the hunt for isis, the terrorists leaving a deadly trail of destruction. this morning, recruiting new members here in the united states. this, after the president announces he has no new strategy, yet, to battle the group in syria. we're live with the latest new information on a mass execution. russian invasion. violence escalating in ukraine. russia accused of fighting alongside rebels, moving in to

take over more ukrainian territory. world leaders outraged. the united nations holding an emergency meeting. >> welcome to "early start." i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans. 4:00 a.m. in the east. very, very busy news day. reports of imminent air strikes against isis targets in syria. they are premature. president obama says there's no military strategy there, yet, in syria. he is under pressure to punish isis terrorists inside syria. he made it clear, he is not ready to take that step. doing that needs to be a regional effort. >> as i have said, ruling out a cancer like isil will not be quick or easy. i'm confident we can and we will working closely with allies and partners. it will be important for

congress to weigh in. our conversations develop so the american people are part of the debate. i don't want to put the cart before the horse. we don't have a strategy, yet. >> the president says he is meeting with top advisers on the isis threat in syria and iraq and sending secretary of state, john kerry to the region to build support. isis militants claim to have carried out a mass execution of syrian soldiers. anna is live in erbil. the pictures are grizzly. >> reporter: absolutely. it starts off showing the syrian soldiers stripped to their underwear, marching through the desert. the next shot is a pile of blody bodies, then you see a gruesome

scene, body after body after body of dead soldiers face down in the dirt. we have seen this type of video from isis before. these syrian soldiers are capturing the battle. prisoners of war shows isis has no code of conduct, no moral code, what so ever. they claim these are the soldiers they captured from the military basesed after a week long battle from the regime in rhaka province. it was the last stronghold in that area. the video, just gruesome, john. then, several hours later, another video was posted on youtube showing kurdish forces they have captured. 15 soldiers in orange jump suits, the same as james foley

was wearing when he was executed last week. one of the soldiers makes a desperate plea to the president in kurdistan to quit working with the united states, awe louing air strikes in iraq. it finishes with one of the soldiers kneeling before a mosque in mosul before he is beheaded. so, these hideous videos we are seeing more on more on the net. certainly, when they are soldiers, captured soldiers, prisoners of war, it's coming to define the way isis operates. >> the president is still developing his strategy to deal with isis in syria. isis didn't seem to be waiting. >> reporter: no, isis is not waiting. battles are being waged certainly here in iraq and the mosul dam. that has been happening for some time now.

we know that peshmerga is trying to push back. they lay explosives, blow up oil wells and oil pipes. we saw that yesterday with huge, big black plumes of smoke coming from that area. isis is on the attack. yes, the u.s. air strikes are changing the way they operate on the battlefield. definitely, they are attacking and trying to infiltrate into cities. we are seeing car bombings, suicide bombings. this is something we are going to see more of according to officials, john. >> the savage images. anna, inn erbil, thank you so much. washington post reports at least four captives, including foley were water boarded by the militants this mimicked the

technique used by the cia to interrogate some following 9/11. we are learning about the man who could be the second american killed by isis. the family says he was killed during terrorist clashes. cnn is waiting on government officials to confirm his identity. friends of the minnesota dad of nine said his change to radicalism and his move to the middle east came out of nowhere. more information about douglas mccain who fought for isis. turns out, he's not the only of his friends that died alongside islamic radicals. his one time classmate was killed fighting for the al-shabaab group. after five years of her son's death is still struggling with his loss. >> i don't easily talk about it to people because i don't want to have to defend him.

my family is great and my friends are great but just in general and the world. i mean, it is the hardest, the hardest loss that there is. i'm really grateful that i had him and that i knew doug. >> insiders say isis is recruiting people from the twin cities mainly because of the state's large somali population. the terrorists are targeting young, disaffected people in minnesota by using recruitment videos. 100 americans have left the kuhn troy take up arms in syria. ukrainian military officials say it is a full scale invasion with russian forces fighting alongside rebels on another front, this one in southern ukraine. the united states and nato say there is evidence, as many as

1,00 troops crossed over in ukraine and are involved in the latest. russia denies this. president obama blamed them for the civil war and says the actions will have consequences. matthew chance following developments live from moscow this morning. 1,000 plus rush troops now inside ukraine with heavy weapons. >> yeah, that's right. nato, the western military alliance, john, issued satellite images showing this russian military incursion inside eastern ukraine as well. but, from the kremlin point of view, they have been outspoken on this, they are denying they are sending troops, officially, to the battle zone inside eastern ukraine, saying this is a hoax. this is made up. again, totally denying it. there has been word from pro-russian rebel leaders inside eastern ukraine as well, which

added to the confusion around all this. them saying russian troops are engaged in fighting in eastern ukraine. get this, only as volunteers. they are essentially saying the rebels, on their free time, during their leave, russian soldiers are volunteering, coming across the border fighting and in some instances dying as well, of their own accord. it's adding that extra dimension of plausible, i use that word carefully, plausible deniability. >> it's a vacation invasion, according to the pro-russian rebels inside ukraine. it is an astounding claim. what effect is the presence of either, the russian troops or vacationing russian troops inside ukraine. what effect are they having on the ground? what is the battle there, matthew? >> reporter: they appear to be having a dramatic effect. these troops, highly trained.

there may be other troops as well that nato and the u.s. are not aware of. what we do know is over the course of several days and perhaps the past several weeks, government forces that have been making significant ground against the rebels the last couple months have suffered important reverses. particularly, as you mentioned in the southeast of ukraine, near the city of mariopel on the coast. it's a situation where the rebel forces, backed by this russian volunteers or russian troops are managing to strike blows against the military. on that point, the kremlin intervened, calling on the rebels in eastern ukraine. to rely the government force that is are battling them to withdrawal without further loss of life. they are calling on ukraine to

take military action and stave lives of ukrainian government troops. >> thanks so much. the situation in the ukraine prompting nato to call an emergency meeting. karl penhaul joins us with that in a few minutes. a volcanic eruption spewing ash and forcing a number of international flights to be disrupted. mount papua in new guinea. no reports of injury. time for an early start on your money. u.s. futures pointing higher. yesterday, the s&p 500 ended a three-day winning streak closing below 2,000. stocking could rally today. apple will make a big announcement september 9th. mark it on your calendar. it's suspected they are going to

roll out two versions of iphone 6. there's speculation the watch will be unveiled. the first device on health and fitness apps. >> my phone is only a year old. i'm going to see the new one and want it. one of the silliest twitter leads of all time. it has to do with what the president is wearing. look at it. >> it's a tan suit. >> it's before labor day, so he can do that. >> he never changes. what is he doing changing his fashion. >> that is why twitter went nuts. the president always wears blue or gray. he only wore gray or blue suits. 4,000 tweets about his, you know, taupe, beige suit.

>> has the team in washington gotten to the bottom of it? did the tan suit just show up and he wore it? >> i hope they haven't spent a second of time investigating that. >> i don't wear it because it doesn't look good with my eyes, but he should wear whatever he wants. joan rivers, someone who has a lot of opinions. she's in critical condition. she's in a new york hospital. what her family said overnight and what they are expecting about her recovery after the break.

81-year-old joan rivers said to be resting comfortably in a hospital. she was rushed there after she suddenly stopped breathing during an outpatient surgery on her throat. she's in critical, but stable condition. her daughter, melissa thanking everyone for support for her mother.

the audio recording that captured the moment police opened fire on michael brown has been authenticated by an app company called glide. the recording happened at the time he was killed. it does bolster the man's claim he inadd v vevertently recorded of it. a group caught up in ferguson suing the police, city and county for $40 million in damages. they allege their civil rights were violated through arrests and assaults. authorities in arizona say no criminal charges will be filed in connection with the gun rage incident where a 9-year-old girl hit her teacher with an uzi. the incident sparked a national debate over how young children

should be in handling those kind of firearms. thursday, bill clinton weighed in calling it heart breaking and horrifying. >> what 9-year-old little girl is strong enough to manage an uzi machine gun, which is what it was. you know, the kick, the effort to control it. that's just the height of irresponsibility, to say nothing of the choice of letting your child do that. >> the instructors family is grief stricken, as you can imagine. his widow saying their kids are taking it very, very hard. authorities in israel confirming body found in a forest in jerusalem is that of the missing 23-year-old. he was studying in israel. police investigators have yet to determine the cause of death. his family believes it was accidental and no foul play was

involved. nascar driver tony stewart will return sunday night at the atlanta motor speedway t. three-time nascar champ has not raced since the dirt track race in up state new york earlier this month. police found no evidence of criminal wrong doing. their investigation is still ongoing. nfl commissioner roger goodell says he mishandled the case involving ray rice who was accused of abusing his fiance. a lot of people believe the penalty was too light. he announced a new, strict policy for an employee accused of domestic violence. six games, for the first offense. >> after one year, you have to apply for reinstatement and there's no guarantee. a 2,000 page letter he wrote to

owners. >> domestic abuse experts are saying, look, the suspensions were longer for smoking pot than knocking a woman out. >> that is now changing. 19 minutes after the hour. happening now, an emergency meeting. russia accused of arming and fighting alongside rebels inside ukraine. world leaders furious this morning. we are live with the latest after this break. the busiest place in your house is the one you want to be the cleanest. but using bleach leaves some stains behind. as this dye reveals. lysol toilet bowl cleaner does more. it removes the tough stains that bleach doesn't and it also disinfects. that's healthing. that's a good thing,

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reports of russia's military advance into ukraine caused nato to hold a meeting in brussels. moscow is responsible for the hostility between ukraine and pro-russian separatists. karl penhaul is live for us. this is remarkable, the last 24 hours how tensions ratcheted so high. >> reporter: it certainly sent nato into a tail spin. that is the reason why ambassadors to nato have been meeting now for almost an hour expecting some kind of statement from them in another hour from now. they have been poring over satellite pictures, pictures that show more than 1,000 russian combat troops backed with heavy weaponry including artillery now inside ukrainian

territory. president putin played his cards stealthily. i remember in march when nato was showing pictures of 90,000 russian troops on the ukrainian border, fears russians were coming then. that never materialized. since then, they have been looking at what they can do and apparently filtering across the border and really what is nato going to do? some analysts have been suggesting candid and evoke article five. ukraine is not a member of nato. nato saying we are going to act in self-defense and take military action. so, that then opens up the idea, well, more sanctions, more financial actions to bans imposed on the russians. this is really something that the politicians are going to be looking at, the diplomats looking at, raising the question, what can they do?

christine? >> they are russian soldiers on vacation invading ukraine, another interesting angle. karl penhaul thank you so much for that in london this morning. for viewers around the world, "african voices" is next. for the u.s., "early start" continues with the hunt for isis. terrorists leaving a deadly trail in syria and iraq. gruesome videos, recruiting members in the united states. there is growing concern this morning over what we are seeing there. this, after president obama announces he has no strategy to deal with isis in syria, yet. we are live after the break.

happening now, isis gaining ground slaughtering hundreds of syrian soldiers. just the latest in a string of brutal executions. this morning, the u.s. with no clear strategy on how to take down the terror group in syria as it moves through syria and iraq, even recruiting here at home. we are live in iraq with the latest. ukraine under attack. army rebels fighting ukraine's military. this, as worlds leaders hold an emergency meeting about this crisis. is there anything now that they can do to stop russian president vladimir putin? we have live team coverage ahead. welcome back to "early start." a lot going on. i'm john berman.

>> i'm christine romans. 30 minutes past the hour. more evidence of the isis reign of terror in iraq and syria. president obama admits he has no strategy for taking on the militants yet, there. he dispatched secretary of state kerry to build support. that's a critical element to removing the isis threat. >> as i said, ruling out a cancer like isil will not be quick or easy. i'm confident we can and we will working closely with allies and partners. it will be important for congress to weigh in and our consultations with congress continue to develop so that the american people are part of the debate. but, i don't want to put the cart before the horse. we don't have a strategy, yet. >> meantime, isis militants planned to carry out a mass execution in syria and they release add video to prove it.

anna is live in erbil. the pictures are terrifying and show how disciplined these terrorists are on the battlefield, but they do not abide by the rules of war. >> reporter: there are no rules as far as isis is concerned, christine. this video displays just that. no moral code, no code of conduct, no respect for prisons of war. they claimed to have captured 250 syrian soldiers from the military base after the battle they waged over the past week. we see in this video, this isis video, soldiers stripped to their underwear, most of them with their hands by their head marching through the desert while isis militants are on their phones filming them. the next piece of video is a pile of bloody bodies. the camera then turns around and you see a scene of body after

body after body. it is so sickening. the soldiers facedown in the dirt having been executed. we have seen these types of videos before, christine. to see these soldiers that they have captured on the battlefield, to then execute them like this is just sheer brutality. it's cruelty. they have no mercy, what so ever for their enemy. shortly after that video was posted on the internet came another isis video. this time, showing captured curdish forces wearing orange jump suits, the same worn by james foley, the american journalist who was brutally executed in the video last week. one makes an appeal to their president here in kurdistan to stop working with the united states, allowing the u.s. air strikes to happen here in iraq. the video ends showing one of the soldiers, one of the

prisoners on his knees in front of a mosque in mosul, iraq's second largest city seized by isis in june, out in broad daylight, standing above him, one with a knife, holds his head, executes him, beheads him. it is horrific to watch. as we have been talking about it, just defines the way that isis now operates. >> anna in erbil iraq. troubling of how dangerous and deadly the group is. thank you. this morning, we are learning about the man that could be the second american killed fighting for isis this week. the family says he was killed overthe weekend during terrorist clashes in syria. cnn is waiting on government officials to confirm that u.s. man's identity. meanwhile, friends of the minnesota father of nine said his change to radicalism and his

sudden move to the middle east came out of nowhere. we have been told about a one-time friend of douglas mccain who was killed fighting for isis. his one-time best friend in minnesota was killed fighting for the al-shabaab terror group in 2009. cnn spoke with his mother who still, after five years after her son's death is struggling with the loss. >> i don't easily talk about it with people because i don't want to have to also defend him. my family is great, and my friends are great, but just in general, in the world. i mean, it is, it's the hardest, the hardest loss that there is. i'm really grateful that i had him and that i knew doug. >> insiders say isis is recruiting people from the twin cities because that state's

large somali population. the terrorists are targeting young, disaffected men in minnesota by using recruitment videos. at least 100 americans have left the country to take up arms alongside militant extremists. president obama pointing a finger at russia for brazen action in ukraine saying moscow is responsible for fueling the civil war. the military officials say it's a full-scale invasion. another front, a new front in southern ukraine. despite russia's denials, the u.s. and nato say there is evidence 1,000 troops crossed into ukraine. vladimir putin insists they are volunteers. matthew chance is following developments in moscow. volunteers. people on vacation who happen to have russian arms and heavy military vacationing and invading ukraine, is that the

explanation? >> reporter: that's the latest explanation that came out as to why the satellite images released by nato show military presence from russia. apparently, inside eastern ukraine. ten russian paratroopers were captured. in the explanation as to how the pro-russian rebels in eastern ukraine made such dramatic military gains against the government over the past couple weeks. it's, i suppose, plausible deniability. how plausible is up for question. nevertheless, it is the position of the russia at the moment. they are not sending troops into ukraine. the rebel leaders say any troops that are there are there purely of their own accord, taking advantage of their leave time, dying for the cause of the

separatists in ukraine. christine? >> how is the ukrainian government doing in holding back the troops? what is the situation? is there open conflict? >> reporter: there is open conflict in which 2,000 people have been killed since the beginning of hostilities earlier this year. the past couple months, the government forces have made considerable gains against the rebels. but, what appears to have happened is that, you know, when they are on the brink of defeat, as it were, the rebels gained assistance in the form of vacationers, the temporary movements of russian troops. that seems to have reversed the equation on the battlefield. serious advances in ukraine recently, rebels taking over a town on the road toward crimea. there have been dramatic gains at the hands of the russian, the

pro-russian rebels over the course of the past couple days. >> matthew chance in moscow, thank you. prompting nato to call an emergency meeting. we have more in about ten minutes. 38 minutes after the hour. time for an "early start" on your money. european stocks higher this morning. asian shares mixed. u.s. stocks are pointing higher. yesterday, the s&p 500 ended lower after three days of record closes. malaysia airlines slashing jobs. they cut 6,000 jobs, 30% reduction in the work force. it's part of an overhaul of two major disasters. the government owns 70% of malaysia airlines. a $90 million loss last quarter. people have been tweeting pictures of almost empty jets. it's been a real problem for the airline. they are going to try to take it

private. >> tough to do business in that economy. >> sure is. joan rivers in critical condition. rushed to a new york hospital after she stopped breathing. what her family said overnight. tony stewart returning to racing after he hit a competitor on the track. that story after the break. est e is the one you want to be the cleanest. but using bleach leaves some stains behind. as this dye reveals. lysol toilet bowl cleaner does more. it removes the tough stains that bleach doesn't and it also disinfects. that's healthing.

joan rivers in critical but stable condition in a new york

city hospital. the 81-year-old was rushed there on thursday after she stopped breathing during outpatient surgical procedure on her throat. she went into cardiac arrest. her daughter, melissa, says she is resting and thanks everyone for the overwhelming support. the audio recording that captured the moment police opened fire on him has been aught enkated. it bolsters a man's claim he inadd ver tently recorded it. seeking $40 million in damages. they allege their civil rights were violated. the arizona gun range

incident where a 9-year-old girl shot her instructor with an uzi. he was killed when it recoiled in the arms of the 9-year-old spraying bullets everywhere. it sparked a national debate over young children handling firearms. hillary clinton weighed in calling it heart breaking and horrifying. >> what 9-year-old little girl is strong enough to manage an uzi machine gun, which is what it was. you know, the kick, the effort to control it. i mean, that's just the height of irresponsibility, to say nothing of the choice of letting your child do that. >> the instructors family is, of course, grief stricken. his widow says their kids are taking it very, very hard. israeli police say a body found in a forest near jerusalem is that of missing eastern aaron sofer. he disappeared last week hiking

for a friend. the student from new jersey was studying in israel. police investigators have yet to determine the cause of death. his family believes it was accidental and no foul play was involved. jurors in the construction trial of bob mcdonnell and his wife are set to hear closing arguments. they are accused of taking $165,000 of gifts and loans in exchange for promoting a dietary supplement. their marriage was so broken they could not communicate let alone conspire on anything. >> the atlanta motor speedway. the three-time nascar champ has not raced since he struck and killed kevin ward jr. earlier this month. police found no evidence of criminal wrong doing on stewart's part. that investigation is ongoing. heavy rain in texas

triggering flash floods leading to this scene in lubbock, texas. fire crews need add ladder to rescue a driver after his car was nearly submerged in the rising floodwaters. chad myers is here for a look at the weather. >> good morning. happy friday. very pleasant across the northeast. few travel problems today. maybe a couple showers in the afternoon kicking up. high pressure, sunshine, clear skies. 79 is the high in new york. 85 in d.c. 94 in memphis where it's going to be warmer. showers across the florida peninsula later on this afternoon like every day in the summer. the big story tomorrow is the weather through the middle part of the country from ontario to toronto and into texas. scattered showers and thunderstorms throughout the afternoon. high pressure in control of the west. warming up here into memphis, 89. because of the cloud cover, keeping you cooler than today tomorrow but we will see the humidity through the day. 95 in dallas.

96 in el paso and 86 in houston. have a great weekend. back to you. >> thanks. happening now, a russian invasion of ukraine. world leaders holding an emergency meeting. can anything be done to stop the russian troops and russian president vladimir putin? we are live after the break.

welcome back to "early start," everyone. nato meeting in an emergency session this morning. it's prompted by new evidence of the military advance in ukraine. they are blaming moscow for the hostilities between the government and the pro-russian separatists. karl penhaul is live in london for us. nato coming forward with new satellite images. >> reporter: absolutely, john. the nato members are meeting right now, talking with representatives right now. we are expecting a statement in under 45 minutes now. they are poring over the new satellite images showing more than 1,000 russian combat troops inside ukraine. of course added to that in the last few days, separatist leaders said up to 4,000 russian

troops on vacation have volunteered to help the separatists. this adds to the ukrainian government calling it a full-scale invasion. nato and other western leaders are referring to more of an incursion by the russians. what can nato do? ukraine is not a member state of nato. nato can't invoke the self-defense clause and take military action right now. also, there's a growing sense that since the spring, russian president vladimir putin is p y playing stealthily. 90,000 troops were supposed to be on the border. he stood the troops down, offers peace talks and moving weaponry around. putin has been outfoxing the western powers. the question remains, will further sanctions stop him or does tougher action have to be

taken? >> they clearly haven't stopped him or russia from the troop movements. there are real challenges ahead as they have their session today. karl penhaul in london, thank you so much. securing the release of dozens of peace keepers in the heights kidnapped by militants fighting the syrian army. 43 u.n. peace keepers were seized. another 81 trapped in the region bordering syria and israel. the peace keepers are from the philippines and fiji. a labor day weekend perfect for a road trip. we'll explain why when we get an "early start" on your money, next. the busiest place in your house is the one you want to be the cleanest. but using bleach leaves some stains behind. as this dye reveals. lysol toilet bowl cleaner does more. it removes the tough stains that bleach doesn't and it also disinfects. that's healthing.

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let's get an "early start" on your money this friday morning. european stocks higher now. european stocks are up for the month. the first monthly gain since may. asian shares ended mixed. u.s. is pointing higher. yesterday, the s&p 500 ended a three-day winning streak, closed below 2,000. advanced technology ill filtrating the bank t they say hackers used never before seen malwa malware. hackers able to breakthrough and steal large amounts of data. no word on who was responsible. many pointing fingers to russia and the russian government. >> you can get away with

something without the russian government knowing it is completely wrong. sure, the russian government knows what they are doing, they tolerate it and maybe in this case, encouraging it. in the past, they have used hacking as a tool for political coercion, to put pressure on the people they are mad at like the u.s. >> jpmorgan says no increased signs of fraud with all of that information that was stolen. the investigation by the fbi continues. it could be the least expensive holiday weekend in years at the pump. gas prices are the lowest since labor day of 2010. gas prices started falling in july. they are expected to fallower in the fall. crude oil has fallen despite the turmoil in the middle east and russia. that's good news. i won't tell you about the price of beef for your grill, but the price of gas is something to be happy about. >> i think people appreciate it. it's nice to get the news when

it's going down. "early start" continues right now. the hunt for isis, the terrorists leaving a deadly trail of destruction in syria and iraq. this morning, recruiting new members from here in the u.s. congress is weighing in after the president says the u.s. has no clear strategy to take the terror organization down. we are live in iraq now with new information on isis' latest mass execution. russian invasion. violence escalating in ukraine. russia accused of arming and fighting alongside rebels moving in to take over territory in ukraine. world leaders are outraged. right now, the united nations holding an emergency meeting. we are live in moscow. good morning. welcome to "early start." i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans. it is friday, august 29th. it is 5:00 a.m. in the east. >