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New Day
Protests in Ferguson After Police Chief's Apology; Eric Holder Resigns as Attorney General; Jeter's Last Home Game; No Evidence of Plot for Subway Attack
Aired September 26, 2014 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: They're also confirming in Syria, three airstrikes, south and southeast of Deir Ezzor, destroying ISIL tanks and damaging one. These, of course, the continued campaign against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
Again, CentCom confirming 10 airstrikes Thursday and today both in Iraq and Syria, Chris.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Joe, thank you very much. Keep us apprised if there's any new information.
Moving on now, also breaking overnight, the story in Ferguson, Missouri, not over. Tensions boiling over as protesters call for the police chief's job.
It's a little bit of the sound of what was going on when the chief tried to join the protesters. That's Chief Tom Jackson. First, he addressed, then he tried marching with demonstrators hours after issuing a public apology for his actions following the Michael Brown shooting. But as you saw, a scuffle broke out behind him. People are angry about the situation, several protesters wound up being arrested.
Earlier, CNN's Ana Cabrera spoke with Jackson in a CNN exclusive.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are we going to do to get (INAUDIBLE), because you see the whole Ferguson is in uproar, the whole city in an uproar.
ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a standoff overnight.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, do we have a lynch mob?
CABRERA: Protesters taking to the streets again in Ferguson. This time, chanting outside the police station.
(CHANTING)
CABRERA: Police Chief Tom Jackson coming out to address the crowd and trying to answer their questions. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What y'all going to do to help us? Do I got to
die to make sure another brother don't go? I will right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you want me to do?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What you mean, what I want?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm asking you a serious question.
(CROSSTALK)
CABRERA: The protest ultimately turning more chaotic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay back, stay back!
CABRERA: With multiple protesters arrested.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got rights! I got rights! We're trying to get unity and this is what y'all do!
CABRERA: Just hours after the chief gave this apology.
TOM JACKSON, FERGUSON POLICE CHIEF: I want to say to any peaceful protester who did not feel I did enough to protect their constitutional right to protest, I am sorry for that.
CABRERA: In hopes of calming the community.
JACKSON: I want to say this to the Brown family, no one who has not experienced the loss of a child can understand what you're feeling. I am truly sorry for the loss of your son. I'm also sorry that it took so long to remove Michael from the street.
CABRERA: It's the first time embattled Chief Jackson has publicly said "I'm sorry" in the nearly seven weeks since unarmed teenager Michael Brown was shot and killed by Ferguson police officer, Darren Wilson.
(on camera): You issued an apology video.
JACKSON: I did.
CABRERA: Why did it take so long for that to happen?
JACKSON: Well, there's been so much going on. And every day there's been a different challenge, ever since august 9th. But this is something that's just been weighing on me, something that needed to be said. It should have been said a long time ago.
It's never been the intention of the Ferguson Police Department or of any police department that I know of, to intentionally target individuals because of race. If there is that happening, it's a crime and it needs to be addressed.
CABRERA (voice-over): Jackson had hoped Thursday's apology would lead to a fresh beginning. (on camera): I know there are residents who are worried, are you
worried?
JACKSON: No. I'm not worried. I think we can manage this. And I think we can come out much better than we started.
CABRERA (voice-over): But as last night's protest showed, this community has a long way to go toward healing.
Ana Cabrera, CNN, Ferguson, Missouri.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Ana, thank you.
The news of Attorney General Eric Holder's resignation is now setting up a fight over his successor. Holder's six-year tenure was marked by a number of controversies, remember, he himself went to Ferguson, Missouri, recently and also from same-sex marriage to voting rights and now President Obama is tasked with finding a replacement in the midst of an uncertain political landscape.
CNN's Michelle Kosinski is at the White House with more.
Michelle, good morning.
MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Brooke.
Right, Holder's successor will have to take on the mantle of upholding civil rights, legally justifying a now expanded war on terror, multiple executive actions yet to come and in large part because of those will have to face the ire of Republicans in Congress that was heaped on Holder for such a long time. If Republicans take the Senate in November, this could be a pretty rough-and-tumble confirmation process.
So, many think the White House will want to take care of this as quickly as possible. And there have been some names out there as possible successors. People like Kathy Ruemmler, who recently left her position as White House counsel, with great accolades from her colleagues and from president. Don Verrilli, U.S. solicitor general, he successfully defended Obamacare in the Supreme Court. And others like Deval Patrick, the governor of Massachusetts, he's leaving office soon and he was once an assistant A.G. in the office of civil rights.
So, there are a lot of other names circulating out there right now. But no one of them considered a definite pick -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: Michelle, thank you very much, this morning.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: So, sources tell CNN that it is nearly the weekend. So what will the weather be for that weekend? We're joining by meteorologist Indra Petersons.
INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You need sources for this, right?
BERMAN: Multiple sources.
(CROSSTALK)
PETERSONS: I don't know if I can confirm that yet. We know we're going towards the weekend.
A look at the showers out there yesterday, but more importantly, look that they're making their way offshore from the east coast. This is what we love. In fact the only showers we're going to be seeing, yes, sorry if you're in Florida, you're still seeing the stationary front bringing you showers for the weekend.
For the rest of us into the Northeast, this is what we want to see, a big dome of high pressure building in as we head towards the weekend. So, what does that mean? Remember the ten-degree temperature drop we saw in the northeast yesterday? Well, today we're going ten degrees up and it doesn't even stop there. As we go through the weekend it climbs, climbs and climbs even more.
We're talking about 80-degree temperatures out there, guys, almost 10, 15 degrees above normal from the Midwest down into, all the way east in towards the Northeast. So, there you go, it actually feels like august for our last weekend here. Keep in mind on the West Coast it feels like fall. Not so much just yet so one of the fall leaves come, we're seeing in upstate New York.
It takes a little bit longer, by the next week or so, we'll start to see them in the mid-Atlantic. I am in no rush, I'm completely fine with 80-degree temperatures Saturday and Sunday. Looking good.
BALDWIN: Good weather for the Berman garden and the tomatoes. Thank you very much this morning.
We got a whole baggie.
(CROSSTALK)
CUOMO: JB says, I have brought you my fruits.
BALDWIN: I have brought you my cherry tomatoes.
CUOMO: It made it even more funny, my little green thumb, very nice.
BALDWIN: Who knew?
CUOMO: And they are delicious. It is a big thumb. It's been crushed.
All right. So when we come back we're going to be talking about the main question in the war -- you know what it is? Whether the Arab world wants to take on extremism. Some countries have stepped up to join the first strikes, all right? But the question now is being answered by push-back in that part of the world. Some of their pilots are receiving death threats, we're going to dig deeper.
BALDWIN: And some baseball game? Somewhere? CUOMO: The stuff of legends.
BALDWIN: Derek Jeter's last game. Saving a little magic, final Yankee Stadium at bat for his storied career. We will go there, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: New this morning: Russia's foreign minister has confirmed to Iraq's prime minister that Russia is prepared to support Iraq in fighting ISIS and other terror threats. The two leaders spoke at the United Nations.
Now joining me to talk about this and also the greater fight against ISIS in that region, CNN global affairs analyst, Bobby Ghosh.
Bobby, great to have you here with us.
BOBBY GHOSH, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Anytime.
BERMAN: I don't think Russia is about to send in warplanes to join, you know, in the bombing against ISIS in Iraq. But it is something interesting to see. You have Russia voicing the support. You have Britain voting in parliament right now. They will likely be involved with the airstrikes very soon. You have France flying airstrikes, Belgium getting into the game, Netherlands.
You do truly have what is seeming to be a global consensus now in this battle against ISIS at least in Iraq.
GHOSH: Absolutely. This is the biggest coalition that we've seen in modern times, bigger even than the coalition that George Bush Sr. was able to get together for the fight against Saddam Hussein in 1991. So, this is quite astonishing.
What we'll have to see is how much patience all these people have. They're willing to join now. They're willing to commit forces, which is very encouraging. How long will they remain on side? That's going to be the question.
BERMAN: And then there's those who are on side. And then there's active coalition now involved in the airstrikes in Syria, also Iraq -- specifically these five Arab nations that are involved. These Arab coalitions, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates. Both involved in the air strikes.
Something interesting happening inside Saudi Arabia here. The Saudis putting out a picture of the pilots involved in these air strikes, you're looking at them now. One of them is the son of the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. But after they put out these pictures, there were really cruel, mean comments posted on the Internet, death threats even, against some of these pilots.
Does this indicate that there is not popular support for this effort among the Saudi leaders? GHOSH: Well, there's an extremist fringe in Saudi Arabia, that's long
been known and that fringe has long supported groups like al Qaeda and now ISIS. So, that part is known.
But there's a fundamental problem here, true of all the Arab countries joining the coalition, their rulers don't think it's worth their while to speak to their own people, to explain to their own people why they're part of this coalition.
Obama went to the American people and explained what he was doing and why. The Brits are having a debate in parliament televised live so people can understand. In the Arab countries, they don't do that, because these are authoritarian rulers, who really aren't ruling their people. They're just looking out for themselves.
And that creates a gap in perception. If you're not explaining yourself to your people, then you're not selling the idea. The people are not buying into the idea. They don't feel any ownership of their country's participation of this.
Guess who is talking directly to them? The terrorists, ISIS, through their propaganda machine, through Twitter, through YouTube, are speaking directly to the Arab people. The Arab people are not hearing from their leaders, but they're hearing from ISIS. There's going to be a bunch of people who will listen to ISIS.
BERMAN: Why do you think the Saudi government is putting out these pictures then of these pilots as if they're heroes?
GHOSH: Yes well, they're speaking in a small echo chamber of their own supporters. Which, you know, there are 5,000 Saudi princes, there's a little bit of chest-thumping here amongst themselves.
They also want the Western world to know, because of course - -
BERMAN: Right.
GHOSH: - - in this country, and in the West, for a long time there have been fingers pointed at Saudi Arabia. It is true that the root of a lot of these terrorist organizations, that the root cause can be traced to Saudi Arabia.
So the Saudis are very conscious that the world is looking at them and they're putting these pictures out to try and do a little bit of PR.
BERMAN: Making it very public at least. Now, what's happening in the United Arab Emirates, fascinating. A woman pilot, a female pilot, the first female pilot to fly in these air missions. You're looking at her right there. Mariam al-Mansouri.
GHOSH: Mariam al-Mansouri, yes.
BERMAN: How do you think that's playing inside the UAE?
GHOSH: The UAE is a little more sort of a mixed society. It's not as conservative as Saudi Arabia. If you go to places like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, quite - - very modern and it's not unusual for women to be driving, to be in public life, to be in business. I'm sure women in that country, in that group of countries, are very proud of Mariam al-Mansouri. And there will be a lot of men, too who are on the progressive liberal side.
But there will be conservatives as well. It's true in any society. But the fact that the government is putting out these pictures, again, is a statement of intent. Saying look at us, we're not the world that ISIS imagines.
ISIS covers its women up. ISIS oppresses its women. Our women are leading the fight against ISIS, that's the message the UAE is trying to send out.
BERMAN: You know what, it's a positive message.
GHOSH: It is.
BERMAN: You would like to think it's a message that's well received everywhere, but are there risks?
GHOSH: There are risks for her, and we should be careful. The UAE for all that (ph) is not exactly a haven for women's rights. But it is in the context of the neighborhood where it is, it's a little better than Saudi Arabia, shall we say.
Is there a risk to her? I would imagine so. The UAE doesn't have a track record of having lots of extremists who are (inaudible) to act.
BERMAN: Right.
GHOSH: But I would imagine that the government after these threats, is paying a little more attention to her security, I would hope so.
BERMAN: Alright. Me, too. Alright, Bobby Ghosh, great to have you here with us, really appreciate it.
GHOSH: Any time.
BERMAN: Coming up for us, a Bronx tale with a story-book ending. The Yankees, Derek Jeter, you might have heard of him. He had quite a game last night. Quite a final at-bat at Yankee Stadium. Historic to say the least.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CUOMO: What a night in the Bronx in a career filled with magic moments.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
CUOMO (voice-over): Captain clutch, Derek Jeter saved one last bit of it for his final at bat and his final home game of his Yankee career. A moment in which most men would crumble, he in a ninth-inning walk- off single to beat the Orioles, which is a great team this year. And as they say, the crowd went wild.
BALDWIN (voice-over): You were in the crowd, first base line.
CUOMO: I was, I wasn't there for the end of the game because I had to get up for you people. But Andy Scholes is here this morning with what happened in this morning's "Bleacher Report."
(END VIDEOCLIP)
BALDWIN (on camera): Blaming it on you people.
CUOMO (on camera): What a great moment. And really, a metaphor for what Jeter has always been about. Fair statement, sir?
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It certainly is, Chris. You know these are the kind of moments that give you the old sports chills. We all know Jeter, one of the most clutch players to ever play the game. And after a historic 20-year career that included five world series titles and more than 3,400 hits, he saved one last special moment for his last at bat at Yankee Stadium.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCHOLES (voice-over): It was the bottom of the ninth, Yankees tied with the Baltimore Orioles.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well the script is there. The last page is in Derek's hands.
SCHOLES: Then baseball legend, Derek Jeter, in his final at bat in Yankee Stadium steps up to the plate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Base hit to right field!
SCHOLES: A story-book ending.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Richardson is safe! Derek Jeter, makes his final game with a walk-off single.
SCHOLES: 6-5 walk-off win in his last home game. The captain's pinstriped teammates storming the field.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you have any doubt?
SCHOLES: With the iconic baseball cap he wore for two decades in hand, Jeter waves to nearly 50,000 fans. In the stands, his nephew, tipping his respect hat to his uncle. A field of dreams accomplished, but the five-time World Series champion never thought it would end quite like this.
DEREK JETER, YANKEES CAPTAIN: No. I wouldn't have believed it myself. You know, everyone I think they, you know they dream of hitting a home run in the World Series or getting a game-winning hit. But, no.
SCHOLES: Jeter, the scandal-free class act of baseball reminding us, there's no crying in baseball. Until the last hometown game. JETER: I almost started crying driving here today. I think I've done a
pretty good job of controlling my emotions throughout the course of my career. Today I wasn't able to do it.
This is all I've ever wanted to do and it was above and beyond anything that I've ever dreamt of.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHOLES (on camera): What a moment. You know, the average ticket price for last night's game was over $600. That's almost as much as last year's World Series in St. Louis. But I'm sure everyone in attendance last night will agree, Chris. The experience of being there for that moment was priceless.
CUOMO: Oh yes, oh yes. I mean look, you know, the answer to the question, where have you gone, Joe Dimaggio? You know, Derek Jeter did as much to just prove about being a leader and being a class act, which is really something that we used to hope for and expect from our sports figures.
He's a good answer to that question. The question is now who will pick up the mantle from him? But what a night. Andy Scholes, well done with that piece. Boy, oh boy. I'm sure you have favorite moments for Derek Jeter, right? He kind of transcended sport in so many ways. Go to facebook.com/newday and let us know what you think about Derek Jeter. Some people question his greatness, I'm sure you won't.
BALDWIN: Here's what you missed just briefly. In the three minutes of commercial break these two, take the three-shot, these two have been going back and forth. Is he the greatest? Is he not? Is he the greatest? Is he not?
BERMAN: That was not the argument.
The argument was, he thinks he's so clutch. I'm saying no, he's just a great player, there is no clutch. He's just fantastic. And he won't accept that.
(CROSSTALK)
CUOMO: Smaller and smaller the more you say this.
BERMANL You demean yourself and Derek Jeter.
CUOMO: You heard Andy Scholes say one of the most clutch performers of all time, and he had the intangible, leadership, leadership, he was a class act.
We need it from our sports figures more than ever. Let's leave that aside and move on to another sports note. Rachel Nichols sat down exclusively with LeBron James in his first TV interview since signing with Cleveland. You can you watch the interview tonight on "UNGUARDED" with Rachel Nichols, 10:30 only on CNN.
Now, this morning we're following a lot of news for you, let's get to it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President, where was the source of that terror plot threat?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is no immediate, credible threat to our subway system.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Air action that's already taken place, has already made a difference. Lives have been saved. Christians, Yazidis and other minorities, who otherwise would be butchered, have been saved by that action.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Ebola virus is spreading at alarming speed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our people are dying.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why did you shoot me?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you dove head-first back into your car.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CUOMO: Good morning, welcome back to NEW DAY. We do have breaking news. The U.S. launched ten new air strikes overnight against ISIS in Syria and Iraq as well.
They come as there are renewed concerns about terror threats here at home. Security stepped up this morning, especially on New York City subways. But officials say there is no credible evidence of any ISIS plot.
(BEGIN VIDECLIP)
CUOMO (voice-over): So what's going on? And then mix it with this, the FBI says it has unmasked the ISIS executioner who is speaking in the three ISIS videos that show the beheading of American and British hostages.
Right now British parliament, know what they're doing? They're debating whether the UK should join the effort with air strikes against ISIS in Iraq, and Iraq only. There's a lot going on. We've got it covered from all angles.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
CUOMO (on camera): Let's start with CNN's Jason Carroll. Jason?
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, let's start with the subway threat in New York City. The so-called subway threat.
Security analysts say New York continues to be the number one target for terrorists. Even so, they say the Iraq prime minister's intelligence about a so-called terror plot against subways is simply not credible.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL (voice-over): At subways in major cities across the country this morning, commuters can expect increased security after Iraq's new prime minister blind-sided U.S. intelligence officials Thursday, telling reporters that Iraqi intelligence had uncovered an alleged plot to attack subways in the U.S. and Paris. Federal officials now say there is no credible threat.
BRETT MCGURK, DEP. ASST. SECRETARY OF STATE FOR IRAQ AND IRAN: We're in obviously a very close consultation with the Iraqi government. There is no specific credible threat whatsoever that they have uncovered to the United States.
CAROLL: Offering further clarification that the prime minister was referring to the general threat ISIS poses to the United States. New York City mayor, Bill de Blasio and the city's police commissioner reassuring the public by taking the subway to a news conference to ease concerns.
MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO, (D), NEW YORK: We are convinced that New Yorkers are safe, we're convinced people should go about their normal routine. Terrorists want us to live in fear. We refuse to live in fear.
CARROLL: This latest headline coming on the heels of U.S. air strikes on targets in Syria this week, aimed at destabilizing the terror group, and an al Qaeda offshoot the Khorasan group.
FBI director James Comey now telling reporters that the threat from the al Qaeda cell may still be out there, saying that he's quote "not confident at all that plotting by the Khorasan group was disrupted."
Sources say the group is plotting against Western targets, including commercial passenger jets, testing explosive devices, that could be hidden, masked as toothpaste tubes and other nonmetallic items packed inside luggage.
REAR ADMIRAL JOHN KIRBY: We can't say with any great definition or specificity that we know we disrupted that particular plot. We do know we hit the targets we were aiming at.
CARROLL: Also on Thursday, FBI officials confirmed they have finally identified the man heard in all three of those chilling ISIS execution videos.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL (on camera): As for New York's transit system again, no specific threat according to U.S. intelligence. The governor, the mayor, the police commissioner, still encouraging people to go about their daily lives. There will be increased security from time to time, but that seems to be the new reality living in New York City post 9/11.
BALDWIN: Alright, Jason Carroll, thank you very much. And right now, we'll show you some live pictures.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
BALDWIN (voice-over): Parliament, British parliament debating whether or not to authorize air strikes against ISIS in Iraq. Prime Minister David Cameron, he is urging these MPs, these members of parliament, to vote yes, no matter how long the mission may take.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How long will this war last, and when will mission creep start?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me answer that very directly.
