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CNN NEWSROOM

ISIS Kidnaps Over 100 Syrian Christians; Debating "Age Appropriate"; Truck Driver Charged with Hit and Run in California Train Derailment; Fed Chair Yellen on the Economy; "Inside Man" Tries the Zero Waste Lifestyle

Aired February 25, 2015 - 09:30   ET

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


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Samuel Burke reporting live from London this morning. Thank you.

Still to come on the NEWSROOM, ISIS targets women, children and the elderly in a terrifying string of door-to-door raids in northeastern Syria. Up next, why one activist tells CNN that number of hostages being held by the terror group is -- and I'm talking about Christian hostages, way higher than initial estimates. We'll be right back.

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COSTELLO: A massive price tag on that springtime assault against ISIS. The United States is spending -- is sending $17 million worth of military equipment to Iraqi forces to prepare for it. That includes at least 10,000 weapons and more than 200 vehicles. According to U.S. officials, the Pentagon has been sending weapons to Iraq since January. Iraqi forces could target ISIS strong hold -- the ISIS stronghold of Mosul as early as April.

In the meantime, according to the Iraqi defense ministry, coalition and ground forces have secured about 80 percent of al Baghdadi, which had previously been captured by the terror group. Al Baghdadi is located near the al Assad airbase where more than 300 U.S. troops are stationed.

We're also learning disturbing new details about a group of Syrian Christians kidnapped by ISIS. An activist with sources on the ground tell CNN, about 150 people are being held hostage by the terror group, Christian people. That number is higher than initial estimates.

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OSAMA EDWARD, FOUNDER, ASSYRIAN HUMAN RIGHTS NETWORK: They have been moved to a place called Shadi (ph). That's a place totally controlled by -- firmly controlled by ISIS and nobody can reach them there. And we have learned that ISIS is going to be issuing a message today, a video message, something, talking to President Obama, talking to the coalition forces that they are going to slay or kill the hostages.

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COSTELLO: It's believed that ISIS militants went door to door raiding villages in northeastern Syria, abducting women, children and the elderly. Hundreds have already been forced to run for their lives. Let's bring in CNN's senior international correspondent Nic Robertson. He's in London with more on this.

Hi, Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, hi, Carol.

This could be affecting up to 35 different villages. Thousands of families is what we're hearing could be forced from their homes. And 1.6 hundred people were believed to be held up in what was described as a cathedral. I've taken a look at pictures of it. It's a very small church like building. So there's a real concern, not only about these 150 people that have been kidnapped, what is their fate, what is going to happen to them, but also the families on the ground forced from their homes and those hiding out right now from ISIS, trying to avoid and evade capture.

What the Syrian community is saying is, they expect the worse. They looked at what ISIS has done to Egyptian Christians, to Iraqi Christians, and that is, in some cases, given them an option to convert to Islam or kill them. And that's what they're worried about, particularly these 150 people that have been taken deeper inside ISIS territory, Carol.

COSTELLO: Is there -- I don't know, is there another reason that ISIS is focusing on Christians? Because, you know, the United States is mostly a Christian nation and it's another way to pressure our administration to do something that ISIS wants?

ROBERTSON: It certainly can be read that way. And if ISIS is going to release a video message, then we may get a better indication once they've released that. There were some overheard ISIS radio communications during this attack. One of them in a small village was saying, we've captured 56 crusaders. Now, that makes it sound as if they think that these -- the Christian families are somehow assisting and working with the United States or others.

Of course, these Christian families have been living in this part of Syria for centuries upon centuries. But if you look at the sort of -- the geographic picture, that part of northeastern Syria, the military operations that are underway there, the Kurdish operatives in that area, the Kurdish group have been making some military gains against ISIS. ISIS may be slipping on the back foot in that area. Some of the militias associated with the Assyrian groups have been fighting in the past with the Kurdish groups. So this may have a military edge to it as well. But if there is a video message, this is a very serious and concerning thing until we hear what's in it, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Nic Robertson reporting live for us this morning. Thank you.

Christian leaders are speaking out. Pope Francis calling the 21 Egyptian Christians killed by ISIS martyrs. The pope went on to say, quote, "their blood is our blood." So let's talk about this. With me now, Father Dave Dwyer. Thanks for joining me.

FATHER DAVE DWYER, CSP, HOST, "THE BUSTED HALO SHOW ON SIRIUS XM": Sure. Of course.

COSTELLO: I really appreciate you being here.

DWYER: Sure.

COSTELLO: So I want to read you something that Cardinal Timothy Dolan wrote in "The New York Post." Quote, "there is an orchestrated phobia of Christianity throughout the world today. A coordinated effort on behalf of fanatics to see that true religion, which stands for friendship, peace, the dignity of the human person and the sacredness of human life is stamped out." So my question after that is, how do you fight evil when war goes against your core beliefs?

DWYER: Well, as a matter of fact, even just yesterday the United States bishops issued a statement to our U.S. government saying that it's possible that military intervention might be necessary but there are so many other ways that we also need to help these people, bolster this society. They talked about the fact that fanaticism and extremism can be countered by people feeling that they can participate in a society, so not just military might.

COSTELLO: OK. So Pope Francis appears to be wrestling with this, too, right?

DWYER: Yes. Oh, sure, yes.

COSTELLO: Because on one hand the pope has urged the fighting to stop in Gaza, Iraq and Ukraine, right, where wars are going on?

DWYER: Uh-huh.

COSTELLO: But according to "The Daily Beast," the pope said, quote, "where there is an unjust aggression, I can only say that it is legitimate to stop the unjust aggressor." "Stop the unjust aggressor."

DWYER: Sure.

COSTELLO: So the pope did not say how exactly. So what do you suppose he means?

DWYER: Well, no. And we know that means certainly traditionally in the church that if we look at the microcosm of bully in a school yard, it is permissible to bop the bully over the head to stop that bully from doing the worst damage. So the church has long talked about the theory of just war. That sometimes, as a last resort, it is necessary. But that's what the pope means. And, in fact, he goes on to say, stop the unjust aggressor but not with an unending campaign of military action. To stop that and then move on to peaceful means.

COSTELLO: As far as the reaction from Christians around the world joining together and standing up and condemning what ISIS is doing to Christians in these parts of the world, talk about that a little bit. DWYER: Well, I think Cardinal Dolan, Pope Francis and a lot of other

leaders, and, in fact, Cardinal Whil (ph) in Washington, D.C., just a couple of days ago, when most of us in the Catholic church and many other Christians were walking around with ashes on our heads, a week ago, were saying that, in some parts of the world, this would be a death sentence. And we need to speak up. We need to prayerfully and monetarily support organizations that are helping these people that are literally being driven from their homelands after years. Assyrian Christians have been there for thousands of years. And they're a teeny tiny minority that could very well be wiped out from the face of the earth.

COSTELLO: And I think one of the things that this horrible violence is doing is, it's drawing Christians, you know, no matter what faith you are, together.

DWYER: Right.

COSTELLO: To sort of like speak in one strong voice.

DWYER: Yes, that's what Pope Francis meant by an ecumenism (ph) of blood. Ecumenism is kind of all of Christians, regardless of denomination, working together for unity and as a witness to the world. What he says is, well, I don't care if they're Catholics that have been captured or executed, this is all of our blood. We all need to speak up and we all need to support these people.

COSTELLO: Father Dwyer, thank you so much for stopping by.

DWYER: Sure. Of course.

COSTELLO: I appreciate it.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, new safety features save lives in a horrific California train crash, but could different technology have prevented the crash from happening? We'll talk about that next.

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COSTELLO: I hate the term age appropriate. It's popping up everywhere. I know it's not the most pressing issue facing women today, it's just so patronizing. I wrote an op-ed on cnn.com just so I could vent. The idea came after J. Crew, my favorite store, became the latest in a long line of random entities instructing women on how to dress in your 20s, in your 30s, 40s and beyond. Perhaps this trend started with the best of intentions, but after having total strangers instruct me through the years to dress sexy, not slutty, in my 20s, to avoid mom jeans in my 30s, to find a signature look in my 40s and to throw out my Uggs in my 50s, I'm kind of done.

And while I'm at it, I'm done with the, she looks great and holy cow she's 45. Jennifer Lopez is 45, but she looked beautiful at the Oscars on Sunday, period. No age qualifier necessary. And, guess what, her gown, with the deep plunging neckline, was awesomely appropriate, even if it would never be included in that beyond category.

That felt good. If you want to vent more along with me, head to my op- ed on cnn.com/opinion or you can check out Twitter @carolcnn.

I'll be right back.

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COSTELLO: An Arizona man is under arrest today, charged with felony hit and run after he abandoned his pickup truck on the railroad tracks in Oxnard, California. That truck was then hit by an oncoming train, triggering a train derailment that left at least 30 people injured, four of them critically. The NTSB says it's in possession of the train's data recorder and that the information will be downloaded later today.

So let's talk about the investigation. I'm joined by former NTSB managing director, Peter Goelz. Welcome, Peter.

PETER GOELZ, FORMER NTSB MANAGING DIRECTOR: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Good morning. What do you make of this guy running away and charged with a felony hit and run?

GOELZ: Well, you know, he's going to be charged. I mean, there is simply no way to explain drivers' behavior at crossings. I've ridden on the front end of trains and even every day people take extraordinary risks crossing the tracks, breaking the law, breaking regulations. A lack of common sense. And it costs lives -- their own -- and it can cost lives of people on the train. It's inexplicable.

COSTELLO: So the NTSB is in its initial stages of the investigation. So I guess it's difficult to determine how that truck got stuck on the tracks. It was turning. It had a heavy load. And was it because of the heavy load that the train -- that the truck got stuck on the tracks?

GOELZ: Well, they'll figure that out. I mean, they did report last night that the pickup truck was not hung up on the tracks. I mean, the real question is why did the driver ignore the bells and the arm coming down? And what was he doing driving on the tracks in the first place? He must have noticed immediately that he was on the railroad tracks. He had his brights on. He obviously could see. It's simply inexplicable.

COSTELLO: It was amazing that more people were not injured, and I would suppose it was because of this special technology that was built into those individual train cars. Can you talk about that?

GOELZ: Sure. I mean, over the years, the NTSB has investigated a number of tragedies like this, and one of the things that came out of that were recommendation that new rail cars have crush zones and stronger interior pillars so that the front end of the train or the rear end of the cars do not compact, trapping the individuals and crushing the individuals inside them. I mean, they're in an enormous safety advantage now over the older cars and they proved their worth in this tragedy.

COSTELLO: Absolutely. Peter Goelz, thanks so much for your insight. I appreciate it as always.

GOELZ: Thank you.

COSTELLO: I'll be right back.

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COSTELLO: At the top of the hour, the chairwoman of the Federal Reserve will update lawmakers on the economy and the nation's monetary policy. In simple terms, are Washington's decisions giving you the most bang for your buck? Janet Yellen's words yesterday boosted the stock market to record highs but some comments raised eyebrows as well.

Our chief business correspondent Christine Romans joins us now with more. Good morning.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Her testimony was 1,898 words long, and two of those words were the word "patient". And that's the way it works. She carefully chose all of those words and the word patient is what people wanted to hear.

You could say that the world market, she's holding their hand, leading them into the future when they're going to be raising interest rates. The U.S. economy is strong enough to raise interest rates.

You said she raised eyebrows. She did when she something that I found very interesting. She said that the spoils of the stock market recovery, and of this recovery in the economy, have gone to people who are invested in the stock market, people who make money with money, not necessarily people who make money with their time and their work. And that's something that's been lagging here. Wages have been lagging and it hasn't been as broad based as she would like to see. We know wages are up 2.2 percent year over year. She would like to see 3 percent to 4 percent. So we want to see wages part of the recovery before she's really confident enough to be able to raise interest rates and not crush the recovery.

COSTELLO: She said something interesting, too, about millennials that made me laugh.

ROMANS: I know. She said she doesn't quite understand them. And I think some of the smartest minds of the world don't get millennials. They're buying houses later; they're getting married later. They are spending money -- there's this phrase called "HENRY": High Earner Not Rich Yet. And they apply that to millennials a lot because they're educated, they have a lot of student debt but they're starting to make money in the workplace, but nobody knows how to figure how they spend their money or what kind of driver they're going to be in the overall economy. And even the most powerful woman --

COSTELLO: Honestly, I think they got it together. So they're waiting to buy homes when they can actually afford them.

ROMANS: I'm absolutely bullish on millennials. COSTELLO: They're waiting to get married. They're going to do their

fun stuff first and then be responsible as a married -- I think that's great.

ROMANS: The way they think about money, too, they want value for how they spend money and what they do with their time. I swear, they're going to change the way we work. We won't have a five-day workweek by the time we're at the end of our careers; we'll have a four-day workweek because millennials don't want to work the way we do.

COSTELLO: Go milliennials! Do it sooner!

ROMANS: Mark it down. 9:54 in the East, I predicted that here.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: Christine Romans, thank you.

ROMANS: Do it sooner.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: That's right.

If you didn't take out your trash for a year, what would your house look like -- what would your house look like, anyway? It wouldn't look great. Our "INSIDE MAN" Morgan Spurlock went digging and found a family of four that never takes out the trash. Ever.

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MORGAN SPURLOCK, CNN HOST, "INSIDE MAN": I'm meeting with Bea Johnson, an author and proponent of something known as the zero waste lifestyle. The aim of the zero waste lifestyle is to reduce as much solid waste as possible and send little to know trash at the end of the day to landfills or incinerators.

Since 2008, Bea and her family have been living the philosophy by sticking to the five Rs. Refuse -- that's anything they don't need. Reduce -- the amount of things they actually need. Reuse everything. That means zero disposable items. Recycle. And finally, to Rot, as in compost. Since adopting the five Rs, this is the amount of waste her family of four sends to a landfall in an entire year.

Bea and I are heading to my local grocery store in Brooklyn so that she can teach me how to shop for our lunch in the zero waste way. I'm a bit skeptical but I'll give it a try.

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COSTELLO: Oh, I want to know more, don't you? That's amazing. Morgan goes zero waste on the newst episode of "INSIDE MAN". It airs this Thursday 9:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN.

The next hour of NEWSROOM after a break.

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