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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
W.H. Intruder Got Further Than First Reported; Can U.S. Count On Iraqi Military?; Police: UVA Suspect Linked To At Least One Other Case; Mother Of Beheading Suspect Speaks Out; Chelsea Clinton, Husband Take Baby Home; Protesters Police Square Off In Hong Kong; 36 Presumed Dead In Japan Volcano Eruption; Mistrust Of Police Deepens In Ferguson
Aired September 29, 2014 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Through the front door, according to whistle blower's testimony to congressional investigators. He not only got inside the White House and armed with the knife. He briefly had for one of a better phrase he's running the place.
Tomorrow, Secret Service said, Director Julia Pierson is scheduled to testify before a congressional panel on protecting the president and the first family but her appearance also comes hard on the Hills, reporting on Washington Post, an apparent mishandling of an incident three years ago which a gunmen open fired from his car with this semi- automatic rifle, hitting the upstairs residence. In four days past before agents concluded it was on a truck back firing or as they initially believe the gang shootout.
Senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta is reporting things. He joins us again tonight. What is the latest? So this is really extraordinary.
JIM ACOSTA, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Some very big questions Anderson. Omar Gonzales made it much farther inside the White House after jumping the fence here than previously acknowledged by the secret service. According to congressional law enforcement sources, once Gonzales entered the White House, he managed to get passed a Secret Service officer at the North Portico door, may have overpowered that officer.
Then when passed the stairs leading to the first family residence and then ran inside the east room before he was tackled just as he was trying to head into the green room. You can see a diagram of the inside of the White House onscreen right now. No shots were fired inside or outside of the White House during this entire incident and according to a memo that will be use by lawmakers on the house oversight committee in the hearing on this tomorrow Anderson.
There were multiple lapses that allowed Gonzales to make it that far. One of them being, what's they already use (ph) what's called a crash button that would have instantly locked down the White House and the question is why that button was not pushed?
COOPER: Again, I mean if this guy have that suicide vest or something...
ACOSTA: That's right.
COOPER: ... I mean the White House itself, you know, parts which could have been blown up. You would give any much different official version of the story, the night of the incident.
ACOSTA: That's right, I mean it was pretty chaotic that night but this new information, no question about it Anderson, runs counter to what the secret service initially said on the night of the fence jumping incident when our spokesman told reporters that Gonzales was apprehended just inside the North Portico door. That was just not the case. He made it inside the East Room of the White House by the green room (ph).
Anderson, I've been here, inside that part of the building on multiple occasions mainly for social functions when they let reporters into those parts of the White House. That would've taken a good 30 seconds or so to make it inside that part of the White House. So, as you said, he had great access to this building for a short period of time.
COOPER: And the Secret Service Director, she's going to be asked about this when she testifies tomorrow.
ACOSTA: That's right. The Director of the Secret Service Julia Pierson is scheduled to appear before the house oversight committee. Tomorrow morning she's likely to be asked not only about this incident but also our agency's budget. You know, Anderson, the Secret Service is authorized to have more than 1,400 officers right now. There are roughly 1,300 officers so they're about 100 or so short, and not to mention the physical barriers around the White House.
Anderson, I was just walking out to get my dinner not a short time ago and it was just sort of, you know, I'm about six foot, one inch. The current fence at the White House, it's been in placed since the 1960s, is only seven and a half feet tall, so expect the Secret Service to be asked simply about the, you know, main physical barriers that keep the public from getting inside the White House.
COOPER: Right. And also the dogs, I mean where were they for this guy. A lot of questions.
ACOSTA: That's right.
COOPER: Jim Acosta, thanks. Lots of talk about, President Obama's statement also seeming to blame his Director of National Intelligence for underestimating ISIS but not himself directly taking a responsibility for underestimating. We spoke to 60 Minutes' Steve Kroft. And during the interview he also underscored that it would be at local forces fighting ISIS on the ground not American troops. He expressed at least limited hope the Iraqis could try to get their act together.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE KROFT, 60 MINUTES CORRESPONDENT: What happens if the Iraqis don't fight or can't fight?
BARACK OBAMA, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well...
KROFT: What's the end game?
OBAMA: I'm not going to speculate on failure at the moment. We're just getting started. Let's see how they do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: So far, the answer is not very well in terms of how they're doing. Last week, ISIS overrun an Iraqi outpost just 25 miles from Baghdad. Today, ISIS fighters have pushed within three miles over Syrian Kurdish town on the Turkey's boarder. More now from Chief National Security Correspondent Jim Sciutto, who joins us once again.
So, it's not -- I mean it's remarkable and not just that U.S. underestimated ISIS but they overestimated the Iraqi military and their capabilities. What are you hearing about how that happened?
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, the use of investment as you know, dollars, training hours, lives frankly that the risk as U.S. soldiers are training the Iraqi military and, you know, the feeling was that they trained a pretty good one. Now, there were reasons to fear before ISIS overrun the country because U.S. officials who are aware of what the Iraqi prime minister, the now former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was doing in the military.
He was removing commanders who is been well-trained by U.S. forces because they weren't loyal to him. They weren't Shiites like the Iraqi prime minister. He was also removing and moving people around, taking folks out, putting folks in to pay them back. There was cronyism, et cetera. I mean all of those were bad indicators.
I suppose the Intelligence Community, the administration didn't know how bad an indicator that was but of course that all came to bear the moment that ISIS cross the boarder and made its assault towards the capital and towards western Iraq, northern Iraq, et cetera.
COOPER: And I mean official that you're talking to privately, are they all that confident that the Iraqi military can be turned around to the point where they can actually fight ISIS?
SCIUTTO: Sadly only about half of it. Those U.S. military advisers that send in recent weeks, part of their job is been to asses the capability of the Iraqi military. They recently came to the conclusion that just over half of Iraqi military brigades are viable. It's pretty remarkable. You're talking about more than 200,000 troops but only about 100,000 of them in units that are thought to be capable of pushing back against ISIS.
And this comes, Anderson, of course as the U.S. is making a tremendous investment with the quality and the reliability of Iraqi forces in mind because as U.S. officials constantly repeat, the air campaign over Iraq just like over Syria is not worthwhile unless you have a ground force to back it up. So they made a judgment only about a half of that ground force that you and I as tax payers paid for over more than a decade is capable of backing -- pushing back ISIS even with the U.S. basically acting as air force.
COOPER: And I mean, I was reading reports about phantom troops where units would be kind of decimated and the generals or the leaders would still claim that they had a full number of troops and they would be taking the salaries of these non-existing personnel like no-show job I mean it's just -- it's crazy.
Jim Sciutto, I appreciate. I want to dig deeper now on this with Quartz's Managing Editor and CNN Global Affairs analyst Bobby Ghosh, also the Former U.S. Commander in Iraq, Retired Army Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, and CNN Military Analyst and Retired Air Force, Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona.
General Hertling, I mean you got so much experience on the ground in Iraq, what do you make on the fact that administration and people within the intelligence community are saying they were surprise that the Iraqi military couldn't standup, shouldn't more people have seen this coming?
MARK HERTLING, LIEUTENANT GENERAL: Well, I think, Anderson. Jims' report is phenomenal but I also think that those of us who where there, who watched some of this, who trained the Iraqi soldiers, I mean I can tell you times that I've gone on patrol with my counterpart, General Riad (ph) and all the soldiers under me went on patrols with their counterpart leaders from brigade commanders, battalion company commanders. To us, to all of us. It's just been painful to watch this whole thing but it's...
COOPER: Painful or not surprising?
HERTLING: Yeah. That's a hard way to put it Anderson, not surprising because we saw the early stages of what Mr. Maliki was doing. He was replacing very good leaders with his proxies. And if you go -- Anderson I'll make the comparison, if you go to Fort Bragg North Carolina or Fort Hood Texas and replace all the great leaders with guys that are paying for their positions and who are terrible leaders in a three year period of time, those units are going to fall apart too even though you got great soldiers under it.
And we saw a lot of really great -- well, let's put at -- we saw a lot of really good soldiers in the Iraqi army. They were coming to the point where they were becoming a very good army with very good leadership. And even when I was there in 2008 and that's a long time ago, we were beginning to see the erosion through Mr. Maliki and some of his compatriots in the central government, the erosion of good leadership by replacing the good leaders with not so good leaders.
COOPER: And Colonel, I mean, you can make the argument that this argues in favor the idea of the U.S. should've kept some sort of a residual force because even though we have the largest embassy in the world in Baghdad, if you don't have American military advisers out with Iraqi forces and clearly, the view from the green zone of Baghdad doesn't seem all that accurate if the U.S. intelligence community was kind of surprising? RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: That's right. We didn't have eyes in those units. We couldn't see what was going. We -- as the general said, you could sense that they were changing the leadership but you didn't know how hallow this force was becoming and since the Iraqis don't really have the professional NCO corp. that we have there was no one left to keep those units together.
I mean they were stressed.
COOPER: They don't have the NCO corp. that the U.S. military have.
FRANCONA: That's right. We have, you know, the officers who set the tone, conducted training and gave the orders but it's the NCO, the senior sergeants and the junior sergeants that actually make things work, keep it together, and force the discipline. They're the backbone of everything. They get it done. They do the jobs and they make sure that the units stay together.
COOPER: The Iraqi military units do not have that.
FRANCONA: Well, we we're trying to instill that in them, but that takes generations to instill.
BOBBY GHOSH QUARTZ MANAGING EDITOR: And part of the reason that corp. does not exit Anderson is because when we went in there and fired the entire Iraqi army, a lot of those people just went home and in fact, some of them joined the insurgency and that culture, that military culture takes a long time to recreate from scratch. You can recruit new people. You can sort of hire new soldiers and train them but a military culture as these gentlemen will tell you takes a long time to establish...
COOPER: And General Hertling, I mean, all these ISIS for -- I mean, you know, the numbers have exactly -- how many fighters ISIS has is in contention? I mean they're -- it's all over the map and a lot of depends on how you define it because there's guys that they just picked up as they've been taking territory, guys who are unemployed, there's other more hardcore groups, but how come they aren't incapable of fighting on the battlefield? I mean, or is it just that they motivated and they have...
HERTLING: They are motivated. They have support. They're being paid. You know, we've talked a lot about the oil revenues that are coming from some of their facilities. The ISIS fighters are being paid and they have the will to do the things we're asking for. Some of the key problems not only in terms of leadership that the Iraqi army had but frankly, we were even paying some of the Iraqi soldiers in the in the inner room when the Maliki government would not. So we saw early indicators of this Anderson.
And I also, you know, I like to say, you compare this to say a World War II situation where the Germans army was rebuilt. There were also schools like the martial center that would establish a leadership bond among the senior leaders and even the junior leaders with NCO academy as Rick just mentioned. That didn't occur in Iraq. We were so busy building an army to fight that perhaps we didn't pay as much attention to the establishment of the leadership, hoping that that would come.
GHOSH: Part of the reason why ISIS has been so effective while the Iraqi army is not, a lot of people in ISIS have ex Iraqi army.
COOPER: Right.
GHOSH: A lot of them are from Saddam Hussein's old army who joined the insurgency and then morphed into this Islamist group. So as I think -- as we've said before on the show, some of those ISIS commanders have been to military war college, the Iraqi military war college.
FRANCONA: Yes, these guys know what they were doing. They came down in to Euphrates, down (ph) the Tigris valleys, as they know what targets to go to. They know what villages to go to. They know what towns to go, because many of them were from there. And this overrunning of this installation we saw just this last weekend, when they came down to those valleys, they knew which places to stop and fight and which ones to bypass. This is one f the ones they bypassed and after the air power slowed them down then they went back and were cleaning up these pockets of resistance.
COOPER: General, I mean obviously a hindsight, it's easy to say in retrospect this should have been done and certainly there's argument about whether or not it was even possible to do -- to leave a residual force but -- in your opinion, would that have made a significant difference, at the very least in terms of the intelligence that the U.S. would've had about the capabilities of the Iraqi military.
HERTLING: Yeah. Interesting enough Anderson, I was there both in 2008 when I saw the Maliki Government starting to take away the leadership. I was also in Baghdad in 2004 when the decision was made to just establish -- well the de-Baathification law.
COOPER: Right.
HERTLING: So, there are -- as General Stanley McChrystal says, there is plenty of blame to go around over multiple iterations of this campaign of mistakes we have made that somewhat destroyed the potential for a good Iraqi army. The first one was the debuffication law, the second one was not paying as much attention as we should have...
COOPER: General, how quickly -- I mean, being there on the ground did you realize, wait a minute this debuffication thing is not a good idea.
HERTLING: Yeah. I happened to be at a conference with 600 Iraqi generals on that day that the debuffication law was announced and there was disbelief among these individuals who were -- we were beginning to see come together to maybe rebuild in Iraq under something other than Saddam Hussein. This was in 2004 and they were -- with me in this conference hall expressing disbelief that this was happening.
COOPER: Wow. HERTLING: So yeah, this is goes way back and I think there's -- as I said earlier, there's plenty of blame to go around.
COOPER: Yeah. General Hertling, I appreciate you being on and Colonel Francona, Bobby Ghosh as well.
So always make sure you set your DVR. You can watch us whenever you want.
Coming up next, breaking news what police are calling a significant break in the disappearance of Hannah Graham. The question, does their forensic evidence, their alleged forensic evidence connect her case to a murder in the area, prior murder. Later, how the Graham case has shed new light on other disappearances, not far from where Graham vanished.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: (Inaudible) more breaking news tonight, when Virginia State police say it's a significant break in the disappearance of University of Virginia, Hannah Graham. A forensic link, they call at to another Virginia woman, Morgan Harington who vanished nearby five year ago. Months later, her remains were found and so his DNA allegedly from killer. It linked her to another case, a rape four years before this and the victim in it gave a description.
The question tonight, does it resembled Graham suspect Jesse Matthew Jr., does that new forensic link as authorities are calling it tie him to Morgan Harrington's death and to the 2005 sexual assault. Joining us now for details, CNN's Jean Casarez.
So, what did police told you about this alleged forensic connection between the two cases in this?
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They won't say. They're saying it's a forensic link that they are pursuing. Now, here is what we know, that Jesse Matthew, even before he was arrested, when they searched his car for hours, I was told by the police chief that they took many, many items and then when they search the apartment of Jesse Matthew, two times, they took many items.
I know that the technicians of the Virginia State forensic lab have been working overtime, and the whole purpose is to find DNA to find a link with Hannah but also, they'd have to be trying to find Jesse Matthew's DNA of cigarette butts or a cap or anything like that. So to have a forensic link in some respect allegedly with Jesse Matthew, you've got to have something on him but that's what they're developing right now.
They also say in the press released that it's going to take a long time for them to find out their conclusions, to find out definitively what this is but forensic links they are pursing at this point.
COOPER: And it's obviously in the horrific roller coaster for Morgan Harington's family. Morgan Harington's mom drew comparisons between her daughter's case and Hannah Graham's disappearance and there are a lot of similarities there.
CASAREZ: Anderson, there we so many similarities. They were both blond. They were both college co-ed. Hannah still is a college co- ed. They went walking in Charlottesville of an evening, one because Morgan couldn't get back in the Arena for the concert, Hannah was lost. And it was all in the fall. In the fall months is when they went missing so many, many similarities.
COOPER: And there was -- this rape case connected to Harrington's case as well.
CASAREZ: That is very interesting. When Morgan Harrington's body was finally found several months later, they found foreign DNA on her body. They did a search of that DNA. They linked it to a 2005 raped. In Fairfax City Virginia, the victim she survived. And she went and she got tested. They found this DNA of a proprietor on her that matched Morgan Harrington's DNA that was found on her body but it was still unknown who that was and that's where we are at now.
Investigators want to see if they have the person that's responsible for all three it would be.
COOPER: All right, Jean Casarez, I appreciate it. Thanks.
The Hannah Graham case has brought new attention to other cases of missing young women, as we mentioned two in particular who disappeared within 60 miles of each other. So investigators look for any other possible links.
Randi Kaye reports.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RANDI KAYE, CCN ANCHOR: Just this month, another search for Samantha Clarke in the Orange County Virginia, four years after she vanished. The 19-year old disappeared in 2010. Slipping out after midnight from her town house telling her 14-year old brother she was going out with friends. She never returned.
BARBARA TINDER, SAMANTHA'S MOTHER: She was with me all the time everywhere I went she was with me.
KAYE: Law enforcement spent hours scouring this lake. They came up empty handed.
JAMES FENWICK, ORANGE COUNTY POLICE: Even though we've been at this lake numerous times our experts in this matter have determined that the lake has not yet been 100 percent cleared.
KAYE: Samantha's cousin believes she always planned to return home.
SUSAN BURNS, SAMANTHA'S COUSIN: The only thing she took was her house key and she said that she would be back before morning.
KAYE: On Samantha's My Space page five days before she went missing a mysterious clue. He posted, I hate life. I need help. I don't know what to do.
Samantha's mother believed she knows who took her daughter, this man Randy Allen Taylor.
TINDER: Randy Taylor come and picked her up. I mean he called her six times and I mean, why would you call my daughter six times if ain't trying to leave her alone or trying to talk to her to come out of the house or kind to talk her to do something.
KAYE: Taylor was once looked at by a police in Samantha's case but years later, this past May in a bizarre twist he was actually convicted in a disappearance and murder of another girl, 17-year old Alexis Murphy.
Both girls were last seen along the same stretch of highway 29. Samantha was last seen in Orange, Virginia. Alexis disappeared in Livingston, Virginia about 60 miles away.
Alexis' family thought they might find her after police found her cellphone but Alexis' body was never discovered.
TRINA MURPHY, ALEXIS' AUNT: Alexis if you're out there and you can hear us just know that you're family loves you. We will never stop until you are home. Our family circle has broken right now.
KAYE: Police have surveillance video showing Alexis at Livingston gas station in August last year. Randy Taylor was also seen on the video. He is always maintained his innocence saying that he and Alexis and another man went back to this camper to smoke marijuana, then he said Alexis and a then unidentified black man left.
Taylor's attorney also argued his client wasn't the last person to see Alexis Murphy alive that instead police shouldn't have been focused on black male mid to late 20s with cornrows driving "20-year-old burgundy Caprice with 22-inch wheels".
Despite all the talk officials say there is no evidence linking the disappearance of Alexis Murphy to UVA student Hanna Graham. The Nelson County attorney says the black man later identified and implicated by Randy Taylor was not Jesse Matthew, the suspect in the Graham case. He also said that man had an alibi and was later cleared.
Randi Kaye, CNN New York.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, a lot more to learn as always you can find out more in the story another at cnn.com.
Just ahead, we have new developments in the horrific attack at the Oklahoma Food Processing Plant. We now know the charges the man who's accused of beheading a coworker. He's facing a number of charges. We'll tell you about that. We also have new information about the mosque where he worshipped and the impression he made on those who worship along side him. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Welcome back in Crime and Punishment tonight new details on that gruesome attack on Oklahoma food processing plant. Police say that Alton Nolen shown here in the 2010 mug shot for unrelated arrest is going to charged with first degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon. He's accused to beheading a coworker stabbing another employee. Over the weekend his mother and sister post a public apology on Facebook.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know what they have saying, that he done, well I will tell you this, that's not my son. There's two sides of the story and we're only hearing one. This family, our hearts bleed right now because what they saying Alton he had done. I want to apologize to both families because this is not Alton.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well the timing and gruesome nature of the attack have raised the question, was it motivated by ISIS, which recently called for lone wolf attacks on civilians in the U.S. So far authorities say they found no direct links to terrorism, Nolen is a convert to Islam. He worshipped at a Mosque in Oklahoma City.
Here's what David Mattingly found there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do the people who worship beside him, Alton Nolen was little more than just a face into crowd. It's believe Nolen begun attending prayer at this Oklahoma city mosque in May never speaking out, never raising suspension, and never retracting the attention of the mosque leaders.
What did you know about this man?
ADAM SOLTANO, CAIR-OKLAHOMA: To be quite honest with you, not much when I saw his picture he didn't look familiar although he can blend in very well a diverse community that we have here in Oklahoma.
MATTINGLY: Before anyone noticed Nolen at the Mosque he had already left the series of seemingly ominous posts on Facebook including pictures of Osama bin Laden an apparent beheading and smoke pouring out of the World Trade Center within weeks of his arrival he posted this, "Shariah Law is coming".
What is that mean?
IMAN IMAD ENCHASSI, ISLAMIC SOCIETY OF GREATER OKLAHOMA CITY: I have no idea. Like you I looked at his Facebook page and seen a lot of weird stuff.
MATTINGLY: If you had seen that before, what would you have done? ENCHASSI: Well, if you look at his page, Facebook page you would realize that he have 1,450 friends. None of them are Muslims and none of them from Oklahoma City.
MATTINGLY: Iman Enchassi tells me the Oklahoma City Muslim Community demonstrated against ISIS and he spoke out against ISIS in sermon. But no one knows if Nolen was there to hear it.
Saad Mohammad remembered sitting next to Nolen but only once.
SAAD MOHAMMAD: I was sitting right about here.
MATTINGLY: And was he sitting here?
MOHAMMAD: This was the very last sit...
MATTINGLY: You're just close to him?
MOHAMMAD: Yes about t his close. And you know what he always sat there.
MATTINGLY: Mohammad is a former navy seal. He says Nolen put his Quran on the floor something anyone with basic Islamic training would know is not allowed.
MOHAMMAD: He sat there was head down just real still. He looked like he was thinking more than listening. You know, he seemed far away kind of like he wasn't here.
MATTINGLY: This isn't the first time the Oklahoma Muslim Community has had to answer questions like this convicted 9/11 conspirators Zacarias Moussaoui also had ties to Oklahoma, taking flight lessons here in 2001. Mosque leaders say they are receiving threats and security has been raised at Oklahoma City Mosque.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: And David joins us now from Moore, Oklahoma. So you've been in touched with the Moore police department, what are you learning from them?
MATTINGLY: Well, they're saying that Nolen is being very cooperative and when you pushed the police a little further they say that means that he is answering all of their questions, telling them exactly what was going through his mind, why he did what he did, and how he did it.
Now, in terms of a terrorism angle they say they're not really finding one here. They're pursuing this as a murder case, and leaving the FBI to look at any possible terrorism connections. But at this point, religion didn't seem to come into this. He had dissatisfaction on the job claiming that he felt oppressed on the job. We've been told that, but that was because he was denied a raise and then he got angry after he was fired leaving this plant and then returning to commit those act of violence.
COOPER: I guess I don't understand how someone can behead somebody else and in this day and age with all that's been on the news and online that it not have some sort of whether it's directly motivated or I mean it's a bizarre way to -- it's a bizarre thing to do to somebody else, obviously we'll found out more.
David Mattingly, I appreciate it. There is a lot more happening tonight. Randi Kaye is back with the 360 Bullentin.
KAYE: Anderson, officials at Children Hospital at Colorado have confirmed the 10th case of respiratory enterovirus D-68. Four patients now remain on the hospital, the rest have been sent home. Meanwhile the CDC is looking at whether limb paralysis in nine children in Colorado is linked to that same enterovirus.
An Arkansas man is in custody night accused of kidnapping a real estate agent. Though police aren't saying how they connected in to the case. Beverly Carter vanished on Thursday from a home she was showing near Little Rock, 100s volunteers have been searching for her with no success so far.
A 360 follow now, Arizona Cardinal is running back Jonathan Dwyer is indicted on felony aggravated assault and eight misdemeanors steaming from two arguments with his wife back in July.
And this evening Chelsea Clinton and her husband took baby Charlotte home for the very first time. Proud grandparents Hillary and Former President Bill Clinton walked out of the hospital with them, very sweet picture there.
COOPER: Nice picture. Randi, thanks very much. Just ahead protesters fill street at Hong Kong clashing with police. An update on showdown, next. Also Volcano eruption in Japan leaves dozens presumed dead live -- but look at those images, that ash just pouring right toward the hiker, scary stuff. A live report from the mountain, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: It's almost 9:40 in morning in Hong Kong. Pro-democracy protesters still out in force, however things are much calmer than they were last night, when they and police squared off sending several dozen people local hospital according to officials who also say they've have arrested 89 people since the protest begun.
As Ivan Watson said in the last hour people in Hong Kong have not seen this kind of police responds to unrest in many years, he joins us again tonight. So what's the scene there now?
IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this encampment, the setting (ph) is slowly waking up after sweltering night, the second in row camping out here, occupying this highway in the center. I mean this is supposed to be looked down of four-lane highway here that runs to the center of this incredibly congested city. And these demonstrators have been occupying this place as well as another number of other points in the city demanding one thing basically, Anderson, democracy. They want more freedom here. They want a democratic election in 2017 and they are out here even though the Hong Kong government, the Chinese central government has called this protest movement illegal. The remarkable thing here is how young some of these demonstrators are, I mean these are students. They are teenagers 20, 21, 22-years- old and they have spearheaded this protest movement and probably the biggest of its kind in generations here in this former British colony.
COOPER: Hong Kong maintained its own legal system, rather several liberties when it was returned to China back in 1997. And I know many there in, you know, I feel like Beijing has been in encroaching on these liberties, is that a sense of what's driving these protest that candidates who run are kind of pre-selected?
WATSON: That's a big part of it. I mean, this is started as a protest movement -- it started as a protest movement against new election regulations for the 2017 election from the election of the top official here in Hong Kong.
The local government here signed off on it and the critics here they say, well, it would allow the central government in China. It would effectively allow Beijing to nominate to handpicked the candidate and the people here, the signs, chants that they've been chanting all call for one thing, a universal suffrage.
Now, they've also had new calls that have developed in the last 48 hours for the resignation of one man here. It's the top official here in Hong Kong C.Y. Leung and they've actually set up this bus almost as a shrine to his funeral and we've heard the chant resign, resign referring to him. And I can't stress enough, Anderson these type of protest would not be tolerated in mainland China, the security forces would use much more violent measures to very quickly crush them.
COOPER: No doubt about that. It's incredible to see it though taking place in Hong Kong right now. Ivan Watson thanks.
Now with the latest in that deadly volcanic eruption in central Japan, the volcano erupted Saturday, sending ash down the mountainside engulfing hikers. Take a look at that image -- I mean, how scary that must have been to see that, that cloud coming toward you. At least 36 people presumed dead, 24 bodies remain on the mountain about 120 miles by Air West of Tokyo.
About 12 have been recovered and identified. It is morning now in the mountain. And Will Ripley joins me live at the latest on the search.
You know, it's amazing -- well I can see behind you what looks like this massive plume of smoke, we saw this in the last hour, is it still erupting, the volcano?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, you know, it really is incredible to see Anderson and we've been watching it since the eruption happen over the weekend, this large plume -- its gas and ash.
Ash has been raining down from miles around this volcano including right here on our live location. Yesterday we had to wear face mask because the air was so thick. And that's the real danger when you're getting up closer to the mountain is that there are poisonous gasses inside this plume and they're afraid that some of the people who actually tried to take cover during the eruption, they have survived the initial event when the mountain blow its top without any warning. They ran to mountain lodges but then the fumes may have overcome them.
So in addition to that, the two dozen people who rescuers believe are still up there on that mountain lifeless, there could also be more people yet to be discovered in some of those buildings that are covered with ash.
COOPER: And rescuers have had tough time, they've had to stop the search for survivors because of this toxic gas. Have conditions for them to improve at all?
RIPLEY: Yeah. They haven't. In fact they've had to cut off the search. It is suspended right now. They had to suspend it in the early afternoon yesterday. Yesterday was the toxic gas as you mentioned and today they actually detected some small volcanic movement.
That's the big concern is that in additional of the smaller eruptions, there could be a much larger eruption, a second major event possibly imminent. And so every, you know, volcanologist are watching this mountain very closely. They're really afraid that the rescuers could be in danger if they try to go up there.
COOPER: I mean, they have a lot of volcanic monitoring equipment in Japan, did they not have any advance warning about the eruption. Do -- Have authorities said why?
RIPLEY: That's the big question that a lot of people are asking right now. We were watching government investigators out here last night taking satellite images trying to learn more about this eruption.
You know, when we think about Japan with 110 active volcanoes, 10 percent of the world's active volcanoes. They have some of the most advance detection equipment in the world and yet there is no warning about this. No indication that this mountain was going to blow its top and so you had a full of hikers.
People who use these mountains for, not only hiking but skiing in the winter months. They are common recreation destination. Mt. Fuji, Japan's highest, this is Japan second highest and there is some real concerns about the safety of all these people who come to visit here.
COPPER: Wow. All right, Will Repley thanks very much Will.
Just ahead the latest on the fresh violence in Ferguson, Missouri over the weekend and the deepening mistrust to the police among many in the community. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COPPER: In Ferguson, Missouri another tense weekend, eight people were arrested when a protest outside the police station turned violent. According to CNN affiliate KTVI, some of the demonstrators began throwing rocks and bottles at police.
In a separate incident, a police officer was shot in the arm by a man who -- he says pointed a gun in his chest. The officer said the gun went off as he pushed it away from him. Authority said they do not believe the shooting was related to protest over the death of Michael Brown.
In the several weeks since Brown was killed by a police officer, the calls for justice have intensified. Protests were reignited last week when a memorial near this site where Brown die was burned down, the act of vandalism founding a lot of anger.
Sara Sidner has the latest now from Ferguson.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This scorched memorial of slain teenager Michael Brown has been rebuilt. But he gaping gulf of mistrust between he police and black residents in this Ferguson neighborhood remains.
DAVID WHITT, CANFIELD COPWATCH: As long this memorial stand and people would be reminded, number one who the enemy is. And...
SIDNER: Is that police?
WHITT:... so we forgot -- exactly. They are the number one enemy. They are the protectors of those who seek to do people injustice.
SIDNER: Protest continued against police this weekend with several people arrested. The police chief is adamant that officers do not target anyone just because of their race. But protesters don't be; live it.
In fact, they don't seem to believe much of anything law enforcement tells them. Case in point, protesters confronted a law enforcement Saturday over another shooting outside the community center.
A police officer was shot in arm in what appear to be a random incident nothing to do with the protest. But protesters seem to even doubt that.
CAPT. RON JOHNSON, MISSOURI HIGHWAY PATROL: What I've got to say is (inaudible). A police officer has been shot tonight (inaudible). A police officer has been shot tonight (inaudible) got shot (inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, you're right.
JOHNSON: OK.
(CROSSTALK)
JOHNSON: I'm going to ask to leave and I'm only going to ask you one time.
(CROSSTALK) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are our street. This ain't your street, these are out streets.
SIDNER: Not long after to the Michael Brown shooting, Ferguson police begin wearing body cameras. In fact the police officer who was chasing a suspect just behind this community center was wearing a body camera. But police say he never turned it on.
The fact that it wasn't turned on only added to the mistrust. Now, it's not just police wearing body cameras but protesters are too.
LAKRESHA MOORE, FERGUSON RESIDENT: I feel safe wearing it. I feel a lot safer with it because if they're not videoing it, believe me, I am.
SIDNER: Lakresha more says she wears her camera every time she leaves the house to record any interaction with law enforcement.
How would you describe that relationship?
MOORE: Oh Lord, it's not worth to even describe it...
SIDNER: It's that bad.
MOORE: It's bad, it's bad.
SIDNER: On the other side of town where I love Ferguson flags (inaudible) manicured lawns.
CHRISTINE, FERGUSON RESIDENT: We feel as if we live in a wild zone (ph).
SIDNER: Christine and here daughter say the racial divide between resident is worst now than ever before. They are family members of police officers and don't feel safe using their last names.
And what are you experiencing now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yelling, screaming.
CHRISTINE: A lot of anger wherever you go. Manners seem to gone off the window when you're going to the grocery store.
SIDNER: A community struggling to navigator racial divide that only seems to widen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Sara Sidner joins me now. So we're looking more about how that officer was shot in the arm on Saturday in Ferguson. What do you know?
SIDNER: That's right. We're hearing from one of our sources inside the police department that indeed the officer got closer to the suspect then one's thought, but the suspect actually had a gun pointed out of his chest. The officer batted his arm away and that is when the gun went off hitting him in the left arm.
The officer was actually using his left arm normally to take out his gun but it turns out he tried to use his other hand, his right hand to try and shot at the suspect, his weaker hand and missed, that suspect ran off in the woods, Anderson.
COOPER: All right, Sara Sidner and thanks very much.
Thankfully, there is one more item coming up tonight. It is good to say, The Ridiculous is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Time now for The Ridiculist. And tonight we have one of those amazing stories that you hear every ones in a while about a pet traveling thousands of miles to return home.
Gigit is a Jack Russell Terrier who lives in the Philadelphia area went missing back in April and somehow ended up in Oregon. How she got there is a complete mystery but thankfully she had a microchip implanted, so when Gigit ended up in a shelter, they were able to track down her owners.
Gigit's family could not wait to see her when she was flown almost 3,000 miles back to Philadelphia. Let's take a look at the heartwarming reunion, shall we? And look somebody made a sign welcoming Gigit home. That's very sweet. Everyone's there, eagerly awaiting her return. They haven't her for months.
Oh wait, there she is. Let's listen, let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gigit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go with him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gigit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gigit, come here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh no.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: And there she goes. That's right Gigit immediately bolted. Smell you later everybody, thanks for the free plane ride.
Eventually they were able to corner Gigit and she did go back home with her owners or at least her alleged owners. So I suppose it a happy ending.
Speaking of dogs for the intention for running, I'm sure like me you closely follow Seattle's Star 101.5 Wiener Dog Races at Emerald Downs
Just -- in case you missed it, I want to show one contestant performance. Her name is Anderson Cooper.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible) Anderson Cooper.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on A. Coop.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on Anderson.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Very sweet.
Anderson Cooper is a doxin, she's seven-years-old and as you can see she does not let the fact that her back legs are paralyzed keep her from competitive running. Although how competitive she is, I'm not going to comment.
You can go to animalswithdisabilities.org to see more but then right now we want to get to another dog tale. This one is about a poor abandoned puppy from Nebraska.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a new Mr. Cooper in town. Meet the other Anderson, a 12-week-old Chihuahua.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not Andy, it's not Coops, it is Anderson Cooper.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who was dropped off as a stray, so tiny and malnourished the future for this star was uncertain. To make sure he was getting enough care and attention, Anderson Cooper went to a foster home where the family put him with other pups. It didn't work instead Mr. Cooper started spending all his time with the cats. His foster family snapped this photo.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He needs a big name. He needs something that's just going to help him get through life and somebody suggested Cooper and then somebody said what about Anderson Cooper. That's a big name.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Sadly no one adopted little Anderson Cooper and he was put down -- oh, OK actually I'm sorry that's not true. They were kidding with me because I was about to get very upset if that was true because I should have adopted the dog since he was named after me.
Funny jokes people, really funny.
You can see of all the calls they're about to get. We called the Nebraska Humane Society he was adopted shortly after that report on KMTV. Air, calm down, I'm sweating now. I'm actually sweating down. I just read that dog was put down.
Just a recap, that dog Anderson Cooper is alive. The dogs named after me including a malnourished Chihuahua who thinks she's a cat and a winner dog in a wheelchair. Frankly -- I frankly I've never been more honored. I'm very pleased. Thank you very much, it is an honor.
At least on the Ridiculist tonight. That does it for us. Thanks very much for watching.
CNN Tonight starts now.
DON LEMON, CNN TONIGHT HOST: Good evening. This is CNN Tonight, I'm Lemon.
