[Deborah Feyerick, Cnn Guest Anchor:] Well, eeryone holding their breath. The grand jury meets again today. We could see a decision on whether or not Officer Darren Wilson will be indicted in the shooting death of Michael Brown. What is expected this morning up ahead? Down to the wire, the U.S. and other world powers scrambling to reach a deal with Iran before tonight's midnight deadline. Can all sides come to an agreement on Iran's nuclear future in time? And a new threat after record snowfall hit Buffalo, New York. Rain and warmer temperatures have created serious flooding fears, evacuation by boat, those plans now in place. Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm Deborah Feyerick in for John Berman and Christine Romans. It is now 30 minutes past the hour. Up first, the clock is ticking and the tension is building this morning in Ferguson, Missouri. The grand jury in the shooting death of Michael Brown is meeting one more time today. We could find out whether Officer Darren Wilson, the Ferguson police officer, who shot and killed the unarmed 18-year-old, is indicted. We get more now from CNN's Don Lemon on the ground.
[Don Lemon, Cnn Anchor, "cnn Tonight":] Deb, the grand jury met on Friday and did not come to a decision. It is expected they will reconvene today and possibly come to a decision. It had been said each side or everyone would get a 48-hour notice as to when there would be a decision and when the announcement would be made. We are hearing from our justice correspondent, Evan Perez, through his source said, they may not give that 48-hour notice. As soon as they reach a decision of some sort that a representative or an official might come out and say what that decision is. Of course, we are talking about whether Officer Darren Wilson will be indicted or not in the shooting death of teenager, Michael Brown. As far as the community here, one might think that the streets of Ferguson were on fire if you look at some of the media coverage. But that, indeed, is not the case. There are still protests going on. There are still some angry protesters. Not much violence, though. A few people arrested in the course of those protests. Sometimes daily and sometimes not, usually about 30 or 40 people we're told have protests here every single night since the shooting happened. But from the media coverage, you might get a different sort of idea of what's going on here on the streets of Ferguson. Of course, people are watching very closely as to when the decision will come and what that decision is going to be. Of course, the people who are in charge of keeping everything safe here, they said they are preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. But that decision from the grand jury could come at any time after they reconvene again today. Deb, back to you.
[Feyerick:] Thanks, Don. Classes have been canceled in some of those areas as well. A close call for a "Los Angeles Times" reporter covering the Ferguson case, Matt Pearce, you see holding his head, was monitoring last night's protests in South St. Louis when he was hit in the head and knocked to the ground. Witnesses say some people nearby were seen throwing rocks. Here is Pearce just moments after the incident.
[Matt Pearce, Reporter, "los Angeles Times":] So I didn't see anybody throw anything. I didn't see what it was. Just felt like a conk on the head. As of right now, I'm not feeling woozy or anything. I think I'll make it.
[Feyerick:] In good spirits. It is not clear whether Pearce was the intended target. Nobody has been arrested for that incident. And any chance for a nuclear deal with Iran appears to be fading pretty quickly this morning. The six nations sitting at the table with the Iranians reporting that there are still serious, serious gaps between the two sides. The deadline for an agreement expires at midnight their time. So can anything get accomplished before time actually does run out? Reza Sayah live from Tehran this morning. Reza, you think about the politicians and the people and we have lost Reza. We will switch gears and we are going to talk that overnight there was a security scare at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio. The Army base put on lockdown for several hours last night after a driver simply failed to stop at an entrance checkpoint. The driver was in police custody. He was captured after making a run for it. A brief manhunt and an explosives team brought to the scene. Nothing was found in the suspect's car. Police say he was alone and they are not revealing why he actually did that. And in the wake of a bruising midterm election for Democrats, President Obama, well, he is acknowledging that the American people appear to be ready for a fresh start. The president appearing on ABC's this week likened himself to a used car while looking ahead to the next election.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] You know, you have some dings and
[Unidentified Male:] And you don't mind absorbing a few more?
[Obama:] No, I think the American people, you know, they want that new car smell. They want to drive something off the lot that doesn't have as much mileage as me.
[Feyerick:] Well, the president went on to say that he believes that Hillary Clinton, former Secretary of State, would be a formidable candidate and a great president if she decides to run. OK, so we've reestablish the connection so let's get back to Reza Sayah, who is live from Tehran this morning monitoring these negotiations that have been going on between the Iranians and others. Reza, break it down for us. You've been talking not only to the people, but to politicians. Are both sides in favor of scaling back nuclear capability in order to lift these sanctions?
[Reza Sayah, Cnn International Correspondent:] They are not going to use that terminology scaling back, but Iranian officials here say they are ready to reach some sort of compromise. They put in place a system and arrangement where the world can verify that they are not building a bomb and in return, they want the sanctions lifted. They say there is no reason that agreement cannot be signed today. However, growing indications that the obstacles are too much to overcome and there is going to be an extension of the talks. Last night, state media is citing an Iranian official saying that that is the most likely scenario. And now Reuters reporting that the two sides discussing possibly resuming the talks in a couple of weeks in Oman, but Iran's position remains the same. They say they want a deal. Their nuclear program is peaceful. They say if you look at the past year, they've agreed according to the previous deal to stop enriching uranium beyond 5 percent. They've gotten rid of their stockpile of 20 percent enriched uranium. They agreed to the broader inspections and agreed not to advance the heavy water reactor. All reasons why the Iranian official says it's the west that's inflexible, but more and more signs, if no agreement today, Deb, but an extension of the talks.
[Feyerick:] Yes, and one of the sticking points obviously is that the west wants full access to make sure they can inspect these plants to make sure that is the case and they can get a jump start. OK, Reza Sayah, thank you so much. We are going to get an EARLY START on your money. Business correspondent, Cristina Alesci is here. A lot of volatility even though it does appear to be inching up, there are a couple of dips?
[Cristina Alesci, Cnn Business Correspondent:] A couple of dips. The optimism is very persistent leading into today, which we have green across the board from markets this morning. Asian and European stocks are higher because central banks seemed to be ready to keep flooding the market with easy money which investors love. U.S. stock futures are no less optimistic. They are following that lead. Looks like another record day on Wall Street. That should sound pretty familiar. The Dow and the S&P both closed at records on Friday. Stocks keep finding, as you said, reasons to ink out new highs. Companies are spending a lot of time and money these days on their social media strategies. But it turns out Facebook and Twitter might be a waste of time. Posts from top companies reach just 2 percent of followers according to research and interaction is even weaker. So what does work? Smaller platforms like Instagram and good old fashion e-mail. E-mail seems to be a bit annoying. It is like getting junk mail at home which I hate. That is the only thing in my inbox these days, junk mail and my physical mailbox.
[Feyerick:] Yes, exactly, although at least you know what to purge first which is also good. Instagram is so fast. You are clicking and clicking. All right, Cristina Alesci, thank you so much. And aftermath of snowfall buried Buffalo, New York, the community is now bracing for a different danger. All that snow is going to melt and that could bring flooding. What to expect is just moments away.