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Ray Rice Wins NFL Suspension Appeal; Protest March Planned for Ferguson; Community Meets on Gun Violence After Boy's Death; Pope Francis in Turkey; Austin Police Department Shooting; Interview with Yamma Brown; Who Will Replace Chuck Hagel?; Black Friday Sales Extended; Darren Wilson in Hiding over Shooting; Confiscated Criminal Goods Auctioned Online

Aired November 29, 2014 - 13:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Allowed to play again, Ray Rice wins an appeal of his suspension after being caught on camera beating his wife. We asked the daughter of the late singer James Brown who was in an abusive marriage why Janay Rice is standing by her man.

Then he may be one of the most recognized and despised police officers in the country right now. The surprising way Officer Darren Wilson has been going out in public without anyone knowing.

Plus, didn't feel like fighting the crowds for those Black Friday bargains? Well, you may have lucked out. We take a look at the sales you still can take advantage of today.

Hello, again, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice can play in the NFL again. Now the question is, will any team sign him? An arbitrator ruled Commissioner Roger Goodell should never have increased Rice's suspension from two games to indefinite for punching his then fiancee in an Atlantic City elevator last February.

Rashan Ali has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RASHAN ALI, BLEACHERS REPORT: This case came down to double jeopardy. A former federal judge ruled that Rice was being punished twice for the same offense and that violates the league's collective bargaining agreement.

Now back in September, Commissioner Roger Goodell increased Rice's suspension from two games to indefinite because of the disturbing video was released showing him knocking out his now wife, Janay Rice, in an elevator. Yesterday, Judge Robert S. Jones ruled the suspension should be lifted immediately.

Janay Rice is speaking out for the first time about the altercation. Yesterday she talked with Matt Lauer for NBC's "Today" show.

JANAY RICE, RAY RICE'S WIFE: I was furious. We came home, and we didn't talk the entire ride. Well, I didn't speak to him the entire ride home. He tried to talk to me. I didn't want to hear anything. I just knew he hit me and I was completely over it. I was done, didn't want to hear anything. I just didn't even want to entertain it. Entertain him. Anything that he had to say, any explanation.

Of course, in the back of my mind and in my heart I knew that our relationship wouldn't be over. Because I know that this isn't us and it's not him.

ALI: Ray Rice is a free agent and can sign anywhere since he was released by the Ravens. So far, no teams have made any public statements about wanting to add him to their roster.

In the wake of the appeal, the NFL confirms it is working on a new personal conduct policy. In a statement the league says Judge Jones' ruling underscores the urgency of our work to develop and implement a clear personal conduct policy.

The NFL expects the policy to be completed and announced in the weeks ahead. The players' union also wants to have a say in any new policy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, Rashan Ali, thanks so much for that.

Earlier I spoke today with CNN commentator and LZ Granderson and former ESPN senior editor, Keith Reed, about the arbitrator's ruling on Ray Rice and how it may impact the National Football League.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LZ GRANDERSON, CNN COMMENTATOR: The only way in my opinion that -- that the NFL is really going to look as if they are taking this situation seriously is that when they begin looking at this policy not as just something that impacts the players but as something that impacts everyone who works with the NFL.

We know that there have been incidents involving owners who have broken the law. We know there are other layers of executives that have broken the law. Referees, coaches who had run-ins with the authorities. And so until you start seeing they're consistent true line not just players who were in front of the cameras but the entire organization in general. I think we should always question whether or not the NFL is serious about this issue.

WHITFIELD: So it's a look the other way problem, Keith. How significant, how deeply embedded is that?

KEITH REED, FORMER ESPN SENIOR EDITOR: It's a very significant problem. And I'm glad you put it that way, said it's a look the other way problem. Remember at the heart of this issue with Ray Rice was the fact that the NFL came back with a -- with a punishment for Ray Rice that was very short, it was only two weeks. Right?

And this was their way of burying the problem. Ray Rice was only suspended indefinitely because not because the NFL was concerned about their employees, not because they were concerned about Janay Rice, not because they were concerned about the many women fans that they have.

They levied that second suspension -- for damage control because they were taking hits from guys like me and guys like LZ in the media on programs like this. And so the NFL really needs to show that it's about to get serious about domestic violence in some systemic way but not just with a punishment here but with really having some serious programs that deal with their players and executives and owners at every level.

WHITFIELD: Yes. So Ray Rice is now a free agent. Anyone can pick them up if they want to. Ravens not going to do that. They're going to let -- you know, they just let him go.

So, LZ, we've heard from Janay a little bit today. People will hear from her later on in the week because of another network's interview. But then, what do you want to hear from Ray Rice? What does another prospective team need to hear from Ray Rice before they were to pick him up?

GRANDERSON: They need to hear remorse. You know, his productivity was down last year before this incident, 2013, in large part because he suffered a hip flexor injury. But the seasons -- the last four seasons prior to that Ray Rice was one of the most productive running backs in the league. And so believe me, there are teams who are suffering, you know, a tail back who are looking at this. And what they want to hear from him is a layer of remorse.

I don't necessarily think that he won't be back this year. But he definitely will be back the following year, following season, if he shows that remorse.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, LZ Granderson and Keith Reid.

A new protest march is just about to get underway in Ferguson, Missouri, and for the next seven days, protesters will walk to the state capital in Jefferson City, Missouri. The NAACP says it wants to honor Michael Brown and to demand changes in the Ferguson Police Department.

Ed Lavandera joining me live now from St. Louis.

So this march is scheduled to kick off in about an hour or so from now. Meantime, what is happening?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. Well, the march today will kick off with a church service here at the Washington Metropolitan AME Zion Church, a historic church here in city of St. Louis. Inside people are gathering.

I'm told that there will be about a core group of 100 people who will be leading this march and going from Ferguson, Missouri, to the state capitol over the course of the next seven days, 120 miles in all.

We're told that the marchers will do about 15 to 20 miles a day culminating every night coming back here to this church with talks and sessions and educating the public. They say that what they want to do is use this moment to call for better policing across the country, better communication between police departments and black communities across the country.

Obviously, all of this touching on the incident with Michael Brown back in August. And they're obviously very aware of the violence and the riots that took place early last week. They say they hope that this march, this peaceful, nonviolent march, will cast a different face, a different view for people across the country to tap into and look at.

So church services here starting in just a short while. And they say that they hope that this will grow over the course of the next week and, you know, the head of the NAACP, Cornell Williams Brooks that I spoke with -- we were talking to him about why they were doing this march. He says, you know, it's no mistake that this is done kind of tapping into that civil rights history and the marches of the -- of the 1960s.

And they hope to tap into that spirit and that history to inspire people to join them in this march over the course of the next week -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Ed Lavandera in St. Louis, thanks so much.

All right. Now to the fallout from that tragic incident in Cleveland where police shot and killed a boy who had been pointing a toy pellet gun at people in public. It happened last Saturday. People from Tamir Rice's community held a meeting last night to talk about gun violence and police relations. Meanwhile, new surveillance video and 911 tapes released this week are raising alarming new questions about the tragedy.

CNN's Rosa Flores joins me now live from New York with details on that.

So, Rosa, Rice's family wanted this to be a teachable moment. But what is the message that they want people to receive?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, the family of this young man, Fred, asked the community to have a constructive conversation with police.

Now I want you to take a look at the dialogue during the church gathering. Not only do people share their grief. They also applaud police.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a hate crime. That hurt me to my heart. I had to pull back. I couldn't take it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know that there is a great deal of unrest in the community. God, this is why we call upon you, because you are a god that can make things better. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have been on the job 30 years and I never once

had to shoot anybody. And I've been out there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: It's a conversation triggered by the death of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old who was shot and killed by police. Now surveillance video and a 911 call was released. In it, the caller tells dispatchers a black male was pointing a pistol at bystanders, adding that it could be fake, that the gun could be fake. But the dispatcher doesn't relay that information to the police officers responding to the call. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody's tied up with priorities. There's a guy sitting on a swing pointing a gun at people. In the park by the youth center, is a black male sitting on the swings. He is wearing a camouflage hat, a gray jacket with black sleeves. Said he keeps pulling a gun out of his pants and pointing it at people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: Now we now know the boy was shot by police. He died a day later. Turns out that gun he was brandishing was actually fake.

Now all of those details of course still under investigation. Tamir Rice's viewing is scheduled for tomorrow -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: And then, Rosa, there have been some observations and some folks are questioning why it took so long for the boy to even get first aid after being shot?

FLORES: Yes, you know, radio traffic between the officers and the dispatcher was actually released as well. And here's what we know from that. After the boy was shot the officers radioed that a black male, maybe 20, was down. And four minutes after that, police say a detective and an FBI agent arrived on the scene. It was that FBI agent who began first aid. Then paramedics arrived about three minutes later.

So, Fred, critical moments considering this boy died a day later.

WHITFIELD: Right. All right, Rosa Flores, thanks so much, in New York.

FLORES: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: Overseas Pope Francis is on the second leg of a three-day trip to Turkey designed to create stronger ties between the country's Christian and Muslim communities. Earlier he led a mass in Istanbul and toured two religious states including a 17th century mosque.

CNN's senior international correspondent Arwa Damon is in Istanbul and joining us live now.

So, Arwa, Turkey has a very small Christian community but the Pope believes it is significant nonetheless.

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He does. And this trip is significant for a number of reasons. Now when it comes to trying to build relations between the various different branches of Christianity, that is one key reason he was here at least in Istanbul at the invitation of the Orthodox Patriarch. But also perhaps more importantly, this trip not necessarily just about the Christian population in Turkey but about the plight of Christians elsewhere.

Most certainly over the last decade we have seen Christians being driven from their homes, from their countries, first by al Qaeda and then by ISIS. Many fearing that at this juncture in history if the status quo is allowed to continue, we could end up seeing the Middle East, the birth place of Christianity, being at least in some places, areas, where Christians cannot even live out of fear for their lives.

So Pope Francis very much trying to underscore the need for interfaith dialogue. He did hold a brief moment of prayer with the Grand Mufti of Istanbul. That happening inside the Sultan Ahmet or Blue Mosque, and then he went on to visit the Haghia Sophia museum. It is very interesting because of its history which very much epitomizes perhaps what it is that Pope Francis is trying to accomplish.

The museum was a church and then when the Turks conquered Constantinople it was repurposed to be transformed into a mosque. Today as it stands as a museum it has inside it beautiful Islamic calligraphy along with stunning Christian frescos. And again Pope Francis's message here very much about that need for dialogue full stop. He has in fact stated before coming to Turkey that if dialogue was what it took to deal with an entity like ISIS well that door to that should not be closed.

And this, Fredricka, coming after the terrorist organization head Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi directly threatened the Vatican.

WHITFIELD: All right. Arwa Damon, thanks so much from Istanbul. Appreciate that.

All right. It sounded like a war zone. More than a hundred gunshots, many of them aimed at police headquarters in Austin, Texas. We'll tell you what happened.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A man who police say had a criminal record and a history of violent antigovernment behavior is dead today after going on a shooting rampage in Austin, Texas. Although he fired more than 100 rounds, no one else was hurt.

Here's CNN's Victor Blackwell.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the Austin, Texas, Police Department headquarters. Riddled with bullets. Shot by a lone gunman. According to police, 49-year-old Larry McQuilliams, now dead. Police say McQuilliams lived in Austin and had a criminal record.

He began his rampage, officers said, minutes after bars closed early Friday morning. 2:22 a.m., emergency dispatchers are inundated with calls, reports of gunshots, lots of them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're advising there's someone in a white Toyota Highlander possibly firing an assault rifle. Sounds like a machine gun.

BLACKWELL: Officers start their search as the shooting continues. 2:28 a.m., reports that McQuilliams is shooting at the new federal courthouse, the Mexican consulate building, and the Austin Police Department headquarters where at 2:33 a sergeant who was securing horses with the department's Mounted Unit hears the shoots and then sees McQuilliams shooting at police headquarters.

CHIEF ART ACEVEDO, AUSTIN, TEXAS POLICE: As he held two horses with one hand, he discharged one round, at least one round with a single handed shot.

BLACKWELL: Police say McQuilliams falls to the ground, although the medical examiner will have to determine whether it's the officer's shot or a self-inflicted shot that killed him. As officers rushed to McQuilliams they noticed suspicious cylinders possibly explosive devices inside his van.

ACEVEDO: As the officers were dragging the suspect away from that vehicle getting ready to render aid, they noticed some type of vest on the suspect. The officers, having seen the suspicious items in the vehicle and now this vest were unable to determine whether or not that was simply a protective vest or potentially an IED suicide type vest that is known to be used around the world.

BLACKWELL: 2:40 a.m. the bomb squad arrives. Then SWAT. And after an extensive search they find no explosive devices. However police say McQuilliams fired more than 100 rounds within 10 minutes and ignited a small propane tank, the type most often used by campers around the consulate. Fortunately the fire was extinguished without causing any damage to the building.

ACEVEDO: If you look at a person shooting up the Mexican consulate, you know, and then the federal building, there's a pretty this is all speculation, but look at the national debate right now about immigration, that certainly comes to mind.

BLACKWELL: Police believe McQuilliams acted alone and they're scouring any social media accounts to confirm a motive.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Victor Blackwell, thanks so much.

An arbitrator had overturned Ray Rice's indefinite suspension from the NFL for punching his then fiancee nine months ago. We'll have reaction from a domestic violence survivor herself straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Former Ravens running back Ray Rice is eligible to return to the NFL. An arbitrator overturned the NFL's indefinite suspension of Rice for hilting his wife, Janay, then his fiancee. The ruling really came down to how Rice's discipline was handled by the NFL in the first place, not the actual incident itself.

Joining me right now, Yamma Brown, the daughter of the late iconic entertainer James Brown, and herself a victim of domestic violence. She writes in part about it in her book "Cold Sweat." She writes about her relationship with her dad and then her dad's experience as someone that you and the other kids witnessed --

YAMMA BROWN, DOMESTIC ABUSE SURVIVOR: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Beating on your own mom and then you ended up in a relationship, too, that was very disturbing.

BROWN: Right.

WHITFIELD: But let's talk about what we're seeing and hearing. Now people are trying to evaluate the Janay Rice interview.

BROWN: Uh-huh.

WHITFIELD: The interview took place before the arbitration, you know, decision was made.

BROWN: Right.

WHITFIELD: But when we see her response, where she talks about how she was angry at Ray immediately following him hitting her, but she said very quickly, but, you know, while I was done with his thoughts at that moment, I knew I still wasn't going to leave.

BROWN: Right.

WHITFIELD: Help people understand what it is to be in a relationship that may be tumultuous like that, why it is some stay, some leave. How did you evaluate -- what did you see and interpret in that interview?

BROWN: Yes. You know, at different stages in the cycle of abuse because there are different stages, you're going to feel different things. And ultimately for me I got tired and said enough is enough and I'm going. But throughout that process you do feel like well, she loves him, first of all. She is committed to him. She loves him no matter if this is the first time, the 50th time. Who knows? Only they know.

You know, but, really, she is committed to her marriage, committed to him because she loves him so much that she is willing to put him first before herself. And it's disturbing to everybody on the outside looking in because we go, that's not right. You know? That's not right. And it isn't. You know, we should be having healthy relationships and, you know, she's got a little girl that -- you know, a next generation that we've got to show what it means to have these healthy relationships.

This isn't healthy. And she's unfortunately on the spotlight. She is dealing with a lot of emotions. And you know, my heart goes out to her because I can -- I mean, I've been there. You know? I know how it is to feel like, what just happened? Like, what just happened? You know, I was in this fight, you know, this person that I love -- maybe it was unlike him. Maybe, you know, this was something that she had never experienced before. Or maybe it was fueled by the alcohol and what was going on.

Who knows? But at the same token, she wants to support him as much as she can.

WHITFIELD: And Yamma, Janay Rice said in that interview, quote, she says, this isn't us, and this isn't him. So very quick to kind of explain that this is not representative of who we are.

BROWN: Yes.

WHITFIELD: But you write, you know, very frankly in the book that you could hear when your dad James Brown was assaulting your mom. You could hear you know him calling her name, Dee Dee, and you would hear what sounded like the body, you know, being thrown against the wall.

BROWN: That's right.

WHITFIELD: But then just when you were talking about the generations, you were talking about Janay and Ray and their, you know, toddler daughter, but then you found yourself, even though you were witness to it, you found yourself in a relationship that was destructive and damaging.

BROWN: That's right.

WHITFIELD: Help people understand how it is that that cycle does continue even though it is traumatizing as a child to see it. But then you find yourself in the very same predicament.

BROWN: Right. Because you are traumatized by it but it becomes your truth and your reality that maybe mom is there, she really loves him, maybe this is what love is all about. Maybe this is how people show love. You know. And you do get into this situation where it's just all these emotions are wrapped up into one.

But it is -- you know, I saw it growing up. It traumatized me. I swore I would never let this happen to me. And guess what? It didn't show up on my doorstep that way. It was packaged up nice. And, you know, I'm this. I'm that. And a lot of thing that you get caught up in, in the whirlwind of somebody else's life and then you realize when you wake up one eight day that hey, I have been dealing with a lot of bad things here.

But she just hadn't gotten to that point unfortunately. I just -- I just pray that they can get the help that they need and move forward and together, you know.

WHITFIELD: So then as you look at their situation, the Rice situation, and then you look at the arbitrator's decision.

BROWN: Right.

WHITFIELD: The arbitration decision which says he can be reinstated, he should play football, how do you, as you know a victim of domestic violence -- how do you interpret this act and the NFL so pledging to do more, to have a stricter policy as it pertains to domestic violence?

BROWN: Yes. I -- I felt like -- as far as him winning the appeal, I felt like that was his job. You know, he told -- he said he told the truth from the beginning. And that part of it doesn't have anything specifically to do with the act and what went -- you know, what went down on the elevator. So I feel like, you know, although he won there -- and I kind of felt like he deserves the right to a second chance.

Everyone does. We all do. As you know, we can't sit up here and point our fingers at one another. He deserves a second chance. And he is going to be given that right to play in the NFL again if another team chooses to pick him up. But the NFL really turned a blind eye at the whole idea because if they knew up front what it looked like and they only gave a two-game suspension, then that was the extent of how they felt of domestic violence.

And I think now is a great moment, a teachable moment, a moment for policies to be changed in the NFL. I don't know exactly what's going on. But it definitely is a time for us to say, you know, enough is enough. Don't just let it just keep on happening. I love what they did with nomore.org. That was great. Speak out, teach the next generation.

Just -- you know, Ray Rice, just teach the next generation of kids to look up to you. I have a 13-year-old son right now who doesn't have a father. My husband is deceased now. But he was an abuser. He saw him abuse me. I want him to see guys come out of that and say you know what, what I did was wrong but I can make some right out of this. I can teach you how to redirect that anger.

I can teach you how to have healthy relationships with women. And that's what we want to cultivate, not continue in this cycle. Because I did it, and now I'm here to try to say let's not do it anymore. You know. Let's make it right.

WHITFIELD: Very courageously said.

Thanks so much, Yamma Brown. The book is "Cold Sweat." Appreciate your time.

BROWN: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Good to see you.

BROWN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. With Chuck Hagel now resigning as U.S. Secretary of Defense, many are asking, who will take over right now? And why is the White House having such a hard time finding a replacement. And why are some potential candidates already saying no thanks?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Still no word on who the White House will pick to replace Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel after he announced he is stepping down. But there is speculation that the president is struggling to find a new secretary of defense.

Erin McPike is at the White House with more on this -- Erin.

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, that's right. He is having a little bit more trouble filling this position. And you may know in the last few months he's had to fill several other Cabinet positions, he's really had to widen the search and is winding up with lower profile people than he had in his first term. And it's not the team of rivals that he once had. It seemed like Chuck Hagel, a Republican, may be the last vestige of that.

But the extend of all of this maybe to concentrate more decision making power back inside the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: New leadership should take over at the Pentagon. And for the last two years the president's determined that's what's going to happen.

MCPIKE (voice-over): At least how the administration tells it officially, President Obama and outgoing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel agreed on that. But it's led to more second-guessing of the president's management style and even late-night comics are taking shots.

JIM FALLON, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW": The rumors at Washington this week that Joe Biden was not happy with the way the White House forced the resignation the Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.

MCPIKE: That narrative may be making the president's challenge of replacing Hagel even tougher.

CHUCK HAGEL, DEFENSE SECRETARY: I will always give you my honest and most informed counsel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He served two combat tours in Vietnam.

MCPIKE: When President Obama was hunting for a new Veteran's Affairs secretary this spring after Eric Shinseki stepped down amid the VA hospital fiasco there was no immediate short list because the White House wasn't sure what kind of background would be best for the job.

A new attorney general to succeed Eric Holder this fall? His original choices deemed too controversial to pass the Senate. So he settled on little known Loretta Lynch. Now heading into a difficult winter, the White House's early hopes to

head the Defense Department, Rhode Island Senator Jack Reid and former Defense Department Undersecretary Michele Flournoy said no thanks even before getting the job offer.

Number one on the next Defense chief's to-do list, carrying out the president's hotly debated strategy against ISIS.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: They're going to send more over there. They're going to have to have forward air controllers on the ground. They're going to have to have special forces people. We're going to have to have trainers.

MCPIKE: But the big complaint of Defense secretaries past, the Obama White House micromanages. Now topping the revised list, low key but experienced Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, who has experience dealing with ISIS on the domestic front. And the former number two at the Pentagon, Ash Carter.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCPIKE: Now when the White House finally does settle on someone who then says yes and the White House has said that they want to pick someone soon, they will still have to wait until sometime in January when a new Congress is installed and there is a Republican controlled Senate to begin confirmation hearings and then the confirmation vote. And this could be a longer process than they want when dealing with ISIS. It could be February before there is a new Defense secretary -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Erin McPike at the White House. Thanks so much.

All right. Did you skip the lines and the fist fights, perhaps? I hope so, for those Black Friday deals? Well, you may not have missed out on all the deals just yet. Why today may actually be the better day to hit stores.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: OK. Fist flying? Yes. And shoppers screaming, losing their minds. So out of control on Black Friday deals. But many stores reported smaller than normal crowds, even despite all of that.

Consumer savings experts Andrea Woroch joining us live now.

Good to see you. First, what are we seeing.

ANDREA WOROCH, CONSUMER SAVINGS EXPERT: Good to see you.

WHITFIELD: Great. Why are we seeing fewer shoppers in the stores, even if some are losing control?

WOROCH: There are a few reasons. First of all, we saw earlier than ever sales, pre Black Friday sales offered in the beginning of November. So a lot of shoppers were taking advantage of those and perhaps didn't feel the need to shop over Black Friday this year. As well, retailers instead of limiting the door busters to just Friday extended those sales on Thursday. And there were record sales on Thursday evening. So a lot of consumers were out on Thanksgiving night shopping.

WHITFIELD: Wow. My gosh.

WOROCH: And plus a lot of consumers are taking advantage of the online sales, and shopping from the comfort of home using their mobile devises and tablets to make purchases. And online sales were up on Black Friday over last year as well. Record online sales for Thanksgiving this year as well.

WHITFIELD: OK. So still good deals this weekend even if you, you know, were not in the stores yesterday or on Thanksgiving Day. It's kind of carried over into the weekend?

WOROCH: There has. So if you missed out on Black Friday, there is plenty of time to take advantage of those sales. Specifically, I'm seeing big sales on tech items, which are the most popular gifts to purchase or items to purchase this weekend. So you can save $70 off the Xbox One Assassins Unity Creed. Bundle set at Toys 'R' Us through Saturday.

At Amazon you can save over $200 off a 40-inch Samsun smart LED HDTV. And you can save $150 off the Asus 11.6-inch laptop at Staples and they're selling that for just $99.

WHITFIELD: My.

WOROCH: So as you can see a lot of big sales through the weekend. And a lot of retailers are extending those Black Friday deals through Sunday even. Barnes & Noble, for instance, their 30 percent off sale is valid through Sunday. And Dyson's $150 off vacuums is offered through Monday. So lots of good time still to take advantage of those deals.

WHITFIELD: All right. So especially good deals on electronics. And then today really is the best day to shop overall, whether it's what, online or in the store?

WOROCH: Right, I recommend shopping today if you want to take advantage of any of those sales because some of those deals will expire today and a lot of popular items may sell out. So head online or run to your local stores. Plus it's also small business Saturday. So those small businesses in your area will be offering sales. So it's a good time to take advantage of local deals.

WHITFIELD: All right. And then compare prices in order to save. What's the best way to do that?

WOROCH: Right. There is still -- it's important to compare prices to make sure you're getting the cheapest price across all retailers, whether online or in store. So you can use pricewatch.com, pricegrabber.com. There is also Red Laser, which is an in-store app to offer you instant price comparison. And then Set Sale alerts, the snap-up app will let you know if

something you buy today goes on sale later in the week. This way you can request a price adjustment. And then don't forget to look for coupons. Go to couponsherpa.com to see if there are any online coupons or they have a free mobile coupon apps to get those extra savings in store.

WHITFIELD: All right. Lots of good stuff. Good deals. Thanks so much, Andrea Woroch, and of course, have a great holiday weekend.

WOROCH: Thank you for having me.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: All right.

WOROCH: Thank you. You too.

WHITFIELD: Just some of the ways to maximize your money, just in time for Cyber Monday as well.

All right, next, how soon did Officer Darren Wilson go into hiding after shooting and killing an unarmed teenager by the name of Michael Brown? And what strange precautions did he take?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A deadly shooting marred Black Friday shopping in Chicago. Police say a man walked into a downtown Nordstrom store, targeting his girlfriend or ex-girlfriend. He shot and critically wounded her, and then he shot and killed himself. Not surprisingly the sounds of gunfire sent shoppers into a sheer panic. CNN affiliate WLS says the stores closed until further notice.

And that was the scene at a Cairo courtroom after a judge dropped charges against Hosni Mubarak. The former Egyptian president was acquitted of conspiracy in the deaths of hundreds of protesters in the 2011 uprising against him. Corruption charges were also dismissed. But Mubarak won't walk free just yet. He is still serving a three- year sentence for embezzlement.

And in the States now, life for Darren Wilson has gone from protecting and serving to hiding and surviving. The Ferguson police officer who shot and killed unarmed teenager Michael Brown has been forced to live on the run, afraid for his own safety.

Here's CNN's Brian Todd.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, we're learning new details about Darren Wilson's efforts to protect himself. There have been death threats, bounties placed on his head. As a result, Wilson has been constantly on the move, in hiding, always looking over his shoulder.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) TODD (voice-over): Despite not being indicted by a grand jury or charged with a crime in the shooting of Michael Brown, Darren Wilson is still living a life in hiding. Something his lawyers say has now gone on for months.

CNN has learned it began just days after the shooting in August when Officer Wilson was mowing his lawn. He got a call telling him his home address was circulating online. Within three hours, he was packed and gone.

NEIL BRUNTRAGER, DARREN WILSON'S ATTORNEY: He had to leave the grass literally half mowed, and he had to go into hiding because there are death threats out against him. There are bounties that have been placed upon his life.

TODD: Since that day in August, Wilson has moved from house to house, even staying for a short time with one of his lawyers. He says he's changed his appearance, growing a beard at one point. When he goes out, his lawyers say, he often goes to movies which offers time cloaked in darkness.

In an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos, Wilson talked about his precautions.

DARREN WILSON, FORMER OFFICE, FERGUSON POLICE: You know, from where you sit in a restaurant to, you know, where you drive. Everything. Everything has to run through your head as all the time you are watching making sure no one is following you. Everything. You know, you hear or see someone look at you and then lean over and tell someone a secret, and the second person looks at you, and you think do they know who I am?

TODD: In recent days, the "New York Times" published Wilson's home address online, likely inadvertently, as part of his marriage license, though he is not believed to have lived at that home in months.

His lawyer say immediately after the shooting, Wilson wanted to return to his job as a police officer. One of his own attorneys told him if he did he could be executed in a blind alley.

RON HOSKO, LAW ENFORCEMENT LEGAL DEFENSE FUND: It's not a great leap to think that if Officer Wilson were to start patrolling the streets of Ferguson again that somebody sees what shift he is on, makes a call, and pulls him into a bad situation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: As for his future, expert Ron Hosko says Darren Wilson would be prudent to change his name, keep changing his appearance, put his property in a trust so that it could be shielded from public view. And he says Wilson will always have to be sharpening his awareness, his alertness. He'll be looking over his shoulder for quite a while -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Brian Todd. And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. This weekend is all about shopping for so many of you. So how about buying some stolen goods for your friends and family this year? Legally.

Here's CNN's Paul Vercammen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm at the Property Room warehouse here in the City of Industry. There's several of these warehouses around the country. Right here, bicycles about 2,000 of them, all these hot items were hot, almost all of it. Stolen evidence contributed by 3,000 police departments around the country. They ship to all over the country and then they soon start to ship to Canada and Mexico.

Items include everything from desktops. These are scrubbed and cleaned they stay here by the Department of Defense standards so they wipe all of this up.

CHRIS TEWFIK, TESTING SPECIALIST: Make sure that people don't get another people's information or, you know, explicit pictures or anything crazy like that.

VERCAMMEN: And if you go down the line here, you'll see all sorts of other items up for bid. You've got a snare drum. You can get yourself a backpack floor and even a karaoke machine. And then over here power tools, galore, and even a brand new chainsaw.

Property Room was started by police officer who saw an opportunity here and ceased it. And so, as we said, you've got items that were taken in by all of these police departments that nobody claimed.

AJ JABER, DIRECTOR, PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT, PROPERTYROOM: Police departments like it because all they have to do is just follow the program by listing the item, take pictures of front left, right, rear, et cetera, and put it up online for auction. Typically, it's a 50-50 split.

VERCAMMEN: And by the way, if any of the items are bad or counterfeit or fake, they just go ahead and destroy it. Now over here a very interesting room, it says JW Center, JW stands for jewelry and watches.

So where does all this stuff come from? All over. Look in here, evidence labels. This one from Indianapolis, a homicide it looks like, in Kansas. This is the jewelry room, that's why the small bags. And if you look around here some astounding deals. They say this bag alone probably worth more than $100,000. This watch, a Patek Philippe estimated at $60,000. Next to it, a presidential Rolex, $35,000 to $ 40,000. And on this jewelry and 95 percent of the items in here, the opening bid on the auction is $1.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Paul Vercammen.

You can find these deals online at propertyroom.com.

Meantime, the next hour of the NEWSROOM starts right now.

Allowed to play again. Ray Rice wins an appeal of the suspension that he received after being caught on camera beating his then fiancee, this as Janay Rice now, his wife, pours her heart out about that night.

Then his own son was gunned down and killed by police during a traffic stop. Now he is pushing for change in Ferguson, Missouri. That father joins us live.