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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Scotland Rejects Independence; The War on ISIS: New Support for President Obama; U.S. Tourists Stranded in Cabo San Lucas

Aired September 19, 2014 - 05:00   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news this morning. Scotland says no to independence. Overwhelmingly voting to keep the United Kingdom united. Breaking up is hard to do. We're live with the reaction, coming up.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Congress now onboard with President Obama's plan to train Syrian rebels in the fight against ISIS. Support for his plan coming with new airstrikes in Iraq. And ISIS releasing new propaganda video of a British journalist held hostage. Live team coverage of all these major developments ahead.

BERMAN: Thousands of American tourists stranded in Cabo San Lucas. The U.S. military now airlifting victims of Hurricane Odile out of that area. This as another monster storm approaches. Indra Petersons is tracking all of this for us.

ROMANS: When vacations go bad.

BERMAN: Yes, really, really bad.

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

ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. It is Friday, 5:00 a.m. in the East. We welcome all of our viewers here on this Friday morning, for the Friday edition of EARLY START.

All right. Major breaking news out of Scotland this morning. The United Kingdom will remain united. Voters in Scotland rejecting this hotly contested vote for independence. The margin, 55 percent to 45 percent.

CNN's Nic Robertson joining us live now from Glasgow -- Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine.

Well, a huge turnout, 85 percent almost of the electorate turning out to vote. That is a record for Scotland. Among them, a lot of young people, 16 and 17-year-olds giving the vote for the first time. But the fact that it came close down to the wire in the weeks running up to the final vote here gave a lot of concern for British Prime Minister David Cameron. This morning, he spoke of his relief of the result.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: The people of Scotland have spoken and it is a clear result. They have kept our country of four nations together. And like millions of other people, I am delighted. As I said during the campaign, it would have broken my heart to see our United Kingdom come to an end. And I know that that sentiment was shared by people not just across our country, but also around the world because of what we achieved together in the past and what we can do together in the future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Now, David Cameron in the final days of the campaigning, have promised the people of Scotland, if they voted no, that they would get greater powers over taxation and welfare. So, we heard the Scotland's first minister, that Alex Salmond, the leader of the SNP, the Scottish National Party, the leader of the call for independence, says he will be holding David Cameron and other politicians in London to their word on that. He said he will be making sure they honor those commitments -- Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Clearly, the markets like it. You got the pound up. You got British stocks up. U.S. stocks up. Everyone is so glad this was not a yes vote.

Thank you so much, Nic Robertson.

BERMAN: A crucial development in the president's battle plan against ISIS. The Senate passing a measure to fund arms and training for so- called moderate Syrian rebels. The margin was 72-22. This was one day after the House approved the funding. The White House had been lobbying hard on this measure.

CNN's Dana Bash has more on that vote from Capitol Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, if it sounds very quiet where I am, there's good reason for it. Congress is gone. They have left town and they're not coming back until after Election Day, that even though there are obviously are some big issues facing this country and maybe more importantly internationally. There was a lot of talk about wanting to have a broad new debate about authorizing force for the president, the commander in chief, to deal with ISIS. But that didn't happen and it's not going to happen until at least after Election Day. They punted.

The only thing that they did before leaving town was vote on the very narrow authorization to arm and train the Syrian rebels. And the vote before leaving in the Senate was overwhelming. More than 70, almost 80 senators voted for it. And it was bipartisan, but there was bipartisan opposition as well.

You heard very strong sentiment on the Senate floor from opponents, from Republican and Democrat, saying that they just think this is the wrong idea. That there's no guarantee of who the arms are going to, that this money and time that the U.S. will spend training these rebels will be successful given the bad example of what happened in Iraq.

And so, you have that coupled with those who say we have to do this. We have no choice because ISIS is such a threat not just in the Middle East, but potentially here in the homeland. So, that debate did go on in a narrow way. And maybe more disappointing but maybe not surprising is that when it comes to the Senate, it was tucked into a must-pass spending bill.

So, the bill to fund the government, to keep it running, to make sure there is not another shutdown, that was included and done on purpose and coordination I'm told with the Democratic Senate majority leader, the Republican House speaker, to make sure that the president got the authority he needed, some legislative kabuki theater. May not be surprising, but disappointing to some members of Congress who wanted to have a vote so they can show their constituents where they stand on that measure -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: What (INAUDIBLE) it was no act of political bravery at all.

BERMAN: No.

ROMANS: All right. President Obama thanked Congress for approving his funding request. He expressed confidence Thursday the plan will work, saying the threat posed by ISIS, quote, "doesn't frighten us."

Secretary of State John Kerry carried the same message to Capitol Hill, telling the House Foreign Affairs Committee airstrikes against ISIS have been working.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: I don't think these guys are 10 feet tall and the intelligence tells us that as we begun to hit them, we have been able to prove that to some degree.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: In France, President Francois Hollande officially committed French jets to airstrikes against ISIS targets. That's starting soon.

That is in addition to the reconnaissance flights the French are already running.

And in Iraq, the U.S. military launched two more attacks on Thursday, one near Mosul, the other southeast of Baghdad.

CNN correspondent Anna Coren live with us in northern Iraq.

Anna, and, you know, it's interesting, John and I were saying that John Kerry -- Secretary of State John Kerry, his comments that these guys aren't ten feet tall. We're finding that as we strike them, it is making a difference. ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he is absolutely right. They are

not ten feet tall and bulletproof, despite all those propaganda videos that we have seen. You know, we have to remember that this is part of the ISIS tactic to instill fear into the local population as if they are some frightening force.

And let's not mistaken it, they are -- they are barbaric. They are brutal. They are ruthless.

However, what the Peshmerga, the Kurdish forces, up here in northern Iraq are finding is that many of the fighters they are fighting against are local Sunnis. These are people from the towns and villages who felt alienated and ostracized, marginalized by the former Iraqi government and have joined ISIS and militants.

So, speaking to military officials, they will tell you the fighters in the towns and villages are actual local people. Yes, there are the foreign fighters who are coming in. The hard core element from Syria, but by and large, you are talking about local Sunnis, local Iraqi Sunnis who are rising up, fighting the Kurdish forces, fighting the Iraqi Iraqis. That is what we are seeing across all of Iraqi.

But, certainly, those U.S. airstrikes making a difference to the situation on the ground. There have now been 176 to date according to U.S. Central Command. The hope is there will be intensification of the campaign, because we just -- we know how effective it is, you know, not only providing that cover for those ground forces to move in and make advances, piecemeal advances of the towns and villages. They are still gaining ground.

And, then, you know, taking out the artillery, taking out the enemy positions, taking out the armored vehicles, which is just, you know, critical to the operation.

What the fighters, the local fighters, Peshmerga fighters are finding is that the ISIS militants are leaving all these explosives, these IEDs as they retreat. And that is slowing down the operation. So, you know, they initially come in, they fight, they leave, they lay all of the explosives and the mop-up operation for the Peshmerga. So, that is what is taking time.

But in the meantime, Christine, they are planning operations. You know, obviously, the city of Mosul, Iraq, second largest city, an ISIS stronghold since June, that is the prize. It will be the prize, to take back control of that.

As we know, that is going to be an extremely difficult battle. We're talking about urban warfare -- Something the Peshmerga are not used to. They are used to fighting in the mountains and they're having to adapt to the open plain, let alone, you know, in these urban environments. And that is where the international experience is going to be critical.

You know, that's where the U.S. advisers and advisers from other, you know, countries from the global coalition is going to be critical, because at the end of the day, as we heard from President Obama, there are not gong to be any U.S. combat forces here engaging in that particular fight. They're going to be relying on the Peshmerga, on the Iraqi security forces, to take those fights to ISIS -- Christine.

ROMANS: And now we know the French will be joining not just the reconnaissance missions but also in air strikes as well. So, a new phase. We are entering a new phase, I would say.

Anna Coren, thank you for that, Anna.

BERMAN: A new chilling media message from ISIS. The slickly produced features British photojournalist John Cantlie. Now, because he is delivering ISIS propaganda, clearly under duress, we are not going to play the video on our air.

But CNN's Karl Penhaul is standing by live for us in London to give us a sense of what this video means.

Good morning, Karl.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

This is John Cantlie, as you said, very experienced British photo journalist. And he was kidnapped in November 2012. He was traveling with James Foley, the U.S. journalist that we saw was executed in that horrible ISIS video back in August. And the pair were taken at the same to time. In fact, it was the second time that John Cantlie was kidnapped, because, in fact, in July of that same year, he was snatched and held for about seven days before managing to escape.

So, this was the first he went back into Syria and was kidnapped once again. But this video that we're seeing now from ISIS is very different from the previous videos in which ISIS showed its hostages. It shows Cantlie sitting at a desk, almost broadcast news-style, delivering his message, saying that over the coming days of the coming weeks, he was going to delivering a series of programs or reports on what he said was the truth about ISIS.

He said, "Of course, you might be believed thinking that I'm going to say that because I'm a prisoner." And he said, "Of course, I am a prisoner", thus reflecting a certain amount of duress in his message, although he did appear somewhat more relaxed given that there was no presence of any ISIS members with knife in hand in this screen shot at least.

But he also went on to say that he felt abandoned by the British government while other European countries that had managed to negotiate their hostages out.

So, we're going to have to watch this closely to see what happens over the next days and weeks and ask why this new format in the hostage video, is this something that ISIS is simply trying to grab our attention by using a different tactic? Is it possible that John Cantlie has seen a way to make a gamble, to try and prolong his life by offering to do this and make these reports?

We're going to have to see how that plays out if this was a Cantlie scheme or if it is just a switch in ISIS tactics, or if in fact, there is something else behind it -- John.

BERMAN: Someone in captivity, a hostage or prisoner of war, you simply cannot take it at face value.

All right. Karl Penhaul, thanks so much.

The death toll exploding in West Africa. More than 2,600 people have been killed by Ebola. The United Nations has declared the outbreak a threat to international peace and security. Officials there are moving quickly to set up a mission to coordinate relief efforts.

In Sierra Leone, a three-day lockdown has been ordered for 6 million people. Everyone confined to their homes through the weekend while house-to-house searches are conducted to find possible Ebola victims that maybe hiding.

In southeastern Guinea, a deadly mob attack on a team of Ebola educators trying to teach locals how to avoid getting infected. Eight people, including three journalists were killed. All they were doing was trying to warn people about the dangers of Ebola.

The situation is becoming so dire, there is now a black market in West Africa for the blood of Ebola survivors. Why? Well, it's said to have anti-bodies to fight the virus. But health officials are concerned about black market blood because it could spread HIV or other diseases.

ROMANS: What a terrible situation. Oh my goodness.

Thirteen minutes past the hour. Time for an EARLY START on your money this morning.

European stocks sharply higher on news that Scotland will stay in the United Kingdom. The pound is gaining against the dollar and euro. Asian shares are up. U.S. stock futures pointing higher this Friday morning, look at that. The Dow and S&P 500, record highs yesterday with the news out of the U.K. and, you know, optimism about Alibaba's stock market debut this morning. It could be another record day on Wall Street.

Also, new out this morning, an update on the huge Home Depot hack. Home Depot confirming hackers stole data for -- get this -- 56 million credit and debit cards. That is much bigger than last year's Target hack, where 40 million cardholders were effective. And, by the way, the CEO lost his job over it. Malware was placed on Home Depot's registers from April until earlier this month, undetected for a very long time. The company eliminated the malware and is increasing its security measures.

BERMAN: Probably a good idea.

ROMANS: You know, everyone has got to check your -- if you shop at Home Depot, please check all of your statements, credit statements, going back to April and just make sure there is nothing unusual on there.

And there is free credit monitoring. They're providing free credit monitoring. You should, you know, take advantage of it.

BERMAN: Fourteen minutes after the hour. American tourists stranded, now airlifted out of hurricane-ravaged Cabo San Lucas as another monstrous storm approaches. Indra Petersons is tracking all that for us.

ROMANS: Plus, a JetBlue flight forced to make an emergency landing. Smoke filling the cabin. Passengers sharing dramatic stories ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Four days after Hurricane Odile hit, thousands of stranded American tourists are still trying to get out of Cabo San Lucas. There are reports of extensive damage and looting in that Mexican resort city, with thousands left homeless.

A Northern California couple is still missing.

And forecasters now are keeping an eye on tropical storm Polo, which is steaming toward Mexico's southern coast.

Indra Petersons with a look at that and the rest of our forecast.

Good morning, Indra.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning.

It's going to take some time. I can tell you from my family members, they can't get a flight out for at least a week. And they are concerned. We are still talking about another storm making its way toward the area. Much better news now in the forecast.

Polo continues to weaken. In the he latest forecast, continues to move it offshore. So, that is good news for the region. But, of course, it's going to take a long time to get all those tourists out of the region that was affected.

If you are down in the Southwest, they're still talking about the threat for flooding with heavy rainfall. That two to four inches in Houston, maybe just south of the region, about one to three inches of rain still expected.

In the Southeast, finally getting a lot better. We're looking at that stationary front, continuing to make its way offshore. Unless, of course, you are in Florida, stationary front still in place there means more rainfall expected today.

Temperature wise in the Southeast, as you go through the weekend, not bad. A lot of 80s out there. Meanwhile, if you're in the Midwest, up toward the Northeast, we're going to watch a frontal boundary make its way through. By Saturday in the Midwest, by Sunday, into the Northeast. We are going to be talking about scatter showers.

Keep in mind, pretty severe. We have severe weather threat including Chicago on Saturday. So, definitely aware of that if you're flying. What you're also going to notice is the temperatures behind the cold front starting to drop. You will feel those effects there. Meanwhile --

BERMAN: Twenty-three?

PETERSONS: Again, this is morning lows. This is current right now. We're talking about temperatures in the 20s north of us. New York City today, not bad. Meanwhile, Boston's highs, though, just in the 50s. You're going to feel it.

BERMAN: Wow.

ROMANS: Pack a sweatshirt for the kiddies --

PETERSONS: I already have mine today, right? Forget the kiddies.

ROMANS: Thanks, Indra.

A real scare for passengers on JetBlue flight forced to make an emergency landing, just minutes -- whoa -- after it took off from the airport in Long Beach, California. Look at the cell phone video capturing the chaos. Passengers say they heard a loud boom and then suddenly, there was smoke everywhere.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONATHAN HUBBARD, PASSENGER: The engine blew out. We're out over the ocean.

REPORTER: Wait, what do you mean the engine blew out?

HUBBARD: Our right engine blew out.

REPORTER: You actually heard it?

HUBBARD: Yes, a pop blew out. Smoke engulfed the cabin where you could not see the person next to you.

REPORTER: That bad?

HUBBARD: It was that bad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Four people suffered injuries. JetBlue will only say the plane had an issue, clearly, with an engine. It's still not known exactly what happened to it.

BERMAN: All right. The Arizona Cardinals distancing themselves from player Jonathan Dwyer, stunning details about the abuse allegations against him next. Andy Scholes has it all in the "Bleacher Report".

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: New details this morning about the abuse allegations against Arizona Cardinals running back Jonathan Dwyer.

BERMAN: Andy Scholes now with more in the "Bleacher Report". Good morning, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, BLEACHER REPORT: Hey, good morning, guys.

The Phoenix police, they laid out some graphic details when describing the Dwyer's alleged domestic violence. According to police, Dwyer broke his wife's nose when he head butted her in the face after she bit his lip trying to avoid unwanted sexual advances. This all happened during a July domestic dispute.

Dwyer was arrested Wednesday at the Cardinals practice facility, but he is now out on bond. The team placed him on the reserve non- football injury list, which means he won't play again this season. And Cardinals coach Bruce Arians says he was stunned by the allegations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRUCE ARIANS, CARDINALS COACH: Victims come first. But, yes, you build relationships. And me as a coach, I always taken the approach these are my children. I treat them as my children.

This is very hard. If this was my son, I would have a hard time dealing with it. It's uncalled for. I think anyone who touches a woman or a child in my opinion, needs to go to jail for a long time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Trending on bleacherreport.com, the Falcons absolutely routed the Bucs on Thursday night football. Devin Hester making history in the second quarter with the 62-yard punt return for a touchdown. It was the 20th of his career, breaking Deon Sanders old record. And as you can see, he high step his way into the end zone to pay tribute to prime time. The Falcons, they were up 56-0 entering the fourth quarter. They went on to win the game, 56-14.

Earlier this month, Ron Washington out of nowhere, resigned as a manager of the Texas Rangers. Yesterday, he held a press conference to explain why he stepped down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON WASHINGTON, RANGERS MANAGER: I made a mistake and I'm embarrassed more than I have ever been in my life. I was not true to my wife after 42 years. I broke her trust. I'm here today to own that mistake and to apologize to her and to those I disappointed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Washington's wife was there alongside him at the press conference. Just kind of bizarre timing, the whole thing, the way he stepped down and held this press conference with two weeks to go still left in the season.

ROMANS: Wow.

BERMAN: Interesting.

ROMANS: Drama.

BERMAN: All right. Andy, thanks so much.

ROMANS: Breaking news this morning. Scotland voting against independence. But that doesn't mean there are not big changes in the U.K. We're live after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)