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New Day Saturday

ISIS Launches Attack On Oil Rich Kirkuk; U.S.: ISIS Chemical Weapons Expert Killed; Hagel: We Have To Look At All Options; Hostages' Fate Unknown As Deadline Passes; White House Pressure to Release Terror Suspects from Gitmo; New Snowstorm on Its Way; Roger Goodell's Press Conference

Aired January 31, 2015 - 06:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Heavily armed ISIS militant attack a key oil rich city in Iraq. Now in a CNN exclusive, outgoing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel holds nothing back. He says U.S. ground troops may be needed to turn back the terrorists.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: The fate of two hostages held by ISIS unknown this morning, more than a day since the latest ISIS deadline. The militants say they want a prisoner swap. But do they really want to negotiate?

BLACKWELL: Round two for New England, up to seven inches overnight in parts of Maine. Now all eyes are on a third winter storm that could blanket the Midwest and northeast again.

Good morning. Good morning. I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to be with you today.

PAUL: Absolutely, always grateful for your company. I'm Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: ISIS fighters shouting "we're coming for you." We've got new video of the militants right before they launched a surprise attack on this key oil rich city in Northern Iraq.

PAUL: They're grinning. Look at them here, boasting about the slaughter and beheadings that they will carry out in Kirkuk. Another new video that we received overnight, ISIS fighters heading straight to the city in heavy fog here, part of this video becomes so graphic that we can't show the rest of it to you as the militants carry out an execution.

BLACKWELL: CNN chief national security correspondent, Jim Sciutto has more on why Kirkuk is turning into Iraq's latest battle ground. Jim, good morning.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Victor and Christi, this was a coordinated large surprise assault on a crucially important city in the north, ISIS fighters advancing undercover of fog killing the most senior Kurdish commander and several of his guards in the center of the city, and sparking running gun battles through the city.

It is a powerful demonstration of ISIS' ability to project power on multiple fronts at one time.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO (voice-over): A new front in the war against ISIS. ISIS militants launching a coordinated surprise attack on the oil rich Iraqi city of Kirkuk. A hail of gunfire as Kurdish forces fight back against ISIS fighters hold up in this abandoned hotel in the center of town. Here Kurdish fighters raid the building to retake control.

REAR ADMIRAL JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: It's no surprise to us that they contain or can demonstrate the ability to continue to wreak violence.

SCIUTTO: On the other side of town, however, ISIS advanced using burning tents belonging to Kurdish fighters. Among the dead there, the Kurdish commander shown here in an interview with CNN's Arwa Damon last summer. He was the highest ranking Peshmerga commander in Kirkuk.

Representative Adam Schiff, a ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee sees ISIS desperate to demonstrate its strength.

REPRESENTATIVE ADAM SCHIFF (D), CALIFORNIA: ISIS is feeling a lot of pressure. They've lost ground in the Kurdish areas. They've lost some ground to Iraqi Special Forces. They had the symbolic loss in Kobani. At the same time, they're very lethal, but they are worried, I think about pressure being put on Mosul and supply lines being cut off to Mosul.

SCIUTTO: Iraqi forces are now planning a major assault to retake Mosul possibly as early as the spring. Kurdish forces have already launched attacks to cut off ISIS's supply lines to the city.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Central Command announced that a coalition air strike killed ISIS chemical weapons expert, Abu Malik, the strike taking place January 24th near Mosul in the north.

According to CENTCOM, Malik worked in Saddam Hussein's Mutana chemical weapons production facility before joining al-Qaeda in Iraq. That's ISIS' predecessor in 2005 and the coalition campaign continuing to put pressure particularly on ISIS senior leadership -- Christi and Victor.

BLACKWELL: All right, Jim Sciutto, thank you very much. Let's talk more about this ISIS chemical weapons expert who was killed. We have with us, Peter Neumann. He is a director for the International Center for the Study of Radicalization, and retired U.S. Army Major General James Spider Marks.

General Marks, I want to start with you. Abu Malik worked as we heard as Saddam Hussein's chemical weapons program leader before joining al Qaeda and then ISIS. Is there any evidence that ISIS is working on a chemical weapons program and what's the importance here of the chain of command?

MAJOR GENERAL JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Good morning. It's a great question. We have to look at these skill sets that the ISIS fighters bring to the table. Remember as CNN has done a great job in terms of outlining what the core of ISIS looks like and these are the former key leaders for Saddam's military and the infrastructure that he ran.

So they know how to conduct command and control. They know how to organize the attack on Kirkuk. It's not serendipitous, this is well planned. This is coordinated. These are folks that know what they're doing. So it's very logical to assume that recidivism is in place.

So the chemical expertise that existed at the highest levels in Saddam's military and his leadership exists in ISIS. So you have to draw the conclusion, absolutely. They're moving in a direction to try to acquire all capabilities that are available.

BLACKWELL: All right, Peter, Abu Malik is now dead. How deep is the bench? Are the leaders easily replaced?

PETER NEUMANN, DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF RADICALIZATION: I think ISIS has a great choice when it comes to former officers in Saddam Hussein's army. Almost the entire leadership of ISIS consists of former officers in Saddam Hussein's army. And what is really concerning is the fact that, of course, ISIS is in Syria now.

We know that the Syrian government has dismantled much of its chemical weapons program, but we do not know how complete that dismantling has been so it may very well be that some capability has fallen into the hands of ISIS. It is definitely something that intelligence and military forces should be watching.

MARKS: Victor, can I jump in?

BLACKWELL: Yes, go ahead.

MARKS: From my perspective, as the senior intel guy when we went to war in Iraq, job one for me was weapons of mass destruction, trying to get our arms around that. So the assumption has to be made in this effort to really get a precise picture of what the capabilities are, you have to draw some conclusions that lead you to preparations at the very far end.

So you, again, we have to assume that this is the dismantling of Syria's chemical capabilities now reside with ISIS and they will be reassembled.

BLACKWELL: All right, General Marks and Peter Neumann, stick with us because we want to get your take on our next story so stay with us -- Christie. PAUL: Yes, fighting in Iraq intensifies. The big question is still out there. Will U.S. troops be sent back to the frontlines? During an exclusive interview with CNN, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the option is, yes, still on the table. Our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr has more for us. Good morning, Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: I asked Secretary Hagel if he thought it was possible a small number of U.S. troops might get sent to the frontline in Iraq to help Iraqi combat troops do things like picking up targets. He made clear it's an idea that cannot yet be ruled out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHUCK HAGEL, DEFENSE SECRETARY: He said to his combatant commander, specifically, General Dempsey and General Austin, if you believe and you want to recommend, you think you need to recommend to me, to the president that we should look at other options then I want you to bring those recommendations to me.

That so far has not happened. Whether that would happen in the future, again, the president has said to his commanders, if you think this is what's going to be required, I need to know it. You need to make the recommendation and I'll listen.

STARR: What do you think?

HAGEL: Well, I think just as the president said and the advice I've given the president, it's what General Dempsey has is that we have to look at all the options. And I think it may require a forward deployment of some of our troops, not doing the fighting, not doing the combat work that we did at one time for six years in Iraq and we did for many, many years in Afghanistan. But to help air strike precision, locate --

STARR: Intelligence.

HAGEL: Those are things we continue to support. We're not there yet. Whether we get there or not, I don't know. Whether that's something that our military commanders would recommend into the future, I don't know. But I think just as the president has made clear, I need to know your honest opinion and he's been very forthright about that what you think. Is that something that you think --

STARR: But you're saying, you think it could be necessary.

HAGEL: It could be. But I'm not willing to say that it will be necessary. I say it could be necessary.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: Hagel leaves office in a few days. But his view is one that is shared by some current military commanders. Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

PAUL: All right, so let's bring back Peter Neumann and Major General James "Spider" Marks. Gentlemen, thank you. General Marks to you, should U.S. advisors troops be on the front lines in Iraq?

MARKS: They need to be. Absolutely, Christi. The United States has a vested interest to make sure that this thing doesn't completely go off the rails and it looks like it's about to. The United States needs to be able and be ready, certainly have the capability. They just need to make the hard choice.

This is existential. We either allow this to occur and expand, but forces on the ground are in inevitability if for no other reason than to contain what is taking place in terms of ISIS' development and activities on the ground.

We may have to accept a level of barbarism and violence that exists, but if it doesn't expand beyond certain shoulders, certain geographic borders, we might, at the end of this just say that's just OK.

PAUL: All right, Peter, I want to ask you the same question. Should U.S. advisors or troops be there and how close are we to this thing going off the rails as the Lt. General says?

NEUMANN: I think there are forces on the ground. The question is how far on the frontline should they be? Should they be involved in more less direct combat? I think that would be a mistake. I think ISIS is aching to kill American soldiers.

ISIS is aching to draw the United States deeper into conflict because it would allow them to claim that America is again occupying Muslim lands and it would create a sort of public relation situation that would favor ISIS.

So I think the administration has been right not to go too far and it has been right to be hesitant with deploying forces too far on the front lines. I think that's still true.

PAUL: All right, Peter Neumann and Major General James "Spider" Marks, we appreciate you both. Thank you so much.

BLACKWELL: The fate of those two ISIS hostages still unknown. Just ahead, we know that ISIS wants this accused terrorist, this suicide bomber potentially in exchange for the Japanese journalist and the Jordanian pilot. Hear what Jordan wants before moving forward.

PAUL: Also, the hits keep on coming for so many of you in the northeast. Another winter blast is edging toward you. Look at some of the video of the dangerous conditions we've been getting in here. We're going to take you live to Maine coming up.

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PAUL: It's 15 minutes past the hour right now. Good morning to you. You know, we're sitting on the back end of another deadline that has come and gone. This morning, still no word on the fate of these two hostages held by ISIS, one, a Jordanian pilot, the other, a Japanese journalist. The terror groups have been in negotiations with Jordanian

government over a possible prisoner swap so far obviously no agreement.

BLACKWELL: Yes. ISIS wants the release of a female al Qaeda prisoner and has threatened to kill the hostages if their demands are not met. Now the Jordanian government says they will release her ISIS proves the hostages are still alive.

Let's go to our Phil Black now because herein lies the problem, Phil, that the Jordanian government does not know if ISIS has a living hostage with which they can trade.

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Victor, yes. So the Jordanian authorities have expressed willingness to make the trade. They said that they will release this failed female suicide bomber, Sajida al-Rashiwi if ISIS provides proof of life, evidence that they're downed Air Force pilot is in fact alive and well, proof of his physical well-being.

So far there's been no response from this on ISIS. The Jordanian authorities made this request before the deadline passed. Remember the deadline was for sunset on Thursday night. That's when they wanted the trade to take place on the Turkish-Syrian border.

The Jordanian authorities made their request for proof of life before that. They have received only ominous silence. That's as it has been since the passing of that deadline for more than 24 hours now. So there is a lot of anxiety about the fate of those two hostages.

BLACKWELL: So Phil, what is the level of communication now between the Japanese government and ISIS? Is there still an open line of communication between the two?

BLACK: All indications point to the Jordanian authorities leading the negotiations, very much taking the lead on this. The Japanese government says it is doing all it possibly can, but it would seem very much in a secondary role, sideline to a significant degree.

I think largely because of regional and cultural differences. It is the Jordanians who are taking the lead. It is also the Jordanians that have to come through with the delivery of this prisoner.

They're the ones talking about making the exchange and it is also the Jordanian authorities who are pleased with just the idea of handing over this failed suicide bomber for the Japanese journalist.

They also want to receive that downed Jordanian Air Force pilot as well. And so far, ISIS has not said that they're willing to make that swap. The latest messages point to a direct swap.

The journalist for the suicide bomber and they will not kill the Air Force pilot. It is simply securing the ongoing life of the Air Force pilot. It is the Jordanians who want more than that. They want the release of the pilot. They also say they came to work with Japan and help that journalist, Kenji Goto, get his freedom as well.

BLACKWELL: And even in this silence in the waiting, ISIS is capitalizing on not communicating by having the entire world wait for them to respond. Phil Black is reporting for us from Turkey. Thank you so much, Phil.

PAUL: Now the Paris terror attack caught on Go-Pro video. Images the world has not seen of the kosher grocery store attack. We're learning new details about the video, the gunman recorded and we now know e- mailed out as well.

Plus, defending the league's integrity, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is facing the media spotlight after, what we all know, is a really tough year for the NFL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: It's 22 minutes after the hour, look at this. Cars stalled. Whiteout conditions. Crews are rushing to clean up roadways for the people there in New England. And all of this is happening as people in the region are loading up on bread and milk and eggs and getting ready for another round of winter weather.

PAUL: Our friends in Maine.

BLACKWELL: Maine friends.

PAUL: You are the target this morning, sadly. We know this storm is expected to drop as much as two feet of snow in some parts of the state. And it's windy as we can tell from CNN correspondent, Sara Ganim, who is live in Portland for us.

BLACKWELL: Comfy cozy.

PAUL: She is already chuckling. How bad it is, Sara? Give it to us.

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think I'm going to start with a little bit of good news, Victor, which is that it finally stopped snowing here in New England. So that's good news. I'm sure you can see around me. There is quite a bit of snow on the ground. But today it's the cold and the wind.

It is absolutely brutal. You can probably see I'm already crying from it. Cities across the northeast are experiencing this today. Lows are around zero. Some of them in the negatives when you factor in the brutal wind chill.

I want to run through a few of them. Boston today, the low is 9. Bridgeport, Connecticut, the low is 3. New York is 8. Burlington, Vermont the low is 1. Portland, the low is 11. It's about 15 but when you factor in that wind chill, negative 2.

And then on top of that like you mentioned, they're all bracing here for yet even more snow, yet another storm. I talked to the mayor here yesterday about what that means when you have storms back to back to back, what kind of challenges that presents. Take a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL BRENNAN, MAYOR OF PORTLAND: That's always a challenge for us. And that's why we've had parking bans in order to allow the crews at night to be able to go in and remove the snow. But every time when you continue to have snow coming down, it is a challenge to find a place to put it.

But, you know, last year this is one of the seven best cities in the United States for snow removal. So we're used to this and we're working on it really hard. The crews deserve enormous amount of thanks and appreciation. They've done a great job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GANIM: So this is the kind of snow pile that he's talking about, these plow piles. They're all around the city. And I noticed that crews this morning and really yesterday as well were racing the clock to try and get these piles of snow into dump trucks and get the snow out of this city ahead of the next snowstorm.

Because if they don't get it out of here, there is nowhere for the next round of snow to go and that creates a problem for the streets, we're keeping the streets clean and keeping everyone safe -- Victor and Christi.

PAUL: Snow removal. He needs to talk to the folks in Atlanta.

BLACKWELL: He should have been here a year ago.

PAUL: Yes. Sara Ganim, stay warm. Go get yourself warm. Thank you so much.

And in just a few minutes we're going to check in with Meteorologist Ivan Cabrera. He is tracking a third winter storm, too, that could blast New England before the weekend is over.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Well, get ready for that.

PAUL: So we have the stunning revelations we want to share with you from the Pentagon. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel tells CNN why he felt pressure from the White House. We have details next.

BLACKWELL: And recording his own rampage. We're now learning the gunman at the kosher grocery store in Paris. He took a GO-Pro video recording of that deadly attack. Why? Who received it? Who did he send it to?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: We're following the fate two of hostages ISIS has threatened to kill both of them, one, a Jordanian pilot, the other, a Japanese journalist. We do not know this morning whether they are alive or dead.

BLACKWELL: Also chilling news information about the deadly attack on a kosher market in Paris. A U.S. intelligence official tells CNN the --

One, a Jordanian pilot, the other - a Japanese journalist. We do not know this morning whether they're alive or dead.

BLACKWELL: Also, chilling new information about the deadly attack on a kosher market in Paris. A U.S. intelligence official tells CNN the ISIS follower who gunned down four people recorded part of that vicious attack using a GoPro camera attached to his body and then e- mailed it. Intelligence officials now are trying to determine who received it.

PAUL: Outgoing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel makes a stunning revelation to Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr in this exclusive interview.

BLACKWELL: Yeah, he confirms that he felt pressure from the White House to release terror suspects faster from Gitmo. Let's get more details on this now from Barbara. Good morning.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christi and Victor, I began by asking Secretary Hagel about whether it was the right thing to do to transfer five Gitmo detainees to get Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl back. And then an extraordinary moment of candor.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHUCK HAGEL: Not everyone at the White House agreed with me.

STARR: On what part of this?

HAGEL: Probably on the pace of releases.

STARR: Because you've been cautious?

HAGEL: Because I have the responsibility and I play my own game here and that is because by law I am the one, the one official in government charged with certification of releasing detainees. I take that responsibility very seriously.

STARR: Have you have had pressure?

HAGEL: We've had a lot of conversations.

STARR: What he's talking about here is pressure from the White House to release more detainees and release them faster. Christi, Victor.

HAGEL: All right, Barbara Starr, thank you. (END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Let's talk about this a little more with Retired Lieutenant Colonel and Pentagon consultant Bob Maginnis, we are also joined by CNN military analyst General Spider Marks. Gentlemen, thank you so much. We appreciate it. Lieutenant colonel, I want to start with you. What is your response to what you just heard here? That Hagel says the White House was pressuring him to release Guantanamo detainees faster?

LT. COL. ROBERT MAGINNIS, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Yeah, well, Christi, the reality is the president from the very beginning of this administration has said he wanted to close Guantanamo Bay. Therefore, you have to find some mechanism in which you transfer those people and, of course, with Yemen falling apart, it makes it more difficult. Because a lot of these detainees are Yemenis. But sending people back to Qatar, which is allegedly ally questionably in some areas, maybe -- we can understand that but pressure, yes. Our national Security Council, they're political appointees for the most part. They are going to do with the president at one. And, of course, Mr. Hagel as he said in your interview with Barbara Starr, he is the guy that has to certify this. He didn't want them going back to the battlefield and killing our soldiers. So, it's really a tough decision, Mr. Hagel at the same time the NSC has the president's orders.

PAUL: All right. I want to talk policy here, if I can, for just a moment, please. This week, reporters pressed the White House about the Bowe Bergdahl transfer. How was it really different from the way that Jordan is trying to negotiate a hostage release with ISIS. Take a listen here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC SCHULTZ, PRINCIPAL DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY: The Taliban is an armed insurgency. ISIL is a terrorist group. So, we don't make concessions to terrorist groups. We feel ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Taliban is terrorist group?

SCHULTZ: I don't think that the Taliban -- the Taliban is an armed insurgency. This was a winding down of the war in Afghanistan. And that's why this arrangement was dealt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: OK. This raised a lot of eyebrows, General Marks. The White House won't call the Taliban a terrorist group, even though as reporters pointed out there, they are still conducting terrorist attacks. Is there a double standard there? Do you consider the Taliban, too, a terrorist group?

MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Oh, of course, Christi. This is - comparing the Sergeant Bergdahl release and the prisoners' swap that took place there and the Jordanian pilot and the possible swap that might take place as somewhat - that this really is a difference without a distinction. There really is no difference between those two eventualities. The real discussion is that something we want to do? We have historical precedent. It has happened before a number of times. The real issue in my mind is what are the conditions under which the prisoner swap is going to take place and as Bob has indicated, when they went -- when the five went to Qatar, we should have insured that the conditions under which they would be in Qatar would be so onerous they would have preferred to go back to Gitmo. We didn't ensure that that took place in Qatar. So, you are going to see these guys going back to battle.

But again, look, we have about 130 prisoners in Gitmo. This is a drop in the bucket. These are incredibly bad drops in a bucket. So we can close Gitmo, but we have to ensure that where these prisoners go we can track, we can maintain persistent stare on their activity and adjust their behavior accordingly. We have the ability to do that. We just chose not to. Bad decision in that regard.

PAUL: OK, so, Lieutenant Colonel, how do we do that? And are you confident it will be done?

MAGINNIS: Not necessarily, Christi. The reality is that a lot of these allies that these detainees that countries come from are not terribly dependable. They - Yemen is a failed state. You know, are you going to send some of these people back to Afghanistan? Well, perhaps. But, you know, it's certainly a troubled state. Some Pakistan, we haven't had a good relationship with the Pakistanis in terms of discovering that al Qaeda leadership like Osama bin Laden, there are a lot of these people that, you know, may be too old to go back to the battle. But they're going to be recruiters or financers or do something to help the fight. So this is very troubling for the United States. Now you can always bring them to this country and, of course, you'd have habeas corpus issues, we have all sorts of rights issues that are all of a sudden triggered. And that is a troubling issue not only for this organization, but I think certainly for the U.S. military and many of our allies.

PAUL: Thank you so much to both of you. Listen, your insight is so valuable to us, Lieutenant Colonel Bob Maginnis and Major General Spider Marks. Thank you. Stay with us, though, here. Because we do have some more questions for you, right?

BLACKWELL: Yeah, certainly do, Christi. We want to get to Colonel Maginnis' take on this specifically. The new information surfacing about the shooter at that kosher deli in Paris. That he recorded video of the killings and then sent it to someone. We'll talk about who he may have sent this to and the value to the terrorists of this video.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: U.S. Tennis star Serena Williams bit Maria Sharapova to win the Australian Open this morning. This is Williams 19th Grand Slam win.

PAUL: And there you see it. It is also her sixth Australian Open triumph. Sharapova last beat Williams back in 2004.

In today's "Open Court," one of Australia's greatest tennis players talks about her historic victory at Wimbledon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Throughout the 1970s, Australia's Evonne Goolagong Cawley was one of the most dominant players in tennis, reaching 17 gram slam signals finals during that time. But it was her victory at Wimbledon in 1971 that made history as she became the first of a regional player to win at the All England Club.

EVONNE GOOLAGONG CAWLEY: I always just thought of myself as a tennis player. I just enjoyed playing tennis. And I wanted to, you know, achieve my dreams. So, I was too busy doing that. So, I never really thought of myself as aboriginal, until I came home and I actually remember mom saying, I'm so proud of you, you know. You know, sort of being the first aboriginal to win a Wimbledon. And so on, and - and - but at the same time, just for myself, I feel like it was a real achievement for myself. Because I won a big tournament. I won Wimbledon. I achieved my dream.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: New information this morning about this deadly attack at the kosher market in Paris. Officials say the gunman Amedy Coulibaly recorded himself shooting three of the four hostages who were killed. A French magazine is reporting that he had a GoPro camera strapped to his torso the whole time. And that he used his - computer to send the video to someone before he was killed. Investigators are still trying to figure out who received it. We have got Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Bob Maginnis with us.

Colonel Maginnis, officials say that he probably sent it to an individual and not a tradition media outlet. What is the value of that? And what do you glean from sending it to a person?

MAGINNIS: Well, ISIL, which is, of course, what Coulibaly is allegedly aligned with, was probably going to reuse that for recruiting purposes. After all, Victor, they're very effective, very sophisticated in terms of social media. Even General Joe Votel who was the commander of SOCOM, told us thus week that, you know, he staggering the number of recruits they've got around the world. For some people, bizarre and morbid as it may be, for some people, this is very attractive. And they pull a lot of these dead beats from across the world to the battlefield and that's what ISIS needs to really to continue operations.

BLACKWELL: Beyond the recruiting and the propaganda value possibly going to show up on the website sometime soon, is there strategic value in this video for future attacks possibly?

MAGINNIS: Well, it certainly will point out, you know, tactics, techniques and procedures that perhaps Coulibaly learned during his training. But, you know, it's to be seen. If they use it for that purpose, as I suspect they will, then new recruits are going to say OK, this is what he did right. This is what he did wrong. And the mentors are going to guide these new trainees. That's, I think, one of the best uses perhaps ISIL will use of this particular video. BLACKWELL: Yeah. Bizarre and morbid is right. Colonel Maginnis,

thank you so much.

MAGINNIS: Thanks, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Christi.

PAUL: Still to come, tackling some pretty tough questions. It was not a good year. A lot of controversy for the NFL. Commissioner Roger Goodell and he faced the media. We'll talk about that conversation. Also, a deadly building collapse in Taiwan. This wasn't a home. It wasn't a government building. It was on the set of the latest Martin Scorsese film.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Kickoff to Super Bowl XLIX is less than 36 hours away. And we got a shot here of where it will all go down. The University of Phoenix stadium. And with millions of people tuning into the big game, maybe a billion people around the world, all eyes are on NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

PAUL: Yeah. In the NFL's State of the League address, Goodell was pressed pretty hard on the League's recent controversies including the League's handling of domestic violence allegations, conflicts of interest and for the first time addressing the Deflate-gate controversy. Let's bring in Andy Scholes who was there yesterday. I got to tell you, he had to walk into a pretty tough crowd yesterday. What was the mood like?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know what? When Goodell comes to this press conferences, Christi and Victor, he is usually really confident. Usually, you know, he's the one dictating everything. He seemed a little bit nervous yesterday. I will have to say. You know, he made an opening statement. He acknowledged many things. He said it's been a very challenging - for the year. But he did say that it made a lot of progress and he's excited about the future of the NFL. And once that opening statement ended and the questions started flowing, well then Goodell had to play defense.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROGER GOODELL, NFL COMMISSIONER: It has been a tough year. It's been a tough year on me personally.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Saying NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's job this season has been tumultuous is an understatement. From the Ray Rice domestic abuse case to other issues, Goodell has been under fire for months, some even calling for his resignation. The latest issue facing the league is Deflate-Gate, which Goodell finally addressed on Friday.

GOODELL: This is my job. This is my responsibility to protect the integrity of the game. I represent 32 teams. All of us want to make sure that the rules are being followed. And if we have any information where the potential of those rules were violated, I have to pursue that. And I have to pursue that aggressively.

SCHOLES: All the off the off-the field issues this season have cast a shadow over the NFL's image and that is something that Goodell plans on fixing.

GOODELL: We obviously as an organization have gone through adversity, but more importantly, it's been adversity for me. And that is something we take that seriously. It's an opportunity for us to get better. So we've all done a lot of soul searching. Starting with yours truly.

SCHOLES: The way Goodell and the league office have handled investigations in issues like domestic violence cases and Deflate-gate have drawn criticism from many and CNN's Rachel Nichols asked the commissioner if there was a better way to conduct these investigations.

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A lot of the issues have in common is a conflict of interest. When you do something like hire an outside investigator like Ted Wells into the Patriots investigation, you're still paying him and Robert Kraft who owns the Patriots still paying you. What steps can you guys take in the future to mitigate some those conflict of interest issues?

GOODELL: Rachel, I don't agree with you, in a lot of the assumptions you make in your question. I think we have had people that have uncompromising integrity. I think we have done an excellent job of bringing outside consultants in. Somebody has to pay them, Rachel. So unless you're volunteering, which I don't think you are, we will do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Guys, Rachael asked that question because Robert Mueller who the league put in charge of investigating how they handled the Ray Rice investigation, well, you know, his law firm has done business with the league. They helped negotiate the TV deals and then Ted Wells who is investigating Deflate-gate right now, he was paid by the league to handle the Miami Dolphins bullying scandal. So, that's why some say there is a conflict of interest and that's why Rachel had that back and forth with the Goodell right there.

PAUL: Yeah. It didn't make him too happy. But she got an answer from him, which was important. And I understand that he was asked if there was any scenario where he could envision his need to resign. Yes?

SCHOLES: That's right. He said, no. And then he kind of laughed and said does that surprise you? And then he basically said, you know, it's always up to the 32 NFL owners. His job is basically to please them. They decide -- and then someone even asked him should you take a pay cut? And he again said it's up to the league owners. But there is no way that he is ever going to exist - step down and resign his job as the NFL commissioner.

PAUL: All right. Andy, thank you so much. Enjoy your time out there.

SCHOLES: All right.

PAUL: From the heart of Super Bowl central in downtown Phoenix, our Rachel Nichols is teaming up with Hall of Famer Dan Marino for CNN's kickoff in Arizona. That airs at 4:30 p.m. Eastern today right here on CNN.

BLACKWELL: New England's slammed for the second time this week and more snow is on the way. A look at the timing and who else could be hit by another winter storm. Also, coming up at the top of the hour, an exclusive interview with outgoing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. Why he now says U.S. ground troops may be needed in Iraq.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: All right, some of the top stories we are following, coming up near the top of the hour, rap mogul Suge Knight is waking up in jail this morning. Knight turned himself in early Friday after police say he ran over and killed a former rap label owner Terry Carter after an argument. Suge Knight's lawyer say he's feared for his life. Now Knight is being held on $2 million bond and is expected to go before a judge on Monday.

PAUL: And one person is dead, two others injured after an accident on the set of Martin Scorsese's latest movie. This happened after parts of a building used for scenery collapsed. Workers were repairing a building after it was deemed unsafe, apparently. That film, a story about two Jesuit priests in 17 century Japan is in production in Taiwan right now.

BLACKWELL: Here's the one we've been waiting for. TMZ reports that Floyd Mayweather has agreed to fight Manny Pacquiao. The two fighters have been trying to hammer out a deal for several years. But nothing ever came together. Website reports the two will square off on May 2nd at the MGM grand hotel in Las Vegas.

PAUL: Las Vegas. A lot of people in the northeast would like to be in Las Vegas ...

BLACKWELL: Yes. And I'm sure it isn't too warm there, just no snow.

PAUL: Exactly. I can't believe we're talking about another major snowstorm for the Midwest. Let's get right to meteorologist Ivan Cabrera who has been following this.

IVAN CABRERA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah. This one is headed for the Midwest and then into the northeast. So they have two to three feet of snow on the ground. We have wind chills that are below zero. And we have got another storm coming.

PAUL: Las Vegas, here we come!

BLACKWELL: Yes.

CABRERA: I'm not very popular this week. PAUL: It's not your fault.

CABRERA: Well, you know, just the messenger here. But here it is, more snow this morning across Boston, two to three inches. This is just bonus from the last storm here. This is not even a big storm here. But the big story now or the temperatures, look at the wind chills. Factoring in the wind. It feels like minus ten in Boston. It feels like a goose egg in New York right now. And this is the next storm we're tracking. This is the one that's going to be bringing snow to the Midwest and we are going to be talking about snow as well for portions of the northeast. So, winter storm warnings posted for New Mexico and then we go into Iowa. And look at there, Chicago included. Now into the winter storm warnings. Five to ten inches of snowfall there in the next 24 to 48 hours. And a good chunk of real estate now included in winter storm watches.

Yes, New York, that is you. Providence, heading into Boston as well. This would be for Sunday night and into Monday for the accumulations. We'll start. Let's track it for you. Here we as head through Sunday. By the way, if you're going to be tailgating, you're going to be doing so with some snow across the Midwest. And then eventually this is a storm, guys, that is going to move in to the northeast for Monday.

And that's when we're going to be talking about the potential for up to a foot of additional snowfall in Boston. Can you imagine?

PAUL: Tailgating in the cold is never good.

BLACKWELL: Yeah.

PAUL: That just gets people more of an excuse to ...

BLACKWELL: But the Patriots around ...

PAUL: ... drink a little bit more.

CABRERA: But the Patriots around the Super Bowl. So you have that in New England.

BLACKWELL: Do you think they need an excuse to drink?

(LAUGHTER)

PAUL: I'm just saying.

BLACKWELL: It's Sunday. Let's go for it.

PAUL: It's Sunday. Let's drink and that - Ivan Cabrera, thank you so much.

We do have a lot of news to tell you about this morning.

BLACKWELL: Next hour of your "NEW DAY" starts right now.

ISIS fighters launch a surprise attack on a major Iraq city rich in oil. And now, this is happening as we learn the U.S. military killed a chemical weapons expert in an airstrike near Mosul.