Return to Transcripts main page

NEWS STREAM

Uber Hires Rock Star Political Consultant David Plouffe; ISIS Beheads American Journalist; Ceasefire In Gaza Ends, Violence Resumes; Indian Acid Attack Victims Participate In Photo Shoot; Epic Ice Bucket Challenge Fails; Two Pakistani Opposition Leaders Called Into Court Over Protests

Aired August 20, 2014 - 8:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And welcome to News Stream where news and technology meet.

An American journalist is murdered in Iraq by militants.

Israel launched air strikes and Hamas militants fire rockets. The ceasefire is a distant memory in Gaza.

And how some women in India are recovering from brutal acid attacks.

We begin the hour with gruesome developments in the fight to drive ISIS militants out of Iraq. The Islamic State insurgent group has posted a

video online. It appears to show the beheading of kidnapped American journalist James Foley.

Now CNN is not airing the video, but we do want to show these still images form that horrifying footage of Foley's last moments. You can see

him kneeling next to a masked militant dressed in black.

And the video issues a brutal warning to Washington, "end the U.S. military intervention or the life of a second American captive is at risk."

Now U.S. national security officials say they are working as quickly as possible to determine the authenticity of this video.

Now let's get more now on the response from the Obama administration. CNN's Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joins us now from Washington --

Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Kristie, actually the latest is from the British foreign secretary weighing in just a short time

ago saying that intelligence services on both sides of the Atlantic now want to know, of course, who the masked man is, who the murderer is. He

appears to speak with a British accent. They want to now try to identify him.

But meanwhile, the friends and family of James Foley remembering the man and the journalist.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: The ISIS video is simply too horrific to show. The man being executed by beheading is James Foley, a freelance journalist, kidnapped in

northwest Syria on November 22, 2012 Thanksgiving Day.

ISIS, the brutal militant, rampaging through Syria and Iraq, say they killed Foley in retaliation for U.S. military operations in Iraq. Foley, a

freelance photojournalist from New Hampshire reads a message denouncing the U.S. presumably written by his captors. He says America is his real killer

and then Foley is murdered.

The Obama administration said they're working to authenticate the video adding, "if genuine, we are appalled by the brutal murder of an

innocent American journalist. And we express our deepest condolences to his family and friends."

And the family of Jim Foley, released a statement late Tuesday night that reads, in part, "we implore the kidnappers to spare the lives of the

remaining hostages. Like Jim, they are innocent. They have no control over American government policy in Iraq, Syria or anywhere in the world."

Another American journalist, Steven Sotloff, is shown at the end of the video. The execution speaking with an apparent British accent

threatens to take Sotloff's life if President Obama doesn't stop airstrikes in Iraq.

Sotloff, kidnapped on the Syrian-Turkish border, has worked as a contributor to TIME magazine.

No one knows how many thousands of Syrians and Iraqis have died at the hands of ISIS militants. Across their stronghold in northern Iraq, cold-

blooded mass killings of Iraqi men, women and children.

REAR ADM. JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: We do have information that they continue. These kinds of depredations and crimes

against humanity, there's no question about that.

STARR: After dozens of airstrikes against ISIS positions across northern Iraq, the group may feel pressure, but there is no sign its

abandoning its violence and horror. ISIS has some 10,000 fighters, it's now a group the U.S. intelligence community calls a credible alternative to

al Qaeda with aspirations to attack the United States.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: And the latest UN estimate is that more than 1 million Iraqis have been displaced by ISIS and are on the run -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: And that horrifying, gruesome video just underscoring the power of the ISIS militant group as it continues to make its advance across

Iraq. Barbara Starr joining us live from the Pentagon, we thank you for that report.

Now the ISIS campaign to convert or kill those who do not share the group's radical view of Islam has targeted the Yazidi minority. Among

others, tens of thousands of fled, but not all have managed to escape.

Now Nick Paton Walsh spoke to survivors of what's being described as a massacre.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: These faces are all that we can still see of the village of Kojo into which ISIS swept.

Abducting, murdering possibly dozens.

Few survivors have spoken, but Halaf Hobeda (ph) said when ISIS swept in they ordered the Yazidi town to become Muslim, but nobody would, so they

herded them into the school. The men were driven in trucks to the outskirts, lined up and shot.

Halaf was hit three times, but remarkably escaped.

Yet ISIS held on to the women and children alive. His wife, daughter, two sons and 85-year-old mother now their possessions.

"They're monsters," he says. "I've no idea what they can do to them, especially the young."

Well, many have arrived here to eke out a life as refugees in this construction site, but so many of the people from Kojo have little, really,

to even prove who they are let alone what they say happened there.

And while ISIS control that village, it's their testimony that is the only real evidence of what happened there.

Five survivors piece together what they surely hope to forget -- maps of the school and what seemed like three execution sites. These men seeing

at very least 50 dead.

Gidj Amo (ph) remembers when he knew the bullets had missed.

"I looked around," he says, "and saw a lot of wounded around me. They were asking for water and they gave it to them. I had a brother dead here,

one there. The sparks of the bullets caused the field to catch fire."

Nafid (ph) and Faris (ph) were trucked to different sites, but both saved by larger men who died next to them.

"Someone was shot next to me," he says, "and fell on me. I was covered in his blood."

"They loaded their weapons," he says. "There was a big man next to me. He put my head under his arms and then they shot him in the head, back

and arms and then with a pistol to make sure."

Saud (ph) and Samma (ph) had the chance to run. They were in the second truckload of men to the ravine massacre site and saw bodies already

there.

Saud (ph) hit by an ISIS bullet as he fled.

"I tied up my leg," he says, "with a scarf and my friends helped me up. They always said after ISIS took Kojo there would be aid or military

support to help us, but nobody came."

The killers, most say, Iraqis, locals, who fled when they heard American jets above. You can see here that a horror has befallen Kojo.

Worse still, ISIS controls both it and its women and children. So even in survival these men answers and peace have never been further away.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now the UN refugee agency is launching a four day humanitarian air lift this Wednesday to help some of the nearly half a

million people displaced in northern Iraq. Now senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh joins me now live from the Iraqi city of

Irbil.

And Nick, the group you talked to are among the 1.2 million Iraqis displaced so far this year. The United Nations now launching this new aid

effort. But just how huge, how vast is the humanitarian need there in northern Iraq?

WALSH: Well, it's really quite hard to fathom, Kristie. I mean, as we've been going around the villages here affected by the ISIS advance,

these are communities who have cleared out in the short-term out of fear, try to assess what's going to happen in the weeks ahead. We were a few

days ago one village where the Christians have moved out, moved up into the hills into a monastery where they were hiding out, had no idea how long

they would have to stay there.

We've been through Dohouk (ph), Zaho (ph) near there as well where there are people living in construction sites, images I'm sure by now

you're familiar with.

But it's really part of a broader crisis across the region. We know that northern Iraq is bracing from this, but let's not forget that the

Syria war has pushed a million people into Lebanon, only has a population of 4 million initially, has pushed hundreds of thousands into Jordan. And

really we're seeing a region struggling to cope with the sheer volume of displacement because of these two conflicts now.

It's wrecking havoc to economies. It's making it, for example, hard to actually get enough drinking water to pass around in Lebanon itself.

So that is causing a region to get closer towards the brink, and that, of course, itself exacerbates conflicts all around it -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: Let's talk about just horrific video showing the beheading death of the American journalist James Foley at the hands of an ISIS

militant. Since that video went online, there has been more and more concern about the fate of another American reporter whose name is Steve

Sotloff. He's done work for TIME magazine. What can you tell us about him?

WALSH: Well, we shouldn't really go into too much detail about him. Obviously he's still held by these ISIS militants. A freelance journalist

who had worked around the region here on assignment partially for time, as well, one of a number of individuals who have been held by ISIS for some

months now.

An I think, Kristie, the fear has always been that these Americans, small number but significant, have been held for quite some time. There

doesn't appear to have been much success in negotiations, obviously, to have them released. And the fear has always been that when Washington woke

up to the notion that ISIS was a threat against the United States, perhaps Europe as well, not something obviously on their agenda, they're too busy

regionally expanding, but that seems to be down the line for them a key goal that they would eventually take airstrikes against ISIS, and as a

result ISIS would take action against those Americans held in their custody.

Real fears now for, as you say, that other American journalist. In the video, he is specifically threatened unless Obama changes course.

That's simply not going to happen. So, very difficult days ahead for the family of that other American journalist, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Nick Paton Walsh, joining us live from Irbil, thank you.

Now rocket attacks from Hamas, they have triggered a fierce Israeli response. We'll be live in Jerusalem with the latest on the cross border

conflict in just a moment.

Also ahead, leaving pain in the past, find out how some women in India are dealing with the horrors of brutal facial scarring.

And another night of protests and dozens of arrests, but police say scenes on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri are improving. We'll have a

live report straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now Israel's military says more than 80 rockets have been fired across the border from Gaza since the ceasefire broke down on Tuesday. Now Israel

has responded with dozens of airstrikes. And Gaza health officials say the attacks have killed 19 Palestinians and injured more than 100.

Now let's cross live to Jerusalem for the latest. CNN's John Vause, he is there. He joins us now.

And John, the ceasefire is over and since then there has been no let up in the rockets coming in from Gaza. Tell us about the activity that you

witnessed today.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, the new numbers that we have coming from the Israeli military say 137 rockets have now been fired

since that ceasefire collapsed on Tuesday. And it does seem that there have been warnings pretty much every hour, multiple warnings, multiple

sirens being heard every hour especially across the southern part of Israel.

Earlier today, a home in Ashkelon took a direct hit from a Gaza missile -- a missile coming from Gaza, rather.

On the Gaza side, though, it has been a different story. As you say, 19 Palestinians killed, that's according to Palestinian health officials,

including three people who, we are told by Palestinian officials, died just a short time ago after a marketplace in the Zaitoun (ph) area was hit.

Three people killed there. Many others have been wounded.

Now over night, militants in Gaza have sent out a barrage of rockets. They say they were aiming for Tel Aviv, including Israel's Ben Gurion

Airport. And of course we have had air raid sirens here in Jerusalem, many people pull over to the side of the road. They took cover next to their

cars. They huddled up against walls as well.

And there is also word that maybe Israel has targeted the military head of Hamas, his name is Mohammed Deif. There was an airstrike on a

house, a five story home. IT was completely flattened. Deif's wife and son were killed in that strike. There's no word if Deif, in fact, did

survive the attempt.

The Israelis, though, at this point are not confirming that they were targeted Mohammed Deif, but he has topped the most wanted list for the

Israelis for many years, Kristie.

LU STOUT: The cycle of violence has returned there. And meanwhile, the indirect talks in Cairo have stalled. We know that the delegation from

Israel, they have left the Egyptian capital. I mean, what will it take now for them to return to the table for these indirect talks to start up once

again?

VAUSE: Well, you know, maybe the Egyptians could exert some influence here, drag both the Palestinians and the Israelis back to Cairo. They have

asked them to return. That does seem to be a fairly slim chance at best right now.

The Palestinians did issue a final draft document before leaving Cairo, outlining their terms to end the current fighting and also to try

and address some of those longer-term issues. They say it's now up to the Israelis.

But the Palestinians have been scathing. They say the Israelis did not go there in good faith and that they were never interested in making a

deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZZA AL-AHMAD, LEAD PALESTINIAN NEGOTIATOR (through translator): Israel announced the collapsed of the negotiations while we were still

talking through the Egyptian mediator, which shows that there was an overnight decision to abort and to bring to failure the negotiations and

the collapse of the truce from the Israeli side.

(END VIDEO LCIP)

VAUSE: But the Israelis, though, see it differently. They say that once that ceasefire was broken, because three rockets were fired from Gaza

about eight hours before the official deadline for that ceasefire, they say basically there is no point in continuing with those indirect talks in

Cairo.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK REGEV, ISRAELI GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN: And so the ceasefire didn't fall apart, the ceasefire was broken by Hamas. And all the violence that

we've seen since then is because Hamas deliberately torpedoed the ceasefire.

Maybe we shouldn't be surprised. This was the 11th ceasefire that Hamas has either rejected or violated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Hamas, though, denies firing those three rockets, says they have no information who did. That is pretty much a moot point as far as

the Israelis are concerned, because they hold Hamas responsible for any rocket fire that come out of Hamas (sic).

And right now, Kristie, we understand Israel's security cabinet still meeting in Tel Aviv. There is a lot of pressure right now on Israel's

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from many within his own government to step up this military offensive on Gaza.

In the words of one senior government minister, he is calling to bring Hamas into submission.

LU STOUT: And one can only wonder what that means, and what could happen next.

John Vause reporting live from Jerusalem, thank you, John.

Now meanwhile, authorities in eastern Ukraine say that 34 civilians have been killed during fierce fighting between government forces and pro-

Russian rebels in he last 24 hours. They say around 30 others have been wounded and the fighting is ramping up as Ukrainian troops continue to push

into the heart of rebel-held territory.

On Tuesday, street battles reached the center of Luhansk, a key rebel stronghold on Ukraine's eastern border.

And in Donetsk, intense shooting broke out, sending residents running for cover.

Now meanwhile, in Pakistan, a mass sit-in is threatening to paralyze the government. And now the leaders of the march, politician Imran Khan

and a popular cleric named Tahir Ul Qadri have been ordered to appear in the country's supreme court on Thursday.

Errol Barnett has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERROL BARNETT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tens of thousands of anti- government protesters are flooding into the heart of Islamabad demanding Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif step down.

The protesters come from rival political parties. The PTI, led by cricketer, turned politician Imran Khan, and the PAT led by Sufi Islamic

cleric Tahir Ul Qadri.

Khan accuses Prime Minister Sharif of rigging last year's election. And Qadri is pushing for widespread reforms.

TAHIR UL QADRI, PAKISTANI CLERIC: This is a march for democratic reforms. So we want rule of law. We want true participated democracy in

our country. We want to fight for human rights, for minority rights, for women rights, and to eradicate corruption from the society.

BARNETT: Despite their differences, though, both parties see Sharif's ouster as the only way to move the country forward and avowed to accomplish

it peacefully.

QADRI: This revolutionary march is a peaceful democratic process. We want a democratic sit-in in a peaceful way and given -- this right is given

by article 15 of constitution of Pakistan.

IMRAN KHAN, PTI PARTY LEADER (through translator): We will not go inside the assembly building, we will gather at the area outside. And the

number will be so big that people will forget Egypt's Tahrir Square.

BARNETT: Meantime, the government deployed soldiers and police to protect the Pakistani capital's red zone, that's where the government and

embassy buildings are located. But it's unlikely Sharif will step down. His government rejected the demand as unconstitutional.

Errol Barnett, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: You're watching News Stream. And coming up next, in India many victims of acid attacks are forced into hiding, but not these women.

We'll bring you their story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, you're back watching News Stream.

Now some women in India are living with a very difficult reality. Now vicious acid attacks have left them with debilitating scars and burns and

fragments of their shattered dreams. But some victims are not letting their pasts define their future.

Now Sumnima Udas has the inspiring story of some brave young women who faced a photoshoot to draw attention to the issue.

Now a warning, the attacks that they were forced to endure were brutal and parts of this report may be disturbing to watch.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUMNIMA UDAS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORREPSONDENT: 22-year-old Rupa (ph) is realizing her childhood dream, designing clothes and perhaps soon owning

a small boutique.

"This is the first dress I made. I like western style ball gowns," she says.

This was the ultimate high, her first photo shoot. She modeled her debut collection. Her friends posed, too. But behind the smiles and

laughter, pain no one should have to endure.

"I was very nervous about the photo shoot," she says. "I kept thinking to myself what will people say if they see my face?"

These young women are victims of vicious acid attacks. For years, they hid themselves form the world ashamed to show their disfigured faces.

"When people saw me, they would turn away. I realized they were too scared to even look at me. I got so depressed I would come home and cry,

she says. I often thought about killing myself. I always used to say I wish I had died. I don't want to live like this.

Rupo (Ph) was attacked by a relative when she was just 15. When she came to this safe house, she realized she's not alone.

19-year-old Ritu (ph) shows me what she used to look like before two men on a motorcycle threw acid on her.

"I always wonder how could a human being do this?" She asks.

This is Ritu (ph) soon after.

"Most acid attack survivors don't want to meet their attackers, but I want to," she says, "just so I can ask was it worth it?"

All the girls here want to forget their past and their present appearances. This photo shoot one way of coming to terms.

RAHUL SAHARAN, PHOTOGRAPHER: I shoots lots of models, but shooting at them was a very different experience. It was a small effort from my side

to make them feel beautiful, to show them that everyone is beautiful.

UDAS: Saharan says he never expected his photos to garner so much attention.

The message they want to send to women around the world, it's OK to show your face no matter what you look like, no matter what society may

say.

Sumnima Udas, CNN, New Delhi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Those young women are brave and they are beautiful.

Now the photographer you--

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. Apologies for the technical glitch before the break. You're back watching News Stream.

These are your world headlines.

Now a graphic video posted online on Tuesday appears to show American journalist James Foley executed by ISIS militants. Now the gruesome

footage also threatens the life of another American journalist if the U.S. does not end its military operations in Iraq.

The Israeli military now says more than 130 rockets have been fired from Gaza since a ceasefire broke down. Israel has responded with dozens

of airstrikes. In Gaza, health officials now say 19 Palestinians have been killed since the truce ended.

Now there was significantly less violence in the U.S. town of Ferguson, Missouri on Tuesday. Now protests were largely peaceful until

around midnight when someone hurled a water bottle at police setting off more bottle throwing. 47 arrests were made in all. And protests began

after a white police officer shot and killed an unarmed black teenager more than a week ago.

Now time for the global weather forecast and the latest on that deadly mudslide in Hiroshima, Japan. Mari Ramos is standing by. She has all the

details -- Mari.

MARI RAMOS, CNN WEATHER CORRESOPONDENT: Kristie, this is just a tragedy. It happened so quickly there in western Japan.

We'll start you off with the pictures here behind me, and then we're going to go to the video. And I can tell you more about the story, but

take a look at this picture, look how small the rescue workers look here when you look at the big picture. Can you see them there in the blue

outfits and the white helmets?

This is immediately following the mudslide that happened in the early morning of Wednesday. They're still dealing, of course, with the aftermath

of this very, very serious situation. When you look up close, pictures look like this, everything completely demolished, people's belongings

thrown in the middle of the debris. There's a vehicle there are the bottom. Can you -- I don't know if you can see that. And of course the

homes completely obliterated.

Let's go ahead and roll the pictures. And you can see a little bit more, first of all, where the mudslide didn't directly affect. There's a

lot of water on the ground. They had the rainiest day on record here in this part of Japan.

We've been talking for weeks already about the heavy rain that has been affecting this area and the threat for flooding and mudslides.

By the way, the Japan Med Agency still has those warnings in place. You can see there, those bits of debris and in the background rescue

personnel that is still searching in those areas. People trapped on rooftops -- officially police have said so far 27 people confirmed dead, 10

people still missing.

The rescue work is very, very dangerous. Look at this next video right there. Look how difficult it is for rescue personnel to move through

the debris that was left from this landslide.

Now, as far as what happened here, as far as the rain, they had the rainiest day recorded ever in this area. Normally, they get about 143

millimeters of rain for the entire month of August, well they had over 200 millimeters of rain in just five hours alone.

You come back over to the weather map, I'll show you a little bit more of what some of this weather information that is pretty incredible anyway.

So there you have it, Hiroshima, 143 for the August average. In four hours, they had over 200 millimeters of rain. They broke the record for

the rainiest day bit 5:00 in the morning. They had almost 4 inches of rain, over 100 millimeters of rain, in just a matter of one hour. And I

think this extreme rainfall of course is what will bring -- which of course triggered this deadly mudslide and those amazing pictures that we were just

showing you.

As we get into the forecast here, Kristie, you can see that there's still a lot of moisture coming in across this portion of the world, across

the Korean peninsula and back over toward western Japan. That is why those advisories and warnings are still in place across many areas for flooding

and for mudslides, unfortunately, still a possibility, especially in that hilly terrain. These very densely populated areas are at risk.

However, the heaviest rain this time around, we don't think is going to be across western Japan. We're actually expecting that heaviest

downpours to be in this area across the Korean peninsula, including Seoul, by the way.

So, yes, the threat for flooding and mudslides remains in this area.

Notice North Korea just getting a little bit of rain, they actually need it. They're in a drought across this area of the world. But as we

head into Hiroshima, some scattered rain showers.

But this is again where we emphasize any amount of rain, any amount of rain could cause some more flooding, and yes, trigger more mudslides. And

unfortunately this is a threat that people in this part of the world have to deal with constantly, Kristie. And here we see just a deadly and a

terrible example, of course, of what the rain can do, especially very heavy rain in a short period of time.

LU STOUT: Indeed, that's the danger there of just too much water, and trigger rivers of mud, it could slam into a neighborhood. And we saw just

the devastating fallout pictures just then in your report. Mari Ramos there, thank you very much indeed for that.

Now the U.S. attorney general Eric Holder, he will try to ease tensions when he visits Ferguson, Missouri today. Now the U.S. Justice

Department is conducting a federal civil rights investigation into the shooting death of African-American teenager Michael Brown.

Now protesters, they have taken to the streets for more than a week after he was shot and killed by a white police officer.

Now CNN's George Howell is in Ferguson. He joins me now. And George, another night of protests, but with significantly less violence. Why is

that?

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, good day to you.

So the crowd was smaller, that's the first thing. And, yeah, there were more hours of what seemed to be a peaceful setting, peaceful in the

sense that people could still come together, they could protest, even display acts of civil disobedience, take a chance to do so, but around

midnight that's when the dynamic changed. We understand from police that someone threw a bottle toward officers and that basically provoked a

response.

Police officers strategically went into that crowd looking for the people that caused the problem.

Also, we know about a threat that happened overnight to kill a police officer. We understand police did make an arrest related to that case.

And a lot is playing out legally with the attorney general Eric Holder coming to town.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)??

HOWELL (voice-over): Attorney General Eric Holder's promise to St. Louis, a full commitment to the investigation of Michael Brown's death.

Holder, who has been briefed on the preliminary findings of the federal autopsy, arriving today in the St. Louis suburb. Addressing the people in

an op-ed, he writes, quote, "This is my pledge to the people of Ferguson -- our investigation into this matter will be full. It will be fair. It will

be independent." ??

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police shot this boy outside my apartment. ??

HOWELL: The first evidence of Brown's shooting may be presented to the grand jury today, including eyewitness testimony. ??

ROBERT MCCULLOCH, ST. LOUIS COUNTY PROSECUTING ATTORNEY: We will do a full, fair, complete, and impartial investigation into this. ??

HOWELL: Robert McCulloch, chief prosecutor for the past 23 years in St. Louis, is the man who is responsible for pursuing any prosecution in

the shooting. Community members are demanding that he be taken off the case because of his strong ties to the police department. ??

JAMILAH NASHEED, (D) MISSOURI STATE SENATOR: Voluntarily recuse yourself from this investigation. The people and the African-American

community, they do not have the confidence that you will be fair and impartial. ??

HOWELL: Missouri state senator is also asking for a special prosecutor to take over the case. ??

MCCULLOCH: You know, I can't guarantee and won't guarantee and nobody can any particular outcome on the investigation because we don't know where

the investigation is going to end up. ??

HOWELL: Several members of McCulloch's family are police officers, including his father, who was murdered in 1964 while on duty. The man

convicted was African-American. ??

CHARLIE DOOLEY, COUNTY EXECUTIVE, ST. LOUIS COUNTY: They don't believe that this person is committed to justice for them, and that's important to

recognize. ??

HOWELL: Tens of thousands have signed this online petition asking for McCulloch's removal from the case. His office has released this statement

to CNN, quote, "He's been reelected every four years by an overwhelming majority of St. Louis County. The people have faith in Mr. McCulloch, and

he'll continue to do his duties." ??

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Now, we did hear a statement from Governor Jay Nixon, the governor of the state of Missouri, basically saying that he will not

suggest, he will not ask Mr. McCulloch to step down, to recuse himself in this case. If that happens, Kristie, it would have to be a decision that

Robert McCulloch makes himself.

LU STOUT: Yeah, a lot of expectations with the attorney general's visit to ease tensions and also to finally bring about some justice for

what happened to Michael Brown.

Now meanwhile, supporters of the police officer Darren Wilson, are they organizing themselves, are they holding rallies to defend his actions?

HOWELL: Sure. You know, just a few days ago there was a rally in downtown St. Louis of about 100 people who came together Mr. Wilson. And I

spoke with a person the other day who said that she knows Mr. Wilson as well. She says that there are people in town who support him, who know him

as a good officer. They want to see him get a fair shake in this.

You do find support on either side. You see people who say, look, they don't trust the police department here, and they don't trust this

officer made the right actions. Good person or not, that he didn't make the right actions that day. And there are others who say the officer was under

pressure, made a decision to protect himself. We'll just have to see how all this plays out in court.

LU STOUT: All right. George Howell joining us live from Ferguson, Missouri, thank you very much indeed for that update.

Now questions have been raised about the police response to the protests in Ferguson. And CNN's Randi Kaye asks whether the lessons should

have been learned from one U.S. city's heavy-handed response to civil unrest more than a decade ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ferguson, Missouri. As the clock rolled toward midnight, police tactical teams perched on armored vehicles,

rifles drawn. Michael Brown's hometown was about to explode yet again.

A show of force more common on the battle field than in this small Missouri city. It's a big reason some who study police tactics who say the

situation in Ferguson is unraveling.

CATHY SCHNEIDER, AUTHOR: Those tactics are fine if you're fighting a war and you're confronting an enemy army. They are completely

inappropriate in a domestic situation, in a vulnerable community, where the vast majority of people are unarmed.

KAYE: Unarmed, yet up against this -- semi-automatic rifles, batons, police shields, full combat gear, not to mention stun grenades.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are just stun grenades. This is not tear gas.

KAYE: Protesters started throwing bottles and police say Molotov cocktails. So they hit back with tear gas.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to be classed as insurgents. Nobody is out here for war. We are not out here for war, we are out here on a

peaceful protest just seeing if we can get some justice for our brother that got gunned down.

KAYE: This is hardly the first time such aggressive police tactics have been used to disperse a crowd. Back in Seattle in 1999 during the

World Trade Organization negotiations, about 40,000 people took the streets. They were met by police in riot gear, using tear gas and rubber

bullets.

Norm StamPer was Seattle's chief of police at the time. He admits he made mistakes in 1999 and says he's sorry police in Ferguson didn't learn

from them.

NORM STAMPER, FORMER SEATTLE POLICE CHIEF: We put our police officers out early in full military garb, Kevlar helmets and police shields, all

designed obviously to protect the officer, but in so doing we distanced ourselves from the community that we were serving.

KAYE: Stamper says it's critical to send the message early on that the police are part of the community.

STAMPER: When your police department looks like an occupying force, and its police officers look more and act more like soldiers than police

officers, it's not only alienating, it is deeply frightening.

KAYE: Frightening, especially for a community whose mantra has become hands up, don't shoot.

Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: You're watching News Stream. And still to come, Uber, the taxi hailing app is setting its wheels across the globe, but not everyone

is a fan. So now it's getting some help from a former White House heavyweight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now when it comes to scouting for talent, shiny startups in California rarely, but sometime -- but really rarely look to Washington, D.C., but

Uber, the taxi hiring app, has done just that, it has just added this guy to its roster -- David Plouffe.

Now Plouffe has some major achievements on his resume. He managed a historic PR campaign. Barack Obama's bid for the presidency back in 2008.

And now he will be overseeing Uber's global policy, communications and branding.

Now for more on what Plouffe can bring to the table at Uber and what challenges the company is facing, we're joined now by our regular

contributor Nick Thompson. He's the editor of the New Yorker.com.

Good to see you, Nick.

So tell us, what is Uber trying to get out of its new hire here?

NICK THOMPSON, NEW YORKER.COM: Well, it's trying to transform its perception. I mean, this is a company that's grown very quickly, very

fast. It's now worth about $17 or $18 billion, which is absolutely extraordinary, since it's only been around for four or five years.

And it's got a lot of regulatory fights ahead. The clearest fights it has are with taxi commissions, right. It moves into a city, it helps

people get rides. The taxi companies hate that, so they try to get it banned. So that's sort of a small level fight, and it needs help in doing

that.

But its goals are much, much bigger, right. Uber doesn't want to just displace taxis, it wants to become the company that handles all

transportation for all people inside of all urban areas. They want to move stuff around. Yesterday, they just opened a corner store delivery system

in Washington, D.C. They want to move from moving people to moving stuff, which means they really want to change the way cities are organized, which

means they're going to have a lot of fights with a lot of different organizations in the coming years, so they hired a heavyweight to help them

win those fights.

LU SOTUT: Yeah, it's interesting, I mean Uber wants to be much more than just a taxi app, it wants to be this full fledged logistics company,

because of that corner store that you just mentioned there, the announcement of that.

Now Uber is up against taxi drivers who don't like the service there in New York, there in the United States, and also taxi drivers all over the

world.

Now earlier this week, it won a reprieve in Berlin when a court there suspended a ban on the Uber service. But even with its new hire, David

Plouffe, can Uber win its critics and win regulators all over the world?

THOMPSON: Well, no. I mean, it's not. I mean, Uber is despised in many places. Remember, there were protests in Europe where people slashed

the tires of Uber cars.

I mean, Uber is a very disruptive business that's going to cause a lot of -- if Uber succeeds, if Uber does what it wants to do it's going to

cause a lot of economic harm to a lot of businesses that currently exist. In fact, Uber's ultimate goal, as expressed by its CEO, is to move to a

system where they use self-driving cars to drive people around the city. So you'll open up your phone, you'll get a self-driving car that either

takes you across town or delivers your toothpaste, right. They are really trying to disrupt things.

So lots of people will hate it.

Now, your question was, can they win? The answer is absolutely. If they grow fast enough, if they have enough money, if they hire the right

lobbyists, if people like them, if it turns out they're doing more good than harm in the eyes of most people, they'll win in most places. And so

that's why this hire is so important. He's very good at messaging. He's very good a strategy. He's very good at convincing people they should

support whatever cause he's working on, so you know, can they win? Quite possibly.

LU STOUT: You know, he's so good at messaging. He's already talking up Uber. David Plouffe says this, quote, "Uber has the chance to be a once

in a decade, if not once in a generation company. And I wanted to get your thoughts on that. I mean, really, can Uber really become that big?

THOMPSON: I mean, Uber became big. I mean, Plouffe's initial statements were kind of ridiculous, right? It's the mission of Uber and

Uber is saving mankind and transforming everything and preventing us from drunk drivers. So, you know, taxis save us from a lot of drunk drivers,

too.

I mean, Uber is not a mission, Uber is a company. And it's a transportation company. And it's a cool company.

Will it become big? Yes. Will it become a once in a lifetime, once in a generation, once in a decade company? No. But it will be one of the

bigger companies to come out of Silicon Valley, it may be the most interesting and biggest startup over the last few years, but I mean, Google

is a once in a generation company, it organized the whole internet and the way we think.

So Uber has potential, but I think Plouffe may be spinning us just a little bit? But that's his job.

LU STOUT: That's right. He's known for his spin. He's also known for sparring with his critics. Here's hoping he can win over some critics

for Uber, especially there's a lot of them all over the world.

We'll leave it at that. Nick Thompson, New Yorker.com. Thank you very much indeed. Take care. We'll talk next week.

THOMPSON: Thank you, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Now, Rick Perry, the governor of the U.S. state of Texas and a potential U.S. presidential candidate in 2016 is vowing to fight

felony charges against him. Now, let's show you this. This is mug shot. It was taken as he was booked Tuesday on the charges, they include an

allegation that he abused his office by withholding state funds for a program run by a county prosecutor because he wanted her to resign.

Now Perry denies doing anything unlawful.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK PERRY, GOVERNOR OF TEXAS: I'm going to fight this injustice with every fiber of my being. And we will prevail.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now Perry is entering his final few months in office after a historic 14 year run as the governor of Texas. It's not clear how the

latest felony charges might affect his possible presidential ambitions.

Now, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, it's been sweeping the internet. But with the good comes the bad. We'll show you how not to do it. Stay

with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now it's raised millions of dollars for charity and given a lot of people something to laugh at. Now the ice bucket challenge has swept the

world wide web, social media with average joes to A-listers all taking part. But like anything that happens on video, sometimes you need more

than one to get it right.

Now Jeanne Moos takes a look at some pretty epic ice bucket fails.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDNET: Maybe you're feeling just a little bit inundated by celebs like Britney Spears and Ben Affleck and Lady Gaga,

cool as ice taking the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.

But if Toronto Mayor Rob Ford thinks his challenge was rough--

ROB FORD, MAYOR OF TORONTO: You almost knocked me out."

MOOS: That's not being almost knocked out. This is! Being clocked by a metal pail, creamed by a cooler. There's a whole new category called ice

bucket challenge fails. Sometimes it's the dumper who fails, sometimes it's the dumpee. And sometimes it's man's best friend.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here we go buddy.

MOOS: Who despite being tied to a saw horse runs for its life to avoid a bath.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No! Come here!

MOOS: Heavy containers of water are hard to hold onto and even harder when they hit your head. We checked. She wasn't injured. Maybe the smartest

thing to do would be to wear protective gear.

See I'm fine.

But there's no protecting dumpers from themselves.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't fall.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't hurt yourself.

MOOS: Sometimes you can blame the container and sometimes you need a bigger bucket.

Some ice bucket challenge fails can be attributed to structural defects, say, when a gutter gives way or a swimsuit top topples.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ugh did you get it?

MOOS: This woman decided to take the challenge into her own hands when she figured the intended target wouldn't do it himself. She laid in

wait on the roof till he left the house.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ALS!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What the (EXPLETIVE DELETED are you doing? Are you (EXPLETIVE DELETED) kidding me!"

MOOS: But there's no use crying--

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go.

MOOS: --over spilled ice water.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: It's all worth it.

That is News Stream, but the news continues at CNN. World Business Today is next.

END