Video. Look at this. The incredible moments three people were pulled from icy waters. How did they end up trapped in the first place . Good morning. Welcome to early start. Im christine romans. John berman, he has the morning off. It is wednesday, february 18th. It is 5 00 a. M. In the east. Breaking overnight, isis fighters launching a major attack in iraq near the kurdish city of erbil. Kurdish Officials Say peshmerga troops have succeeded in pushing isis forces back far enough to let airstrikes begin. I want to bring in cnns tim lister joining us from erbil for the very latest. And tim, these forces isis and peshmerga, were so close, so close in combat that the airstrikes couldnt get in there safely. Now peshmerga have pushed them back far enough for airstrikes to begin . Reporter thats true. The airstrikes commenced in the early hours of the morning. And they were instrumental in making sure that isis could not take the kurdish positions. Up until that point, there was almost handtohand combat very close quarters and the air power just could not be used because of the risk of hitting peshmerga positions as well. So thats really been a very important part of the military equation in this area. If the kurds did not have that air power to help them out, they could be overrun along this very very wide stretch that they defend about 1,000 kilometers of the front lines here in Northern Iraq christine. Tell us a little bit about why erbil is so important for these isis fighters and why they have been so persistent the last couple of weeks in trying to break through those kurdish lines. Reporter theyre persistent everywhere. Theyre not just persistent in attacking that particular sector. They launched a major assault on kirkuk at the very end of january under cover of fog and darkness which is what they like. And that took three days to repel. Again, with the help of a lot of airstrikes. What theyre trying to do is keep the Kurdish Forces here off balance. Theyre trying to hit them at different points along this long line all because they want to protect mosul, their crown jewel in Northern Iraq. The place which is really the spiritual home of isis. If they lose mosul, then the game is up in this part of iraq. But theyre making a very determined effort to make sure that they can hold on to mosul for months to come, and theres no sign yet of the iraqi army stepping up and being able to launch that assault on iraqs second largest city. What about the peshmerga fighting force . How well are they armed . How well are they able to hold their positions . Reporter theyre very poorly armed, to be honest. Weve been to six or seven different frontline positions over the last week or so. And they are equipped with very ancient rifles very few automatic weapons. Certainly an absence of armor which is making them very vulnerable to ieds. Theyve lost 70 of their casualties which are now exceed 1,000 are down to ieds. Theyre pleading for more weapons, heavy weapons, defensive armor to allow them to hold this line. Theyre running out of ammunition in several places. Weve seen that. And theyre very vulnerable to these humvees that isis has converted into massive suicide bombers. We saw one that had 8 1 2 tons of tnt on it which was luckily defused, christine. Tim lister for us in erbil, thank you so much for that tim. Well talk to you again soon. This morning the u. S. Working its way down a list of top isis operatives it wants to kill. Cnn has learned there is a secret list of isis leaders in syria and iraq a secret list of leaders targeted for killing. At the very top of that list isis leader abubakar al baghdadi. And now we now have another picture of al baghdadi taken back in 2004 while he was still in american hands. Cbs news obtained this photo taken while al baghdadi was being processed into a u. S. Military prison in iraq. Cnns Barbara Starr is at the pentagon with more. Reporter christine, the u. S. Is maintaining a secret target list a kill list of the top isis operatives it would like to get. Cnn has learned this list of about two dozen officers is growing because the u. S. Is struggling to figure out what the best intelligence is, who is out there, who do they really want to put on the list . Who can they get to where, if they can take them off the battlefield by killing them, it would make a significant difference in isiss capability. Look, they still want to get people like jihadi john, that british accented speaker who has appeared in multiple execution videos. But killing him, does that really change isiss capability on the ground . Nobody is sure. So a lot more intelligence is needed. The estimate now is that they have taken about a dozen, killed about a dozen top operatives, but isis is replacing people in the battlefield in the command structure almost as fast as the u. S. Is killing them. So still a very long way to go to get the crucial intelligence about who the really critical players are and even more tough to get the critical intelligence about where they are located. Months later, the u. S. Still looking for number one on that list, a man named al baghdadi, the leader of isis, and right now they do not even know where he is. Christine . Barbara starr at the pentagon, thank you. Now, the pentagon is considering a plan this morning that would give moderate Syrian Rebels the ability to call in american airstrikes. A defense official tells cnn the u. S. Would not conduct the airstrikes without additional confirming intelligence. A more definite part of the plan is to give some teams of moderate Syrian Rebels u. S. Military gear including pickup trucks, machine guns, mortars and communications equipment. With terror attacks and the battle against isis topping the headlines, president obama set to address a white house summit on combatting violent extremism later today. Now, the white house has carefully avoided labeling it a summit on islamic extremism. Thats drawing criticism from some who say violence by islamic radicals should be dealt with head on. No reason to be pc about it. Senior White House Correspondent jim acosta has the latest. Reporter christine, the white house opened up its countering violent extremism sum mihm just as isis appears to be growing stronger whether its in libya where those egyptian christians were beheaded or in denmark where a radical inspired by the group went on a violent rampage, but Administration Officials caution the summit is not about the military campaign to defeat isis. Its also about finding ways to address the root causes of violent extremism in communities and then sharing those ideas around the world. Heres how the president put it in the oval office with his new defense secretary, ash carter. Everything from making sure that we are dismantling isil and not only stabilizing the situation in iraq but addressing the foreign fighter issue and countering the narrative of violent extremism that has been turbocharged through the internet. Reporter the Obama Administration is hoping to combat that potent terrorist message from isis by beefing up its own social media presence. The state department is adding staffers to a littleknown agency called the center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications which will be on twitter and facebook with its own propaganda aimed at young muslims with the slogan think again, turn away. But the Obama Administration is finding its own message under fire. A gop and even a few democratic critics asked why the summit does not use the term islamic extremism or terrorism. And later on in the day, president obama will be addressing this summit. It will be one of two speaking appearances for the president at this summit this week. Christine . All right, thanks for that, jim. Were learning more this morning about the accused gunman in the deadly terror attacks in denmark. His actions on the day of the shooting his state of mind and the advanced warnings that he was at risk for radicalization. Senior International CorrespondentNic Robertson has been following the story for us in copenhagen. Nic, this summit in washington is meant to discuss how he became that way and how you stop him. What are we learning . Reporter and again, how the Intelligence Services can do a better job, how they can analyze the problem and see these problems coming. And the Intelligence Services knew that this young man was being radicalized in jail problem number one, radicalization in jail how do you combat that . And then the assessment when he came out of jail. Intelligence services here didnt think that he was likely to attack. The same assessment made in france of the radicals there. The assessment was, Intelligence Services there didnt need to continue to monitor them because they didnt expect them to attack. So in the case here what were learning is that this gunman could have killed far, far more people. We know that within two weeks of getting out of jail question number three for the Intelligence Services who put him up to and gave him the idea of attacking this particular venue because it had been publicized a free am do of speech venue. But he tries to go in through the back door at the cafe where it was taking place, tries to go in through the side door couldnt get in ends up trying to shoot his way in through the front door choiced off by the guards after only killing one person. If he had gotten inside he would have killed a lot more people. Then he dumps that weapon and gets two pistols, problem number four for the Intelligence Services. This is a man with access to multiple weapons. And then he acts drunk when he goes to attack the synagogue. So he can get close to the policeman and the guard outside there, firing nine shots from both of those guns. Indications firing from both weapons at the same time. Left hand, right hand. So for the Intelligence Services determining who is a real and imminent threat is going to be one of the lessons to learn out of all of the issues facing european and u. S. Services at the moment. Christine . All right. Thanks so much for that Nic Robertson. Ten minutes after the hour. New evidence this morning that the massacre at the french magazine Charlie Hebdo and the deadly attack on a french kosher supermarket, those two attacks were coordinated. The french newspaper le monde reporting that less than an hour before the Charlie Hebdo attack one of the gunmen cherif kouachi, he sent a text message to the man who later attacked the supermarket, coulibaly. Le monde also says the Charlie Hebdo attack was nearly called off the day before because one of the gunmen was sick with stomach flu. President obama will comply with a federal judges ruling temporarily blocking his executive orders on immigration. But he says the administration plans to appeal and the administration expects to prevail in the courts. The president s policies could spare as many as 5 Million People now in the u. S. Illegally for being deported. Now they are back in legal limbo. The courtroom wrangling gives a coalition of 26 states opposed to the president S Immigration action it gives them time to pursue their lawsuit aimed at putting a permanent stop to the obama plan. The number of people signing up for obamacare exceeding expectations. In its second year 11. 4 Million People enrolled in the president s Signature Health care program. It beat the targets set by the department of health and human services. The white house did not disclose how many of the enrollees are renewing coverage from last year and how many of them are new to the marketplaces. The Measles Outbreak is spreading. The centers for Disease Control now says it has confirmed 141 cases of the vicerus since january 1st. Its spread to 17 states and washington d. C. Officials say they are also seeing a greater uptick than usual in adult cases of measles during this outbreak. Time for an early start on your money. U. S. Stocks are higher could be another record day if that holds. Yesterday the s p 500 closed above 2,100 for the first time in history. Second record in a row. Its up 2 for the year. The white house trying to resolve a port labor dispute on the west coast that is turning harbors into parking lots with goods like california oranges rotting in the sun. Labor secretary tom perez met with both sides yesterday. He said talks were productive. He said more meetings are scheduled for today. Some economists are saying with the bad weather in the east and a port strike report dispute, rather out in the west a Strong Economy could see its growth crimped a bit. 13 minutes past the hour. The truce in ukraine deteriorating by the minute. Ukrainian troops moving out of an area thats seen heavy fighting. What does this mean for the ceasefire . Ive been called a control freak. I like to think of myself as more of a control. Enthusiast. Mmm, a perfect 177degrees. And thats why this road warrior rents from national. 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[ female announcer ] aveeno® daily moisturizing lotion has active naturals® oat with five vital nutrients. [ aniston ] because Beautiful Skin goes with everything. Aveeno®. Naturally beautiful results™. Why do i cook . Because i make the best chicken noodle soup. Because i make the best chicken noodle soup. Because i make the best chicken noodle soup. For every way you make chicken noodle soup, make it delicious with swanson®. This morning the truce between ukraine and prorussian separatists signed just last week is falling apart. Heavy fighting breaking out in the city of debaltseve a crucial rail hub. Now theres word that at least some ukrainian troops are at this very moment pulling out of that city. Following events from moscow cnns erin mclaughlin. A fragile truce from the beginning, and it looks like its falling apart. Reporter thats right, christine. And as you mentioned, we are getting some Fresh Information about a potential withdrawal of ukrainian troops from the besieged city of debaltseve. That according to a posting on the Facebook Page of a Ukrainian Military commander. Now, its unclear from that posting if it will be a full withdrawal of troops or a partial withdrawal of troops. Were also hearing from russian state media that separatist leaders are considering whether or not to create a corridor for those troops to evacuate. Though they will have to withdraw according to this Russian Media report without their weapons. Now, debaltseve is a key city a key transport hub, the site of intense fighting before and after the ceasefire. Separatists had claimed to have some 80 control of the city as of yesterday. And we heard from russian president Vladimir Putin in a press conference in budapest hungary, yesterday, calling on kiev to allow the Ukrainian Military to surrender to the separatists. And now, you know this word of a potential troop withdrawal from that city. Christine . Erin mclaughlin for us on this complicated and deteriorating situation in debaltseve thank you so much for that. In new jersey, a Daring Rescue effort on the ice. Three people had to be pulled from icy waters in middletown, new jersey. Police say a mother and two teenagers ventured out on a docklike structure on sandy hook bay. And they were somehow trapped. One of the teens fell into the water. All three were brought back safely to shore. Regrets, Alex Rodriguez has a few. Now arod is apologizing for his seasonlong ped suspension in a handwritten letter to his fans. Andy scholes has the details in the bleacher report. Thats next. Ure a mouth breather. A mouth breather well, put on a breathe right strip and shut your mouth. Cold medicines open your nose over time, but add a breathe right strip and pow, it opens your nose up to 38 more. So you can breathe and do the one thing you want to do sleep. 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At discover, we treat you like youd treat you. Fraud protection. Get it at discover. Com does sitting behind a new desk make you feel like a powerful titan of industry . Then you might be gearcentric. Visit our president s day sale and save 40 on select furniture. Office depot officemax. Gear up for great. Alex rodriguez wants you to know hes sorry. The yankees star suspended for the 2014 season because of using performance enhancing drugs apologizing to his fans in an open handwritten letter. Andy scholes has more in this mornings beacher report. Hes sorry. He never admits he used performance enhancing drugs in this handwritten letter but he did apologize for pretty much Everything Else he did over the last two years. Arod says i take full responsibility for the mistakes that led to my suspension for the 2014 season. I regret that my actions made the situation worse than it needed to be. I accept the fact that many of you will not believe my apology or anything that i can say at this point. I understand why. And thats on me. Arod went on to say im ready to put this chapter behind me and play some ball. Now, arod will have to face the media when the yankees position players report to tampa for spring training next week. The man who allegedly supplied arod with steroids tony bosh was sentenced yesterday to four years in federal prison. In october, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute testosterone. They said he supplied it to players such as arod. And the most troubling part of his clinic was that bosch also injected High School Players in the miami area with steroids. The kentucky wildcats looking to remain undefeated last night, taking on tennessee. First half devin booker fouled hard and he goes flying right into a volunteers cheerleader. That looked like it hurt. Booker who said he felt so bad about this in a tweet, he apologized and the cheerleader tweeted right back saying she was, in fact, okay. Kentucky would go on to win this game, 6648. To improve to a perfect 260 this season. Potentially more troubling reports surfacing rounding footballs and the new england patriots. According to an espn outside the lines report a locker Room Attendant for the patriots tried to introduce an unapproved special teams football during the famous deflategate game. Now, in the report it says an alternate official became suspicious when a locker Room Attendant, 48yearold jim mcnally handed him a ball that had not been marked for the kicking game. The official also said he found it odd that the locker Room Attendant was on the field during the game. Nfl special investigator ted wells has reportedly interviewed mcnally. And christine, this is potentially very bad for the patriots because you cant explain this one away with the weather, saying the weather caused him to try to introduce this football. I mean, this would be blatant cheating if this is in fact, true. This is not looking good for the patriots the way this investigation is going now. There is more to that story. Thanks so much andy scholes. Back to our top story, isis repelled after launching fierce assaults near a major iraqi city. Can the Kurdish Forces keep isis at bay . Ive smoked a lot and quit a lot but ended up nowhere. Now. I use this. The nicoderm cq patch with unique extended release Technology Helps prevent the urge to smoke all day. I want this time to be my last time. Thats why i choose nicoderm cq. 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And Vice President joe biden raising eyebrows for two gaffes in the same day from an awkward moment with the new defense secretarys wife to controversial comments about somalis. Welcome back to early start. Im christine romans. John berman has this wednesday morning off. Its 30 minutes past the hour. Lets begin with isis fighters launching a major attack in iraq near the kurdish city of erbil. Now, kurdish Officials Say peshmerga troops have succeeded in pushing isis forces back far enough to let airstrikes begin. I want to bring in cnns tim lister joining us from erbil with the very latest. Tims been listening to all of the traffic between the two sides in this story, the radio traffic and also watching as theyve been allowed to have some space to have some airstrikes begin. Tell us whats happening now, tim. Reporter the fighting for now, christine, is over because its daylight. Isis doesnt like to fight in the daylight. It prefers the cover of night. Its also very vulnerable to airstrikes in the daylight. This fighting went on for about five hours. A very substantial engagement. Isis launched attacks from three particular points on very thinly dispersed kurdish lines southwest of erbil, some 25 to 30 miles from where i am right now. Now, they could have penetrated those lines, but i dont think they could have reached erbil. Its a very large city and its very well defended. However, what they want to do is try to distract Kurdish Forces along a whole series of points on this long front line its about 1,000 kilometers long. Thats to distract attention from mosul which they very much want to protect and keep. You say holding on to their defensive positions, but this isis attack tell us about how well coordinated it was and what kind of a fighting force the peshmerga are up against. Reporter theyre up against a very good fighting force, quite a disciplined fighting force. Despite all these months of airstrikes isis retains command and control. Its capable of complex attacks on several different fronts at the same time. Weve listened into their Radio Communications and theyre frequent and sometimes theyre even encrypted, their Radio Communications. So its very difficult for the kurds to work out what theyre going to do. But theyre well armed. They have heavy weaponry. Theyve been using a lot of humvees which they captured from the iraqi army as huge suicide am bos. There was one that we saw in one position 8 1 2 tons of tnt packed into this humvee that was driven at kurdish positions. And thankfully disabled before it made it. But thats where the kurds are suffering so many casualties. Theres no doubt that isis is in this area and in other parts of iraq still a resilient organization. It may be on the back foot in certain places but it shows no signs of going away. Those humvees captured by isis theyre using against the less wellequipped kurds, those are humvees the u. S. Supplied for the iraqi army arent they . Reporter thats exactly right. And theyve got quite a lot of them. And thief alsoeyve also captured quite a lot of other useful equipment like mortars, artillery, heavy machine guns. The kurds in some places weve been to over the last ten days or so dont have any of that. Theyve just got automatic weapons, rifles some sniper guns. The odd antitank missile but only rarely. So theyre pretty much outgunned. And the generals here down to the vol tuners have said we can just do this for so long and at this point were going to run out of the equipment we need to deter isis from getting through our lines. Tim lister that is a bitter ugly irony in the whole matter. Thank you so much for that, tim lister in erbil. This morning the u. S. Is workingity says way down a list of top isis operatives it wants to kill. Cnn has learned theres a secret list of isis leaders in syria and iraq targeted for killing. And at the top of the list isis leader al baghdadi. We now have a picture, another picture of him of al baghdadi taken back in 2004 while he was still in american hands. Cbs news obtained this i. D. Photo from 2004 taken while al baghdadi was being processed into the u. S. Military prison at camp buca in iraq. With terror attacks and isis topping the headlines, president obama is set to address a white house summit on combatting violent extremism later today. The white house has carefully avoided labeling it a summit on islamic extremism, and that is drawing criticism from some who say violence by islamic radicals should be dealt with head on for exactly what it is. Senior White House Correspondent jim acosta has the latest. Reporter christine, the white house opened up its countering violent extremeism summit where its in libya where christian egyptians were beheaded or in copenhagen but Administration Officials caution its not about the military campaign to defeat isis. Its also about finding ways to address the root causes of violent extremism in communities and then sharing those ideas around the world. Heres how the president put it in the oval office with his new defense secretary, ash carter. Everything from making sure that we are dismantling isil and not only stabilizing the situation in iraq but addressing the foreign fighter issue and countering the narrative of violent extremism that has been turbocharged through the internet. Reporter the obama reporter the preparation and the kind of planning that he put into effect to try to get close to the synagogue to attack the people there. Police say he dumped hes obvious larger automatic weapon. He went there with his two pistols acted drunk to policemen there, firing nine shots total from both pistols before he fled that scene. So the picture thats emerging is somebody radicalized in jail and apparently we are very short space of time against expensive weaponry and chooses a very highprofile and significant target in a very very short space of time. So very worrying for the police further accomplices, how did he achieve all of that christine . Nic robertson for us in denmark this morning, thank you, nic. Breaking a fragile ceasefire in ukraine is collapsing. As ukrainian troops withdraw from the city of debaltseve. The withdrawal comes one day after heavy fighting between Government Troops and prorussian spraltists flared in this crucial rail hub. It is a ceasefire. It is unclear whether this is a partial or complete withdrawal of ukrainian troops. President obama will comply with a federal judges ruling temporarily blocking his executive orders on immigration. But he says the administration plans to appeal. It expects to prevail in the courts. The prosecutess policies could spare as many as 5 Million People now in the u. S. Illegally from being deported. Many were hoping to start filing papers as early as today. They are not. They are illegal in both still. The courtroom wrangling gives a coalition of 26 states opposed to the immigration action time to pursue a lawsuit aimed at putting a permanent stop to the president s plan. The number of people signing up for obamacare exceeding expectations in its second year 11. 4 Million People enrolled in the president s Signature Health care program beating the target set by the department of health and human services. Now, the white house did not disclose how many of the employees are renewing coverage from last year and how many are new to the insurance marketplaces. Vice president joe biden, two gaffes in one day. First this picture right here. You can see the Vice President awkwardly placing his hands on the shoulders of stephanie carter. She is the new defense secretarys wife. He then whispers into her ear. I wonder what she was thinking. The second odd comments about somalis. He said he had great relations with them because lots of them are cab drivers in his hometown. But some Cab Companies in wilmington, delaware say there are not many somali cab drivers there. Lets get an early start on your money this morning. U. S. Stock futures are higher. Could be another record day if that holds. Yesterday the s p 500 closed above 2,100 for the first time. Second record high in a row. Stocks boosted by progress in greeces bailout discussions. The white house trying to resolve a port dispute, a labor dispute, in the west coast ports. The issue, a dispute between shipping companies and union dock workers. Its turning harbors into parking lots with goods like california oranges rotting in the sun. 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Office depot officemax. Gear up for great. Welcome back. The prosecution rests in the socalled american sniper trial in texas. And attorneys for accused killer Eddie Ray Routh wasting no time in launching their insanity defense calling the defendants mother as their first witness. Before the state ended its case they again tried to use rouths own words against him. Cnns ed lavandera following that trial for us. Reporter christine, another dramatic day of testimony in the american sniper trial. The prosecution has rested, but before that, they played a video of Eddie Ray Routh inside of a police car. The video was captured just moments after routh was taken into custody by police. And in that video, you can hear routh talking about how he feels paranoid and schizophrenic. That was one of the last pieces of evidence that the prosecution put on. Now its the Defense Attorneys turn. And one of their first witnesses was Eddie Ray Rouths mother who talked about just days before the murders of chris kyle and chad littlefield, her son had been admitted into the v. A. Hospital for psychological issues and then released. And she talked about how she begged the v. A. Hospital officials to keep her son inside the hospital because she was worried about his condition and what he might do. She also talked about the different cocktail of psychological medications that Eddie Ray Routh had been on. At one point nine different prescriptions. So we will continue to hear more of the psychological testimony and all of the different people that treated Eddie Ray Routh in the months leading up to the murders of chris kyle and chad littlefield. Expect much more of that the rest of this week here in stephenville, texas. Christine . Ed lavandera for us in texas. Chris cuomo joins us now. How you doing, christine . Were chasing down some reports this morning, one is about the new weaponry that supposedly the coalition is going to be offering to syrian rebel fighters. Theyre hightech equipment. Im trying to find the right way to say it because we dont know exactly what theyre giving them yet. If theyre giving them anything sophisticated the question becomes can you trust these rebel troops . Whats going to happen a month from now. Thats been the concern from the beginning. Now this new infusion of assets raises questions. Also theres some really ugly rumors about what isis is doing now to make money thats coming out of the Iraqi Government that involves organ harvesting. Were chasing that as well. Theres a big article in the atlantic that says the terror groups real goal is end of days. That thats what this is really about for them. Its not just about operating land. What does that really mean . So were going to unpack all of that stuff. Were also going to take you through the american sniper trial because the prosecution has now ended. I know you know that. Youre watching this morning. And of course early starts handling it very ably. Were going to assess how good a job that they did. What are the openings for defense christine. And well try and figure that out. Also a 100 finalists have been chosen to make a oneway trip to mars including john berman. True or false . False. Wrong. He is like an alien from another planet i will admit, but no hes not one of the finalists. Hes not a martian. No hes not. But ill tell you on that american sniper trial, it is one of one of those bignews stories where Mental Illness is a subtext or right out there for everyone to talk about and discuss. You and i talk about that a lot. We see it usually youre talking about my Mental Health but, you know were talking about the issue as well. And in this one, heres the one trick on this one. Pts, very real, okay . You dont want to see it get ignored as it often does. But it usually and youll hear it from clinicians were going to have them on the show and youll hear more about this christine it doesnt make people violent. It often makes them withdrawn. So to kind of throw it in there like he has pts, thats why he killed these people that is being seen as being disparaging as well. We want to care but care the right way. Absolutely. Chris, thanks. Well be watching. Thanks, chris. It has been nearly one year since Malaysian Airlines flight 370 disappeared, almost a year now. Were going to go live to perth for a look at what searchers are doing now. What does it mean to have an unlimited Mileage Warranty on a certified preowned mercedesbenz . What does it mean to drive as far as you want. For up to three years. And be covered . It means your odometer. Is there to record. The memories. During the mercedesbenz certified preowned sales event now through march 2nd, youll get complimentary prepaid maintenance and receive your first two months payments on us. Only at your authorized mercedesbenz dealer. When heartburn comes creeping up on you. Fight back with relief so smooth. Its fast. Tums smoothies starts dissolving the instant it touches your tongue. And neutralizes stomach acid at the source. Tum, tum tum tum. Smoothies only from tums. It has been nearly one year since Malaysian Airlines mh370 disappeared, and recovery ships still scouring the southern indian ocean looking for the wreckage. The search vessels have been returning to freemantel port in perth australia, for resupply. Cnns anna koren went out on one to get a look at the search. She joins us now from perth. Good morning, anna. Reporter hey, christine. Hard to believe that its almost a year since mh370 disappeared, but there are four ships scouring the area in the southern indian ocean. Its about 1,000 nautical miles from where we are here in perth. Now, we have to remember the initial search area was half the size of the united states. It is now being narrowed down to 60,000 kilometers still an enormous area and they are going over it with a finetooth comb literally scouring every inch of the ocean floor. Now, the challenges that they are facing out at sea, underwater, the topography is a logistical nightmare. There are underwater mountains, volcanos and cliffs. And then on the surface, theyre having to deal with the weather. Theyve already endured three cyclones as well as waves of up to 16 meters high. So it really is quite challenging. But christine, the concern is that once they cover this priority area which should be done by may, if nothing is found the families are really terrified that this operation will then be wrapped up. Anna coren, hard to believe its been almost one year and still no trace. 54 minutes after the hour. An early start on your money next. 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Hahaha chunky chicken noodle now tastes even better now with the xfinity tv go app, you can watch live tv anytime. Its never been easier with so Many Networks all in one place. Get live tv whenever you want. The xfinity tv go app. Now with live tv on the go. Enjoy over wifi or on Verizon Wireless 4g lte. Plus enjoy special savings when you purchase any new Verizon Wireless smartphone or tablet from comcast. Visit comcast. Com wireless to learn more. Time for an early start on your money this morning. Good day for stocks so far. European stocks are higher. Theres progress since greek bailout discussions. U. S. Stock futures barely moving right now. Stocks are at records, though. Yesterday the s p 500 closed above 2,100 for the first time the second record in a row. The s p 500 up 2 so far this year. A lot to cover this morning. Isis being pushed back after a major assault as the isis fighters launching a major attack in Northern Iraq. Peshmerga troops have succeeded in pushing isis forces back. Isis is under pressure. Its still a very resilient organization. Were not going to win this war unless we identify the enemy. I disagree with the texas judges ruling. ThiS Immigration matter is about president ial power. The president says hes not conceding defeat on this issue. He filmed himself walking in paris. Kind of like felt like a walking target. This is a new europe. A clash of civilizations. This is new day, with chris cuomo, Alisyn Camerota and michaela pereira. Welcome to your new day, it is wednesday, february 18th just about 6 00 in the east. Breaking news out of iraq this morning, isis fighters got so close do a major city in Northern Iraq kurdish commanders say they couldnt launch air strikes. The good news is Kurdish Forces repelled the new wave of attacks. The threat very clear. The assault from isis targeting kurdish villages several kurds reportedly killed as well as many isis fighters. Lets get to cnns ian lee live in cairo. Alisyn last night we saw a largescale offensive by isis militants along this line of peshmerga fighters that is on the zaph river. There were simultaneous attacks on several villages along that line there with a such close quarters that air strikes could not target these isis militants without endangering the peshmerga fighters as well. The battle lasted two hours and the two sides started to separate and thats when we saw air strikes resume again. This is a long front, roughly 600 miles, the peshmerga are spread thin along this line. Its also very close to the Northern Iraqi city of erbil. If the isis militants wou