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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Armed Intruder at the White House New Information; ISIS Gaining Ground; Massive Protests in Hong Kong

Aired September 30, 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: Explosive new information about the armed White House intruder. Just how far he made it inside the president's home before he was stopped. This as the head of the Secret Service faces tough questions on Capitol Hill today. Is that agency capable at this point of keeping the president safe?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: ISIS fighters gaining ground this morning, inching closer to Baghdad and key Syrian city. This as the terrorists release new video of British hostage. Live team coverage breaking down all the angles for you this morning.

BERMAN: Thousands and thousands of protesters filling the streets of Hong Kong. Look at that. These pro-democracy demonstrators demanding big changes in the government there and setting a deadline. We are live with what's happening right now and where this is all headed.

ROMANS: That's a remarkable story.

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

ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. It's Tuesday, September 30th. It is 4:00 a.m. in the East. Good morning, everyone.

The tough congressional oversight hearing of the director of the Secret Service is already facing this morning just got a little bit tougher. We know the man who jumped the White House fence earlier this month made it much farther into the White House than previously reported.

CNN's Jim Acosta has that story from the White House for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, Omar Gonzalez made it much farther inside the White House than previously acknowledged by the Secret Service.

According to congressional and law enforcement sources, once Gonzalez entered the White House, he managed to get through a Secret Service officer at the north portico door, went past the stairs, leading to the first family residence and then ran into the East Room before he was tackled just as he was trying to head into the Green Room. No shots were fired inside or outside the White House.

And according to a memo that will be used by lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee at a hearing later on this morning, there were multiple lapses that allowed Gonzalez to make it that far. One of them being the failure to use what's called the crash button, that would have instantly locked down the White House. The question, of course, is, why that button was not used? And this information runs counter to what the Secret Service initially said on the night of the fence-jumping incident, when a spokesman told reporters that Gonzales was apprehended just inside the north portico door.

The director of the Secret Service, Julia Pierson, is scheduled to appear before the House Oversight Committee later on this morning. According to White House officials, the president has confidence in her leadership -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Our thanks to Jim Acosta for that report.

This morning, residents of the Syrian city of Kobani are terrified and pleading for help. This as ISIS closes in. The Islamic militant fighters are less two miles from the Kurdish town. That's near the border of Turkey. U.S.-led forces have intensified air strikes in Iraq and Syria, but officials in Kobani say it is not enough.

So, standing by as he has been live at the Turkish/Syrian border is CNN's Phil Black.

Good morning, Phil. Give us a sense of how it looks this morning.

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, as you mentioned, in some parts of Syria, there are airstrikes and it is causing outrage in Syria. Not so here, where it is the absence of airstrikes. It is such an ongoing social frustration. The fact the coalition is not getting directly involved in the fight which is taking place just behind me.

That's where you see the city of Kobani. It is the city that is being approached by ISIS in the west, the south, and the east. We are standing just across the Turkish border, looking back at the east approach where in recent days, we have seen ISIS taking territory and clearly using much heavier weapons than the Kurdish fighters that are trying so desperately to resist that advance.

Yesterday, ISIS was shelling Kobani directly. According to people inside the city, they hit it as many as 20 times. They believe at least three civilians were killed as a direct result of that shelling.

Inside the city, we believe there are a few thousand people left. Most residents have already fled across the border into Turkey. Some have chosen to stay behind and there are obviously great fears about what will happen to those people. In the event that ISIS does make the sudden last lurch towards Kobani, and actually enters the city. They are now within just a few miles of doing so. This morning, we can hear the sound of shelling distinctively. We're

not quite sure where it's coming from. But it sounds like it is coming from the south.

But here on the ground as we watched is take territory every day, there is a sense that there is very little standing between ISIS and its goal -- John.

BERMAN: Phil, what could turn the ISIS fighters back at this point? Is there any hope of these Syrian-Kurdish fighters who have been battling with them being reinforced, getting extra help or airstrikes perhaps from the U.S. or at least -- I guess U.S. is the only one attacking in Syria. Would that make a difference?

BLACK: They believe airstrikes are the only thing to make a difference. They are calling for it for several days now. That's what they so desperately want to see and they really can understand why it hasn't happened. They simply don't have the numbers or the firepower to resist this alert. They do believe it is a matter of time until ISIS swarms over them and takes the city once and for all. They are pleading with the international community, in particular this U.S.-led coalition to hit ISIS before it hits the city, John.

BERMAN: Interesting. Well, last Friday, after the pictures that we're showing here on CNN that you broadcast, Phil, of ISIS forces battling with the Kurdish forces, that maybe perhaps inspired the first round of airstrikes. Maybe today, there will be some more.

Our Phil Black at the Turkish/Syrian border -- thanks so much.

Meanwhile, we should say that ISIS released a new propaganda video last night featuring British hostage John Cantlie. We're going to be live in London with that in about 15 minutes.

ROMANS: All right. Syria's foreign minister is slamming the U.S. and the West for the way it's conducting the war on ISIS, telling the United Nations General Assembly Western government ignored his country's warnings about ISIS for years, and they now they need to coordinate airstrikes against ISIS with the Syrian government. The White House is refusing to do that. Syria's foreign minister went on to say the U.S. is making a mistake by not targeting other extremist groups in the region along with ISIS.

The cost of the war against ISIS is climbing. According to the new research from the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment, U.S. military operations against ISIS have already cost between $780 million and $930 million in the last two months. The cost going forward depends on duration and intensity, but the think tank estimates a lower campaign would cost as much $320 million a month. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel says the U.S. is spending up to $10 million a day and is likely to request more money.

Time for an EARLY START on your money this Tuesday morning. Asian stocks mostly lower as pro-democracy protests continue in Hong Kong. European stocks are mixed. U.S. futures are pointing higher at this hour. BERMAN: Fiery words for ISIS and Hamas from Benjamin Netanyahu. The

Israeli prime minister warning the United Nations General Assembly the two organizations are, quote, "branches of the same poisonous tree", bent, he says, on world domination through terror. And he compared both groups to the Nazis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: So, when it comes to their ultimate goals, Hamas is ISIS and ISIS is Hamas. What they share in common, all militant Islamists share in common.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: The prime minister went on to tell the United Nations that the Israel's fight against Hamas and the U.S. war on ISIS are part of the same cause.

ROMANS: The United States and Afghanistan are set to sign a long-term agreement today allowing nearly 10,000 American troops to remain in that country beyond the end of the year. Officials from both countries agree to the deal a year ago, but former President Hamid Karzai refused to sign it as a protest against U.S. airstrikes that killed Afghan civilians. Under the plan, all U.S. troops would be out of the Afghanistan by the year 2017.

BERMAN: The first Clinton grandchild is waking up this morning in her new home. There she is -- Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky -- leaving the hospital on Monday, along with her mother and father. And behind them, a couple of people you may have seen before, who happened to be the child's grandparents.

So, this baby Charlotte will be busy over the next few days heading to Iowa, the first caucus -- no, I'm kidding. She's got a lot of aunts and uncles on her father's side. She has 18 first cousins. You know, I should say, we have a lot of young parents or prospective parents who watch EARLY START, particularly at this hour, the 4:00 a.m. Eastern Time hour. So, if you are with a child or about to have one, hello to you this morning.

ROMANS: I know you say Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky is waking up this morning. She never went to bed.

BERMAN: That's right. Her first night ever.

ROMANS: Every two hours. All right.

BERMAN: All right. Happening right now, thousands of protesters filling the streets of Hong Kong, demanding change from their government. We're live.

ROMANS: Plus, the man suspected of kidnapping missing student Hannah Graham linked to the murder of another young woman. You're going to hear from her family ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROMANS: Protesters in Hong Kong are digging in this morning and bracing for the possibility of a crackdown by authorities. Thousands of people have jammed into the heart of the city. They're demonstrating against a move to allow only Beijing-approved candidates in the upcoming election for Hong Kong's chief executives. Violence flared on Sunday after the race with the largest student-led protest had begun last week swelled over the weekend.

Standing by live in the middle of the action for us is CNN's Andrew Stevens.

Andrew, I mean, just the sheer amount of people there is so stunning. This is a financial hub. A financial capital ground to a halt. What's happening now?

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is stunning is the word to describe this, Christine, because, really, I wouldn't have thought and I have been in Hong Kong for nearly 20 years, to see a scene like this. Just look behind me, tens of thousands, not thousand, tens of thousands of protesters now lining what is essentially a 10-lane corridor going in and out of Hong Kong's central district.

The numbers have been growing all afternoon as they intend to do as more and more people get off work. They come and join the protests. It's predominantly -- you are looking at students here, Christine. But they are being joined by many more citizens, regular people who live here in Hong Kong.

What they are complaining about, what they're frustrating about very, very fundamentally is democracy. And what's interesting about this protest and there have been protests, many protests in Hong Kong in the past, those protests tend to be a fairly different bunch of people complaining about a different bunch of topics. This one is very focused on the democratic issue, and the fact that Hong Kongers want to be able to nominate their own candidates in the next election for the leader of this country.

Now, in about 20 minutes or so from now, we're going to be hearing from student leaders. They're going to be, we expect, responding to the latest Hong Kong government press conference, saying that we're not going to back down. This is an illegal gathering. Beijing is not going to compromise one iota on the demands of the students are making. They're only making one demand.

So, we are set, Christine, for a standoff. It is peaceful. I would have to say, I cannot emphasize that enough. It's actually a very, very sort of almost carnival-like atmosphere. People are very, very happy and looking after each other. A far cry from 24 hours ago when we saw tear gas and pepper spray, which actually turned out to be a catalyst for so many more people coming down.

Hong Kongers weren't used to seeing the police respond in that clash and they are turning out in force to show the government that they don't want to be pushed around like that.

ROMANS: Scenes like this are not what the government in China want to see, Andrew. They want stability and they don't want to talk about more democracy, they don't want to talk about human rights or democratic rights for the people. It's simply not on the agenda for the government. So, what is the end game here for these students?

STEVENS: That's the question. How will this resolve itself? Is there a compromise? And students have been asking for the resignation of the local leader here, a man by the named of C.Y. Leung. He says adamantly he's not going to resign.

Beijing is keeping at arm's length. It says it keeps in support with the Hong Kong government and the way the Hong Kong government has been handling this. You are right. The last thing Beijing wants is to see big protest, big bloody protests on the streets of Hong Kong -- even though it should be pointed out and remind our audience, Hong Kong is a special case within China. There are so many rights that are enjoyed by Hong Kongers, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, which the mainland Chinese just don't have.

But as far as the compromise goes, it doesn't like it. It seems reading between the lines of what the government here has been saying, they are hoping this may actually just blow itself out in a few days. But four days into it now, give it another two or three days, people: (a), may start saying, enough is enough, they made their point and go home. And, (b), if there is a significant economic impact and the Hang Seng is down 6 percent over the past few days, if there's a big economic impact, that could also start turning other Hong Kongers, forcing a backlash against these protests, because they don't want to see their own economy, their own city suffering.

So, the government is hoping and playing along with that might happen. I think short-term, at least, expect to see more people join the protests here in Hong Kong, at least for the next two or three days.

ROMANS: We expect to see it. But people in China won't see it because it's being censored by the Chinese authorities.

Andrew Stevens, thank you so much for that, and we'll talk to you soon.

BERMAN: You do have to wonder if this day and age, if something will seep in at some point.

And a stunning development we have to tell you about -- the arrest of the man suspected of abducting Hannah Graham may have led to a break into another case. The 2009 killing of Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington. Virginia state police say forensic evidence belonging to Graham suspect Jesse Matthew Jr. matched forensic evidence collected during the Harrington investigation.

For Harrington parents, the news is a relief, but they say time is of the essence for Graham and her family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIL HARRINGTON, MORGAN HARRINGTON'S MOTHER: They've got plenty of time to sort it out and make sure that this is indeed the person who killed Morgan Harrington and who is responsible for the disappearance of Hannah Graham, which is really paramount. I mean, we know where Morgan is. Morgan is in a box over there. Hannah Graham is still missing. And her family needs to know where she is. We need to bring her home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: What a web this is turning out to be.

Hannah Graham's disappearance may unravel other mysteries. And according to local media, there are two other women besides Graham and Harrington graham who have disappeared from the same area since 2009.

ROMANS: A patient may have been exposed to the Ebola virus is being held at a Dallas hospital. The test results to confirm the diagnosis are expected to be back from the Centers for Disease Control some time today. Officials at Texas Health Presbyterian will say the patient was admitted on symptoms and recent travel history.

BERMAN: The Centers for Disease Control is still trying to get a handle on the nationwide outbreak of Enterovirus D68. This is the respiratory disease primarily affecting children, kids with asthma especially. Now, officials are looking at whether limb weakness and paralysis. And 10 children in Colorado would be connected to this. Doctors say MRI tests spotted an abnormality that could be caused of weakness primarily in their shoulders, triceps, biceps and hips.

ROMANS: Racing champ Tony Stewart breaking his silence seven weeks after hitting and killing another driver in a sprint car racing in Upstate New York. Stewart telling reporters he regrets participating in the race that night, while admitting he has watched the video of his car striking and killing Kevin Ward Jr. on YouTube.

Stewart sounding somber when discussing how the incident has haunted him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY STEWART, NASCAR RACER: I think about it every day. I wish I could say it was once a day, but it's not. I think about it a lot every day. That's the great thing about getting back in the car. It gives me time to forget about it for a minute and stop thinking about it. And then, you know, after you get done at the end of the day, you start thinking about it again. It's not something that goes away. And it will never go away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: A grand jury decided last week not to indict Stewart. He says the death of Kevin Ward caused him to think about retiring, but leaving the sport he loves would, quote, "take the life out of me".

BERMAN: More protests in front of the Ferguson police station overnight as crowds sang and chanted and shouted at officers.

Meanwhile, more details are emerging about the shooting of a Ferguson police officer Saturday night. An official telling CNN that the suspect in the case was pointing a gun at the officer who pushed it away. That's when the gun went off, hitting the officer in the arm. He was treated at the hospital and released.

The officer was wearing a body camera, officials say. But it was not on because the contact with the suspect happened unexpectedly.

ROMANS: All right. The head of the FAA ordering a 30-day review of safety and security at agency facilities after that fire that snarled air traffic in Chicago. That fire forced the cancellation of more than 3,500 flights.

And the ripple effect is still being felt. The emergency planned review will be coordinated with two workers union, the national air traffic control association and other aviation specialist. The FAA has said it expects the Chicago area center to be fully restored by October 13th.

BERMAN: Twenty minutes after the hour. ISIS releasing new video of a British journalist held hostage. We will break this down for you and tell you what it means. We are live in London, right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: A new video from ISIS out this morning, featuring hostage John Cantlie. Like the two earlier propaganda videos showing Cantlie, this one has the British journalist speaking directly to the camera, no guards are in view. Cantlie reads from a script apparently under duress, mocking President Obama's new strategy for defeating ISIS.

CNN's Atika Shubert is live in London with the latest on this video -- Atika.

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I mean, this is clearly a propaganda video that he has been forced to make. He's being held hostage.

But it's part of a series that he's put out. This is the third video. And in this particular one, he basically criticizes President Obama's 9/11 speech.

But again, the key here to remember is he is making this under duress. In fact, in the very first video that he released, it said, you know, you probably think I'm being held hostage with and doing this video with a gun to my head.

So, we have to take all of these videos, you know, understanding that this is ISIS propaganda.

Having said that, these are completely different from the execution beheading videos that we have seen in the past. So, it is a new way for ISIS to get its message out and, unfortunately, using another hostage.

ROMANS: And any sign or hint in the video there are more coming? There have been hints in the other two this is part of a series. SHUBERT: He has said it is part of a series. He hasn't said how long

it will go for. It's probably going to go on for as long as ISIS feels this is a useful way to get its message out. But, of course, now that air strikes are underway, it's hard to know how exactly ISIS is actually producing these videos.

ROMANS: All right. Atika Shubert for us in London this morning -- thank you, Atika.

BERMAN: Twenty-five minutes after the hour.

The Secret Service facing tough questions this morning as details of just how far that knife-wielding intruder made it into the White House before he was stopped. Here's a clue: very far. We'll tell you the whole story, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)