Obama Terror Speech Avoids "Islamic" Label; Record Cold; Ukraine Calls for U.N. Peacekeepers
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: President Obama lays out the case for fighting ISIS. He says the United States is not at war with Islam. But his critics are asking, how can he fight extremism if he refuses to link it to Muslim radicals?</s>CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Record shattering cold. More than 80 million in the path of an arctic blast. Just how cold is it going to get?</s>BERMAN: Falling apart. Ukraine asks for U.N. peacekeepers to happy the crumbling cease-fire. Is peace even possible now? Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. Good to see you today. I'm John Berman.</s>ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It is Thursday, February 19th, it is 5:00 a.m. in the East, right on the nose. This president -- this morning, rather, President Obama striving for a balance between the battle against violent extremism and respect for mainstream Muslims around the world. Speaking at a three-day White House summit on countering violent extremism, the president carefully avoided the label "Islamic extremism". It is a controversial choice by the White House. Critics say Islamist militants should be dealt head on. But the president says he doesn't want to give religious legitimacy to groups like ISIS and al Qaeda.</s>BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They are not religious leaders. They're terrorists.</s>ROMANS: Senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta following the story. He has the latest for us.</s>JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, President Obama defended his decision to stay away from those terms like "Islamic extremism" and "Islamic terrorism" because he said he doesn't want to give groups like ISIS and al Qaeda any Muslim street cred by somehow referring to the groups as religious figures. The president pointed out that Muslims are the victims of ISIS much more often than people from other religious groups. And he also noted, the young Muslim Americans killed in a high profile murder case in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The president then said that people of the Islamic faith, that we offer our love and we offer our support. But his biggest applause line at this countering violent extremism summit came when he rejected critics who say he's taking too soft an approach in describing groups like ISIS. Here's what he had to say.</s>OBAMA: We all know there is no one profile of a violent extremist or terrorist. So, there is no way to predict who will become radicalized. Around the world and here in the United States, inexcusable acts of violence have been committed against people of different faiths by people of different faiths, which is, of course, the trail of all of our faiths.</s>ACOSTA: But the president was also trying to strike a balance saying that Muslim leaders in the U.S. we need to do more to push back on this notion that there is a clash of civilians going on. White House officials note that this nuanced stance by the president is controversial. Press Secretary Josh Earnest conceded they have taken flak on this language they are using, but that they welcome it. The president will give one more speech on the subject later today when he addresses hundreds of foreign officials from around the world at the State Department on the global challenge posed by violent extremism -- John and Christine.</s>BERMAN: Our thanks to Jim for that. New this morning, an Iraqi official tells CNN that ISIS militants have killed at least 40 police officers and tribesmen, most of them burned to death. CNN cannot independently confirm this information, but the Pentagon says it is analyzing the report, also some imagery. Now, the question is, where and how will ISIS strike next? We want to bring in CNN's Ian Lee live from Cairo with the latest. Good morning, Ian.</s>IAN LEE, CNN REPORTER: Good morning, John and Christine. Yes, ISIS is probing over 600-mile frontline with the Kurdish Peshmerga looking for weaknesses. The other night, we saw a massive attack by them against that line, and really this line, the Peshmerga fighters are sparse at places. If the ISIS fighters were able to breakthrough, it's a clear shot toward Irbil, although it doesn't seem that's going to be their objective. What it looks like they are trying to do is release the pressure on Mosul. Kurdish fighters have it surrounded on three sides. They are trying to push out and keep the Kurdish fighters on their heels. But we do know that ISIS knows that coalition war planes are in the sky watching them. So, they plan their attacks accordingly when it was least effective for coalition fighters to hit them. The other night, the fight lasted for five hours. And it was such close quarter combat, air strikes could not hit them until the end of the fight. That's when the air strikes started pounding them. But ISIS is trying to keep the city of Mosul, a strategic city for them, under the threat of the Peshmerga who right now are holding that defensive line around the city.</s>BERMAN: Ian, it is interesting we are speaking to you in Cairo this morning, because the front against ISIS keeps expanding in a way now with their recent activity inside Libya. What's the status right now with the battle between Egypt frankly and the ISIS forces next door in Libya?</s>LEE: Well, Egypt is trying to rally international support for the fight of ISIS and Libya. Initially, they were calling for the same sort of international coalition that we see dealing with ISIS in Iraq and Syria, to add Libya to that as well. When they went to the U.N. Security Council to put forward a resolution, it was watered down a bit. What they want an arms embargo lifted on Libya, at least for the internationally recognized government. They want to give them the weapons they need. They also want naval blockade on the other parts of Libya where this government isn't operating so weapons can't get to these militias, and the international community is worried if they give weapons to this government, that they don't have the tight control on them, they could go to militias. There is also international community believes the best way to do with this right now is politically. Unite the different factions against</s>ISIS. BERMAN: Ian Lee for us in Cairo this morning on this growing battle against ISIS. Thanks so much, Ian.</s>ROMANS: All right. This morning, a humanitarian aid worker killed while in the hands of ISIS militant is being remembered in her hometown of Prescott, Arizona. Kayla Mueller's brother Eric telling the crowd at a memorial service that she will live in the acts of kindness she performed working with Syrian refugees.</s>ERIC MUELLER, KAYLA MUELLER'S BROTHER: Only now will you be able to see how much you really did and truly did for this world by looking down on it from above. I love you. You can rest in peace knowing that you changed this world.</s>ROMANS: ISIS says that Mueller died in the Jordanian air strike. The Pentagon rejects that claim, saying it just doesn't know how she died, and besides, ISIS is at fault because they had her kidnapped in that country.</s>BERMAN: Big swath of the United States dealing with bone-chilling temperatures through tomorrow. The arctic air affects 25 states, including Florida. Some states could shatter records in terms of low temperatures. Look at this. Niagara falls frozen. Who are those tourists out there? Temperatures hit 13 degrees below zero there this week. So cold, schools from Chicago to Kentucky closing as a precaution.</s>ROMANS: With temperatures so cold, the snow has no place -- has no change to melt and nowhere really to go. And that's a real concern. Look at this, a partial roof collapse at a shopping plaza near Boston. No one hurt in that, thank goodness. Crews had to rush to save two people who became buried in snow when it fell off a Boston ice rink. We're told they were hurt but are expected to be OK.</s>BERMAN: All right. How much snow, how cold? Look at this, picture from space. That's the Northeast, you can make Cape Cod of Massachusetts there, New England just covered in snow, just all white, it's completely white. Nuts.</s>ROMANS: That is something. That's from</s>NASA. BERMAN: All right. How long are these dangerous temperatures going to last? Let's turn to meteorologist Pedram Javaheri for an early look at the weather -- Pedram.</s>PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: John and Christine, what a historic spell of weather ahead of us over the next couple of days. More than 130 million people underneath wind-chill advisories or warnings, at least over the next 24 or so hours. The expansion goes from Indianapolis all the way towards areas of central and southern Florida. Wind-chills down on South Beach could even be to the upper 30s over the next couple of days. But again, take a look, freeze warnings and also watches across the citrus growing regions. So, certainly, something worth noting for people across areas of Central Florida, if that is how you make your living down there. But take a look at the perspective. High pressure in place, generally clear skies. Temperatures dropping to minus 12 in Minneapolis, 14 in Atlanta, again down in the 40s across areas of Tampa. We are talking 25 to 30 degrees below average. Minneapolis, high today is 7, 30 in the norm. Chicago, 1, that's among the coldest high temperatures this late into the season since the 1960s for Chicago. And some of the coldest weather since the Clinton administration, down around the nation's capital, 17, it should be 48. And also, New York City in the 20s, when you should have double that temperature at 42 degrees. This pattern, unfortunately, looks to be a long-lived one over the next few days, guys.</s>ROMANS: All right. Pedram Javaheri, thanks for that. We'll take it even though we don't like it. Nine minutes past the hour. New this morning, the president of Ukraine calling for a United Nations peacekeeping mission to enforce the latest cease-fire with the government and pro-Russian rebels. Now, that truce signed last week shattered in the face of the fierce battle with the rail hub of Debaltseve. On Wednesday, Ukraine withdrew most of its troops from Debaltseve. Now, Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko is seeking help from the U.N. and European Union. For the latest, let's turn to CNN's Erin McLaughlin. She's live in Moscow for us. Good morning, Erin.</s>ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine. This is yet another area of disagreement between Moscow and Kiev. Russia this morning rejecting calls from Ukrainian president for a U.N. peacekeeping mission to be deployed in Eastern Ukraine. Russia's ambassador to the United Nations saying that the idea would hinder the agreement already in place. Meanwhile, Western officials are accusing Russia and separatists of violates the cease-fire in Debaltseve. Debaltseve is the city that has seen intense fighting, key transport hub now control of the separatists. Russia saying Debaltseve was never subject to the cease-fire in the first place because the separatists had the city surrounded prior to that agreement being signed. They are accusing the West of using the city as a pretext for further sanctions. But, you know, now that the city is firmly in control of the separatists, the hope is the cease- fire will finally take effect, that the bloodshed will finally stop.</s>ROMANS: All right. Erin, thank you for that. Erin McLaughlin in Moscow this morning.</s>BERMAN: Officials at UCLA Medical Center are scrambling to contain a drug-resistant and possibly deadly superbug. At least two patients have reportedly died, seven more have been infected after exposure to the bacteria, which is called CER. UCLA says it is notifying about 100 patients who might also have been exposed. It is believed the infection was transmitted during complex endoscope procedures. Officials say the doctors actually followed the recommended decontamination procedures.</s>ROMANS: All right. Eleven minutes past the hour. Time for an early start on your money this morning. European markets making up for early losses. Why? Greece officially asked E.U. creditors for a six-month extension of the bailout program. U.S. stock futures are not doing much yet. But yesterday, stocks mostly fell. Federal Reserve are expressing concern about low inflation. Central Bank says it's in no hurry to raise interest rates for fear of damaging the American economy. Uber expects to raise another billion bucks. It has expanded its latest round of funding to $2.8 billion. The company says this is further proof how much investors have in the car company. The timing though a little questionable. It's competitor Lyft also trying to raise more money. Uber valued at $40 billion.</s>BERMAN: A lot of money there. All right. Jeb Bush trying to put some distance between himself and other members of his family. He gives a foreign policy speech. But is his foreign policy that different from that of his father or his brother?</s>ROMANS: And new hope for women battling aggressive breast cancer. Why doctors are calling a possible treatment a breakthrough.