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New Day Saturday

Cuban and American Searching at Sea for American Airplane; What Pilots Should Do If There Is Lack of Oxygen; Kurdish Troops Regaining Territory with Support of American Aviation; Hawaiian Kilauea Can Erupt on Populated Areas; Defense Attorney's Analysis of Justin Harris' Case; Ali Kadhim Survived ISIS Massacre To Tell His Story; Joan Rivers Joking About plastic surgery.

Aired September 06, 2014 - 06:00   ET

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

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Well, good morning. I know the morning time is all so early, and I'm thinking 6:00 a.m. If you're on the West Coast, you're a night owl.

MARTIN SAVDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Right. This is the middle of the night.

PAUL: I know. I know. I'm Christi Paul. And --

SAVIDGE: I'm Martin Savidge. I'm in for Victor Blackwell. It is as Christi said 6:00 in the morning. And this is "NEW DAY SATURDAY." Great to be with you. Great to be with you as well.

PAUL: So good to have you here.

SAVIDGE: Thank you very much.

PAUL: Of course, of course.

SAVIDGE: All right. Let's get going. And we're going to begin, unfortunately, with what is sad news. A search at sea. It's under way right now for a single engine aircraft that was lost in the Caribbean. After its pilot stopped responding to air traffic controllers.

PAUL: Efforts to contact the small plane for more than four hours Friday really turned into an international incident at the end of the day. U.S. fighter jets were dispatched. Cuba granting rare permission for U.S. military aircraft to enter its air space.

SAVIDGE: Our aviation and government regulation correspondent Rene Marsh has the very latest. Good morning, Rene.

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christi and Martin, a plane flying with a pilot apparently unconscious. While the pilot did not declare an emergency, radio transmissions reveal the pilot was in trouble just about an hour and a half after takeoff.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARSH: A search mission under way right now for this small plane after it crashed 14 miles off the coast of Jamaica. It took off from Rochester, New York, bound for Naples, Florida. Onboard, Larry Glazer and his wife Jane. Over North Carolina, the pilot told air traffic control there was a problem. But did not declare an emergency. He was cleared to descend to 25,000 feet, but asked to go lower.

PILOT: We need to descend down to about 180. We have an indication that is not correct in the plane. We need to get lower.

CONTROLLER: Standby.

Descend and - level 250.

PILOT: 250? We need to get lower, 900 (INAUDIBLE)

CONTROLLER: (INAUDIBLE)

MARSH: About an hour and 15 minutes after takeoff, the pilot stopped responding to radio calls. U.S. military F-15s tracked it along the East Coast of Florida. One fighter pilot looked through the window.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can see his chest rising and falling. Right before I left was the first time we could see that he was actually breathing.

MARSH: The pilot was slummed over, and the plane's window's frosted, both are signs the pressure may have escaped, leaving the pilot without enough oxygen to stay conscious. The aircraft flew over the Bahamas and south to Cuba, where a Cuban fighter jet took over the pursuit. Four and a half hours after takeoff, the plane crashed near Port Antonio, Jamaica.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARSH: Well, if this pilot suffered from hypoxia, and was unconscious as the plane continued to fly, that type of incident is rare, but not unheard of. A similar situation last weekend where the FAA lost contact with a private plane. It flew into restricted air space over Washington, D.C. The pilot was unresponsive to radio calls from air traffic control. Eventually that plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, and then there's the Payne Stewart incident in 1999 in which the famous golfer and five others were killed when that plane crashed near Aberdeen, South Dakota. In that case, the plane traveled about 1,500 miles, most of it while the pilot, co-pilot and passengers apparently were unconscious or dead. Christi? Martin?

PAUL: Rene Marsh, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

Let's talk to Retired Lieutenant Colonel Rob Waldman, Waldo, I guess he likes to be called. This is so good to have you with us.

LT. COL. ROB "WALDO" WALDMAN (RET.): Good to be here.

PAUL: Former Air Force fighter pilot as well.

SAVIDGE: And Colonel Waldman, let's talk about this oxygen deprivation or hypoxia, I think is what it's referred to. How common is this problem?

WALDMAN: It isn't very common, but we definitely train about it in the military. Civilian authorities, not as much. Airline pilots are very, very familiar with it. And the key is to recognize it early. The symptoms are insidious, so you don't know that you have it. And by the time it takes over, you may not be able to aviate that aircraft and could potentially crash, which is what happened here.

PAUL: That's what you say. When I asked about what happened here, I think what was interesting, when you listen to the transmissions, one, he did not declare an emergency. He seemed to be very calm. And saying, and this was interesting, we need to descend around 18,000 feet. We have an indication that's not correct in the plane. There was nothing specific about that. Do you think at that point he was already feeling some of the gradual effects?

WALDMAN: Absolutely. Now, there's a gauge in the cockpit that shows pressure altitude. And if that's wrong, you know something's up. So the key is to descend immediately, then don your oxygen mask, if you thought that there was a problem. If you delay, by the time the hypoxia happens, it could be too late. Descend immediately, don your oxygen mask and then declare an emergency. The key is to aviate, navigate, then communicate. And if air traffic controllers are not giving you the altitude you need, you need to take action, they'll clear everybody out of the way if necessary.

SAVIDGE: Let me ask you this. We talk about how insidious this is. In other words, it can creep up on you. Is there not an alarm inside the cockpit that somehow would be sampling the air and saying wait a minute, there's a problem, and alarm bells go off?

WALDMAN: Some have, some don't. Some have indications, red lights, caution lights. Now, there were two pilots in the aircraft. Obviously, the glaze was with both pilots. I believe the wife was not officially certified at the time. But especially when you're flying with a crew, make sure that you're aware of the possible symptoms. Have somebody take over as well if necessary. The key is to get down and take action very, very quickly.

PAUL: Now, as I understand it, this was a new plane for this pilot. Would that have made a difference? Perhaps they were second-guessing themselves.

WALDMAN: It happens, no matter how much experience you have as a pilot, you train for any typical malfunctions. New aircraft could break and something could happen. I think in this case, by the time they realized something happened, it was too late. The key is to make sure that you recognize the symptoms, and I think it's a wakeup call to civilian pilots to say look, maybe we need to go through altitude training, maybe we need to re-brief this so that these incidents don't happen again.

PAUL: The other transmission of the jet that was following them and said, you know, I can see him and he's slumped over.

SAVIDGE: See them breathing, too. PAUL: He saw him breathing, right. I mean as a pilot in that regard,

what do you do when you know you've got a flight -- I mean, there's no way to control it at that point. It's just fate as to where it's going to go down?

WALDMAN: Sure. And then when it runs out of fuel, which it did in this case, it will obviously descend. Sometimes, if you're lucky, he may be able to wake up. But in this case, it didn't happen. Or perhaps it did. You just never know. It was doomed from the start. The key is you've got to take action early. And I think it's a testament to the military and to our FAA as well to scramble the jets. Obviously, you know, in light of the situation today, we need to monitor the borders. But retool yourself. Get the training. Recognize the symptoms, take action immediately. You are the ultimate commander of that aircraft.

SAVIDGE: Colonel Waldman, thank you very much for joining us. We should mention that he is author of the book "Never Fly Solo." Thank you very much for coming in this morning.

PAUL: Thank you so much, sir.

WALDMAN: Special to be here.

PAUL: Appreciate you being here.

SAVIDGE: And there was a charter plane that was carrying 100 American military contractors, it's now in Dubai, but that's after it was forced to land in Iran.

PAUL: Yeah, there was a lot of confusion about this yesterday. The fly Dubai charter plane was headed from Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan to Dubai yesterday when Iranian officials ordered it to land or threatened it would be intercepted. We're talking about 140 passengers who were onboard.

SAVIDGE: Teheran told the pilots that the flight plan was outdated. That plane was kept on the ground in southern Iran for a few hours. It was inspected and then it was allowed to fly into where it was headed.

PAUL: Well, combating ISIS. This might look like an ISIS recruitment video, but it is far from it. The U.S. hoping these graphic, brutal images will actually deter those who are even thinking about joining the terror group.

SAVIDGE: And then there's this. A New York City outpatient clinic now under investigation after the death of comic legend Joan Rivers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: Welcome back to "NEW DAY." It is 6:11. As I look at the clock, we want to get you caught up on some of the stories that are making news this hour.

PAUL: Yeah, and we've been watching this one so closely. First, the outpatient clinic where the late Joan Rivers suffered fatal complications from an elective surgery is now being investigated by the New York State Health Department. Now, officials are looking for signs of malpractice by the doctors or the staff there, but remember Rivers died Thursday, a week after suffering cardiac arrest during what was supposed to be a minor elective procedure. The funeral for the 81-year-old comedienne is tomorrow in Manhattan.

SAVIDGE: And a third American who was infected with Ebola in Africa now being cared for in Nebraska. Dr. Rick Sacra was delivering babies in the hospital in Liberia when he became exposed to the virus. How that happened, still unclear. Doctors treating him say that they are exploring the experimental options.

PAUL: A cease-fire in eastern Ukraine appears to be holding. Ukraine's government and pro-Russia rebels - rebel leaders, I should say, signed a deal yesterday. Now, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says the ceasefire is based on a peace plan that he hashed out and a phone call he had with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

SAVIDGE: As the Obama administration hammers out a strategy to "Degrade and Destroy ISIS," the U.S. State Department is sending a stern message to wannabe terrorists, think again, turn away.

PAUL: That's the title of a graphic U.S. Web campaign that mocks the terrorist group's own recruiting videos. It's all part of a strategy to fight back against ISIS's aggressive recruiting efforts.

SAVIDGE: This all comes, of course, as NATO says that it's building an anti-ISIS coalition made up of ten nations. Yesterday, members agreed to form a spearhead force. That's what they called it. That could potentially provide training, weapons, and support to Iraqi forces.

PAUL: Well, President Obama promises to degrade and destroy ISIS capabilities, there's one thing he says the U.S. will not do.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We will not be placing U.S. ground troops to try to control the areas that are part of the conflict inside of Syria. I don't think that's necessary for us to accomplish our goal. We are going to have to find effective partners on the ground to push back against ISIL.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: And Kurdish troops in the Mosul province of Iraq are making some substantial gains against ISIS, retaking several villages that had previously been seized by the terror group.

SAVIDGE: CNN was the only network that was allowed on the front lines this week with the Peshmerga team forces actually as they carried out an all-night military operation. CNN's Anna Coren has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: COREN: On a dirt road less than an hour from Kurdistan's capital, a long convoy of Peshmerga head towards enemy territory. They are gearing up from major mission to eradicate ISIS across a 30 kilometer front.

Well, it is 4:30 a.m. And these soldiers have been up all night preparing for the attack. We've been hearing the jets overhead. They have been circling for the last few hours getting ready to strike those ISIS positions.

At dawn the offensive begins. A barrage of heavy weapons raining down on ISIS from multiple positions. And these heavy plumes of smoke, the result of U.S. airstrikes. The Islamic extremists seized control of this area and the strategic Mount Zataq (ph) back in June after its lightning advance across northern Iraq. On the other side of the mountain are the planes that run directly to the heart of Mosul, Iraq's second largest city and ISIS stronghold.

These mortar and artillery strikes have been pummeling the five villages at the base of the mountain. U.S. airstrikes have also been hitting the top of the mountain. According to the Peshmerga they have killed a number of militants.

Leading the assault, Iraq's deputy Prime Minister Dr. Rowsch Shaways, normally based in Baghdad this proud Kurd knows his men need him now more than ever.

ROWSCH SHAWAYS, IRAQI DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: This is a duty of everybody with this democracy and freedom and human rights to struggle against the terrorists, especially against DAESH.

COREN: But while the Kurds are looking to create a bigger buffer around their capital they're also positioning themselves for when they could take part in a move on Mosul. We are then taken to one of the villages reclaimed in recent weeks, now less than two kilometers from the fighting.

Well, this is what the fight against ISIS looks like. The Peshmerga or Iraqi Forces taking village after village with the help of U.S. airstrikes. This is the model for a coordinated campaign to achieve President Obama's objective, degrade and destroy ISIS.

A hard and bloody task according to these soldiers.

AZIZ, PESHMERGA SOLDIER: Yeah, they have a good sniper and you have to be very careful. Then if no, they get you and they shoot you. You have to be very careful.

COREN: But during this assault it was the Peshmerga who only sustained a few injuries. The commander boasting that more than two dozen ISIS fighters were killed, while a number were captured. A victory they know won't always be easy in the days ahead. (END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: Anna Coren joining us live now from Mosul, Iraq. Anna, is this the new model, do you think, what we're seeing? COREN: Yeah, look, definitely, Christi. I think obviously it's the

Kurds working with the U.S. To really pummel ISIS positions. Obviously, the Iraqis will also need to be involved especially if they are going to go after the stronghold of Mosul, which as we say, is Iraq's second-largest city. This was seized back in June by ISIS, and that is really where the militants are based. It's where they're arming, where they're consolidating, where they're regrouping to launch these attacks. We are not seeing ISIS retreat completely to that major city of more than 1.5 million people. They are still digging in in those villages.

Obviously the next stage of this operation will be going after the townships on the other side of the mountain. Many of them Christian villages, and we're hearing from Peshmerga that they are obviously wanting the Kurdish forces to get down there, get into those villages and liberate them from ISIS rule. People are fed up, they are sick of the brutality of ISIS and they are wanting certainly for the Kurds to come in and save them. Christi.

SAVIDGE: Anna Coren, boy, that was great reporting - thank you very much. We look forward to talking to you again next hour.

PAUL: Boy, this is one heck of a story, isn't it? This guy that survived the unthinkable. A massacre at the hands of ISIS that left hundreds dead. He escaped and is sharing his story now. How one man survived what he says were three days of hell?

SAVIDGE: And then, there is this story. A volcano in Hawaii. It's rumbling and it's spewing lava. We'll tell you why people in the area need to get out of the way in a hurry.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: Well, smoke, flames, and lava and lots of it pouring out now from Kilauea, that's a volcano in Hawaii. And it's threatened to cut off the big island from the beach community.

PAUL: This thing, as I understand it, it erupts normally. That's not what's unusual. But we're told the lava could reach homes this time within five to seven days, and that's what is part of the urgency here. Meteorologist Jennifer Gray with us now. So, how threatening is this?

JENNIFER GRAY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, you know, tis like you said, this has been active since 1983 --

PAUL: Right.

GRAY: -- and so the problem with this is a new vent has popped up, and so normally, the lava is flowing to the south. It goes right into the ocean, no big deal. But now with this new vent, the lava is flowing in a more northeast direction, and so it is threatening some homes there. We have about a dozen homes that it is going to possibly impact. This lava is moving very, very slowly. About 850 feet per day. And so it could reach these homes in the next five to seven days. No evacuations have been ordered yet. But folks have been told get your things together, and be ready, because evacuations could be ordered any time soon. So the main threat is going to be that this lava, guys, crosses this main road leading into these homes. People won't have a way in, a way out. And so, you know, and obviously their homes, there's a lot of cattle right there and their livestock, some farming areas.

SAVIDGE: Yeah, they'll need a lot of time to get out. Although, you know, a warning like this, it's good to see you can actually put it on the calendar.

GRAY: That's true.

SAVIDGE: Usually people tell you, you know, get out right away.

GRAY: Right away, yeah, like we see in California with the wildfires. At least they have a little time to prepare.

PAUL: Little time to concern, yeah, already. Hey, Jen, thank you so much. She's going to tell us about the weather too coming up in just a little bit.

Prosecutors say he left his 22-month-old son to die in a sweltering SUV. I mean, we just cannot wrap our brains around this, can we?

SAVIDGE: This is a very difficult story. Now a Georgia man who's been indicted, you probably know that, and it's possible he could face the death penalty if he's convicted. We'll tell you what makes this case so unusual.

PAUL: And you know what, that natural attention for filibustering a Texas abortion law, now State Senator Wendy Davis is opening up about a very private matter.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Hope you have a leisurely morning ahead of you here. It is 28 minutes past the hour, in case you even care on a Saturday morning. I'm Christi Paul.

SAVIDGE: I'm Martin Savidge. And it is time for the five things that you need to know to begin your new day, so here we go, number one. Searchers have been scouring the Caribbean waters this morning for signs of the small plane. The crash after its pilot self-responded air traffic controllers. Pilots of the U.S. fighter jets that were scrambled to track that aircraft said that they saw the wayward pilot slumped over and the windows appeared to be frosted, both signs of possible oxygen deprivation.

PAUL: Number two, an airplane carrying military contractors including 100 Americans is now in Dubai after a forced landing in Iran. Now, the fly Dubai charter was headed from Afghanistan to the United Arab Emirates when Iran told the pilots, land or be intercepted. Teheran said the plane's flight plan was out-of-date. Fly Dubai filed a new flight plan and Iran then allowed the plane to leave.

SAVIDGE: Number three, Texas State Senator Wendy Davis reveals that she terminated two pregnancies for medical reasons. That's in an upcoming memoir. The Democratic nominee for Texas governor says that she had an abortion in 1996 after doctors told her the baby would be deaf, blind, and in a permanent vegetative state. She says she terminated another pregnancy in 1994 because the embryo had implanted outside the uterus.

PAUL: Number four, a severe thunderstorm has slammed into the Midwest. Strong winds ripped out trees. Thousands of people didn't have power, including at least 110,000 in the Chicago area. Officials are telling folks, stay at least 20 feet away from those downed power lines. They are dangerous.

SAVIDGE: Remember this, I told you about this story, this is number five, right?

PAUL: Yeah. Yeah.

SAVIDGE: I warn everybody, I am not a tennis aficionado.

(LAUGHTER)

SAVIDGE: So here we go. Number five, Serena Williams continues crushing her competition. The top-ranked female player in the world earned her spot in the U.S. Open finals yesterday after trouncing Ekaterina Makarova in the semis. Tomorrow, Williams faces her good friend Caroline Wozniacki --

PAUL: Yes!

SAVIDGE: in the finals.

PAUL: Look at you.

SAVIDGE: Thank you. I got past that.

PAUL: Very nice.

SAVIDGE: Moving on now. A Georgia father accused of leaving his 22- month-old son to die in a hot car has now been indicted. Justin Ross Harris has been indicted on eight counts in the death of Cooper Harris.

PAUL: Those charges include malice murder, which could carry the death penalty if they choose to bring that, and two counts of felony murder. Now, the other five charges include first-degree cruelty to children, second-degree cruelty to children, and an unusual charge of sexual exploitation of a minor.

SAVIDGE: OK. So, let's bring in a defense attorney Page Pate. Good morning to you.

PAGE PATE, ATTORNEY: Good morning.

SAVIDGE: Let's talk about this - in fact, one of the things that is on here, the sexting charge. It's unusual. Now, I know why it's in this case, but I'm wondering why didn't they separate it out? Because was it really part of the child's death?

PATE: Well, I don't think so. But I think the reason the prosecutor wanted it in this indictment was to make sure they would be able to introduce that evidence at the murder trial. Because it's obviously very prejudicial evidence. In most cases, this would be brought as a separate charge, if at all. I don't think they're really worried about prosecuting him for that type of behavior. But they know that it will affect the jury, and make it more likely they can convict him on the murder charge.

SAVIDGE: But is that really fair? I mean it will make him look -- I mean, let's face it, it's already a terrible crime, but you add this element, it's like you really are purposely trying to portray him in the absolute worst light.

PATE: That's exactly what they're trying to do. Now, the defense does have the option of asking the judge to sever those counts out. Take them out of the indictment, make this a separate trial over the sexting charges, but that rarely happens. So I anticipate they're going to litigate this issue, they're going to fight it, they are going to try to keep that evidence out, because normally it would not play a role in the murder charge. It's not an element of that offense. But boy, does it affect his character.

PAUL: But it's an element because it was what he was allegedly doing the day that his son died --

PATE: Right.

PAUL: And that's how they can bring it in.

PATE: Well, they can present evidence because now it's a charge in the indictment. Whether or not it had anything to do with the death of Cooper. So it's only relevant because the D.A. made it relevant by putting it in the indictment. So the defense does have a good argument that we ought to cut that out. But I've made this arguments before. Judges hate two trials. Let's try it all together. One case, especially a high-profile case like this.

SAVIDGE: What about malice murder? And what I'm wondering here, is there are three counts, actually, of murder. This is one, and it's the worst one. An overreach?

PATE: I think they have evidence we haven't heard yet. Based on what we heard --

SAVIDGE: Don't we always say that?

PATE: And it's often true.

PAUL: True.

PATE: You know, we don't know exactly what was presented to the grand jury. We know they heard from one witness, the same detective that testified at the probable cause hearing. If all they have is what we heard in the probable cause hearing, I do think malice murder is a stretch. But there has to be something more. Remember, they've had a lot of time to go through the forensic evidence to see what other text messages or computer searches he may have conducted, and I think there's something that the D.A.'s not going to tell us about it now, but perhaps the grand jury heard about it and they were convinced it's a malice murder case.

PAUL: The sexting part that you were bringing up, I'm assuming too that came up, because this is such an emotional case, and you want to -- you want to almost give a parent a benefit of the doubt because you think this could not happen. They could not have done this intentionally. What is the defense's best angle, do you think?

PATE: You're still going to try to do that, because I think initially -- and I felt this way, most parents who hear about this, they want to empathize with the father. They want to empathize with him. And you saw initially a lot of support for Justin Ross Harris, and there was, you know, websites dedicated to him, they were raising money.

PAUL: Yeah.

PATE: But then the sexting evidence came out. The websites were shut down.

PAUL: Everybody backed off.

PATE: The support faded away. So the defense right now, based on what they said earlier this week, is -- the state has too many different theories. They say he intended to kill him. They say it was negligence. They don't know what they can prove. So I think the defense will focus on the idea that the state is trying a little bit of everything and seeing what sticks.

PAUL: All righty. Page Pate, thank you so much for walking us through it. As we, you know, and we are going to continue to ..

SAVIDGE: Oh, absolutely. This case is going to be one to follow for quite some time. Thanks very much, good to see you.

PAUL: Thank you.

SAVIDGE: Three days in hell. That is how one Iraqi soldier describes his harrowing escape from a brutal ISIS massacre that left hundreds of fellow soldiers dead. Up next, we'll hear his incredible story of survival.

PAUL: Plus, Joan Rivers, famous obviously for outspoken comedy. And, you know, also her plastic surgery. She told CNN why she felt the need to transform her face.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: It is tough, isn't it, to get just the brutality of ISIS from everything that we've heard.

SAVIDGE: It really is. PAUL: The terror group's reckless, its senseless murder of innocent

civilians and soldiers and most recently two American journalists sparked this outrage, and really disgust around the world I think would be a good way to characterize it.

SAVIDGE: It would indeed. One man who knows what it's like to come face to face with ISIS is this Iraqi soldier. Ali Kadhim, the 23- year-old says that he survived a brutal ISIS massacre in June.

PAUL: Kadhim story matches ISIS claims that 1,700 Iraqi soldiers were executed in one day. And this is video from that massacre.

SAVIDGE: And Kadhim shared his story of survival with "The New York Times." We're going to show you part of his interview. Kadhim speaks in Arabic. The translation from "The New York times" will be seen at the bottom of your screen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALI KADHIM (speaking Arabic)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Let's bring in Mona El Naggar. She is in New York, and a video producer for "The New York Times," and helped produce the story of Kadhim's escape. Before we move forward here, I do just want to let our viewers know, the content of the segment is not appropriate for children. I don't want you to be - I don't want you to get caught off guard. But we just want to let you know, you do not want them in the room for this. So, Mona, with that disclaimer, I just wanted to get to you. How is it that "The New York Times" was able to secure this interview with him? Because I would think he would have some trepidations about wanting to speak.

MONA EL NAGGAR, VIDEO PRODUCER, "THE NEW YORK TIMES.": Yes, but if you watch the video, you see that Ali sort of at some point as he was escaping, really, for his life and trying to survive, he meets this man and he's on the river bank for three days. The man is practically dead. And at some point, Ali decides to try and cross the river and, you know, survive. And the man tells him to go on, not to forget him, and to tell the story. And so, you know, I mean I'm sure that a part of him is - feels the responsibility and need to let people know.

SAVIDGE: Yeah. It is truly a very moving interview, when you watch this. And we want to warn people again. We're going to play a little bit more of it because we do think it's vitally important that you hear this firsthand account. But again, we want to warn our viewers that some of the content that you're about to see is very graphic and certainly not appropriate for children. And some of it is extremely hard to watch. But we are going to let you listen again, and I'll also say we won't show it again after this and Mona, we'll talk more on the other side of this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALI KADHIM (speaking Arabic) (END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: I watched all of this. And, you know, at that part, he's describing, of course, the shooting of the man beside him, on both sides. And he falls down. And Mona, is it that he played dead? Is that how he was able to get away, survive?

EL NAGGAR: Basically. I mean, you know, it's really incredible, because he reached this point where he realized that he's about to die, basically, and, you know, was sort of almost ready to give up. He saw the man next to him get shot, one, two, three. He was the fourth in line. And at some point, he realizes that he's still alive. And I think there is a moment there, where, you know, he goes from sort of giving up to really wanting to fight for his life and embraced this like sort of miraculous moment of luck where the bullet misses him. And so at that point, he acts -- pretends to be dead. And he just waits for darkness and starts to, you know, rely on his survival instincts and keep on going.

PAUL: Yeah. I read that he laid there for four hours until it became dark, and that's when he got up and he ran. And as he was running and he got to the side of the river, he ran into, as you mentioned earlier, this man along the river. And he talks about that interaction with him. Let's take a listen here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALI KADHIM (speaking Arabic)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Obviously in a moment like that, Mona, he really felt a connection with this man. What happened next, and what does he tell you about ISIS?

EL NAGGAR: I mean what he has to say about ISIS is, of course, sort of apparent from what we see ISIS doing in the video. I mean just extreme brutality. I think the shocking thing was that at one moment in the very beginning, when they were confronted by the ISIS militants, you know, they told them that they would not harm them, and they essentially lied to them and ended up really just, you know, massacring them. So I think what he has to say about ISIS is sort of demonstrated by what we see ISIS doing and what ISIS takes pride in doing. They shot the massacre and published their video online for everyone to see.

So, and yes, Ali goes on after staying there for three days by the river bank, and he tries to cross the river. Of course, it's not easy. He's aware of sort of the risks that lie ahead. He's not exactly sure where to go, but, you know, all he can do is really try to cross that river. The current is pulling him towards an ISIS checkpoint, and he's, of course, sort of in this moment where he doesn't know if he's actually going to make it or not. He eventually, you know, gets across to the other side and still he doesn't know if he's going to survive because he's in a Sunni village. And he's scared to go knocking on doors. He doesn't know what would happen. You know, someone can turn him in.

But you know, what's interesting through this tale of survival is, you know, it's essentially Sunni Muslims, the ISIS militants, who tried to kill him, who tried to execute him. And on the other side of the river bank, it's also Sunni Muslims who end up sheltering him and really helping him escape to safety.

PAUL: Isn't that interesting, doesn't that tell you a lot about the dynamic of what's going on there. Mona El Naggar, thank you so much for being with us.

SAVIDGE: Excellent reporting. Just such a powerful piece. Thank you.

PAUL: It is. It is. Thank you so much. We encourage you to take a good look at this. And we'll be right back. Stay close.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Aren't you scared to go under the anesthesia?

JOAN RIVERS: Terrified. Very serious.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.

RIVERS: My dad was a doctor. The anesthesiologist is as much a part of that group as the classic surgeon. Very serious. But you also want to look at we're in a society that wants people to look good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Joan Rivers there talking really candidly to CNN about plastic surgery, the precautions that she took and why she thought it was so necessary for her.

SAVIDGE: Yeah, she has always been very open about the procedures that she's had. You know, she has not hidden that in any way. And she's always the first one really to kind of laugh at herself for things that she does. CNN's Gary Tuchman: tells us more about that. Gary?

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christi and Martin, a big part of Joan Rivers' life was also a big part of her act. Plastic surgeries.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TUCHMAN: Joan Rivers' comedy stood the test of time.

RIVERS: Good, you're 30 years old, you're not married, you're an old maid. A man, he's 90 years old, he's not married, he's a catch.

(LAUGHTER)

RIVERS: It's all different --

(LAUGHTER) TUCHMAN: It didn't matter which decade it was.

RIVERS: I'm wearing the same underwear, which everyone backstage remembers.

(LAUGHTER)

TUCHMAN: Her unique style was consistent. Less consistent, her appearance.

RIVERS: My body is my temple. My temple needs redecorating.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: plastic surgery.

RIVERS: Yes, and all of you say no, no, no, it's elective. But I bet you each one of you would do something if I paid for it.

TUCHMAN: Joan Rivers never hesitated to talk about her plastic surgeries. Back in 2007, she had a humorous heart to heart with Joy Behar, who was filling in on CNN's "Larry King Live."

JOY BEHAR: When you first did it, Joan - the plastic surgery.

RIVERS: I did it young.

BEHAR: Did you - how old were you?

RIVERS: I was 41.

BEHAR: 41?

RIVERS: 41. And I guess that -- I had natural bags from my father.

BEHAR: Yeah.

RIVERS: And I was starting to get that tired 41-year-old look. And I just thought, let me do it now. Somebody told me that on the Carson Show, one of Johnny's wives. She said do it before you need to do it.

BEHAR: Really? But did you do it because you wanted to be prettier or because you felt you were looking older?

RIVERS: I wanted to look better. And of course you want to be pretty. We're in a society, everybody wants -- as I always said, nobody ever asked Eleanor Roosevelt to dance.

(LAUGHTER)

RIVERS: You know.

TUCHMAN: Joan Rivers talking about plastic surgery never failed to make audiences laugh. But Joan's daughter Melissa was clearly worried about her mother and her plastic surgeries. MELISSA RIVERS: I have tried in every way possible to explain to you

how frightened I am and how I feel like this is an unnecessary risk. It turns out that I am not the only person with concerns.

RIVERS: I don't understand this. When everyone feels the same way, same way that what?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like we just don't want to lose you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It really does scare all of us.

RIVERS: Oh, for god's sakes, you're all in the will.

TUCHMAN: But it wasn't just material for her act. Joan Rivers herself acknowledged having anxiety around her procedures.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Aren't you scared to go under the anesthesia and everything? It's very risky.

RIVERS: Very serious.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.

RIVERS: My dad was a doctor. The anesthesiologist is as much a part of that group as the plastic surgeon. Very serious. But you also want to look good. We're in a society that wants people to look good.

TUCHMAN: But she did not let her anxiety stop her.

RIVERS: Look good, look good, look good. I spit on education. Did you go to college? Tell us how it helped you now.

(LAUGHTER)

TUCHMAN: And we laughed with her about it for decades.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TUCHMAN: There's so much about Joan Rivers' life we will never forget. Christi and Martin.

SAVIDGE: Remarkable woman.

Up next, I don't know, have you seen this video, Christi?

PAUL: I haven't seen it yet. No.

SAVIDGE: Really, really shocking. It is a disabled couple robbed of their tablet. It's all caught on camera. But there is a positive side, and it's coming up.

PAUL: You have to see the reaction. Stay close for some good stuff.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Serena Williams started working with French tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou just days after crashing out of (INAUDIBLE) in 2012.

SERENA WILLIASAVIDGE: For me to lose in Paris was completely disappointing, I was completely shattered.

PATRICK MOURATOGLOU: Everyone - the tennis court, and she was hitting, and I was - for 45 minutes. Then she sat down, she turned to me and she said, talk to me. I think it's the thing that we need to work on, and I explained what it was. She said, OK. Let's do it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Serena and Patrick have been working together ever since, and he has the trophy cabinets to prove it. Serena agreed to store all of the trophies that they won together inside his academy.

MOURATOGLOU: We have the Wimbledon trophy, the U.S. Open trophy, (INAUDIBLE), trophy, and all the other tournaments that she won.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's 20 trophies and now Patrick is focused on adding to that total at the U.S. Open, where a win would give Serena 18 Grand Slam singles titles, tying the total of Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: All righty, we love to give you some good stuff in the morning, or any time we can. Today's edition is a little unusual, because it starts from some very bad stuff.

SAVIDGE: It does indeed, but it gets better. A beautiful couple, both with cerebral palsy, were relaxing at the Northgate Mall in Seattle. And they're both in wheelchairs, but they get along all right. She makes her living reviewing novels and to help her do that, her husband bought her a tablet.

PAUL: So who would rip off someone so defenseless? There. That guy right there. Both of them. They scoped the couple out, then the guy in red -- I mean, he does something really -- who would even think of it? Yanks the tablet out of their hands, look at this, and runs for it. So what makes this the good stuff? Well, two things. First, the character of the victims who have already forgiven these guys.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If they stole from me, they've got bigger problems than I do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You really feel sorry for these people? You feel like they have it worse off if they're willing to stoop to doing something like this?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I do.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SAVIDGE: And then there's the second reason why this is the good stuff. Because we're going to get these guys. Look closely. We want to you to spread it around. If you've got any information about who they are, please contact the Seattle police.

PAUL: That's just ridiculous. Hopefully we will be able to report to you soon that they have been captured. Thank you so much for starting your morning with us.

SAVIDGE: Next hour of "NEW DAY" starts right now.