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Michael Brown's Parents Appear in U.N. for Justice; Police Accountability after Ferguson; U.S., China Agree to Cut Greenhouse Gases; A First for Mankind: Landing on A Comet; Violent Protests Boil Over in Mexico

Aired November 12, 2014 - 09:00   ET

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


CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Four years old, they grow up fast in those bad situations, though, and boy, he's doing a good thing now.

Thanks for being with us. A lot of news this morning. So let's get you right to "THE NEWSROOM" with Pamela Brown in for Carol Costello.

Hello, Pamela.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey there, good morning, everyone. Michaela, Chris and Alisyn, great to see you all. Have a good rest of the day.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: You too.

BROWN: NEWSROOM starts now.

Good morning, I'm Pamela Brown in for Carol Costello. Thank you so much for being here with us on this Wednesday.

And we begin today in Geneva, Switzerland where the parents of Michael Brown have taken their fight for justice in their son's shooting death to the United Nations, saying they need the world to know what is happening in Ferguson, Missouri.

Michael Brown Sr. and Lesley McSpadden are asking a special U.N. panel to call for the arrest of Officer Darren Wilson as well as end racial profiling in the areas around Ferguson. Their press conference just wrapped up and here's what the family's attorney and Michael Brown's father had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DARYL PARKS, ATTORNEY FOR MICHAEL BROWN'S FAMILY: Probably the most powerful thing that the United Nations offered is perception. It's the same thing that we use against other countries as a country when we look at other countries when they have atrocities that exist when people are killed and lose their lives, and when the government doesn't respond. Any aspect of the government.

Being at the U.N. is quite appropriate and I think I'll take one of the comments from Michael Senior yesterday. And it's a simple message that all life matters and black life matters, too. MICHAEL BROWN SR., MICHAEL BROWN'S FATHER: Me and his mother came to

the U.N. to get justice for our son. I think that there couldn't be a better place that we could start at, you know, we want to just thank you all for having us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: CNN's Erin McLaughlin joins us now from Geneva.

Erin, tell us how has the trip gone so far?

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this has been an incredibly emotional trip for the parents of Michael Brown. Yesterday his mother, Lesley McSpadden actually broke down during her testimony before the U.N. committee. The very same committee that's asking questions of U.S. delegates today.

Now this is part of a broader review, a look at the U.S. compliance with the U.N. convention against torture. But today there were some Ferguson-specific questions, the panel of some eight independent experts asked the following. They asked about steps taken by federal and state governments to review police practices following the death of Michael Brown.

They also asked about steps taken to review the distribution of military equipment to local police forces and police practices regarding the use of that equipment, possible reference to the police response to the protests that followed Michael Brown's death, and they also asked what sort of independent oversight is in place to prevent excessive force by police in the United States.

Now tomorrow the United States will have a chance to respond to these questions. The parents of Michael Brown will be there for that as well. I had a chance to chat with them yesterday and they told me how important this is for them. They want accountability and they want the death of their son to have meaning and they want it to be a springboard for change in the United States -- Pamela.

BROWN: This as we await the grand jury's decision in Ferguson.

Erin McLaughlin, thank you so much.

And mow I want to bring in David Klinger. He is an associate professor of criminal justice at the University of Missouri at St. Louis and a former officer with the L.A. Police Department.

David, thank you for being here with us. I just want to ask --

DAVID KLINGER, ASSOC. PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-ST. LOUIS: Thank you for having me.

BROWN: First I want to talk about this. The parents of Michael Brown made their trip as Ferguson braces for a decision from the grand jury, as we mentioned. The Missouri governor, Jay Nixon, said yesterday -- said he's taking steps to make sure the violence from previous protests doesn't happen again in case Wilson is not indicted. Let's take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JAY NIXON (R), MISSOURI: National Guard has been and will continue to be part of our contingency planning. The guard will be available when we determine it is necessary to support local law enforcement. Quite simply, we must and will be fully prepared.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So, David, on that note, does readying the National Guard send the wrong message do you think to a community already on edge, one that already has deep mistrust of law enforcement?

KLINGER: I don't think so. I think that what the governor is saying, he's saying as a backstop to the police presence the St. Louis city or St. Louis County Police Department, there is a high patrol in various (INAUDIBLE) and local municipalities. If things get out of control, the National Guard will be there as a backstop. They're not going to be on the front lines of this, at least from my understanding.

And so I think that the governor is doing the right thing. What he's saying is we are looking to figure out what we can do to mitigate the fallout from this and try to prevent it from happening again on the one hand. On the other hand we do have to be prepared to protect people's rights, not just to protest but that -- protest has to be peaceable and therefore we are prepared to enforce the law. And I really don't understand how anyone could object to that.

BROWN: And this as there have been groups on the ground in Ferguson with a list of requests, demands you may, to the police as we lead up to the grand jury's decision. And one of those that's really caught a lot of attention is this request for a 48-hour advance notice of a decision so that they can help control protests and potential violence.

Do you think that that is a good strategy or an overreaching request?

KLINGER: I really don't know about that because I don't understand what's going on behind the scenes, and what I mean behind the scenes is 48 hours makes sense in terms of trying to get people out of the community to calm, but it could also potentially give the opportunity for the ne'er-do-wells, many of whom, by the way, have come from out of the St Louis area to come in and to participate.

There's an awful lot of people who are waiting for an excuse to basically riot and trying to figure out the best way to prevent that and if it breaks out, to control that, that's the governor's job. And because I'm not behind the scenes and because I don't know all the various things that are going on, the streams of intelligence that are coming in, I really can't tell you whether that's a good idea or a bad idea.

BROWN: We just heard Erin McLaughlin report that the family among the list of their questions and concern is about the distribution of military equipment to local police departments. In light of that, David, some $100,000 has been sent by St. Louis County Police on riot gear ahead of any grand jury decision. Things like grenades, pepper balls and yesterday, the St. Louis County police chief talked about why this kind of gear is necessary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF JON BALMER, ST. LOUIS COUNTY POLICE: We have had instances where officers have been injured. We have had instances where they've been hit with rocks in the face and different things like that. So we're going to do what we can to protect them. But at the same time we try to always portray a posture of appropriateness to the situation that we're faced with.

We understand that people say that listen, when you put riot gear on and different things like that, it agitates us, but frankly we haven't hurt anybody with a riot helmet yet. They're worn on heads and it just helps to protect the officers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So there you go. He talks about the fact that riot gear helps protect the officer but I think for a lot of people it's the optics of it all. He says there, they want to maintain a posture of appropriateness.

Do you think that sort of gear is appropriate and sends the right message?

KLINGER: The particular items that the chief is talking about, yes, in terms of helmets. Obviously if someone wants to throw a brick at you, you're going want to have something to protect your head, chest protectors, the shin guard, so on and so forth. All of that stuff, every single piece of that is defensive. And I agree with the chief 100 percent.

Now the question of when you are going to utilize things such as tear gas and pepper spray, so on and so forth, that's a question of on-the- line tactical intervention. And I think that sometimes police all across the country and in terms of some of the stuff that I saw in the previous protest that led up to rioting, sometimes the police probably didn't handle with the -- in the best fashion.

And so consequently I think we have to distinguish between things such as teargas and pepper spray and -- you talked about grenades, I'm not quite sure what you're talking about, maybe sting balls, and the defensive equipment. And so I think that all people should agree the police have an absolute right to protect themselves when they're out there on the line doing this tough job.

Then the question of what types of tactics will be used to try to disperse people that's another track that needs to be looked at.

BROWN: Yes, it's a fine line to walk.

Thank you so much, David Klinger, we appreciate it. KLINGER: Thank you for having me.

BROWN: Meantime, the economic summit in China was never expected to produce high drama but just hours ago a surprise announcement on a landmark agreement to limit greenhouse gases. It's a deal struck by the U.S. and China, the world's most powerful -- one of the world's most powerful economies, and the planet's biggest polluters as well.

President Obama pledges that Americans will cut carbon emissions by more than 25 percent by the year 2025. It's still very unclear exactly how he plans to do this, though. But that goal may not be as daunting as convincing a hostile Congress. After last week's midterm elections, Republicans are poised to have the most dominant majority on Capitol Hill in decades, and of course the pushback was immediate.

Here's one blast from Republican Senator Jim Inhofe who will chair the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in the new Congress. He says, quote, "The American people spoke against the president's climate policies in this last election. They want affordable energy and more economic opportunity both which are being diminished by overbearing EPA mandates."

CNN's Jim Acosta is traveling with the president.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a deal forged by the world's two largest economies, and its biggest polluters, to combat climate change, President Obama and Chinese President Xi unveiled an aggressive plan to cut greenhouse gases.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is an ambitious goal, but it is an achievable goal.

ACOSTA: Under the agreement, the U.S. would cut nearly one-third of its carbon emission levels set in 2005 by the year 2025. China would have until 2030 to level off its emissions.

The climate accord may be the boldest sign yet of the president's determination to bolster U.S. ties with China at a time when he's butting heads with Russia's Vladimir Putin.

OBAMA: The United States welcomes the continuing rise of a China that is peaceful, prosperous and stable.

ACOSTA: Then, Mr. Obama and Xi went on to take questions. One from an American journalist, a rare occurrence on Chinese soil.

In a moment of high drama, the Chinese president initially appeared to ignore the question from "New York Times" reporter Mark Landler on press access in China, leaving Mr. Obama looking astonished.

But then Xi conceded his country's human rights record was not perfect. "China has made enormous progress on its human rights, and that is a fact," Xi said. "On the question of China's human rights, we should never consider our work to be mission accomplished." Xi eventually answered Landler's question, blaming "The New York

Times" for its own access problems in China. The party that has created the problem, Xi said, should be the one to resolve it.

White House officials breathed a sigh of relief. After working for weeks to convince skeptical Chinese officials to hold a news conference, it was a diplomatic victory.

Before leaving Beijing, Mr. Obama toasted Xi for China's efforts to help fight Ebola in West Africa. Xi offered some praise of his own, saying the U.S.-China relationship had reached a new starting point.

(On camera): Republicans are already attacking the president's climate change plan. Incoming Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell calling it unrealistic and a plan the president would be leaving to a successor. Now the president heads off to Burma to check on democratic efforts there then on to the G-20 Summit in Australia, where he'll have one more chance to run into Russia's President, Vladimir Putin.

Jim Acosta, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Also new this morning, troubling signs that Russia could be inching closer to a new military offensive in Ukraine. NATO says Russia's military is funneling weaponry across the border into eastern Ukraine. The Western military alliance says combat troops, tanks, artillery and air defense systems have all forward into the country.

And it is the latest blow to a ceasefire that's all but dead. Over the last several days, pro-Russian rebels have intensified their shelling of the Ukrainian town of Donetsk and fighting has steadily increased between those separatists and the Ukrainian troops.

And still ahead on this Wednesday, humans are on the verge of making history about a billion miles away. Landing on a comet. We are watching the event as it unfolds and it's unprecedented. You won't want to miss it. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Comets, they've always inspired wonder and fear from the dawn of human history. But in all that time, no one ever expected this.

(AUDIO CLIP PLAYS)

BROWN: So, what you're hearing right there is the sound created by comet 67P, millions of miles away. The noise is caused by fluctuations in the comet's magnetic field.

About two hours from now we could witness something unprecedented, a spacecraft landing on it.

Once the pictures are beamed back to Earth, it will be as if you're standing atop a giant dirty snowball out in space. But that's not all. Mankind will be able to ride the comet as it

races toward the sun. Along the way, scientists plan to learn more about the universe, including possibly the beginnings of life itself.

All of this will be made possibly by the ingenious piece of technology you see there called Philae, which is about the size of a washing machine.

So, let's bring in CNN digital correspondent Rachel Crane, and CNN aviation analyst Miles O'Brien.

This is really incredible. Even if you're not a space geek you could find this pretty cool. So, when Philae is expected to land on the comet, will we get our first image from the surface, Miles, what are we going to see?

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, we're going to see the beginnings of all of us, if you think about it. You know, comets are like the cookie batter that's left over from making the cookies, and they've been left in a freezer, and this is what we're all made of here in the universe, the leftovers, the creation of the universe and scientists really are fascinated by these things because it tells us so much about our origins. And this is the first time we've been able to soft land or hopefully soft land on this comet and really get a sense of what's going on there.

It's a very difficult landing. We don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves here.

BROWN: Yes, Rachel, let's talk about that, because a comet only a couple miles across has low gravity. How will the Philae be anchored to the surface of it?

RACHEL CRANE, CNN DIGITAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. So, the lander right now is in freefall and headed towards this comet and once it lands, it's actually going to have to harpoon itself to the comet itself so it can stay in place and doesn't bounce back into space. I got off the phone with the scientists from NASA who are in Germany right now, and they liken the mission to hitting a golf ball here on Earth and having it hit the moon.

BROWN: Wow.

CRANE: That's just difficult it is to actually perform perfectly.

BROWN: Yes, this is incredibly labor-intensive as you point out, Rachel.

Miles, didn't it take them something like ten years to finally complete this project?

O'BRIEN: It was a long journey to get to this comet, and there were some delays along the way so they had to choose a new comet.

But what's really I think fascinating about it, Pamela, as they've gotten closer along this ten-year journey to get to it, the comet is not at all what they thought it was going to be. When you look at the telescope images of it, it looks like a blob and the closer they've gotten to it, it is about a two and a half mile wide rubber ducky in space.

It's a fascinating object and it's going to be very perilous landing on it, because not only is it very angular, there's a lot of cliffs, there's a lot of boulder. And just the right spot, harpooning itself in is going to be a challenge.

We learned this morning the rocket which sits on top, which designed to push it onto the comet and keep it from bouncing off is not operating apparently. So, we don't know if they'll be able to clasp onto the comet.

BROWN: Wow. So tenuous, so nerve-racking. You can just imagine how those scientists are feeling right now.

And, Rachel, tell us a little bit more, after you spoke with them on the phone just recently, what are they hoping for, what else are they saying to you about this?

CRANE: Well, they're hoping by studying this comment they can unlike the secrets how life came to be on Earth, I mean, how water came to be in place on the planet, how we ourselves came to be here.

So, like Miles was saying, these comets are really time capsules from the beginning of our solar system, 4.5 billion years ago. So, it's really -- it's going to be an incredible moment when we get the first pictures and when the first samples are taken which will be in about two and a half days.

BROWN: Wow. God forbid something doesn't go as planned. What's next? What do you do?

CRANE: So, this is over a billion-dollar project. So, this moment, when this lander actually lands on the comet, it's going to be stressful for all those scientists in Germany and all of us or watching with bated breath.

But like Miles was saying, we don't know how inhospitable the environment is going to be once it lands.

BROWN: And let's look at this -- these are the first images we see from the lander actually. Tell us about what we're seeing here.

CRANE: Well, it's taking a half hour for the images to be beamed back here to Earth. So, the images had to go from the lander to Rosetta and from Rosetta to Earth and taking half an hour.

I can't make out exactly what that image is.

BROWN: It's hard to tell, right?

CRANE: Yes, it is hard to tell. Hopefully we'll have more information soon enough but it's incredible that image has been ten years in the making. BROWN: Unbelievable, ten years, you said more than $1 billion.

CRANE: More than $1 billion, yes, and 14 countries involved in this, over 2,000 engineers, scientists. So, it's really an incredible feat.

BROWN: The stakes are high here for this to work, to say the least. And I'm sure you're going to go back to the scientists and figure out what we're seeing in the images from the lander.

All right. Thanks so much, Miles O'Brien, Rachel, thank you. We really appreciate you coming on and for offering your insights. Stick around. There's a lot more to come on the story. >

And still to come, right here in NEWSROOM: tear gas, rocks and rubber bullets, looks like something out of a war zone but this is the grim reality in Mexico as outrage intensifies over the disappearance of 43 college students.

CNN's Rosa Flores has more.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pamela, good morning. The parents of these missing students have vowed to get more and more radical as they demand answers. What they're doing now, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Outrage in Mexico intensifying over the disappearance of 43 college students there. This morning, families are demanding answers from Mexico's president as protesters clash with police as we see here. Chaotic scenes like this one have become all too familiar since the students disappeared back in September.

Mexico's attorney general believes the students were kidnapped, murdered and then dumped in a river. So far more than 70 people have been arrested including the mayor and his wife. CNN's Rosa Flores joins us from Mexico.

Rosa, it seems like the situation continues to escalate there.

FLORES: It does continue to intensify, Pamela. As you mentioned it's been more than six weeks and no trace of those missing students. So, as the tensions, the protests and the violence continue to escalate in the streets of Guerrero, no one knows who's in charge of law and order.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES (voice-over): It looks and sounds like a war zone. But it's a clash between student protesters and federal police in the Guerrero state capital in which a government building was torched, all in response to the disappearance of 43 college students more than five weeks ago.

(on camera): The situation is very tense right now between the protesters and federal police. Now take a look, on one side of this bridge are federal police officers. They've been firing rubber bullets.

On the other side, you've got the protesters. They've been firing back with fireworks, rocks, you name it, sticks, and it's not stopping.

(voice-over): This boiled over tension fueled by inconclusive news of the whereabouts of the missing. Angry protesters, not standing down, continuing their advance across this bridge.

More than 70 arrests have been made, including a mayor and his wife. Parents have been told their children are dead and that three other suspects have confessed to the killings.

But authorities have not provided conclusive DNA evidence and parents refuse to believe the students are dead.

(on camera): They feel like there's nothing that they can do.

(SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

There's no hope.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Si.

FLORES (voice-over): In the chaos, CNN cameras catch a mob surrounding a police officers with some of the protesters saying, "Leave him alone, leave him alone." A standoff that would end with police pulling back as protesters move forward.

(on camera): He said that at the end - at the end of the day they want the 43 alive, back home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES: Now, the chaos continues to intensify. This happened yesterday, we're hearing reports that two protesters were allegedly arrested by police after that protest that you just saw and that protesters allegedly snatched a police officer and then with the presence of a human rights organization there was a swap, an exchange of almost two prisoners of this so-called war in the streets of Guerrero -- Pamela.

BROWN: What a chaotic situation. Rosa Flores, thank you for your great reporting there and stay safe.

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