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Rallies in Several Cities Held for Trayvon Martin; President Obama Speaks Out on Trayvon Martin Case; Duchess of Cambridge Due to Give Birth

Aired July 20, 2013 - 15:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Fredricka Whitfield. A look at our top stories we're following for you in the newsroom. Crowds rally in the streets today demanding civil rights charges against George Zimmerman. We'll take you there.

And a tragic accident at a six flags amusement park in Texas. A woman riding a roller coaster plummets to her death. We will tell you what happened and how the park is now responding.

And in Houston, Texas a garage becomes a prison for several elderly people who say they have been held captive. The disturbing allegations, next.

But first, those rallies going on right now all over the country. Thousands of people in more than 100 cities, all demanding the same thing: a civil rights case against George Zimmerman. We have reporters in cities from coast to coast.

Let's get started in Trayvon Martin's home state of Florida. Nick Valencia is there.

So Nick, a lot of people turned out earlier today in Miami for the rally, and among them, Trayvon Martin's father and you spoke with him.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Fred. Hundreds and hundreds of people showed up here today. The rally took place between about 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. afterwards, the crowd marched. They thought very briefly about getting on i-95, which is a major freeway that runs through Miami, but that plan changed. They instead went to the police station and ended up coming back here.

But while they were here, while they were rallying outside, Tracy Martin was the he headliner. It was a very emotional time for him, very emotional moment as he spoke about his son, saying he would fight until the day he died to make sure the legacy of Trayvon Martin was not forgotten. He also said he would fight for the sons of those in the crowd. I spoke to him exclusively and he told me he was very overwhelmed by the support he was given.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRACY MARTIN, TRAYVON MARTIN'S FATHER: It's overwhelming. It just goes to show the love and support that our family and friends have for us here in Miami as well as across the country. And it sends a message to the nation that we are not going to sit back and let obstacles get in our way and not say a word about it. (INAUDIBLE) and the people really want the world to know that our children's lives matter just as much as their children's lives. And I think that we can change the state and the law, but we can do something and make a difference here.

We really admire the president for stepping up and doing that, because, you know, it just sends a message to the world that, you know, this could have been anybody's child. And there are no exceptions to whose child it could have been, and we just have to try to -- we have to do something to change the senseless violence. You know, that is not the message (INAUDIBLE), obviously. Time heals all wounds, but this is something I don't feel I can ever recover from.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: The crowd has now come and gone, but while they were here, the message was very clear. They wanted justice for Trayvon Martin, they wanted the Stand Your Ground law amended or completely retracted, and they also wanted the department of justice to intervene in this George Zimmerman verdict. They want civil rights charges filed against the former neighborhood watchman -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Nick Valencia. Appreciate that.

Let's head north now to New York where Trayvon Martin's mother spoke at a rally taking place there. Alina Cho joining us now.

Alina, this demonstration has broken up. Is it over?

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, the headliner of this rally was supposed to be Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin. And certainly she was here. She did speak. But it was hard to ignore two of the biggest stars on the planet. Jay-Z and Beyonce were here also to lend their support. They didn't deliver any remarks, but certainly they were here and their presence was felt. In fact, the reverend Al Sharpton wasted no time. He Instagrammed a photo of himself with Jay-Z, Beyonce and Sybrina Fulton this afternoon.

This rally started at about noon eastern time and ended an hour later. It was just one of more than hundred rallies across the country calling for justice for Trayvon. And remember, the timing is key here. These rallies come exactly one week after an all-woman Florida jury acquitted George Zimmerman of killing Trayvon Martin. And since then everyone, from Trayvon Martin's family to George Zimmerman's family to the president himself, has spoken out.

Today Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin, said last Saturday when the verdict was handed down, we cried. Today, this Saturday, we march.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SYBRINA FULTON, MOTHER OF TRAYVON MARTIN: He was a child, started as a child, ended as a child, who behaved as a child. He had a drink and candy. So not only do I vow to you to do what I can for Trayvon Martin, I promise you I'm going to work hard for your children as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: Sybrina Fulton also urged her fellow marchers to act in a peaceful manner. The president himself said there will be protests but let there not be violence. Fredricka, as you well know, the president said violence would ho only dishonor what happened to Trayvon Martin and his family -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Alina Cho, thanks so much in New York.

Let's go to the west coast now. Dan Simon is in Los Angeles.

How many folks turned out there, Dan?

DAN SIMONS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you definitely have several hundred people here, still a few dozen folks behind me. I would certainly also echo what Nick and Alina said in terms of the messages coming out. We heard the same kinds of things here in Los Angeles. As one speaker put it, Trayvon fell, but we rose up. I want you to listen now to how one activist expressed his outrage in the way this case has evolved. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. ERIC P. LEE, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: There are those who are trying to say that the killing of Trayvon Martin, a young black man with a hoodie, is not about racism. There are those that are trying to say that the profiling and the targeting by George Zimmerman is not about racism. There are those who are trying to say that the verdict of freeing a killer of Trayvon Martin is not about race, that the jury followed the law, that is not about race, that the Stand Your Ground laws are not about race. But to those who say it's not about race, we say that we're living in a system of racism!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMONS: This lasted for about an hour and a half. Organizers and activists had come here to the federal courthouse here in Los Angeles. As I said, it ended maybe a short time ago, about an hour ago. And I would say that in terms of the messages coming out, again, they really want to press the civil rights charges against George Zimmerman, and hopefully, in their point of view, that will come forward soon -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Dan Simons, thanks so much in Los Angeles. Appreciate that.

So rallies indeed held all over the nation and other cities including Washington, D.C., Chicago, Atlanta and Orlando. Many of the people brought hoodies in honor of Trayvon Martin. The demonstrations were organized were run by the Reverend Al Sharpton's National Action Network. Ana a fun ride turns tragic at a six flags over Texas. A woman died after witnesses say she tumbled off a roller coaster as it went around a turn. Six flags confirmed that she died while riding the Texas giant last night, but they have not revealed any more detail than that. A spokeswoman said today it would be a disservice to the family to speculate about what happened. One man in line described what he saw.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GAB FLORES, WITNESS: The man was sitting next to a woman, and they were both saying, let me out, let me out, my mom fell off, my mom fell off, I need to go find her. And the park workers were kind of taken back by it and didn't know if he was being serious or not. Once they realized he was being serious, then, they rushed to go assist her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Six Flags says it will use every resource to figure out exactly what happened.

In Rome, five people have been convicted of manslaughter in the deadly wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise liner. Thirty-two people died when the ship ran aground and turned on a side up the Italian coast last year. It is likely that only of the dependent will serve any prison time.

Back in the U.S., people in Las Vegas are cleaning up from a powerful storm that swept through Las Vegas last night. The thunder storm left streets flooded, pulled up trees and damaged rooftops. The storm was so strong that the roof of this crowded bar located on the Las Vegas strip almost collapsed. This cell phone video was shot by a local deejay and shows water actually spraying right in through the roof.

All right, now to the backlash following the release of that controversial "Rolling Stone" cover featuring the Boston bombing suspect. A Boston police sergeant released these images of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to counter the one shown on the "Rolling Stone" magazine. That officer is now facing a hearing next week to determine whether he will remain on the police force.

Our Jason Carroll has more.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, the police sergeant felt conflicted about releasing the photos, but he felt very strongly that the "Rolling Stone" cover was an insult and hurtful to survivors. So this was his way of helping.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL (voice-over): This new photo showing a much different picture of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev captured by police. A bloody face, his hands up, the laser from a sniper rifle trained on his forehead, a vastly different image from the one depicted in the controversial "Rolling Stone" cover.

Massachusetts state police sergeant Sean Murphy says he was so angry with "Rolling Stone's" cover; he released these new photographs to Boston magazine. The police tactical photographer told the magazine quote "what "Rolling Stone" did was wrong. This guy is evil. This is the real Boston bomber. Not someone fluffed and buffed for the cover of "Rolling Stone."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that is the real face of terror. I agree with him 100 percent.

CARROLL: Boston Magazine's editor told CNN, Murphy though the cover sent the wrong message.

JOHN WOLFSON, EDITOR, BOSTON MAGAZINE: I think he was worried about the impact on the victims, and I think he was also worried that certain impression where people might be lured to replicate that by the kind of glamorous-looking photo that's on the "Rolling Stone" cover.

CARROLL: Tsarnaev's first public appearance since the arrest was in court last week. He pled not guilty to 30 federal charges, including four killings. While images like these are already have an impact, some say the focus is all wrong.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think they should focus all the attention on the brave people and the people who lost their lives, not the monster who caused it all.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: Apparently Murphy did not want "Rolling Stone" to have the last say, so he decided to release the police photos himself. A police spokesman said in a statement, the release of the photos was not authorized by the Massachusetts state police. Murphy was suspended for a day and faces a hearing next week to determine his status -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And so, I wonder Jason, is it clear whether Murphy was -- well, we'll get to Jason in a moment.

All right, long-time White House reporter Helen Thomas died today after a long illness, according to sources, as she was 92-years-old. Thomas had reported on every president since JFK was in office, and she was the first female president of the White House Correspondent Association. President Obama called her a true pioneer. Thomas retired in 2010 after making controversial comments about Jewish people and Israel.

A horrific story unfolding in a Houston neighborhood after several men were found there locked up and starving. Now charges are being filed. We have a live report, next.

And President Obama has some ideas and he gets personal about race in America. And new technology allows police to track license plates while they drive. Thousands of them will tell you why some critics say you should be concerned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A rallying cry for more action in the Trayvon case. Today, in more than 100 cities, thousands of Americans demanded civil rights charges against George Zimmerman.

Martin's mother spoke at a rally in New York alongside the Reverend Al Sharpton and Martin's father was at a demonstration in Miami today.

And the president brought the discussion beyond the verdict by sharing his own experiences as a black man in America. He says racial profiling has to be addressed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When Trayvon Martin was first shot I said that this could have been my son. Another way of saying that is Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago. There are very few African-American men in this country who haven't had the experience of being followed when they were shopping in a department store, that includes me. There are frankly very few American men who haven't had the experience of walking across the street and hearing the locks click on the doors of cars. That happens to me, at least before I was a senator.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The president also challenged America to help black boys. He called on leaders from clergy to professional sports to get involved.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Now, this isn't to say that the African-American community is naive about the fact that African-American young men are disproportionately involved in the criminal justice system, that they're disproportionately both victims and perpetrators of violence. It's not to make excuses for that fact. And so the fact that sometimes that's unacknowledged adds to the frustration.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The president is saying, you know, we need, in large part, he says we need to spend some time on how do we bolster, how do we reinforce our African-American boys, the challenge he's offering America.

So joining me right now is congressman John Conyers who represents Detroit and Cornell Belcher, a CNN political analyst.

Good to see both of you, gentlemen. CORNELL BELCHER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Well, Congressman Conyers, if I can begin with you. The president talked about programs that can be done, that should be done outside the federal government to uplift boy. But first, the president even made the point that racial profiling is pervasive and maybe in large part why so many black made it caught up in the judicial system as victims of perpetrators. You are introducing your end racial profiling bill. How, in your view, do you think this will help address the situation?

REP. JOHN CONYERS (D), MICHIGAN: Well, I think we need a federal statement on this, and I'm so glad that you have brought this up and emphasized it. It's critical because it's a common factor of young African-American men growing up. And so this will help review and downplay this tactic, and we're also starting to ask for Stand Your Ground laws which are to be revisited and hopefully repealed.

WHITFIELD: And are you feeling encouraged about those ideas, especially now that the president has commented openly, candidly, about everything from stand your ground to encouraging the justice department to look into this case further to ending racial profiling?

CONYERS: The president's been so important in making this understood, how common it is, and that bringing in his own personal experiences. To me, it's great to have him, without being emotional but trying to win the understanding of many people to whom this may not be a common experience, to understand that now is the time that we should be able to do something about it.

WHITFIELD: And so, Cornell, you know, beyond the legislative and the executive branches of government, how can some of these concerns, in your view, be addressed on a national stage?

BELCHER: Well, I think it's important to understand these laws aren't going to be changed unless we bring political power to bear, especially at the state level, and have them changed. I mean, look. If you look at those people out there rallying and marching today, they look a lot like the Obama coalition. I'm happy to see they're diverse. And for the first time in a long time in this country, forever in this country, we're only a bit above the country where we're about to become a majority current, and that power that that means we ca can elect someone like President Barack Obama who doesn't look like anyone in our history before he was elected on that power of that changing more diverse electorate. We are looking at the most diverse electorate younger, browner than we have ever had and they are about to sort of grasp power. And I think this is sort of an important time to understand what your power means, sort of organized.

Yes, I mean, Trayvon's mother talked about it today, you know, it's time for us to march. Hopefully in a couple months we'll be talking about time to organize. In a couple months after that, it's time for us to vote. Because truth of the matter is, you know, we don't change Stand Your Ground laws at the state level unless we have put pressure on state elected officials. And it's quite frankly as simple as taking, and I wrote about this in piece on CNN.com, it's as simple as taking a page out of the tea party's book. You know, they march but they also organize, and they brought pressure to bear. And for better or worse, as Congressman Conyers will probably tell you, they have a big voice on what's going on politically in this country right now.

WHITFIELD: And Congressman, before I let both of you gentlemen go, I have to ask you about your city of Detroit. You know, the emergency manager and the governor filing for bankruptcy. That is now being challenged in court. And you apparently really do want some congressional hearings to take place to explore the use of chapter nine and whether this is, indeed, the answer for your city of Detroit. What would you rather see?

CONYERS: Well, I would rather see the governor of the state work a little bit more closely with us. He's already appointed an emergency manager who surprised some of the municipal leaders by taking us directly into bankruptcy. They thought they were negotiating a way out of this, and we're very concerned about the way pensions would be involved in a bankruptcy proceeding. Normally, there are certain exemptions and we want to make sure all of those are observed and that the law is followed very carefully.

WHITFIELD: Congressman John Conyers and Cornell Belcher, thanks so much to both of you gentlemen for joining us today.

CONYERS: My pleasure.

WHITFIELD: St. Mary's hospital over the pond in London. It's where the royal baby is expected to be born, but in a minute we'll hear why that hospital has historical significance with the royal family and how that involves Princess Diana, the late princess Diana, as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISA FITZPATRICK, CNN HERO: A typical week for a child in central city is that you'll see at least one dead body. There was a shooting here, I was just noticing they still haven't cleaned up the blood.

Five-year-olds who have been in two shootings, 16-year-olds with colostomy bags. I didn't want it to be normal anymore. I just decided I had to do something.

My name is Lisa Fitzpatrick, and my mission is to teach conflict resolution skills to the children of New Orleans so they can avoid violence and stay alive. I love New Orleans for its sense of community, but there is an undercurrent of hopelessness.

Who can tell me what their sign says? Everything we do here is to build positive social relationships. Our motto is reconciliation, never retaliation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was on the verge of getting ready to seriously hurt somebody, but Miss Lisa stopped us. She definitely taught me to be in control of myself. FITZPATRICK: One of the things that makes us unique is our peer mentoring empowering our young men and women to be the messenger.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I come here, I'm like a big brother. The way Miss Lisa (INAUDIBLE) is the same way I feel like I'm intimate (ph).

FITZPATRICK: The successes are not necessarily going to Harvard or getting out of the neighborhood. Trash bags, love it! But when that kid comes back and makes a conscious effort to spread the message of non-violence, that's a success.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: OK, we have been on a royal baby watch all day long. Katherine, the duchess of Cambridge, is by most reports now past due to give birth while the media and some fans have been camped outside the hospital for a while now. William and Kate have been spending time, apparently, at her parents' home outside London.

CNN's royal historian, Kate Williams, joining me live now from just outside Buckingham palace in London. That's where the big notice will be, right, where the world will learn the name, sex, all that good stuff?

KATE WILLIAMS, ROYAL HISTORIAN: Absolutely, we may not see the name, but when the baby is born, William be there by Kate's side. He want to be the few people in the room. He's got a specially encrypted phone, he is going to phone the queen. She will be the first to know. He will also contact the prime minister, the archbishop of Cambridge. But a member of his household will write down the baby's sex, the weight, and that information will come here to Buckingham palace and put on the easel outside Buckingham palace as so many birds over (INAUDIBLE) has been announced. It is traditional way, same time, they will put it out in facebook and twitter, said to be a little modern way of learning as well.

WHITFIELD: That's interesting, so really, that's the place to hang out if you're a fan and you want to see some action. You need to hang outside Buckingham palace right at that beautiful fountain. But instead, a lot of people are at the hospital. What are they? Are they just hoping to see, you know, Kate be driven up to the front door? I mean, certainly it will be a long time, if she gives birth to that hospital, emerge with, you know, baby in arms like Princess Diana and Charles did way back when.

WILLIAMS: Well, good question, Fredricka. Actually, you are right. What they are waiting for is the moment when the princess, when Kate and William come out with a new princess Cambridge or prince Cambridge. They are not going to see her go in because what tend to happen is she is going to in a side door. We will never see her going. The only indication that we are going to have to in the hospital apart from a palace announcement is the fact they will put armed policemen on the front doors, the man with an armed. So, they will put armed policemen there because they will have a member of the royal family there, so all those people, huge amounts of royal watchers have been camped out for days. They have come from all over the country, from miles away, not just from London, and they are there just waiting to see Kate and William come out with that little baby Cambridge.

WHITFIELD: So now, is she really late or is it just, you know, conventional wisdom was she was supposed to birth, you know, last weekend, and so thus, she is late? Does anybody really know?

WILLIAMS: That's an interesting question, because the palace has never given out an actual due date. They have never said it is this date. So, we are all guessing. And what was said was Kate said quite a few months ago, it is mid-July. So, I think people thought it was about the 12th.

But, what we think is she has definitely past her due date because Camilla, wife of Charles, the future step-grandmother of the baby, she said that she was expecting to see a child at the end of the week. And that was yesterday. That date has passed. So, I think we are expecting something next week, although Kate Middleton's mother has said that the child will probably be a Leo, and Leos are born after the 23rd. So sometime next week, I think, is when all systems go here and at the hospital as well.

WHITFIELD: Well, that's fun. Even there's quite the guessing game amongst family members, so you know hey, we are all on board. All right, Kate. Thanks so much.

Kate Williams, joining us from Buckingham palace. Appreciate it.

All right, a look at the day's top stories, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: This just in to CNN, a developing story out of Baghdad. At least 15 people are dead and dozens wounded after a series of car bombings. Officials say most of the bombings were in Shiite neighborhoods, and we'll bring you more details as we get them.

Back to Houston now where a terrible secret was found behind the garage doors of one house. Several men claimed they were held captive, lured in and then locked up. They told police they had to hand over their disability and veterans' checks. Now, one man is facing serious charges. Ed Lavandera is joining us live now from Houston.

Ed, give us the latest on how they even learned, how investigators learned of this.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, when investigators descended on this neighborhood on the north side of Houston yesterday morning, they came here because they had gotten a call about making a welfare check at this house. And just behind that purple wall that you see there, investigators say they found a room where four men were being held against their will. Inside, the four men described the conditions as not livable, obviously, very dangerous in a very bizarre situation they discovered in here. They say the men had not been treated very well, had been found in a malnourished condition. In fact, three of the four men had to be taken to a local hospital to be checked up on and evaluated.

Authorities say that these four men said they had been kept here against their will for some time, and they are trying, at this point, trying to figure out what the timeline is here, just how long they had been kept here. One man has been charged a man by the name of Walter Jones with two criminal felony counts. And afterwards, after the men were taken away, police described the scene that they found just beyond that purple wall.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JODI SILVA, HOUSTON POLICE SPOKESWOMAN: There were locks. They were apparently given scraps to eat. Very little food was provided to them. They didn't have access to a restroom. So it was less than ideal living situations for them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: And Fredricka, those three men, we are told, are in stable condition, have been checked out. They continue to be interviewed. There are four women inside the house who are being taken care of by a caregiver. Police consider those four women to be witnesses in this case, so still quite a bit for investigators here to unravel to see how all of this came about. But as we mentioned, one man was taken into custody yesterday afternoon and now faces two criminal felony counts -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Ed Lavandera, thanks so much. What an investigation.

All right, police are using technology, meantime, license plates in an effort to catch criminals, but is the trade-off a loss of privacy? I will tell you why some people are concerned that's already happening.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: It's one of the most high-tech tools by police, a camera that takes images of license plates from a moving police car. Well, it sounds like a great law enforcement tool, but as Dan Simon explains, some think it goes too far.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With cameras mounted on a police cruiser.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're looking at a license plate directly across the street 1319161.

SIMON: Cops in San Leandro, California can capture and record license plates as they drive down any street, an efficient method to catch car thieves or pull over vehicles that show up on a criminal database.

LT. JEFF TUDOR, SAN LEANDRO POLICE DEPARTMENT: With technology and with smart, good policing, it allows us to keep our public safe.

SIMON: But when a local activist petitioned the police department and got a-hold of the records on his car, he says he was stunned by what he saw.

MIKE KATZ-LACABE, ACTIVIST: I do think big brothers have gone too far, because I have not been charged with, I'm not suspected of committing any crime.

SIMON: Mike Katz-Lacabe found what he says is an egregious violation of privacy. One hundred and twelve of instances over two years, where police just half, indicate images of his car and more.

So, this picture shows my car parked in the driveway of my house. And it very clearly shows my daughter and myself getting out of the car.

SIMON: Any time a police drives their car, it is recording. Police say the data can later be access to solve crimes, anything from following leads on amber alerts to pa to collecting unpaid tickets.

KATZ-LACABE: Innocent people should not have their records being scored by law enforcements.

SIMON: There are three cameras on the roof, one on left, and one on the side. They capture plates instantaneously. Those plates are then cross-checked against suspect vehicles. So, if the car comes across as being stolen, the officer will be instantly alerted. But in this new era of digital lack of privacy, some say there should be limits on what can be gathered on citizens doing nothing more than driving their cars.

Dan Simon, CNN, San Leandro, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And it's been 40 years since man's first mission on the moon. Up next, we will here astronaut buss all about what it felt like to take those historic steps.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Forty years ago astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made history. Well today, marks the 40th anniversary of the trip to the moon, and earlier this year, I had a chance to talk with Buzz Aldrin about those historic steps.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BUZZ ALDRIN, SECOND MAN ON MOON: The most important moment was to land and shut the engine off on the surface of the moon. Without being able to do that, we couldn't land again and again and again, and we couldn't open the hatch and go outside. So that was clearly the most important.

Now, when I got down to the bottom of the ladder, after a moment or two, I used the words magnificent desolation, referring to the magnificence of the human species to go through all the technological advances of transportation, and here we are walking on the moon that people have been gazing up to see for hundreds of years, thousands of years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Buzz Aldrin was the second man to walk on the moon, and during our interview he said they should commit to walking on mars when it comes to future space exploration. He even wrote a book about it.

Buzz in the Red Sox pitcher, Jon Lester (ph) has had many highlights in his career including winning a world series game and drawing a no hitter. But those challenges were nothing compared to what he face as a rookie seven years ago.

Our Doctor Sanjay Gupta has details in this week's human factor.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DOCTOR SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Jon Lester was a 22-year-old rookie pitcher for the Boston Red Sox when a trip to Fenway Park back in 2006 changed his life.

JON LESTER, BOSTON RED SOX: I got in a car accident here driving the field.

GUPTA: The accident seemed to make some lingering back pain even worse sending Lester to the hospital where doctors threw him a curve ball.

LESTER: You sit in there one minute thinking, you know, my case, you know, I have some back pain just need to get anti-inflammatories, maybe some rest or something like that to you. You have cancer.

GUPTA: Lester was diagnosed with Anaplastic, large cell lymphoma. It is a rare, fast spreading yet treatable form of blood cancer that affects the lymph nodes. He underwent six rounds of chemotherapy, and by the end of the year, CT scan showed the cancer was gone.

Soon after Lester met then Red Sox manager, Terry Francona, eager to get him back in the game.

LESTER: You know, he sat me down and he is like we are going to take this as slowly as we possibly can. And you know, obviously, that's the last thing I want to hear.

GUPTA: In 2007, just a year after his cancer diagnosis, Lester started and won game four of the World Series, clinching the championship for the red sox. At first, Lester was reluctant to talk about his cancer.

LESTER: At the time, you know, I just wanted to move on. I wanted to get back to doing what I loved to do and play baseball and not be the cancer patient any more.

GUPTA: But that changed in 2010.

LESTER: We just had our first son. I can only imagine what it would be like for him to go through something like this.

GUPTA: So Lester helped launch NVRQT or never quit, in collaboration with the Pediatric cancer research foundation.

LESTER: Have fun and beat cancer. Now it's time to fight for the kids.

GUPTA: Never quit races awareness and money for pediatric cancer research.

LESTER: Each ball represents a child diagnosed with cancer, over 120,000 in the last decade. Children's cancer is a monster we all need to bring down.

GUPTA: Having beaten cancer himself, Lester's mission right now is to strike out cancer for children.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Nice inspiration.

All right, a year has passed since an armed man took 12 lives in a Colorado movie theater. Now families affected by other shootings join shootings join families in Aurora to call for big change.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: It's been one year since a gunman brought terror to the town of Aurora, Colorado, 12 people died when he opened fire in a movie theater during a midnight showing. Well, now people in Aurora are trying to inspire a change while remembering those they lost.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A shooting in the Century theater, auditorium.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The chaos and fear inside the Aurora Century 16 theater is what 23-year-old Steve Barton vividly remembers a year after getting shot in the neck and chest.

STEVE BARTON, SURVIVED AURORA MASS SHOOTING: I remember the gas line through the theater landing in the center and as that detonated there was this flash of light in the front right emergency exit and then this huge booming noise echoing off the walls. It looked and smelled and seemed like fireworks. I thought someone was playing a prank. I couldn't really see the figure behind the gun. Suddenly I felt this immense pressure against my body and my neck in particular and I knew I had been shot. ROWLANDS: Over the past year a lot has changed. The theater where 12 people died and 70 others were injured has reopened. The accused shooter James Holmes is claiming insanity. His case is slowly moving through the Colorado justice system. The national debate over guns, which grew after aurora and then exploded after Newtown continues.

Steve Barton joined other victims of gun violence Friday to remember the aurora victims and call for stiffer gun laws. Tom Sullivan lost his son, Alex, during the aurora shootings and would like to see restrictions on high capacity magazines.

TOM SULLIVAN, FATHER OF AURORA VICTIM: A guy walked into a movie theater a hundred-round drum and one second my son was watching a movie and the next second he was dead.

CARLEE SOTO, SISTER OF NEWTOWN MASSACRE VICTIM: She died shielding her students from the gunman.

ROWLANDS: Carlee Soto's sister, Victoria, was a first grade teacher killed in the Newtown massacre. She came to Aurora to honor the victims who died in the theater shooting.

SOTO: From a movie theater to an elementary school to a church, it's all different but we all share the same grief and we all share the, you know, the wanting to change our gun laws.

ROWLANDS: A handful of gun rights advocates were also there peacefully protesting the event. Police kept the two sides apart.

Why come to their event on this day?

ROB BLANKEN, GUN RIGHTS ACTIVIST: Well, it is an event for all Coloradoans to remember that tragedy. It is also a tragedy that a fire arm was not allowed to be used in the theater that may have prevented that tragedy.

Grace MacDonald, age 7.

ROWLANDS: For more than ten hours volunteers took turns reading thousands of names of gun violence victims ending with a moment of silence at 12:28 a.m., the moment the shooting started inside the theater changing hundreds of lives forever.

There are a couple other events planned over the next few days to commemorate the one-year anniversary. One couple who was together inside the theater during the shooting has actually decided to get married this weekend.

Ted Rowlands, CNN, Aurora, Colorado.

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WHITFIELD: And former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords sent out this tweet today saying aurora one year later we share your grief, your community is forever changed but stronger than ever. Thousands of people across the country coming together to call for change in the aftermath of the George Zimmerman verdict. We will take you to the rallies live right here in the NEWSROOM.

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WHITFIELD: It is stifling hot. You name it. Any kind of adjective you could think of, sweaty, steamy, all of that in many parts of the U.S. We saw record-setting highs in Vermont, Maine, and Massachusetts yesterday. But there is some relief in sight.

The weather channel saying that a cold front is moving into the northeast and Mid-Atlantic states, in fact, our own meteorologists are saying the same. And temperatures should be up to 15 degrees cooler in Chicago by tomorrow.

That's going to do it for me. Much more of the NEWSROOM straight ahead with my colleague Don Lemon. I know it's sizzling hot in New York, but, you know, you're used to the heat, Louisiana guy that you are.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: I was just going to say when is the relief, I just came in from outside. I saw no relief, Fredricka, no relief yet.

WHITFIELD: Well, the relief will come when you take off your wool jacket, you roll up the sleeves and you know, just enjoy, just enjoy a little summer temperatures.

LEMON: I will do that soon.

WHITFIELD: All right.

LEMON: Thank you. Always a pleasure, my friend.