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EARLY START

Ramadi Falls to ISIS Militants; U.S. Commando Raid Kills ISIS Leader; NYC-Philadelphia Train Service Resumes; Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired May 18, 2015 - 04:00   ET

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


[04:00:15] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: A big win for ISIS after months of fighting. Militants claim the city of Ramadi expanding their grip on Iraqi territory. How can the U.S. and coalition forces respond? A live report moments away.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: A key ISIS figure is dead. His wife now in American custody following a risky raid in Syria. The pair is expected of having top level intelligence about ISIS hostage operations. What has U.S. intelligence learned already?

ROMANS: And Amtrak's Northeast Corridor back open for business this morning. Trains running for the first time since the deadly crash in Philadelphia. What are authorities learning about what may have led up to that tragedy as the investigation there continues.

Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

BERMAN: Great to see you today. I'm John Berman. It is Monday, May 18th. It's 4:00 a.m. in the East. And developing this morning. A major victory for ISIS in Iraq. The city of Ramadi, the capital of the Anbar Province, falls to ISIS fighters. For months of clashes between Iraqi forces and ISIS militants Iraqi officials say ISIS forces burst into that city with armored bulldozers and at least 10 suicide bombings. Government forces have now pulled out of a military base there. But Iraqi and U.S. officials say the fight for Ramadi is not over.

So what is the true situation? For the latest, let's bring in CNN's Ian Lee.

Good morning, Ian.

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. For the most part, ISIS is in full control of Ramadi. We're hearing there are pockets of resistance. But it would likely to fight to the last month. As we know ISIS does not treat their captives well. But for the most part, Iraqi Forces have pulled out following some very heavy fighting. 500 people have been killed in the final moments of the fall of Ramadi. ISIS storming in and taking control of area, also seizing some heavy weapons.

We know they've seized missiles as well as tanks. So a big victory for them there not only with this new material but also politically propaganda for them. It also opens up a corridor. They now owned or in control of Ramadi, Fallujah, and that leads them to Baghdad. Now Baghdad isn't at risk of falling. It's a very heavily fortified city but it does put them right at the gates there.

Secretary of State John Kerry traveling, commented on the latest developments. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: Every single country in the region, bar none, is opposed to Daesh and is engaged in fighting them. So I'm confident about the longer road, but, yes, there will be moments like yesterday in Ramadi and there will be some difficult challenges ahead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: And, John, what this really does prove is pound for pound, ISIS is just a superior fighting force than the Iraqi military, even though they've been trained. Really the times we've seen them push back is when we've seen coalition airstrikes pounding away at them. We have the Shiite militias now going to engage in Ramadi. Highly controversial as we've seen in previous onslaughts when there have been rights abuses, when they've taken predominantly Sunni areas -- John.

BERMAN: Well, as you say, the Iraqi military insofar as it exists at all has not proven to be an effective fighting force, but the Shiite militias have. They seem to have a better record and now the Iraqi prime minister has called for their assistance in Ramadi, but that may cause more problems than it solves, Ian.

LEE: That's right. When we look at what happened in Tikrit, there were rights abuses. These militias attacked civilian targets and civilians, and destroyed homes. And there was a lot of -- a lot of controversy around that. The militias eventually had to pull out and the Iraqi military secured it to prevent those from taking place. But they do have a good track record of going into this predominantly Sunni areas. And so that's why we didn't see them initially. But with the fall of Ramadi, the government now has that -- they want these militias to be on the forefront of re-taking the city.

BERMAN: The fact of the matter is, there's some people in Ramadi who might see those militias as more of an invasion force than the Sunni- dominated ISIS, and there are also ties to Iran among those Shia militias.

And the Iranian Defense minister, we just learned, Ian, has arrived in Baghdad for talks this morning so a bunch of interesting developments there.

Ian Lee, covering this for us, thanks so much.

ROMANS: This morning, U.S. officials are assessing a trove of intelligence seized in a Special Forces raid, a raid that killed a key ISIS commander. Officials say about a dozen Army Delta Force commandos raided a multi-story building in eastern Syria. The Pentagon says the ISIS commander known as Abu Sayyaf died in a heavy firefight when he resisted capture. Officials say Sayyaf helped to run the ISIS oil and gas operation, along with a senior military role. [04:05:17] Pentagon officials say there were no U.S. or civilian

casualties in that raid. U.S. troops captured his wife, Abu Sayyaf's wife, and secured computers, mobile phones, and documents that officials hope will prove to be a gold mine of intelligence data.

Our national correspondent Sunlen Serfaty is at the White House with more.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, the administration is characterizing this as a significant blow to ISIS, but there are a significant amount of questions that still remain. Who was the man the administration is referring to as Abu Sayyaf? Who was he really? How big of a role and how much influence he had in ISIS? And even the most basic question, what actually is his real name?

Now some lawmakers on Capitol Hill are urging caution, especially when it comes to balancing the risk of a mission like this against the reward.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D), CALIFORNIA: This was an extraordinary risk. If one of our people were captured, if we lost some of our Special Forces, there'd be tough questions to answer about whether it was worth it. And I think, notwithstanding the success of this operation, we still are going to have to ask those questions. Was the intelligence value that we hoped to gain and the fact that we are gaining worth this kind of risk?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: And other lawmakers are praising this sort of initiative coming out of the administration. Here is what the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DEVIN NUNES (R), HOUSE INTELLIGENCE CHAIRMAN: Many of us have been advocating this strategy for a long time or using this tactic because this is a better way to gather intelligence versus just airstrikes. So it takes guts for the administration and our military to put an action like this together. It was successful. We are happy that they got back and got back safely. Now over the coming weeks, we'll know what they were actually able to gather there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: And U.S. officials say there was a lot of intelligence, reams of data that was picked up from the mission site, including a computer which could have valuable information on how ISIS operates, how they raise their money and how they communicate. And that's of course in addition to the wife of this ISIS leader who's been detained and who will now be interrogated by the United States.

Now lawmakers on Capitol Hill do expect to receive a briefing from the White House on this, this week -- John and Christine.

BERMAN: Sunlen Serfaty at the White House.

In less than two hours, Amtrak rail service resumes between New York and Philadelphia for the first time since the rail disaster that killed eight people and injured more than 200. The first train leaving New York rolls out at about 5:30 a.m. and a north bound train leaves Philadelphia at 5:53. Over the weekend, technicians installed new automated speed controls on the northbound side of the tracks right ahead of that curve where Train 188 crashed less than a week.

CNN's Erin McLaughlin in Philadelphia with the latest.

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, the mystery of what happened to Amtrak 188 continues. NTSB member Robert Sumwalt tells CNN they have been unable to corroborate the assistant conductor's account. She heard 32-year-old Brandon Bostian tell the engineer of a nearby SEPTA train that Amtrak 188 had been hit by an unknown projectile.

The NTSB says they listened to all radio dispatches from the trains in the area that night. There was nothing from Bostian to suggest the train had been hit by an object. Nevertheless, authorities say they are still looking into the possibility.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT SUMWALT, NTSB MEMBER: Well, at this point, we really want to chase this lead down. We heard from the assistant conductor that that's what she believes she heard, was some conversation about that, and we now see a mark on the windshield that we want to look at. So we're going to look at everything at this point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCLAUGHLIN: Well, today, FBI's forensic investigators are expected to examine the fist-sized circular marking on the left-hand side of the windshield. They think that the marking may have been there before the crash. Meanwhile, the NTSB now says there is new evidence from the train's data recorder to suggest that, prior to the crash, Bostian manually engaged the throttle, which would have accelerated the train. The question is why -- John and Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Erin, thank you for that.

Gun fire erupting in Waco, Texas, at a restaurant Sunday. Gun fire erupting between five rival biker gangs. When the bullets stopped flying nine people were dead. Cops say -- police officers say they heard there might be trouble at the Twin Peaks restaurant and they were prepared.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SGT. PATRICK SWANTON, POLICE SPOKESMAN: We were so concerned of the incidents that may occur here that we had active SWAT officers that were here on the scene. I can tell you, at this point, that their action has saved lives in keeping this from spilling into a very busy Sunday morning, crowded central Texas marketplace. So thank goodness the officers were here and took the action that they needed to take to save numerous lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:10:02] ROMANS: Restaurant workers and customers, they took cover in the freezer when the gunfire started. Only the bikers were among the dead and injured. The customers in place were safe.

BERMAN: A U.S. Marine has been killed in a crash during a training mission in Hawaii. 22 Marines from Camp Pendleton in California were onboard an MV22 Osprey in Oahu when the aircraft experienced what the military called a hard landing mishap and caught fire. The 21 surviving Marines were all taken to hospitals. No word on their condition or the identity of the Marine who died.

ROMANS: North Korea has not even come close to taking enough steps with its nuclear program to get talks started with the U.S. That's according to Secretary of State John Kerry. Kerry made his comments from South Korea, saying it is likely that North Korea will be referred to the International Criminal Court for its human rights violations, as the U.S. discusses toughening sanctions against the Kim Jong-Un regime.

BERMAN: A cyber security consultant has informed the FBI that he hacked into the computer systems of up to 20 airliners and even managed to make one jet climb. Chris Roberts was detained by the FBI last month and is being investigated for possible cyber crimes. He says his only motive is to improve aircraft security.

Roberts says he infiltrated the plane's computers using a modified Ethernet cable to connect his laptop to an electronic box beneath his seat that controls the entertainment system.

ROMANS: He was on the flight when he did this?

BERMAN: On the flight when he did this. That's the trick. Yes.

ROMANS: On the flight. Used modified entertainment system in the plane to take over.

BERMAN: Yes. There's been some concern of late that you could do that with a laptop. He could be on a plane and hack in using the airplane's Wi-Fi but apparently had a cable that helps.

ROMANS: Interesting.

All right. A five-day ceasefire in Yemen is over and it didn't take long for Saudi-led air strikes to ramp back up. Houthi targets bombarded overnight in the southern parts of Aiden. Earlier Sunday, hundreds of Yemeni politicians, tribal leaders gathered for talks, but the Houthis boycotted that meeting. They are rejecting Yemen's insistence that the exiled president, Abu Hadi, be reinstated.

BERMAN: The Defense Department has identified the six U.S. Marines killed last week when their helicopter crashed during a humanitarian mission in Nepal. Four of the Marines were based out of Camp Pendleton in California. The other two, assigned Marine installations in Okinawa in Japan.

Two Nepalese servicemen were also killed when the Marine helicopter went down last Tuesday. The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Nepal's Home Ministry says that the two huge earthquakes that they've had, the first on April 25th, were the deadliest ever to hit that nation. The death toll now stands at nearly 8,600.

ROMANS: All right. Time for an EARLY START on your money this Monday morning. U.S. stock futures really not budging here. But the S&P 500 ended last week at a record high. Stocks have been powering ahead. That could change this week. We're going to get a look at the housing market and earnings from some of the biggest retailers like Wal-Mart and Target.

Gas prices are ticking higher, too. The national average $2.71 a gallon. 26 cents more than a month ago. So yes, if you've noticed it costs more to fill up, you're right, but it still is lower than the same time last year.

What are drivers doing with that extra money? Drivers have saved hundreds of dollars since last summer because of the lower oil prices, lower gas prices. A brand new study out this morning finds 40 percent spent their savings on necessities like groceries or rent. About a quarter of Americans saved or invested the extra money. So that's been sort of interesting. It hasn't necessarily flowed into the economy the way some people have thought.

BERMAN: I'm going to Vegas, man.

ROMANS: Yes?

BERMAN: I'm taking my gas -- I'm going to Vegas. I'm and letting that thing ride.

ROMANS: Very funny.

BERMAN: All right. The Iraq war. It is proving to be a challenge for current presidential candidates. This time, Marco Rubio gets a little bit twisted up, trying to explain his position. A pretty intense exchange that could surprise you, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:16:58] ROMANS: All right. Hillary Clinton back on the campaign trail today. She returns to Iowa after 10 days of fund raising. Clinton will get up close and personal with supporters at a grassroots house party in Mason City. The Clinton team is putting an extra focus on Iowa in 2016 after a poor showing in the caucuses in 2008 when she finished third.

BERMAN: As it was for Jeb Bush, the Iraq war question is proving to be troublesome for some candidates. Right now it's Florida senator, Republican presidential Marco Rubio. He had a pretty feisty exchange with Chris Wallace of FOX News. Wallace was trying to get Rubio to clarify his position on whether the 2003 invasion of Iraq was a mistake. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It was not a mistake. The president, based on -- this is the way the real world works. The president, based on the information that was provided --

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS HOST: But she was saying based on the information --

RUBIO: No, no, but look.

WALLACE: She was saying based on what we know now.

RUBIO: Well, based on what we know now, a lot of -- based on what we know now, I wouldn't have, you know, thought Manny Pacquiao was going to beat, in that fight a few weeks ago --

WALLACE: I know, but you got asked the same question and you said it made sense.

RUBIO: No, it was not the same -- no, it was not the same question. The question was whether it was a mistake. And my answer is it's not a mistake. I still say it was not a mistake. Because the president was presented with intelligence that said Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. It was governed by a man who had committed atrocities in the past with weapons of mass destruction.

WALLACE: But what she asked you was, was it a mistake to go to war with Iraq?

RUBIO: It was not a mistake, given the fact that the president knew at the time.

WALLACE: No, she didn't say that. She just said, was it a mistake.

RUBIO: Well, that's not the same question. The question I was asked is what you know now. Well, based on what we know now, I think everyone agrees that we still --

WALLACE: Was it a mistake? Was it a mistake to go to war with Iraq?

RUBIO: It's two -- it was --

WALLACE: I'm asking you.

RUBIO: Yes, I understand, but that's not the same question.

WALLACE: But I'm -- that's the question I'm asking you. Was it a mistake to go to war?

RUBIO: It was not a mistake for the president to decide to go into Iraq. Because at the time, he was told -- WALLACE: I'm not asking you that. I'm asking you --

RUBIO: In hindsight. Well, the world is a better place because Saddam Hussein is not there.

WALLACE: So was it a mistake or not?

RUBIO: But I wouldn't characterize it -- but I don't understand the question you're asking, because the president --

WALLACE: I'm asking you, knowing as we do, as we sit here in 2015 --

RUBIO: No, but that's not the way presidents -- a president cannot make a decision on what someone might know in the future.

WALLACE: I understand. But that's --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Interesting exchange.

Last week, Senator Rubio said he would not have authorized the war knowing what is known now about Iraq.

You can see candidates struggling with this. And look, in 2008, the Iraq war question may very well have been the single issue that kept Hillary Clinton from getting the Democratic nomination.

ROMANS: Right.

BERMAN: So it has an effect on both sides of the aisle. And it's not going to go away.

ROMANS: It's not going to go away and it's relevant today for so many reasons because of all of the U.S. investment in blood and treasure in that country. And now you look, Ramadi has falling to ISIS. This is still such a relevant question right now. Why we went into war. Why we did it. Should we have done it. What mistakes were made and what can we learn today.

BERMAN: One last point. Republicans will all say yes, you know, Marco Rubio had a heated exchange there. It was complicated answer. But they will say he is answering questions right now. Hillary Clinton is not. She is doing these events and she's not facing reporters and not having any exchanges like this.

ROMANS: Right.

BERMAN: So that's the criticism you'll see from the Republican side.

ROMANS: And we'll hear more on this on the campaign trail for sure.

All right. Some wild swings in the weather. What's in store for the workweek. Your first look at the forecast next.

[04:20:06] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: What a beautiful weekend in the northeast.

BERMAN: That was nice.

ROMANS: Yard work?

BERMAN: I gave yard work.

ROMANS: I know. The suburban dream.

BERMAN: It is.

ROMANS: John Berman --

BERMAN: Living the dream.

ROMANS: Some cooler temperatures, though, for the workweek ahead. Let's get to meteorologist Pedram Javaheri for an early look at your weather.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: John and Christine, good Monday morning to you. Yes, for the most part a lot people say good-bye to the warm weather we had in place. Cooler air beginning to filter in. For some people cold enough to support snow showers here in mid-May. But look at this. 27 below what was the temperature this time yesterday in Fargo, Minneapolis. More than 20 degrees colder than this yesterday.

In other parts of the country, it is warmer ahead of the cold front. But Minneapolis is 74 on Sunday. The best they can do, 45 degrees come Monday afternoon. Even in and around Green Bay, temperatures dropping some 10 degrees. But winter weather here. The model is going to show you a little bit of snow showers from international falls, potentially Duluth. Marquette gets in on the action. Nothing really impressive but still fun to say it's snowing in May.

And again that really stays confined to southern Canada and the northern tier of the United States. And some showers possible in and around the northeast today. The high temperatures, New York 56. A little farther to the south, look at the nation's capital, shoot up in 90 degrees. Stays quite hot for a couple of days then the cool temperatures, more seasonal temperatures begin to filter in, Christine and John, by the weekend.

ROMANS: All right. Pedram Javaheri, thank you for that. A cooler week this week. 25 minutes past the hour.

Tragedy in Yosemite National Park. A noted extreme athlete is dead after reportedly attempting a 3500 foot BASE jump. Authorities say Dean Potter's body was found Sunday. Park officials say he and his friend Graham Hunt tried to clear a gap in the granite cliffs that smashed into the rocks. Graham also killed. BASE jumping is illegal in the Yosemite.

[04:25:22] BERMAN: Yes. Dean Potter, a legend out there at Yosemite first climbing and other things so it's very, very sad.

No joy this morning for fans of the Los Angeles Clippers. The Houston Rockets took game seven of the NBA playoff series, 113-100. They reach the western conference finals. The Rockets, man, they were all but out of this whole thing. They fought back from the 3-1 deficit to win the series. They're no 20 in game 6 and fought back in the fourth quarter with that man, James Harden, on the bench. The western conference finals starts Tuesday, I believe.

Meanwhile, on the eastern side, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers set to meet the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Finals. They begin on Wednesday.

These four teams, very exciting. This is a very different looking NBA playoffs with some new talent and some new teams all with a chance to win. I would like to see the Golden State Warriors win. Just so you know. In case anyone asked.

ROMANS: Who are the four teams?

BERMAN: Warriors, Rockets and then Cavs and Atlanta Hawks. And the Hawks haven't been this far in the playoffs since the '50s. You know, the Bulls lost. I'm sorry. News flash.

ROMANS: Thank you.

BERMAN: This just in.

ROMANS: I'm a week behind.

BERMAN: All right. Yes. Yes.

ROMANS: OK.

BERMAN: By the way, I should say, if you don't like my pick for the NBA playoffs, or you don't like me, if there's anything you want to say or ask me, I'm doing this Facebook chat thing at 1:00 p.m. It promises to start a whole craze on social media.

ROMANS: It could break the Internet.

BERMAN: It could break the Internet. 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Facebook. Question and answer. I'll answer almost anything. Muster it honestly.

ROMANS: Is there anything in particular you'd like to talk about or is this just ask John?

BERMAN: Well, I don't know if you know this, Christine Romans. But I won "Jeopardy" last week.

ROMANS: I see.

BERMAN: So I'm happy to answer any questions about winning "Jeopardy."

ROMANS: This is --

BERMAN: Which I won.

ROMANS: This is another lap of your victory?

BERMAN: I'm available to answer questions about "Jeopardy" which I won last week.

ROMANS: You did a very good job.

BERMAN: You may (INAUDIBLE) but I won.

ROMANS: I did not. My kids watched it. And my kids were so funny, they were like, mom, he can't hear you. I kept screaming at the TV. Boston. Mom, he can't hear you. You know you're right. Some of the answers I had wrong and I'm screaming at the TV.

BERMAN: Wasn't it easy.

ROMANS: All right. 27 minutes after the hour. After months of violent battles, ISIS now claiming control over a key Iraqi city. The city of Ramadi. Even in the face of defeat Iraqi forces vow the fight is not over. The very latest on the situation next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)