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Black Friday Madness Arrives; Black Friday Concerns in Ferguson; Pope Visits Turkey to Focus on Interfaith Dialogue

Aired November 28, 2014 - 07:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Overnight, the hunt for bargains across the nation -- becoming a contact sport. Police prying these shoppers off the floor at this Walmart in Houston, Texas, refusing to let go of a discounted TV. One police officer even grabbing this shopper by the face and throwing him to the ground.

Tempers flare at this Walmart in Michigan City, Indiana, with shoppers clamoring for a bargain on Sony speakers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (EXPLETIVE DELETED)

FEYERICK: And in Los Angeles, police were called to another Walmart after a brawl broke out over a $5 Barbie.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was obviously a fight between a guy and a girl over a Barbie doll. And the girl socked the guy in the face. Just to get the Barbie.

FEYERICK: The stampede through the front doors -- a welcome sight for retailers, hoping to cash in on the holiday frenzy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wouldn't be doing this if the demand was not there.

FEYERICK: The National Retail Federation projected this holiday season spending will total nearly $617 billion, growing 4.1 percent over last year.

ANGELA RODRIGUEZ, MIAMI, FLORIDA, SHOPPER: I rushed over here to be one of the first ones to just get everything that I need and then go home.

FEYERICK: Some shoppers camping outside for days.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I brought my TV, my generator, my little tent, the chairs. I let everybody have a good time.

FEYERICK: Strumming the guitar to pass the time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): Got in my car and drove like a (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

FEYERICK: All in an effort to nab great deals like this flat-screen TV, marked down $400.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's one more 55-inch.

FEYERICK: A convenient alternative to all the mayhem...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The lady in the green jacket is fighting.

FEYERICK: ... Cyber Monday, when retailers are set to offer steep discounts online so you can avoid crushing crowds.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, hey! Hey!

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: And, you know, being a small-town girl from Manhattan, I don't get to malls very often, maybe once every three months, so to be here, though, at 5 in the morning for you guys, I'm telling you, it's actually a very civilized time to shop. It was very quiet. People were reasonable, and there were no lines.

Some people who did shop yesterday, they said they took 30 minutes to pick out what they wanted, but it took them more than an hour to pay. Right now people are strategizing. They're getting here early so they can get it done, get what they need and then go home, spend the rest of the day watching television -- John.

BERMAN: Deborah Feyerick, great to see you this morning. Thanks so much for being there. Appreciate it.

So quiet has returned to Ferguson, Missouri, but there is still concern that things could get loud again as protesters now target retailers on the year's busiest shopping day. There are calls on social media for Black Friday boycotts, not just in Ferguson but nationwide as a way of sort of venting anger at the lack of an indictment in the Michael Brown shooting.

CNN's Ana Cabrera live for us in Ferguson this morning. Good morning, Ana.

ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, John. It is cold; it is quiet; it is calm out here. We are at a Target just outside Ferguson. The doors open here in about an hour. We saw about ten people in line, but I think the cold is keeping most people in their cars, at least at the time being.

We are seeing a large number of law enforcement out here, as well. You can see the Missouri State Highway Patrol just behind me. We've seen National Guard. We've also seen St. Louis County Police just at this one facility, this one shopping center. They're here to prevent any possible unrest.

As you mentioned there are Ferguson demonstrators calling for a Black Friday boycott as a protest against the establishment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CABRERA (voice-over): Overnight, this Walmart in Ferguson shut its doors ahead of Black Friday, law enforcement and the National Guard at the entrance as they turn away potential customers.

In response to the grand jury's decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson, plans for a nationwide retail boycott on the biggest shopping day of the year are flooding social media. Using hash tags like #BlackOutBlackFriday, and #HandsUpDontSpend, protesters showing solidarity, vowing not to shop at all during the holiday weekend or shop only at black-owned businesses.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that economic power is just as powerful as political power and the power to vote.

CABRERA: In a heartfelt Facebook post about the Ferguson decision and the aftermath, New Orleans Saints player Benjamin Watson said he was "sympathetic, confused and embarrassed." Without taking sides, the post went viral.

In downtown St. Louis, their annual parade canceled. In its place, a fleet of cars, demonstrating against violent protests.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wanted it to be a peaceful. I don't want the protesting. I don't want the rioting. I don't want the violence.

CABRERA: And this chaotic scene played out during Macy's signature Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hands up!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hands up!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hands up!

CABRERA: NYPD holds off a group of angry protesters pushing past barricades. The group had organized on social media under the hash tag #StopTheParade. Seven people were arrested.

And on Twitter, this painful photo circulated of Michael Brown's family sharing their first holiday without him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: Now there are a lot in this community who want to make sure Michael Brown's story and the bigger issues that it exposed about race don't just fade away. So they're hoping that this Black Friday boycott will send a message to the powers that be that change is a necessity; the status quo simply isn't acceptable -- Michaela.

PEREIRA: All right. Ana, thank you so much for that report.

Want to turn to Chris King, familiar face with us here on NEW DAY, the managing editor of the "St. Louis American," the leading African- American paper in St. Louis.

Chris, we appreciate it. You've been just such a great resource for us and have been working on the ground, really getting some interesting nuggets, following some trails for us. And I was hoping you could maybe bring us up to date on a few things.

There have been reports of threats against the prosecutor, Chris. And we know that this is kind of par for the course. Right? We see this from time to time: prosecutors, police chiefs receive threats on their lives. What do you know? What do you make of it? Anything there?

CHRIS KING, MANAGING EDITOR, "ST. LOUIS AMERICAN": I think Robert McCulloch is safe. I do understand that social media allows people to say disturbing things and be heard...

PEREIRA: Sure.

KING: ... and be circulated and be taken seriously. I know the local police intelligence has never been as rattled as the FBI has sounded at times. And the FBI has gotten the governor and some of the mayors rattled. But I think Mr. McCulloch is safe.

PEREIRA: OK, good. Because again, you're on the ground and you're talking to your sources. You're talking to law enforcement.

Another thing I want to get an update from you about is this firebombing, the arson case that they're looking at. The church of Michael Brown's family apparently the target of arson there. What's the latest? Are you expecting charges to be filed?

KING: Well, the arson investigation is ongoing. Much of Ferguson, the business districts are considered a crime scene still.

PEREIRA: Yes.

KING: I'm trying to get a visit to the crime scene with an arson investigator. It's a holiday week, and I haven't gone down there as I hoped to do. But we heard yesterday the state is going to join the investigation. That's a good sign.

And I think the burning of the Flood Church where Michael Brown worships, that's an anomaly. I am personally speculating. I even wonder if it's a ringer thrown in there to make it look like enemies of the protest movement were responsible to the arsons, when I believe some camp followers of the protest movement were responsible for most of those arsons.

PEREIRA: Also, you've had an opportunity to talk to a mayor of a nearby town, I understand. Because we know it's not just Ferguson itself. It's some of the surrounding communities. And we've seen the protests spreading across the nation. But a mayor of a nearby town had talked to you. What was the -- what did you get from that conversation with him about what's going on in his community?

KING: Yes, Mayor Reggie Jones is the mayor of Dellwood, which adjoins to Ferguson. One of several municipalities that adjoins Ferguson.

PEREIRA: It was hard hit, too, wasn't it? KING: And if black lives matter -- very much so. And if black lives

matter, then black mayors matter. And I think Mayor Jones has been overlooked. A lot of attention paid to Mayor Knowles in Ferguson, who's actually been obstructionist to many of the things the movement's trying to do. They have an ally in Mayor Reggie Jones, and I hope Dellwood gets more attention from the protestors in particular.

PEREIRA: Tell us a little bit more about the efforts that he's been undertaking.

KING: Positive attention.

PEREIRA: Positive attention, I understand. Well, give us -- you have the pulpit right now. Give us a little idea of what he's been saying?

KING: Well, he's been saying that, as a -- as a black mayor of a North County municipality, he's been suffering the same kind of discrimination that African-Americans in Ferguson feel within Ferguson.

So it's kind of a municipal version of discrimination. Lack of resources, lack of attention. He sent his police officers to respond to disturbances in Ferguson. Got no credit for it; got blamed for it in some respects.

And now he's saying I've gotten as much or more fire damage from these spectacular arsons on November 24. Why isn't anyone coming to me? Why isn't anyone offering me help?

So I do hope that Dellwood, the city of Dellwood and mayor Reggie Jones, get some positive attention out of this.

PEREIRA: Absolutely. We've been seeing the physical results of these protests. We've seen extreme property damage, we've -- or property damage, pardon me. We've seen violence. We've seen active and peaceful protests, as well. I'm curious what else you're getting a sense of on the ground. Are protesters putting extra pressure on the people that are in the positions of power? The decision-makers, the politicians? Do you get a sense that there are campaigns to talk to them? To increase the pressure on those people?

KING: Well, we have some -- yes. But we have some issues. The governor is a term-limited lame duck. So the county executive was just voted out. The new county executive coming in, the county executive elect, is saying it's not his problem yet. And he's not going to get very involved yet. That man's name is Steve Stenger.

Chris Koster, the attorney general is expected to be the next Democratic nominee for governor, Mr. Koster certainly thinks he will be. And they haven't really turned their pressure to Koster yet. I think they ought to.

As for Governor Nixon, he was in Ferguson yesterday, and he had Thanksgiving dinner with the National Guardsman, which I think was a classy act. If I was his adviser I would have had him also try to have some dinner with a protester group. There are plenty of peaceful protesters...

PEREIRA: Absolutely.

KING: ... that would have sat down and broken some -- some turkey and stuffing with the governor.

PEREIRA: Chris, one last question for you to that end. There have been people that have wondered why the president, why President Obama hasn't made his way to Ferguson. What are your thoughts on that? Should he be there?

KING: Yes. I mean he's at the point in his presidency where he's got a legacy issue here. I understand that everyone always advised him that if he's the black president, or God forbid, the black male president, that that's going to be difficult for him, since he has to govern a nation of people who mostly, as you may have noticed, are not black or black men.

PEREIRA: You may have noticed that.

KING: But hey, you know, it's time. I mean, he should show up. He should show up in Ferguson. It would be an amazing moment to see President Obama get off the plane in St. Louis and go straight to Ferguson and meet with some people here that have wanted to talk to him for more than 100 days.

PEREIRA: And walk down the streets of Ferguson and see that firsthand and feel the impact of it.

Chris King, always a delight to have you with us. Thanks for your information, your research and your hard work. John, over to you.

BERMAN: Thanks so much, Michaela.

It's an historic morning in Turkey. Pope Francis arrived there just a short time ago. It is being billed as an historic visit. He's only the fourth pope in history to visit the predominantly Muslim country. The three-day trip comes at a time of heightened political and religious sensitivity as Turkey grapples with how much to help in the fight against ISIS. Our Arwa Damon live now in Ankara with the latest.

Good morning, Arwa.

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. And one of the first things Pope Francis said on the plane over to Turkey was to express his thanks to this country for taking in so many refugees, around 1.5 million just from Syria. So far the vast majority are Muslim, yes, but there's a growing number of Christians among them. We are at a juncture in history in the region where many senior Christian leaders believe that, if the situation is allowed to continue as is, Christianity, could very well cease to exist in the very region where it was born.

We have been seeing for the last decade, starting with al Qaeda, and now with ISIS, the masses of Christians leaving both Iraq and Syria. Only a small minority remain in both countries, and those that do choose to stay there are either placing their faith in God, or they are paying something of a protection tax to organizations like ISI.

Pope Francis, during this trip, is going to attempt to at least begin to perhaps build [SIC] that growing divide between Islam and Christianity. That is going to be one of the toughest things that he is going to be trying to begin to accomplish. The other thing is going to be building upon that relationship that has begun to heal between the two sister churches.

BERMAN: Quite an agenda. Our Arwa Damon in Ankara. Thanks so much, Arwa. Appreciate it.

PEREIRA: A lot resting on it, too.

BERMAN: Let's get straight to Pamela Brown for some of the day's other top stories. Good morning.

PEREIRA: Good morning.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you. Great to see you all. Let's take a look, more of your headlines.

Breaking this Friday morning, a suspect is dead after opening fire in downtown Austin, Texas. Police say the gunman targeted several buildings, including their headquarters before they took him out. A bomb robot was seen maneuvering in the area. For what exactly, we're not quite sure yet. More on this story as details come in.

And there is no slowing down 81-year-old Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She plans to be back at work on Monday, after being released from the hospital on Thanksgiving. She got a stent implanted to clear a blocked artery and is now recovering at home.

Two Massachusetts colleges are dropping Bill Cosby after a slew of sexual assault allegations. U. Mass Amherst asked Cosby to resign as honorary chairman of its fundraising campaign, and he agreed. The comedian received a master's and doctorate there. Also, Berklee College of Music in Boston ending its affiliation with the comedian. They had an online scholarship in his name. Cosby has an honorary degree from Berklee.

Brazilian soccer legend Pele says he's, quote, "doing fine" after being hospitalized. The 74-year-old denied his condition deteriorated after the hospital referred to his condition as unstable. Pele had an operation recently to remove kidney stones, but he was readmitted to the hospital on Monday. He says he was put in intensive care to treat a urinary tract infection.

BERMAN: I hope he's doing well. I could watch these clips forever.

PEREIRA: I was just going to say. Amazing, 74 years old.

All right, Pam, thanks so much.

We're heading into the weekend, our bellies are full of turkey. There's football on. What kind of weather would be the perfect accompaniment for all of that?

JENNIFER GRAY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: How about warmer temperatures?

PEREIRA: We'll sign off on that, Jennifer.

GRAY: Yes, we'll do it. Because we have had very cold air in place across much of the country. Warmer air will start to move in for the weekend. Today, though, still chilly across the Great Lakes and the Northeast. But that warmer air already impacting places in the South.

We're cool this morning, though: 40 in Dallas, 12 degrees in Minneapolis, 22 in Chicago. Very cold start to the day. Temperatures below freezing across much of New England.

But by this afternoon, we will warm up just a tad: 39 in D.C., your high temperature; 35 in Chicago; 24 Minneapolis; 49 in Atlanta. But changes are coming.

Look at these temperatures as we stretch out: 69 degrees in Atlanta on Monday. New York City, you'll be close to 60 degrees by Monday. Temperatures are going to stay chilly across much of the Midwest and the Northern Plains. Minneapolis, your high on Monday, unfortunately, 7 degrees.

So staying cold up north. We're warming in the south. And that is going to impact the mid-Atlantic and the northeast, as well. Guys, huge changes compared to the past couple of days.

PEREIRA: Jennifer, I don't mean to complain, but I'm getting confused. Sixty degrees. It was 30 and now it's going to be 60 on Monday. A girl doesn't know how to dress.

GRAY: I know, I know. You just have to keep all your clothes out all year long, because the weather always changes.

PEREIRA: There you go. Good advice. Jennifer Gray, good to have you with us today.

BERMAN: My experience is you guys do that, anyway. So I don't really, you know...

PEREIRA: You know what? You're right.

Still ahead, we're going to take a look back at the situation in Ferguson. There is calm there overnight. We're going to talk about the legal challenges ahead for Officer Wilson and dissect his grand jury testimony a little further.

BERMAN: And what to expect if you're running out of your house right now like these people to take advantage of the Black Friday deals? We're going to talk to the CEO of Macy's, who joins us, fresh off of the big Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Stay with us.

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BERMAN: Residents of Ferguson, Missouri, they haven't had much of lately, a very quiet night. And that energy that unraveled into days of violent protests was used productively instead, with folks decorating boarded-up storefronts and gathering for religious services.

Still, questions do remain about the grand jury proceedings; also, some of the police work that was now done and some of the inconsistencies that were there.

Mel Robbins, our CNN commentator and legal analyst; and Tom Fuentes, CNN law enforcement analyst and former FBI assistant director, join me right now.

And Tom, let me start with you, because we are learning more now about the evidence as we pore over these documents. And a lot of things are jumping out at people right now.

Officer Darren Wilson, he bagged his own evidence in this case. He put the gun in the bag. Officer Darren Wilson washed his hands of the blood, apparently, before being examined. The interviews, the initial interviews with Officer Darren Wilson were not recorded. The medical examiner who went to the scene didn't take any pictures because he didn't have batteries in his camera.

Now, you were a cop for, what, six years, Tom. Is this considered quality police work?

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: No, John, it's not. And I think that's a tragedy that it happened that way. You know, the question now is that you have to speculate whether it really affected the difference in -- in the facts. Did -- did they doctor the weapon? That's why we have chain of custody issues for the police, for investigators in a case like this that no one else could tamper with it. No one could later go back to the gun and put blood on it or put something on it, you know, from a handkerchief at the scene or something that had Michael Brown's blood. In no way could it be tampered with.

Now some things you would guess weren't, like the car. But no, Michael -- I mean, Officer Wilson's clothing, his gun should have been immediately taken at the police station, if you don't want to undress him in the street, obviously. But it should have been handled much differently, much more professionally.

BERMAN: so what now, Mel? Do you think this has any impact? Or does it -- does it just raise these questions?

MEL ROBBINS, CNN COMMENTATOR/LEGAL ANALYST: Well, it could have some impact. You know Joey Jackson who was on earlier with you and I just spent about half an hour on the phone, talking about this, like what are the options?

You've got a federal investigation going on: one against the police department, another one against the police officer. The truth of the matter is, the bar is so darn high, John, in order to bring any kind of charges against the officer at a federal level. But there will probably be some sort of reforms happening at a police level. Now what could happen? Grand juries, there could be, potentially, a

re-presentation. How would that happen? Well, first things first. It would probably happen under this kind of scenario.

If the protests keep up, if we keep having these kinds of facts come out, that not only is there police work that is not usual, but police work that could have affected the outcome in terms of what was presented to the grand jury, you could see somebody inside of the Justice Department being like, "Hey, wait a minute. This is really a bunch of bull. When I take a look at the amount of conflicting witness statements, when I look at the shoddy police work, when I look at the indifference of the prosecutor in this process, what I think should happen is I think we need to have a re-presentation."

There's no double jeopardy here, because there was no trial; there's no conviction. There's no indictment. So it's not outside the bounds of something like that happening. But it would take someone inside the Justice Department leaning on Governor Nixon, leaning on the attorney general, leaning on the prosecutor and saying, "What's going to be best here is a re-presentation."

But that's only going to happen, John, if there's a lot more protests and if the family keeps raising these very troubling things that we're learning about how the investigation went down.

BERMAN: Just legally speaking, quickly, Mel, do you think any of this changes or would change the outcome? I suppose, you know, it doesn't go to trial. I know in trial as an attorney you would go to town on these kinds of inconsistencies.

ROBBINS: Oh, of course.

BERMAN: But to a -- but to a grand jury, which is a much different proceeding, do you think this type of information would change the outcome?

ROBBINS: Well, here's what the main problem is that most folks have with the grand jury proceeding. It's a great body, John, to gather evidence. It's a terrible tool to sanitize and scrutinize the evidence.

What Tom was saying about chain of custody, if I'm a defense attorney, I'm hopping up and down. I'm asking all kinds of questions. I'm going bananas in front of a jury to try to get them to understand just how outrageous it is that this police officer left the scene alone, washed his hands of all the evidence, and that the medical examiner at the scene actually said quote, that "things are self-explanatory, so I don't even need to take measurements."

But so since -- would it explain -- would it change what happens in front of a grand jury? Only if there's a different prosecutor who has a point of view that he wants or she wants an indictment.

In this case, you had prosecutors that were pretty -- pretty indifferent. They didn't think that there was enough evidence. And that's clear in the way they presented the case. They presented the case, basically, with the assumption that -- wink-wink, nod-nod -- this is an open-and-shut case, that the forensics support the officer, and we're not going to scrutinize anything that the officer says, John.

BERMAN: Mel Robbins, Tom Fuentes, we'll talk much more about this, the legal case, the ongoing legal case in Ferguson. Thanks so much for being with us -- Michaela.

FUENTES: Thank you.

PEREIRA: All right, John. Thanks so much.

President Obama certainly has some tough tasks at hand, including replacing his outgoing defense secretary. This as the war on ISIS heats up and a continued stalemate continues -- as I already said, continues in Washington. We'll talk about the uphill battle to replace this man, Chuck Hagel.

And a live look inside Macy's. That's a live shot right now from inside the store. Shoppers are already there. Well guess what? We're going to speak to the CEO of Macy's about his parade, about Black Friday, about opening earlier on Thanksgiving. So many questions ahead.

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