child. thankfully no one was killed. across the region, entire stretches of roadway are split in two and the picturesque wineries that mark the napa countryside received extensive damage. officials addressed concerns about the city's infrastructure. >> the majority of what we have been doing for the last several hours is assessing damage of a lot of our buildings in the downtown area, making sure there was no imminent rescue and happy to say there has not been. >> reporter: according to the u.s. gee logical survey, 15,000 people experienced severe shaking. hundreds of thousands more felt the jolt. even very far from the epicenter. this was the strongest quake to hit the bay area since 1989. the question on everyone's mind, is another quake, the big one, on the way?

i want to bring in kim who is in napa, california. we are seeing the structural damage. what are they focusing on as far as cleanup and preventing more damage? >> they are trying to assess how bad the damage is, especially here in historic downtown napa. i want you to walk closer with me. we can't get much closer than this. what you are seeing over here. bricks. on an ordinary day this is where people are sitting. there are tables, people are dining an the bricks fell where the tables are and that's the gaping pool left behind when those bricks fell. you can see this entire building has been compromised. the concern of officials here is the aftershocks. what happens when the after shocks hit. it's not just here in this one corner. it's damage we have seen throughout this block, throughout all of downtown napa. they are trying to figure out whether buildings need to be red tagged, where they are not able

to be entered at all. owners trying to figure out how much this will cost and for the business owners that can get in, they have to figure out how to do the mop up. this is wine country. a lot of pictures that we're seeing on social media, people we're talking to, it is broken bottles, a lot of precious money that's been lost by these wine makers as the red and white wine is spilling from broken barrels. a lot of today is concerned about the economic cost and how many homes damaged, how many people they know who have been hurt. we are hearing there are at least 100 and also how many structures have been lost. you have seen the pictures of the mobile homes on fire. people are still trying to assess the home they lost, their personal homes. >> this happened in the middle of the night. you imagine damage like that happening in the daytime when people would have been walking those streets. looking ahead, you mention aftershocks. that's a major concern.

how do they do cleanup, repair, et cetera, when they have to worry about what could be significant aftershocks at this point? >> very carefully. they have to do it very, very carefully. look at this building. if you see, there's virtually no way to enter this building safely. that's why the authorities have asked us to stay this far back. because if there is an aftershock. say we have that 5.0 that a lot of meteorologists and seismologists say is likely possible, than what happens to this building? it easily could collapse an all of these bricks become dangerous to the people nearby. >> all right. thank you very much for joining us. we want to get the big picture now. this is the strongest quake to hit the california bay area in 25 years. does this mean the big one may not be far behind? we have cnn's meteorologist chad myers. i know this is not an exact

science but we know the instability in the fault lines in california. when we have a quake like this does that increase the chances of a bigger quake in the near term? >> i don't think so. this wasn't even on the san andreas fault line itself. in the system, yes, i get that. but the san andreas fault runs off shore here. this is a different fault. it is part of the same system. this north american fault, this plate is here, this plate is moving to the north. i get all of that. but this i don't believe gets to the point where we say it is a precursor to the big one, i don't think so. napa seeing a good shake. 17,000 people saw significant shaking. down here, where there's no dots there are very few people. this couldn't have happened in a better spot, other than napa, in other words in the san francisco bay area a. all day we have been talking about how the bay area got hit. the bay area felt something. if you think of oakland, san francisco, east bay, a shake, a jolt but not the devastation we

see in napa. think of the same jolt in downtown san francisco or oakland or anywhere along the east bay. that's the story today. i know this number has been changing and it is getting on people's nerves the 6.0, 6.1. my producers hate. this earlier today the usgs tweeted out and said it is 6.05. we don't know whether to round it up or down. we will work on that temperature finally the past few minutes they rounded it up to 6.1. that's why the number has changed on the screen. look at all of the aftershocks already. that was the first one, the first earthquake 6.1. and since then the aftershocks already on the map and more to come. buildings that are damaged, the problem is there is a brick waiting to fall off. a 3.5 could make some of the bricks fall down. you need to stay away from damaged areas. >> can you put this in to context of the previous big quakes we know well out of that area, including the one 25 years ago. the famous one that struck

during the world series and going back to 1906. how big is this in comparison? >> this is the shake map. it tells a big story. if you see red it is violent shaking. there's the red. there's the size of the red er this quake. there is the moment, much bigger. these are just about to scale. look at the red area here. this is the 1908, somewhere 7.8 to 8.0 for the 1908. we don't know exactly baufz we didn't have the technology out there then. small, large and much much bigger. this was not along the main fault. still a violent shake for the people out in napa and they have days and days of picking that up. >> no question. i'm sure it felt big in the middle of it but great to have the context there. turning to a breaking news story out of the middle east, an american journalist held by islamist rebels in syria for almost two years has been freed. peter theo curtis was captured

in 2012. he is expected to be reunited with his family soon. in a statement released by the family, curtis' mother says this, quote, my heart is full at the extraordinary dedicated, incredible people, too many to name individually, who have become my friends and tirelessly helped us over these many months. please know we will be eternally grateful. with we are so relieved theo is healthy and safe and headed home after his ordeal but saddened by the terrible, unjustified killing last week of his fellow journalist jim foley at the hands of the islamic state in iraq and syria. nick, truly an incredible contrast with what the family of jim foley had to deal with days ago and now incredible relief for the curtis family. any idea how this came about? one who died and one who miraculously, in light of what is going on in syria, freed today. >> the key thing is the groups

that were holding them. isis, who held jim foley. both are al qaeda affiliates, terror groups as described by the united states but often fighting each other. some may interpret on this decision the timing in particular to finally hand over peter theo curtis. if it was the group who still held him because it is a ness syria. syrian rebels are maybe trying to clean up their image giving they are occasionally at odds with isis inside of syria. a complicating picture but relief for the family. should bear in mind, too, a bizarre choice of geographic location to hand him over, on the golan heights between syria and israel. he was abducted in northern syria and held in aleppo for some time in the north. we know a little bit about hi time in aleppo. his cell mate actually escaped

last year and spoke to me in august. talked about how they shared that cell, how they had been tortured, deprived of food and how they tried to escape. the plan was for theo curtis to push matt through a window. he got through and tried to pull theo behind him, he got stuck and he had to make the agonizing decision to go and face the failed consequence. when i talked to him he was thrilled, this tears, at this. two very relieved and more americans today. >> nick, you have been to syria and in touch with the families of other captives held there. we saw the circumstances of jim foley's grisly death a few days ago. make you can explain how remarkable it is for an american, a journalist, foreigner, but an american in

particular to manage to escape from syria with his life. >> they spent a lot of time in the cell looking at the potential witnesses because the torture got worse and more worried about their life, and perhaps knew the american government doesn't negotiate or pay ransoms certainly on the surface they made the decision to try to escape. he described how he ran blindly down the road barefoot to try to find somebody that could help him. he came across some people he was familiar. a rebel unit he had been with before and they arranged for his safety. that was deeply harrowing for him. a rare occasion in a successful escape and a rare occasion where an american's release has been negotiated from inside of syria. much negotiations happen over european hostages. we don't know how the release was negotiated. the families say the american qatari government were involved.

a huge relief today. and ongoing anxiety about other americans still held. jim? >> great point. tremendous contrast the relief for curtis' family after so much pain for foley's family a few days ago. thank you very much. we will have more ahead on peter curtis' release from captivity in syria. also ahead, more on the earthquake that hit northern california early today, including a look at what insurance will cover, what it won't cover. plus, we will take you live to ferguson, missouri, where there's been a day of peaceful rallies and preparations for mic michael brown's funeral tomorrow. get ready to crack, dunk,

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this just in. president obama has been briefed about the release of curtis.

aaron mcpike is joining us now. do we know if white house officials say they knew that negotiations were underway for curtis? >> well, jim, we have certainly heard from officials in the u.s. government, both the state department and of course national security adviser susan rice, that the u.s. government worked for 22 months with two dozen countries to get this release. what we understand from the family was the qatari government was very useful in negotiating this release. the president was briefed today on this by the assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism in monaco. he said the president shares in the joy and relief that we all feel now that he is out of syria and we hold in our thoughts and

prayers the americans that remain in captivity in syria and we will continue to use the tools at our disposal to see american hostages are freed. john kerry said in a statement earlier today the tools they will use include intelligence, military and diplomatic, but obviously the white house is telegraphing a message they are not ending this. of course they are thinking of other hostages that are in syria at this time. the president, when he returns from vacation tonight and throughout the next week will obviously be focused on what the strategy will be with regards to syria. jim? >> all right. erin, deep contrast to the sorrow and shock, the murder of jim foley and now relief. i want to bring in tom. remarkable turn of events foley's death and now a release. what are you hearing about what made the difference here?

is it really the nature of the group that was holding him? >> that's a big part of it, jim. the u.s. government has a huge program called personnel recovery. it includes the intelligence community, law enforcement, the military, and for the most part n this situation, the fbi has a big part of that because any capture or murder of a u.s. citizen anywhere in the world is a violation of u.s. law and the fbi has the lead in that. so what happens in a case like this, and i worked in this program when i was in the bureau and consulted for it three years after i retired, the program involves every possible way to identify any american being held, who's holding them, what are the circumstances? what is that group like? what are they likely to sfwhant it is somali pirates just want money? who's involved in this thing? and then to employ any

diplomatic means and any country that can be brought in to play a part in releasing the person. the u.s. government does not pay ransom for hostages to get them back. at the same time, the u.s. government does not obstruct a ransom payment. all know we're told in this case there was no payment but that is up to the family or employer, if it is a subject of a company. it's a big program. most people have never heard of it. >> bob, this was not isis. we know what isis is capable of. we saw a few days ago with jim foley. but this is also a terrorist group. why would a group give up an american journalist in light of all that is going on in syria and iraq right now? >> i think the key clue is the family has thanked qatar. they are one of the major funders. they have intending a lot of money since 2011 like they did

to the libyans. they have an enormous amount of influence because they are writing the checks. i don't know whether they played money but they have to listen to qatar and they want to please washington. bowe bergdahl, same thing. they helped to negotiate his release. he is lucky he wasn't taken by isis obviously and there are intermediaries where there isn't to isis. >> that's a fascinating point, bob. you get to an issue that's been a real problem in syria which is the fact that countries such as car qatar are supplying some groups with weapons and money and have control over them. is that a worrisome sign to you? obviously a good result that you have an american freed but if they are talking to one of the group s causing mayhem there that shows what a messy situation it is. >> well, it does and shows they can do good and bad here. i agree with what bob just said.

in addition, you could have the mere fact that the beheading of put fear in their mind. maybe they are thinking it will not just be air strikes but commandos in to syria and may have wanted a degree of separation from the extreme violence of isis and their less extreme violence. still violent but maybe not as bad as iecy. don't go after us. go after those guys. big concern is isis. also concern about the u.s. homeland. i was told earlier today in an interview that he believes it is matter of time before isis strikes the u.s. homeland. do you share that concern?

>> hayden is totally right. they have the will. they have the capacity to get people. they have the sympathizers here in this country as we speak. i couldn't imagine they are not going to attempt to take revenge. now whether they successfully kill a lot of people or not is something else. i can't -- i don't know enough about it. but i think they will try. i think as we approach september 11th we should be braced for something. >> september 11th they often use anniversaries for attacks for example the attack on benghazi consulate. i wonder if i can ask you, you have odd circumstances in syria where in effect the government and al-assad are on the same side because they are both fighting isis. do you see potential of cooperation with the assad government, intelligence sharing perhaps, to push back against isis? >> yes. we could have that deal going on behind the scenes with them or

iran under the old enemy of my enemy is my friend. we don't know the back channel stuff going on right now but anything is possible when it comes to that. >> this is one good headline out of that region in the last months to see an american freed. thank you very much. here at home more on the 6.1 quake ahead, including a look at how it compares to the hundreds of quakes that hit around the world every day. [ woman ] the cadillac summer collection is here. ♪

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aspects of a earthquake is they come without warning. also unnerving about the quake in california, it happened when most people were sleeping in the middle of the night. still, hundreds of earthquakes strike around the world every day. cnn's chad myers is here to explain what can only be an alarming fact. hundreds of times a day. how is that possible? >> 130 of these same type earthquakes, 6.to 6.9 . typically they are in the ocean or somewhere people don't live. this one over napa valley that 6.1 quake did a lot of damage. we got new numbers from the usgs. it is called the paneler data. they will send this out after they know how big the quake was.

this is about a 48% or so chance of a billion dollars or less. a billion dollars because that says 1,000 million, and my fourth grader will tell you that's not how you say it. daddy. more than 50% chance of this being a billion dollar quake. that's something staggering when you realize it didn't even happen in a densely populated area. only hit one town, one area. that's the damage it will do and the damage losses that for many people, especially business losses some don't have insurance for that. >> billion here and there. soon you will be talking about real money, right? you have heard about the early warning system that uc berkeley tested out here and it worked and gave a ten-second warning. it doesn't seem a lot. they make the point it would give you a warning to slow down high-speed trains or open

elevator doors. you know about quakes. would this make a real difference? it seems more impressive than it is when you talk about getting 20 to 30 seconds. i heard you talk to the developer a bit. you can only get that if you get distance away from the epicenter. if you get distance from the epicenter you get less shaking. this system works by finding a shake. it is already shaking. it is not a doppler-indicated tornado. this is already shaking. there's some type of shake at the epicenter. now the speed of light or electrons, faster than the speed of the shaking. in less than a second the signal can go down here and the warning can go off. that is instant almost. the shaking takes a while. so there's one, there's two, three, four seconds. even though the warning got there immediately, the shaking said, hey, something is already shaking. it takes ten seconds for that shake to get to that point. so the distance -- if you get a

minute's worth of warning, by the time you get over here, somewhere to reno it is not shaking at all because it is attenuated, the shake is closer to the middle. the one to two second warning with close to the epicenter is the most important thing. we can't stretch close to the epicenter, the 20 seconds because it has to start shaking first before the warning goes off. >> it is fascinating the idea of the warning getting there faster than the shakes do. interesting. thank you for explaining it. coming up next on the day, islamic rebels set free one american. mourners gathered in new hampshire to remember james foley, the american journalists executed by isis last week. we will have more on that memorial service next. i make a lot of purchases for my business. and i get a lot in return with ink plus from chase. like 50,000 bonus points when i spent $5,000 in the first 3 months after i opened my account. and i earn 5 times the rewards on internet, phone services and at office supply stores.

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mass held today for the slain american journalist james foley. his mother and fatherer joined supporters at the service in row

chester, new hampshire. his parents stood in front of the mourners and gave thanks to everyone. the crowd then gave them a standing ovation. painful moment for that family. the grisly video of foley's beheading by an isis militant was circulated around the world last week. now they are close to identifying the man who killed him. joining me is jamie detmer, an reporter and correspondent for "the daily beast" and he knew james foley out in the field. i wonder if you can tell us for those not familiar with james what drove him to report from such dangerous parts of the world. he was captured before in libya and went back to syria where he knew the risk was great. what drove him? >> he was a dedicated journalist. our paths crossed several times in southern turkey and northern syria. i'm a little older than him. what impressed me about him is he felt he was bearing witness.

that there necessity to chronicle what happens in war zones and what happens to innocent civilians caught in the middle of war. he was a dedicated professional. he was not reckless. he was careful. there are articles second guessing whether he made mistakes but this was a man who saw journalism as public service in much the same way as previous critics that came to journalism late. he saw teaching as a public service. this was in a sense of a public servant. >> you say you haven't watched the video of hi death and i will say i joined you. it is not an image i want to see. you said you did that because that's not how you want to remember him. how do you want to remember him? >> as a fearless professional who had compassioning seamed in his character. i have seen the still photographs and heard from friends that he -- the still

photographs show him kneeling there ramrod straight. and that isn't surprising. he had a religious faith that under pinned some of his character. i will always remember him like that. as a mideast correspondent i watch a lot of these videos and feel sometimes there is almost a collusion that if we had less publicity for some of the videos maybe they would stop murdering people but that may be wishful people. >> it is a strong argument, fair point. i want to ask you because today we had this contrast, the tragedy, the shock and horror of foley's murder earlier in the week and the release today of peter theo curtis, another journalist captured in syria and held for two years. what do you know about his release and what can you tell us about him? >> i never met theo curtis.

there are 30 western aid workers held. we don't know the numbers because the media blackouts on some abductions. i have heard from european government sources in two countries that some money did change hands from the qataris for the release of curtis. obviously it's a relief he's out. of course he wasn't held by the islamic state but al-nusrah and i think it is a point that they may be concerned about the fallout from james foley's murder and not so much in regards to bombing raids and runs by u.s. air force but also to have the turks to react to this who have allowed the border in many ways to be open to the jihadists and allowed them logistical space in southern turkey. they may be concerned the space will be closed down and trying to distinguish itself from the islamic state. >> let me ask you this.

you know the u.s. government is very opposed to the payment of ransoms for journalists, journalists or any captives anywhere where there's is a different of opinion with europe. for folks like you, james foley and others who travel there, what's your opinion of whether it makes the problem worse, the threat of kidnapping worse or that it is a necessary thing to do. >> it is a hard question. i suppose if i was sitting there two years i'd hope someone would pay money for me. i'm a veteran journalist. i have covered a lot of conflict stretching back to northern ireland troubles in the '80s. i suppose i have an intellectual sympathy with the american and british position that if you pay ransoms it will encourage more ransoms. on the other hand americans are held hostage when there is not a likelihood there will be payment for them. it is a very difficult question to answer. very difficult one.

it comes both was. intellectually i support the position. >> we appreciate your thoughts. a friend of james foley. more details, as well, on the release of peter curtis. thank you for joining us. we will take you to ferguson, missouri where things are calm today as the town gets ready for michael brown's funeral tomorrow. he was 18.

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to be starting college this month. instead, his parents will have to bury him tomorrow. the funeral for the 18-year-old brown will be at a baptist church in st. louis. up to 5,000 mourners are expected to attend. brown's extended family alone totals 500 people and the white house is sending three officials to the service. hours ago, supporters of the officer who fatally shot brown marched on the streets of ferguson. those supporters say they have raised $400,000 for officer darren wilson who's gone in to hiding. stephanie, i see that michael brown's father has asked for the protest to end tomorrow. he wants a calm day at the funeral. is that what you are expecting there? is that what you are seeing in other rallies that have gone on today and in recent days? >> the rallies in the last couple of days have been well attended for the weekend, as you might expect. even though it is really hot out here. at the same time, the tone has

definitely changed from where we seen it earlier in the week. most people i talked to focus on what they say tomorrow should be about, saying good-bye to this 18-year-old who lost his life two weeks ago and that's what they want the focus to remain on. they are expecting a huge turnout for this event. it will be 5,000 people, 2500 can fit the sanctuary itself and there are overflow rooms for 2500 as well. police say they will be on hand for crowd control and to make sure the roads are still flowing, as necessary. overall the focus is on saying good-bye and not so much on the protest tomorrow. >> stephanie, you have been there a long time n some of the worst of it, how do you explain the change in mood from the violent protests, there was a lot of danger the tear gas, et cetera, to what we are seeing now? much calmer protest on both sides even in support of officer

darren wilson. >> all of the protests going in to this weekend have been very calm. they have been peaceful. there have been people rallying behind police officer wilson. they have raised for him over $400,000 and various channels to support him and help him with legal fees and maybe even moving, potentially with livelihood if he is not able to work again and at the same time, the protests and the marchers we have seen here have been peaceful. i think on both sides there's ban calibration. we have seen people from the community step in and say, let's march, remember why we are out here doing this and keep it peaceful. at the same time, the police were saying every night they would go back to the drawing board and see whatty did that was right and what didn't work and adjust it for the night coming up. that sort of -- the checks and balances on each side that wasn't there necessarily a week ago has been in place now. so, i actually saw with my own

eyes, i saw community leaders coming in and helping to calm nerves and police officers checking other police officers when they were coming off the tense days. an effort on both sides to bring down the energy and it sustained through the weekend. >> great to hear. thank you very much. a reminder tomorrow is the funeral for michael brown. in a moment, we will return to the other top story, the 6.1 quake that struck northern california causing extensive damage to napa and sonoma counties. why insurance isn't going to help most of the residents there. my hygienist told me that less tartar means less scraping. so i'm going pro. [ male announcer ] new crest tartar protection rinse. the only rinse that helps prevent tartar build-up and cavities. a little swishing. less scraping. yes! [ male announcer ] new crest pro-health tartar protection rinse. it helps you escape the scrape.

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comcast business. built for business. the pictures speak for themselves, major damage to businesses and roads and homes, but despite living in a state known for its active fault lines, most californians do not buy earthquake insurance. cnn money business correspondent, alison kosik, joins me now. so why not buy it, particularly when you're worried about the big one coming, right? >> a few reasons. one people are thinking, you know what, it can't happen to me, been so long since we had an earthquake, i don't need it. you're seeing everybody kind of being lulled into a false sense of security because of the length of time from the big one to the next earthquake. also, there's a thinking that the government's gonna come in and give assistance. that is not a given.

and the third reason, the cost. it is expensive to have earthquake insurance. how expensive? it's an average of $860 per month. that's not cheap, because that's over and above the homeowner's insurance. you see, people who own or rent in california are not required to have earthquake insurance. this is over and above. and that's just an average. mean it is you live in a risk area where quakes could happen, home is made of a certain, you know, made of something the insurance company would think risky and tumble more, it would be more expensive and how much the home is worth. all that factors into how much people fight earthquake insurance. >> like $10,000 a year. like getting flood insurance in a flood zone, may just be too expensive to make it worthwhile, right? >> it could be, but it is worth it if you have it because it gives things that your homeowner's policy doesn't necessarily cover. let's say the earthquake insurance not only covers the home itself, it covers the

property inside the home. some give -- some policies give cash for emergency repairs. other policies give cash for temporary lodging, especially if your home is badly damaged or destroyed. i talked with the ceo of the california earthquake authority, glenn bomb roy, he says if you have earthquake insurance at this point, he says get on the phone and get the ball rolling so you can get that help. >> i really would like to note deductibles on those insurance. >> funny you ask, anywhere from 10 to 15% a pretty high deductible. no question, you are paying even if you are covered on the insurance? >> of course, yes. >> thanks very much, alison kosik, as always. still ahead, how big a threat is icy? our next group guest says the group is more dangerous than al qaeda on 9/11 and he says president obama doesn't have the guts to stop them.

well this just in moments ago, south korea has won the little league world series. they beat jackie robinson west, the team from chicago made up entirely of african-american players. the final score, 8-4. jackie robinson west is the first team from chicago to qualify for the finals since 1967. the mayor from their hometown, rahm emanuel, called them the pride of chicago. kudos certainly to south korea but you can hear the sighs of disappointment around the newsroom when we saw that

headline come through. now back to one of our top stories, the lightning fast advances of the islamic state in iraq and syria have taken many in the west by surprise. there is no clear consensus on what should be done to stop them. republican senator lindsey graham today raised the specter of u.s. ground troops, which president obama has already ruled out. >> we need to take everything -- put everything on the table. we need to hit them in syria. we need to help free syrian army mobilize so they can fight them on the ground. when it comes to ground troops if our military commanders tell thanks we need ground forces to defeat isil, which is a threat to the united states, so be it. we have got to win and stop these guys. >> i want to bring in retired army lieutenant colonel and pog consultant, robert maginnis. bob, you say you doubt president obama, because you're saying about this president, i want to make your words right, you say you doubt he has the intestinal fortitude to take on isis. this is in an editorial that's

been just recently published. why do you think that is and do you think that the chain -- the beheading of james foley this week might change that calculus? >> most certainly politics is at play here, jim. the president has known for some time that he is not going to put boots on the ground. he has been saying that consistently. you know, they -- we go back and think about when the syrians were using chemical weapons. he said the red line and yet, you know, he didn't follow up on that. there are a host of issues. we are downsizing our military. you know, we have disappointed the ukrainians, the politics of fall election, all of these really mitigate against the president going forward, plus the fact we don't have the strategy and who in the world are you gonna find out there to ally with us, given, you know, the problems we have in libya, you know, we are exiting afghanistan and we exited iraq and now we are back again. so, all of these issues, when you come together, you know, really spell a very, very dire

circumstance that, you know, i'm not really sure how we are going to solve this crisis. >> let me ask you this though, to be fair, the president ordered military air strikes in iraq a couple of weeks ago, the continuing every day, we are told by u.s. officials that the administration now considering air strikes inside syria. there's been an evolution of the policy, now some steps. what would u.s. troops on the ground add and how would the u.s. get out of that? how would it determine success? how do you avoid another long occupation like you have seen in iraq and afghanistan? >> great question. the reality, jim, is as general dempsey said on thursday, you know, you're not going to solve this from the air. you have to have boots on the ground. and now is it gonna be like an '03 invasion into iraq? you know, it depends upon how serious you are. the problem also is in syria, you have over 100 different groups that are fighting against

assad. you can side with assad. you can side with the other side. you can use them as proxies going through iraq and iran. you can cut off finances. there are a host of things, you know, i think the best thing that likely is gonna happen, try decapitation, we are going to try to destroy -- basically kill the head people of isil. we are also probably going to cut off all the financial support we can as best as we can. we are gonna ally ourself with the kurdish forces in the eastern part of syria. we have already helping the peshmerga in northern iraq. so, those are the things we can do. but short of ground forces in their enlarged numbers, we will not be able to defeat isil, as general dempsey said the other day in detail. a and that's really what we need to do. >> lieutenant colonel bob mcguiness, thanks very much, calling for the prospect of ground troops again in iraq and syria. thanks very much for joining us. >

you are in the cnn newsroom. i'm jim sciutto in new york. we are following two major stories today. the first in northern california, hit by the largest earthquake there in 25 years. damage is scattered and more than 100 people have been hurt. that's just ahead. first, wither also tracking a breaking story this hour out of the middle east. an american held by islamist rebels in syria for almost two years has been released. safely. peter theo curtis was captured in 2012. two u.s. law enforcement officials tell cnn the u.s. was not involved in talks to secure his release but the u.s. was aware of private efforts to gain his freedom. curtis was captured near the syrian bored we are turkey and released to u.n. peacekeepers today in the golan heights, that's right near israel. he is expected to be reunited with his family soon. in