Return to Transcripts main page

CNN NEWSROOM

Six American Troops Died in A Suicide Bombing Outside in Afghanistan; Protesters Move From Mall of America to the Minneapolis- St. Paul International Airport; Jeezy favors Black Lives Matter and Hillary Clinton; Video Created Out Of The Burglary. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired December 23, 2015 - 15:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[15:30:00] DON LEMON, CNN HOST: So joining me now a man who knew just what kind of influence Chester McBride had on those around him. It is his coach at States Borough high school coach Steve Pennington joins us now.

Steve, I'm so sorry for your loss. What kind of man was Chester?

STEVE PENNINGTON, SLAIN SOLDIER FORMER COACH: Chester -- first of all, thank you, Don - Chester was even for his age as a teenager was a very humble person. He knew his role, whether it be in the hall at the high school or on football field. He certainly was a great teammate to all the players that surrounded him. And I think the foundation was certainly laid by his parents at home. And he never put on any thoughts. He was sincere as genuine as a person could be. Very coachable from the stance that where he respected authority. When things did not go well, his work ethic --

LEMON: Coach, you talked about -- you saw him the last time he was on leave. Tell us about that.

PENNINGTON: Well, it's been a couple of years since I had seen Chester. And we were a part of an hour-and-a-half so we are getting ready to go to practice, and someone knocked on the door. And to my surprise, it was Chester. And he came in to visit with me, and we had about a 45-minute to an hour chat. And explaining all that had been going on in his life and what he was doing. And honestly, Don, he really inspired me with the confidence that he had, the purpose he had, and the vision of what he wanted to do to make this world a better place. So, therefore, I just asked, I said, look, I don't know when you're going back, but would you mind addressing our football team with some of the things you shared with me? And that's where it happened from the standpoint. He did volunteer and the day he left to go back to Afghanistan he did address our team.

LEMON: How are your school and the community of States Borough remembering Chester, coach?

PENNINGTON: Well, I really hope that first of all I think that our community as well as our present players would like to remember him by what he shared the day that he addressed our team. First of all, as I said, he's a very humble person. He has a great compassion for other people. But he had a passion for what he did. And one of the things that he had shared with our football team that I think his classmates, the 2003 are certainly experiencing now and appreciating more because of what he exhibited during their time together was first of all, make the most of your opportunities. Chester did that from his high school career, his college career and military service.

And secondly, make good choices. What I've learned from him is that there is a boat load of good in this world, but there also is unfortunately a lot of bad in this world. And if the military service, he sees too much of the bad. (INAUDIBLE) as I think he did during high school, choose those thing that's are good, choose friends that are going to be it good, too.

And then thirdly, a lesson I think that we all can address and get better at is to respect authority. And those characteristics certainly displayed what Chester is all about. And I do believe this community is benefitting for those values that he exhibited.

LEMON: Well, you are a good representative for him, and we appreciate you coming on.

Thank you so much, Steve Pennington.

PENNINGTON: Thank you, Don.

LEMON: States Borough, Georgia, just one of the many communities across America in mourning today. Flags at half-staff in New York for NYPD detective Joseph Lim, just one of the six American who made the ultimate sacrifice. Another victim lying to his parents about being sent to war because he didn't want to worry them.

CNN's Diane Gallagher takes a closer look at their lives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIANE GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Staff sergeant Peter Taub, the father of a 3-year-old girl, the husband of a pregnant wife.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's funny. He was thoughtful. It's a really good family man.

GALLAGHER: His father spoke to him via Skype a few weeks ago but didn't even know where he was.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I had no idea until yesterday. I thought he was in Saudi Arabia.

[15:35:02] GALLAGHER: He says his son didn't want him to worry.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He seemed to be in pretty good spirits. I think of he is little melancholy because he wasn't home for the holidays, and missing his family.

GALLAGHER: Taub and five others American troops died in a suicide bombing outside the Bagram air base in Afghanistan on Monday. Among them, Major Adrianna Vorderbruggen who fought for years against the military's old don't ask don't tell policy. She leaves behind a wife and son.

The family of staff sergeant Louis Bonacasa said that he was on his fourth tour of duty. His little brother called him a hero.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was always a blessing to have him in my life. He was cut from a different cloth. He was a good man. A man's man, a gentleman. He loved his family. He loved his country. He died doing what he wanted to do. He was a real soldier, a real hero.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: That was Diane Gallagher reporting.

We are going to continue to follow the breaking news out of Minnesota. Black Lives Matter protest has moved from the Mall of America to the Minneapolis St. Paul international airport. The airport is warning now, -- airport officials now warning travelers over twitter to leave home extra early. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:39:25] LEMON: All right, here we go. Holiday week, the day before Christmas Eve, and we have breaking news about people blocking an airport. This is out of Minnesota. As a matter of fact, Black Lives Matter protesters have moved from the Mall of America to the Minneapolis-St. Paul international airport. That airport is now warning travelers over twitter to leave home extra early. Here's video that's in. Let's listen for just a minute.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYING)

LEMON: So these are a few of the protesters blocking traffic forming a human chain at the airport. Again, the day before Christmas Eve this a very busy travel day. There was the issue remember with the Mall of America, a judge had a ruling where some of the Black Lives Matter protesters, at least the leaders of the movement, some of them could not come into the mall but did not stop the entire protest.

Mark O'Mara is our legal analyst here on CNN.

Mark, you said by the judge doing this and the mall making this an issue, it would bring more attention, more attention than these protesters, even thought that they could garner. And now we have this.

[15:40:41] MARK O'MARA, CNN LEGAL ANALYST (on the phone): Well, that's exactly what happened, Don. They tried to quell the voices of people who should be heard. And again, I'm not just saying that Black Lives Matter so we have to give them special deference. This is very simply free speech and the right to assemble. So when the mall did what they did and not embrace the conversation that should be had but trying to quell it, trying close the doors on them, it was never going to work. The Mall of America is causing what we are now happening now and seeing at the airport because you can't put this type of pressure on to a situation when you have voices that are concerted. Don't forget the people involved in this movement are passionate, they

are intelligent and they are focused on what they are doing and they have social media as the vehicle by which to get this information out to others who believe the way they believe. And it's not going to go away because of a poorly thought out temporary restraining order request.

LEMON: Yes. And let's keep this in perspective. If you are going to or from that airport, right, and you know, you are probable apply going to be upset because you want to get home or you are going to miss your flight. This is not hundreds of people. It is not even dozens of people. It is about 20 people. You can count them, as a matter of fact, I tried to. It is about 20 or 21 people. But it only take a few people to block the road and to cause a major traffic jam. And so, that's what's happening now. Mark, where do we go from here?

O'MARA: Don, I don't think that per any protesters should be able to violate the law to accomplish a peaceful protest. If they're blocking a street, that's a violation of the law. They should be on the sidewalk. I'm not giving them free reign. But what I didn't like and don't like is the idea of trying to quell the conversation that's going to have this type of fallout.

LEMON: So what should happen to these protesters who are blocking this traffic?

O'MARA: Well, if they are violating a law, then they should be told to leave. They should be put onto the sidewalk. If they violate that lawful order, then they are subject to arrest. I'm OK with that if you violate the law. It would have made much more sense for the mall to do it the right way. And now, it may make sense for the airport in very short notice to have and to try and figure out a way to allow a peaceful protest to be undertaken without unnecessary detriment to the flow of traffic and on Christmas Eve. We want to try and do this in a way that makes sense.

LEMON: All right. Mark O'Mara join us, thank you very much.

If you are just tuning in, if you look at the left side of the screen, that is a traffic camera at the Minneapolis-St. Paul international airport. To the right, that is video from Black Lives Matter protesters blocking -- I'm not sure if it's an entrance or an exit, but at least a road at the airport, blocking traffic. We are going to continue to follow this and other breaking news stories right here on CNN. Don't go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:47:09] LEMON: The Jeezy and my girl Jonelle Monet. Rapper Jeezy is dropping a video today for a new song. It is called "Sweet Life." His music is always a powerful blend of political and spiritual elements. As far back of 2005, he was singing about unarmed black men killed by police nearly a decade before the black lives matter movement gained steam. He is a socially conscious rapper, and he has been for a long time. You must give him his due. There's Jeezy, joining me now from Hotlanta. It does look warm. Hey, what's going on? It is good to see you. Last time I saw you was

in the greenroom at the Wendy Williams show a couple of years ago. So, it is good to -- we both wanted to get on and talk about this. I'm glad you're here.

JEEZY, RAPPER: Yes, yes.

LEMON: So I have to ask you about the Black Lives Matter protests. These are going on right now. They are happening at the Minneapolis airport right now. Do we have some pictures we can put up and then so they can see that while we are talking to Jeezy. It is not at the mall of America. It was supposed to be at the mall of America and now it's at the airport, Jeezy. Your reaction to this moment and this movement.

JEEZY: I mean, I think if it only took 20 people to, you know, get the attention of CNN and the rest of the world, I think they're off to a great start. I definitely support the Black Lives Matter movement. I definitely think the mall could have handled it a lot differently because now you've got this. And it's going to continue to grow as it should because now we have to raise awareness. And you know, it's the holidays and they're still pushing this movement. You have to respect that. And the worse that I see they get right now is a jaywalking ticket. And I will pay that for them if that's the problem.

LEMON: I do have to say, I have to give you your due because, you know, sometimes hip-hop and rap, the industry, get a lot of criticism because of things people deem superfluous that they talk about women and drugs and all of that. But you have been socially conscious now for years. And so, I have to give you your due.

JEEZY: Right.

LEMON: So explain to me then, let's talk about some of those issues. Your views on gun control, prison reform and how those issues impact African-American communities.

JEEZY: I mean, look, man, I just lost a friend recently here in Atlanta. And you know, it hurt me to my heart, you know what I am saying? Just to see his family have to bury him around this time. And look, man, you know, the reality of it is so many things going on in the world in the streets right now. And you know, it's pretty much a war zone out there because you have people that can't really survive off of -- they don't have jobs. They have different opportunities so they result to what they know. And that's either taking something or committing a crime to get it or even, you know, even murdering someone. And it's a reality that we face and we been facing since, you know, before I was born. And I think now it only gets worse because, you know, they have no leadership. I think the music that we're making these days is actually helping the, you know, kind of spread that word that Black Lives Matter movement, these different movements. Because now you have hip op-hop and leaders get involve because this is out of control. And it's something that we don't want to see. And it's just like, you know, gun control, of course I don't want to come home and, you know, come off the road and hear about one of my friends or my loved ones being, you know, murdered for no reason. So, you know, I'm all for it.

LEMON: Yes.

JEEZY: Any time.

LEMON: People always say Black Lives Matter, but also Black Lives Matter and the quote, I hate using the black-on-black crime because crime is just crime. But you also talk about those issues when you talk about the guns that are out there on the street and the random crime, not necessarily police officers. Both of them. You can talk about police officers killing people but you can also talk about people killing each other.

JEEZY: Right. But you know, and I'm going to say in the black community and I have to be honest. It is like we have seen that, you know, like I said since the beginning of time that, you know, the black-on-black violence. But I think when you have police officers or law enforcement officials, you know, gunning down children, that's when we draw the line. You know what I mean? Like we love our kids. We protect our kids, you know. There's no different than the jungle. You know what I mean? If you mess with the mother -- I mean the cub, the mother's coming. It is the same thing here. It is like, you know, when you have officers that are sworn to protect and serve killing children, there's a problem with that. I find a problem with that. Even, you know, just on people in particular because you have a firearm. And you have, you know, mace and you have stun guns.

LEMON: Well, you're sworn to uphold the law.

JEEZY: Right.

LEMON: You're an officer of the law. So there's a standard.

JEEZY: Correct.

LEMON: I want to move on. Can we talk politics now because I don't have much time left?

JEEZY: Sure.

LEMON: But you have about a million twitter followers or over and you are willing to try to influence them. Here's a recent tweet where you said Hillary Clinton is running for president, she is a G. Def voting for her. I mean, definitely voting for her. Bill is a real one.

Why do you support Clinton for president and not say someone like Ben Carson who's an African-American?

JEEZY: Well, you know, first of all, I wouldn't support anyone just based on their race. I will support someone based on what I know about him or the things I saw them do. I mean, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders right now to me, you know, they're president in their class acts in my book. You know, you got somebody like Donald Trump that's clearly, you know, whether he wins or loses, Donald Trump, you know, he is doing this for business. He is doing this for his brand. And we all know that. Because you're sitting back watching somebody that should have been put out of the race a long time ago by all his actions. And everything he does, it only just puts him up in the race because people love it as America. They love entertainment. So this is no different from his reality show. You know, I mean, to him it's all fun. He got his own money. His own everything.

But when I look at Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, I see people that, you know, naturally care about the people is what I see. And that's only my opinion. You know, I can only speak for myself.

LEMON: I have to say to you, Jeezy, Merry Christmas. And I'm coming through Atlanta tomorrow. And if the weather's bad you may have someone else over for Christmas dinner.

JEEZY: Say no more. You're more than welcome, man.

LEMON: Thank you. Merry Christmas. Good to see you.

JEEZY: Thank you.

LEMON: We're going to continue to follow breaking news out of Minnesota. Black Lives Matter protests move from the mall of America to the Minneapolis-St. Paul international airport. Make sure you keep it on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:56:25] LEMON: Well, you know the saying when life gives you lemons -- you know I've heard the saying. You make lemonade. Well, boy did this taco shop manager ever. His store gets burglarized so he makes a video, call it a comical crime stoppers.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYING)

LEMON: You've got to watch the whole thing. The video has now been viewed more than a million times in the span of six days. So joining me now is the general manager of Frijoles and Frescas, Greg Carlson who made the videos.

Those, I mean, those idiots, Greg. We have seen people in, you know, the past put surveillance footage out of suspects online. They say, hey, you know, help us catch these guys. What was your inspiration?

GREG CARLSON, GENERAL MANAGER, FRIJOLES AND FRESCAS: You know, I've got a background of making videos on You Tube. I've done it for quite some time. So everything I put my hands on I try to have an element of comedy with it. We wanted to do something that was a little more light hearted even though it was a bad thing that happened to us.

LEMON: Yes. So did they get away with a lot of dough?

CARLSON: They really didn't. They did some damage on the break-in and took a couple of cash boxes, but, you know, any restaurant owner will tell you there's nothing in those at night. So they really didn't get away with much.

LEMON: And didn't get any tacos either. So what has been the reaction? Your father-in-law owns the place, have you seen an uptick in business? Maybe, you know, just to impress him?

CARLSON: Absolutely. Last week we posted the video late last week and we saw an immediate uptick of business. Right before coming on the air today I checked the cameras and the place is packed right now. So we've definitely seen an uptick in business from this.

LEMON: Yes. So do you have any tips from police? Have they spoken to you about it? Because, you had had, you know, what? How many -- it's been viewed by more than a million people in six days. Any tips?

CARLSON: I'm sorry, could you -- I missed that question.

LEMON: Any tips about suspects or, you know, an arrest or something?

CARLSON: You know, I have tried to get in contact with the assigned detective to the case and I haven't heard anything yet. So I'm not aware if there have been any tips or any suspects. We have had a lot of people comment on the video to try to help out with the vehicle and maybe some of the apparel that they were wearing, but nothing directly from Las Vegas metro police department.

LEMON: Greg Carlson, good luck. Love the video. And you've got some good shots of those suspects. If we can put them up real quickly, you can see them.

Thank you, Greg. Merry Christmas to you. And good luck to you.

But anyway, those are the suspects. You can help them find out to whoever robbed the Frijoles and Frescas, looking for some tasty tacos. You are going to get caught.

That does it for me. Merry Christmas. I will see you back next week.

"The LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.