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NEWS STREAM
U.S. Says Helicopter Rescue of Refugees In Iraqi Unlikely; Controversial Wired Cover Edward Snowden's First PR Blunder?; UN Declares Iraqi Displacement Highest Level Of Humanitarian Disaster; Feast Or Famine: Rain, Drought IN China; Tear Gas, Rubber Bullets Fired At Protesters In Missouri
Aired August 14, 2014 - 8:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
AMARA WALKER, HOST: I'm Amara Walker at CNN Center. Welcome to News Stream where news and technology meet.
The UN declared its highest level of humanitarian emergency for displaced Iraqis, but the U.S. will likely not evacuate those stuck on
Mount Sinjar.
Police fire tear gas and rubber bullets in the U.S. as protests continue over the shooting of an unarmed teenager by police.
And will this magazine cover turn public opinion against Edward Snowden? We'll hear why some think this was his first PR blunder.
The UN says more than 400,000 people have been driven from their homes since ISIS militants swept into Iraq in June. The extent of the crisis has
prompted the United Nations to issue its highest level humanitarian alert.
As for those still stranded on Mount Sinjar, the U.S. says its assessments suggest the situation has improved. A U.S. official says the
number left is in the low thousands as many have escaped and the conditions are better than expected.
Let's go now to our senior international correspondent Ivan Watson who is just over the border from Iraq in Syria.
So, Ivan, tell us more about this escape route that a lot of refugees are being forced to take.
IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Iraqi-Kurdish Yazidi exodus is one that is crossing borders. I'm here in Syria at the
Narouz (ph) refugee camp, which has sprung up in the last 10 days. There are some 5,000 families, I'm told, that are staying here. Tents have been
erected. There's distribution, as you may be able to see over my shoulder, of food. There are medical tents as well. And people are getting access
to fresh water.
But it just shows the magnitude of people displaced with hundreds of thousands of people on the run, on the Iraqi side of the border tens of
thousands of additional people on the run here in Syria.
Everybody you talk to has a harrowing story to tell of how they had to flee at a moments notice from their homes as the ISIS militants advanced
into their communities. I spoke with one woman who said that he son, her 30-year-old son, has gone missing in the panicked flight from their
hometown. They called his phone several days later and they say an ISIS militant answered the phone and said whoever we capture, we kill. And then
of course that woman began crying when thinking about the possible fate of her missing son.
So everybody you talk to, under every tent in this refugee camp, there is a similar harrowing story of people who lost loved ones either in the
initial panic, running away from the ISIS militants, or who may have lost loved ones on the forced march through the desert from Mount Sinjar here to
Syria where the temperatures are positively baking. It's excruciating out here right now -- Amara.
WALKER: You know, Ivan, the number of people who are fleeing it obviously is overwhelming. The United Nations has declared its highest
level of humanitarian emergency. Are the -- what does that mean? And are the people there where you are, are they getting enough food and water as
they need?
WATSON: At this camp, of all of the places I've been since this crisis began, since I saw the beginnings of it a week ago, this is probably
in some ways the best equipped, because there are aid organizations here, there are community groups coming together, and the Kurdish faction that
rules this part of Syria, which is known internationally as the Kurdistan Worker's Party, or PKK, is also playing a direct hand in trying to help the
people here.
There are far more refugees that have fled into Iraqi Kurdistan and there the beginnings of an effort to try to help those people is underway,
but there is still far, far more that needs to be done. People are just camping on the side of roads. They haven't, yet, as far as I've seen, been
given tents or access to water or daily supplies of food yet. So this is very much a work in progress.
And it's important to note, Amara, what we've seen here thus far with aid organizations providing some of these basic amenities. It's just a
Band-Aid for these people, it is just emergency supplies for the immediate needs. How -- who is going to take care of these people? How are they
going to earn money? Or how are they going to find jobs? How are they going to find permanent housing in the weeks and months to come if ISIS and
the fighting continues to rage in the places where they lived just 10 days ago -- Amara.
WALKER: Yeah, the long-term solution clearly unknown at this point.
Ivan, let me ask you this, because you were on Mount Sinjar as the aid drops were happening and you brought those remarkable really heartbreaking
pictures to us. You know, the U.S. says its assessment suggests the situations there has improved.
What do you make of that?
WATSON: Perhaps there are fewer people on that mountain not necessarily because of helicopter flights like the one that we were aboard,
but more because of the land corridor that Kurdish fighters helped carve out from the mountain to Syria. But that is a perilous and arduous journey
because the people I've talked to say that it took 10, 15 hours of walking under sun like this with temperatures approaching 50 degrees Celsius. And
we've heard numerous anecdotal accounts of people succumbing to dehydration, to exhaustion on that marathon trek through the desert, people
who had to leave their children or their elderly loved ones behind.
So perhaps there are fewer people on the mountain, but also given the accounts that we've heard there are people who died walking off that
mountain -- Amara.
WALKER: Yeah, absolutely, some harrowing and horrific stories. Ivan Watson, really appreciate your reporting there from Syria. Thank you.
And as you heard from Ivan, many of those who are finding a way off the mountain face the harrowing journey to safety and hardship when they
arrive at the refugee camp.
With more on that, Anna Coren joins us now from northern Iraq. And Anna as we heard from Ivan, you know, he says it looks like there's plenty
of food and water to go around for now, but this is simply a Band-Aid, a temporary solution. What happens from here on out?
ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, and he's absolutely right. It is a Band-Aid, because the people who have arrived
here, they're saying what do I do with a tent? This is not my future, this is not my livelihood, this is not my home. I cannot stay here. We are in
a dust bowl. Are my children supposed to live here? We can't go back to our homes because ISIS is there and they don't believe that the pesh merga
can fight hem off.
So as far as these people are concerned, Amara, they are stuck here and do not have a future within Iraq.
We are at the refugee camp not far from that border crossing where we saw all those thousands of people come into Kurdistan. Well, many of them
have come here. And this camp is hastily being erected. There are already 15,000 people who have come over the past 10 days. Well, the tents behind
me, they are being erected as we speak. And hopefully 1,500 will be set up in the next few days.
The bulldozers, the graders have been leveling the land to make way and then it's the UN working with other agencies and then a whole bunch of
local officials, local people who have just come to donate their time to try and get this into some semblance of a refugee camp.
We are seeing water dispersed. We are seeing food dispersed. In fact, a short time ago it was a local man who came up in his pickup truck
and handed out food, handed out rice, handed out bread. It really was a heartening scene, because it's nice to know that there are people within
the community who want to help these refugees.
Local officials say some 70,000 have come across in the last four days. And they do believe that thousands more are on the way, and it's
hoped, Amara, that obviously the tents behind me will be a record in time, because I can tell you what's in front of me there are plenty of makeshift
shelters, people erecting plastic, cardboard and you know blankets to try and get out of the blazing heat.
Ivan talks about the excruciating temperatures. They are through the roof. And the people, you know, they are families, many of them have
children. There are so many children at the moment. They are living in these awful conditions.
WALKER: You know, Anna, the U.S. had military advisers on the ground trying to assess the situation on Mount Sinjar and then U.S. officials came
to this determination that it would be unlikely that an American evacuation mission would take place.
So what happens next to these people still trapped on Mount Sinjar?
COREN: Well, they're going to have to get them off the mountain. I mean, there's no two ways about it. And from what we can understand there
was a message from the Pentagon in the last few hours saying that that air drop overnight, that seventh air drop may be the last, which perhaps could
indicate that they will be getting helicopters to Mount Sinjar operated by the pesh merga, the Kurdish forces, the Iraqis to evacuate the rest of
those people. We're talking about the elderly, the old, the sick. These are people trapped on the other side of the mountain.
But as to what happens afterwards, well they are then dispersed to these UNHCR camps that have been set up throughout Kurdistan. There are
eight in total. And as I said, some are still being expanded, if you like, to try and accommodate for the masses that are arriving.
I spoke to a UNHCR spokesman, a spokesperson a little bit earlier and he said we just were not prepared for this. We were not ready. And it
really has caught the UN and the international community off-guard, which is why they have issued this highest level emergency and are describing as
a catastrophe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EDWARD COLT, UNHCR IRAQ SPOKESMAN: This is a catastrophe, there's no question. People are continuing to come into the northern Kurdistan region
of Iraq. They're moving around once they get here. It's very hard to track them. To be blunt, we don't have -- we don't have housing for all of
them at this point. We don't have shelter. We're working on that. Thousands of tents are being erected.
I mean, as we speak a new camp, an extension of a camp is blowing up. We will have eight camps operating with the Kurdistan regional government's
support and leadership on this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COREN: That was Ed Colt from UNHCR speaking to us a little bit earlier. You know, he was blown away by the situation. He said it was
very just hard to describe what he was seeing because of the outpouring really of need.
These people have nothing, Amara. You know, we spoke to a family that was taking shelter in a shade of a tractor. They just had the clothes on
their back. There was a family with five children. Well, they lost on of their children while fleeing their village close to Sinjar when those ISIS
militants came. Their 8-year-old daughter was shot. They said they were fleeing and the ISIS militants killed their daughter. They had to carry
their daughter to where it was safe enough to bury her and then they have ended up here.
But, you know, these are people who have nothing and they say we cannot stay here. We cannot stay here. There is not future.
WALKER: Yeah, absolutely. I can't even imagine each has a very harrowing story to tell. Anna Coren, thank you for telling that.
Appreciate it.
Well, on to another crisis now. And there is heavy shelling right now in the Ukrainian city of Donetsk as the standoff between rebel fighters and
government troops keeps up. The city council said there is shelling in almost all districts of Donetsk and a fire near an oil storage facility.
This, as a convoy of Russian trucks snacks its way down to that region in Ukraine's east. They say they are bringing aid. But Ukraine is worried
Russia may be trying to muscle its way in to give military assistance to pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine.
Will Ripley is in Ukraine's capital, Kiev. He joins us now for the very latest. A lot of moving developments here. Will, bring us up to
speed.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORREPSONDENT: Well, we just got off the phone minutes ago with the governor of Luhansk region Iryna Veryhina, and I need
to tell you she gave some of the most strongly worded statements that we have heard yet about the situation on the ground in Luhansk.
This is an area that has been essentially cut off from the outside world with limited communication, no power, no running water, no food for a
lot of people, or at least food supplies running dangerously low, medical supplies, the governor told us, is a major concern right now because she
says essentially the rebels are in control of the pharmacies in the town and there have actually been attempts, there have been -- we're just
learning this -- from the governor of Luhansk just now there have been attempts to bring in medical supplies and other supplies, but the convoys
have been shot at as they were approaching Luhansk.
But she says that now the first convoy from the Red Cross carrying medical supplies has arrived. And they are now waiting for the next convoy
form the Red Cross carrying food, water and other supplies that have been provided by the Ukrainian government.
We asked the governor what she thinks about this Russian convoy, which we believe is somewhere close to the border in eastern Ukraine. It's been
driving south, possibly into Luhansk region. We just don't have confirmation of the convoy's official location right now. And what the
governor said, and I'm going to read you this quote from her, she said that they do not want the help from Russia. And the reason why she said this --
and I'll just read this to you -- she says they send us tanks and grad, which are shelling systems overnight and then offer to send humanitarian
aid by day.
So we have on the record from the governor of Luhansk Iryna Veryhina that the Russians, according to the governor, have been sending in tanks
and shelling systems, overnight and then now are offering to send in humanitarian aid by day. She says it's hypocritical. This information
just coming in. We're hoping to set up a Skype connection with her, if possible, to talk more, but very strongly worded statements on the heels of
another sad news announcement, Amara, that up to 20 civilians were killed in a shelling attack yesterday just outside of Luhansk. Numbers coming in
from the regional hospital there. Well over 100 people reported dead just in this one specific area in the last day.
We'll keep following everything for you.
WALKER: Hearing another escalation. And as you said it remains to be seen what happens on that Russian convoy arrives at the border with
Ukraine. Will Ripley, live in Kiev. Thank you, Will.
And this is News Stream. Ahead, another day, a fiery protest in Missouri over the killing of an African-American teenager by a white police
officer.
Plus, police name suspects for a gruesome murder in Indonesia where an American woman was found killed and stuffed in a suitcase.
Also, cautious optimism as talks between Israel and Palestinian negotiators continue and a ceasefire holds for now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALKER: Tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades on the streets of the U.S. heartland.
This was a scene in Ferguson, Missouri. There have been days of demonstrations after a black teenager was shot and killed by a White
policeman.
The hacker group Anonymous is calling for a day of rage with protests planned from New York to Los Angeles. The group condemns the police for
preemptively striking and threatening demonstrators, but authorities say Anonymous is part of the problem. The so-called hackivists have gone after
the personal information of government and police officials in an attempt to name the shooter.
Ferguson's police chief has refused requests to identify the policeman saying there is concern about safety for the officer and his family.
Let's go live now to Ferguson. Ana Cabrera is watching the events there. Ana what's the latest?
ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you can see it is calm here this morning, but the last of those protests ending here just outside the
Ferguson police department about four or five hours ago.
Again, calm during the day, but then overnight is when those tempers really flare up. The intensity rises and that's where we've seen day after
day after day these protests that are getting out of control.
We learn 18 people were arrested just overnight. Two police officers, we are told, were injured in those clashes. It's so concerning that the
president of the United States is now getting briefed on this situation, monitoring what's happening. The governor of Missouri is coming here to
this small town for a second time in less than a week. And we're heading into another day of uncertainty.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CABRERA: Overnight, Ferguson erupted, perhaps the most chaotic protest the police response yet, angry crowds throwing bottles at law enforcement
and police firing tear gas and flash bangs to disperse them. A TV news crew on the scene runs for cover after a tear gas canister lands directly in
front of them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There it goes. They're firing on to the crowd. They are firing rubber bullets.
CABRERA: Dramatic video shot by a reporter on the ground captures utter chaos. Police advance on the protesters, sending them running in
fear. As officers fire rubber bullets and smoke grenades in this residential neighborhood. At least 18 arrested overnight including two
journalists, detained while police attempted to clear out a local McDonald's. The altercation caught on camera.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go, let's go. We don't have time to ask questions.
CABRERA: This as new cell phone video from just after Brown was killed captures the heart breaking moment when a man, believed to be Brown's
uncle, rushes to his lifeless body and is immediately pushed away by police. The witness who captured this video says she also saw the shooting
unfold telling CNN's Don Lemon exclusively the details of what she witnessed.
TIFFANY MITCHELL, EYEWITNESS TO MICHAEL BROWN SHOOTING: What I saw was when the cop and Michael were like wrestling through the window, it looked
as if Michael was pushing off the and the cop was trying to pull him in. Then the cop shot -- fired through the window. Michael breaks away and he
starts running away from the officer. The officer gets out of his vehicle and pursues Michael as he is shooting his weapon. Michael jerks his body as
if he was hit. Then he turns around, faces the officer, puts his hands up and the officer continues to shoot him until he goes down to the ground.
CABRERA: Another eyewitness describes how the officer repeatedly shot Brown who was unarmed.
MITCHELL: He was trying to get away from him. Why did he continue to shoot at him? I don't get that part at all. Why was he killed trying to get
away from the officer ?
PIAGET CRENSHAW, EYEWITNESS TO SHOOTING: Even when he turned around and put his arms in the air, he was killed, shot multiple times. CABRERA:
Multiple witnesses tell a similar story while police maintain Brown assaulted the officer in his car and tried to take his weapon.
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: -- an officer involved shooting out of Ferguson, 2190 said they had some more shots fired in the area.
CABRERA: The police chief now says the officer suffered injuries to his face during the altercation and was taken to a local hospital.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is very shaken about what happened that day and the after aftermath.
CABRERA: Earlier Wednesday, police had asked that all protests be held during the daytime. Thursday night's protests continued as scheduled.
Police responded with force.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There it goes. They're firing on to the crowd.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CABRERA: As these demands for answers, the calls for justice just continue to grow louder, we're also hearing from the county prosecutor who
says he will not be rushed in this investigation. He wants to make sure to get this right. So he says we may not get more details about exactly what
happened to Michael Brown, until after all this evidence is collected and processed and then is given over to a grand jury. So this is now a federal
investigation. It could be weeks before all of this happens, but no time table has been set yet, Amara.
WALKER: OK, Ana Cabrera reporting live there from the U.S. state of Missouri. Thank you, Ana.
Now police have come under criticism for their treatment of journalists in Ferguson. But the media coverage of Michael Brown's death
is also being harshly scrutinized. The Twitter hashtag #iftheygunmedown has sprung up in response to perceived bias.
The criticism surrounds the photos shown of the victim.
Now here you see some of the initial images of Brown. Some argue the teen looks like a stereotypical quote, unquote thug in one, and a normal
student in the other. So people are uploading photos of themselves, as you can see this on Tumblr. And they're asking which picture the media would
choose to use.
One man puts it this way, "would they highlight my brief moments of horrible judgment or talk about how I tried to affect positive change in my
community when there aren't cameras around?"
Still to come here on News Stream, trouble in paradise. Police on the resort island of Bali are investigating daughter of an American woman whose
body was discovered stuff in a suitcase.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALKER: The beautiful island of Bali is a place that people go to find peace, right? Well, one American woman ended up losing her life. Her
body was found stuffed in a suitcase.
Police have declared the woman's daughter and her boyfriend suspects as they continue to investigate the case. Isha Sesay has the grisly
details.
(BEGIN VIDEOATPE)
ISHA SESAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A bloody suitcase key evidence in a brutal murder. An American tourist dead on the resort
island of Bali.
Police say the badly beaten body of wealthy Chicago socialite Sheila Von Wiese-Mack was found stuffed in this suitcase, left in the trunk of a
taxi cab outside the upscale St. Regis Bali resort.
19-year-old Heather Mack and her 21-year-old boyfriend Tommy Schaffer were taken into custody and arrested. Police say they discovered the
couple sleeping in another hotel several kilometers away from the St. Regis.
DJOKO HARI UTOMO, POLICE CHIEF OF BALI (through translator): Based on the information from the hotel security officer, we have the names of the
alleged killers. They were staying in Resata Hotel in Couta (ph). We captured them in the morning about 9:00 a.m. They were staying in one
room.
A taxi driver told police that the couple held him outside the St. Regis. They were reportedly checking out of the hotel. They placed on
suitcase in the trunk and two bags in the back seat, according to CNN affiliate TransTV (ph). Then they went back into the hotel and did not
return.
After waiting two hours, the taxi driver spoke to hotel employees who found the couple's hotel room empty. The taxi driver then checked the
trunk, discovered blood on the suitcase and drove to the police station where it was opened and the body discovered.
A forensic doctor tells CNN there were signs of blunt force trauma on her head and face as well as bruises indicating a struggle.
But CNN affiliate TransTV(ph) reports the couple told police an armed gang killed Mack and held them captive, but they managed to escape.
Isha Sesay, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER: Such a gruesome story.
You're watching News Stream. Up next, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators extend a temporary ceasefire in Gaza. We'll get the latest on
how that's holding up.
And Edward Snowden speaks out. He shares his hopes for returning home and what he's willing to give up for that. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALKER: Hello. I'm Amara Walker at CNN Center. You're watching News Stream and these are your world headlines.
The UN has declared its highest level of emergency for humanitarian crisis, estimating 400,000 people have fled their homes in Iraq to escape
ISIS militants. As for the minority Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar, the U.S. military says it found far fewer people than expected and it's
unlikely there will be an American evacuation.
In Ukraine, the governor of the rebel held city of Luhansk says the first Red Cross convoy of humanitarian aid has arrived. People in Luhansk
need food, water and medical supplies as fighting escalates between the military and pro-Russian rebels. Ukraine says Russian aid will not be
allowed in.
Another night of violent protests in Missouri stemming from the shooting of a black teenager by a white policeman. The state's governor is
to visit Ferguson on what will be the sixth straight day of demonstrations.
Israel and Hamas are holding their fire in Gaza after the two sides agree to extend a ceasefire by five days. The truce appears to be holding
despite an exchange of fire soon after it began. Negotiators agreed to the deal in Cairo where talks are set to continue to find a more permanent
solution to the conflict. Now the fighting has killed more than 1,900 Palestinians in Gaza and 67 people are on Israeli side.
Let's cross live to Gaza City now. And Martin Savidge is there with the latest. Hi there, Martin.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Amara.
The good news is that of course the ceasefire does appear to be holding. We had a bit of a scare this morning when it was reported that
there was either a mortar or a rocket that landed on the Israeli side of the border. However, the IDF says it was not aware of that, so maybe it
was a false alarm. But it shows you that nerves are still on edge even though this is potentially the longest ceasefire since this whole conflict
began.
But even though the bombs aren't falling and even though the rockets aren't flying, unfortunately Gaza is still a very dangerous place as we've
found.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SAVIDGE: There's no way to know when the bomb was dropped on Gaza, only that this was the day it went off, killing and wounding those around
it. The blast struck in Beit Lahiya (ph), a neighborhood that has seen some of the heaviest Israeli shelling and air strikes of the war.
Among the dead Wednesday, three members of a Palestinian police bomb disposal unit. Their chief said they died trying to spare others the same
fate.
"An explosion went off perhaps due to a mistake," he says. "Which in turn cost several subsequent explosions to take place."
The blast shattered the unit's base scattering all kinds of munitions gathered during five weeks of war.
Also killed were Associated Press videographer Simone Kamili (ph) and his Palestinian translator Ali Shanda Abu Afsa (ph) who had been following
the bomb disposal team.
35-year-old Kamili (ph) is the first foreign journalist to die covering Operation Protective Edge and was a respected and familiar face to
many who report on conflict in the region.
AHED IZHIMAN, FRIEND OF JOURNALIST KILLED IN GAZA: We are shocked. I can't believe that until now that this thing happened, that we really lost
Simone (ph) and Jerusalem lost Simone (ph) and Palestine in general lost Simone (ph). Simone (ph), he was one of my brothers that I learned from
him a lot. He was a great man. He was a great cameraman. He was real human.
SAVIDGE: Another AP photographer was badly wounded.
According to Palestinian officials, 15 local journalists have also died covering the conflict.
Unexploded ordinance is always a deadly leftover of war, threatening returning civilians and aid workers. No one can say for sure how much
there is to be found and diffused here, but now there are even fewer people to do the job.
It is a sad fact of life, in Gaza, even ceasefires are deadly.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SAVIDGE: Amili's (ph) body, by the way, was passed from here all the way into the Israeli side and then over to East Jerusalem and was accepted
by his family. He'll be flown back to Italy.
The concern about unexploded ordinance is a real one, especially for humanitarian aid workers and especially as people go back to their homes.
There's also a concern about booby traps that may have been intended by Hamas to be used against the Israelis when the ground forces were here, but
the ground forces are gone and it's the civilians that may find him instead -- Amara.
WALKER: OK, Martin, thank you for that report.
All right, take a look at this latest cover of Wired Magazine. And inside, Edward Snowden reveals he wants to return home to the United States
and that he would even serve prison time, quote, "as long as it served the right purpose."
The American says he cares more about his country than what happens to him. But some see the former national security contractor who revealed
details of a secret U.S. surveillance program as a traitor.
But the cover photo itself has been stirring up its own controversy.
For more on that, let's head to senior media correspondent Brian Stelter joining us now from CNN New York. Brian, it's great to have you.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you.
WALKER: You know, in your article your headline question, did Snowden committed his first, quote, unquote, "public relations blunder" by posing
in that way. Why do you feel that he did?
STELTER: You know, some people who are not fans of Snowden would say he's been making blunders ever since he decided to take these documents and
leave the United States with them. But personally, as a journalist I admire seeing a whistleblower come forward and very carefully try to
release information that they believe is in the public interest. I know a lot of people don't agree with that. But I write in my column on
CNNMoney.com that I think he's a patriot. And I think he's a had very sophisticated PR strategy up until now.
I wonder if this flag photo wasn't the first big mistake he's made. And the reason why I wonder that is because it evokes such emotion from
people, such passion from people. It's almost as if it was intended to outrage, intended to upset people. And I've seen comments to that effect
online in the last day.
You know, the way he's holding that flag it's almost like he's protecting it and that he can come across as holier than thou.
So I just think it's a risky move for him. I know there's a lot of fans of him out there all across the country, all around the world but I do
wonder if it was poor POR strategy.
WALKER: Well, you know you said that key phrase up until now. So let me ask you this up until now would you agree that Snowden has been actually
been creating great PR for himself, you know, being courageous, quote, unquote, by some fans for, you know, revealing his identity and risking
everything for this cause he believes in.
STELTER: Well, he and his supporters of the ACLU and elsewhere have been very smart about making it not about him, but about the leaks, about
the NSA mass surveillance programs. He has given few interviews. And when he does, he makes it about those programs and makes it a lot less about
himself. He waited a whole year, for example, to go on American network television. He gave an interview to NBC. It was an hour long special here
in the U.S. But it was about the leaks as well as about him.
So he's been very wise, I think, about that. It's been a very sophisticated PR strategy. And he acknowledged, according to the editor-
in-chief of Wired that when he saw this -- he was at this photo shoot in June. He saw this flag sitting on the table and he was nervous about
picking it up, because he knew -- he had a feeling it might anger some people, but he went ahead and did it anyway.
He does say in the Wired story -- I think this is really important -- he says in the Wired story it doesn't matter what the next -- what the next
leak is. It doesn't matter what the next revelation is, what matters is what are we going to do about it?
Because Snowden has now transformed from a whistleblower who disclosed all these documents into an activist, into someone who campaigning for
reform when it comes to mass surveillance. That's why I think showing up on the cover of a magazine so provocatively might hurt his cause rather
than help it.
WALKER: Do you think the media has been buying into his PR campaign? I mean, overall how do you think the media around the world has been
covering him as a patriot or as a traitor? I guess it really depends on the country, right?
STELTER: I know reporters like Glenn Greenwald who have been the recipient of Snowden's leaks feel that the press has been slanted against
Edward Snowden, that the press has been too supportive of official government responses and attacks about Edward Snowden.
I do think you're on to something about the differences between countries. In Germany, for example, there's been much more of an outcry
about mass surveillance by the United States than there has been in the United States.
And Snowden acknowledged this in his Wired Magazine interview. He said there's a risk of NSA fatigue. And he's aware of that. And I think
he and his advisers, his supporters as they think about their PR strategy, think about when he does interviews, when he does photoshoots, they are
trying to fight that NSA fatigue that might be setting in.
WALKER: Brian, great to get your take on this controversial cover on Wired Magazine. I'm sure Wired Magazine is not complaining about the
attention it is receiving.
STELTER: No, for them this has been excellent.
WALKER: It's been great PR for them.
Thank you so much Brian Stelter.
STELTER: Thanks.
WALKER: Well, still to come here on News Stream, South Korea gets its first papal visit in a quarter of a century as the Catholic church tries to
tap into its rising popularity in Asia.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALKER: Let's return now to the unrest in Missouri triggered by the shooting of an unarmed teenager. Witnesses say Michael Brown put his hands
in the air before he was killed by an officer in Ferguson. Police say Brown assaulted the officer.
But the department says its cars are not equipped with dashboard cameras, so there's no video evidence to corroborate either claim. Alina
Machado shows us how technology has helped ease tensions in other communities.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is video taken from two body cameras last September when Daytona Beach police officers knocked down a
door and saw a man armed with a knife threatening a woman. Moments later officers fired several shots, an action they say saved the woman's life.
That's not the end of the story.
MICHAEL CHITWOOD, DAYTONA BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT: I arrive on the scene 15 minutes later. There's at least 100 residents out screaming at me
as I get out that my officers gunned down a guy laying in bed.
MACHADO: The video, Chief Mike Chitwood says, helped ease tensions because it showed what really happened.
CHITWOOD: What could have been a really bad thing in the community, people start to look and say, oh, I understand what happened now. That's
not what I was told.
MACHADO: That's not the cases in Ferguson, Missouri where the police chief says no video exists of the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael
Brown.
CHITWOOD: It would make a huge difference.
MACHADO: Chitwood's department is one of more than 1,200 law enforcement agencies in the country using body cameras.
CHITWOOD: The positives so much outweighs the negative.
MACHADO: Daytona Beach Police have 75 cameras right now, with plans to add 50 more by the end of the year. Each camera costs $950. And the
department is paying $23,000 a year to store the video. It's a lot of money but the Chief Chitwood says it's money well spent.
CHITWOOD: I can just tell you just from the few incidents that we had here how it has been just a godsend for us.
MACHADO: So why is there so much resistance? Why doesn't every police department in the country have these body cams?
CHITWOOD: Change is number one. Cops don't like change. Cost is number two.
MACHADO: And another reason, according to critics.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every single thing you say is going to be recorded, scrutinized and so forth and I think that would put a hindrance on cops. It
would create a problem with them in dealing with the everyday public.
DALE KELLY, POLICE OFFICER: I feel that I can do my job a lot better now.
MACHADO: Officer Dale Kelly uses a body camera every day.
KELLY: This camera will protect me.
MACHADO: We were with him as he responded to a call. His body camera engaged, capturing his drive to the scene and what he did once we arrived.
KELLY: What's your name?
MACHADO: When would you say the camera is most useful?
MICHAEL TERRY, POLICE OFFICER: I would say any time that you come in contact with the public.
MACHADO: We wanted to see for ourselves how the cameras worked. Right now you are recording?
TERRY: Right now we're recording.
MACHADO: Everything you see, everything you hear is being captured by that camera.
TERRY: That's correct.
MACHADO: After a brief demonstration the officer helped me gear up.
TERRY: Line it up with the tabs. And push down until it clicks. Good.
MACHADO: The recording device on my belt, the camera on my head.
TERRY: Ok.
MACHADO: It's not that uncomfortable. It's kind of like wearing a headband. I turned it on. All I have to do is just --
TERRY: You press that button twice.
MACHADO: And went for a walk recording my every move. Right now we're in the shade.
TERRY: Right.
MACHADO: If I were to walk into the bright sun what would happen?
TERRY: The camera will adjust.
MACHADO: The technology, Chief Chitwood says, is invaluable. Is this the future?
CHITWOOD: In my heart this is the future. It's here. We might as well embrace it.
MACHADO: Alina Machado, CNN, Daytona Beach, Florida.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: Pope Francis is on a historic visit to South Korea. It is his first trip to Asia since becoming the pope and the first for a pontiff
in 25 years.
Speaking earlier, the head of the Vatican called for peace and reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula. He said dialogue, not displays of
force, would bring stability to the region.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POPE FRANCIS: Korea's quest for peace is a cause close to our hearts, for it affects that stability of the entire area, but in the (inaudible) of
our whole war weary world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: And the pope's message was timely. An hour before the pontiff landed in Seoul, Pyongyang launched three short-range projectiles
that landed in the sea east of the Korean Peninsula.
Changing gears now, let's talk about the weather and talk about feast or famine in China when it comes to rain. Mari Ramos at the World Weather
Center with more on that. Hi, Mari.
MARI RAMOS, CNN WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, hi, you know, unfortunately the rain is so important in any part of the world, but
particularly here because the areas that are being affected by the drought, but the lack of rain are areas sometimes referred to as the bread basket of
China, these areas across the north and eastern China where a lot of wheat is grown, for example. It's just one of the products.
But let's go ahead and start talking about the rain first. For days, already, actually for weeks, Amara, we've been talking about the very heavy
rain especially across eastern and the southern half of China.
This is ongoing. Let's give Hong Kong, for example here. This is pretty interesting, I thought. It definitely is very soggy. Remember,
just in the first few days of August, we've already had over 400 millimeters of rain against an average of 430. So we're already well above
the average and it's just halfway through the month.
If you look at it longer-term, we're about a meter above average for when it comes to the entire year, since January 1st over 2,100 millimeters
of rain. The average should be around 1,600.
So, pretty significant rainfall.
And the interesting part is that most of this rainfall for August, for example, fell just in the last, what, two days where they had almost 270
millimeters of rain in Hong Kong proper with this very active weather front right here. And remember we talked about Taiwan, since Monday they've had
in Taiwan over 400 millimeters of rain.
So we have this very wet pattern across the south with those images of flooding that could continue to come out for the region.
When we look at the forecast for now, we're still looking at some rain particularly anywhere from Shantou, from Guangzhou all the way up even into
Shanghai.
But I think for you guys in Hong Kong and in Hanoi you'll start to see a little bit of a drier weather pattern as we head through the next years,
but prepare for those temperatures that will be quite warm.
In contrast, northern China, particularly northeastern China is dealing with situations like this where millions of hectares of -- of
square kilometers of crops have been affected by severe drought. Now they are saying this is the worst drought since the 1950s, since they've been
keeping records in this part of the world.
How much water can you carry? Well, how much? Maybe two buckets at a time? These types of scenarios being repeated over and over in this
province alone, in Hunan province alone they are having some, what, almost a million people have to get water delivered every single week, because the
drought is so sever, that the ways of normally getting water, their reservoirs are running well below the average, some of the lowest water
levels in decades across the area.
When we look at the drought across northern China, this s what we have, particularly this area across the north and east and then as we head
into areas farther south, between moderate to exceptional along some areas along the Yellow Sea.
Notice the Korean Peninsula also being affected by the drought here. North Korea particularly worrisome here, because they really rely on their
water and irrigation systems. And when we see significant drought across North Korea you end up with significant food shortages for those areas.
And there's not a lot of information that comes out of here, Amara, so definitely very important to monitor these weather patterns along the
region.
And last but not least, look at the deficiencies, in other words how much less water -- rain we've had across these areas. And this area here
of northeastern China particularly vulnerable. And that extends along this area where really hundreds of millions of people are affected.
WALKER: It's definitely a severe pattern. And that photo of those dried crops says it all. What a contrast. Mari Ramos, thank you.
Well, after the break, a look back at one of the most pivotal moments in American history. We look at the laws the defined an era and those who
fought so hard to change them.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALKER: CNN is re-airing its landmark series the Cold War to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The
series gives an unparalleled look at events that shaped the second half of the 20th Century when the threat of nuclear war was just one miscalculation
away.
Here's a preview of episode 13 narrated by Kenneth Branagh.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) KENNETH BRANAGH, ACTOR: The Constitution and the Bill of Rights had not removed the wedges of prejudice that were driven through American
society. Black Americans too wanted freedom.
Where Kennedy meant freedom from communism, they meant freedom from hunger, from fear, from humiliation.
DICK GREGORY, COMEDIAN AND CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: We looked at racism by degree, you know, so if you lived in St. Louis you said, 'Well it could
have been worse -- you could be in Mississippi,' you know. If you lived in Mississippi, you said, 'Well, we're lucky they didn't kill us all.' That
type of peace. And so consequently, if a black person rose up and fought back, they said, 'You're crazy, nigger!' Even black folk said, 'You're
crazy.'" ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: Now somebody had to say, 'Hey, it's all right, when something is wrong, to say it's wrong. And
in a democracy, if something's wrong and you say it's wrong, you can gather to petition your government to tell them it's wrong. And you know what? If
you do, they might do something about it!' That's essentially what the Civil Rights Movement was about.
BRANAGH, ACTOR: In many Southern states, laws prevented blacks and whites traveling together, eating together, even going to the same school.
Black Americans were denied jobs and the right to vote. Civil rights activists demonstrating against unjust laws were careful
not to provoke the police by any display of aggression. They were beaten just the same.
It wasn't the first time armed whites had assaulted unarmed blacks, but now television was watching.
Discrimination against blacks damaged America's credibility as freedom's champion in the Cold War.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER: Tune in this Saturday for the next episode of CNN's landmark series Cold War. U.S. tensions with the Soviet Union are overshadowed by
tensions at home as the 60s are marked by social unrest and the Civil Rights Movements. That's on the next Cold War, Saturday at 20:00 in
London, 21:00 in Berlin.
And that is News Stream, but the news continues here at CNN. World Business Today is coming up next.
END
