good morning. welcome to "new day." it's wednesday, august 20th. we have breaking news in ferguson. tensions certainly remain, but the protests stayed largely peaceful here overnight, and that, as they say, you have to take progress, kate, where you find it, and last night there was progress. it's not ideal here. it's not normal, but it was better. >> an excellent point, chris. we're also today going to be examining what's going to be happening on ground in ferguson today, and new developments in the investigation. we're going to speak with people who have worked with attorney general eric holder as he heads to ferguson, but for now let's get more on the protests overnight, the progress being made. chris is on the ground. hey, chris. >> the investigation matters on the ground as well, kate, because this is a distraction to police and investigators who are trying to look into the facts of this situation so the more calm there is, the more focus there can be on finding answers.

we do know 47 people were arrested, some of them for threatening. that was what was said last night. in terms of the description of why this happened, but certainly no shots fired. that's huge. captain ron johnson notes a change in dynamic saying this may be a turning point, but this turning point did not come easily. police did have to respond forcefully several times. most notably after a small group of what's being called agitators lost control. >> you need to get back. you're risking people's lives. >> like so many nights before, tuesday in ferguson quickly overcome by chaos. >> disperse immediately. >> the agitators, the criminals embedded themselves and hid behind media and began throwing bottles. they threw urine on officers, and that's what caused officers to take action and begin to make

arrests. >> reporter: today began with high hopes that this night would be different. >> protect and cover every peace officer that you would protect and cover every protestr. >> reporter: clergy and community leaders praying, working towards keeping the peace. we see smaller crowds and a smaller police presence. peace, a possibility. >> it's almost 8:00 local time, and it's not that night of quiet that the local officials asked for. people are here. here's the scene. it's peace full and quiet from the light down here at ferguson avenue all the way down to the other side. at the end of this block, that's where protesters are allowed to be. as you can see the streets are lined. people are marching, more protests planned, but just listen to this. that's the sound of peace and quiet in ferguson. hopefully it lasts. just east of the main strip a striking scene at site of the shooting, the first night of peace here in nearly two weeks. no other media around. it's now about 9:00 p.m. local

time. we left the main street where there is protesting going on to come here, site that's driving all the emotion. this is where michael brown was shot and killed by a police officer. it has also been the site of a lot of scream and demonstrations and violence, but tonight it is quiet, just slow drive byes and solemn moments for people in this community. as the night wears on. >> i want to hear one police officer officer say that something like that, killing someone execution style is wrong. >> reporter: voices rise. >> what do we want? >> justice. >> when do we want it? >> now. >> reporter: but tension remains low. >> we're all mike brown. >> we all mike brown. >> reporter: it's now 10:00 p.m. local time. the marchers are still marching chanting we are mike brown. chanting no justice, no peace, but as you can see a very different mood from last night. the night is not over yet, but 10:00 and all is if not quiet peaceful. over the next couple of hours, small altercations.

>> show me state. >> reporter: but still overall calm. peace marchers even creating a human chain, black and white, hand in hand. >> hands up. >> hands up! >> reporter: attempting to block out agitators, but soon after the clock strikes midnight, one water bottle shatters the peace. cnn's stephanie elam on the scene. >> it got very tense when people stopped walking in a circle, and they were standing in the parking lot, and police lined up on one side. a water bottle was thrown, and that let go of all of the tension that we have felt out here. people started running, started running this way, and at that point we started seeing military people, like the military advance almost, coming down the street this way. >> reporter: tactical teams swiftly rush in. arresting a handful of people. police with canines at the ready and others armed with pepper spray. >> open up. >> reporter: scenes of confrontation as police push

demonstrators out. >> we don't have rights over there. we don't have rights over there. >> reporter: and yet given what's been going on here since august 9th when michael brown was shot, you have to see it as at least it was somewhat petter, but obviously life here not what they want it to be by any stretch. let's bring in chris king. he knows the community very well. the managing editor of "the st. louis american," local paper and also community organizer. you know what's going on here. how did you feel about the change in mood, the change in tactics, in quotes, and the results of last night? >> you still have the militarized police presence, and you still have questionable approach to policing of the situation, but what happened last night was reflective of what happened the night before which is a whole bunch of people got arrested who were from elsewhere and not here for any good so community had more of a chance to be itself and express itself. >> you believe last night was somewhat of a vindication of this outside agitator theory because a lot of people don't buy it. they think it's a cover story

for local people acting out and doing bad things. >> well, the numbers of people that were arrested from other places was significant. i mean, there are people here, like in any city anywhere that will disagree and cause trouble if they congregate large numbers, but i certainly believe last night was more peaceful because more people were arrested from outside of the community the night before. >> when you're looking for significance, what does it mean? obviously the standard we're looking for is not every night nobody gets shot. did i make too much of what happened down in canfield? to me not having any media presence there, not having any violence going on, no police presence at site of the shooting to me seemed very different. >> you know, in a way i think that the military presence of the police, we end up covering this like we're scoring a game, how much violence there was. we're losing sight of the mission of the whole thing which was to bring justice to an unexplained death when there's been no charges brought at this time and covering a bottle breaking in the parking lot and

people running in the parking lot, that happens in every city in the country. that's really not news. the population here, elected officials here. hadn't seen that that much, moving people around and calling people constituents, the clergy very activators, the peacekeepers. >> and they have been here, community group and community movement. a lot of citizen policing going on behind the lines and also on the front. the peacekeepers were very key to cooling that down. i think not letting the police change the tone of events. >> the other shooting that happened yesterday, easy to dismiss it. the man was supposedly deranged. he had a knife and charged officers with a knife. this is what happened. 250 people there very quickly and they were very upset and the called night of quiet, you have to remember the local government asked for a night of quiet, nobody on streets. that went away with that shooting, fair point? >> it did. it's a death. it's a police shooting, but the quick mobilization of the community to support it showed that we are organized as a

community, and we care about each other and we're trying to figure out what's going on as fast as we can. >> you're seeing positive change, a dynamic in place you haven't seen before. what is it? >> well, it's the movement that was created, and it was strengthened by antagonism we received from the police force. it made us stronger, and -- >> you said you were making phone calls what. are you hearing now in the community that you're not used to? >> yesterday everyone would call each other. well, i'm in a meeting, need to talk to you about something and i'm already meeting about that, thinking about the same thing, making the peace, making deals, trying to get people to sit down and ultimately get the kids back in school. some people are ready to move forward and some people are ready to stand up and holler. the attorney general is coming today, and there will be some meetings behind closed doors. >> do you see that as big, unusual for the a.g. himself eric holder to go on scene and kind of in part and conduct an investigation himself. >> i was told to keep the front page open for the attorney general, i don't care how late it is. we'll keep the front page open

so my boss thinks it's huge. >> but in terms of how the community is reacting to that, that there is a federal independent investigation, a third autopsy that's been done. there's a grand jury that's supposed going to be presented with evidence here on local evidence, by the local prosecutor. is that at all acceptable? >> the way the prosecutor handles the grand jury is very telling. we're told he's going to introduce the shooter as a witness and give a bunch of testimony at the grand jury, questionable move. i don't know who will actually be leading the investigation. a lot of effort to change that. the governor released dueling press statements that made it sound like politics is in play. i think something different might happen than what we're told will happen. >> hopefully we continue to see progress here. i know you'll let us know what's going on in the community. chris king, thanks for being with us. something to prepare for here, the investigation is important and moves forward, but not only is this about whether or not the

officer gets charged, but if the officer doesn't get charged, if his story is believed, what does that mean for the other man who was there that night with mike brown because if the police officer story is true he may have been part of an assault what. would the community make of that, no charges for the officer and maybe charges for another black youth. that would be something also. we'll have to follow that part of it. >> now the investigation can turn to that investigation though since there is some semblance of peace in those developments overnight. chris, thanks so much. right back to chris in just a second. let's turn now to new developments in the battle against isis militants. horrible new video has been released by isis. it appears to show the beheading of a kidnapped american james foley. these are still images that we're only showing of his final moments. we're not going to show you the video or anything even close to what the full video shows. the extremists say the vicious killing is payback for u.s. air strikes against them in iraq, and now they are threatening to kill another captive american if the air strikes do not stop.

let's get straight over to pentagon correspondent barbara starr following all of the latest developments for us. barbara, it's horrible to watch, and that's an understatement, but what are you hearing from your sources about this and the impact of this video? >> reporter: well, kate, good morning. just a short time ago now, the british foreign secretary weighing in on all of this, expressing a good deal of concern because on that tape the executioner, the murderer of james foley, appears to have a british accent. intelligence services on both sides of the atlantic now working to try and identify his murderer, the friends and family of james foley remembering his life and his career as a journalist. the isis video is simply too horrific to show. the man being executed by beheading is james foley, a freelance journalist kidnapped in northwest syria on november 22nd, 2012, thanksgiving day.

isis, the brutal militants, rampaging through syria and iraq, say they killed foley in retaliation for u.s. military operations in iraq. foley, a freelance photojournalist from new hampshire, reads a message denouncing the u.s. presumably written by his captors. he says america is his real killer and then foley is murder. the obama administration said they are working to authenticate the video, adding if genuine, we are appalled by the brutal murder of an innocent american journalist, and we express our deepest condolences to his family and friends. and the family of jim foley released a statement late tuesday night that reads in part we implore the kidnappers to spare the lives of the remaining hostages. like jim, they are innocent. they have no control over american government policy in

iraq, syria or anywhere in the world. another american journalist is shown at end of the video, the executioner speaking with an apparent british action threatens to take his life if president obama doesn't stop air strikes in iraq. sotloff kidnapped on the syrian-turkish border has worked as a contributor to "time" magazine. no one knows how many thousands of syrians and iraqis have died at hands of isis militants. across their stronghold in northern iraq, cold-blooded mass killings of iraqi men, women and children. >> we do have information that they continue. these kinds of deprivations and crimes against humanity, no question about that. >> reporter: after dozens of air strikes against isis positions across northern iraq, the group may feel pressure, but there is no sign it's abandoning its violence and horror.

isis has some 10,000 fighters. it's now a group the u.s. intelligence community calls a credible alternative to al qaeda with aspirations to attack the united states. according to the united nations, there are now more than 1 million iraqis alone displaced by isis on the run from that militant group. kate? >> amazing, and that happened so fast as well when you speak about that all relatively. barbara starr at the pentagon for us. barbara, thank you so much. a lot going on. a lot going on here at home but a lot going on as we talk about barbara in that region and all around there. >> all around the world. unfortunately, that cease-fire that we've been watching, the tentative one in israel and gaza seems to have broken. overnight violence erupting once again in gaza, all but shattering hopes for a lasting cease-fire agreement. israeli air strikes have reportedly killed now 14 people, wounding more than 100 others after hamas launched more than

70 rockets at israel. the two sides have been launching attacks since a cease-fire broke down tuesday. the talks for peace in cairo fell apart shortly after when israeli negotiators were ordered to return home. back here at home, a hostage standoff this morning in a chicago suburb. a pair of gunmen have taken two adults and six children hostage in a harvey, illinois, home. tuesday afternoon four of the children, including a 1-year-old, have been released. police are now negotiating for the release of the remaining hostages. those suspects barricaded themselves in the house after shooting and wounding two officers who responded to a burglary call. we'll bring you the very latest on this ongoing situation as it develops. a defiant texas governor rick perry calling abuse of power charges politically motivating and vowing to fight them in court. perry was fingerprinted, even had his mug shot taken when he was booked on two felony charges. prosecutors allege perry abused his power by vetoing funds for a

state public integrity unit when the d.a. running it refused to resign following a drunk driving conviction. doctors in sacramento have isolated a patient who may have been exposed to the ebola verse. samples of the patient's blood have been sent to the centers for disease control for testing now. it's unclear how that patient may have been exposed. in the meantime, a new mexico woman who traveled to sierra leone, she is also in quarantine awaiting results of testing to see if she hats virus. in liberia the ministry of health says three health care workers who received the drug zmapp are showing signs of recovery which is very promising news. >> showing signs of promise, for sure, but not helping nearly everyone affected. coming up next on "new day," attorney general eric holder is heading to ferguson today. we'll look at federal investigation and the legal road ahead in the michael brown case. we'll also going to take you back to ferguson. we're going to go live. chris had an opportunity to

speak to local religious leaders about their role, a very important role, in trying to stop the unrest and the violence there on the ground in ferguson. [announcer] play close-good and close.

help keep teeth clean and breath fresh with beneful healthy smile snacks.

with soft meaty centers and teeth cleaning texture,it's dental that tastes so good. beneful healthy smile food and snacks. remind me to tell her happy anniversary. [ cortana ] next time you talk to caroline, i'll remind you. [ siri ] oh no, i cannot do that. oh, and remind me to get roses when i'm near any flower shop. sure thing. remind you when you get to flower shop. i can't do that either. cortana, it's gonna be a great night. [ beep ] oh wow! thanks for the traffic alert. i better get going. now that is a smart phone.

♪ oh, wait ♪ it's 'cause you make me smile ♪

welcome back. calm in ferguson this morning after mostly peaceful protests took a hostile turn overnight and today u.s. attorney general eric holder will be holding to ferguson pledging a full and fair investigation into the shooting death of michael brown. his visit comes amid calls for the st. louis county prosecutor robert mcculloch to step down because there are concerns that he isn't able to be or he won't be impartial in his duties. let's dig deeper into all the facets, especially of the visit of eric holder with paul cowan a cnn legal anitivity as well as mo ivory, a tv and radio personality. good morning. a lot going on, good and bad, i guess we can say, but when it comes to the investigation we can focus on that. i want to ask first, paul, what do you make of eric holder's visit today? what does eric holder arriving on scene, what does it do? what happens when eric holder arrives? what's the impact?

>> well, i think it has symbolic importance to the community in that the justice department is really making an appearance flew its most important person, the attorney general, and secondly when i look at what's going on this is a real active justice department investigation. you know, usually the feds sit back. >> more so than you would see in the past maybe? >> usually they will make a press conference-type statement, we're monitoring the situation, but they have 40 fbi agents from the civil rights division on the ground doing what eric holder has described as hundreds of interviews. they have done an independent autopsy in the case, so they are poised to take this case over very quickly if they opt to do so. now, that's very unusual for justice to be that actively involved in a situation this early. usually they let the locals finish their case and then they only get involved if they don't think it was handled properly. >> mo, i want to get your take. is it enough, even if it is just a symbolic visit, because paul

and i were talking just before we came on. it is rare that federal civil rights violations, federal civil rights charges, if you will, do -- are ever raised. >> sure. i do think it's symbolic, but i don't think we know if it's enough as of yet but we'll only be able to determine that as we go along, but i certainly think that it's sending a message that says, okay, we're at a boiling point. we know in the past this hasn't really reaped many results, that you know, have calmed the issues which, of course, are racism, police brutality, but i think that what attorney general eric holder is doing is saying we are here. we hear you. we see what's going on, and this time we're going to try to do it right and make some changes so i hope so. >> what is the likelihood though, paul, if you had to guess, that federal civil rights charges would be brought? it's very rare. there's a high bar to be met. >> yeah, statistically they literally get involved in monitoring hundreds of cases

across the country. >> monitoring hundreds of cases. >> but they very rarely actually bring charges. usually it's a situation where state and local authorities either refuse to bring a case or they bring a case and lose the case and we've seen it in the rodney king case in california, and we could site other cases. then federal authorities come in and supercede and take the case over. it's a very, very rare event statistically speaking. >> and also on the ground, the fact that the grand jury, mo, could start to hear evidence today in st. louis. what do you make of the fact -- i've heard from many people that this is quite fast for them to be moving in this direction. >> sure. well, i mean, i do think it's fast but that doesn't mean we'll have an answer of charges also in a fast manner. this grand jury could take months, weeks, to come up with, you know, charges and decide what they are going to do. i want to make the point which a lot of people are confusing, the difference between an arrest of darren wilson versus a grand jury finding that they are going

to move forward with charges. he can be arrested at any time if they feel that there is probable cause. i think what is agitating people so much is that there's so many arguments that, well, we have to go through due process. we have to wait for the grand jury. an arrest and indictment are two different things so i hope that eric holder will come today. he will speak with the prosecutor. he will emphasize the need to have an arrest because surely there is enough probable cause at this point to arrest darren wilson. >> what do you think, paul? >> i wanted to emphasize one thing that i think is very interesting in eric holder's press release issued in connection with this visit, because mcculloch, the local prosecutor, has been criticized as being too tied to law enforcement, family in law enforcement. >> a lot of people saying he can't be fair and impartial. >> eric holder notes in his own biography that his brother is a retired law enforcement official, so even the attorney general has connections to law enforcement himself. >> sure, but i think the only difference -- >> what ironic.

>> but the only difference is that having a relative in the police department versus having a relative who was killed at the hands of a black man i think is just a little bit different. >> no doubt, no doubt there's a difference, but it emphasizes -- in law enforcement there's a lot of connections that go on, and you see it constantly. >> sure. >> no question that this prosecutor is going to be watched at every turn of this investigation or of this case. i mean, the governor came out just yesterday and said that he said he's not going to ask the prosecutor to recuse himself. there's a well-established process by which a prosecutor can recuse themselves from a pending investigation and a special prosecutor can be appointed. so no matter the mounting pressure it doesn't sound like it's going to change. >> this is an elected prosecutor. he's been in office since 1991. been elected overwhelmingly by the voters as district attorney so he won't be taken off the case unless you can show a real conflict of interest. now, he could, of course, say himself this is not the case for

me. i'm too close to it. something happened to my father that would make me unfit or improper to handle the case, but right now he's indicated that's not a problem. >> i think he takes a chance though by not recusing himself if there isn't a conviction or the charges don't move forward, that people will absolutely say it was because he was being biased, so not only are we taking a chance with going forward with him, but i think he's also taking a chance on his career by, you know, by taking the chance that if this doesn't fit the community or the perception is that he didn't work hard enough, you know, he probably won't be in office again. >> the easiest thing -- >> that's a risk he can take himself i guess. >> the easiest thing for this to do, local prosecutor to do, would be to walk away from the case but prosecutors, frankly when a big case like this comes along. >> it's a once in a lifetime. >> it is, and he wants to hold on to it, and if he's a man of integrity he'll say i can handle this case and my experience will help me handle it in a fair and proper way so we'll have to see

what develops here. the law doesn't require him to be excused. this is really up to him personally. >> as we have kind of been hoping we could have talked, we can finally talk now, with a little bit of more peace and calm happening in the overnight hours, we can now start focusing on this investigation, where it goes. eric holder on the ground today, very important visit and very significant. many folks are saying the fact that in the middle of an investigation the attorney general himself is going essentially to the site of the crime, the site -- the scene of the crime so we'll be looking more into that. mo and paul, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> let's take a break though. coming up next on "new day," keeping the faith in ferguson, missouri. how religious leaders are trying their best to de-escalate tensions over the michael brown shooting. we'll also talk about this. how will the white house respond to that horrific video of an american being beheaded by isis, and what about the fate of another american also being held captive by the same group. (vo) ours is a world of passengers.

the red-eyes. (daughter) i'm really tired. (vo) the transfers. well, that's kid number three. (vo) the co-pilots. all sitting... ...trusting... ...waiting... ...for a safe arrival. introducing the all-new subaru legacy. designed to help the driver in you... ...care for the passenger in them. the subaru legacy. it's not just a sedan. it's a subaru.

welcome back to "new day." we're live here in ferguson, and today is going to be a big day in terms of the investigation into what happened on august 9th when michael brown was shot. the attorney general of the united states eric holder will be here in ferguson today to take a firsthand look at investigation into the shooting and death of michael brown. now this follows another night

of protests, but they were fewner number. much more intensity here for peace and organizing for that purpose. there's been a leadership vacuum here in ferguson, and the question was who would step in. it seems the local leaders here have been established, especially among the collegies. they have put themselves in between protesters and police. they have been here and talking to young people, and they are trying to stop the violence before it starts. >> what's his name? >> tuesday night, the scene in ferguson basically quiet. >> a far cry from monday's madness. >> everybody in the community let calm minds prevail. >> on the front lines religious leaders trying to turn the violence and turmoil plaguing their community. >> my hope is that there will be peace in the community and that's our goal in being out here. certainly some of the forces that have been or probably will be out here again tonight, but

we're hopeful that we'll have an impact on that. >> and their presence seems to have done just that. members of the clergy, local pastors and bishops out in full force use the power of prayer and dialogue to help alleviate tensions. >> what we've trade to do is speak not only to the protesters, but we're also speaking to law enforcement. >> they walk amongst protesters at teams, even putting themselves directly between crowds and police. >> you need to get back. you're risking my people's lives. >> emotions are running high. there's a lot of anguish. people are angry about the situation, and literally, you know, we have to stand in between oftentimes to try to get the crowd to calm down. >> many pointing fingers at a small group of isolated instigators here for the sole purpose of provoking violent reaction from authorities. >> our community knows us, so it's easy for us to talk to our constituents and then make friendship with the police officers to try to serve as a perrier between the two but when you're from out of town and your

sole purpose is class action lawsuits and to push an agenda for the revolutionary party things like that, that makes it difficult. to be honest with you, anderson, we want those folks out of our neighborhoods. >> community leaders working with a government to identify the individual outsiders and rid ferguson of them. many hope that that will bridge the divide that's polarized ferguson. >> police are out here to protect us. i mean, if we can get most of our protesters to protest with a purpose it will go smoothly. >> we want justice. >> these leaders encouraging others to keep marching and keep the peace. >> i think we're at a signal point on race relations. we're at a signal point in terms of how law enforcement interacts with the community, and quite frankly i'm optimistic that out of that dialogue we're going to come up with some good solutions, and the country is going to be turned into a better trajectory. >> look, let's be honest. that is highly aspirational at this point. still a lot of anger and hostility and a lot of work that needs to be done to heal this

community and -- and in part of doing that get answers to the big questions here. mike clarks one of the things that's been missing on the ground in ferguson was leadership, and having the local clergy and other local leaders and some elected stepping up and filling that void is key to making progress here on the ground. >> absolutely, and it's an important place to start. a long way to go, absolutely true, chris, but we have to have a starting point and maybe, maybe we've started there. thanks so much for that. we'll turn back to you. a look at some of our headlines beginning overseas now. really chilling video emerging that shows isis militants beheading american james foley. foley was kidnapped in syria nearly two years ago. these are still images of his final moments. the video is just far too unsettling for us to show you. isis calling it payback for the u.s. bombing campaign against them in iraq. they are now threatening to kill another captive american if u.s. air strikes don't stop. authorities have not verified the authenticity of that video. the death toll is rising

from devastating landslides in western japan. authorities in hiroshima say 27 bodies have been recovered, 10 people still missing. police say the city was deluged with a month's worth of rain in just 24 hours. loosening slopes already saturated by downpours from the past few weeks. intense fighting in the rebel-held ukrainian city of donetsk. gun battles broke out on streets and in a shopping mall as troops made progress trying to regain control of that area. russian president vladimir putin and ukrainian president poroshenko will meet next week to work to find a resolution to that crisis. boy, this is bad news around our offices. peanut and almond butter is being recalled over a possible salmonella danger. four cases of illness have been linked to products made by inspired natural foods. the recall includes peanut and almond butter sold under the arrowhead mills and mara napa brands as well as trader joseph,

kroger's and safeway. if you want to find information on the recalled products, go to fda.gov, all of our producers and nischelle turner scrambling into thereby is up boards. >> everybody almost. >> unless you have an allergy, loves peanut butter. >> caveat, caveat, caveat. >> let's get over to meteorologist indra petersons keeping track of the forecast for us. a lot of water. >> take a look at what's going on here, flooding north of phoenix yesterday. a 1 in 1,000-year event, 5 1/2 inches of rain fell in just 12 hours. put that in perspective, that means the river flooded to above 25 feet in just about 12 hours as well. so here's what was going on. typical monsoonal moisture inundating the area. the concern as we go forward in time is we now have a tropical storm heading off the coastline. heading offshore and making its

way farther away from land. all of that moisture can get sucked into the region. we'll still be watching for the threat of more thunderstorms that could bring more dangerous flooding like that. otherwise ohio valley into the northeast looking for showers spreading in towards the northeast by tomorrow. today those scattered showers around the upper midwest, one to two inches of rain. down to the south, still all the humid air, jet stream way to the north. all that moisture making it hot and muggy, and it doesn't stop there. heat advisories in effect. as we go through the afternoon spreading over the next couple of days as high pressure is building in. talking about temperatures feeling like they are in the 90s. actually like in the 90s but feeling like they are other 100 degrees, and it's only getting worse as we go do the weekend. definitely a danger with heat. >> high temperatures somewhere. >> still summer somewhere. >> somewhere. thanks, indra. coming up next on "new day," much more coming out of ferguson, but, first, how will the white house respond to that gruesome video of an american being beheaded by annis mist

extremist in retaliation for u.s. air strikes against isis? you got a little something on the back of your shoe there. a price tag! danger! price tag alert! oh. hey, guys. price tag alert! is this normal? well, progressive is a price tag free zone. we let you tell us what you want to pay, and we help you find options to fit your budget. where are they taking him? i don't know. this seems excessive! decontamination in progress. i don't want to tell you guys your job, but... policies without the price tags. now, that's progressive.

we're trying our best annto be role models.rmodels. we don't jump at the sound of the opening bell, because we're trying to make the school bell. corner booth beats corner office any day. we make the most out of our time... and our money. the chevrolet malibu. the highest ranked midsize car in initial quality. the car for the richest guys on earth.

so ally bank really has no hidden fethat's right. accounts? it's just that i'm worried about you know "hidden things..." ok, why's that? no hidden fees, from the bank where no branches equals great rates. help keep teeth clean and breath fresh. with beneful healthy smile snacks. with soft meaty centers and teeth cleaning texture,it's dental that tastes so good. beneful healthy smile food and snacks.

welcome back. we're following a horrific story this morning. the terror group isis posting a video online showing the beheading of american james foley. these are still images of him. cnn is not going to be airing the graphic video. isis says the u.s. air strikes in iraq are to blame for foley's execution. the video ends with the terrorists threatening to kill yet another american, steven sotloff. let's bring in cnn's michelle kosinski and errol lewis to discuss this further. what are you hearing from the white house? what is their reaction, and what are you hearing in. >> we haven't heard directly from the white house on this. president obama arrived pack in martha's vineyard where he's been trying at least to take some kind of a vacation, but,

you know, we've heard from the white house twice. heard directly from president obama twice last week while he was here on martha's vineyard regarding iraq, and, you know, the news was good. he talked about the progress made. we heard from him just this week on monday from the white house, again, talking about the progress made, but now this happens, and so far at least we have not heard a statement directly from the white house. you can imagine what's going on behind the scenes. i mean, while this other american journalist is in isis hands, his life hanging in the balance, the white house and its national security team deciding what exactly to say and when. the sensitivity of this situation surely intense. i think we're virtually assured of hearing something though from the white house today. you know, we did hear from the national security team saying that they are appalled by the apparently brutal murder of an innocent american journalist. kate? >> michelle, you get really at heart of the issue for the president here.

at end of that video the -- the isis militant says that this man's life depends on obama's next move or next decision is how he puts it. there must be a lot of conversations going on of exactly what the president can say and what impact it will have. >> exactly. you have the brutality of this situation itself and what we know what is shown on that video, but then you have the brew taflt what they are putting in the american people's hands, you know, saying that the onus is on the american president and what his decision is next. of course, the white house knows what they are dealing with here and the capabilities of this group that we've seen before, but to put it in these terms, yeah. it is incredibly difficult, and i think, you know, even among ourselves talking we were saying can you imagine being in that position? you're the president. you're his advisers trying to decide in the intelligence community especially what can be

done, what kind of contact there can be between the administration and this group, if any, and what do you do from here? along with that, what do you say to the american people publicly at this time? so i think today we'll know the answer to that question, at least in some extent. i think we will hear from the white house at some point, kate. >> errol, how does this change the dynamic, if at all, in the u.s. role in iraq, in how involved the u.s. should be in iraq? >> well, i mean, we can dispose of one question. absolutely no chance that the commander in chiefs, the president of the united states, is going to negotiate with these people, a group al qaeda has distanced itself from, just inconceivable, so the president will probably stick to what all the polls say is what the american people want which is no more boots on the ground, no deeper involvement and frankly the fact they have resorted to such savagery suggests the air strikes are working, and that's the kind of statement that i expect from the white house,

that this is what happens when a desperate band of barbaric terrorists gets pushed to the wall, and that's exactly what the public wants. that's exactly what the president promised, and i think that's what we can expect to see more of. >> do you see this changing american public opinion towards u.s. involvement in iraq? everyone knew how bad isis is. the administration says it over and over again. i know we say it in news programs all the time, but to have this horrific reminder so clearly played out for people. >> sure. >> do you think it changes public opinion now? >> i think it probably deepens it. every poll suggests 2-1, sometimes 2-1, no more boots on the ground. don't send our kids back there. if journalists want to go and sort of take these incredible risks and pay the ultimate price as a few people seem to have, and, look, a couple of journalists still in captivity, we should remember, that's one thing, but the american public is absolutely clear. they want air strikes, air

raids. they don't want any deeper involvement, and they fear getting sucked into another sort of bush administration type major commitment, and i think politically that's what this administration, which basically campaigned on getting out of iraq in part, that's the last thing that they want, an iraq war, syria or whatever this new thing is going to be, this isis. >> errol gets to an important point. obviously nobody expects the president to negotiate with isis in any way, shape or form, but is is there anything in your view, michelle, from your perch at the white house, that you can see that the administration can or will do to try to save the americans sti american still in captive, steven sotloff. >> reporter: it's possible that that stands that we won't negotiate with a terrorist group. we'll send the message obviously that it would be futile to do this. i don't know that isis necessarily cares about its pr, but to do something so brutal

isn't going to help them. you know, this isn't a situation where we're dealing with a group annihilated with a government in some way or looking for, you know, an electoral victory eventually in a country. this is a much, much different situation, horribly difficult situation really. i don't know that there's any other way to put it. >> yeah. >> reporter: just think about the administration trying to craft a response but knowing that this other american's life could hang in the balance. it's not as if necessarily the administration can do anything about it in the immediate sense, but then what happens if the worst happens again? it's really a terrible situation to try to figure out what the next step is, but i think errol put it well. the president has been careful to say each time we've heard from him on iraq is that this is not -- this is not going to be a situation of mission creep. this isn't going to blow up into being a much bigger situation,

and he's emphasized the progress that has been made already. wanting to keep the american role extremely limited in this case, and it's not as if the american public sees what has happened there already as america's fault in some way necessarily, regarding the case of these american journalists in captivity. >> this all comes as, you know, it's not like this is a static role that the united states has in iraq right now. i mean, this comes as military planners, many are suggesting, they are looking into the possibility of even new air strikes, not only on the largest dam that was retaken in mosul but the hadithah dam, even some conversation about will the united states assist in air strikes there. i that will further get to that issue is this mission creep or is it not? this is not all happening in a vacuum, happening in real time. >> this was the policy debated in 2008 during the campaign and again in 2012 and it's a very contentious one, but the notion

that terrorism of this sort can be sort of controlled and contained and, you know, it's a horrible thing to say and sort of normalize, meaning that rather than committing hundreds of billions of dollars and tens of thousands of troops what you do is strike after strike, air strike after air strike. i'm sure if there's any possible way to rescue the american captives the s.e.a.l. teams will go to work, but other than that this will have to be part of what goes on in that part of the world. the american public seems to support the notion that we want to contain it. we want to control it. there will be losses along the way, but no more major commitments like the occupation of iraq. >> it's such a horrible reminder of what a brutal, brutal group isis really is, if anyone needed that reminder, and now one family having to live with this reality that they have finally found the whereabouts of their son and their family member, but this is what they are learning, just truly almost too much to take. errol, thank you so much,

michelle, thank you as always, michelle traveling with the president in martha's vineyard right now. coming up next on "new day," more of our continuing coverage from ferguson, missouri, attorney general eric holder is heading there today. we'll talk with holder's former spokesman about the case and the role of the attorney general. pags (male announcer) it's happening. today, more and more people with type 2 diabetes are learning about long-acting levemir®, an injectable insulin that can give you blood sugar control for up to 24 hours. and levemir® helps lower your a1c.

levemir® is now available in flextouch® - the only prefilled insulin pen with no push-button extension. levemir® lasts 42 days without refrigeration. that's 50% longer than lantus®, which lasts 28 days. today, i'm asking about levemir® flextouch. (female announcer) levemir® is a long-acting insulin, used to control high blood sugar in adults and children with diabetes and is not recommended to treat diabetic ketoacidosis. do not use levemir® if you are allergic to any of its ingredients. the most common side effect is low blood sugar, which may cause symptoms such as sweating, shakiness, confusion, and headache. severe low blood sugar can be serious and life-threatening. ask your doctor about alcohol use, operating machinery, or driving. other possible side effects include injection site reactions. tell your doctor about all medicines you take and all of your medical conditions. check your blood sugar levels. your insulin dose should not be changed without asking your doctor.

get medical help right away if you have trouble breathing, swelling of your face, tongue or throat, sweating, extreme drowsiness, dizziness, or confusion. (male announcer) today's the day to ask your doctor about levemir® flextouch. covered by nearly all health insurance and medicare plans. but parallel parking isn't one you do a lof them.ings great. you're either too far from the curb. or too close to other cars... it's just a matter of time until you rip some guy's bumper off. so, here are your choices: take the bus. or get liberty mutual insurance. for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise your rates due to your first accident. see car insurance in a whole new light. call liberty mutual insurance.

. what's his name? >> mike brown! >> what's his name? >> mike brown! >> tensions are running very high at this point are you? need to get back. you're risking my people's lives. get back now. >> this is about transparency. this community has distrust for local law enforcement. >> there can only be federal civil rights charges if they can prove intent to discriminate on the basis of race. >> freelance journalist james foley has been killed by members of the islamic state of iraq and syria or isis. >> there are no words to describe this kind of inhumanity. >> good morning. welcome back to nude yale. breaking coverage in ferguson, missouri. a mixed bag overnight here. there was noticeable

improvement, no question about that, but not without tense moments for police and protesters, kate. >> today, chris, attorney general eric holder will arrive in ferguson to oversee the michael brown investigation. >> that will be a big day. now, what led up to where we are, a night of peaceful protests in the streets mainly. a vacuum of leadership was here filled by clergy, demonstrators were walking arm in arm with many of them locked to keep away these outside agitators who they say have infiltrated the crowds just looking for peace. >> hands up. hands are up. >> we're not going to move. >> 8:00, 9:00, 10:00, 11:00 there was calm. there was loud protesting, but nothing worse, and then after midnight a water bottle was allegedly thrown at police. officers take every provocation very immediately and harshly here, so they rush in.

there are arrests, and then they say there were more bottles thrown at cops and the cycle went on and on and in all 47 people, police say, were arrested, some for threatening police. pepper spray was used no, tear gas, no shots fired. that's important. it may sound like that is too high a bar but you have to remember where we were on this, and the calmer it gets here, more attention can be put on the investigation. today there is a visit from the country's top law enforcement official, attorney general eric holder, and as we mentioned for him to come into a location and say he's taking on an investigation is very rare, also on a local level there's a lot of scrutiny and criticism and why no arrests, but there is a grand jury that will be supposedly presented with testimony in the case as early race today. there's a lot to find out about the investigation. let's get to george howell who is following this for us. >> reporter: chris, good morning to you. a lot playing out now on the legal front. in the forefront, as you

mentioned, attorney general eric herald coming here to ferguson promising people a complete and thorough federal investigation, but in the backdrop there are questions about st. louis' prosecuting attorney, the st. louis prosecuting attorney and whether he can handle fairly a case like this. attorney general eric holder's promise to st. louis, a full commitment to the investigation of michael brown's death. holder, who has been briefed on the preliminary findings of the federal autopsy, arriving today in the st. louis suburb, addressing the people in an op-ed, he writes, quote, this is my pledge to the people of ferguson. our investigation into this matter will be full. it will be fair. it will be independent. >> police shot this boy outside my apartment. >> reporter: the first evidence of brown's shooting may be presented to the grand jury today including eyewitness testimony. >> we will do a full, fair, complete and impartial

investigation into this. >> reporter: robert mcculloch, chief prosecutor for the past 23 years in st. louis, is the man who is responsible for pursuing any prosecution in the shooting. community members are demanding that he be taken off the case because of his strong ties to the police department. >> voluntarily recuse yourself from this investigation. the people and the african-american community, they do not have the confidence that you will be fair and impartial. >> reporter: missouri state senator is also asking for a special prosecutor to take over the case. >> you know, i can't guarantee and won't guarantee and nobody can any particular outcome on the investigation. we don't know where the investigation is going to end up. >> reporter: several members of mcculloch's family are police officers, including his father, who was murdered in 1964 while on duty. the man convicted was

african-american. >> they don't believe that this person is committed to justice for them, and that's important to recognize. >> reporter: tens of thousands have signed this online petition asking for mcculloch's removal from the case. his office has released this statement to cnn. quote, he's been re-elected every four years by an overwhelming majority of st. louis county. the people have faith in mr. mcculloch, and he'll continue to do his duties. and new this morning we also got information from governor jay nixon's office. basically the governor saying that he would not ask mr mr. mcculloch to recuse himself from this case so no political pressure for that to happen. instead, chris, it would have to be a decision that mr. mcculloch would make personally, a situation we continue to follow today, along with the attorney general coming to town. a lot happening today for sure. >> you could argue, george, that the governor just helped himself with that statement because there's plenty of pressure on the local prosecutor to step

down. we'll see what happens. part of that is being felt with the introduction of this federal investigation as well by the grand jury, so let's bring in someone who understands the dynamic very well, robert driscoll, former deputy assistant attorney general in the civil rights division of the united states department of justice. of course, that's what the a.g. heads up. mr. driscoll, thanks for joining us. let me get to the point of needing a federal investigation. mcculloch, do you think he should recuse himself given the distrust of the community and given his strong ties in his own family to the local police force? >> ylgor i don't know the situation there on the ground enough but absent very unusual circumstances he's an elected prosecutor. the community has elected him to handle difficult cases like this, and i don't see a reason for him to recuse himself. i sympathize with members of the community who may not trust local law enforcement and want a federal investigation as well, but i'm not aware of anything that would require mcculloch to

recuse himself. >> now while people are welcoming the a.g. investigation at the federal level it's also a vote of no confidence in mcculloch. do people have too hive an expectation of what this will lead to, even with holder coming to town, do you think this will lead to a trail? >> the bar for a criminal civil rights indictment is very high, much less a conviction, and i think that the community and onlookers should be prepared for the possibility that there won't be sufficient facts to bring a criminal civil rights investigation simply because the attorney general is going -- is going to be on the ground does not mean there will be any particular outcome. the government would have to prove that the officer intentionally vie late michael brown's civil rights which is a much different standard than simply that there was something amis with the shooting. >> and, again, here on the ground, that's exactly what people think, but thinking it and showing and proving it in a court of law is something else. you know, you pointed that out

in an op-ed, and a lot of people will remember this, eyebrows popped up. got a federal investigation from the attorney general into central arteryin', nothing came of that. never heard of it again. do you think that this is the kind of situation that we'll see here with michael brown? >> that's the risk of getting too far out in front in a situation like this, the community wants some kind of action and you take action which suggests that there's going to be a particular outcome and in the long run you have to explain what the standards are and why these cases are difficult to bring, and the attorney general may have to explain months from now from a criminal civil rights indictment isn't into the cards. it's a question of whether you have a difficult conversation now and explain to people how tough these cases are, or whether you end up having a difficult conversation later. >> or no conversation at all and you hope people forget. how much criticism is fair in this situation that this is more show than go on the federal level, that you come in here, get people's expectations up.

do your own autopsy and say you've interviewed hundreds of witnesses and say you have 40-plus fbi guys on the ground and then nothing. does it deserve criticism right now? >> i don't think so. it's appropriate in every police-involved shooting everywhere in the country, the fbi and civil rights division will at least open a file and take a look to see if there might be some kind of police misconduct that's worthy of a federal criminal indictment, but i think if you go back and look, those indictments and prosecutions and convictions are rare, particularly in police-involved shooting cases, but i don't criticize the attorney general for being on the ground. >> at least it gives the situation attention, it shows an urgency and shows some level of importance here that will help the community, and who knows, if they find something unique, maybe it does take the situation in a different direction. they could obviously share information. let me ask you this. on local level, mcculloch, the prosecutor here, is maybe going

to start presenting to a grand jury. you understand grand juries very well. why not an arrest, criminal complaint and probable cause hearing where there's a judge unlike in a grand jury. do you think that would have been a better route to take here? >> i think it's a judgment call, but i think that the motion behind a grand jury is you have members of the community making these decisions. it's an important case. it's very high profile, and i think that sometimes the view is if you want to emphasize that the process has not been politicized and you're not looking for a particular outcome you leave it in the hands of the average citizens who are on the grand jury, so that's not a decision i can find fault with at all sitting in washington today. >> but as we both know, when you go to a grand jury, you can also be seen as punting, putting it off on the people, saying the people didn't want a charge, that's how it is. you don't know what evidence was presented or how forcefully it was made because it's a secretive proceeding whereas if they had a probable cause hearing off a criminal complaint you've got a judge, it's open to the public and media scrutiny and there's an arrest that goes

along with it, even if there are no eventual charges or prosecution and that would have inspired confidence as well. fair criticism? >> again, i don't think so because i think that if the prosecutor acts on his own and makes an arrest, then the accusation is that that decision is politicized and either he's responding to kind of mob justice in a sense by arresting the officer because essentially the community wants him to right now or he declines prosecution and is criticized for that as well, so i think, that you know, there's problems either way you go and the route they have chosen is not a typical route and i can't criticize it. >> and i appreciate your take on this because what i'm hitting you with is exactly the set of suspicions and questions we are hearing on the ground. good to get the take of somebody in the business.

the a.g. is coming and that's unusual and the way president has been dealing with it is somewhat unusual given what we know. do you think this is a strong move for the attorney general coming here, or do you think it's fraught with risk? >> he has to walk a fine line, but i think it's a good move. it's an important case. everyone is very concerned about the case. i think he can add some confidence by showing up, but he has to walk a fine line because to the extent his presence is seen as a commitment that certain specific federal action will eventually be taken, he runs the risk of disappointing people, but certainly in terms of conveying that he's paying attention, he's on the ground, he's looking at the specific facts of the investigation, i can see why he's doing it, and i hope he does a good job today calming things down. >> so without cynicism you have to look at this more as a political situation than a practical one and if eric holder can help heal the community, that's a benefit all and in

itself. robert driscoll, thank you very much for your perspective on this. appreciate it. >> thank you, chris. >> other news going on as well. outside ferguson, let's get you back to michaela for that. mick. >> nine minutes after the hour, really gruesome video released by isis in iraq showing the beheading of kidnapped american james foley. these are still images of his final moments. we're not going to show you the entire video. it's far too graphic. the extremists say it's retaliation for u.s. air strikes against them and they are now threatening to kill another captive american if the bombings do not stop. in the middle east peace talks breaking down after militants in gaza launched rockets at israel breaking a temporary cease-fire tuesday. israel responding with deadly air strikes attacking dozens of militant sites, 1 people reportedly killed and more than 100 others wounded in the violence. the israeli military has called up 2,000 reservists for active

duty. a deviat texas governor rick perry called the indictment a political attack. he was booked and photographed tuesday. prosecutors allege perry abused his power by vetoing a state public integrity unit when the democratic d.a. running it rejected perry's request for her resignation following a drunk driving conviction. got to show you dramatic video, flash flooding trapped an elderly woman in a minivan when the overflowing stream washed over the car's roof. rescuers break through the driver's side and carries the elderly passenger to safety.

with ink plus from chase. like 50,000 bonus points when i spent $5,000 in the first 3 months after i opened my account. and i earn 5 times the rewards on internet, phone services and at office supply stores. with ink plus i can choose how to redeem my points. travel, gift cards, even cash back. and my rewards points won't expire. so you can make owning a business even more rewarding. ink from chase. so you can.

help keep teeth clean and breath fresh. with beneful healthy smile snacks. with soft meaty centers and teeth cleaning texture,it's dental that tastes so good. beneful healthy smile food and snacks.

. welcome back to nude yale. live in ferguson after a night of mostly peaceful protests, however, at some point it did turn tense once again. police had to get aggressive. they say bottles were thrown at them. they report 47 people being arrested, some of them for threatening to kill police. now, despite the flare-up, no tier gas or no smoke canisters and no shooting. may seem like a high bar but take progress where you find it. >> and today attorney general eric holder will be arriving in ferguson. his visit comes as a grand jury could begin to hear evidence in michael brown's death to decide whether or not officer darren wilson will be facing charges. let's get reaction and discuss all the latest developments from darryl parks, an attorney for michael brown's family. good to see you again. >> good morning. >> eric herald is going to ferguson today.

i've heard maybe some different accounts. is the attorney general meeting with michael brown's parents? >> it's not scheduled as of now? >> do they want to meet, or are there conversations? i've heard both. yes he's meeting and nothing is on the schedule. >> let me clear it up. thursday of last week representatives from the civil rights section department of justice and the u.s. attorney's office to the easton district of missouri met with the family. that was the first meeting. second friday, agents interviewed the mother as part of the official investigation so the whole department of justice investigation has been ongoing since mid-week last week so the a.g. is coming, a great thing, however, but the actual work began last week. >> i would imagine though that they would want to meet with the attorney general if he was open to that meeting. >> if they needed to, yes, but, remember, the real work are the agents who are out questioning people so when we met there were two agents assigned to the case last week initially, and then they called in additional agents

over the weekend. as you know, the department of justice does not share any detail of their investigation with us so we're glad they are doing what they are doing. we welcome the a.g. and have great respect for him, and his presence certainly shows that president obama and him see that this is an issue of great attorneys to the michael brown family and also the american public. people are very concerned about this case. >> mr. parks, what does the family want to hear from the attorney general? it is very rare and very significant that in the midst of an investigation the attorney general himself is going to the scene? >> well, i think he's already started to say, the amount of resources that the department of justice has devoted to this situation along with this president certainly lets us know that they are taking this seriously. remember now, up until now the locals that you've had leaks of information. we've had straight distrust created by various scenarios that have happened thus far since michael's death, so for the feds to take the serious approach that they are taking is

welcom welcomed. >> let me give you chance to respond to what that michael brown passed as a juvenile, it's inaccurate to say nothing there. only as an adult there's nothing there, any truth to that, he had altercations or any record as a juvenile? >> let me say. i'll say this, chris. he was a typical kid. he may have had some situations that may have occurred as a juvenile, but, you know, we need not to be at a point where we start to blame the victim for what he did. i think the officer's background is the one in question. his actions are the ones that took michael brown's life. >> i understand, with you that is information -- but that is information that people are trying to get. that will be seen as an analysis

about how forthcoming your side is and that takes us into the account of what happened that night. any concern on your part and the part of the family about how the friend that night, his story may be changing a little bit. now he's saying that he heard the officer say i'll shoot you. he heard the gunfire from the first shot. story changed. is that a concern? >> not at all. you have numerous witness who witnessed this incident, so that's one witness, and the witness testimony must be taken into totality as you would have in any case so it's not a big concern. we believe given the great number of witnesses, without question this officer should be charge charged. >> mr. parks, the grand jury could begin hearing evidence in this case. this is quite fast that the grand could be could be looking at evidence. what do you know with it and what do you make of it? i think it's okay. we must remember there's some evidence in this case that's not

going to change, so witnesses that they have spoken to, preliminary parts of the autopsy report, radio communication. bullet casings were found in the case, that stuff won't change. there's a small amount of evidence that requires further additional testing that may take some time. >> do you trust the county prosecutor? >> i would hope that he would do his job, and i think his job and the fed's job is important. without question the state law allows far greater charging authority for federal law so we welcome both investigations. >> will you be watching them closely? does the county prosecutor's background, is it a concern for your legal team? it's been called into question. >> well, let me say this. i mean, you would hope that they would have a different prosecutor. i believe this lawyer hopefully will do his job and understanding the world is watching. he has a vested interest with all the eyes watching to do

nothing but the right thing. >> you should explain something to the audience. you haven't liked the idea of a grand jury from the beginning. to people that's an impressive thing, grand jury, that's serious if that happens. you've been saying no, an arrest would have been serious. didn't have to charge him. could have had a probable cause hearing with the judge. why would you have preferred that route? why would you have seen that as equal justice? >> i think it's the prosecutor punting on the situation. when the prosecutor in any situation can choose to do a direct file and file a complaint and the case can move forward within the system, especially when you have a great number of witnesses who come forth thus far. >> and you're saying because it would have been an open process and there would be a judge involved so you'd know what evidence was presented. grand jury sounds great but it's a private closed proceeding and you don't know what happens. >> for sure. when they go into the grand jury room, we'll never know what was presented, what weight was given to certain evidence and how it was presented. given a case like this one and given the information that we have already, it's far proper to

charge and to let there be a public trial. let everyone present evidence and let the evidence be tested and confronted and move forward. >> kind of on that question, what more have you heard of officer wilson's account of that day? >> well, only that the third party who came forward is all we've heard. we haven't heard anything about his background. there's plenty of information about this officer that the department could have put out there in the public that should be public about him, who he is and his history. we obviously are doing some investigation of our own to track down some of the things that we see in his past. >> anything that you can tell us? there's not a lot released. everyone is looking for more information. >> some interesting things learned about him. we found some things thus far that will certainly draw your eye. >> into his background as a police officer. >> into his background as a police officer and his interaction with other people. >> daryl parks, thanks so much. >> thanks for having me. >> we'll get back to ferguson

and also focusing on this. gruesome new video shows the execution of an american at hands of isis. the militant group is also threatening another american in the very same video. we'll speak with a terror analyst about the group's ultimatum. at od, whatever business you're in, that's the business we're in. with premium service like one of the best on-time delivery records and a low claims ratio,

we do whatever it takes to make your business our business. od. helping the world keep promises.

. welcome back. outrage and horror this morning after an american was beheaded by isis militants. the terrorists released new and very disturbing video shows james foley's execution. we're showing you still images. we will not show the video. it's entirely too graphic and too upsetting for to you view, for us to show you.

the militants blame u.s. air strikes in iraq for his death, and now isis is even threatening the life of another american if those air strikes don't stop. want to turn to a cnn counterterrorism expert and cia counterterrorism official. i have so many questions for you. know, i think this is just so gruesome and horrifying. it harkens back to daniel pearl, you know, in 2002. extremely upsetting and disturbing. give us -- if we can, i know this is your -- your area, give us an idea about the mindset and psychology and the minds et cetera of these guys. >> boy, this brings me back to when i was witnessing back 10, 12 years ago, daniel pearl, saw beheadings more than a decade ago in iraq, saw them in saudi arabia. you have to understand, when you're looking at these typically young people, that it's not just a terrorist group, not an islamic extremist group. this is a cult culture, small cells of people who sit around

among themselves. seen this among youth in america with other ideologies, sit around amongst themselves and other ideas can't penetrate of that small group. think of them no at isis but as a cult. >> for some of us it's hard to get beyond the grisly nature of this, but i know that you look at this in a different way. we had errol lewis just a moment ago on our air say that this is sort of a desperate sign of a desperate group. how do you see it? what do you see beyond just the grisly nature of it? >> no, i don't see this as a sign of desperate group. within these groups you have small slivers that are on the fringes, if you will. the fringe of the islamic state to my mind is larger than the fringes i've seen in other groups. this is a fairly significant segment of the islamic state who believes that these kinds of acts will prove their credibility and will prove to be a magnet for extremists coming in from places like europe. >> will it? >> by the way, probably one

reason why you have a native english speaker on the video. this is not by accident. we've got more than 1,000 europeans going to places like syria and iraq to fight. this is a message to extremists in europe that you can penetrate the core of the islamic state even if you have a british accent. >> you think that this is not just a fringe group that is going to have a hard time sort of rallying the base of muslim followers and believers. you think that this -- these guys have a stronghold then? >> no, i think they will have difficulties rallying across the islamic world. you'll have a lot of islamic leaders come out against this. this in fact i think over the long term will undercut the islamic state. we've seen this repeatedly over decades with islamic groups. once they gain power, they can't contain themselves. they feel compelled to go out and prove how extreme they are, but in the short term i think there's a subculture within the islamic state, like what we've seen in al shabab in cimolai,

for example, like what we've seen with the abduction of those nigerian girls in northern nigeria, a subculture that says the more extreme we are, the more likely it is we can draw recruits from places like europe and the middle east. >> counterterrorism officials need to be keeping a close eye on this. you look back to osama bin laden, he was very vocal about his hatred for america and maybe it was not taken as seriously as it could because look what happened to us on 9/11. we were essentially caught off guard. what can we learn here? what can we learn and go forward with? >> well, in the short term i think we have to worry about this group because if you've got that many europeans, again, people talk about 1,000 plus, the director of the fbi within the past few years saying we've got maybe more than 100 americans in this battlefield, that is in syria and iraq, maybe more than 100, maybe more than 300, we don't know, the message here to me if i were sitting back in the threat room, used to sit there every day at 7:15 in the morning at the fbi would be if you've got a european or an

american who is willing to cut somebody's head off in syria, what's the likelihood that some segment of this cell is also trying to send people home to places like new york or london to blow up subways. i think the likelihood of that is high. >> that's where we have to be very concerned about and should be worried about obviously. look at situation in air strikes, air strikes going on. americans carrying out air strikes there. we hear about this threat, essentially another american life being held in the balance. how does that affect, or does it affect america's policy on the ground and in terms of military action there in iraq? >> i don't think it can affect american policy. if i'm sitting there in the situation room today, i'm saying, look, the core of this group's ideology is not sis dim lar from al qaeda. they have tremendous, by the way, differences, between this group and al qaeda. al qaeda views these guys as too extreme, that's another story, but my point is this group is already violently anti-american, whether or not they say it or

not, whether or not they talk about obama and the air strikes in iraq or not, so whether we choose to bomb to my mind will not affect my idol >> narrator: they will come out against us regardless of what happens, despite the tragedy of this, you can't let this distract us from the overall mission which is defending iraq against the rise of people who are at their core anti-american. >> maybe we can pick up that other conversation about al qaeda saying these guys are too extreme for them another time. philip mudd, appreciate you getting up early to talk through this, albeit horrifying development out of iraq. thanks so much. next up on "new day," we're following some breaking news here at home, a hostage standoff under way right now in a chicago suburb. children among those being held by gunmen. we are going to take you live to the scene. what does it mean to have an unlimited mileage warranty on a certified pre-owned mercedes-benz? what does it mean to drive as far as you want... for up to three years... and be covered? it means your odometer...

is there to record... the memories. during the mercedes-benz certified pre-owned sales event now through september 2nd, you'll get complimentary pre-paid maintenance and may qualify for a two-month payment credit. only at your authorized mercedes-benz dealer. hey, i heard you guys can help me with frog protection? yeah, we help with fraud protection. we monitor every purchase every day and alert you if anything looks unusual. wow! you're really looking out for us. we are. and if there are unauthorized purchases on your discover card, you're never held responsible. just to be clear, you are saying "frog protection" right? yeah, fraud protection. frog protection. fraud protection. frog. fraud. fro-g. frau-d. i think we're on the same page. we're totally on the same page. at discover, we treat you like you'd treat you. fraud protection. get it at discover.com

breaking news this morning. a hostage standoff is under way in a chicago suburb. a pair of gunmen took two adults and six children hostage in a harvey, illinois home tuesday afternoon. let's get live to harvey, illinois live near the scene. what do you know, ted? >> reporter: a to tense standoff has now been going on for an incredible 15 hours. there are still two children and two adults in a home behind me and over a few blocks, then tire area, as you can imagine, has been cordoned off. police have been negotiating non-stop with the two suspects inside of this house. now, this started about 15 hours ago with a robbery inside the home, and when police first

arrived, the suspects engaged with police hitting two officers. one was hit in the arm, broke his arm, other was grazed. at that point the negotiations started. they originally, as you mentioned, had six children inside the house with them. over this time period they have been releasing the children one by one, and now they are down to two children, two adults, but the standoff continues. >> ted, i mean, it is good news that some have been released, some of the hostages have been released, but how serious is police taking this? how serious is the threat to their lives? as you said, two children and two adults are still in there. >> reporter: yeah, they are taking it very seriously, and time is on their side. they are not trying to push these individuals. they don't obviously want anybody to get hurt, and their main focus here is the two children and the two adults still inside this home with these two suspects who are obviously armed and who have already shown that they are willing to go down with a fight. they immediately engaged police

with a gun battle, so it's a very tense situation. schools have been closed in this area today because of what's going on here, and streets have been -- have been closed down, as i said earlier, giving negotiators time and space and, again, they say time is on their side. if it takes all day, two days, whatever it takes, they just don't want these individuals hurt. >> as we mentioned, this has been going on for quite some time. 15 hours has been going on, as you mentioned. had a do you know about the sirens that police are used to go try to keep the hostage takers awake? >> reporter: hearing them all morning. originally the hostage takers and the police were negotiating through an open window. now they are doing it over a cell phone, and whatever they perceived that the hostage takers aren't engaging in the negotiation process, they are blasting sirens. these guys have been up all night, and now into the morning. we've heard the sirens

periodically every 15, 20 minutes. they will start going off. just literally blasting the sirens outside the house to make sure that the suspects are awake. >> all right. the hostage situation still under way in a chicago suburb in harvey, illinois. we'll be getting back to ted throughout the morning. of course, ted, thanks so much. >> want to turn now to the middle east where chance of a long-term peace agreement appear quite dim. overnight violence erupting once again in gaza. israeli air strikes reportedly killing 14 people, wounding at least 100 more after hamas launched dozens of rockets into densely populated areas in israel claiming the israelis had opened a, quote, gateway to hell. >> cnn's john vause is live in jerusalem with more on this. john? >> reporter: hey, michaela, since that temporary cease-fire was violated the israeli military says there's been rockets fired from gaza,

multiple warnings and for the southern part of israel damage reported but so far no one seriously hurt, and in the early hours of this morning there was this. in jerusalem there were warning sirens, an incoming rocket. people took cover next to their cars. they huddled up against walls. hamas also fired long range rockets towards tel aviv. among their targets, they say, was israel's airport, the ben gurion airport. we also understand according to the israelis that a barrage of about 20 rockets were fired in quick succession overnight and that could have been retaliation after what appears to be an israeli targeted strike on the military commander of hamas. his wife and son were killed when a five-story building was flattened. there's no-yard if he survived that. israelis are not commenting if they were specifically targeting

him. we've also been told from the israeli point of view just one of 80 strikes which the military here has carried out killing at least 19 palestinians, according to officials in gaza since that cease-fire collapsed on tuesday because the three rockets which were fired from gaza. michaela. >> obviously putting talks of a long-term deal for any sort of cease-fire on hold for now, but they do continue in egypt. john vause, thank you so much for that concerning the scene that the violence has stemmed and picked up again. >> absolutely. chief money time. money correspondent christine romans is here. what should we be watching? >> watching stocks approaching record highs, futures barely moving this morning, guys, but it's almost impossible to keep the stocks down, nasdaq at a 1-year high and dow and s&p 500 nearing records as well. also, apple, look at this. the stock closed just above $100 a share yesterday, the highest ever for apple taking into account a recent stock split. shares have nearly doubled. apple shares have doubled since

last year. iphone sales are strong. the iphone 6 is expect later this year. and david plouffe taking charge of a new campaign against big tax interests. president obama's former campaign manager is joining uber. uber have angered taxi drivers and they say they need a campaign manager and he's their man. >> they got a good one. >> surprising move. >> isn't it? >> they all make interesting moves. >> usually they go to banks, think tanks. >> talk that robert gibbs would go to google. >> a lot of energy and tech. >> that's right. >> maybe that's where they go. >> thanks, christine. >> coming up next on "new day," attorney general eric holder heading to ferguson, missouri, today to look into the michael brown investigation. we're going to talk with holder's spokesman about the case and the attorney general's role.

hey, i heard you guys can help me with frog protection? yeah, we help with fraud protection. we monitor every purchase every day and alert you if anything looks unusual. wow! you're really looking out for us. we are. and if there are unauthorized purchases on your discover card, you're never held responsible. just to be clear, you are saying "frog protection" right? yeah, fraud protection. frog protection. fraud protection. frog. fraud. fro-g. frau-d. i think we're on the same page. we're totally on the same page. at discover, we treat you like you'd treat you. fraud protection.

get it at discover.com can you fix it, dad? yeah, i can fix that. (dad) i wanted a car that could handle anything. i fixed it! (dad) that's why i got a subaru legacy. (vo) symmetrical all-wheel drive plus 36 mpg. i gotta break more toys. (vo) introducing the all-new subaru legacy. it's not just a sedan. it's a subaru. uh, hi. i'm here to drop off my password? . i'm sorry, i'm just here to what's the password. uh,synergy? datafication! gamification! university of phoenix has had alumni at every fortune 100 company... ...so we can help open the door to your future. go to phoenix.edu to get started today.

we're live inch ferguson, missouri, police say they squared off after water bottles

were. after the arrival of u.s. attorney general eric holder. looking into the civil rights investigation into michael brown's death, but as the investigation begins to take form many are wondering where is the president and what will really happen in this investigation, more show or go? with us we have cnn crossfire host van jones and former spokesman and top aid to attorney general eric holder matthew miller. i'll start with you, van. >> that's right. >> you're here on the ground and hear what the community leaders say that they want and what the community seems to need. do you believe that eric holder coming here is important symbolically or important substantively. >> more important symbolically. they already have 40 feds on the ground. interviewing lots of people but this is the top law enforcement agent in the country showing up in ferguson. that sends a big signal. however, people on the ground say that's not enough. they actually want appropriate

mah to come. a traumatized community, a dead child laying in the street for hours and hours uncovered. you have grandmas that have been tear gassed. if they can go to newtown they can come here. >> what do you say. >> i would love to see the president come and threaten this issue. this is a president on the campaign trail who spoke to the issues of race. spoke to the families of newtown. spoke to that issue in a powerful way. we've had a summer of slaughter and change in the black community both from police violence. the president needs to talk to this community and talk about how we go from the sensationalism to real solutions. >> where is he? >> i hope he comes? holder coming here is a very, very big deal. i think it's a down payment. we've got a big, big problem in the black community. police and street violence out of control. a white president, a purple president, a smurf president,

any president needs to step forward and say how can we come together as a country and move the needle on these problems. >> matt miller, the attorney general comes here. that will signal >> is there a false expectation? >> it depends what you think an investigation is? >> you never promise outcomes. you promise a full, fair independent review of the facts and that's something clearly people in the community in ferguson didn't think they were going to get from the local police, from local prosecutors. there's a long history of dpreechbss there, and so what eric holder can do is promise no matter what you think of the local authorities, we are going to fairly and independently review what happened here and if there's a basis for charges to be brought, and that is a high bar, it's a very high bar to bring federal charges but he'll say if there's a basis to bring charges we won't hesitate to do so. we'll do it aggressively. >> isn't the truth that the prosecutors hear that the people supposedly don't have faith or

trust in, have a much more likely chance of bringing charges against this officer than the attorney general of the united states? >> yes, absolutely and that's why both investigations need to continue. the local investigation needs to continue, and the community and the media need to pay attention to how it's being conducted and hold their feet to the fire, make sure it is being conducted aggressively but at the same time why eric holder hasn't launched a civil rights investigation so while the local investigation with all the tools and all the statutes available to local prosecutors is being conducted, there is a federal investigation at the same time looking into where there's the possibility for bringing federal charges and sometimes, don't forget sometimes there can be a spillover effect. it's not by launching a federal investigation, obviously you have the chance to bring charges, but it does send a signal to local prosecutors and local investigators that they need to be on their best behavior, too, and need to be aggressive. >> right. quick take on this, trayvon martin, we heard the same thing

then, big investigation launched, nothing since. set the people up for disappointment. >> you know, as i said earlier, you can never promise outcomes before you launch investigations, and justice is served not by promising outcomes, but by launching full, fair investigations, and they don't always go where you want them to, but they go where you think you can prove a case to a jury and the justice department didn't believe there was a chance there and that may be the outcome here. we don't know yet. >> van, let's look at the actual case here. there's a lot of analysis going on of the officer, right, we just heard darrel parks, attorney for the family saying we discovered some things about him you'll find important. he's dangling, part of his job, right? is the character of this police officer, how he conducted himself in the past, other scenarios, relevant? >> i think it's relevant. look in this situation everything is relevant. >> everything is relevant. so we've been told that the deceased, michael brown, only 18

years old, had no criminal record. his criminal record as an adult would only be able to start at 18. darrel parks when asked did he have a juvenile record doesn't say no. he says whatever it was, wasn't relevant. does that mean no record wasn't exactly true and is that relevant? >> well first of all, i think that if in fact there's something in the juvenile record that is not good from a political point of view, from a media point of view and as a responsible agent, they should get that out there early. i don't think this should be a litigation of whether this kid was perfect an angel. if it becomes that and later on turns out that he wasn't that's bad. >> you're blaming the victim just for asking the question. >> listen, i think, my mom used to say the truth will stand up by itself. the reality is get any bad facts out there early but the question is, did that officer, when he shot this young man, six times unarmed, know anything about his juvenile record. no, he didn't. so from my point of view

ultimately it's not dispositive. is it relevant, yes, but ultimately i don't think it's dispositive and i this i that any time you've got an unarmed person who is shot six times including once in the head and the officer didn't know that young man from anybody else, some of the juvenile questions will become less relevant. >> that's why the investigation is so important as matt miller says it means that everybody will be on their best behavior getting the most information so we know the most and van jones pointed out local leaders stepping up their game as well, organizing so that this investigation becomes as much about change as it does about truth. matt miller, van jones, thank you very much. this conversation has to continue as we learn more. right now, let's take a break. coming up on "new day," much more on the protests in ferguson overnight. we'll tell you what happened, and we'll speak with the police chief tom jackson coming up. [announcer] play close-good and close.

help keep teeth clean and breath fresh with beneful healthy smile snacks. with soft meaty centers and teeth cleaning texture,it's dental that tastes so good. beneful healthy smile food and snacks. ♪ so nice, so ni-i-i-ce ♪ sweet, sweet st. thomas nice ♪ so nice, so ni-i-i-ce ♪ st. croix, full of pure vibes ♪ ♪ so nice, so ni-i-i-ce ♪ st. john, a real paradise ♪ so nice, so ni-i-i-ce ♪ proud to be from the virgin islands ♪ ♪ and the whole place nice to experience your virgin islands nice, book one of our summer packages today.

virgin islands nice, book one your studied day and night for her driver's test. secretly inside, you hoped she wouldn't pass. the thought of your baby girl driving around all by herself was... you just weren't ready. but she did pass. 'cause she's your baby girl. and now you're proud. a bundle of nerves proud. but proud. get a discount when you add a newly-licensed teen to your liberty mutual insurance policy. call to learn about our whole range of life event discounts. newlywed discount. new college graduate and retiree discounts.

you could even get a discount when you add a car. call liberty mutual for a free quote today at see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com move back. you all get back! >> breaking overnight, a night of peace in missouri, but not without some clashes. protesters taking on police, more than 40 arrested, but no tear gas, no scenes of large scale violence. are we're live in ferguson as

the community takes a step toward peace. happening today, attorney general eric holder arriving in ferguson, missouri, promising a fair and impartial investigation. grand jury could also take up the case today. terror threat, a gruesome development on the war on isis, the terror group beheading an american and vowing to do more if u.s. air strikes against them don't stop. we have the latest. >> your "new day" continues right now. >> announcer: this is "new day" with chris cuomo, kate bolduan and michaela pereira. >> good morning, welcome to "new day." it is wednesday, august 20th, tensions remain here in ferguson, but the protests, they stayed largely peaceful overnight here and that's important to note. you got to take progress where we find it, kate. >> absolutely right, chris. there are new developments we'll be following in the investigation. for now let's talk about more of the protests overnight with chris.

>> they really are what we're using to take the temperature of how this community is dealing with the situation, and despite the fact that protests did get heated, there was no tear gas, no smoke canisters, no shots fired. that may seem like an artificially high bar but that's what we have been seeing here as part of the daily reality. 47 people were arrested. some of them arrested for threatening police. this could be a potential turning point, of course, there's still going to be a struggle for law enforcement who had to take on some demonstrators, still refusing to protest peacefully. >> you need to get back. you're risking people's lives. >> reporter: like so many nights before -- >> move! >> reporter: tuesday in ferguson quickly overcome by chaos. >> disperse immediately. >> thea agitatoagitators, the c embedded themselves and hid behind media, they began throwing bottles. they threw urine on officers,

and that's what caused officers to take action and begin to make arrests. >> reporter: today began with high hopes that this night would be different. >> we protect and cover every peace officer that you would protect and cover every protester. >> reporter: clergy and community leaders praying, working toward keeping the peace. we see smaller crowds and a smaller police presence. >> you be safe, sir. >> reporter: peace a possibility. it's almost 8:00 local time and it's not the night of quiet that the local officials asked for. people are here, but here's the scene. it is peaceful and quiet, from the light down here at ferguson avenue, all the way down to the other side at the end of this block. that's where protesters are allowed to be and as you can see the streets are lined, people are marching, this there are more protests planned but just listen to this. that's the sound of peace and quiet in ferguson. hopefully it lasts. just east of the main strip, a striking scene at the site of the shooting.

the first night of peace here in nearly two weeks. no other media around. it's now about 9:00 p.m. local time. we left the main street where there is protesting going on to come here, the site that's driving all the emotion. this is where michael brown was shot and killed by a police officer. it has also been the site of a lot of screaming and demonstrations and violence, but tonight, it is quiet, just slow drive-byes and solemn moments for people in this community. as the night wears on -- >> i want to hear one police officer say that something like that, killing someone execution style is wrong. >> reporter: voices rise. >> what do we want? >> justice! >> when do we want it? >> now! >> reporter: tensions remains low. >> we are! >> mike brown! >> reporter: it's 10:00 local time, the marchers are still marching chanting "mike brown" also "no justice no, peace." the night is not over yet but 10:00 and all is if not quiet peaceful.

over the next couple of hours, small altercations. >> show me! >> reporter: but still overall calm. peace marchers even creating a human chain, black and white, hand in hand. >> hands up! >> hands up! >> hands up! >> reporter: attempting to block outage tators, but soon after the clock strikes midnight, one water bottle shatters the peace. cnn's stephanie elam on the scene. >> it got tense when people stopped walking in a circle and they were standing in the parking lot and the police lined up on one side. there was a water bottle that was thrown and that led go of all of the tension we have felt out here. people started running, they started running this way and at that point, we started seeing military people, military vans almost coming down the street this way. >> reporter: tactical teams swiftly rush in. [ bleep ]. >> reporter: arresting a handful of people. police with k-9s at the ready,

others armed with pepper spray. scenes of confrontation as police push demonstrators out. >> we don't have rights over there. we don't have rights over there. >> reporter: there's no question that instability remains in ferguson, missouri. you see the streets, the protests are not normal life. but there's also very high sensitivity that anything that does happen, and a little bit of this coverage comes down to what story you want to tell. i think it's very important, kate, what's not happening as well as what is happening. it was definitely more peaceful, even though there were arrests and to be at the site of the shooting as we were, there was no media there, and maybe that's because it was quiet, it was peaceful and that's something to remember also. >> a very important reminder, absolutely, chris, thanks so much. chris is on the ground as you can see. we'll be getting baaing to him in a second. we're following breaking news we need to tell you about, a hostage standoff under way this morning in a chicago suburb. pair of gunmen took two adults and six children hostage in harvey, illinois, a home in

harvey, illinois. they took them hostage tuesday afternoon, that is where we find ted rowlands who is live near the scene with the latest. what is the very latest? it's all unfolding right now, ted. >> reporter: well kate, negotiators are still talking with these gunmen inside a home behind me, about two blocks over here in harvey, which is about 20 miles south of downtown chicago. four of the six children who were originally held hostage have been let out. they were let out one by one, throughout the night, but there are still two female adults and two children left inside this house. negotiators have been working through the night, trying to gain the release of the remaining four hostages. this all started with a home invasion, which turned into a gun battle, when police first arrived on the scene, the two gunmen started firing at the responding officers, hitting two of the officers, one broken arm, after taking a bullet to the arm, the other suffered a grazed wound and was treated here at the scene, and from that moment

on, which was about 18 hours ago, this hostage situation has been playing out in this chicago suburb. >> clearly a very dangerous situation, even as we speak, right now, ted, and negotiations are continuing, are under way as well. what can you tell us about sirens that the police are using as part of their tactic, i guess? >> well, they're trying to keep the hostages or the hostage takers engaged with them, as they negotiate, they're doing it over a cell phone right now. originally they were negotiating through an open window. now they've switched to a cell phone. they're talking to the hostage takers, and they want them engaged, so whenever they feel as though they're either falling asleep or not engaging, they blair sirens, and this area was all lit up all night long, too, so what they don't want them to do is to fall asleep or lose focus. they want to keep that communication going, and that's what their tactic is, at least

at this point. >> at least at this point. ted, thanks so much. just a reminder, viewers of the breaking news ted is talking about, four of the six children have been released. that means two of the children are still hostages in that home along with two adults. ted rowlands is on the scene. we'll get right back to that as news is developing. let's also turn to the disturbing video released by isis militants. it shows the beheading of a kidnapped american, james foley. you're looking at a still image of those final moments. we are not going to show you the very gruesome video that was released by isis. isis says foley's execution is retaliation for the u.s. bombing campaign against the militant group and the militants have threatened the life of another captive american in this very same video, steven sotmoff if air strikes do not stop. barbara starr has much more. >> good morning, kate, in the latest the british foreign secretary now weighing in, because that man with the black

clothing, the executioner, apparently spoke with a british accent. the british foreign secretary saying intelligence services on both sides of the atlantic want to identify james foley's murderer based on the fact he has a british accent, but the friends and family of james foley are remembering the man and the journalist. the isis video is simply too who are troisk show. the man being executed by beheading is james foley, a freelance journalist, kidnapped in northwest syria on november 22nd, 2012, thanksgiving day. isis, the brutal militant, rampaging through syria and iraq, say they killed foley in retaliation for u.s. military operations in iraq. foley, a freelance photojournalist from new hampshire, reads a message denouncing the u.s., presumably written by his captors. he says america is his real

killer, and then foley is murdered. the obama administration said they're working to authenticate the video, adding "if genuine we are appalled by the brutal murder of an innocent american journalist and we express our deepest condolences to his family and friends" and the family of jim foley released a statement late tuesday night that reads in part, "we implore the kidnappers to spare the lives of the remaining hostages. like jim, they are innocents. they have no control over american government policy in iraq, syria, or anywhere in the world." another american journalist, steven sotloff, is shop at the end of the video. the executioner speaking with an apparent british accent, threatens to take sotloff's life if president obama doesn't stop air strikes in iraq. sotloff, kidnapped on the

syrian/turkish border has worked as a contributor to "time" magazine. no one knows how many thousands of syrians and iraqis have died at the hands of isis militants. across their stronghold in northern iraq, cold-blooded mass killings of iraqi men, women and children. >> we do have information that they continue these kinds of crimes against humanity, there's no question about that. >> reporter: after dozens of air strikes against isis positions across northern iraq, the group may feel pressure, but there is no sign it's abandoning its violence and horror. isis has some 10,000 fighters, it's now a group the u.s. intelligence community calls a credible alternative to al qaeda, with aspirations to attack the united states. and if foley's murderer is proven to be a british citizen, this is just underscoring the concerns of security services in

europe, and here in the united states, that westerners, europeans and americans, have been going to syria, going to iraq possibly, joining the isis fight and could be preparing to return to europe or the u.s. and launch gnaw tacks. kate? >> and just a horrific reminder of just how brutal this group is. barbara starr at the pentagon for us, thanks so much. let's take a look at many of our other headlines, keeping our focus overseas. >> we certainly are, kate. overnight violence erupting wuns again in gaza, all but shattering hopes for a lasting cease-fire agreement. israeli air strikes reportedly killed 19 people, wounding more than 100 others, after hamas laurnged more than 80 rockets at israel. the two sides have been launching attacks since a cease-fire broke down on tuesday. peace talks in cairo fell apart shortly after when israeli negotiators were ordered to return home. a slight smile and a defiant speech marked rick perry's booking for alleged abuse of power. texas governor was fingerprinted

and photographed at the travis county courthouse. perry says the charges are politically motivated and he'll fight them in court. prosecutors allege he abused his power withholding millions of fund for a state public integrity unit when a d.a. refused to resign following a drunk driving conviction. iceland's volcano may about to blow. emergency officials aren't taking any chance. they've issued evacuation orders and say most people are heeding them. concern spiked after some 250 earthquakes were reported around that volcano. the risk level to the aviation industry has been raised down to orange, the second highest level. you might recall back in 2012 not that long ago another volcano erupted in iceland, disrupting airline industry travels and costing millions of dollars for the airline industry. >> i remember it being the longest name of a volcano. >> rolls off the tongue. we'll be watching it here on n

cnn. next up on "new day" attorney general eric holder heads to ferguson, missouri, today, the grand jury may take up the michael brown case. could the officer who shot and killed that young man be indicted? we'll have more.

>> welcome back to "new day." hours after protests turned hostile in ferguson, missouri, u.s. attorney general eric holder is set to arrive there today. he's expected to meet with community leaders and

investigators over the shooting death of michael brown. it comes amid new calls for st. louis county prosecutor robert mcculloch to step down because of concerns over his deep ties to law enforcement. let's discuss all of this in the latest developments with jeffrey toobin and cnn legal analyst and former frag prosecutor sunny hostin. what do you think the impact is of the attorney general going. do you think it's overstated how important he goes there? >> it's significant and very unusual for an attorney general to go to the site of an ongoing investigation. other than something like the oklahoma city bombing i can't remember a situation where you have the attorney general go. i think he's got a very difficult line to walk. >> why? >> because he can certainly say the federal investigation is going to go forward, and i think people will certainly trust him about that. the question is, what does he say about the state

investigation, led by robert mcculloch, because a lot of people are very skeptical of that investigation. so does holder embrace mcculloch, does he say we're working as a team or does he say that's a separate investigation? i will be interested to see how he walks the line between the two. >> that's an interesting point. i want to get your take on that as well, sunny, on the impact that the attorney general can have, but also do you think folks need to be careful of their expectations when they're talking about a federal civil rights investigation into, in this situation. because it comes with a high bar, doesn't it? >> it does, but you know, i would agree with jeff. i think it's largely symbolic that the attorney general is there, but it is very unusual, and it makes quite a statement, and so i think his statement is the world is watching. this is a very important case. it's a crucial case. he is by all means the chief federal prosecutor in our country, and so it says a lot,

just the way i think it would make the sort of statement when the president arrives at a place. i think, though, in terms of whether or not the state will sort of be the lead prosecutor here or whether or not the federal government will be the lead prosecutor, i'm also very interested in that notion, because the bar is pretty high, when we're talking about a federal civil rights investigation. we don't see a lot of those, that come forward, and i think it's really interesting that the grand jury may be convened today on a wednesday. i think that there has been enough to take in front of a grand jury for quite some time. i'm wondering why today is the day, and it seems to me that the appropriate thing right now is to consider whether or not a special prosecutor perhaps should be assigned to a case like this because people have really i think the world has lost confidence in this investigation because it has been so opaque, because it hasn't been transparent, and so

i wonder whether or not the attorney general showing up to ferguson may have something to do with that. >> also interesting point, jeffrey, but when you look at what's happening on the ground, the pros cuecutor said he has n plans to step aside. the governor said he's not going to ask for the prosecutor to recuse himself, so who will make that happen? >> no one is going to make it happen. it is true that there have been a lot of calls for mcculloch, the prosecuting attorney in st. louis, to step aside but he's not stepping aside and that i think puts holder in a particularly difficult situation because he's got to say where he stands on the issue of mcculloch, whether he trusts the missouri authorities to do their investigation, and it is easier from a law enforcement perspective, to make a case in the state, in the federal -- to make a federal civil rights case, you have to prove that the

officer had racial hostility, have to prove that intent level. you don't have to prove that if you're prosecuting him in the state, so it makes it even more difficult because the easier case is from the more controversial prosecutor. >> sunny, i want to get your take the fact the grand jury could start to see evidence today. darrel parks, the attorney, one of the attorneys for michael brown family when he was on our air he was quite critical they're going the route of the grand jury saying it's punting. he was looking for an arrest and probable cause hearing. >> i think once you get into those sorts of distinctions, it's of more interest to lawyers than to people in the real world. >> i agree. >> the real question here is, is the officer going to be prosecuted. i don't think anybody cares if they're going to be prosecuted through a probable cause hearing. >> does a grand jury increase that chance, decrease that chance? >> i don't think it makes much

difference. these procedural things matter less than the fact that the prosecutor really is going to make the decision about whether there's a case here. >> i don't know about that. i don't know about that. i mean, i think generally when you see a prosecutor bring a case like this in front of the grand jury, it takes so long to bring the case in front of the grand jury, i think that's a statement in and of itself, that my office is not going to just indict or charge, rather, with you but i'm going to let the 23 people of the grand jury decide. if you don't get an indictment then it's not your fault. if you do get an indictment, wow i presented this terrific case in front of the grand jury. bottom line, jeff, you can get an indictment for just about any kind of case, if you're a halfway good prosecutor, so i think there is something to be said about the fact they're rushing to the grand jury and letting the grand jury decide this. >> prosecutors use grand juries as fig leaves. it's the grand jury's decision. no it's not. prosecutors really decide,

mcculloch will decide whether there are state charges. the justice department will decide whether there are federal charges. the buck stops with mcculloch and holder here. >> with the attorney general going there, you know that the federal government is watching this so closely, so are the eyes of the entire country and the grn said this is the opportunity for this prosecutor to step up and do his job. so you know everyone's going to be watching him closely at this point. >> tough job. >> exactly right, that's why you take the job if you want a tough one. jeff toobin, sunny hostin, thanks, guys. coming up next on "new day" an american beheaded by isis terrorists and the militants say the same fate could await another kidnapped american. what can the united states do to stop this? [announcer] play close-good and close. help keep teeth clean and breath fresh with beneful healthy smile snacks. with soft meaty centers and teeth cleaning texture,it's dental that tastes so good.

beneful healthy smile food and snacks. virtually all your important legal matters in just minutes. now it's quicker and easier for you to start your business, protect your family, and launch your dreams. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side. having a perfectly nice day, when out of nowhere a pick-up truck slams into your brand new car. one second it wasn't there and the next second... boom! you've had your first accident. now you have to make your first claim. so you talk to your insurance company and... boom! you're blindsided for a second time. they won't give you enough money to replace your brand new car. don't those people know you're already shaken up? liberty mutual's new car replacement will pay for the entire value of your car plus depreciation. call and for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise your rates due to your first accident. switch to liberty mutual insurance

and you could save up to $423 dollars. call liberty mutual for a free quote today at see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance.

♪ ♪ imagine the luxury... of not being here. the power you want with the fuel economy you dream of. performance with a conscience. this is volvo innovating for you. here we are back on "new day." to that extremely disturbing video released by isis, the beheading of an american, james foley. after the brutal murder, isis issued a new threat vowing to kill another captive american, steven sotloff.

what can the u.s. do to stop the bloodshed? we bring in james "spider" marks, former commanding general of the army intelligence center and the top army intelligence officer during the 2003 invasion of iraq. good morning. what a terrible story we're waking up to talk about. >> thank you. >> i wanted your annalysis of this spider. you can walk us through this with confidence. give us an idea, we talked to philip mudd a while ago about the psychology of these militants, of these extremists. what do you know? >> well, clearly what you see is an organization that really has gained strength, credibility, capabilities and they've demonstrated that they don't subscribe to any bounds of propriety that you and i would understand, what we might call rules of engagement, and this is not, we shouldn't be surprised by this brutality, this horrible act that you see. it's certainly very personal for us, it's a u.s. citizen they

beheaded. it's very difficult to even talk about. >> it is. >> what it really tells you is how do you negotiate in any way, what is a likely outcome that we would anticipate in terms of trying to deal with isis in a way other than to try to wipe them off the face of the globe. they've demonstrated a level of brutality that we really just don't understand. >> that would be the knee-jerk reaction, and it's interesting, i want to ask you about that, because you say you're dealing with a group that's not engaging in the typical rules of engagement, so if they make such a request as they did, or a threat, if you will, holding this other american captive and saying if the u.s. doesn't back off those air strikes there will be more bloodshed, they will take his life, how do you deal with that kind of rationale especially when you're dealing with people that are capable of such atrocities? >> true. i think it's important to understand that these are incredibly rationale people.

they're not completely off the rails in terms of how they view the world and what they're trying to achieve. they play by entirely different rules, that is there are essentially no rules. how the united states responds is extremely important not just in terms of the message that is received by isis but the message that is received by our friends in the region, those that we are trying to deal with, former folks who we probably would prefer not to deal with, but might have influence within or over some leaders within isis and can influence actions, not necessarily to moderate, but maybe to not behead this next american citizen, which would be a great outcome. i don't know what that outcome is going to look like, and also certainly our administration has to communicate with domestically as well as some of our international partners, other than those in the region, so it's a delicate balance. >> you have said on our air if if we acted earlier and more

decisively in syria we wouldn't be where we are and likely the situation would be less exacerbated and aggressive. do you still stand by that? >> michaela, it's fair to say that. i mean, it's always at this point, we can look back and we can do an analysis and say what's impossible outcomes but we're trying to disprove a negative. we're trying to show that knack activity on the part of this administration in syria, while it was bubbling, where we could have had some degree of a positive outcome might put us in a different place. our own, what i would call alternative analysis would demonstrate that maybe this outcome was inevitable, irrespective of what the united states did. so we can put a whole bunch of angels and dance on the head of that pin but i think it's important that the united states take some degree of action at this point to make sure that what isis is trying to achieve is not achievable from their perspective. this is nothing but ungoverned space and michaela, chaos is

just going to continue to grow with unlimited bounds, unless you put some type of controls and you limit this ungoverned space. >> what kind of action do you think is appropriate? >> well the united states right now is acting with a degree of authority, alongside both forces peshmerga forces in the north in iraq and with the isf, the iraqi security forces, in order to try to give some space and time so that those militaries, the peshmerga and the isf can try to regain some momentum and they've been successful. this is, in fact, a strategic outcome, is that isis is held in place and cannot expand. that's a successful strategic outcome at this point. what we want to do as we move down the road is try to roll them back. that's not a possibility with our current situation right now. >> something has to be done, as you said, we all take this very personally, the senseless and violent and brutal beheading of

an american. general marks, thanks for talking to us. we'll take a short break but ahead we'll have the latest from ferguson, missouri. could a grand jury indict the officer who shot and killed michael brown? we're also going to speak with one of the officers who supports officer darren wilson. does he think wilson would get a fair trial if it comes to that? so i can reach ally bank 24/7, but there are no branches? 24/7 it's just i'm a little reluctant to try new things. what's wrong with trying new things? feel that in your muscles? yeah... i do... try a new way to bank, where no branches equals great rates. (phone ringing) what's up jake? that depends man, what are you doing? just cruising around in my new ride. oh, the one i'm not suppose to touch, right? you got it. guess what i'm touching it right now, craig. what you talkin about jake? with my voice. that doesn't make any sense. you let me in man, by answering and i like it in here. you're not touching it! touch is physical, your voice isn't physical.

my sound waves are pouring out of your speakers, penetrating every cubic inch... stop disrespecting her! ooh and the dodge likes it. don't you dart? gets your filthy voice off her jake!

fithen a little family fun...... with breakfast for 4 and wifi. join us for the family fun package. doubletree by hilton. where the little things mean everything.

welcome back. we are live in ferguson, missouri, this morning. nearly two weeks after michael brown's death, right, happened on august 9th, there's still

very little known about the man who shot and killed the unarmed teen, his name officer tdarren wilson. grand jury could begin hearing evidence about a potential case against the officer today. what do we know? what could be in that? who is this person? kevin albren is the president of the fraternal order of police. do you know the officer? >> i do not personally know him. >> reporter: what do you know of him? >> i know that he's a six-year veteran that has had absolutely no discipline brought about him in his career from two different departments and he is, from all the people i've spoken with, hard and diligent and fair officer. >> reporter: on one side you have people saying should have been arrested right away, would have given the community what they want, would ave shown there's an interest of justice here. from the police perspective do you think an arrest was warranted? >> absolutely not. apparently there was enough evidence that was evident right at the scene that perhaps this

was a justifiable shooting, and therefore it requires much more further investigation and interviews and gathering of evidence before a determination is made, which will be made by the grand youry, which is the proper thing to do. >> reporter: what do you think was evident at the scene that made this suggestive of a justifiable shooting? >> well, the only evidence i'm privy to is the evidence that has been made public and obviously the officer's statement, the locations of things. obviously would have corroborated with darren's statement or else an arrest would have been made immediately. >> reporter: do you think police would arrest their own in a situation like this? have you ever had that happen in ferguson before? >> not in ferguson but certainly it's happened before. >> now, when you think about the idea of the body of michael brown left there four hours, okay, very inflammatory for the people in the community, seen as disrespectful, seen as maybe an

intimidation tactic. anything to that? >> well, i understand that, but the people have to also understand that the police realize that this would be a very emotional and sensitive investigation, and therefore unfortunately to gather all the requisite evidence that has to be done. >> reporter: let's bring in antonio french. it's good to have you >> thank you. >> reporter: introduce yourself to our audience. who do you represent here? >> i'm from the city of st. louis, alderson 21st ward. >> reporter: kevin and i were discussing the community's early reaction was there should have been abarrest, that would have shown there's an interest in justice. kevin says at the scene, based on the statement, and what they found there, there was no basis for arrest, so being a police officer, it requires more investigation. an arrest wouldn't have been warranted. your take? >> sure, i think that is a process. the mistake that the ferguson police department though made was in the way they handled and the way they communicated. there was no communication to

the community or even to the family of michael brown. instead, within a few minutes we saw a line of police officers, weapons brought out, and then over the course of a couple days we saw a rapid escalation of the situation, which really created the situation we are athey today. >> reporter: so to be clear an immediate arrest, you don't think that was required? >> i mean all we had was witness testimony. this whole process takes a little while and so the one thing we want everybody to understand is that a certain amount of patience is required, that the wheels of justice do move slowly but we're in day 12 now and the problem i think we have now is that people expect to see something by now, and they're getting frustrated. >> reporter: so kevin, speak to the amount of time this is taking and just shows that we're having constructive dialogue that we even share a mike here as we're having it, and again, so antonio can hear it, four hours that body was kept out there, and i told you what that was suggested to the community and the 12 days since, what do

you make of the indications how long things took immediately and thereafter? >> i can empathize with the family and friends that have a problem with the body being out there four hours, but you only get one chance to, on a crime scene and you have to make sure that it's right what do you. >> reporter: could have covered the body? >> and i can't speak whether the body was covered or not. i don't know that, but that's done in some instances but like i said, there's only one chance to do that crime scene and it's got to be done right and hour long it takes is how long it has to take. >> reporter: and the 12 days? >> like the alderman said the wheels of justice turn slowly. hey, we're all for a very vigorous investigation in this, and if that's how long it takes to gather interviews, look at the evidence and present it to the grand jury, then that's how long it takes. >> reporter: back to you, antonio. do you think that's what we're seeing, the slow wheels of justice? no question they move slowly here, everywhere else, or do you see they're just not turning? >> well, i think they are moving very slowly right now.

i also think they at times have hit some bumps that weren't necessary. i think there were a lot of missteps done on the local level by the ferguson police department. i think even the county prosecutor made some inflammatory comments throughout the week, and to kevin's point about how these investigations are conducted, we had a situation in st. louis city yesterday, and i think both the police department and local officials showed how it should be done. there was immediate communication with the public, they make special efforts not to leave the body out there for a long time, and especially as crowds start to form and you know the situation is getting tense, you shouldn't take an adversarial approach. you should be even more communicative to your people and get out there and that's what our chief did yesterday, he actually went into the crowd and talked to people to tell them what was happening, and that made a huge difference. >> reporter: proof, kevin, that there is a learning curve involved here at least in terms of the relations between police and the community involved. >> oh, absolutely. there's no question about that,

that there's a learning curve and hey, you know what? mistakes were made, and unfortunately that's what happens. we've never seen anything like this in st. louis or the region or missouri or i don't know if across the country, and certainly mistakes have been made, but after this is all over, we need to all sit down together and figure out what was done wrong and what was done right. >> let me ask you something about the investigation, because one of the reasons we need to create calm here as quickly as possible is there could be more energy and focus surrounding the facts and circumstances of what happened. because this is distraction from what happened. the officer's past, his past is clean, never been cited for anything like this, hasn't been violated as an officer for doing something aggressive with anyone else, correct? >> that's correct. >> reporter: all right, is his past relevant in assessing what he did on this day, august 9th, with michael brown?

>> yes and no. that's hard to say. no one but the people that were actually there knew exactly what happened, so mind-set is a big thing for both parties involved, and unfortunately we don't know what that mind-set is. >> reporter: do you believe that the mind-set of the officer and the mind-set of michael brown is relevant? >> certainly that's relevant. >> reporter: antonio, let me ask you the same thing, the mind-set of the officer, what he's done in the past, what kind of person he is, when you judge competing stories isn't that relevant, certainly would be admissible in trial? >> of course it's relevant. one of the reasons tensioned flared up again this week the local police department felt it was necessary to release unrelated information on what they saw as the character of michael brown. >> reporter: why is that unrelated whereas the past of the officer is related? >> because the video evidence they released released in a manner in such a way it

insinuated that he was pulled over at the time related to that. >> reporter: so how they did it and how they made it relevant is the problem. >> right. >> reporter: but the fact that if it's true, that michael brown was involved in a robbery, relevant? >> no no. relevant to him being unarmed and killed by a police officer because he shoplifted? no, i don't think so. >> reporter: relevant to how he may address an officer, how he may deal with confrontation or violence relevant? >> no, not relevant, i would call if more prejudicial actually. but i think what is at stake is how the police department has released information, not doing it quickly, waiting so long even to release the officer's name, and now we only have secondhand accounts of the man's character are and record. this is stuff that needs to come out quickly so we can avoid this escalation. >> reporter: michael brown, no record, relevant? >> yes. this was not a criminal. this was not somebody who had a criminal record. >> reporter: the attorney for the family on the show this morning, when i say did he have a juvenile record, remember,

michael brown only 18, in missouri, criminal record starts at 17, he says "whatever it was isn't relevant." but is it relevant? if he had a juvenile record, first of all, is no record, is that accurate, and is it relevant? >> i think the central point in this case is that you have somebody who is unarmed, lethal force is used and an investigation has to be determined to see if it was warranted, and it doesn't matter if somebody was innocent with a pure record or if somebody was a hardened criminal. they still have rights as well. >> reporter: all right now, the three aspects here that are very important moving forward and i think people will be surprised to hear that you two will agree on some things that you don't usually hear agreement on here. what's actually going on, on the street here? who is causing the trouble where it actually has been cited? you two will agree on the cause and it's surprising to many people. i want to take a break. the conversation is important

enough to continue a greed? >> yes. >> reporter: we'll come back after the break and have more on "new day" about what is seen from the community's perspective and the police perspective on what should control this investigation. who should control it, and who's been causing the trouble here in ferguson? you want to hear the answers. stay with us. ♪ ♪ sweet, sweet st. thomas nice ♪ so nice, so ni-i-i-ce ♪ st. croix, full of pure vibes ♪ ♪ so nice, so ni-i-i-ce ♪ st. john, a real paradise ♪ so nice, so ni-i-i-ce ♪ proud to be from the virgin islands ♪ ♪ and the whole place nice to experience your virgin islands nice, book one of our summer packages today.

virgin islands nice, book one moderate to severe is tough, but i've managed. i got to be pretty good at managing my symptoms, except that managing my symptoms was all i was doing.

when i finally told my doctor, he said my crohn's was not under control. he said humira is for adults like me who have tried other medications but still experience the symptoms of moderate to severe crohn's disease. and that in clinical studies, the majority of patients on humira saw significant symptom relief. and many achieved remission. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. if you're still just managing your symptoms, ask your gastroenterologist about humira. with humira, remission is possible.

help keep teeth clean and breath fresh. with beneful healthy smile snacks. with soft meaty centers and teeth cleaning texture,it's dental that tastes so good. beneful healthy smile food and snacks. we continue in ferguson this morning with a rare opportunity. we have antonio french, alderman for the 1st ward here in missouri and we have kevin

ahlbrand, president of the missouri fa ternl order of police. we talked about where you two disagree on the situation in terms of the nature of the investigation, what is relevant, what isn't and why this is happening. one other point that needs to be assessed and i want to turn to some things i think you share. mcculloch, the prosecutor. do you believe he should recuse himself or do you believe he should continue with the prosecution? >> i believe he should recuse himself or the governor should come in and put in a special prosecutor. >> reporter: the governor said he would not ask him to recuse himself. >> i heard that. i ask him to reconsider. talking with the local police department or the county prosecutor, there's been a lack of faith between the community and whether justice will be done. we have to restore that faith and so not a lot of people have a lot of faith in the county prosecutor right now. >> reporter: does it put some stink on the police if it's mcculloch, because he's seen as having such close ties with the department? might it be better for the

department if it were someone else or no? >> well, i don't think so. bob mcculloch has a proven track record of fair and impartial prosecution. >> reporter: now last night, we all know what happened, and what did not happen. truth of this situation, is it getting better? >> i think we saw improvement last night. i mean it was mostly peaceful. we didn't have to tear gas citizens. the police have taken a different approach, which is to come in and try to extract those few individuals that are causing trouble and not punishing the crowd because the vast majority of people out there are there for peaceful protest. >> reporter: with the help of local leaders coming forward, talking with police and identifying people who need to be removed, so as to not disturb what is seen as a peaceful process. is that the truth? >> that's correct, and the outside agitators are the problem, the peaceful protesters from ferguson and the immediate area are not a problem. >> reporter: so that is the second point of agreement. many people who are hearing this story here say no outside agitators. that's just the locals trying to

excuse themselves from bad behavior, but you as a representative of the police, you say no, it's not the locals here. there is an outside element that is agitating. >> that is a very true fact, and we have people here from new york to california to chicago, that have been arrested that are the agitators. >> reporter: underreported that there has been cooperation between the police and those who are peace marchers and protesters, demonstrators, whatever you want to call them, underreported, true? >> i think the situation has changed a lot over the course of 12 days. in the beginning especially when the local police were in charge and in command it was an escalation and the police department was almost as war with its citizens. now that the governor stepped in and put command under state control we have some of our professional folks here and a lot of us are trying to work together because we know when this thing is all over we have to live together. we're all part of the same community and communities do need police, and we have a lot of wounds to heal from these 12

days. >> reporter: a.j. holder coming here today, unusual, seen as important. you believe it's a good step? >> it is a good step. as i said there's no little faith in local department and the county prosecutor it's good to see the federal government is stepping in and can take an independent look at it all. >> reporter: whether or not it leads to something as a prosecution unlikely but symbolically certainly strong. you agree, a full and thorough investigation is welcomed by the police? >> we welcome a thorough investigation by anybody to come in. that's the right thing to do. we welcome that. >> reporter: you have confidence it will only serve to vindicate the officer? >> once again i have limited knowledge of the evidence. >> you're worried about overstepping yourself in the interest of the brotherhood? >> absolutely not. i'm saying i don't have enough of my own personal knowledge of the evidence to make a conclusion, and that's what we're trying to do is to try to get everyone to wait to make a conclusion until all of the facts are presented. >> reporter: what happens in this community if there are no charges filed against the

officer involved? >> i worry. we're going to have our work cut out for us to try to keep the peace. >> reporter: are you worried about that as well? >> well certainly. i think the time is now for us to get together and really work hard on this. >> look, i think that for the audience, and people have been following this story to see you, kevin and antonio, you've been set up as opposites not personally but in terms of who you represent, it's about the police versus the locals, to see you agreeing on things and there's progress here on the ground that involves cooperation, i think is going to surprise a lot of people. let's see what happens when the attorney general comes today, let's see what happens tonight. kevin ahlbrand, antonio french thank you very much for joining us on "new day." >> thank you. >> thank you. >> reporter: when we come back we'll have more on the investigation, as things quiet down, there could be more focus on that, especially with attorney general eric holder expected here today. what can he really do? how will he affect the dynamic here and will there be an eventual prosecution on the federal level of a civil rights crime? we'll discuss.

hey, i heard youp me with frog protection? yeah, we help with fraud protection. we monitor every purchase every day and alert you if anything looks unusual. wow! you're really looking out for us. we are. and if there are unauthorized purchases on your discover card, you're never held responsible. just to be clear, you are saying "frog protection" right? yeah, fraud protection. frog protection. fraud protection. frog. fraud. fro-g. frau-d. i think we're on the same page. we're totally on the same page. at discover, we treat you like you'd treat you. fraud protection. get it at discover.com

probably eat something orll drink something that is acidic on a daily basis. those acids made over time wear the enamel. a lot of patients will not realize what's happening to the enamel. once it's gone, it's gone away for good. i recommend pronamel. it's designed specifically to help strengthen the teeth. pronamel will actually help to defend the enamel from the acids in our diet. if you know that there is something out there that can help, why not start today? there will be a lot going on in ferguson today, and cnn will be reporting throughout the morning, the day and the night on it. kate, mickey, back to you in new york. >> that's absolutely right, chris. chris will be on the ground for us. time for "newsroom" with carol costello. hi, carol. >> hi, kate. hi, chris. thanks so much. have a great day. "newsroom" starts now.

-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good morning, i'm carol costello. thank you so much for joining me. we're following two major stories unfolding this hour, both in middle america and the mid east. first, a savage message to america, islamic terrorists behead a u.s. journalist and warn that another may soon die. their demand? that washington call off its military strikes on isis comrades in iraq. we have complete coverage around the globe on this late-breaking story. back in this country in ferguson, missouri, overnight, protests are tense but somewhat less violent. now the real battle takes shape behind closed doors. the attorney general eric holder is due to arrive in ferguson later this morning. in fact he's now on his way. who was really in charge of keeping peace in the streets or prosecuting the case, if it goes to could are the? we'll talk about that. but let