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New Day Saturday

ISIS Seizes Scores of U.S. Weapons; Mosul Offensive Planned against ISIS; Warnings of Right-Wing Citizen Extremists; Stopping ISIS from Recruiting Kids; Aaron Hernandez Murder Trial; New Details in Las Vegas Alleged Road Rage Shooting

Aired February 21, 2015 - 07:00   ET

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

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: So how much are they making for this fight?

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: We'll find that out.

We're going to show you new video this morning. ISIS kind of showing off, I guess you could say. American made weapons, vehicles, equipment, won in the battle against Iraqi troops.

BLACKWELL: Now this is happening as the U.S. unveils a massive plan to reclaim Mosul from the terrorists.

PAUL: And just days after being confirmed the secretary of defense, Ash Carter visits troops in Afghanistan. The mission? Assess whether U.S. withdrawal plans are too risky to secure Afghanistan.

BLACKWELL: Good morning, good to be with you. I'm Victor Blackwell.

PAUL: And I'm Christi Paul, so good to see you. Let's get right to it today.

BLACKWELL: Yes. This morning, alarming new images of American-made weapons falling into the hands of ISIS. The militants attacked an Iraqi military post in Iraq's Anbar Province. They seized dozens of weapons, M-16s, heavy machine guns.

PAUL: They also made off with American armored vehicles and Humvees and left behind a trail of death. We're told the burned bodies of Iraqi soldiers are there. Now this comes as the U.S. and Iraq plan a major offensive to take back the ISIS stronghold of Mosul.

We're covering this fight against ISIS on two fronts here.

Erin McPike, first of all, live at the White House. We want to begin with Ben Wedeman, though, who's live in Irbil, Iraq.

So, Ben, you know, these new images of ISIS capturing American weapons, a lot of people are wondering, are they an indication that the Iraq Army is just over matched?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, more than anything it's confirmation that they're overmatched, that confirmation we actually have had going back to last June then the Iraqi Army fled before a much smaller force when ISIS took over Mosul.

Now the video is interesting. What you see is what appears to be an ongoing assault on an Iraqi Army position. Now it appears to be about 60 miles to the northwest of Baghdad. You see several dead Iraqi soldiers and then you see what the video calls the booty. I counted more than 35 American M-16 assault rifles and piles of AK-47 rifles, ammunition, armored personnel carriers, and Humvees.

But this is a scene that's been replayed a variety of times over the last month, basically since last June as the Iraqi Army has lost positions to ISIS. This -- despite at this point more than six months of coalition airstrikes on ISIS.

And yes, it does raise questions about the ability of the Iraqi Army to do what the United States says it plans and is hoping the Iraqi Army will do which is in April and May, retake the city of Mosul, a city of more than two million people, so lots of doubts about the ability of the Iraqi Army to do it.

Now the U.S. has basically run a crash course for potential Iraqi units to retake Mosul. At this point there are 3,200 Iraqi soldiers undergoing an intensive training by the United States. 2,000 have already graduated from that course. But is it going to be able to do it? That's anybody's guess. And when I -- you speak to, for instance, Kurdish commanders who are out here, they say it's basically impossible.

PAUL: Yes. There's a lot of cynicism even on that end.

All right, hey, Ben Wedeman, we appreciate the update. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Let's bring in CNN's Erin McPike now.

Erin, what's the Pentagon saying about where they are in anticipation of this military campaign against ISIS in the spring?

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor, what was so striking from Pentagon officials yesterday is just how bullish they are on this effort, given some of what Ben just said there. But they are saying that they believe they are ahead. Maybe, potentially, in their military campaign so far, ahead of what they anticipated at this point. And what they want to do is overwhelm ISIS with sheer numbers.

Let me walk you through some of the figures that the Pentagon put out just yesterday. This is so far in this military effort against ISIS generally. Their losses in eight months have been equivalent to U.S. losses in Iraq and Afghanistan over 14 years, so they say that with those kind of numbers and that kind of loss, no organization can really thrive. They also say that three quarters of ISIS equipment, their infrastructure, their forces on the battlefield have been depleted.

And they also say that they -- they estimate right now that they're between one and 2,000 ISIS forces in Mosul and that is going to be compared with the 20,000 to 25,000 Iraqi and regional forces that they plan to move in, in April and May. So generally speaking they say that they can overwhelm ISIS with this offensive. Of course they will have to take stock of how that's going and Defense Secretary Ash Carter said that as we still know there will not be U.S. ground troops involved in this, at least in a combat role but that once this begins, they will obviously have to take stock of what's happening and maybe they will have to reevaluate that -- Christi and Victor.

BLACKWELL: And we have to put that optimism in context, though, because the administration --

MCPIKE: Of course.

BLACKWELL: -- at several points in the past has underestimated ISIS and ISIS has -- shown to be much stronger than some expected. But I've got to ask you the question that our military experts have been pondering all morning ever since this announcement.

What's the thinking behind announcing the plans so far ahead of initiating this effort?

MCPIKE: It's to prepare the region, to prepare Mosul. There have been some military analysts who say maybe there are some civilians in the area who they want to evacuate. It could be to scare ISIS into submission, but the point they're also making is that they're not outlining any specific battle plans, so they're not exactly showing their hands just yet.

BLACKWELL: All right, Erin McPike, at the White House for us. Erin, thank you.

MCPIKE: Of course.

PAUL: Meanwhile 10,000 American troops are still in Afghanistan and that's where new Defense Secretary Ash Carter is right now. He arrived in Kabul just a short time ago. On the plane there he laid out why Afghanistan is his first stop as Defense chief.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASH CARTER, DEFENSE SECRETARY: The reason for this destination, Afghanistan, in my very first week in office as secretary of Defense, is because this is where we still have 10,000 American troops, and they come first in my mind always.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Secretary Carter is going to meet face-to-face with U.S. troops, in fact, at Bagram Air Base tomorrow.

BLACKWELL: As the U.S. plans this massive operation to reclaim Mosul from ISIS, the big question is, is the Iraqi Army ready to fight or could this operation cause more sectarian violence?

Let's bring in CNN global affairs analyst, Lt. Col. James Reese.

Colonel, good to have you this morning.

COL. JAMES REESE (RET.), FORMER U.S. DELTA FORCE OFFICE: Good morning, Victor.

BLACKWELL: I want to get your opinion on the question I just took to Erin McPike at the White House.

Why disclose the plans in -- they say in no strategic or tactical detail, but why release the details that they have so far?

REESE: Well, Victor, I'm not sure really what details we've really talked about other than some very large numbers and a very wide aspect of where they are. I know one thing that we have learned in 14 years of combat against these extremist type, you know, folks is we've got to -- we've got to think out of the box a little bit. We have to be -- you know, we've got to be thinking more about our counter propaganda. How do we get the messages out?

Like you just said a few minutes ago, is this a scare tactic for ISIS? You know, one of the reasons 25,000 Iraqi Peshmerga forces go into Mosul after 3,000 ISIS could be there. I mean, that's an overwhelming force. And that could be something that ISIS doesn't want to deal with, even though I think they will stand and fight.

But, again, I don't see this as a big issue. And I think as we go through the next couple of months here, as the ISIS sees the Iraqi forces start rolling in, it's pretty much -- it's pretty much a done deal that everyone knows this is going to happen. And at the end of the day when the Iraq forces get up to Mosul, it's not like they're going to start walking right in there. They're going to set themselves up and start with air campaign in Mosul to begin this operation.

BLACKWELL: And there are, obviously, legitimate questions about if the Iraqi military can handle this job. You mentioned air campaigns, many believe -- most believe that you need troops on the ground, whether they're U.S. troops or from another nation to be involved.

I want the play something for you. Part of a conversation between CNN's Gloria Borger and Ohio Governor John Kasich. He says that he would consider if he were in the position to make the decision, putting U.S. troops on the ground there to win this war against ISIS. Let's listen to what he said next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R), OHIO: At some point in dealing with ISIS, you mark my words, whether John Kasich, you ever hear from him again, at some point it will require boots on the ground from the world to be able to deal with this problem. And I would rather deal with it sooner than later. But you just don't go running over there. You've got to have a battle plan, you've got to figure out exactly what you're going to do.

But I would never suggest that we should engage in nation building or trying to convert all these people to our way of life. We need stability and we need to stop this.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BLACKWELL: So let's me ask you this. I don't know that anyone has an appetite for another effort in nation building but was that not the lesson of the Iraq war that you can't go in simply launch this offensive and leave and expect stability. You then have a nation full of young men with weapons, no jobs, no homes, no opportunities, and then they're further radicalized.

REESE: Yes, I mean, we, the U.S., and the other coalition during Iraq -- Operation Iraqi Freedom, we learned a lot. And we've learned a lot in Afghanistan through the years that if we have to get involved in any of these situations again, we are taking these lessons learned and portray them and against them.

You know, right now I -- you know, the governor, I get it. Kind of emotional, but I think we have a great plan and General Austin and his battle staff down in Central are doing this right. We are having an economy of force. We want to help our Iraqi and Peshmerga friends that are out there. We have the right numbers and when General Austin feels that the Iraqis begin, he has -- you know, he has an idea. He has several different courses of action to push that in.

I think, though, what the governor and a lot of politicians, they have to define where they mean ISIS. Are they mean ISIS in just the city of Mosul? That's what he means is, we might just have a couple of hundred U.S. forces in direct support of the Iraqis, mostly to do close air support and do some other enablers who are most familiar there continue to support in their headquarters with intelligence things like that.

Now if you're talking Syria, that could be an entirely different aspect, and so we have to define where you're talking ISIS, and as ISIS grows around the world, that becomes a concern so we kind of throw this (INAUDIBLE) out. Let's define a little bit better where you're talking so that's kind of how I feel right now.

BLACKWELL: Yes, we're going to continue to have this conversation throughout the morning and play more of that conversation with John Kasich.

Lieutenant Colonel James Reese, always good to talk to you.

REESE: Yes, sir. Have a good morning.

BLACKWELL: You too.

PAUL: So ISIS obviously a high priority right now in the terror front. But there's a new report revealing a threat right here in the U.S. A group carrying out attacks on police, on government buildings. How big a treat are they really?

BLACKWELL: And nobody wants to hear this. But I got to say it. A line of snow and sleet and freezing rain, another one marching across the U.S. 125 million people could see wind chills around or far below zero.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLACKWELL: Fifteen after the hour now. There's a new government report that warns of armed extremist in the U.S. ready to attack police and go after government buildings. Now this danger has nothing to do with foreign terror groups like ISIS. Rather the concern is over more attacks like the one we saw in Georgia at a court house last year when sovereign citizens, extremist, they lash out against authority with the hope of inflicting death or mayhem, just chaos.

Look at this map from the Department of Homeland Security. There have been at least 24 of these attacks in the U.S. since 2010. And some federal and local law enforcement groups view the threat as equal to or in some cases greater than ISIS and al Qaeda.

CNN's Nick Valencia joins us now for more.

Nick, I mentioned that attack at a Georgia Courthouse. You covered that deadly shooting.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and it's people like Dennis Marks that the feds are concerned about. These so-called sovereign citizens, many of who believe that the U.S. government is illegitimate. You remember Dennis Marks showed up at that courthouse in Cumming, Georgia, armed with plenty of ammunition, explosives and smoke grenades. He was eventually shot and killed by deputies there.

But officials say that he was ready to carry out a killing spree. And now the Southern Poverty Law Center says that there may be as many, Victor, as 300,000 people like Dennis Marks out there today on U.S. soil.

BLACKWELL: Are there specific targets that they're naming?

VALENCIA: Yes, certainly. In this DHS report which was in conjunction with the FBI the concern was the primary target being law enforcement officers. And they said in this report that it's going to happen in 2015 that there will be these standoffs, these shootouts with police during routine perhaps stops at home, routine traffic stops.

There's a report back in 2012, a father and son got into a shootout with police during a routine traffic stop and the primary concern, according to this federal court, is law enforcement officials -- Victor.

BLACKWELL: Wow. They say that these could be as dangerous or even more dangerous than al Qaeda in some cases.

VALENCIA: That's right.

BLACKWELL: Nick Valencia, thank you so much.

VALENCIA: You bet.

PAUL: So let's talk to retired NYPD detective Harry Houck.

Harry, thank you for being with us. I want to ask you about that very question.

HARRY HOUCK, RETIRED NYPD DETECTIVE: Thanks for having me.

PAUL: You know, that some people say these other federal and local law enforcement groups that they're targeting, that this threat could be so much bigger even than ISIS.

Do you agree with that? Do you -- do you feel that there's a barometer to the strength of these sovereign citizens?

HOUCK: Well, I think it's more of an imminent threat than ISIS is, you know, here on the homeland. We've been having problems with people like this for, god, 20, 30 years. Every once in a while you hear when they attack a police officer, they attacked a billing. You had Timothy McVeigh, so, you know, if the intelligence that we're hearing from the -- from federal authorities say that they're going to be a danger in 2015, I think we need to keep our eyes open and our ears open to find out what, you know, when the next attack might occur.

PAUL: You talked about how this threat has been out there for so long. Do you -- do you get the sense that they are organizing in some fashion. That they're going from lone wolves to some sort of organized militia?

HOUCK: Well, I'll tell you, this is the first time I've heard a report like this. I mean, I've always heard, even when I was a police officer back 12 years ago, you know, we hear about these guys and look out for them. But I've never seen where the government actually came on the news and say listen, we're going to have attacks in 2015, so they must have some kind of intelligence, you know, to be able to warn us and let us know something is going to happen. So it appears that something might be imminent for this year.

PAUL: So how does that change the way law enforcement does things? The way that they might prepare for something like this or to even spot something like this?

HOUCK: Well, probably not too much. I mean, besides intelligence information and trying to get your ears out here there to hear what's going on, police officers just have to be a little more weary, a little more careful out there on the street. There's not really much you can do.

PAUL: Do you think there's a threat beyond law enforcement that these might target just Joe Schmoe on the street in some fashion?

HOUCK: Well, I mean, that's a possibility but we've never seen that really happen except for, you know, Timothy McVeigh when he blew up the building. But there's -- there's always a possibility of something like that happen but they really -- from what I know of these groups they really hate law enforcement and the government. They're based -- actually are mostly the type of people they're going to attack.

PAUL: All right. Harry Houck, we so appreciate your insight. Thank you.

HOUCK: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Hey, listen, if you're on the East Coast when you get out of bed this morning, just take the whole blanket and quilt situation with you. Just take it all outside to the car because this cold is brutal. Felt all up and down the East Coast all the way up to the Eastern Seaboard. But some big changes are on the way. Some good, some bad.

Also a big win for the defense in the Aaron Hernandez trial. What the judge will not be allowing prosecutors to present as evidence.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Listen, for the folks in Tennessee, I mean, this has been a really not just dangerous stretch of weather. It's been deadly. So far the winter weather, all the ice and snow they've experienced has contributed to 18 deaths in that state.

PAUL: In that state, and in total we're talking about 23 people that have died this week alone across the country. Today more than 125 million of us are under a wind chill warning or some sort of weather advisory. More than 300 flights have been cancelled for the day so do call ahead.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Let's bring in CNN's Ivan Cabrera.

Ivan, I was going to come to you with when is the break coming but I can look at the map and see not soon for some folks.

IVAN CABRERA, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Not soon for some folks. And not just that, but the arctic blasts that we've been talking about over the last several weeks will continue into March. That's depressing, isn't it?

PAUL: Yes.

CABRERA: Sorry to have to bring you that news. But there is some good news here. Look at Nashville and I-40. This was going to be a big story this morning but thankfully we've had warm enough air that has now pushed all the way into Nashville so what that means is that we are raining and not icing the roads here.

But further to the east you can see some of the pink and then some of the white. And this is going to be the story for the East Coast over the next few days. We're going to get some warm air push in and so what will start as snow will turn to freezing rain, will turn to rain as the warmer air begins to make its way to the north and east. But there are the winter storms warnings for a good chunk of the eastern U.S.

And as far as the snow fall amount, this is not going to be a blockbuster snowstorm. Sure, we're going to have a few inches all the way up into the northeast, but this will be a mountain storm, really as far as the significant accumulation for West Virginia and so looking good there for the ski resorts.

But here we go. There's a rain and it begins -- you can see kind of this pushing in? There is the snow, warm air, nosing in, and then by the time we get into Saturday night, Philly, New York, Boston, will have that switch over from snow to rain. But there will be that transition to some icings so we'll have to watch that very closely.

BLACKWELL: All right. Ivan Cabrera, thank you so much.

PAUL: Thanks, Ivan.

You know, it's estimated more than 100 Americans have tried to join ISIS on the battlefield in Syria. Will a new program thin those ranks?

BLACKWELL: Plus is there more to the killing of that mother in Las Vegas than road rage? The teen accused of killing the 44-year-old did not just know her, he told friends that they were coming after him. We've got new details from the arrest report.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Take a look at your mortgage rates this morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: We've got new video this morning of ISIS making off with American fire power. The militants attacked an Iraqi Army post in Anbar Province. Apparently they killed everyone there and then they seized scores of U.S. made guns.

PAUL: They also took off with American Humvees, and armored vehicles, and all of this as the U.S. and Iraq are planning a massive military operations to try to retake Iraq's second largest city from ISIS.

A lot of talk. little substance, some say. That's at least, you know, their quotes about the White House summit on countering violent extremists. Highlighting the summit this week, President Obama said family members, teachers, religious leaders and local law enforcement, they are all the first line of defense against America's young people, keeping them from becoming -- recruited by ISIS.

Let's talk to Jodie Elgee, she's the director of the Boston Public Schools Counseling and Intervention Center and she spoke at the summit in Washington.

Jodie, thank you for being with us. Certainly appreciate it. I want to listen real quickly here with you to something that President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry said at the summit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have the recognize that our best partners in all these efforts, the best people to help protect individuals from falling victim to extremist ideologies are their own communities, their own family members. When someone gets -- starts getting radicalized, family and friends

are often the first to see that something's changed in their personality. Teachers may notice students becoming withdrawn or struggling with his or her identity. And if they intervene in their life, and they you offer support, that may make a difference.

Faith leaders may notice that someone is beginning to espouse violent interpretations of religion, and that's a moment for possible intervention.

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: Much of this work is going to be done quietly, without fanfare in classrooms, in community centers, in workplaces, in houses of worship, on urban street corners, and in village markets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: All right. So, Jody, when we listen to that we understand that it takes a village so to speak. You know, a lot of people are going to be on the frontline of this.

JODIE ELGEE, DIRECTOR, BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS COUNSELING AND INTERVENTION CENTER: Right.

PAUL: But what was your take away? Did you walk away from this summit and feel like you learned something?

ELGEE: Absolutely. I want to thank you for having me on the show to discuss this important matter. I learned a lot at the summit. I think specifically in addressing your question and speaking to the remarks of the president and Secretary Kerry. What we know is that the best intervention are the earliest interventions and while at schools we're not talking about radicalization and we're not talking about countering violence extremist.

What we know is that parents very often, and friends, are the first to recognize when students exhibit or when there's a change in behavior.

PAUL: Mm-hmm.

ELGEE: They notice when students are not connected. They notice when they're behavior at home begins to change, and in Boston what we are doing is falling back on the existing resources, the platforms that currently exist, and we're trying to empower parents and friends as well as active bystanders to intervene when they notice that there's concerning behavior.

PAUL: OK. I want to talk about -- more about that in a minute. But let's bring in psychologist Jeff Gardere.

Jeff, what -- what would tip somebody off? I mean we talk about them being isolated or withdrawn. But that doesn't make them a terrorist necessarily. Is there anything specific you can look at somebody and say there is a real threat here?

JEFF GARDERE, PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, I think we also have to look at the issue as to mental stability or instability. A lot of people who've been recruited not only have been isolated but these are individuals who had very delusional types of thinking, a lot of anger, a lot of rage.

Not necessarily any of it making any sense and so they strike out at people, and they isolate themselves in a way you could tell they are extremely angry. So those are some of the key things that you would have to look at.

PAUL: Jodie, you know, we -- we were just talking about the people on the frontlines, you know, not just law enforcement but the teachers and the parents.

ELGEE: Right.

PAUL: Let's be honest. Let's be realistic here. There are parents who think everything is fine with their child, and yet these children go off and they can do some horrible things. Not just to other people but to themselves as well.

How is it that we can expect a teacher who is already overworked, or a parent who is doing the best they can to identify when there is a real threat to their child?

ELGEE: Well, in several ways, what you're saying is absolutely true. What I do know from the work that we do in Boston and the work that we do specifically at the counseling center is no parent wants their child to be harmed.

PAUL: Right.

ELGEE: And teachers recognize signs of kids who are not engaged. We know that students who -- for instance, when -- at the beginning of the school year when teachers look at the alpha lists and one of the exercises that we do is we have someone's initial next to a student that they have a relationship with. Those students who at the end of the day do not have any adult who have initials next to their names, those are the students that we are going to look at very closely because we know that those students are not connected to schools.

Like school shooters in terms of bullying prevention and intervention, we know students who are not engaged, students who try and have failed at engagement are the most at risk for violence.

PAUL: OK. Let's listen if we could, please, here to some sound from a woman in Canada whose 22-year-old son, by the way, went to join ISIS and he died as he was fighting with them. She spoke to CNN this week. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIANNE BOUDREAU, SON KILLED FIGHTING WITH ISIS: We've got a whole medium out there now that reaches out to our children in their smart phones, in their iPads, through whatever medium there is, that we as parents don't have control over. The world is changing quickly. We can't be there 24/7. (END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: All right. Jeff, she also goes on to say she thinks government should confiscate passports of people suspected of communicating with terrorists and detain and provide counseling to people that are being indoctrinated.

What do you say to this, Jeff? What's your reaction?

GARDERE: Well, I think certainly we should look at the signs, as your guests are saying, of people who are disconnected and therefore would be more at risk to being on Web sites that preach hate and that try to recruit. You know it's so easy to say for parents, you know, make sure you know where your kids are on the computer. What they're subscribing to. But it is easier said than done.

And that's why it's important to engage our kids be the ones who are conversing with them instead of there, just being plugged into the Web and perhaps some of these hate sites that may lead to their being at risk for being recruited like ISIS is doing.

PAUL: I mean, it's a frightening topic and you have to think when you're talking about getting teachers and holding other people accountable for these kids, there's a lot of training that you had to go into that and how do we mange that. It's the beginning of a good conversation.

Jodie Elgee and Jeff Gardere, we appreciate you both. Thank you.

GARDERE: Thank you.

ELGEE: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Some tense exchanges in the Aaron Hernandez murder trial. You're going to see why the judge lashed out at the prosecutor over what could be a key piece of evidence.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: This week fireworks in the courtroom as the Aaron Hernandez murder trial closed out the week on Friday. The judge dressed down the prosecutor over how much information can be given from the anticipated testimony of the victim's sister.

Susan Candiotti has more on this, and the other developments from Massachusetts.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christi and Victor, good morning. This is the last time Odin Lloyd is seen alive on video, walking from his home, getting into a Nissan Altima about 2:30 a.m. driven prosecutors say by New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Less than an hour later Lloyd is shot dead in an industrial park about 30 miles away. Prosecutors showed that video recorded by Lloyd's neighbor but it's the defense during cross examination who plays another portion of that tape from the same security camera.

Lloyd drives away from his house in a different car and back again about 15 minutes before he leaves with Hernandez. The jury is left to wonder what if anything it means.

The next witness was supposed to be the victim's younger sister (INAUDIBLE), who says she saw him leave in the Altima. She's barred from testifying about four text messages Lloyd sent her. The final one reads, "NFL, just so you know."

Hernandez's pleaded not guilty to murder and weapons charges. Just before Lloyd's sister is about to take the stand without the jury present fireworks in court when judge and prosecutor disagree over a proposed defense stipulation over the text messages.

JUDGE E. SUSAN GARSH, MASSACHUSETTS SUPERIOR COURT: There'll be no question of this witness at all with respect to sending or receiving text messages.

BILL MCCAULEY, PROSECUTOR: Could we just -- I ask that so I already have a ruling on the --

GARSH: I have made a ruling.

MCCAULEY: No, the prejudice show -- you just said I find it's more prejudicial than probative. I said, what is the prejudice?

GARSH: I have made a ruling. My ruling stands.

MCCAULEY: Your honor --

GARSH: It's a common wealth appeal. The appellate court I believe will be able to figure out my ruling.

CANDIOTTI: Although both sides apparently agreed there were four, quote, "communications" between Lloyd and his sister, the judge rules the only stipulation the jury will hear is that Lloyd was alive at 3:23 a.m. Prosecutors say that's one minute before he was murdered.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: Over the weekend an agreement might be worked out but either way the victim's sister is expected to testify next week in a trial where emotions can run high -- Christi and Victor.

PAUL: All right. Susan, thank you so much.

Boy, there seems to be more bizarre twists and turns in this Las Vegas road rage case. Police say the teen suspect knew the 44-year-old mother that he's accused of killing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: New details this morning of the killing of a mother in Las Vegas. Police are now searching for, as we said, one more suspect involved in the apparent road rage incident.

PAUL: Yes, and now according to the victim's husband, the late Tammy Meyers didn't just know first suspected killer, Eric Nowsch, her husband says she spent hours mentoring the 19-year-old, even giving him food and money.

BLACKWELL: Police also say the suspect told his friends that he shot her and this is coming as we said the police continue to hunt for another person.

CNN's Ana Cabrera is live in Las Vegas with the latest for us.

Ana, we're learning a lot from this new report.

ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Good morning to you, Victor and Christi.

I can tell you Eric Nowsch is being held currently behind me in the billing behind me. It's the Clark County Detention Center. He is facing a growing number of charges including murder and attempted murder for the death of Tammy Meyers. A 44-year-old mother of four. And remember, this is an incident that happened a little over a week ago today or a week ago Thursday I should say.

So here's what we've learned from this new police report that was just released. The criminal complaint regarding his arrest. Apparently police have recovered 17 shell casings from two separate crime scenes, two separate shooting scenes, with shots first fired apparently on the street during an encounter between two vehicles, and then additional shots fired outside the Meyer family home where Tammy Meyer was shot and killed.

We've also learned that Nowsch apparently confided in to two friends that he was involved in this shooting. He even showed the gun to these two friends, according to the criminal complaint. And that he told his friends that there was a green car that was after him, and he said, quote, "I got them. They were after me, and I got them."

Now police are still looking for one other person who may have been involved in this incident. But they do believe that Nowsch fire the fatal shot and Nowsch told these friends apparently that he was a passenger in the vehicle and his vehicle during this exchange and so presumably police are still looking for the driver of that car, although they aren't getting any more specific for us.

I can tell you Nowsch will be in court on Monday to hear his charges -- Victor and Christi.

PAUL: And there is a growing number of charges we understand, it's not just murder now. Right?

CABRERA: Right. It's murder, it's attempted murder, it's assault with a deadly weapon as well as firing a gun inside a vehicle in a prohibited area. So, police, again, still saying they're continuing their investigation. I believe we'll get more information as the details are released. But we certainly have a little bit clearer picture now as to what may have happened last Thursday shortly before Valentine's Day -- Victor and Christi.

PAUL: Yes. Yes.

Ana Cabrera, we appreciate it. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: All right. Lots of questions here. Let's try to get some answers, we have with us now HLN legal analyst Joey Jackson, also retired New York Police Department detective Harry Houck.

Joey, first I want to go to you. This case quickly evolving from just road rage into something seemingly more complicated, more details here. What do you make of this new report that the suspect told friends about the shooting, saying, quote, "They were after me and I got them."

Could that be used in some way to strengthen the potential self- defense claim?

JOEY JACKSON, HLN LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning, Victor. It certainly can and certainly defense attorneys will use that for their purposes, and that is of course to suggest that the reason he fired was because he was under attack. But that's one of many pieces to the puzzle that will be added. Certainly in the continuing interviewing of people as the police will do, scouring for any surveillance video or anything else that might add some clarity to what occurred.

The prosecution, of course, will be building their case and the defense will be building theirs. And it will come down to what were the motivations, how did this happen, why did it happen, why did it have to happen? And so certainly in the event that he was under attack that is Mr. Nowsch at the time that he fired the shot, then that's one thing.

In the event, however, that this was not the case and it was related to road rage or there is some back story as a result of him knowing this family, and there were some ill will animosity as a result of that, why that would be no one knows, there is a suggestion that the mother helped him, fed him, clothed him, what have you, but as they piece this together motivation as to why this occurred, Victor, will be very important.

BLACKWELL: Harry, there is one part of this that just does not make much sense to me and I'm -- hoping you can help me understand it. So when they -- the police was still looking for a suspect the description that was given was a 20 to 30-year-old six-foot white male with a medium build. And you see here Eric Nowsch on the left and the suspect's description, the sketch on the right.

If this family, if this woman knew this boy to the degree that the family claims, why didn't they just give the name and say we know he lives across the street?

HOUCK: You know, it's funny. This is exactly what I was thinking. Apparently when this altercation first started there was a verbal altercation between the mother and the driver or somebody in that vehicle. Now we're learning later on that the mother knew this kid and actually gave him money, gave him food or whatever.

So the conversation in that car when the mother was driving her daughter back home must have been hey, I know that kid, I know where he lives. And then when she got home she gets the brother to come out with a weapon.

Now them taking the whole week to find a guy who the mother knew and probably the family knew was really strange to me. So that tells me there's a lot more to this story than we're hearing.

BLACKWELL: Yes, I wonder, Joey, and let me preface this by saying my question does not suggest that they should be filed or that we even know if police are interested, but, considering that Meyers' son went back to get a gun could he face charges in this as well?

JACKSON: Well, that would certainly depend, Victor, on the nature of the weapon. Was that a registered firearm, was he in a position where he, you know, owned it lawfully, or unlawfully? And of course how did he use it? And so as the investigation unfolds that is certainly something that investigators are going to be analyzing, evaluating and looking at including why was it necessary for him to come out of the home.

Did they in fact go on a hunt for this particular individual? Did that hunt going and looking for him lead to what ended up happening to his mom which is her mom -- his mom's murder, unfortunately? And so that's a very relevant question. And I think it's one that the police will seek to get to in due time as they piece this together. We're still very early in the investigative stages here, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Lots of questions and still details that just don't seem to correspond with what we're learning day after day.

HOUCK: Right.

BLACKWELL: Joey Jackson, Harry Houck, thank you both.

JACKSON: Thank you, Victor.

BLACKWELL: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Here's a look at other stories developing right now.

Look at these images of a fire in a skyscraper. This is in Dubai. It forced hundreds of people out of their homes over night. Witnesses say the flames appeared to start on the 50th floor of the luxury apartment building quickly spread upward. The good thing is no injuries reported. No deaths reported and yet no word on the cause either.

BLACKWELL: Doctors for Bobbi Kristina Brown are slowly trying to remove her from that medically induced coma she's been in for weeks. But they say her condition has not changed. Her breathing tube was removed and she will now be ventilated through a hole in her throat. The daughter of the late Whitney Houston was found face down and

unresponsive in a bathtub of her Atlanta area home three weeks ago. Police are still not exactly sure what happened there.

PAUL: And you know what, it's a done deal for all of those who've been waiting. One of the most anticipated matches, in fact, in boxing. Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao have set a date to face each other in the ring. Both boxers making the announcement official over the last 24 hours.

The world's two top fighters tried to hammer out a deal for the -- gosh, the better part of five years at this point. Nothing ever came to fruition. But Mayweather and Pacquiao square off in Las Vegas May 2nd in what is expected to bust every revenue record in boxing history.

And the next hour of your NEW DAY starts now.

BLACKWELL: New images this morning, a show of force by ISIS, American-made M-16s, Humvees, as well. What can we learn from all these stolen firepower.

PAUL: Plus tensions rising between Russia and Ukraine.