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Critical Day for Shoppers and Retailers; Hackers Take Down Gaming Networks; Jordan Warns ISIS of Grave Consequences; Legal: Top 10 Stories of the Year

Aired December 26, 2014 - 09:00   ET

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

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye in for Carol Costello. Thanks so much for joining me this morning.

We begin at a place that you are likely headed today, the mall, that is. Today is a critical day for retailers across America as businesses slash prices and millions of us head back out looking for some deals.

This is the second busiest shopping day of the year, after retailers did not see the blockbuster sales in the buildup to Christmas. But when you head to the stores today, are you more likely to spend or return those gifts that were maybe just wrong?

After Christmas exchanges and returns are a $65 billion tradition according to the National Retail Federation.

CNN business correspondent Alison Kosik joining me now to talk more about this.

Good morning to you, Alison.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you, Randi. You know, this is really an epic exchange day when you can exchange, you can return and you can re-gift those gifts that you got that you don't want, but this is still the second busiest shopping day at least in terms of traffic compared to super Saturday, which is actually edged out Black Friday because Black Friday is kind of stretched into a week-long event.

And it looks like so far retailers are doing pretty well. Retailers are expected to have their best -- their biggest sales growth in three years, up 4.1 percent this year compared to 3.1 percent in sales.

You know, as you said, Randi, it did start kind of slow. Black Friday was kind of quiet. Lower gas prices seem to have helped giving consumers a little extra money in their pockets, also deep discounts at a lot of stores especially Wal-Mart and Target in competition with Amazon trying to compete with those online retailers.

Also consumers are getting more thrifty, they're comparing prices more, there are a lot of apps out there that help them compare prices. But they're expected to get out there in droves today. Do those exchanges, do those returns and buy a little gift for themselves. That's what today is all for. KAYE: Here, here, I agree with that.

All right, Alison, thank you very much. Appreciate that.

Meanwhile, thousands of gamers got a lump of coal along with their PlayStations and Xbox this Christmas. A group calling itself the Lizard Squad says it is behind a hack that's taken the gaming networks offline. Sony's @PlayStation Twitter account had problems began on Christmas Eve and right now it appears there still is not a permanent fix.

So let's talk it over with senior media correspondent and host of CNN's "RELIABLE SOURCES" Brian Stelter.

Good morning to you.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

KAYE: Nice to see you back here in the studio with me.

STELTER: Thank you.

KAYE: Instead of your mom's house where you were yesterday.

STELTER: Actually we're trying to play Xbox yesterday afternoon and the system was down. So we were experiencing this firsthand.

KAYE: So talk about this Lizard Squad who is taking credit for this hack.

STELTER: Yes. This was a group, you know, an anonymous group online that actually been claiming it was going to do this for weeks ahead of time, threatening some sort of Christmas Day attack. It's a perverse form of entertainment for these hackers, you know, to try to take down the computer systems at Sony and at Microsoft.

And they can do it for something called a denial of service attack, which means they flood these servers at Sony and Microsoft with illegitimate traffic and basically make it impossible for the legitimate traffic, people like my brothers who wanted to play Xbox in order to get onto the server. So for a number of hours yesterday Xbox and PlayStations online systems are both down. This morning it looks like Xbox is in mostly back up and PlayStation is mostly still back down.

KAYE: It looks like they ask people to follow them, right? Is that what they do?

STELTER: Yes. Like I said, a perverse form of entertainment.

KAYE: Yes.

STELTER: This hacking group saying if you follow us on Twitter, if you re-tweet us then we'll get the servers back up. Microsoft and Sony are aware of the problem, they're working on it. And this morning Sony says they're still working on it. KAYE: And this is completely not related, is that right, to the Sony

hack?

STELTER: Right. In fact, you know, you see all these other earlier hacks on screen now. This is something that's been going on for months and PlayStation in particular has been having to deal with it for months. And even though it comes at the same time as that devastating cyber attack at Sony it is different. It does appear to be unrelated.

What happened at Sony was really cyber criminals breaking into the computer systems and stealing data. This is something different, this is taking the servers offline, making it impossible for people to play games but not actually stealing data.

It still is pretty disturbing, though, because a lot of people opened up Christmas presents with Xbox and PlayStation games.

KAYE: Sure.

STELTER: And then were unable to play them yesterday. There were a lot of unhappy families overnight. Maybe today, maybe through the holidays, through the New Year's, maybe the system will be back online.

KAYE: Yes, YouTube no problems?

STELTER: Yes. That's right. That's why this seems unrelated to the release of "The Interview." You know, the way some people watched the movie "The Interview" via Xbox. It's going to become on to the PlayStation store in the coming days. But the other places where people can rent the movie like YouTube were unaffected so this does seem to be the work of a different group of hackers.

Just goes to show how vulnerable these systems seem to be.

KAYE: Absolutely.

STELTER: It's really remarkable as the Internet becomes pervasive, as everybody relies on the Internet as a utility. The fact that these systems can still be taken down in this way is somewhat concerning.

KAYE: I agree.

All right, Brian Stelter, nice to see you, thank you.

STELTER: You too. Thanks.

KAYE: Nearly one week after two New York City police officers were ambushed and gunned down, authorities have arrested at least half a dozen people for allegedly making copycat threats. The most recent? A 26-year-old hold off in cuff after officials say he posted pictures of weapons -- excuse me -- with a vow to kill police online. CNN has also learned that a 41-year-old man was arrested after he allegedly threatened officers from the same precinct where Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos were stationed. So far officials have analyzed hundreds of online postings and 911 phone calls.

All this happening as family and friends prepare to say good-bye to Ramos at a public wake. So let's bring in CNN's Miguel Marquez. He is in New York outside the church where loved ones and police from around the country are expected to gather later today.

Good morning, Miguel.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is going to be enormous there, Randi. Good morning.

The wake is today, 2:00 to 9:00 p.m., but the funeral tomorrow is going to transform this area of Queens into a sea of blue. NYPD preparing for some 25,000 police to descend on this area from around the country. This is NYPD who's on the watch for more attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ (voice-over): NYPD in mourning and on heightened alert.

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK: Any statements suggesting violence towards the police need to be reported to the police so we can stop future tragedies.

MARQUEZ: Seven people arrested in connection with making threats against NYPD. Three arrested for posting threats on social media, two for making false 911 calls. Two others arrested, one for making threats against the 104th precinct in Queens, the other against the 84th precinct in Brooklyn, where the two assassinated officers worked.

Officer Rafael Ramos' family came to the 84th precinct Wednesday, his eldest son, Justin, calling his father a hero, said, "I'm going to miss his loving presence and I can't begin to fathom who life is going to be like without him."

The memorial to the two officers growing in proportion to the sorrow felt city-wide. Police have come, sometimes alone, others in groups, all of them to show respect, their grief unmistakable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is sad. It's really hurting me. No, I'm not a police officer, but it just -- they really got to me watching this on TV with my family.

MARQUEZ: Like NYPD funerals before, an enormous display of respect and grief will blanket the Glendale section of Queens as officers from across the country remember one of their own.

DE BLASIO: We now bow our heads in memory of Officer Ramos and Officer Liu.

MARQUEZ: Wenjian Liu's funeral is still being planned as the city and country grieve. JetBlue airlines is working to fly family members from China and has offered to fly two officers from any law enforcement agency along its route to the funerals.

(END VIDEOTAPE) MARQUEZ: And we have a sense of that outpouring, the number of officers who have taken JetBlue up on that. JetBlue says they're going to -- they're going to move some 600 individuals from different departments across the country to this area of Queens. Businesses across the city have stepped up, raising tens of thousands of dollars for both families.

It is just going to be an incredible scene here as this first funeral takes place and when they figure out the plans for Officer Liu's funeral later in the week, the beginning of a very, very tough week for both NYPD and the city -- Randi.

KAYE: And overall, Miguel, I mean, how many people are they expecting to attend not only the wake but the funeral service?

MARQUEZ: Well, the funeral is going to be those 25,000 police officers and then they're planning for about 30,000 once you factor in friends, family and the public that will come out here.

These are very small, sort of narrow streets here in Queens. It is going to be an impressive sight to see -- Randi.

KAYE: I'm sure.

Miguel Marquez, thank you very much.

It was a chaotic scene in Oakland, California, last night as protesters flooded the streets. Demonstrators angry over the recent deaths of African-American men at the hands of police officers carried out what they called a No Time Off March. Officials say a few dozen protesters turned violent smashing dozens of storefront windows. At one point they even set a dumpster on fire and damaged a Christmas display.

Still to come, Jordan delivers a grim warning to ISIS after militants capture a coalition pilot. Why officials say there will be grave consequences if he is harmed by terrorists.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: The world is safer and more peaceful. That was the message from President Obama as he paid Marines stationed in Hawaii a Christmas Day visit along with First Lady Michelle Obama. Marking the end of the U.S. combat mission in Afghanistan, Mr. Obama took the opportunity to thank troops for their service.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is an important year. We've been in continuous war now for almost 13 years, over 13 years, and next week we will be ending our combat mission in Afghanistan. Obviously because of the extraordinary service of the men and women in the American armed forces, Afghanistan has a chance to rebuild its own country. We are safer. It's not going to be a source of terrorist attacks again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: At the end of this month, U.S. forces will shift focus from a combat role in Afghanistan to counterterrorism training and missions. Service members are expected to advise and assist the Afghan troops.

Coalition forces deliver a major blow to ISIS. According to Iraq police the governor of Mosul who was appointed by ISIS was killed yesterday during U.S. airstrikes. He is the second ISIS appointed governor of Mosul to be killed by coalition forces. Meanwhile, terrorists continue to hold the coalition pilot hostage after his F-16 went down over the ISIS stronghold of Raqqah, that's in eastern Syria. His home country of Jordan now warning ISIS of grave consequences if he is harmed.

Let's bring in CNN's Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.

So, Barbara, good morning to you. What kind of grave consequences is Jordan actually talking about here?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jordan along with the United States saying that they will hold ISIS responsible for the safety of this Jordanian pilot and obviously they want him returned to Jordan.

Grave consequences, you know, no one is really saying. Obviously I think it's fair to say people are looking at whether any type of rescue is possible, any type of discussion with ISIS to get him back. All of these things very problematic. At the same time, though, his family is speaking out, calling upon ISIS to keep him safe and to treat him fairly.

I want to you listen to just a little bit of what his father had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAFI AL-KASAESBEH, FATHER OF CAPTURED PILOT (Through Translator): He is now in the hands of Islamic State fighters and I do not want to describe him as a hostage. I call him a guest. He is a guest among brothers of ours in Syria's Islamic State. I ask them in the name of god and I ask for the dignity of the Prophet Mohammad, peace be upon him, to receive him as a guest and treat him well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: Appealing to the Islamic culture of a guest in one's home, even Queen Rania of Jordan, she and her social media, I want to show it you, has put up an image of the Jordanian flag superimposed on an F-16 with a message, "We are all Moaz, the name of the pilot." So, right now, really, there are two crisis issues at stake here -- getting him back safely, but also figuring out what brought down that F-16, if it was not shot down, and the coalition says it was not, what kind of problem did the pilot one into that caused him to have to eject from the aircraft -- Randi.

KAYE: Yes, still so many questions. Barbara Starr, thank you very much.

Still to come the home runs, the errors, the touchdowns, the takeaways, 2014's winners and losers in sports on and off the field.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Flagrant violations of privacy, heart-stopping surveillance video, a loveable TV dad, now an alleged rapist. These are among the biggest legal stories of this past year.

CNN's Jean Casarez highlights the top ten of 2014.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At number 10, water contamination in West Virginia. A chemical called MCHM leaks into the water supply, affecting hundreds of thousands.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to know he's going to grow up safe.

CASAREZ: At least one civil suit is settled, six former officials from the chemical company where the leaks started are charged in federal court.

At number nine --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The states are scrambling to find the drugs.

CASAREZ: That is drugs for lethal injections, because they are made in the European Union, which recently banned their use for executions. Prisons started using cocktails of drugs instead. Four executions were botched, including one that took two hours to finish.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At a certain point you wondered if he was ever going to die.

CASAREZ: At number eight, the Ray Rice saga. The Baltimore Ravens' running back was charged with aggravated assault for hitting fiancee Janay Palmer. The NFL suspended him for two games.

RAY RICE, NFL PLAYER: I made the biggest mistake in my life.

CASAREZ: But then in August, TMZ released footage showing Rice knocking Palmer out cold. The NFL claims it never saw it. The league suspended Rice indefinitely and his contract with the Ravens was terminated.

In November, Rice won an appeal and was reinstated to the NFL immediately, though he has no team.

At number seven: the celebrity phone hacking scandal. Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence was among several whose nude photos were hacked and shared. Victims called it a flagrant violation of privacy. For its part, Apple began looking into reports that its popular iCloud data storage system may have been compromised. The FBI is investigating. At number six: hot car death in George. Justin Ross Harris left his

toddler, Cooper, in his car while at work. It was a hot day. Temperatures inside the car reached well over 100 degrees. Cooper did not survive.

A witness described the father's reaction.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was crying.

CASAREZ: Investigators say Harris visited Web sites about having a child-free life and how to survive in prison. Harris was indicted but will not face the death penalty. He is awaiting trial.

At number five: the search for University of Virginia student Hannah Graham.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please, please, please help end this nightmare for all of us.

CASAREZ: The 18-year-old was spotted on surveillance video walking through Charlottesville the night she disappeared. She is seen with a man walking behind her who police believe is Jesse Matthew. They arrested him in Texas, charging him in her disappearance. He has also been charged with attempted murder in another case. Hannah Graham's remains were found in October, every parent's worst nightmare.

At number four: the death of comedian Joan Rivers.

JOAN RIVERS, COMEDIAN: I am now 81 years old. I could die any second.

CASAREZ: Rivers joked about her own death the night before she went in for a endoscopy procedure at a New York City center in August. An investigation by the Centers for Medicare Services showed physicians failed to identify deteriorating vital signs and provide family intervention.

Rivers was on life support for several days before passing away on September 4th. No one has been charged in her death.

Number three: 2014 is a monumental year for two big social issues, recreational marijuana became legal in Colorado on New Year's Day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Demand in the state we consider to be about 130 metric tons.

CASAREZ: Pot also became legal in Washington state in July. This year also had a number of state legalized gay marriage. As shown on this map, 19 states green lighted after cases trickled through the court system.

Number two: from loveable TV dad to alleged rapist -- the fall from grace for comedian Bill Cosby. Decades old accusations honored by, of all things, a joke.

HANNIBAL BURESS, COMEDIAN: Don't curse on stage but, yes, you're a rapist. So --

CASAREZ: More than 20 people publicly accused the 77-year-old Cosby of rape or sexual misconduct.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The last thing I remember, I had blacked out, and Cosby mounting me.

CASAREZ: Cosby has never been charged with a sex crime. His camp has strongly denied the accusations.

And the number one crime injustice story of 2014: simmering tension between the black community and law enforcement reaches a boil after Michael Brown and Eric Garner, two unarmed black men, died, after engaging with white police officers. In July, a camera is rolling as 43-year-old grandfather Eric Garner is put in a chokehold by an NYPD officer. He died shortly afterwards.

Police said the chokehold that Officer Daniel Pantaleo used on Garner was not allowed by the department. A medical examiner ruled Garner's death a homicide.

Just one month after the Garner incident, Ferguson, Missouri, unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed by Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson. Police believe he was involved in a strong- armed robbery right before he was spotted by Wilson.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He put his hands in the air.

(DEMONSTRATORS CHANTING)

CASAREZ: Two separate grand juries decided not to indict the police officers accused of killing Brown and Garner. Protests sprang up around the country demanding change. Police cars and businesses are burned.

DEMONSTRATORS: No justice! No peace!

CASAREZ: And just before Christmas, two NYPD police officers are gunned down while sitting in their squad car. The shooter kills himself leaving behind a social media trail with anti-police messages. Their deaths raised questions about how we see each other and if our justice system is working.

Jean Casarez, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: It's been a fascinating year for sure. Catch the top ten of 2014 special with Brooke Baldwin on CNN, Sunday evening, 6:30 Eastern Time.

Still to come: when it comes to standing up to North Korea, Sony thanks its employees. "The Interview" star Seth Rogen thanks the fans. Our next guest nominates a different hero.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JAMES FRANCO, ACTOR, "THE INTERVIEW": Why don't you feed your people, they are hungry, specifically two-thirds of them? Isn't that a little embarrassing since you are the one they view as a provider and god, and you spend $800 million of nukes every year, and you have 16 million people who are --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back.

NBA superstar LeBron James took his talents back to South Beach for his first visit since leaving the Heat.

Brian McFayden has more on this morning's "Bleacher Report".

BRIAN MCFAYDEN, CNN SPORTS: Hey, good morning, Randi.

Yes, after winning two titles and four years in Miami, LeBron went home to Cleveland and Christmas marked the first time he faced his former team. He was greeted with cheers and standing ovation by the Miami crowd.

After the game, LeBron said he had butterflies in his return and also got to reunite with good friend Dwyane Wade, only this time one goes home a winner. LeBron scored 30 points and dished out eight assists but it wouldn't be enough on this very emotional night. Heat win 101- 91.

You know, John Wall and Quincy Acy won't be exchanging Christmas cards any time soon. Instead, decided to exchange some pushes and shoves during the Knicks/Wizards game on Christmas. Wall took exception to a hard foul that sent him to the ground, and he let Acy know about it, too, pushing and shoving, cooler heads prevailed, but Acy was ejected from the game for his role in the incident. The Wizards went on to win 102-91.

And if you ever wondered who would win between a Christmas tree and Shaquille O'Neal -- well, that wait is over. During halftime of the Warriors-Clippers game on TNT, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O'Neal raced from the desk, and Kenny gave Shaq a little nudge, the big man went crashing into the Christmas tree. Well, at 7'1" 300 plus pounds I'm sure that left a mark on the tree.

That's your "Bleacher Report".

KAYE: That's probably the biggest ornament that tree has ever seen right there.

MCFAYDEN: No kidding.

KAYE: Wow. All right. Brian McFayden, thank you very much. Nice to see you.

MCFAYDEN: You're welcome. Good to see you, too.