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New Day Sunday

Former DC Mayor Marion Barry Dead at 78; Ferguson Waits for Grand Jury to Reconvene; Buffalo Under Flood Warning Today

Aired November 23, 2014 - 07:00   ET

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

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: And a flood watch right now for residents in Buffalo, New York. A new scare as massive amounts of snow start to melt away.

(MUSIC)

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Take a nice, deep breath as you've made it to Sunday. I'm Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell, 7:00 here on the East Coast. Good to be with you, as always.

PAUL: Yes. We do need to begin with breaking news this morning, though. Former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry has died. He was 78 years old. And we do not know the cause of death. It's still unknown, but we do know that he struggled with health problems in recent years.

BLACKWELL: Inside of Washington, and outside of Washington as well, Barry's name became synonymous with the capital city from the start of the civil rights movement, whose hands on approach as a four- time mayor and city councilman, he was often praised with creating jobs and breaking racial boundaries.

PAUL: His service wasn't without drama. We do want to bring in CNN's Erin McPike in Washington.

Erin, wondering what the reaction is there this morning.

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christi and Victor, let me first tell you that he died overnight at United Medical Center in Washington at about 78 years old. Now, we're still waiting for more details on the cause of death, but we are expecting a hospital press conference later this morning to get some more of those details.

This past June, he released his autobiography which is called "Mayor For Life: The Incredible Story of Marion Barry." And he served four terms as mayor of Washington.

After three terms until the early '90s, he was arrested for that video of him smoking crack in a hotel. And he served six months of jail time thereafter. He also had a number of other run-ins with the law, including for drugs and taxes over the last few decades, but he was beloved in Washington. And he told our Fredricka Whitfield that his top issue has been

trying to get statehood for Washington, D.C. Well, here's a little more of that interview. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARION BARRY, FORMER DC MAYOR: I've had a rich life. Not just a 15-second sound bite, but when you say, well, Washington, D.C., everybody knows, when I came here in 1965, Washington was a sleepy southern town. No high-rises, no anything. No new buildings on Pennsylvania Avenue, except the FBI building.

Look at Washington now, all of downtown. Our neighborhoods have been transformed because of my blueprint. I appointed Herb Miller. He was living downtown.

More importantly, I brought hope to the hopeless. In Washington, I have worked hard for the people. And I'm beloved by the people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCPIKE: And we do have a statement from the current mayor of Washington, Vincent Gray, who said, "Marion was not just a colleague but also was a friend with whom I shared many fond moments about governing the city. He loved the District of Columbia and so many Washingtonians loved him."

We also have just gotten in a statement from the mayor-elect of Washington, D.C., Muriel Bowser, and she said, "He has been a part of my family for decades, and he will continue to be an example to me and so many others."

So, of course, we're just getting some reaction in because he died overnight, Christi and Victor, but I'm sure we will hear much more throughout the day.

BLACKWELL: Yes, we heard from Reverend Jesse Jackson last hour. And I'm sure we'll hear more throughout the next few hours.

Erin McPike in Washington for us, thank you so much.

Let's go to Ferguson now where the streets are quiet this morning, but the tension -- the tension is simmering beneath the calm there.

PAUL: Yes. Residents are waiting, of course, for the grand jury to reconvene. They will do so tomorrow now, in the hope that they're finally going to know whether Officer Darren Wilson will or will not be indicted for Michael Brown's killing.

CNN's Stephanie Elam is live in Ferguson.

Do you think the waiting has exacerbated some of the anxiety there?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I actually think the waiting has been part of the game now for weeks, Victor and Christi. I think that folks here knew that they were going to have to wait. Everyone knows that it's not an exact science of when we're going to find out.

And just to be clear, the grand jury's not late by not telling us what their decision is or not, coming to that decision, simply because they have until January 7th. But we do believe that they're close when they come together Monday, we may get a better idea.

The question that you hear people talking about is whether or not this is going to happen now before Thanksgiving or after. You do hear a lot of people talking about that.

BLACKWELL: So, if there is an indictment, what is the plan, then?

ELAM: As far as the protesters are concerned, they are going to protest either way. That's what they said. They said that the protesters I spoke to were telling me that this is something that has now become larger than what happened with Mike Brown, that there is a disconnect between young men of color in the St. Louis region and throughout the nation, they told me, and law enforcement. And that is what they want to work toward improving.

So there were protests throughout the weekend leading up to this. There were people out here again last night in Ferguson.

So, they're saying no matter if he's indicted or not, they still plan on protesting. But I've got to tell you, most of the protesters I spoke with -- in fact, not one that I spoke with believes that he's going to be indicted, Victor and Christi.

BLACKWELL: All right. Stephanie Elam for us live in Ferguson this morning, thank you so much.

Let's bring in HLN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney Joey Jackson now.

Joey, I wonder -- I read a piece in "The New York Times" this weekend about some of the protesters who traveled to Ferguson back in August, who said that they're not going to be back because one, obviously the temperature change, it's cold there, and they had some work obligations.

Do you expect that there will also be some legal reasons, the difficulty and the exchange with police there is going to keep some people away from these protests?

JOEY JACKSON, HLN LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning, Victor. I really don't. Remember, we're dealing with a case that has such inflamed passions, and those passions extend far over and past Ferguson, Missouri, in fact, throughout the country. It's international news, even.

And so, listen. People are motivated behind this particular issue. We've heard, as you know, and have reported on very well, the public service announcements, asking for peace and calm. You have the football team that did it, you know? You have various other people who have come forward and said, look, be peaceful.

And, you know, it cuts both ways, too, Victor, on that issue. So, I -- and what I'm saying by that is that certainly you expect that the protesters, whatever they come from, and I do expect, based upon the inflamed tensions, for them to be there despite the cold weather, you know, expressing their views. But you also expect the police not to exacerbate, not to intimidate and to certainly have a presence and to protect.

And so, as long as the police do their job and the protesters do their job, I think we could have a peaceful exchange and people could get the message across about this issue, Victor.

BLACKWELL: All right. Let's talk specifically about the grand jury now because there is so much coverage here and on other networks and all around the world, online and in newspapers. This grand jury was not sequestered. How can they be expected to make a decision based only on what is heard inside that grand jury room on the second floor of that courthouse, considering the inundation of all the other information they're getting about this case?

JACKSON: It's a wonderful question, Victor. It really is. Because, you know, there's a lot of, as we talk about, people have opinions about everything related to this case. And you certainly don't want the grand jury, Victor, to be influenced by all the reporting that's done.

But listen, they're instructed as to the law, and I know that's not foolproof, and they're told, base your decision upon what happens here upon the evidence, upon the circumstances, the police reports, the medical reports, the autopsy reports and so you would just hope and certainly expect that they would focus on that and do their job as it relates to hearing the evidence and making a decision and not be subjected to the outside pressures, the outside tensions, and that's what we expect. And that's what certainly justice would demand, Victor.

BLACKWELL: I want to ask you something about the prosecuting attorney here who decided to do this on record and will be releasing hundreds of hours of the testimony and all the evidence. I would imagine that that could cut both ways as well, once all of that information is out, that there could be some danger connected to people knowing all of this and not getting the outcome that they were hoping for or expecting.

JACKSON: You know, you're right on point with that issue. But I think there's a way to resolve that. And we certainly know that grand jury proceedings, by their very nature, are secretive, and they should be because you want to protect the integrity of the process.

You don't want witnesses to be harassed, to be intimidated, and you want them to make a decision that's not, as we talked about before, focused on what everybody else wants me to do, but what I really should do and that's why they're secret. However, on that particular issue, if you release that information, it could impair that. Here's a way to resolve that. You redact, in legal parlance,

information from that proceeding. What do I mean? I mean you white out or black out the names of the people who participate to make an effort to at least protect the identity of the witnesses. Now, certainly, they'll be digging, and they could be found out in terms of what they said, who those witnesses are.

But it could be problematic in the event that the public doesn't like what they said, the way they said it, or even worse, if what they said in the media contradicts what they said under oath when they were in that proceeding testifying before the grand jury.

BLACKWELL: All right. Grand jury reconvenes at the very earliest tomorrow, and we'll see if we get a decision from that grand jury in Clayton, Missouri, where they're meeting.

Joey Jackson, thank you so much.

JACKSON: Have a great day, Victor. Thank you.

PAUL: Let's talk about the University of Virginia because they are suspending all fraternities and associated parties until January 9th now. This move comes after a student told "Rolling Stone" magazine she was gang-raped over a three-hour period. And her frustration, she talked about, at just trying to get some justice.

Well, now the school's president is asking anyone with information to come forward. She released the statement, quote, "There are individuals in our community who know what happened that night, and I'm calling on them to come forward to the police", unquote.

Now, school officials have also asked the Charlottesville Police Department to investigate this incident.

I know you have a lot of questions about it. You know, what's next in this case? Are there going to be charges filed?

We're going to talk with our legal experts in the next hour of NEW DAY. That's in the 8:00 a.m. hour. So we hope you'll be here for that.

BLACKWELL: But, first, an epic snowstorm. Next, floods, possibly. Buffalo is bracing for this big meltdown now. Everyone knew it was coming, but maybe not so quickly and all at once. Fire crews from across New York and National Guard units are on the way. We'll take you live to Buffalo.

PAUL: Plus, a mother of seven saw a wall of snow push down the doors in her home. We're talking to her next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: So, first, Buffalo, New York, was pounded by seven feet of snow in just three days. Can you imagine? And while trucks have been busy carting piles of the snow away, Buffalo now could face six feet of water as the temperatures warm up and all the snow begins to melt. The entire region is under a flood warning.

CNN's Alexandra Field has been braving the snow and the cold weather in Buffalo.

Alexandra, hundreds of national guardsmen are in place and ready. It looks like it's warming up there.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, a lot of steps have been taken so that everyone will be ready, 500 national guardsmen and women are here. The governor has been here for days. He's brought his commissioners up here from Albany along with their personnel.

We're also seeing emergency responders from other municipalities arrive here, 41 members of a special ops unit from New York City's fire department have also come here.

They're all in place as this flood warning remains in place, at least through tomorrow afternoon. That's because those temperatures are rising. The concerns about flooding come from all the snow still on the ground. We know some areas had six, seven feet of snow. That snow has to go somewhere now as the temperatures climb.

The issue is that a lot of these storms drains are clogged, so that water is going to have to go somewhere. This could be the biggest concern for people in urban and residential neighborhoods. They've been told for days now to start clearing their basements, think about that. Also shovel off those rooftops because with the rain coming, you don't want the risk of more roofs collapsing.

The governor says that this area is just about as prepared as they can be at this point. Over the last few days, there's been a massive operation to bring in not only the manpower and the personnel but also the supplies -- 176,000 sandbags, 55 swift water rescue boats and crews, high-axle vehicles that could make rescues in several feet of water. Just about everything they can have in place in order to respond, should they need to.

But again, everyone hoping that if the temperature doesn't spike as quickly as it's forecast to, that maybe some of these concerns would diminish in the next day or so. But everyone certainly being prepared for the worst-case scenario after they got pummeled by so much snow this week -- Victor, Christi.

BLACKWELL: All right. We're hoping for the best there in Buffalo. Alexandra Field, thank you.

PAUL: All right. Let's find what it was really like from Chrissy Hazard, because she, her husband and seven children were trapped inside their home with this storm hit.

Remember, we're talking about 85 inches of snow. But a thick wall of it broke right through one of the doors in her home. Look at this! Can you imagine?

She's joining us now by phone from her home in suburban buffalo.

Chrissy, thank you so much for being with us.

Listen, I want to first of all --

CHRISSY HAZARD, RESIDENT (via telephone): Hi.

PAUL: You were going to be with us yesterday, I know, but we understand your aunt's house burns down. How is she?

HAZARD: She's safe. They got OK. They were able to get out. So, that's a good thing.

PAUL: And she lives in Buffalo as well? Did the house burn down because of the snow somehow?

HAZARD: She's two turns away, and she had an electrical fire which seems to be going on with all the weight of the snow that's holding on to the wires.

PAUL: Oh, snow on the wires. OK.

So I'm glad that she's OK, first of all. We're showing some of the pictures that you've sent us. And they're something else.

What did you do when that wall of snow came through the door, first of all?

HAZARD: Well, we actually thought it was the roof caving in. We went back there, and we ended up -- first, we had to shovel the snow back outdoors. And then we actually had to set the doors up in the doorjamb for right now until we can actually get somebody here to look at it.

PAUL: So, are you able -- if you said your aunt lives a couple of towns away, are you able -- you're able to get around, then? The streets are clear enough for you to drive?

HAZARD: It is in my town now. As of yesterday, last night, we were able to get out. I have not been able to reach my parents (INAUDIBLE) which is the town over. (AUDIO GAP)

PAUL: I'm afraid she's breaking up with us here. I'm going to keep trying here.

Chrissy, I'm so sorry -- OK. We've got you there.

So, we saw another picture that you sent of the store shelves that are completely bare. Do you have enough food and water?

HAZARD: (AUDIO GAP) stuck at home.

PAUL: Stuck at home. OK.

Chrissy, I'm sorry, our connection with you is not that great. But again, glad that you and your family are safe. Glad that your aunt's safe, and we're just so sorry for everything that you all have been through, but thank you for sharing. You know, the experience with us because we report it on the

news, and everybody else is sitting at home and they're watching it.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

PAUL: And you don't understand the gravity of what it's like to live in that day in and day out. Like she said, it sounded like her roof was caving in.

BLACKWELL: I can imagine. And then you've got to shovel it out. But it's an 85-inch wall, so you can't just shovel it out that door. You've got to take it out another door.

PAUL: Right.

BLACKWELL: Our best to Chrissy's family and her aunt. I mean, the house burning down.

Listen, still ahead on NEW DAY: look at this. It looks like the real thing, but it's not. And a 12-year-old boy in Cleveland lost his life in part because of it. More next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Welcome back to NEW DAY.

Let's get you caught up with the "Morning Read" this morning.

PAUL: Cleveland police shot and injured a 12-year-old boy after mistaking his airsoft gun for a real semiautomatic pistol. Now, police were responding to a 911 call yesterday about a boy pointing a gun at other people. The officers told the boy to raise his hand. He refused and reached into his waistband instead. The incident is being investigated, and we understand that boy is in surgery.

BLACKWELL: Police in Tallahassee are investigating why a gunman ambushed deputies who were responding to a house fire. One of them was shot dead. The gunman then took the fallen deputy's gun and used it to shoot another officer and a firefighter. Now, the shooter eventually was killed in a shootout with police.

A triple threat: Earthquakes hitting all around the world within hours of one another. From China to Japan, right here in the U.S. in Dallas in a suburb yesterday. There are no reports of injuries in Irving, Texas, where the U.S. earthquake hit, but four people were killed in China. Dozens were injured in Japan.

PAUL: In sports, welterweight boxer Manny Pacquiao put on another explosive performance overnight, dominating Chris Algieri to retain his WBO title. While the 35-year-old boxing great didn't win with a knockout, Pacquiao scored six knockouts -- six knockdowns, I should say, on his way to that unanimous decision.

BLACKWELL: All right. It may be the weekend, but most of us are looking forward to Thanksgiving. It is a great holiday.

Up next, we'll take you -- tell you, rather, if it's going to rain on your local Thanksgiving Day parade. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good Sunday morning to my friends in South Louisiana. You are waking up to a lot of rain. Lightning, thunder in the area of New Orleans, Baton Rouge, all moving to the east. This is all part of a larger system that could have several severe storms as we go through the afternoon, could see large hail, damaging winds, even the slight possibility of a brief tornado.

Look, this extends all the way up to the Midwest. Chicago even getting rain and then possibly pushing some snow in there by the time we get to tomorrow night. This will all push into the Northeast as well as we get into the beginning part of the week.

Fast-moving system, that's where your severe threat is mainly for the South. The Gulf Coast, we're looking at three to five inches of rain around Atlanta, one to three in the panhandle.

I also want to move forward because a lot of you are traveling for Thanksgiving. We could be looking at a Thanksgiving time frame storm Wednesday into Thursday. It could push a lot of rain and even some snow into the Northeast in time for Thanksgiving. The other scenario, though, that we're looking at doesn't have it quite as big, guys.

So, still a little bit of uncertainty there, but something to watch out for over the next couple of days.

BLACKWELL: All right. Jennifer, thank you so much. We'll see you back here at the top of the hour.

But first, a story about getting the worst news imaginable -- finding out your child has a rare disease.

PAUL: "SANJAY GUPTA, M.D." starts right now.