That air base is home to some 320 americans who are there training Iraqi Military pilots and the u. S. Says it has no plans to evacuate them. This huge strategic gain as the pentagon admits isis is now getting a foot hold beyond iraq beyond syria. Libya, yemen, pakistan and afghanistan now seeing a rise in isis militants. The reason . Deflections by the taliban. They realize flying under the black flag of isis will get them more money and more recruits. Lets go straight to phil black whos in Northern Iraq right now. When you look at the map and see how close baghdadi is to that u. S. Training base how close is isis to that base right now . Reporter pretty close earlier in the day, brooke. We understand from iraqi officials and the u. S. Military there are some eight isis members who plan to attack the air base. They say they were all suicide bombers. They were all stopped and all killed. They say this is a sprawling base a very large facility and that u. S. Personnel that you mention, they were many some kilometers or miles away from the point of the attack and never at any risk. But this attack became possible because of that progress that isis has made in the last 24 hours in this nearby town you mentioned. Al baghdadi. Its now controlled 93 . Theyve suddenly surged in this town because they have activated sleeper cells as they say. The air base nooebearby has consistently come under attack but this now much more established isis presence certainly is providing a more continued, more sustained Security Threat brooke. From the isis progress that youre outlining can you compare that to where you are in Northern Iraq and hue that situation differs from there . Reporter there are two regions at the moment. Al baghdadi and the province west of iraq. Its an area where isis has continued to maintain its ability to go on the defensive where the local city tripebes havent been able to stop them contain them stop that advance. Whereas here in the north of the country, the northern kurdish fighters have been able to stop isis, roll back some of their territory, a significant part of their territory really but isis still controls big towns and cities here and is still able to lash out on daily basis. So still very much a threat. A slightly more contained one, but it is a situation here that is still going to continue for some time yet because it will not be easy. It will take time. And its going to take really the iraqi army to step up and do that. Thats the same iraqi army thats been detain and clearly is not anywhere near the point of readiness to be fit for purpose for such an offensive operation, brooke. There was an army veteran not too long ago who helped build that base back in 200034 and hes stunned to see whats happened here in 2015. Phil black thank you so much. Well continue on with that later in the show. But lets stay on the isis threat. How are they at threat and how will the troop reese act if they continue to enkroich on this base . Joining me now Lieutenant Colonel scott mann. Colonel, welcome. Thank you for having me. Thank you for coming on. We have people who are quote unquote advisers. I just have to ask you. They would be combatready correct, if isis were to get up to those gates and beyond. Surely they would be poised to fight back. Yeah absolutely. I mean these guys are adviser but, you know advising is one of the most dangerous jobs in the military because of the fact that you are up close and personal to the action but youre having to work by with and through indigenous forces in some rough places. I think what concerns me more than anything is not that were not ready but youre investing in the Iraqi Military only and not at a Community Level, especially in a sunnidominated area. Thats how isis is able to exploit things and get close to the base. Wait a minute. How do you mean . How should we be engaging communitywise . Well, one of the things that weve learned is that, you know just working with the military as an adviser in a place like iraq where you have a sincere distrust of the military by the population because it is a shoo ya military the fact of the matter is they exploit it within the sunni populations, and if we dont put our advisers out at a Community Level, at least working with the sunnis and those areas as well trying to resist it makes it easy. We selfs late when we only work with the military. I was hearing from a general whos not coming on the show but he was just sort of saying the acts of isis with regard to these communities and the children and the elderly who they are killing with these suicide bombs is just cowardly. So how capable, really are these isis militants here . I mean theyre very capable. But theyre very diabolical and there are a lot of folks at the Community Level who want to push back against them who do want to resist. In a lot of these areas, look, this is a place where they like to work. They luke to go in damaged communities. They can kind of coon the systems, whether thats afghanistan, yemen, or iraq. They like to go to the tribal areas. But frankly tribes are pretty autonomous and they will push back and stand up but were going to have to work with them in those areas, and thats something were not doing right now. Even obamas request for authorization for force, if you look at it, its just to work with the military. Until we close that trust deficit, were putting our guys at risk by isolated them on the bases. Colonel mann let me ask you something, too, because its frightening. Now were no longer talking about iraq and syria. As i mentioned before members of the taliban are apparently defecting and rebranding themselves and swearing allegiance to the black isis flag. You sierras on the map where isis is appearing. Do you expect well see more of this . I do. And ill tell you why. These guys understand the importance of narrative and story. They understand if properly spun that islam is under attack by the west am its the duty of every muslim to defend it they can push that all over the world and it resonates. One of the things were going have to get our head around were going have to decide we want to win and stop dabbling in it. Were going to have to you think the air strikes are dabbling . Im sorry . You think air strikes are dabbling . Yeah i do. If thats your sin fwu lar strategy you provoke tribal revenge back against you. Were going to have to push a narrative and story out there that competes with what isis is doing out there. Doing air strikes and retaliation for that in a Tribal Society when we have no local presence that plays into their scenario every single time. Lieutenant colonel scott mann appreciate you. Thank you. Thank you. Coming up the neds look into whether the murders of these three young Muslim Students were motivated by hate. Youll hear how one felt in her own words. Plus the dramatic murder trial on Aaron Hernandez. The judge ruling today the jury can see hernan does just after the murder of his friend. Hear what he was doing. And much more stories from brian williams, raising eyebrows from the pope to them. Stay here. Youre watching cnn. And its not a ticket youre upgrading its your entire operations, from domestic to international. Which means you need help from a whole team of advisors. From workforce strategies to Tech Solutions and a thousand other things. So you call pwc. The right people to get the extraordinary done. Stouffers mac and cheese with real aged cheddar now in a convenient cup. New Stouffers Mac cups. Made for you to love. [ male announcer ] at northrop grumman, we know in the cyber world, threats are always evolving. At first we were protecting networks. Then, we were protecting the transfer of data. And today its evolved to infrastructure. Finance. And military missions. Were constantly innovating to advance the front line in the cyber battle, wherever it takes us. Thats the value of performance. Northrop grumman. Major ok fitness class heres our new trainer ensure active heart health. Crowd yayyyy heart im going to focus on the heart. I minimize my sodium and fat. Gotta keep it lean and mean. Pear uhoh. Heart i maximize good stuff like my potassium. And phytosterols, which may help lower cholesterol. Major im feeling energized already. New delicious ensure active heart Health Supports your heart and body, so you stay active and strong. Ensure. Take life in. Youre watching cnn. Im brooke baldwin. The fbi is opening an investigation to see whether the murders of the three Muslim Students should be labeled a hate crime. Deah barakat and his wife and sister all went to North Carolina state and they say 5,500 mourners packed that campus to take a moment and grieve for these victims who were all shot in the head tuesday. Police have not ruled out a hate crime. But they say at this point it appears the suspected shooter here craig hicks, went after the students over a parking dispute. And as so many people are questioning that motive the certainty in this is how monumental the loss is to friends, family and community. Last summer there was a recorded conversation on nprs story core and her words are patriotic yet so painful. Now to hear. Growing up in america has been such a blessing and you know in some ways i do stand out such as the hay job i wear on my head the head covering i wear on my head i feel so embedded in the fabric thats our culture. Thats the beautiful thing here. It doesnt matter where you come from. Theres so many different people from so many different places of different backgrounds and religions but here were all one, one culture, and its beautiful to see people of you know different areas interacting and being familying being, you know one community. One of the victims here. My next guest knew yusor well. He was her husband was a second year student at dental school. Thank you so much for being here and im so sorry. Thank you for having me. I understand the funeral was last night. Can you take me inside that room . Yeah. So basically we all got together at one of our friends houses and rather than mourn the loss of diae deah instead of talking about his funeral, we wanted to share his life. It brings a smile tomy face and the things that were said. We tried to remember those things instead of whats happen happened a couple of days ago. I understand you two were inseparable in college and it was basketball that bonded you and you have a pair of pretty fancy basketball shoes deah had and he wanted your signature . Yeah. So it was kind of early. He walked into the library and he had a new pair of shoes, brandnew pair about 150. He said do you like them . And i said yeah they look really nice. And he said you sign them for me. My first reaction was no. I didnt want to mess up the shoe. It was a very nice shoe. I said youd probably want your favorite basketball player or local celebrity to sign your shoes so youll have them forever. He said youre my favorite basketball player and youre my local celebrity. At that time you know it was it was definitely something i didnt expect him to say, and that was kind of early into our friendship friendship like when we became really really good friends. Its something amazing ill never forget. I love that story. And i love that i talked to family members and friends who talked about the love he had for his wife and you were there being his dear friend. You were there from the getgo right . You watched this relationship blossom and he told you at first that he was talking to a girl right . Yeah. Anyone that knows deah knows he would never talk to girls on any type of level other than maybe a hi or a bye because thats the kind of guy he was. He wasnt super outgoing when it came to thinks like that. So he told me in the car after lunch one day he had mentioned that. He said, hey, im talking to a girl and i was i didnt believe it when he first said it. I said you were talking to a girl . He said i didnt talk to garrell. I was talking to the father of a girl. I thought, that was more like deah. He was giddy, telling us all kinds of things about yusor. Said you dont know her that well. Just by seeing her smile and all she had done he felt happy with her. And so what . Weeks later they dated, the big wedding full of love and laughter, i understand, that was in december. So it was pretty quick. Yeah. What was that sorry. It was pretty quick, this courtship. Yeah. I mean with our the way our religion is thats how it works usually. Dating isnt something that really happens with us. Yurkly we go directly to the father and from there things move on. Let me just pivot what leads to really the big question i know that even is asking. Why, why did this happen these three senseless murders. I know one of deahs neighbors spoke and said the suspect had a lot of encounters with a number of different people at this apartment complex. Take a listen to this. I have seen and heard him be very unfriendly to a lot of people in community. Basically he yelled at evening everybody. Yeah, he did. Equal opportunity anger. Equal opportunity anger. Did deah every mention this guy hicks to you . You knew there was an issue with the parking. Yeah there was an issue with the parking because mainly when usually we didnt know what extent it was when we came over. All we know is deah said make sure you dont take these spaces this is where you can park. We never had an issue with it. We knew where to park. If we had to move it we went ahead and move it. This wasnt a problem for us. This is your best friend. What does justice look like for you . On that i have to let the fbi and judicial system do what they need to do but i just think personally this is just my view of that to take three lives away over parking disputes is rather heinous and i dont agree with that. I dont understand the thought process he had, nor will i ever. I think i just want to leave it at that. Again, our condolences to you, the friends, the community the family. Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. Lets move on to president obama. Live pictures here. Silicon valley pail low ail toe. Watching and waiting for the president. You see the sign. Cyber community protection. Heres the thick. Not whos going but whos not going to be there. Some of the biggest players. Google yahoo facebook. Well tell you why. New developments today in the murder trial of former patriots player Aaron Hernandez. Stay right here. Asian debt that recognizes the shift in the global economy. You know, the kind that capitalizes on diversity across the credit spectrum and gets exposure to frontier and emerging markets. If you convert 4quarter p e of the s p 500 its yield is doing a lot better. If youve had to become your own investment expert, maybe its time for bny mellon a different kind of wealth manager. And black swans are unpredictable. I want to get to this key ruling today. Former new england nonpatriot player. The judge sided with prosecutors saying the prosecution absolutely can show this video of the nfl star whos taking apart his cell phone in the Police Parking lot a day after lloyd oden was killed. Heres part of what he told thethe prosecutor told the judge. The drivers door is open. He then sits down and dismantles the phone. He breaks it down into three pieces. The phone, the battery, and the cover taken apart. He then being a lawyer goes to the trunk, the trunks open and the backs open as well. Hes recovering something, but ultimately you see him hand a different phone to mr. Hernandez. Mr. Hernandez then takes that phone and begins to operate it you know texting and putting it up to his ear. His phone is broken down. Is it clear its a different phone . Absolutely your honor. This is my legal panel. Joey jackson and ester. We talk about the video of this dismantling of the phone. Why is it key . Its huge. Its beyond key. Think about this. I think the judge got it right on the legal issue because it comes down to a right of an expectation of privacy. Youre out in public. They didnt bulldoze their way into his home. The legal issue, shes got it right. Whats the effect of that. Im Aaron Hernandez, i did nothing wrong, i was merely present. The prosecution doesnt have to show he pulled the trigger or did the crime but that he actively participated. So his whole argument is look im merely present. Youre saying im there, thats not enough legally. But if i was only there and had nothing else to do what am i calling my codefendant for and what am i not only calling him for, but why am i destroying the phone . At the end of the day you have injuries that have common sense. It may be circumstantial but, boy, oh, boy, as you sit and listen to this the reality is what else are you going to think. Shes nodding it is huge. What about the attorney unsuccessfully arguing he has a right to privacy. Its was his car and his privilege. The judge said not so its a hail mary. You need to make some argument in the issue of an appeal. Youre in a Police Department parking lot. If you think you know where else would you be surveilled but for a Police Parking lot. So he had to make the argument, but its not an effective argument at all. Again, to joeys point, the prosecution will harp on this as consciousness of guilt. If you have someone who runs way after a crime, even if they were only merely present, it shows consciousness of guilt. Calling your codefendant all the things joey described fit right into that prosecution theory. Why else he would do it its not that you were guilty of the crime to which you were charged. Its worth reminding everyone in the state of massachusetts you dont have to have pulled the trigger but as long as you were taking part that then would qualify. What about, joey in testimony today. The whole thing has been theres no murder weapon right . So the state trooper identified there was a small handgun, found in the wooded area near an Industrial Park near the murder scene. Prosecutors are not saying that it was the gun, just that it looks like the gun they cannot find. If its not the weapon why was it brought up at all . Listen. First of all, im less concerned about that if im on a defense team because youre in a secluded area in an Industrial Park. There are lots of guns presume presumably that could be there. There are lots of tire tracks that could be there brooke. There are lots of shoeprints. Show me the dna and the connection that this gun actually is to my client otherwise dont show it to me at all. So apparently the judge felt it had some value and it was otherwise relevant, but that could be explai