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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

U.S. Military Operation in Somalia; 3 Americans Held in North Korea Urge U.S. Help; U.K. Anti-Terror Measures; Celebrity Nude Photos Hacked

Aired September 02, 2014 - 04:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news this morning: the United States going after terrorists in Somalia. What we are learning about this new operation and just who was targeted.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, the U.S. now calling for North Korea to release three imprisoned Americans. The prisoners calling for help in an exclusive television interview with CNN. Could this lead to direct negotiations with North Korea? We are live with the very latest this morning.

BERMAN: The FBI investigating a huge celebrity photo hack. Several stars admitting their private, naked pictures have been leaked online, raising new concerns about the security and safety of iCloud.

Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.

ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. It is exactly half past the hour.

BERMAN: We have breaking news from Somalia this morning: a word of a U.S. military operation targeting the al-Shabaab terrorist group there. The Pentagon has acknowledged this operation and says it is assessing the results of the mission.

Now, according to Somali officials, the attacked appear to target an al-Shabaab camp where leaders were meeting. They say at least four missiles were fired on a convoy. It is not known how many military leaders may have been killed in the strike or if the head of the militant group, Ahmed Godane, was injured or not.

U.S. designated al-Shabaab a foreign terrorist organization back in 2008. The group claimed responsibility for the siege in a mall in Nairobi, Kenya, last September. It killed 67 people.

BERMAN: The families of three Americans detained in North Korea are hoping the attention generated by their CNN interview will trigger action to secure their release. Kenneth Bae, Matthew Miller and Jeffrey Fowle are being held by the secretive, repressive regime. CNN had unprecedented access to these three American who spoke to our Will Ripley in a closely monitored series of interviews in which they pleaded with the government, the U.S. government to help bring them home, and a U.S. envoy to visit to negotiate their release. Now, Will Ripley has now left Pyongyang. He's arrived in Beijing where he's bringing us up to date on the latest from this -- just remarkable, Will, remarkable series of interviews. Very clearly, a message from the North Korean government -- to the government that it wants to talk.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. If you look at the whole geopolitical situation at play, especially in this region, it really does make sense. And if you look at it from the North Korean perspective, they really don't have a lot of bargaining chips right now.

I'm in Beijing. China is one of the major benefactors of North Korea. They supply a lot to the economy through trade. They historically have supported them militarily, certainly in the past in the Korean War.

So, this major benefactor, China, lately there have been tensions between North Korea and China with North Korea actually sending some troops and some tanks to the border. So, you have that at play, tension with that relationship. There's a possible thawing of relations in the works for Japan.

But the U.S. sanctions overshadow everything. They cripple the economy in North Korea. So, now, North Korean government saw an opportunity with these three detainees in their country to put them in front of our cameras and send a message to the United States.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFFREY FOWLE, AMERICAN HELD IN NORTH KOREA: This is an opportunity for maybe Bill Clinton to come back and he has -- he secured the release of a couple of journalists a few years back. Maybe George W. Bush, it's his turn as an elder statesman to try his hand. I'd appreciate any help that they could lend to help resolve our cases and bring us home.

KENNETH BAE, AMERICAN HELD IN NORTH KOREA: I do believe that special envoy needs in order to resolve the situation that I'm in right now.

MATTHEW MILLER, AMERICAN HELD IN NORTH KOREA: I've been requesting help for a long time and there's been no movement from my government. The American government is known for having a strong policy of protecting its citizens. For my case, there's still no movement.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

RIPLEY: After visiting with those detainees, I can tell you that they all appear to be in good health. Kenneth Bae has been in and out of the hospital. All three said they are being treated humanely. There are many human rights groups, the United Nations as well, that have concerns that millions of North Korean citizens do not enjoy that same level of treatment. More than 200,000 estimated by amnesty international to be held in brutal prison camps, where they are overworked, or underfed, they die in droves, according to some reports from the United Nations and others.

The United Nations World Food Program says as many as 6 million North Koreans don't have enough to eat. So, the situation in that country is very dire right now. They don't have a lot of bargaining chips. What they do have, at this very moment is three American citizens that they are holding on to, taking very good care of, putting in front of the cameras.

ROMANS: All right. Great work, Will Ripley. And we'll report your reporting on this as the days proceed. Thank you.

BERMAN: After watching her brother's CNN interview, Kenneth Bae's sister is calling to help secure his release. Terri Chung says she was surprised CNN was allowed to speak to Bae. But she knows the North Korean regime does things for a reason. Still, it was hard for her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TERRI CHUNG, KENNETH BAE'S SISTER: It's painful to just watch him time after time being put on camera by the DRPK officials to make the same plea to our government. We are thankful for the ongoing efforts they have been making. We know that they are working hard behind the scenes. The fact is, he is still there after two years.

So, we reiterate our plea in saying if there was ever a time to step up efforts, it's now. They are signaling a window, please respond. Please bring them home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Terri Chung is also asking the government of Pyongyang to have mercy on her brother who was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor. And he is now serving that prison term.

ROMANS: The threat for ISIS will be at the top of the agenda when President Obama and NATO leaders meet later this week at a summit in Brussels. Meantime, Prime Minister David Cameron taking steps to diminish the terror threat in Britain, announcing measures to restrict the movement of would-be jihadists. Cameron says hundreds of British citizens have gone to Iraq and Syria to fight with militant groups.

CNN's Karl Penhaul is following these developments. He is live in London. And what they are so concerned about there is those hundreds, maybe 500 Britons who could come back and wage jihad on British soil.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Christine, and that really was the focus of Prime Minister David Cameron's proposal to parliament yesterday, fighting radical Islam on the home front.

Now, to that effect, a number of measures that he's proposing. He's proposing increasing police powers so they can seize passports and question suspects at British airports before they head to the Mideast and join jihadi groups like ISIS.

He's also suggesting that we increase the no fly list here in Britain and in Europe to stop people even getting on planes, if they are suspected of heading off to join some international fight. Perhaps one of the most controversial measures that he is proposing is stopping British nationals from returning to the country once they have been fighting abroad. That, effectively is a modern day banishment, and some oppositions doubt that perhaps he has legal or international legal powers to approve such a measure.

So, quite clearly, a lot of these proposals still have to go through parliament. They still have to go through debate. And what all politicians of all colors will be looking to do is to make sure that the threat and the powers to fight radical Islam are also balanced out with civil liberties, what people say -- yes, of course, there is a clear need to fight the threat. There is also a clear need to make sure Britain doesn't head down the route of police state -- Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Karl Penhaul for us this morning -- thank you, Karl, from London.

Now, the U.N.'s Human Rights Council investigates alleged abuses and war crimes by ISIS in Iraq. Officials say more than 1,400 Iraqis were killed, another 1,300 wounded last month in acts of terrorism and violence in most of the casualties were civilians.

Meantime, U.S. airstrikes keep pounding away at ISIS targets in Iraq, including several near the strategic Mosul dam.

BERMAN: Syrian rebels issuing new demands for the release of dozens of U.N. peacekeepers from Fiji who have been held captive for five days now. Officials said the al Qaeda linked al Nusra Front wants to be taken off the U.N. terror list, wants humanitarian aid delivered in parts of Damascus, and demands compensation for fighters it says were killed in a battle with U.N. officers.

Over the weekend, a group of trapped Filipino peacekeepers managed to escape the rebels in the Golan Heights.

ROMANS: The legality of the NSA's bulk collection of phone records faces a test in federal court in New York. The panel of judges will be the first appeals to address this controversial surveillance program. Today's hearing stems from a suit filed by the ACLU that says the bulk collection of the phone metadata is a violation of privacy and federal law.

BERMAN: Labor Day traditionally kicks off the home stretch of the fall campaign season. And President Obama was in campaign form Monday night. The president addressing workers at a Labor Day rally in Milwaukee. He was touting his economic record and he chided Republican lawmakers who are trying to block much of his domestic agenda, including his push for a higher minimum wage. We'll hear a lot about minimum wage.

ROMANS: Oh, yes, you will.

Time for an EARLY START in your money.

Speaking of the minimum wage, European shares -- they are up. Asian shares ending the day mostly higher. U.S. markets back from Labor Day holiday, and the futures are looking good for the first trading day of September.

Historically, September has been the worst month for the market. The S&P 500 has dropped a half percent in September since 1950. But even the September slump hasn't kept this bull market down in the past five years. Stocks had solid gains in September every year except for 2011.

And the U.S. economy looks healthy right now, strong economic growth, corporate earnings and jobs growth, so that five-year-long goal -- you can look at your 401(k). You can.

BERMAN: That's some goal.

The FBI and Apple have launched an investigation into the apparent hacking of iCloud accounts that led to alleged photos of Jennifer Lawrence and other female celebrities being posted online. A spokesperson for Lawrence called the incident a flagrant violation of privacy and said authorities will prosecute whoever is responsible for posting the stolen photos.

ROMANS: Happening now: NATO may soon intervene in the Ukraine crisis, after Ukraine's government accuses Russia of launching a great war. We are live with how NATO plans to step in after the break.

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BERMAN: In just a few hours, President Obama departs for Europe. This is a crucial trip. His first stop ahead of a NATO Summit in Wales will be Estonia, trying to reassure a Russian neighbor concerned about the Russian presence in Ukraine. Ukraine crisis will be a major focus of the NATO summit. President Poroshenko of Ukraine is looking to NATO leaders for help. NATO says it wants to establish a new rapid reaction force that could respond to a global hot spot like Ukraine in just a matter of days.

Meantime, the fighting goes on with pro-Russian forces. These are the Ukrainian separatists advancing.

CNN's Reza Sayah is live in Kiev.

And on the ground, militarily speaking, such a different situation, Reza, than a few weeks ago.

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John. All indications are that Ukrainian forces in southeastern Ukraine are taking an absolute beating for the past several days. Hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers have either retreated or been encircled. Many others injured or killed.

And they are losing significant ground and territory. One of the latest losses came yesterday, a critical airfield, in the rebel stronghold of Luhansk, up until yesterday, this airfield was under control of Ukrainian forces. But they retreated after the airfield came under attack by rebels who were allegedly backed by Russian forces and Russian tanks.

Of course, Moscow denies they have Russian troops on Ukrainian soil. But whatever the case, that airfield now under the control of rebels.

We are also watching the critical port of city of Mariupol, east to that city, pro-Russian rebels are bearing down, seemingly ready to attack. What happens there depends on what happens on the negotiating table, seemingly, where the rebels look to be easing off their demand for an independent state.

Yesterday, in Belarus, where all sides met, the rebels said they'd be satisfied with some sort of a guarantee of autonomy, self- determination and in return, they would respect the sovereignty of Ukraine. Seemingly, John, it's an opportunity for negotiated solution, some sort of a compromise. But there wasn't a breakthrough yesterday. And there's no indication, at this point, that a compromise is at hand.

BERMAN: Compromise has been hard to come by. Meanwhile, NATO set to meet, talking about this new rapid reaction force.

Any sense this might be seen as a provocative measure to Russia?

SAYAH: Yes, I think the announcement yesterday before this meeting, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the secretary general of NATO, a lot of undertones that Moscow, especially Russian President Vladimir Putin, is not going to like. Of course, Moscow is concern is NATO encroachment into the so-called security of zone of Russia. They don't want NATO approaching Russia's borders, but NATO, all sorts of signals that they are considering increasing their capacity, their capability perhaps of more bases. Certainly, you can interpret that as provocative messages that Moscow is certainly not going to like. We'll see how they react.

BERMAN: Reza Sayah for us in Kiev this morning -- great to have you with us. Thanks, Reza.

ROMANS: There's more criticism this morning of Israel's move to claim close to 1,000 acres of land in the Palestinian West Bank. It would clear the way for a new Israeli settlement. Palestinians say this land grab destroys the prospect for peace.

Britain has now joined the U.S. in asking Israel to reverse its decision.

BERMAN: At least three people are dead after two weeks of political protests in Pakistan turned violent on Monday. Demonstrators seized the government-run television station. Broadcasts were shut down for an hour before the army regained control of the building. Look at the protest.

Protesters are calling for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to resign, accusing him of rigging the election that brought him into office last year.

Millions facing a severe storm threat here at home this morning, after a tornado tore through communities. We'll tell you what you need to know and where these storms are headed, coming up.

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ROMANS: Police in Ferguson, Missouri, have started wearing body cameras. The cameras were donated by two security companies after weeks of protests following the shooting of Michael Brown by Officer Darren Wilson. Web sites set up to raise money for Wilson were shut down over the weekend. Two separate campaigns on the gofundme.com Web site stopped taking donations after raising more than $300,000. Organizers have not given a reason for closing donations at this point.

On Monday, a group calling for Wilson's dismissal blocked traffic briefly along I-70 in Missouri. Traffic stoppage took place despite a request by Brown's father to cancel that demonstration.

BERMAN: The Texas National Guard deployed to help beef up security at the U.S./Mexico border now dealing with the different issue (AUDIO GAP) relative inactivity. Officials say the number of immigrants crossing the border illegally in the area of Rio Grande in Texas has dropped significantly in recent weeks. That includes the flow of unaccompanied children. The guardsmen say aside from keeping watch on the brush, there is not a lot for them to do right now.

ROMANS: Parts of northern Michigan getting pounded by rough weather on Labor Day including two tornadoes. The storms uprooted hundreds of trees in one county, sent some of them crashing into homes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was sitting by the window. It got real dark. All of a sudden, I heard a roar and trees started falling.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Wow. Thankfully, no injuries reported there.

Let's get an earlier look on your weather. We got Chad Myers for that this morning.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Christine and John, good morning.

Pretty decent weather across the country today, although it will be warmer than it's been the past couple days across the east, and more scattered showers as well. High pressure in Chicago cools things down there, and still fairly nice and cool up in the Pacific Northwest.

Here are your temperatures in the 70s across the Pacific Northwest, but 90s in the East. It's going to be a flip from where we have been, even 67 for Seattle later today -- 92 in New York, 96 in Washington, D.C. And the humidity is back as well. The humidity is gone tomorrow as the front makes its way down to Hampton Roads.

Heavy showers across parts of Florida, very heavy rainfall into Mexico and south Texas. This is the area that could pick up tropical-like rains from a system that might get a name, maybe a number, could be Dolly. You see that. It will be quickly on shore, no real threat to the Gulf of Mexico at least right now.

Ninety-two in Atlanta for tomorrow, 91 D.C., 87 in New York. But it feels better with less humidity.

John, Christine, back to you.

ROMANS: All right. Thanks for that, Chad.

Eighty-seven in New York.

All right. We are getting our first look at Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's wedding pictures. The bride is gracing the cover of "People" magazine in their wedding gown with the title "Dream Day". The couple's family wedding photo album appears exclusively in the magazine. Brad and Angelina were married last month in France.

BERMAN: In case you weren't invited.

ROMANS: Their six children -- yes, only 22 people there. Their children shared a major role in the wedding.

BERMAN: Do you think the food was any good? You hear people complained after saying it was beautiful (INAUDIBLE) food.

ROMANS: I think it was probably good. It's $67 million French estate the food is going to be pretty good.

All right. Fifty-four minutes past the hour.

Former House Majority Eric Cantor lands on his feet. We are going to tell you about his new job with an EARLY START on your money, next.

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ROMANS: All right. Let's get an EARLY START on your money.

European shares are up right now. Asian shares ended the day mostly higher. And the U.S. market back from the Labor Day holiday, futures pointing higher for the first day of trading in September.

Historically, September has been the worst month for the market. But the September slump hasn't kept this bull market down. In the past five years, stock had solid gains every year except 2011.

Former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has a new job on Wall Street. Look at this, Cantor left Congress after that shocking defeat in the Republican primary. Now, he's joining the investment bank Moelis and Company as vice chairman and managing director. Cantor will have an office of the firm's New York headquarters, will open a new office for the company in Washington.

The fast food wage wars heating up again this week. Protest organizers say workers will walk off the job on Thursday in 150 cities. That will affect McDonald's, Burger King, KFC and others, part of an ongoing fight for a $15 an hour pay. It's what protesters call a living wage. It's currently the median pay in fast food is about $9 an hour. That's about $18,500 a year.

So, big protest planned for Thursday.

BERMAN: We'll see what happens.

All right. It's about 5:00 right now in the East. EARLY START continues right now.

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