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New Day Saturday
Officer Darren Wilson Remains In Hiding; Police Search For Motive In Austin Rampage; Rice Wins Appeal, Can Return To NFL; Thousands Without Power In The Northeast; New Regulations for Drones Necessary; Family Meets Man Who Got Their Son's Heart; Pope Francis Visits Turkey; CNN Hero Chad Pregracke One Year Later
Aired November 29, 2014 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Bright and early on a Saturday morning, we are so glad that you, you know, are choosing to wake up with us. I'm Christi Paul.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good to be with you. I'm Victor Blackwell. It's 6:00 now. We start with breaking news out of Ferguson, Missouri.
This is the scene outside the Ferguson Police Department. At least 15 people were arrested as the police and the demonstrators clashed after a day of nationwide protests over the police shooting the Michael Brown.
PAUL: Yes, other protests also did turn hostile, we're told, as demonstrators in Washington State and North Carolina took to shopping districts to try to disrupt Black Friday sales.
In fact in Seattle, police used pepper spray at some demonstrators through flares. We know 11 people reportedly were arrested in a mall in Raleigh and civil arrests delayed public transit service in Oakland, California.
BLACKWELL: Also on Friday, the father of Michael Brown attended a memorial for his son along with the father of Trayvon Martin, another unarmed black teenager who was gunned down, that was in 2012.
PAUL: Now back in Missouri, Governor Jay Nixon, has announced that he's calling in lawmakers for a special session to try to figure out how to pay for National Guard and state patrol operations in Ferguson.
BLACKWELL: And we've learned that on Monday, Attorney General Eric Holder will be here in Atlanta. He'll be kicking off a series of meetings focused on race and policing in minority communities.
PAUL: Stephanie Elam is in Ferguson this morning. Stephanie, what does it look like there this hour?
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's calmed down after those clashes that we saw overnight between protesters and police law enforcement, Christi and Victor. This is something we see. It was quiet. It was calm, and then a group showed up almost at the same time, those 15 arrests happening there last night.
When you look at it, it's really pointing to the fact. Something I heard from protesters before we've even found out the result of whether or not Darren Wilson would be indicted.
They said that they would continue to protest and come out here. And we're seeing that that not only is happening here in Ferguson, but it's gained traction around the country.
PAUL: When you talk about them continuing to protest, we understand that there's going to be this 120-mile NAACP walk, some event kicking off, what do you know about that?
ELAM: Right. It's a seven-day walk and it's going to start here. They are calling it the journey for justice and it's going to start at the Canfield Green apartments. That's right where Mike Brown died, right on that street there.
They're going to walk, March from there to the Missouri governor's mansion, which is in Jefferson City. They say it's going to take seven days. The point there is that they want new leadership for the Ferguson Police Department starting with the chief.
They want him to be gone, but then they also want reforms and how police interact with the people that they're policing and change that relationship. That's what they said they're going to be focusing on.
Focusing on having talks in the evenings during those seven days that they are on the road, but the idea here is to keep focus on what's happening here in Ferguson and that renewing that call for the police chief to step down -- Christie.
PAUL: All right, Stephanie Elam in Ferguson, Missouri, thank you so much. You've done a great job there and worked very long hours to bring us all the latest.
Darren Wilson, the officer who shot Michael Brown, we understand that he is in talks to leave the police force. His lawyer says it's a question of when, not if.
BLACKWELL: Now he's not been back to his home address since that address was made public online. That was back in August and since then he really stayed out of the public eye.
PAUL: Brian Todd tells us that's continuing even after the grand jury decided not to indict him -- Brian.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christi and Victor, we're learning new details about Darren Wilson's efforts to protect himself. There have been death threats. Bounties placed on his head. As a result, Wilson has been on the move, in hiding, always looking over his shoulder.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (voice-over): Despite not being indicted by a grand jury or charged with a crime in the shooting of Michael Brown, Darren Wilson is still living a life in hiding. Something his lawyers say has now gone on for month.
CNN has learned it began just days after the shooting in August when Officer Wilson was mowing his lawn. He got a call telling him his home address was circulating online. Within three hours, he was packed and gone.
NEIL BRUNTRAGER, DARREN WILSON'S ATTORNEY: He had to leave the grass literally half mowed and he had to go in hiding because there were death threats out against him. There were bounties that have been placed upon his life.
TODD: Since that day in August, Wilson has moved from house to house, even staying for a short time with one of his lawyers. He said he's changed his appearance, growing a beard at one point. When he goes out, his lawyers say, he often goes to movies, which offers time cloaked in darkness. In an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos, Wilson talked about his precautions.
OFFICER DARREN WILSON, FERGUSON POLICE: From where you sit in a restaurant, you know, to where you drive. Everything has to run through your head. All the time you're watching make sure no one is following you, everything.
You know, you hear or see someone look at you and they tell someone a secret then that second person looks at you like do they know who I am?
TODD: In recent days, the "New York Times" published Wilson's home address online likely inadvertently as part of his marriage license, though, he is not believed to have lived at that home in months.
His lawyers say immediately after the shooting, Wilson wanted to return to his job as a police officer, one of his own attorneys told if he did, he could be executed in a blind alley.
RON HOSKO, LAW ENFORCEMENT LEGAL DEFENSE FUND: It's not a great leap to think that if Officer Wilson were to start patrolling the streets of Ferguson again. That somebody sees what shift he's on, makes a call and pulls him into a bad situation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: As for his future, expert, Ron Hosko says Darren Wilson will be prudent to change his name, keep changing his appearance, put his property in a trust so that it can be shielded from public view and he says Wilson will always be sharpening his awareness, his alertness. He'll be looking over his shoulder for quite a while -- Christi and Victor.
PAUL: All righty, Brian Todd, we appreciate that this morning. Thank you.
BLACKWELL: Police in Austin, Texas, are trying to figure out why a man went on a shooting rampage in the heart of the city's downtown district. This happened early Friday as people were spilling out of bars heading home. Now in just 10 minutes, he fired more than 100 rounds at the federal courthouse, police headquarters, and the Mexican consulate. Now they're within close proximity to one another.
But he had to travel from space to space. Incredibly no one was injured. He's now dead, but why he did this is still a mystery.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL (voice-over): This is the Austin, Texas Police Department Headquarters, riddled with bullets shot by a lone gunman according to police, 49-year-old Larry McWilliams now dead.
Police say McWilliams lived in Austin and had a criminal record. He began his rampage, officers say, minutes after bars closed early Friday morning. At 2:22 a.m., emergency dispatchers are inundated with calls, reports of gunshots, and lots of them.
UNIDENTIFIED DISPATCHER: They're advising there's someone in a white Toyota Highlander possibly firing an assault rifle, sounds like a machine gun.
BLACKWELL: Officers started to search as the shooting continues. At 2:28 a.m. reports that McWilliams is shooting at the new federal courthouse, the Mexican Consulate Building and the Austin Police Department Headquarters where at 2:33, a sergeant who was securing forces with the department's mounted unit hears the shots and then sees McWilliams's shooting at police headquarters.
CHIEF ART ACEVEDO, AUSTIN POLICE: As he held two horses with one hand. He discharged one round at least one round with a single-handed shot.
BLACKWELL: Police say McWilliams falls to the ground, although the medical examiner will have to determine whether it's the officer's shot or a self-inflicted shot that killed him. As officers rush to McWilliams, they notice suspicious cylinders, possibly explosive devices inside his van.
ACEVEDO: As the officers were dragging the suspect away from that vehicle getting ready to render aid, they noticed some type of vest on the suspect. The officers having seen the suspicious items in the vehicle and now this vest were unable to determine whether or not that was simply a protective vest or potentially an IED suicide-type vest that is known to be used around the world.
BLACKWELL: At 2:40 a.m., the bomb squad arrives then SWAT and after an extensive search, they find no explosive devices. However, police say McWilliams fired more than 100 rounds within 10 minutes and ignited a small propane tank. The type most often used by campers outside the consulate. Fortunately, the fire was extinguished without causing any damage to the building.
ACEVEDO: If you look at a person shooting up the Mexican consulate, you know, and then the federal building, there is a pretty -- and this is all speculation, but when you look at the national debate right now about immigration that certainly comes to mind.
BLACKWELL: Police believed McWilliams acted alone and they are now scouring any social media accounts to confirm a motive.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: Now police have searched his home although officers were on the lookout for bombs or any threat there. They found no explosives at his home. The officer who shot him is on paid administrative leave. That's customary in shootings involving police.
PAUL: I don't know if you've heard about this yet, but Ray Rice is free to return to the NFL. A judge siding with him in his dispute with the league, but the question is who might pick him up?
BLACKWELL: Plus shoppers not only bought clothes and electronics on Black Friday, they also bought guns and plenty of them.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was suspended two games. He should have did the two games and then been reinstated in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know what he did was wrong, but the penalty is what they gave him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Baltimore fans reacting to the news that former Ravens running back, Ray Rice, is free to return to the NFL. Rice appealed his indefinite suspension and won. A judge sided with him and his dispute with the NFL.
PAUL: Judge Barbara Jones said Commissioner Roger Goodell never should have increased Rice's original two-game suspension because he didn't lie to the NFL about an elevated fight with his now wife, Janay Rice at an Atlantic City Casino.
BLACKWELL: Yes, the news comes as Janay is now speaking about what happened that February night. Here's what she told NBC's "Today" show.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JANAY RICE, WIFE OF FORMER RAVENS PLAYER RAY RICE: I was furious. We came home. I didn't speak to him the entire ride home. He tried to talk to me. I didn't want to hear anything. I just knew he hit me. And I was completely over it. I was done. I didn't even want to hear anything.
I just didn't even want to entertain him, anything that he had to say, any explanation. Of course, in the back of my mind, in my heart, I knew that our relationship was going to be over because I know this is us and it's not him. (END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: Rashan Ali joining us now on this morning's "Bleacher Report." So first of all, we have to ask, when can he start playing again? I mean, is this immediate?
RASHAN ALI, "BLEACHER REPORT": Yes, he can start playing immediately, but the question is, what team needs a quarterback that bad that they want to take on the media scrutiny? But because of that ruling he can start playing now.
BLACKWELL: And the last season, I mean, it wasn't his greatest season as running back?
ALI: No, he only rushed for 660 yards and the year before, he had a pretty good season rushing for over 1,100 yards. But his rookie season, he rushed for 1,300 yards. So his production was kind of going down. They said he was doing well in camp prior this season. But obviously, this happened and things changed.
BLACKWELL: I just wonder what kind of team makeup do you need to take on someone who has his profile, who has his history and the bags that comes with Ray Rice?
ALI: I don't really think any team would really want to take on that baggage. Because I'm not really sure if a running back need is that dire this point in the season with the playoffs coming around the corner so we'll see. We probably won't see Ray Rice until next season.
PAUL: But you do think he'll get picked up by next season?
ALI: Eventually yes. He is still a good running back. He's still a good running back, yes.
PAUL: All righty, well, what about some of the other games that are coming up today?
ALI: Yes.
BLACKWELL: Because there are a lot of rivalries.
ALI: Yes, there are, definitely. OK, Michigan and Ohio State, I know that you have vested interest in that.
PAUL: I do. We sent my dad and my brother there today. That was my dad's 70th birthday gift.
BLACKWELL: Happy birthday.
ALI: And Ole Miss, number 4 against number 19 in the Egg Bowl Florida versus Florida State. I'm interested in that, 3:30 there. Auburn versus Alabama, that's definitely going to be a big one. You know how Auburn won that game last year in the Iron Bowl, and Oregon versus Oregon State. So lots of great college football on today, which I'm very excited about. PAUL: Well, I'm with you there. All right, Rashan Ali, you know where we're going to be at least for part of the day --
ALI: Yes.
BLACKWELL: Here's the hilarious part. I'm going to the mall. Y'all can watch football. I'm going to shop.
ALI: I'm watching football.
PAUL: Online shopping is good for me.
BLACKWELL: All right, serious turn here because this weekend, we've seen, of course, all of the protests that have been going on in Ferguson and across the country, there's also this, let's talk about this, the 12-year-old boy gunned down by police in Cleveland.
And now the community is coming together to talk about gun violence as surveillance video, we're going to show more of this, the video is released of last week end's shooting.
PAUL: Plus, hundreds of thousands of people in the northeast are suffering through a power outage right now. This has been days, people. When are they going to be able to turn their heaters back on?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's Switzerland, it's great.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When Roger Federer defeated Richard Gasquet last Sunday, it marked the first time that Switzerland won the Davis Cup and it's the top team competition.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Personally, I'm unbelievably happy. I've been playing in this competition for almost 15 years now. I think it's an amazing day for sports in our country, in Switzerland, you know, we're a smaller country, we don't win bigger events. Every other week, so from that stand point, I think it's a big day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The team returned to Switzerland and was greeted by a crowd of 10,000 fans to help them celebrate what could be a seminal moment in the country's sporting history.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope it can create things for the future for sports in general. And with tennis, that's great. But even for other sports to inspire a generation and many other people to invest more into sports.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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PAUL: It's 22 minutes past the hour. We're so grateful for your company. We have a lot to tell you about in your "Morning Read."
BLACKWELL: Let's get to it now in Chicago. There was a shooting at a Nordstrom's store packed with Black Friday shoppers. A man shot a woman and then shot and killed himself. The woman was rushed to the hospital with critical injuries. Police say the woman was the gunman's girlfriend or ex-girlfriend.
PAUL: People in Cleveland gathered for a meeting on gun violence and police relations after a police officer fatally shot a 12-year-old boy last weekend. Now police did earlier release a surveillance video of the shooting as part of it.
Showing an officer shot Tamir Rice 2 seconds after that patrol car pulled up next to him. Police have also released recordings of the 911 call and a dispatcher's tape. We're going to have a larger conversation about this in just a bit.
BLACKWELL: And although maybe you bought a television or clothes, gun sales were up on Black Friday. And the federal background check system was expected to set a record of more than 144,000 background checks yesterday, just yesterday. FBI officials say 2 percent of those checks will probably fail because of insufficient information for records like court documents.
PAUL: And in weather, we feel for all of you in the northeast who are still dealing with no power, hundreds of thousands of people, in fact. A lot of people in both New Hampshire and in Maine are still in the dark this morning.
Jennifer Gray is in the CNN Weather Center. The pictures look a little daunting. Jennifer, when can our friends turn the lights back on?
JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: This weekend, but it's so cold up there and so folks really have been suffering through this so unfortunately, still about 4,000 people in Maine and 90,000 in New Hampshire without power should get that back on today or tomorrow.
A lot of folks out there helping restore that power. The good news is for the southeast and even up the east coast. Warmer temperatures are in place the next couple of days. We do have a cold front on the way bit end of the weekend.
So chilly air stays in place across the northern plains in the Midwest, but warmer temperatures across the southeast and much of the northeast. Let's get to New York City. We'll be up to the mid-50s by Monday and then you drop down to 37.
Atlanta, Sunday and Monday, close to 70 degrees, how about that for a change, mid-70s in Dallas today and tomorrow. Temperatures across the north, though, still stay very, very cold. Teens and single digits Sunday into Monday.
Another big story we're watching today, rain in California, big time rain. We're talking Northern California. Some areas could pick up six inches or more. We're also looking at snow in the higher elevations, which is also excellent news.
So eureka all the way down to San Francisco even Southern California, picking up just a little bit of rain, but any rain across the state welcome, welcome sight.
If you are traveling back on Sunday, after the holidays, travel should be much, much better. We had some hang ups on Wednesday. This weekend, though, by the end of the weekend should be looking good. A little bit of snow in Detroit.
Also could see some rain in California, but we are going to see pretty nice temperatures across much of the south, cold in the north. Temperatures around 51 in New York on Sunday, guys.
BLACKWELL: All right, Jennifer, thank you.
PAUL: Still ahead, the FAA crackdown on drones in the sky? This is why we ask. More and more pilots are saying they've seen drones come close to their planes. Some say far too close.
BLACKWELL: And suicide bombers blow up a mosque in Northern Nigeria, more than 100 dead. Hundreds injured. I'll tell you who likely is responsible here and why.
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PAUL: It is the bottom of the hour right now. Good to see you, I'm Christi Paul.
BLACKWELL: Pleasure to be with you, I'm Victor Blackwell.
PAUL: You know, as though pilots don't have enough on their plates let's say to worry about when they are flying, but drones are now invading their airspace, and potentially endangering everyone aboard crowded passenger planes.
BLACKWELL: Between February 22nd and November 11th of this year, the FAA said there have been 193 reports of drone sightings during flights. Since just September, the reports of close calls have risen to more than 40 a month.
PAUL: Alarm bells were already ringing after the FAA said a U.S. passenger jet nearly collided with a drone over Tallahassee, Florida. That was back in March. So Tom Foreman is looking closely at some of these encounters in the skies for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New York's busy airports appear to be the epicenter of dangerous encounters, involving unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs. The alarming new FAA report says recently three aircraft on the same day reported a very close call with a UAV near LaGuardia. Another pilot said he almost hit one. Yet another spotted one just below his right wing.
And two commercial jets almost struck a trash can-size UAV, 5,000 feet in the air. The worry is rising coast to coast. Remotely operated aircraft have unexpectedly popped up over government buildings, national parks, sports stadiums, highways and even at the airfield where Air Force One is based. With the FAA working up new rules to cover commercial UVA operation, the report could set the stage for tough regulations. And Mark Dombroff says it should. He is an attorney who specializes in aviation issues.
MARK DOMBROFF, AVIATION ATTORNEY: If nothing is done, we are going to have a midair collision, in which a lot of people lose their lives.
FOREMAN: Enthusiasts have imagined a brave new world, in which UVAs deliver medicine, chase down criminals and even drop off purchases from retailers.
ERIC MALONEY, DRONE ENTHUSIAST: The industry is really growing. It's an exciting time for drones. I mean, there's a lot of new technology coming out every month.
FOREMAN: But federal approval for any commercial use has been extremely rare. When a man used a UAV to shoot commercial video in Virginia in 2011, the FAA fined him $10,000. And the National Transportation Safety Board just confirmed the agency's right to do that.
(on camera): So up until now, a lot of people have operated in this gray space, saying it's more like a model. It's not really like an airplane. But that gray space is going away.
DOMBROFF: You may not agree with the FAA. But the FAA has defined it as black and white. You're either a hobbyist, recreational user, or you're not.
FOREMAN (voice over): Amateurs will still likely be able to fly their UAVs within existing rules, but the new commercial regulations expected in weeks will almost certainly launch a new debate about government power, private rights and public safety. Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: All right, thank you, tom. As he mentioned the FAA is in the process of formulating new rules governing commercial drone flights. Let's bring in CNN aviation analyst Mary Schiavo, she's on phone with us. Also, she is the former Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Mary, good to have you this morning. I wonder - with this gray space it's becoming more black and white. Will this black and white include training required for these drone pilots?
MARY SCHIAVO, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Yes, Victor. You are absolutely right. And good morning to you, Christi. It will, and it will also include some sorts of limits and requirements, and probably even categories of vehicles for these UAVs. They'll have different weight classifications. And different ways of controlling them. Right now, there are many ways to control UAVs. You can actually have what they call remote siding. In other words, you can be flying them with a visual or you can what's called remote fencing. There will be training requirements and there will be high restrictions. So, right now, what the government has said, is they've said basically, if you're under 400 feet and you're a hobbyist, you can continue to amuse your fly like the hobbyist - you know, like a model aircraft. And if you're over that, then you have to get FAA approval. You have to have training. Eventually, you'll have to be licensed. There are already schools training the licensed UAV pilots. And so, we regulate it and it will be safe. Because there's one thing for sure, you cannot stop them. They're already in wide use in Europe, for example, and other countries.
BLACKWELL: You know part of the reason we're talking about this this weekend, especially, is because so many people are going to be boarding planes, heading home after the Thanksgiving weekend. So, it's a major concern the more we're seeing these close calls. I wonder these exemptions that are being extended to some of the film industry. Also in agriculture, does that concern you?
PAUL: Well, exemptions always concern me. In the federal regulatory scheme. Because the purposes for the regulation, of course, you make it safe. What will happen now, and by the way, Congress told the FAA to get around, and get these rules in place in 2012. And they didn't. So we're playing a bit of catch-up. And Congress - so on, it's actually will have a little bit of foresight knowing that this was a coming technology.
But, you know, the loopholes will be closed in what they call special use permits. In other words, if the FAA bans a commercial use, for these special purposes, they will have extra permits and extra requirements, usually for insurance, that people can get and continue to use them for these very important functions. For example, even law enforcement in the United States, they use them. Canada, the Mounties use them to find people lost in the woods. Et cetera. Even they will have to have some sort of special permitting to use them even though they are a state law enforcement agency.
BLACKWELL: All right, as the expert in Tom's story said, making this gray area more black and white, clearing up some of the confusion over the drones and airspace and access to that space. Mary Schiavo, always good to have you with us.
SCHIAVO: Thank you. Good to be with you.
PAUL: Thanks, Mary. So, all right, let's talk about five things you need to know for your "NEW DAY." Number one, at least 420 people are dead and 270 wounded after suicide bombers blew up a mosque in northern Nigeria yesterday. Authorities suspect Boko Haram is behind this. Even though this isn't an Islamic militant group, they target mosques, apparently, because, they believe "the establishment is perverting Islam." The attack comes two weeks after one of Nigeria's most influential Muslim leaders called for civilians to rise up against Boko Haram.
BLACKWELL: Number two, an Egyptian court cleared President Hosni Mubarak today. He was accused of helping to kill more than 800 peaceful protesters during the Arab Spring uprising. That was in 2011. He was also found not guilty of corruption. Now Mubarak will stay in prison as he continues to serve a three-year sentence for embezzlement. PAUL: Number three, Russia's Defense Ministry said it successfully
tested an intercontinental missile that can carry in nuclear warheads. It says the missile was fired from a submarine in the Barents Sea and landed on a military training bound in Russia's eastern peninsula. Now, the test run was planned and it follows a previous test in September which was also a success.
BLACKWELL: Number four, legendary Mexican comedian Roberto Gomez Bolanos has died. The 85-year-old who was known by millions as "Shakespearato or "Little Shakespeare" changed comedy and entertainment in Latin America. Writing, producing, acting in popular films and television shows for more than four decades. He leaves behind a wife and six children.
PAUL: Oh, there it is. The first glimpse of episode seven, "The Force Awakens." "Star Wars" aficionados on social media given the movie or at least a trailer their tempts of approval. But these are the all you are going to get for quite some time, the movie won't release until December 18th of next year.
BLACKWELL: A lot of people on Twitter talking about that one.
Listen, you will want to stay with us for this next story. It's a very emotional meeting, especially on this weekend of all weekends. It's a meeting between the family of a 21-year-old who died and the man who received his heart. We're going to have this story for you in a moment.
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PAUL: You know, I always say, if you're going to rise, you might as well shine. And people in Atlanta, look at that sunrise.
BLACKWELL: We're talking about a beautiful city. I mean this is --
PAUL: Yeah.
BLACKWELL: The Ferris wheel help.
PAUL: It is a standout, isn't it?
BLACKWELL: It is, indeed.
PAUL: You can't help - good morning to everybody. Not just in Atlanta, but, you know, all over the country. We are so happy you're waking up with us.
BLACKWELL: A beautiful, beautiful start.
PAUL: And we want to give you a smile today here, too, because Matt Heisler, I want to tell you about him, now, he was just 21 when he died in a house fire at the University of North Dakota, but he signed up to be an organ donor when he was a teen, actually.
BLACKWELL: So eight months after he passed away, his family got to hear his heart again. To hear it beat again. Our affiliate KARE's Adrienne Broaddus, has this amazing story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- blood pressure.
ADRIENNE BROADDUS, KARE CORRESPONDENT: Throughout life, we all wait for someone or something.
TOM MEEKS, HEART DONOR RECIPIENT: Sometimes, it's rather quick, sometimes, it's not quite so quick. So --
BROADDUS: Tom Meeks is waiting for an update on the condition of his new heart.
CASEY HEISLER, HEART DONOR'S SISTER: And I'm just excited to feel it beat it again.
BROADDUS: Casey Heisler waits to hear the rhythm of that heart again. It was a Sunday. The phone call came at 4:00 a.m.
CASEY HEISLER: Do you have the right guy? Like are you sure it's Matt?
BROADDUS: Her brother Matt was a student at the University of North Dakota. In March, a house fire ended his life. Matt was 21.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was very tender. From a little boy. He was always - just - he had had a huge heart.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good to see you.
MEEKS: Thanks to you, doc.
BROADDUS: And Tom, he now lives with that same heart.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You look awesome.
BROADDUS: I'm telling you, I feel awesome.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you get your license, you check that box, and you think it's just a small thing.
BROADDUS: At 16, Matt signed up to be an organ donor.
MEEKS: There was no alternative for me except a transplant.
BROADDUS: Because of Tom's age and other health concerns, five different hospitals refused to consider him for a heart transplant. But the Mayo Clinic gave Tom a lifeline, putting him on a waiting list for a new heart.
MEEKS: I'm doing as well as I am.
BROADDUS: That's Tom, two days after he received that lifeline, thanks to Matt.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Proud of Matt. Really proud of Matt.
CASEY HEISLER: The heart that I grew up with and like felt in all my hugs when I hugged him, that it's still out there somewhere.
MEEKS: The day is finally here, long awaited, by the way. Long awaited.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pretty excited about this.
MEEKS: Obviously, in my case, it's always going to carry a very, very warm spot in my heart.
HEISLER: Eight months after Matt died, Matthew's dad Jarod, his mom Cheryl and younger sister Casey embrace the heart they love.
MEEKS: Hi.
CASEY HEISLER: Hi.
MEEKS: You must be Casey.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm Cheryl.
BROADDUS: The waiting --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's nice to meet you.
BROADDUS: -- is finally over.
MEEKS: One more, Jarod.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, man.
I woke up this morning and told, so nice to meet you.
MEEKS: Matt, mom and dad's coming today.
CASEY HEISLER: This is his graduation picture.
BROADDUS: Both families shared memories --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And this you --
BROADDUS: And created new ones. Because of Matt --
MEEKS: Oh, what a good picture.
BROADDUS: Tom gets more time with his wife Ann and their four grandchildren.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would you like to listen to your brother's heart?
BROADDUS: And the Heislers get to hear from Matt again. A sister who only wanted to feel her brother's heart now gets to hear it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're all going to listen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do I do it this way?
BROADDUS: Matt didn't just donate his heart. His generosity helped 60 people. A 46-year-old woman received one of Matt's kidneys. The other went to a 56-year-old woman. The life of a 61-year-old man was saved by Matt's gift of a liver.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. Thank you.
MEEKS: Believe me, it's my pleasure.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last one, Tom.
MEEKS: All right.
BROADDUS: Comfort found in a moment well worth the wait.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's awesome. Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL: Wow.
BLACKWELL: That has got to make you feel something.
PAUL: And if you have never thought about being an organ donor that will make you think about it. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: Pope Francis is in Istanbul, Turkey. This is the second day of his three-day visit to the largely Muslim country.
PAUL: Just a short time ago he visited Istanbul's historic blue mosque and the city's St. Sophia Museum. And he's in Turkey, of course, as Syria's civil war is raging just across the border.
BLACKWELL: CNN's senior international correspondent Arwa Damon joins us now live. And Arwa, this is more than just the presence of the pontiff there. This is a largely symbolic, highly significant visit.
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is. And what Pope Francis is really trying to emphasize at this critical juncture for Christians in the Middle East is just how important it is to re- establish that pillar of mutual trust and open up genuine interfaith dialogue. During his visit to Sultan Ahmed or the Blue Mosque. There he was accompanied and greeted by the grand mufti of Istanbul. The two held a very short prayer.
And then Pope Francis moved on to visit what is known here as Hagia Sophia. It is today a museum, but it perhaps epitomizes in many ways what it is that Pope Francis is trying to accomplish. Hagia Sophia was originally a church, later repurposed and refurbished to become a mosque, that happening when the Turks conquered Constantinople. Later on transformed into a museum. But when you step inside you see Islamic calligraphy, and you also see beautiful Christian frescoes. Very much both of those religions existing underneath one roof. And that is really symbolic when it comes to what it is that Pope Francis is hoping to accomplish on this visit.
If we just take a look at the situation for Christians across the Middle East, it's arguably not been this dire or this desperate in about the large century or so. We've seen Christians increasingly targeted and persecuted in both Iraq and Syria. First by al Qaeda and then by ISIS. And the great concern amongst many is that if the status quo is allowed to continue, we could end up seeing a Middle East where in some countries Christianity no longer exists.
PAUL: All right. Arwa Damon, thank you so much for giving us the perspective there. And we'll be watching the Pope all morning, of course.
BLACKWELL: All right, back to our top story now. After several days of calm, more arrests in Ferguson, Missouri, overnight. We'll bring you the very latest. Plus, we'll look ahead to this major peaceful protest due to start in just a few hours.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PAUL: We have counted down the days until the worldwide broadcast of "CNN Heroes: an All-Star Tribute." It's a CNN holiday tradition at this point. It honors the year's top ten heroes and names of CNN heroes of the year.
BLACKWELL: OK, so while we're waiting for that, we want to see how last year's top honoree is doing. CNN's Anderson Cooper checks on the man dedicated to cleaning America's rivers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In 17 years, Chad Pregracke and his team picked up eight million pounds of trash from America's rivers.
UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: Yeah!
COOPER: Last November for his inspiring work, Chad picked up a big honor.
The 2013 CNN Hero of the year is Chad Pregracke.
(APPLAUSE)
COOPER: One year later, we caught up with him to get an inside look at what he does and how he does it.
At the heart of his work is a massive 800 ton barge that stores the huge piles of trash that Chad's team collects. It looks like a floating junkyard but --
CHAD PREGRACKE: Welcome to CNN --
It's also Chad's part-time home.
PREGRACKE: So pretty much everything is reclaimed or recycled out of either old buildings or old barns.
COOPER: The goal is serious, but there's definitely quirk in this work.
PREGRACKE: So, this would be our creepy doll collection. Why do we have it, I don't really have any idea other than we find a lot of creepy dolls.
COOPER: And trash isn't all you need is to look out for on the river.
PREGRACKE: One of the safety concerns is actually the flying carp. They really do fly out the water at high speeds, and they get rather big.
COOPER: It's all part of Chad's work, work that also includes growing trees. Chad started this environmental effort in 2007, but he was able to expand it after being named CNN hero of the year. In the end, Chad's crusade is about much more than cleaning rivers.
PREGRACKE: It's about people taking action on their own communities. And that's really what it's all about. That's how you change the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL: Tune in to see more of Chad and rescuing the river. That's a "CNN Heroes" special next Friday night. And then on Sunday December 7, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, watch "CNN Heroes an All-Star Tribute." Who followed - CNN hero of the year. This is a star-studded evening. And it's going to give you some inspiration, which we all need a little bit of.
BLACKWELL: Just a little bit. A must see moment now, everybody is still talking about America's Got Talent darling Quintavious Johnson's National Anthem Performance, this was during Thanksgiving's Bears versus Lions game. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUINTAVIOUS JOHNSON (singing)
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: Oh, my goodness! 12 years old, people.
BLACKWELL: 12.
PAUL: Way to go.
BLACKWELL: Wow!
PAUL: And he didn't forget any words. That is -- at least we're talking about an anthem where they did it well, right?
BLACKWELL: Yeah, because we have seen --
PAUL: I feel so sorry for those people that have those moments. Congratulations to him.
BLACKWELL: And happy birthday. He turned 13 yesterday.
PAUL: Happy birthday.
BLACKWELL: Great weekend.
PAUL: That's one heck of a birthday.
(LAUGHTER)
PAUL: Oh, there's so much more news to tell you about this morning.
BLACKWELL: The next hour of your "NEW DAY" starts right now.
PAUL: If you're just joining us, we're edging towards 7:00 in just about 15 seconds.
Welcome. I'm Christi Paul.
BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell.
It's coming up - we've got an update from Ferguson. Because there were days of calm.
PAUL: There were.
BLACKWELL: There were.
PAUL: Yes, there were. At one point. Fresh clashes, though, did erupt overnight outside the police station specifically. We know at least 15 people were arrested and demonstrators and officers faced off over that fatal police shooting of Michael Brown.
