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EARLY START

Sony Cyberattack Investigation; Obama to Lift Parts of Cuban Embargo; Suspected Marathon Bomber in Court; Stephen Colbert Says Goodbye; Stocks Have Best Day in Three Years; ISIS Leaders Killed in U.S. Airstrikes; Boko Haram Kidnap 185 Women & Children

Aired December 19, 2014 - 04:00   ET

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


DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: Cyberattack. Officials believe they know how hackers got access to Sony's computer system, as North Korea defector warns of a dangerous cyberwar office.

And President Obama now saying he will go it alone, flexing executive muscles to ease restrictions against Cuba, if Congress fail to act. What the new relationship means for the people of Cuba and in the United States.

U.S. government says three ISIS leaders taken out in airstrikes as President Obama signs deployment orders for 1,300 troops to Iraq. What is expected on these boots on the ground? And are we any closer to defeating the terror group?

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Deborah Feyerick. It is Friday, December 19th. It's 4:00 a.m. in the East.

And we have new information this morning about the huge cyberattack on Sony Pictures that resulted with the withdrawal of the movie, "The Interview". Investigators believe that they know just how hackers penetrated Sony's computer systems. U.S. officials briefed on the investigation tell CNN that there's evidence that the hackers used the tried and true method, they stole the password of a system administrator, a person who has total access to the company's network. There is also word the U.S. officials are very close to naming North Korea as the suspected perpetrator of the cyberattack.

Senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta has the latest on the investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The White House is describing the cyberattack on Sony as a serious national security matter, and in the words of a top administration officials, a response is coming.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest declined to specify whether a foreign government like North Korea is behind the hacking, but in the toughest rhetoric to date on the date on the situation, Earnest described the attack and threats on movie theaters, as what he called "destructive activity with malicious intent", and that this activity, he said, would merit an appropriate response from the United States. Earnest would not say whether that means sanctions or some sort of cyber response from the U.S., but a senior administration official wanted to make one thing very clear, saying the White House absolutely did not put pressure on Sony to pull "The Interview", that movie, from theaters, knowing what Earnest told reporters at the briefing at the White House.

Here's what he had to say.

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The United States stands squarely on the side of artists and companies that want to express themselves. And we believe that kind of artistic expression is worthy of protection, and it is not something subjected to intimidation because you happen to disagree with the views.

ACOSTA: Now, to hammer that point home, Earnest said officials would not be opposed to a presidential screening of "The Interview" at the White House, like other films that are shown here for the president and special guests. That's an indication that the White House views Sony decision to pull "The Interview" as something of a problem.

We should point out, there have been consultations between the FBI and Sony. And the senior administration said those conversations were relayed to the president's national security team. For now, the White House says it's waiting on investigators from the FBI and national security team at the Justice Department to wrap up the investigation. And that appears to be happening very soon -- Deb.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Jim Acosta for us.

Well, if it turns out to be true that North Korea is the culprit behind hack on Sony, that raises the big question, how can the world's poorest countries that bars most of its people from any contact with the Internet pull off a cyberattack of such apparent sophistication.

CNN's Kyung Lah joins us now from Seoul.

And, Kyung, you've met a North Korean defector and he seems to have the answer to that question of who's doing this.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a -- the whodunit is in his estimation, an area, a group called Bureau 121. Think of them as a shadow agency, he says. They are handpicked. They are the best of the best, the best minds in North Korea, and they are specifically trained, specifically to become hackers, to try to infiltrate Western companies.

And these hackers, he estimates about 1,800 of them spread around the world. He can't verify the number, even the agents within Bureau 121 don't exactly know, but that's his estimation.

When they are placed around the world, they then try to attack Western interests, Western companies like Sony. Whenever they do attack, those messages, the orders come from Pyongyang. So, you getting back to your original question, Deb, yes, you think about a cyber army being able to dispatch so many people from around the world. Well, it's far cheaper to handpick and train them to become hackers than actually fight a conventional war. And this, Deb, the estimation by the South Korea government is this is the new war -- Deb.

FEYERICK: And it's fascinating also because every country has this. This is the new reality. A number of cyber experts I'm speaking to are saying it's not just a physical war that we're going to see. It's about cyber. It's about everybody being in everybody else's system. So, the interesting thing is, the great equalizer is usually the fact that you know there's going to be a response.

The people who they believe are doing this, do you know where they are being trained? Is it in North Korea, or are they being sent outside of the country to get this training?

LAH: It's very difficult to know. But the belief is they are trained in Pyongyang and then they're dispatched, that they have almost cover identities. But that the original training happens in Pyongyang and they are selected when they are teenagers and raised to become these hackers. So, that's the belief right now.

And you are talking about a response. They don't know who to respond to, according to South Korean government, who's been suspicious of Bureau 121 for sometime.

FEYERICK: Well, that's exactly right. We saw it obviously in Estonia. We saw it in other countries.

All right. Kyung Lah, thank you so much. We appreciate your insights and guidance on that. Thank you.

And Hollywood is reacting with fear to the cyberattack on Sony Pictures. And for many, at least, disappointment at Sony's decision to withdraw "The Interview." Actor Rob Lowe, who has a cameo in the movie tweeted, "Wow, everyone caved. The hackers won, an utter and complete victory for them."

Ben Stiller wrote, "Really hard to believe this is the response to the threat to freedom of expression here in America."

And comedian Chris Rock giving voice to the fear and certainty taking hold in Hollywood.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS ROCK, COMEDIAN: This whole thing is scary, man. It's like, you know, e-mails and it's your private stuff. I mean, the whole town is scared. Everybody's got to be scared.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: And Sony says it has no plans to distribute the $40 million film in theaters or home video. President Obama squeezes in his annual end of the year conference

today before he heads off to Christmas vacation. Insiders say that he will field a variety of topics, including his executive action on immigration, his historic move to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba, and the Senate CIA torture report, and, of course, the hack against Sony among other issues.

And the White House is leaving the door is leaving the door open this morning for a possible future visit to the U.S. by Cuban President Raul Castro. Reporters pressed for details from the administration following Wednesday's historic announcement, plans to reestablish diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest compared a possible visit by Raul Castro to earlier visits by leaders from other countries that have what he called checkered human rights records like China and Burma.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EARNEST: The president has had the leaders of both Burma and China to the United States. And for that reason, I would not rule out a visit from President Castro.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Well, John Kerry hopes to return the favor, becoming the first secretary of state in 60 years to visit Cuba. Meanwhile, "The New York Times" reporting that President Obama plans to act on his own to lift many of the elements of the trade embargo against Cuba, in a move that is sure to provoke a furious fight with the new Republican Congress. The White House says that the president plans to use broad executive powers to lift restrictions on travel, commerce and financial activity.

And no one is more eager to see the 60-year-old trade sanctions against Cuba lifted than the people of Cuba. But whether Cuba with its wrecked economy is ready for such a massive influx of goods and tourists, well, that's another option.

CNN's Patrick Oppmann has more from Havana.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They're actually two Cubas, and this is the one that most visitors don't see. It's a grim place. You can see buildings are collapsing all around me. People are just hanging on.

Part of that is due to the long time U.S. economic sanctions, part of that is, frankly, due to the Cuban government's inability to manage their own economy. So, you talk to people here and hear about how they only make about $20 a month. It's not nearly enough to get by, but it's what they have.

They have, of course, old cars passed down for generations. They keep running. They look like they could fall apart anytime. And some of them do. So, when you talk about people in impoverished neighborhoods like this

one, when you talk about the improved U.S. and Cuba relations mean for them, they talk about how they don't just want to improve the economic relations, they need it to.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): You try to make things better so we have more. We have enough, but more would be better.

OPPMANN: And this is the other Cuba, the one that is for international visitors who come to Cuba with hard currency to spend. You can see the streets are fixed, the walls are painted and buildings are not falling down. Is Cuba ready for all these changes? It doesn't appear so, but they are welcoming all the same.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Well, tensions are running high both inside and outside of the courthouse where suspected Boston marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev made his first public appearance in more than a year. Well, during the trial, a friend of the 20-year-old shouted out her support saying, "We know you are innocent." Meantime, outside, a victim who lost his leg in the bombing confronted a Tsarnaev supporter while holding his prosthetic leg and shaking it and saying, "Here is your proof." Tsarnaev's trial is set to begin January 5th.

And Stephen Colbert filed his last report Thursday night. The faux Republican comedian put on quite the show. In his word segment, he thanked the nation for supporting him and all his crazy pursuits like saving the Olympics and running for president. He even broke out into the hit song, "We'll Meet Again." Jon Stewart, Willie Nelson and Cyndi Lauper, Big Bird, Katie Couric, even and others on the show. He bid final farewell like only he could.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN COLBERT, COMEDIAN: I just got too many people to thank. Well, first and foremost, everyone who worked hard to make something special, all of our friends and family for putting up with our long hours, the network for giving us the chance to begin with and all of the guests who came on, thousands of them, there are just too many to thank. So, I'll thank Mavis Staples.

Mavis, if you could call everybody tomorrow, that would be great. Thanks.

Oh, and you, the Colbert Nation. We couldn't have done it without you. Thank you for being such a big part of it. That was fun.

OK. OK. That's the show. From eternity, I'm Stephen Colbert.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: That was fun. What more can you say?

Well, thunderstorms are expected to continue in Texas this morning.

Let's get to meteorologist Derek Van Dam for an early look at your weather.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Deborah.

Waking up to a beautiful start to the weekend across the New England coast. Sunshine for New York City. Mountain snow expected to cross the Pacific Northwest. The law pressure system will bring some rainfall to places like Dallas, Texas, New Orleans.

Temperatures today in the Windy City, 33 degrees. The Big Apple, 38. The nation's capital at 45.

Here's the low pressure system bringing some rain to Mississippi, Louisiana, and southeast Texas, the bulk of the precipitation still waiting towards the end of the weekend to impact Georgia and Florida panhandle.

There's been a lot of chatter on social media about the possibility of a Christmas Eve storm. Computer models indicated that this will be a mainly rainmaker across the New England coast. Some snow on the back side of the storm and lots of wind setting up across the Great Lakes.

Good news for the drought conditions across central and northern California, improving statistics for the central and northern parts. Here's a much-needed rainfall. Locally, 4 to 6 inches for that region. Wet weather across the Pacific Northwest, with snow for the Cascades and Rockies.

Back to you, Deborah.

FEYERICK: All right. Derek, thanks so much.

Well, let's get an early start on your money with Cristina Alesci.

Cristina, huge moves for stocks now?

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's incredible. The Santa rally is finally here. So, I'm thinking it will be a strong end to the week this week. We have seen the Dow, the NASDAQ and S&P all higher.

And, yesterday, just to put this in context, the Dow had its best day in more than three years. It climbed 421 points or 2.4 percent. Now, in the past two days, the Dow has added 709 points total. That is the best two-day gain since November 2008.

It is a huge reversal from the past two weeks when stocks were sliding and everybody was talking about a potential pull back. That never came. What is sending stocks higher? It's all about the Federal Reserve.

The market right now is addicted to easy money. Since the Fed Chair Janet Yellen indicated no rush to raise rates, stocks are getting a huge boost. Investors are talking about a correction or pullback, the market rallies back.

We talk about this December, when we talk about the Santa rally, has been a historically strong month for stocks. I don't see that changing this year. You know, we're going to have to see what happens in January when everybody sobers up a bit.

FEYERICK: Right. Exactly. It's not easy as it once appeared. Interesting. But it's good to see climbing and climbing. You said that last time we were speaking about it. That it just seems to keep going up.

ALESCI: Yes, there's no reason for it to go down. It seems like right now. But like I said, January could be a whole different world.

FEYERICK: Exactly, when the Christmas hangovers end.

All right. Cristina Alesci, thanks so much. I appreciate that.

Well, the U.S. is now confirming the death of three ISIS leaders. The operations that took them out. How the U.S. plans to confront the terrorist group head on.

And Boko Haram storming a village and capturing nearly 200 villagers. We have details on the frightening situation. That's coming up straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Three ISIS leaders have been killed in U.S. airstrikes. A senior military official tells CNN two top leaders and one mid-level leader were killed in multiple strikes last month. This comes as the president signed deployment orders Thursday for 1,200 troops to head to Iraq. The troops are now going farther afield being deployed outside Baghdad and Erbil.

Eight children were found stabbed to death inside a home in Australia. Police were called in a house in Cairns after getting calls about a woman with serious injuries. When they arrived, they found the victims between 18 months and 15 years old, all of them dead. Their mom is receiving treatment and speaking with police. At this point, no word on the motive or a suspect.

And details are emerging this morning about a new attack by Nigerian Boko Haram militants. Local officials claim that the Islamist insurgents kidnapped at least 185 women and children in the village of Gumsuri, killing some 32 people in the process. The officials say that the militants also burned most of the village using gasoline bombs.

CNN's Nima Elbagir has more for us live from London.

Good morning, Nima.

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Deborah.

Well, for many Nigerians, this attack only resources that sense of helplessness in the face of this continuing Boko Haram campaign of terror. It's been very difficult to get any details out from this really remote region. But we understand that this was actually part of a serious of attacks, the first in early December was actually in Chibok, the town at the center of the abduction of almost 300 girls nearly eight months ago now. Fifty-three men were killed trying to defend Chibok.

From there, Boko Haram moved to Gumsuri. And as you said, they abducted 185 women and girls. Authorities tell us they have no sense of where these women and girls were taken. There is at the moment no trail they are able to follow and given that we still know so little about many of those girls abducted back in Chibok in April, the worry for a lot of the families in this area is that they will never been able to keep their children and families safe until really integral changes in the way that the Nigerian government is able to reinforce these communities, but also to deal with this ever-growing threat -- Deborah.

FEYERICK: And the Nigerian government had initially said they believed they had it under control, but they really don't, because it's happening and it keeps on happening.

ELBAGIR: Well, they went so far as to say they signed a cease-fire back in October. The girls would be coming home. But nothing really seems to be changing on the ground and on the 17th of December, they were forced to court martial 54 Nigerian soldiers because they were ill-equipped, they were ill-supported, and they were unprepared to do what they call suicide missions against Boko Haram. So, you don't get a sense this is sadly changing anytime soon.

FEYERICK: Yes, absolutely. They just don't have control.

All right. Nima, thank you so much. We appreciate that.

And breaking this morning in Hong Kong, a business tycoon and his top official had been found guilty in the corruption trial. Chief secretary of administration, Rafael Hui, was found guilty on five counts, ranging from official misconduct to bribery. Businessman Thomas Kwok was convicted of misconduct in public office. His brother was cleared on all counts.

And a massive recall just got even bigger. Ford now recalling almost half a million more vehicles. What you need to know to keep your family safe.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Well, after intense pressure from federal regulators, Ford is expanding the recall of Takata airbags. Ford was one of five automakers encouraged to expand drivers side airbag recalls nationwide. The company is also expanding the recall globally, adding nearly 500,000 more cars to the list. Ford said it was aware of one accident with an injury possibly related to malfunctioning airbags.

And in the wake of recent fence-jumping incidents at the White House, an independent review has found the Secret Service is stretched beyond its limits and could use a funding bump. It could need more training, more staff and concluded that the service is too insular. It needs a director from outside its ranks. The review also recommended the White House fence be raised, which is what they've been asking for. Saying it needs to be at least four or five feet taller and also has got a curve outward.

Well, this morning, police in Kentucky are searching for a suspect who stole a car with a 20-day-old baby in the backseat. Baby Henry was reunited with his parents Thursday after he was found abandoned in a car at a gas station in Ft. Mitchell. Two women in the area reported the vehicle to police after recognizing it from the Amber Alert.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I saw the car. My dad works next door. I saw the car and I just pulled in thinking that's no way that that's car. And I saw the license plate. So, I ran up and I saw her. I was like, are you seeing the same thing? We opened the door. The baby was inside.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Well, police said the car was stolen just seconds after Henry's mother walked into the Florence gas station.

And inmates at New Mexico's prisons are singing their own version of the "12 Days of Christmas" this holiday season. It's called the "11 prisons of Christmas". Listen.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

FEYERICK: Well, it highlights 11 service projects the convicts are doing for their community. But the song isn't just about being festive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was pleasantly surprising to see normally macho inmates, now willing to sing the community a Christmas song.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Well, the hope is that serving the community along with singing for the community will help convicts stay out of trouble once they are free.

And Hollywood is heated. Some household names are coming out against Sony for pulling the plug on the movie, "The Interview." What this says for the future of all American movies.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)