Transcripts For CNNW The Situation Room 20141126 : compareme

Winter weather is affecting millions of thanksgiving travelers on one of the busiest travel days of the year on the highways and at the airports, its a major mess out there. Im wolf blitzer. Youre in the situation room. This is cnn breaking news. And were following two breaking stories right now from snowcovered highways to backedup airports, a major winter storm makes travel a nightmare for millions of people trying to get away for the thanksgiving holiday. As night draws near ferguson, missouri, police and the National Guard they are now on the streets once again. Theyre poised for more protests. Police have identified the homicide victim found shot in the head near the scene of the Michael Brown shooting. It happened during the first night of the burning and the looting which followed a grand jurys decision not to indict the Police Officer Darren Wilson for the shooting death of Michael Brown. There were fewer acts of vandalism last night and fewer arrests in the ferguson, area, but across the country the protests spread to at least 130 cities as marchers blocked roads and bridges and tunnels. The naacp president Cornell William brooks, hes here in the situation room standing by along with our correspondents, our analysts and newsmakers. Lets begin with our national creighs creig correspondent, Jason Carroll and hes live on the streets of ferguson. Reporter wolf, a few tense moments when we were out here last night in front of the Ferguson Police department. Still not what we saw here on monday night. Having said that going forward, whether or not these protests are small or large, police say, wofr wolf, they are ready. Police continue to look into the death of 20yearold Deandre Joshua found dead monday night in a car near the scene of rioting in ferguson. His death ruled a homicide, not clear whether it was related to the unrest over the grand jury verdict. Meanwhile, overnight protests continue. A Police Cruiser overturned and protefrters tried to set it on fire, but police moved in quickly, surrounding the car, dispersing the crowd. The number of demonstrators smaller than sunday night. Police made fewer arrests. 44 taken into custody. Generally, it was a much better night. A change in Law Enforcement tactics used tuesday, heavier Police Presence and a quicker, more aggressive and nimble response. Also, the National Guard pulled into action for support, more than 2,000 on hand to help. We made sure those resources were where they needed to be, but also we got help from our community today. So its about that partnership. Community leaders saw a shift in the response as well. On tuesday night i think you saw more officers come into the ferguson area, and the response to what leaders were saying give us the protection that you demanded to give us. But tensions remain and not just from protesters. This officers frustration caught on camera. All these people are protesting everything. Everything in the city. 25 years ive been in this city and this is terrible everybody forward from california to new york, people shutting down highways and disrupting traffic. A nationwide show of support for Michael Brown. His parents outraged, not just about the grand jurys decision, but also for Darren Wilsons comment following the decision. Wilson telling abc news he feared for his life when he shot brown and has no regrets. The reason i have a clean conscience because i know i did my job right. His kofshence is clear . How can your conscience be clear after killing somebody even if it was an accidental death . Wolf, for the past three months, as you know, come rain or shine, protesters have been out here. It is snowing and it is cold here today in ferguson, but you can expect protesters will be out here again tonight. Wolf . And the National Guard is ready. Were looking at live pictures by the way, jason. It seems like somethings going on not far from you. Do we have a clue going on . Because we saw some activity just a few moments ago. Reporter wolf, i can just tell you as weve been here in front of the Ferguson Police department, a number of cars have come by honking in support of Michael Brown. As you say, National Guard members are here and theyve been here throughout the day. We saw them here again last night. No serious incidents to report again. Things have somewhat of a calmer sense around here than what weve seen in the past few days. Well wait and see what happens tonight. Well continue to watch live pictures. Jason, thanks very much. As the sun goes down, the streets of ferguson are scarred by two nights of violence and some buildings are burned out and others are boarded up and residents are also bearing the scars of the violence and the tensions that led up to all of this. Lets bring in ed lavandera who is also in ferguson with more of this part of the story. What are you seeing, ed . Hey, wolf. I think a lot of people here in the city of ferguson are hoping that the weather will be the big story today. This is the scene you see here of the National Guard patrolling and protecting the area around the command center that has been stationed just up the road from what weve seen, the most intense protests over the course of the last few days and well take you down here along the road. This is west fluorescent road and this is where everything unraveled monday night after the announcement was made of Darren Wilson that would not be indicted by the police by the grand jury here in the st. Louis area and the scene here this afternoon after monday night was a total mayhem. This is the strep of road where many businesses were looted and burned and torched and you can see here a much different scene, wolf, over the last two nights and this is what west fluorescent looks now, about a mile stretch of the road completely shut down. This is looking north up the road on the southern edge of where the most violent protests and damage was done monday night and this is the way the scene has been for the last 48 hours now completely shut down to car traffic and whats different back in august during the protests when Michael Brown was shot. A lot of this was shut down to traffic, as well, and they allowed foot traffic and now very much different and this is as close as we can get and well make the turn and youre not allowed to drive on the stretch of west fluorescent. Technically, authorities consider that a crime scene because of the businesses that were burned and arson investigations going on and that stretch of road right now, wolf, is considered a crime scene. That mcdonalds were seeing, youre showing us live pictures from your vehicle. I take it that mcdonalds was burned out, as well . I dont think that suffered in any fire damage, but we were there monday night when a group of people started is that correct out the windows and going through it and obviously that was shut down and a lot of those businesses were shut down in anticipation and fear of what happened and a lot of those businesses were shut down and no car traffic and no foot traffic and nobody allowed in. Ed lavandera is driving around ferguson right now. National guard troops. They are very, very visible right now and for good reason. The authorities believe if people see the National Guard out there on the streets that will deter violence from breaking out. So you see whats going on and theyre worried this is the third night thats about to begin. Theyre worried about the potential for violence there and so the National Guard is very, very visible presence. The president of the United States, he has spoken out on the violence in ferguson. Hes calling for a dialogue, but his tone has been measured as he continues a very careful balancing act when it comes to these issues of race. Lets bring in our senior White House Correspondent jim acosta. This is a very, very delicate line for the president to have to deal with, right . It really is, wife. Aides of the president said that there will be an announcement soon on what the administration is calling conversations on this lack of trust and Law Enforcement that exists in minority communities. For the president its another opportunity to confront the issue of race in america headon. It was a split screen presidency as the violence broke out in ferguson on one side the president calling for calm. We need to recognize that this is not just an issue for ferguson. This is an issue for america. Watch it. For millions of people glued to their sets it was another sad episode of race in america in black and white. And a president hesitant to jump into the fray. When things settle down there. Lets take a look and see how things are going. Ten years ago a young state senator obama raised hopes of uniting a bitterly divided nation. There is not a black america and a white america, a latino america, an asian america, there is the United States of america. As a president ial candidate he condemned his former pastor for making racially inflammatory comments and insisted the countrys old wounds could still heal. What we have seen is that america can change. Reporter but as president the reality has been different. Mr. Obamas response to the verdict for the man acquitted of murdering Trayvon Martin while personal when Trayvon Martin was first shot i said that this could have been my son. Was viewed as inadequate by some africanamerican leaders. Whats lacking in this moment is moral leadership. The country is begging for it. Theyre craving it. Reporter but the president responded with initiatives like the my brothers Keeper Program aimed at young minority men. If america stands for anything, it stands for the idea of opportunity for everybody. The president s defenders say he cant do it all alone. The president , no matter what color or what party can only do so much, but can set a tone and provide leadership. The question is whether that opportunity was missed. Ferguson signifies the end of the age of obama. Its a very sad end. We began with tremendous hope and we end with great despair. Soon, the Obama Administration led by the president s pointman on ferguson, outgoing attorney general eric holder will be starting a National Dialogue on that elusive goal of equal justice under the law. I want all those folks to know that their president is going to work with them. And white house aides say this issue of mentoring and supporting young men in minority communities is a top priority for the president , but as you heard the president the other night, wolf, he wants to work with young people who want to build their communities up, not burn them down. No word from the white house if the president will go to ferguson. Thats right. Still under consideration and havent ruled it out one way or the other. Lets go indepth right now and joined by the president and ceo of the naacp, Cornell William brooks. Thank you very much for coming in. Thank you. The quote from the Princeton University scholar when he says its over, basically, in effect suggesting the president has failed. Your reaction . I believe that the issue is much bigger than president obama. It predates the Obama Presidency and it will likely outlive the Obama Presidency. What we have is a situation where we have a criminal Justice System that mistreats africanamerican males routinely and regularly. When we think about the fact that after can american males are 21 times more likely to lose their lives at the hands of Police Officers. When you think about the fact that in any given month one out of every four africanamerican males reports that theyve been mistreated by the police. We have a reality problem as well as a perception problem and those are the fact and this is not a matter of striking the right racial tone and its about striking the right american substance and dealing with systemic, fundamental reform and reform that reflects the conscience, the common sense and the the constitution of our country. Thats what this is about. Its hard for me to believe that in this day and age, 2014, so many years after dr. Martin luther king, the civil rights movement, i lived through that period and were seeing National Guard troops on the street to prevent this kind of violence in this day and age. Its something that i didnt think wed be seeing again. It is a very disturbing sight. Ive been in ferguson and im headed back to ferguson and heres what i know, 50 years ago it was the young man by the name of Jimmy Lee Jackson who lost his life at the hands of a Police Officer. That death led to the selma to montgomery march. The naacp is back in ferguson and were leading a march from ferguson to the state capitol, to jefferson city. Over 100 miles, over seven days. It saddens me that we have to have that kind of march in 2014, but we do. This mission is that critical. Dr. Ben carson, hes the Johns Hopkins medical school neurosurgeon. Hes thinking of rung for the republican president ial nomination and hes pinning a lot of the blame directly on the first africanamerican president of the United States. Listen to what he said on the hugh hewitt radio show. A bunch of progressive, manipulate particularly minority communities to make them feel that they are victims and, of course, if you think youre a victim you are a victim. And he went on to say i actually believed things were better before this president was elected and i think things have gotten worse because of his unusual emphasis on race. I believe dr. Carson, with all due respect, should stick to the operating room rather than the campaign trail. These are the facts. Bee have a criminal Justice System that overincarcerates and und undereducates, broadly speaking. Africanamerican males are overincarcerated. Police departments all around the country understand, well understand that there is another way and so the fact of the matter is this cannot be pinned on president obama. This is bigger, larger and more important than political rhetoric or partisanship. So with all due respect, dr. Carson is not particularly thoughtful on this issue. You know hes resonating with a lot of americans out there. He seems to be getting some momentum especially with conservatives. Well, this issue is much bigger than liberal or conservative. Heres what were talking about. Were talking about our youth, our children, our sons and daughters. So if we believe that young people are the future then we have to stand with those young practitioners of democracy in the streets of ferguson and missouri and all across this country who are simply saying we as a country are better than this. We can do better than this. Michael brown was not killed by the word victim. He was killed by a bullet, a bullet that was fired by a Police Officer. I happen to believe that we could do a lot better than this and what we have to do is focus on a couple of things. Number one, the systemic reform of the criminal Justice System. A ban on racial profiling. The passage of the federal racial profiling act, a reform of state and local policing. We have the models around the country. We have best practices around the country, but the fact is we have to model our best practices and put them into place. We have to take a quick commercial break and when we come back much more with mr. Brooks, National Guard troops, they are on the ground once again for this, the third night. Well go back there live in just a few moments. They take us to worlds full of heroes and titans. For respawn, building the best Interactive Entertainment begins with the cloud. This is titanfall, the first multiplayer game built and run on microsoft azure. Empowering gamers around the world to interact in ways they never thought possible. This cloud turns data into excitement. This is the microsoft cloud. Save your coffee from the artificial stuff. Switch to truvia. Great tasting, zerocalorie sweetness from the stevia leaf. Come from all walks of life. 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