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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

The War on ISIS; White House Security Breach: New Information; Ebola Epidemic

Aired September 22, 2014 - 04:00   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: ISIS flexing its muscle gaining new ground in Syria, forcing tens of thousands from their homes. This is the former Pentagon chief which criticizes the president and explains why ISIS is a real threat here in the United States. We're live in Iraq with the latest on the ground.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Security breach at the White House. New information this morning about the man armed with a knife who walked right past White House security and opened the president's front door.

BERMAN: Ebola epidemic. U.S. troops and supplies arriving in West Africa. But as the virus ravages communities and countries, is this too little, too late?

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

ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. It is Monday, September 22nd. It is 4:00 a.m. in the East.

Let's begin here. American and European military advisers in Iraq this morning training Kurdish fighters to battle ISIS. U.S. and allied trainers rushing to teach Kurdish guerillas how to defend cities and hold battle lines and how to use sophisticated weaponry they'll soon receive.

Recent Kurdish losses against ISIS is sparking a humanitarian crisis in the region. Officials say many thousands of refugees are fleeing from Syria into Turkey, ahead of advancing ISIS forces. More than 70,000 on Friday and Saturday alone.

At the same time, the U.S. military is pushing back against ISIS from the air. One air strike on Friday, two more on Sunday, bringing a total number of airstrikes across Iraq to 186.

CNN's Anna Coren is standing by in Irbil with the latest.

Anna, you've just seen the refugee crisis up close.

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Christine. We spent the weekend up in a refugee camp in northwestern Iraq, about three hours from us here, very close to the Syrian border. And there were thousands of people, Christine, who just homeless.

They will never be returning to their homes because that is where ISIS is. They don't see, you know, those militants leaving anytime soon. And yet, they desperately want to go home. They are living in this, you know, dirt, plastic tents, you know, which within a matter of months will be a sea of mud once the rain and once winter starts. It really is a critical situation.

I'm speaking to UNHCR, the officials there, they said they are running out of funds. They can't keep up with demand. So, certainly, an urgent appeal, and that's s just here in Iraq.

Then, on the border between Syria and Turkey, you mentioned those 70,000 people crossing over the weekend. Well, local officials are now saying that number has climbed to 100,000. They are expecting thousands of more to make that trip as they flee from villages as it is taken over from ISIS in past few days. More than 60 villages is what ISIS has managed to capture and that is right along northern Syria, up against the Turkish border.

Now, the president of Kurdistan, President Barzani, has described what's going on there, it's ethnic cleaning. He said it is barbaric what is taking place. And he is appealing to the international community, in particular the United States, to start launching airstrikes in Syria.

Now, that has not happened as of yet. The United States taking their time and gathering the evidence and the intelligence that they so desperate need. They don't have people on the ground. So, this is why it is taking a lot longer.

But officials here, Christine, saying we don't have time. These people are dying. They're being slaughtered. They are facing a potential massacre, and they need the United States and international community's global coalition to act now.

ROMANS: All right. Anna Coren for us this morning in Irbil, with a really disturbing picture of all of those people trying to flee an advancing ISIS there.

BERMAN: Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says he could not convince President Obama to arm the so-called moderate Syria rebels. Panetta says that in 2012, he and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged the president to provide training and equipment to the Syrian fighters. He says the president's reluctance to do so is partly to blame for the rise of ISIS. Panetta calls the Islamic militant group a genuine threat to the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEON PANETTA, FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY: I think they are a threat. I think they are as dangerous as fanatical as terrorists as al Qaeda was. And they have a large number of foreign fighters with foreign passports that make them particularly -- particularly dangerous to the safety of this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Now, officials say the United States will not be alone in launching air strikes against is in Syria, though, the officials will not say exactly what other nations will take part.

Samantha Powers, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nation said that she will leave it to allies to make that announcement for themselves. France, of course, has already participated in airstrikes against ISIS targets inside Iraq.

New pleas to ISIS to release British hostage Alan Henning. We are live in London in about 15 minutes with that story.

ROMANS: All right. The Iraq war veteran who jumped the White House fence will hear the charges against him in federal court later today. Omar Gonzalez got all the way across the White House lawn and through the front door on Friday before Secret Service agents stopped him. President Obama expressing full confidence in the Secret Service. But that security breach and another on Saturday involving a New Jersey man arrested after driving up to a security barrier have officials scrambling for answers.

CNN's Erin McPike has more from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, Secret Service beefed up the patrols and surveillance around the White House while they review Friday's breach and checked their other protocols. Now, we could be seeing a congressional hearing on this at some point, because a number of Republicans have been appalled.

Listen to how Peter King put it on FOX News yesterday.

REP. PETER KING (R), NEW YORK: There can be a lot of conspiracies against the president, a lot of very complex assassination plots. This is the most basic, the most simple type of procedure. How anyone, especially in these days of ISIS, and we're concerned about terrorist attacks, someone could actually get into the White House without being stopped is inexcusable.

MCPIKE: The Secret Service also said after Friday's breach, that Gonzalez appeared to them to be mentally disturbed. But they have had in person contact with him before.

Now, also, Gonzalez's former stepson, Jerry Murphy, told us that Gonzalez was suffering from PTSD from his time in the military, but the military would not confirm that to us. Murphy also said that the war, quote, "messed up his head" and he was a great guy, but he lost his mind while serving his country -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Wow.

All right. Secretary of State John Kerry trying on a new tact this week to get stalled nuclear talks with Iran back on track. Kerry met Sunday with Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Zarif, with a possibility of more meetings later this week. Discussions on slowing Iran's nuclear development exchange for ending economic sanctions have been sidetracked for months. A new U.S. proposal would focus less on lowering the number of Iranian centrifuges use to enrich uranium and more on removing piping between centrifuges.

BERMAN: A second contingent of U.S. troops arrived in Ebola-ravaged Liberia. They will focus on training local health workers and setting up treatment facilities to help stop the deadly virus from spreading more than it already has. Also arriving in West Africa from the United States: $6 million worth of medical supplies donated by humanitarian groups, 100 tons of badly needed gloves, masks, antibiotics and pain medication as well.

A three-day lockdown in Sierra Leone has ended. Six million people were ordered to stay indoors through the weekend while officials search house-to-house for Ebola victims. That controversial operation reportedly ended in the discovery of dozens of new patients and more than 100 bodies.

In Liberia, the Ebola outbreak has crippled that country's health care system. Medical help is now so hard to come by that people are dying from treatable and preventable conditions like diarrhea, high blood pressure and diabetes.

The outbreak has claimed now -- Ebola has claimed now more than 2,600 lives.

ROMANS: You cannot overstate the crisis that is for public health in creaky public health infrastructure.

BERMAN: It's a tragedy.

ROMANS: All right. The fight to stop Ebola is extremely underfunded. The World Health Organization estimates a need for $1 billion to fight the outbreak in West Africa. So far, only $388 million has been donated or pledged.

This week, the Obama administration says it hopes to donate another $500 million this year. But even if that proposal goes through, there will still be a shortage of money. Many countries are contributing aid such as sending workers, conducting research instead of giving cash, giving money.

Eight minutes past the hour. Time for an EARLY START on your money.

European shares lower this morning after leaders of the G-20 are warned of the issues in Europe. Asian shares much lower, as well as Hong Kong stocks down 1.3 percent. U.S. stock futures pointing lower by 57 points right now after Dow closed at a record on Friday.

BERMAN: Let's see if we can do it again.

ROMANS: We'll see. BERMAN: Happening now: a desperate search to find a missing nursing student who police are now -- we will tell you who police are now targeting in their investigation.

ROMANS: Plus, we're now learning the angle Ray Rice will take when appealing his suspension with the NFL. Why he will say he should be back on the field, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Well over 1,000 volunteers have been searching nearly everywhere for Hannah Graham, the 18-year-old University of Virginia student who went missing more than a week ago. She was last seen leaving the party alone during the early morning hours of September 13th. Police in Charlottesville are on an urgent hunt right now for 32-year-old Jesse Matthew. He is a nursing assistant student at the University of Virginia Hospital and it is believed he is the man seen on security videos following her before she disappeared.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF TIMOTHY LONGO, CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA POLICE: I believe Jesse Matthew was the last person she was seen with before she vanished off the face of the earth, because it has been a week and we can't find her. But somebody knows where she is. Somebody has got to know where she is.

We want to know who that person or persons are. I have made no mistake about it. We want to talk to Jesse Matthew.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Wow.

Police have already searched Matthew's car and apartment. They are awaiting results of forensic tests this morning.

ROMANS: Authorities in Pennsylvania say they are closing in on the man suspected of killing a state trooper. Eric Matthew Frein has been on the run since the ambush 10 days ago. Police say they found an AK- 47 ammunition and other items they believe Frein hid in the rural Pennsylvania woods. Although Frein is considered armed and dangerous, police believe he is only a threat to law enforcement now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE BIVENS, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF OPERATIONS: We have every reason to believe Frein is focused on law enforcement and specifically state police. There is no indication that he is a danger to the school children or someone else in the public. I believe he has had every opportunity to harm others if he chosen to do so. His fight is with law enforcement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: We hope they're right. Police believe the 31-year-old survivalist plans these attacks for

months.

BERMAN: A curious case out of Massachusetts. Three soldiers from the Afghanistan national army have gone missing. They were on a visit to a base on Cape Cod for military exercises. Reports say the trio was last seen at the Cape Cod mall in Hyannis. All three were cleared to visit the United States by the State Department. The National Guard in Massachusetts says there's no indication of any threat to the public.

ROMANS: The Pentagon program supplying military gear to local police around the nation is now under review. The so-called militarized police forces came under heavy scrutiny after the intense response to protests in Missouri following the Michael Brown shooting. One major concern is the department is allowed to receive help if they have been censured for civil rights violations.

BERMAN: Fifteen minutes after the hour.

We are learning more about the basis for Ray Rice's planned appeal of his indefinite NFL suspension for assaulting his then fiancee. ESPN says Rice will claim the video that shows him punching her, he's going to claim that video was edited. And that his additional punishment following an initial two-game ban was based on altered evidence.

Rice's former team, the Baltimore Ravens, was overwhelmed this weekend by fans looking to exchange their Ray Rice jersey. More than 7,000 people showed up at M&T Bank Stadium. A spokesman for the Ravens says the cost of the jersey exchange ran into the six figures. They got a line.

ROMANS: Wow.

Firefighters in Campbellsville, Kentucky, are saluting a fallen comrade this morning. Forty-one-year-old Captain Tony Grider, a month after he was badly burned in the ice bucket challenge. Grider was on an extension ladder that came too close to a power line after spraying water on the Campbellsville University marching band for their ALS ice bucket challenge.

BERMAN: This morning, police in Delaware are investigating the cause of a bus crash that killed one person and injured dozens more. Police say the bus was heading south on Highway 1 in Wilmington Sunday when it crashed and overturned. The woman killed was trapped under the bus. Forty-nine people were treated for injuries, two victims still in critical condition in an area hospital.

ROMANS: Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of New York City urging action on global warming. The people's climate march brought out celebrities Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo. They stood in solidarity with marchers in cities across the globe. They're urging world leaders to tackle the growing threat of carbon pollution. The rally comes just as 120 world leaders convene in New York for a U.N. summit. BERMAN: The monstrous King Fire in northern California has now spread

to the Tahoe National Forest. Fire officials say it is barely 10 percent contained this morning, 128 square miles have been scorched over the last nine days with three dozen homes and buildings already destroyed. Right now, 21,000 homes and structures are threatened by these flames.

ROMANS: To say that fire is just raising is an understatement. It is just gobbling up acres and acres.

Let's get an EARLY START on your weather this morning with Karen Maginnis.

KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We are looking for temperatures that feel a little bit crisper. Temperatures running about five degrees below where they should be in the Northeast and New England, even into the Great Lakes. That frontal system draped down across Florida will trigger some on and off again showers, but it's going to be heavy at times.

And the same goes for that four corners region. In New Mexico, we could see occasionally heavy downpours.

Temperature-wise, enjoy this while it lasts -- New York, 68 degrees, coming up for this afternoon. Temperatures in the Southeast, it's about time they start cooling off. Readings in the upper 70s to low 80s -- 82 in Billings, 71 in San Francisco.

And we have been watching that King Fire just to the east of Sacramento. And at least in the short-term, not going to see much help for firefighters there. It's going to be the weather system that plunges down from the Gulf of Mexico that could make a real difference by about mid-week. And then going into Tuesday, still holding on to the 60s in New York City.

But by the end of the workweek, say good-bye to those fall temperatures. It's going to be warming up to just about near normal. We'll keep you updated -- John and Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Karen Maginnis on your Monday morning -- thanks for that, Karen.

Another round of private photos of female celebrities have leaked online. Singer Rihanna and Kim Kardashian are two of the latest to have nude photos stolen online. This comes just three weeks after hackers leaked intimate photos of other female celebrities, including Jennifer Lawrence, the actress. Many blamed the leak on Apple's iCloud system, but the company denied those allegations.

All right. Friends and family of an ISIS hostage pleading this morning for his safety. We are breaking down their message live right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: The wife and friends of the man ISIS is threatening to execute next are pleading with the terror group to let him go instead. Alan Henning was kidnapped by masked gunmen in Syria as he helped deliver aid to victims of that country's civil war. On Saturday, his wife Barbara released a message to Britain's foreign office, begging ISIS to release him or at least respond to her messages.

CNN's Karl Penhaul is live in London.

And, Karl, you spoke with others who are in Henning's aid convoy. They knew him well. What have they told you?

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, we spent a lot of the weekend up in his hometown in Northern England. And they describe, his friends Alan Henning as the taxi driver with the heart of gold. What we've got to remember about him different from the other hostages, he wasn't paid to be in Syria. He was a volunteer. He went on an aid convoy from Britain to Syria at Christmastime.

We know from friends that he sacrificed Christmases, he sacrificed family time, he even spent his weekend washing cars in his hometown to raise money for the Syrian aid effort. And that is why family and friends say he shouldn't be there. He does not deserve to die.

Talking one of the doctors that was on the convoy with him, Dr. Shameela Zulfiqar, this is what she had to say to ISIS.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SHAMEELA ISLAM-ZULFIQAR, AID WORKER: Please do not make him pay for the actions of western foreign policy. This is not his crime. And killing him will not change this. It will only undermine you and your cause. Please let him go. And release him back to us and to his family, his friends, and his children who are waiting for him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PENHAUL: Alan Henning, as I say, was a taxi driver. He was also nicknamed "Gadget" by his friends because of his love of repairing old bits of electronics. Over the weekend, also, his wife Barbara made an appeal to ISIS. Other British Muslim clerics have been making appeals to ISIS as well.

But as we saw in the case of the U.S. journalist Steven Sotloff, well, his mother also made a heartfelt plea to ISIS. That had no effect. But friends and family are hoping this could be different -- John.

BERMAN: Let's all hope he was there just trying to help.

Karl Penhaul for us in London this morning -- thanks so much.

ROMANS: All right. Twenty-five minutes past the hour.

The war on ISIS escalating. The terrorists gaining new ground in Syria. That's right. They're gaining right now in Syria, as former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta shares what he thinks the president has done wrong. We're live next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)