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Ferguson Shooting; Iraq Fights for Tikrit; "Finding Jesus" Explores Jesus and Judas' Relationship; Obama Reads Mean Tweets; Saving for Retirement
Aired March 13, 2015 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: In the meantime, the job of protest security ripped from the Ferguson police department, county and state police now taking the helm. All of this as anger intensifies over the scathing Department of Justice report that the Ferguson police department engaged in widespread discrimination against African- Americans. That report already forcing the city's police chief to resign.
The other big question, will the Ferguson Police Department be disbanded? Let's head to Ferguson now and CNN's Ryan Young.
Good morning.
RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
So many conversations here. In fact you have people who are calling for calm, people who are upset that now the focus is on the shooting of these two officers and not the police department, and then you have two state representatives who are calling for this police department to be disbanded. All this in terms of the conversation. Of course last night you have protesters taking to the street and, once again, despite all the things that happened. A lot smaller group. Of course, the rain may have helped to keep some of the people away. I can also tell you there are people who are reacting to the attorney general's strong words about whoever opened fire on those two officers. In fact, we heard one comment just recently about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFF ROORDA, ST. LOUIS POLICE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION: That's what I'd like to hear and I'd like to hear more of it, but it is, from a law enforcement's perspective, it is kind of too little too late. This is an attorney general that was part of this chorus that had Darren Wilson guilty before the first shred of evidence was heard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YOUNG: And we've heard from people in the community who say there are folks who are hoping to talk to police in trying to turn in whoever was firing those shots towards those officers, but also there are people who want to focus the conversation back on the Ferguson Police Department. There are so many things going on all at the same time. Of course, Carol, people are hoping for peace. COSTELLO: There have already been calls for the Ferguson mayor to
resign. The mayor says he's staying put. Any change from your perspective?
YOUNG: Nothing so far from what we've learned, but obviously we're on the ground asking those same questions. But you can see the difference just in terms of how people have not been around today. It is raining and maybe people will come out a little later on.
COSTELLO: All right, Ryan. Ryan Young reporting live from Ferguson. Thank you.
This just in to CNN. We now have the 911 calls first alerting emergency services in Ferguson that officers had been struck. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Got on officer down. Officer down. Shots fired at their station in Ferguson.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All cars are out. The officer down. Officer in need of aid. 319 (ph) are you clear?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Officer down, 222 South Florissant.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) en route for an officer down, possible shooting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shots fired. Officer down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: En route to the officer down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: All right, the people amazingly calm, right, as they should be. Let's talk about this and more with CNN law enforcement analyst and former FBI assistant director Tom Fuentes. He's also on the ground if Ferguson.
Hi, Tom.
TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: I talked to a reverend earlier this morning who said that there is a -- there's a different feeling in Ferguson between protesters and police. Did you notice that last night?
FUENTES: Well, actually, I wasn't here last night. By the time I got here, it was already, you know, pretty much over, so I wasn't able to tell how that worked out.
COSTELLO: Oh, sorry to ask you that question then, but it is good to hear that there -- she said there was a better spirit of cooperation between the two groups. She says it's not a turning point, though, but in your estimation just hearing that, it's positive, right? FUENTES: Well, it's definitely positive, and especially, you know, for
the people in the crowd and the protesters to realize, when those shots rang out the night before last and two officers went down, that, you know, what police officers do every day is serious business. And, you know, it is the only profession in the country that when you get dressed to go to work in the morning or the afternoon or at night, it's the one profession where somebody might try to kill you just because you're in that profession. And, you know, you might die in a coal mine accident or, you know, other things, but police officers face that. When they -- when they strap on the uniform and go out in the street, they know that they can be targeted like that.
COSTELLO: It's interesting to note that despite these police shootings, last night when the St. Louis County police went out to, you know, oversee these protests, they didn't wear heavy tactical gear. They were just in plain uniforms. They stood farther away from the protesters. And everything ended peacefully. First of all, that was kind of courageous of the police officers to do, right? But it did make a difference in the protester's mind.
FUENTES: No, Carol, that was stupid. No, no, Carol, that's not courageous. If they're out there and they're not completely protected in a very tense environment where shots have already been fired, and shots have been fired here in Ferguson since the first day when Michael Brown was killed. The St. Louis County Medical Examiner ordered the crime scene investigators to hurry up and get out because multiple shots were heard coming from the crowd on the street that afternoon. There had been other nights of protests where shots were heard in the distance. So, from my -- if I'm a police executive in this town, I don't want to send my police officers out there unprotected. And trying to look casual and calm and not provoke the crowd, I'm sorry, it's too bad but that's already come and gone when police officers get shot out here.
COSTELLO: So, moving forward, how, in your mind, should police act?
FUENTES: Well, you know, community policing requires a community. And it's not just the men and women in blue. The community has to work with them as well. And, you know, we'll have a chance to see if the community is helping to help track down the individual or individuals responsible for the shooting. But it's a two-way street. The dialogue has to be two way. And it has to be a sincere effort on both sides to try to reform this system here and develop the relationship that everybody wants, the community wants it and the police want it.
COSTELLO: Can you reform the system if the Ferguson Police Department survives this?
FUENTES: You know, I -- I have a different opinion than a lot of people, and I've talked to some people here even this morning that said, you know, when Michael Brown was shot, in the immediate days after that, it was the St. Louis County Police that were out here with the military equipment that everybody objected to, with the tactical gear that everybody was upset about, with police officers on the roof of armored cars looking through scope rifles at the crowd. That was not Ferguson PD even then. So, you know, these are the policemen that they're asking to have come in, disband Ferguson and have a countywide police department patrol their streets. I don't know how they will accomplish, in the future, as close of a relationship of community policing that they may want if police from all over the county, on any given day or any given hour are responsible for patrolling their streets.
COSTELLO: Tom Fuentes, thanks so much. I appreciate it, as always.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, once the site of fighting between Iraqi forces and ISIS, now villages around Tikrit are quickly turning into ghost towns. And there's a good reason for that. We'll talk about that next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Several dozen Iraqi soldiers are killed when ISIS uses homemade bombs in an attack on the army headquarters, while 100 miles away Iraqi forces are now on the doorstep of what could be a major victory as they make progress taking back Tikrit. But you won't see residents celebrating that victory. Very few people are actually in that city any longer. Ben Wedeman explains from outside Tikrit.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is what victory looks like in the war against ISIS. Iraqi police, soldiers and paramilitaries flash the sign, but there is no fanfare for the victors in the newly conquered town of Adur (ph) outside Tikrit.
A drive through Adur, passing by ISIS' logos painted on the walls, is an eerie experience.
WEDEMAN (on camera): ISIS has been driven out of this town and probably will soon be driven out of Tikrit, but what they leave behind are ghost towns. Almost all of the local inhabitants have left. It's dangerous. There are hundreds of IEDs left behind.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): Civilians have been told to stay away.
"In one day," says Brigadier Baha Yasin, "we found 511 improvised explosive devices." An unbelievable number. He was injured by shrapnel from one of those IEDs.
These soldiers say ISIS fighters, they describe them as sewer rats, are hiding out but taking prisoners doesn't seem to be on the cards.
"They won't get away," this soldier tells me. "We'll kill them."
Almost 30,000, mostly Shia troops, have flooded into this predominantly Sunni Arab area, raising fears of sectarian tensions and revenge killings. There are, however, Sunnis who have joined the fight against ISIS. Last spring, ISIS fighters attacked the home of Abdel Zek Hamedi (ph), a Sunni tribal leader. They killed his wife, two sons and two grandsons. He soon took up arms against the group. "I know the people who killed my family," he says. "We want to fight
these terrorists, drive them out of this area, and never see them again."
In another location outside Tikrit, an ISIS flag flutters atop a communications tower in the distance. These Sunni fighters have made common cause with Shia troops to retake Tikrit. Proudly showing me his new Iranian sniper rifle, Mudar (ph) is confident ISIS' days are numbered.
"Now they're trying to escape, but they can't," he says. "This will be their graveyard."
With no crowds to cheer them on, the soldiers cheered themselves. They may be winning this battle, but the war is far from over.
Ben Wedeman, CNN, outside Tikrit, Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And despite being driven out of Tikrit, ISIS is now OK with a deal from Boko Haram. In a new audio recording, which cannot be authenticated by CNN, the head of ISIS has accepted a pledge of allegiance from Boko Haram, expanding ISIS' footprint to western Africa. ISIS says this deal will give it more international legitimacy while helping Boko Haram in recruiting, funding and logistics.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, he turned his back on Jesus, but was Judas just doing what Jesus wanted? What the lost Gospel reveals, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Checking some of the top stories for you this morning at 47 minutes past the hour.
Eight terror suspects have been arrested in northern Spain. The officials say the suspects are believed to be part of a jihadist terror cell and were planning attacks in Spain. Police also say they were believed to be recruiting fighters to send to Syria and Iraq.
An American health worker infected with Ebola will soon begin treatment in Maryland. The patient will arrive today at the National Institutes of Health. It is the same hospital where Dallas nurse Nina Pham survived and is now Ebola free. The health worker had been volunteering at an Ebola treatment center in Sierra Leone and was transported from Northern Africa in isolation on a chartered plane.
CNN's new series "FINDING JESUS" examines the life and death of Jesus by looking at what he left behind. This week's episode takes a closer look at his disciple Judas, his betrayal, and how it began at the last supper.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID GIBSON, CO-AUTHOR, "FINDING JESUS: FAITH, FACT, FORGERY": When Jesus had the disciples meet for the last supper, the tension is really building up. Through the week that they've been in Jerusalem, there have been increasing conflicts with authorities. Something big was about to happen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think there's a real sense of foreboding at the last supper, the way that it's portrayed in the gospels.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is that moment at the meal, this intimacy. To eat a meal with somebody is to be family with them. Jesus announces that one of you, one of the 12, will betray me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Co-author of "Finding Jesus: Faith, Fact, Forgery" David Gibson joins me to talk about this. I cannot wait to watch this episode.
GIBSON: This is a terrific topic. I mean, look, this is the greatest traitor in all of history virtually. Being a Judas is synonymous with being a betrayer, isn't it? But what really happened back there 2000 years ago? I mean, Jesus came to Earth to die on the cross, so someone had to betray him. These are big questions.
COSTELLO: So the information you're going to present to the audience comes from a gospel that we're not familiar with.
GIBSON: The opening I think in this episode is really about this Gospel of Judas, which game to light a few years ago. And it was supposed to revolutionize everything we thought we knew about the gospels, that Judas was not the great traitor; he was working at Jesus' command, that Jesus said you have to betray me. And that came out and everybody thought oh my gosh, that everything we knew about the Easter story virtually is wrong.
But is that really the case? What is this papyrus? What is this Gospel of Judas? Is it real? And does it say what we think it says?
COSTELLO: Yes, because the confusing part -- in this new gospel, does it still assert that Judas committed suicide after betraying Jesus?
GIBSON: It doesn't get into that. We know that Judas kills himself or was killed. His guts split open. There's gruesome depictions in the gospels. So obviously he had regrets. But it's -- again, this isn't so much a whodunnit, but a why done it? Why -- again Jesus was the Son of God. He's without sin. He chose Judas. This is one of the great mysteries of the whole gospels. He chose Judas to be one of the 12 apostles. Why did he choose somebody who he knew would actually betray him?
COSTELLO: Was he closer to Judas than to other disciples?
GIBSON: Well, in some ways. As they say, the difference between love and hate can be a very fine line. And here's a man who he was obviously very close to. He was -- Judas was trusted with the money -- it says this in the gospels -- with the money for this small ban of followers of Jesus. So he had a real position of trust and authority and he went around doing miracles with all the others as well. Yet he wound up turning his back on him. Why did he do that? Is it because he was greedy? Is it because Satan entered his soul, a very simple explanation? Is it because he wanted Jesus to be the Messiah -- the real king of Israel not a Messiah that would go on the cross and sacrifice himself?
COSTELLO: Like I said, I can't wait to watch it.
GIBSON: So many questions. It's great.
COSTELLO: I know. Thank you so much for sharing. I appreciate it.
Jesus and Judas, the story unfolds this Sunday on "FINDING JESUS" at 9:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
OK, it is Friday so it's time to laugh. If you can't laugh at yourself, you can't laugh at anything at all. President Obama proved that last night on Jimmy Kimmel, reading mean tweets. Enjoy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A 30-rack of Coors Lite is $23 at Sunstock. Thanks, Obama.
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: "How do you make Obama's eyes light up? Shine a flashlight in his ears." That's pretty good.
"Somebody send Obama some life hacks on how to be a good president. Ha ha, like I bet that would help. LOL." You know, the LOL is redundant when you have the ha ha.
"I'm all right with the president wearing jeans. I'm not all right with the president wearing those jeans."
(LAUGHTER)
JIMMY KIMMEL, TV HOST: Can I just say something? I think that's mean and I don't think there's anything wrong with the jeans you wear.
OBAMA: Jimmy, I think they've got a point.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: The gap between what American households need for retirement and what they actually have stocked away is getting bigger. As a whole, we're falling $7.7 trillion behind what we need. That's according to a new study from Boston College.
But CNN Money caught up with one couple who planned and stayed ahead of the curve and retired their way.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MAX, RETIREE: To be on a sailboat and to be free is, like, something I've craved all my life. You get to appreciate the rhythms of nature. We've seen a whale swim alongside the boat and roll and look at me and roll back down. And it's just something you just never get in any other way unless you make an effort to cross the ocean.
We retired in May of 2014 and we've been living on this boat ever since.
I was sailing when I was in my mother's womb -- honestly -- and they took me cruising when I was a year old or so. My dad was great sailor. My grandfather was a great sailor. It was just in my blood. I got back from a sailing trip in 1985 and started working for a little company at 5.50 an hour and did whatever needed to be done and became CFO of that company. We were able to put 25 percent of our income into a 401(k). And I did; I maxed it out. To me, it was just a means to an end and that was to be able to support sailing trips.
LYNNIA, REITREE: When we were dating, he had just gotten his boat. And I loved being on the water. And we would go for some weekend cruises and stuff. And it's just great and it's beautiful, and he's such a good sailor, I always felt safe.
MAX: My father died in 1999. That was a big momentous thing in my life and it reminded me that life is short and that you need to do the things you wanted to do. And so I ended up buying this boat. We retired in May of 2014 and on June 6th, we sailed from Maine to the Azores, which took 13 days. Left there on August 5th and sailed nine days right up to England.
Our ultimate goal was to get to Norway. So here we are. We're set up nicely so that this May we'll start working our way up the east coast and sail as far north as we can, hopefully getting up to the Arctic Circle and the Lofoten Islands in Norway and then work our way back.
You can never be scared because you can't be scared for 30 days nonstop. What you do is you just break it down and take one wave at a time. You don't worry about tomorrow. You don't worry about yesterday.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.
