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Interview with Georgia Congressman Tom Price; Shooting Victim's Family Demands Arrest; Peyton Manning Announces Denver Move; 7.4 Earthquake East of Acapulco; Girlfriend of Teen Shooting Victim Heard Pursuit

Aired March 20, 2012 - 15:08   ET

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

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everyone. I'm Deb Feyerick.

The girlfriend of a Florida teen says she was on the phone with him moments before he was shot to death. And the lawyer for the suspect in the civilian massacre in Afghanistan says his client has no memory of what happened. Illinois holds a primary, and airline travel could soon get easier if you love to e-read.

Time now for our "Reporter Roulette."

John Zarrella live in Miami with new developments in the shooting death of teenager Trayvon Martin -- John.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN MIAMI BUREAU CHIEF: Deb, what happened today is the attorney representing the family came out and said he heard talked to a 16-year-old girl, the girlfriend of Trayvon Martin and she says she was on the phone with him the minutes and seconds leading up to the time the young man was shot in Sanford, Florida.

Now, the attorney says that all of the information that she gave him, he recorded that information. He's turning it over to the Department of Justice. And he told us exactly what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN CRUMP, ATTORNEY FOR TRACY MARTIN: He then says, you know, I think this dude is following me. She talks about how he kind of slows down and he's trying to look in the car. He is like, I think this dude is following him. And she tells him, oh, baby, be careful, just run home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZARRELLA: Now according to Crump and according to the audio recording he made of this conversation, Trayvon says no, I will walk quickly. The next thing you know, the girl says that she hears a thud as if Trayvon is hitting the ground and that's when the audio conversation is cut off.

FEYERICK: And, John, on the legal side, the case going to the grand jury in Seminole County, Florida. Federal investigators also getting involved. A lot of authorities right now focused on this. ZARRELLA: A lot of different angles going on right now. You have got the grand jury April 10. The prosecutor there in Sanford, Florida, in Seminole County saying he's going to use the offices of that grand jury to go ahead and continue the investigation.

You have the federal government, the Department of the Justice Department, with the FBI coming in with their own civil rights investigations. A lot of things moving very quickly -- Deb.

FEYERICK: All right. Thanks, John Zarrella.

Now the latest on Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, the U.S. soldier accused of terrorizing an Afghan village, killing 16 Afghan civilians.

Next on "Reporter Roulette" Ted Rowlands at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where Bales is being held.

Ted, what are you learning more?

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Deb, this is the second day where Robert Bales has met with John Henry Browne, his attorney, and his defense team which consists of not only Browne but an assistant and then also a military lawyer.

We have heard that Robert Bales is telling his attorney he has very limited of the actual massacre, which you mentioned 16 innocent people were gunned down in the middle of the night, nine children killed. Bales claims he doesn't remember most of that. He just remembers bits and pieces from the beginning and the end. We're still awaiting charges in this case, formal charges to be handed down by the United States government. We do expect those in the next few days.

FEYERICK: His attorney is telling reporters the government is going to have a hard time proving its case. That seems a little bit of a stretch.

ROWLANDS: Well, this is an attorney trying to try the case in the media beforehand, but I'm sure the United States government has plenty of evidence when you consider the fact there was only one person that came back on base who was caught on videotape coming back after this massacre took place killing all of these innocent civilians.

What his tactic will be when they actually go to trial doing this court-martial proceeding, who knows. But we're getting a lot -- and this is typical a lot of times with these types of lawyer -- to try it in the media, trying to set the stage and rehabilitate his client's reputation. But the proof will come when the evidence is laid out in court.

FEYERICK: Absolutely. Thanks, Ted.

And next on "Reporter Roulette" Rick Santorum may be on Mitt Romney's heels more than everyone thinks.

Shannon Travis is in Wheaton, Illinois. And you just talked to the Santorum camp. What are they telling you?

SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right.

The Santorum -- on the day that voters are voting here in Illinois, 54 delegates up for grabs, obviously, Deb, they're talking about delegates. And I just got off the phone with the Santorum campaign a short while ago. They have revealed what they feel like is their delegate estimate. Let's just break this down for our viewers. You know on days like this, you're in Illinois, it's a primary, on caucus day, the voters go to the polls.

But that's just the first step in determining those delegates. You know you need 1,144 to win. CNN obviously has our own estimates of what the delegate count is, but look at Rick Santorum's estimate, his campaign of where this race stands. Let's look at the numbers.

They feel that Romney right now has 435 delegates, Santorum has 311, Newt Gingrich 158 and Ron Paul 191. That differs from our estimates because we show Romney with 520, Santorum with 239, Gingrich with 138 and Ron Paul with 69. I will just note the difference between their estimate and ours for Romney is 85 and 72 for Santorum.

Now, they feel that their number of county and district and state conventions that are going on that are yielding more delegates for Santorum and that in their words there's an utter collapse of delegates for Romney. Now, we have obviously pressed the Santorum campaign to provide us evidence of this actually happening. We stick by our numbers. Our numbers are obviously based on tried and true methods that CNN has had in place for many presidential cycles.

And one other thing, obviously you know the Romney campaign disagrees with the math from the Santorum campaign. I will just read a statement that I just got moments ago from spokesman Ryan Williams. He said -- quote -- "We knew Senator Santorum was an economic lightweight, but his problems with numbers are worse than we thought."

We will continue to monitor this story about the delegate race -- Deb.

FEYERICK: Shannon, interesting way to position yourself, given the fact that you may want people to come out and vote with you. If the window is closer than you think, maybe stay home. But, anyway, Shannon Travis, thanks so much. We appreciate it.

Next on "Reporter Roulette" Lizzie O'Leary in Washington with welcome news for anyone who reads a tablet or an e-reader when they fly -- Lizzie?

LIZZIE O'LEARY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Deb, don't keep your iPad or Kindle on just yet.

The idea here is FAA is taking a second look at e-readers and tablets. This is not about cell phones, but they not that there is a lot of consumer interest in terms of bringing these things on board when you fly. Pretty much everybody knows the rule now. You can't use it until you are at 10,000 feet. The FAA says that's a safety reason.

But a small and important change in their language. Now, I want to put it up for viewers so they can see. It's government speak, but what it means is we're looking at this issue. What they say is the FAA is exploring ways to bring together all the key stakeholders involved but ultimately testing is the responsibility of each airline, which means you are going to see some safety tests, but it's moving the needle a little bit towards being able to use e-readers, things like that, possibly at taxi and around takeoff when you can't do that right now.

FEYERICK: It's so interesting. They use the word key stakeholders. Isn't the safety of flyers what is really paramount? Where are they getting the pressure on this?

O'LEARY: The pressure frankly comes from flyers. A lot of people want to use these, talk about them a lot.

And the way this works, it's actually on the airlines' plate. The airlines have to demonstrate to the FAA that these are safe. We asked a bunch of airlines to explain to us exactly how the testing process work. It's sort of complicated because they have to test multiple devices in multiple planes to figure it out. The last time the FAA conducted a full scale test was 2003 to 2006.

Obviously there are a ton of devices available now that weren't around in 2006. This is both about keeping up with demand and keeping up with technology. The FAA generally comes back to say until you can prove to us that it's safe, we're not going to allow it yet.

FEYERICK: Right, keeping up with the times.

Lizzie O'Leary, thanks so much.

We are now going to turn to the four-time MVP quarterback Peyton Manning in Denver, the prize free agent about to officially become a Denver Bronco at a press conference any moment. That was his plane there right now. We're going to let you see it live when it happens. He arrived there, someone right now at the mike in Colorado.

Manning opened contract negotiations with the Broncos yesterday after weeks of speculation over where he would go. But what remains unknown is what will happen to the current starting quarterback. You know who I'm talking about, Tim Tebow. Despite taking the team to a playoff win last year, multiple reports are saying that the Broncos are putting Tebow on the trading block.

Well, it's been more than a year since this country has had a federal budget, a year. Republicans in the House are out with a big new proposal. We will break it down for you after this quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: House Republicans released a bold new budget plan for next year designed to cut spending. The sticking points, major tax reform, repeal of the president's health care law and an overhaul of Medicare.

Spending slashed by a whole lot of zeros and all complete with a dramatic Web video to make their case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PAUL RYAN (R-WI), BUDGET COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: Our debt as a share of the economy is already too high. But look at where it's going.

These are actually pretty conservative estimates. We face a crushing burden of debt. This doesn't have to be our future. Instead, we have shared with Americans a specific plan of action that cuts spending, pays off the debt, and gets our economy back on the path to prosperity.

Real, specific reform is needed to strengthen the health and retirement security of seniors and the economic security of all Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Representative Tom Price is on that Budget Committee.

Sir, let's talk Medicare.

Congressman Ryan was clear that he doesn't think Medicare works right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN: I have got news. Medicare under the president's law is going bankrupt. Medicare under the president's law is next year turning Medicare over to a board of 15 unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats whose job is to circumvent Congress and put price controls on Medicare, which will lead to denied care for current seniors.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Congressman Price, if I'm a senior, it feels to me that Republicans are trying to scare seniors into supporting this bill. What's your sense?

REP. TOM PRICE (R), GEORGIA: The president and his colleagues here in Washington has already altered Medicare permanently by removing $500 billion from the program and putting in place the Independent Payment Advisory Board, which as a physician, as I mentioned this morning at our press conference, is to deny the payment of certain care for seniors.

We believe it's absolutely imperative and what the actuary for Medicare will you tell you is that you have got to reform the system in a positive way. We think that can be done by allowing seniors to remain on Medicare if they so desire or to move to program, a health care coverage plan that may be more responsive to their needs.

It's imperative we do that so that we can save the kind of resources that will make it so that the country doesn't continue to spend hundreds of billions of dollars that it doesn't have.

FEYERICK: Sir, you talk about reform. Let me push back a little here. If we look at the polls, a recent Kaiser Family poll shows that when -- seniors trust Democrats more than Republicans to handle Medicare.

And what's more, 70 percent of those polled wanted Medicare to stay as is. We want to challenge you here, why change something that it appears Americans really do want to keep because they feel it's giving them what they need?

PRICE: We couldn't agree more.

And the problem is that what the American people have yet to understand and appreciate is that the president has already changed Medicare. As I say, he's removed nearly $500 billion from the program and put into place this unelected board of bureaucrats that will make it so that they are able to deny payment for services to seniors.

We don't believe that's the right thing to do. We believe we can positively reform the system, allow seniors that want to, to stay on Medicare, but also allow greater choices and higher quality care within the program. As a physician right now, one out of every three doctors in this country are limiting the number of Medicare patients that they're seeing. That's not right. We can fix it.

FEYERICK: Sir, the House Budget Committee also released a chart. We're going to put that up. It shows that U.S. debt as part of the economy over the next 70 years, and if you look at the chart, green is what Republicans on your committee say the new plan would do by cutting spending, but preventing tax increases. Red is the current path.

The White House is pushing back today saying that any budget should include spending cuts and raised taxes, calling for balance. Congressman Price, the White House says this is about balance. Why is that wrong?

PRICE: Well, because they don't have spending cuts.

To decrease taxes -- or to raise taxes on anybody, to chase ever higher spending is just wrong. And the American people understand that. We actually increased taxes in certain areas by closing loopholes. We believe it's important to close the loopholes that the American people are so disgusted with.

But we believe it's also important to broaden the base and lower the rates for everybody, so that we can get this economy growing again. The American people understand the economy is not as vibrant as it ought to be. You don't increase the vibrancy the economy by raising taxes.

You do it by decreasing spending and having the federal government live more within its means.

FEYERICK: And yet we want to go to Jay Carney, the White House press person, who said this earlier just -- let's -- in terms of balance, let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: What the Ryan plan fails to do is in any way meet the test of balance that every credible person in this debate has said must be met if we're going to deal with our fiscal challenges in the future.

There is no responsible way to deal with our budget challenges if we do not do it in a balanced way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: So, clearly, a very different perspective.

But, Congressman Price, look, it's an election year. Do you see this budget as a solid platform for whoever your party nominates? It's very interesting that it would come out today, on the eve of a primary. Are you trying to define what the candidates should be talking about?

PRICE: Well, this is the normal budget season, which is what dictates when this comes out, because our budget in the House has to be adopted by April 15. And in order to get it done in that timeline, it has to come out this week.

I would remind folks that the Senate hasn't done a budget for three years. That's an irresponsible and reckless aspect of Senate leadership. And I would also remind folks that the chart that you put up previously that had the red numbers, the amount of debt for this country, is the path that the president and Mr. Carney are trying to defend.

That's a path that the American people know doesn't work. We believe there's a positive way to reform the system. We believe there's a way that ensures that Medicare is saved and is solvent and improved -- that Medicaid is saved and is solvent and improved. And we can do that without raising taxes and we can do that with decreasing spending at the federal level, with proper, responsible reforms.

FEYERICK: OK, Congressman Price, thank you so much. We will see whether that passes or not. We will stay with you.

Now another big story right now. Football star Peyton Manning just made a major announcement about his career with the Denver Broncos. We're going to hear from him right after this quick break.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Well, the wait is over. Peyton Manning just had a news conference moments ago with the Denver Broncos. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PEYTON MANNING, PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL PLAYER: Thank you very much, John.

Thank you, Mr. Bolan.

I'm very excited to begin the next chapter of my playing career for the Denver Broncos. Starting with Mr. Bolan, I can tell this organization is committed to winning.

The Broncos, they do have incredible fans that love this team. And this truly is a special football environment, and I am glad to be a part of it.

I really appreciate and am grateful for the time that was given to me by several very impressive organizations and individuals during this process. But in the end, I felt the Broncos were just a great fit.

I've always had a great deal of respect for John Elway. He is one of the best quarterbacks to ever play, and his knowledge and respect for the game is evident in everything that he does.

Talking football with John, with Coach Fox and his staff helped me realize that this is a great place to be. I called John Elway Monday morning and let him know that I wanted to be a Denver Bronco.

I am thrilled to be here. I'm looking forward to meeting my new teammates and doing everything I can to help this franchise win another Super Bowl.

I'm going to wear number 18 for the Denver Broncos. I had the privilege of speaking with Frank Tripucka this morning. It really goes against everything I believe in being a guy that appreciates the history of football. I believe when a number is retired it should stay retired, but in talking to Frank Tripucka, I feel that he really wants me to wear his number, and it was a very humbling conversation, and I'm honored to wear his number being another quarterback for the Denver Broncos, as Mr. Tripucka was back years ago as the first quarterback to play here.

So it truly is following his wishes to wear it, because that's what he wants me to do. And I'm honored to do that.

So thank you very much. I'll be glad to answer your questions.

QUESTION: Peyton, when was the moment that you knew your future would become the Denver Broncos?

MANNING: Well, it was encouraging to me that all the teams that fortook (ph) in that process said they wanted to go forward. And so I have work to do.

I'm not where I want to be. I want to be where I was before I was injured. I wish I never would have been injured, but I know that I need the training staff here and the weight staff to help me get to where I want to be.

I know, like I said, as soon as this is over, I'm going to start right away on that process. I have a lot of work to do in getting to where I want to be from a health standpoint and learning this offense.

This is going to take a ton of work, and so the sooner I can get started, the better. It's a challenge that I look forward to meeting, and I'm going to need a lot of help around me to help get those goals done.

QUESTION: Peyton, do yourself being (INAUDIBLE)?

MANNING: I certainly hope so. It is hard to really give a timetable or a prediction. That's one thing I'd rather not do, so -- but that's what I want to do.

I want to be out there every single snap, every single play. The mini camps and the OTAs with the new rules this year, they're limited. They're probably -- they're more important than they have been in the past because you just don't get that many of them.

So that's what I want to do. That's my goal. But I have some work to do.

I look forward to getting started on that. But the doctors and the trainers say they feel very encouraged about where I am and the progress that I've made. And I like hearing that, and hopefully we can just keep on that path.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: And you heard in there mentioned the injury. He had surgery for a neck injury. He spent 14 years with the Indianapolis Colts. He was talking to a number of teams, including the Miami Dolphins, Washington Redskins, San Francisco 49ers, but in the end he went with the Denver Broncos. And there he is making that historic announcement.

Now new information in the investigation of the death of Trayvon Martin. The man police say shot the teenager, George Zimmerman, he's gone underground. This is the closest you're going to get to see him, that picture there.

We have some of the 911 tapes from when Zimmerman called police about a previous incident in the neighborhood. We're going to play that call for you next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: This just in on the breaking news of the earthquake in Mexico, new video of damage.

Let's go straight over to Chad Myers in Atlanta at the Weather Center.

Chad, show us the pictures. CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, the pictures are -- because we're about 120 miles away from a 7.4 earthquake. Now, Acapulco seeing some of the damage.

You see that car completely crushed in that. This is video we're just getting in from the Acapulco region.

I suspect as the days go on, and we even -- maybe the hours go on, we will get closer and closer pictures to the epicenter. And the epicenter of a 7.4 earthquake is going to have very significant damage around it.

One of the towns very close, 17,000 people in that town, I suspect significant damage there. This looks like some type of a girder, some type of a facade of maybe a building that has collapsed and crushed the front of that car. And this is the type of damage you see when you have the hours and hours afterwards where you get another shake here and another aftershock here, where things can actually fall on top of things that really weren't moved in the first place.

You get a little bit of a crack in a building. You get an aftershock. All of a sudden, that aftershock can make the top of the building fall, and that's what we're seeing now, these aftershocks, a couple -- a 5.1 aftershock, but with a 7.4 initial earthquake, the aftershocks can go all the way up to a 6.4.

Deb, I have one more thing I want to show you before I send it back to you, this brand new information in from the USGS, the U.S. Geological Survey here. The economic -- or fatalities here -- economic losses and the estimated fatalities, they put a very good number on this. They've done an awful lot of work crunching numbers here.

Somewhere, a 42 percent chance of between 10 and 100 fatalities, especially near the epicenter, of course. And there's still a 32 percent chance of there being up to 1,000 fatalities with this shake.

Economic loss, over here on the other side, a little bit harder to discern because of how widespread and how far apart these towns are, but somewhere between 38 and 36 percent. There's the big difference here, between $10 million and up to $1 billion in damage, so somewhere probably in the middle there, around $100 million in damage.

It's obviously the economic loss that we're worried about here, but more importantly, the fatalities that are possible when you see stuff like this happen, when you see the collapse of that building. And I don't know whether -- we have not been able to see whether there was anyone in that vehicle or not, but I suspect that they would not be working so hard on that bridge up there. It's kind of a guardrail of that bridge that has fallen onto that car.

FEYERICK: Yes.

MYERS: I would suspect that that car was moving. And when that car was moving, the bridge fell apart, fell on it. Otherwise, they wouldn't be working so hard to get that bridge off of that car.

FEYERICK: Yes, absolutely.

All right, Chad. Thanks so much. Keep an eye on it for us. Will you?

Well, despite multiple efforts, CNN has not been able to reach George Zimmerman, a man who has spent much of his life trying to fight crime. As you'll soon hear, he is now at the center of a local and federal investigation.

Federal prosecutors and the FBI say they're going to look into whether Zimmerman shot this Florida teenager, Trayvon Martin, in self-defense. And while we can't get Zimmerman's account of what happened, we do know he has made at least 46 calls to local police since starting in 2001 as a watchman.

CNN obtained six of those calls. Four of them involve suspicious activity.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

GEORGE ZIMMERMAN, NEIGHBORHOOD WATCHMAN: Our neighborhood got burglarized or robbed today. And my wife saw one of the kids that did it. And we see someone that matches his description in the neighborhood right now again.

911 OPERATOR: And is he white, black or Hispanic?

ZIMMERMAN: Black. He just went between the houses to the back -- shoot.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Another call shows his concern for kids playing on the street. Listen.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

ZIMMERMAN: The kids in the neighborhood have gotten accustomed to playing in the street, and it's pretty habitual now. They play in the street, and they just run out in front of cars. And it always seems to be around dusk. Obviously, it's not an emergency. I'm just concerned for their safety and for the drivers in the neighborhood.

911 OPERATOR: How many?

ZIMMERMAN: Probably like five or six there. You know, they're under 12 years old.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

FEYERICK: And in one instance, in contrast to the allegations he's now facing, Zimmerman showed caution.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

ZIMMERMAN: Hey, can I get an officer to 1960 Retreat View Circle? 911 OPERATOR: Your name?

ZIMMERMAN: George.

911 OPERATOR: What's going on there, George?

ZIMMERMAN: I'm with the neighborhood watch, and we've had some burglaries and vandalisms lately. And this gentleman was walking in the neighborhood, and I've seen him before on trash days going around picking up trash. I don't know what his deal is.

911 OPERATOR: Is he white, black or Hispanic?

ZIMMERMAN: He's black.

911 OPERATOR: What is he wearing?

ZIMMERMAN: He's wearing a black leather jacket, a black bomber hat.

911 OPERATOR: And what is he doing?

ZIMMERMAN: He keeps going to this guy's house. I know him. I know the resident.

He's Caucasian. And he's going up to the house, and then going along the side of it, and then coming to the street and then going back to the side of it.

I don't know what he's doing. I don't want to approach him, personally. If you have an officer available, I would probably have him stop on Rinehart.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Now, that call was made about three weeks before Martin was shot.

Also today, the attorney for Trayvon Martin's parents has revealed that Trayvon's girlfriend was on the phone with Martin before he was shot to death. And she overheard someone chasing Martin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN CRUMP, ATTORNEY FOR SHOOTING VICTIM'S FAMILY: He then says, you know, "I think this dude is following me." And she talks about how he kind of slows down and he's trying to look in the car and say, "I think this dude is following me." And she tells him, "Oh, baby, be careful. Just run home."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Now let's go to CNN legal analyst Sunny Hostin, who's here in New York.

First of all, let's talk about this, because these tapes, the conversation the girl had with Trayvon in the moments before he was killed, really makes it seem as if the watchman was the aggressor, not Trayvon Martin, that Trayvon Martin was scared and was thinking about running away.

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: That's right. And that's what's so significant here, because we know that the police in Florida have indicated that they did not make an arrest because George Zimmerman invoked sort of the Stand Your Ground law, right, the self-defense law. And he claims he shot in self-defense.

Well, under the law, Deb, you can't invoke that law if you are the first aggressor, if you are the pursuer. And now we have some evidence to dispute that self-defense claim. Whereas the police said they didn't have the evidence, now we have the last person that was on the phone with Trayvon Martin, and she says that he was being followed, in conjunction with the fact that on the 911 tape, George Zimmerman admits to following Trayvon Martin.

So this really sheds some light on this sort of self-defense claim that George Zimmerman is standing by.

FEYERICK: What's also interesting is, because Trayvon Martin, according to the conversation that was taking place with the girlfriend, that he thought he had lost, that he had shaken the night watchman, basically. And then all of a sudden, he was following him again.

So there was, like, a little bit of role play going on with Zimmerman thinking he was chasing somebody who was up to something and this young man thinking oh, my God, somebody wants to harm me. I mean, both of them just didn't understand where each was coming from.

HOSTIN: That's right. And I think what is also very interesting is that this girlfriend indicates that she feels that Trayvon Martin was pushed.

I mean, she wasn't an eyewitness, but she's what we call an earwitness. And she says she can assume that because she heard Trayvon Martin's voice change. And then she heard the dropped call.

She tried to call him back after that and he did not pick up the phone. She says the call ended at about 7:16, and the phone records confirm that. Police have indicated that they got to the scene at 7:17. So just a minute past -- between the dropped call and the police arriving.

So, again, this really sheds light on the fact that George Zimmerman may not be able to invoke this Stand Your Ground law because evidence is pointing to the fact that that's now in dispute. He may very well have been the first aggressor. He may very well have been the pursuer here.

FEYERICK: And what's so interesting, the Stand Your Ground law that you're talking about, that was put into play in Florida about 2005, and according to a report a couple of years ago, justifiable homicides tripled after that law went into effect, with critics basically calling it the right to murder law. What's interesting also about the girlfriend and the conversation that she was having is that she really, in hearing what was going on at the time, the suggestion that, in fact, Zimmerman was -- whatever scuffle he says he was involved in, he may have been the one who started it.

HOSTIN: That's right. I mean, that's what it sounds like if you take what she is saying as the truth.

Of course, he has a completely -- we think he has a completely different version of events. He's saying that he needed to defend himself.

But I'm glad that you talked about the statistics in terms of Stand Your Ground law, because that's sort of the larger picture here, I think, Deb. People are talking about this particular case, but we know that in Florida, they have this Stand Your Ground law, and about 17 other states also have the Stand Your Ground law, but Florida has the most robust.

And so I think now people are looking at this law and determining whether or not it's the right thing for Florida and whether or not it really needs to be revised, because it is becoming sort of the -- instead of Stand Your Ground law, people are saying this is sort of the "Make My Day" law, the vigilante law.

FEYERICK: Right.

HOSTIN: And I hope that something will come from this.

FEYERICK: And who knows? For all we know, federal prosecutors are going to look to see whether in fact that law should be rethought.

And Martin -- the Martin family there now saying that it was their son who was calling out for help, that he was the victim in this, and that clearly now, the whole story has changed because of the calls that were made.

Sunny, thank you so much. Appreciate that.

HOSTIN: Thanks.

FEYERICK: Well, did you realize that Republican presidential candidates get code names? We now know what the Secret Service calls Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum.

Got any guesses? Tweet us. But we're going to tell you the names right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Well, more signs that real estate is on the rebound. Homebuilders have filed for the most permits in more than three years, and new home construction is down from January. Government numbers show it's still 35 percent ahead of the same time last year.

Now, part of the rebound, Phoenix. The city living up to its name, rising from one of the worst housing crashes in the nation. CNN's Lisa Desjardins joins me with the story.

And Lisa, new numbers showing perhaps a turnaround in play.

LISA DESJARDINS, CNN RADIO SR. CORRESPONDENT: Yes, how about this, Deb? A little good news is nice. Let's get right to these numbers.

This is from a new report from Arizona State University. They actually have a Center for Real Estate Theory & Practice.

I'm going to show you what things looked like then, during the worst of the recession, and what they look like now. Let's start with foreclosures.

Then: foreclosures. Look at how hard hit Maricopa County, where Phoenix is. Twelve percent of homes were foreclosed on during this recession.

But now, check it out. Foreclosures are down by nearly half in the last year.

All right. How about housing prices? Everyone wants to know about housing prices.

Well, look at that for Phoenix. Phoenix, housing prices during the last couple of years, those fell 50 percent to 60 percent. Homeowners hurting from that.

Well, now prices are up 3 percent to 5 percent. And, Deb, I know that 3 percent to 5 percent is not much, but when you consider how far Phoenix fell, it's a big deal, and it indicates that things are turning around. Now there is more supply than demand.

Here's Mike Orr.

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MIKE ORR, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR REAL ESTATE THEORY & PRACTICE: The most major change over the last 12 months is that supply is dramatically down. In fact, the supply of distressed homes, bank- owned homes and short sales, is down by 75 percent or more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DESJARDINS: Now, stressing this is only in Phoenix, but you have to figure, Deb, the weakest link in the chain is the one that kind of corrupts the whole thing. And if Phoenix is one of the worst markets to see the desert blooming there in housing, it may be a good sign for the whole country -- Deb.

FEYERICK: And Lisa, when you say that housing prices are up, are they up 3 percent to 5 percent from that fall of 50 percent, or do they level up and then go up? What are we talking about?

DESJARDINS: Yes. Housing prices are up 3 percent to 5 percent over the last year. And if you're a homebuyer trying to find a home in Phoenix, it's not that easy.

I'm going to show you a picture of a couple that I met out in the Phoenix area, in Tempe. This is Tim Woodward (ph). We'll show you a picture in a second, hopefully, Tim Woodward (ph) and Susan Russ (ph).

They're combining their families. Look at them all tan in the desert.

They have seven kids they're combining into one family. They had trouble getting a home because there was so much competition, and they ended up bidding on that home behind them the day they saw it, which was the day it went on the market.

They told me 11 other couples looked at it. So, yes, competition is really getting heavy out there in Phoenix.

A lot of people think it's a good sign that the worst parts of the economy may be rebounding. The rest of the economy, we'll have to wait and see, but in Phoenix, they say this is a trend they think is going to last -- Deb.

FEYERICK: Right. And what's so interesting, at least the better sign is really just sort of how people are feeling, the fact that they're looking for homes, the fact that they feel they can afford homes, and the fact that maybe they're back on track.

Lisa Desjardins, thank you so much.

DESJARDINS: Exactly.

FEYERICK: Coming up right now, of course, the one, the only Wolf Blitzer, with lots of news coming up going into the primaries tonight.

Hey, Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Deb, thanks very much.