Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Americans Head Out to Black Friday; Two Young Boys Buried under Snow; Pope is Visiting Turkey for Three Days; Ferguson Rebuilds after Destruction

Aired November 28, 2014 - 09:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

Spend, spend, spend might be the words of the day. Actually the word of the day on this Black Friday. A new CNN/ORC poll finds shoppers may have an easier time opening their wallets because, for the first time since 2007, more Americans say things are going well in our economy, 52 percent in the latest poll. Compare that to last November, where only 41 percent had a favorable view of how things were going in the country. Retailers hopes that helps their bottom line as shoppers pack the stores this weekend. Alison Kosik is joining me now to talk about spending, spending, spending, shopping, shopping, shopping.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And a few things may be in shoppers' favors this year, especially lower gas prices. It puts a little more money in our pockets that we can dish out to the stores. Also, you're seeing stores really put some heavy discounting out there. Who can't pass - I can't pass up a good sale, especially when they're deep discounting 50 percent or more off of these items.

Also, what's different from this year compared to last is, we're getting pretty good weather, at least for this big shopping weekend of the year. Remember the polar vortex?

COSTELLO: Oh, yes, who could forget.

KOSIK: Yes, that actually kept a lot of shoppers inside. So we're seeing better weather. Also, there was the threat of the federal government shutting down last year. I know a lot of us may have forgotten that, but that also weighed on spending last year.

Interestingly enough, though, I went into a Target this morning here in New York City. It was empty. And here -- here's what may be happening. That Black Friday creep where we see these stores opening on Thanksgiving. Macy's, for example, the CEO said this morning that 15,000 people were waiting outside of its flagship store at 5:00 last night. So he says, as much as we are sort of creating - because it's criticism about the stores like Macy's, like Walmart opening up early on Thanksgiving, the CEO says there is demand. And it's interesting to see who's shopping in Macy's as well.

COSTELLO: But I think there's only demand at certain stores, right? KOSIK: Exactly.

COSTELLO: Because Deb Feyerick's out at a New Jersey mall this morning and it's pretty empty.

KOSIK: Right. And as I said, the Target this morning, in east Harlem, was empty, which is pretty shocking. But people are interested. I want you to hear what the Macy's CEO said earlier this morning.

COSTELLO: OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TERRY LUNDGREN, CHAIRMAN & CEO, MACY'S: There's just been a steady flow of customers. You know, and it was interesting because the customer we had last night in this particular store at 6:00 p.m. was very different when I did my circle of stores and came back here at midnight, it was a totally different customer. We went from this very international and diverse crowd opening the doors, to a very young, millennial aged crowd at midnight and beyond.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: So it looks like they went out there shopping a little early. You know the national --

COSTELLO: Oh, come on, he said that the -- lots of millennials. I just don't - I just - I mean I'm not saying he's lying or anything, but it's just hard to believe.

KOSIK: They've got - well, they've got the money to spend and they want to get those deals.

COSTELLO: They do?

KOSIK: And the National Retail Federation is really having high hopes for this year, saying that retail sales this year will increase 4 percent compared to last year to $617 billion this year.

COSTELLO: Well, I'll lay something else by you.

KOSIK: OK.

COSTELLO: So I interviewed a guy named Mike.

KOSIK: Uh-huh.

COSTELLO: He's been camping out at the Best Buy in Wisconsin for the past six years with five of his friends every year.

KOSIK: Whoo. Whoa.

COSTELLO: He said he notices a distinct, lessening of the crowds year after year.

KOSIK: Yes. COSTELLO: He thinks the tradition is dying.

KOSIK: Yes. I mean, and many people do say that Black Friday is outdated because even -- you just look at this week. I don't know about you, but I got inundated with my - with e-mails from stores offering deep discounting.

COSTELLO: Oh, yes.

KOSIK: Their Black Friday Wednesday it was happening, you know, earlier this week. So you're seeing that cut into Black Friday sales. The Internet, obviously. You're seeing the Thursday on Thanksgiving, the stores opening up. That's eating into Black Friday sales.

But I think, in the end, I think people who really traditionally go out and shop on Black Friday, they enjoy the social experience. That's their tradition. I don't think you'll see them pull back. I just think what you may see is just the shopping may be spread out a little bit, you know, over a week instead of just one day.

COSTELLO: I got you. So let's talk about hot items -

KOSIK: Oh, yes.

COSTELLO: Because there is one hot item that I'm surprised by is tennis shoes.

KOSIK: Oh, gosh, you're surprised by it? If my son catches wind of this, he's going to want these Air Jordan 6 Retros, which are - by the way, are sold out apparently. Sold out in five minutes I think at Dick's. But there are a lot of other hot items out there as well. I'm hearing GoPros are really big seller this is year. Beats head phones. Tablet, believe it are not, are going to sell well despite the fact they haven't been selling well all year. And TVs. May not be big sellers, but I'm hearing you can get a pretty good price on them.

COSTELLO: OK, Alison, thanks so much.

KOSIK: You got it.

COSTELLO: I appreciate it.

Checking some other top stories for you this morning at 35 minutes past the hour.

President Obama celebrated his favorite holiday Thanksgiving with phone calls to U.S. troops. He spoke with reps from each branch thanking them for their service. The first family also served dinner at a soup kitchen before enjoying their own feast at the White House.

A search now underway for a missing Ohio State football player. Kosta Karageorge was last seen leaving his Columbus apartment around 2:00 a.m. on Wednesday. His sister tells Cleveland.com he was upset about something and he went for a walk. His cell phone was last pinged 30 minutes later about 10 miles away. The fifth year senior walked on the team as a defensive lineman. Family and friends grew concerned when he did not show up for morning practice. And he left without any money, credit cards or anything.

A fun afternoon in the snow ends with one frantic rescue. Two young boys spent hours buried under this snowdrift. A plow unknowingly trapping them inside the fort they were building. Christine Sloan of CNN affiliate WCBS has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trapped in a snow bank, two little babies.

CHRISTINE SLOAN, WCBS REPORTER (voice-over): This iPhone video was shot as police and neighbors rescued two children buried overnight under a pile of snow in Newburgh, New York.

ROBERT NICOSLA, WITNESS: From what I understand, their door was blocking and took the attention to where these children were at. And somebody heard the muffled sounds of the kids under the snow and they were digging them out. And people were screaming for shovels and they dug these young boys out, I'd say around 10 years old. And, fortunately, they were still - they were alive and well and the police got a big round of applause.

SLOAN: One of the boys, J.J. Martinez (ph). His mother let Facebook friends know how he and his cousin were found just after 2:00 in the morning and are doing well. Taqiua Stevens' (ph) son plays with J.J. She shot this video to helped get the boys out.

TAQIUA STEVENS: All I saw was the feet. When I got over there, the little boy's feet was hanging out of the thing and he was shaking and his mother was like, it's all right, he's there, he's there. He was like, mommy, mommy.

SLOAN: The boys were playing in this parking lot across from one of their homes when they went missing just after 6:00 last night. That is when a frantic search start by police and residents. Their guess, a snowplow had something to do with it.

STEVENS: When I left at 5:30, the snowplow was out here. He started plowing already. So he probably - I don't know, he probably didn't see them or something because my son was just with them.

SLOAN (on camera): J.J.'s mom posted on Facebook that her son is still in the hospital after his ordeal in this parking lot, but is doing just fine. She thanked police for her Thanksgiving miracle.

In Newburgh, New York, Christine Sloan, CBS 2 News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, a rare papal visit to an Islamic country. We'll have a live report on what the pope hopes to accomplish, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Pope Francis is making a rare visit to Turkey. The three-day trip comes at a time when thousands of Christian refugees have fled to Turkey from Syria and Iraq as Islamic militants overrun the region. CNN's senior international correspondent Arwa Damon live in the Turkish capital this morning.

Arwa, what's on the pope's agenda?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, he's had a busy day so far, initially arriving in Ankara. His first stop was at the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern-day Turkey. He then went on to meet President Erdogan and other senior Turkish officials at Erdogan's palace. The two just wrapped up a joint press conference.

Now, in this press conference, President Erdogan was speaking about Islam as a whole, saying that it was wrong to equate Islam with terror, and expressing his concern about rising Islamaphobia. He also said that while ISIS is and continues to be a threat, the focus also needs to be on what he was describing as being a greater threat to security in Syria and in the region, and that is the regime of President Bashar al Assad.

Pope Francis, for his part, really trying to use this trip to build cross-religious bridges, especially between Islam and Christianity. The two are arguably more divided than they ever have been in recent history. Pope Francis talking about the need to focus on certain pillars, those being respect for human life, respect for religious freedom, and the freedom to worship and live a dignified life. Pope Francis also reiterating a point he has made numerous times before, and that is that the solution to what is happening in the Middle East is not going to come about by military means alone.

We are at a juncture in history when it comes to Christian and Muslim relations that many fear, especially when it comes to this region, the birthplace of Christianity, could result because of the violence we're seeing against the Christian communities in Iraq and Syria, this could result in Christianity, potentially if the status quo continues, being eradicated from the Middle East, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Arwa Damon reporting live from Turkey this morning. Thanks so much.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, glimmers of hope in Ferguson after Monday night's destruction. Local businesses refusing to stay closed despite shattered windows and broken doors. And good Samaritans in the area even spent their Thanksgiving bringing turkey and treats and smiles to National Guard soldiers. We'll talk about that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The real work of rebuilding and recovery begins in Ferguson after vandals looted stores and torched cop cars and burned buildings to the ground on Monday night. Good Samaritans spent their Thanksgiving Day cleaning up the destruction. Some volunteers even brought turkey and other treats to National Guard soldiers.

CNN's Sara Sidner has more for you. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Some of Monday night's destruction finally accessible in the daylight.

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: Show me what democracy looks like.

SIDNER: The protesters called for justice getting lost in the images of destruction, created by the few affecting the many.

In the wake of the destruction, a glimmer of hope.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're having fun.

SIDNER: At Cathy's Kitchen, where a window was smashed but the rest left intact, their doors are now open less than 24 hours after being vandalized.

JEROME JENKINS, CATHY'S KITCHEN CO-OWNER: So for us here in Cathy's Kitchen it's about letting people come in, smile a little bit, laugh a little bit, some people come in, they're crying a little bit and it's a place where you heal and what better place to do that with food?

SIDNER: They can do that because peaceful protesters stopped looters from trying to break into the business that was his wife's longtime dream, Cathy's Kitchen, the restaurant named after her.

JENKINS: The didn't allow looters to vandalize the building. The new place that we opened and the barbecue place, we estimate it got about $22,000 in damage. They broke out 25 of the windows.

SIDNER: Jerome Jenkins is also a coach, teaching many of the young men in this town about basketball and life. He says this community could have been saved from the devastation that hit his street and West Florissant.

JENKINS: My first reaction was the disappointment from my governor more than what was happening because we had an opportunity for this not to happen.

SIDNER (on camera): He mostly blames the governor for not ordering the National Guard to the streets earlier to stop the destruction.

Don't you think, though, there is some personal responsibility that needs to be taken by the people who actually did this and committed the crime?

JENKINS: Well, we have to look at it from another point of view. Everybody out there that are protesting are not protesters. We also have criminals involved. As you guys have seen, we even have homeless people involved.

This is the first time in society where a criminal feels he has a voice and he's angry, too. So what do you expect a criminal to do?

This is an opportunity that a criminal, all he has to do is look in the past and realize that they're not going to do anything so he gets to march up and down the street for once in his life and rob and steal without being penalized.

SIDNER (voice-over): Sara Sidner, CNN, Ferguson, Missouri.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, the Bears turn into a Thanksgiving Day feast for my Detroit Lions courtesy of Calvin Johnson and his brand spanking new NFL record.

Andy Scholes, Megatron, I love him.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS: Hey, Carol. Megatron making it look easy, right? He took his dominance to the field against the Bears. We'll take a look at that plus some other action from yesterday's game.

Your "Bleacher Report" is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Black Friday, sounds kind of scary, and it was. Black Friday first referred to the collapse of the U.S. gold market in 1869. A century later, Philadelphia police used Black Friday to describe chaos and congestion. Downtown streets were clogged with hoards of shoppers headed to the big department stores.

Retailers hated the term but then tried to reinvent it. It was the day their profits went from red to black -- so they said.

Black Friday really started catching on in the '80s and '90s pushed by the growth of big box stores. Today it's all about bargains and Black Friday's dark roots are for the history books.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Now you know. Much rather watch a football game than go shopping, though, and that's the truth. Especially yesterday, Andy Scholes. Megatron, the Detroit Lions, holy cow.

(LAUGHTER)

SCHOLES: Well, Carol, I told you the Bears were a bad football team yesterday.

COSTELLO: I knew that.

SCHOLES: Yes, well, they got off to a good start, though, but that's when Megatron took over, right, Carol.

COSTELLO: I know. A little scary.

SCHOLES: Calvin Johnson caught two touchdowns in the game for the Lions yesterday against the Bears. He now has eight touchdown receptions on Thanksgiving. That's the most ever. Megatron also surpassed 10,000 yards -- 10,000 receiving yards in the game for his career. And he's the fastest to get to that mark.

In summary, Carol, you know this, Calvin Johnson, he's amazing. Beat Chicago 34-17, the Bears miserable season, well, it continues, they are now 5 in 7.

The night game featuring the 49ers hosting the Seahawks last night. This is the first time Richard Sherman and Michael Crabtree squared off since Sherman's epic rant in last year's NFC championship game. And Sherman, well, he once again backed up all that smack talk. He had two interceptions in the game.

And the Seahawks dominated this and beating the Niners 19-3 and Sherman he later had some fun gesturing with the Niners fans in the stand and then after the game he celebrated by carrying off a whole turkey. Then in his post-game press conference he actually took a shot at the fans in San Francisco.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD SHERMAN, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS CORNERBACK: Their fans, you know, threw a few jabs and then somebody threw a glass bottle at then when we were jogging in. And you know, you never have to resort to name calling and some of the things they said. And you know, it really just helps you appreciate your own fans.

You know, I appreciate the 12th Man and how classy the organization we have and how classy our fans are, and, you know, how they stayed through the whole game regardless of the outcome. You know, that's huge. But you know, not every fan can be a great 12th men. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: All right. So two years after his infamous butt fumble, Mark Sanchez making his return to Thanksgiving Day football. Now there are no butt fumbles this time around for the old franchise. He led the Eagles to an easy 33-10 win over the Cowboys.

Tony Romo, meanwhile, he had a rough day, he threw two interceptions in the game. The Eagles now take sole possession of first place in the NFC East.

Now another Thanksgiving TV tradition is the National Dog Show. It's a chance for the top canines of the nation to strut their stuff. But wait. This miniature pinscher went rogue. He was on the loose. Looks like he was just trying to sabotage the other dogs' rhythm.

But check out the pincher's owner. She was so embarrassed. It's got to be rough.

(LAUGHTER)

SCHOLES: Carol, looks like someone is going to be in the doghouse.

COSTELLO: Oh, I feel so sorry for her. All that work and your dog goes rogue, and, oh, and the dog's just having fun.

SCHOLES: She was so sad.

COSTELLO: Well, the dog --

(LAUGHTER)

SCHOLES: I think people are a little too serious at the dog show. There should be more smiling.

COSTELLO: Just the fact you said that is sacrilege, Andy, you're going to get in trouble.

(LAUGHTER)

Thanks, Andy, I appreciate it.

SCHOLES: All right.

COSTELLO: The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, Black Friday. A full contact sport.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My husband that has other car, he went on the other side of the store.

COSTELLO: Plus --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hands up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't shoot.

COSTELLO: Hands up, don't spend. Ferguson protesters call for a boycott of Black Friday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that economic power is just as powerful as political power and the power to vote.

COSTELLO: Also, in the dark. Hundreds of thousands of people without power this morning after a dumping of Thanksgiving Day snow.

And he's making a run for it. Devastation at the National Dog Show.

Let's talk. Live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And good morning, I'm Carol Costello, thank you so much for joining me on this Black Friday.

Around Ferguson, Missouri, shopping for deals does not have the same level of excitement this year. Check out the St. Louis Wal-Mart last night. In the wake of this week's destructive riots and protests this story -- this store had no shoppers, only the National Guard. In fact, this Wal-Mart was closed all night only to reopen to shoppers an hour ago.