. good morning, everybody. i'm betty nguyen. it's 5 a.m. on the east coast. this is the scene in ferguson. it resembles other fires that have burned overnight as the call for calm lasted only minutes as tensions exploded. now the violence was in response to the grand jury's decision not to indict officer darren wilson and shooting death of michael brown in the early morning darkness. top law enforcement officials offered the latest details on this unrest. >> i really don't have any hesitation in telling you that i didn't see a lot of peaceful protest out there tonight and

i'm disappointed about that. i'm not saying that there weren't folks out there for the right reason. but i'm saying unfortunately this spun out of control, and frankly what i'm seeing tonight and i've been up there all evening right in the middle of it along with captain johnson what i've seen tonight is probably much worse than the worse night we ever had in august. >> last august we talked about the out of towners came into our community. well, our community has got to take some responsibility for what happened tonight, for what happened tonight as far as tearing our community apart. this cannot happen. we talk about peaceful protests. that did not happen tonight. >> no it did not. chief ballmer announced 13 arrests. governor nixon called for additional national guard and officials are still assessing damage to about a dozen buildings that were set on fire. all of this just began after

9:00 p.m. western this announcement by simple prosecuting attorney, bob mcculloch. >> they determined no probable cause exist to file charges against darren wilson and returned no true bill on each of the five indictments. the scientific evidence examined by the grand jury supported by witness statements tells the accurate and tragic story of what happened. >> shortly thereafter president obama called for peace. >> first and foremost we are a nation built on the rule of law. so we need to accept that this decision was the grand jury's to make. there are americans who agree with it. there are americans who are decently disappointed even angry. it's an understandable reaction. but i join michael's parents in asking anyone who protests this

decision to do so peacefully. we need to recognize that this is not just an issue for ferguson, this is an issue for america. we have made enormous progress in race relations over the course of the past several decades. i have witnessed that in my own life, and to deny that progress, i think, is to deny america's capacity for change. but what is also true is that there are still problems and communities of color aren't just making these problems up. >> right here on msnbc host chris hayes and his guest had to stop their interview after hearing gunfire. >> we're hearing some more what sounds like gunfire nearby. [ gunshot ]

that's gunfire. all right. just a hail of gunfire just now down the street. okay. we're being told to fall back. i'll throw to you in the studio. >> very tense situation there. nbc's jennifer has the latest now from ferguson. >> reporter: businesses torched, a police car ablaze. looting and violence met with tear gas. punctuated by automatic gunfire. lots of it. >> i know there's at least a dozen buildings set on fire, most of those are total losses. i personally heard about 150 shots fired. >> reporter: out cry from a community angry over a grand jury's decision not indict officer darren wilson in the shooting of unarmed teenager michael brown. st. louis county prosecutor robert mcculloch stressing the panel of seven men and five

women, nine white, three black are the only ones who have examined all of the evidence. >> they met on 25 separate days in the last three months, heard more than 70 hours of testimony from about 60 witnesses. >> reporter: witnesses and evidence he says indicate brown skufld wi scuffled with officer wilson. among the documents released these pictures of wilson's injuries after the shooting. president obama spoke from the white house after the announcement. >> to those in ferguson, there are ways of channeling your concerns constructively and there are ways of channeling your concerns destructively. michael brown's parents understand what it means to be constructive. the vast majority of peaceful protesters, they understand it as well. >> reporter: but the others swarmed the streets, torching buildings, destroying

businesses. >> our community has got to take some responsibility for what happened tonight, for what happened tonight as far as tearing our community apart. >> reporter: dealing another heavy blow by a community battered by three months of turmoil. joining me now to talk more about this is political analyst and columnist. we heard from officials that the community this time needs to take responsibility but does law enforcement need to take responsibility as well for why this got so out of hand tonight because we heard that back in august it was bad but they said tonight was even worse. was there too much over abundance of caution. >> it was poorly handled last night. back in august cops took some complaint of being overly militarized. they brought in those huge tanks. they might have erred too much last night in the other direction. when you see firefighters trying to put out fires, being shot upon and no police there to back them up something is wrong. >> a lot of those

firefighters -- we're looking right now of video of some of the different businesses that were set on fire about what, the 12 of them we heard from officials and some of the firefighters actually had to retreat from fighting those fires because of those gun shots. >> canjj5k you imagine anythinge tragic. you're looking at a building in your community, owned by local people. this isn't some huge corporation from somewhere else. understand the damage will be with your community for years and years to come and unable to do anything about it. a truly tragic night in ferguson. >> it is indeed. let's get down to the details of this case, because that's really what sparked a lot of this anger. while we don't know what all the grand jury heard when it came to the evidence, prosecutor bob mcculloch had this to say. that is where were mike brown's hands. were they up when he was shot?x take a listen. >> in subsequent interviews with law enforcement or their testimony before the grand jury, many of the same witnesses

acknowledged that they didn't actually see the shooting. some were running for cover. some were relating what they heard from others. the description of how mr. brown's hands raised his hands or the position of his hands is not consistent among the witnesses. some described his hands as being out to his side, some said in front of him with his palms up. others said his hands were raised near his head or by his shoulders. still others said they were in front of his chest or down by his stomach. others described his hands as being in a running position or in fists. >> all right. there's a lot of scenarios going on there. does that help answer some of the question or is it going to stoke more anger here? >> i spent the past couple of hours pouring over the various transcripts he was referring to. there's still unanswered questions. i don't know hands were the crucial factor. how far was michael when he was finally shot. was he actually coming forward in a lunging or a momentus kind

of way? we don't know tans. the eyewitness testimony does seem to be contradictory. we'll be fighting about this for weeks and months to come. >> since the grand jury didn't indict what does it mean for the justice department's investigation. >> there could be federal charges to be filed. hopefully they will come up with procedural changes in that department that reaches a professional level. >> as we watch these fires continue to burn overnight, where does ferguson go from here? >> oh, man, it is tough. you look back on the cities that had looting and that kind of destruction decades ago it can take years and years for a communities to come back. i want to see more ministers, more community leaders. where were they last night. >> where was the national guard? we heard they were at the ready. >> they were at the ready but holding back and looking after the command center and much more of a defensive position. tonight they got to be much more

activity on the street. in fact even more important than some of that law enforcement are some of those community leaders there. they got to bring that community back together again. it's not just the one effort, it takes everybody. >> did the timing of releasing this announcement affect this outcome? delivering that at night instead of waiting until the morning when they can get the community leaders there, the clergy there dean it in an organized fashion. >> i got to tell you. i find it hard to get my head around the thinking of that. it seemed unlikely to do it at night. it would have been better to wait until this morning, light of day. this let the tough guys figure out their plans as well. that turned out to be pretty destructive. >> as we watched video of what transpired overnight. thank you so much for your insight. we want to shift gears now as millions of americans get ready for the thanksgiving

holiday this week. there will be chaos in the forecast. a major storm is about to hit just as an estimated 46 million americans hit the road or head to the airport. nbc's tom costello has more. >> reporter: still digging out from seven feet of snow, buffalo dodged the worst predictions of mass flooding caused by higher temps and melting. from washington up i-95 to philly, new york and on to boston weather whiplash. >> snow, sleet and freezing rain could impact holiday travel this year. >> reporter: within, cold rain and even snow are taking aim at a big section of the country from tuesday night through thursday just in time for the great thanksgiving day escape. 5 million americans are flying between wednesday and sunday. some of the nation's busiest airports could be choke points. airports to watch include washington, baltimore, philly, new york, boston, cleveland, detroit and chicago. be warned even if your flight is in the west a major storm's

rippr2=s effect can reach all way to the pacific. >> all right. so let's find out how bad it's truly going to get for the east coast. >> for some people it's bad. this is a very difficult snow forecast. the temperatures are very borderline for many areas especially on i-95. you probably can go and dig around those snowfall. you'll see a whole range. i've seen one in new york city and as high as eight inches. there's a lot of uncertainties. these storms when temperatures are around 32, 33 degrees a couple of degrees make a luge difference. it's hard to believe we're in the 60s and 50s and see a snowstorm in 24 hours but that's what will happen. winter storm warnings for the capital district. watches go from outside of d.c. all the way up through maine. the way it will play out wednesday the storm will be coming northward. mostly as rain during the early portion of the day. you're okay driving wednesday early in the morning from new york city southward.

wednesday afternoon as the cold air begins to wrap into the storm, it intensifies. here's my snowfall forecast. a lot of the big cities, i'm thinking about one to three inches, new york city, same with philadelphia, same with baltimore, d.c. probably an inch or less. the highest totals will be northern jersey, typical snow areas from poconos, catskills, berkshires, massachusetts through maine. the majority when you don't want to be on the roads, interior new england will be wednesday afternoon and evening that's when you do not want to be driving. >> that's when some people are driving. try to head out today. >> a lot of people will go today. today is a beautiful day to travel. >> late breaking details on the situation in ferguson and around the country following the grand jury's decision not to press charges against officer darren wilson. the bills primetime salute to snowed in buffalo.

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some stories making news

this morning. within hours the parents of michael brown will speak to the media for the first time since a grand jury did not indict officer darren wilson. ráy in ferguson will address the media. defense secretary chuck hagel is stepping down following pressure from the white house. hagel is the first high level member of president obama's national security team to submit his resignation. >> reporter: less than two years on the job a somber chuck hagel thanked by president obama and vice president joe biden announced he's calling it quits. >> i am announcing my resignation of secretary of defense. >> reporter: the white house and pentecost claim that after a series of three recent meetings with the president it was hagel who offered to step aside. but senior defense officials delnbc news hagel was forced to resign. as the war with isis exploded in iraq and syria, the white house appeared to lose confidence in

hagel as he questioned the administration's strategy. after president obama called isis the junior varsity of terrorist, hagel warned ti isis force was a threat to the u.s. >> they are beyond just a terrorist group. this is beyond anything that we've seen so we must prepare for everything. >> reporter: if the white house is frustrated with hagel the feeling is apparently mutual. republican senator john mccain said hagel was shut out of the white house inner circle. >> i can tell you he was in any office last week. >> reporter: as hagel prepares to leave, their are several considered for the job. >> the troubled va hospital in phoenix, arizona is out of a job. the director was placed on administrative leave back in may. this news comes after evidence

of falsified records and improper practices at the hospital. that historic snowstorm moved the bills/jets game to detroit's ford field last night and buffalo wasted no time. this touchdown by scott chandler leads to what can only be described as an invisible snow shovel. at least we think that's what that is. after a long week the bills win it 38-3. 19 past the hour. just ahead the ferguson fallout went well beyond missouri's borders. demonstrations in new york, seattle, los angeles, and oakland california out in force making their voices heard. no. it's called grid iq. the 4:51 is leaving at 4:51. ♪ they cut the power. it'll fix itself. power's back on. quick thinking traffic lights and self correcting power grids

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coming up on 22 past the hour, newspapers across the country leading with news out of ferguson this morning. here's the cover of today's "st. louis post-dispatch." it reads no charges for wilson. pockets of rioting looting erupt. in the "the washington post" no indictment in ferguson teenager's killing in brown's home town a pause to listen and then outrage. the "new york post" reads decision in ferguson streets of rage, havoc as slayed cop cleared. and protests are taking place across the country from the "chicago tribune" activists gathered downtown in support of the ferguson protesters. they chanted we are mike brown. in philadelphia several hundred people filled the streets. police had to block access to interstate 95 after demonstrators began heading

towards highways. most demonstrators ended up outside of city hall. from nbc washington 300 people protested outside of the white house last night. about two or three dozen secret service and d.c. police officers were monitoring that situation with the demonstrations. in los angeles about 200 demonstrators marched downtown. they blocked cars and chanted. at one point protesters reached rodeo drive and satin middle of an intersection. north of there in oakland protesters marched on to interstate 580 monday night. the traffic became a slow crawl in both directions. and in new york city, take a look at this, a man of arrested in times square when he threw what appeared red paint towards police officers and officials, including police commissioner bill bratton. celebrities are also taking to social media to respond to the michael brown grand jury decision. singer katy perry tweeted feeling stuck all the way over

here in sidney seeing the news just now. sending my prayers to ferguson and praying for an equal america. musician and voice coach pharrell williams tweeted i'm heartbroken over no indictment in ferguson. basketball star lebron james wrote as a society how do we do better and stop things like this happening time after time? and actress gabrielle tweeted, heavy heart, angry soul, we matter. thomas roberts "way too early" are just ahead and he'll take you through the events of ferguson overnight as they unfold. it's 24 minutes past the hour.

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. 27 minutes past the hour. a lot of developments in ferguson. here's a look back at last night's events as anger spilled to the streets. >> after their exhaustive review of the evidence the grand jury deliberated over two days making their final decision. they determined that no probable cause exist to file any charge against officer wilson. >> this is not just an issue for ferguson. this is an issue for america. and it's important to note

that fires are still burning. we hope to hear from the parents of michael brown today. a lot more developments to come so keep it right here. thanks for watching. i'm betty nguyen. this is "first look" on msnbc. much more to come. "way too early" with thomas roberts starts right now. after an exhaustive review of the evidence the grand jury deliberated over two days, making their final decision. they determined that no probable cause exist to file any charge against officer wilson. [ gunshot ] >> i can tell you i personal lie heard about 150 shots fired. as soon as mr. mcculloch announced the verdict the officers started taking rocks and battery. >> our community has to take responsibility for what happened tonight. we talk about peaceful protest and that did not happen tonight. >> good morning everyone, i'm thomas roberts, it's tuesday,

november 25th. we've been covering the latest in the breaking news in the las% eight hours. in the protests from overnight in ferguson, missouri and protests across our country it's been a very fluid night in ferguson, missouri for the violence that erupted there and for parts of the country and the city in ferguson, missouri especially with the unrest that happened right after the moments that the county prosecutor announced a grand jury did not indict officer darren wilson, that's the white police officer who shot and killed michael brown an unarmed black teen in august. this is one of the results of the protest. a dozen businesses up in flames including a drugstore and a pizza place. protesters also set fires to numerous vehicles including at least two police cars. other police vehicles are damaged after being vandalized. some demonstrators smashed windows and looting was reported at several stores in the area. president obama addressed the nation late last night urging demonstrators to show