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Shopping Central at Macy's Herald Square; 1,500 Protests Planned at Wal-Marts Nationwide; China Declares New "Air Defense Zone"; Deadline Tomorrow for Healthcare.gov Fix

Aired November 29, 2013 - 10:30   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thanks so much for joining me.

It's practically the epicenter of holiday shopping -- Macy's in New York's Herald Square; thousands and thousands of people braved the bitter Manhattan cold all in the search of a good deal.

Zain Asher is live inside Macy's flagship store. Good morning Zain.

ZAIN ASHER, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi Carol, yes we've been here since 4:00 in the morning. Things are slowly starting to pick up. Now the issue with getting here at 10:00 a.m. is a lot of those door- buster deals might have actually already run out. Now interesting enough I did bumped into a British couple who said they landed in New York yesterday, they are here specifically for no other reason other than Black Friday. They leave on Sunday.

I've been working around the store myself and the best deal I've seen that made me do a double take, was actually a cashmere sweater originally price at $139.99 reduced to $39.99. So that is what you call a deal. I've also been speaking to shoppers who have been shopping throughout the night. And I asked them what is your advice for shoppers who are just waking up, just getting started. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have an idea what you want. Today I was pretty kind of sure I wanted to come out and get. Then if you do that, then you're kind of know where you're going. And I think you'll be fine.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have a couple of cups of coffee and be relaxed. And just enjoy yourself. It's not anything you can rush around and get items purchased fast. Because there's long lines and it takes lots of patience.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: I thought you were going to add something after that. I was just going to ask you Zain, compared to last year, does there appear to be more people? I don't think Zain Asher is hearing me.

ASHER: Hi Carol, I'm so sorry. I'm having trouble hearing you.

COSTELLO: I thought, what is going on.

ASHER: Yes. So interesting enough, I've been speaking to Macy's executives and they said that this year they had 15,000 people outside, a lot higher than last year. Last year they only had 11,000 people waiting outside.

So that's why this year they did start opening earlier. They opened Thanksgiving Day, 8:00. But in terms of tips to people and terms of advice, I've been talking to a lot of experts they say that the most important thing is that you do your research online at home before you head out.

Also keep your receipts. It's very important. Just in case we all know that sinking feeling when you know you've overspent. So keep those receipts in case you change your mind.

And lastly, of course don't ever put getting a deal or getting a bargain ahead of your own safety -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Good advice. Zain Asher thanks so much. Zain Asher reporting living from Macy's in New York City.

ASHER: Of course.

COSTELLO: But for the world's biggest retailer though, Wal-Mart, sales aren't the only thing in focus on this Black Friday. Protesters will try to make their voices heard about they claim are poor working conditions. The protests are being organized by a union back group called "Our Wal-Mart" which claims employees will be taking part in some 1,500 demonstrations across the country today.

Kyung Lah is in Los Angeles one of the cities where those protests are being held. Good morning.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. And those protests have already begun primarily on the East Coast. The location that I'm at is expected to really pick up toward the noon hour lunch hour here in Los Angeles. There was a protest east of Los Angeles where there were some peaceful civil disobedience arrests, about 10 people arrested.

They are trying to make a point. What they are trying to say, these protesters, is that what Wal-Mart is paying its employees, a company that pulls in $17 billion a year, is that they simply do not pay enough money to their employees. The hourly wage simply not being a livable wage -- so that's really the focus here. As people are coming out to spend money on Black Friday, these protesters want people to also talk about the wages of the people who are working inside the store.

What Wal-Mart is saying is, though, if you go into the protest Carol and you talk to the people who are outside these stores today, those protesters predominantly are not Wal-Mart employees -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Right. They are union workers, right, who say they are representing people who actually work at Wal-Mart, correct? LAH: Absolutely. And they say that it is an appropriate place, though, to have this discussion about wages. Because the people inside Wal-Mart, they're inside trying to make time and a half. They need to make money today on a day that they can make extra so that they can have a Christmas and that they can feed their families. What the protesters outside are saying is that they represent those people they are trying to give them a voice.

COSTELLO: Wal-Mart's CEO talked about the protest this morning on "NEW DAY". I just want -- I just want to have you to listen to what he had to say. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL SIMON, CEO, WAL-MART: Black Friday, we just talked about it, you know, millions and millions of people out shopping is a -- is the big stage. And Wal-Mart is a big player on the big stage. It has -- as there are those who want to try to change an industry, a service industry like retail, it's not unexpected that they would be out on Black Friday at Wal-Mart with something to say about that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Because these same union workers, why aren't they protesting at Target and K-Mart. Why Wal-Mart?

LAH: In part because of the number of employees Wal-Mart has. Wal- Mart employs about one percent of the working U.S. labor force, about 1.5 million people. If you compare that to Target, another competitor, Target only employs about 300,000 employees. So a significant gap and the number of people working inside the stores.

That's why protesters are trying to target a number of large markets. Take a look at this map. You'll see that almost every single major city is going to have a large scale protest. Large scale meaning 100 people plus -- Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, Miami, D.C., Minneapolis. Protesters telling us that these are the places outside of Wal-Mart where they will be talking about wages -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right we'll check back with you. Kyung Lah reporting live from Los Angeles this morning.

Checking other top stories this morning at 37 minutes past the hour.

A woman sentenced to 20 years in prison for firing off a warning shot has now been released on bond while she awaits a new trial. Marissa Alexander was released Wednesday night. She'll be monitored electronically while she's on home detention. Alexander's case shined a light on Florida's controversial stand your ground laws. Alexander says she fired a warning shot to scare away her abusive husband. And she was later convicted of attempts murder.

A U.S. drone strike in North Waziristan, region of Pakistan has killed three suspected militants and injured several others. Two missiles were used in the attack earlier today. Officials are not confirming the identities of those killed. Hope for the Thanksgiving comet lives on after initially saying ISON burned up. NASA scientists now believe part of the ISON comet may have survived its trip past the sun. NASA says ISON is throwing off bits of gas and dust. But it will take a few more days to figure out what's left. And so I would keep my eyes on the sky you might be able to see parts of that comet in the coming days.

Still to come in the "NEWSROOM", the works of reclusive writer J.D. Salinger have mysterious appeared online. What experts are saying about how they got there? Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Three unpublished works from "Catcher in the Rye" author J.D. Salinger have mysterious shown up on the Internet this week. A 41-page album simply titled, "Three Stories" appeared on several download sites but nobody seems to know who posted them or where they came from.

CNN's Nischelle Turner live in New York with more on this story. JD Salinger didn't want these works to be seen for 50 years, right?

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Indeed. Yes exactly, Carol. You know literary circles are buzzing after these three unpublished short stories reportedly by JD Salinger showed up on the Internet this week.

Now before this, the three stories allegedly written by "Catcher in the Rye" author had only been available for academic study in the archives at Princeton and the University of Texas. Now in some cases scholars even had to read the works under supervision. That's because J.D. Salinger fiercely guarded his writings and he only allowed a small amount of his work to be published before his death in 2010.

But now, like you mentioned, this 4-page album is appearing numerous places online. It simply called quote, "Three Stories" and it features three short works titled "The Ocean Full of Bowling Balls", "Birthday Boy" and "Paula". And the book -- book critics and Salinger scholars are backing this all up. They're basically saying that these leaked stories are legitimate and that they match the original transcripts.

Now Princeton has a few theories about how the stories could have gotten out. First that someone transcribed the stories in long hand in the reading room, another that photocopies were made before the mid-1980s and they got out.

Now after that time the University prohibited people from copying any of J.D. Salinger's works. But there are several reports now that point to an eBay auction. This September, a copy of three stories sold for $110 which could easily be scanned and uploaded. Now a photo included with the eBay listing says the first copy was first printed in 1999. It identifies the document as the sixth out of a total of 25 copies. So maybe they are getting closer to figuring out how this happened -- Carol. But you're right, J.D. Salinger didn't want these out until 50 years after his death so it's 2060. COSTELLO: Wow I know I'm dying to read them, though, but I'll feel guilty if I read them.

TURNER: I know me too, I was thinking the same thing. I was thinking how do I do this? It's research. It's work, research.

COSTELLO: Good idea. I like your style Nischelle Turner. Thanks so much.

TURNER: Absolutely.

COSTELLO: Coming up in the "NEWSROOM", the deadline for fixes to the Obamacare website approaching in a matter of hours. But even after tomorrow, will HealthCare.gov actually work?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Checking our top stories at 48 minutes past the hour.

A UFC fighter remains on life support despite social media reports that he had died. Sources tell Bleacher Report that Shane del Rosario has no brain function. The family had been hoping for a miracle and plans to make a final decision this morning on whether to take him off life support. Del Rosario suffered a heart attack at his California home on Tuesday.

A distracted robber plus a bright clerk equals an arrest in Miami. The convenience store clerk kept his cool when the gunman demanded money stalling him until the police showed up. First the clerk double-bagged the cash and then suggested the robber grab some beer from the coolers before he left the store. The crook fumbled his goods and got inside the store. And then his beer bag ripped when he got outside to the parking lot. Instead of taking off with the cash, he tried to pick up the beer first and by that time, you guessed, police had arrived.

Oh, man.

China's declaration of a new air identification zone is adding even more tension to an ongoing dispute with Japan about who owns a set of remote islands in the East China Sea. Now, the United States is stepping in saying the declaration may interfere with the U.S. Navy's ability to respond to a crisis in the area.

CNN's Barbara Starr has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Navy fighter jets roar into the Pacific skies. It's a scheduled exercise by U.S. and Japanese forces testing the ability to respond to a crisis. But China's declaration of a new air identification zone requiring aircraft to obey China's rules is causing these war games to take on a new significance.

Vice President Joe Biden will arrive in Beijing next week. A senior administration official says the Vice President will, quote, "seek clarity regarding the Chinese' intentions about an area the U.S. considers international air space." Even Caroline Kennedy, the new U.S. Ambassador to Japan is weighing in on the Chinese restriction zone, part of a dispute with Japan about who owns these remote islands in the East China Sea.

CAROLINE KENNEDY, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO JAPAN: This only serves to increase tensions in the region.

STARR: The U.S., Japan and South Korea have all flown aircraft into the restricted zone without notifying Beijing authorities -- a violation of China's new rules. The Chinese military says it sent fighter jets on patrol into the zone to monitor planes flying there.

VICTOR CHA, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: When the Japanese continue to fly into this area and the Koreans continue to fly into their overlapped area with the Chinese, sooner or later the Chinese are going to start scrambling jets to intercept these aircraft. And that is where you have the potential for not a military conflict but some sort of accident, some sort of mistake that could then lead to a real crisis in the regions.

STARR: A Chinese foreign ministry official made clear, Beijing isn't budging. "We also asked Japan and the United States to reflect on themselves," he says, "correct the error. Stop making irresponsible accusations against China, stop creating frictions and put an end to statements and actions that may harm regional stability."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Barbara Starr reporting.

South Korea says it will continue to fly its regular patrols in the disputed area despite China's latest declaration.

The clock is clicking for the White House. The self-imposed deadline to fix the problem plagued Obamacare Web site is quickly approaching. But even after tomorrow, the administration says don't expect the Web site to always work properly.

CNN's Jill Dougherty is at the White House this morning with more. Good morning Jill.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey Carol. Well, you know, they say they're making steady progress. Now, as you noted, they do say that there will be problems continuing. But what they've done is they've upped the speed. Pages are loading or will load, they say, after a second as opposed to six seconds before. And the error rate is one percent as opposed to six percent before. But will that be enough?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUGHERTY (voice over): Withering criticism of the initial rollout of healthcare.gov has intensified the pressure on the administration to get this fix right for Saturday. The White House hopes it can do that, at least for the vast majority of users.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And this Web site is going to get fixed.

DOUGHERTY: Healthcare.gov opened for business October 1st and it's been a disastrous two months. The site crashed, unable to cope with people trying to sign up. Small businesses still won't be able to use the site for another year. Insurance industry insiders tell CNN some customers' personal data is getting mangled or even lost.

The White House says the site will be able to handle 50,000 users at one time. But they admit there will be times after Saturday when healthcare.gov does not function properly. And they're bracing for another possible huge surge in volume that could force some people into virtual waiting lines for call backs.

Officials say consumers who pick a plan by December 23rd and pay their premiums by December 31st will have coverage effective the first of January.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOUGHERTY: And Carol, I think you can predict that those tech teams that are working on the software and hardware will probably be right up to the deadline.

COSTELLO: I think you're right about that. I'm sure you'll keep on checking it as will we. Jill Dougherty reporting live from the White House. .

Still to come in the "NEWSROOM", what does heaven look like? Well, people are waiting in line for hours and hours to take a look at one artist's depiction. It's amazing.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Imagine being between life and death and having a chance to return to this world, as in you choose life over death. An Anderson Cooper special report profiles three people who say that very thing happened to them. You can watch "To Heaven and Back" Sunday night at 7:00 p.m. right here on CNN.

Near-death experiences can make you wonder well, even if you didn't have a near-death experience, you wonder what heaven is like. Right? I always wonder that.

CNN's Rosa Flores is here with a story of one artist's vision that's attracting a whole lot of people. Good morning.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. You know, it's a very thought-provoking question. What is heaven? We explored the vision of one Japanese artist. Her name is Yayoi Kusama and she sees heaven in canvasses, tentacles, and even infinity rooms. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: Heaven inspires curiosity. For Wyclef Jean, heaven is in New York. For Lady Gaga, it's a disco heaven.

For avant-garde Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, heaven is in art. Her exhibit at the David's Warner gallery in New York is called "I who have arrived in heaven ".

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The infinity room in particular. It's really about gazing at one's self into infinity. And the paintings are the earth's expression to that too. About the infinity of the eternal -- the other worldly.

FLORES: People are waiting in line for hours to experience the infinity room for 45 seconds.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It makes me feel happy and also sad.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I really felt the timeless dimension of it.

FLORES: For others, tentacles and mirrors are a clear reflection of the afterlife.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's almost like clouds moving you up and up and up.

FLORES: Webster's dictionary defines heaven as the abode of God, the angels and the spirits of the righteous after death. But most people go to a different scripture for the answer.

Perhaps the bible, the torah, the Koran If you ask religion professor, Peter Arnett, Columbia University the answer depends on your faith.

PETER ARNETT, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: Christianity clearly argues for an afterlife, a heaven. For Muslims on the other hand, they view paradise in much more concrete terms. For the Jewish community, one achieves one's immortality in a sense through one's family.

FLORES: It's safe to say, one thing holds true across time. The definition of heaven is intensely personal. "TO HEAVEN AND BACK" airs Sunday December 1st and 7:00 p.m. Eastern -- Carol.

COSTELLO: That's really fascination thank you. Rosa Flores. Thank you.

Thank you for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello. "LEGAL VIEW" with Ashleigh Banfield starts now.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello everyone. I'm Ashleigh Banfield. It is November 29th. And welcome to "legal view." and it a very happy Black Friday to you.

That's the sound, isn't it? Were you in that little number out late Thanksgiving night last night. Or maybe even well before the dawn waking up this morning and hunting down all those rock bottom deals. The holiday shopping season now officially upon us and today is the craziest if not the busiest shopping day of the year.