Return to Transcripts main page

Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Shooter Targeting Downtown Austin; Bracing For Black Friday; Pope Francis Visits Turkey

Aired November 28, 2014 - 05:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we do have some breaking news right now out of Texas. The police department in Austin, the state capital, confirmed that there was an active shooter targeting buildings in the downtown area, including the police department headquarters.

CNN affiliate, KEYE, reports that the gunman has been shot. The police headquarters evacuated. No officers, they say, have been hurt. Police though are warning people to stay away from the downtown area in Austin right now. We will get more details on this story. We will bring them to you as soon as we have them.

In the meantime, today, a big, big shopping day for so many people, Black Friday, usually the biggest shopping day of the year. This year, maybe not, a new CNN poll says that fewer than one in four Americans plan to go shopping today. Still, you would not guess that from the long lines outside of the crowds inside the stores all across the country.

Our national correspondent, Deborah Feyerick, is bracing for the retail impact at the New Jersey Mall. Deborah, I can see the crowds behind you. Wait, it's early, but there are some people there.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's a trickle. There are some. A lot of people came last night at 6:00. The parking lot here at Newport Center is a mall in Jersey City. The parking lot apparently was packed according to a person who works here.

The stores were open, very busy. But you can see now it is kind of down to like a trickle. A couple of intrepid shoppers still remain. There are some who are actually standing outside the H & M store, about 100 people actually outside the H & M store, which is a couple of blocks down in New York terms.

But yes, the retails are expected to really bring in a lot of money this year. But only 12 percent of all those who shop will likely find it in the mall. Some stores did stay open though they hadn't anticipated.

This store over here, I'll turn the camera around, this is called Lids. One workers inside said they did an extra day's worth of business overnight simply by staying open the extra eight hours. We do want to tell you, John, we went to get coffee this morning here at the Starbucks and that was a busy store because even at 4:00 a.m., there was a line at Starbucks. I have that officially that you still can get a Starbucks on your very first try -- John.

BERMAN: Nothing more important than coffee at 4:00 a.m. I can tell you that from experience. Deborah Feyerick, great to see you this morning. Really interesting that store did a whole day's worth of business in just a few hours overnight then it decide to remain open. Thanks, Deb.

Big changes in Ferguson, Missouri, instead of the protests and the violence that we saw the other night sparked by the grand jury decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the death of Michael Brown.

Early Thursday, it's just small demonstrations, only a few dozen protesters, a couple of arrests, no injuries, and no damage. On Thanksgiving night, police and National Guard troops chased down calls on social media for protests at Big Box stores where apparently only the online organizers that ended up showing up.

Volunteers came out to help in Ferguson on Thanksgiving morning. They were there to take a first small step on the road to that city's recovery. They were painting the boarded up windows and businesses that were affected in the week's unrest. One person put it anything is better than just blank plywood.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is not the answer to all of the bigger issues we face, but a small thing within our means to do to kind of help the community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Many of the volunteers say they do live in the area and they want it to look like the friendly place that they feel it is.

Protests inspired by events in Ferguson continued elsewhere on Thursday at the Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York. Seven people were arrested when they tried to hop police barricades and run towards the floats.

Officials did have a head's up that the protesters were going to happen. It was organized under the Twitter #stoptheparade. Organizers had said they wanted to protest the deaths of Michael Brown and three other people killed by police.

A newborn boy abandoned in a storm drain in Australia has been released from the hospital and in state care. His mother is charged with attempted murder. There was a short hearing in court today, she was not there.

The lawyer says she may apply for bail at the next hearing on December 12th. Authorities believed she dropped the infant nearly eight feet into the drain and five days passed before a cyclist found him.

Drones are becoming enough of a hazard in the skies and the FAA is looking at new rules to regulate their use. The FAA says drone use has skyrocketed this year.

Forty one pilots reported seeing a drone in October. That's way up from seeing just five in April. In some cases, pilots had to alter course to avoid the drones. Three planes recently reported close calls near New York's LaGuardia Airport. The FAA expects the issue new rules by year's end.

Some encouraging news this morning about Ebola, the National Institutes of Health says an experimental vaccine against the deadly virus is showing some promising results. Twenty healthy adult volunteers are taking part in these tests.

Scientists say the vaccine helped all of these volunteers produced anti-bodies to fight the virus with no serious side effects. The NIH will expand the trials to see if the drug can help prevent Ebola infection.

So will slippery conditions in the northeast continue through the shopping weekend? Jennifer Gray is here with an early start on our forecast. Good morning, Jennifer.

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning to you, John. Yes, we are going to clear out in the northeast rather quickly. We are going to see some snow, though, over the next couple of days around the Great Lakes. But all of that rain has pushed offshore. The snow is gone and now we will start to see warmer air in its place.

That is going to mean some big changes not only for the south, but that is going to make its way into the east coast and the northeast as well. So your Black Friday forecast, though, the national look with snow showers right around the Great Lakes.

That cold air does stay in place for yet another day in the northeast. It will be another chilly day for you. Rain in the west and sunshine across the Rockies.

So current temperatures are very cold across some areas, 10 degrees in Minneapolis, 21 in Chicago, those are the coolest spots this morning, 35 in D.C., 29 in Atlanta. We will be warming up to 49 in Atlanta, 54 in Memphis, 67 in Dallas today. What a great day, 71 in Houston.

That cold air lifts to the north. We will have that warm air coming behind it. Winds out of the south take over to push in that warm air. We will be at 70 degrees in Atlanta by Monday, New York City close to 60.

And of course, we do keep very cold temperatures in place across the north. Some of our southern cities in the northeast enjoy a nice little warm up in the days ahead -- John.

BERMAN: Excellent. Looking forward to it after the snowman we built will melt. Jennifer Gray, thanks so much. The Obama family getting a new addition to the White House today, a special delivery to kick off the holiday season. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Big day at the White House. The Christmas tree due to arrive this morning. The first lady, Michelle Obama, will be on hand for a welcoming ceremony. As for Thanksgiving, the first family had a traditional dinner at the White House.

The president, he took time out to call and thank troops. Officials say he spoke with members of all the armed services offering his profound gratitude for their service to the country.

New fallout from the sexual assault allegations against Bill Cosby, two Massachusetts colleges cutting ties with the comedian, Cosby agreed to resign as honorary chairman of the University of Massachusetts Amherst School Fundraising Campaign.

He received a masters and doctorate of education there. Also Berkley College of Music in Boston is ending its affiliation with Cosby. They had an online scholarship in his name. Cosby received an honorary degree from Berkley in 2004.

A frightening scene on a highway outside Buffalo, more than 50 vehicles involved in a huge pile up on the Grand Island Bridge along Interstate 190. Authorities say at least a dozen people were taken to the hospital. Thankfully, they say none of the injuries appears to be life threatening.

Two young boys in upstate New York appear to be OK after they spent hours buried under snow. Police in New Burke say the children were playing in snow that had piled up in a parking lot.

A plow operator apparently did not see them and ended up piling up more snow on top of them. They spent several hours and about five feet of snow before they were rescued. Police say the boys made a dome of air around their heads so they could breathe.

Let's also take a look at what is coming up on NEW DAY. Michaela Pereira joins us now.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": You're asking me. Aren't you going to be sitting in the empty chair next to me today?

BERMAN: Allegedly. Slightly less empty.

PEREIRA: Pam Brown is here with us as well. We will have a great show. Certainly it is early here in the east but make no mistake, it is dinner time for some Black Friday shoppers. Check out the crowds.

Store shelves quickly clearing of discounted merchandise overnight, little pushing and shoving along the way. What deals should you be on the lookout for? We are going to get Brett Larson to break it down for us so we could make our shopping list. And welcome return to quiet in Ferguson, the holiday so far peaceful in the Missouri town. But now Michael brown supporters are calling for a boycott of Black Friday.

Could those calls potentially lead to more unrest or has a corner been turned? We'll have all of that when "NEW DAY" begins with John Berman and I, at the top of the hour.

BERMAN: We will make sweet TV together. I cannot wait. See you shortly.

All right, 44 minutes after the hour. Pope Francis embarking on what could be his most challenging trip, we're live from Turkey in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Pope Francis arrives today in Turkey for historic visit. This trip really could be one of the most challenging of his papacy so far. The three-day visit will be a mix of religious and political meetings with the pope addressing a number of topics including the plight of Christians in Muslim-dominated countries.

CNN's Arwa Damon live in the Turkish capital with more. Good morning, Arwa.

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. He is expected to arrive at 1:00 p.m. local. That is 6:00 a.m. Eastern. Very shortly he will be met by the honor guard and military commanders and local government officials and then he will start off his three- day journey with a visit to the mausoleum of (inaudible) founder of modern day Turkey.

He will also be holding some fairly high level meetings with the president and the prime minister as well as the minister for religious affairs. Tomorrow, moving on to Istanbul for a two-day tour that is being organized and he will be accompanied by Patriarch Bartholomew on that part of the journey.

Now this is very important for a number of reasons. Not only is the pope here trying to strengthen bridges between sister churches. But also trying to bridge that ever growing divide between the Muslim and Christian communities.

We are at a point in history in the region where Christianity is arguably at a greater risk than it has been for about the last century. This is of course all starting around a decade ago with the U.S. led invasion of Iraq, the emergence of al Qaeda that saw many Christians forced to leave their homes and horrific attacks against Christian communities.

And al Qaeda from targeted assassinations to gunmen storming into churches to bombings taking place outside of Christian homes and places of worship, and then, of course, we have the more recent emergence of ISIS threating Christians and Iraq, but also forcing an exodus of Christians from Syria. A number of Christian leaders are now saying that what we are facing if it does continue at this pace could result in the eradication of Christianity from a region that was its very birth place. We did meet with some Syrian-Christian refugees in Istanbul just a few days ago.

They are saying that they have no hope in Syria anymore for themselves as Christians, which is why they are seeking to quite simply start over elsewhere.

Now when it comes to security, that is, of course, one of the many concerns given that ISIS is at Turkey's border and ISIS's leader has issued a direct warning to the Vatican saying that terrorist organization does plan to take control of Rome and the entire world.

This is a pope who is known for not wanting to drive around in armored vehicles or wanting a significant amount of security around him. That being said, this is an area where security is on high alert -- John.

BERMAN: That visit kicks off in just a few minutes. CNN's Arwa Damon live for us. Great to see you, Arwa.

In Iraq's Anbar Province, the Sunni tribe that American forces depend on to fight ISIS says it feels abandoned by the United States. They lost 700 men so far this year, many of them in a mass execution.

They are running low on ammunition and weapons and have not had direct support from the United States and not received any weapons from the Iraqi government either. The same Sunni tribe fought alongside the United States against al Qaeda in 2006, which helped make progress in the fight against insurgents.

A big power shift in North Korea raising questions just weeks after Kim Jong-Un resurfaced in North Korea. It appears that his younger sister is taking a bigger role in the family's regime.

Local media reports that Kim Yo-Jong has been given a senior role with the government. That move raises speculation about whether she is gaining power, especially months after questions related to her brother's health.

All right, 52 minutes after the hour. Pack up your Thanksgiving leftovers. Why? Some very, very small mouths could be getting closer. The story coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: We certainly hope you enjoyed a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner last night. Now we would like to introduce you to people who enjoyed thanksgiving dinner of their own. When we say little, we mean little. When we say people, we mean hamsters. Here's Jeanne Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Baste the turkey, prepare the pie. When you sit down to Thanksgiving dinner, give thanks your portions aren't hamster size. Tiny hamster's tiny Thanksgiving is actually dinner for four, two hamsters, a rat and a rabbit, which made it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Extremely chaotic.

MOOSr: And long, this not quite 2-minute video took 12 hours to shoot. The hats are taped on and the human pilgrim serving the feast is actually an L.A. food critic. Hamster Thanksgiving was brought to you by the same folks who created tiny hamster eating tiny burritos and tiny birthday cake, and tiny hamster versus Kobayashi, the former Nathan's hot dog eating champ.

The Hamster One, a viral ad agency called, Dennison, dreamed up tiny hamsters eating tiny food to show off their creative chops.

(on camera): Are those actually dental instruments you're using?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

MOOS (voice-over): That's a dental mirror inspecting a burrito and the scalpel carving the turkey.

(on camera): We are assured no hamster suffered indigestion in the making of these videos.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We hired a food stylist who designed with the trainers and find out what each animal's diet is.

MOOS (voice-over): They turn hamster friendly ingredients into human looking food. The videos paid homage by using pet hamsters to suck up spaghetti and nibble pizza.

(on camera): As is often the case with Thanksgiving dinners, there was friction between the tiny diners.

(voice-over): One hamster caught in the act of stealing a drumstick from the other's plate. There were no pies in the face. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: There is a lot to get to this morning. Black Friday in full effect, will retailers rake in the big bucks or will internet sales sweep the season. "NEW DAY" covering that and more right now.

PEREIRA: Black Friday frenzy -- millions of shoppers hitting the stores, brawls breaking out over televisions, tablets and even Barbie dolls. Bargain hunters braving it all to get deep discounts. We'll bring you the mayhem and the best deals.

BERMAN: Calm returns -- Thanksgiving brings a reprieve to protests in Ferguson. The question is will it last? National Guard members remain on duty after days of turmoil. Protesters calling for a boycott of Black Friday as questions loom over legal trouble ahead for Officer Darren Wilson.

PEREIRA: Comeback nation just in time for the holidays -- optimism about the U.S. economy hitting an eight-year high, consumers loosening their purse strings as Wall Street continues to break records. Is an economic boom really heading our way? We're going to break down what's behind the numbers. Your NEW DAY starts right now.

Or not. Good morning to you. It's Friday, also known as Black Friday, November 28th, 6:00 in the east. I'm Michaela Pereira along with my friend, John Berman. Pamela Brown is here with us in studio as well.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. The two of you as well and now that your bellies are full maybe you're thinking of giving your wallet a bit of a workout.

Today is the biggest shopping day of the year at brick-and-mortar stores, today is known as Black Friday. Stores nationwide are seeing some big, big crowds.