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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

American Hostage Freed in Syria

Aired August 25, 2014 - 05:30   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: An American held hostage by terrorists for nearly two years is free this morning. What was behind the release of Peter Theo Curtis? This as British investigators revealed they are close to identifying the jihadist who executed American journalist James Foley.

Plus new advances that ISIS militants are making this morning. We have live team coverage ahead.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: A day of peace for Ferguson. Michael Brown's parents calling for a day of silence at their son's funeral more than two weeks after the unarmed teen was killed by police. We are going to show you the mood on the streets overnight.

BERMAN: Picking up the pieces in California. Shaken by the strongest earthquake that area have seen in 25 years. The latest damage report, ahead.

Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. Great to see you this morning, I'm John Berman.

ROMANS: Nice to have you back, John, after a week off. I'm Christine Romans. It's 31 minutes past the hour.

An American journalist held for nearly two years by terrorists in Syria expected to be reunited with his family shortly. Peter Curtis was freed Sunday by an al Qaeda-linked group known as al-Nusra. He was kidnapped back in October, 2012.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh following developments for us live in London.

Good morning, Nick.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christine, at the heart of this release is also the story of a partially failed escape involving another American Matthew Schrier. Now he was Peter Theo's cell mate for six months near the town of Aleppo in northern Syria. They shared the torture together, the hunger, the deprivation. But they also shared an escape plan and it was one which was partially successful.

Theo pushed Matthew up to the window in their cell to try and get him out. Matt got out, he reached down, pulled Theo out, Theo was stuck in the window. Matt had the agonizing choice of had to basically leave Theo behind. Wrestled with guilt ever since I interviewed him in August about that escape plane but today saying that yesterday was the happiest day of his life to finally known Peter Theo Curtis was free.

Peter's family saying how he had, in fact, been released going to negotiations by the U.S. and Qatari governments and some private individuals, too. No obvious sign that money had changed hands. But an interesting place where he was in fact transferred. The Israeli border with Syria of the Golan Heights handed to U.N. peace keepers there, presumably by Syrian rebels, a very long and complex journey being from Aleppo where we last learned he was held.

But also interestingly, too, the group Jabhat al-Nusra, the victory front, broadly translated, who were thought to have held him for that nearly two-year period on and off, perhaps moving different locations, they are also al Qaeda affiliates, also considered terrorists by the United States but potentially by allowing this release may be looking for some sort of accommodation or at least positive PR in the eyes of the West.

Right now, as the West is moving into broaden its crackdown or onslaught against ISIS militants, a great moment, though, for one American family to finally learn after nearly two years their son is freed -- Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Nick Paton Walsh for us, thanks for that report -- Nick.

BERMAN: British officials may soon learn the identity of the terrorist who executed American journalist James Foley in a video released by ISIS. A top diplomat says they have been poring over clues related to the killer's British accent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER WESTMACOTT, BRITISH AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: I see that the British media this morning are speculating that we are very close to identifying who this guy is. And you may see that my foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, said yesterday we're putting out a great deal of resource into identifying this person.

I think we're not far away from that. We're putting a lot into it. And it was very sophisticated technologies, voice identification and so on, which people can use to check who these people are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Meantime, the family of James Foley released a letter from their son during his captivity. His parents say Foley dictated the letter to a fellow hostage who memorized it and relayed it to Foley's family after he was released.

It says, in part, "The games and teaching each other have helped the time pass. They have been a huge help. We repeat stories and laugh to break the tension. I have had weak and strong days. We are so grateful when anyone is free, but of course yearn for our own freedom. We try to encourage each other and share strength."

On Sunday, hundreds gathers in Foley's hometown of Rochester, New Hampshire, for a mass of remembrance honoring the slain American journalist.

ROMANS: ISIS is on the march in Iraq and Syria as well where it's now gained control of the Taqba Air Base. A major strategic point in the north.

Let's talk about the ISIS threat with Haras Rafiq. He is the outreach director of Quilliam, a think-tank dedicated to combating extremism. He joins us live from Manchester, England.

Welcome to the program. First, sir, tell me what you make of this release. The release of this other American hostage, and, I guess, the angle that Qatar was the country -- Qatar was part of the -- involved in the negotiations.

HARAS RAFIQ, QUILLIAM FOUNDATION: First of all, I'm extremely happy and very pleased for the family that Peter Curtis' family, they've actually managed to get him out safe and alive. And he's one of an estimated 20 journalists held captive in the region.

This is a very interesting dynamic. We now have Qatar involved. Qatar, as we know, has been funding, according to the (INAUDIBLE) and the minister -- senior ministry in Germany has been funding the Muslim Brotherhood and the al Qaeda fronts, al-Nusra front, since the beginning of sectarian basis. And they seem to have been involved in these very complex negotiations.

And we know that Qatar has a history of getting involved. They were certainly involved in -- when we freed -- when the U.S. freed six former Taliban members and of course one of them now is fighting in the region. So Qatar is -- has a history of funding extremist organizations and it's a very interesting dynamic also that we now seem to be negotiating with al Qaeda.

I know we had a former strategy of never negotiating with terrorists. And I fully understand the pressure that Barack Obama is under, but now we seem to be talking to al Qaeda and negotiating, albeit with Qatar, for the release of hostages. And I wonder, is this a dangerous precedent?

BERMAN: A subject of uncomfortable discussions. Perhaps uncomfortable alliances.

Let's talk about what's going on in Syria right now. The Taqba Air Base fallen now to ISIS militants lost by the regime of Bashar al- Assad. What should the United States be doing inside Syria -- active aggressive military action against ISIS even if it does help the Syrian regime?

RAFIQ: I think we are caught -- the U.S. is caught between the devil and a hard place. It's -- the Taqba dam is very close to Taqba Air Base and it's the largest dam in Syria. And this was the last military base in the region also. So we can say now that ISIS has actually controlled that area. Clearly and comfortably.

But also, let's not forget that we also have 18,000 Turkmen Shias which are 200 miles east of the region, which -- who were actually just trapped, running out of food and this potentially is another genocide. So I think we're going have to, somehow, negotiate with Assad again whether we like it or not because ISIS poses a problem for the whole region and the whole of the world as well.

I'm not sure whether we should be bombing -- we will bomb ISIS within Syria because obviously Russia and China and other countries have interests there as well. But I certainly think that we may have to, again, have some very uncomfortable discussions with people that perhaps we may not want to talk to.

BERMAN: Caught between the devil and a hard place. A very apt mixed metaphor.

Haras Rafiq, thanks so much for being with us. Really appreciate it.

Thirty-eight minutes after the hour for us right now. A state of emergency declared in California. Shaken by the strongest earthquake that that area has seen in 25 years. The damage done could top $1 billion. The dramatic destruction and a breakdown of why that quake was felt by so many, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: In just a few hours, funeral services will be held for Michael Brown. Three White House officials will be in attendance there.

It has been over two weeks now since the unarmed teenager was shot to death by Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson. Days of violent protest have now given away to relative calm in that city. That rally on Sunday, Michael Brown's father called for a day of silence as he buries his son.

Let's get more now from CNN's Nick Valencia in Ferguson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Peace in Ferguson, at least for the moment, seems to have been restored. On Sunday, Michael Brown Sr., the father of that 18-year-old unarmed Michael Brown, who was shot and killed by Officer Wilson, made an emotional plea to the crowd in attendance for a day of silence, a day of respect and to restore peace on the streets of Ferguson.

Here at the scene where Michael Brown was shot and killed, you can see a memorial leading up to where his body laid for four hours before it was recovered by medical examiners. Just a couple of days ago, people began putting these roses down leading up to where he was shot and killed.

Here at the scene and in this neighborhood on Canfield, a lot of people are still showing up to show their solidarity for Michael Brown. A lot of people from out of state. People have driven from all across the country, different cities, different states, to show their respect and make sure that this story is not lost. Largely, though, their eyes are focused on the funeral that will take

place later today at 10:00 a.m. local time where it is expected more than 5,000 people will come out to show and pay their respects for Michael Brown.

Nick Valencia, CNN, Ferguson, Missouri.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Thanks for that, Nick.

A state of emergency in effect this morning in California wine country where they are cleaning up after a magnitude 6.0 earthquake. The strongest in 25 years. The Napa Valley suffered the worst damage. Dozens of buildings in the city of Napa have been red tagged. That means they're uninhabitable.

More than 170 people were injured including a young child in critical condition this morning. There's major damage to the region's famed wineries. But state officials say real people are hurting well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM, CALIFORNIA: There's a mythology about Napa that it's all fancy wineries. But underneath that, there are a lot of folks here, very low income that are going to need support.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like some of the mobile homes that we saw on fire? You were just there today.

NEWSOM: It was -- I was just there. I spent the last two and a half hours at the mobile homes. And, you know, there's one thing about the fires and the horrific images of those fires, but there are dozens and dozens of those mobile homes that are on cinder blocks that are literally off those, quote-unquote, foundations. And you've got seniors in there that don't have families that are coming to pick them up right now and help them, that can barely get off the couch on a good day and now have their entire -- all their possessions strewn all over the place. So we need to -- we need to be here for the long run.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The cost of damage from that quake could top $1 billion.

Let me get more on why the quake was felt over such a wide area. Indra Petersons has that for us.

Hey, Indra.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, good morning. We know it's a 6.0 earthquake. And this is key, it was early in the morning because many talked about how even the retrofitted buildings in downtown historic -- districts sustained a lot of damage. And it could have been a lot worse had it been maybe a commercial time towards the afternoon. Now keep in mind, there were no tsunami warnings. But it was about

6.7 miles to southwest of Napa. You can actually see that about 106,000 people did feel very strong shaking.

Let's put that in comparison to what they saw about 25 years ago and you can actually see the difference. Remember the difference between a 6.0 and 7.0. A 7.0 does feel 10 times stronger going back all the way to 1906. You can actually see when it hit a 7.8, millions of people were really popping the magnitude -- how many people were affected by that.

Now keep in mind this region, yes, many people are used to feeling the shaking because they're right in between those two plates in that region. So we're still going to be talking about a lot of seismic activity even going forward. You still have that threat now about a 32 percent chance of seeing a 5.0 aftershake out there. About 15 to 40 aftershakes between three to five can still be seen as we go forward in time.

You still talk about those plates kind of moving along and they're a little bit more active right now.

ROMANS: All right. Thanks for that, Indra.

BERMAN: Let's take a look at what's coming up on "NEW DAY."

Alisyn Camerota joins us now.

Good morning, Alisyn.

ROMANS: Hey, good morning.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR, NEW DAY: Hi, guys, great to see you.

John, I look forward to meeting you.

BERMAN: Hi, I'm John.

(LAUGHTER)

ROMANS: I love it you're going to spend the next three hours together and you have never met. And that's awesome.

CAMEROTA: Nothing like a first date in front of millions. That's awesome.

All right, guys, I'll tell you what's coming up. We are covering the latest in the fight against ISIS. The U.S. says we're prepared to take them on in Syria if they become a direct threat to American interests. As investigators say, they are close to identifying terrorist who beheaded American James Foley.

And this morning an American who was taken hostage by an al Qaeda affiliate in Syria is finally free. We'll talk with a family friend of Theo Curtis. And in Missouri, Michael Brown will be laid to rest today. Our Don

Lemon sat down with Brown's mother as well as the mothers of Trayvon Martin and Sean Bell, both of whom were also shot and killed while unarmed. You won't want to miss this powerful, exclusive interview.

So, John, Michaela and I will see all of you in about 15 minutes.

BERMAN: Looking forward to it. Thanks, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Me too.

BERMAN: Forty-seven minutes after the hour. A bomb threat on Twitter forcing an American Airlines flight to land. Who hackers were targeting on board this flight. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: A scare in the skies over Arizona. An American Airlines flight forced to land at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport just before noon Sunday. The move came after authorities got word of a tweet claiming there were explosives on board shortly after takeoff from Dallas. Now that tweet reportedly sent out by hackers targeting Sony's Online Entertainment president who was on that flight. The plane was searched and after several hours the aircraft was cleared to continue to San Diego.

Another security breach at New York City's Brooklyn Bridge. Police arresting a thrill seeker after he took a stroll Sunday on the bridge's suspension beams. The 24-year-old Yaroslav Kolchin was charged with criminal trespass and disorderly conduct. Kolchin got past security which has been on high alert since last month when trespassers replaced the flag that had been flying over the bridge.

He was a national treasure in Britain. Oscar-winning actor and director Richard Attenborough has died. His career behind the camera reached a pinnacle in 1982 when he won an Academy Award for directing "Gandhi." He appeared in many major films but maybe best remembered as the billionaire theme park developer in "Jurassic Park." His son says he had been in poor health for some time.

Richard Attenborough was 90.

Some of the biggest and brightest stars are on hand for MTV's Video Music Awards.

The night belonged to Beyonce who was honored with the Video Vanguard Award. And it's not the VMA without a couple of must-see moments, rapper Nikki Minaj suffered a wardrobe malfunction while performing on stage during the opening number. And rapper Common took a moment to honor Michael Brown, the unarmed teen killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri.

A couple of big winners on the night included Ariana Grande who took home the award for Best Pop Video and Miley Cyrus snagged top honors winning Video of the Year for "Wrecking Ball."

Hard to believe it's been a year since (INAUDIBLE) last year.

All right. Is Burger King ready to trade its American citizenship for lower taxes? An EARLY START on your money, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: All right. Let's get an EARLY START on your money this Monday morning. European stocks mostly higher. European Central Bank president Mario Draghi hinted at more stimulus measures there. Asian stocks ended the day mixed. U.S. stock futures pointing higher right now.

You know, the Dow is just 136 points away from its record close of less than 1 percent. The S&P 500 only down slightly from its record.

Nothing says America like fast food burgers. But now Burger King might be giving up its citizenship. Burger King is in merger talks with Canadian chain Tim Hortons. That new company would have its headquarters in Canada. Allowing Burger King to cut its tax bill through the controversial process called inversion. Corporate tax rates are lower in Canada than in the U.S. The combined company would the third largest fast food chain in the world. Both restaurants operating as separate brands.

Again, they're in discussions.

All right. Losing a chunk of retirement benefits for old student loans. It happens. Last year, 156,000 Americans lost part of their Social Security checks because of student debt they defaulted on. That's right. The government garnishing some of your Social Security to pay your unpaid student debt. That number has tripled since before the recession according to the Treasury Department.

The total amount garnished last year, 150 million bucks. It's about $180 per person per check. Many of those unpaid student loans were small but retirees now owe more than before because of compounding interest rates.

Student loan debt, one of the few kinds of debt that almost always stays with you, even during bankruptcy and look at that, even into your retirement.

All right, 58 minutes past the hour. "NEW DAY" starts right now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking new details. An American finally free after being held hostage by an al Qaeda-linked terrorist group in Syria. Peter Theo Curtis, his release comes less than a week after another American captive was beheaded by ISIS. And now investigators say they are closer to identifying James Foley's killer.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: New this morning, California's Napa Valley cleaning up after a 6.0 earthquake strikes, leaving thousands in the dark. The worst quake to hit the area in 25 years, caused incredible damage and injured more than 170 people.

We'll look at the recovery effort. MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: CNN exclusive. As the Ferguson

community prepares to bury Michael Brown Jr., our Don Lemon met with three mothers brought together by a unique kind of tragedy. Their sons Trayvon, Sean and Michael. A special look at the women who are living a parent's worst nightmare.

BERMAN: Your NEW DAY starts right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY, with Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan and Michaela Pereira.

BERMAN: 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.