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New Day

Heat Wave Hits Parts of U.S.; Protests Continue in Wake of George Zimmerman Verdict; Royal Baby Watch; Gas Prices on the Rise; Monteith Death, Apparent Drug Overdose

Aired July 17, 2013 - 07:00   ET

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

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Indra. Tell us about it.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning. The dangerous heat wave continues even in the overnight hours really not seeing that relief. Temperatures still into the 80s with 70 percent humidity, and unfortunately it looks like this heat wave is spreading today. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETERSONS: The heat is on. Dangerous temperatures are scorching much of the nation from the Midwest all the way to the northeast. The heat can be deadly. This year alone excessive temperatures have taken the lives of nearly 20 children left alone in hot cars. And amid all of this heat thousands of residents near Washington, D.C., are waking up to a water shortage.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's hot, number one, and I'm concerned about personal hygiene, and I have babies in the house.

PETERSONS: Crews shut down a major water main for repairs last night. With temperatures expected to hit near 100 degrees this week they're anxious to get that water flowing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We suspect it will be from three to as long as five days for everything to be returned to the way it was.

PETERSONS: And the scorching conditions aren't letting up along the eastern seaboard. At New York Citi Field last night thousands tried to stay cool at the Major League Baseball all-star game where temperatures soared into the 90s. Hot spots popped up all over the city. Wow, that's shot, 123 degree slide, yes, that's fun, 134 degrees steaming concrete in my face. That's 96 degrees, ouch.

Temperatures in the 90s combined with humidity will make it feel like it's passing the 100-degree mark.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hot, exhausting.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is sweat on just about every inch of my body, so it's pretty gross.

(END VIDEOTAPE) PETERSONS: So this is what dealing with. We talked about the 80s in the overnight hours not seeing relief. By the afternoon today temperatures are expected to be in the mid-90s. You add in the high humidity it's going to feel like it is over 100 degrees. And this is large metropolitan areas, southern New England spreading down through New York, even Philadelphia. And we talked about the spreading, it's spreading west, as well, the entire Ohio valley, even today as far as Minneapolis.

So this heat really dangerous. People always underestimate the power of heat. It is the biggest killer of all weather events combined. We can't stress enough do not underestimate it. Drink the fluids, stay outside of the peak hours if you can. We've really been feeling it the last several days and it's going to stay with us through the end of the week.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: We'll be sweating it out together across the country it seems. Indra, thanks so much.

To the other major story we've been watching all week, protests continue. protesters in Florida staging a sit-in at the governor's office while in Los Angeles, mostly peaceful demonstrations. We're talking about the fallout from the George Zimmerman verdict. And this morning more of CNN's exclusive interview with juror B-37 sparking reaction from four other jurors. Miguel Marquez is live in Los Angeles this morning. Hey, Miguel.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kate. There was a lot of concern about violence breaking out in Los Angeles. We've seen a run of it for several nights. But police drew a line in the sand, it appears to have worked here in L.A. and other parts of the country so far. This as four other jurors are coming out wanting to be heard.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ: The call for justice now in the governor's office, a sit-in demanding a reversal of the stand your ground laws. Protesters vowing to stay until they speak directly to Governor Rick Scott, this as we're hearing more from the only juror speaking out, juror B-37, saying they wanted to find George Zimmerman guilty of something, but the evidence and law just didn't add up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I felt bad that we can't give them the verdict that they wanted, but legally we could not do that.

COOPER: Do you think thereof of Trayvon Martin played a role in his death?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I believe he played a huge role in his death. He could have, when George confronted him he could have walked away and gone home. He didn't have to do whatever he did and come back and be in a fight.

MARQUEZ: And four other jurors saying B-37 doesn't speak for them, in a statement saying "Serving on this jury has been highly emotional and physical draining experience for each of us. The death of a teenager weighed heavily on our hearts but in the end we did what the law required us to do."

Frustration at that decision turning to protests and calls for action. These protesters in Los Angeles have come to police headquarters to make a point the death of Trayvon Martin has prompted what they hope is a national movement.

Why are you marching? What do you hope to achieve in.

NOUREESE FLINT, PROTESTOR: I am hoping that at least the DOJ will look at this case and see that his civil rights were, I think his civil rights were violated.

MARQUEZ: Frustration over the verdict in a few places has turned violent. A photographer and reporter assaulted in Los Angeles.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: News man just got hit. Are you all right, man?

MARQUEZ: The tension in the streets mirroring what went on in the jury room, as B-37 says the trial weighed on all of them, even bringing them to tears. Despite all, she says

COOPER: In your head you're 100 percent George Zimmerman taking out his gun and pulling the trigger did nothing wrong?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm 101 percent that he was, that he should have done what he did except for the things that he did before.

COOPER: You mean he shouldn't have gotten out of the car. He shouldn't have pursued Trayvon Martin. But in the final analysis, in the final struggle --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When the end came to the end --

COOPER: He was justified.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was justified in shooting Trayvon Martin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ: Now juror B-37 also told Anderson Cooper about one holdout juror, that this person wanted to find Zimmerman guilty of something. And on the last vote they took they all folded up their little ballots and put them in a tin box. She says that it took that last holdout juror about 30 minutes before she was able to put her vote into that tin box. By the end of it, she felt there was nothing else they could hold Zimmerman on. It wasn't manslaughter, wasn't second-degree murder. She relented and voted. Here we are today, Chris.

CUOMO: It doesn't matter what they wanted. It was the case presented to them by the prosecution. Miguel, thank you very much for the reporting this morning.

Now, as the Justice Department considers possible civil rights charges against George Zimmerman, Attorney General Eric Holder is speaking out against Florida's controversial stand your ground law. Appearing at the NAACP convention in Orlando, Holder said the law and others like it, quote, "try to fix something that was never broken and can set the stage for dangerous conflicts." CNN's Dan Lothian is live at the White House. Good morning, Dan.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Chris. Well, indeed, the attorney general did come out very strong on this, blasting stand your ground, saying these kinds of laws allow and might even encourage violent situations to escalate.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LOTHIAN: As demonstrations against George Zimmerman's not guilty verdict continue to cross the country, Attorney General Eric Holder for the first time took aim at stand your ground laws.

ERIC HOLDER, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: It's time to question laws that senselessly expand the concept of self-defense and sow dangerous conflict in our neighborhoods.

LOTHIAN: Speaking to the NAACP in Orlando this first African-American attorney general also got personal revealing his own experience with racial profiling as a young black man.

HOLDER: I was stopped by a police officer while simply running to catch a movie at night in Georgetown in Washington, D.C. I was at the time of that last incident a federal prosecutor.

LOTHIAN: Now his Justice Department is under pressure to bring criminal civil rights charges against Zimmerman. More than 1 million people signed a petition on the NAACP website. A federal investigation was opened last year and Holder says his department will continue to review evidence from the FBI and the Florida criminal trial. Meantime Reverend Al Sharpton is calling for vigils around the country this weekend.

REV. AL SHARPTON: I think the president has made a statement of consolation. We don't need consolation. We need legislation and we need some federal prosecution.

LOTHIAN: White House spokesman Jay Carney said the president acknowledges passions are running high.

JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: He echoes the call for calm reflection that Trayvon Martin's parents made in the wake of the verdict.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LOTHIAN: Again, the attorney general pledges a full investigation and says his department will focus on the facts and the law and that they will, quote, "not be afraid." Kate?

BOLDUAN: Dan, thanks so much. Dan Lothian from the White House for us.

Let's talk more about all of this with CNN's chief political analyst Gloria Borger joining us kindly in New York. GLORIA BORGER, CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Great to be here.

BOLDUAN: Great to see you.

So what Dan was talking about in the piece, one of the things he said was Eric Holder talking about really taking on stand your ground laws. He said that we need to look at laws that contribute to more violence than they prevent. But the question really is what can the Justice Department do?

BORGER: Not much. They really can't. That's more of a political statement than something he can really do something about. There are about 30 states that have stand your ground laws. This is a state issue, not a federal issue. And you can talk about it and say you don't think they're good. There are some studies that show they may cause more homicides. So you can use that and bring it into the national conversation, which is exactly what he did, because what he didn't say in that speech yesterday, Kate, was that they were going to bring civil rights charges.

BOLDUAN: Right.

BORGER: He kind of side-stepped that saying there is an open investigation.

BOLDUAN: He talked very passionately about the issue, but he did not give an update if it was going to happen, only that there was an investigation. What's going on behind the scenes?

BORGER: Well, I think in talking to people inside and outside the Justice Department, what I've been told there's a high bar for the justice department to do this. You would actually have to prove intent, that Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin because he was black. That's very difficult. That was not a part of the case.

And so what they're going to do is they're going to be debriefing the prosecution, they're going to try and find evidence that maybe wasn't used in the trial, et cetera, et cetera. There is no deadline on this, I was told.

BOLDUAN: Right.

BORGER: So for example, if there is a civil suit, they can wait. They can see what comes out in the civil suit. Zimmerman may testify if there is one. They're seeing what happens in the civil suit. No deadline other than some political pressure obviously to try and do something.

BOLDUAN: What is the role the president plays in this? Eric Holder has really become the face of the administration's response, not surprising on one level because he is the attorney general. But are people expecting the president to get more involved? It's very sensitive and controversial topic.

BORGER: Yes and no. When you talk to people inside the White House, you say why isn't the president out on this, first African-American president and all the rest of it? They say every time president Obama talks about race he becomes the issue, not the other issue he was talking about.

Remember the old beer summit when Skip Gates' house in Cambridge, you know, he had an altercation with a police officer. The president spoke about it, ended up having to have that summit with the police officer and Skip Gates. So every time the president mentions race, when he said if I had a son he would look like Trayvon, he injected himself and suddenly Barack Obama became the issue and not the issue of this case.

So I think what they're trying to do is walk a fine line because he can be polarizing politically in this country, and so they're trying to sort of say, OK, let's let Eric Holder take the lead on this. I am sure, however, the president at some point somewhere is going to be asked a question on this and he may have to answer. But again, the court has decided. We are a nation of laws, and he's the president.

BOLDUAN: You can be sure that people are expecting to hear from him because he is that voice of the country. He is the president of the United States, on such an issue that is polarizing the country.

BORGER: But he's limited in what he can say. What can he say, I disagree with the court? I don't think so.

BOLDUAN: Great to see you, Gloria.

BORGER: Good to see you, great to be here.

BOLDUAN: Thanks so much.

CUOMO: You could say we have big issues to talk about, but this case wasn't the one that makes a point about our bigger problems. He could say that because he started the ball rolling in one way by talking about Trayvon Martin as if he was an ultimate victim, which he was because of losing his life. He could correct what he did early on by talking about the broader issue.

BORGER: He could. And don't forget during the campaign, his first campaign, he gave an important speech on race, maybe he'll decide to update that as a result of this case.

BOLDUAN: And continue the conversation.

BORGER: But to specifically comment on this case could be a problem.

CUOMO: Gloria, thank you very much.

A lot of other news this morning. Michaela what do we have?

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, good morning. Let's take a look at the headlines. Ash and smoke have invaded Palm Springs, California. The city's fire chief says the slow moving mountain fire is not an immediate threat to Palm Springs or the Coachella Valley. It has destroyed seven homes in the area. More than 2,200 firefighters are working to contain that 9,000 acre fire. New this morning, Asiana Airlines deciding not to pursue a lawsuit against San Francisco television station KTVU. The station apologized for broadcasting phony, racially offensive names of pilots onboard flight 214 after it crashed. Asiana Airlines says they decided against taking legal action and instead will focus entirely on dealing with the aftermath of that accident.

Panamanian officials want international inspectors to check out military equipment found hidden on a North Korean ship which recently left Cuba. Cuba's foreign minister says the shipping contains obsolete defensive weapons sent to North Korea to be repaired and returned. The State Department says any arms sent to North Korea would violate U.N. sanctions.

"Rolling Stone" magazine taking heat for its latest cover. Check it out. Critics say this glorifies accused Boston bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. As for the cover story's revelations, while there are, "Rolling Stone" says, "a plea to surrender coming from an old wrestling coach seemed to convince Tsarnaev to give up." It also says "Instead of seeing a psychiatrist to treat inner demons late brother Tamerlan was encouraged to focus on his Muslim faith."

And an Arizona judge wants to see a new jury to decide whether Jodi Arias should be sentenced to death or life in prison. The penalty phase retrial could be scheduled for late September. Arias' attorneys are trying to avoid the original jury's findings that she killed her boyfriend, Travis Alexander, in an especially cruel manner. That would take the death penalty off the table. The first jury failed to reach a unanimous decision on a sentence following her murder conviction.

Paypal, not just a pal. May be the best friend ever for a Pennsylvania man. Chris Reynolds opened up his e-mail statement. It said he had more then $92 quadrillion in his Paypal account. Makes you wonder what this guy is selling online, and how do I get in on that? Obviously this was a mistake. Paypal has since fixed the error and then offered to donate money to Reynolds' favorite cause. What's really cute is somebody asked him what he'd do with all that money if it had been his, he said I might offer to pay off the national debt.

BOLDUAN: A real patriot.

CUOMO: I wonder what the tax deduction would be for that?

BOLDUAN: Quadrillion, how many zeros is that.

All right. Here we go, royal baby watch. I feel like we need music for it. Is there music? No music. There are pictures, though. The Duchess of Cambridge past her reported due date but still no sign of the next heir to the throne. Anticipation has sent an already anxious public into a frenzy with predictions running wild about how and when the baby will arrive.

CNN's Max Foster is live in London with the latest. Not only are we on baby watch, but you're sweating it out as well. MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYALTY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well the heat's going to our heads a bit, a degree of frustration that the baby hasn't come yet but we're relying on nature to deliver the baby when it is ready. We have your special, of course, to look forward to as well, Kate, in the meantime. This is what is the latest really from this side of the pond.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: When will the royal baby arrive? It's a question on everyone's minds, from reporters camped outside the Lindo wing of St. Mary's hospital in west London where the Duchess of Cambridge is expected to give birth, to the royal fans desperate to catch a glimpse of an exciting moment in history.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a sense of excitement here in the country in general and the children wanted to participate and hopefully have a chance to see the princess and the prince on their way here to have that much anticipated baby.

FOSTER: Even the grandparents to be, the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall couldn't seem to escape curious well-wishers as they toured a fishing town in southwest England.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wished Charles talked about the new baby. And, I think maybe later on today there might be some news.

FOSTER: The wait for Kate and the baby might take a little longer, but that hasn't stopped an important member of the royal family from making an appearance, almost. A Prince Harry lookalike and a giant teddy bear strutted in front of St. Mary's Hospital. Advertising companies at least are making the most of the media presence in front of the hospital.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: And on the promotional note, let me introduce you to Michelle from William Hill, a betting company, who has come down with the very latest odds very kindly on the most likely names according to the betting, anyway. Alexandra, Charlotte and Elizabeth, for a girl. And boys, George, James and Philip. I'm afraid Chris and Kate aren't in there anymore.

BOLDUAN: The disappointment is unbearable.

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: I'm on the back side of those odds I'm going with a boy.

BOLDUAN: You are? I'm going with girl just to be contrarian. And Alexandra is a beautiful name. All right, Max keep me updated. Keep all of us updated, we are waiting and watching.

FOSTER: Will do.

CUOMO: You need to sell the special tomorrow night. Sell, sell. BOLDUAN: So much pressure.

We have a big special on the royal baby and what this means for the future of the monarchy coming up 10:00 eastern and pacific, that is Thursday night. Get excited. We worked really hard.

CUOMO: I've never heard her so reluctant to talk about herself.

BOLDUAN: I'm so humble. Finally there's a good reason to plug. All right, all right.

CUOMO: Coming up on NEW DAY gas prices back in $4 territory again. We'll find out what's behind the increase in prices.

BOLDUAN: Plus the death of Cory Monteith, the guy who played a squeaky clean character on TV could not escape his inner demons in real life.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: This is one of those stories that I hate to have to tell, but it's just too true to avoid. Gas prices. You know, you're going to be filling up your tank, you're going to be emptying out your wallet. Prices at the pump have been skyrocketing all week, no sign of coming down, that's just the truth. Christine Romans is here to figure out just where this heads and why.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It heads higher. It just heads higher. Look, it's not the heat that has you hallucinating. Those gas prices are real.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Temperatures aren't the only thing on the rise. Gas prices are skyrocketing, a whopping 18 cents over the past week.

DARLECIA O'AMORADE, LOS ANGELES DRIVER: With everything constantly going up it's kind of sad because there's families who need things to stay at a lower price.

ROMANS: And brace yourself drivers, experts say the price at the pump will continue to rise through the week. It already stands 26 cents higher than the national average a year ago.

PATRICK DEHAAN, SENIOR PETROLEUM ANALYST, GASBUDDY.COM: Thanks to the uprising in Egypt, oil prices have risen as well as declining crude oil inventories.

ROMANS: The battle over gas prices taking center stage on Capitol Hill.

CHRIS PLAUSHIN, DIRECTOR OF FEDERAL RELAIONS WITH AAR: Days of the national pump price below $3 is likely a thing of the past.

ROMANS: Lawmakers complaining fuel exports and refinery shutdowns are contributing to the spike.

DEHAAN: Refineries going down for maintenance with little overnight. The sole biggest driver in gas prices today.

ROMANS: Filling up in Illinois and California will cost you a pretty penny.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just paid $5.95 a gallon for premium and I think it's abominable.

ROMANS: President Obama's birth place of Hawaii takes the cake at well over $4 a gallon. With higher prices likely here to stay this summer leaving many trying to figure out how to beat the heat and the pump.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: We know after the past few summers you've seen the peak in the summer and comes down in the fall. We hope that happens here. In the meantime another dime or 15 cents on this. Last week, Kate, you and I reported some were saying up to 30 cents more for a gallon of gasoline. This is your personal economic indicator. You feel this every single week, this and your job are the most important thing for your pocketbook and right now you're paying another $4.50 for a tank. If you've got a 20 gallon tank of gas to fill up, it's another 4.5 - 5 bucks a gallon -- tank when you fill up. That hurts.

BOLDUAN: It's real money, that's for sure. Christine thanks so much.

Let's give you an update on the untimely death of Cory Monteith, heroin and alcohol. That combination is what a medical examiner says took the life of the "Glee" star. The 31-year-old was found dead in a Vancouver hotel room this weekend and he did have a long struggle with addiction. CNN's Nischelle Turner is joining us live now with more on that. What's the latest, Nischelle?

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: You know, Kate, Cory Monteith said in previous interviews by the age of 13 he was smoking pot and drinking, by 19 he was in rehab for the first time. He was adamant he was not the clean-cut character Finn Hudson he played on "Glee," that he was a real person with real problems.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAOPE)

CORY MONTEITH, LATE ACTOR (singing): There's a battle ahead, many battles are lost

TURNER: "Glee" actor Cory Monteith, who struggled for years with substance abuse, died of an overdose of heroin and alcohol.

BARBARA MCLINTOCK, CORONER, BC CORONER'S SERVICE: There's absolutely nothing at this point, no evidence to suggest this is anything other than the most sad and tragic accident.

TURNER: Police say they believe Monteith he had been dead for several hours before being found in his room before going into his room at this Vancouver hotel.

BRIAN MONTAGUE, SPOKESMAN, VANCOUVER POLICE DEPARTMENT: We won't go into what we found in his room other than saying there were indications in the room this was a drug overdose.

TURNER: The 31-year-old was open about his struggles with addiction, saying he's lucky to be alive, in an interview with "Parade" magazine in 2011, most recently checking out of rehab in April with on-screen and off-screen girlfriend Lea Michele by his side.

While Monteith is known for most for being the jovial jock-turned- singer on "Glee," in September he challenged himself to a much darker role in a film called "Mechanic." One that ironically paralleled his own battle with addiction.

MONTEITH: Mallory, hey, I'm Cory.

TURNER: And this is believed to be Monteith's last video shot on the plane to Vancouver. The actor gave advice to his fans.

MONTEITH: Stay out of trouble and stay in school.

TURNER: His constant affection for his fans, friendship with his co- stars, and love for his girlfriend are what many say he'll be remembered for most. Lea Michele's representative sent CNN this statement on her behalf saying "Lea has been grieving alongside his family and making appropriate arrangements with them. They are supporting each other as they endure this profound loss together."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TURNER: This news of an overdose is leaving fans wondering what the show will do in light of his death. The show, of course, is known for not shying away from hot-button issues. We do know that season five was scheduled to start shooting later this month. We have contacted Fox about the show's future but the network has not made any announcements just yet. Kate and Chris?

BOLDUAN: All right, Nischelle thank you so much. We'll talk next hour more about Cory Monteith's untimely death with Dr. Sanjay Gupta. You don't want to miss that. It's an important conversation to be having.

CUOMO: Absolutely.

Coming up on NEW DAY, protests in the wake of the George Zimmerman verdict, but a new focus on Florida's stand your ground law. One particular case is sparking outrage. We'll take you through it and see what the law is and whether it's fair.

BOLDUAN: And attention shoppers, you're being tracked. Stores monitoring every move their customers make and why that has some customers saying enough is enough.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)