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CNN NEWSROOM

Iraq Desperately Trying to Stop ISIS Advances; Manhunt Underway for Mansion Murder Suspect; California Oil Spill. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired May 21, 2015 - 09:00   ET

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


[09:00:02] CUOMO: So a happy ending anyway for this rancher who stepped up and let this family have something that obviously matters more to them than anything else.

PEREIRA: You've got something, Gilbert?

GOTTFRIED: Well, that's the scary thing with me. It's like --

CAMEROTA: You always got something to say?

GOTTFRIED: Yes. You have me sitting here and you've given me stories about a guy who dies and a blind girl.

PEREIRA: Right.

(CROSSTALK)

GOTTFRIED: And it's like, I am going, oh, boy.

CUOMO: We were testing you.

GOTTFRIED: How many jobs am I going to lose now?

(LAUGHTER)

CAMEROTA: Can you just read what is in the prompter there?

PEREIRA: Yes.

GOTTFRIED: OK. The time for news --

CUOMO: Room.

GOTTFRIED: Room.

CUOMO: There you go.

GOTTFRIED: The time for "NEWSROOM" with -- now she doesn't mind if we start on time.

CUOMO: No.

GOTTFRIED: She's like OK. CUOMO: She's got nothing but time.

GOTTFRIED: Yes, so let me make sure I have the first line rehearsed.

CUOMO: Yes.

GOTTFRIED: The time for "NEWSROOM," and see, it's kind of like a car.

CAMEROTA: Man.

GOTTFRIED: The time --

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Gilbert, say my name for god sake's.

CUOMO: Say her name. She won't start until you say her name.

(CROSSTALK)

GOTTFRIED: It's time for NEWSROOM -- it's time for NEWSROOM.

CUOMO: I can't believe --

COSTELLO: All right. All right. We all get it. Thank you, Gilbert. (INAUDIBLE) to all of you.

GOTTFRIED: She can't start unless I say her name?

COSTELLO: NEWSROOM starts now.

PEREIRA: She can start.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, days after ISIS takes a key city in Iraq, the terror group storms Syria's ancient city of Palmyra. ISIS is everywhere. Now fears ancient ruins are the next target.

Plus.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Foreign military aircraft. This is Chinese Navy. You are approaching our military alert zone. Leave immediately.

COSTELLO: A showdown in the skies. China's Navy warning a U.S. military plane to get out. Stop flying over islands where a massive Chinese military buildup is underway. And only CNN is there.

Plus, a family tortured and killed, their home set on fire. A D.C. murder mystery and now a suspect, thanks to a pizza delivery.

Let's talk. Live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. An ancient city falls, a new enemy surges, and Washington admits it's

at a loss in trying to save the Syrian city of Palmyra. Today residents tell us that ISIS fighters are going door-to-door hunting down government soldiers, and likely next in the ISIS crosshairs, irreplaceable antiquities. Palmyra is home to some of mankind's most celebrated ruins. And we've seen how ISIS deals with anything it deems a false idol.

So will the White House step in before ISIS vandals again take sledgehammers to priceless artifacts? The State Department concedes the Syrian city is out of its reach.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIE HARF, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: Well, we are deeply concerned by reports of ISIL's attacks on the Syrian city which holds the ruins of Palmyra. We can't -- you know, there are different reports about exactly what's happening there, so it's hard for us to nail down with any sort of granularity exactly what's happening on the ground, so this is something we're following.

We're concerned about this. Obviously it has been caught in the crossfire for some time, and we'll speak up about it but beyond that I'm not sure what more can be done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: This as the plan takes shape across the border in Iraq. But only after this week's capture of Ramadi. The U.S. scrambling to deliver 1,000 anti-tank rockets to Iraqi troops. The rockets, a counteroffensive to the ISIS wave of car bombs that helped bring down the city.

We have a lot to cover for you this morning. CNN's Arwa Damon is in Baghdad.

Arwa, we're also just hearing about ISIS seizing control of a gas field. What can you tell us?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, at least according to a video that they did post to YouTube claiming to have taken over some small oil installations. In the grander scheme of things, it's something of a symbolic victory for ISIS. Of course much more significant is the seizure of the historic ancient city of Palmyra over in Syria, and then here in Iraq. But we have been covering for the last few days and that is the capture of the provincial capital of Ramadi, the provincial capital of Al Anbar Province.

That is, this is a very important one. It comes to the bigger battlefield dynamics that are unfolding in Iraq. The Iraqi government is right now trying to scramble capable fighting units to those various front lines in Al Anbar Province but it does not have that many at its disposal, and therefore we are seeing a concerted effort on the way -- underway to try to push out more of those paramilitary Iranian-backed units that were quite instrumental when it came to the battle for Tikrit but also highly controversial.

[09:05:07] The government also saying that it will begin an intense campaign to try to arm up the Sunni tribes and the U.S. also saying that it will be expediting weapons shipments to Iraq. All of this has to happen immediately, Carol. Otherwise we could see even more territory falling to ISIS. We spoke to a senior Iraqi Army commander at a base in an area called Habaniya. This is located right between Ramadi and Fallujah, both of which are under ISIS control.

And it is from there that various units have been pushed out to establish definitive front lines and insure a firmer group on the very little territory that the Iraqi government does still control in Al Anbar Province while they do wait for those enforcements to arrive. Many of those we speak to, in fact, the vast majority, Carol, will tell you that they are not surprised with the fall of Ramadi. Officials there have been calling for additional support as far back as November but the Iraqi government did not respond to that and nor did the U.S.-led coalition to any sort of significant degree.

And they are warning that if the rest of Anbar falls, if the situation right now is not dealt with immediately, then ISIS would have full control over the province and truly pose a very serious threat to the capital of Baghdad.

COSTELLO: All right. Arwa Damon, reporting live from inside Iraq this morning.

The people who live in Ramadi are desperate. Do they stay or try to get into neighboring Baghdad? If they decide to leave they could be turned away. If they stay they face death if they do not pledge allegiance to ISIS.

With me now to talk about this and more, CNN global affairs analyst, Lt. Col. James Reese. He's a former U.S. Delta Force commander. And on the phone I'm joined by Lise Grande with the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq.

Welcome to both of you.

Colonel Reese, I want to start with you. You've heard the State Department spokesman, Marie Harf. You heard her say America is watching what ISIS does especially in Syria but beyond that she's not sure what can be done. Does that inspire you as a soldier?

LT. COL. JAMES REESE, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Good morning, Carol. No, it does not inspire at all. I'm very disappointed that -- our leadership would say that. We as Americans, our job is to amaze people. That's what we do. And we have the ability to find solutions to uncertainty. So I don't buy that. And I'm disappointed, I think our job as Americans, like I said, it's our job to amaze the world and we need to do that and find a solution.

COSTELLO: Lise, humanitarian workers are dealing with the residents fleeing Ramadi, Syria and Yemen. They're civilians. I want to focus especially on the civilians fleeing in Iraq. Are they asking for more help from the United States? LISE GRANDE, UNITED NATIONS ASSISTANCE MISSION FOR IRAQ: Well, you

know, right now the humanitarian agencies, they're doing everything they can to help the people who have fled from Ramadi, terrified for their life. Our problem is that our stocks are running out. Within two weeks we're not going to even have any emergency kits that we can provide people. Already a number of our health clinics are closing, and within the next few weeks the food pipeline breaks.

We're desperate for international assistance. And I think all of us know that this is the time to stand with the Iraqi people and to be generous and to help the humanitarian operation so that we can help the people who are being victimized by ISIL.

COSTELLO: And to say these people have been through hell would be an understatement because, Colonel, the "New York Times" is reporting that ISIS fighters used, what, 30 car bombs roughly the size of those used in the Oklahoma City bombing, and I just want to remind people what that kind of bomb can do. I want to take you back in time to Oklahoma City. This kind of bomb can wipe out city blocks, and that's exactly what they did in Ramadi. They killed 168 people.

Do we have those pictures from Oklahoma City? OK. We're going to put that up so you can see the damage these things can do.

So the United States now wants to send 1,000 anti-tank rockets to the Iraqi military to combat all of that. Will that work?

REESE: Well, it will help. It's not going to stop -- it's not going to stop the war just like that because we have 1,000 anti-tank rounds. It's going to help but the Iraqis have to be trained on it. What it does is it gives them some standoff. It gives them a weapon that it's very effective against vehicles, and it will help, but that's about it.

COSTELLO: So it will help, but that's about it. So what will it take, Colonel, to combat this?

REESE: Well, Carol, we've been talking about this for weeks. There is just not one single solution to this problem. There is a diplomatic, there is a military, there's an economic aspect to this piece here. We are very focused on the militaristic side because we have U.S. soldiers on the ground there trying to assist the Iraqis. The Iraqis are fighting for their lives right now but there's also a huge diplomatic aspect. There's also a regional aspect.

General McChrystal was on a few hours ago talking about setting up a team of teams. This is where it, again, I go back, the Americans -- it's our job to start helping here, an amazing folks, and putting together a plan in the region to bring this along. If we can't do that, we might as well pick up and come home and leave it for everyone else to deal with.

[09:10:14] COSTELLO: OK. And going back to this, just these bombings, these terrible car bombings that ISIS is using to take over these cities. Does terrible things to the psyche of not only the Iraqi people living in Ramadi, Lise, but also the Iraqi military who's dealt with this for years and years and years.

So, Lise, if you could just describe to us what these kinds of bombings do to peoples' psyche and why -- why these bombings might affect the psyche of the Iraqi military and why they might flee?

GRANDE: You know, I think -- what you see when ISIL comes into an area, they use these tactics which terrorize people, and therefore they don't really have to have so many soldiers when they enter a town. What they do is they do a few of these brutal terrorist attacks. People are scared for their lives. They pick up the few things they have and they run. They run as fast as they can to safety.

This is what we saw in Ramadi. People were just terrified about what would happen to them if they stayed. They didn't stay. They ran as fast as they could trying to get to safe haven.

COSTELLO: All right. We'll have to leave it there.

Lieutenant Colonel James Reese and Lise, thank you so much for being with me this morning. I appreciate it.

Still to come in then NEWSROOM, police make major progress in the case of a D.C. family tortured and killed. And it could all come down to a pizza crust.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:15:01] COSTELLO: Right now a manhunt is underway in the nation's capital after a grisly murder in a wealthy Washington neighborhood.

Police are now searching for this man, 34-year-old Daron Dylon Wint. We pulled up his arrest record and it turns out he is a Jamaican citizen who has served time for assault and burglary. Wint is now accused now of killing and torturing a Washington, D.C. couple, their 10-year-old child and the family housekeeper.

Sources tell us this is a calculated crime and that one or more suspects were tracking the family before they were killed.

CNN's Joe Johns is covering this for us this morning. Good morning.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

DNA left on a pizza crust, which was found at the house led police to a match on a suspect, and sources now tell CNN's Pamela Brown just one more piece of the puzzle in the grisly murder in northwest D.C.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS (voice-over): A bizarre twist in the brutal quadruple murder arson mystery in an upscale D.C. neighborhood. Police identifying a suspect in the slayings of a prominent CEO, his wife, their young son and housekeeper. 34-year-old Daron Dylon Wint now wanted on first- degree murder charges while armed. According to law enforcement officials, the break in the case coming

not from the grainy surveillance video released by police days ago, but according to "The Washington Post," from DNA found on the crust of a Domino's Pizza that had been ordered to the house as the victims were being held.

The 46-year-old, Savvas Savapoulos, a CEO of a company called American Iron Works, his 47-year-old wife Amy, a Washington philanthropist and socialite, their 10-year-old son, Philip, and a woman named Veralicia Figueroa, their 57-year-old housekeeper, all found dead in their mansion that was set on fire. Their blue Porsche that went missing found ditched in a Maryland church parking lot where it was torched.

More lurid details of the gruesome details now emerging. A source telling CNN the victims were bound with duct tape and held captive by the perpetrators, with signs of torture to the youngest victim.

Meanwhile, "The Washington Post" reporting that one of Savapoulos' employees came to the mansion and dropped off a package with $40,000 inside, the assailant making off with the cash.

The case riddling investigators. Hours before the Savapoulos home was torched, one of the family's other housekeepers received a bizarre text from Amy Savapoulos, reading in part, "I am making sure you do not come today."

No motive for the killings have been released, but police believe money was a prime factor.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS: The suspect is from Lanham, Maryland. Last night, authorities executed a search want on the last known address, and still they are asking the public for help to try and find him, Carol.

COSTELLO: And, Joe, do police believe more than one suspect was at fault here?

JOHNS: There has been some speculation and belief that there is another suspect, but so far we have not been given that name. There were suggestions recently as last night that two individuals were involved in this, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Joe Johns reporting live for us this morning, thank you.

Still to come in the NEWROOM, miles of California beaches may be closed this Memorial Day weekend because of a massive oil spill. We will take you live to Santa Barbara, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:22:02] COSTELLO: California Governor Jerry Brown is declaring a state of emergency over an oil spill off Santa Barbara's coast. It's feared up to 105,000 gallons of crude poured out of a ruptured underground pipeline. About a fifth of that, 22,000 gallons, may have spilled into the ocean, the rest is on the pristine beaches and threatening wildlife and ruining Memorial Day weekend plans for a lot of families.

The company that runs the pipeline, Plains All American Pipeline, says cleanup crews will work around the clock.

CNN's Paul Vercammen joins now with more.

Good morning.

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Well, it's blocked by palm trees but I am starting to seat first of the crews that are onshore, and their task extremely difficult. Let's go ahead and give you a glimpse of what it's like when they get down and try to grab a hold of all of the tar that's now on the beach.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VERCAMMEN: Here's what the grueling work of cleaning up an oil spill looks like. You can see here, the oil and tar mixed in with the seaweed. So, they literally rake together seaweed and tar and they put it in plastic bags. What also gets put into plastic bags anything else that the oil has covered.

If you look right there, those are palm tree fronds that have fallen off the trees and into the shore, more of these fronds over here. But this isn't just limited to where we're standing right now. If we go ahead and take almost a 180, you look off into the distance, there's another cluster of workers with the rakes and the plastic bags and the rest trying to clean up this misery, this black misery on the beach.

And look at the seaweed right here. It's just all mixed in and every time even another little small wave comes in, it seems that more of the tar balls and more of the oil comes washing ashore. And so, they go ahead and they pick up another pile of seaweed interspersed with tar and put it in the plastic bag. And they're going to have to clean this beach up handful by handful.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VERCAMMEN: Now back here live, this beach, Refugio State Beach, closed as well as a beach down just the way to the east, El Capitan. Many had Memorial Day reservations, had plan to fish offshore, take a kayak trip, hike, enjoy a picnic, and all those plans wrecked as the cleanup continues in Santa Barbara County, Carol.

COSTELLO: What do we know about the company that runs the pipeline?

VERCAMMEN: We know all American has been in the crosshairs of the EPA and Justice Department before. In 2010, the company agreed to upgrade pipelines paying more than $40 million, and some of that in fines.

[09:25:00] And this stemmed from ten spills in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, and Louisiana. Plains, of course, came out yesterday and was very apologetic not only

the local residents but tourists and everybody else, and they are vowing to put 300 people on the scene today and out at sea to try and clean up this mess.

But locals very upset, especially activist, anti-oil activist, the Environmental Defense Center telling me they are saddened by all of this, and they said they are wondering aloud why there was no automatic shutoff on the pipeline, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Paul Vercammen reporting live from California this morning, thanks so much.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, tense moments over the China sea after a U.S. military plane is warned to get out of the area, like now.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Foreign military aircraft, this is Chinese navy. You are approaching our military alert zone. Leave immediately.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)