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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

ISIS Seizes Key Syrian Town; Rand Paul Protests the Patriot Act; David Letterman's Final Late Show. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired May 21, 2015 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:14] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The war against ISIS intensifies. Terrorist gaining new ground in Syria and new ISIS victories across the Middle East, leaving the president's war on terror questioned. Team coverage of our big story ahead.

Breaking overnight: Rand Paul protests the Patriot Act. The presidential candidate speaking for nearly 11 hours. He controlled the Senate floor for 11 hours. What he had to say.

And, the end of an era. David Letterman hosting his last late night show. His hilarious and heartwarming good-bye, ahead.

Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START this morning. It's so nice to see you all. I'm Christine Romans. John Berman is taking the morning off. It is Thursday, May 21st. It is 4:00 a.m. in the East.

Up first, ISIS on the rampage, seizing control of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra. It's the second critical conquest in five days for the terror group. Over the weekend, ISIS fighters capture the Iraqi city of Ramadi. Now, these two stunning victories forcing the government to reassess its anti-terror strategy. The focus now in Iraq, securing the province west of Baghdad.

I want to bring in CNN senior correspondent Arwa Damon live from Baghdad.

We're hearing so much this morning about the beauty and the history of this new conquest. The city that is newly conquested by ISIS. How important was it and what's happening?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Palmyra is, Christine, absolutely stunning.

Now, ISIS is saying that it has gained full control at this stage. The Syrian government saying that prior to the victory by ISIS, they managed to move out some of the artifacts that were actually moveable. But at the end of the day, you do have this stunning, sprawling city that is centuries old that, once stood as a key location on the crossroads for the trade routes that one from the Roman Empire to Persia, to India, to China, now on the crosshairs of ISIS, at the terrorist organization's mercy as to whether or not they will destroy it as they have other historical sites in Iraq.

Palmyra capture also significant and that it opens new routes for ISIS in Syria toward the strategic city of Homs and also towards the Syrian capital of Damascus. This coming just a few days after ISIS captured the capital of al Anbar province, Ramadi, here in Iraq.

This also a very significant victory. ISIS is bogging the Iraqi security forces down at this stage, at least those capable of standing up and fighting it in these back and forth, running battles, sporadic attacks as they try to prevent ISIS from pushing further east towards the capital Baghdad. The Iraqi government scrambling reinforcements or at least trying to the very different frontlines that exist in al Anbar province, calling for more recruits, saying that it's going to be arming the Sunni tribes.

The U.S. at this stage most certainly is going to be forced to try to reassess its so-called strategy when it comes to dealing with ISIS both in Iraq and Syria, because clearly at this stage, despite the initial victories when Iraq government was able to recapture Tikrit, ISIS is once again proven itself an entity that is very capable of reemerging even stronger than before, Christine.

ROMANS: Capable and in fact emerging stronger and taking two towns and -- in fact, two important towns in just five days. Thank you so much for that, Arwa Damon.

Republican leaders are laying the blame for the sudden rise of ISIS right at the feet of the president, President Obama. They claim his failed foreign policies making the world a more dangerous place. And they're even considering a plan to return U.S. ground troops to the Iraq battlefield. We have more a problem for the U.S. they are looking to bring troops to the battle field.

We have more on that from CNN senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Christine, President Obama meets with the president of Tunisia later today, a key ally in the Muslim world, just as the White House is coming under fire over a strategy for defeating ISIS. The ISIS is signaling it's open to some minor changes to its ISIS plan, but that's not enough for the president's critics who insist he is losing the battle against the terror group.

Republican Senator John McCain slammed the president for allowing ISIS to seize the key Iraqi city of Ramadi and laid into White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest for asking, quote, "are we go to light our hair on fire every time there is a setback?"

Preparation with the battle against ISIS as some GOP presidential candidates floating the idea of sending troops into combat into Iraq, something the ISIS has ruled out.

Potential GOP contender Jeb Bush who admittedly mishandled his own questions about his brother's record in Iraq is making the case Iraq was better off under his brother, President George W. Bush. Here's what he had to say. JEB BUSH (R), FORMER FLORIDA GOVERNOR: ISIS didn't exist when my

brother was president.

[04:05:02] Al Qaeda in Iraq was wiped out when my brother was president. There were mistakes made in Iraq for sure, but the surge created a fragile, but stable Iraq that the president could have built on.

ACOSTA: In his speech on climate change to coast guard graduates yesterday, the president steered clear of the debate on strategy. Instead arguing that global warming is a national security threat, contributing to the crisis in Syria, where ISIS took root. He will have a chance to answer some of his ISIS critics later today -- Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Jim Acosta at the White House for us this morning -- thanks, Jim.

Now, the most urgent threat posed by ISIS right now is its ability to recruit followers and fighters online. That assessment from FBI director James Comey. And Comey says ISIS is now waking up to the idea of using sophisticated malware to attack critical computer systems here in the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES COMEY, FBI DIRECTOR: The threat we faced has morphed. It's a chaotic spider web through social media, increasingly invisible to us because it's being -- the operational communications are happening in an encrypted channel. So, that consumes most of our days trying to -- I don't think it is an impossible task, but it is very, very hard. So, we spend a lot of time on it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Comey says the FBI is sending more agents and investigators around the world to gather evidence on terrorists and build criminal cases against them.

Just months before he was taken out in a Navy SEAL raid, Osama bin Laden wrote it might be time to move out of his compound. That letter is one of the many released documents recovered in the operation that killed the al Qaeda leader. A lot of interesting information found by those Navy SEALs.

CNN's Tom Foreman takes a closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine, this is a remarkable collection of documents. Reading through them, we got a much more full picture of this man who's been almost mythical here as an enemy of the United States. We do know from these documents that he actually sent people at one

point to Great Britain and to Europe and to Russia to carry out attacks specifically to try to hit American targets if possible. Numerous attacks failed. They simply didn't materialize. When he responded to the letters to others, he said it was simply that it was bad luck and God wasn't on our side.

Beyond that, though, he felt a great disdain for American targets out there. Throughout his letters, he pushes people to say, look, don't attack the security forces, the police forces where you are. Attack the American targets. He wanted to stay focused in that direction.

But he had a great deal of respect for, at least fear, of American power out there. At one point, one of his documents says, "These pig- eating invaders and their loyal dogs are too scared of death to fight us face-to-face. The main reason they continue to kill us is because we don't have the knowledge and resources to counter their technology."

By that he was talking about their ability, for example, to trace email, which he's afraid could easily be traced. Their ability to use drones. He cautioned to never move unless of a cloud cover overhead because the drones will spot you. And in many ways, he dealt with day-to-day struggles to keep his forces mobilized and fighting back as all of this pressure was put on him.

And you can see that in the documents. He was under pressure. His forces were under pressure in terms of transportation, communication, getting weapons to people and carrying out actions. And no doubt, that is one of the reasons why all those years after 9/11, he was unable to replicate that kind of really big attack. It shows up in these papers -- Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Tom Foreman, it's so interesting. Also in some of those papers, he was corresponding with other terrorists in Africa and in Yemen and saying, forget of all this about the Islamic State. We need to be attacking America and Americans at home. So interesting now the rise of the Islamic State with no Osama bin Laden.

Breaking overnight, Rand Paul ending a 10 1/2 hour filibuster on Senate floor just before midnight. The Republican presidential candidate voicing fierce opposition to the Patriot Act. He was the NSA's controversial phone surveillance operation, he wants it dismantled, and he is calling for the entire agency to be overhauled.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RAND PAUL (R), KENTUCKY: The vast majority of the American people think we have gone too far in the bulk collection of records. ACLU survey that we looked at a little bit earlier, between the ages of 19 and 39, over 80 percent of people in that age group think that we've gone too far and that we're not protecting privacy.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ROMANS: Ten other senators, including seven Democrats, joined Paul's filibuster. Insiders say any attempt by Republicans to pass a clean reauthorization of the Patriot Act will most likely fail.

Jeb Bush making it clear he is no longer running from his last name. The former Florida governor and likely presidential candidate campaigning in New Hampshire and embracing his lineage. In the past, he tried to distance himself from his father and his brother, insisting he is his own man.

[04:10:02] So, listen to Jeb Bush now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: I know you all know me as George and Barbara's boy. They have moved up the road. They came last week. So, they're now in their second home of Kennebunkport and you probably know that I'm George W.'s brother. And -- but I have a life journey of my own, one that sets me apart in some ways. I'm proud of my family. I love my mom and dad. I love my brother, and people are just going to have to get over that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Mentioning his family's deep roots in New Hampshire and, of course, also in Maine.

On the Democratic side, money worries for Hillary Clinton. The super PAC supporting her bid for the White House expects to raise only $15 million by the end of June. It's triggering a shakeup at the senior levels of Priorities USA Action. The super PAC intends to use the money for TV and Internet ads. Insiders say one of the reasons for the disappointing fundraising is Hillary Clinton's decision to hold off announcing candidacy until mid-April.

All right. Eleven minutes after the hour. Time for an early start on your money. U.S. stock futures lower. Stocks, though, very close to the record highs.

Yesterday, the market got a short lived bump from the Federal Reserve. The minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent meeting raised concerns about the effects of the strong dollar and low oil prices which could mean delaying an interest rate hike. But it wasn't enough for another record day.

Egg prices are climbing, actually soaring, thanks to the recent bird flu outbreak. You won't see higher prices at the grocery store just yet. But food companies are being forced to pay more for eggs, so much more food companies are asking restaurants to temporarily change their menus. An estimated 10 percent of the total egg supply has been affected. About 30 million egg laying birds were killed. Eventually, the price of mayonnaise, salad dressings and cake mixes could also spike.

After 33 years of late night and more than 6,000 show, David Letterman is officially retired. His final late show was an emotional affair with highlights and star-studded top ten list and no tears, just heartfelt appreciation from the host.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID LETTERMAN, TV HOST: I want to thank the folks at home. You know, people come up to me all the time and say, Dave, I have been watching you since your morning show. I always said, have you thought about a complete psychological workout? The people who watch this show, there's nothing I can do to ever repay you. Thank you for everything. You have given me everything. Thank you again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Of the last musical guest is the Foo Fighters. The final show ran long, but was not edited. "Ever Long", I think his favorite song, he says. Foo Fighters "Ever Long."

All right. End of an era.

Breaking overnight: police naming a suspect in the brutal killings of the Washington, D.C. family. Their bodies found in their burning mansion. Who police are looking for now and a possible motive for those murders, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:16:10] ROMANS: Breaking overnight: Washington, D.C. police identifying a suspect in last week's quadruple homicide and arson. Thirty-four-year-old Daron Dylon Wint is wanted in the first degree murder charges. The police believe there was one more than one assailant. There were four victims in this case: the wealthy couple, their 10-year-old son and family's housekeeper, they were found dead in that burning in that mansion.

Sources are telling CNN the victims were bound with duct tape. Investigators believe the killers were watching the family and erased security camera footage. A police source says they made off with $40,000.

Speed remains the focus of the in the deadly Amtrak train derailment in Philadelphia. The major question, why the throttle was pushed forward ahead of the crash that killed eight people. The NTSB also taking a closer look at the engineer's cell phone trying to determine if he was distracted in anyway.

We get more this morning from CNN's Rene Marsh.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION: Christine, from the very beginning, Philadelphia police were focused on excessive speed. Now, this source tells me they knew there were no problems with the tracks, the signals or the train. That was all based on inspection documents and maintenance checks the train and tracks had undergone before the derailment. So, in their minds, that can only mean two things: reckless behavior or intentional act. And both could justify criminal charges. But the NTSB is the lead investigator and it is not ready to rule out

other potential factors like train performance. So, they held off on the arrest.

Now, we should point out we know the NTSB has the train engineer's phone. They also have phone records. We do know that phone calls were made and text messages were sent on the day of the incident. What they have not nailed down is whether the calls and texts were sent while he was operating the train.

Now, investigators are now matching the timestamps from the engineer's cell phone records with multiple data sources like the train's recorder and outward facing video from the train, recorded radio communications, as well as surveillance video.

And lastly, we also learned Brandon Bostian was new to the New York to D.C. run. He'd only been on the route for two weeks, although he'd been running trains along the Northeast Corridor for three years, which sometimes included this stretch of track -- Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Rene, thank you. New details on that ongoing investigation.

Police in Waco, Texas, investigating a deadly shootout involving rival biker gangs. They say they found more than 300 weapons at the scene, including guns, assault knifes and an AK-47. Recovering all of that evidence took a lot of leg work.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SGT. PATRICK SWANTON, WACO POLICE DEPT.: They were hidden in the stools of the restaurant seating area. They were hidden in the kitchen. They were hidden in the bathrooms. We were -- quite honestly, we were amazed at the number of weapons we found.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Nine bikers were killed in the shootout. At least 170 people arrested. Each of those arrested bikers held on $1 million bail. Authorities say processing all of the suspects is a severely straining the court system in Waco.

Douglas Hughes, who landed his gyrocopter at the U.S. Capitol last month is now facing multiple felony charges. He will be arraigned in the federal court today following his indictment by a grand jury on a total six charges. He faces up to nine years. He piloted the gyrocopter through the capital's restricted airspace to draw attention to what he calls campaign finance abuses.

[04:20:03] A massive crude oil spill on the central California coastline prompting Governor Jerry Brown to declare a state of emergency. As much as 105,000 gallons of oil spilled, much of it into the Pacific when a pipeline ruptured. Environmental crews working feverishly to clean up and contain this nine-mile oil slick. CNN's Paul Vercammen got a first look at the damage.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here's what the grueling work of cleaning up an oil spill looks like. You can see here, the oil and tar mixed in with the seaweed. So, they literally rake together seaweed and tar and they put it in plastic bags. What also gets put into plastic bags anything else that the oil has covered.

If you look right there, those are palm tree fronds that have fallen off the trees and into the shore, more of these fronds over here. But this isn't just limited to where we're standing right now. If we go ahead and take almost a 180, you look off into the distance, there's another cluster of workers with the rakes and the plastic bags and the rest trying to clean up this misery, this black misery on the beach.

And look at the seaweed right here. It's just all mixed in and every time even another little small wave comes in, it seems that more of the tar balls and more of the oil comes washing ashore. And so, they go ahead and they pick up another pile of seaweed interspersed with tar and put it in the plastic bag. And they're going to have to clean this beach up handful by handful.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Paul Vercammen -- what a mess, and what a beautiful stretch of the coast there.

Supermodel Janice Dickinson suing Bill Cosby. Why she says she will beat the embattled comedian in court, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:25:32] ROMANS: Bill Cosby is now being sued for defamation by one of the women who's accused the comedian of sexual assault. Janice Dickinson claims Cosby hurt her professionally and personally by publicly calling her liar. He says the story in her book contradicts her rape claim.

Dickinson says she told her writer and publisher about the rape, but they changed the story so they would not have an issue with lawyers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANICE DICKINSON, SUPERMODEL: I told her and Pablo. Pablo came back at me and said, well, I took poetic license to write what I could get away with, and Judith said at the time, this will never get past their attorneys. I did say this to her. We have sworn statements.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: More than 20 women have accused Bill Cosby of sexual misconduct. He denies any wrongdoing.

Breaking overnight: Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul speaking on the Senate floor for nearly 11 hours, 11 hours. Protesting the Patriot Act. His late night filibuster and what he had to say, ahead.

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