that are promising something bigger than who they are sitting in a room in California or Illinois or wherever, and that is the challenge.

That's what makes it so difficult to stop these kind of recruits because they could be anywhere. But the good news is that --

CAMEROTA: You talk about -- yes, go ahead, the good news?

KAYYEM: The good news is, is that through the surveillance and as importantly the travel that McCain was under surveillance, and he was known to authorities suggesting that there is probably a wide net going on right now for who might join ISIS.

CAMEROTA: Yes. He had been flagged. And you talk about his Internet activities. On April 3rd McCain re-tweeted the English translation of a speech given by the spokesman of ISIS. Obviously that is a red flag, so, Patrick, at that point what should authorities have done? Should they not have allowed him to get on a plane heading towards the Middle East?

SKINNER: Well, I mean, there's still a First amendment protection. He hasn't broken any law. But he's clearly going to be put on a watch list. You can't detain him because he hasn't done anything wrong yet unless you start hasn't done anything wrong yet unless you start changing the laws. But it certainly worries them.

The authorities are pretty good in link analysis and behavior analysis. Amazon.com does the same thing. People who buy this also like that and they are usually pretty correct. Well, the U.S. government is doing the same thing. People who tweet this or people who follow this and then travel like this are probably X and so it's an effective thing but it's not foolproof.

CAMEROTA: Yes. And Juliette, can I ask -- yes, please, go ahead. I know you want to add to that.

KAYYEM: I just want to pick up on what Patrick said. I mean, look, this is -- these are not sophisticated guys. I mean, when you think about al Qaeda 2000, 2001, these are men who wanted to stay under the radar. They are not tweeting or whatever was happening in that day and age. They were not exposing themselves to authorities, and so, you know, McCain may be bad in the sense that he wanted to join something bigger, but he's clearly not sophisticated because he's getting the attention of authorities.

That's exactly what you don't want to do, if you're a sophisticated criminal or terrorist and want to plan attacks.

CAMEROTA: Patrick, does it surprise you that ISIS was using Douglas McCain as, it appears, just a foot soldier in Syria rather than, say, packing his shoes with explosives and sending him back home on his U.S. passport here?

SKINNER: No, not so much. There's been other Americans that have died, not fighting for ISIS but fighting for similar extremist groups, and the notion that they are going to bring them back, that is a concern, but if they have American fighters, and particularly if they don't have a lot of skills or if they are not as savvy and they can't fly under the radar they are going to use them as fighters like they would anybody else.

They have a complete disregard for life. So would they value an American passport, sure.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

SKINNER: But if the person carrying it doesn't really advance their goals, they're going to use them on the front lines.

CAMEROTA: But, Juliette, shouldn't that comfort us that they are not a direct threat to the U.S. if they are just using Americans to fight over there?

KAYYEM: And it may depend on who the American is, but I think this is right in McCain's case. Look, McCain shows up. We don't know how he got affiliated. He's not trained. He's clearly not sophisticated. We don't know his mental background and so for ISIS, yes, he's a foot soldier so that should be comforting and no one should think that there are hundreds of thousands of Americans joining ISIS. These are -- there are more than zero, but these are cases likely to be followed because -- at least if you're an American and you leave and are missing for periods of time and go to places like Iraq and Syria, you are on lists when you return, so it's not -- it's not easy to take advantage of someone like McCain.

CAMEROTA: Yes. But it's a good sign that authorities were looking for him and they did have him on some sort of list.

Patrick Skinner, Juliette Kayyem, thanks so much for the expertise. Great to talk to you.

SKINNER: You're welcome.

KAYYEM: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Let's go back to John.

BERMAN: All right. Thanks so much, Alisyn.

Breaking overnight, Peter Theo Curtis is finally back with his family in the United States after being held captive for almost two years by Islamic militants in Syria. Looking at a picture right now as Curtis was reunited with his mother Nancy in Boston. Look at the relief there.

She says she was overwhelmed with relief that she now has her son back, but she's conflicted given the recent beheading of American James Foley and because other hostages still are in danger.

Our Miguel Marquez following developments for us live from Boston.

Good morning, Miguel.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning there, John. I think it's fair to say that it is joy in Cambridge right outside of Boston here today, that picture at Logan International Airport taken last night, his mother and son embraced, and that smile on her face says it's all. She is beaming at her son and Peter Curtis or Theo, as his family calls him, he almost looks embarrassed, kind of looking down a little bit, but he looks a heck of a lot better than he did while he was in captivity, when he was shaggy, unshowered.

The pictures released so far we show him that he clearly has had a shower, clearly has had a change of clothes and most specifically had a shave as well so he seems to be in very good shape after 22 months in captivity by al-Nusra Front, al Qaeda-affiliated group.

He did release a short statement as well saying in part, "I've been so touched and moved beyond all words by the people who have come up to me today, strangers on the airplanes. The flight attendants and most of all the families to say welcome home. I am deeply indebted to the U.S. officials who worked on my case and especially want to thank the government of Qatar for intervening on my behalf."

Now the Qataris specifically told his family that they did not pay money for his release. That there was no ransom for his release. For this family, though, as you mentioned before, this is a bit of a bitter sweet day, for as thrilled as they are to have him back home, they became very good friends with the Foley family as they were all trying to get their sons released.

The first call that Mrs. Curtis made when she found out her son was freed was to Mrs. Foley to let her know what was going on. That must have been a very difficult call to make, and right now we know that he is back with his family home just a few blocks from here. We know his mom is a very good cook. She can cook whatever he wants and that he'll probably get in a good long bike ride at some point as well because he loves road biking.

Back to you, guys.

BERMAN: We're so happy for him, happy for his family. And his mother Nancy Curtis seems like a remarkable woman.

Out thanks to Miguel Marquez in Cambridge this morning.

Got to say the relief in that picture in that family, just unbelievable.

CAMEROTA: Yes. It's rare to have a happy ending to these stories so it's very nice when we can broadcast one.

BERMAN: Happy for that family but not happy for --

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: And the simple things that he wants, a home-cooked meal and a long ride on his bike.

BERMAN: OK. Let's go to Michaela for the other headlines.

PEREIRA: Twelve minutes past the hour. Here they are.

An open-ended cease-fire is under way now and holding between Israel and Hamas. The Egyptian mediators brokered the deal to halt fighting while both sides continue ongoing peace talks in Cairo.

The agreement reopens border crossings and expands Gaza's fishing zone. More than 2,000 people have been killed since fighting began some seven weeks ago.

The leaders of Russia and Ukraine meeting face-to-face. Both agree there needs to be a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine but Russian President Vladimir Putin says the Ukrainian government must work that out with pro-Russian separatists. This meeting came after Ukraine released this video of Russian soldiers who were captured after officials say they closed the border. Russian media said they likely crossed the border by accident.

Surprising and scathing results in a report from the Veterans Affairs inspector general. More than 3400 cases from its Phoenix facilities were examined in this report and it found no deaths can conclusively be linked to scheduling problems that rocked the agency. The report says 28 veterans were harmed by delays getting care. Six of them eventually died.

Twenty-four recommendations were made for improvements. The V.A. secretary says he agrees with all of those recommendations.

And, of course, CNN first reported those problems in medical care at the V.A. hospital in Phoenix.

Two high-profile gubernatorial races are now set in Florida. CNN projects former Republican governor, Charlie Crist, easily won the Democratic nomination. He will face off against incumbent Governor Rick Scott in November. And in Arizona, state treasurer and former Cold Stone Creamery CEO Doug Ducey won the Republican primary for governor. He will face Democrat Fred Duvall come November.

And, of course, we will be watching it all.

BERMAN: Ice cream for everybody.

CAMEROTA: Right. Is that his platform?

BERMAN: Well, it was a good one if it is.

PEREIRA: It's a pretty one to run on.

CAMEROTA: Yes. I would vote for him.

PEREIRA: Unless you're lactose intolerant.

(LAUGHTER)

CAMEROTA: Thank you for that. A dose of realism.

PEREIRA: This is a specific group that would probably not be for his platform.

CAMEROTA: Politics is so complicated. You're so right, Michaela.

PEREIRA: Just breaking it down, man.

BERMAN: You're helping us (INAUDIBLE) through that.

CAMEROTA: All right. Meanwhile, protests resume in peaceful fashion in Ferguson, Missouri, as that new audio first obtained by CNN, alleged to be of the Michael Brown shooting, is in FBI hands this morning. How does it compare to what witnesses say?

BERMAN: And it is a staggering statistic. Close calls involving planes doubling last year. So, what's going on here? Is it just too crowded up there?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: Just 24 hours after Michael Brown was laid to rest, protesters went back to the street, this time with limited police presence and a more peaceful atmosphere. The demonstrations come on the heels of that new audio recording allegedly of the shooting. That tape first obtained by CNN is now in the hands of the FBI, which is attempting to validate it.

CNN's Sara Sidner is live in Ferguson with more.

What's the latest, Sara?

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Alisyn, as that potential new evidence surfaced, many here in this community are really struggling to figure out what they can do next to create positive change and concrete change in this community after more than two weeks of protesting, after the death of Michael Brown at the hands of a police officer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER (voice-over): Supporters wanting justice for Michael Brown hit the streets once again.

At the federal courthouse -- some protesters making their way through police, demanding that the federal authorities look into potential human rights violations, this as new potential evidence surfaces.

The FBI is currently dissecting a series of alleged gunshots caught on tape during an online video chat.

(GUNSHOTS)

SIDNER: CNN hasn't been able to confirm its authenticity but audio experts say it's six shots and then a three-second pause, followed by four more shots.

(GUNSHOTS)

MARK O'MARA, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It doesn't really contradict or fit in to any of the narratives created so far.

SIDNER: Listen to what witnesses told CNN about the fatal shot fired by officer Darren Wilson. His friend Dorian Johnson suggesting Wilson was shooting, and then Brown turned and then Wilson fired again.

DORIAN JOHNSON, WITNESS: I see the officer proceeding after my friend Big Mike with his gun drawn and he fired a second shot and struck my friend Big Mike and that time, he turned around with his hands up, beginning to tell the officer that he was unarmed and to tell him to stop shooting. But at that time the officer was firing several more shots into my friend, and he hit the ground and died.

SIDNER: Piaget Crenshaw recorded the scene from this angle, and also mentions a pause.

PIAGET CRENSHAW, WITNESS: Michael then turned around and like almost in awe, like he had just gotten shot that many times so he looked down and he just tried to put his arms up, and once he put his arms up, the police shot his face and his chest and he just went down.

SIDNER: Listen again to the shots recorded.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are pretty.

(GUNSHOTS)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're so fine. Just going over some of your video. How can I forget?

(GUNSHOTS)

SIDNER: The only account allegedly from Officer Wilson himself comes from a friend who calls herself Josie who called into a radio station.

Police sources have confirmed to CNN her account is similar to what Wilson has reported.

JOSIE: He stands up and yells freeze. Michael and his friend turn around, and Michael was taunting him. Oh, what are you going to do about it? You know, you're not going to shoot me and he said all of a sudden, he just started to bum rush him, he started coming at him full speed, and so he just started shooting, and he just kept coming. It was unbelievable, and then so he finally ended up -- the final shot was in the forehead.

O'MARA: If there was a confrontation then the last four shots may have been justified. If there wasn't, if Mike Brown says, "I surrender and I'm sorry", and he shoots him, that's an execution.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: We have yet to hear a full official account by police. We do know a grand jury has been brought together but we're hearing from the prosecuting attorney who says that all the evidence has to be presented and it could be until mid-October before we hear a decision by that grand jury on whether or not it will indict Officer Wilson.

The community here is watching and waiting for that day, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Mid-October, that's a long time. Sara Sidner, thanks so much for the update.

Let us know what you think about this latest developments and everything in the Michael Brown shooting. You can go to Facebook.com/NewDay.

BERMAN: Next for us on NEW DAY, the U.S. gathering intelligence on ISIS in Syria. Is this a lead up to more action on the militants? The former U.S. ambassador to Syria joins us.

CAMEROTA: And, an unsettling rise in close calls involving planes -- a sentence you never want to hear. So, what's behind the spike?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: Welcome back to NEW DAY.

Here's a look at your headlines. An American has been killed fighting for ISIS in Syria. The State

Department says this young man, Douglas McCain, was killed in a fight with a rival militant group. The U.S. believes more than 100 Americans have joined militant groups in Syria. This as an American held nearly two years by militants in Syria is back on U.S. soil. Peter Theo Curtis was reunited with his family in Boston.

Police in Israel are looking for clues after a New Jersey man disappeared while hiking in Jerusalem or near Jerusalem. Aaron Sofer was last seen Friday by a friend in a forest just outside of Jerusalem. A police spokesman says it's unclear if the accident -- the disappearance was accidental other if it was suspicious.

This young man is 23 years old. He had gone to Israel to study. His parents are now in Israel to monitor that search for him.

The White House is making a new environmental push to curb climate change. According to "The New York Times" the Obama administration is pursuing a major international climate agreement without help from Congress. The agreement is to compel nations to cut their carbon pollution. White House negotiators hope to have the accord signed at a U.N. summit meeting next year. The deal is likely to face pushback from Republicans.

A 15-year-old tennis phenom breaking through in a big way at the U.S. Open. American Catherine CiCi Bellis, the youngest player in the slam, upsets the 12th seed Dominika Cibulkova in the first round.

BERMAN: You're doing us all the favor, because CiCi's name is much easier to pronounce.

PEREIRA: After the three-set nail-biter, Bellis said she was in shock. Just how big of an upset was this, Bellis is ranked 1,008th in the world. The youngest player in the men draw also scored a major upset Tuesday. All U.S. Open action --

BERMAN: It was such an upset, you know, ESPN did not have a camera at court. You can tell right there, they had to rush a cell phone camera there to film, a really good match going on.

(CROSSTALK)

PEREIRA: One thousand two hundred and eight, that's great. But you're still seeded.

CAMEROTA: We love the upsets.

BERMAN: She's 15, making us all feel inadequate. Thank you.

All right. Some troubling new information about air safety this morning. A new report from the Federal Aviation Administration say the number of close calls between planes nearly doubled in 2013. This report says that while the overall number of near misses has gone up, there have been fewer of the closest calls which the FAA classifies as high-risk incidents.

CNN's Rene Marsh has more on the crowded skies.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A near mid-air collision in April over Newark, a United Airlines 7:37 landing with 160 passengers comes within 150 yards of a United Express regional jet preparing to take off.

PILOT: Yes, we were putting the nose down and yes, he was real close.

MARSH: It's the fourth time this year a near collision has made headlines.