so glad to have you with us. i'm christi paul. >> and i'm joe johns. it is 6:00. we begin with breaking news. isis claims to have beheaded peter casic. we see the aftermath of the beheading and the victim is clearly, not recognizable. 26-year-old kasic was once a u.s. army ranger and an iraq war veter veteran. in civilian life, he was an aid worker in syria. that's where he was captured a year ago. >> we get to cnn's nick roberts.

he is on the phone from washington. thank you for being with us. the thing that struck us is that the video we're seeing of this alleged execution is different from ones we've seen in the past. can you talk to us about that? >> it's different in a number of ways. it's different because the man who is doing -- or has done the execution or is talking about that, he's in a different location. we've normally seen it in different location. we're not seeing that. the previous victims, allen henning and james furlic were beheaded this way. they've been seen on camera before. this is a much longer video. it is the most barbaric of all the isis videos that i've seen so far. it shows the execution of

people, it says, are from the syrian air force. it's a mass execution in most barbaric way. the man addresses the camera and tells this is peter kasic that has been beheaded. the man that does that is seen in another video clip actually beheading someone. this is the most barbaric of the videos that we've seen so far. and also the video also is longer and it talks about the history of isis and it talks about the plans and it draws attention to where isis is making around the middle east. there is the most barbaric that they've done so far. >> typically whether they release these videos, they've been used to forward some type of public relations aim. you could give us some sense of what the public relations motive

here with this new video might be? >> all of them seem to have an aim of repreechlt through education and grandizing isis itself. this one paints the history of isis. it grows in iraq through spilling to syria and then very pointedly puts on a map and this just comes a few days after various radical islamic factions pledged allegiance to isis. they put them on a map. they highlight them individually. libya, saudi arabia, algeria, yemen. this seems to be, again, another message by isis to show barbaric cruelty and how it says it's growing and that it is making gains. and this does seem to come at a

time when the united states is deploying more troops to iraq. the video goes on to say that there will be more troops deployed and we're ready for them. it really points out that it uses the fact that peter kassig before he game an aid worker and helping innocent people in syria that before then he was a u.s. army ranger. it appears to point to that fact and says we're ready for more troops coming to the region. so there are multiple messages here that are tip calf isis to do this. >> the clahairman of the u.s. joint chiefs of staff says the united states is making head way against isis and there is speculation that this video might have been timed just to be sort of a counter point to that. any feelings on that, nick?

>> it would certainly be typical of isis to do that. absolutely they would want to get the message across that this is a very, very slickly produced piece of propaganda. the way that it is shot, it is almost to the point of being a hollywood style. there is a very important piece of propaganda for them. it is clear. i don't want to go into details about the barbaric nature, but the way it is shot, the way that it is staged, it appears to have been filmed not just by one camera reeling off events but multiple different shots edited together at the same event. this is a prize piece of propaganda for them. it does seem to betray to strike that message that the united states is making gains. it doesn't mention -- it doesn't mention their own battlefield.

it grandizes what they are doing. what is striking is this takes place in a different location than we've seen before. and we are not seeing the execution of the man that they say is peter kassignifica. in the past they've done that and it's been done in the open. that doesn't appear to be the case this time. it does put beyond any doubt now in this particular video that the man who speaks to the camera issues the threat to the west. we see him actually beheading someone elimination in thse in . there is evidence that this man plays a central role in these murder and barbaric acts, joe. >> nick robertson, thanks for that. joining us now by phone with more on this new claim by isis

is the managing director with a think tank that works to tackle extremism and radicalism. mr. rafiq, do you think this video is real, first of all? >> yeah. i've watched the video a few time with a number of experts. and we believe this video is real. it has been very professionally produced. it is one of the video propaganda they've produced so far, not just kassig being beheaded but a number of other syrians as well. this is symbolic. this is a response, as we see the u.s. and the coalition making gains against isil, we'll find they'll try to show that they are still strong. try and show that they are just as barbaric as they have been and one of the things we'll see

is the videos will become more and more barbaric as we make more end roads into -- into the fight against isil. >> one of the things that we look at whether we see these videos and you talk about they seem to be highly produced and more so even this one. doesn't that speak to the fact that we really don't know when this was carried out? it takes time to make those videos, yes? >> absolutely. if you read today's national newspapers in the uk, you'll find a story on the front page of one of the papers saying that about a week ago, just over a week ago, the beheader known as jihady john, was severely injured in usair strik.s. air s. it seems highly likely he was involved in some -- he did suffer some sort of injury.

it is my suspicion that this video was made a while ago. i think because of the fact that they didn't have rahman actually saying anything, maybe in an earlier version he did. and neighbor is now out of date. but you're right. we don't know when the videos have been made. and one of the things we analyzed in the initial video is there is a high chance that some of the earlier executions that they showed were actually done the same day. there is very sophisticated software analysis. it has been determined that for some of them, the camera was in exactly the same place which means there wasn't any lapse of time in between the beheading. so we don't know when they were done. and evidence would suggest that this video was actually done a while ago. >> why? why are they doing this? what is the purpose they're trying to achieve by killing westerners, putting it on camera and releasing it on social media

and eventually, you know, sending it along to cable television and all the others in the west? why are they doing this? why are they making it so public? >> there are two wars that are going on. we have the war that is taking place on the ground in iraq and syria. and we have the coalition doing air strikes and the kurds and others fighting isil in the region. then there is the propaganda war. i remember many years ago when the corps law, somebody said to me there is a guy in the u.s. who is doing great work around social media. why don't we leave our company and set something up? i said that will never take off. but the reality is that many, many people nowadays actually live a second life and that is an online world, in the online world. and this is a way for them to get their messages out. this is a way for them to recruit. and also show, try to show that they are still strong and that

they still are a force to be reckoned with. so the online world really is becoming just as important as the real world in the 21st century warfare. >> all right. we so appreciate you being with us. thank you for taking the time. >> want to let you know that we are hearing from president obama that he did speak at the g-20 summit about isis and we're going to have a live report about that in just a moment after the break. do stay close.

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breaking news this morning, we're following word that isis

claims to have now killed peter kassig, a 26-year-old man from indiana, former u.s. army ranger, iraq war veteran. was held since october 2013. his family made this plea, even tweeting directly to isis to please spare his life. >> he changed his name while he was in captivity to abdul rahman. and his family continued to plea that since he was a converted muslim that he ought to be released and not murdered. nonetheless, isis says it has beheaded him. there are some pictures. this is a little bit of a different situation than some of the other videos we've seen. nonetheless, the united states government is working to try to confirm whether, in fact, peter kassig has been executed on camera. >> we did hear from david cameron in a tweet prime minister of england saying oim

horrified by the cold blooded murder of abdul rahman kassig. isil has shown depref ti. my thoughts are with his family. that's one world leader we heard from. president obama is on his way back to washington after wrapping up the g-20 summit in australia. >> jim acosta joining us now. jim, the president is returning home as we get word of this possible beheading of peter kassig. do you know whether or not the president has been informed yet? >> you know, we don't know yet, joe. and that is possibly perhaps because, you know, this news broke within minutes after the president left here in bris bonn, australia, to head back to washington. he'll make a refueling stop in hawaii. so presumably, you know, obviously they have coms on air force one. it is possible that president has been briefed on this already. but it's not clear whether or

not his communication staff on air force one is able to communicate that with communication staff that is still here in brisbon australia. we have a statement from one official who is still here, the national security council spokeswoman put out a statement on what the house is saying right now about this beheading. it says we're aware of a video that claim to show the murder of u.s. citizen peter kassig by isil. the intelligence community is working as quickly as possible to determine the authenticity. if confirmed, we're appalled by the brutal murder of an innocent american aide worker and express our deepest condolences to family and friends and provide more information whether it is available. joe, you covered a number of these. i've covered a number of these over the last several months. we both know this is pretty much the boiler plate response from the national security council staff when something like this happens. but as the hours go on into tomorrow, we should have more of

a statement coming out of the white house, i would thishgs one from the president as well. that, of course, takes time to formulate that sort of statement. and whether or not there are contacts with the family and so forth. so all of the detail will come out, i think, over time in the next 24 hours joe and christie. >> jim, we know that isis was part of the discussion of world leaders at the g-20 summit. what did they say? do we know? >> that's right. that's right. it was a big topic on the agenda here. there is a big problem with the flow of foreign fighters from the west, from even here in australia. there are concerns in australia. they did talk about the various meet thag meetings that president had and all the leaders here for the g-20 summit. but at a news conference that wrapped up this summit, president obama fielded a whole range of questions on issues from putin to domestic politics and his expected action on immigration reform. i asked the president a question about isis and whether or not he would envision a scenario in the

future where he might want to deploy u.s. ground troops in iraq to take on isis. the reason for that question is because the chairman of the joint chiefs said up on kpil last week that he could envision scenarios where he might make that recommendation to the president. i asked when would take general dempsey's advice were the circumstances right and here's what the president had to say. >> yes, there are always circumstances in which the united states might need to deploy u.s. ground troops. if we discover that isil had gotten possession of a nuclear weapon and we had to run an operation to get it out of their hands, then, yes, you can anticipate that not only would chairman dempsey recommend me sending u.s. ground troops to get that weapon out of their hands, but i would order it. >> now we should point out that was a slight shift at least it

sounded to us, a slight shift from what the president said before. he steadfastly ruled out putting troops on the ground in a combat role against isis in iraq. the president has said, you know, if we're talking about the subject of hostages being held by isis, the president pointed out in the past he has deployed ground forces in rescue operations and that attempted rescue operation that failed to release or free those hostages being held by isis in sear yashgs the president, of course, did put troops on the ground in that scenario. the president is saying today there might be scenarios in the future where he might decide it would be appropriate to put ground forces in play. n. iraq. so i thought that was a slight shift on the part of the president. >> jim acosta, thank you so much. we appreciate it. want to let you know that we're getting word the family of peter kassig has now given a statement. >> right. >> we're going to hear from them in a couple minutes. also, we're going to go to our military analyst spider marks, talk to him a bit about what's

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fog breakillowing breaking s morning, the killing of a u.s. aid worker in the middle east being held by isis n a video published online today, isis claims to have beheaded peter kassig. >> the 26-year-old aid worker was an iraq war veteran. he was captured in october of 2013. he was held for more than a year. we're now getting reaction from his family.

>> cnn's alexandra field is live in new york. alexandra, what are we hearing from the family this morning? >> they have given us a statement a few minutes ago saying we are aware of the news reports being circulated about our treasured son and are waiting for confirmation as to the awe then 'tis 'tis of these reports. we'll have no other statement at this time and ask that you please respect our privacy. they do, however, go on to say that they hope that their son will be remembered for his important work and the love he shared with friends and family. ed and paula kassig, they're from indianapolis. that's where they raised their son peter kassig. he went to school there. they've been fiercely fighting and trying to secure his freedom. we heard a lot from them over the last month. they released a video on youtube in which they appealed for mercy for their son. they wanted safe return. they begged for it. at one point peter kassig's mother even went on twitter

directly tweeting at isis leaders asking them to speak directly with her. she was doing everything in her power as a mother, as a parent, to try to secure her son's release. a lot of people in that community rallying around that family. peter kassig briefly attended butler university last month vigil was held there. there were also local muslim community groups that rallied. peter kassig made friends with syrian-american alliance. they were in close contact with him until he was taken into captivi captivity. last month we traveled to indianapolis and got an opportunity to speak with peter kassig's friends. there is a young man that served in the army. he came home, went to butler university dshgs some schooling and from everything that we heard from his friends and family, he decided that he was just called to do something else. he really deeply wanted to return overseas to engage in the

humanitarian work that he was doing at the time he was taken. everyone we talked to about peter kassig described a man deeply kpl lly committed to tha. as his parents try to seek confirmation that that is their son in the videos, they're asking people to focus on the work that he went over there to do. >> yeah. it's just really interesting. thank you so much, alexandra field. the thing about this story is that peter kassig did convert to islam. while he was in captivity. and there seemed to be some controversy over whether isis even among radical groups would be seen as right and proper to kill a person who is actually been -- >> who has converted to islam. exactly. we're going to talk more about that in just a moment after the break. do stay with us. we break the news this morning that peter kassig, the fifth westerner now, isis claims to

have killed.

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31 minutes past the hour now. i'm christi paul. >> and i'm joe johns in for victor blackwell. >> want to get to our breaking news this morning. a video published online today, isis claims to have beheaded american hostage peter kassig. >> we have a still photo and the isis executioner with a british accent who appeared in previous videos. in the video, we see the aftermath of the beheading and the victim is not clearly

recognizable. we can't yet confirm the video's authenticity or whether it is indeed peter kasic. >> you know kag ssig, he was an iraq war veteran and in civilian life, he was an aid worker in syria. that is where he was captured a year ago. we learned he officially converted to islam going to the name of abdul rahman. in if this video is authentic, he will be the fifth westerner beheaded. we want to get to our guests. thank you for being us with. >> first you to, will, what do you think would make the difference of what we're seeing in this video compared to the ones we've seen in the past? we know that this is a little bit different thing than some of the other execution videos isis has put out. >> yes.

it's quite a different framing for this particular video. and in so much as what they're shag at the very beginning is some executions of syrian soldiers. which would say to me that they are believing that falling on deaf ears in terms of the communications to both the u.s., uk and other members of the coalition. and are trying to include within obviously their message the propaganda to try and disable certainly dissuade members perhaps of the arabian coalition who have been brought to bear to contribute obviously to trying to combat isis. >> general marks, a lot of people worrying about the timing of. this the air strike last week against the isis leaders. we don't know if the main leader was actually part of that air strike or if he was a victim of it. we have, of course, general dempsey who is in iraq right now. do you think that can this be timed for the two events? >> absolutely. i think there is very much a

correlation between what you see with general dempsey in country now and the decision to reinforce the presence in terms of training and advice role that is taking place with the iraqi forces and results of air strikes. i look at this and clearly there are no coincidences. this is timed very specifically to those activities by the coalition. and i would say the results of those activities which are -- there some very -- there have been some small victories by the iraqi security forces. there have been some significant victories in syria as a result of the air strikes. there is an opportunity for isis to release this barbaric video that just demonstrates what their objectives are and it tends to then mute the message that international community is putting out which, is look, we're reinforcing success and trying to put as much of a stop on isis activities as we can. >> will, did i hear you

correctly say that as far as you're concerned, isis doesn't think it's been getting the message through and so it's decided to do something different in this video? i ask you that because of the concern about the execution of convert to islam. what will that appeal to in the islamic world? >> that's a very good question. they're trying to intimidate the international community in trying to produce some fascination on the air strikes and undermining i it saying we're still strong and continuing with our actions and little effect are you having on us. but also to intimidate the local community. now how this is as you're going to try to recruit them, i think

it is hardly unlikely. certainly there are those individuals within the community whether they be islamic or otherwise that we'll want to join their ranks. but ultimately, if they're showing that they're not separating their attacks and barbaric treatment towards the community, will only, i would have thought, work in more cohesive sense in community co-joining and creating a far stronger and more aggressive front against isis. >> we appreciate your insight. >> cnn's erin mcpike joins us from washington with a statement from the national security council. what do you got? >> that's right. this is coming from the national security council. spokesman there writes we're aware of a video that claim to show the murder of u.s. citizen peter kassig by isis. they're working quickly as possible to determine the

authenticity f confirmed, we're appalled by the brutal murder of an innocent american aid worker and express our deepest condolences to family and friends. we'll provide more information when it is available. and to that point, joe and christie, you've been talking about the timing of this. the effect of that as well is very interesting because, of course, president obama has been overseas for last week and now has to travel back. he, of course, can do anything that he can do in his capacity as president when he is traveling, when he's on air force one. but it does m make the response little bit more difficult. as isis fades from the top of american media and is overtaken by other events, obviously we've been talking about ebola for quite some time. just yesterday we were talking about everything that's going to be happening in washington between the vote on the keystone pipeline, immigration, potential government shutdown. isis has had this ability to get all of that out of the way and

come to the forefront of our news coverage. that is happening in all of these cases. now this fifth case. >> very good point. we should point out, too, we do not know when this video was actually shot. >> sure, absolutely. the other thing that is interesting about this erin, you make a good point, the president on plane not able to respond, we know that here on television, whenever one of the executions happens and we put it on television in a way we're sort of being used by isis just by reporting it. you have to wonder whether people at the white house and in other places are trying to hold back on their responses simply to reduce the media footprint of this awful story that gives isis even more publicity. >> that's so true. and we have covered now this fifth one. in each case, and they've

actually happened quite often on the weekend, and the white house does move very slowly. you have to think that they generally have confirmation that it is a real authentic video well before they're able to tell us that. but they have to go through a process and check intelligence and all of that sort of thing. but we always get these very terse, brief statements about the fact that they still have to check that authenticity. they also have to talk to family members of the victims. so there are a lot of steps that they go through. i think you're right. they want to tamp down the coverage. >> for sure. >> erin mcpike, thank you. whether we come back, we'll get to some of the other stories making news. including ebola. >> that's right. >> ebola. we've got a new patient in the u.s. with ebola. we're going to let you know the very latest. ♪

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we'll have more for you throughout the morning on peter kassig, the american that isis claims to have beheaded. this would make him the fifth westerner. he converted to islam and is also named abdul rahman kassig. we heard from his family and we'll continue to get you the latest. there are other stories we have to get with you this morning. >> among those stories, a doctor stricken with ebola is receiving care in a nebraska hospital this morning. he arrived in omaha from sierra leone yesterday. he is now the tenth patient to be treated for the deadly disease in the united states. >> cnn's alex an droo field this reports this victim is a surgeon and he's critically ill. >> a surgeon diagnosed with ebola in his native sierra leone is being treated for ebola here in the u.s. workers in hazmat suits carried him on a stretcher to an ambulance before taking him to the biocontainment unit in

omaha. his family says he is a legal permanent resident of the u.s. and he's married to a u.s. citizen. a decision was made to bring him back to the states after his medical team reported he was critically ill and his wife requested to have him flown back here. according to the u.s. state department, his wife agreed to reimburse the government for any expense. the team in sierra leone says he is possibly sicker than the first patients who were treated in the u.s. that according to a statement from the nebraska medical center. the doctor has been splitting time between new carolton, maryland, and sierra leone. >> thank you so much. next hour we're talking to a former cdc doctor about the severity of this latest ebola victim illness and yes was taken specifically to nebraska. let's get you caught up with the morning read. >> a klem call leak at a dupont plant near houston left four workers dead, a fifth employee was exposed and hospitalized but is expected to recover. the chemical which is used in an

insecticides didn't pose a risk to the community. but the cause of the leak is certainly under investigation now. >> and enrollme in. t is open for buying insurance under the affordable care act. it's the second year of what has been coined obama care. you have until the 15th of february to ebb roll. so far, no glitches to report for the second enrollme in. t period. >> in sports, former baseball slugger jose con sago says the finger he lost last month fell off during a poker tournament. >> what? >> that's what he said. he tweeted out the news saying the finger should have been amputated after he shot it while cleaning his gun. because as he puts it, it was loose and smelling really bad. apologize for having to give that you news this morning. good heavens. >> too much information. in science, remember the massive asteroid that exploded over central russia last year?

how you could forget that? a new map detail just how often the sort of thing happens. nasa found that 556 space rocks smashed into earth's atmosphere during a recent 20-year period. most are small and harmless, the space agency has increased its efforts to finding and tracking potentially dangerous ones. >> do stay with us. we're going to have more for you on peter kassig, the 26-year-old american former u.s. army ranger. >> we heard from the family. >> isis is claiming they have beheaded him. there something very different about this video than what we have seen in past videos. >> right. the national security council and others trying to authenticate that video. still haven't said absolutely it is peter kassig. a lot of experts think it s. >> we'll have more in just a moment.

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want to get you back to our breaking news this morning. in a video published online today, isis is claiming to have beheaded american hostage peter kassig. >> welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. here is a still photo from that video showing a man believed to be jihady john, the isis executioner with a british accent who appeared in previous execution videos. in the video we see the aftermath of the beheading and the victim is not clearly recognizable. we cannot confirm the video's authenticity at this time or whether it is indeed kassig. >> kassig was once a u.s. army ranger and iraq war veteran. in his civilian life, he was an

aid worker in syria. that's where he was captured in october of 2013. so a little more than a year ago. while in captivity, he officially converted to islam and went by the name abdul rahman kassig. if this video is authentic, he will be the fifth western hostage apparently beheaded by isis. we'll be right back.

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we have seen a video this morning suggesting he was beheaded. there was a threat against him some time ago. he's been held by isis for more than a year. this video also is being described as one of the most gruesome videos ever produced by isis which also includes apparently the execution of a number of syrian aircraft military personnel. we heard from several people who say this is the most barbaric video they have seen yet. does that show, do you believe, a change in isis strategy or does it show on their part perhaps a fear that they feel they have to got more serious? >> well, it is a combination of both. this incident was inevitable. we have seen isis do this

before. it's for propaganda purposes and to instill the fear factor. certainly the group has been under a lot of pressure recently. there have been increased strikes and also the attempted elimination of the leader. so in many ways, this is a message to the west that they are very much active and they will continue their campaign and that if there are any more air strike, they'll utilize they're propaganda many machinery to precipitate the fear factor. >> does a video like this actually appeal to anyone or is it just being released purely to terrify people? >> on the one hand, it is designed to terrify people. but unfortunately, and as disturbing as it may sound, this is also part of their propaganda machinery. it is designed to appeal to their constituents to attract new supporters to their cause. this is something that unfortunately isis has done very much in the last year.

and certainly what is also disturbing is they utilize media to project themselves and propaganda and publicity. >> i want to clarify something. we know that last week there were air strikes against some of isis leaders. and there were questions about whether their main leader was a victim of those air strikes. did you say he had been eliminated? >> well, there was an attempt to. it wasn't any clarity and suddenly it went viral on the web forum about where he was, was he okay? had he survived? and there is no evidence to say that he's been eliminated. but there has been a lot more pressure put on the group with the air strikes. and certainly this is perhaps a message to show that they're very much active and that they cannot be intimidated.

>> terrorism expert, thanks so much for coming in and talking with us this morning. >> we appreciate it. >> top of the hour now. 7:00 eastern. i'm christi paul. >> i'm joe johns. more on our breaking news. isis claims to have executed its fifth western hostage in a video posted online today. the terror group purportedly shows the beheading of peter kassig. >> the 26-year-old former army ranger here. captured while doing aid work in syria a year ago. carl penhall is following this as well wlachlt do you make of the difference that's we see in this video compared to what we have seen in previous videos? the one that is being most barbaric as we heard from most people and also that it's in a different location. it's longer than the previous videos. what does that mean? what meaning is behind that? >> yeah. absolutely.

there are dsignificant differences. this video lasts 16 minutes. the longest video before that is a third of that length. it is different from the previous videos as well, however. it gives a long background to the origins of islamic state or isil. and it also shows additional executions on the 16-minute video, namely, the killings of what appeared to be scores of what the killers say are regime pilots and officers. it shows that in very graphic detail. the scene where the head that is allegedly that of peter kassig's is shown is a very short segment. there is no spoken message from kassig. we also don't see him alive. we just see a head on the ground beneath the feet of the man that we have now come to know as jihady john, that apparently

british isis man. jihady john says that peter kassig didn't have much to say. now is that perhaps an indication that peter kassig in fact just refused to say anything? is he the first of the hostage that's point blank said to his captors i'm not going to serve your propaganda purposes? is that the reason we only show the aftermath? so certainly significant differences. also the location as you mentioned. this one apparently filmed according to a slug that appears on the video in the count of their book. that is just northeast of the city of alep yoe. that is about 200 kilometers, about 150 miles from where we previous believed all the hostages are being held which is around the isis strong hold of ruker. >> carl, joe johns in atlanta right now. any notion of what the timing of

this means? we do know the chairman of the u.s. joint chiefs of staff had said the united states has been make something head way against isis. he said that fairly recently. why would this video be timed for its release now? >> there's no indication as to actually when any of this video was filmed. a lot of it is file footage, archive footage that they used to put together the time line of the rise of isis. we don't know when that apparent killing of the syrian regime army offices and pilots may have occurred. it does not have occurred in the same location as the killing of peter kassig. there is nothing to determine whether kassig may have been killed either. but in terms of the release, there are in what can interpret from the message of jihady john cla challenges to americans. jihady john as he stands over the head of what he claims to be

peter kassig's head, he says this is the first american crusader and then he goes on to say we eagerly await the arrival of more american crusaders to come. so certainly seeming to feed into this speculation that perhaps the u.s. may be thinking about putting some kind of ground forces on there. jihady john also makes a joke of a bomber he calls dog of rome and the proxy forces, the iraqi military parentally will not serve the purposes of fighting isis. so it does seem to be a challenge once again throwing down the gauntlet to u.s. forces saying they will have to go on the ground if they want to defeat isis. apparently an attempt to suck the american deeper into the this war, joe. >> right. and that continues to be a debate in this country right now. whether the chairman of the

joint chiefs will actually recommend that president put more boots on the ground to try to get at this problem. carl, thanks so much for that. >> you know, a couple months ago kassig's family got on youtube his mother specifically and said we're so very proud of you and the work you've done to bring humanitarian aid to the syrian people. her way of trying to get to her son. but now we understand they are speaking out on the news that he possibly has been beheaded as well. >> cnn's alexandra field live in new york. what you are hearing from the family? >> certainly they have been speaking out a lot over the last month. this morning we're getting a statement from them that certainly they never wanted to put out. i'll read it from. they say, "we are aware of the news reports being circulated about our treasured son and are waiting for confirmation from the government as to the authenticity of these reports. we'll have no other statement at this time and ask that you please respect our privacy." they go on to say that they

prefer their son is written and remembered for his important work and the love he shared with his friends and family. peter kassig, 26 years old, raised in indianapolis, went to north central high school there. ended up joining the army, became an army ranger, deployed to iraq. returned to the states, went to hanover college in indiana, went to butler university in indiana but then decided to get his emt training done and decided to then return overseas. friends, family members say he was really called to do humanitarian work overseas. he believed that was his purpose and he felt compelled to leave college here in the sfats and head over there. ed and paula kassig have been doing everything as parents in their power during the course of their son's captivity to try and bring him home safely. last month releasing a video on youtube in which they appealed for mercy, asked for their son's freedom. paula kassig getting on twitter and writing to isis leaders asking to secure her son's

freedom, doing everything as a mother that she knew how to do. but this morning, again, releasing this statement that i'm sure they had feared and dreaded. they would at some point release a spokesperson for the family, however, goes on to add that both of the kassigs this morning are feeling just ever so grateful for support and prayers that they received from people all over the world. >> a lot of that going out to them today for sure. thank you so much. we should point out that president obama's flying home right now after wrapping up the g-20 summit in australia. isis was certainly part of the conversation there. >> cnn's senior white house correspondent jim acosta joining us now. president returning to the united states on air force one. that's about the time we get word of this possible beheading of the american worker peter kassig. how much can we assume the president has been briefed on this? >> i think it's safe assumption

that president's been briefed on. this i don't think at this point we really can realistically have confirmation of this at this point. the president is on air force one and on their way to hawaii for refueling stop before heading all the way back to washington. perhaps when he makes that refueling stop in hawaii the communication staff with the white house will be able to communicate with the people that are still here in australia who do press for the white house. so perhaps at that point we might get some sort of additional guidance or indication as to whether or not the president's been briefed and whether he has further comments on. this as you know from covering these things, it may take several hours or a good portion of a day for us to really have a comment from president obama on this apparent execution. we do have a statement from the national security council spokesperson who is traveling with the president or was traveling with the president on this trip, will be heading back with the president shortly. we're aware of a video that purportedly shows -- we're aware

of a video that shows the murder of peter kassig by isil, the intelligence community is working as quickly as possible to determine the authenticity f confirmed, we're appalled by the brutal murder of an innocent american aid worker and express our deepest condole senses to family and friends . we'll provide more information when available. i've been covering these things and that is the standard boiler plate response from the white house. but as you know, joe, over the summer when these beheadings started up, he had slowly but surely ratcheted up the pressure in washington, ratcheted up the pressure in the white house for the president to take a more assertive role and tone in dealing with isis. and that's what wl we started to see this air campaign ratchet up against isis in iraq and then later on in syria. the question becomes what happens to this policy when the president gets back to washington? does this new beheading of peter

kassig have some sort of impact on the president's thinking as to what should happen next? >> boy, very good point, jim. jim agosta live there. thank you very much. >> now defense secretary chuck hagel is finally acknowledging he may have to put troops on the ground in iraq not directly to fight isis but to help local forces locate targets and only if u.s. top general martin dempsey puts forward that proposal. take a listen. >> we can get any other variation of recommendations from general dempsey then we'll deal with it. but we're not there yet. >> remember, as jim talked about at the g-20 summit, even president obama said there is a possibility the u.s. would put boots on the ground if the need arises. much of that due to possible nuclear need. >> absolutely. some very tough choices there. we do have other news to tell you about this morning including

the tenth and possibly sickest ebola patient arriving on u.s. soil. an update on his condition and treatment coming up next. [ female annoale announc] hands were made for talking.

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>> primarily, a doctor receiving care this morning in a nebraska hospital. he is a maryland-based surgeon. and doctors treating him say he is extremely ill, possibly more so than any patient transported from west africa to the u.s. so far. >> he arrived in omaha from sierra leone yesterday. this shows him being taken from the plane on a stretcher aided by workers dressed in yellow protective suits. cnn's medical analyst joins us on the phone from new orleans. she's formally with the cdc first. let's start to talk about how sick dr. salia is. this nebraska hospital saying possibly the sickest yet transported to the u.s.? what does that tell you? >> absolutely. so they said they already had two patients with ebola successfully treated, both of them this gentleman is the sickest of possibly any patient that's been here from west africa to the u.s.

and that will make their job a lot harder. they will be using many experimental ebola treatments but can't tell us which ones or when that might happen. >> so help us understand why this facility has been so successful and do you have confidence in their success with this particular patient? >> partly it's about time. they've been in operation since 2005, when i spoke to the nursing manager there, she told me, look, we've had the best part for nine years to get ready to care for patients like this. she told me they train their staff and they train them again and then she told me they refresh the training. so they're constantly building on expertise and getting ready to treat patients like this. i think we do have good faith in them because they've had such a great track record of caring for ebola patients. they've cared tore two have both made recoveries and discharged back home. >> it really is amazing the extent to which ebola no longer sounds like the death sentence

it was just not very long ago at all. we've come quite a long way. doctor, thank you so much for that. so stay with us here on "new day." we have the latest on what is developing not only with this alleged beheading of an american by isis but also that closer to home what is happening in ferguson, missouri, right now. >> right. a town that is bracing for the grand jury's decision about officer darren wilson. my name is karen and i have diabetic nerve pain. it's progressive pain. first that feeling of numbness. then hot pins. almost like lightning bolts, hot strikes into my feet. so my doctor prescribed lyrica. the pain has been reduced and i feel better than i did before.

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this morning we've got the latest on what's developing in ferguson, missouri. it's a town on edge as it waits for grand jury to decide whether to indict officer darren wilson. he's the white police officer who shot and killed unarmed black teenager michael brown in august. brown's death sparked on going protests in the st. louis suburb. but some residents warn if there is no indictment, protests thus far will pale compared to what is coming. >> joining us now for more, let's talk to mel robins, a legal analyst. mel, good to have you with us today. we flow we can expect this grand jury to make a decision at if i point. i'm wondering, they say if there is no indictment, there will be problems on the street. if there is no indictment, what happens to officer wilson at that point then if he pleaded to go back to work? >> you know, good morning, that

is an absolutely excellent question. he would be cleared of any criminal charges at the state level. keep in mind there are on going federal investigations both from a civil point of view and a criminal point of view and those might not be resolved yet. so he would probably stay on leave until those federal investigations are over as well. but, yeah, if he's cleared of all charges, he could go back to work. i think the question is would he want to and would it be safe for him to go back to work in this community if the tensions are going to be, you know, over the edge like we've seen that they are? >> mel, you talk about the possibility of a civil complaint. if there are no criminal charges, is the idea of civil complaint sort of defanged? is there any chance that they'll get any type of damageors

whatever -- damages or whatever. >> you have the state of missouri investigating in terms of the st. louis prosecutor and grand jury right now looking at criminal charges at a state level. you have the federal government looking at two different cases. one would be violations of michael brown's constitutional rights. those are very hard to prove. you have to prove that officer wilson was acting willfully and knowingly and wanting to deprive michael brown of his constitutional rights. and then there are federal, potential federal criminal charges. now if all three of those cases, the state case, the two federal cases, if those don't get brought, michael brown's family absolutely have a claim for wrongful death in a civil court. that would be a civil case where they would be looking for monetary damages based on what happened. and they could be suing for not

only wrongful death, guys, but also for intentional infliction of emotional harm based on how they handle michael brown's body at the scene. so the fact that there may be criminal charges that are never brought won't have that big of an impact on whether or not the family is successful in suing not only the officer but also the police force and potentially the state. >> you know, mel, earlier we said we looked at this and thought it seemed to be somewhat of a strange proceeding. it was taking so long. and they were seeming to throw every ounce of evidence of any kind at this grand jury which normally, as i understand it, there's minimal evidence material that is given to them. do you find this to be rare in terms of the proceedings that we see thus far? and why is it taking so long? >> well, a couple things here. first of all, when you typically

are presenting a case to a grand jury, you're not presenting it where the person that's accuse of the unlawful shooting is a police officer. so typically -- and why that's important is because a police officer under the circumstance has been given wide deaf difference in their ability to use force. if it's found that darren wilson was acting in an objectively reasonable manner that he perceived, it was reasonable for him to perceive a threat, then he may be justified in the shooting. and so typically i disagree with, you know, my colleague jeffrey toobin because typically if a prosecutor is presenting a case to a grand jury which they do involving a police shooting, they try to take a step back and take a more objective point of view. they're going to give everything to the grand jury because they don't want to look like they're biassed towards the police.

they don't want to look like they're biassed towards the shooting victim. and so this isn't atypical. what is atypical is to have the lens on it the way that we do. does it usually take this long? not usually. however, in this case, they've got a special grand jury that is only meeting once a week. they've been meeting for weeks and weeks and weeks. they've heard from dozens and dozens and dozens of witnesses. i think what also is different in this case is that we've got dozens of witnesses that disagree. and so this is just a gigantic mess for the grand jury. i think it's also a mess for the rest of us because what they promised was transparency and what you don't get with a grand jury is transparency. but remember, on friday, dr. michael badden, the famed forensic, you know, guy that was testifying and he's part of the brown case. so presumably and hopefully they will have heard everything. >> right. michael bad en, the medical

examiner who looked at so many different cases. this is just a fascinating question and you're right about the grand jury. who knows who they've heard from that we haven't heard from. >> we'll have to wait and see. thank you so much. great information. we appreciate it. >> great to see you guys. >> you, too. we'll see you back here at 8:00 eastern. >> sanjay gupta md is coming up for you after a quick break. this is kathleen. setting up the perfect wedding day starts with her minor arthritis pain, and two pills. afternoon arrives and feeling good, but her knee pain returns. that's two more pills. the evening's event brings laughter, joy, and more pain. what's that, like six pills today? yeah. .i could take two aleve for all day relief. really? for my arthritis pain, i now choose aleve. 2 pills. all day strong. all day long. and now introducing, aleve pm for a better am. because i make the best chicken noodle soup.

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all you parent out there, i promise you, you're not going to be able to turn away from our feature story today. it's been just three weeks since the latest school shooting in this country. in less than a month we'll be marking the anniversary of sandy hook. just a few minutes i'm going to tell you the story of a young man whose parents called the police about him. they worried that his mendal illness will cause him to hurt somebody. will you consider him a prisoner or a patient? first, a tiny massachusetts town is weighing a ban that would make it the first in the kun troy completely outlaw toeb sal tobacco saeflz any kind? residents on both sides of the issues are pretty fired up. the public hearing wednesday night in westminster was over before it even began. here's john atwater of our affiliate wcbb.