Former Taliban Commanders Flee ISIS; 40,000 Verizon Workers Plan To Strike.
BERMAN: We have an important CNN exclusive right now. Two rugged former Taliban fighters -- they turned to ISIS, then defected. Now, they're speaking only to CNN. They describe the terror group's tactics as too brutal to handle and the ISIS promises to help ordinary Afghans empty. I want to bring in CNN's senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh, live for us from Kabul. Nick, you spoke to these men face-to- face. They have a fascinating story to tell.</s>NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: These mean are far from gentle -- former Taliban fighters, killers themselves. But when their Taliban group was under pressure and a lot of Taliban infighting has happened in the past year, people came across the border from Pakistan. Hardened radical militants under the ISIS flag, and basically said join us or face the consequences. That's what they say. Anyway, they took that choice and soon saw that ISIS were after their own warped ideology, after money, and in their eyes too brutal. They described the beheadings that they saw and also how those who were relatives of fighters who died weren't given up to that person's family to look after, but in fact, put them in an ISIS camp. That was enough for these two hardened men to decide that they'd chosen the wrong side. They defected, and now they're working with the Afghan government in a program called the popular uprising program, and that's a bid to get lots of local militants and militia together to kick ISIS out of those areas. It's working quite a lot in some territory, and it's also backed up by a lot of American firepower. ISIS are, to some degree, on the decline in the east of the country from where they were last year because of drone attacks hitting them again and again, and also some method on the ground by the Afghan military. But they're still there. They're popping up in other areas, too. And it is staggering, frankly, to see that there are men like these two we interviewed -- former Taliban, once attacked by American airpower, now hoping American airpower will hit their own villages because their homes have ISIS living in them and they want to see those ISIS fighters dead. That just shows you how chaotic and pragmatic the war in Afghanistan has been here and, frankly, ISIS has been a big distraction to Afghan and American security forces here that are willing to take root in the countries east. But there's a risk of that still happening and it's distracting their resources from the more important, longer-term fight against the Taliban, who announced today that what they call the fighting season has begun. That's the more violent warm summer months. All these violent months in the past, it could get worse -- John.</s>BERMAN: There's so many shifting allegiances there but, as you say, one of the most significant developments, the timing here. The fighting season, as the Taliban says, has now begun. Nick Paton Walsh for us in Kabul. Thanks so much. All right, joining us now for an EARLY START on your money, Alison Kosik -- Alison.</s>KOSIK: Good morning, and it's looking like sort of a rough start to the day, seeing a lot of red arrows around the world. The Asian stocks closed mostly lower. European markets are in the red. So are U.S. stock futures. And, actually, stocks kicked off the week on a bad note. The Dow lost 21 points. That's about .1 percent. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also closed lower yesterday. And you look at how the S&P 500 did yesterday closing lower, well it's back in negative territory for the year. Verizon workers are planning to strike. Almost 40,000 Verizon employees all the way from Massachusetts to Virginia. They're preparing to walk off the job tomorrow morning. They want a new contract that limits outsourcing, increases pay, and improves working conditions. But, Verizon says they need more flexibility to manage the business, especially as the number of people who use landlines decreases. So you like going to Starbucks and getting those rewards? Well, beginning today it's going to be a little harder for you to get that free drink. The coffee store's rewards will be based on how much customers spend, not how many times they buy things. So, instead of earning one star per visit, you're going to get two stars for every dollar you spend, so you'll have to spend about $63 dollars or 125 stars just to get your free reward. Under the old plan it took only about 12 stars. So this is good news for latte drinkers, though, who spend more money at Starbucks. They're going to be earning their rewards much more quickly than customers who buy those plain coffees. You know, it's all about the almighty dollar to get those rewards.</s>BERMAN: Venti Macchiatos -- they add up. You'll get there pretty quickly.</s>KOSIK: I hear you.</s>BERMAN: All right, Alison, thanks so much.</s>KOSIK: You got it.</s>BERMAN: Donald Trump -- he claims the rules are rigged. He doesn't like the delegate selection process and he's complaining about it, blasting the party hard. Now, the party chair blasting back. "NEW DAY" starts right now.</s>GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm not going to be anybody's vice president.</s>TRUMP: It's a rigged, disgusting, dirty system.</s>CRUZ: When people vote against him they're stealing the election. It's a really odd notion.</s>J. KASICH: They're too divisive, they're too negative. It's very hard to turn negatives around.</s>TRUMP: Did we do the pledge?</s>HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have noticed that under the bright spotlight, Sen. Sanders has had trouble answering questions.</s>SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Secretary Clinton and I have some very strong differences of opinion.</s>CLINTON: New York values are not just good for New York, they're good for America.</s>SANDERS: I will be damned if we're going to see the American dream die.</s>CASAREZ: Former Saints football player, Will Smith, gunned down.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some guy was pretty frantic. It looked like things were escalating.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a real tragedy.</s>ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota, and Michaela Pereira.</s>CUOMO: Good morning. Welcome to your new day. It is Tuesday, April 12th, now 6:00 in the east. The fix is in. Donald Trump insisting the Republican Party's delegate system is rigged. That's his word. Why? Because Colorado awarded all of its delegates to Cruz without a single vote being cast. Cruz firing back, accusing Trump of whining. But the biggest prediction yet, I will win it in three. That's Ohio Gov. John Kasich saying at the CNN Town Hall last night that this race isn't going to be decided until the convention and he will win it in the third round vote.</s>ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: As for the Democrats, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders sharpening their attacks against each other just two days ahead of the critical CNN debate in Brooklyn. We've got this 2016 race covered the way only CNN can. Let's begin with Phil Mattingly. Hi, Phil.</s>PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Alisyn. Well, they are the rules. You might not like the rules, you might attack the rules, but most of the state Republican parties set them last year. Some of these rules have been guiding the national Republican Party for decades.