Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

German Newspaper Reports NSA Spied On European Union Offices; Parts of California Hit 127 Degrees; Trayvon Martin's Stepmother Speaks Out; Protests On One-Year Anniversary Of Morsi's Election Spread Throughout Egypt; "N" Word Recaptures Nation's Attention

Aired June 30, 2013 - 17:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone I'm Don Lemon. Here's what's coming up in the NEWSROOM. The dangerous heat wave out west is only getting worse. We are going to have a live report from what is now one of the hottest places on earth.

Plus, a sightseeing helicopter crashes in to the Hudson River prompting a rescue by good Samaritans on jet skis.

Plus, we are having a conversation on race that you won't see anywhere else on television and I do want to warn you early on, the language will be raw.

We are going to begin with this. This hour, with a trial that has trance fixed America, the shooting death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin and the murder trial of his admitted shooter George Zimmerman. The first week of testimony not shy of explosive and sometimes uncomfortable moments in this Florida courtroom.

Twenty two witnesses took the stand providing crucial testimony for the six female jurors who will eventually determine George Zimmerman's fate.

So, joining me now is CNN's Martin Savidge outside the courthouse in Sanford, Florida and an attorney Darren Kavinoky, he is going to join me from Orange County, California in just a little bit on this.

But first to you, Martin, you know, Martin, you have been inside of this courtroom. You have been there all week. What's the one defining moment that is going to stand out for the jurors, you believe?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, I'm not sure yet that we have reached one defining moment. There have been a number of interesting moments, certainly the testimony that we heard from Rachel Jeantel captured a lot of people's attention. There are many diverse opinions of how well she did. But that really is when people began to closely follow this and I'm talking about closely following it say, on television and elsewhere. There's been a noted uptick in the national interest in this story. When it began, people weren't necessarily following that closely. They are now.

And then after that, we had Friday. Friday was a fascinating day because you had key witnesses there. Key witnesses and what I mean by that is because their testimony spoke to the heart of this case. What did they see? Who did they see and what position? Who was on top? Who was on the bottom in this struggle? Who was hurt calling for help?

Up until now, the witnesses have been, well they thought they heard this. They thought they saw that. But Friday was the day that we saw witnesses come forward and say, I know who it was or I believe I know who it was.

So as each day has progressed, more and more we've gotten to the heart of the matter here and that's going to continue starting tomorrow morning. We anticipate with the investigators taking the stand.

LEMON: So Martin, what about the statements from Zimmerman to police in the days following the shooting, written, audio, video reenactment that everyone was fascinated by, are those expected to come in to court this week?

SAVIDGE: Absolutely. Yes. And I would anticipate that those are going to be powerful potentially for the prosecution because, you know, many have speculated will George Zimmerman take the stand. He doesn't have to because he's been interviewed so many times, interviewed on videotape. He did that reenactment, the walk-through. He is also been heard on audio tape as a result of the interrogations that were conducted. So, he is literally going to be seen many times over with the introduction of this evidence.

And what will happen is that the prosecution's going to look for the inconsistencies in his story. And every time he tells it when's different from the other time he told it and are those inconsistencies minor missteps or major oversteps and problems with the time line? That's another factor that is going to come forward.

So, this is why the prosecution says they will use George Zimmerman's own words to convict him. We'll see if they achieve that success.

LEMON: All right. We are going to see because you know, the testimony resumes tomorrow. What is the feeling in Sanford going in to week two, Martin?

SAVIDGE: Well, if you mean inside the community, the community here has been anxious, of course, about the trial to begin with. But, there had been no problems, had been no major demonstrations, there has been no difficulty outside of the courtroom. So, everything is moving as the justice system would like to see it happen. I think people are waiting to see what the verdict is going to be.

As far as what's going on inside the courtroom, you know, we have seen heated exchanges. We can tell that there are tensions in that courtroom, not only between the prosecution and the defense, but sometimes between witnesses and those that are being questioned.

It's a very emotional case. People are very impassioned about this case and that includes sometimes those who are inside of that courtroom. The jury, they're very attentive. That's one thing everyone noted. They're constantly focused. They're taking notes. And they are taking it all in. But you cannot possibly read what they may be thinking about what they're hearing.

LEMON: Yes. You're right. Hey Marty, stand by because I want to bring Darren Kavinoky in right now who I'm told we just pulled a beast to do this. You can see he's a little bit dressed down but that's OK. Your information is still valid here.

You know, this week, there were several pivotal witnesses will -- are going to take the stand. The medal examiner, a ballistics expert, is the prosecution's best moment yet to come, Darren?

DARREN KAVINOKY, ATTORNEY: Well, I hope so because here we are in the prosecution's case and I think the real headline here is that it seems to be great going for the defense so far. Normally as a criminal defense trial lawyer in the prosecution's case, you just got to hold on for dear life and you'll even indoctrinate the jurors during jury selection to say, hang on. What in their case, it may look bad for us but we are going to have lots to say. Just wait until we get to ours and keep an open mind until then.

But, it has been amazing, especially in the world of social media on Friday when Jonathan Good was on the stand, there were people were tweeting to me saying, well, wait a second. The prosecution rest because this prosecution's witness is totally favorable to the defense. So, things are actually looking pretty good as people are reading the tea leaves now.

LEMON: Darren, is there a possibility that prosecutors overreached with the second-degree murder charge which requires proof of ill-will or hatred? You mentioned, you know, the witness that came in who seemed to, you know, side with what -- back-up, at least, what George Zimmerman said, do you think they overreached with this?

KAVINOKY: Well, maybe. I mean, this case really has become about so much more than the facts of that night. But really, in a court of law, not in the court of public opinion, it should be all about the facts of that night. And we really have two completely divergent views of what happened. If you believe that George Zimmerman was stalking Trayvon Martin, that he had this agenda that he was out to pursue somebody, specifically because of race, then the murder charge is not too much.

And what's fascinating to me about this particular case is it seems to be such a breakdown just in terms of ordinary human kindness and communication. This whole tragedy could have been avoided had there not been -- if only George Zimmerman would have just identified himself as neighborhood watch or if Trayvon Martin might not have been confrontational. This case is tragic on so many levels, Don.

SAVIDGE: Or if just stayed in the car. But, here's the thing, I got to run.

KAVINOKY: Yes.

LEMON: If you were his attorney, would you advise George Zimmerman to take the stand? Do you think he should? KAVINOKY: Well, it's a tough call. Generally speaking, you want to avoid that if at all possible because it shifts the focus of the case from did the prosecution prove it to how did this guy do on the stand? But all of the audio taped and videotaped interviews that George Zimmerman gave, the defense can't introduce those. That's up to the prosecution. It's self serving here, say, if the defense tries do it. The prosecution can do it as an admission. So, it is going to depend on what the prosecution does with those videotapes.

Ultimately, Zimmerman's got to get the story out and nobody else can talk about being in fear for his life like Zimmerman can. I think we're going to see him on the stand.

LEMON: All right. Interesting. Thank you, Darren. Thank you, Martin Savidge.

Martin, we will see you for sure throughout the evening and next week, as well.

You know, after one week of graphic and sometimes disturbing testimony, both sides in the George Zimmerman trial are showing signs of strain. Defense attorney Mark O'Mara talked to CNN about his client's emotional state.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK O'MARA, ZIMMERMAN DEFENSE LAWYER: He's very stressed out, I mean, he really is. For a year and half he has been in hiding and now he is facing a potential life sentence where he is literally fighting for his life today and this week as he was in February of 2012 and very stressful and very frightening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: But some of the most compelling comments of the week may have come from outside the courtroom. CNN's Anderson Cooper talked exclusively to Trayvon Martin's stepmother, Alicia Stanley, about the young man who she simply calls her son.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: So I don't think a lot of people know your story and relationship with Trayvon. You were his stepmother for a long, long time.

ALICIA STANLEY, TRAYVON MARTIN'S STEP MOTHER: Yes, for 14 years.

COOPER: Fourteen years.

STANLEY: Fourteen and a half, 14 and half years.

COOPER: How much role did you actually have in raising him?

STANLEY: Hands on. I mean, I've been with his father for 14 years. Trayvon was about three when I met his father, and ever since then, I mean, Trayvon been in my life and I've been nothing more than a mother to him. You know, he was raised with my girls. I have two daughters, so --

COOPER: So he lived in your house?

STANLEY: Yes, he lived in my house with me and his father and my girls, and Trayvon wanted to live with us, and Trayvon was at my house, in our home 85 to 95 -- 90 percent of the time.

COOPER: For -- what kind of a person was he? What do you want people to know about him?

STANLEY: I want people to know that Trayvon was a kind person. He was a loving person. He loved children, babies. You know, before this happened, I really believe he would have been working with children, because he adored children, and just let people know that he's not what the media make him out to be like he was this thug. He wasn't that.

COOPER: Are you watching the trial?

STANLEY: I -- I'm not watching the trial. My --

COOPER: Why?

STANLEY: It's hard for me. It -- I mean, to see and hear the things that led to his death, it's hard for me. I don't care to hear it. I don't care to hear that, I don't.

COOPER: In the last couple days in the court a friend of Trayvon's has been on the stand, the young woman.

STANLEY: Yes.

COOPER: One of the things that she's said is that in the discussions she was having with Trayvon before he was killed that he talked about George Zimmerman and the terms he used.

STANLEY: Yes.

COOPER: The cracker, that the defense is trying to make it sound like Trayvon Martin is introducing race into this situation. Is that something you think is fair?

STANLEY: No, it's not fair. It's because I mean, kids going to be kids, and we all been children. We've all done said things other children are saying or whatever. That was never taught in our home, and I never ever heard him use those words.

COOPER: Do you have any doubt about what happened?

STANLEY: I have no doubt that he didn't start that fight. He didn't start the fight. What I'm saying is that he did -- it was a fight. There's no doubt it was a fight, and Zimmerman had to put his hands on him to cause that fight. He was defending himself. So, for people to say when he tried to kill him and he this and he that, I don't think anyone would have been standing somewhere in the dark and been approached by someone they don't know and then pushed around, and you're not going to defend yourself, and his friend stated it in her statement. He approached Trayvon and Trayvon asked him, you know, why you following me?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Alicia Stanley.

Later this hour, more from the woman who called Trayvon Martin her son. How she feels about the possibility of a not guilty verdict for George Zimmerman.

Next in the CNN NEWSROOM, we'll take you live to Egypt where thousands of protesters are taking to the street and the situation is increasingly tense.

Plus, the visceral reaction to the "n" word, what makes that slur so toxic and why are we so uncomfortable talking about it?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Today's planned protests across Egypt are huge as predicted with critics and supporters are President Mohammed Morsi hitting the streets across the country, but the violence many feared has so far has been limited.

CNN's senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman joins me now. He is in Cairo.

So Ben, what's the situation there now?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's past 11:00 at night here in Cairo, Don, and Tahrir Square is jam packed and the streets itself but streets and roads around it. And I would say, this is the biggest demonstration we have seen here in Cairo since Hosni Mubarak stepped down two and a half years ago. The people out there in the square, not same group of revolutionaries we saw two and a half years ago. It includes ordinary Egyptians, men and women, Christians and Muslims, young and old.

One man I spoke to said that, you know, we are tired after a year of Mohammed Morsi. Crime is up. Prices are up. There's no gas at the gas stations and electricity is constantly being cut. And the economy is collapsing. People are fed up and they want this president to leave. That's the group in Tahrir Square.

There is another group in another part of Cairo supportive of President Morsi. They say, look. A year ago he was elected fair and square as president and he should be able to fulfill his term. Now, the worry, of course, is these two groups of protesters will come in to contact and violence will ensue. And another part of Cairo, in fact, there's been an attack on the headquarters of the Muslim brotherhood -- Don.

LEMON: All right, Ben Wedeman in Cairo. Ben, thank you very much.

Some European officials are furious and demanding answers, this after a German newspaper reported it has information from NSA leaker, Edward Snowden, that the U.S. national security agency spied on offices of the European Union.

Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is following the latest developments for us.

Barbara, what are you learning?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well. Hi there, Don.

The German newspaper is reporting that the National Security Agency spied on the offices of the European Union provoking outrage from those European allies. The president of the European parliament saying he wants answers from the United States. Well, he got a little bit of one earlier today.

Here in Washington, the office of the director of national intelligence issued a reply, a statement saying, quote, "the United States government will respond appropriately to the European Union through our diplomatic channels. While we are not going to comment publicly on specific alleged intelligence activities, as a matter of policy, we have made clear that the United States gathers foreign intelligence of the type gathered by all nations.

So look, Don, that's certainly not a denial that the U.S. is spying on the allies and it should be noted the U.S. assumes the allies are spying on the U.S. This is how things are done. So, you know, I think it remains to be seen how much of this is embarrassment that this is dragged out in to the public arena yet again -- Don.

LEMON: Barbara Starr in Washington. Barbara, thank you.

Relief still isn't in sight from that punishment heat wave out west. Temperatures in Death Valley, California, reached whopping 127 degrees making it the hottest point on earth for the day.

Tory Dunnan is back in the heat at Death Valley today.

Oh boy, Tory, how hot is it right now?

TORY DUNNAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, the only way to describe this is by saying, it is just absolutely hot. When the winds pick up, you think it makes it a little cooler but it's the opposite. It feels like basically a blow dryer, you are blow drying your hair and it is exploding hot air all around.

But let's look at this thermometer because right now it is reading close to 130 degrees. Of course, this is not official thermometer. We will get those numbers throughout the afternoon.

But the one thing, Don, that's pretty amazing about this, we are here at the lowest point of elevation of the United States. This heat hasn't stop people from coming out here. They are off in the distance taking photos. And the thing is they think that this spot could be where we see the highest temperatures today so people want to be here. They want to be part of the action and say I was in Death Valley when it hit possibly record temperatures. But Don, we will find out that information a little bit later on today.

LEMON: A hundred and thirty. Unofficially, and that's by your thermometer. I don't know if people know actually how hot that feels. It's -- Tory, the hottest I have ever been was 140 when I did a stent in India for CNN here. And you can't even explain how hot it is.

DUNNAN: Yes. I mean, that's for sure. The one thing I'm noticing right now standing out here is it feels like my shoes are almost melting like you are standing on hot lava rocks. You just can't drink enough water, Don. You have to stay in the shade. And many people are coming here from foreign countries and saying they have never felt anything like this. So, yes, you can't really describe it. You have to come to out here to Death Valley to feel. And that's what people are doing.

LEMON: And my producers are reminding me, and you're making her stand out there in it longer because you are asking question after question. So, get cool.

Thank you, Tory. Appreciate it.

DUNNAN: Reporter: I will.

LEMON: All right.

Many of you finding the next segment difficult to watch, maybe even offensive. But events this week shown us that we can't ignore the pain words can cause or the impact they have on society. Stick around. You don't want to miss this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Welcome back, everyone.

There have been two major stories this week that have captured the nation's attention and begged for a biggest conversation on race relations.

Paula Deen was fired from her TV job and lost many endorsements for using the "n" word years ago. And during the George Zimmerman trial, sparks flew between defense attorney, Don West, and star witness, Rachel Jeantel, over a term that many would find offense, crazy ass cracker.

Well, yesterday on the show, we had that conversation. It was open, it was honest, it was provocative. So much so that we want to play it again for you right now. And I do want to warn you. The language was raw. We used certain words like the "n" word the entire word but it's a conversation we felt need to be had. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WENDY WALSH, HUMAN BEHAVIOR EXPERT: It's a word that been socially prohibited and individually and institutionally. It's policed by authorities who literally punish people who used it like we're seeing with Paula Deen and maybe even in the courtroom of the Zimmerman courtroom.

So the taboo words that are out there, but the thing that helps them retain their power, Don, is their non-usage. So, the more they become taboo, the more they keep their power and we get even more nervous about using them.

Of course, now we are seeing a word, specifically the "n" word that is having different contextual uses, different populations are using it in different words that it may not have anger. So, behaviorists are having or people in research this having a hard time determining harm by the usage.

LEMON: Mark, so do you think we hurt ourselves not using these words? Because I have to tell you, when I was researching this, you saw the "SNL" clip, right? And they said, you know, he goes nigger and goes it. I watched "The Jeffersons" and they would say, you know, you remember back -- what was the saying they used to say? Nigger, please like they said that on television in the '70s. But, we can't say it now.

MARC LAMONT HILL, PROFESSOR, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: But black people said it because we moved in to this post-racial ideology, this color blind ideology that says if we don't talk about race, if don't name race, if we don't speak certain terms and somehow the world would be racially better and it is simply not true.

I don't have a problem with the sitcom or with you as an esteemed journalist using the "n" word in context because it has explanatory value. Do I think that white people should be using it? Absolutely not. Do I think someone with a biracial son is confused about this? Absolutely not.

I always find it remarkable that white people find the "n" word usage such a complicated puzzle. It is not that complicated. Just don't use it. Just -- you just --

WALSH: No. Wait, wait, wait. I have to disagree with you.

HILL: Let me finish the thought. You just have to accept there are some things in the world, at least one thing that you can't do that black people can and that might just be OK.

WALSH: Wait. I'm not talking about. Wait.

LEMON: Hang on, Buck. I will let Wendy finish and then I will come to you.

WALSH: What about the human consumers of hip hop who have been exposed to a new sort of reclaimed usage of the word through music? So when a teenage boy uses it with a teenage friend as a term of endearment, I mean, I'm not fighting to use the word but he's a consumer of hip -- no, I'm talking about white teens.

LEMON: No, but Marc, I hear white kids said -- I have to tell you. I was in Ohio in October coming up on the election and I was with a white kid in his late teen, early 20s in college. He was talking to another white friend and they both were calling each other that term. And I was like -- at first, he was on the phone with him and I thought he was talking to his black friend and then met him and he was talking to his white friend. So, it's not just black people using that word as a term of endearment.

HILL: I would be happy if no one used that as a term of endearment. All right, I'm saying is that white teenager, that white 20 something should learn that yes, you can listen to the music, yes, you can hear those words, but it doesn't mean, you don't have to repeat them because the truth us, they can turn that music down --

WALSH: But, you can't along?

HILL: Why are white people fighting for the right to use the "n" word? Just let it go.

LEMON: I know. I know one white person fighting fiercely to have a say in this and that's Buck Davis.

So, Buck, go ahead.

BUCK DAVIS, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION EXPERT: I have trouble comparing those words, Don, because you can't compare the stories behind those words. So let's take cracker, for instance. You might call me a cracker, big deal. There is no power associated with it. You call me a honky, there is no privilege. No power associated with it.

Now, if generations of my people had been systematically, categorically discriminated against and some of them lynched while mobs of people screamed kill the honky, goodbye cracker, that would be different for me. The narrative around the "n" word carries so much evil attached to it that for many of us in the majority we have a hard time connecting to the depth of the pain. That word has been used to demoralize, dehumanize, to paralyze and sometimes kill groups of people and from what I know, from my friends and family who are people of color around the country, when they hear that word, it cuts to the bone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Our conversation did not end there. Much more right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Last week, celebrity chef, Paula Deen, appeared on the "Today" show with Matt Lauer. She gave a 13-minute neo-cova (ph) for using the "n" work in the past. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT LAUER, HOST, TODAY SHOW: Do you have any doubt in your mind that African-Americans are offended by the "n" word?

PAULA DEEN, CELEBRITY CHEF: I don't know, Matt. I have asked myself that so many times because it's very distressing for me to go in to my kitchens and I hear what these young people are calling each other. It's very, very distressing.

LAUER: You never joined in on that language?

DEEN: No. Absolutely not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: OK. She apologized. Time to move on, right? Wrong. Sponsors just keep dropping here. But many people appear to still be on the fence. Here's a second part of our discussion on race.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVIS: I'll tell you, Don. I think a reason why so many people are unnerved because Paula Deen admitted to saying the "n" word is because I think white people are still using the "n" word. And if you her a racist because she admitted to saying it a long time ago, and if you don't say it, I'm not talking to you, but I think people are rattled because if you're calling her racist because she admitted to saying it then you are calling me a racist because I'm still using it and that's what is lighting a fire. I believe, for a lot of Americans who are -- who don't want to hear they're using words that are associated with racism.

LEMON: I think you're right about that because when we had this discussion, we were talking about Paula Deen, there are people immediately because you are just telling the story and having a conversation and it, immediately on social media calling you a reverse racist. And I always say there's no such thing as a reverse racist. That would mean that you're fair to everyone. There is no such thing as reverse racism. You're a racist.

But just by having that conversation, I think you are right. But here's what I have to say. If you listen to people who support Paula Deen or who don't, their problem is really not with the "n" word that she said a few years ago. The problem is with her seemingly not understanding the cultural references and what is wrong with what she did and wanting to us seemingly by coming on television to feel sorry for the position she is in and not to feel sorry for her and people feel sorry for her actually because she so ignorant about what she's not understanding about the whole situation.

DAVIS: It is also a contradiction of her brand. She is a brand of comfort. She is nurturing. She is nice. She is fun. She is loving. And then for us to hear her say that and not really take full responsibility and be remorseful about it, it's really shocking for us.

LEMON: OK. Hey, listen.

HILL: Shocking for some of us.

DAVIS: For some of us, OK.

LEMON: OK. Yes, shocking for some people, right. So ahead, real quick. Go ahead, Marc. HILL: This is exactly what I expect, though, for someone like Paula Deen because her whole brand is built on the cultural legacy of black folk and labor and black work. She is just exploiting it and making money out of it. In other words, treating us like the "n" word. So, I'm not surprise at all and that's the problem. There's always a relationship between what people say and what they do and that's when it bothers me so much when white folk use it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: OK. So, have you ever heard of this? Do you ever heard of Black English? You have heard of Rachel Jeantel, right? Star witness for the prosecution in the George Zimmerman case. A lot of people said they didn't understand what she was saying on the stand. But one man said she was very eloquent. She was just speaking Black English and white America didn't understand, after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: 19-year-old Rachel Jeantel is not on trial in the George Zimmerman case, yet critics have ripped her performance on the stand.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RACHEL JEANTEL, WITNESS, GEORGE ZIMMERMAN CASE: I say Trayvon and then he say why are you following me for? And then I heard a hard breathed man come say what are you doing around here?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, I talked about Jeantel with a Columbia University English professor, John McWhorter, and he said Jeantel spoke quite eloquently.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN MCWHORTER, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: She's speaking Black English and people think it's just bad grammar but that's like saying a cocker spaniel is a bad kind of St. Bernard. There are different kinds of English. If you drop the Martian in to south central L.A., the Martian would have as hard of time figuring out the grammatical rules of Black English as they would the English that you and I are speaking right now.

She grew up speaking Black English and she is using it and has a tendency to look at it as something that's wrong. And there are a lot of reasons for that just as there's a tendency to look at her as something that's wrong in general and there are a lot of reasons for that.

LEMON: Yes. Talk more about that because she was -- when I saw her on the stand, I understood everything she was saying. Obviously, I grew up in the black community. She's very soft spoken and would have to lean in.

MCWHORTER: Sure. LEMON: The only thing I thought it was like she is not having him. And that's how young kids are. Yes, sir.

MCWHORTER: In other words, she has a kind of poise and all of a sudden on the stand it's being made to seem as if she's somehow pre- lingual in some way and really it's just that she's different. And the fact of the fat matter is, we have to admit, that there is a class element here as well. If this were the Honey boo-boo teen moms on earth, people be making jokes too. But they have a particular sting. She has made a particular side show because of the color of her skin. Black is less human in many eyes of people and that's what she is laboring on there in terms how she speaks as well as how she looks and how she conducts herself.

LEMON: The difference, though, is that honey boo-boos of the world get a show, she won't.

MCWHORTER: It's highly unlikely or a show that would make all of us, cringe. I mean, it is like this. Every now and then I'm walking around in New York and somebody will say, John, I love your work on CNN. And I have to think to myself, wait a minute. They think I'm Don Lemon. And we don't look that much alike. It is just that there's a certain -- not racists but a certain sense you're a little bit less real. That's what she is laboring under except a way that's hurtful because people think of her as a kind of creature when actually she's somebody speaking a very interesting, very dynamic form of English. She's speaking it very well.

LEMON: Yes. I spoke with Tim Wise, you know, the anti-racist and he says it makes her a more credible witness because she is real. She didn't have to say that you know, Trayvon said that he was a crazy cracker, whatever she said, it makes her more credible.

MCWHORTER: Exactly. She is actually telling the truth. And as far as the cracker bit goes, I mean, she's dissimulating a little bit in saying that it's not racial. But then, on the other hand, I think we all understand that there's a power issue here. His using that word cracker given that he's black and that there's a history and that the relationship between young black men and the police I think is the main thing keeping us from beginning to get past race in this country is that such that it's completely different from somebody using the "n" word as a slur and I think most of us understand that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: My thanks to John McWhorter.

She has known Trayvon Martin since he was just 3-years-old. Now, 16 months after her step son was killed, Alicia Stanley is finally speaking about the young man she calls her son.

A CNN exclusive, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Second week in the Zimmerman murder trial resumes tomorrow, the prosecution is expected to call a pair of police investigators to the stand. Zimmerman gave several written and audio statements to police after Trayvon Martin was shot and killed including a videotaped walk-through and reenactment at the town house complex. Prosecutors hope to use Zimmerman's owned statements to disprove his claim of self defense.

Well, some of the most emotional comments of the week may have come from outside the courtroom. Alicia Stanley, the woman who helped raise Trayvon Martin since he was 3-years-old, she spoke exclusively to CNN's Anderson Cooper about the teen and what life has been like since his death.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STANLEY: I'm here with you to let people know that I exist. And I would not sit back anymore and create the lies that out there being told. I'm the one that went to them football games. I'm the one that was there when he was sick. I mean, every time he got sick if he wasn't at our home, we had to go pick -- Tracy picked him up and brought him back to our home to make him better. I want people to know that he wanted to live with me and his father.

COOPER: He didn't -- are you saying he didn't have much of a relationship with his biological mother?

STANLEY: No. I'm not saying that. I'm not saying that he didn't have a relationship with her. What kind of relationship that they had, I don't know, and then with Trayvon -- Trayvon didn't speak of his mother a lot. OK? I didn't speak towards his mother in no way, no fashion. Never want -- and I want her to know, too, that I never tried to take her place, never.

COOPER: It's got to be so hard to -- to have raised this child, young man, to have him loose his life and to feel like all of that has been forgotten or ignored.

STANLEY: Yes, yes, it --

COOPER: To be alone with that grief.

STANLEY: Yes, it was devastating to know that a child you raised, helped raise and death, you mean nothing. But when he was alive, I was his stepmother. But in death I'm not his stepmother? I don't love him because he done passed? That's unbelievable. And I couldn't believe that these people was doing this. I mean, get in where I fit in and assumed, I can't sit in the front row, too, at my son's funeral, to see him off home? That hurts me. That's the most painful thing that they could have done to me.

COOPER: You weren't allowed to sit in the front row?

STANLEY: No, no, no, I had to sit in where I fit in, you know, to say them things to me and think it's OK, that wasn't OK.

COOPER: And if George Zimmerman is found not guilty? STANLEY: If he's not found guilty, it's going to be heart breaking because I truly believe that Zimmerman, he killed my son, and I don't think that if Zimmerman wouldn't have got out of the car, I guess you can say people saying, that wasn't a crime because he got out of his car, and that's true enough. It wasn't. But to take out your gun and shoot him dead like that, I mean, it would be unbelievable if he get off. But, if he do, I can really say in my heart that God will take care of all of that. You know -- you just put it in God's hands.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Coming up here on CNN, a sightseeing helicopter crashes in to the Hudson River prompting a rescue of good Samaritans on jet skis.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Talk about a makeover. Six CNN viewers are training to compete in our Fit Nation triathlon challenge.

Here is Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: When they started this journey, some of the six-pack couldn't run more than a minute without stopping. Health issues were slowing them down. But now what a difference some simple training makes.

Tabitha McMahon, she has battled colitis since she was 19 years old. Cycling, running, those were basically impossible for here. But now, she is about to race her second triathlon as part of her relay team. She joined out program to show people with the disease they too can overcome it. She has giving a lot of feed-backing grows.

TABITHA MCMAHON, FIT NATION PARTICIPANT: One of the most gratifying things that has happened has been the number of people also suffering from inflammatory bowel disease that reached out to me. I heard over and over again that as they searched the internet, they found no positive stories of living with crones or all sort of colitis until they've come across my story. And that's been so special to me and it has really got me motivated.

GUPTA: Rae Timme, she is the oldest member of our group. When we first met Rae, she was afraid to put her face in the water to swim. But check her out now. She lost more than 17 pounds. She runs up to six miles at a time and she's come to love those long bike rides.

RAE TIMME, FIT NATION PARTICIPANTS: I was motivated to do this because I wanted to feel better and I was willing to do the work. I cannot begin to tell you how good I feel. How much energy I have.

GUPTA: Together Tabitha and Rae are helping build a more Fit Nation. Rae's husband just bought a bike. He started cycling with here as well. Tabitha's 7 1/2-year-old daughter is taking a page out of her mom's book and starting to get into fitness also.

If you want to follow along with their workouts, you can check out our interactive at CNN.com/fit nation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right, thank you, Dr. Gupta. And good luck, everyone.

A sightseeing tour over New York City, it ends with a harrowing rescue on the Hudson River. A helicopter made the emergency landing today after the pilot reported losing power just minutes into the flight. Reports say the pilot was able to deploy built-in floatation devices to keep the chopper afloat. The nearby jet skiers and boaters helped bring them to safety. A pilot and four tourists were treated for minor injuries.

Genetically engineering kids? Well, it sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie. But now, we are one step closer to doing just that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: It sounds like science fiction, creating a baby using DNA from three people. The UK is one step closer to becoming the first country in the world to do just that. Experts say it could prevent some potentially fatal diseases being passed on from mother to child. But critics say it's opening up a Pandora's Box to the creation of designer babies.

So Dr. Devi is here with her take on this. What do you think, designer babies?

DR. DEVI NAMPIAPARAMPIL, NEW YOUR UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Well, the designer baby part is scary. But, the first thought I had when I heard about this was just amazement and awe. I mean, if you think about it, throughout all the centuries that humans have been around, we've never been able to do this. And you always have donor sperm, donor eggs, who might have surrogates who can carry the baby through, but never actually had three parents contribute their genetic material to one baby. So, it's actually revolutionary, but it is scary as well with some of the ethical implications.

LEMON: OK. So then, how much DNA would come from a donor? I mean, could one child end up looking like them more than its parents?

NAMPIAPARAMPIL: No. So, this is actually for a very focused type of disease, Mitochondrial disease. So, the idea is that almost all of our genetic material is in the nucleus which is the control center of every cell. Well, we have a little bit of genetic material in something called the mitochondrial which is the power house of the cell. So, people with mitochondrial diseases, they have problem where it's in the muscle or the brain, they don't have enough energy in those cells so they can really suffer especially as kids and they can die.

LEMON: So, what is mitochondrial disease? Not having enough energy, what is it?

NAMPIAPARAMPIL: Exactly. Except the cell doesn't have enough energy. So, it uses up whatever it has and then the children actually suffer. They can have weakness. They can have problems with thinking. They can have a lot of different problems. And the idea here is that if you use mitochondria from a third person, you may be able to avoid this problem, but you may be able to give birth to kids that don't have mitochondrial diseases anymore.

LEMON: Coming to a state near you. I know it is in UK. Is it going to come here?

NAMPIAPARAMPIL: Well, they are starting the research in the UK. So, they passed the regulation or passed the ability to be able to start drafting regulations.

LEMON: They are not doing it now.

NAMPIAPARAMPIL: They are not doing it yet. And especially because there is so much controversy surrounding the whole issue, it may be some time before we actually see it come here.

LEMON: All right. Dr. Devi, very interesting. We'll hear about this in the future.

Thank you.

NAMPIAPARAMPIL: Thank you.