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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

U.K. Parliament to Vote on Airstrikes; Terror Threat Against U.S. Targets; Late Night Protests in Ferguson, Missouri; Obama Sounds Urgent Alarm on Ebola

Aired September 26, 2014 - 04:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: New help could be coming in the war on ISIS. In just hours, Britain will vote on whether to assist in U.S.- led airstrikes in Iraq. Those airstrikes now hitting ISIS where it hurts most -- mobile oil refineries. This as thousands of Syrian refugees fleeing ISIS line the Turkish border desperate to escape. Live team coverage ahead.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Terror threats here at home. Americans assured the subways are safe after a strange ominous warning from Iraq's prime minister. But the FBI does still have one big concern this morning. We'll tell you what that is.

ROMANS: And breaking overnight. Protesters taking to the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, yet, again. A new arrest following an apology from the town's chief police to Michael Brown's family.

Welcome back to EARLY START this Friday. I'm Christine Romans.

BERMAN: I'm John Berman. Great to see you. Thirty-one minutes past the hour.

And terror alerts rattling nervous homes in the United States Thursday. Federal and state officials reassuring Americans that the subways are safe to ride. This is after being blindsided Thursday by a strange warning from Iraq's prime minister. He says ISIS is planning a terror attack on American and European subways.

Officials they are confident that subways are safe for now, that they have seen no threat. That an al Qaeda -- they still say the al Qaeda cell in Syria may be a danger. The head of the FBI says there is no indication air strikes this week disrupted Khorasan's plan to attack in the United States.

CNN's Jim Acosta has more now from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, this all got started when 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 these 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)

ROMANS: All right. Jim Acosta, thanks for that.

Meantime, airstrikes against ISIS on Thursday focused on cutting off the Islamic terror group's income from oil sales. The Pentagon says that U.S.-led airstrikes hit mobile refineries in remote area of eastern Syria. This is how this terror group is funded, by oil sales.

In Iraq, French war planes hit four ISIS warehouses near Fallujah.

Still, on the sidelines in the war against ISIS, the United Kingdom. The prime minister there, David Cameron, convening parliament today for a vote authorizing airstrikes.

Standing by live now in London is CNN's Isa Soares -- Isa.

ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine.

Yes, in about an hour, actually, in fact, about one hour, the prime minister will begin debating that motion of airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq. Let's make it clear, this is only Iraq. We're not talking Syria. That is not the motion on the table this time.

I spoke about five minutes ago to Philip Hammond. He is the U.K.'s foreign secretary. And I asked him how confident are you that this will pass? And he said, look, we are confident we will go through. You know, MPs, the majority of them will want to seek assurances. Many will have many questions and many will also have many concerns. But at the end of it, I think the majority will vote yes. How long will this debate last? That will last probably six to seven

hours. A long debate will be heated. People want to know is there an exit strategy, how much will it cost? You know, what's the long-term plan for the U.K. in the part in Iraq? Are we talking Syria?

Now, for Prime Minister David Cameron, this is a crucial vote. And he wants to avoid embarrassment. He faced brutal defeat last year in the Commons when the vote against Syria action was put down. That really is important for him.

But coming into this very confident, and his speech at the U.N. on Wednesday, Christine, he was laying out the ground work speaking to diplomats there as much as politicians here laying out the legal basis for going into Iraq -- Christine.

ROMANS: And, you know, Isa, early this morning, we were learning new terror arrests in Britain -- nine yesterday and two more I think this morning.

SOARES: Yes, this has come to light in the last hour or so, Christine.

We found out the early hours of the morning police have arrested two more men. One of them is 33 years of age. The other was 42. They were arrested on a highway here in London. That is as far as we know.

We also know they were arrested and I'm going to quote here, for being related to Islamist related terrorism. This is what the police are saying exactly the same we saw yesterday with the nine members being part of a banned organization.

We have spoken at length about this on CNN. One member is the cleric radical Anjem Choudary. He is well known. He is an extremist cleric here.

He is very public and controversial figure. He protested outside the U.S. embassy. And recently, in the last couple of weeks or so, we have seen him handing out ISIS leaflets in London. He is one of the people arrested yesterday. We don't know anything else about those two individuals arrested today.

Question now is, how long will they keep them for and what will they charge them with?

ROMANS: All right. Isa Soares for us this morning in London -- thank you, Isa.

BERMAN: Tens of thousands of Kurdish refugees trapped on the border between Turkey and Syria, with no way out. They've been fleeing the advance of ISIS troops. Turkey says it is preparing to accept more refugees, but that it's resources are stretched thin.

CNN's Phil Black live now on the Turkey-Syria border.

Good morning, Phil.

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

The gates here at this border-crossing checkpoint have recently been opened by the Turkish authorities. And once again today, we are seeing this queue really of misery and suffering. These refugees from the local town of Kobani, mostly making their way across the border, having picked up what they can and scrambled through the dust of northern Syria to get to this point.

We are once again seeing mostly women and children the elderly, mostly ethic Kurds. And they are fleeing this town and the surrounding region because they tell us, as do people on the ground there, that ISIS is continuing to make progress against the fighters that are trying to hold them back. Local fighters have picked up and trying to defend their homes as ISIS advances from the south, east and west, really effectively encircling the town.

And these local fighters on the ground, they say they have slowed the ISIS advance, but the ISIS out-guns them with heavy weapons. The local fighters say they just don't have them.

So, what they have been calling for publicly is for the international coalition to use its air power to come and help them, to strike the ISIS units that are bearing down on them and moving against them and claiming territories steadily a little more every day. They say that hasn't happened yet and they make the point, they believe, also, that these airstrikes against ISIS targets in other parts of Syria is actually making their fight tougher here because they say it is driving members of ISIS to this location, to seek sanctuary and join the fight for Kobani, this northern Syrian, mainly ethic Kurdish town.

So, this refugee crisis, it is still certainly ongoing. We are not seeing the influx we saw at the start of the week. What it means is the numbers that are coming through now and it is thousands a day, these are the people that decided to leave at the last possible moment.

And so, they have seen the ISIS fighters. They have heard the gunfire and some of them are telling us in very distraught way that they have lost family members to gunfire, to artillery.

So, the crisis still continuing, the burden for the Turkish authorities here, John, is still growing.

BERMAN: So many lives lost, so many lives in upheaval right now.

Phil Black for us on the border. Appreciate it.

Intelligence officials in the United States and Britain believe they have now identified the man who speaks in the ISIS beheading videos, although they are declining to name him. Since August, ISIS has posted this gruesome video showing Americans James Foley and Steven Sotloff, along with British David Haines being killed. The FBI believes the same militant with a British dressed head to toe in black is speaking in all three of those videos.

ROMANS: United States is spending millions to destroy ISIS by destroying American equipment in Iraq and Syria. According to government data, the U.S. has hit 41 Humvees being used by the terrorist group since August. The military is sending $30,000 bombs to eliminate these American-made vehicles that cost $250,000 each. That could mean if the U.S. wants the Iraqis to secure the borders eventually, some of the equipment may have to be replaced again.

Check out CNN.com for more on our reporting on the costs of the war against ISIS. It's a fascinating analysis.

Forty minutes past the hour. Time for EARLY START on your money. European shares lower right now. U.S. stock futures barely moving so far. Yesterday, the worst day for stocks in almost two months, sad to say. The Dow fell 265 points, or about 1 1/2 percent.

A lot of people saying it's basically going straight up this year. So, you need some down --

BERMAN: There's a lot of room. It's still going to be a good year.

ROMANS: Still a good year.

BERMAN: All right. Forty-one minutes after the hour. Eric Holder, the nation's first African-American attorney general, he is calling it quits. The attorney general calls his six years at the helm of the Justice Department the greatest honor of his professional life.

His tenure not without controversy. House Speaker John Boehner says his resignation is, quote, "long overdue".

The attorney general not going anywhere right away. He plans to stay on the job until a successor is confirmed by the Senate. That could take a while. The White House says they have no one yet in mind. They're just beginning the process of deciding who the president may nominate. And, by the way, confirmation battle could be contentious in what might be a Republican Senate later on.

ROMANS: Something else is contentious -- immigration policy in the country. Tens of thousands of immigrant families crossing the border earlier this year failed to show up for required follow-up meetings with federal immigration agents. This is according to the Homeland Security Department. Nearly 60,000 immigrants released into the U.S. by government officials.

When they are released, after crossing illegally there, given instructions to report within 15 days to the nearest immigration office. Of course, they've likely been advised by the smugglers or people who they know crossing the border with him don't show up.

Meantime, for the first time in decades, a new Department of Defense policy will allow a small number of undocumented immigrants into the U.S. to have the opportunity to join the military.

Forty-two minutes past the hour.

Breaking news overnight: new demonstrations on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri. Protesters outraged following an apology from the town's police chief. What he had to say, ahead.

BERMAN: Plus, disturbing new details in the disappearance of college student Hannah Graham. What police are now revealing. We'll tell you, next.

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ROMANS: Overnight, several protesters in Ferguson, Missouri were calling for the resignation of the police chief. Thomas Jackson responded to protesters, marching right alongside them before the scene got a bit chaotic. The incident happen just hours after Jackson made a public apology for his action following Michael Brown's shooting. Jackson tells CNN 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)

ROMANS: The family of Michael Brown has not seen the taped apology by Jackson, this according to their attorney.

BERMAN: We are learning this morning this was not the first brush with the law for the suspect who allegedly abducted University of Virginia student Hannah Graham. Authorities say Jesse Matthew was questioned by investigators in a 2002 rape case, but was never charged due to lack of evidence. Matthew was arrested in Galveston, Texas, on Wednesday. He is expected to return to Virginia as early as today to face charges.

CNN's Jean Casarez has the very latest details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Defendant Jesse Matthew may come back to Virginia today. He waived his extradition yesterday in the Galveston courtroom. The first step for the legal process to begin here will be his initial appearance in Virginia, and what that will entail is that the charges will be read to him. The criminal charge of abduction of Hannah Graham, kidnapping, and his attorney may even ask for a bail hearing.

But while the legal process is going on, the investigation is continuing. And law enforcement is asking landowners of large plots of land in the community to continue to look at their land all over to see if they see anything that's unusual. To see if they see the iPhone of Hannah or her clothes.

They are asking landowners to look at video surveillance cameras they may have on their land, including wildfire cameras to see if they can see anything unusual, to see Hannah, or to see Jesse himself. Furthermore, they say they've got a gap. It's a 40-hour gap, because Hannah was not reported missing for 40 hours. They want to know what Jesse was doing during that time.

So, they are asking people. If you saw him pumping gas, if you saw him around town, come forward and tell us, because the most important part of the case, we still want to find Hannah.

John and Christine, back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Wow, what a case.

Forty-nine minutes past the hour.

Another pro-athlete in trouble, accused of domestic violence. Jeffery Taylor, who plays for the NBA's Charlotte Hornets, arrested after an incident at a hotel in East Lansing, Michigan. He is 25 years old. He's charged with assault and malicious destruction of property. An NBA spokesman says they are aware of Taylor's arrest. The NBA is investigating.

BERMAN: President Obama with a new warning about Ebola. What he told world leaders as African leaders resort to drastic measures to stop the virus from spreading, next.

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ROMANS: 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)

ROMANS: The threat now forcing Sierra Leone's government to quarantine more than 1 million people to keep this virus from spreading. Travel is now restricted in three more areas where an estimated 1.5 million people live.

In the capital of Liberia, a charity group says it doesn't have enough beds in patients. In Guinea, reports of growing violence against health workers. Meantime, Dr. Richard Sacra who survived Ebola after being infected in Liberia, he is back home near in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Now, what cured him isn't entirely clear.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was given essentially three different things. One was the experimental drugs, and the second was the serum as he mentioned from Dr. Brantly and then, lastly, just supportive care. So, we are not sure which one of those helped him, if it was a combination. But, obviously, he is sitting here today and we're very happy about that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: He had been in a Nebraska hospital for almost three weeks. It gets me, the supportive care about it when you talk about the infrastructure in West Africa that is crumbling, no beds. People don't trust the health care workers. People don't trust the journalists who are reporting on it. People are hiding sick people.

There is not supportive care. That's something that's incredibly important in this disease.

BERMAN: You can't air lift tens of thousands of people out of there.

ROMANS: Right.

BERMAN: Fifty-five minutes after the hour. Apple's competitors are getting a lot of mileage out of what's being called bend-gate. We have an EARLY START on your money, next.

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ROMANS: Welcome back. Let's get an EARLY START on your money this Friday. European mostly lower. U.S. stocks futures are barely moving so far. But, well, a lot of people want to know what's going to happen after yesterday, the worst day for stocks in almost two months.

The Dow fell 265 points, 1.5 percent. Ouch. The NASDAQ, worse there, fell 2 percent. Tech stocks really fuelling this plunge and led by Apple.

Apple shares fell almost four percent yesterday.

Well done, Berman.

The company made headlines for glitches on its iOS8. Customers complaints about the iPhone 6-Plus bending. Apple's competitors, of course, taking advantage of bend-gate. Samsung tweeted that the Galaxy Note edges curves not bend. And LG tweeted, "Our phone doesn't bend. It flexes on purpose, #bendgate." HTC said its phones are designed to withstand for the demanding environments, like your pockets.

BERMAN: Wow.

ROMANS: Other non-tech also jumped on #bendgate. Heineken tweeted this picture of a beer cap with the caption, "No worries. It happens all the time."

BERMAN: Wow.

ROMANS: I know. And, you know, Apple says, look --

BERMAN: Nine people. ROMANS: Nine complaints to the stores about the bending phone. We

put it to the test here in the newsroom. We couldn't bend it.

BERMAN: They are laughing all the way to the bank.

EARLY START continues right now.