[Christine Romans, Cnn Anchor:] Protesters shouting "I can't breathe", march across New York after a grand jury decides not to hand up an indictment in Eric Garner's chokehold death during an encounter with police. Garner's shocked family calls for peace.
[John Berman, Cnn Anchor:] You are looking at live pictures right now from the Kennedy Space Center. It is a historic day for NASA. The space agency launching a test flight for spacecraft it hopes one day could take an astronaut to Mars. We will cover that live the minute it happens 5 minutes after 7:00. Right now, it's about 30 minutes after 5:00 in the east. Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.
[Romans:] I'm Christine Romans. Breaking overnight, let's start here. Protests over race and justice erupt across the country. Just as in Ferguson last week, the flashpoint is a grand jury decision not to indict a white police officer in the death of a black man.
[Berman:] In this case, a New Yorker named Eric Garner is the man you can see in the video right there. Garner died in July after officers used chokehold trying to arrest him for selling loose cigarettes. Our national correspondent, Jason Carroll, is in Times Square where there were protests. A lot of people involved overnight. Good morning, Jason.
[Jason Carroll, Cnn Correspondent:] Good morning to you, John. The streets are relatively quiet this morning. Much different situation as we saw last night when hundreds poured into the streets wanting to have their voices heard. Hitting some of New York's most iconic spots right here in Times Square, the West Side Highway, Columbus Circle, Rockefeller Center, hundreds also marching across the Brooklyn Bridge, some of them shouting Eric Garner's last words, "I can't breathe." Others are shouting "black lives matter." At one point, protesters gathering at Grand Central station staging a so-called die-in lying down in the middle of the station. They marched throughout the night after the grand jury reached its decision not to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo in the chokehold death of Eric Garner. Pantaleo releasing a statement last night saying, "It is never my intention to harm anyone and I feel very bad about the death of Mr. Garner. My family and I include him and his family in our prayers. I hope that they will accept my personal condolences for their loss." Well, last night, Eric Garner's widow spoke out as well, John, saying that she could never accept the grand jury's decision or the officer's apology.
[Esaw Garner, Widow Of Eric Garner:] I'm determined to get justice for my husband. He should not have been killed in that way. He should be here celebrating Christmas and Thanksgiving and everything else with his children and his grandchildren. He can't. Why, because a cop did wrong.
[Carroll:] Again, the demonstrations last night, John, mostly peaceful. As of last count, 30 people arrested mostly for disorderly conduct. More protests planned in the coming days John.
[Romans:] Jason Carroll in Times Square, thanks so much, Jason. Eric Garner's father, Ben Garner, also had a message for the public telling our Joe Johns that he is disappointed by the grand jury decision, but people should keep protests peaceful and lawful.
[Ben Garner, Father Of Eric Garner:] I don't want anybody to get locked up and go through the same [inaudible] that we are going through all the time.
[Joe Johns, Cnn Senior Washington Correspondent:] What do you think happens next? Have you talked to the lawyers a little bit about, you know
[Garner:] Well, the feds will take over.
[Johns:] And your hopeful that the federal government
[Garner:] I'm sure they will give us the right decision.
[Berman:] The message of peace that you heard there struck a chord with New York City's mayor. Bill De Blasio told reporters about the painful personal talk he had with his son, Dante, who is black. De Blasio says even he, the mayor of New York, had to warn his son to be careful in any interactions that he might have with police officers.
[Mayor Bill De Blasio , New York:] I couldn't help but immediately think what it would mean to me to lose Dante. Life could never been the same thereafter and I could feel how it will never been whole again. Things will never been whole again for Mr. Garner. Even in the middle of his pain, one of the things he stopped and said so squarely was there can't be violence. He said Eric would not have wanted violence. Violence will not get us anywhere.
[Romans:] Following the grand jury's decision not to hand out the indictment in Garner's death, the U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced the Justice Department will launch a federal civil rights investigation into the case. He promised it will be, quote, "independent, thorough, fair and expeditious." The investigation will be handled at least initially by this woman. The woman President Obama has nominated to replace Eric Holder, the U.S. attorney for Brooklyn, Loretta Lynch. The president himself also weighed on the Garner case vowing to build more trust and accountability between the police and the communities they serve.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States Of America:] As I said, when I met with folks both from Ferguson and law enforcement and clergy and civil rights activists, I said this is an issue we have dealt with for too long and it's time for us to make more progress than we've made. I'm not interested in talk. I'm interested in action and I am absolutely committed as president of the United States to making sure that we have a country in which everybody believes in the core principle that we are equal under the law.
[Berman:] All right, shifting gears right now. The launch is a go in less than two hours. NASA is going to launch a highly anticipated test flight from Cape Canaveral. The unmanned Orion spacecraft will blast off at 7:05 Eastern Time on top of a Delta 4 rocket. Alina Machado is at the Kennedy Space Center where Orion you can see it right there sitting on the launch pad. Good morning, Alina.
[Alina Machado, Cnn Correspondent:] Good morning, John. This may be the beginning of a new space era here at NASA. As you could see behind me, Orion is sitting there at the space launch complex at the Kennedy Space Center ready to go on its inaugural flight. Now Orion will spend about 4.5 hours making two orbits around the earth and reaching an altitude of about 3,600 miles. That is 15 times higher than the International Space Station. No one will be on board Orion as it makes its flight. This is to test the critical systems. These are tests that cannot be done here on earth that are best done in space. They are looking at how Orion's heat shield will work. Remember that when Orion is making its way back into earth, going through the earth's atmosphere, it's going to be traveling at a rate of speed of about 20,000 miles per hour. The temperatures will be extreme. We are talking about 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit. So they are going to be looking at how Orion's heat shield work. They are also going to be looking at how a series of parachutes are going to work to slow down Orion so it can make a safe splash down in the Pacific Ocean John.
[Berman:] The key, Alina, this is going further than we have gone in a long, long time. The shuttle flight, International Space Station flights have been in near earth orbit. We have to go deeper into space. What is NASA saying about when you know, humans may go aboard this new type of Orion spacecraft?
[Machado:] Well, it could still be some time before we actually see people on Orion. If all goes well today, the next test flight is probably going to take place in 2018. That will also be an unmanned flight. The big difference there it will be on a special rocket that is being designed by NASA. It is not going to be on this Delta 4 heavy rocket that is taking Orion today. Ultimately, NASA would like to take astronauts to an asteroid and Mars. The Mars landing is a few years away. We are talking about maybe mid-2030s.
[Berman:] An optimistic look. Alina Machado for us at the Kennedy Space Center. We cannot wait to see this launch. Thanks, Alina.
[Romans:] All right, a bizarre and scary story out of the Middle East this morning to tell you about. An American teacher stabbed and killed in a shopping mall in Abu Dhabi. Was her death related to a threat against American teachers?