karl penhaul is in london with more now on this impassioned plea. >> good morning, john. alan henning's friends know him as the taxi driver with heart of gold, that because he gave up his own free time. he gave up christmas with his family. he gave up other family time, he gave up his weekends to wash cars to raise funds so he could take aid to syria along with his muslim friends from northern england. so that is why we're hearing now the impassioned plea from his wife barbara to let him go. but it is beyond just a call for his release, it's also a call to jump-start talks to isis. barbara henning is heard saying we haven't heard from you lately. let us find a way to communicate. and she specified the last she herd from alan was an audiotape with alan pleading for his life. this appears to be an effort to jump-start these talks. again, to make some more direct appeal to isis. but listen a little bit to what barbara henning had to say to isis. >> alan, we miss you and we're dreadfully concerned for your safety. but we are giving so much hope by the o

karl penhaul, cnn, england. >> it's tragic, stories like that playing out right across the globe. >>re are thousands of fighters who have signed up for isis. not just from britain, but many countries around the world, especially from saudi arabia and tanzania. >> we will take a short break now, but just ahead, the u.s. supreme court makes an unexpected decision on the same-sex marriage debate. ahead, the reaction from advocates of same-sex marriage. you need to see this. show 'em the curve. ♪ do you know what this means? the greater the curvature, the bigger the difference. [sci-fi tractor beam sound] ...sucked me right in... it's beautiful. gotta admit one thing... ...can't beat the view. ♪ introducing the world's first curved ultra high definition television from samsung. >>> welcome back, everyone. well, same-sex marriages are now legal in 24 u.s. states. and soon that number is expected to grow. >> this is all because of a surprise decision. the u.s. supreme court said on monday it will not take up this issue during their session. another six states could soon allow same-sex marr

karl penhaul, cnn, england. >> and of course this is just one example of so many families across thelobe, hundreds of them, dealing with the same problem where young boys are leaving their countries and going to fight for isis. >> a lot of the analysts say they prey on young men. they've also been trying to recruit people with mental disabilities. people who are emotionally distressed, you know for many of the foreign fighters who get there, they get really low-ranking jobs. they're not the front line troops. they don't have the jobs they thought they would have. getting out of isis is like getting out of the mafia. it is very, very difficult for them. >> they're basically preying on the vulnerable. >> yes. >> we're going to take a short break right now. >>> but ahead, a decision by the supreme court has same-sex advocates cheering. you on the runway. (vo) theraflu starts to get to work in your body in just 5 minutes. (vo) theraflu breaks you free from your worst cold and flu symptoms. (vo) theraflu. serious power. >>> gentleman, . >>> yeah, this was a surprise decision. >> i am shak

cnn's karl penhaul reports on the aid volunteer who went to war-torn syria to help people in need. >> alan henning was known to family and friends as the taxi driver with the heart of gold. he was simply not content to sit on his sofa at home and hand out a donation for syria. he wanted to get involved and on four occasions drove on aid convoys to deliver much needed supplies to civilians suffering from the fallout of syria's ongoing civil war. he even tattooed on his forearm the words aid for syria. he was so passionate about this mission. it was friends, muslim friends and neighbors who invited him in the first place to go on these trips. he was the only non-muslim on that aid convoy that left christmastime last year. it was a day after christmas when he drove into syria that he was kidnapped by armed gunmen part of an isis militant fraction. now, family and friends have made multiple appeals over the last days and weeks calling on isis to release him, spelling out just how he took a front line role, a caring role and tried to help the people of syria but now we know those pleas fel

karl penhaul, we appreciate your reporting there in manchester.hank you. >>> in their latest video, isis also threatened to kill an american aid worker, peter kassig. his parents are now pleading with the group to release their son. the former u.s. soldier was kidnapped last october in syria. in a youtube video that was posted saturday, kassig's parents urged his captors to let him go. >> please know that we are all praying for you and your safe return. most of all, know that we love you and our hearts ache for you to be granted your freedom so we can hug you again and then set you free to continue the life you have chosen, the life of service to those in greatest need. kassig founded a charity two years ago. it was designed to help syrians who were fleeing from the country's civil war. his parents say he converted to islam after being captured. coming up next here on cnn, pro-democracy protesters in hong kong, they are facing a fast-approaching deadline to clear the streets. but will they do it? a live report is next. plus, a storm scare, japan b

karl penhaul is in london with barbara henning impassioned plea, karl. >> reporter: christine, friendslan henning as the taxicab driver with the heart of gold because he spent so much time for his friends in syria. it's a plea to isis to establish some kind of line of communication to see if they can dialogue a way to find an end to this hostage crisis. but let's listen to what alan henning's wife had to say. >> alan, we miss you. and we're degreedfully concerea for your safety. but we're given so much hope by the outcry across the world as to your imprisonment. i ask islamic state please release him. we need him back home. thank you. >> reporter: now, between the execution of previous isis hostages, james foley, steven sotloff and david haines there's been an average of two weeks or ten days. it's now been 2 1/2 weeks since we heard anything about alan henning. that could be good news. or just a reflection since the bomb attacks on isis positions communications have gone dark, christine. >> karl penhaul, certainly, a tragic situation for that family. >>> 53 minutes past the hour, the

karl penhaul, cnn, echols, england. >> how very touching.ell, still to come here, do gay and lesbian couples have the right to marry? that's one of the issues the u.s. supreme court faces in its new term monday. we'll look at what else the court is tackling, coming next. could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. everybody knows that. well, did you know you that former pro football player ickey woods will celebrate almost anything? unh-uh. number 44... whoooo! forty-four, that's me! get some cold cuts... get some cold cuts... get some cold cuts! whooo! gimme some! geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. whoo! forty-four ladies, that's me! whoo...gonna get some cold cuts today! ameriprise asked people a simple question: in retirement, will you have enough money to live life on your terms? i sure hope so. with healthcare costs, who knows. umm... everyone has retirement questions. so ameriprise created the exclusive confident retirement approach. now you and your ameripise advisor.... can ge

karl penhaul live for us. natalie. >> the parents of isis hostage abdul ahmad kassig are asking the world to continue to pray for him. the 26-year-old medic and former u.s. soldier who converted to islam and changed his name from peter after he was abducted is the latest western captive the terror group threatens to kill next. cnn is honoring ed and paula kassig's request their son be referred to by his new muslim name. >>> well, still to come here on cnn, brazilians vote for their next president. and now they'll get to vote again. and we'll tell you why. after the break. (cheering) yeah!! touchdown! who's ready for half time? ok i'm going to draw something up new... who ate the quarterback? share what you love with who you love. kellogg's frosted flakes. they're grrreat! >>> and welcome back to cnn. not one but two elections to decide the next president of brazil. they'll be doing it all over again. 99% of the ballots were cast on sunday, they've all been counted and the incumbent dilma rousseff in the lead.

. >> all right, karl penhaul live from manchester. speaking of turkey, that's the headline of our next story involving isis. kurdish forces say they're holding back militants in the syrian town of kobani. one kurdish fighter says isis controls the southwestern corner of the city, but his soldiers held off further advance. meantime, turkish security forces used tear gas and water cannons to try to keep people from crossing the border into syria to join the fight against isis. kurdish forces have asked for help from kurds across the region. so a very complex situation continuing to evolve there on the border between syria and turkey with the kurds caught in the middle. >>> still to come here, from serious to critical. we'll have the latest on the condition of the first person diagnosed with ebola. his condition, worsening. ♪ [ female announcer ] with five perfectly sweetened whole grains... you can't help but see the good. >>> welcome back to our special coverage. the first person diagnosed with ebola in the u.s. is fighting for his lif

let's turn to karl penhaul and paul crookshank in new york. karl, what are you learning?: looking at this video, something that jumped to my attention was that this video appears to be much shorter than the previous hostage beheading videos. this video runs at only about a minute, ten seconds. there is a short statement by alan henning, a very short statement by the man with the knife, the isis executioner, and no statement at all by american aid worker peter kassig. certainly apparent justification by isis for this beheading is because britain's parliament voted one week ago to join the u.s.-led coalition in striking isis positions. britain only striking isis inside iraq at this time. and that is the other thing perhaps that jumps to my attention in the other videos, there was also some key matter to locate when the execution, when the beheading may have taken place. but in this, the isis executioner states -- or talks about the british vote one week ago but nothing since then. that effectively could put the time of henning's death at any time between now and one week ag

thank you very much to karl penhaul.e on the beheading of the a british hostage and the threat that american will be a next victim. >>> and the mormon church with drug violence out of control. lisa ling is just ahead. [♪] great rates and safety working in harmony. open an optimizer +plus account from synchrony bank. visit myoptimizerplus.com to open an account. service. security. savings. synchrony bank engage with us. and cialis for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment is right. cialis is also the only daily ed tablet approved to treat symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently. 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 hour