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Hala Gorani Tonight
Russian Pilot Speaks; Lockdown in Belgium. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired November 25, 2015 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:00]
HALA GORANI: Tonight, Russia's surviving pilot speaks.
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GORANI: He says, Turkey gave no warnings before it shot down his plane out of the sky. How the showdown between Ankara and Moscow could impact the
world.
Then Brussels is up and running. The lockdown is eased. But how safe is the city?
And later this hour anger in Chicago after a young African-American man is shot to death by police. We will show you the shocking video that is
sparking these protests.
Plus, a musical milestone, we'll tell you how Adele has made history again.
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GORANI: Hello, everyone. I'm Hala Gorani. We are live in CNN Paris and this is The World Right Now.
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GORANI: No warnings, no contact whatsoever. The Russian pilot who survived the Turkish shoot down of his war plane is backing up his government's
account of the incident, even as Turkey releases new information to support its version of the attack. Now both sides remain defiant as the diplomatic
crisis deepens but say they don't want the situation to escalate into all- out war. We begin with Matthew Chance in Moscow.
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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORREPONDENT: In a forest near the Turkish, Syrian border, the twisted wreckage of Russia's downed war plane.
This exclusive footage obtained by CNN shows metal fragments barely recognizable scattered through the trees. The Syrian rebel fighter picks
his way through the debris.
This is the moment Turkish intercept tors blasted the Russian plane out of the sky. You can see it plunging to earth in a fireball. The two Russian
crew ejected safely, their parachutes opened. Russia now confirms one of the airmen, the pilot, was dead when he hit the ground. But after a 12-hour
special forces operation, Russian officials say the second crew member, the navigator, was rescued. He has now appeared on Russian television, his back
turned to the camera, denying his plane violated Turkish airspace or that any contact was made before they were shot down.
CAPTAIN KONSTANTIN MURAHTIN, RUSSIAN WARPLANE PILOT: (As translated) in reality, there were no warnings, not via radio not visually. That's why we
were keeping our combat course as usual. You have to understand if they wanted to warn us, they could have shown themselves but there was nothing.
The rocket hit our tail completely unexpectedly. We didn't even see it in time to take evasive maneuvers.
CHANCE: Outside the Turkish embassy in Moscow Russians vented their anger chanting murders at the diplomates inside pelting the buildings with stones
and eggs. Russian authorities are furious too. The country's foreign minister suggesting the shoot down was a deliberate act.
We have serious doubts that this was unintentional he said. It looks very much like a pre-planned provocation.
For the moment, Russia insists, there's no plan to go to war with Turkey over this but it is bristling with fury, determined this first shoot down
will be the last.
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GORANI: We are following many developments on this story this evening. Matthew will join us live with more from Moscow in just a moment. But
first, let's get to Ian Lee who is in Istanbul for details on an audio recording. Now the Turkish military is releasing this audio information Ian
to back up their version of events. Tell us more.
IAN LEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right, Hala. There really are two narratives here. One you have the Turks saying this was an
intentional entry into Turkish air space and that's why they acted in the rules of engagement. They shot down that plane. Now the Russians are saying
they didn't enter the air space. Both have released maps, both show different areas where the flight route of that plane was taken. And we just
heard from the Russian pilot who said that they weren't in Turkish air space and that they were given no warning.
Now the Turks have said that they, in fact, did warn the Russians ten times and they released the audio. They say that was given to the Russians. Take
a listen.
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LEE: And you can hear it is a bit garbled, that audio. Could that have been a reason why the Russians weren't able to make it out. It isn't known at
this hour. The Turks are really defiant that, a), they are protecting their national sovereignty, their territory and b) that this plane did in fact
enter Turkish air space and they did warn it. Hala?
GORANI: All right, Ian, stand by. Let's go to Matthew Chance in Moscow with more. So the Russians have moved some new military hardware to Syria in the
aftermath of this incident. Tell us about that.
CHANCE: Yes, they've taken a number of military measures to ensure that this kind of episode doesn't affect them again.
A couple of things they've done; first of all they've said in future the bombing raids that will continue to take place on rebel positions inside
Syria.
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CHANCE: They will continue with fighter plane escorts meaning that if there's any further contact with Turkish aircraft or any other aircraft,
they'll be able to deal with it effectively.
They've also decided to move a missile cruiser off the coast of Syria, which has S-300 surface to air missiles onboard which are very
sophisticated surface to air equipment.
And in addition to that, the Russian President and the Defense Minister today announced that they will be deploying S-400 missiles into Syria as
well. Now that's a big escalation because these are some of the most sophisticated surface to air missiles that the world has, certainly the
most sophisticated that Russia has. And they can target many dozens of targets at the same time.
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CHANCE: Their range is about 600 kilometers or 400 miles. It effectively means that because of this incident, this shoot down of the Russian planes;
the Russians are deploying equipment in Syria that is going to give it supremacy and control over the air space in Syria. And so it's kind of been
a catalyst in Russia's involvement in the country, sucking it further into the campaign there, meaning that if anyone is going to fly in the air space
of Syria, in the airspace of Syria in the future, they're going to have to have the tacit approval of the Russian military.
GORANI: It's certainly getting more and more complicated and more and more crowded in the skies over Syria. Our senior international correspondent
Matthew Chance in Moscow with that story and Ian Lee joining us from Turkey.
Our next guest says it is high time for the Russian military to stop playing games of chicken with NATO forces. But he also says NATO has a
responsibility to help defuse the crisis and prevent future confrontations.
Ivo Daalder, the former American Ambassador to NATO, he also served on the National Security Council and was a foreign policy adviser to President
Barack Obama.
Mr. Daalder, thanks for being with us. First of all let me ask you this question that everyone is asking today.
Will there be a military escalation between a NATO member, Turkey, and Russia, in your estimation?
IVO DAALDER, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO NATO: I don't think so. I think Russia understands that a further escalation is something they won't be
able to control. This would be the first confrontation between Russia and NATO. NATO declared yesterday very clearly that it stands 100% behind
Turkey and that NATO is prepared to defend all of Turkey and therefore all of NATO's territory. I think the Russians understand that. I think we are
hearing a lot of bluster, we are seeing some military maneuvering that would make it more difficult to enter into Syrian airspace as we just heard
from your correspondent.
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DAALDER: But I don't think we are going to see a major escalation.
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GORANI: So why do you think Turkey shot down this Russian fighter jet? What was behind that move, in your opinion?
DAALDER: Well I think there are two reasons. One is that Russians have been flying dangerously close and at times into Turkish airspace.
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DAALDER: By the way in an area in which there are no large ISIS concentrations but in fact rebel forces that are trying to take out the
Assad regime.
This has been going on now from the very beginning that Russian airplanes were there. They have been doing provocative flights and naval maneuvers
and ground maneuvers all around NATO territory. It was bound to happen that one of these days, something would go wrong. It did yesterday. I hope this
is a warning to all sides, including in particular the Russians.
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DAALDER: That the time is -- this is not the time to play a game of chicken with military means but that it is a time to work out procedures to make
sure that an incident like this cannot happen again.
GORANI: All right, from Russia's perspective essentially they're saying look, we never flew into Turkish airspace.
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GORANI: Turkey says it's provided proof that in fact the Russian jet did fly into Turkish air space. But even according to U.S. officials who have
spoken to CNN, the amount of time that that Russian jet spent in Turkish airspace could be measured in seconds. Was Turkey's move an overreaction?
DAALDER: Well, it may have - it may have been but let me put it this way. This is not the first time that Russian airplanes have been flying in
Turkish air space. They have been repeatedly warned not to do so. Turkish air space is Turkish air space, whether it's for one second, 15 seconds,
two minutes or five minutes. It's Turkish air space. They were warned not to enter it. They did so. Russia should have behaved much more responsibly
by flying further away from the border so there isn't even a possibility of inadvertently or advertently by coming into Turkish airspace.
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DAALDER: It's this game of chicken they're playing trying to get really close to where they're not supposed to be or even just across that is the
hallmark of Russia's military behavior in the past 18 months. And it was bound to go wrong. Now, it did.
GORANI: OK, now, where does this leave NATO as a military alliance? Should NATO consider these Russian incursions into Turkish airspace acts of
aggression in some way?
DAALDER: Well I don't think it is aggression. I don't this is a time for NATO to come together and invoke Article 5, which is the Collective Defense
Treaty. In fact I think what NATO should do is to invite the Russians to come to NATO headquarters to sit down in an organization that's called the
NATO Russia council which has the 28 NATO members plus Russia together, and to have a conversation about how we can stop this kind of reckless behavior
on the part of Russia.
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DAALDER: And if the Russians have problems with NATO, on the part of NATO. To work out a set of procedures, that says we are going to provide early
warning if we do military exercises, we are going to keep certain distances from airplanes, from vessels, from territory from ground forces. And we're
going to have a hotline or some other forms of communications to make sure that if something happens that isn't supposed to happen, that we can
deescalate and find a way out rather than have this dangerous situation where everybody just tries to show they are stronger by engaging in what
really is and can only be described as reckless behavior.
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GORANI: All right, thanks very much, Ivo Daalder, former American Ambassador to NATO and a foreign policy advisor - former foreign policy
advisor to President Barack Obama, thanks very much. A lot more to come this evening.
DAALDER: My pleasure.
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GORANI: Authorities reveal more about a second suspect in the Paris attacks. We'll explain his connections to Syria as well.
And coming up later in the program, 2.4 million copies and counting we are venturing away from Paris here. The British singer Adele is smashing lots
of sale record. Details on those stories and more when The World Right Now continues.
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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Right now, we know of no specific and credible intelligence indicating a plot on the homeland.
GORANI: There's a lot of nervousness in the United States following the Paris attacks. And you're hearing there from the U.S. President today
trying to reassure Americans ahead of what is usually a very busy travel period, and that is Thanksgiving.
He acknowledged that recent scenes of terror and heightened security across Europe are putting people on edge.
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GORANI: Well back to Paris and new details about a second suspect on the run after the Paris terror attacks.
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GORANI: Now a source close to the investigation tells CNN Mohamed Abrini traveled to Syria last year but it is not clear when he returned to Europe.
There are surveillance screen grabs of him now. At least six attackers are now believed to have visited the war torn nation, Syria. The French
President and the German Chancellor visited one of the attack sites on Wednesday. Francois Hollande then called for renewed action against ISIS.
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FRANCOIS HOLLANDE, FRENCH PRESIDENT: (As translated) We can concentrate our efforts to have more information about the targets. Tomorrow, I will be in
Moscow I will meet President Putin and I will say to him that we all have to act against Daesh and we have to deploy all of our means, all of us.
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GORANI: The French President there. As he mentioned there, by the way of course, the French President didn't only meet with the British Prime
Minister, David Cameron, Angela Merkel also with the U.S. President and tomorrow it will be with Vladimir Putin with that very serious incident
that happened between the Russian and Turkish military in the skies over Syria.
Meanwhile a security clampdown in the Belgian capital is starting to ease today. And it comes after 21 were detained in raids earlier this week.
Brussels residents are now trying to get their life back on track and return to their normal routine.
CNN's Alexandra Field is in Brussels.
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The lockdown that all but shut down the European capital is lifted. But Brussels remains under the
highest terror threat level and the city doesn't look quite like before.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have to move on, we have to live our lives, we have to go to school.
FIELD: Hundreds of police officers patrol the streets as schools re-open. Private security guards are posted at the entrance of one school where
there are 2200 students.
This has been a week that the students will never forget. What will you say to them when they come to school today?
LUC DE MEYER, SCHOOL DIRECTOR: Yes, to say that the world now is not so secure as it has been.
FIELD: It's now up to the military to secure the city's metro. Most lines are up and running for the first time in four days. Brussels businesses are
hoping to be busy again. But one waffle maker tells us why through it all they have kept their doors open.
[Speaking foreign]
FIELD: She says, it's especially important for the tourists, because if they see we are scared, that would make the situation worse and they would
feel threatened as well.
Officials caution real threats do persist. On Monday, the country's interior minister announced operations to root out anyone who could be
connected to the Paris terrorist attack would continue.
Five arrests have been made already and now there's a warrant for this man, Mohamed Abrini, seen with missing suspect Salah Abdeslam two days before
the bombings.
They appeared to be heading from Brussels toward Paris in a car later used by the suicide bombers.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are afraid and I have a little brother and I saw in his eyes that he is afraid and I can't tell him why because I don't know
(inaudible). It's a strange situation.
FIELD: The manhunts weigh heavily on the minds of many. A mother tells us the government decided everyone would stay inside. We stopped the trains.
We closed the schools. But that's exactly what the terrorists wanted to achieve. Now, many are trying to return to their routines. And for some,
that brings some relief.
Alexandra Field, CNN, Brussels.
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GORANI: Coming up from a very cold and windy Paris this evening.
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GORANI: Pope Francis is on the road again. This time, he is going to Kenya. Details on that landmark trip coming up.
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POPE FRANCIS: I am most grateful for your warm welcome on this my first visit to Africa.
GORANI: Well Pope Francis arrived in Kenya. He was speaking a few hours ago there. He'll spend three days before moving on to Uganda before wrapping up
his visit in the central African Republic eventually where he is expected to is have it a mosque in an interfaith gesture.
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GORANI: Security is tight as you can imagine for the Pope's six-day visit. Religious tension between Muslims and Christians has caused conflict in
parts of the region. But his visit is timely.
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GORANI: The Catholic Church is booming in Africa. Let's cross live to our correspondent, Robyn Kriel, who is in Nairobi. Robyn?.
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ROBYN KRIEL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well Hala, you mentioned it was cold and rainy in Paris. It's warm and rainy here in Kenya and many
countries in Africa do regard rain as a blessing. So blessings to Pope Francis welcoming here to the continent.
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KRIEL: This is his first visit as you mentioned but the fourth papal visit here in Kenya. So they have seen visits of this kind before but that does
not mean that they're any less excited.
In fact Pope Francis, really -- a lot of people feel a real deep connection to him just because of his background, because he is from the - from the
South, from the global South. He spent a lot of time in Barrios. He will be visiting slums here in Kenya, he'll be talking with ordinary people,
mingling with ordinary people from the youth to the very elderly.
And really, going out of his way, I believe, to make sure that all sectors of life hear his message of peace and hear his message of tolerance. As he
said he will be visiting a mosque in Central African Republic. He will be visiting a refugee camp in the CAR. He will be going -- holding a youth
mass at the University of Nairobi here in Nairobi. And he'll be visiting a number of other parts of Uganda just trying to spread the message.
You said security concerns. There are definitely security concerns. Tens of thousands of police deployed across the country. The U.N. is bringing in
extra peacekeepers for his CAR visit but people, in general, are welcoming people to come. So I think one of the biggest risks, is going to be crowd
control.
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GORANI: All right, Robyn Kriel, thanks very -thanks very much, live in Nairobi. Rain considered a blessing in Africa. Not so much in Paris I've
got to say, certainly over the last several days.
Robyn thanks very much we'll continue to follow the Pope's visit in those countries in Africa throughout the coming days.
A lot more ahead.
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GORANI: New revelations about one of Europe's most wanted men. What French investigators are saying about the travels of a prime suspect in the Paris
attacks and he's still on the loose.
Also, a night of simmering tension in Chicago. Police release a video portraying an officer shooting a black teenager. Some shocking footage. We
will bring you the full story ahead on The World Right Now.
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GORANI: Welcome back, a look at our top stories. A Russian pilot who survived a Turkish shoot down of his warplane says there were no warnings,
no contact whatsoever he says before the attack.
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GORANI: He appeared on Russian state T.V. backing up his own government's account of the incident.
Turkey however released audio recordings that it says proves that its military warned the plane multiple times that it was violating Turkish
airspace.
Also among our top stories; a partial lockdown in Brussels, Belgium is beginning to ease today. Much of the capital's metro reopened on Wednesday
after extensive raids were conducted Sunday and Monday. The city will remain at the highest terror alert level through at least next week.
Also ISIS is now claiming responsibility for a bomb attack on a Presidential guard bus in Tunisia. The government there has not commented
on this claim. At least 15 people were killed in Tuesday's explosion. Tunisia has declared a state of emergency.
A deadly American airstrike on a Medicine Sans Frontier hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan was caused by "human error" that is according to the top
American commander in Afghanistan. The attack you'll remember caused outrage at the time killing 30 people at that medical facility last month.
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GORANI: The French President, Francois Hollande, is on something of a world tour. He has gone to Washington. He's received as guest at the Elysee
Palace, Angela Merkel today, and he will be going to Moscow tomorrow.
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GORANI: The two, Angela Merkel and he laid flowers for the victims of the attacks. Mrs. Merkel promised to act swiftly in fighting terrorism.
Meanwhile two suspects remain at-large. Investigators now say that this man, Mohamed Abrini traveled to Syria in 2014 and returned to Europe
undetected.
Senior international correspondent Ivan Watson joins us now live from the Place de la Republique in Paris.
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GORANI: Ivan, tell us more about this second suspect. Are authorities saying they believe he participated somehow in the attack and, if so, how?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They are absolutely linking him to it. They say that he was seen with Salah Abdeslam who has
already been the focus of an international search now since the 13th. They were seen together on the highway between Brussels and Paris two days
before the November 13th attack.
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WATSON: And he's also believed to have at least dropped off one of the suspected suicide bombers near the Stade de France on the night of the
attacks, and he hasn't been seen or heard from since.
But also very worrying is that the fact that he is believed to have traveled to Syria in 2014 and nobody knows how he got back into Europe. And
that is a story that mirrors one of the other suicide bombers at the Stade de France, (inaudible), who was wanted by Belgian authorities in the
beginning of 2015 for being suspected of going to Syria to join ISIS.
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WATSON: And they didn't find out that he was back in Europe until he blew himself up outside the stadium. These questions about security, about
Europe's external borders are some of the issues that Francois Hollande was discussing with the German Chancellor.
Also questions about the enormous overwhelming rush of hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants crossing borders.
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WATSON: These are two key issues that they were discussing in their meeting today. Hala?
GORANI: All right, yes, definitely questions need to be answered about how these men made it back to Europe undetected. Very difficult questions and
difficult security considerations.
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GORANI: Now we're both in the same city Ivan, and have been really since the day after the attacks. And just walking down this particular avenue,
here the Champs des Elyseess, it's become - it's become sort of ordinary to cross paths with heavily armed military troops. Tell us more about when you
spoke with ordinary Parisians how they're reacting to this new normal.
WATSON: You know people are jumpy. They hear a loud noise outside a cafe, a garbage truck and people flinch. And you go into a cafe and someone may ask
-- a security guard may ask to search through your backpack as if you were perhaps in Tel-Aviv or Jerusalem. These are new measures for France which
has now seen its second major terror attack in less than a year. It is a new state of being for the French.
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WATSON: The first children began arriving after sunrise at the (inaudible) elementary school in Paris, they are greeted by the principle and some new
security measures. To protect against a threat of terrorism parents are urged to avoid gathering in large crowds at the entrance and staff may now
search the bags of visitors to the school.
Paris may be on edge but that's done little to dampen enthusiasm from the kids going in the school. (Lawrence Trotet), who just dropped off her 6-
year-old son, is trying to stay positive.
(LAWRENCE TROTET:)Yes, but I think if somebody wants really to get into the school, it's very easy to get into the school. So we have to keep going
anyway.
WATSON: Across town, security measures far more stringent at the campus of one of France's most elite universities, the Paris Institute of Political
Science SciencesPo.
CORNELIA WOLL, VICE PRESIDENT, SCIENCESPO: So right now only students and faculty are allowed in and we've cancelled all events with external
visitors.
WATSON: Administrators say they have raised security to the school's maximum level to reassure students who feel vulnerable.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because the youth was definitely attacked by these terror attacks. And I think that because our school is like so politicized,
if one school was to be - one university was to be attacked in France, it would be probably us. So it makes it scary.
WATSON: But some of the French are taking matters into their own hands. This is a first aid training session taught by the French White Cross.
Since the terror attacks on November 13th, the organization's President says he has seen a 20% surge in enrollment in first aid courses.
Have you ever seen so many people to take first aid?
WALTER HENRY, PRESIDENT CROSS BLANCHE: No, it's the first time. No.
WATSON: It's driven by a feeling of powerlessness, he tells me, by people that want to be ready in the event of another attack. Some things in the
French capital haven't changed. This is still a place where tourists happily pose for photos. But it is also a city where armed soldiers now
patrol the streets. A show of force during a time of fear in the city of light.
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WATSON: Hala the first aid courses they're being offered for the first time the White Cross says during the Christmas holiday, there's so much demand.
Another detail over at Sciencespo, they've had a couple times where they've had to evacuate the buildings because of false alarms. And one of
the security measures, even alumni aren't being allowed back into the school anymore. Hala?
GORANI: All right, well that -- I guess that includes me. Thanks very much, Ivan Watson live in Paris with more on really the mood in the French
capital. You could truly feel that people are still - that the mood is still tense, that people are still afraid in some ways.
Don't forget, you can get all the latest news, interviews and analysis from the show on my Facebook page. Facebook.com/halagoranicnn.
This is The World Right Now.
Coming up next protesters hit the streets of Chicago.
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GORANI: Where the shocking video emerges of a black teenager shot 16 times by a police officer. All that coming up.
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GORANI: You are looking at pictures of crowds on the streets of Chicago late Tuesday. Angry crowds in fact demanding justice for Laquan McDonald.
He's a black teenager who was shot by police no less than 16 times last year.
The video has just emerged though. The video of McDonald's shooting death brought these protesters and demonstrates out. And the images you are about
to see are very disturbing.
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GORANI: McDonald's fatal confrontation with the Chicago police officer was caught on camera and now, that officer is facing first-degree murder
charges.
Here is Stephanie - CNN's Stephanie Elam.
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STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Demonstrators converged on Chicago streets by the hundreds, outraged over this graphic police dash cam
video showing Laquan McDonald being shot by a single officer 16 times in October of last year. The disturbing footage shows McDonald falling to the
ground after being shot, then hit multiple times while on the ground.
GARRY F. MCCARTHY, SUPERINTENDENT CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT: The officer in this case took a young man's life and he is going to have to account for
his actions.
ELAM: The 37-year-old officer, Jason Van Dyke, is charged with first-degree murder and has been taken off the Chicago police parole. For now, he is
being held without bond. Van Dyke's lawyer says his client feared for his life.
DAVID HERBERT, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It's truly not a murder case and we feel that we are going to be very successful in defending this case.
ELAM: On the night Laquan was fatally shot, investigators say McDonald was yielding a knife with a three-inch blade which he allegedly used to slash
the tire of a police car. Police say when McDonald, who had PCP in his system, ignored orders to drop the knife, Van Dyke fired 16 rounds.
ANITA ALVAREZ, COOK COUNTY STATE ATTORNEY: Officer Van Dyke was on the scene for less than 30 seconds before he started shooting. In addition to
the fact that all evidence indicates that he began shooting approximately six seconds after getting out of his vehicle.
ELAM: City officials had been prepping for mass demonstrations in the wake of the video's release calling for peaceful protests.
Late Tuesday, dozens locked arms in solidarity blocking off an intersection and interstate 94. Officers made some arrests but tense moments between the
crowd and police never escalated out of control.
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GORANI: Now that was CNN's Stephanie Elam reporting. For more let's bring in Cedrick Alexander, he's the CNN law enforcement analyst. He's also the
Dekalp County Public Safety Director and the former President of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. Cedrick
Alexander is in Atlanta this hour.
First Cedric, let me ask you, your reaction to this dash cam video when you saw it was what?
CEDRIC ALEXANDER, DEKALB COUNTY PUBLIC SAFETY DIRECTOR: Well, I think for all of us, it is very shocking. And it appears to be quite egregious upon
first viewing this video. And I think there in Chicago the police superintendent and the mayor have been very clear in terms of what their
reactions have been as well too along with the district attorney there.
It is a very shocking piece of video that it is very, very hard to explain why that much force would be used under those circumstances.
[15:45:20]
GORANI: So you're in - I mean you're a law enforcement specialist, you are in law enforcement and you see this, you see this video that was shot and
filmed in October of last year but released only now. Why did it take so long? And why did it take so long for these first degree murder charges to
be put forward.
ALEXANDER: Well that is the question of the hour. And that's what everyone in and around that community and across this country wants to know. Is why
did it take so long for that video to be released? And why did it take a court order to do so?
Because it gives the appearance somehow of leadership there not being as open as they should be.
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ALEXANDER: And it creates a great deal of suspicion particularly in the climate in this country of the U.S. right now as it relates to the police
and community. So it certainly does create a lot of suspicion and I think there's a lot of answers that's going to need to be resolved. As
(inaudible) why this video is now just being released as it relates to this egregious act.
GORANI: And - but Cedrick Alexander, as we watch this video, it doesn't square with what we were told at the time in October 2014.
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GORANI: First of all this young man was shot 16 times, twice in the back. The officer started shooting six seconds after exiting his vehicle.
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GORANI: None of that was told - was revealed at the time of the actual shooting. The police officer alleged that McDonald, the young man, Laquan
McDonald, was basically lunging at them. We see from the video that he wasn't. I mean is this going to end at one police officer. There was a
group of them there.
ALEXANDER: Well, I'm hoping this is an ongoing investigation. It is certainly interesting to note that only one officer fired on this subject.
And even after he went down, he continued to shoot.
There is no appearance of any threat when he was standing up and there certainly was no appearance of any threat once he hit the ground after the
first one or two rounds.
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ALEXANDER: So I think the officers that are on that scene maybe, and I don't understand, I'm not certain of what all they are looking at there in
Chicago. But it certainly does raise question as to at what point should them other officers should have intervened and said, stop firing, halt,
whatever the case may happen to be.
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ALEXANDER: It is of very grave concern, I think, to a lot of people.
GORANI: I get that. OK, so now we are -- we have these charges. There is presumably going to be a trial unless there is some sort of plea deal. I
mean you know if this officer gets off, I mean this is really going to lead to some major anger in some of these communities who already feel
victimized and profiled by white police officers.
ALEXANDER: Well, I think what the city has an opportunity to do right now as this goes through the judicial process and investigations continues, is
that they have an opportunity now to work with that community there in Chicago with this leadership in and around that community, not just an
African-American community but throughout the entire community there in Chicago.
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ALEXANDER: And begin the continuing building of those bridges and being able to figure out what can we do better going forward? Because that's what
we have to look at now. How do we train better, how do we select better police officers? How do we make sure that this type of event doesn't happen
again.
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ALEXANDER: Police officers have a very difficult job, they have to protect themselves and protect the public as well too. But there's got to be some
accountability in cases such as this.
GORANI: Right, well we keep hearing of these instances and, of course, we also keep hearing people saying, you know, it has to change. So we'll see
if this case leads to some sort of change and some sort of accountability as well. Cedric Alexander, thanks very much for joining us from Atlanta.
ALEXANDER: Thank you for having me. Thank you.
GORANI: We appreciate it. All right. A lot more coming up after the break.
And for something completely different we cover a lot of tragedy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: A lot of conflict, but let's talk about song and culture. This album sold more than 2 million copies in its first three days. That's not
the only reason Adele's new album is breaking records. We'll tell you more. Stay with us.
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[15:52:30]
GORANI: Adele's music is normally breaking hearts but now it's also breaking records.
The British singer's latest album, 25, sold a massive 2.3 million copies in just three days. That makes it the most sold record in a single week ever.
Let's get the latest on this record-breaking feat. Samuel Burke joins me now live from London.
Samuel this is really bucking the trend in the music industry where you know record sales are actually going down but here she is doing extremely
well.
SAMUEL BURKE, CNN'S BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hala, for years, the experts have told us in the recording industry, you just can't sell records
anymore. Adele is defying the odds proving that the only thing bigger than her voice are her sales.
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BURKE: The week isn't even over yet and Adele is already saying hello to the biggest first week album sales in all of history. The powerful lyrics
and soaring vocals for the album's first single are propelling her third studio album 25, her age when writing the songs, to hit these record-
breaking sites.
Now, forecast to sell nearly 3 million albums in the U.S. alone, Adele is easily saying bye-bye-bye to the previous fastest selling record holders.
NSync's album, "no strings attached" which sold 2.5 million in its first week, 15 years ago.
The record boss is no doubt pleasantly surprised but likely nobody more stunned than the singer herself. Adele considered walking away from the
spotlight after her last record, 21, which sold more than 11 million copies. Fearing she would never repeat the sales and critical acclaim she
thought it might be better to leave it all behind on a high note.
21 was a break-up album, the singer says. She calls 25 a makeup record. I'm making up with myself, making up for lost time, making up with everything I
ever did and never did.
And the phenomenal album sales are easily making up for any money Adele would have received from streaming music services like Spotify taking
Taylor Swift's game plan one step further Adele also kept the new record off of Apple music, a strategy that's clearly driving people to buy the
album.
[15:55:15]
JAYSON GREEN, SENIOR EDITOR, PITCHFORK MEDIA: The fact that Adele is able to reject streaming places her in the 1% of the 1% of the music industry.
It has become its own music industry status symbol.
BURKE: Adele doesn't just do sad songs. She can also make us laugh. Joining in with a group of Adele impersonators on the BBC, the world watched her
grow singing her way from 19 to 21 and now 25 is taking her right into the record books.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURKE: And Hala, she has done it all while giving birth to a child and facing real major vocal problems. But don't think she's shunning streaming
music all together. You can't get the album on services like Spotify but she's teasing us by making Hello, the lead single available, so we're all
listening to and talking about the song and she's trying to get us to buy the album which apparently is working very well for her.
GORANI: I know, hey if you can pull it off, do it, you know. I mean it's going to - it's going to push people to buy the album if they want to hear
the music. Have you bought the album, Samuel?
BURKE: I haven't bought the album but I like this song so much and working on this report all evening long, I think I'm going to fork out the $10.99
and do it.
GORANI: All right, Samuel Burke, live in London.
I'm Hala Gorani, Quest Means Business is next.
END
