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Grand Jury in Ferguson to Reconvene Monday; 12-Year-Old Unarmed Boy Shot by Police; Suicide Bomber Attacks Volleyball Match in Afghanistan; Deadline for Iran Nuclear Deal Tomorrow; Buffalo Facing Dangerous Flodding

Aired November 23, 2014 - 15:00   ET

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


FREDERICK WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A tragedy. A 12-year-old boy shot and killed by a police officer after officers get this 911 call.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is a guy in here with a pistol. He is, like, pointing it ought everybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Well, it turns out it wasn't a real gun. But police say the officers didn't know that.

And folks in New York are still digging out from a massive snowstorm. Now a new weather threat could make things even worse.

Plus, a new way to stop people from stealing gifts from your doorstep? You can do it right from your phone?

Hell again, everyone. I'm Fredericka Whitfield. Welcome to the NEWSROOM.

Tragedy in Cleveland, Ohio. A 12-year-old boy shot and killed after Cleveland police thought he was holding a real gun. Turn out to be an airsoft replica gun.

Sara Ganim has more on the sequence of events.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A 12-year-old boy is dead after a police shooting in Cleveland Saturday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sitting in the park. There was a guy in here with pistol and it is probably a fake one, but he is like pointing it at everybody. The guy keeps pulling it in and out. It is probably fake, I'm sure. But he is scaring the (bleep) out of people.

GANIM: The gun was fake. An airsoft replica gun that looks like a semiautomatic pistol, Cleveland police said, adding the orange tab that is suppose to identifies as a BB type gun had been removed. But police say it's not clear if the responding officers knew if the

gun might fake when they arrived to the playground of the (INAUDIBLE) center where the 911 call was made. When an officer order the boy to put his hands in the air, police say the boy instead reached for his waist band.

DEPUTY CHIEF ED TOMBA, CLEVELAND POLICE: There was no verbal or no confrontation. The officers ordered him to stop and to show his hands, and he went into his waist band and pulled out the weapon.

GANIM: Police say the officer fired two shots and the boy was hit in the torso. He died Sunday morning following surgery.

The family's attorney told CNN "it's devastating. A mom lets her son go to the park, then finds out he has been shot. We're starting our investigation. We're gathering our witnesses, and they're gathering theirs."

The Cleveland police use of force team is also investigating.

Our job is to respond to assignments and to protect the community. And when an officer gives a command, we expect it to be followed. The way it looks right now, it was not followed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GANIM: CNN spoke to the boy's family attorney today, and when the issue of race came up, he said this is not a race issue. It's a right and wrong issue. We also spoke to the Cuyahoga county prosecutor's office, and we're told that the case eventually will be presented a grand jury for a decision -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: And Sara, there was another police-involved shooting that has people very upset in New York. Explain what happened as it pertains to that.

GANIM: Yes. That shooting as you have said, it's a completely different incident. Police are calling it a very unfortunate tragedy. They say it was an accidental discharge. The victim, 28-year-old Akai Girly, was a total innocent. That's what the NYPD said.

And it happened Friday night. Police have described it as happening in a pitch black stairway in the housing projects in Brooklyn. Girly was entering on the seventh floor. The officer was entering on the eighth floor, and the officer's gun went off shooting him Girly once in the chest. He died at the hospital.

Now, as you mentioned, there were protests this morning. But these aren't the only people who have answer -- would like answers to some questions about how this could happen. The Brooklyn district attorney Ken Thompson said in a statement that the shooting was quote deeply disturbing and warns an immediate fair and thorough investigation.

The officer, I should note, Fred, was a rookie still on probationary status less than 18 months on the job. And he has been stripped of his badge and his gun for now. WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Sara Ganim, for that report.

So both shootings very tragic, but very different circumstances.

Last hour, I spoke to a former police detective about the 12-year- old's death in Cleveland, and here's his perspective.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE ROGERS, FORMER DETECTIVE, NUTLEY NJ POLICE: This is every police officer's nightmare to get involved in the shooting involving a young person. So the officer, he gave a lawful order, and in very sadly and unfortunately, the 12-year-old did not obey the order, and the officer had to make a quick split second decision. And it's usually the decision that's based on either see someone die or you do, or, unfortunately, you'll have to take the necessary action to prevent that from happening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, both the Cleveland and New York shootings are currently under investigations.

All right, now to the Ferguson, Missouri situation where the grand jury for the fatal shooting of Michael Brown will reconvene on Monday, tomorrow.

Our own Sara Sidner is live for us right now in Ferguson.

So Sara, nearby Clayton, we saw barricades going up outside the courthouse. Have you seen any preparations like that in Ferguson?

SARA SIDNER, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No. But we know that at the police department, for example, the barricades that have been out for the past few weeks now, have been moved a little further towards the road. And, of course, you have businesses who over the past couple of weeks have been boarding up. Especially those that are near the police department and also along west Florescent where the very initial protesting happened back in August.

Folks are preparing here. That, of course, includes residents, businesses, police and protesters, all sort of waiting for this decision to come down which we understand the grand jury is likely to meet again on Monday. Everyone just sort of holding their breath, wondering what that grand jury is going to do. They are certainly been at it for a very long time now. We're into the third month since the killing of Michael Brown -- Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: And then, Sara, you know, we also heard from President Obama. He had an interview with ABC this week, and he talked about Ferguson to a great extent. What did he say?

SIDNER: We know now that he had a conversation with Governor Jay Nixon here, the Missouri governor who, as you remember last week, decided to declare a state of emergency and bringing the national guard so that they are ready in case they need to assist. They will be in the background, he made clear. But they are needed, he said that they will be brought to the floor. Here's what the president had to say about his conversation with Governor Nixon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We saw during the summer the possibility of even overwhelmingly peaceful crowds being overrun by a few thugs. What I have done is called Jay Nixon, the governor of Missouri to make sure that he has plan to respond in a careful and appropriate way to any potential violence to be able to sort out the vast majority peaceful protesters from the handful who are not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: And I can tell you about the protests that have been going on for now, more than 100 days. For most of those days, they have been peaceful protests. There have been incidents where people have been in the road and who have gotten arrested for blocking traffic, but there's been nobody who has been injured, not the police nor the protesters themselves over the past few weeks.

A lot of the people here who are from Ferguson, who are from St. Louis are saying they are going to abide by those peaceful rules. And that if people step up out of line, they are plenty of people here who have step forward to say if you are being violent and you are going in and taking things that are not yours and you don't pay for, then you are not with us. You are against us -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Sara Sidner. Thanks so much in Ferguson.

All right, another developing story that we are following in Afghanistan. A suicide bomber has attacked a crowd at a volleyball match. At least 45 people have been killed, and 60 others wounded. No one has claimed responsibility. The attack happened on the same day as Afghanistan's parliament approving agreements with the U.S. and NATO allowing international forces to remain in the country after this year.

All right. Coming up, millions of Americans about to hit the road and fly the friendly skies for thanksgiving holidays, but will mother nature cooperate?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, millions of Americans will either drive or fly to their thanksgiving destinations, but some parts of the country could be looking at snow and/or rain. Jennifer Gray has your holiday forecast.

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Fred, this is a huge travel week for a lot of folks rolling into thanksgiving. We have the Macy's parade on thanksgiving day, and we could see snow for the northeast. The models still aren't agreeing 100 percent, so there's basically two scenarios we're looking at.

This is the more aggressive scenario where you have the low tracking a little bit closer to shore. We are going to see the possibility of snow late Wednesday and early Thursday. Could have a big impact on travel. Folks trying to get in and out of major cities.

The other scenario keeps below a little bit further offshore. And that means smaller impact. Won't see quite as much snow, maybe more rains, maybe even staying a little bit clearer. So we will have a minimal impact with this scenario as the day move on. We will have a clearer picture, and that's why you should stay tuned if you are traveling across the northeast in time for thanksgiving.

Meanwhile, other folks across the country, your travel forecast. We are going to see a little bit of rain in Atlanta on Wednesday, 52 degrees, 81 and sunny in Los Angeles. Seattle could be picking up some rain at 52. May or may not see some showers or snow showers across the northeast. That is yet to be determined. And then we are going to see Thursday looking all right. Atlanta, you clear out, 56 degrees, 23 in Chicago for thanksgiving day. Very chilly. Detroit, 33. Could see a couple of flurries there. New York City, D.C., we could be picking up some snow with temperatures around 42 -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Jennifer Gray. Appreciate it.

A 12-year-old boy shot and killed by police. Who thought he was carrying a real gun, well, it wasn't. What went wrong? Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A tragedy in Cleveland. A 12-year-old boy carrying an air soft replica gun was shot and killed by police. Police thought it was a real gun and told the boy to put his hands in the air, and when he didn't, he was shot.

Joining me now is L.Z. Granderson, a writer from ESPN, joining us from Washington. Good to see you. And CNN political commentator Van Jones who is in Ferguson, Missouri, today. Good to see you as well.

All right, so gentlemen, this is a terrible tragedy. What has happened that a kid is perceived as a real possible threat, L.Z.?

L.Z. GRANDERSON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, you know, we will still are waiting for all the facts and (INAUDIBLE) is important there. We do wait until all the investigation has been completed and witnesses and things like that. We did get a 911 call. It seems that the call repeatedly said that this could be a toy that the young man had. And we do know that the police have said this is a tragedy and that, you know, he didn't follow orders.

But we also know that this is a story that we've heard time and time again. You know, we know that a man was shot, killed by police officers in Walmart carrying a toy gun and in hope and carries fake. We know that there was a young man in New York City who was strangled to death by police officers on tape.

And at time and time again, we are told that these are just one of tragedies. And I wonder at what point do we sort of start to piece this together and realize that maybe there's something to this beside than a bunch of series of one-offs. Maybe the consistency here is that these are young men who are perceived to be threats, who are unarmed, and officers get a little more aggressive than what they need to because of all their preconceived notions about what a black man can do.

WHITFIELD: And in fact, in the 911 call, I'm just looking at a transcription, the caller says I'm sitting in the park by west boulevard and there's a guy in here with a pistol. It's probably -- it's probably a fake one, but he is pointing at everybody. And then he goes on later to say he keeps pulling it out of his pants. It is probably a fake one, you know. But it is scaring everybody.

So Van, they are equipped, meaning, those who are responding, the first responders are equipped with that little bit of knowledge. Of course, when they get there, they are trained police officers to assess the situation and respond accordingly. But when they could that it is a 12-year-old, even though he is wielding what appears to be a gun with that call saying it could be fake, what is the expectation on how a police officer should be responding?

VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, like to say a couple of things just very clearly. Other thing I thought very interesting was, not only did they say it's probably a fake gun, they said he is a juvenile. They said he is sitting in a swing, OK. So, if you show up with the call saying that you have a juvenile probably with a fake gun sitting in a swing, you would expect to have a certain level of restraint.

The other thing that bothers me, the police report says -- we don't know what the facts are. It says he reached into his waist band, and he pulled out the gun, and that's why we shot him. Now, to hear that, you say, well, that makes sense. But have you noticed that every single time that's what they say?

People don't understand. In a police-involved shooting, the police report is not written by the officer often. It's usually written by an attorney. The police officer has the right to have an attorney, so he doesn't incriminate himself, and usually you see this literally boilerplate language about I felt threatened, he reached for his gun no matter what the facts were. So we need to figure out what the actual facts were. But at a certain point I think discerning viewers will recognize there's a pattern here where every single time it's literally almost the same language because that's the language required by the law. Not necessarily the language that describes the facts.

WHITFIELD: And then, you know, Van, you are in Ferguson where people are waiting a grand jury decision, grand jury to reconvene tomorrow. And at the root of this situation, is the case in which a police officer says he felt threatened and the next thing you know this unarmed teenager was killed. And so, it has certainly erupted a lot of emotions not just in Ferguson, but really across the country.

So give me an idea of what you have observed in the time that you have been in Ferguson, the tone, the expectation of this anticipated, highly anticipated decision from a grand jury.

JONES: Well, I mean, of course, I have been able to talk to people of both sides of the issue. Everybody has a feeling of anxiety. Everybody has a feeling of frustration with the fact that this process is taking so long. But the people who have been characterized as the protesters, I think are especially frustrated. They feel that the media keeps talking about we hope they're not violent. And many of them say we have been out here peacefully for day after day after day when a lot of the violence from the police have not been talked about enough.

Remember, the last time we were here you saw teargas with -- from the police against unarmed protesters. You saw rubber bullets. You saw a lot of aggression from the police. And they are saying will somebody please also tell the police for you to be peaceful, will you please obey the law because they have been trying very hard to do that.

WHITFIELD: So L.Z., from your point of view, I know you're in Washington, but of the people you have spoken to and just, you know, your bird's eye view and observation of all that's taking place in Ferguson, do you think law enforcement is kind of pushing the envelope here, acting as an agitate as opposed to, you know, a real agitator as opposed to trying to keep the peace or be in place just in case?

GRANDERSON: Well, I -- you know, I too have been in Ferguson over the past few months. I too have talked -- spoken with protesters, you know, people who have come from long distances just to show support and solidarity to with the Brown family and I heard the same thing as Van has heard from them which is the frustration with the lack of focus on law enforcement and their role in the escalating of what transpire, you know, in the late summer.

And you know, when you have a governor declare a state of emergency based upon what right people may do based upon what a decision may turn out to be, yes, absolutely. I believe that the authority of figures that government is escalating this in a way that is not consistent with what folks are telling us, the viewers, the public, what they're concerned with, what they're upset about.

There is no reason whatsoever to continue to characterize people who are upset with the way they've been treated by police for two decades as they're all being criminals. Maybe we should listen to them, maybe we should look at the statistics and say, you know what, instead of automatically categorizing these group of people and just a bunch of rabble rousers (ph) and you know, angry people with no reason or just cause for their anger, let's look at the statistics and say, you know what, they've been under siege for a long time. And the question isn't, you know, whether or not there will be peace in Ferguson after the decision is made, but why hasn't there been peace in Ferguson for the last 20 years? That's the real question.

WHITFIELD: All right, we'll leave it there. L.Z. Granderson, Van Jones, thanks to both of you gentlemen. Appreciate it.

GRANDERSON: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, sadly, it happens year-round. Hard-working Americans sending their gifts to their loved ones, but then all too often the packages get stolen right from their doorstep. So now, there's an app to stop those thefts.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, bottom of the hour now. Welcome back. I'm Fredericka Whitfield. Here are several big stories we're seeing cross our CNN news desk right now.

After nearly seven feet of snow, Buffalo braces for a new threat -- severe flooding. Rising temperatures mean melting snow and rain is also on the way compounding it all. Some areas could see five to six feet of floodwater. And dozens of roofs have collapsed from the weight of the snow already, and more could collapse as rain saturates the snow. And National Guardsman and fire crews from across New York are heading to Buffalo to help. State officials have beefed up emergency supplies and prepared 180,000 sand bags.

And in Afghanistan, a suicide bomber has attacked a crowd at a volleyball match. At least 45 people have been killed, 60 others wounded. No one has claimed responsibility. The attack happened on the same day as Afghanistan's parliament approving agreements with the U.S. and NATO allowing international forces to remain in the country after this year.

And talks for a nuclear deal with Iran might be extended beyond tomorrow's deadline. That is what a senior U.S. state department official tells CNN. Earlier an Iranian official was quoted by state media as saying a deal by tomorrow is impossible. Six of the world's major powers are negotiating with Iran. They want Iran to reduce its capacity to enrich uranium, which could potentially be used in a nuclear weapon.

All right, back here in the U.S. President Obama's executive action on immigration is still meeting up with heated criticism. Earlier today on CNN's state of the union, Senator Lindsey Graham talked about why he is disappointed, not just in President Obama, but also the Republican party.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: You are a supporter of immigration reform, but you opposed the president's action last week very strongly. You are an attorney. Do you think is was unconstitutional?

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: Yes, ma'am. It's one thing to say as an executive agency, I don't have the money to prosecute everybody or deport everybody, so I'm going to rank them in order. It's another for the president of the United States to say not only will I decide not to prosecute a group of people, but I will affirmatively give you legal status. That is well beyond executive action.

BORGER: So if it's unconstitutional, as you think, is it an impeachable offense?

GRAHAM: Right. I'm not going down the road of impeaching the president. And let me

tell you why. Immigration has been dogged in the country since 2006. The president is frustrated. I have a solution that I've been supporting that is comprehensive, that would allow legal status to the people in question. but you do it through a congressional action where you get the entire system fixed.

His action does not secure the border. It doesn't. It is a broken legal immigration system and it leads millions of peopled left out in terms of the 11 million. So I'm not going to go down to impeachment road.

BORGER: OK, you are not. But you know, you heard the president himself say pass the bill. We counted. He said it 11 times between Thursday and Friday. You passed a bill in the Senate. You handed it to the House of Representatives. The House of Representatives decided not to do anything on it. It's just sitting there. So doesn't The house have a responsibility --

GRAHAM: Shame on us.

BORGER: Doesn't the house have a responsibility here?

GRAHAM: Yes. Shame on us as Republicans. Shame on us as Republicans for having a body that cannot generate a solution to an issue that is national security, is cultural, and it's economic. The Senate has done this three times. I love my house colleagues --

BORGER: You do?

GRAHAM: I do.

BORGER: You do.

GRAHAM: I'm close to the people in the house, but I'm disappointed in my party. Are we still the party of self-deportation? Is it the position of the Republican party that the 11 million must be driven out? I have never been in that camp as being practical. I am in the camp of securing our borders first, fixing broken illegal immigration, have an e-verify program so you can't cheat and get a job easily. But as to the 11 million -- go ahead.

BORGER: No. But it hasn't the president called your bluff here because he sort of is saying to you guys, you got to deal with the 11 million?

GRAHAM: No, ma'am. He is doing a political -- he made a political decision. He is not a very good leader. He made a political decision to try to divide the Republican party and take the office of the presidency to a level no one else has gone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And Senator Graham was also asked if he is considering running for president in 2016, his response, maybe. All right, time now for consumer alert with Black Friday and cyber

Monday quickly approaching, it is that time of year when many of you buy and ship gifts to friends and relatives and maybe start want to gift for yourself too. Well, there's no worse feeling than learning the gift that you sent actually got stolen right from your doorstep. Well, guess what. Now there's an app for that.

I want to bring in CNN's Nick Valencia.

OK. This might come as a great relief for some people or a big headache for others.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Which is it?

VALENCIA: Has it ever happened to you, getting a package stolen off your doorstep?

WHITFIELD: It has not, no.

VALENCIA: Me either. But it happens to so many people. And last year return fraud $4 billion. That's when someone takes a package that's not theirs or retail item that's not theirs and returns it for cash, $4 billion last year.

According to the national retail federation, now there's this new San Francisco-based company. They've started an app, and their goal is to guarantee that the package you ordered gets in your hands and not someone else's.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VALENCIA (voice-over): It is the season to ship packages out to love ones or maybe send something to yourself on that must have list.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get a little note on your door and you have play tag and go pick it up.

VALENCIA: But it's also prime season for criminals when broad daylight seize the opportunity to grab those hot items right off your doorstep.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The tracking number said it was delivered, but I never got the package.

VALENCIA: Imagine this. Perfect strangers walking up to your front door and walking off with the merchandise.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lose at their home in the middle of the day just able to wait for their package to show up?

VALENCIA: And coast-to-coast no one is immune. With online retail sales topping $200 billion last we're in the U.S., and that's expected to grow this year by about 10 percent, according to shop.org. ZANDER ADEL, DOORMAN: I always felt like I was being punished by the

current delivery system for having a full-time job. And you know, the question was why can't this be delivered when I'm actually home?

VALENCIA: Meet Zander Adel. His new San Francisco startup, doorman, has the retailer ship your package to them and not your home for $4 a package.

ADEL: Once it arrives, we notify you on your phone, and then you use the doorman app to schedule delivery until midnight seven days a week.

VALENCIA: A bold business model as others have tried and failed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have to have a big work force of delivery people, and so I think that, yes, that's very ambitious. It's very tough.

VALENCIA: Ambitious maybe, but if their business can eliminate the risk and prevent scenes like this from happening, it could be the shipping model of the future.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VALENCIA: Now, you may be asking yourself, what if my package does get stolen. Do I get a reimbursement? It's on a case by case basis. So the best advice is to make sure that you have a signature or somebody there to receive the package. But that's not always going to happen, Fred.

WHITFIELD: I know.

VALENCIA: So maybe this doorman will take off.

WHITFIELD: It could potentially be great timing because it is the season for sure. All right. For giving and taking.

VALENCIA: Yes. Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Nick, Thanks so much.

All right. Well, he headed up the task force responding to hurricane Katrina. Next, retired lieutenant general Russell Honore joins us live to weigh in on security preparations around Ferguson, Missouri.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Sources are telling CNN the grand jury looking into the fatal police shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, will be reconvening tomorrow. Barricades around the courthouse in nearby Clayton went up yesterday. But to what extent can this entire area prepare for what may happen after the grand jury decision?

Joining us via Skype from (INAUDIBLE), retired Lieutenant General Russell Honore.

So General Honore, good to see you. It has been awhile. So Missouri's governor Jay Nixon has received a lot of criticism for

that declaration of his state of emergency. People saw barricades going up around the courthouse in Clayton. And they've seen a heightened police presence in the whole general St. Louis county area.

At what point can beefing up security send the wrong signal end up further agitating as opposed to quelling?

LT. GEN. RUSSELL HONORE, (RET.) U.S. ARMY: Well, I think the interesting piece there, Frederica, is that the governor issued that about the same time as the FBI send a notice out to law enforcement across the country informing that you be prepared for potential threats against a law enforcement officers, against potential sabotage as well as protecting water stations for such strange reason.

So I think that may have encouraged the governor to put the state of emergency in, but now that that happened, Fred, I think he should spend more time explaining to people why they have done what they've done and to convince people that they're there to protect people and not to have any other alternative motives.

WHITFIELD: Because it would seem there is an expectation by the citizens there that there would be contingency plans in place. But oftentimes when there is a plan in place, the public doesn't know about it. And it's another thing that the public would know now what the plan is, how many resources are devoted to an area, so when a governor is to explain in your view, should he be including that kind of information? Or should there be, you know, many more vagaries as it pertains to explanations?

HONORE: Well, one of the main rules is dealing with a crisis in particular is to tell the truth. There can be no alternative motive when are you dealing with citizens inside the United States. This is unlike a warfare situation where you actually use deception and surprise on the enemy. In the United States, people are expected to be told what's going to happen, when it's going to happen, and why it's happening. They expect the truth. No alternative motives.

Number two, he needs to be dealing with the media daily because one of the issues why leaders talk to the media in events inside the United States is to tamp down misinformation. Information that may be put out to actually distort the truth or what may be happening on the ground and may cause more anxiety on the part of the people.

Another function of governor in the United States is to protect people, not just to protect some rules. And I think the second piece there, Fred, is they need to look at what rules they want to relax because the rules in and around dealing with civil disturbance and dealing with the crowds, that they're met for peace time operations. We got a little different situation going on here. And they could suspend some of the rules like police officer telling a reporter stand on the sidewalk, don't stand on the street. They're going to have to do some bending there, Fred.

WHITFIELD: And given there was so much unrest in August, one would think that a lot was learned during that time and the application of security would be in a different method this go-round. Are you seeing any differences, or are you seeing any -- the same procedure about to be repeated?

HONORE: I think we are seeing some differences. We are not seeing police point guns at anyone. We have not seen any teargas, although we know they have it available. And we haven't seen those monster almost tank looking mraps come out. So I think the police have learned. And hopefully, it will continue to learn and embrace themselves around the citizens as much as it can because of there is a civil disobedience which is a (INAUDIBLE) disturbance, then it want to deal with the people that are breaking the law and not treat all the citizens were the same medicine.

WHITFIELD: All right, general Russell Honore, thank you so much for your time from (INAUDIBLE) today.

HONORE: Good day.

WHITFIELD: The general is also author of the book "Leadership in the new normal."

All right, if you have a web cam, you are going to want to hear this. A Russian Web site is streaming video from thousands of private web cams around the world. Ahead, how you could protect your privacy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In a surprise move Bill Cosby commented this weekend on the sexual assault allegations that have been piling up against him. His reaction comes as more women step forward with accusations.

Here's Sara Ganim.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GANIM: The new allegations against Bill Cosby aren't just from women who say they felt violated by the comedian, but also from journalists who say they tried to report this story years ago, and felt strong armed by Cosby's lawyers.

At least three more women have come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct by Bill Cosby. Joining ten others who have talked to various media outlets in the last several days. None of these women's stories have been independently verified by CNN, but their stories share many similarities, and in many cases the women say they belief they were drugged.

BETH FERRER, COSBY ACCUSER: It was his pre-show dinner that he would always have in his dressing room, and I appeared, and I had coffee drink and that's about all I remember, actually.

GANIM: Cosby had stayed silent as the allegations filed up. But Friday night he broke that silence telling the newspaper Florida today quote "I know people are tired of me not saying anything, but a guy doesn't have to answer to innuendos. People should fact check. People shouldn't have to go through that and shouldn't answer to innuendos."

The allegations are more than just innuendo. Many of them are specific detailed stories told by 13 women. As women continue to come forward, members of the media are also speaking out saying they tried to dig deeper into the allegations against Cosby, but were strong armed by his lawyers.

A contributor for "the Daily Beast" says that his story for another news organization years ago was stymied by Cosby's lawyers. This is what he told CNN's Anderson Cooper.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Marty Singer, Bill Cosby's lawyer, came right out and said for us to report on this, we are doing so at our own peril.

GANIM: Another allegation of interference comes then "National Enquirer" reporter Robin Misrahe (ph) who said she was working on a Cosby story in the mid-2000 but says it was shut down when Cosby's lawyers talked to the magazine into trading the story for an exclusive interview with Cosby.

"The national Enquirer's" parent company, American Media, said they stand by their coverage telling "the Guardian" newspaper that the "Inquirer" quote "more than any other publication, was unflinching in our aggressive coverage of the allegation against Mr. Cosby beginning in 2000 when everyone else was avoiding the story.

Cosby's lawyer, Marty Singer, did not respond to CNN's questions about the allegations of media obstruction but he did say the new claims, quote, "have escalated far past the point of absurdity adding it is long past time for this media vilification of Mr. Cosby to stop.

GANIM: Now, a few of Cosby's shows have been cancelled or postponed but for the most part he shows no signs of slowing down. His website has scheduled appearances listed for almost every week until May.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you so much, Sara Ganim reporting.

Next, thousands of private web cams under attack by Russian hackers streaming live images from inside homes from around the world. What you can do to protect your privacy next.

But first our weekly look into the future. Richard Quest looks at a new way to do your banking in tomorrow transformed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lending money has always been a community affair.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where your money in Jones house. That's right next to yours and on the Kennedy House, on (INAUDIBLE) house. And hundreds others.

QUEST: As the nights became more involved, everything changed. When economies crashed in 2008, bank lending dried up and opened the doors for others to step in. Today it's called peer to peer lending. A platform where people lend money to each other over the internet.

SOUL HTITE, FOUNDER/CEO, DIANRONG: You can get a better deal by looking at people around you, looking at your community.

QUEST: The benefits work both ways. Borrowers typically pay lower interest rates, lenders earn higher returns.

PETER RENTON, FOUNDER, LEND ACADEMY: It's very simple. It's very fast. Really you can do it in your pajamas at 2:00 in the morning. From the investor perspective, it is for the first time ever people have been able to invest money in their fellow citizens.

QUEST: China is the home to the biggest rise in peer to peer lending where the company, Dianrong, says is growing by an astonishing 20 percent each month.

Yesterday, today and tomorrow all come together as well. Peer to peer lending allows members of a community to lend money to each other.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is funny because it sorts of come full circle. Banks are now participating in peer to peer lending.

HTITE: I doubts that people born today I think we're going to have a bank account the same way you and I have a bank account. I think what are going to see the banking world completely transformed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right if you have a web cam, someone may be watching you without your permission. It's a pretty easy thing to do for a hacker.

CNN technology correspondent Laurie Segall shows what you can do to protect yourself.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAURIE SEGALL, CNN MONEY TECHNOLOGY REPORTER: Hey there. Well, imagine in a mouse click a baby sleeping in his crib, a hospital room in Minneapolis. These private moments are being publicly streamed on the Internet. A Russian web site is now displaying the footage from thousands of web cameras worldwide.

So what's the point of this? The point is to prove just how easy it is to turn on the web camera inside your home. And it doesn't stop there. They are able to actually turn on public cameras and devices like baby monitors connected to the web inside your home.

If it sounds scary, it is. But here is what more alarming, This is not a hard core hack (INAUDIBLE). The reason hackers were able to stream the web cam from thousands of people around the world, it all comes down to passwords. A lot of the cameras connected to the Internet that people buy have default passwords and that's where you're vulnerable.

Now, many of the detailed passwords for these types of devices are posted on internet forums for anyone to browse and I got to tell you there are a lot of hackers looking at these internet forums with these people password. One security researcher showed me just how easy the whole process is. Take a look.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is a live shot of somebody's home and there are many others out there like that.

SEGALL: You were able to actually turn on a camera on someone's computer within their home and now we are looking at a person talking.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Not only the camera but on a lot of them, you can also get audio. People don't change default passwords. So while they may not think people are looking at their home, there are people out there that are searching looking for the default username and password which are publicly available.

SEGALL: And I should mention Kyle (ph) is an ethical hacker. He wanted to do this to raise awareness and he actually asked his friend ahead of time if he could break in online but you know, he was able to do this within minutes which is pretty eye opening. So what can you do? You can change the password on your web cam if it's set to default. We can have manufacturers to prompt users to change that default password automatically and if you're very paranoid, just put some tape over your web cam.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)