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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Egypt Strikes Back; Terror in Copenhagen; Northeast Snow & Arctic Cold

Aired February 16, 2015 - 04:00   ET

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

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight: Egypt launching air strikes against ISIS after the terror group beheaded Egyptian Christians in a barbaric new video. Egypt's president has vowed to avenge their murders. Is this only the beginning?

Terror in Copenhagen. What caused a man to go on a shooting spree in Denmark, in what is being called that country's worse case terrorism in decades? A look at what authorities are learning this morning, ahead.

Bundle up. A deep freeze slamming the U.S. More snow bearing the Northeast. Is there any relief from this brutal winter in sight?

Good morning. And welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans. John Berman has the morning off.

It is Monday. It is February 16th, 4:00 a.m. exactly in the East.

Let's begin with this breaking news overnight: Egypt launching airstrikes against ISIS targets in Libya following the release of a video. This video appears to show the mass beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians -- Christians who were kidnapped in Libya. Egypt's president had vowed to avenge those murders.

Could Egypt have more military plans against ISIS in the works?

CNN's Ian Lee is live for us in Cairo this morning.

And, Ian, the world is waking up in horror to this new video, this new act of violence. And simply barbaric act from ISIS. These men, these Christians were killed because of their religion.

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. When they were kidnapped in December and January, ISIS militants took them from buses, took them from where they were living. They left the Muslim companions there and just took the Christians, they held them, and then, yesterday, they released the gruesome video of them being taken out on the beach in Libya, a militant giving the speech before being beheaded. The production quality of this video is similar to what we have seen in Iraq and Syria, showing that there is communication between the two groups.

In the speech that this militant gave, he gave warnings to the Christian community here in Egypt, to the Egyptian governments and as well as European Union. Now, President Sisi said he reserved the right to strike, to retaliate in the ways he said earlier this morning under the cover of darkness, F-16s took off from bases, striking warehouses and weapons depots, according to the military. Local reports on the ground say that was in the city of Derna, a city that is in the control of ISIS that has long been -- has a history of militant activity, sending fighters to Iraq and Syria.

But this video shows that ISIS now has a very strong presence in Libya -- Christine.

ROMANS: A strong presence in Libya. Ian Lee, thank you for that this morning. The White House condemning the beheadings of those Egyptians. In the statement, the White House says, quote, "This one time killing of innocents is just the most recent vicious acts perpetrated by ISIL-affiliated terrorists against the people of the region, which only further galvanizes the international community to unite against ISIL."

Now to Denmark this morning where police are investigating the attacks that killed two people in Copenhagen over the weekend. The first attack at a free speech forum, the other attack hours later, at a synagogue. The gunman was killed in a shootout with police on Sunday. We are learning more about the shooter who officials say was well known to Danish police. And this morning, they have arrested two alleged accomplices.

Let's bring in CNN's Karl Penhaul, live in Copenhagen with details.

The suspect killed by police, well known to Danish officials not for terrorism ties, because he was a convicted criminal.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Christine.

Now, I just want to locate you where we are in Copenhagen. This is the cafe that mid-afternoon Saturday turned to mayhem. The shooter showed up on the scene as the free speech forum was going ahead and sprayed the front of that coffee shop with bullets. We found 24 bullet holes in the windows there. That is still a crime scene. The area is still on lockdown because the investigation is still ongoing.

Now, overnight, police said the gunman is 22 years old. That was the age of the gunman who was killed yesterday morning. They say that he is Danish born, but of Arab origin. As you rightly say, well on the police radar, well known to police, because he had a background of violence.

He was recently released from prison because he stabbed a fellow commuter on a commuter train. He was also known by police because of weapons charges. He was affiliated, one of the Muslim gangs who roamed Copenhagen street, but they say that he had no known connection with any Islamic extremist groups and certainly no knowledge he traveled to Syria or Iraq to fight with the factions there.

Another piece of news we're getting in just the last few minutes, police say they have now charged two men they arrested yesterday. They are charging them with being accomplices in this crime, supplying the weapon, some of the automatic weapons to the gunman and also helping him hide him after the fact. Their defense lawyer however says they are only being charged with planning to help him, but he says his clients were innocent. That investigation, of course, is ongoing -- Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Karl Penhaul for us this morning in Copenhagen, thank you for that, Karl.

The French government condemning the desecration of hundreds of Jewish graves at cemetery in Eastern France. Those grave stones were defaced with swastikas and Nazi slogans. France's prime minister says every effort will be made to catch perpetrators of what he called a noble and anti-Semitic act, and an insult to memory.

Meantime, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling for a mass immigration from Europe to Israel. His comments followed the fatal shooting of the Jewish guard at that Copenhagen synagogue. They echoed similar remarks he made last month, inviting France's Jews to move to Israel after the attack on the kosher supermarket in Paris. Netanyahu's message to European Jews: Israel is your home.

The Northeast meets the North Pole: again, millions -- millions facing arctic cold again, with wind chills as low as 20 degrees below zero in places. Dangerous cold stretching from Michigan to Maine and into the Southern United States. It comes as the northeast digs out from the season's fourth major snowstorm. Parts of New England saw more than 2 feet fall.

Boston dealing with another 16 inches of snow. The city had its snowiest month on record, 45.5 inches. Wow.

CNN's Will Ripley has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine, right now, we are turning on to I-95 north. We are about 35 miles outside of Boston. And we have been checking out the activities of road crews which have stayed out, throughout the overnight and early morning hours, including this plow here, just making sure that the roads are clear of any blowing snow and also trying to make sure that the roads are free of ice, particularly black ice, which as you know, can be very dangerous.

A lot of drivers are getting back out on these roads, even though it is President's Day and schools and government offices are closed. The fear of first responders and police is that they will be overconfident and they will assume that these roads, because they are dark, that they are safe. But perhaps black ice could be hidden along here, which could cause cars to slide out of control.

It's what we saw on I-95 southbound near Boston yesterday when there was a huge pile up. We're talking more than 20 vehicles involved. Thankfully, only minor injuries. But again, just another example of a danger even after this storm has passed. Now, another thing that we are watching closely in this region is the

heavy snow accumulated on rooftops. We saw several roof collapses throughout this region yesterday. Two in New Hampshire, one a strip mall, the other an apartment complex where 30 families were displaced.

There's also a roof collapse, at least one reported in the Boston area. And as this snow sits on these roofs, especially of the businesses that may have been empty over the weekend, people are going back in the businesses on Monday morning. If the roof gives way and there are people inside, obviously, that is a very dangerous situation.

We continue to watch things both out on the roads and throughout this region and like police, as well as they try to monitor the conditions and make sure that everyone stays safe -- Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Will Ripley, thanks for that. You stay safe, Will. A lot of snow and ice on the roads.

Now, to the Deep South where it's bracing for a deep freeze, too.

Let's get to meteorologist Pedram Javaheri for an early look at your weather this morning.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Christine.

Yes, absolutely, the south starting to feel winter -- at least wintry conditions from Kansas City towards Nashville, significant snow accumulations, possible, where more than 60 million people in this region under a winter weather advisory or winter weather warning. And take a look, the mix of wintry mess that is coming down across areas east of Oklahoma City. Really, the I-40 corridor is the most dangerous roadway across the country today, mainly across Little Rock, where ice accumulation a probability today, significant ice accumulations. North of that line, working your way through the I-70 and St. Louis region, significant snowfall across the area.

But talking about ice, anytime you get from .25 to .50 inch, tree limbs can come down. You exceed a half an inch, widespread damage to power lines occur across the area. And look at the color contours in Little Rock. This is half an inch, the three-quarters of an inch. That's an area of very dangerous conditions, and it stretches all the way east south of Nashville, eventually pushes in towards Charlotte with smaller accumulations of ice.

But here's the culprit. It brings in some snow showers across the Deep South, eventually pushes up the Eastern Seaboard by Tuesday morning. Guess what, Christine, more wintry weather is possible this time from Washington, Baltimore and Philly and then New York, and maybe even Boston by the middle portion of the week there. So, we'll follow this throughout the week.

ROMANS: Boston again by the middle of the week. All right. Breaking news overnight: at Dulles airport outside

Washington, D.C., arrivals and departures slow down after a pipe burst inside the control tower. Workers had to evacuate and for a brief period no planes were leaving. The tower has reopened. Officials say they are working to restore full operations. It's not clear yet why the pipe burst.

And transportation officials in Hawaii say seven people were hurt when turbulence hit a United Airlines flight from Newark to Honolulu. Most of the people hurt were members the crew. A teenage passenger was also taken to the hospital with a head injury, we're told. This happened Saturday when parts of Hawaii were under a high wind warning.

The FAA laying out its proposed new rules for the commercial use of drones. Operators will have to pass a knowledge test and background check, but they would not need a pilot's license. The guidelines are designed to cover small drones, less than 55 pounds use for business purposes. Meantime, the White House says federal agencies will be required for the first time to publicly disclose where they fly drones and what they do with the data collected from aerial surveillance.

Eleven minutes past the hour. Time for an early start on your money.

The stock market is closed today for the President's Day holiday. But the S&P 500 at a record high after Friday's rally. Look at that, the Dow back above 18,000. It could be the largest bank highs ever.

Look at this -- hackers stole approximately $1 billion -- $1 billion, stolen from banks. This is according to Internet security firm Kaspersky. The breach covers more than 100 banks in 25 countries, including here in the U.S.

Now, the firm isn't naming the banks that had been hit. Kaspersky says the attacks are active. They remain active.

Here's how they're doing it -- hackers install spying software. They learn how to mimic bank employee work flows. They waited months watching how the bank operates, how it moves money. And they use that information to make transfers into their bank accounts.

They are also taking millions in cash out of ATMs. The firm says the thieves are from Russia, China, Ukraine and elsewhere in Europe. It would be the largest bank heist ever, $1 billion.

All right. The world watching Ukraine this morning to see if a tenuous cease-fire will hold, amid reports of violence. If it falls apart, what happens next?

And "Saturday Night Live" celebrates the big 4-0, from famous faces to favorite sketches, we're going to take a look at all of the highlights. Plus, how did the show handle the Brian Williams scandal?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Good morning. Welcome back. It might be the first crack in the fragile Ukraine cease-fire.

Reports of battles between Ukrainian security forces and the pro- Russian separatists after the ceasefire went into effect at midnight Sunday.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen is live for us this morning in Ukraine.

Fred, what's the latest?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Christine. Well, certainly, it has become quiet where we are here in the town of Mariupol, which is sort of on the southern end of the frontline. However, as you say, the cease-fire is tenuous, and it feels as though right now is a very decisive time for the ceasefire, were to go either way, either it might hold, or it could totally fall apart.

As you said around this area, near Mariupol, there is fighting going on between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian military. The Ukrainian army told us that yesterday alone, its forces lost five men in the battle. They also say that pro-Russian separatists are amassing forces on the other side of the frontline, which, of course, goes totally against what's supposed to be happening.

This is the first day where heavy weapons are supposed to be removed from all the areas around the frontline. That clearly has not happened yet. I spoken to the Ukrainian military, and they say they're not going to start pulling back their heavy weapons until the cease-fire holds in the entire area where we are right here.

There's another town north of us called Debaltseve. But the situation appears to be even worse, where there is artillery fire is going on. Both sides there are blaming each other for that and are calling this a violation of the cease-fire. The Ukrainians for their part are saying that there have been over 100 violations of the cease-fire.

However, by and large, they also say that there has been a major decrease in fighting and they do hope that the cease-fire might in fact hold for an extended period of time, Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Fred Pleitgen for us this morning -- thank you for that, Fred.

The United Nations Security Council meeting an emergency session on the crisis in Yemen, giving unanimous approval to a resolution demanding that Houthi rebels relinquish control of Yemen's control of Yemen's government and engage in U.N.-led peace talks. The resolution also demands that Houthis release Yemen's deposed president and his cabinet from house arrest. Meantime, the Turkish and Japanese embassies have closed and moved out staffers from the country after the U.S., British and French embassies did the same last week.

"60 Minutes" broadcast Bob Simon's final report last night. The veteran journalist had just finished a story about an Ebola treatment before he was killed last week in a car crash in New York last week. Simon's colleagues paid tribute to him on the show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT PELLEY, CBS NEWS: We begin tonight with the story by Bob Simon, our colleague and friend whom we lost this past Wednesday in a tragic car accident. In a 47-year career reporting from every corner of the globe, Bob set the standard for CBS News.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Simon's daughter Tanya produced his story. Next week, "60 Minutes" will devote its entire show to Simon and his nearly 50-year award winning journalism career.

Nineteen minutes past the hour.

There's no end in sight for the standoff over Homeland Security funding. But John Boehner says he is not to blame. Find out who he says is at fault if the money runs out and why he won't rule out the possibility of a shutdown.

And "Saturday Night Live" marks its 40th anniversary with a bang. Who is locking lips with Betty White, one of the most talked about moments of the show?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: One of the country's largest and most critical government agencies could be forced to shutdown at the end of the month. That's because of the House Speaker John Boehner is prepared to allow funding for the Department of Homeland Security to lapse.

Listen to what he said on "FOX News Sunday".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS: And what if the Department of Homeland Security funding runs out?

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Well, then, Senate Democrats should be to blame. Very simple.

WALLACE: And you're prepared to let that happen.

BOEHNER: Certainly. The House has acted. We've done our job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The House has passed legislation extending funding for the Department of Homeland Security. However, it is tied to a bill blocking the executive action on immigration. Something Democrats are not on board with.

All right. On a lighter note, "Saturday Night Live" stars past and present gathering to mark the sketch comedy's 40-year anniversary and the special got started with a dynamic comedy duo, Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake, reminiscing rap (ph).

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY FALLON & JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE (rapping): We are. We are. We are two wild and crazy guys and the samurai.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: As always, the show had topical jokes, including Jerry Seinfeld taking swipe at the "NBC Nightly News" scandal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JERRY SEINFELD: I just found out one of the original cast members of 1975 was Brian Williams. I didn't -- I don't know if that's true, but I never heard that. It doesn't sound true. It might not -- it might not be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: There were so many A-listers and so many buzz-worthy moments, including this passionate kiss with Betty White and Bradley Cooper during a Californian skit. Look at that. And the special resurrected its version of "Jeopardy" featuring Will Ferrell and a dig at Bill Cosby.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILL FERRELL: Let's hear what this celebrity has to say about his favorite cocktail.

(INAUDIBLE)

FERRELL: Oh, dear God, no. no, no, no, no. Oh, dear god, no. I'm very sorry, we filmed that in June.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: SNL would not be complete without music, of course. Paul Simon, Paul McCartney, Miley Cyrus, Kanye West all performed.

All right. Twenty-five minutes past the hour.

This is the winter that just will not quit. Freezing temperatures, blizzard warnings are in the forecast again. I'm going to let you know if there's any warm up.

And our top story this morning, Egypt launching air strikes against ISIS, after ISIS killed Christians in a horrific new video. Will this inspire more countries to join the fight against the terror group?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)