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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Thousands Protest Across the Nation; Potential 2016 Candidates on Garner and Brown; American Held Hostage by al Qaeda
Aired December 05, 2014 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, a second straight night of protests in New York and across the country over a lack of indictment in the chokehold death of Eric Garner. This time, they're bigger, with tense moments coast to coast. We'll bring it all to you.
Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans. John Berman has the morning off today. It is Friday, December 5th. It is 4:00 in the East.
Let's begin with breaking news overnight. Even bigger protests in the wake of a grand jury decision not to indict a police officer in the death of Eric Garner. Demonstrations once again nationwide from San Francisco and Oakland to Denver and Chicago, to the Staten Island ferry terminal. That was the scene of Garner's death following an officer's use of a chokehold to subdue and arrest.
The crowds of demonstrators calling for reform of police tactics, training and policy. The crowd also notably diverse, black, white, young, old protesting together, a fact that pleased Eric Garner's daughter, Erica.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERICA GARNER, ERIC GARNER'S DAUGHTER: This is not a black and white issue. This is a national crisis. I believe this is a crisis. I mean, for white people to come out and show how deeply they was hurt and like Asians and, you know, different people from different nations and different parts of the world to come out and show that they felt the same way I felt on that video, I greatly appreciated it. It's like a sense of I'm not the only one that feels this way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Huge protests again in Manhattan Thursday night, bigger than those in recent memory, with protesters seemingly better organized, blocking traffic on roads, bridges and tunnels and once again tying midtown in knots. Police even better organized.
Our Deborah Feyerick was in the thick of the protests in Times Square. She filed this report for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The police seem to be much more aggressive on Thursday night than they were the night before. You can see the people behind me here. A row of police officers, what you may not be able to see, is that they have actually arrested a number of protesters. Now, those protesters were basically peaceful. They had walked from the West Side Highway up against the flow of traffic, up Seventh Avenue.
But this, night police are making sure that they corralled people, that they divided the crowd in order to break up the numbers. They started with several hundred. By the time they reached Times Square, they -- it appears they actually brought in ambulances so that the crowds would get on to the sidewalks, and then police formed barricades, that blocked the protesters and divided the groups up. So, nobody knew where to go.
This particular group of protesters began walking back down towards Seventh Avenue. They were promptly arrested. They were told that they were in the street and they were told that they were supposed to be on the sidewalk so they are now arrested. We are waiting for a head count, but the police showing no patience tonight on this second night of protests -- Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Deborah Feyerick, thank you for that, Deb. Now, protests stayed peaceful but became more tense later in the night.
CNN anchor Brooke Baldwin was live in Chinatown when a group of people who would stop traffic were arrested. She believes at least 20 people were put in handcuffs and several demonstrators were chanting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CROWD CHANTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: She's also noticed several lawyers and legal advisers on the scene who she believed were preparing to help those arrested protesters.
In Washington, a few hundred protesters outside the Department of Justice. They grew to thousands weaving their way through the capital, passing just a block from the White House Christmas tree lighting, blocking traffic as they marched past the 14th Street Bridge and through downtown. At one point, a group of protesters entered a downtown Walmart chanting, "No justice, no peace."
Store security locked the doors to prevent more protesters from entering -- trapping some of them inside.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PROTESTERS: Let them out! Let them out! Let them out! Let them out! (END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: After about five minutes, Walmart security let the protesters leave.
And in Chicago, protesters blocked traffic in Lakeshore Drive, a main artery.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CROWD CHANTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Authorities reopened Lakeshore Drive after about 15 minutes. There were no reported arrests there.
Marchers also blocked traffic on the Magnificent Mile, delivering their message of social justice.
Demonstrators also marching in Florida. This is the scene in downtown Orlando. Hundreds of protesters blocked major roads. They were chanting, "We want justice" and "I can't breathe". Of course, "I can't breathe", that was Eric Garner's last phrase. No reports of any arrests there.
In Texas, several protesters were detained. Hundreds marched to Dallas police headquarters. The group begun to disperse around 11:30 Thursday night. We're told they are planning another round of protest tonight.
Charles Barkley sparked controversy this week for comments he made about the unrest in Ferguson. His TNT colleague Kenny Smith took issue with the comments and the two hashed it out on last night's broadcast of "Inside the NBA."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLES BARKLEY, RETIRED BASKETBALL PLAYER: We, as black people, we need the cops in our community. They are not there just to, quote- unquote, "kill black men". They are there to protect us. And we, we, as black people, we've got to develop a relationship with them.
KENNY SMITH, RETIRED BASKETBALL PLAYER: We have to acknowledge, first, that there is a disparagement between poor people and African- American people in the law, there is a disparagement. At first, it was on purpose, and then the civil rights has come, which is only 50 years or so behind. It's not like my parents were part of that.
So, you have to understand it's still fresh in the African-American household.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The day after the Ferguson decision, Barkley defended police officers and used a derogatory term for those who rioted in the wake of that decision.
Two of the possible candidates for president in 2016 speaking out on the grand jury decisions in the Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases. Both Hillary Clinton and Rand Paul weighed in on race and criminal justice in remarks on Thursday.
Our senior political correspondent Brianna Keilar has that story from Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine.
With the exception of Rand Paul, potential 2016 candidates haven't really weighed into the debate on the grand jury decisions in both Ferguson and Staten Island not to indict officers in the deaths of African-American men.
But Hillary Clinton changing that, speaking out at a women's event in Boston saying she supports federal reviews in the police-involved killings of Michael Brown and Eric Garner and criticizing the state of relations between police and the black community.
HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: We have allowed our criminal justice system to get out of balance. And I personally hope that these tragedies give us the opportunity to come together as a nation to find our balance again. These tragedies did not happen in some far away place. They didn't happen to some other people. These are our streets, our children, our fellow Americans and our grief.
SEN. RAND PAUL (R), KENTUCKY: I think she needs to have a little more concrete proposals. We have quite a few. We think the war on drugs has gone too far. We think that many of these things could be addressed as misdemeanors, not felonies.
The question specifically to her, is, would she try to make the sale of cigarettes not such a burdensome thing that it drives people into the black market. My guess is her notion of sort of the business body nature of government is that she wouldn't support reducing taxes.
KEILAR: Rand Paul weighing in there on "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer, referencing that Eric Garner died as a police office put him in a chokehold, trying to arrest him for selling cigarettes tax-free. Paul blames New York City's high cigarette tax, more than $5 a pack in that case.
And Paul and Clinton, they may actually they see eye to eye on some areas of criminal justice reform, but this contrast that you're seeing is a likely preview of more to come as we enter the presidential campaign season -- Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: Oh, yes, I bet it is. Brianna Keilar, thank you for that. And a scathing report about the Cleveland police department has
surfaced following the fatal shooting of a 12-year-old boy. The Justice Department says it found alarming examples of officers using unnecessary and unreasonable force at a significant rate. Federal investigators say some officers employed dangerous tactics that put the community at risk.
This after personnel records show Officer Timothy Loehmann had been on the verge of being fired from another police department because he was, quote, "distracted and weepy" and showed a lack of maturity. The report detailed his problems with the following instructions. Loehmann killed Tamir Rice after the 12-year-old pulled out a toy gun in a park.
Much more on the massive protests over Eric Garner's chokehold death and what President George W. Bush says about racial tension in America.
Plus, what we're learning this morning about the American being held hostage by al Qaeda. His family is now speaking. We have a live report, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: A second night of protests nationwide. Thousands of people take to the streets angry at a grand jury's decision not to indict a white NYPD officer in the death of a black man. Demonstrations blocking traffic from San Francisco to Chicago to New York. One protester describes the scene when things got a bit heated in Times Square.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We all made a big circle here in the intersection and then the cops started pushing and some fights broke out and started making arrests. And then it was pretty much them pushing as back and fighting people and making arrests as they could. I saw a guy getting his jacket ripped.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Almost all the protests peaceful but passionate.
President George W. Bush weighing in on the conversation about race relations in America. In an interview with CNN's Candy Crowley, he commented on the grand jury's decision not to indict the police officer at Eric Garner's death and the protests that had followed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT: It's sad that race continues such a -- kind of emotional, divisive part of life. I remember back when I was a kid in the '70s and there was racial riots with cities being burned, and I do think we've improved. I had dinner with Condi the other night and we talked about this subject, and she just said, you just got to understand that there are a lot of -- you know, black folks around that are just incredible more and more distrusting of law enforcement, which is a shame because law enforcement's job is to protect everybody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The full interview with President George W. Bush airs Sunday, 9:00 Eastern, on "STATE OF THE UNION WITH CANDY CROWLEY."
We have new information this morning about the American hostage being held by terrorists in Yemen. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula posted a video this week of Luke Somers pleading for his life. We're learning more about Somers and also a thwarted attempt to rescue him by the U.S. military.
CNN's Nima Elbagir standing by live in London with the very latest.
Good morning, Nima. What can you tell us about Luke Somers?
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine.
Well, we now understand that this video, this threat to his life by AQAP was issued after failed rescue attempt. The Yemeni defense ministry has said that this rescue attempt was taken on by both Yemeni and U.S. Special Forces. When they got to the scene, they found some other hostages, but we're told that Luke Somers and five others had been moved to another location and it was only after the failed rescue attempt that the al Qaeda video threatening to execute Somers was released.
Now, Luke Somers' family is now speaking out, Christine. They are pleading with the kidnappers. They are pleading with the hostage takers and they want them to know that they had no prior knowledge of this rescue attempt and they hope he will not be held to account for the U.S. government's actions -- Christine.
ROMANS: It must be terrifying for these families trying to figure out how to respond and how to speak. They want to provoke these hostage takers, but they also safe return of their loved ones.
We have seen videos from ISIS before. This is not quite the same. It's a new tactic for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, but it's not exactly like the ISIS, the very slick ISIS videos.
ELBAGIR: Absolutely. And what has always been interesting is that while ISIS has had the lion share of the spotlight, it's actually al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula that is perceived to be a greater threat on U.S. soil. They were the ones who were responsible, you remember, the 2009 thwarted attack on a U.S. airline, and that was their doing. There's a $10 million ransom on the head of the al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula leader, Naser al-Wuhayshi, and he's actually considered to be the apparent, the man who would step in and take over al Qaeda after the now leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, if he were to step aside.
So, it definitely seems like this is a playing out of internal politics within the al Qaeda franchises with really tragic consequences, Christine.
ROMANS: Absolutely. All right. Thank you so much for that, Nima Elbagir, in London for us.
Today, President Obama will announce his pick for secretary of defense. The president is said to have selected Ashton Carter, former second in command at Pentagon. Carter is a former chief weapons buyer. He helped accelerate the production and shipment and armored vehicles to protect American troops from roadside bombs during wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Thousands of protesters on the streets for a second night across New York, across the country. They are taking to the streets over Eric Garner's chokehold death. We'll look at what's going at the height of the action and just who is out there demonstration.
Plus, Orion launch take two. NASA hoping to test its spacecraft today that could one day take astronauts to Mars.
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ROMANS: Breaking overnight: protests against police abuse stretch into a second day coast to coast. Thousands march in Los Angeles, Denver, D.C., and especially in New York. That's where a grand jury decided not to indict a white officer whose use of a chokehold on Eric Garner caused Garner's death.
"NEW DAY" host Chris Cuomo walked with protesters on New York's West Side Highway last night. Here's what he told CNN's Don Lemon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": This is very different than last night in numbers but also intensity. But numbers alone, I mean, you have 10 times what you had last night, thousands and thousands of people. And it's a very diverse crowd.
You've got young people. You have lifetime New Yorkers here. You have African-Americans. You have people of all different colors. You have a lot of white people.
You have a lot of white kids expressing a lot of anger and hostility towards whites. And we asked them about that, and they said, you don't have to be a minority to feel the injustice that happens with minorities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Homeland Security Chief Jeh Johnson speaking out on the Garner chokehold decision and also the ensuing pro protests. He appeared on "THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER". He urged people to get involved politically in order to change the criminal justice system.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEH JOHNSON, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: If you want change to come about as a result of an event like this, engage the political process in a positive way, in a positive, nonviolent way to bring about political change.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Johnson will appear in Boston today to meet with law enforcement officials to discuss community relationships.
A potential showdown brewing today at the Oval Office. President Obama plans to meet with seven newly elected governors, one of whom is suing him. Republican Greg Abbott is leading the 17-state lawsuit against the president's executive action on immigration. The meeting comes as part of Obama's outreach effort after Democrats were trounced in November's midterm elections.
People in the Philippines evacuating ahead of a typhoon there. Hundreds of soldiers and police are patrolling the streets of Tacloban, helping folks get out before the storm strikes. The category four storm expected to slam the Central Philippines Saturday. It's expected to bring torrential rain and storm surges as high as 13 feet.
A second attempt at a test launch for the Orion spacecraft is set for less than three hours from now. Thursday's launch was postponed because of high winds and technical issues. If all goes as planned today, this unmanned spacecraft will blast off Cape Canaveral just after 7:00 a.m. It's going to sit right atop a Delta IV rocket.
The capsule is designed to eventually take astronauts to an asteroid or perhaps even Mars. But scientists think it could be seven years before an astronaut flies in Orion.
Time for an early start on your Monday this morning. It looks like a good Friday for stocks. The Asian and European shares are higher right now, so are U.S. stock futures.
Yesterday is a bit of pullback, but some perspective here. Stocks are very close to record highs. So, it wouldn't take much for this to be another record day, especially if the November jobs report is strong. That economic report comes out at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time this morning. Economists polled by CNN Money expects 228,000 jobs added. They expect the unemployment rate to stay steady at 5.8 percent.
If those numbers are accurate, November will be the tenth month in a row with 200,000 jobs added, on track for the best year of jobs growth since 1999. That's great, right?
Well, what isn't growing? Wages. We'll be watching for any change and sign that wages are starting to pick up because they have not been.
Thousands of protesters swarming cities coast to coast last night, demanding police reform. You're going to hear from the daughter of the man whose chokehold death sparked those massive demonstrations.
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