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EARLY START

Guilty Verdict in American Sniper Trial; Syrians Kidnapped by ISIS; Snowy in the South

Aired February 25, 2015 - 04:00   ET

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


JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, guilty. A Texas jury convicts a man for killing the American sniper and one other man. Reaction and brand-new video just released from the trial ahead.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Christians captured. ISIS militants kidnapping more than 100 Christians in Syria. What can be done to save them following the latest display of terrorist brutality?

BERMAN: And winter weather hitting the Deep South. This could be the most difficult day yet. Can these warm-weather states handle this freeze? The latest ahead.

ROMANS: That's Knoxville. Whoa!

BERMAN: Yes. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.

ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It's Wednesday, February 25th. It's 4:00 a.m. in the East.

Breaking overnight, a verdict -- a verdict is in, in the American sniper murder trial. Eddie Ray Routh found guilty of the murder of Chris Kyle and his friend, Chad Littlefield. The jury not persuaded by Routh's claim he was not guilty by reason of insanity.

CNN's Ed Lavandera was at the courthouse for the verdict.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, it was a swift verdict. They took the jury here in Stephenville, Texas, less than 2 1/2 hours to convict Eddie Ray Routh of the murders of Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield, rejecting his claims and his arguments that he was insane at the time of these murders back in February of 2013. This means that Eddie Ray Routh will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole.

JUDY LITTLEFIELD, MOTHER OF CHAD LITTLEFIELD: We just want to say that we've waited two years for God to get justice for us on behalf of our son. And as always, God has proved to be faithful, and we're so thrilled that we have the verdict that we have tonight.

LAVANDERA: Eddie Ray Routh showed no emotion as the verdict was read. He just stood there and took it all in, which is basically the ways he's acted throughout most of this trial. There's been very little reaction from him. Most of the time in court, he's just sat there and taken pages and pages worth of notes.

But Eddie Ray Routh found guilty of the murders of American sniper Chris Kyle and his best friend, Chad Littlefield -- John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Our thanks to Ed for that.

Now, with the end of the trial overnight comes the release of hours of brand-new courtroom video, never-before-seen moments. Look at this one right here. Chris Kyle's widow, Taya, explains how her husband sounded on the phone, calling from the firing range where he and Chad Littlefield took Routh for that fateful outing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFEID FEMALE: How would you characterize what you were hearing on the phone? Like what emotion?

TAYA KYLE, CHRIS KYLE'S WIDOW: I mean, I would say irritated. I thought he was irritated. I thought the guy must be -- I thought he --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't want to think about, you know, speculate.

KYLE: No, no, no. I'm just saying, OK, so what would cause him to be irritated is what I was thinking?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right. Yes. He didn't seem like normal Chris when you talk to him.

KYLE: No, because normally going out there, especially a place like Rough Creek, it's beautiful, he feels really good about helping somebody. Usually he's making their day and he knows it. Which is what, you know, that happened earlier. He thought that the guy sounded really excited to go, and so he thought he was doing a good thing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So he sounded a little irritated when you talked to him that afternoon?

KYLE: Yes. It was very short. And it wasn't short like hey, you're interrupting a good time. It was short like I wish I could say more, but I'm not going to because there are people around.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: We'll have much more on this ahead.

Meanwhile, developing this morning, ISIS targeting Christians. Syrian human rights advocates say that ISIS militants have stormed Syrian villages in northeastern Syria, kidnapping scores of women, children and the elderly as hundreds more Christians are fleeing for their lives.

Let's get the latest on the situation, turning to senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman.

Ben, what can you tell us?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, what we can tell you, John, is according to the Syrian organization for human rights, yesterday morning at about 4:00, a group of ISIS fighters entered two Syrian Christian villages in the northeastern Syrian province Hasakah. They took 150 people prisoner, mostly women, children and the elderly. We don't know their fate at this point. We also understand that about 600 to 700 families fled that area and are now taking refuge in a church in the town of Hasakah which is the capital of that province. So, a very worrying situation there.

Of course, this happened in the past -- now, just to give you an idea what's going on behind me, John, we're in a valley north of Irbil where coalition troops including Italian forces here are training Kurdish fighters in the use of anti-tank missiles. This is part of a large program that is being conducted not just in Kurdistan but also in the rest of Iraq to try to bring up the capabilities, in this instance of the Peshmerga.

Now, here we have Dutch, we have British, German and Italian troops who are providing training and things like detecting IEDs, providing first aid on the front. So, it's a big program here. And it's also occasionally pretty noisy -- John.

BERMAN: Ben Wedeman, remarkable to see that training behind you for the future battle against ISIS, even as these ISIS militants continue their rampage across the region, now kidnapping up to 100 Christians in Syria.

Ben, our thanks to you.

ROMANS: Kidnapping and using social media to lure others to their cause. Police now believe three teenage British girls who left home to join ISIS are no longer in Turkey. They have made it into Syria. That's what authorities are saying. Authorities in Britain and Turkey were hoping to locate these girls before they crossed the border.

The fate of the teens sparking a diplomatic flap between those two countries. Turkish officials questioning why British authorities waited three days before notifying them about the missing girls.

This morning, Iraqi forces are preparing for their next move against is, and now CNN getting details on the exact kind of help they're getting from the United States. Millions of dollars worth of American weapons and ammunition flowing into Iraq in just the last couple of months.

CNN's Barbara Starr at the Pentagon for us with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: John, Christine, we've learned that the Pentagon has been shipping weapons to Iraq since the beginning of the year to help those Iraqi forces get ready for their next fight, widely believed to be the fight to retake Mosul.

Let's take a look at some of the equipment now being sent since the first of the year. We know that there have been 10,000 M16 rifles, 10,000 optical scopes. That's equipment, technology, that goes on top of the rifles to help increase the actual targeting, to make it more precise, especially in urban environments like Mosul.

Also, 23,000 ammunition magazines and another 250 or so MRAP vehicles, mine-resistant vehicles, because it's known that ISIS is likely to mine and booby-trap the Mosul area.

But an alternative scenario is emerging. The Pentagon has talked about conducting that Mosul attack in the April-May time frame. Now, Defense Secretary Ash Carter making it clear he's not quite ready to sign on to that yet. He wants to know that the Iraqi forces are really ready to go.

One official saying if they go to Mosul and they can't succeed, that would be very bad. So they want to make sure they have the training and the equipment to be successful.

But another alternative scenario emerging, will the Iraqi forces actually go to Mosul first, or might they go to western Iraq? Go to Anbar province west of Baghdad, which is not so heavily populated. It might be an easier task for them -- John, Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: All right, our thanks to Barbara Starr for that.

All right. A presidential veto -- President Obama vetoed the Republican-led bill that would green-light construction of the Keystone oil pipeline. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, he's already scheduled a vote to try to override that veto next week. It's just the third veto the president has ever issued, the first one in five years. With Republicans now in control of both chambers, you can expect him to do it some more, though, in maybe the near future.

ROMANS: All right. Four students from Wesleyan University in Connecticut are arrested in connection with an overdose involving the party drug Molly. Eleven people were hospitalized Sunday after taking an apparent bad batch of the drug at a weekend party. Police say there may have been a mix of multiple so-called designer drugs in that batch of Molly. The four students arrested have all been suspended from school.

BERMAN: Charges of felony hit-and-run against a driver who abandoned his pickup truck on railroad tracks in Oxnard, California, that led to a collision with a Metrolink commuter train. That train ran into that vehicle. The 54-year-old driver is now in custody. Police found him a mile and a half from the scene. At least 30 people were injured in that crash, four still in critical

condition. It appears new train technology may have been prevented a tragedy. Officials say some of the Metrolink cars were equipped with what is called collision energy management technology installed five years ago following a deadly rail crash.

ROMANS: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel now faces an April runoff in his bid for re-election. He finished on top in a five-candidate Democratic primary field, but it was far short of the 50 percent vote he needed to win outright. He's going to face Cook County Commissioner Jesus Garcia who finished second in the runoff on April 7th. And the mayor even had some very high-profile friend and former boss, the president of the United States. The president was just there kind of stumping for him.

But there will have to be an runoff now.

BERMAN: It will be an interesting six weeks.

All right. A new round of brutal weather bearing down on the South. The governors of Georgia and Alabama have declared a state of emergency with ice, sleet, snow, freezing rain expected across most states. Our friends in Atlanta, there have been several school districts canceling classes there today.

ROMANS: The relentless record-breaking cold and snow really causing a lot of problems in the region. In Tennessee, tens of thousands of residents without power in six counties. The state has reported dozens of weather-related deaths in the past week.

BERMAN: In North Carolina, snow and icy roads caused problems for commuters there. Parts of Interstate 85 in Rowan County, parts of that were closed after a pickup truck overturned and several other vehicles crashed nearby. Officials say the driver of the pickup was not injured.

ROMANS: OK. So, how long until things return to normal for the Southeast?

BERMAN: Too long.

ROMANS: Let's ask meteorologist Pedram Javaheri. He's got an early look at your forecast this morning.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: John and Christine, good morning to you.

Yes, it's going to be one of those days especially around central and northern Texas yet again, sort of a slushy accumulation there. One to two inches around the Dallas metro, hundreds flights impacted earlier in the week. And temperatures should warm into the 40s.

So, I don't foresee much sticking around by the evening but still enough falling during the morning commute to cause issues around Dallas metro and points east eastward. Really about 45 million or so people impacted by wintry weather. Winter storm warnings in place. You don't see this every single day in places like Birmingham, Tupelo or Atlanta. But Wednesday will be one of those days where we know a snow accumulations is going to be a probability.

You also have some wintry weather pushing into central Iowa. But here we go to the South, we've got all the ingredients in place. Southern storm system tracking across the Gulf of Mexico. Plenty of moisture there, plenty of cold air to the north.

So, this narrow band right here, that's the area we have the 40 or so million people. That's the area we're concerned about for snow beginning into the late morning, early afternoon hours. By the overnight hours, it should begin to taper off. The end result will be a few inches left in place, generally speaking, around Atlanta. Perhaps two to three in northern areas of, say, North Carolina could see far greater amounts, around eight to 10 inches -- guys.

ROMANS: All right. Thanks for that, Pedram.

Time for an early start on your money this morning.

European Nation shares mixed. U.S. stock futures barely moving so far after yesterday's great day. The Dow and S&P 500 closing at record highs. The NASDAQ closing in on 5,000 -- 5,000. That has not been since the dotcom bubble in 2000.

And U.S. stocks aren't the only ones at highs. Major indexes at records in the United Kingdom, Germany and Sweden. And other markets, Ireland, France, Belgium, the list goes on, are at the highest levels since before the recession.

So, what's driving all these markets higher? Central banks. Yesterday, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said the Federal Reserve will be patient when raising interest rates. That word, "patient", probably the most important word she uttered all day. Other central banks in Europe and Asia has upped their stimulus measures in recent months, keeping the rally going.

BERMAN: All right. Twelve minutes after the hour.

An American missionary abducted in Nigeria. Ransom being demanded for the woman's release. Who took her? What's being done to set her free? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: New information this morning on an American missionary kidnapped in Nigeria. Reverend Phyllis Sortor, a Seattle pastor, was taken by five armed intruders from her school. Her kidnappers demanding some $300,000 ransom for her safe return. What is not clear this morning is just who these kidnappers are.

CNN's Nima Elbagir is tracking the latest developments for us from London. Good morning, Nima.

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

Well, eyewitnesses tell us that this was an incredibly targeted attack at 10:30 in the morning, gunmen including two masked men jumped into the compound where she was there with the broader community that she works with in the local church and within the local schools. And they just took Reverend Sortor.

They fired into the air, but nobody else seemed to be targeted by this attack. They then took her out into the general direction of the bush that surrounded Kogi village. Villagers that we've been speaking to say that she was just such a part already of the local community, so loved, so valued that groups of villagers have been searching since this incident yesterday morning.

They're going in there. They are hoping, hoping and praying that they can get her out. So far, although we have had a ransom demand, there hasn't been any sense of who these people are beyond this. This is not an area where Boko Haram operates. This isn't even an area where typically we've had this kind of kidnap activities.

Most of the time, they target down in the Far South where there are a lot of westerners working within the -- Westerners working in the oil infrastructure. So this is something that really is confusing authorities. They say -- local authorities say they are working with the U.S. embassy there and through them, with the FBI and the State Department.

For now, they are treating this purely as a criminal act, John. Although the worry is, of course, that this could become something much more opportunistic further down the line.

BERMAN: It doesn't make it any less disturbing for that family or the people involved. Very, very scary. Nima Elbagir, thanks so much.

ROMANS: All right. The peace and quiet in one New Jersey town gone in a flash. We'll tell you where this happened, what caused it.

BERMAN: Wow!

ROMANS: And the effect on the community next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: The attorney for the family of Trayvon Martin says it's a bitter pill to swallow. The Justice Department deciding not to charge George Zimmerman with a federal civil rights violation. Zimmerman fatally shot the unarmed teen after a confrontation in Sanford, Florida, back in 2012. He was acquitted of murder and manslaughter charges in a state trial. Thursday marks three years since Trayvon Martin was killed.

BERMAN: Fifteen people were injured by a natural gas explosion that leveled a New Jersey home. You have to look at this.

ROMANS: Geez.

BERMAN: Wow! Utility crews were called to the scene Tuesday morning after getting a report of a strong gas order from neighbors. Ninety minutes later, that powerful blast followed by flames. Seven utility workers and six firefighters were among those hurts. Many of them suffering from concussion-like symptoms from the explosion. The concussive force of that blast must have been intense.

ROMANS: All right. Your chance of an audit from the IRS dropped to the lowest level in a decade last year. Your risk this year is even less. Uncle Sam audited just over 1.2 million individuals in 2014, 162,000 fewer than the year before.

Now, the IRS commissioner is warning that number, the number of audits, will keep declining because of cuts in funding for the IRS.

BERMAN: FOX News host Bill O'Reilly is under fire again, accused of embellishing his investigation into JFK's assassination. In his 2013 book "Killing Kennedy," and on FOX and in "USA Today" O'Reilly (AUDIO GAP) CIA asset kill himself. He heard the asset kill himself when he tracked him down in Florida.

But in interviews, former O'Reilly colleagues say that Bill O'Reilly was in Texas on the day of the suicide, not in Florida. So this issue, this purported embellishment, was first uncovered in a 2013 post on jfkfacts.org. On Monday, Bill O'Reilly threatened "New York Times" reporter Emily Steele, promising to come after her, quote, "with everything I have" if he deemed her coverage of his disputed Falkland's war reporting inappropriate.

ROMANS: Twenty-four minutes past the hour.

Vice President Joe Biden trying to laugh off an awkward moment from last week. Attending a black history reception in Washington last night, Biden poked fun at himself for a recent photo gaffe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEPH BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So I just want to say, enjoy the evening and I hope you'll stick around. And I just want you to know that I will not be offended if you don't want to, but I'm going to be in that room (AUDIO GAP) I would not blame if you didn't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Biden, of course, referring to this picture of him getting a little too up close and personal with the wife of new Defense Secretary Ash Carter.

The things that make him such a good retail politician, you know, on the ground, knowing everyone's name, being able to be close and personal with people, the same thing that looks like personal space issues. BERMAN: I don't want anybody touching me like that. I don't care if

you're the vice president.

All right. Not even you.

It took less than three hours for a jury to commit the man who shot and killed American sniper Chris Kyle. It was a swift sentencing that's breaking overnight. We'll give you all the new details, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)