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Protesters Call for Boycott of Black Friday After Businesses Looted, Burned; Ruth Bader Ginsberg Home from Hospital; Republican Control of Congress Could Effect Court Justice Nominations; OPEC Deciding Gas Prices; Cricket Star Phillip Hughes Dies; More Black Friday Buying Online.
Aired November 27, 2014 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Brianna Keilar, in for Wolf Blitzer today.
While it is Thanksgiving Day in Ferguson, Missouri, many residents there are feeling far from festive. These were the scenes from Monday. Buildings vandalized and looted, cars overturned, and set on fire. Now some business owners are picking up the pieces of what's left of the neighborhoods, wondering if they should stay and rebuild or go somewhere else and start over. And it doesn't seem it will be any better for retailers tomorrow. Protest organizers are calling for people to boycott Black Friday. Our heart goes out to the owners of those mom-and-pop stores in Ferguson whose businesses were looted and some burned. For them, picking up the pieces seems impossible when there are no pieces left to pick up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IGRAHIM RAMMAHA, OWNER, SAM'S MEAT MARKET: When they definitely showed the helicopter, when it was above West Florissant, I seen the store smoking, it's over. It just hurts. I don't know why this was done to us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Cristina Alesci on how people around the nation are sending donations to help.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As you can imagine, it's an economic disaster. Ferguson, of course, has had clashes between protesters and police but the damage this week is worse than ever before. We're talking about dozens of buildings set on fire, broken windows and looted stores. We don't have a tally on how much the repairs will cost because business owners are still in the middle of assessing the damage. We spoke to some who said it's absolutely devastating. The owner of a local's glass repair shop, for example, said he had run out of wood to board up windows. Now those are the short-term concerns. In the long term, local advocates are worried that violence and damage will force people out and that businesses won't rebuild.
But anecdotally, we've been talking to owners who seem intent on moving past the riots. One salon owner told CNN she's not giving up.
CONSTANCE GARNETT, SALON OWNER: I just prayed that somehow the business, you know, would find it in their hearts to come back because the neighborhood needs the business.
ALESCI: A local baker said she put her life savings in the business and intends to deliver on Thanksgiving orders.
The attention on Ferguson has helped raised tens of thousands of dollars on Go Fund Me. Donations from outside the community are picking up. Projects for school kids are attracting more dollars on donorschoose.org. And the director of the local library says gifts have skyrocketed since the grand jury decision. A lot of that is because of a push on Twitter from big names like tech billionaire, Mark Andresen (ph).
It's still a long way to go, but we're seeing some signs of support already.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: Cristina Alesci, thank you.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has returned home from the hospital. The 81-year-old justice had to undergo surgery to have a stent placed in her right coronary artery.
Justice correspondent, Pamela Brown, joining us now.
This is a serious procedure, Pamela. How is she doing?
PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: It appears she's resting comfortably, Brianna. She was just released from the hospital today. We learned a day earlier than initially set. This is not surprised. Justice Ginsburg is a tough woman. She might look small, she might -- her appearance might be frail, but she is very tough. Remember, she's battled cancer twice. She had pancreatic cancer, colon cancer and within days of being diagnosed from that she was back on the bench and tweeted that the therapy she had to go through, the chemotherapy as part of her work, and what you're seeing here is just another example of her resilience and strength that play.
In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if she's back on the bench on Monday for oral arguments, but like you said, it was serious what she had to go through. It was a heart procedure. There was a stent put into one of her arteries. She was exercising apparently, didn't feel well, and was taken to the hospital as a precaution. It turns out one of her arteries was blocked.
So, of course, this begs the question, you know, how long is she going to be able to stay on the bench? If you ask her, she'll probably say she's going to stay on as long as she possibly can, depending on her health, of course. KEILAR: Unbelievable that she might be back on the bench next week.
That's pretty amazing.
BROWN: I wouldn't be surprised.
KEILAR: I know. I guess I wouldn't either. Even if she is, this is something that will take time, right, this process of recovery for her? What are we expecting there?
BROWN: Well, it should take time and I'm sure she's been advised to, you know, stay at home, take it easy. Like I said, she is a tough woman. She has shown time and time again that she does not want to miss out on her work. She wants to be on that bench. In fact, to put this in perspective, the day after her husband died, she was back on the bench. She said he would have wanted it this way. After she was going through chemotherapy treatment, she was on the bench during this time.
While this is very serious, while it's important for her to rest up after getting a procedure like this, I would not be surprised like I said if she did end up back on the bench come Monday. There's a big case on Monday regarding social media and first amendment rights. I'm sure she doesn't want to miss out on that.
KEILAR: That would be phenomenal. She is one tough cookie.
While I have you here, let me ask you about the lay of the land here. We're in a lame-duck Congress and come January, Republicans have the majority in both the House and the Senate, which is so crucial when talking about judicial nominations, not just in the Supreme Court, if one of the justices does leave, but also even lower-level courts that feed into the Supreme Court are so key in appeals cases. What are we expecting with this change in Congress?
BROWN: Well, no doubt about it, if there is a vacancy on the high court, there's going to be a big nomination fight. I mean to put this in perspective here, when Justice Ginsburg was confirmed, it was 97 to 3. You can bet if the same person was having to go through now through the nomination process, it would be very different now that we have a Republican majority in the Senate. So I think that's going to be part of the calculus. I think for President Obama, if he does have to nominate someone, he's going to have to look at someone who's a little bit more moderate who is going to be able to win the follow nags fight and be approved by a Senate majority Republicans. There's no way around that -- Brianna?
KEILAR: He'll have to pick folks who certainly are not controversial.
All right. We'll see. There's a lot ahead. Pamela Brown, we know you will be following it for us into the New Year.
BROWN: Absolutely.
KEILAR: Still ahead, OPEC ministers decide on the immediate future of gas prices around the world. Will they be going up? We'll be taking you live to Vienna. Australia and the entire cricket world mourning today. Phillip Hughes
died two days after a freak accident on the pitch.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: If you are on the road in his holiday season in the U.S., you have probably noticed gas prices are easier to take, average of $2.82 a gallon. This is the lowest Thanksgiving price in five years. And the average for unleaded is about 50 cents a gallon less than this time last year. The dropping prices facing a big hurdle in Vienna, Austria, today. That's where OPEC ministers were deciding whether to turn off the tap and cut back production. They wrapped up a short time ago.
John Defterios is in Vienna to catch us up.
We have these 12 countries, John, they decided not to cut production to lift prices. Do you thing this is the start of a price war?
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It could very well be, Brianna. This is a high-stakes game, literally, with billions of dollars in the mix. The 12 countries, half from the Middle East, deciding not to intervene in the market at all, Brianna, and let the prices drift lower. Investors sensing a price war, as you're suggesting here, decided to test the market yet again. They think that the United States, Russia and Saudi Arabia will be fighting against each other in the market and they sent price downs another 7 percent, breaking through $70 a barrel.
Here's my exchange with the secretary general of OPEC here just a couple hours ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Are you sending a signal that you're happy to let prices drift lower because of market share?
ABDALLAH SALEM EL-BADRI, SECRETARY GENERAL, OPEC: As I said many times to you, that we don't want to panic. I mean it. And also, we don't want -- we want to see the market, how the market behaves. The decline of the price does not reflect the fund mental exchange. This is true as far as we see it here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEFTERIOS: Two years ago, I spoke to the Saudi oil minister and he said $100 a barrel was the target price in 2012.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED SAUDI ARABIA OIL MINISTER: We have no target. I tell you, on behalf of all the ministers, we have to target price. We are looking for a fair price.
(END VIDEO CLIP) DEFTERIOS: And Brianna, that is quite a change in tune here from OPEC as I suggested in my question to the secretary general. They were targeting $100 a barrel and the going was great when the demand was high. We've seen prices come down $45 a barrel in the last five months alone. A huge change in the market. And U.S. consumers will feel it with prices going lower in the next couple weeks.
KEILAR: They're downright ecstatic in the U.S. You have this shale boom going on in the U.S., John. What's the strategy here with OPEC? Is this an effort to slow down the shale boom?
DEFTERIOS: Yeah. This is not something OPEC would admit to. I've asked a number of ministers that very question. U.S. consumers will see lower prices but this definitely put a lot of pressure on the shale producers. I spoke to one Texas oil man before I came to OPEC, and he said we can live at $70 a barrel, don't make a lot of money. You get closer to $60 a barrel we will not be launching new projects and we had West Texas Intermediate the benchmark hit $68 a barrel. This will inflict a lot of pain on Russia and also Iran. They need $100 or more to break even with oil prices.
Saudi Arabia came up with this strategy. I caught the oil minister as we went out, and he seemed pleased with today's result.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEFTERIOS: There's no production cut.
UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: so no production cuts?
DEFTERIOS: No cuts?
UNIDENTIFIED SAUDI ARABIA OIL MINISTER: I told you before, there's no cuts.
DEFTERIOS: So they stuck with this idea that you don't need to cut? Just let the market determine the price?
That's right.
UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: OK.
DEFTERIOS: As you predicted?
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEFTERIOS: We're not sure, Brianna, who's going to have the last laugh. The Saudi minister seems to be pleased he carried the day if you will.
Let's not forget the gulf producers of the Middle East have $2.5 trillion in the bank right now. They can afford to put the pressure on the U.S. shale producers, Russia and Iran as well.
KEILAR: John Defterios, in Vienna, thank you.
A freak accident during a match in Sydney Tuesday, a cricket match, has claimed the life of Australian cricket star, Phillip Hughes. Hughes was batting when the ball bounced, hit him in the neck behind his left ear, the blow creating severe bleeding on his brain. Doctors induced a coma, performed surgery to relieve pressure, but the injuries were too severe.
Alex Thomas has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEX THOMAS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Phillip Hughes was the embodiment of Australian fighting spirit. The perfect man to wear the famous baggy green cap and the history it symbolizes for an entire nation.
Born on a banana farm in New South Wales, he developed an unorthodox batting style that became his trademark and with it, he rose to the very top of his sport. Opening the batting in the Ashes, the historic contest between Australia and England.
JAMES SUTHERLAND, CEO, CRICKET AUSTRALIA: Without doubt he was a rising star whose best cricket was still ahead of him. He was a hero to kids around the nation, particularly those in the region around his hometown of Maxville in New South Wales.
THOMAS: Hughes was tipped for the top from a young age. His talent was undoubted. But it was his mental strength that shown through. Aged only 20, he made his test debut against South Africa in 2009. And in only his second match, became the youngest ever to score a century in each innings.
His form suffered dips in the years that followed, but a determination to never give up saw him reclaim his place in the side. He was tipped to return to the Australian team next week against India.
Softly spoken, he preferred to let his batting do the talking. And his teammates and Australian cricket fans loved him for it.
KEITH BRADSHAW, SOUTH AUSTRALIAN CRICKET ASSOCIATION: Loved by everyone, Phillip was a quality guy and a remarkable talent. He had many friends and teammates both here in the state and overseas. And it is important that we offer them all the support they need to deal with this tragic event.
THOMAS: Hughes lost his fight for life days short of his 26th birthday. His best years were still ahead of him. A freak accident has claimed one of cricket's brightest young talents and left the sporting world in mourning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: Black Friday, you all know it well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hold up! Hold up!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Quit pushing me!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stop!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: The mayhem, the craziness, the rush. Some live for this. But a growing number of people are ditching it and buying gifts online instead. As convenient as it is to click and ship, it's even easier for thieves to take your packages.
Our Nick Valencia shows how one start-up is aiming to solve this problem.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have a good one. You're welcome.
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 'Tis the season to ship packages out to loved ones or maybe send something to yourself on that must-have list.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get a little note on your door and you have to play tag and go pick it up.
VALENCIA: But it's also prime season for criminals, when broad daylight sees the opportunity to grab those hot items right off your doorstep.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The tracking number said it was delivered, but I never got the package.
VALENCIA: Imagine this, perfect strangers walking up to your front door and walking off with the merchandise.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who's at their home in the middle of the day, just able to wait for a package to show up?
VALENCIA: And coast to coast, no one is immune. With online retail sales topping $200 billion last year in the U.S., and that's expected to grow this year, by about 10 percent, according to shop.org.
ZANDER ADELE, DOORMAN: I always felt like I was being punished by the current delivery system, for having a full-time job. And, you know, the question was, why can't this be delivered when I'm actually home?
VALENCIA: Meet Zander Adele. His new San Francisco start-up, Doorman, has retailers ship your package to them and not your home, for four bucks a package.
ADELE: Once it arrives, we notify you on your phone and you use the doorman app to schedule delivery until midnight until seven days a week.
VALENCIA: A bold business model, as others have tried and failed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have to have a big force of delivery people, so I think that's very ambitious, very tough.
VALENCIA: Ambitious, maybe. But if their business can eliminate the risk and prevent scenes like this from happening, it could be the shipping model of the future.
Nick Valencia, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: Now to another great American Thanksgiving tradition, as much a part of the day as the turkey and the cranberry sauce. Of course, I'm talking about Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
(GOBBLING)
(LAUGHTER)
CNN's Miguel Marquez takes us on the other side of the ropes.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, I have the best gig of the day. This is the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. And color me old school, but I love the old ones.
We have a thousand clowns at this parade. Here are some scarecrow clowns that are freaking me out. And color me old school, but there's Snoopy. I love the Snoopy balloon. Some 49 balloons of all shapes and sizes, 27 floats, 12 marching bands. The largest brand ever is in this parade was Carolina University band, 505 members strong. 1,300 cheerleaders and dancers and some thousand clowns and lots and lots of people.
How'd you like the parade?
(SHOUTING)
MARQUEZ: I'm going to talk to this young man right here.
Michael, are you having a good time?
MICHAEL, PARADE WATCHER: Yes!
MARQUEZ: What are you looking forward to seeing?
MICHAEL: Everything!
(LAUGHTER)
MARQUEZ: Absolutely incredible energy out here.
I will say, as you know, we've had some protests across the city in recent days. Police say that they are prepared for it. There are concerns that there may be efforts to disrupt this parade. They say if they try, they will shut it down -- Brianna? KEILAR: All right, Miguel. Looks like a lot of fun. Can I have that
turkey again? It is Thanksgiving, after all. Where is that guy?
(LAUGHTER)
(GOBBLING)
KEILAR: He's funny. Kind of alarming, too.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: Do you ever wonder why dogs leave such a mess when they drink water? Well, neither have I. But I will tell you, I owned a bulldog whose mouth needs to be wiped, so I have wondered. But there's a full-blown study to find out why.
Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Is it an exotic sea creature, or maybe a pink aquatic blossom? Actually, it's a dog's tongue, shot from a waterproof camera placed at the bottom of its bowl for a scientific study.
SEAN GART, CO-AUTHOR, HOW DOGS DRINK: We call it, "How Dogs Drink."
MOOS: Ever wonder why your dog is always slurping and making a mess?
(on camera): Well, for one thing -- dogs cannot suck, right?
GART: Correct.
MOOS (voice-over): Instead, what they've discovered at the fluid lap at Virginia Tech is that dogs curl their tongues backwards and plunge them into the water. The water sticks to the back of the tongue and creates a column which the dog bites off.
Imagine these glass tubes represent the dog's tongue.
GART: Actually, they really don't scoop so much as the water sticks to the tongue.
MOOS: They measured lapping velocity and tongue size, recording 20 dogs in slow motion, like Lila here.
No wonder dogs like fountains -- less work.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AD NARRATOR: That's why you need the doggy fountain. The doggy fountain eliminates the use of bowls.
(END VIDEO CLIP) MOOS: As for cats, who also don't suck, they tend to be much gentler drinking, barely touching their tongue on the liquid's surface as opposed to dogs, who plunge right in.
Researchers presented their findings to a meeting of the American Physical Society's Division of Fluid dynamics.
MOOS (on camera): I don't know how to put this. Why do we care?
GART: You see dogs drinking every day, but no one really knows what's going on.
MOOS (voice-over): Especially the ones making the mess -- yes, you!
The science may not be earth shaking, but the adorable images of dogs drinking in slow motion, we lap them up.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: So many of my questions answered now. Very helpful report there.
Well, that is it for me. I'm going to be back at 5:00 p.m. eastern. I'll be filling in for Wolf on "The Situation Room."
We have much news ahead.
For our international viewers, "AMANPOUR" is next.
For our viewers here in North America, "NEWSROOM" with Brooke Baldwin starts right now.
