laid to rest. that does it for this edition of "ac360." see you tomorrow. cnn tonight with don lemon cnn tonight with don lemon starts now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good evening. we're live on the streets of ferguson again. streets that are peaceful in the hours after the funeral of michael brown. three white house representatives on hand to support the grieving family and say farewell. i'll talk to michael brown's uncle and cousin, bishop td jakes and the man who was at mike brown's side moments before he was killed. dorian johnson who will be a key witness in the case will join me exclusively. and we're following the very latest in the pursuit for justice, justice for james foley who was executed by isis. president obama has authorized reconnaissance flights overseer i can't according to a u.s.

official who says the first flight could happen at any point. we'll get into all of that tonight in the next two hours. we'll begin with some moments from today's funeral for michael brown. we need to remember that for all of the controversy and the unrest in the past two weeks, today is about a family mourning their son. it is also about a family and a community crying out for justice. take a listen. >> we have had enough of the senseless killing. we have had enough of it. and what you can do to continue this is show up at the voting polls. let your voices be heard and let everyone know that we have had enough of all of this and this change must come. any time changes come in this country, it has come through the youth and the young generations. >> then we're going to hit the streets again and yell out for

our freedom and equality and we'll yell out mike's name. and it will shake the heavens from the thunder that rerelease. but not today. today is for peace. peace and quiet. >> yes, michael brown was my nephew. yes, i was an uncle. i helped his mother, i held him in my arms. yes, we call him the gentle giant. we call him big mike. we call him mike-mike. he said one day the whole world will know my name. >> joining me now, two family members who spoke at michael brown's funeral today. his uncle, revv rental charles ewing who delivered the eulogy and his cousin, reverend, you

gave an impassioned eulogy. thousands showed up, many of whom did not know mike. >> i believe the reason they showed up, because the community cares and they really feel for what happened in the community. everybody has been touched by this incident and knowing that it was totally uncalled for. and justice must be served. >> celebrities, politicians, even a white house delegation showed up. what did that may not to the family? >> it means a lot with tj jakes and spike lee and all the celebrities that came to take up time and come and mourn with us during this occasion. i believe the situation has touched the whole nation. as a matter of fact it has touched the whole world. >> today it was -- it is far from over. you have to deal with it. this was a really political rallying cry.

i heard your relative there saying, we need to get out. this is a political rallying cry. >> absolutely. if you don't like what's going on today, you can change it. it takes one man to fix the world. >> do you think that after the cameras are gone, after the, much of the attention dies down, there will be some political change? will you and the family demand that? >> absolutely. absolutely. >> why so? >> well, starting with this governor. the only question he has to ask is for the prosecutor to step down so we can get a special prosecutor in here so this case can be worked the way it is supposed to be worked. and i think that everybody came out today and everybody was watching today. it's one word, compassion. everybody can feel the loss of a son. >> the governor did not show up today. did you invite him? >> absolutely not. >> did you invite him? >> i believe he was going to come but we had that

conversation. >> did you want him to come? he said he didn't show up out of respect for the family. is that so? >> absolutely. out of respect. >> you would rather him not show up. >> absolutely. what is done here is an injustice. until that's fixed, absolutely not. yeah. >> you said today, reverend, you said making brown's blood is crying from the ground, crying for vengeance, crying for justice. what does justice mean to you? >> i believe justice is a process that the party that's are involved shall be convicted when there is a crime. don, i myself was a victim of racial profiling 40 years ago and i found out that officer, the officer was transferred from the city. 20 years, 40 years ago in the city of jennings, my mother bought in 1974, my mother bought me an able. my sister and i were driving to

jennings. i had a valid driver's license, a valid registration. so did my sister. the jennings police department pulled me over because they claimed that my identification tag was not properly afixed to the dashboard. they handcuffed me. >> and the same thing is going on today. >> even worse. >> i want to ask you more about michael. i don't know if you saw "the new york times" saying there was an article that said, he is no angel. they had to apologize for that. you know, the experience with marijuana, alcohol. the question is, what teenager or someone going off to college doesn't do it? very few. do you think that was fair? they had to apologies for that, for saying that. what do you make of that? >> i believe they should have apologized. first of all, they are using bad character against michael. they are painting a picture like

he was a villain, a gang leader. that's not the person that portrays his character. >> you tensed up while weapon that. why is that? >> i keep hearing people attacking his character. i keep hearing people talk about what type of kid michael was. here's the thing. michael was a high school graduate. this would have been his second week in college. if he smoked a little weed, who cares? if he drank, who cares? our president smoked weed. what president have we had in the white house that did not smoke a little weed? >> or drink. >> or drink for that matter. here's the question i want to ask those people attacking my cousin's character. what type of person do we have wearing a uniform that could put six or seven shots in an 18-year-old kid and go on vacation? that's the next article we need to be printing out. what type of man is that. >> can this community move on peacefully? >> absolutely. absolutely.

it has to happen. >> we'll get into all of that. thank you for this. thank you. appreciate it. i know you're getting calls from everyone. thank you. appreciate that. please give our thoughts and prayers with the family. >> we've got much more ahead from ferguson tonight. coming up interesting friend who was with michael brown before he is killed. dorian johnson is here live. he will join me exclusively. plus, new developments in the investigation. what officer wilson says happened. as for the search for justice that goes on in here in ferguson, the air strikes on isis and syria. will that bring justice for murdered james foley?

ugh. heartburn. did someone say burn? try alka seltzer reliefchews. they work just as fast and are proven to taste better than tums smoothies assorted fruit. mmm. amazing. yeah, i get that a lot. alka seltzer heartburn reliefchews. enjoy the relief. hey there, i just got my bill, and i see that it includes my fico® credit score. yup, you get it free each month to help you avoid surprises with your credit. good. i hate surprises. surprise! at discover, we treat you like you'd treat you. get the it card and see your fico® credit score.

when folks think about wthey think salmon and energy. but the energy bp produces up here creates something else as well: jobs all over america. engineering and innovation jobs. advanced safety systems & technology. shipping and manufacturing. across the united states, bp supports more than a quarter million jobs. when we set up operation in one part of the country, people in other parts go to work. that's not a coincidence. it's one more part of our commitment to america.

we're live in ferguson, missouri. dorian johnson is a young man who was with michael brown when he was fatally shot by a police officer. he joins me exclusively along with his attorneys. thank you all for joining us and for doing this tonight. and everyone has been wanting to hear from you after your eyewitness testimony but also on a day like today. you went to the funeral. how was it? a rough day? >> it was real tough. i broke up a lot. broke down a lot. but thankfully it was a lot of people that comforted me, they showed me love, his family,

everybody else, the rest of the supporters, they've been showing me love and trying to help me through this rough time that we're going through. >> i was talking to his relatives earlier. talking about the criticism he's gotten, the new york times article that was written. we heard a lot of good, a lot of bad. what kind of person was big mike, your friend? >> well, i heard a lot of things, too, and it really saddens me. it strikes me in my gut that they would try to throw salt on his name after he is deceased like this. and to me, we was around each other, he was a good friend. never spoke down about anybody. didn't really tease anybody about being smaller than him. he was bigger than a lot of people around. he was a real good friend. he didn't like to see other people down. >> you spoke to the family? >> yes. >> what did you tell them about that day? >> we love him very much.

that's the bottom line, we love him very much. >> did you tell them about what happened that day? >> i'm sorry, not to cut off but i want to say because dorian has been cooperating and speaking with the fbi, we can't really get into the details of what happened that day. we can certainly talk about some of dorian's experiences, if we could, because again thin volves a federal investigation. we would like to stay away from the vehicles. >> i'm not asking him the details. but did you speak to the family about what happened that day? i'm sure they would want to know and that would offer them some comfort. >> after the family was get nog answers from the police force, i did tell them what happened. >> you have gotten a lot of -- listen. i think you've gotten a lot of criticism and you're having to deal with that. a lot of people are questioning your credibility. you understand that. do you understand why? >> i really don't understand why. i see they bring up my past, my history, it is not like a long

rap sheet. there was one incident that shouldn't make me a bad person. i was in college. i was enrolled in lincoln university. it was my freshman year. i was around a bunch of kids. the incident didn't just happen with me. there were some other kids with me and i was never charged with the crime at all. i was going to court and everything was working itself out but jefferson city, i live in st. louis. transportation. >> so people, so this filing of a false police report that they said that you did. you don't think this has any bearing on you telling the truth about what happened that day. >> an important thing about that, i'm sorry, what we're really dealing is whether the police used excessive force when this man shot this young man down. and people are trying to drag the issue of false police report into this. >> that's why i want to ask him about it. you say it is a red herring and that's what i'm trying to get out of you. whether he understands that people think that he is not credible because he did the false police report.

he didn't tell them about what happened at the convenience store. apparently you guys were stealing cigarellas. >> let me say this. again, whatever happened, stealing those is not a capital offense in missouri. having a past where something happened, whatever it was. we're talking about a backpack in college is not a capital offense in missouri. so we really don't want to focus on, particularly on a day like today. we don't want to focus on these things. we want to focus on the memory of michael brown, what kind of friend and he was the tragedy that has happened. >> i don't disagree with you. i think everyone understands that. but everyone wants to get an understanding of what went on and why he didn't say that in the initial interview with cnn. you said he was forthcoming with the fbi and everyone he's been interviewed with. that's what i'm trying to get at here. >> the media doesn't quite understand or maybe they do and don't care. the duty was not to the media.

it was to the fbi and authorities. the department of justice. the representative from the office, full disclosure right up front. spend three hours with them. he didn't feel compelled to tell that story to the press. >> you've been watching, i'm sure, a lot of media. have you heard the account of what the officer said as to what happened? >> i never seen the officer one time say anything at all. i've heard a third person deal with what he might have said but i can't say he said it because we never heard his voice. >> that third person view saying that big mike charged the officer, that big mike had a scuffle, that big mike hit him in the eye, knocking out his eye socket. what do you say to that? >> i can't comment on that. i'm under investigation. anything regarding the case, i can't really talk about until furthermore, anybody let me know. >> he is not under investigation. >> i understand that. >> is there anything that you

would have done differently that day? >> honestly, don, that day was like a regular day. if i had known what would have happened that day i would have just stayed in the house. told him to go back in the house. if i knew he would have died that day i would have told him stay in house. >> and you wouldn't have left the house either. >> i wouldn't have left the house. if you had to do that cnn interview all over again with wolf blitzer, would you have told them about the convenience store? >> i didn't feel it was relevant at the time. why was a dead person laying in the street uncovered. >> how long way laying there? >> like i said, at least, i can't give you a specific time because i was still in shock. everyone keeps calling me a witness. and they misextraordinary the fact that i was a victim. i was not just feet away, i was standing side by side. i could have been shot just as well if i didn't duck for cover. >> is he going to testify before

the grand jury? >> if he's called and he's available. as of this moment, nobody has called us. not been contacted. >> the family and -- can the family rely on what you said for comfort, do you believe? what you've told investigators? >> i believe the family is 100% comfortable with the story i have, what i told them what happened and everything i'm saying. >> what would you say to big mike? i know that i talked to his mom. she said she talks to him. especially when it rains. she feels his presence and talks to him. he was your friend. >> a good friend. and i feel every night, i hear loud bangs. i wake up. i can't sleep at night. i think about him. i hear his last words to me. keep running, bro will even after he's injured, he is telling me to get to safety.

that's all i think about. all i hear in my head. that's all i know. he was a good person. he cared more for someone else than himself. >> what do you think about people calling you or portraying you as the liar, as someone who, a robber, what do you say? >> i've been called way worse names. it is not something that doesn't happen every day. i'm 22 years old. i've been in missouri all my life and name calling doesn't affect me whatsoever. >> you're very brave to come on national television and do this. >> can i say one more thing? >> the service was beautiful. i enjoyed every minute of it. it brought me to tears but i love everybody who came out and supported us. thank you for coming. and thank you for coming out and showing the family support because they really need it. we all need it. it got to change. >> thank you, dorian. we appreciate it. thank you, james. best of luck to you guys. police officer darren wilson has been out of sight and on leave

since he shot michael brown. up next, what we know about him. it's monday. a brand new start. your chance to rise and shine. with centurylink as your trusted technology partner, you can do just that. with our visionary cloud infrastructure, global broadband network and custom communications solutions, your business is more reliable - secure - agile. and with responsive, dedicated support, we help you shine every day of the week. centurylink your link to what's next.

but now that we have the tempadjustable base,ile, it's even better. [evie] i go up...heeeeyyy... [announcer] discover how tempur-pedic can move you. and now through september 7th,save up to $500 on a tempur-pedic mattress and adjustable base. ♪ [music]

defiance is in our bones. defiance never grows old. citracal maximum. easily absorbed calcium plus d. beauty is bone deep. with a new00 volkswagen turbo.rd card why are we so obsessed with turbo?

because we like giving you power, but we also like giving you fuel efficiency. like the sporty jetta. and the turbocharged passat tdi® clean diesel. okay... and the iconic beetle... and the powerful tiguan. okay you can't forget the cc. guys, this is going to take a while. get a $1,000 reward card on new 2014 turbo models or lease a 2014 jetta se for $169 a month after $1,000 bonus. ends soon!

welcome back. we're live in ferguson tonight. it is up to a grand jury to decide if police officer darren wilson will face charges in the shooting death of michael. that is not expected until mid-october. in the meantime, he is staying out of public eye. officer wilson has been a rather elusive figure. what have you learned about him today, ted? >> reporter: well, don, as you can imagine, he is keeping out of the public eye. as the investigation continues. one thing that we have seen in the last few days is that his supporters are starting to become more and more vocal. over the weekend there are two separate rallies in st. louis for him and online, they have raised over $400,000 for his legal defense fund. so there are people here in the st. louis area that support him.

people that knew him and others who are supporting him because they are supporting law enforcement. and then nationwide, worldwide, there are a lot of people supporting him and donating money. >> is it likely that we will ever hear from him personally? >> i doubt it. there is really no, every indication, his lawyer is not even coming out and talking on his behalf. every indication is that their strategy is to do the direct opposite. don't say a word. and wait until this investigation concludes and until the grand jury has made a decision. if things go bad for them with the grand jury decision, maybe then they'll change strategy. but right now all signs seem to be pointing toward hunkering down, getting out of the public eye and not saying a word. >> as we've been researching this and from other stories, it is difficult to convict a police officer of wrongful death.

why is that? >> reporter: well, sits a he said in this case when there's no video or audio monitoring, you have an individual that is taught to protect his or her life while on the job. if certain scenarios develop and present themselves. and it is up to that officer whether or not that officer perceives that they are in danger. and when you have an officer who says, in front of investigators or a grand jury or a jury that yes, this is what i perceived, it is difficult to get a conviction as you can imagine. it is a dangerous job inheren y inherently. unless there incredible evidence to the contrary, extensive witness evidence or audio or visual monitoring, it is a tough conviction. >> all right. thank you very much. i appreciate that. ted rowlands. i'm joined now by ed davis, a rm four police commissioner of boston and chris, who represented the family of the unarmed college football player

who was shot dead by police last year and matt bogg who is a retired chief deputy. look this way, sir. so i'm going to start with you. we've heard a great deal about michael brown. why have we heard so much about officer wilson? >> i think mainly he was involved in an incident worldwide. and the police department, there is a lot of what we call investigative stuff that's going on behind the scenes. i think that's one of the reason why he doesn't want to give any statements or say anything. >> darren wilson had a fairly unremarkable career up until this point. is it unusual for a police officer like that to become involved in such a high profile shooting? >> no, it's not. it is not unusual at all. this officer work there for four years and has not had any particularly good or bad experiences with the community. so that's an indication that there's more to the story here.

and i think it is important that the grand jury be allowed to do their work and get all the facts up. >> how do officers generally react after a shooting like this, commissioner? >> well, you know, there are many officers separated from service after an incident like. this they can no longer work in the environment where these incidents occurred. they have to be followed very closely and receive the appropriate assistance and treatment that is necessary after an incident like this. >> so i would imagine they often remain quiet or at least try to keep as much privacy as they can. from the darrel of justice, they wrote a piece in politicalco today and it says that officer wilson will probably walk. that there are very long odds against convicting an officer in a case like this. do you agree? >> i could. especially given that the prosecutor has already come out somewhat by ased.

we heard information leaked totally not relevant to the case. the video of the convenience store. i don't think the prosecutor is passionate about prosecuting the officer. the grand jury is limited to the evidence put before them and i'm not confident that they'll put all the evidence before the grand jury. >> you were shaking your head. you think it is tough to convict? >> very tough. especially once you put all this information out and the jury pool has been tainted. a lot of information has been put out there and that makes it difficult. >> how important -- we just spoke with dorian johnson. how important will his testimony be? >> i think very important but again, if there is some changing in it, it is important but what effect it will have on the jury is a different story. again, it is very difficult. when you talk about all the information put out in the jury pool. the jury has heard all the things they've said which again,

the maek brown situation that occurred at the store. all of that to me has tainted the jury pool. >> i want to get your reaction. how important will dorian johnson's testimony be? >> i think it will be very important. i think the prosecution has tried to taint dorian johnson and discredit him before he's had an opportunity to testify. so i think there are a lot of issues. it is very concerning. if life can't pre serve the evidence of the case, how can we expect them to truthfully try the case? so clearly, the law enforcement in this community is tainted. they're biased and thank god we have eric hold here will come in and hopefully give us some justice but i'm not confident about an indictment either. to the officer's record. it is noted that it is unremarkable but i think we have to look at the internal protocols of the lawsuit there. what are the reporting procedures? what about internal affairs? i've not heard anyone from the community come out of color and

defend this officer which means he probably had other incidents which mean they probably weren't other reported. >> he have one, stay with me. policing the police. how to make sure the department treats all citizens equally and with respect. ♪ man: [ laughs ] those look like baby steps now. but they were some pretty good moves. and the best move of all? having the right partner at my side. it's so much better that way. [ male announcer ] have the right partner at your side. consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. go long. insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. this is bill. his doubleheader day at the park starts with back pain... and a choice. take 4 advil in a day or just 2 aleve for all day relief.

peanuts! peanuts! crowd cheers! [ male announcer ] since we began, mercedes-benz has pioneered many breakthroughs. ♪ breakthroughs in design... breakthroughs in safety... in engineering... and technology. and now our latest creation breaks one more barrier. presenting the cla. starting at $29,900. ♪ starting at $29,900. no question about that. but your erectile dysfunction - that could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines,

and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or any allergic reactions like rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a free 30-tablet trial.

welcome back live in ferguson, missouri. it is calm hours after michael brown was laid to rest. the ferguson police department has been you understand intense scrutiny for the last two weeks. i'm back now with ed davis, chris, and matthew fogg. commissioner, you first. you said it took nearly 40 years for the boston police force to come to reflective demographics of the community. what were the challenges hear? >> the challenge were in getting enough officers to pass a civil service test given by the state. and that was dealt with by the courts. the test was reworked.

a certain number of individuals were put into the police department in that 40-year period. to the point it is better than it was, it is not exactly indicative of the diversity of the city but we're close. >> and matthew, last week, two st. louis police officers got in trouble for making a statement on tape. one on facebook. there is a lawsuit over how some officers have treated young suspects in the past how many do you police the police department? >> that's always a problem. once officers on the inside see something and they know it is not correct, you have this culture of what we call the blue wall of silence. if you speak out, you have to count on other officers. there's always a problem, we talk about body cameras, maybe even citizen review boards. but internally, i myself have been involved in class action

lawsuits, trying police within our justice department. again, a very difficult thing. you have to work with these people. >> and ed ferguson, the court fees and fines are the second largest source of revenue for the city. $2.6 million revenue. 86% of the traffic stops are african-americans even though the city is 67% black. does that raise a red flag for you? >> sure, it does. that kind of a number, when you look at those statistics, you have to try to understand why these tickets are being given out. some people will say that it is to raise revenue. that should never be the goal of a police department. when you look at, we track our traffic citations all the time. we pay close attention. if there is a discrepancy, we dive into that and we try to find out exactly what was going on. those are the thing you think are in place in police

departments across the country. >> what do you think about that? are they raising money off criminalizing black people? >> absolutely. as i was listening i was thinking, reback on apartheid. it reminds me of capetown, south africa, before nelson mandela was released from prison. we have a minority ruling and they're using the authorities to keep everyone down, to opress. you look at the treatment of the citizens with the tax dollars. we saw tanks, we saw assault rifles, we saw tear gas. it was reminiscent of 1964 minus the dogs. and more over, we saw fatigues. these officers had fatigues more proem for desert storm than the streets of ferguson. so we have to look at what is reflective and why are people reacting? why are people protesting? this is a major issue and it has to be dealt with. >> the cameras, you see pulling out.

look around us. not many news organizations are here long after the cameras are gone. what happens to ferguson? >> that's a tough one. i hope something positive comes out of it. the biggest thing is that the president has weighed in on it and said the militarization of police departments, he wants to look into that and see how they can stop that. the other thing would be the body cameras. making sure everybody gets to see an officer sees at the time of a shooting. that the community matches the police department. these are things they can do right away. >> thank you. we appreciate you joining us on cnn. i need to tell our viewers that we're expecting a live news conference from the highway patrol captain ron johnson in our next hour. we'll bring that to you next on cnn. when we come back, is the white house one step closer to air strikes on isis in syria? president barack obama has

authorized reconnaissance flights overseer i can't. unlimited cash back. let that phrase sit with you for a second. unlimited. as in, no limits on your hard-earned cash back. as in no more dealing with those rotating categories. the quicksilver card from capital one. unlimited 1.5% cash back on everything you purchase, every day. don't settle for anything less. i'll keep asking. what's in your wallet?

i'll keep asking. you know.... there's a more enjoyable way to get your fiber. try phillips fiber good gummies. they're delicious and an excellent source of fiber to help support regularity. mmmm. these are good! the tasty side of fiber. from phillips today, more and more people with type 2 diabetes are learning about long-acting levemir®, an injectable insulin that can give you blood sugar control for up to 24 hours. and levemir® helps lower your a1c. levemir® is now available in flextouch® - the only prefilled insulin pen with no push-button extension. levemir® lasts 42 days without refrigeration. that's 50% longer than lantus®, which lasts 28 days.

today, i'm asking about levemir® flextouch. (female announcer) levemir® is a long-acting insulin, used to control high blood sugar in adults and children with diabetes and is not recommended to treat diabetic ketoacidosis. do not use levemir® if you are allergic to any of its ingredients. the most common side effect is low blood sugar, which may cause symptoms such as sweating, shakiness, confusion, and headache. severe low blood sugar can be serious and life-threatening. ask your doctor about alcohol use, operating machinery, or driving. other possible side effects include injection site reactions. tell your doctor about all medicines you take and all of your medical conditions. check your blood sugar levels. your insulin dose should not be changed without asking your doctor. get medical help right away if you have trouble breathing, swelling of your face, tongue or throat, sweating, extreme drowsiness, dizziness, or confusion. (male announcer) today's the day to ask your doctor about levemir® flextouch. covered by nearly all health insurance and medicare plans.

making sure you pay the right price for a new car just got a whole lot easier. introducing the kelley blue book price advisor. the powerful tool that shows you what should pay. it gives you a fair purchase price that's based on what others recently for the same car and kelley blue book's trusted pricing expertise. it all adds up to the confidence that you'll get a great deal. that's just another way kbb.com helps you make a smart new car decision.

conference from. we're expecting a live news conference. and the first flight could happen over syria. the terrorist group isis camden, you the world's attention once again. it is not just the ferocious rampage that's causing concern. it is their recruitment strategy. >> reporter: who is this man in black holding the knife ready to murder american james foley? >> at the government you have been at the forefront of the aggression tools. >> reporter: he is a member of isis and government representatives from great britain believe he is a british national, recruited out of england where hundreds of others have joined the terrorist group. british officials say they are very close to identifying one of their own who left to join isis

which has succeed in the attracting many westerners to their group. >> we enter paradise. >> reporter: according to the private intelligence organization, isis has recruited thousands of members from 83 countries, including the united kingdom, france, germany, and at least 100 members from the united states. >> the islamic state as they call themselves has a media department which is very savvy making videos, putting out propaganda. >> reporter: word is getting out because of an aggressive social media campaign which includes twitter, facebook and a magazine, much of it in english. what about the ages you're seeing in the social media campaign, the internet, that tell me a younger generation. >> it is probably as young as 15 people to about 25. >> reporter: new members are given cars, guns and money just for joining. women recruits are another priority target group for isis. >> western women, they come with

their western passports. they're going to fall under a radar screen. >> reporter: while the world has come to associate isis with harrowing images like the execution of journalist james foley, global recruiting efforts of icy show a softer side to the terror group. enstead of violence and mayhem, messages of cheer and support. >> the happiness that we're feeling. >> reporter: recruitment efforts take money. >> they have a lot of money. they have huge resources they control. oil fields. they extort taxation from businesses and so on. >> i'm from america. >> reporter: one u.s. citizen who bought into the message was this person, born and raised in florida. he is the first american suicide bomber. he bragged about his plan to blow himself up at a check point in syria. in the u.s., fear that these recruits will one day return home. >> people going will be

associating with extremely radicalized people from other countries who will say to them, look, the enemy is also america. >> reporter: and experts warn recruits who do decide to return home could pose a threat to their communities. >> their behavior in the future becomes pretty unpredictable and their loyalties as well. cnn, new york. >> joining me now, michael weiss, foreign policy and n.o.w. lebanon columnist. and a former cia counter terrorism official. good evening. michael, british official say they are close to knowing the identity of the man in the james foley video. what clues do they have? >> well, mi 5 apparently leaked this information to the sunday times which is a major broad sheet in the u.k., suggesting this man mind called abdel-majed abdel bary. this is not confirmed.

as he 24-year-old british rapper who is famous for making music, apparently one of his songs made it on to the bbc at one point. also the son of an egyptian national who is now serving a lengthy prison sentence in the united states for his role in two embassy bombings in east africa in the late 1990s. the father is said to be one of the closest confidantes of osama bin laden. so if this is confirmed and i think it is now more or less consensus that whoever did this, this awful beheading of james foley is indeed a british national based on his action single. if it is confirmed, i think the british government has a huge crisis on its hands. >> i think it is important that you say, if it is confirmed. again, it is not confirmed. that's not cnn's reporting. we saw in the piece that ice sis brutal. just look at that foley video. they also record with these

softer videos. explains which ones the more recruits? the ones like foley or the softer ones? >> i think the softer ones. you're dealing with youth in western europe. 17, 18, 19 years old and younger. youth looking for an organization to join, almost like a cult or a gang culture. you see older figures who you think are responsible people who draw you in because the ideology is so magnetic. i think what they're trying to do is create that cult culture and convince people if they travel to places like syria and rark, they can join better places that will give them bear age in islam. when i watch this, the youth are trying to recruit can flip in as days or weeks kids who are vulnerable, who are talking to their friends and see these videos will switch on like a

light switch and go join these organizations. very emotionally driven kids. >> i have another question for you. the group released american hottage theo curtis over the weekend. is this related to ice sxis did the u.s. have any role in that release? >> i think it was a couple things. first, they have well publicized differences with isis. they might have had them say look, we just saw what happened with the isis beheading. we want to differentiate ourselves from this extreme group that might have gained a lot of media publicity for this beheading but a lot of people in extremist circles don't support that kind of activity. the second thing is we don't have an intermediary between us and isis. there is an intermediary between us and that the gunries. that combination of icy, they

wanted to differentiate itself. having somebody to talk to between us and them i think was probably what happened in this recent hostage release. >> the question that most people in the u.s. want to know, how dangerous is isis to the united states? >> i think it is extremely dangerous. you have a number of officials say this is worst thing that the u.s. has ever seen in term of a national security threat in the age of sacred terror. your reporter earlier mentioned the number of nationals from europe. indeed also from the united states who have gone over to join isis. many of them burn their passports when they get there but many do not. that means they can return easily to their country of or james river bridge. i reported from syria in the summer of 2012 and i crossed the syrian border into syria. is that i can't tell you how easy it is to get in and out of that country. so i think turkey has a huge problem as well.

people take a flight from istanbul and it is about an hour's drif to cross into the province. this is a major crisis. turkey is a nato ally and i think the u.s. is leaning very heavily on the government to shut its border. >> ice sis celebrating the capture of a key syrian military base. and panning its hold on a vast stretch of territory. the obama administration as we reported at the top of the show, now authorizing reconnaissance flights over syria. do you think we will see air strikes against syria soon in the coming days? >> i think if not in the coming days, the coming weeks. you start to line the cards up. the penn, the secretary of defense has talked about the significance of this threat. the white house has talked about the threat. we had an american suicide bomber. we had a beheading in syria. there is one key question. we're bombing targets in iraq,

targets like artillery that are fighting against the curtis. where is the command and control that threatens? it threatens turkey, jordan, efforts, that command and control is in syria. if we're going to create a threat, talk about how big the threat is from the penn, the white house, and then not go against the core of the threat. i think people like me would ask questions. why do you create the significance? magnify the significance of this threat and not go after the heartland? i think we will see strikes and i think they'll be pretty soon. >> i have to ask you this. and just in the short time we have left. how do we stop isis? do we need to partner up with our traditional enemies? >> no. that's probably the worst thing you can do. this notion that bashar al assad is the chief is a farce. he was running al qaeda into iraq. i'm sure phil can attest to what

i am saying. i so that to providers all said iran should not be trusted in this respect either. the people we need to decade with. syria is a sunni majority country. the population in iraq is now the waters in which isis swims. you have to work with the syrian rebels who have the longest and most, the biggest experience fighting isis in northern syria. so absolutely. do not work with them. >> come back soon. thank you. appreciate your expertise. when we come back, three mothers united in grief. the sisterhood of strength wrapping their arms around michael brown's mother. huh, fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. everybody knows that. well, did you know words really can hurt you? what...?

jesse don't go! jesse...no! i'm sorry daisy, but i'm a loner. and a loner gotta be alone. heee yawww! geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. jesse? hey pal? you ready? can you pick me up at 6:30? ah... (boy) i'm here! i'm here! (cop) too late. i was gone for five minutes! ugh! move it. you're killing me. you know what, dad? i'm good. (dad) it may be quite a while before he's ready, but our subaru legacy will be waiting for him. (vo) the longest-lasting midsize sedan in its class. introducing the all-new subaru legacy. it's not just a sedan. it's a subaru. ugh. heartburn. did someone say burn? try alka seltzer reliefchews. they work just as fast and are proven to taste better than tums smoothies assorted fruit. mmm. amazing.

yeah, i get that a lot. alka seltzer heartburn reliefchews. enjoy the relief. but now that we have the tempadjustable base,ile, it's even better. [evie] i go up...heeeeyyy... [announcer] discover how tempur-pedic can move you. and now through september 7th,save up to $500 on a tempur-pedic mattress and adjustable base. co: until you're sure you do.you need a hotel room bartender: thanks, captain obvious. co: which is why i put the hotels.com mobile app on my mobile phone. hotels.com i don't need it right now.

it is impossible, almost impossible to imagine what michael brown's mother is feeling tonight. hours after burying her son. sadly there are at least two women who know all too well valerie bell's son. shawn was killed by new york city police. that was in 2006. and sabrina fulton. i sat down with them for a long

emotional conversation. more on that in the next hour. listen now to their advice for leslie. >> you have to focus on when he was smiling. you have to focus his first day of school. and you have to focus christmas day and things like that. the him aer times and put a picture up when he was happy. and you have to focus on those. just don't focus on the death. that will eat away at you. >> it is 11:00 p.m. on the east coast. 10:00 p.m. here on the streets of ferguson. i'm don lemon. welcome back to cnn tonight. we are live in a community that has been through. so over the last two weeks. tonight in the hours after the funeral of michael brown, it is calm here as a family mourns its loss. and a mother turns to programs the only people who can understand what she is feeling. mothers who have also lost their