And these actions may only be the beginning. We will not prematurely or unnecessarily risk the course of worldwide nuclear war in which even the fruits of victory would be ashes in our mouth. But neither will we shrink from that risk at any time it must be faced. President john f. Kennedy addressing the nation at the apex of the cuban missile cr in 1962. He said we are not prematurely or unnecessarily going to have a nuclear war, but we might have to have a nuclear war. We wont shrink from that if it must be faced. Russia put missiles in cuba. The u. S. Threatened a nuclear war to get those missiles out of there. The russians did ultimately get them out of there without a nuclear war. But we were on the bring, october 22nd, 1962. Exactly, exactly 25 years after that on the 25th anniversary of the closest we have ever been to Global Nuclear war, the United States air force made an announcement. They announced that something had happened in cheyenne, wyoming, that was a little unusual. This is an American Nuclear missile silo. See that thing on the ground there that kind of looks like a squished star wars fighter or something, kind of that oddshaped angular thing there . Thats a blast door. It weighs 90 tons. The silo holding the Nuclear Missile is underground and the blast door sits on the ground on top of the opening of the silo so if for some reason the missile blows up underground, there is that handy 90 ton blast door tamping down the explosion and basically holding the whole thing in. The United States air force announce quietly to the local press in wyoming that there had been a bit of trouble, a little bit of trouble with one of these, with one of these Nuclear Missiles and with the silo and one of these Nuclear Missile silos and with the missile inside it. It was a minute man 3 which is an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile topped with nuclear warheads. And it malfunctioned. Unprompted without any instruction from anyone that missile started giving all the indications that it was going through its launch sequence, that it was going to go off. The way it was described in the press it was as if the president had given the command to launch that nuclear weapon. The missile went through all its different light changes indicating it was in the middle of launch. They freaking thought it was going to go off. They called a Maintenance Team to troubleshoot what was going on, to determine a fullon sprint if this Nuclear Missile was about to launch itself which is what it says it was going to do. While they were trying to figure that out to try to stop it from launching itself, they came up with one last ditch last hope off the books concocted idea for how they were going to try to stop this devastating, world changing thing from accidentally happening. They parked a car on top of the missile silo. That big 90 ton blast door, somebody at the air force base found the keys to the heaviest vehicle they had on hand. Turned out to be a peacekeeper armored vehicle. And they drove that puppy over to the missile silo and parked it on top of the blast door just in case. That was their plan. But it wasnt even the most amazing part of their plan. Heres how they thought it might work. This is a quote from the Associated Press when this happened. According to a spokesman for the Strategic Air command theres a certain amount of guesswork involved in the procedure of blocking a firing missile with a car. The huge door that sits atop a minuteman is thrown horizontally off the silo by explosive charges during the launch. The theory is that the cover is blown aside so rapidly that a vehicle parked on top of it with the brakes off will be left basically hanging in thin air like yanking a tablecloth out from under dishes, and then the vehicle will drop straight down in the hopes of keeping the launching missile from going anywhere. The ap concludes, this procedure has never been tested, the spokesman added. Yeah, you think . That was their plan. Thats the procedure they invented on the spot. Malfunctioning Nuclear Armed missile that is starting to launch itself, that would include the blast door shooting off sideways with the armored car sitting on top of it with its brakes off and like a tablecloth being ripped off a table, it would hover there for a second and then fall on to the nose of the missile while it was in the process of shooting out of the silo. And maybe that would stop it. Maybe. I mean, at that point its like worth a shot, right . If all else fails, why not try that . Bad stuff happens. Even potential end of the world stuff. Sometimes it does happen. Sometimes it turns out to be your generation, your workplace, your country, where you live where it happens. What do you do when youre confronted with that . Well, historys any guide, what we do in this country is we improvise, america. We do what we can. Look around, make a quick inventory of the resources weve got at hand. Somebody figure a way to macgyver this thing. Weve got to do what we can. We always have. What makes our country our country, not like how are we created, what were the founding documents and the revolution back in the 1700s. I dont mean where did we come from. I mean today. In the way that we live now, what about our country today proves and shows what country were in, shows what america is, whats the evidence in our daily lives today in our world today of our strength as a republic . What do we have today in our lives that shows that we are in this particular country and not just some other western nation that has cable tv and bad airports and Nice Grocery Stores . What makes america now, what makes us america . I posit that the things in our daily life that we recognize in our daytoday normal walking through life world that make us who we are include the fact that we have a free press in this country. We dont have state media, right . We dont have state censorship on any sort of broad scale. We have a free and independent press that does what it wants, says what it wants, asks whatever questions it wants. In this country we have an independent judiciary. We have courts that operate as a coequal branch of government, courts that do not take direction from political leaders, courts that do have the power to correct the other branchs of government and restrain the other branches of government when those other branches of government violate the constitution. We also have an excellent and professional military in this country that is not used against our own people. It is not a political force. Its not a competing force with our democracy. Our military leadership unwaveringly answers to the civilian leadership of this country. That ethos in our military is unbelievable strong. We also have High Expectations for our ability to participate as citizens in our civic life. This is one of the things that make us who we are. One of the things about this country that makes us us is you see us showing up. We will wait in line. We will ask questions. We will run for office. We will expect to be answered. We also have an advanced effective civil society. Well organized mature systems of advocacy, special interests, organizing to protect the weak, using our freedom of assembly for any every type of public and private pursuit imaginable. This is just outside my window at my office. Huge protest at donald trump being elected president. This is out my window at my office just a few minutes ago. Protesters are now in front of trump tower. This is part of how you know youre in america, right . Freedom of assembly. Freedom of assembly. Freedom to peacefully protest an election outcome you dont like or any number of other things. We also accept immigrants. We also have no official religion in this country, or to which you belong or you must feign some sort of allegiance before you can be let into this country. We have no official language in this country. Americans come from all over the world. We also have no king. One of the things that makes us who we are is that there is a peaceful transition of power between leaders. We have evolved over time into a loosely organized twoparty system. But our wouldbe leaders compete through the biggest oldest democratic process on earth and at the end of that process we accept that result and power transfers peacefully. For 240 years weve done that, minus one civil war. But its the declaration of independence and the constitution and the revolution and the emancipation proclamation. Those are the things that made us a free republic. But that is not ancient history. We live the legacy of that stuff every day. We sometimes take for granted, free press, independent judiciary, a professional military, our openness to immigrants, peaceful transition of power, all that in the way we live now, its stuff we only have because of who we are as a country. And it is stuff we must keep and protect if we are to stay who we are as a country. And heres the thing. The peaceful transition of power part, that part is right now today working the way it is supposed to. Hillary clintons concession speech today and the gracious words from president obama today wishing the best for the president elect, that is really, really part of our heritage. That is foundational to us staying who we are. But we also need all the other foundational things about our republic, too. And honestly, we never before have made the peaceful transition of power to someone who has such radical and, frankly, negative views of all of those other unromantic but crucial everyday foundational elements of our civic life. The things that make us who we are as a country. The things that make us a free republic. Judiciary, military, press, immigrants, civil life, all of it. This judge is of mexican heritage. Im building a wall. Okay . Im building a wall. Youve already said that you know more about isis than those generals. Theyd probably be different generals to be honest with you. Do you think theres too much protect of the second amendment. Our press is allowed to say whatever they want and they get away with it. We take in anybody. Come on, anybody. Just come on in. Not anymore. You know, folks, its called a twoway street. It is a twoway street, right . We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump Administration its called america first. I love the old days. You know what they used to do to guys like that when they were in a place like this, theyd be carried out on a stretcher, folks. Let me be the 4,000th person in your personal life to tell you that this is a landmark moment in political history that were in right now. We are having a peaceful transition of power, but we are having a peaceful transition of power to someone who has said that what he wants to do with that power is destroy a lot of the other foundational civic things that make us who we are as a country. And so what do we do . We macgyver it, right . We do what we can. We improvise. We act to protect the other aspects, aspects of our life as a nation that we maybe used to take for granted but now overtly, presently and acutely require protection, require us as civilians and citizens to protect it. Our republic is not just our system of democracy. Its all these other things that we need, too. If you are marry worried or mad or scared, theres no use raging against the election for long. As a citizen we all have a todo list. Im not trying to be inspiring, comforting, or even polemic here. If youre a citizen who believes this president elect will do what he says he will do, then you do have a todo list to make as a citizen. What you will do in your life to try to protect what makes us us . What are you going to join . What are you going to volunteer for . What are you going to give your money to . What are you going to show up for and participate in that you havent done before that will help your country . We faced crises before in our country, sometimes theyre malfunctions, sometimes the brink of nuclear war, sometimes its somewhere in between. But we rise to the occasion. We always do. We improvise, we do what we can, we step up. There are protests in the streets tonight, big ones. Theres controversy already over how the president elect is treating the press on his trip to the white house tomorrow. There are doomsday plans going into action all over this country right now in terms of civil rights. Weve got all that ahead tonight. A big todo list. Stay with us, seriously. [ sneezes ] i have a big meeting when we land, but im so stuffed up, i cant rest. Nyquil cold and flu liquid gels dont unstuff your nose. They dont . Alkaseltzer plus night liquid gels fights your worst cold symptoms. Plus, unstuffs your nose. Oh, what a relief it is. Like bundling home and auto coverage, which reduces redney. Tape, which saves money. When they save, you save. Thats home and Auto Insurance for the modern world. Esurance, an allstate company. Click or call. Okay. Day one, here we go. Thousands and thousands and thousands of people are in the streets tonight pretty spontaneously and organically protesting the election of donald trump. So few people expected the election of donald trump, i cant say theres any evidence that large scale protests were planned in advance. But now that hes been elected, this is what has organically sprung up all over the country. Were seeing protests at this hour in seattle, in portland, oregon, in chicago, in boston, in philadelphia, in tempe, arizona, interestingly. There have been considerable protests today in nashville, tennessee, in san jose, california, most of the protests today and into tonight have been peaceful. There are some exceptions to that. In new york city, which is the site of the largest protest, protesters have just been pouring up the avenues in new york city on what apparently appear to be unpermitted marches just thundering through the avenues in downtown manhattan. Look at the size of that. Traffic just making do around them. People just came in waves through new york today chanting not my president. Where theyre going here is on the way to trump tower, which is where this shot is. This is a delicate moment for the country. I mean, this is day one. We do not yet know how these protests will play out even tonight. We dont know how long the protest part goes on, whether the outrage over the results of this election might morph into some other kind of activism. We do know this is an election and its over. We know how it ended in the predawn hours. Tonight were seeing how the citizen reaction begins. As i say, its a delicate moment. Joining us is vaughn hillyard. What can you tell us about the basis . An hour ago is when i came across the protests. Down broadway heading into times square from Columbus Circle which is up closer to central park, there was about 1,000 a the time. They came down broadway into times square, they took a turn and fifth avenue and went to the midtown hilton where trump had his victory party. Here on fifth avenue, the intersection is now officially shut down. Police have put up barricades. This is trump tower. There are people climbing the intersection light poles, waving flags, chanting that not my president. Having various chants throughout the evening. This is the site. Trump tower, this is where trump actually lives here in midtown manhattan. The 13th floor is where Campaign Headquarters were. There are transition meetings with aides going on tonight. This took on from 1,000 to just shutting down the road. As were getting word tonight, this is not the only one. You got chicago, you got philadelphia, it sounds like tempe, arizona, portland. This has just turned into something. Remember, this is fifth avenue in midtown, new york city. I was talking to a couple who actually took the amtrak in from connecticut tonight. Theyre about in their 50s. They skipped their show at Carnegie Hall in order to join. We have people from nyu and kings college. It is sort of organically, word of mouth. Union square up columbus which is where central park is, theyve kind of conjoined into one. Trump tower has suddenly which we saw yesterday. Youve got trucks with salt in which the secret service present because remember this is where the president elect donald trump actually lives and the intersections around him are surrounded. Vaughn, can i ask you one question . I dont know if theres been any counterprotesters or anything like that, have there been any counterprotesters or confrontations between protesters and police . Has everything been peaceful . Everything has been peaceful. This started seemingly pretty organically. 1,000 people which is not that much for a street in manhattan. But theres been no pushback presence again. This is manhattan. Actually when they stopped we had some of the video earlier where they stopped at the intersections and the cars were stopped but nobody has done anything to the actual vehicles. Its been relatively sure, there are expletives involved in this and the emotions are high including saying this is our tower. Chants you can see theres the various signs that are around. But its remained peaceful considering. Vaughn hillyard. Keep your eyes open. Let us know as things change in the street. Well go back to you over this hour as is warranted. Were keeping an eye on those protests in new york. Thats a good aerial shot there, but were also watching protests both under way and still forming at this hour in a number of cities including San Francisco and seattle on the west coast now. When you find something worth waiting for, well help you invest to protect it for the future. Financial guidance while youre mastering life. From chase, so you can. Theres been a lot of talk at every level about what kind of President Donald Trump might conceivably be. Weve never elected somebody as old as him to be president. Weve never elected somebody with no Public Service record at all to be president. Weve never elected someone in the modern era where we know nothing about his financial conflicts of interest and or foreign business entanglements. We really dont know. We also have elected him after a primary process and a general election process in which he didnt get very specific at all in terms of what he really believes. That said, its impossible not to speculate what he is going to do as president. We do have some factual basis for making that speculation. I do think theres a case to be made that we dont know what trump believes on many issues particularly ones on whi