>> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. so glad to have your company on this saturday. i'm christi paul. >> i'm victor blackwell. 6:00 on the east coast. we have breaking news. an american journalist held hostage in yemen has been killed. >> we know he died during a rescue attack. we're talking 33-year-old luke somers. here's his picture. he'd been held captive for more than a year by al qaeda. >> just this weeker you'll remember somers captors released

a video. >> cnn jim sciutto is live in afghanistan at the very latest. jim what are you hearing this hour. >> reporter: just very sad news, secretary of defense chuck hagel confirming that an attempt was made this on friday to rescue notnot just luke somers, a host, an aide worker who was held with him as well. during the course of the operation their captors with al qaeda, aqap, with attempted rescue by u.s. special operations forces their captors killed both mr. somers and the south african hostage as well. why this rescue operation now. secretary of defense hagel said that there were compelling reasons to believe that mr. somers life was in danger. president obama released a statement a short time ago

saying not only was this based on the fact that captors in that video you mentioned saying he would be killed within 72 hours if the demands were not met. the president ordered this operation. unfortunately, during the course of it, both of the hostages murdereded by heir captors. remember, this is the second attempt to rescue luke somers. it was only on monday when another operation was conducted. that one, by the time u.s. special forces operations arrived at the locate, somers had been removed. they did rescue other hostages. one week, two attempts, sadly did failed. >> do we know, one what the demands were. and two, we are hearing that some of the terrorists were killed as well in this mission,

that is correct? that's right. to the second question, first, a number of actors were killed -- public -- by officials, to be fair -- >> jim -- >> reporter: it's the general principle -- >> i'm sorry, i think we're having a technical problem. we're having a hard time hearing. wait, go ahead. let's see if we can hear this better. >> reporter: let me just go ahead, if you can still hear me, just so you know, i'm in the presidential palace in kabul. with the secretary of state -- let me just continue. demands were not made public but keep in mind aqap is not or does not negotiate with terrorists or make exchanges with terrorists

when there are hostages. but in this case, even this -- this is not a group that they would consider reliable on following through on some of sort of exchange. remember, aqap is a group that has targeted groups, with the underwear bomber and many other attempts -- >> okay. i'm sorry, jim, we're losing you here. but you did get some good information to us there. in terms of the fact that the demands were not made public, but this is a group that the use considers to be reliable, but nonetheless, not a group that they would negotiate with. we do know that luke somers, an american hostage and another were murdered at aqap, an attempt to rescue did not

succeed. >> joining us now from washington, in the last few minutes, sumlin, we received a statement from the president. what is he saying? >> very strong words from the president this morning. he says in a statement, the united states strongly condemns the barbaric murder of luke somers at the hands of al qaeda terrorists. and yemeni government on behalf of the american people i offer my deepest condolences to luke's family. the white house is now criticized that they hesitate >> reporter: american hostage luke somers pleaded for his life. >> i'm looking for any help to get me out of the this situation. i'm certain that my life is in danger.

>> reporter: a freelance photojournalist, somers had been living and working in yemen for years before he was kidnapped 14 months ago. his family broke his silence thursday. >> luke is only a photojournalist, he's not respond for any actions the u.s. government has taken. >> please give us an opportunity and free luke again. he is all that we have. >> reporter: just last week, the president approved a mission to rescue somers that failed. raising questions whether he took too long to give the okay. >> what i would reject in the strongest possible terms is that there's any delay here at the white house in approving this mission. >> reporter: officials say approval involved a rigorous process one developed by military player, approved by the secretary of defense and then sent to the president's desk. >> it was something approved by the commander in chief after that review in much less than 48 hours. >> if anything can be done, please let it be done.

>> reporter: terror group threatened to execute somers in three days if washington failed to meet its demands which in the video weren't clear. >> and the president said this morning he used every tool at his disposal to secure his release. christi and visibility per. >> thank you so much. we want to bring in military analyst retired military colonel rick francona. thank you for being with us. luke somers was murdered by aqap, when you hear that verbiage, what does that tell you? do you get a sense they knew the u.s. was coming and they murdered him prior to them getting there? >> right, this is an interesting choice of words rather than being killed in the cross fire, he was actually executed by aqap when the operation began or when they knew it was about to happen. so unfortunately, they had some

information that this raid was about to kick off. remember, there was a raid attempted two weeks ago that failed. so they were on edge. and they knew that they had a hostage. that the americans were going to try and rescue. it was just a matter of time before they tried again. and rather than risk having him rescued, they went ahead and murdered him. >> lieutenant colonel, the criticism of the administration is that there was some delay, some gross delay in attempt to rescue luke somers. from your expertise and analysis, do you see a delay here? >> not really. these operations are very dangerous, they're very risky. it involves putting a small group of americans very far from their bases. they're deep, deep in enemy territory. so you want to make sure this is done right. you want to make sure you've taken all the proper precautions and you want to make sure that the mission has a chance of success. you rehearse these, you go

through these, and you gas all the intelligence you can. and then you present it to the commander in chief. there's a process they go through. now, you can second guess this all you want. but as i said, these are high-risk operations and many times they do not succeed. but it's -- you have to take all of these precautions because of the nature of these kinds of raids. >> do you -- does this failed attempt impact at all future attempts that would be made? >> no, i don't think so. i think this is something we do. the joint operations -- the joint special operations command jsot, they practice this all the time, they gear up when they know there are other american hostages in danger. they plan all the time go after them. unfortunately, as i said, this is a high-risk business and you're not always guaranteed success.

this sends a message, though, if there's an american out there being held, were will do whatever we can to go get them. the problem is do you have the intelligence that supports this kind of operation. >> retired lieutenant colonel francona, we appreciate your perspective, thank you, sir. another big story we're following this morning, the protests overnight across the country. hundreds turning out, upset that a grand jury did not indict an officer in the death of eric garner. we're going to take you to some of these protests and they're changing. we'll show you how. i guess we're going to need a new santa ♪(the music builds to a climax.) more people are coming to audi than ever before. see why now is the best time. audi will cover your first month's payment on select models at the season of audi sales event. visit audioffers.com today.

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like. that was the rallying cry aimed at protesters last night, as demonstrators took to at least 17 cities. >> we're talking the northeast to california. protesters angry over the choke hold of eric garner filled the streets to demand justice and law enforcement reform. >> some of the largest protests in boston. take a look at these pictures. police say about a thousand people marched through downtown. >> seen in miami, look at this, you can see traffic here backed up for miles and miles as protesters flooded the interstates. >> protesters in new york stormed into popular stores and stage staged die-ins. >> eric garner's daughter is now talking about the decision. she said she wants the officers

involved in garner's death to be punished. >> i want to be happy with him losing his job or still be suspended. i would want him to face time in jail, all the officers. even the ems workers because those are the people that we depend on for our health, our safety, for anything. >> so today, we know that more protests are expected across the country. let's bring in cnn correspondent christina la teen. and joey jackson. >> we want to start with you. protesters actually entered stores. how did managers and owners react to that? >> that's right, for one thing, we saw fewer protesters than the first two nights.

the other difference here is entering stores. and both of those differences had to do with the weather, it was cold and rainy here last night. so protesters brought their demonstrations into stores. two of the busiest stores, the apple store in midtown and herald square in macy's. in both cases, protesters went into the stores, die-ins, is what they're calling. here's the thing, the store's management didn't kick them out. growing up in new york and being around midtown during the holidays these stores are used to seeing an influx of a lot of people. especially apple store in midtown. so i could actually see the situation where the store manager didn't realize it was protesters until they started lying down. this had particular time of year is very busy in midtown. i should say, you defied

emphasized this before. this seems to be a highly organized protest. there are several organizations that are helping protesters. last night, the organizers were handing out flyers with very specific demands. they want to see all of the officers involved in eric garner's death fired. they also want to see a special prosecutor to investigate excessive force. those are just some of the things that point to the fact that these protests are organized. and as of right now, you know, a little bit of disruption in the city. but not to the point where it's corrupting holiday shopping or anything like that. >> all right. so joey, let me ask you, and it is interesting that they are handing out flyers with specific demands. that is the likelihood any of those demands would be met based on the protests? >> good morning, christi. i think the demands are, quite frankly, reasonable and i think

there's certainly a probability that they will be met. let's talk about the demand for a special prosecutor. i think the big problem, christi, is the process itself. whenever you have a process in the criminal justice system, you want to engender trust. you want to engender respect and confidence. you have a little prosecutor investigating cases, investigating police, the very police they depend upon, rely upon, not only in the past, but the present and the future, it's a problem, so you want some independence there. that's a very significant part of the equation. when you look at other demands like bringing people to justice, the federal government stepping in and getting involved. process it's not the state level, eric holder certainly has indicated that the federal government will take a look. and i think another problem, christi, you have here where people can identify and it resonates certainly, not only as a result of what occurred which is so significant, but we see what occurred. it is not as though we're being told or reconstructing the

event, people can look for their had own eyes and evaluate was this a crime or was it not. i think there's a real problem based upon the grand jury decision. we'll see. i think finally christi, protesting, it's a way to release the frustrations people have, but it's also a movement to create change. based on this happening not only in new york but indeed throughout the country, i think we'll see our elected officials take it seriously and make reforms moving forward. >> kristina, what are is the likelihood there be consequences for them. >> you know, there is a likelihood in that regard. you have the departmental proceedings, notwithstanding what the grand jury did, the department itself evaluates the conduct. we know in 1993, the choke hold

was banned. as a result of that, certainly it should not have been used. we know certainly as we see it, there was an indication by eric garner that he couldn't breathe 11 times. we know there was no cpr given to eric garner who was in distress. the department will look at it and determine whether or not not only in the officer who engaged the choke hold and by the colleagues who were working with him. and the commissioner has the final say. and we would expect the commission tore act accordingly. >> cristina, any indication that it is going to be today? >> having lived here and lived through occupied wall street, as long as the protesters are organized and they're not disrupting everyday life too

much, the city can handle protests for a prolonged period of time. and that's probably what we're going to see. >> cristina and joey, we thank you so much. thank you. people in the philippines, my goodness, they are taking shelter this morning. >> yeah, another big storm on the way. they're bracing themselves, a powerful typhoon headed their way. expected to hit within hours. the government is warning rv in residents there to get to higher ground. and an american photojournalist held hostage and killed in yemen. officials attempted just yesterday to rescue. turn the trips you have to take, into one you'll never forget. earn triple points when you book with the expedia app. expedia plus rewards. ♪

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other news to tell you about this morning. in your "morning read." typhoon hagupit is heading towards the philippines. officials telling evacuate now. >> it could slam the coast with 70-mile-per-hour winds, still with the typhoon that hit around the same time last year. the group is apparently not done making havoc at sony. they cope to deploy sony fixers. and the families will be in danger. they hacked into the sony studios last month. one person is in custody after a stabbing of four victims including the conductor on this

amtrak train in michigan. look at these cell phone pictures. no one was killed. police arrested the suspect in niles, after they got a 911 call around 7:00 last night. the train was traveling from chicago to port huron in michigan. amtrak has arranged alternate transportation for 172 passengers. and investigators are still looking for answers in the death of act ses missy upham. investigators say she died from blunt force injury to her head and torso. but they don't know yet how she received those. upham was found in october at the bottom of an embankment in seattle. and oregon rolled over arizona in the pac-12 championship. the ducks not only avenged the only loss of the season, they as likely earned a spot in one of the semifinal games under the new playoff system. well, president obama calls

the murder of an american hostage barbaric. we're continuing to follow breaking news. secretary of defense chuck hagel said luke somers has been killed at the hands of militants in yemen. we'll have full details for you. ♪ (holiday mhey! is playing) i guess we're going to need a new santa ♪(the music builds to a climax.) more people are coming to audi than ever before. see why now is the best time. audi will cover your first month's payment on select models at the season of audi sales event. visit audioffers.com today.

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we're very focused on reducing our environmental impact. and natural gas is a big part of that commitment. >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. 30 minutes past the hour right now. we're so grateful for your company. i'm christi paul. >> i'm victor blackwell. we've got more on the breaking news we reported at the top of the hour. >> president obama condemning the murder of american hostage luke somers this morning. the 33-year-old photojournalist

seen on the screen. he died after u.s. forces attempted to rescue him in yemen. secretary of defense chuck hagel said al qaeda willed him. a second hostage, a south african man was also killed. >> this is the second attempt to rescue somers in just two weeks. he was captured in yemen's capital in september 2013. >> defense secretary hagel said president obama ordered this raid because there was compelling reason to believe that somers life was in imminent danger. this week, the militants released a video threatening to kill somers if washington didn't meet its demands. >> secretary of state john kerry said the murder of somers during a rescue operation is a reminder of the brutality of terrorists. >> yeah, just hearing from him a short while ago. >> we want to bring in cnn's internal affairs analyst james

reese. what more do you know about the word that he was murdered by al qaeda during the attempt? >> yeah, good morning. so, we've seen this throughout, my military career, with respect to special operations that concentrate on hostage rescue. and we've seen this throughout history where when the rescue force is going in. right at the last stop. the minute coming in. if the terrorists or people holding hostages feel they see a force coming in on top of them. and they want to get away because they know they're a significant force coming in. the hostages literally become a drag or burden on them. literally what they will do, kill the hostage and try to get away. unfortunately, what happens, these precision brain surgery type operations. >> colonel i want to update our viewers. i just received a message here from our jim sciutto who is kabul. and i want to read it.

a u.s. defense official tells cnn all u.s. military personnel involved in the mission to rescue luke somers in yemen are safe. that's good news there. we also got the informations there was a second person killed, a south african. and the killing of somers, that has not been the m.o. of aqap, they were more likely to go after a ransom than killing hostages. are we seeing a shift? >> yeah, i do. they see what isis is doing up in lamont. and aqap, these are bad people. very bad people. and again where these folks are located they're out in the desert. there's not a whole lot of places to hide like in iraq and syria. so if there's a helicopter force coming in on top of these guys they're looking now for several

preservation. that several preservation means i've got to get out of there, i'm going to kill these two people because they're going to come and get them anyway, and they're going to make a statement to get out of here ourselves. >> what do you make about the threats, with the aqap we're talk about this morning. we've still got isis out there. where has the u.s. moved forward? >> everyone has got to krundz, centsom understand, centcom and jsop, you'll start to see integration of isil and aqap. it's just natural it happens here. because isil now is getting some regional movement around, we've seen them move into libya and

into western egypt, with aqap, al qaeda arabian peninsula, they will start to merge. and it literally becomes a force that we're going to have to really deal with and pay close attention. and like you said, the focus now comes on the leadership and network, that we have to put a network on, and tried to destroy that network. >> there are still reportedly hostages or questions about the hostages from turkey and britain that this cell still has. what's the impact likely on those countries? we know that brint, they don't pay a ransom. and does this accelerate an effort to get those hostages. or does there cause there to kind of back off knowing that those hostages could be killed, if they get an idea that these countries are moving in quickly? >> well, victor it literally becomes across the spectrum. you'll get politicians -- you know, the families. it's a tragic time to the

families. and my heart goes out to the somers family. they want their loved ones rescued. if that can happen, but at the same time, they don't want to push the terrorists into doing something bad. the politicians start weighing it because of political aspect. then you have the military and law enforcement folks and intelligence folks, that are looking at this had continuously. and they wait for actionable intel and the authority to go. and it's a battle and they launch. it's very difficult to say. why tell you, though, the western hostages, the bottom line is, across the spectrum, they're going to look at rescuing them or doing some kind of political negotiations to try and get them released. >> journal james reese, so grachl for your perspective this morning. thank you for being with us. >> good morning. a major apology from "rolling stone." the magazine now says it has doubts about the bombshell

reporting with sexual assault at the university of virginia. >> although a lot of women have come forward with allegations against bill cosby. only one has actually filed a lot suit against him. the latest into the allegations that the comedian sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl. turn the trips you have to take, into one you'll never forget. earn points for every flight and every hotel. expedia plus rewards.

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20 minutes till the top of the hour. "rolling stone" is backing away from its real bombshell report about a brutal gang rape in the university of virginia. in this article, a woman called jackie claimed that she was

assaulted by seven men during a three-hour attack at a fraternity party. >> and the magazine said they have doubts about the story and issued an apology on the its website. the magazine's editor wrote in the face of new information there now appears to be zreps in jackie's account and we have come to the conclusion that our trust in her was misplaced. >> and now issuing a statement detailing the discrepancies saying no members of phi kappa psi worked in the aquatics room as jackie said they did. there was no party held night of the alleged attack. and no membership recruitment called rushing only happened in the spring not in the fall semester. >> knew you've got questions about it. let's talk to cnn commentator mel robbins about it. when you hear their apology and the term "our trust in her was

misplaced," do you feel they're blaming her? >> yeah, good morning, christi. good morning, visibility anywhere this is a stunning turn of events. basically from what i understand, "rolling stone" didn't check its facts, they didn't speak to anybody other than the victim and the sexual assault crisis folks at uva. and now that there's -- the fraternity's pushing back on the story which nobody should be surprised by. they're in the center of a national firestorm, they're basically throwing the victim under a double decker bus. it's really kind of strange. >> they were saying at the time when she was in school there was a fear of retribution. do you feel at any shape that it was the time to make the calls or not to make those calls, or no, they still have an obligation to do so. >> there's two aspects to this story, christi.

one is what is "rolling stone's" responsibility as an arm of journalism, right? >> right. >> if you're going to do a story like this and you're truly going to investigate it you can either get on the ground of one person's account and stand by it. or take that person's account and go to the fraternity for a statement. one of the things i also find troubling, christi, look, the three things that the fraternity cited that wasn't a party that night. anybody that's been to a college or university that has fraternities and sororities knows you don't have to have an advertised party to know a party is going on. number two -- >> i wanted to break that down. go ahead. >> number two, just because somebody wasn't being paid and working at an aquatics center doesn't mean that the person in the story wasn't either volunteering or somehow otherwise at the aquatics center. and finally, the third point

which they were talking about -- you're going to have to remind me -- >> the number of recruiting, rushing at the house happens in the spring, not in the fall. i bring up those points, because even though they mentioned these points, never in their statement do they explicitly deny the rape. and her friends still say they believe something happened to her. the fact that they do not explicitly deny the rape, does that tell you anything? >> it tells me a lot, it basically says that "rolling stone" has gotten a lot of backlash from the story. and they've gotten probably a lot of complaints from the national fraternity organization. and they kind of looked in the mirror and said, oops, we really didn't push the other side of the story to cover our bases. they're basically throwing this young woman. clearly something happened that night. there was evidence of an outcry

that was right after the incident. she did seek counseling there is evidence that she went to the uva and her claims were not taken seriously. so something happened. for them to basically say our trust in her was misplaced, it's almost like she's getting attacked again. this is the problem. the problem is, it really hurts the efforts to get victims to come out and talk as soon as something happen happens. >> yeah. >> you see not only did uva turn their back on her, but this magazine, "rolling stone" that has put her in the center of this huge story has turned their backs on her. >> you can hope she gets the help she needs because it's gone public. even though she was anonymous. mel robbins, thank you so much. we are going live no charlottesville for an update on the story in the next half hour.

the lapd is now investigating a sexual assault claim against bill cosby. judy huth who is claiming sexual battery. back in 1954, he forced her to have sex with him at the "playboy" mansion. and she was 14 at the time. >> reporter: judy huth came here at the los angeles police department. to meet with detectives of the los angeles police department. she requested an investigation of mr. cosby. she's here because she believes it's important that bill cosby be investigated. and chief beck has clearly indicated that regardless of when the alleged offense occurred, if it happened, within the city of los angeles, he will investigate the claim. >> huth is not the only woman now claiming cosby raped or sexually assaulted her. p.j. mastin, a former "playboy"

bunny is coming forward and said cosby molested her while she was under age. and 12 more women. cosby's attorneys have vehemently denied most of the allegations that he drugged and sexually assaulted women. and he's never been charged with a crime, important to say that. >> we'll talk about that in the next half hour. and also the powerful typhoon heading towards the philippines right now. >> yeah. the people there are taking cover and heading to higher ground. that's what the government has asked them to do. we're tracking that live from the cnn weather center next. with the record of 17 grand slam singles titles an olympic gold medal and now a davis cup championship, roger federer is considered by many to be the best ever. and he's popular, too. personality on and off the court

has endeared him to the fans. so much so he's from the sports's fan favorite every year. >> he's like a rock star. but having said that, what is amazing, he's so -- he's stable like a normal person. you know, very simple and nice. you know, you see him, hi, how are you? he doesn't behave like the big star. >> in switzerland, they're proud of him. they're really proud of what he represents and carries himself. >> at the age of 33, by tennis standards federer shows no sign of slowing down. >> i hope he sticks around a long time. he's a credit to the game. he a credit to people. we need people like that.

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live picks here of typhoon hagupit is dumping rain on the philippines. you see tackoban is being hit by the storm. the eye of the storm has not made landfall yet. >> karen, what can you tell us? >> it's within three or four hours of making landfall right around samoa, right around here.

it take landfall and tacloban. they have mandatory evacuations across this region. and a few years ago, more than 6,000 people died in the strongest storm ever. we move on towards the united states, we've got a cold, rainy, miserable day across the northeast. and in new england, where rain, snow and ice is going to be a big problem. especially from interior pennsylvania, all the way up to maine. be careful, it's going to be extremely treacherous. temperatures running above normal across the southeast at 60s and 70s. if you're headed to the pacific north west, watch out, we've got a very strong storm expected to move in and it's going to

produce quite a bit of rainfall. look for a couple inches of rain from boston, to new york to washington, d.c. and the temperatures are ping-ponging back and forth with temperatures in the 50s. but just wait by monday, you'll barely make it to temperatures in the 40s. we'll see a slight improvement in conditions across the great lakes and midwest. so it looks like we can expect the winter weather to continue, especially in that northern eastern corridor. >> karen, you used every available graphic on that map. warm, sunny snow. rain, cool, freezing. everything was on that map. >> it's a major schizophrenic right now. >> that's a true word. >> karen maginnis, thank you for being with us. a preview of cnn's heroes, that all-star tribute when we come back.

well, cnn is just one day away from its holiday tradition "cnn heroes an all-star

tribute." michaela pereira has a look. >> reporter: at first glance, it might look at every other award show, but for "cnn here rose all-star tribute" hosteded by anderson cooper is an event like any other. ordinary people doing extraordinary work take to the stages and the stars turn out to honor them. >> it's great for so many people being honored for just doing good which pushes humanity forward. >> it's basically think, beyond myself. >> i'm here with my daughter because that's what i want to teach her that the individual can make the difference. >> reach, reach, reach. >> reporter: individuals like a man who helped people with disabilities get stronger inside and out. >> it is my honor to hug the weightlifter with the biggest heart ever. >> reporter: the woman who works to save lions from extinction.

and a rabbi with a black belt that helps kids fight cancer. it's a night full of emotion. >> those are my babies. >> my friend kathy gifford. >> thank you, jake tapper. hi, everybody. >> even in the darkest of places, decency and love can persevere. >> reporter: and performances that inspire. ♪ standing higher >> reporter: and it ended with a life-changing moment. >> 2014 cnn hero of the year -- >> and that was just a taste of what's to come. watch the entire show "cnn heroes an all-star tribute" tomorrow at 8:00 eastern. tune innd be inspired. next hour of fd nd starts now. >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news.

i'm christyshristi paul, i' contradicter black well. >> defense secretary chuck hagel confirms that the photojournalist died as u.s. forces tried to rescue him from his captors aqap, hagel used the word murder, though. hagel in afghanistan said the group in the arabian peninsula killed somers. it's believed the raid took place in yemen's shagwa province. and they also killed a south african. >> just this week, the militants released a video threatening to kill somers if washington didn't meet its demands. and secretary of state john

kerry is speaking out this morning saying the murder of luke somers by his captors during a rescue operation is a reminder of the brutality of the terrorists of al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. >> cnn's jim sciutto is live in kabul, afghanistan with the latest. jim, what are we learning about the details of this rescue attempt? >> reporter: well, this is the news we were not hoping to get. we had heard that the raid was planned and it was just a short time ago that secretary hagel confirmed that both hostages were killed by their captors as the raid was under way. the details we're learning are that a fire fight broke out as the u.s. special forces arrived at the scene. that the captors in the words of secretary hagel murdered the hostages. so this is not a case where the hostages got caught in the cross fire. it was once the operation was under way, the captors, two of

those telling us, one of the hostages, although they weren't able to identify which one was still alive as they left the scene of this rescue attempt, died on the way out via helicopters. both of them unfortunately dead in the final tally here, as luke somers. the american photojournalist, and as well as the south african, an aid worker there. they had intelligence that their lives were inned me danger. you may remember in that hostage video that came out said that luke somers would be killed within 72 hours if their demands were not met. and also intelligence gave the indication that would take place in the next 24 hours. and there was word they would be killed on somebody would be killed at dawn on saturday, today, so they went in. a very risky operation, as you

mentioned, a second attempt to rescue luke somers. keep this in mind, contradicter and christi, when you look over the past several weeks, the u.s. has attempt three hostage attempts two in yemen for luke somers and another in syria to rescue james foley. unfortunately, in these cases they were not successful in the case of james foley by the time they got to the location. and he was moved even in the earlier operation earlier this week, when they got to the operation, luke somers had been moved. but they came to the right place, but unfortunately, during the fire fighter, somers was killed by his captors. i know in traveling with secretary hagel they were hoping for better news but they got the worst. >> we're also getting reaction from administration officials. jim sciutto reporting from kabul. thank you so much. we want to go to sumlin at the white house.

sumlin, thanks for being with us what are you hearing from the president this morning? >> well, christi, very strong words from president obama saying the united states strongly condemns the bash baschic murder of luke sop mers at the hands of al qaeda terrorists during a rescue operation conducted by u.s. forces in partnership with the yemeni government. on behalf of the american people, i offer my deepest condolences to luke's family and his loved ones. this was a direct call made by president obama himself yesterday, he said on three things based on the intelligence and the fact that luke somers in his had own words was in, quote, imminent danger. the white house is receiving criticism that they delayed, maybe hesitated on that decision. that led to ultimate outcome. and the president, he pushed back on that this morning. he said he used every tool at

his disposal to secure somers release. christi. >> we know that the group, the captors members have threatened to kill him had if their demands weren't met. do we have any indication what the demands were? >> it was really an unclear and vague demand made on the part of the group when the video surfaced. we do know they were given a 72-hour deadline from the terror group. the white house made note of that saying we knew about the 72-hour deadline. clearly, this is the second rescue mission as we've been talking about in the last two weeks for luke somers. but unfortunately, it did not have a good end. >> sumlin, we appreciate it. thank you. >> we want to bring in retired lieutenant colonel james reece now. >> we're learning more that there was a fire fight that broke out and they were taken to the 422 to a nearby ship.

is this a failure of planning or operations in any way? >> no, victor, it's not. this is just the bad luck that comes with probably the most difficult operation you can do in a military operation in a hostage rescue. it would have to take precision. i said in the last hour, this is like brain surgery. and the real tough thing is the actionable intel. the minute there's actionable intel, that force, however they're getting in, is literally spun up. they're ready to go. and once they get executed authority from the president, they launch. but during that time, from launch until the time they get on target, anything can happen. >> we know that this was the second attempt. and jim sciutto was telling us last hour, that that first -- in in that first attempt, they got there and al qaeda had already moved somers. do you think that al qaeda had an indication that the u.s. was moving in on that first attempt? >> well, christi, we know this,

that in today's digital world and information world, as they were flying in on the helicopters, unfortunately, we can't cloak these helicopters. so there's people -- there's tweets going out. there's early warning systems that these terrorists have, just people picking up a phone and saying i see helicopters coming. and when you're seeing out in the middle of a desert on some base camp somewhere on the saudi arabian border it's not that difficult to get an early warning. it can take a minute or two to get in a van and drive away. >> we're getting details from u.s. officials telling our barbara starr that there were fire jets pa trolg overhead. drones as well. and that the area was somewhat more populated than the last time. is there a time at which, an environment at which this has been more successful? or how do you avoid all of these as you just detailed possible

pitfalls and links to the cell holding the hostages? >> well victor, the most difficult thing right now is, you know, it's where the location of the force can get. in a place like yemen, there's only a couple of areas in yemen that have any population where force could infiltrate its way in. get to a safe house and sit there and wait and start developing that actionable intel. and literally, it's like getting in the red zone, it's the closer you can get to the hostages can be, the quicker you can launch in. if you have to make an hour flight, 30-minute flight, whatever. that distance becomes a credi criticality. i would doubt they had would fly over offset. the jsop forces know how to do this very well. they've been doing it for almost 40 years. unfortunately, sometimes, it's like the receiver drops the ball. there's not much you can do.

>> colonel james reese, thank you for your expertise. >> we appreciate it. we are getting word, secretary hagel is going to be speaking live at 7:30. so just about 20 minutes. he's going to be talking about troops in afghanistan. u.s. troops in afghanistan, what that means. will there be more going or coming home? we don't know. meanwhile, a key al qaeda operative is dead after a raid in northwest pakistan. this is according to pakistan's army. officials say the 39-year-old was born in saudi arabia. grew up in the u.s. had been placed on the fbi's most wanted terrorist list. he was indicted for his alleged role in the terror plot with the u.s. and abroad including the new york city subway. most recently he's been operating as a senior commander for al qaeda. interstates shut down bridges and blocked off and that

was the scene as protesters took to the streets over the controversial choke hold death of eric garner. up next, how peaceful protests are now changing. plus, powerful typhoon packing high winds, heavy rains heading for the philippines right now. we'll tell you what's happening now.

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>> and a lot of these protests were in boston. police say about 1,000 people marched through downtown. look at that. >> similar scene in miami. look at this. you'll see traffic backed up. this goes on for miles as the protesters flooded the interstates. >> while demonstrations were peaceful, protesters in new york, they did something different here. they stormed into popular stores in stage die-ins. we do know at least two people were arrested. >> and let's bring in cristina alechi in new york. you got me? okay, we don't have cristina there. i want to talk about the legal angle of the affairs.

attorney general holder said garner's death is not an isolated case. >> it's very important if we do this, our voice is heard internationally in a peaceful way. because peace is going to come from all of this hate. and if we can focus on the peace, then we'll be fine with everything else that we need to accomplish which to have love in our heart. all of these people have love, and they don't want the violence. and they just want some accountability for what's going on. they don't want to be violent, they don't want to be destructive. but they're mad because there's no accountability in the system that we love so much. >> it's one of several recent incidents across our great country that have tested the sense of trust that must exist between law enforcement and the communities they are charged to serve and to protect. this is not a new york issue nor a ferguson issue alone. >> joining us now, cnn commentator legal analyst mel robbins and hln legal analyst

joey jackson. let me go to you first, joey. there's a federal investigation. what will they focus on differently than the grand jury proceed zblpg good morning, christi, good morning victor, good morning mel. what happens is, the federal government has to be committed to the issue of justice because you see the protests throughout the country. and certainly, you don't want massive sparks of violence. and fortunately the protests to this point have not been there that. and people have just expressed their views. i think what the attorney general is going to look at is whether or not there were civil rights that were violated here. the federal government certainly has an obligation to do that. what you have here, christi. you have the benefit of a videotape that you'll see right there so they'll be looking at was there a deprivation of garner's civil rights. was it done evilly and could having have been done differently. i think if the federal government finds that they'll pursue federal charges against the officer or officers.

>> there must be some discrepancy from what we're hearing from the mayor or police commissioner. what happened to eric garner is personal. this is what he said the other day. >> that painful sense of contradiction that our young people see first that our police are here to protect us. and we honor that. at the same time, there's a history we have to overcome because for so many of our young people, there's a fear. and sofor so many of our famili there's a fear. >> he's also calling for a change in police. >> listen what we're hearing from the police union. >> what police officers felt yesterday after that press conference is that they were thrown under the bus. that they were out there doing a difficult job in the middle of the night, protecting the rights of those, to protest, protecting our sons and daughters. and the mayor was behind microphones like this throwing them under the bus. >> all right.

so is the mayor throwing them under the bus? and can we see what the mayor is calling for from the top implemented when the leader of the union there says that they're being thrown under the bus here now? >> victor, that's an excellent question. and good morning, everybody. you know, i think this is like a gigantic hair ball that you've got to untangle because there's multiple issues. from the mayor's perspective, he's looking at changes that need to help at a local level which would involve training, which would involve the way in which these cases are investigatinged. and also, it would involve local tactics to engender a sense of trust between the communities in new york and the nypd. that's one issue. the justice department is looking at this as a national issue. and what needs to happen on a national basis. in terms of addressing the issues of distrust that are mounting. and as we, you know, kind of move from what's happening in new york, i think so many of us,

christi and joey and victor, are looking towards cleveland. in the shooting death of the 12-year-old tamir rice, and the fact that that is now going to go to a grand jury. and there's some extremely troubling facts coming out about the police officer that pulled the trigger there. i think we're looking at local folks trying to figure out how to handle it. and the federal government as well. was he throwing the police officer under the bus? i don't think so. there's police officers that are doing an excellent job, communities that are frustrated. and the bad apples committing crimes that are not being held accountable, victor. >> and the protests around the country, and i want to bring cristina back in. she is with us. one of the thing that is different that we saw in new york, were protesters going into stores.

and staging die-ins. literally laying down on the floors of these floors. cristina, do we know how do the stores react to that? and how long were they? >> it's really interesting because the stores didn't seem to really react at all. as i mentioned before, these stores are really accustomed to seeing large groups of people walking in around the holidays. obviously, they knew they were protesters when they started lying down on the floor. just mentioned that we're reporting that the protesters are fairly peaceful. and they also keep moving. they weren't in the stores very long. because you know, if they congregate in anyplace too long, it increases the likelihood that police begin arresting people. they've been moving. i was listening to my colleagues reporting last night that the

protesters eventually moved to one of the biggest train stations in the city, grand central, and the protesters weren't there for more than ten minutes. also there are organizers behind the protests. directing them how to behave. make sure you're not carrying any drugs or give police any other reason to conduct an arrest. there were fewer people, i should mention, out in the street last night, in new york city. part of that had to do, of course, with the weather, it was really cold and rainy. and probably that also contributed to the decision to bring some of these protests indoors. but we could see more of them. today, reverend al sharpton is planning a press conference this morning with eric garner's family. that starts in harlem. and then they plan to go to staten island and lay a wreath at the site of eric garner's death. so we could see some people gathering around those events. and we're also starting to look for more details on social media to see what is in store for

later tonight. but we could see these protests for a prolonged period of time. >> cristina alesci, at least that's what we're hearing from organizers that they're not going anywhere. thank you for the report. mel robbins, joey jackson, thank you as well. stick around with us throughout the morning. we're going to talk more about this and other legal issues this morning. and this monster storm. from the philippines, this is a legion that lost 6,000 people died in a storm just a earring. and now, they're bracing noor monster you see on the right-hand side of your screen. on the left hand, live pictures of what's happening there. we'll tell you more. plus, major doubts about rolling stone's bombshell report in the university of virginia. some women say the details don't matter. stair standing with jackie as you see that hash tag online. st.

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20 minutes past the hour. so much to talk about in "morning read." first of all, typhoon hagupit is barreling for the philippines. look at the radar. heavy rain right now. and people need to evacuate now. >> hagupit could cause a 15 to 20-foot storm surge and slam the area with 70 minor hours. this area is still recovering from a typhoon that hit around this time last year. one person is in custody after stabbing four people including the conductor on an amtrak train. 11 people taken to the hospital pop none of the injuries are

thought to be life-threatening. but police responded to a 911 call and arrested the suspect in niles, michigan. the group that hacked sony is not done wreaking havoc at least they say. in a new e-mail, the hackers say they hope to destroy sony picks. and employees who do not cooperate will, quote, suffer damage and their families will be in danger. the group hacked into the studio's computer system last month in one of the biggest cyberbreaches in history. rolling stone is backing down from a bombshell report on sexual assault. now saying it has doubts about the woman who told her story of a brutal sex attack at a fraternity how in the university of virginia. they got the paul ji and why the fraternity says it's allegations are not true. plus, hear the exclusive interview of the ex-husband of the american teacher stabbed to

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afghanistan as pentagon chief. >> he's expected to hold a press conference any minute now. we'll bring you that as soon as it begins. >> earlier today defense secretary hagel confirmed that the 33-year-old photojournalist was killed. he used the word "murdered" as u.s. forces were trying to rescue him from his al qaeda captors in yemen. hagel confirmed that aqap killed somers. it's believed the raid took place in yemen's shagwa province. militants also killed a south african hostage. >> we know that president obama ordered the raid. this week, the militants release a video threatening to kill somers if washington didn't meet its demands. we also heard a short time ago from secretary of state john kerry who says, quo, the murder

of luke somers during a rescue operation say reminder of the brutality of the terrorists in al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. again, we're waiting to hear from secretary hagel who is going to be addressing the public, the world really, any moment now from kabul, the presidential palace. so as soon as he comes up with that microphone and he's live, we'll take you there live. so let's talk about this "rolling stone" backoff about the report of a brutal gang rape at the university of virginia. in the article, a woman that they called jackie claimed she was assaulted at a paternity party in 2012. the magazine says it has doubt it's of her story and issued an apology on its website. >> but at uva what hasn't stopped some women speaking out at a vigil last night. sarin gannon joins us live from

charlottesville, virginia, where uva is, of course. what's going on there, in light of this apology? >> reporter: christi and victor, it does appear that rolling stone no longer stands by its reporting of that horrific gang rape on campus or the woman who was the center of that story. after an article that prompted outrage at the university of virginia, "rolling stone" magazine has apologized for discrepancies about an alleged gaining rape on a charlottesville charges. rolling stone editor said they made the choice not to contact key figures on the alleged attack on jackie, the woman who was the subject of the article, for fear of retaliation against her. the magazine said in the face of new information there now appear to be discrepancies in jackie's account and we've come to the conclusion that our trust in her was misplaced. and the article also prompted a

uva suspension of all activities until january. and zero tolerance with sexual assault cases. >> we must root it out. >> reporter: jackie claimed she was raped by seven men at the phi kappa psi paternity house. however, the university said there was no party at that fraternity house. and he also discredits other parts of the story. meanwhile, "the washington post" is reporting that a group of jackie's close friends believe something traumatic happened to her but they also have come to doubt her account. but details could change over time. but the post is also reporting that jackie stands by her story. she told the post, i never asked for this. what bothers me is that so many people act like it didn't happen." ♪

despite the latest developments in the story, students still turned out at a campus vigil last night, determined to keep the focus on combatting sexual assault against women. >> it's terrible that they are going against her now and placing the responsibility upon her as someone who is untrustworthy. i feel like they should have known something in publishing that story. it's something that they could never know exactly what happened. again, that's not the single issue here. the issue is the wider problem of sexual assault on college campuses. >> reporter: now, it's important to remember what isn't being called into question here is the university's overall response to reports of sexual assault on campus. you know, the university in the last few weeks has admitted that it has never expelled a single student, even when they admitted to sexual assault. you know, victor and christi, i've been here on campus, the last couple of days, i've talked to several other women who are survivors of sexual assault on this campus, and they talk a lot

of the culture here. about people talk openly how rupppies are part of a friday night. and when they first came together with friends they were told that doesn't sound like rape to me because it wasn't as horrific as the details described in the story. i think it's important to remember that jackie's story aside, there may be discrepancies but there's a matter for police. but there's another issue here and that is now the responsibility responds to sexual assaults. and i think it's important that their stories don't get lost in all of this. >> very good point. sarah gannon, thank you. let's discuss this with cnn commentator and legal analyst mel robbins. mel, i want to talk about what sarah was talking about. details and what we're hearing on campus. >> even if it's not real, it's a problem. it's probably still a problem so as much as it matters that the

article is telling the truth or not, i think we should still focus on the problem that it is a problem. >> i think people want to take this argue it's a negative aspect, i think the university should take it in a positive way and move forward in fixing the problem that's clearly prevalent. >> it's important to validate these women's voices and not to let at least what "rolling stone" says are questionable details of the story. not let that nullify other credible claims of sexual abuse on campus. that may be difficult with respect to this is a huge reversal for the magazine. >> yeah, victor, it's so troubling. when i first heard this news yesterday, i said, wait a minute, so the fraternity that's in the middle of this firestorm has concerns about the account. and now suddenly "rolling stone" is walking back on the entire

story. and in addition to walking back box a fraternity has concerns about it, they're throwing the victim under the bus? it is absolutely disgusting, honestly, victor. >> let's talk about "rolling stone's" handling of this. some say it's blaming the victim saying it has doubts about her story. the managing editor had to go to twitter and clarified that it was "rolling stone's" mistake not to double-check her details. are they handling this properly now that they are getting more details about this? >> no. they're not handling it properly. they didn't handle it properly from the beginning. the fact that they wrote a first person account, which, by the way, they did check. they did talk to people at uva. they did confirm that there has never once been a student expelled from that university, even after admitting that they had raped somebody on campus. so they did -- i think it's interesting they go to the

fraternity. and now the fraternity is citing with claims to say that a gang rape didn't exist is simply preposterous, victor. >> let's see who could be exposed to legal action. first, jackie herself. if there is some way to confirm or to discredit any of these questions, did she face legal action here? >> only if she lied. truth in any kind of liable or slander case is a rock solid defense. and let's be honest, victor, what are the discrepancies they're talking about? that there wasn't a party at the fraternity. i'm sure what the fraternity is saying, hey, we didn't have an advertised party. but we all know that parties go on every single night in the basements of fraternities across this country. they're also alleging it wasn't rush season. and she said it was. well, i'm sure there are guys in that fraternity that may have been talking about pledging or rushing. and the details about the season

is inconsequential. whether or not a person had a paid position in 9 aquatics department in uva, inconsequential. what they're not addressing is whether the rape happened or didn't happen. they're thought saying the rape didn't happen. they're saying, whoa, we've got push back. and what we're going to do is blame the victim. push her story aside, which is exactly what uva has done and what people across this country do when women come forward and allege sexual assault. it's a disaster everywhere. >> and it reports here there's no knowledge of the rape. mel robbins, thank you so much. we'll continue to talk about this throughout the morning. and we'll be right back. hey! i guess we're going to need a new santa

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a woman from the united arab emirates has been arrested on suspicion of fatly stabbing an american teacher and mother of three in a bathroom at a mall in the united arab emirates. >> the woman was identified as a uab national and is also accused of placing a handmade bomb in front of an american doctor's house. sources tell cnn that authorities are investigating the woman into the stabbing is ongoing. >> paul ryan, the ex-husband of that woman killed spoke to cnn. >> well, obviously, i'm totally horrified by what happened.

one just needs to look at the video, the images of that bathroom, and it is -- it knocks you out, knocks you out. i still hope my children have not seen that. those beautiful children i have making sure that they get the comfort and the sense of their mother and their future that i protect them as best i can. >> there's a suspect in custody, what's your initial feeling? this is a person operating as a lone wolf or part of a much grander agenda that we don't see? >> she is thought of as a lone wolf. as an american, i can easily view that with some skepticism. and actually, along the way, initially, my thought, though,

why couldn't it be part of a terrorist cell. we've had terrorist cells in a number of places, even in the west. why couldn't it exist here? there might be a cell involved, certainly. but after seeing the video of how she was captured and what was in her car, she had everything there, all for herself. ready to go. she didn't even care about the blood prints on her steering wheel. she could easily have done this all by herself. >> after witnessing such a tragedy and as an american and the victims here targeted were westerners, how do you feel what has transpired? >> how do i feel as an american? i'm still fearful of all of that. however, i've come to feel that it's quite different. i'm actually starting to believe, though my ex-wife was always telling me, that it's safe. >> you still feel that way are

this horrendous tragedy earlier this week? >> i'm shocked myself. i'm shocked myself that i've come this far. that i've been changed based on what i'm seeing here. >> i know you were concerned about raising funds -- >> our thanks to john gutierrez for that. but we want to go to kabul now where our secretary of defense chuck hagel is speaking. let's listen in. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> all right, obviously, we're not getting the english translation here from the president there of afghanistan. but as soon as we hear from the secretary of defense, of course, we'll bring you that. we'll continue to monitor it.

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god." i sat down to talk to him but also some of the big stories that are going on in the news including the michael brown case in ferguson. >> as i watch actually everything that's happening today the debates that are happening, is that we are so polarized that we think only our point of view is right. okay. we do not have what sociologists call empathy so i cannot step into the other person's shoes, pretend i'm looking at the world from their eyes. and then i might see something different. so, but you know, we are compelled to take sides. instead of saying who is right, who is wrong, why don't we ask what's the solution? so whether it's for this or any other thing, we should say what

is the solution? how we can we go beyond our narrow-minded ethnocentric racist bigoted, prejudiced indoctrination, whether it's white or black doesn't matter. can i learn to have the basic fundamentals of emotional intelligence, not even spiritual intelligence. can i feel what other people feel? can i speak to them in a respectful manner? can i recognize that there is injustice or at least the perception of injustice on both sides? can i refrain from proving the other person wrong because as soon as i prove them wrong, i'm never going to have a conversation with them. these are very fundamental things that interfere with our ability to find a creative solution. we became activists either for peace and what do you find, you

have angry peace activists. some of them get nobel prizes. it's bizarre t the whole thing is bizarre. how can i heal this, and you get with people who want to know that, there are creative solutions to everything. you just don't look for them. >> another thing in the news of course is politics and the split in this country. do you see an answer somehow to bringing this country together? >> i see an answer politics only if politicians agree that most of politics today is about influence peddling, power mongering, cronyism, corruption. most of it. we have a nice word for people

who do that, we call them lobbyists. okay. and even have a legal structure to support that. so, unless we recognize that those politicians who are engaged in this, you know, corruption or influence peddling or cronyism or power mongering, they represent us. i cannot blame the politicians. we elect them, right? so and then there are all kinds of loopholes where you know, we elect them not because they are good for our country, but we elect them because they serve some special interest that i have. >> is there anything that you see in the news that you think is not getting enough coverage? anything that you are passionate about? >> i think i would like to see more coverage in the news about things that are of imminent importance to humanity right now.

and these include climate change, the destruction of species and the ecosystem. and reckless, reckless, irresponsible spending in my field which is medicine, on this resurgeries, reckless dispensing of pharmaceuticals, unnecessary tests, we could save -- we could solve the health care crisis if we eliminated everything that's not necessary and everything that is done so that somebody's benefiting, either the manufacturer of a pharmaceutical or a medical device, or a surgeon who only knows how to sell surgeries. >> so that's his take on what's going on in the world. but in the next hour of "new day" we're talking more about

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do to rebuild trust. >> a typhoon is bearing down on a country trying to recover from the last big storm. we're live in the philippines for you. i want to wish you good morning and say we're grateful for your company. i'm christi paul. >> i'm victor blackwell. 8:00 on the east coast. defense secretary chuck hagel is speaking in afghanistan along side the afghan president. the news conference is not in english but we're monitoring it and we'll bring you the crux of the conversation here as soon as we get them. we're also following breaking news, learning of the stunning and dramatic details about the mission by u.s. forces overnight to try to rescue american hostage luke somers in yemen. >> somers and another hostage are both dead. defense secretary chuck hagel says the captors in the arabian peninsula killed him. moments ago secretary hagel called the mission dangerous and

complicated. our barbara star has learn add fire fight broke out during the rescue mission. navy s.e.a.l.s were able to put somers and the other hostage on a military chopper and fly them to a ship. >> we're covering this, we have the cnn military analyst. what are we hearing from the administration? >> reporter: one u.s. official tells us one of the hostages died while they were on the helicopter en route to the u.s. ship. the other hostage we're not sure which one, died when they were on the u.s. ship. this was a risky and dangerous and complicated mission, including drones and fighter jets overhead patrolling and the president this morning, he reacted emotionally i should say, it's clear that he felt the weight of this failed mission very personal. he noted it's his personal responsibility to protect u.s. citizens when they are in

danger, this is what he said in a statement. the united states strongly condemns the barbaric murder of luke somers at the hands of al qaeda terrorists during a rescue operation. in partnership with the yemeni government. on behalf of the american people i offer my deepest condolences to luke's family and his loved ones. keep in mind, this was a direct call made by the president himself here at the white house yesterday. and he said this morning that he made that call based on three things. one, the intelligence, the operational plan, and the fact that luke somers life he says was in imminent danger. and the white house really is already on the defense, some saying and criticizing them they may have waited too long to give approval in this mission and that hesitation may have led to this ultimate outcome. the president, he pushed back on that and said he did everything he could within his powers to save these hostages.

>> general marks, we know this was the second attempt to get to somers and rescue him. and they were so deliberate in their verbiage when they said he was murdered. do you get because of that the sense that he was murdered by al qaeda, maybe as troops were -- the navy s.e.a.l.s were going in? and this wasn't some random fire fight and he was a casualty? >> christie, that would be the assumption on my part. clearly i don't have the details and we'll know more details the farther we go along. there will be a review and at least some of this information will be released. but it would appear to me that the al qaeda in the arabian peninsula was caught completely offguard, at least in a tactical sense. the united states tried to conduct a raid previously, so at least strategically their guard was up a little bit more but tactically i think they were surprised, and upon entry into

the room obviously a fight immediately took place. and the hostages were murdered or at least were shot at that moment, and the aqap knew they were going to lose this fight and the hostages. i think that's exactly what happened. i don't think this was friendly fire type of incident. >> so as secretary hagel is in afghanistan as we said speaking along side the afghan president, is that a coincidence or coordinated? >> no. the fact that secretary hagel is in afghanistan has a precise focus. has to do with transition i. think it's a good place for the secretary of defense to be in that he is departing, this is where we've committed ourselves for over a decade and i think this is the right place to be as he transitions out. the fact that the intelligence always is perishable has to be targetable, the operation has probably been rehearsed, the forces were in theater, they

were in place, there was cover for action. that needed to take place separate from the secretary's visit and to afghanistan. >> we've been talking in recent weeks about isis, now we're talking about al qaeda again. help us understand the focus that the u.s. has to take with both of these enemies so to speak? >> christi, this is a generational fight, a long horizon. this is the metamorphosis of terrorism you'll see al qaeda-type affiliates, local terrorist organizations that all have a similar inspirational motivational pull. there will be national, international global type of recruiting that we've seen, localized metamorphosis that will take place. this has very specific implications in terms of how we organize, how we equip our forces and strategically how we have to be persistent to go after this threat for a very, very long term. this is our new normal.

in terms of conflict, in terms of engagement. and we're clearly prepared for this fight, we have to steal ourselves for this, we have to talk about it. we have to be up front about it so that the american population understands this is not something that's going to go away immediately. we must address it over time. >> we have to assume that's something that secretary chuck hagel is talking about now and we're monitoring that. we'll bring you those comments and any news that comes out of that conference he is in now in kabul. general spider marks, we thank you. >> thank you. >> now to another big story we're following. you heard the rallying cry, hands up don't shoot, we're hearing it again from protesters. heard it last night as the demonstrators paralyzed in parts at least 17 cities. we're talking the northeast, talking the mid-atlantic, all the way to california. the protesters are angry over the controversial choke hold death of eric garner. they demand justice and law enforcement reforms. some of the largest protests were here in boston.

police say about 1,000 people marched through downtown. let's take to you miami, though, because there was a similar scene. look at the traffic. backed up for miles. protesters flooded the interstate. and while the demonstrations remain peace until is something different that's happening in new york. different than what we saw from the first couple of nights. these protesters are storming into popular stores, to stage these die-ins. let's bring in cnn's christina in new york and in wonder what was the response, we're at the height of the holiday shopping season. what was the response from these stores when these die-ins were staged? >> well, the store management didn't take action against the protesters, in part because they were there only for a few minutes, these protesters keep moving because they don't want to be arrested and if they congregate too long anywhere there is an increased likelihood they will be arrested or some kind of action taken against them. even still, though the protesters are very organized

and not violent and only in one place for a few minutes there are some mixed reactions to their tactics. take a listen. >> i think there are better ways to get your point across and to impede shoppers is not the way to go. >> somehow i think this might be right. >> how come? >> from what i see on television i think there should have been an indictment for that cop. >> they don't want to be destructive but they are mad because there is no accountability in the system that we all love so much. >> again t protests in new york are much different than the ones that we saw in ferguson. they are very organized, there seem to be very professional groups behind them, advocates for civil rights, you know, one of my colleagues in the newsroom call them professional protesters. so and they are communicating

via twitter and there is a text message list that updates you on the various locations, i'm subscribed to see where the protesters head next. >> many of these are efficient at disseminating their message. christina, thank you so much. check out this weather radar we're going to show you here. major typhoon bearing down on the philippines. we're checking the conditions on the ground coming up. this is an area that has been slammed already and still trying to recover. >> and you know, another story we're following t university of virginia stunned, i mean, the allegations of brutal rape that people read in "rolling stone" magazine took a lot of people back and started pushback against the university. now "rolling stone" stone says there are serious questions about that story.

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"rolling stone" stone is backing down from the jaw dropping report about a brutal gang rape at the university of virginia. in the article there was a woman, jackie, that was not her real name but she claimed that she was assaulted by a group of men durping an attack at a fraternity party back in 2012. the magazine now says it has doubts about her story and has issued apology on its website. in the meantime, the fraternity in question disputes details in the story and says it is working with police. we have sarah live in charlottesville, virginia. what -- you talked to the attorney for the fraternity. do they dispute the rape itself as well as other details or just details? >> reporter: christi, he told me quote it's just not true. however, they are still cooperating with the police investigation. all of this unfolding, he did give me several details that were not included in the

"rolling stone" statement but as it appears that the "rolling stone" stone no longer stands by that report about a gang rape or the woman who was a center of the piece. after an article that prompted outrage at the university of virginia "rolling stone" magazine has apologized for discrepancies about an alleged gang rape on the charlottesville campus. "rolling stone" editors say they made the choice not to contact key figures in the alleged attack on jackie, the woman the subject of the article for fear of retaliation against her. the magazine said in the face of new information there now appeared to be discrepancies in jackie's account. and we have come to the conclusion that our trust in her was misplaced. the article also chronicled the school's failure to respond to that alleged assault which in turn prompted a uva suspension of all fraternity activities until january, and a zero tolerance policy toward sexual

assault cases. >> we must find where it hides out and root it out. >> reporter: according to the magazine, jackie claimed she was raped by seven men during a party at the phi kappa psi fraternity house. however t fraternity says there was no party the night of the alleged attack in september 2012, and the chapter's lawyer says he has the records to prove it. he also discredits other parts of the story. meanwhile, "the washington post" is reporting that a group of jackie's close friends believe something traumatic happened to her but they also have come to doubt her account as details changed over time. but the post is also reporting that jackie stands by her story. she told the post, i never asked for this, what bothers me is so many people act like it didn't happen. despite the latest developments in the story, students still turned out at a campus vigil last night determined to keep the focus on combatting sexual

assault against women. >> it's terrible that they are going against her now and placing irresponsibility upon her as someone who is guilty or untrust worthy because i feel that they should have known from the beginning publishing that it was something they could never know exactly what happened. again, that's not the single issue. the wider problem of sexual assault on college campuses. >> reporter: christi, i want to give you a couple more details that i got from the lawyer. one of them has to do with a staircase, a key detail in the article. he says that staircase that jackie says she was led up to the room where she was raped, that it doesn't exist. he said there are no pledges at that time of year. now, that aside, though, christi, whether or not that discredits the "rolling stone" article or jackie's story, i think is important to remember that what hasn't been discredited is the fact that the university of virginia has never expelled a single student for sexual assault even when they

admitted to it. so that reaction that the university has to sexual assault, that's not under dispute. the fraternities here, some of them who have been vandalized in the last couple weeks since this story came out, they issued a statement saying look, this is where the focus needs to be on other victims of sexual assault and also on a nationwide problem of rape on campus. some of jackie supporters still came out in a rally, there's also a growing movement on twitter, #tagg i stand with jack jackie. i have been on campus, i talked to other survivors of sexual assaults here and they talk about a culture here that i really think should not be forgotten when we talk about the story should not be lost even if jackie's story turns out not to be true. >> very good point to make. just because there may be questions about what she said and specific details doesn't mean it's not happening. sarah, thank you so much.

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outgoing u.s. defense secretary chuck hagel is in afghanistan now. this is his last trip there as pentagon chief. hagel announced that additional 1,000 u.s. troops will remain in

afghanistan next year. this will help to meet a temporary shortfall in nato forces. he also offered his thoughts and prayers for the friends and family of luke somers. somers is the 33-year-old photo journalist who was killed by captors in yemen and also another hostage was killed. the group in the arabian peninsula is responsible for their deaths. >> this typhoon hagupit is close to making landfall in the central philippines. >> a lot of people in villages feet from the ocean evacuated to higher ground. the storm is expected to cause pretty heavy storm surge, 15 to 20 feet i believe. andrea stevens joining us via phone from tacloban. andrew, help us understand what it's like there right now. >> reporter: right now it's driving rain and strong, strong

gusty winds. the latest, sort of on the edge of the main storm. this as you say was the site a little more than a year ago. that was mainly through a storm surge, a wall of water 18 feet high. what we are hearing is there is unlikely a storm sthurnlg time around given where the eye is going to make landfall. but that's not stopping the people of this city, traumatized people, memory fresh from that getting to high ground, to safe areas. and they do appear to be much better prepared this time around

than a year ago. local authorities have been evacuating people, there are voluntary evacuations, about 40,000 people in the most vulnerable areas have been moved. churches and schools, people opening up homes. so a much, much better job of getting people out, warning them. and they do know just how devastating a storm of this sort can be. they have made preparations to get out. we drove through and quite a few on the coastline. then around the low lying. this time last year there would have been so many more people in those areas.

they have moved. so tacloban looks like avoid a repeat of last year. certainly, three hours from now, really riding out the storm. >> andrew stevens from the philippines, you and the crew stay safe there. thank you so much. anger over the deaths of michael brown and eric garner, the anger, frustration, and the dedication to changing something, it's spreading and it's raising a key question. how do police departments rebuild trust with their communities? up next we'll have a woman who worked on doing that in los angeles, and she's going to give us her take.

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30 minutes past the hour on saturday morning. i'm christi paul. >> i'm victor blackwell. good to be with you. >> let's talk about traffic jams and stores filled with protesters. look at the pictures we've been getting in overnight. that was the scene last night across the country really as demonstrators angry over the controversial choke hold death of eric garner hit the streets in at least 17 major cities. there is a protester clashing with police in the nation's capital is what you're watching there. that's miami, traffic backed up for miles after protesters flooded the interstate which is something we haven't necessarily seen recently. some of the largest protests, though, were in boston where 1,000 people marched downtown and stage add so called die-in. >> some people have compared the recent protests to the rodney

king riots in los angeles. very different. there were dozens killed during those riots, though. protests, however, erupted as we know in the 90s after a home video surfaced showing four l.a. police officers using a stun gun on king. >> and king of course was hit with police batons more than 50 times. this is still so hard to watch. the case was eventually declared a mistrial after three of the officers were acquitted by an all-white jury. we want to talk more about this with civil rights attorney connie rice. she has worked with the los angeles police department to try to build better relationships with the community. >> all of these incidents fuel distrust of police. we know after the decision came out from the grand jury, at least in new york, we saw a tweet from police officers there with the #we hear you that they want to rebuild trust. how do you begin to build better relationships between the community and police that in some cases they distrust?

>> isn't that the million dollar question. hi. >> hi. >> let's start at the top with the big one. >> exactly. excellent question. it's complex. it has taken us since 2002. can you believe it. we've been at this since 2002. and we have another ten years to go. so, big constitutional and institutional change takes a lot of effort. at least 100 steps here. and chief bratton and jerry chalis and chief green and myself and a whole bunch of us, about 20 of us really, every day for the last 14 years, and so, we know how to do this, the good news is that we know how to do this. the bad news is that it takes a long time and it takes expertise and i think that ferguson is going to need help. i think a lot of communities around this country are going to

need a lot of help from people like us. >> not only that, but this is not probably a one size fits all. when you've got different communities you probably have to use different tactics, yes? >> christi, not only is that right, you are absolutely nailed it on the head, not only do you have to taylor make it to each community but every day the needs can change. i'm telling you, i can get up one morning at 5:00 and have to race out to a murder scene, in south l.a. for example, and meet the cops there and get the community organized and try to quell some of the less productive reactions to a tragic situation. and every single crime scene can require a different strategy. it's really -- this is more art than science. and it takes a very cohesive

group of experts who can finish each other's sentences. i used to sue the police. every day i would find a new way to sue them. and i love suing cops. but then when chief -- sorry to say that. when chief bratton came to l.a. he said connie, don't sue me because i told him i said chief, it's nothing personal but i'll be suing you next week. he said no, don't sue me, come inside and help me change my cops. well, christi and victor, it takes an enormous amount of hands on work to get cops to think differently, to get them to feel differently about black children. you know, police are afraid of -- a lot of police are afraid of black people. they didn't grow up around black people. when they see black people they tense up. and if you can get them in an honest conversation the way i have, chief bratton sent me in there and said find out what my

cops are thinking. i don't know how i did it but they trusted me and they would say things like miss rice, i'm scared of black people. miss rice, i've never known black people, i don't understand them. miss rice, i'm scared of black men. so when i hear things like that i know i'm starting to get some place. because now i can address the cops' fears, and i can address the angst and the pain of the community which is going through terrible throes of tragedy and mourning. it's awful to watch black children be gunned down. >> i hate to interrupt but to that end and while on that point, what we heard from darren wilson was that mike brown was a big man. well, they are both 6'4". so it's not that he was towering over him. we heard from people supporting the cops in new york that maybe they were afraid because eric

garner was such a big man as if black -- large black men are inherently dangerous, there was no direct threat from eric garner lunging out there. connie rice, i thank you for having this conversation with us. it's only when you get to a point you can have honest conversations and people admit things they may not want to say openly and public, but will get to the root of some solution that anything can really be solved. >> thank you so much for what you are doing. >> thank you. >> hope that can translate to other communities and we can finally get through some of this. so we appreciate you, connie. thank you. >> you're welcome. moving on here. in a few days we could be in the middle, yes, another government shutdown, people. >> and we're not talking new year's eve or new year's day. just a few days, less than a week. what lawmakers can do to avoid

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again, again politicians are threatening to shut down the government. caught in the crosshairs this time, the president's action on immigration. let's talk about this with cnn political commentator and democratic strategist and republican strategist and contributor to blaze tv. i want to start with you, tara. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> i want to start with you, tara. do you believe that this is the

appropriate retaliation for the president's executive action and will republicans work to shut down the government if this is not repealed or overturned? >> let's get something straight here. republicans cannot shut down the government. the republicans do not control both houses of congress, they don't control the senate, they don't control the white house so we need to be clear here that it's not republicans shutting down anything. what's happening is, that the president of the united states has taken unconstitutional executive action to give amnesty to almost 5 million people in this country. how ever you feel about that we can argue that all the way to the courts and back but what's happening is we need to fund the government. the republicans have bills coming up where they are happy to pass in the house, 11 of 12 spending bills, and they will go over to the senate, the senate has to vote on them. the one spending bill they are not willing to do right now because they are in discussions is over the department of homeland security which governs the immigration policy the 79 is

trying to shove down the throats of the american people and that need as discussion. republicans are saying we're not going to fund these unilateral actions by the president of the united states and if he wants to do this, let's have a conversation and let got through the proper process which is through the house of representatives and the senate and passed through the legislative branch. >> we're seeing ted cruz cross over to the house republicans and we're hearing from some house republicans that ted cruz needs to stay in the senate. maria, what do you think? shoved down the throats of the american people. >> no. of course not. this is the president taking action when the house of representatives has failed to do so when they have a bipartisan bill that would fix this immigration system, majority of americans agree needs to be done. it's sitting in the house of representatives now, and the house of representatives and john boehner has refused to take it to a vote so the president is taking action. what is happening let's be clear here, that the republicans are in a box. they have no idea how to respond

to what the president has done, in fixing the immigration system, in a sensible way. so you have the extreme voices, including speaker cruz, i mean sorry, senator ted cruz who would like to be speaker and act like speaker, who frankly, was the one who led the government shutdown last year. so let's be very clear, the republicans can shut down the government, they did shut down the government in 2013 and paid a huge political price for it and they are now twisting in the wind to try to avoid it at all costs. >> i'm not sure what huge political price. go ahead. the huge political price. it was landslide victory in the midterm elections. >> that's where i was going to go. >> what was the huge political price? >> maria you say the republicans are in a box. has the president not put himself 18 box jeopardizing anything he wants to get done in the next couple years with this new congress by signing this

executive action? isn't he the one in the box? >> no. absolutely not. because again, he moved forward to try to solve a problem that the majority of the american people knows they know needs to be solved and want their leaders to solve it. the house of representatives has had a year and a half to bring up this bill, or frankly, to bring up their own bill if they didn't like the senate bill and they have failed to do so. moving forward it is absolutely up to the republicans to figure out whether they want to essentially act like children, and take their toys home, take their toys and go home, or, prove to the american people that they can actually govern. what's so interesting is polls after the midterm elections you see that the majority of the american people already believe that having republicans control both houses of congress is bad for the country and the majority of them think that the only thing that we can expect is more gridlock. >> first of all, the president

of the united states does not get to rule by fiat because he is out of patience with what the legislative branch is doing. according to our constitution we have separation of powers and the president cannot decide because he's annoyed now with the republicans that he's going to make law in this country. that's not how our system works. i'm sorry if the president doesn't like that. i'm sorry if you don't like the way that our system works but that's that the constitution says. so the american people need to understand the way the process works. you don't rule because you'll decide to make laws because you feel like it. number two -- >> that's not what the president is doing. >> that is exactly what he is doing. two t american people are not exactly 100% on board with what the president has done a. poll came out that shows that the support for what the president has done has dropped 10%. it's under 50%. the american people are not in favor of doing it this way. we can have a constructive debate, discussion, on how to approach fixing immigration, but this is not way to do it.

that's what happened -- >> so why have republicans haven't had that constructive conversation. >> we've got to cut the conversation there. >> they have failed. >> maria -- >> republicans have taken over over -- >> i have never in my life -- we've done this segment every week. and it's never come to that. i apologize for that. i tried to get maria and tara, thank you so much. we don't schedule enough time for these. i wanted to get to the economy. thank you both. >> and they still had smiles on their faces. >> back tomorrow or next week. >> college football star jameis winston in the spotlight. not only is he about to lead his team in a championship game but facing an investigation that could get him kicked out of school. we have a live report for you. )

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latest. as big of a game as this is, are winston's off the field issues overshadowing the championship? >> reporter: i wouldn't say it's overshadowing the game. that's a big topic of discussion here right now. winston, he spent much of tuesday and wednesday in a student code of conduct hearing and in that hearing winston gave a graphic statement of what he said happened on the night of the alleged sexual assault two years ago. we're not expecting a decision from the hearing any time soon. probably not going to come until january. you would think that hanging over his head that along with having to spend time in the hearing would have hurt his preparation for today's championship game but that's not the case. head coach jimbo fisher moved the practices to the evening to accommodate winston this week and he said winston had a great week of practice. you know, off the field issues, they are nothing new for florida state, dealing with them for two years, in that time they built a nation best 28-game winning

streak. yelled i asked coach fisher why is his team so good at blocking out all of the off the field distracti distractions. >> there are only so many things you can focus on and can control and i think this is a formula for life. this isn't just for winning football games. because there's going to be things in your life you can't control. how you deal with them and you control what you can control to keep your mind on the next task. i think those are life lessons we try to teach. >> reporter: so winston and florida state have to beat georgia tech today in the acc championship if they want to make it into the playoff. here's what it looks like. florida state in in and out at number 4, oregon beat arizona last night in the pac-12 championship so they pretty much guaranteed a spot. we could have chaos later today, guys. if alabama were to lose to missouri that means no sec team would make it into the playoff. then the whole baylor/tcu deb e

debate. that committee is going to have their hands full to make these decisions especially if we see upsets later today. >> good point. andy, have fun today. thank you. simply a war zone especially ask the people who live there and what we're seeing on the ground now. much of kobani, syria. we'll take you there. ew trainer ensure active heart health. i maximize good stuff, like my potassium and phytosterols which may help lower cholesterol. new ensure active heart health supports your heart and body so you stay active and strong. ensure, take life in.

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we've been watching this tragic story of lives in rubble and a city in ruins for weeks. kobani, syria, it's under siege by isis militants and now half a dozen armies are involved. >> a rare look inside in this exclusive report. >> reporter: through this wreckage lies a riddle that has the kurds defending kobani terrified. on saturday isis launched a supplies attack using suicide car bombs and dozens of fighters on this the official crossing into turkey. they say the fighters shot at them from behind a grain silo that lies just inside turkey which turkey denies. the attack shown here was repelled but only just. behind me is the grain silo

where the kurds say isis were able to take up positions and shoot at them, launching an attack on this border crossing here. interestingly now, there always was a turkish flag flying above that silo. it's now conspicuously absent. they are preparing for a repeat hardening in animosity toward turkey, this reinforcing their belief that turkey let jihadis cross into syria months ago. this is our homeland he says. what is isis doing here. all that came from turkey. turkey is behind all of this. give them weapons, i saw it with my own eyes. they also claim the huge car bomb behind this crater drove in from turkey, which turkey also denies. the tracks lying around suggest it was in fact a tank car bomb. unstoppable. >> that's it for us. we'll see you here at 10:00

eastern in the cnn newsroom. >> "smerconish" starts for you right now. hello and welcome to the program. i'm michael smerconish. we're focusing on a black man dead at the hands of police. today i've got hard questions you may not have heard. growing resentment among police officers, have they become the villains instead of the heroes? as the country takes to the streets to say no more cops say their hands are tied as the crowds grow larger so does their anger. the cops ask a question, what are we supposed to do? if the terrible tale told by the choke hold tape wasn't enough for a grand jury, can it be enough for federal charges? i'm not sure we'll ever see this case get made, and i'll talk to one of the smartest judges, a former cop, about what it would take to get the feds to act. plus, stolen valor. the shocking video of a pretend war hero and the real hero who confronted him and then shared