developing overnight, a domestic terror plot foiled and target revealed. the terror suspect killed in boston. authorities say he had planned to kill a woman behind the contest to draw the prophet muhammad. pamela geller's response. and isis with the tight grip on the city despite efforts to take it back. the terror group's move to cut off a key water supply now being

felt by iraqi forces. how can the u.s.-led coalition end the suffering and gain back the ground? good morning. welcome to "early start." i'm john berman. christine romans is on assignment at the moment. 4:00 a.m. in the east. new information about the terror suspect killed in boston officials say came at them with a knife. he was usaama rahim and he once had a plot to behead a conservative activist. 26-year-old man changed his mind and decided to target police instead. let's get the latest from justice correspondent pamela brown in boston. >> reporter: john and christine, we learned the terror suspect killed in boston on tuesday morning, usaama rahim, a second suspect arrested david wright and a third suspect met on the beach this past sunday to talk about the plan to go to new york and behead pamela geller.

she is a figure to organize the prophet muhammad cartoon drawing contest in garland, texas. they wanted to go there and behead her as part of the plot. according to the authorities, rahim changed his mind on tuesday morning and called his friend david wright and said he did not want to wait to go to new york. he wanted to do something in boston and kill police officers. it is unclear exactly how he planned to attack. according to the documents, he said he wanted to target and go after the boys in blue. he said i'm going to be on vacation here in massachusetts. i'm just going to go after those boys in blue. according to the court documents. again, he was killed after he was approached in a parking lot by police officials and he allegedly had a military-style knife on him. officials say he lunged at him and they opened fire. we know the other suspect

appeared in court and facing conspiracy charges for attempting to destroy rahim's cell phone as part of the investigation. the fbi is still looking for any other associates tied to the group. john. >> thanks pamela. the blogger who law enforcement sources say was usaama rahim's original target is speaking out. pamela geller told erin burnett she thinks she was targeted for violating sharia blasphemy laws. >> it won't end with matter what happens to me. this is just the beginning. the one thing that is being ignored that came from garland, texas, is that isis is here. islamic terrorism is here. now will the media realize what's at stake and their heads

are next or will they continue to target me. >> geller will be back on cnn later this morning during the 8:00 hour of "new day." new developments in the battle of isis against iraq. the top official says the u.s.-coalition has killed more than 10,000 isis fighters in the last nine months. deputy secretary of state tony blincon admits the isis fighters do not fear death. while that is going on the effects are felt downstream after isis shut off a major dam in ramadi. the iraqi officials say they are worried that a dry river bed and humanitarian crisis could give isis an advantage against government forces. our senior correspondent ben wedeman joins us with the latest. good morning, ben. >> reporter: good morning, john. the worry of iraqi officials

regarding the dam in ramadi is they will cut off the flow of the euphrates river. that is the source of water for many iraqis downstream. so this is just another complication that has happened since the may 17th fall of the strategic city in anbar province to isis. recording the statement from the deputy secretary of state, yes, he did say that the u.s. he believed the coalition, has killed as many as 10,000 isis fighters but the cia says isis has between 20,000 and 32,000 fighters and has been able to replace them through recruitment over the years. now it is important to keep in mind according to u.s. officials, isis has since the height of its expansion, has lost about 25% of its territory.

keep in mind within the last month, isis has been able to make two stunning victories. one, of course, is the fall of ramadi. the other is the fall of palmyra. despite the loss of territory, isis doesn't seem to be stopping at the moment. john. >> ben wedeman for us. thanks. this morning, baltimore police looking at new safety measures for prisoner transport vans. the changes come following the death of freddie gray. the changes include cameras and gps and roller coaster style harnesses. and what may be more significant development. anthony batts is asking for new federal resources to battle the spike in the crime rate. seeking help from prosecutors

and law enforcement agents. let's get more from cnn's miguel marquez. >> reporter: john this is high stakes for the police commissioner. he held an extraordinary press conference with the slew of law enforcement officials, most from the federal government saying this was his effort to bring the level of crime down. baltimore has seen extraordinarily high levels of crime, in particular since the rioting over the death of freddie gray. the murder rate is up 40%. 119 murders right now. may saw the deadliest. 43 dead in baltimore in may. the police commissioner saying that much of the violence is driven by the pharmacies. 27 pharmacies robbed among the hundreds of businesses looted and robbed during the riots. saying the prescription drugs from the pharmacies is helping to fuel the violence. here is how he put the reason he was doing the press conference.

>> nothing is more important than the sanctity than human life within this city. mere numbers miss the point. we are talking about people. these are not numbers. these are human beings who have lost their lives on the streets of baltimore. we are aggressive in our crime fight using all of the resources that are available to us. this is all hands on deck. >> reporter: despite saying it is an all hands on deck effort. missing from the conference was anybody from the baltimore city's mayor's office and from the city's state attorney office. maybe not so surprising on the latter point as marilyn mosby is going after and trying six officers over the death of freddie gray. the commissioner very much on the offensive now saying he is bringing in extra forces to try to bring in that crime rate in baltimore down. john christine. >> miguel marquez, thank you. the investigation into the

shooting death of 12-year-old tamir rice last fall is now in the hands of prosecutors who will hand it over to a grand jury to decide whether the cleveland police officer will be charged. rice was playing with a pellet gun in a park near his home when officer timothy lehman fired the fatal shots. the rice family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit. the anthrax cries crisis is growing by the day. live anthrax spores were sent to 17 states and washington, d.c. and three countries. they expect the numbers to go up as the investigation into the shipments of anthrax goes on. 400 batches are now being tested. four contain live anthrax. there have been no reported cases of infections and insists there is no threat to public health. former governor rick perry

is set to throw his stetson into the race. he will be surrounded by veterans to announce and be with the widow of american sniper chris kyle. governor perry is the tenth candidate vying for the republican nomination and the others running but without saying it for legal reasons. and on the democratic side lincoln chafee is the third rival to hillary clinton. the former independent launched his bid on wednesday. chafee says his campaign will stress high ethical standards. he wants the united states to adopt the metric system. some people have joked he will take on politics one centimeter as a time. and ted cruz is apologizing for a joke over joe biden.

speaking at a dinner in michigan cruz poked fun at biden for his verbal gaffes. he made this joke while the vice president is grieving over the death of his son beau. he joked, you know the nice thing, you don't need a punch line. honestly it works. the next part of your act, just say biden and close your mouth. they will crack up laughing. cruz posted an apology on facebook and twitter saying it was a mistake to joke about biden during his grief. our prayers are with the vice president and his family. jurors in the trial of accused colorado theater murderer james holmes. holmes said dropping out of graduate school did not matter

because he was already planning his mission. he expected to be locked up or killed when the mission was complete. he killed 12 people. wounded 70 others in the shooting at the aurora colorado movie theater. prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. the defense claims holmes was legally sane. time for an early start on your money. u.s. stock futures are lower. stocks are flirting with records. flirting. yesterday, the dow climbed 64 points. nasdaq closed just shy of the high in may. the big business story, t-mobile and dish network in merger talks. the second largest satellite provider with the fourth largest wireless carrier. dish with many wireless licenses but does not have the cellular network to put them to use. it could help t-mobile to add subscribers. no word on the price or structure. a lot of structures with at&t

and charter communications trying to merge with time warner cable. there is a chance for severe storms including large hail and a few tornadoes in the central plains. let's get to meteorologist ivan cabrera with an early look at the forecast. >> john and christine, another round of severe storms later this afternoon. damaging wind potential and torrential rain and the potential for tornadoes as well. we will watch this closely along this boundary here. in fact let's focus in on what we're thinking. the highest risk for severe weather, omaha and kansas city. the orange is the enhanced area for the more damaging storms by later this afternoon. let's track this for you. watch the clock here. by the time we get to 2:00 or 3:00 you see the nasty storms rolling through kansas city with the potential of very strong winds and in excess of 60 miles an hour. that can do damage. you don't need the winds to spin to get damage here. there is the potential for tornadoes as well. we will watch that closely.

the other story, no severe weather here but the very cool temperatures that have been impacted the northeast as you well know temperatures in new york finally getting above 70 degrees. by the time we get to saturday afternoon, pushing 80 degrees. that will feel fantastic. likewise for boston. temperatures warming up for the weekend. thanks ivan. the clock is ticking on rescuers in china. searching for survivors from the shipwreck on the yangtze river. hundreds missing and the count of those found dead is growing. cnn takes you to the search site next.

right now, rescue crews are cutting holes in the overturned hull of the cruise ship that capsized in the yangtze river. it has been nearly three days since the accident as officials continue to recover bodies. more than 60 so far.

hope to find anyone alive is all bygone bygone. cnn's david mckenzie joins us with more. david. >> reporter: that's right, john. there was certainly feverish activity on the hull of that vessel that is still upside down in the river and a lot of salvage equipment. some 500 tons surrounding it. you see people gingerly trying to open holes to see if anyone is still stuck in an air pocket. at this stage, if anyone is alive, they will be testing the limits of human endurance. they are affixing wires around the hull and fixing to bring it up and begin the task of recovering those who may have passed away. family members are in the area

and they streamed in the hundreds. some have some hope but many i talked to expect the worst in what is shaping up to be china's worst disaster in living memory. john. >> david mckenzie on the ground there in china. we know the immense distress the family members are under. what an accommodations are being made for the family members lost in the disaster? >> reporter: certainly they are getting them in hotels in the area. they are giving them counselling. there are a number of people trying to assist the families. the situation is such that they are traumatized. some i have spoken to said parents and grandparents and many family members on the vessel. they were told this would be the

safest possible way to tour china. of course it ended all in tragedy. if you look at the river and how quickly it is moving and the zero visibility the divers had to work with and they expanded the search area for more than 90 miles. it is not looking good to find anyone alive. >> david mckenzie for us. remarkable look at the investigation as it goes on. thank you, david. stunning revelations from the family caught up in the middle of the molestation scandal that is rocking television right now. new information from the interview. what they have to say coming up next. how do you get to the top of your game? give it everything you've got and leave those sticky sunscreens behind. new neutrogena cooldry sport. powerful protection designed to feel good. micromesh technology lets sweat pass through and evaporate so skin stays comfortable, while clinically proven protection keeps going strong. don't get stuck with a sticky sunscreen. stay protected and comfortable

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call today to request your free decision guide and find the aarp medicare supplement plan to go the distance with you. go long. so for the first time the duggar parents from tlc's "19 kids and counting" are speaking out about the molestation scandal. jim bob and michelle said they were deafvastated when josh admitted he molested under age girls, some of them sisters. >> he shared the 100 sheep and one went astray. he took care of the 99. we will protect those in our hands, but also we're going to make sure josh doesn't make any

wrong choices. >> it doesn't mean you are not a good shepherd. jesus went after the one that went astray. >> two of the abused daughters, jill and jessa are speaking out. they said what josh did is wrong, but they do not believe he should be labelled as a child molester. a top u.s. soccer official once in fifa's committee admit he and others took bribes on where the world cup could be in 1998 and 2010. that is according to newly released federal court records. chuck blazer pleaded guilty to money laundering fraud and tax evasion in 2013 and played a central role in the government's case against other fifa officials. this investigation is still ongoing. we will see other names in the near future. real life flying saucer is about to take off, but no little green men inside allegedly.

folks in hawaii could see a saucer shaped nasa aircraft that could hold the key to a future mission to mars. the nasa saucer will be cared 20 miles in the sky by a huge balloon. if all goes as planned, you can watch on nasa tv at 1:00 p.m. eastern standard time. 26 minutes after the hour. a man radicalized by isis planned to perhaps behead victims here in the united states before boston police and fbi agents killed him this week. who was the target and what is the target now saying? we will have the latest after the break.

developing overnight a domestic terror plot foiled. a target revealed. the terror suspect killed in boston. authorities say he had planned to kill the woman behind the contest to draw the prophet muhammad. hear what pamela geller had to say. and isis using water as a weapon. the terrorists now heightening their hold on a key city. they are cutting off the water supply to a huge chunk of the country. can their reign of terror be stopped before the humanitarian crisis grows worse? welcome back to "early start." i'm john berman. 30 minutes after the hour.

christine romans on assignment for another few minutes. new this morning, we have information about the terror suspect killed in boston. officials say came at them with a knife. sources say usaama rahim once had a plot to behead a controversial activist. the 26-year-old changed his mind and decided to target police instead. let's get the latest from correspondent pamela brown in boston. >> reporter: john, we have learned that the terrorism suspect killed in boston tuesday morning, usaama rahim, a second suspect arrested david wright and a third suspect met on the beach this past sunday to talk about the plan to go to new york and behead pamela geller. she organized the prophet muhammad cartoon drawing contest in garland, texas where the attempted terrorist attack was held. they wanted to go there and behead her as part of the plot. according to authorities, rahim changed his mind on tuesday

morning and called his friend david wright and said he did not want to wait to go up to new york and he wanted to do something in boston and kill police officers. it is unclear exactly how he planned to attack but according to the documents, he said he wanted to target and go after the boys in blue. he said i'm going to be on vacation right here in massachusetts. i'm just going to go after the boys in blue. according to the court documents. he was killed after he was approached in a parking lot by police officials and he allegedly had a military-style knife on him. officials say he lunged at them and he opened fire. we know the other suspect appeared in court. he is facing conspiracy charges for attempting to destroy rahim's cell phone as part of the investigation. it is still very active and fbi is still looking for any other associates who may be tied to the group.

john. >> pamela brown. thank you. the law enforcement sources say the target is now speaking out. pamela geller said she believes she was targeted for violating sharia blasphemy laws. >> it won't end with me no matter what happens to me or the cops. this is just the beginning. the one thing that is being ignored that came out of garland, texas is that isis is here. islamic terrorism is here. now will the media realize what's at stake and their heads are next or will they continue to target me because they hate my message of freedom. that's the question. >> geller will be on cnn again later this morning. she will be on "new day" in the 8:00 hour. new developments in the battle of isis in iraq. a top state department official says the u.s.-led coalition has

killed more than 10,000 isis fighters in the last nine months. speaking on french radio, deputy secretary of state tony lincoln admitted isis fighters do not fear death. meantime effects are being felt after isis shut off a dam in ramadi city. officials are worried that the dry river bed will give isis an advantage against government forces. senior correspondent ben wedeman has the latest. >> reporter: good morning, christine. isis is in the process or cut off the dam on the euphrates river outside of ramadi which isis took on the 17th of may. the worry is they will cut off the flow of the vital river and deny the people the millions of people living downstream of

drinking water and water for agriculture. you recall after ramadi fell to isis on the 17th of may, the iraqi prime minister said it would take a couple of days for iraqi forces to retake the city. that at this point is now several weeks ago. now regarding the statement by tony blincon, the u.s. deputy secretary of state. he did say that the u.s.-led coalition has managed to kill as many as 10,000 isis fighters, but the cia says there are 20,000 to 30,000 men fighting for isis and isis is very successful at making up numbers through recruitment. isis has lost about 25% of the territory it has been able to gain within the last year however, keep in mind that within the last month, of

course they were able to take ramadi in iraq and palmyra in syria. whatever the numbers say on the ground the situation looks pretty grim at the moment. christine. >> and folks in washington were trying to push back that americans are counting the body count for isis. they are focused on more than strategy. thank you, ben. this morning, baltimore police are looking at new safety measures for the department of fleet transport vans. the changes come following the death of freddie gray. the proposed changes include installing cameras and gps and prisoner harnesses. what may be more significant development, the police commissioner there. anthony batts is asking for federal resources to battle the spike in crime rate. >> nothing is more important than the sanctity of human life

in the city. mere numbers miss the point. we are talking about people. these are not numbers. these are human beings that lost their lives in the streets of baltimore. we are aggressive in the crime fight using all of the resources available to us. >> batts blames the 40% jump in the murder rate in the influx of narcotics in baltimore or drugs stolen from pharmacies after the death of freddie gray. the shooting investigation of tamir rice is in the hands of prosecutors. they will decide if the police officer will be charged. officer lohman fired the fatal shots seconds after arriving on the scene. former texas governor rick perry is set to toss his stetson into the presidential race. he will announce his second bed for the white house in addison,

texas. his web site is live. governor perry is the tenth republican in the race. on the democratic side lincoln chafee is the third challenger to hillary clinton. the former rhode island governor and former independent launched his bid wednesday. chafee says his campaign will stress high ethical standards and the proposal to adopt the metric system. i have to make a joke. he is kilometers behind in the polls. >> that's funny. >> i have one for every half hour. >> didn't we adopt the metric system in 1980? i remember a big math segment in my youth. another republican presidential contender ted cruz is apologizing for a poorly timed joke. speaking in michigan cruz poked

fun at biden for his verbal gaffes days after beau biden side from brain cancer. he said the nice thing, you don't need a punch line. the next thing it works. i walk up to someone at a party and say vice president biden. cruz later posted an apology saying it was a mistake to use an old joke about biden during his grief. our prayers are with the vice president and his family. people close to the vice president say he is truly racked with grief. >> a reporter in the room at the time and tweeted it around and it exploded on social media. a lot of people thought it was bad timing. united airlines is apologizing to a muslim passenger denied an unopened can of soda by a flight attendant. the passenger is a chaplain at northwestern university. she said she was told the can

could be used as a weapon. united initially called it a misunderstanding. i'll say. ahmad wrote she was humiliated and the airline disregarded her complaint. and now united has not only issued an apology, but after investigating the matter united assured the flight attendant will no longer serve united customers. 40 minutes past the hour. let's get an early start on your money. european stocks are lower. greece is negotiating with creditors ahead of the debt deadline tomorrow. stocks very close to records. yesterday, the dow climbed 60 points. nasdaq closed below the high set in may. t-mobile and dish are in merger talks. the second largest satellite provider with the fourth largest wireless carrier. dish acquired the wireless but does not have the network to put

them to use. no word on a surpriseprice or structure. at&t and closing a deal for directv. >> and regulators probably will not have a problem. dish and t-mobile do different things. a chance for severe storms and maybe large hail and tornadoes in the central plains. let's go to meteorologist ivan cabrera for a look at the forecast. >> each and every day we are doing better with the temperatures. by this weekend, finally, it will feel like june in new york which is pushing 80. the average high temperature. we have been in the 50s and 60s. in maine, overnight in the 30s. we are going in the right direction by the time we get to the weekend. d.c. temperatures back in the low 80s with sunshine. that will feel fantastic. the rest of the country is not looking bad. southwestern united states well into the 100s.

that will continue. temperatures across the southeast into the 70s and 80s. severe storms across the mid section of the country. let's focus in on that and talk about the enhanced area of severe storms and damaging wind potential. large hail with some of the updrafts here. potential for isolated tornadoes as well. we will watch that from omaha to kansas city. from 2:00 to 4:00 the storms will be strongest. we will watch the radar and keep you posted. john and christine. the number of states that could have received live anthrax keeps growing. how many states now effected and how wide could the trouble grow? what in the world happened here? a report from the pentagon next. decision. the decision to ride on and save money. he decided to save money by switching his motorcycle insurance to geico. there's no shame in saving money.

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the pentagon anthrax scare is widening. it is worse than initially thought. officials say suspected live samples were sent to 51 labs in 17 states and three countries. three countries. that's nearly double what was originally reported. barbara starr has more. >> reporter: john and christine, the scope of what the pentagon is dealing with is growing by the day. after a briefing for reporters at the pentagon here is what we know. so far, 400 lots of anthrax are being tested. four of them.

these are the large samples. have come back positive. there are now suspected shipments of anthrax that could be live in 17 states plus the district of columbia plus south korea, canada and australia. this all adds up to the possibility that even more live anthrax will be found and the shipments may have occurred in every state across the country already ten smaller samples that have gone out to some of the 51 labs under scrutiny. they have tested positive. the pentagon says there is no threat to public health. these were all within controlled laboratory circumstances. the material never got out in the general public. more than 30 people who work in the labs are undergoing precautionary medical treatment. that number could grow and the

pentagon is acknowledging they need to make sure that no lab workers get sick from this. john christine. >> barbara, thank you. so were the locations for the two world cup tournaments sold to the highest bidder? according to one whistleblower, yes. mind blowing testimony from that man with the beard who turned the soccer world upside down. coming up next.

for the first time, the duggar parents from tlc's "19 kids and counting" are speaking out about the molestation scandal. jim bob and michelle were devastated when josh molested five underage girls. >> jesus shared a story. 100 sheep and one went astray. he took care of the 99 but went after the one that went astray. we love josh and others, but we will protect those in our hands, but make sure josh doesn't make any wrong choices. >> it doesn't mean you are not a

good shepherd. jesus is a good shepherd but went after that one that went astray. >> two of the abused daughters are speaking out. they say what their brother did was wrong, but they do not believe he should be labeled a child molester. >> we will talk about that coming up in the next hour. former top u.s. official on the fifa executive committee admitted he and others took bribes that rigged where to hold the world cup. chuck blazer the big man with the big beard, pleaded guilty to money laundering and fraud and tax evasion in 2013 and played a central role in the government's case against other fifa officials. other people helping out who pleaded guilty and collecting evidence. there is more that will come out here. a real life flying saucer about to take off, but no little green men inside. >> allegedly. >> folks in hawaii could see a

saucer shaped nasa aircraft. it could hold a key to the mission to mars. it will be carried 20 miles in the sky by a huge balloon. you can catch live coverage on nasa tv at 1:00 p.m. eastern. a secret to wealth and success, john berman. >> i wish i knew. >> a little career advice from the world's richest man next.

i'm christine romans. let's get an early start on your money. stocks down this morning as the greek drama continues. look at the major markets. down close to 2%. greece has not reached a deal with the creditors. i want to tell you about the piece of writing from sheryl sandberg. she marked the 30th day since her husband's death. she thanked her friends and shared what she learned from the grieving process. it is remarkable. she wrote, i have lived 30 years in the 30 days. i'm 30 years sadder. i feel i'm 30 years wiser. she has been consumed with

emptiness, but wants to choose life. it is really something everyone should read. you will get choked up and cry. here is a woman who so many of us look up to her for how you can be a model and mother and wife and strong executive. it is unfair how she lost her husband. we wish her the best. he is the world's richest man and he doesn't have a college degree. his advice go to college and graduate. he dropped out of harvard in 1975. he writes he got lucky. he says getting a degree is a surer path to success. 59% of students who start college don't finish citing lack of money and preparation. bill gates did not go to college.

to you, i say you are not bill gates. >> if you are mark zuckerberg or bill gates, drop out. "early start" continues right now. >> developing overnight, a domestic terror plot. the suspect killed in boston. authorities say he had plans to attack the woman behind the contest to draw the prophet muhammad. pamela geller's response moments away. isis tightening the grip on the key iraqi city despite the attempts to get it back. they are now cutting off the water supply. what can be done to help the people in that country? details ahead. good morning. welcome to "early start." i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans. law enforcement this mo