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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
The War on ISIS: New Help On the Way?; U.S. Terror Threats; Late Night Protests in Ferguson, Missouri; Obama Sounds Urgent Alarm on Ebola
Aired September 26, 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: New help could be coming in the war against ISIS. In just hours, Britain will vote on whether to assist on U.S.- led airstrikes in Iraq. The airstrikes now hitting ISIS in Syria where it hurts most, hitting its oil refineries. This as thousands of Syrian refugees fleeing ISIS lined the Turkish border. They are desperate to escape. We have live team coverage ahead.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Terror threats here at home. This morning, Americans assured the subways are safe. But the FBI still has one big concern this morning. We'll explain.
BERMAN: And breaking news overnight. Late night protests in Ferguson, Missouri, just hours after the police chief tells Michael Brown's family, "I'm sorry."
Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.
ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. It is Friday. It is September 26, 4:00 in the East.
We welcome our visitors in the U.S. and around the world this Friday morning.
Let's begin with this terror alerts at home. Federal, state and local officials scrambling to reassure Americans subway systems are safe to ride after getting blindsided Thursday by a warning from Iraq's new president that ISIS plans a terror attack on mass transit. Officials say they're confident subways are safe for now, that al Qaeda cell in Syria may be a danger. The head of the FBI says there is no indication the airstrikes this week disrupted Khorasan's plans to attack in the U.S.
CNN's Jim Acosta has more from the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, this all got started with the new Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told reporters gathered at the United Nations that Baghdad intelligence services had information about what he described as an imminent terror plot aimed in the subway systems in both the U.S. and in France. That obviously sparked a lot of concern inside the Obama administration. But senior administration officials said all day long that they had no credible evidence of any sort of plot.
And then late in the day, a top State Department official Brett McGurk, he actually went back to the Iraqi prime minister, went back to Haider al-Abadi, talked to him and the prime minister told Brett McGurk that he was only speaking in general terms, that this was not an actual imminent terror plot posed by ISIS against the subway systems. That obviously is going to be reassuring to people in New York City. The mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, went out in front of the cameras to reassure New Yorkers that it was perfectly safe to ride the subway system there.
But it is important to point out what senior administration officials have been telling us for weeks, and that is that they don't believe that ISIS has the capability to carry out terror attacks on the U.S. homeland. They are much concerned about this new terror group Khorasan, which is comprised of former al Qaeda members. They say, and so does the FBI director, that that group is capable of carrying out terror attacks. It's something they'll be watching for -- John and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: Our thanks to Jim Acosta.
So, the airstrikes against ISIS are focused on cutting off the Islamic terror groups income from oil sales. The Pentagon says that U.S.-led airstrikes hit mobile refineries in remote area of eastern Syria and Iraq. French war planes hit four ISIS warehouses near Fallujah. Still on the sidelines, though, in this war against ISIS, the United Kingdom, at least, for now. Prime minister David Cameron convening parliament today for a vote that would authorize Britain to get involved in the airstrikes in Iraq, a big day in London.
Standing by live now for us is CNN's Isa Soares.
Good morning.
ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. Indeed, it's a very big day. And it's going to be a historic day really here in the U.K. in about an hour or so, now a half really from now, MPs will meet behind me in the Commons. And they will be debate whether to agree to air strikes in Iraq. And it's important we make that distinction that is just Iraq.
Prime Minister Cameron will begin his speech, and his speech will be along the lines of what we heard, if you remember, on Wednesday, John, when he was cautiously outlining the reasoning, the legal parameters for air strikes in Iraq, saying that basically it's based on international law and it is legitimate.
After that, MPs will get into debate. And many expecting they will get quite heated. The Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond who I'll be speak to in just a moment, basically said he's confident the MPs will support, the majority of them will support the motion, but there will, of course, be many questions asked among MPs among the lines of how long will the U.K. be involved, how much will it cost, and is there an exit strategy. All these questions are fundamental and I'm sure it will get very, very heated.
But overall, the major part is expecting this to pass and for Prime Minister Cameron, to be completely honest with you, John, it is crucial because if you remember last year, he faced huge, huge defeat and quite embarrassing one actually here in the Commons over air strikes regards to Syria.
So, it's a stark day. It will kickoff in about an hour and a half from now, but only for the time being, only focusing on Iraq. Motion for Syria is not on the table, John.
BERMAN: I have seen it will likely pass, which you say a radical difference from last year at this time when Cameron lost that vote, in embarrassing passion on Syria.
Isa, thanks so much.
ROMANS: All right. No relief in sight, no relief for the tens of thousands of Kurdish refugees who are making a dangerous trip through the Syrian desert. They're fleeing the advance of ISIS troops. When they arrive at the border, they are trapped in a no man's land between Turkey and Syria. Now, Turkey says it is prepared to accept more refugees, but its resources are stretched thin.
CNN's Phil Black live now on the Turkey/Syria border.
Good morning, Phil.
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Christine.
Yes, these refugees, they are still coming, and that is south of the border behind me as you can see, is the town of Kobani. And that is where ISIS fighters are continuing to advance and fight to try to take control of that territory. Fighters on the ground, locals there, defending their homes, have told us that ISIS is making progress from the South, the East and the West of the city. These local fighters believed they slowed down the progress, but they say they are outgunned because ISIS has heavy weapons and they do not.
What they want is for the international coalition to use its air power against these ISIS units that are bearing down on them. They say that hasn't happened yet. More than that, they believe that airstrikes against other ISIS targets in other parts of Syria, is actually making their fight tougher because it is driving ISIS members, more of them, to this location, boosting their numbers as they try to take this territory.
So, these refugees do keep coming. Not in the same numbers earlier in the week, but these are the ones that effectively that decided to leave last. So, quite often, their experiences with ISIS have been more intimate. They have seen them. They've heard their weapons, in some cases, those weapons have inflicted terrible losses. In the last 24 hours, we've spoken to people who say they have lost large numbers of their extended families because of the ISIS attacks, because of heavy artillery attacks in this region. As I say, just south of the border. So, this refugee crisis is still continuing and the burden that it is
placing upon Turkey continues to grow where the Turkish authorities and local aid workers are doing the very best they can with what they have got, but it is not enough -- Christine.
ROMANS: So, what are Turkish authorities prepared to do now? They are opening the borders from time to time as you have told us the last few days. Will they let these people through once they get through? What happens to them? What is the process for these people?
BLACK: The Turkish authorities are not letting anyone away. They're not turning anyone away. That has been the policy of Turkey throughout the Syrian civil war. So, that is how it has come to pass. They have in excess of 1.5 million Syrian refugees on this territory.
Now, what they are doing after this recent initial influx, this huge wave that saw as many as 200,000 in just a few days cross over, they are trying do it in a more orderly way, only opening the border at certain periods of time and giving them everything they need -- food, water and medical attention and, of course, shelter as well.
What we're also seeing still are people on the other side of the fence here waiting because they don't want to leave their livestock behind. We've been talking about this for a few days now. These are people who are truly desperate because these animals represent their livelihood, their most valuable position. The authorities, the aid groups there, they're trying to help them as well, literally dumping animal feed over the barb wire fence in order to help preserve the life of these animals. But there is real concern about how long they can last, continue to last, under this baking heat in these very tough, difficult conditions -- Christine.
ROMANS: Wow.
All right. Phil Black, thank you for that, this morning on the Turkish/Syrian border.
BERMAN: Look at that line there.
British and American intelligence officials believe they have now identified the man who speaks in the ISIS beheading videos, although they decline to name him. Since August, ISIS has posted this gruesome video showing Americans James Foley and Steven Sotloff, along with David Haines being killed. The FBI believes the same militant with the British accent dressed head to toe in black, speaks all in the video. And again, they believe they now have him identified.
ROMANS: All right. Eric Holder, the nation's first African-American attorney general stepping down. Holder calls his six years at the helm of the Justice Department the greatest honor of his professional life. Holder's tenure was not without controversy. House Speaker John Boehner says his resignation is long overdue.
But he's not going anywhere right away. Holder plans to stay on the job until a successor is confirmed by the Senate. No word yet on who President Obama might nominate. BERMAN: Tens of thousands of immigrant families crossing the border
earlier this year failed to show up for the follow-up meetings with immigration agents. Nearly 60,000 immigrants were released in the United States by government officials with instructions to report within 15 days to the nearest immigration office.
Lots going on. For the first time in decades, a new Department of Defense policy will allow a small number of undocumented members to join the military.
The FBI director raising concerns about Apple and Google's new privacy features on smartphones. James Comey accuses the two companies marketing products that make data inaccessible to law enforcement. Both Google and Apple announced that their new operation systems will be encrypted by default and would require a passcode to access personal data.
ROMANS: All right. Ten minutes past the hour. Time for an EARLY START on your money this Friday morning.
European shares lower. U.S. stocks barely moving so far. But yesterday, there was some movement, all right. The worst day for stocks in almost two months. The Dow fell 265 points. That's 1.5 percent.
The NASDAQ fell almost 2 percent. It was tech stocks behind this plunge, led by Apple. Apple fell 4 percent. The company made headlines for the glitches with the operating system update and complaints about the iPhone 6 bending, bend-gate. That's raising questions about Apple's quality standards. Apple says there have been nine complaints on bending phones, nine. So, put that in perspective.
BERMAN: Wow, nine out of 10 million sold.
ROMANS: Right, exactly.
Now, the selloff is causing worries about a long anticipated correction a 10 percent drop. We haven't seen in a couple of years. CNN's fear and greed index showing investors feeling extreme fear and experts are worried about global growth stalling in Europe and Asia. You know, it's all about --
BERMAN: The fear and greed index?
ROMANS: We have something called the fear and greed index. And, you know, that's how it's all about. It's about fear --
BERMAN: How about the gluttony and sloth index? Where do I rank in the gluttony and sloth index?
ROMANS: I'm going to have our graphics go --
BERMAN: That's not bad, not bad.
All right. Breaking news overnight: new protests in Ferguson, Missouri. Demonstrators arrested following the police chief's apology to Michael Brown's family. But that does not mean he is ready to resign. Wait until you hear what he told CNN, next.
ROMANS: Plus, another unarmed black man shot by police all caught on camera.
BERMAN: Yes, this is amazing.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: A lot of action overnight in Ferguson, Missouri. Protesters there calling for the resignation of the police chief. Thomas Jackson responding to the protesters, marching right alongside the protesters, before the scene got a little chaotic there. This is after Jackson made a public apology for his actions following the Michael Brown shooting.
Jackson tells CNN, though, he has no intention of leaving his job.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF THOMAS JACKSON, FERGUSON POLICE DEPT.: I talked to a lot of people who have initially called for that and changed their mind after meetings and discussions about moving forward. Realistically, I'm going to stay here and see this through, you know? This is mine and I'm taking ownership of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: The family of Michael Brown says they have not seen the videotaped apology by Jackson. That is according to their attorney.
ROMANS: Now to another police-involved shooting of an unarmed African-American man, and this one in South Carolina.
Graphic dash cam video being released. State trooper Sean Groubert was fired last week and could face major prison time after the investigation concluded the shooting -- this shooting you're watching right now is not justified. The wounded man Levar Jones survived.
Martin Savidge has more of this disturbing video.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Christine.
Take a look at this. It's a pretty amazing video. A dash cam rolls as the South Carolina state trooper stops a man for driving what he says without a seatbelt, asking for his license. And in seconds, it just goes horribly wrong.
This 31-year-old trooper Sean Groubert shoots an unarmed 35-year-old Levar Jones from just feet away.
It happened so fast, you almost wonder what really happened. So, it is probably a good idea to look at it again.
It is roughly 5:00 p.m., September 4th, at a gas station just outside of Columbia. And as the officer pulls up Jones exiting an SUV. And on camera, Groubert asked to see his license. As Jones reaches back into the vehicle, Groubert in the view, gun drawn, shouting and shooting.
He fires at least four times, once even as the now Jones is staggering backwards, his hands raised.
And listen to the conversation between the bewildered wounded Jones and the officer.
LEVAR JONES: My license is right there.
SEAN GROUBERT: Put your hands behind your back, put your hands behind your back.
SAVIDGE: Amazingly, Jones only suffered a hip wound. He was treated and released. Meanwhile last Friday, Groubert was fired. And now, ex-trooper Groubert is charged with felony, assault and battery. We reach out to his attorney, but so far, he's returned all call.
There is a sad irony to all of this, because just last year, Trooper Sean Groubert was hailed a hero after he shot and stopped a gunman who opened fire in a bank parking lot. For that, he was given South Carolina's Medal of Valor.
But after this latest shooting, if he is found guilty, he could be given 20 years in prison -- John and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: There's a lot there that was really interesting.
ROMANS: Wow.
BERMAN: You know, the cop asked the man for his license. So, the guy went to the car to get his license, which is when the police officer opened fire. He says he thought the man might be reaching for a gun.
The other thing is astounding, and I encourage you all to watch the video, is the conversation that took place after the shots were fired with the man on the ground. The police officer, you know, to his credit, he called in for EMTs immediately. But the guy on the ground was still saying, why did you shoot me? What happened? He kept on calling the officer sir.
ROMANS: He was very bewildered saying, here is my license. Here is my license. You asked for my license.
Even after he had been shot.
BERMAN: What are you supposed to do? The cop asked for your license. You have to go into your car to get it.
ROMANS: Unbelievable. All right.
BERMAN: All right. We are learning more this morning about the suspect arrested for allegedly abducting Hannah Graham, the University of Virginia student missing now for 13 days. Authorities say Jesse Matthew was questioned by investigators in a 2002 rape case, but never charged due to lack of evidence.
Matthew waived extradition after his arrest in Texas and will return to Virginia as early as today.
His father spoke to CNN affiliate WTVR and He says he cannot believe his son has anything to do with Hannah Graham's disappearance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSE MATTHEW, SR., SUSPECT'S FATHER: Kill or hurt somebody? That's not my son. The only thing I can see is him maybe trying to give the girl a ride home or help her out. If I did, I will go to him and bring him in myself. We will be behind you no matter what.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Charlottesville police are appealing to the public for help in finding Hannah. They are asking property owners to check their surveillance cameras now for any clues.
ROMANS: The NFL has repeatedly said no one in the league office saw the video of Ray Rice punching his then-fiancee and appeared on TMZ earlier this month. Now, an "Associated Press" report says a law enforcement official sent the elevator tape directly to NFL headquarters, address to the league's security chief Jeffrey Miller back in April.
In a statement, Miller repeats the NFL line, saying, "I unequivocally deny that I received it at anytime a copy of the video and I had not watched it until it was made public on September 8th."
You have seen reporting over and over trying to sort of show that the tape, a copy of the tape, landed at NFL headquarters.
BERMAN: Around and around.
ROMANS: Did anyone watch it?
BERMAN: All right. Some happier sports news. This one in the Bronx, but it really was a Hollywood ending.
ROMANS: This is like a script.
BERMAN: It is. Derek Jeter in his final at bat in his final home game ever in Yankee stadium drove in the winning run. It was a walk- off single.
Yankees have been eliminated from the playoffs, their second year in a row, not going to post-season, they beat the Orioles, 6-5. Derek Jeter, truly one of the game's greatest players of all time.
Now, he will play when the Yankees go on the road to Boston over the next three days. He will not play shortstop. He said he wanted his last game at shortstop to be in Yankee Stadium.
ROMANS: Really?
BERMAN: He's going to be the designated hitter up in Boston.
We're going to have more on really what was a remarkable night for Derek Jeter in the "Bleacher Report" later on EARLY START.
ROMANS: Wow, what a game.
BERMAN: He was choking back tears the entire night.
ROMANS: Even people who are a little tired of hearing about the last season for Derek Jeter, like you and my husband, both are saying that was a story book ending.
BERMAN: Wonderful, wonderful night.
ROMANS: All right. President Obama's new warning about the Ebola epidemic. West African countries taking new drastic measures to stop this deadly virus from spreading. We've got more on that, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: President Obama sounding an urgent alarm on Ebola, saying the world has been too slow to respond.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are not moving fast enough. We are not doing enough.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: We are not doing enough.
The threat now forcing Sierra Leone's government to quarantine more than 1 million people to keep the virus from spreading. Travel is now restricted in three more areas where an estimated 1.5 million live. In the capital of Liberia, a charity group says it doesn't have enough beds for patients. And, in Guinea, reports of growing violence against people trying to help, against health workers.
Meantime, Dr. Rick Sacra, who survived the Ebola after infected in Liberia, is back home, near Worcester, Massachusetts. But what cured him is not entirely clear.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was given essentially three things. One the experimental drugs and the serum from Dr. Brantly and then, lastly, just supportive care. So, we are not sure which helped him, if I was a combination. But, obviously, he is sitting here today and we're very happy about that.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BERMAN: Again, everyone is happy about that. Sacra had been in a Nebraska hospital for almost three years.
ROMANS: You know, supportive care. When you're talking about the public infrastructure or lack of it in some of these countries, in West Africa, that is a big problem here. you know, we don't know how well someone could withstand the disease with a better health care infrastructure.
BERMAN: Big clean cases and constant care.
ROMANS: And the recognition of the disease and how to follow health care warnings.
All right. Twenty-seven minutes past the hour. For our viewers around the world, African Voices" is next.
For those of you here in U.S., there could be new help this morning on the war on ISIS. Britain expected to vote in hours to join airstrikes strikes in Iraq. Live team coverage, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
