say, but he did go out of his way to express his concern about the arrest of "the washington post" and "huffington post" r reporters yesterday. as a journalist, i think we can certainly appreciate that, as citizens as well. >> he used the phrase, no bullying of journalists. jim acosta is our senior white house correspondent. jim, what did you think of the president? did he break new ground as far as iraq? we'll discuss that in a moment. but as far as the reaction to ferguson, missouri. what did you think about that? >> reporter: well, i do think it was noteworthy that the president said that the siege has been broken. i thought that was coming from the president an indication of where things are headed in term os of that mission. we may not see that military mission focused so much on sinjar and maybe focused on the advisers in erbil. as for ferguson, i thought it

was striking the president came out and said he basically embraced the missouri governor calling him a fine governor in a decent, good man. that's as close as he can come in saying he has confidence in deal i dealing with the situation. he did also say that he is asking the fbi and department of justice to investigate the police shooting death of michael brown. we're seeing members of the congressional black caucus ask for that. so that's now underway. in the meantime, as jeffrey toobin was just saying a few moments ago, the president calling for peace and calm on the streets, that's important. but the really did have to say something about at the arresting and bullying of journalists just trying to do their job. he did say there's no excuse for violence against police. so the president trying to walk a very fine line, walk a tight rope there in terms of trying to keep both sides of the unrest in

ferguson under control. i did try to ask the president as well as all of us in the room a few questions as he was leaving. i asked whether he was thinking about cutting his vacation short. he didn't answer that question. jeffrey was saying, this has been the vacation from hell. he's had a little fun out here, but no question about it, it has been sort of one thing after another. if it hasn't been the vacation from hell, he can probably see it from here. it's been a tough week. >> the president said we lost a young man. it's heartbreaking, under tragic circumstances. you're right, we just got a statement from congressman john lewis, representative john lewis, a great pioneer on civil rights. he says the death of michael brown is a grave tragedy. the community should not have to bare how many more young men of color will be killed before we realize that we have a problem in america? and senator claire mccaskill just put out a statement saying we need to demilitary rise this

situation. it's become the problem instead of the solution. i respect the work to provide public safety, but my constituents are allowed to have a peaceful protest and the police need to respect that right and protect that right. today is going to be a new start. we can and need to do better. the reaction clearly coming in. on iraq, jim sciutto, the president seemed to open up the door to more efforts to deal with the plight. let's not forget the past couple months or so since isis made the big push into iraq, there have been about 600,000 iraqis, where christia christians, shiites, displaced from their homes. some have fled to jordan or turkey. more than a million and a half iraqis over the past several months who have had to flee their homes. the president may be right that the situation on mount sinjar is

improving, but the rest of iraq, it looks awful. >> he opened a door pretty widely. he declared somewhat of a vibt ri say iing that situation is greatly improved. he said americans should be proud of what the u.s. did. but more broadly in iraq, the situation remains dire. he lists all the ethnic groups that could be under threat from isis. the christians, sunnis, shias, the kurds. you just described the entire p population of iraq. there are folks who have fled and those who haven't who still may be under threat. we have a great urge to provide humanitarian relief to them. that portends a number of operations like this, possibly with airstrikes and air drops. that may involve more american forces on the ground, if not combat troops, but helping with that aid. the u.s. is going to be here for some time and active for some time and the president opening the door to that.

>> let's check in with nick paton walsh. what is the very latest there? we know the past couple days, there have been car bombings galore going on in baghdad. we're now getting reports that the isis forces are moving closer and closer toward the iraqi capital. what are you hearing? >> reporter: it's not the iraqi capital, it seems to be at cities and towns that are between baghdad and erbil. the suggestions we're getting from both sources close to isis and also now peshmerga officials that there's heavy fighting happening in one town, that's one of a number of towns that are between baghdad and erbil. closer to erbil, in fact. but isis appear to in the past few weeks and specifically today will be making advances towards. the goal, it seems according to those observing, is not to move

towards baghdad. that seems to be well enforced by a ring of steel, but instead to try to push north. one analyst saying they are aiming at refineries. so a lot moving on a very volatile battlefield. the fact they have moved from pushing towards mount sinjar and the north areas on the kurdish border and focusing to the south will travel some because a e key town was taken by them in the past week or so. so perhaps they are pushing towards the south of kurdistan to maybe cut off any supply routes between the kurds and the iraqi capital here of baghdad. >> the president said that these isis forces, they are well armed, they are well funded. they are fanatic in many respects.

they are loyal to their leader. they represent a dire threat to the country. does the political leadership in baghdad where you are right now really appreciate how much trouble, how much of a dire threat these isis forces represent? because it was only a few weeks ago the military of the iraqi leadership simply abandoned their posts, they abandoned their weapons and they fled. they refused to fight these isis forces. >> reporter: there is a think among people, a feeling of amazement at how they have not been able to get their act together. and yes, today we have not seen any major developments politically at all. maliki spoke yesterday, spoke of the need for the federal courts to rule on a constitutionality of his replacement being named. he's still the prime minister,

but no one else seems to be referring to him as that. you name it, they have moved on. he simply hasn't. the prime minister designate expected to name a cabinet. they are hoping he will speak publically, but people are still waiting for maliki to accept the inevitable. he seems to be holed up with a lot of loyal fire power here. this is political dead lock that has people so edgy. unless a stalemate is revolved, western powers don't seem comfortable giving aid to iraq. you heard president obama saying washington putting its weight behind the future prime minister and how obama said he believed the prime minister was creating some sort of unity government, healing between sunni and shia. the divisions which enabled isis to storm through much of the north of the country that's

predominantly sunni. a complex situation, but one that's yet to see a clear resolution of the stalemate here in baghdad. until that happens, there won't be more aid. you have to bear in mind, that mission accomplished sounds you got from president obama speaking do suggest perhaps that washington may work here in iraq against isis maybe over. not quite clear what they intend to do in the days ahead. >> clearly as the president of the united states said, the isis forces represent a dire threat to the entire country of iraq and a lot of u.s. officials believe it's even a dire threat to so many others outside of iraq as well. we're going to continue our special coverage here on cnn. reaction to what the president said on iraq. reaction to what the president said about the situation unfolding right now in ferguson, missouri, outside of st. louis. the president ordering the department of justice and the fbi to move in. much more coming up on both of

seize issues. but listen to what the president specifically said about iraq as we take a quick break. >> a week ago we assessed that many thousands of men, women and children abandoned their positions to take refuge on mount sinjar to avoid slaughter. we also knew that ul i'll terrorists were killing and enslaving civilians in their custody and laying siege to the mountain. without food or water, they faced a terrible choice. starve on the mountain or be slaughtered on the ground. that's when america came to help. ♪ during the cadillac summer's best event, lease this 2014 ats for around $299 a month

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president obama just spoke about the tense situation in ferguson, missouri, where the shooting of a black teen has sparked days of unrest. listen to the president. >> when something like this happens, the local authorities including the police have a responsibility to be open and transparent about how they are investigating that death and how they are protecting the people in it their communities. there is never an excuse for violence against police or for those who would use this tragedy as a cover for vandalism or looting. there's also no excuse for police to use excessive force against police protests or to throw them in jail for exercising their first amendment rights. here in the united states of america, police should not be

bullying or arresting journalists who are just trying to do their jobs and report to the american people on what they see on the ground. put simply, we need to hold ourselves to a high standard, particularly those of us in position of authority. >> this was the scene last night in that st. louis suburb, which erupted in violence for the fifth day. >> there it goes. they are now firing on to the crowd. ow! they are firing rubber bullets. >> you can see the chaos as police fired tear gas and smoke bombs at the crowds. they are seeking justice for the shooting death of 18-year-old michael brown. let's go to the scene right now. ana cabrera is joining us in ferguson. what's the lathest? the governor is making major decisions about who is going to

be responsible for laurw enforcement? >> he spoke to a group of faith leaders today and is expected to address the press in the next couple hours. what he said was he is here on the ground, he is hearing the residents here and plans to implement some kind of operational shifts today so that it sets a different tone in this community moving forward pr the law enforcement side, from the community leader side of things in which protesters have been questioning in terms of their intenti intentions and their actions because of scenes like we just showed you of last night. you can see behind me right now, a huge group of protesters now gathering. this is just across from the police station. we're seeing a much larger group than 24 hours ago at this time of day. as you can see, they are peaceful. a different situation than what flared up overnight. >> reporter: overnight ferguson erupted, perhaps the most chaotic police response yet.

angry crowds throwing bottles at law enforcement and police firing tear gas to disperse them. a tv news crew on the scene runs for cover as a tear gas canister lands directly in front of them. >> there it goes. they are now firing on to the crowd. ow, [ bleep ], they are firing rubber bullets. >> reporter: dramatic video shot by a reporter on the ground captures utter chaos. police advance on the protesters sending them running in fear. as officers fire rubber bullets and smoke grenades in this residential neighborhood. 18 arrested overnight including two journalists detained. the altercation caught on camera. >> let's go, let's go. >> reporter: this as new cell phone video captures the heartbreaking moment when a man believed to be brown's uncle

rushes to his lifeless body and is pushed away by police. the witness who captured this video also saw the shooting unfold telling don lemon details of what she witnessed. >> what i saw was when the cop and michael were wrestling through the window. it looked like the cop was trying to pull him in. then the cop shot a fire through the window. michael breaks away and he starts running away from the officer. the officer gets out of his vehicle and pursues michael as he's shooting his weapon. michael jerks his body as if he was hut. he puts his hands up and the officer continues to shoot him until e he goes down to the ground. >> reporter: another describes how the officer shot brown. >> he was trying to get away from him. why did he continue to shoot at him? i still don't get that part at all. why was he killed trying to get away from the officer? >> even when he put his hands in

the air, he was shot multiple times. >> reporter: multiple witnesses tell a similar story. police maintain brown assaulted the officer in his car and tried to take his weapon. >> 2190 said that more shots fired in the area. >> reporter: the police chief now says the officer suffered injuries to his face and was take on to a local hospital. >> he's very shaken about what happened that day and the aftermath. >> reporter: earlier wednesday police had asked that all protests be held during the day. but wednesday night continued as schedule. police responded with force. >> they are now firing on to the crowd. >> now in much of this controversy and what's heated the passions in this town have been about voices not being heard or not being understood, we have heard from protesters and police.

i want to bring in a couple resident who is have not participated in the protests but have strong feelings about what they are witnessing in this community. joining me is russ thompson and r rejal pole. thank you for joining me for a couple minutes here. let me start with you. what do you think about what you're witnessing here and particularly how things have escalated? >> it's very unfortunate, obviously. what happened was tragic. i think what is most critical, the impression that the nation is getting of this area. granted there's a black/white issue in st. louis -- >> you do think there's an issue in this community? >> i don't think that's unusual. not just ferguson but st. louis in general. >> ana, i just want to interrupt for a moment. because the police chief of ferguson is speaking now. i want to hear what he has to

say. >> the officer broke his ankle. one of the officers was injured. but in general, i mean, with the chaos that's going on right now, i'm happy that nobody has gotten seriously injured. >> what's your take on how volatile the situation is now? >> it's a powder cake. we all recognize that. that's why we're going to try to facilitate the protests tonight and we hope that the protesters will recognize that we are trying to facilitate, to help everybody bring this down. bring all the tensions down. >> we've been hearing tear gas. >> we had a meeting with the family. the attorney -- their attorney didn't have an opportunity to talk with them.

so the meeting was postponed. they promised me that this afternoon that meeting will be rearranged. >> for today? >> for today, yeah. >> is that the same thing -- >> my assistant was. >> the fact they are going to release pictures, names, addresses, how do you respond to that? >> anonymous has been doing that. it hasn't been accurate information, but they have been putting it out as accurate information. they did bring our website down. it's a possibility they just did it again. but all we can do is e react to that. >> barriers on the sidewalk? >> no, we're going to have cones and things like that. we're not putting up barricades. we're asking for cooperation. that's what e want. >> are you going to pull back the military-style vehicles? >> the tactical units will be

out there. if fire bombs start getting thrown, property is being destroyed, shots are being fired, we have to respond to deadly force. >> they were out there before that happened. >> we're going to talk about not only the tactics but the appearance. we're having conversations. >> like this gentleman says, police and military-style units were out there from the beginning. there are people who were tear gassed who weren't shooting. can you give us insight into the mind set of the police, why they approached this crowd the way that they did and what goes into making the decision to actually fire tear gas? why was it it fired and why did it seem to be fired around 9:00 at night. take us inside some of those

decisions. >> those decisions were made by the tactical commanders on the ground. it was based on the threat. the threat of violence. if individuals are in a crowd that's attacking the police shs they need to get out of that crowd. we can't individually go in and say, excuse me, sir r you peacefully protesting? are you throwing a molotov cocktail? it's a crowd. . if the crowd is getting violent. and you don't want to be violent, get out of the crowd. >> you speak to the incident that happened with the media last night? >> i haven't been briefed on that. >> i have a e question. to your point earlier, [ inaudible ]

literally shot at our vehicle. why would that happen? >> i don't know who made the decision. i will look into that. the media is not a target. >> what exactly is being fired? >> tear gas, pepper pellets, pepper balls. >> the state highway patrol has been here in force all along. their s.w.a.t. team is down on the lines. they have been very supportive in this situation. i certainly welcome their assistance. they have been great. >> a different tone to the police response tonight in that the county police have been pulled off of that. >> i haven't heard that. >> is the police response going

to change? >> they are having that meeting now. i have not heard any of that. i haven't heard the results of that. >> when are we going to know exactly what happened? >> that's up to the prosecuting attorney's office. he's waiting to interview. this has all been thrown out there before, but i see you're new. all the evidence has to be examined, all the ballistics have to be examined and all the witnesses have to be talked to extensi extensively. when all that is done and the toxicology reports are in, then we are going to have a clear picture of what happened out there. he's going to present that to the grand jury. >> journalists, why were they arrested yesterday? >> i don't know. >> some said they were getting to their car -- why would that

be? >> all i can say, if anybody was arrested from what i understand, it was because they were in an area that was being cleared by the police. once it was declared by the commander on the scene as an unlawful gathering because of the violence and everything going, they have to clear it. >> were they booked or just detained? >> there are a few names circle about the officer that was involved. any truth to that? >> we're going to have a conversation about releasing the name. i guess it's anonymous put out a name this morning. brian something, that's not the name. i haven't seen anything else. >> they just announced another

name. that person's name was gary. >> i'm not going to comment on it right now until -- >> was that true? >> are these guys just running name after name after name? >> that's probably what they are doing. they are take the name of everybody and e throwing it out there. >> the threats of death against the officer who was wrongly identified as the shooter and also by the office policy of not releasing someone's name until they are formally charged. we're having some conversations about that today. >> that might change?

>> if a judge ordered me to, i would. but i also said we're taking this it day by day. so again, we're talking about it today. >> the tactical commanders on the ground -- >> we have all the area s.w.a.t. teams are filtering through throughout the week. their tactical commander on the scene is the tactical commander, yes. >> what's your reaction to the eyewitness accounts of the shooting? >> i can't speak to the evidence. i can't speak to the evidence. that belongs to the county police department. let me get one from you. >> officers look like? are you surprised by the reaction that people are having

about the nature of military-like vehicles? >> the picture is being painted sideways from what's really happening. it's not military, it's s.w.a.t. teams. that's who's out there. we're doing this in blue. thank you very much. >> last question. is the officer who shot michael still here? have you taken him out of the area? >> there's the police chief of ferguson, missouri, trying to do the best he can under awful circumstances explaining a lot of complicated, sensitive issues including the most that he was discussing why they are not releasing name of the police officer who shot and killed 18-year-old michael brown. jeffrey toobin is with me. normally they would release the name, but in this particular case, the police chief told me and others that they are afraid this guy could be in danger, that he could be threatened if his name were made public before

proper authority gos forward with the process. >> missouri has a sunshine law that says within a very short period of time, most public records of the kind like these police reports can be made available to the public. they have said under these circumstances, the chief said there's an exception to the law that says because of death threats and the like, we are not releasing the name. the american civil liberties union with this paper we have just seen has filed a lawsuit saying they want the name. as i read the law, it's sort of a close question over whether there is this exception for -- when the person might be in danger. but they also have the public safety issue of the public demanding this name. you can always protect a person. he can have police protection, but the fact that the citizens of ferguson and of missouri and of the country don't know who

did this is significant. there's a significant public interest. does this guy have a prior record of bad shootings? does he have a prior record of humanitarian actions? all of that, we'd want to know and can't know unless his name is public. >> he addressed the website anonymous put out a anytime. the police chief said the name is inaccurate. there were death threats against this individual whose name was mistakenly put out there by anonymous. >> certainly what anonymous is doing isn't right either, but this is what happens when you don't fill an information gap with accurate information. you have people fill iing it wi inaccurate information. obviously, the police chief knows who it is. it's only about 60 people in this police department. i'm surprised local reporters who know these people haven't released the name. i have to believe in the next day or two it's going to come out whether through official

channels or unofficial channels. >> we'll take a quick break and continue our special coverage here on cnn. military equipment, part of a federal program now coming under fire as anger boils in ferguson, missouri. we'll show you a surplus of military equipment winds up in the hands of county police officers. [ female announcer ] when you're serious about fighting wrinkles, turn to roc® retinol correxion®. one week, fine lines appear to fade. one month, deep wrinkles look smoother. after one year, skin looks ageless. high performance skincare™ only from roc®. ugh. heartburn. did someone say burn? try alka seltzer reliefchews. they work just as fast and are proven to taste better than tums smoothies assorted fruit. mmm. amazing. yeah, i get that a lot. alka seltzer heartburn reliefchews. enjoy the relief.

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the world. we are supposed to be better than that. law enforcement is supposed to protect and serve, not intimidate and assault. strong words. let's go back to ana cabrera in st. louis. are they bracing for more of the same later tonight? what are we hearing? >> reporter: they are bracing for more of the same if not more escalation tonight. however, we know that officials on the scene are saying they are going to take a different approach tonight. we don't know what that is, but they say they are getting the message. the protesters behind us, others we have talked to today say there's been a sense of intimidation by police officers at peaceful protests. that seems to happen primarily at night when police officers come in with their tactical gear, their riot gear, so to speak. we have seen them pointing their ar arms at the protesters, leading

up to these escalations where we have seen the tear gas deployed. reports of molotov cocktails coming from protesters during that time. you mentioned some of the national leaders speaking out on this issue. we heard from the president and the governor of missouri talking about an operational shift here on the ground. we just saw, in fact, the u.s. senator claire mccaskill, whose constituents are here in ferguson, she just walked through the crowd of people behind me and into the police station, fire station just across the street. she's here on the ground. he released a statement earlier. this kind of response has become a problem instead of the solution. so i think there's a united front on both sides saying what's been done so far isn't working. protesters feel they are being oppressed. police feel this is a dangerous situation and they need to be there with their tactical gear in order to keep the peace. unfortunately peace is what

everybody wants, but nobody so far has been able to accomplish that. >> we heard the president call for calm in missouri right now. standby, we also learned that ferguson, missouri's police force, they received military equipment. brian todd is here to explain what this program is all about. what are you learning? >> just in ferguson alone, you see the images of the police wearing vests and helmets, camouflage, carrying sophisticated weapons. there was m-16s, a mind resistant ambush protected vehic vehicle. that's built to withstand shrapnel. the aclu has done a report on this, not ferguson specifically, but the excessive military equipment of police departments around the country. the pentagon has a program that's been in place since the

1990s to give police departments free of charge a lot of the excessive equipment that they have not used in war. as the wars in iraq and afghanistan, the police departments around the country have been getting a lot of this equipment. you're talking about advanced tactical vehicles, advanced p weapons, things that according to civil groups, really contribute to the excessive force used in a lot of these cases. they call it the militarization of police departments around the country and they have o to ramp these down. these situations when they use this equipment escalate the problems. >> just got a statement from john conyers who said the removal of the st. louis county police department from any involvement is an important step towards restoring peace and allowing for an independent, thorough investigation to take place. the people of ferguson deserve nothing less. there's a fight going on who should be in charge of policing that area. >> as far as who should be policing it, that's an open

question. maybe the national guard, state police, that's something for people at a high level to decide. >> the governor is considering that right now. >> those are things that have to be decided at a high level. a lot of the smaller police departments are getting these weapons too. ferguson police themselves have only gotten two humvees and a generator and a trailer from the defense department. ferguson police department may not have gotten such heavy weaponry. but the state police departments around missouri, 20 they have gotten since 2006 according to defense officials. . 500 m-16 rifles. people who observe this say this is excessive equipment. and these police officers, especially in the small towns, are not trained how to use it properly. that's a big problem. >> that's causing a lot of conce

concern. still ahead as protests intensify, we're going to hear two different accounts of what happened. this is charlie. his long day of doing it himself starts with back pain... and a choice. take 4 advil in a day or just 2 aleve for all day relief. honey, you did it! baby laughs!

it just didn't look right. . that's a quote from a witness of the shooting of michael brown who says michael brown wasn't the aggressor. wanting nothing more than to get away. this witness isn't the only person who was walking with big mike. we have heard this story on cnn, but they give very similar accountings. here's what tiffany mitchell told don lemon on cnn tonight. >> i saw the officer pulling him in and i saw him trying to pull

away. i tried to get a video because it just didn't look right. i didn't know what was going on, but it didn't look like for someone to be ras ling through the window. i didn't get the video because a shot was fired through the window. i tried to get out the way. as i pull into the side, he starts running. as he runs, the police get out following shooting. the kid's body jerked as if he was hit from behind. he turned around and puts his hands up like this. the cop continued to fire until he just dropped down to the ground. his face just smacked the concrete. >> did you see a weapon by anyone other than the officer? >> no, nobody else had a weapon besides the officer. >> how many shots did you hear or see fired? >> i didn't count the shots, but it was more than five or six

shots. >> what did the officer look like? >> he was a white male, kind of tall, not too big, but he was a white male. >> did he say anything -- did anyone say anything, michael or the police officer? >> i didn't hear anyone say anything at all. >> this video was shot by tiffany's friend and co-worker from her balcony. the man who approaches is brown's uncle. let's bring back our senior legal analyst jeffrey toobin. police officers often shoot to kill. why do they have to shoot to kill? why can't they shoot a warning shot in the air, scare someone off if they think they are in danger. why can't they shoot injure? >> this has been in the past at least somewhat controversial in police train iing. at least the modern training as i understand it is you never

fire a warning shot. you never fire a shot to injure. if you're going to fire your gun, discharge your weapon, you have to accept the risk that you're going to kill somebody. if you're not prepared to kill someone, don't. fire the gun. that's the lesson that most cops are taught. because the risk, they say, is that if you start telling cops it's okay just to shoot at the arm, fire warning shot, you'll have people fire too often. in a circumstance like this, maybe a warning shot would have been better. >> clearly based on the eyewitness accounts, he was raising his hands. he did not have a weapon himself. he was a a big guy, but he didn't have a weapon. so that's why a lot of people, especially people watching us overseas right now, they look at the way authorities usually work. why do they have to shoot to kill? >> if his hands are up, why is he shooting the gun at all? that's really the heart of the question here.

whether this shooting should have taken place under any circumstances because at least based on the two interviews we have heard, it doesn't look like michael brown was a threat at all. this is why the fbi is investigating and what they will have to do is literally build a model, a drawing of the street, ask these witnesses to go over in meticulous detail where they were, who else was there. >> when the president says he's ordered the fbi and department of justice to investigate, do they do this it jointly or separate investigations? >> that's the same investigation. the fbi are the agents on the street. the assistant u.s. attorneys and u.s. attorneys office will be the courtroom wing of that investigation if, in fact, there's a prosecution. that's the same investigation. >> a federal investigation. jeffrey toobin, thanks very much. we'll take a quick break. much more of our special coverage right after this.

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democratic senator claire mccaskill weighed in following the shooting of the unarmed young black teenager. the senator issued a statement saying it's time to demilitarize the situation. she spoke out a few moments ago. >> i know what the chief of police wants. he wants everyone to be safe. i know what these protesters want. they want to exercise their rights. we can do that without escalating it and when police come out and take a stand and

wear and have equipment that makes it feel like somehow the people who are protesting are assumed to be the bad guys, i don't think it helps take the tension out of the situation. i think it puts more tension in it. [ inaudible question ] >> senator, do you think there is enough information? >> what the community has demanded and they have received is a lot of eyes on this investigation. there are a lot of cooks in this kitchen. and the top levels of law enforcement in this country are engaged. the top levels of law enforcement in the state and federal system are engaged. and everyone is looking at all of the facts, the evidence and the forensics. now, when you put out information in drips and drabs, what suffers is the case.

there are many times that putting information out in an investigation can have a very bad impact on getting to justice. so if the community would allow the investigation to be completed, the information will become public. the facts will become known. all of them. >> what about something like the officers involved is a public servant? >> i'm not going to second-guess law enforcement at the state and local level about information they are giving out. because i know they are all working to try to get all the facts, all of the forensics, all of the physical evidence, and make sure they find the truth. >> make sure they find the truth. jeffrey toobin, department of justice, only just beginning. that could go on and on and on. >> it really could. i mean, this is -- you know, it happened very quickly, this shooting. but it's a complicated situation. we already know of several witnesses, there is going to be

ballistic evidence, toxicology evidence, other kinds of scientific evidence. it's going to take a while to pull it all together. and it is far more important to come to the right result than to come to a quick result. >> because if there are going to be charges pressed, homicide charges, shall we say, that's going to be a huge, huge deal. >> absolutely. >> thanks very much, jeffrey toobin. we're going to stay on top of this story. i'll be back, 5:00 p.m. eastern, another special two-hour edition of "the situation room." see you then. in the meantime, "newsroom" with brooke baldwin will begin after a quick break.

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you are watching cnn on this thursday. i'm brooke baldwin. thank you so much for joining me. we begin with a first in the wake of this story out of ferguson, missouri. we have now heard from president barack obama, speaking publicly about what one protester has described as a war zone. i'm not talking about iraq or gaza, but smack dab there on the map, ferguson, missouri, just outside of st. louis. >> you have seen these pictures play out. this is a town of some 21,000. it has now endurd a fourth consecutive night of violence over saturday's deadly police shooting of