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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Obama Meeting with World Leaders at NATO; The American Suspected of Helping ISIS; Ceasefire in Ukraine; Remembering Joan Rivers

Aired September 05, 2014 - 04:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, President Obama meeting with world leaders to fight back Russian aggression in Ukraine and the growing threat of ISIS terrorists, but with the NATO Summit now in its last days, what can really be accomplished? We're live.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: New information about an American suspected of joining ISIS. Why he could prove vital now to that terror organization as they gain ground in Iraq and Syria.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOAN RIVERS, COMEDIAN: I have no sex appeal and it has screwed me up for life. Peeping toms look in my window, pull down the shade. You have no idea. My gynecologist examines me by telephone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Remembering a comedic legend. Joan Rivers dead at the age of 81. What we're learning about her death as we look back on her iconic career.

BERMAN: And just moments ago, in the skies over Wales, military jets from nine western nations, including the U.S., U.K. and Canada, made an impressive flyover, intended to showcase NATO's formidable air power as the leaders of 60 nations gather to address growing threats in Ukraine from ISIS, also in the Middle East. Even world leaders like to clap at the airplanes. Look at that.

ROMANS: Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

BERMAN: Did you see that? Look at the planes. Look at the planes. These are our billion, billion dollar toys.

ROMANS: Thank you, taxpayers.

BERMAN: All right, I'm John Berman. Thirty-one minutes past the hour.

We are in the final hours now of the NATO Summit and western leaders are showing their solidarity with Ukraine. President Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron and the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, all pledging to help protect embattled Baltic nations from Russian aggression. In a new round of economic sanctions targeting Russian banks and businesses could be announced today.

Western leaders also talking tough now about ISIS, vowing to help put together an international coalition to confront the terror group head on. Our Michelle Kosinski traveling with the president. She joins us now from Wales.

And, Michelle, Iraq's president has now asked for international help fighting ISIS. Iraq asking for more help from around the world. Has NATO given any indication of what it might do?

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, the president has been trying to build this coalition. U.S. officials told us yesterday that other nations are receptive. You heard the U.K. aligned right along with the U.S. there, although not going so far as to contributing air strikes, at least not at this point. But that makes it easy, right, when Iraq asks for the help and then everybody who wants to can go in and help either with air strikes or with arming the people on the ground or with humanitarian aid. I mean that has been happening on the part of other countries, as well as the United States.

The difficulty is, of course, this Syria piece. In that country, nobody's inviting anybody in and that decision-making remains to be. And the coalition that's being built, according to U.S. officials, is going to take a little bit of time.

So here at this NATO Summit, I mean you heard all of these topics that we're talking about just now. That's a lot for a two-day summit. So what leaders are saying was yesterday was about assessing the situation, looking at the challenges. Today is going to be about solutions. So we're going to hear some announcements and some decisions made regarding Ukraine.

What we won't hear, though, are decisions on what to do next about ISIS in Syria. U.S. officials say first comes it coalition building for which is groundwork was laid here. Then they need to do regional coalition building after the NATO Summit. Secretary of State Kerry, secretary of defense are going to the region. They're going to continue that work there. So that is going to take some more time, John.

BERMAN: A really interesting distinction you make there. It does seem that world and western leaders are lining up to join the fight against ISIS in Iraq, but as soon as it gets to the Syrian border, much, much more complicated. Our White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski traveling with the president in Wales, thanks so much.

ROMANS: Thirty-four minutes past the hour.

There could be a truce declared in Ukraine in the next five hours. The new president of Ukraine and the NATO secretary general both expressing cautious optimism about a possible ceasefire with pro- Russian rebels. This as heavy fighting rages in eastern Ukraine. Pro- Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces engaging in a bloody struggle for a key highway near Donetsk.

And I want to bring in Reza Sayah. He's live from Kiev for us.

So what is the status here on this -- on this ceasefire?

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's some cautious optimism. And the question is, is it possible that after four months of fighting, there's finally going to be a cease-fire in southeastern Ukraine. And we may find out at about 2:00 p.m. local time, that's in roughly two and a half hours, and it all depends on what happens in the city of Minsk, Belarus. This is where both sides of this conflict are set to meet and both sides say they are prepared to sign a seven- point ceasefire agreement that's designed to end the fighting.

We should point out that some NATO members, some western capitals, have expressed skepticism. Some have criticized this plan, describing it as a ploy by Moscow, a ploy by Russian President Vladimir Putin to delay some of these sanctions and buy some more time for the pro- Russian rebels in southeastern Ukraine. But Petro Poroshenko, the Ukrainian president, says he's hopeful this will work. And pro-Russian rebel leaders say they're hopeful, too.

If, indeed, this plan goes into effect among the conditions are, an end to the military operations in southeastern Ukraine, the pulling out of troops, the establishment of a humanitarian corridor and the positioning of international monitors to make sure that these conditions are met. Mr. Poroshenko, yesterday, said once this agreement is signed at 2:00 p.m., he will call off the Ukrainian forces in southeastern Ukraine. Now, the pro-Russian rebels say, if they observe that that has happened at 3:00 p.m. local time, they'll call off their troops as well, Christine. So all eyes on the city of Minsk, Belarus. And at 2:00 p.m., it's about two and a half hours, to see if, indeed, this agreement is signed. And then we look to the battlefield to see if it's effective and it ends the fighting.

ROMANS: All right, Reza Sayah for us live this morning in Kiev. Thanks, Reza.

BERMAN: Thirty-six minutes after the hour.

A U.S. citizen from Massachusetts now being linked to ISIS. Thirty- two-year-old Ahmad Abousamra is already wanted by the FBI and now intelligence officials believe he has joined ISIS using the computer skills he honed in Boston to help the extremist group's social media campaigns.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIE HARF, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESWOMAN: Obviously, we take very seriously the threat of American citizens who join terrorist organizations. We take additional care when thinking about options for taking them off the battlefield, but that your citizenship cannot serve as a shield if you take up arms against the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: British Prime Minister David Cameron is trying to open up a legal path to possible military strikes against ISIS in Syria. The prime minister is declaring the Assad regime illegitimate, meaning that the west would not need the Syrian leader's permission to enter Syrian air space under international law.

Now Iraq's president is appealing for help from the international community to fight ISIS. He tells CNN's Christiane Amanpour that ISIS can be wiped out if Iraq gets cooperation from the United States and neighboring Middle East nations. According to Iraqi defense officials, a U.S. air strike in Mosul killed at least two high ranking members of ISIS. There are reports the terror group's leader was killed but the Pentagon is denying that.

ROMANS: A doctor from Massachusetts, the third American to be diagnosed with the deadly Ebola virus. He's being flown home from Liberia right now to get treatment in a special bio-containment unit in a Nebraska hospital. Dr. Richard Sacra contracted this disease while treating maternity patients in Monrovia. He'll arrive in Omaha today, not a moment too soon for his wife.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEBBIE SACRA, WIFE OF DR. RICHARD SACRA: I just had a call from the doctor who put Rick on a plane to come to the United States. And he said that Rick is clearly sick, but that he was in very good spirits and he was -- and he walked on to the plane.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Some researchers are warning it's only a matter of time before isolated cases of Ebola are discovered in developed nations. They're warning the U.S. and other nations to be on alert. More than 1,900 people have now been killed by this virus in four west African nations. The outbreak taking more lives now than all other recorded Ebola outbreaks combined.

BERMAN: Healthcare.gov has been hacked. The White House says hackers successfully installed malicious software in the Obamacare site in early July and the breach was discovered last week. Officials say no consumer information was compromised. It turns out the server that was breached did not have a firewall or intrusion detection software installed on it. I'm no tech expert, but, you know, those kind of things might be a good idea.

ROMANS: The -- yes, especially -- yes.

BERMAN: Yes.

ROMANS: So, hmm. I'm not even going to say any more about that. I've been doing all these hack reports.

OK, Apple is adding more security measures to protect against tactics used to steal the nude celebrity photos of Jennifer Lawrence and others. The company will alert iCloud users with e-mail and push notifications when someone tries to change an account password, restore cloud data on a new device or connect on an unfamiliar device to the account. The company will also expand its use of two factor authentication. That means you enter a second, temporary password sent through an app or text message.

Let's take a look at another little EARLY START on your money this morning. European stocks mostly lower. U.S. stock futures also down a bit. This is ahead of the August jobs report due out at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.

BERMAN: All right, 39 minutes after the hour.

She was a pioneer in stand-up comedy, rising to fame in the '60s with a signature phrase, "can we talk?"

ROMANS: There's a "w" in there. Can we tawk?

BERMAN: Right. I'll let her say it like that. What Joan Rivers really meant is, can we talk about anything and anyone. Nobody was safe from her sharp tongue really -- and least of all, really, herself. The legendary comedian died Thursday at the age of 81, less than a week after being rushed to a New York City hospital when she suddenly stopped breathing during an outpatient medical procedure. CNN's Miguel Marquez has more on her death.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, Christine, a few hours after the announcement was made of Ms. Rivers' death, we got the first glimpse of Melissa Rivers, her daughter, who has been by her side since this tragedy began to unfold. She was returning to her mother's upper east side apartment dressed in sunglasses, a dark coat. She ran from a car into the apartment. A few moments later, her son, Cooper, Ms. Rivers 'only grandchild, emerged from that car as well, only 13 years old, to deal with all of this. He then went into the apartment. The funeral now been set for Sunday here in Manhattan.

What brought us to this very, very sad end, though, was eight days ago when Ms. Rivers, after completing a show at the Laurie Beechman Theatre. She was done by 9:30 or 10:00 p.m. She went to dinner. Early the next morning, she was at Yorkville Endoscopy, where she had what should have been an outpatient procedure. She went into cardiac arrest, stopped breathing, and then was brought here to Mount Sinai.

I can tell you guys that there are now two investigations related to Yorkville Endoscopy. Both the New York State Health Department has announced that it is investigating and also the accrediting agency for those sort of facilities is investigating. The medical examiner here in New York also says that an autopsy will be done and the cause and manner of Ms. Rivers' death will be known.

John. Christine.

BERMAN: Our thanks to Miguel for that report.

Forty-one minutes after the hour.

Ferguson Police now being investigated by the federal government. Is racism rampant in the ranks? Their police chief goes on the record right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BERMAN: The Ferguson, Missouri Police Department responding to a federal investigation announced Thursday by the Justice Department. The probe is in response to last month's fatal shooting of an unarmed black teen that set off weeks of protests. The Justice Department actually looking into much more than just that incident. It's also looking into possible unlawful policing tactics in Ferguson over time. Chief Thomas Jackson says the allegations are without merit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think there's a problem with the department when it comes to civil rights?

CHIEF THOMAS JACKSON, FERGUSON, MISSOURI, POLICE: No, I don't. I think that we've worked really hard to make sure that we treat everybody fairly. I think there's a segment of the community that is a little bit distrustful right now in light of some of the events of recent weeks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: While this is happening, a judge is deciding whether to release Michael Brown's juvenile criminal records after requests from two media outlets.

ROMANS: A true pioneer of comedy, Joan Rivers, dead at the age of 81. A look back at her remarkable career, next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOAN RIVERS, COMEDIAN: Can we talk here for a second? Since -- there's no big deal to have a woman in the White House. John F. Kennedy had a thousand of them. I am telling you right now. Right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: She was known as the queen of mean. But this morning, Hollywood royalty and admiring, adorning fans remembering Joan Rivers for her ability to make us laugh.

BERMAN: She was a pioneer, quick-witted, sharp-tongued. I mean that is an understatement. She was not afraid to poke fun at herself or anyone for that matter. We get more on her life and her truly remarkable career from Nischelle Turner.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOAN RIVERS, COMEDIAN: Can we talk?

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Joan Rivers could always talk.

RIVERS: Do you know what it's like to go in the morning to take off a facial mask and realize you're not wearing one? Oh, you don't know. TURNER: With sometimes outrageous jokes, nothing was ever off limits.

RIVERS: I hate old people. I -- oh, if you are (EXPLETIVE DELETED) old, get up and out of here right -- right now.

TURNER: Born in 1933, Rivers says even as she was growing up in the New York suburbs, she wanted to be an actress.

RIVERS: I never had a choice. I always say it's like a nun's calling.

TURNER: She joined the iconic Second City Comedy Theatre in 1961. As her comedy career was taking off, she married producer Edward Rosenberg in 1964, who would manage her career and become the focus of so many of his wife's jokes. The pair had one daughter together, Melissa. In 1965, Rivers saw her career get a huge boost when she appeared on "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson for the first time.

RIVERS: He gave all of us our starts. My life changed. I went on the show the first time, seven years of struggling, coming out of Second City. And on the air he said, you're going to be a star, and the next day my life was different.

TURNER: It was the start of a 21-year professional relationship with Carson and the show. She made regular appearances, eventually becoming the show's substitute host in 1983. But Rivers' decision to launch her own show on the brand-new Fox Network in the fall of 1986 ended her relationship with Carson and "The Tonight Show."

RIVERS: The minute I became competition, it became out to kill me. Out to kill me. And that's what came down, forever. Never spoke to me again.

TURNER: The show was canceled in 1987. Just a few months later, Rivers' husband, Edgar, committed suicide in a Philadelphia hotel room.

RIVERS: I was in the house and some idiot called the house and they said, where's your mother. Somebody from Philadelphia. And Melissa says, she's not here. They said, well please tell her your father killed himself. How's that for a phone call?

TURNER: Rivers regrouped by doing what she always did, putting her life out in the open.

RIVERS: If you laugh at it, you can deal with it. I really -- that's how I've lived my whole life.

TURNER: Her career surged again when her withering take on red carpet fashion, full of biting remarks and celebrity putdowns, exposed her to a whole new group of fans.

RIVERS: I think I'm working the best I've ever worked now because I -- it's all been done to me. What are they going to do? Are they going to fire me? I've been fired. I'm going to -- audiences are not going to like me. A lot of audiences haven't liked me. I've been bankrupt. My husband's committed -- I mean it's OK. And I'm still here. So it's OK. (END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: I've got to say, what a career. And if you have time, go back and read through the tweets and some of the comments made by so many people in the entertainment business, particularly the people in comedy who look at her really as a true pioneer.

ROMANS: Yes, her longevity and -- as a comedian is unbelievable.

Fifty-four minutes past the hour.

BP's market value plunging. A judge ruling the company's gross negligence caused the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf. The oil giant now facing billions of dollars in fines. An early start on your money, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: All right, 58 minutes past the hour. Let's get an early start on your money.

Stocks moving lower this morning. European shares down. U.S. stock futures lower as well. All eyes on the August jobs report that comes out at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. CNN Money predicts the economy added 226,000 jobs in August. That would be 17,000 more than were added in July. And we're expecting a 6.1 percent unemployment rate. That would be a slight drop from July. If those predictions holds, August would be the seventh straight month with more than 200,000 jobs added.

BP could be on the hook for billions more for the worst oil spill in U.S. history. A federal judge ruled BP was grossly negligent in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster because the oil giant did not follow up on a failed safety test. That ruling could quadruple what BP owes in pollution fines to more than $18 billion. BP said it plans to appeal that decision. The company says it's already paid more than $42 billion in fines, settlements and clean-up costs. BP shares fell 6 percent yesterday. Watch that space again today.

Apple adding more security measures to protect against tactics used to steal nude celebrity photos of Jennifer Lawrence and others. The company will alert iCloud users with e-mail and push notifications when someone tries to change an account password, restore cloud data on a new device or connect an unfamiliar device to the account. The company will also expand its use of two factor authentication. That means you enter this second, temporary password sent through an app or a text message.

BERMAN: That makes a big difference.

ROMANS: They already give me push notifications whenever I try to change a password, so I'm not sure. I guess you've got to push -- push, push, push, push.

BERMAN: Keep pushing.

ROMANS: Right. BERMAN: So if you want answers to your pressing job questions,

Christine Romans hosting a Facebook chat with Labor Secretary Tom Perez today. So head to CNN Money's Facebook page at 11:30 Eastern to join in. Ask tough questions.

ROMANS: Yes, get those -- ask them now. We're going to start looking through some of those questions to get started for that.

BERMAN: EARLY START continues right now.