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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

U.S. Airstrikes Target ISIS; England's Muslims on Edge; Abbas Threatens to End Hamas Deal

Aired September 08, 2014 - 05:30   ET

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

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: President Obama promising a strategy to take down ISIS. How he plans to do it and why victory won't come quickly. This as U.S. airstrikes pound the terrorists in Iraq. And the clock ticks down for the British hostage whose life is on the line. This morning live team coverage ahead.

A shakeup in Gaza this morning. The Palestinian president threatening to end his government's unity deal with Hamas. Has Israel scored a major victory? We're live in Jerusalem with the very latest.

Mysterious virus plagues children in the Midwest. Hundreds infected with a rare respiratory illness. Why health officials are saying this could be the tip of the iceberg.

Welcome back to early start. I'm Christine Romans. Thirty-one minutes past the hour. John Berman is off this Monday morning.

We begin with President Obama's plan to destroy ISIS. On the day before 9/11, two days from now, the president will address the nation and he is expected to announce a phased military campaign against ISIS. A phased campaign that could take three years to complete.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: On Wednesday, I'll make a speech and describe what our game plan is going to be going forward, but this is not going to be an announcement about U.S. ground troops. This is not the equivalent of the Iraq war. What this is, is similar to the kinds of counterterrorism campaigns that we've been engaging in consistently over the last five, six, seven years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Meanwhile, the U.S. is ramping up airstrikes in Iraq trying to stop ISIS extremists from seizing a critically strategic dam on the Euphrates River. If the Haditha Dam falls to terrorists, they could literally open the floodgates on Baghdad.

I want to bring in Jomana Karadsheh live from Baghdad this morning.

Really an important piece of infrastructure in an important, important fight between Iraqi officials and ISIS.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Christine. There has been a lot of concern about the safety and security of this dam and what impact it could have if ISIS seizes the dam or if it strikes it, damages the dam and causes flooding. And that is why Iraqi officials say after weeks and months of pushing back ISIS trying to stop it from capturing the dam, they requested U.S. assistance and they got that on Sunday with those U.S. airstrikes that allowed them to make some limited advances. Push back ISIS in the areas surrounding the dam.

Now Haditha Dam is in Anbar Province and as you recall, this is the province that where we saw ISIS' first advancement taking place back in January where they had these lightning advances and we saw taking over major cities like Fallujah and parts of Ramadi. But the city of Haditha, the Haditha Dam have remained in the hands of the Iraqi Security Forces and Sunni tribes in the area. But they have been surrounded by ISIS positions.

And officials told us the trouble was coming from a district called Barwanah. That's about six miles to the west of Haditha. And this is where a lot of these attacks targeting the dam have been launched. And this is where the operations yesterday were focused and they say U.S. airstrikes there were also focused. They haven't yet taken control of Barwanah but they say they have been able to clear some ISIS position.

So, really, yet again we see these U.S. airstrikes that over the past month have been focused in northern Iraq. Now as this is the first time that we know of that these U.S. airstrikes have been expanded taking place in the west of the country in that key Anbar province, that Sunni heartland bordering Syria also, and also making an impact, a limited impact in the areas where these airstrikes are happening, allowing Iraqi ground forces to make some advances -- Christine.

ROMANS: Jomana Karadsheh for us this morning in Baghdad. Thank you, Jomana.

The clock ticking down for British hostage David Haines. ISIS is threatening to kill the longtime aid worker seen at the end of the video of journalist Steven Sotloff's beheading. And that is hitting very close to home for England's Muslim population. Karl Penhaul monitoring all these developments live from London for

us.

Good morning, Karl.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine. And as you say, the clock very definitely ticking down for David Haines. He's a 44-year-old aid worker from Scotland. And at the time of his kidnap back in March 2013, he was working for a French aid group by all accounts. He'd only just started working with them when he was taken from just outside a refugee camp. Very close, in fact, to the Turkish border. Just inside Syria. Have been taking water, food and supplies to the refugees there.

The other worrying thing, of course, that we don't know is neither the British government nor the U.S. government is telling us exactly how many hostages they believe are being held by ISIS or other extremist groups inside of Syria right now. So -- and that really is a result of a media blackout. So governments aren't giving a lot of information about who is currently being held and how many more hostages may be in line for possible execution.

But, of course, seeing David Haines there and also seeing this black masked executioner that we also in the Steven Sotloff and James Foley videos, we have been keen to find out what is in the mindset of these British nationals that head out to Syria to join ISIS or other radical groups there. And over the weekend, we had the chance to talk to the family of one of the first Britons who became a suicide bomber in Syria, that back in February.

And it really doesn't fit the picture of a crazed Islamic radical that you might expect. This man, Abdul Rahid Majid, was 41 years old. He was a father of three teenage children. And when headed out, he headed out on one of these aid convoys that are going almost weekly to Syria. He wanted to do his bit and help the civilian population. But it was there in one of the refugee camps apparently that he met a group that had recently splintered from ISIS and they convinced him one day to get in a truck with steel armor plating around, it almost like a truck out of a "Mad Max" movie packed with explosives. And he headed off and attacked Aleppo jail.

His family really wasn't aware that he was going to do this, but this is the last conversation that his brother recalls having with him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAFEEZ MAJID, BROTHER OF SUICIDE BOMBER: He said he loved us all very, very much. He said, I know, you know, that you're looking after the family and you're doing a very, very good job. And that, you know, if I had done any wrongs in my life, that I hope maybe you can forgive me for those wrongs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PENHAUL: And my conversation with that man really did show that the picture of these British jihadi fighters is much more nuanced than we've been led to expect. But also the British government is really trying to get into the mindset of these people to try and find out how they can stop them heading there in the first place -- Christine.

ROMANS: I saw such an interesting headline recently, saying that the common denominator for so many of these Western raised jihadists is -- the idea, the core, it's better to die a martyr than a loser. Better to die a martyr than somehow having failed in your life in the West. It's such an interesting but obviously more complicated than that background question.

Thank you so much, Karl Penhaul, for that. And really interesting interview there.

Thirty-seven minutes past the hour. The State Department launching a massive social media blitz against ISIS by using the terror group's own propaganda footage. They're hoping a video entitled "Welcome to the Islamic Stateland" will hurt ISIS' recruitment of U.S. citizens. Right now more than 100 Americans have traveled overseas to join ISIS. The video contains graphic images of beheadings, beatings and suicide

bombings, urging viewers to think again and turn away from the terror organization.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State John Kerry is heading to the Middle East as early as today to strengthen the coalition against ISIS.

Time for an EARLY START on your money. European stocks mixed with the poll showing Scotland favors independence. That's causing some uncertainty in the U.K. Asian stocks ending the day mixed as well. U.S. stock futures lower but stocks are very much in record territory. The S&P 500 closed at a record high on Friday.

The current bull market has now been running for more than 2,000 days. This is the fourth longest rally since 1928. The average bull market is about 900 days. So this run is already twice as long as was typical.

So when will the rally run out of steam? Well, some analysts believe stocks are already in a bubble that could pop soon. There are still plenty of optimists who say it's not too late to jump in, And the last stages of a bull market can be quite profitable.

All right. Hundreds of children in Missouri hospitalized by a respiratory virus that has officials really worried and scrambling for answers this morning. Doctors say this could just be the tip of the iceberg. Ten states from Colorado to Kentucky contacting the CDC for assistance. Fearful the virus could spread. In Kansas City, dozens of children are being hospitalized daily, daily. Fifteen percent of them in intensive care.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARY ANN JACKSON, DOCTOR: It has been associated with clusters of respiratory virus illness, so that piece was well-known. But the clusters that have been seen in the past and have been reported have been small clusters of maybe, say, 25 or 30 patients. And we've received that many patients in a day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Health officials in Colorado, Illinois and Ohio are now reporting cases with similar symptoms to that outbreak in Missouri.

Breaking news. Buckingham Palace announcing the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expecting their second child. Kate and William said to be very pleased by this development. The duchess is being treated by doctors today and will not accompany her husband on a planned appearance in Oxford.

Severe storms flooding Southern California. Drivers stranded as the rain came pouring down and the threat for the south isn't over yet. Indra Peterson is tracking what you need to know right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROMANS: Southern California drenched by storms. Up to 2 inches in rain in an hour falling in some areas. It's remnants of tropical storm Norbert. Causing flash flooding in riverside. Rising waters closing sections of I-215, emergency crews called in. More than 70 cars stranded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was just unreal how the water was coming down. And so it was -- I was hoping that my car wasn't going to stall out, you know, in that water and gosh, again, it's just unreal to look at this and see this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The rains had little impact on California's extended drought even after Sunday's storms. Riverside County remains well below its average rainfall for the year.

Indra Petersons has a look at your forecast for us this morning.

Hi, Indra.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning. You don't want a lot of water in a short period of time. It has nowhere to go. It's just a runoff. So unfortunately that's still going to be the case today as we still have the threat from leftover moisture from Norbert, still going in the southwest so the flooding concern and threat will be high. Large amounts of rain are still expected in the region. Good 2 to 4 inches. They're flying through Vegas, maybe out toward Phoenix, so you definitely want to be watching for that. Of course driving through the area, looking for serious concerns in that region.

Into the southeast, easy to see, right? Look at all the moisture that's down here. A stationary front really producing a lot of storms today, so if you're maybe in toward the Carolinas, you're going to see good bull's eye, 2 to 5 inches of rain. Even some of those moisture will filter in the northeast. A couple of scattered showers for the first half of the week but then really this is going to be the story for the second half of the week.

Big system producing severe weather Tuesday and Wednesday into the Midwest and Ohio Valley, mainly because there's so much cool air behind it. You see this huge contrast with those cool air and warm air. How cool? Yes, we're talking about temperatures really diving down a good 30, some places almost 40 degrees. We're looking at huge temperature drop, it looks like. Minnesota, upper 70s to the 50s. Even seen that cooler air dropping down through Texas and eventually by Friday, look at that difference. Boston going from 70s to 60s. Not as drastic here, but every way, I'm going to say 60s is like fall.

ROMANS: Sixties feel like fall. Absolutely. Thanks, Indra. Bringing us the chill this morning.

Forty-five minutes past the hour here.

Let's take a look at what's coming up on "NEW DAY." Chris Cuomo joins us now.

Hey, Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR, NEW DAY: Christine Romans, always good to see you.

We'll be talking about the president this morning. He is set to make his case for what he needs to have done in his words to destroy ISIS. Now we have the D word is destroy, it was degrade, now we have destroy. What does that mean? Can he sell it to Congress? Can he sell it to you?

We're going to speak with lawmakers and terror experts about what lies ahead.

Then the owner of NBA's Atlanta Hawks under fire. Abruptly having to sell his stake in the team. Why? Because of a racially charged e- mail. You're going to hear exclusively from the Hawks' CEO.

And of course we're going to have more on the breaking news. The big royal announcement. Some people very excited around here. George is going to have a sibling.

Let the rivalry begin, Christine. We all know how that second kid goes.

ROMANS: I don't think she's feeling so hot. That -- she had a real rough first pregnancy. It sounds like she is going to be -- she's being treated by doctors now. So I can't wait to hear more about that, Chris.

CUOMO: Hopefully it all goes well. You've got to give to get. Pregnancy is not easy. Every husband knows that.

(LAUGHTER)

ROMANS: They are all blessings. The little cost centers are all blessings. All right.

CUOMO: Very tough on the men.

ROMANS: Yes. Thanks, Chris.

Forty-seven minutes past the hour. We'll tune in.

Hamas warned shape up or it is over. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas with a stern warning. Could a political shakeup be coming to Gaza? We are live after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas threatening to sever a unity agreement with Hamas. He is accusing Hamas of running a shadow government in Gaza. He wants a single authority operating there.

Abbas' comments coming two weeks after a cease-fire ended 50 days of violence between Israel and Hamas.

I want to bring in Ian Lee live from Jerusalem.

Good morning, Ian.

IAN LEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine. We've been watching this closely. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accusing Hamas of running a shadow government in Gaza saying, quote, "We cannot accept the current state of affairs and we will not accept a partnership between us and Hamas. If the status quo remains as it is in Gaza.

These words call into question that unity government which was created last April. A new cabinet was formed shortly after but Abbas is saying Hamas' shadow government is running Gaza now is essentially rendering that unity government helpless.

Now obviously Hamas denounced that statement, calling them unjust and unjustified. And that this sort of criticism shouldn't be aired out in the media, in the public but rather in dialogue. And it's interesting to note that a recent poll states that if the presidential elections were to happen right now, Hamas' political leader, Ismail Haniya, would trounce Mahmoud Abbas. And that poll also says that almost 80 percent of Palestinians believe Hamas won the Gaza war. So you can see why they're so popular.

What would happen, though, if this unity government falls apart? Would we likely be back to square one. Many of the deals involving the cease-fire that ended last month's war in Gaza hinged on that unity government. Mainly the Palestinian Authority security forces taking control of Gaza's borders from Hamas. So any breakdown of that agreement would likely lead to a very dangerous situation.

But this rift in the unity government is music to Israel's ears. They've condemned the unity government from the very beginning as they see Hamas as a terrorist organization. Palestinian accused Israel of working to undermine it, though. Israel is now calling for Abbas to abandon this deal and to return to dialogue with them -- Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Ian Lee for us this morning in Jerusalem. Thank you for that, Ian.

President Obama warning the Ebola virus could mutate if it's not controlled. He calls the pandemic in West Africa a huge national security priority. Mr. Obama's comments come as the White House requests $30 million from Congress to pay for the CDC's efforts to combat the deadly outbreak.

Meanwhile, the vaccine to cure Ebola is showing promise on monkeys, but researchers say the animals needed a booster shot for longer protection. And the third American infected with Ebola is recovering. Dr. Rick Sacra is being treated at a hospital in Nebraska. He is getting an experimental drug that's different than the one given to two other Americans.

All right. The big banks may not like it, but one segment of the population is saying no to credit cards. We're going to get an early start on your money next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Let's get an EARLY START on your money this Monday morning. European stocks lower. U.S. stock futures also pointing lower. But overall, I got to tell you nothing seems to keep this bull market down. It's been climbing for more than 2,000 days. That's the fourth longest rally this century. About twice as long as the average run. Experts divided, of course, that this rally is nearing an end or if there's still room left to rise.

Something that is falling. Prices at the pump. The national average price per gallon of regular gas is $3.44. That's down about 20 cents from the start of the summer. Experts say prices could fall another 10 to 20 cents by the end of next month. Falling crude oil prices have caused the drop in gas prices and on top of that prices usually fall in September as people cut back on their driving.

Brand new on CNN Money this morning, millennials are saying no to credit cards. According to a new Bankrate survey, 6 of 10 millennials don't have a single credit card. Six out of 10. Compare that to 3 of 10 Americans over the age of 30. Mounting student debt, a struggling economy have scared the millennials away from credit cards. Instead they are turning to debit cards so they can -- it's a way you can avoid spending what you don't have. But it means you lose the chance to build a good credit score and credit history. That's a tradeoff these millennials are taking.

"NEW DAY" starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are going to defeat them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: "We are going to defeat them." President Obama said he has a strategy to combat ISIS so what is it and can he sell it to Congress and to you? As the 9/11 anniversary looms, officials have new fears embassies may be at risk. We have the latest.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: NBA shocker. An owner of the Atlanta Hawks suddenly announces he's selling his stake in the team after he makes public racially charged e-mails that he sent. This morning a CNN exclusive with the team's CEO. What really happened.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Braking baby news. Price William and Catherine are expecting again. This announcement from the palace just moments ago. We have all the details about Prince George's new sibling.

CUOMO: Your NEW DAY starts right now.

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

CUOMO: Good morning, welcome to NEW DAY. It is Monday, September 8th, 6:00 in the East. Today is big.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

CUOMO: Do you smell that? That's heavy duty politics going on as the president and his crew pitched their plan for how to deal with ISIS. Key meetings, separate congressional leaders, leading up to Wednesday.