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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Iraq Official Briefs Syrian President

Aired September 17, 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: Going to war with ISIS on the ground. Could American troops return to a combat role in Iraq? The new warning from one U.S. general about what might be required to take down these terrorists. This, as skepticism grows louder about the president's plan to win this war. We are live in Iraq with all the angles on this developing story.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news this morning. Banned from the team. Vikings owners telling Adrian Peterson to stay away, reversing their reversal. The child abuse allegations costing his spot on the team. This, as Ray Rice appeals his domestic violence punishment.

Off the field violence keeping the NFL in the headlines. And we're now learning just how much this could cost the league. Big news overnight.

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

ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. It's 31 minutes pas the hour.

But first, a stunner from the country's top general. Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey saying he's open to putting U.S. ground forces back in Iraq. This time to defeat ISIS if conditions require it.

Dempsey raising concerns about half of Iraq's army incapable of partnering effectively with U.S. troops in the battle against Islamic militants. The president has ruled out putting combat troops into Iraq. But Dempsey appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday he opened a sliver of daylight between himself and his boss.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. MARTIN DEMPSEY, CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: This will require a sustained effort over an extended period of time. It's a generational problem. And we should expect that our enemies will adapt their tactics as we adjust our approach.

My view at this point is that this coalition is the appropriate way forward. I believe that will prove true. But if it fails to be true and if there are threats to the United States, then I, of course, would go back to the president and make a recommendation that may include the use of U.S. military ground forces.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ROMANS: If, if, then, may. A White House spokesman later reiterated the president's determination not to deploy ground troop for combat calling Dempsey's remarks hypothetical.

BERMAN: The House of Representatives is set to vote today on the president's plan to arm and train the so-called moderate Syrian rebels fighting ISIS. That plan is drawing fire from both sides, Republicans calling it inadequate and many Democrats warning that the arms could eventually wind up being used against the United States. The authorization is expected to pass the house before heading to the Senate later this week.

Now, also this morning, the president is in Tampa for a visit to U.S. Central Command. This is part of his effort to drum up public support for the battle against ISIS. He arrived there on Tuesday night. He will be briefed on battle strategy -- his battle strategy against the ISIS militants and the administration will continue to press the case on Capitol Hill as Secretary of State John Kerry appears before the Senate Relations Committee to discuss the plans that they're now hatching.

ROMANS: Isis is remaining defiant in the face of the 40-nation international coalition committed to fight it. So far, the U.S. is the only coalition member outside Iraq and Syria that has fired a shot. ISIS sympathizers have been goading the U.S.-led coalition with tweets like, "We welcome America into Syria with open arms and an explosive belt." And ISIS itself is celebrating a -- claimed victory at least for downing of a Syrian fighter jet. It has not yet been independently confirmed.

Meanwhile, Iraq's National Security adviser met Sunday with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad even though U.S. officials say that there's no coordination with the Assad regime in the fight against ISIS.

CNN's Anna Coren live in Irbil, Iraq, where U.S. airstrikes are escalating. And Anna, what's the reaction to the increased U.S. military presence there?

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly, some good news, Christine, coming out of northern Iraq. The Peshmerga telling us this morning that an ISIS leader, one of the senior leaders here in Iraq, Abu Abdullah has been killed. He was killed in that operation that we were at yesterday, targeting five villages. Very close to strategic bridge, which thankfully, after a day of bombing, not just by the Peshmerga, but also from those U.S. fighter jets, they managed to claim back.

Now this bridge was blown up by ISIS a month ago. Now that it's under the Peshmerga control, they can rebuild it. And of course, it is part of the highway connecting Irbil, which is where we are here, the capital Kurdistan, to Mosul, Iraq's second largest city. A city of two million people which is now an ISIS stronghold and has been since June.

It's very important that they have that connection, because, obviously, that route is going to be critical for the battle for Mosul. That is what everything is gearing up for. That's what all these preparations are under way, regaining all of this territory towards Mosul, where we were yesterday, where there was that intense fighting was some 30 kilometers east of Mosul but gradually, Christine, the Peshmerga are making advances.

We saw those U.S. airstrikes and how critical they play in this offensive. You know, and not only providing that critical ground cover for the -- I should say cover for the ground forces to advance. But also taking out those enemy positions, hitting the targets. Hitting the armored vehicles. And it makes such a difference to the situation here on the ground -- Christine.

ROMANS: Anna Coren for us this morning in Irbil, thank you.

We mentioned earlier the concern for weapons for so-called moderate serial rebels could eventually end up being trained on American troops but there are warnings of other ways the effort could back fire.

Arizona Senator John McCain's blasting the administration plan during Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey's testimony Tuesday. He says the weapons will be used against the al-Assad government, not ISIS.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: You think that these people you're training will only go back to fight against ISIL? Do you really believe that, General?

DEMPSEY: We do not have to deal with it now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The speaker of Syria's parliament had a similar warning about the insurgents fighting the government in a letter to the U.S. House leaders. Jihad al-Laham claims that so-called moderate rebels sold an American hostage to ISIS. He says there's nothing stopping those rebels, those moderate Syrian rebels from doing the same with the weapons that they get from the U.S.

BERMAN: The United Nations is calling for $1 billion now to battle the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The U.N. Security Council boasts today on urging countries to provide field hospitals and other badly needed supplies to Ebola stricken countries. In the U.S. House of Representatives there appears to be widespread support for President Obama's $88 million request to fight Ebola. The president is expected to ask Congress for another $500 million for his response planned today.

Meanwhile Dr. Kent Brantly, an American Ebola survivor, will testify at a hearing today. He is already warning lawmakers there is no time to waste, a sentiment echoed by the president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. KENT BRANTLY, EBOLA SURVIVOR: It is a fire. It is a fire straight from the pit of hell. We cannot fool ourselves into thinking that the vast mode of the Atlantic Ocean will protect us from the flames of this fire.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's spiraling out of control. It is getting worse. It's spreading faster and exponentially. This is an epidemic that is not just a threat to regional security. It's a potential threat to global security, if these countries break down, if their economies break down, if people panic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: The United States is really stepping up its response. The president plans to send 3,000 troops to West Africa, along with materials to build field hospitals, additional health care workers, also medical supplies.

Now there is some hopeful news from the National Institutes of Health. The first human trial of an Ebola vaccine developed by the British drug maker GlaxoSmithKline is producing no side effects in the 10 vaccinated volunteers.

ROMANS: 38 minutes past the hour now, time for an EARLY START on "Your Money."

European stocks are higher. Asian stocks sending their day mixed. U.S. stocks futures barely moving. With the rally yesterday the Dow reaching an all-time high during the day. Today it's the Federal Reserve. Fed Chairman Janet Yellen and her colleagues will wrap up a two-day policy meeting today and release a statement. Economic data has shown the U.S. economy steadily improving.

The Fed, watching all of this and you've got economists and market watchers concerned that interest rate hike could be closer than we think. Even a slight hint at a timeline could be a huge deal for markets.

You will see people around the world parsing that several-paragraph statement of the Fed that comes out. And it will = they'll gauge their expectations with what happens with interest rates. You know, because of what she said today.

BERMAN: We will wait for you to parse.

ROMANS: OK. I will.

BERMAN: And tell us exactly what it is.

ROMANS: I'll let you know tomorrow morning whether you should care.

Breaking news overnight. The Vikings banning Adrian Peterson from all team activities. His looming child abuse charges too much for team owners. And that's not all -- next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Breaking news this morning. The Minnesota Vikings reversing course after reversing course on Adrian Peterson. So after they reinstated their star running back for Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints, the team has now decided to ban him from all team- related activities until legal proceedings have concluded in his child abuse case.

The governor of Minnesota, Mark Dayton, also Minnesota Governor Al -- Senator Al Franken have been calling for the Vikings to suspend Peterson. The embattled running back, though, is still getting some support from fellow players.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REGGIE BUSH, DETROIT LIONS: You know, whooping with a belt and stuff like that. For me, growing up, it was -- it was normal. I most definitely discipline my daughter. I have a 1-year-old daughter. I'd definitely -- will try to obviously not leave bruises or anything like that on her, but, you know, I definitely would discipline her harshly, you know, depending on what, you know, what -- again, what the situation is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Christine and I have been talking about this whether Reggie Bush from the Lions meant that he does discipline his 1-year-old already?

ROMANS: He says, I discipline my 1-year-old. I definitely discipline my 1-year-old. Then he goes on, he says, I will discipline -- would discipline her harshly depending on the situation. So there's some questions about whether he is now, now harshly disciplining just basically a baby.

BERMAN: Yes. Raising a whole slew of questions.

Meanwhile, Adrian Peterson has lost one of his biggest endorsement deals. Castrol Motor Oil terminating its relationships with the Vikings star. Peterson's other major sponsor, Nike, standing by him for now.

ROMANS: Ray Rice may no longer have a team but he has the NFL Players Association on his side in a legal battle against the league. They formally appealed Rice's indefinite suspension, claiming he was punished twice for the same infraction.

So Rice initially received a two-game ban for the domestic violence incident. The union in a statement saying, quote, "The NFLPA appeal is based on supporting facts that reveal a lack of a fair and impartial process including the role of the Office of the Commissioner of the NFL. We have asked that a neutral and jointly selected arbitrator hear this case as the commissioner and his staff will be essential witnesses in the proceedings. And thus cannot serve as impartial arbitrators."

We're also learning that Ray Rice received domestic violence and conflict resolution training back in 2008. It was part of an NFL rookie symposium. Meantime, the singer Rihanna who was herself a victim of domestic

abuse isn't hiding her anger at CBS for pulling her opening number from "Thursday Night Football." She took to Twitter to say, "CBS, you pulled my song last week, now you want to slide it back in this Thursday? No. Bleep you. Y'all are sad for penalizing me for this." And then another, saying simply, "The audacity."

CBS, reportedly, won't use the song this week. It's going to go another direction, it says.

BERMAN: Yes, bleep you doesn't go very far in terms of corporate relations.

ROMANS: She's blunt.

BERMAN: Let's take a look at what's coming up on "NEW DAY". Kate Bolduan joins us now.

ROMANS: Hi, Kate.

BERMAN: Good morning, Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR, NEW DAY: Good morning, guys. We're going to be talking about those breaking NFL stories that you've just mentioned. We're going to be joined by two former players, Keyshawn Johnson and George Martin, to discuss their thoughts on this because it changes day by day.

Do they think the Vikings made the right call now by banning Adrian Peterson or are they just trying, the teams, that is, just trying to please their sponsors? We're going to be covering it all.

And also we're going to be talking about this. A huge story, huge story. Is the administration confused about its own strategy to fight ISIS. President Obama has said over and over again that he does not want combat troops on the ground. But the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he said yesterday that combat forces could go into Iraq if necessary, or at least he could ask for that, he could recommend that to the president if the situation called for it.

So what is the real plan? Are ground troops needed to defeat ISIS eventually? We're going to be digging into this with our counterterrorism experts. A huge question especially because it's been such a major point that the president has pushed over and over again.

BERMAN: And this, as the House gets ready to vote on certain action today.

BOLDUAN: Exactly.

BERMAN: All right. Kate Bolduan, we'll see you in a little bit. Thanks so much.

BOLDUAN: Thanks, guys. BERMAN: 47 minutes after the hour. California burning. 150 homes

destroyed. Thousands of acres torched. Indra Petersons is tracking the latest on the heat and wind fuelling this blaze.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Residents of a California lumber town near the Oregon border are returning to find much of that town burned to the ground. A fast- moving wildfire destroyed about 150 homes and buildings in the town of Weed, include two churches. The fire is one of a dozen burning all over California, fuelled by strong winds and extreme drought conditions.

ROMANS: All right. Indra Petersons has a look at your forecast.

Good morning, Indra.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I wish I had better news. Those temperatures there are literally record breaking. We're talking about record heat not only from L.A. including coastal sections. Places like Santa Barbara once you get to the middle there, about 99 degrees, and even all the way up through Idaho, we're talking about record- breaking heat. Definitely not good news in the region.

The other big story that continues down in the southwest, all of this moisture from Odile still pumping into the region. So with that, we're talking about rainfall amounts even as high as six, possibly as high as seven inches throughout the region. The flooding threat is extremely high as we go through the next several days. Remember that ground is so dry that water has nowhere to go.

And then the concern even behind it, people still trying to recover in Cabo. And meanwhile, we have another storm out there. Currently we already have tropical storm Polo. Look at the path. You can see the red line. That's exactly where Odile went. And now we're looking at Polo going very close near the exact same path. So it looks like by Sunday, potential for another storm to make its way right in through Cabo. Definitely not good news in that region.

Down to the southeast, light scattered showers are out there, with the stationery front in place, that's kind -- kind of the story of the next several days as it makes its way offshore. Meanwhile in the northeast, calmer conditions as more high pressure and cooler air continues to build in the region. Very easy to see. We're still talking about that huge contrast across the country. Milder temperatures in the northeast, still looking at that extreme heat especially into the southwest.

Just keep in mind, in the northeast, you're going to see those temperatures continue to drop. You'll actually even notice some 50s as highs out towards Boston by the time you get through Friday. So talking about 100-degree temperatures and 50s definitely still a big gap.

ROMANS: Wow. All right. Thanks, Indra.

PETERSONS: Sure.

BERMAN: Shocking details now coming to light about comedian Joan Rivers' final days. A source close to the investigation into her death telling CNN she went into cardiac arrest as her personal doctor began performing an unauthorized biopsy on her vocal chords. And even more bizarre, a clinic staffer says the doctor who has not been identified took a selfie while Rivers was under anesthesia. Rivers was at the clinic for a scheduled procedure by another doctor.

ROMANS: Again, that endoscopy which is a -- you know, not the same as a biopsy procedure by any stretch.

OK. IOS 8 set to come out today. What hot new features is Apple jamming in there? We're going to get an EARLY START to "Your Money" next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Let's get an EARLY START on "Your Money" this morning. European stocks are higher. U.S. stock futures barely moving so far. Looking at the Federal Reserve today. The Fed chair Janet Yellen and her colleagues have a two-day policy meeting that ends today. The Fed then releases a statement about what it cease for economic data and what it sees in terms of interest rates.

The data has been steadily improving which means many think that the Fed may raise interest rates earlier than planned. Even a slight hint. Even a slight change in language could move markets and expectations for interest rates.

Brand new on CNN MONEY this morning, the world has 155 new billionaires. That brings the total to about 2,300 billionaires. 2,300. A 7 percent jump from last year.

So who is your run-of-the-mill billionaire? Well, he has an average $3.12 billion. The average age is 63. And most do not reach billionaire status until they're late 40s, Berman. And they are mostly male. There are only 286 female billionaires.

BERMAN: I have about a billion dollars to go to get there.

(LAUGHTER)

ROMANS: Not all of them have a bachelor's degree but there's a good chance they went to Penn, Harvard or Yale if they do.

Apple's new IOS 8 software will be available for a free download today. It comes with key updates like -- for apps like messages, e- mail, photos. Its new health apps can communicate with other fitness apps and combine all of your data in one place. And a smart keyboard will suggest appropriate words to complete your messages. It's available on iPhone 4s, iPad 2 and all later models.

BERMAN: I want the app to suggest inappropriate words.

(LAUGHTER) ROMANS: Yes. You should invent that.

BERMAN: I should. That'd be awesome. That's the way I get to the billion by -- you know, the next seven years.

ROMANS: It's the app -- Berman has a filter in his brain.

BERMAN: I'm just wanting --

ROMANS: So every now and then something really -- we'll say spicy comes out, I want the John app filter app.

BERMAN: I'll give you spicy right after this because "NEW DAY" starts right now.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news, chaos in the NFL. Star running back Adrian Peterson benched again. The Vikings now exempting him indefinitely. And Ray Rice officially appeals his suspension and asks Roger Goodell to stay out of it. We'll tell you if he'll get what he wants.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight a New York store owner charged with recruiting for ISIS and planning to kill U.S. troops once they return home. This as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, says if conditions change he may recommend the need for U.S. combat boots on the ground.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Manhunt. A survivalist on the run in Pennsylvania, accused of gunning down two state troopers. Police fear he wants to kill even more. He is armed, he is dangerous. We're live on the scene.

CUOMO: Your NEW DAY starts right now.

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