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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Home Depot Massive Hack: More Than 60 Million Affected; The Hunt for ISIS: The President's Plan, Deadly Southwest Floods; Ray Rice Suspended Indefinitely

Aired September 09, 2014 - 05:00   ET

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

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The hunt for ISIS. Today, President Obama meeting with lawmakers to share his strategy on how to take down the terror group. One day away from addressing the nation, this morning, new clues on what the president's plan will look like, as investigators get closer to identifying the masked ISIS executioner who has already killed two journalists. We are live in Iraq with the very latest.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And happening now. Deadly historic floods across the Southwest. Hundreds rescued from the rising waters and the threat for the severe storms not over yet. Indra Petersons is tracking what you need to know.

ROMANS: A very big security breach at Home Depot. Tens of millions of customers may have had their credit card information stolen. A cyber attack that could be bigger than any other and went on for more months without being noticed. We're breaking it all down.

BERMAN: Biggest breach ever.

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

ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. It's Tuesday, September 9th, 5:00 a.m. in the east.

Let's begin with what's likely an unprecedented hack of a retailer's payment system. This time, Home Depot. Tens of millions of consumers could be affected in this data breach. Home Depot says hackers remained inside its computers unnoticed for about five months dating back to April.

BERMAN: Five months.

ROMANS: In that time, they stole credit card data. No evidence yet, though, they also stole debit card PINS, in a massive breach affects customers who shopping at its 2,200 brick and mortar stores. That's all of them in the U.S. and Canada.

BERMAN: That's like everybody that --

ROMANS: Not homedepot.com. The Web site is not affected. So, physically shopping in those stores. No official confirmation yet on how many people had their information

compromise. "The New York Times" is reporting this morning, the number could be more than 60 million, 20 million more than the hacked at Target that rocked the retail world.

So, what if you shopped at Home Depot in the last five months? The company offered free-identity protection and credit monitoring services to anyone who paid with a credit card recently. And Home Depot will roll out more secured chip and PIN technology to all U.S. stores by the end of the year.

Now, security experts are telling us, retailers are simply not prepared to defend against hackers. Your information is at risk. They simply do not have the infrastructure. Five months, since April, the hackers were inside those computer systems. And it was a cyber security journalist who noticed it -- noticed that the information on the black market and contacted Home Depot.

BERMAN: It's shocking that this could be there for five months in a company like Home Depot, the size of Home Depot, doesn't have some system in place to try to see it. And now, everyone is left with having to check your statements -- to check your statements to see if there is anything irregular, 60 million of us have shopped for the last five months.

ROMANS: The retailers are going to have to spend more money and they're going to have to get up to speed. You look at something like JPMorgan chase, they spend $250 million a year and they still also had a hack, right? So, we just have to do better on this.

(MUSIC)

BERMAN: President Obama getting set to brief lawmakers on his strategy to fight the terror threat from ISIS with an address to the nation set for some time tomorrow. Details on what the president might say are few and far between.

Congressional leaders, they could get some clues from the president today. Those leaders will meet with the president this afternoon. The big question for the leadership is, could a vote on military action be put on the docket possibly even before the mid-term elections? That question coming as a new CNN poll shows most Americans do not think the president has a clear strategy to battle ISIS, at least not yet.

CNN's Michelle Kosinski has more now from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Christine.

Right. We saw this poll just come out by CNN, saying that 67 percent of the respondents answered no when asked, does President Obama has a clear plan for dealing with ISIS? And, of course, the White House knows that there has been confusion out there. I mean, they have been dealing with this question over, is there a strategy or is there not a strategy for about two weeks now.

And so, we think that's why they want to have this big presidential address that will be at some point on Wednesday for the president to again lay out what the plan is, at least up to this point. But even after more than an hour of tough questioning by the press, it was hard to tell from the White House what exactly would come out of this address. I mean, the White House has laid out its strategy several times now. We know that part of that strategy at least, when dealing with moving beyond Iraq and into Syria, still involves building a coalition, laying the groundwork before a decision is made.

And the White House was even asked directly, has a decision been made on air strikes in Syria? And they would say, well, the U.S. is willing and ready to go whenever necessary to deal with ISIS. Not really answering the question.

What they would say is that this address will be a conversation, as they put it, with the American people, as to what is the best way forward and what tools are at the disposal of the U.S.

We also heard Secretary of State John Kerry yesterday say that this will be a chance for the president to really clearly lay out what he described as a coordinated global strategy.

So, we think that the president will lay out the plan up to this point. We don't expect necessarily any big decisions to be announced -- although the White House is holding it as kind of a surprise, whether there will be news or headlines coming out of the address and he'll be able to say -- well, in this coalition that is being built, what up to this point, will each country have committed -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Michelle Kosinski, thanks for that this morning from the White House.

Iraq has a new unity government this morning after weeks of political gridlock. Iraq's parliament has sworn in both Sunni and Kurdish deputy prime ministers with the shared goal of taking down ISIS. Secretary of State John Kerry heading to the Middle East today. He'll be stopping in Jordan and Saudi Arabia, attempting to tighten the alliance against these Islamic extremists.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: That almost every single country on Earth has a role to play in eliminating the ISIL threat and the evil that it represents. For some, that will mean military assistance, both direct and in the form of training, arming and advising, equipping. For some, it will mean contributing to the desperately needed humanitarian relief efforts. For some, it will mean helping to identify, track and cut off ISIL's funding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The initial plan to take down is could take down three years long after President Obama is out of office.

BERMAN: Iraq's new government has plenty to contend it as it begins its tenure. The Sunni town north of Baghdad came under heavy attack from ISIS Monday. It's been surrounded by the terror group for months. One suicide bomber struck in the city's perimeter, another penetrated into the market at the center of town.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh live for us from Baghdad this morning.

Give us the sense of the situation on the ground. Good morning, Jomana.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, John.

As you mentioned, that attack really highlighting the threat from this group that even with these air strikes going on here, the U.S. airstrikes, ISIS has not really been weakened or degraded. They still have the ability to carry out deadly strikes. Their brutality even not sparing Sunni Arabs, too, like that town that has been besieged for more than 80 days.

Now, a really critical issue here has been Iraqis forming a government, a unity and inclusive government as we have heard President Obama and officials repeatedly say. Now, that government has come together. It was sworn in last night, really before the deadline, highlighting how much pressure they have been under from U.S. officials to form this government.

The lineup, Sunnis and Shiites and Kurds, pretty much the same officials that have seen over the last decade, just reshuffled into various different positions. Two key posts remain vacant and those are critical for Iraq right now, the ministries of interior and defense. There are disagreements over candidates and the new prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, promising that within one week, he's going to have these posts filled and present them to cabinet.

And now, the real challenge is not just putting together this government. It's what happens next. These politicians with all their political disagreements, with all their rivalries, are going to have to work together. That is going to be a big challenge for Iraq. Iraq since 2003 has had inclusive government. It's about what happens next.

Is there going to be a change of policy? A change of attitude, and really (AUDIO GAP) making Sunni Arabs here who are key in the battle against ISIS. And they are part of power -- their power sharing here with the Shia-led government, not feeling marginalized and isolated like they have been over the past few years. The real challenges are still ahead, critical for the fight against ISIS, John.

BERMAN: The White House has said all along, the change in leadership in Iraq is necessary. Now that has happened, though, the pressure is on the government to perform.

Jomana Karadsheh in Baghdad for us -- thank you so much. ROMANS: So, U.S. officials say they may have identified the masked

man seen on video beheading James Foley. The identification, of course, is not 100 percent. But an official tells CNN they have a pretty good idea who that man right there is.

Authorities are also breaking down the video of Steven Sotloff's execution to determine if it was carried out by the same man, as many believe.

Meantime, CNN spoke exclusively with the spokesman for Steven Sotloff's family. He says Steven was sold to ISIS by so-called moderate Syrian rebels, and the White House has not been supportive of the Sotloff family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: He was sold at the border?

BARAK BARFI, SOTLOFF FAMILY FRIEND: Yes, we believe that the so- called moderate rebels that people want our administration to support, one of them sold him probably for something between $25,000 and $50,000 to ISIS and that was the reason that he was captured.

The relationship between the administration and the Sotloff family was very strained.

COOPER: Strained?

BARFI: Yes. We do not believe they gave us the cooperation we need. And the Sotloff -- once Steve appeared on that video, the Sotloff family made one simple request of the administration and they were rebuffed on that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: He won't reveal what that one simple request was.

A number of senators have introduced a bill authorizing up to $10 million for information leading to the conviction of anyone involved in the murders of Foley and Sotloff.

BERMAN: New question is being raised this morning about a Boston area mosque that may have connections to Islamic radicals, including the ISIS social media expert. At least ten suspected or convicted terrorists worshipped at this Cambridge mosque. Among them, the accused Boston marathon bombers and Ahmad Abousamra, who was raised in Boston, disappeared in 2006 and has now reemerged as the propaganda mastermind for ISIS.

Law enforcement officials say that is too many accused extremists to ignore.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIETTE KAYYEM, FORMER DHS ASST. SECRETARY: At some stage, we have to accept reality, which is a number of people who have taken up arms against Americans, either here in Boston or abroad with ISIS, have an affiliation with that mosque.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: A spokesperson for the Islamic Society of Boston which runs the mosque says, quote, "If we ever observed any criminal or violent behavior, we would immediately intervene and notify the authorities.

Twelve minutes after the hour right now.

Deadly flood just smacking Southwest. We have dramatic rescues caught on camera overnight, as we learn just how bad the damage will be when people wake up, and who needs to be on alert today for more severe weather. Indra Petersons with a full plate, tracking it all, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Extreme rainfall causing serious problems in the Southwest. Flooding in Arizona left one woman dead when her car was swept away. Some moments of terror for a man plucked from his car just before it was submerged. Firefighters said the driver thought he could make it across the rushing water, but the force of the floods forced him off the road and into the brush and trees.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had a rope in place and we walked over to him. We had to smash his window to pass him equipment because he couldn't get his windows down anymore. We're able to pull him out through the window. We couldn't get the doors open. And we secured a life vest and helmet, and walked him to the shore.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Arizona Governor Jan Brewer declared an emergency as the flooding forced the closure of roads and schools in that area.

ROMANS: Similar situation in Nevada where a record setting rain left roadways looking like rivers. The dangerous rushing water -- the water left cars and trucks stranded on the roads for miles. About 200 kids trapped in their bus -- their school bus in the elementary school in the southeast. Actually, they were trapped in the school in Moapa, I guess. They were evacuated safely.

BERMAN: All right. Across the country, children also had to be rescued from a day care center in Portsmouth, Virginia, because of flooding there. Rescue workers had to get 35 children and several employees across the flooded parking lot by boat. An apartment complex across the street, also evacuated a lot of the residents there, lost all of their belongings to waist deep water in just a manner of minutes.

ROMANS: Those kids must have been terrified.

All right. In California, more than 40 water-related rescues in Palm Springs area. One school was evacuated after a slow-moving storm flooded roadways, knocked out power. Major roads just packed most of the day with floating debris, stalled cars, flood waters. An official from the California Highway Patrol called this one of the worst storms he's ever seen in the region.

BERMAN: What a mess.

ROMANS: Far from over, that threat far from over in parts of the country.

Indra Petersons has a look at your forecast this morning.

Hey, Indra.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning. Yes.

Remember, we had Norbert. You had that tropical moisture, that extra enhancement out there.

In addition to the monsoonal moisture that was out there, we talk about Phoenix Sky Harbor, they broke the record of all time for any day, for the amount of rain that they actually saw yesterday, in only about a seven-hour period.

This is the concern. That moisture is still in the area. We're still looking at the threat for even more flooding into the Southwest again today.

We are heading to the Southeast, the system that brought the flooding there. Also still in place, and you can actually notice, it's kind of elongated. So, the Northeast, maybe a tiny chance for some scattered showers, likely just some clouds. But again, the focus is going to shift a little bit. The heavy amount of rain is going to be offshore, maybe only looking out one to three inches to the Carolinas, instead of the 2 to 5 that was in the forecast yesterday.

Into the Midwest, this is we're talking about the major system today, severe weather back in the forecast, even a threat for a tornado. Yes, isolated, but again, damaging winds, large hail, that's going to be the biggest cities, some big cities, in through tomorrow, you're really going to notice the push. About 42 million of you will have the threat, including those major hubs -- Chicago and St. Louis, also into Detroit, Cleveland.

So, yes, think about delays as you're flying in through tomorrow. Keep in mind, the big story will be here in the East, they're talking about warmer air. If you're right behind the cold front, very cool air.

Look at the roller coaster with the temperatures in the Northeast. This is where you don't want to be. Look at the dip going down. Eventually, that, of course, shifts, a rollercoaster sort of going up will be going down by the weekend.

ROMANS: Poor Minneapolis. Proving that summer is short in Minnesota.

PETERSONS: Ouch! Yes, so rough.

ROMANS: Thank you so much.

BERMAN: The fourth U.S. citizen infected with the Ebola virus is now coming back to the United States for treatment. The unidentified patient got the disease in Sierra Leone and will be cared for in the isolation unit in Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. The patient arrived this morning. President Obama pledging more U.S. aide to U.N. Security General Ban Ki-moon, to stop the outbreak in West Africa, an outbreak that does seem to be worsening. The crisis in Liberia is far more severe than anyone thought. Thousands of new cases expected there over the next three weeks.

Officials from the World Health Organization says conventional treatment to control the spread of the virus are not working. More than 2,100 people in four West African states have now been killed by Ebola, more than half in Liberia.

ROMANS: All right. Ray Rice cut by the Ravens, terminated by his NFL team after new video emerged showing him punching his girlfriend. It's old video, the same incident, but the new, new image that really has changed the whole story here.

Andy Scholes breaking it down in our "Bleacher Report" next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: This morning, Ray Rice is a man without a team or real any prospects for landing a job in the NFL. The Ravens cut the running back after a video surfaced of them striking his now wife back in February.

ROMANS: Andy Scholes has more in this morning's "Bleacher Report".

It's the same incident, but now, for some reason, everything is different.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Christine.

You know, we always knew this video existed, but now, the big question is, did the NFL see it before they suspended Rice for only two games. Now, they say they didn't. Multiple reporters however say they did.

Now, this is the jarring video released by TMZ that shows Rice punching his now wife, knocking her unconscious in an Atlantic City casino, in an elevator, back in February. Now, after seeing the video, the Ravens released Rice from the team and the NFL took it a step further, suspending him indefinitely from the league.

Last night, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, who originally backed Rice when all this begun, he gave his reaction to the video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN HARBAUGH, RAVENS HEAD COACH: It's something we saw for the first time today, you know, all of us. And it changed things, of course. You know, it made things a little bit different. I don't know if I want to get into the details about it. I mean, I

think it's pretty obvious and pretty apparent. And everybody has seen the video. And just leave it at that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Now, the Ravens will be back on the field Thursday night when they host the Steelers.

All right. Week one of the NFL season wrapped up with a Monday night football double header. If you didn't stay up late for the game, you missed a thriller.

The Cardinals down 17-6 to the Chargers, entering the fourth quarterback. But quarterback Carson Palmer led Arizona to two late touchdowns as the Cardinals got the comeback win, 18-17. Your final there.

New York Giants fans, meanwhile, probably feeling a little blue this morning. They had to watch as Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson put on a show. He scored two touchdowns, including this amazing diving grab in the back of the end zone.

Meanwhile, Eli Manning picked up where he left off in the pre-season, throwing two interceptions in this game. Love Eli Manning's face after the interceptions. Lions ended up getting the convincing 35-14 win.

And one year ago, a doping suspension kept Marin Cilic from playing in the U.S. Open. Today, he is the unlikely champion. Cilic dominated Kei Nishikori of Japan in straight sets last night to win men's single title. This is his first grand slam title. And, guys, you know, the odds of him winning the U.S. Open before it all started, 100 to 1.

BERMAN: And that may be generous. Look, there are thousands of fans waking up this morning going, who?

SCHOLES: Yes, who, we discussed it. Men's tennis, there's no one to carry the torch once Federer and Djokovic and all those guys start to get older.

BERMAN: They're the big four and go away, they have a big, big problem.

SCHOLES: Yes.

ROMANS: A lot of big news on your beat. My goodness. All right. Thanks so much, Andy.

Tens of millions of Americans, yes, you had your credit card information stolen. Home Depot hit in a huge security breach. What you need to know after the break.

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