2014 news: 10/11/14

Saturday, 11 October 2014

Typhoon pounds Okinawa

Vongfong pours intense rain on Okinawa

Winds weaken, but warnings still remain for southern Japan

It's expected to make landfall on the mainland sometime Sunday or Monday

(CNN) -- Typhoon Vongfong weakened Saturday but still tossed intense rain and waves at the Japanese island of Okinawa, including the major U.S. military base there.

The storm's sustained winds dropped Saturday to about 75 knots (86 miles per hour) from earlier sustained highs on Friday of 155 knots (178 mph), according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. That makes it equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane.

Track the storm

Military news reports warned U.S. personnel assigned to Kadena Air Base to expect damaging winds of 57 mph or greater through 9 a.m. Sunday.

"For your own safety stay indoors and continue to shelter in place until given instruction otherwise," Armed Forces Network Okinawa posted on Facebook.

Marine Gunnery Sgt. Brian Griffin provided CNN with an iReport containing video shot by military videographers showing palm trees lashed by intense winds and rain.

"It is an intense storm and we have been inside for the past 26 hours," he said. "The island is well prepared for the storm. Housing is constructed with these storms in mind and base residents listened to military officials when instructed to prepare their homes for this storm."

The storm is predicted to make landfall on the Japanese mainland islands Sunday or Monday, bringing the threat of gale-force winds, high waves and storm surges on Kyushu and Shikoku islands especially, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

The storm comes on the heels of Typhoon Phanfone, which swept over southern Japan earlier this week, washing three U.S. airmen -- out to sea on Okinawa.

U.S. and Japanese search crews found the last airman's body on Wednesday, according to a press release issued by authorities at Kadena.

Clinton docs: Kagan felt 'like an idiot'

The Clinton Presidential Library released nearly 10,000 documents Friday.

President Bill Clinton's library releases nearly 10,000 pages of documents

They include colorful remarks from Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan

A top military official compared gay people to Nazis, rapists and the KKK

One document also has an explanation for e-mail attachments

Washington (CNN) -- Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan once fretted that she "may have really f---ed up" after a miscommunication with other aides about a segment on the CNN show "Crossfire."

Her comments were in a note to her boss, White House Counsel Jack Quinn, that was among the nearly 10,000 documents released Friday by the Clinton Presidential Library.

Kagan, an associate counsel in the Clinton White House whom President Barack Obama later nominated to the Supreme Court, was explaining to Quinn a "right-hand-left-hand" communication problem as aides prepared for media appearances amid Paula Jones' sexual harassment allegations.

'Crossfire' episode in Clinton documents

"God, do I feel like an idiot," Kagan said.

Clinton documents show 'West Wing' mindset

In another document released Friday, Kagan offered an interesting recommendation for who should defend Clinton against Jones' sexual harassment accusations at the Supreme Court: John Roberts.

A handwritten note lists Roberts with the word "Hogan" underneath his name -- a reference to the law firm now called Hogan Lovells, where he then worked. Another page lists Roberts' name again, this time with some biographical details.

Kagan and Roberts now serve on the Supreme Court together. Roberts never worked on the Jones case.

June: More Clinton documents released: Here are the highlights

The documents released Friday cover the entire Clinton presidency from 1993-2001 and are the last batch of documents released by the library under the Presidential Records Act. The act says the documents must be made available to the public 12 years after the end of a president's administration.

The Clinton Library began releasing the documents in batches starting in February.

Here are four other interesting tidbits disclosed in Friday's release:

- In a January 1993 meeting with Clinton six days after his inauguration, members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff voiced opposition to gays serving openly in the military. Marine Corps Gen. Carl Mundy says those who admit to being gay or who associate with Gay Pride "will have a negative effect" and that it "fractures teamwork."

For a person to "proclaim: I'm gay" is the "same as I'm KKK, Nazi, rapist," Mundy says.

Apparently Vice President Al Gore didn't like Mundy's comments; the notes indicate he called them "borderline."

Clinton tells the military chiefs that the whole issue causes him "great discom(fort)" as he wrestles with the idea of gay men and women who are patriotic and devoted to the armed forces but unable to serve because they declare they are gay.

Later in the meeting, he says the "people I would like to keep (in the military) wouldn't show up at (a) Queer Nation parade."

- Keith Olbermann, then in his first run as an MSNBC host, sent Clinton a letter apologizing for the network's coverage of the Monica Lewinsky scandal and for "whatever part I may have played in perpetuating this ceaseless coverage."

Olbermann added that he had a career change in the works, writing, "I'll be headed back to my previous career in sports as quickly as possible." Clinton aide R. Scott Michaud said he planned to flag the letter for the president to see, and also asked if it'd be OK to send Olbermann a generic response.

- Jennifer Palmieri, who is now President Barack Obama's communications director, makes an appearance when she receives an explanation for how to open an email attachment. "It can be accessed by hitting 'launch,'" she is advised.

- Mike Huckabee, who was then the governor of Arkansas, needed a "warm response" to his letter to Clinton declaring May 8, 1999, as "Safe Television for All Ages Day" in his state and asking the president to make it a national proclamation.

A White House aide noted atop the letter that Huckabee "hates" Clinton and was planning to run against Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln. "He needs a quick/warm response," the note says.

Clinton documents: Much has changed, but much still the same

Ferguson has 'Weekend of Resistance'

NEW: Mom and daughter travel 750 miles to St. Louis on a shoestring budget to join protest

There are no arrests, injuries or property damage in civil disobedience march, police say

"No justice, no peace!" protesters chant

The protests are to demand justice for Mike Brown and other victims of police violence

St. Louis, Missouri (CNN) -- Demonstrators marched 12 miles Saturday from Ferguson, Missouri, to a downtown St. Louis plaza near its iconic Arch to deliver a world message: They want the police officer who killed Michael Brown to be charged with a crime.

But few protesters traveled as far as Sara Benjamin, 23, and daughter Imari, 5.

They trekked 750 miles from Baltimore to attend the Justice For All Rally on St Louis' Kiener Plaza.

"I came down here because I'm the mother of a 5-year-old, and we wanted to show our solidarity with the people of Ferguson," Benjamin said. "I think this is an attempt to break up the black community by targeting black men."

She was referring to how a white Ferguson police fatally shot Brown, 18, who was black and unarmed, on August 9.

By splitting costs with others for gas, food and lodging, the trip cost her a little over $100, Benjamin said.

Civil rights activists calling for charges to be brought against the police officer who killed Brown advanced a second day of protests Saturday, with no arrests, injuries or property damage reported in the first day of marches, St. Louis County police said.

The absence of police action came as protesters pledged acts of civil disobedience during a "Weekend of Resistance" in Ferguson, St. Louis and surrounding area.

Demonstrations on Friday night focused on the Ferguson Police Department, which is facing a storm of criticism in the wake of Brown's death.

Sara Benjamin, 23, and daughter Imari, 5, traveled from Baltimore to attend the Justice For All rally in St Louis.

A large group of protesters marched the West Florissant corridor -- the scene of looting and vandalism last month -- to the police headquarters. Then they proceeded to the city of St. Louis, said St. Louis County Police spokesman Brian Schellman.

The diverse, multigenerational crowd declared their attempt to create a national movement about alleged police abuses against minorities as "vitally important," as one demonstrator said. Protesters hailed from California, Illinois and Kansas.

"We have people from all across the United States to stand in one accord for justice in this matter," Reginald Rounds, who lives in the same apartment complex where Brown resided, said Saturday.

"We are not going to stop addressing the matter until we get some resolve. We'll be here," Rounds said.

Shouts for justice

Chants demanding "justice for Mike Brown" rang out into the night early Saturday as protesters marched in a St. Louis suburb to highlight fatal police shootings.

Organizers, who describe the shootings as racially motivated, said they expect thousands to attend four-day events planned until Monday.

The early Saturday protests featured a few hundred people as police in riot gear stood watch.

"No justice, no peace!" they chanted. "Hands up don't shoot!" Others carried placards that read, "demilitarize the police."

As protesters stared down police officers standing in a single file, an announcement came on the megaphone. "If you touch a police officer, you will be arrested for assault," it said.

The protests kicked off Friday afternoon when demonstrators invoked a Mexican Halloween tradition and set up a Day of the Dead altar to memorialize Brown and others. The altars featured candles, flowers and photos of the deceased.

Men in dark suits quietly carried coffin made of mirrors down the streets as chanting protesters followed.

A few hours later, the crowd dispersed.

More protests planned in Ferguson

Singing protest shocks crowd

'Ferguson October'

This weekend's protests dubbed "Ferguson October" and the "Weekend of Resistance" will focus on the last month's encounter between Brown and Police Officer Darren Wilson, who authorities said shot Brown after he attacked him and tried to take his gun. But witnesses offered a starkly different version: They said the unarmed teenager had his hands in the air when he was shot.

His shooting prompted weeks of protests in Ferguson, which sometimes became violent when demonstrators and police clashed.

Protesters march in Ferguson, Missouri, on Thursday, August 21. The St. Louis suburb has been in turmoil since a white police officer, Darren Wilson, fatally shot an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, on August 9. Some protesters and law enforcement officers have clashed in the streets, leading to injuries and arrests.

A crowd gathers in Ferguson on August 21. With the situation appearing to calm, Gov. Jay Nixon ordered the Missouri National Guard to begin withdrawing from the city.

Police escort a Wilson supporter to a police vehicle, away from crowds protesting Brown's death on Wednesday, August 20. Police have said Brown and Wilson struggled over the officer's gun; some witnesses said Brown had his hands in the air when he was shot.

Lightning streaks over protesters on August 20.

Demonstrators protest on August 20.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder meets with Capt. Ron Johnson of the Missouri State Highway Patrol at a Ferguson restaurant on August 20. Holder came to Missouri to talk to community leaders and review the federal civil rights investigation into Brown's shooting.

Protesters march through the streets of Ferguson on August 20.

Police point out a demonstrator who has his arms raised before moving in to arrest him Tuesday, August 19.

People watch from inside a restaurant as protesters rally August 19.

Police arrest a demonstrator on August 19.

Police charge into the media work area with weapons drawn as they try to control demonstrators on August 19.

A protester speaks to a police officer on August 19.

People on August 19 stand near a memorial where Brown was shot and killed.

Protesters march on August 19.

Police watch as protesters march August 19.

A demonstrator is arrested on August 19.

Police try to control protesters on Monday, August 18.

Police lead a man away during a protest August 18.

A demonstrator shouts during a protest on West Florissant Avenue, one of Ferguson's main streets, on August 18.

Capt. Ron Johnson of the Missouri State Highway Patrol pulls his men back from aggressive protesters on August 18.

Police arrest a demonstrator August 18 after peaceful protests gave way to angry confrontations with authorities.

Law enforcement officers stand guard during a protest on West Florissant Avenue on August 18.

A woman helps a man affected by tear gas August 18. The situation overnight deteriorated after a handful of protesters threw rocks, bottles and Molotov cocktails at police. Officers responded by firing stun grenades and tear gas canisters.

Officers stand with weapons drawn during a protest on West Florissant Avenue on August 18.

Musician Nelly, center, joins demonstrators in Ferguson on August 18.

Demonstrators receive red roses as they protest August 18.

Demonstrators march on August 18.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson shakes hands with a police officer as he visits Ferguson's demonstration area on August 18.

A protester picks up a tear gas canister on Sunday, August 17.

Police wait to advance after using tear gas to disperse protesters August 17.

Water gets poured into a woman's eyes after a tear gas attack by police on August 17.

A man runs through clouds of tear gas on August 17.

Protesters react as police fire tear gas at them August 17.

Police advance through a cloud of tear gas on August 17. Most of the crowd had dispersed after a curfew went into effect at midnight, St. Louis County authorities said.

People take cover from tear gas inside a McDonald's on August 17.

A large group of police officers advance toward protesters on August 17.

A man fights the effects of tear gas in Ferguson on August 17.

Michael Brown Sr. and Lesley McSpadden, the parents of Michael Brown, attend a rally at Greater Grace Church in Ferguson on August 17.

The Rev. Al Sharpton hugs McSpadden during the rally.

Capt. Ron Johnson of the Missouri State Highway Patrol speaks at the rally. He had been appointed by the governor to take control of security operations.

Demonstrators defy a curfew early on August 17.

Police fire tear gas at demonstrators after curfew on August 17.

A law enforcement officer aims his rifle August 17 after tear gas was fired to disperse a crowd.

People scramble as police fire tear gas on August 17.

Law enforcement officers check a building on August 17.

People attend a protest after the midnight curfew on August 17.

A law enforcement officer watches as tear gas is fired to disperse a crowd on August 17.

Police stand guard before the midnight curfew on Saturday, August 16.

People loot the Ferguson Market and Liquor store on August 16. Several businesses were looted as police held their positions nearby.

Missouri State Highway Patrol officers listen to taunts from demonstrators during a protest on Friday, August 15.

Demonstrators protest with their hands up on August 15. The "hands up" gesture has become a symbol in protests as Brown, according to eyewitnesses, was trying to surrender when he was shot multiple times.

Police confront demonstrators on August 15.

A demonstrator throws a tear gas canister back at police on August 15.

Police confront demonstrators on August 15.

Thousands of demonstrators march down a Ferguson street with members of the St. Louis County Police and the Missouri State Highway Patrol on Thursday, August 14.

Demonstrators hold signs as traffic moves slowly past them on August 14.

State Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson smiles at demonstrators on August 14. Johnson was appointed to lead security as state troopers took over after days of clashes between protesters and local police.

The Rev. Traci Blackmon uses a megaphone to talk to a large group of demonstrators on August 14.

A man picks up a flaming bottle and prepares to throw it as a line of police advance in the distance on Wednesday, August 13.

Police stand in clouds of smoke as they clash with protesters on August 13.

An Al-Jazeera television crew runs for cover as police fire tear gas at its position on August 13. Video and images on social media showed police later breaking down the journalists' gear.

A protester runs from tear gas exploding around him on August 13.

Police stand guard among demonstrators on August 13.

Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson fields questions during a news conference on August 13.

A small group of protesters block traffic in the street before police arrived on August 13.

A protester throws a tear gas canister back toward police on August 13.

Police detain a man on Tuesday, August 12.

People congregate at the Greater St. Marks Family Church in St. Louis along with the family of Michael Brown and the Rev. Al Sharpton on August 12.

Michael Brown Sr. stands alongside Sharpton, right, during a news conference in St. Louis on August 12.

Demonstrators protest August 12 in Ferguson.

A makeshift memorial sits in the middle of the street where Michael Brown was shot and killed.

A woman tries to calm an emotional protester during a demonstration outside the headquarters of the Ferguson Police Department on August 11.

Phaedra Parks, left, comforts Desuirea Harris, the grandmother of Michael Brown, during a news conference in Jennings, Missouri, on August 11.

Police officers arrest a man who refused to leave when police cleared streets in Ferguson on August 11.

A burned-out QuikTrip gas station smolders on August 11 after protesters looted and burned the Ferguson building the night before.

Police officers and protesters confront each other on Saturday, August 9, the same day Michael Brown was shot and killed.

Emotions run high in Ferguson, Missouri

Photos: Emotions run high in Ferguson

Demands for officer's arrest

Before this week, protests had died down considerably.

The goal of the protests planned for Friday through Monday is to demand Wilson's arrest and bring attention to what organizers describe as racial profiling and police violence nationwide.

"Our country can no longer deny the epidemic of police violence facing black and brown communities," the movement's website states. "Mike Brown is now part of a long list of people like John Crawford, Ezell Ford, Eric Garner, Oscar Grant and countless others who have been unjustly killed by police. Their lives mattered."

Twelve miles away in St Louis, protesters have also rallied against the death of Vonderrit Deondre Myers, 18.

Protests erupted there after a white police officer fatally shot the black teenager. But this one was different from the Brown case because the teenager was armed and fired at the officer, according to authorities.

Days of protests

The Ferguson march features four days of planned events.

Activists and protesters plan to march through downtown St. Louis on Saturday in a show of unity against police violence nationwide, organizers said.

Several other events will be held Sunday, including an evening meeting of "reflection and resistance" at St. Louis University with author and professor Cornel West, rapper-activist Tef Poe and and Rabbi Susan Talve.

A closing ceremony Monday will feature participants removing items from the Day of the Dead memorial, organizers said.

Their goal is to "build momentum" for a nationwide movement to address police violence, they said.

The official schedule also calls for "a series of actions throughout the Ferguson and St. Louis area" exercising civil disobedience.

"Power concedes nothing without a demand," organizers said.

Complete coverage of Ferguson shooting and protests

CNN's Stephanie Elam and Bill Kirkos contributed from Missouri. Faith Karimi, Brian Rokus, Greg Botelho, Joe Sutton and Carma Hassan also contributed to this report. Michael Martinez wrote and reported from Los Angeles.