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New Day

Tensions Inside And Outside Court; George Zimmerman Trial Continues Today; New Troubles For Justin Bieber; Dog Strives for World Record; Coverage of the George Zimmerman Trial

Aired July 11, 2013 - 08:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: It's a great song. Welcome back to NEW DAY, everybody. It's just a few grains of sand past 8:30 in the morning. I'm Chris Cuomo.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: That is an interesting way of putting it my dear friend. I'm Kate Bolduan. Good morning and we're joined by news anchor, Michaela Pereira. Coming up this half hour, a very tense moment in the George Zimmerman trial, why the judge in this case decided almost to storm out of the courtroom?

CUOMO: Plus, Bill Clinton/Justin Bieber, a little chat on the phone. What are they talking about? The CGI, world economics, I don't know what they're talking about, but we're going to figure it out because Michaela has the five things you need to know for your new day and that's one of them.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: That's a conversation coming up, wait for it.

At number one, closing arguments set for this afternoon in the George Zimmerman murder trial. The jury is expected to get the case tomorrow.

Dramatic new 911 calls have been released from frantic passengers aboard Asiana Flight 214. The pilot says he was temporarily blinded by a light during the ill-fated landing.

Closing arguments begin in the court marshal of Bradley Manning, the army private accused of providing classified documents to the Wikileak's web site.

Congress holding hearings today to discuss how to reduce the number of wildfires in the west, this after 19 firefighters from an elite unit were killed in Arizona.

And at number five, members of the British royal family kicking off a four-day festival right on their front lawn. They are hosting the coronation festival, of course, marking the 60th anniversary of the queen's carnation. We are always updating our five things to know, make sure to go to newdaycnn.com for the very latest.

BOLDUAN: Thank you, Michaela. All right, the George Zimmerman, the jury is set to begin deliberations tomorrow, emotions, understandably, running very high in a case that brings together very important issues on race and guns, with acquittal as a real possibility, Florida officials are preparing for the worst. CNN's Alina Machado has more on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JUDGE DEBRA NELSON: Court is in recess.

ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Patience is wearing thin and tensions seem to be boiling over as the George Zimmerman's trial nears an end. We've seen it on television.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I appreciate you trying to recite history.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- Trayvon on drugs. They found THC.

MACHADO: On social media and even in the courtroom, exchanges between the judge and attorneys.

JUDGE NELSON: I am asking your client questions. Please, Mr. West --

DON WEST, ZIMMERMAN'S DEFENSE LAWYER: I object to the court inquiring of Mr. Zimmerman as to his decision about whether or not to testify.

JUDGE NELSON: Your objection is overruled.

DR. TIFFANIE DAVIS HENRY, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: It's the ultimate in reality TV these days.

MACHADO: Dr. Tiffanie Davis Henry says it's no surprise so many are emotionally invested in the case, especially since it involves issues of race and guns.

HENRY: These issues that are brought up in this case, hits home for everyone. I think that there is a lot at stake here.

MACHADO: Authorities in Florida are taking notice. The Broward County Sheriff's Office has released this public service announcement.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Raise your voice and not your hand.

MACHADO: Urging calm regardless of the outcome. That same message is spreading on Twitter with the hash tag, keep calm for Trayvon. But because so many made up their minds, Dr. Davis Henry says acceptance of the outcome might not be easy.

HENRY: We know people like a George Zimmerman. We know people like a Trayvon Martin. That's why we care so much about this. We want to see justice for people who are just like us.

MACHADO: Alina Machado, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BOLDUAN: It raises some interesting points. One person in that piece said it's the ultimate in reality TV. I think people need a reality check, though. This is murder trial, someone was killed. And this is a matter of life, you know, very important legal matter that is going to affect someone else's life irreparably, really.

CUOMO: It plays on some of the ugliest notions we have in our society. There's no question there's going to be a lot of emotion. We have to hope that we are better than our worst reactions to a situation like this, no matter what the outcome. Certainly, it's a very hard situation.

You know what that is a good segue for. Let's listen for a little music. You know what it is time for? The good stuff. This is the famous Ohio state fight song. OK, you want to know why. Because in today's edition we have a little man named Grant Reid. Grant is 12. He is the son of die-hard OSU fans and he loves the buckeyes. So what?

Well, this is so what. He also hates his cancer. You know what, he actually hates more than his cancer? Michigan. How does this all go together? When Grant was diagnosed with a brain tumor, he was scared. He didn't want to talk about it or use the word cancer. Doctors gave him an idea, something else you really hate.

What did he pick? Michigan. In true buckeye fashion he got psyched and he watched OSU games at the same time. His family made t-shirts and what happened? We're happy to tell you after a 16-hour surgery, 14 months of battling, Grant beat Michigan. He's cancer free right now. No matter what, no matter what you think, I know sitting next to a die-hard Michigan fan for just one moment in time, for just a second, you have to feel for this kid.

BOLDUAN: Are you kidding me?

CUOMO: His dislike of Michigan cured his cancer.

BOLDUAN: Any Michigan fan would support what Grant did.

CUOMO: Right?

BOLDUAN: Fabulous kid and good job, but come football season, Grant, we have to have a talk.

CUOMO: We'll get back to him on that, but, boy, it's great. It's such a good dose of the good stuff for us. You know where it came from? From you guys. That's where we got the story idea. Keep them coming. You can tweet us, you go on Facebook and post with the hashtag, #newday or go to our web site, newdaycnn.com. Tell us about the good stuff in your world so that we can keep telling good stories.

BOLDUAN: Yes, this next story is not the good stuff. Coming up next on NEW DAY, Justin Bieber gets a bit of a talking to from former President Bill Clinton. What prompted said phone call? You'll find out. No need to tell this dog how to scoot.

CUOMO: Man in a dog suit.

BOLDUAN: Need for speed, people.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: I need a little help. That's what Justin Bieber is saying right now. Welcome back to NEW DAY, everyone. Here's a story everyone is talking about this morning, Justin Bieber and former President Bill Clinton talking on the phone. It would be exciting for most people. Why are they talking on the phone?

In an outrageous video posted on TMZ you could see what appears to be the 19-year-old and after it went viral he suggested that they actually spoke. CNN's Nischelle Turner joins us with more. This boy cannot get a break.

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT: You know, as the day went on yesterday, I didn't think this story could get any more bizarre. But when you add President Clinton's reported conversation into the mix, it did.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TURNER (voice-over): Was it the Bubba Bieber summit? Perhaps the most bizarre phone call former President Clinton could take part in. Justin Bieber suggested the two talked yesterday likely coming after this. A video posted by TMZ which shows the 19-year-old pop star relieving himself in a mop bucket by the kitchen of a New York City club.

And then insults at a photo of President Clinton. Overnight, Bieber took to Twitter with this tweet suggesting the two talked on the phone about the incident. Bieber says, thank you for taking the time to talk, Mr. President. Your words meant a lot. Hashtag #greatguy. Maybe thoughtful words from the former president will make Justin think about his next time.

STACY KAISER, PSYCHOTERAPIST, ADOLESCENT EXPERT: They have been raised with so much entitlement. They have been yessed all the time. As a matter of fact, they don't know when people are sincere with them anymore because literally if you're Justin Bieber, they will give you what you want, even if they don't like you.

TURNER: The thing is, there are millions who do like him, millions of fans. Thousands of them in Iowa who say Bieber left them waiting for 90 minutes at his concert Sunday night.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just felt like they knew they could make us wait however long and we weren't going to leave.

TURNER: Couple this with a string of legal issues plaguing the pop star. A new lawsuit claiming Bieber beat him up, allegations by a neighbor that he spit on him and claims by that neighbor and others of reckless driving in his neighborhood.

KAISER: I look at someone like Justin Bieber and I think to myself, he did work hard. He came up from the bottom. Once he got there, his head got so filled with all the luxuries of fame and money and he's treating people badly.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TURNER: There are a couple things we should say here. No charges have been brought in the spitting or reckless driving cases. They are based on complaint from neighbors, including at least one that he had a long-standing feud with, neither he or his reps commented on this. We got a no comment from them when asked from them again yesterday.

Now when we talk about Beiber, you know, we often say he is a 19-year- old kid, and that is true. But he is also a kid with a huge platform and according to "Forbes," guys, he is ninth on their list of most powerful celebrities. This kid made $58 million last year.

BOLDUAN: No one is supporting, no one is saying that behavior is good. But, I mean, I feel like this guy is someone out to get him because it's one thing after another after another.

CUOMO: You don't do stuff like this.

TURNER: And that's what really got me about yesterday. He urinated in this bucket. Someone had to clean that up. Did you think about that? Someone had to clean it up.

BOLDUAN: Someone also videotaped it.

TURNER: Also looked like an adult standing on the steps right in front of him watching this. I'm just really not sure what is going on here.

CUOMO: Look, the reality is he's just 19, he's going to make his mistakes, true. But in this culture our kids are looking at him and modeling after him. I don't like it, personally. I wish my kids would look at the people I want them to. They hear his music.

TURNER: And here's what I hope, everybody has been -- everyone has been talking about him and trying to give him advice, maybe the former president really got into his head because those are strong words from some powerful shoulders that he heard yesterday.

BOLDUAN: All right, Nischelle, thank you so much.

CUOMO: Coming up on NEW DAY, meet Norman the scooter dog trying to set a world record. He's so talented getting an award from us, as well. John Berman will introduce him. Note to self, man in a dog suit?

(CROSSTALK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Welcome back to NEW DAY everyone. We're watching a lot of news this morning including the fate of George Zimmerman could soon be in the hands of the jury. The prosecution and defense team begin to make closing arguments today. Many will be watching that very, very closely.

Also, the Boston bombing suspect pleading not guilty to all 30 counts against him; more than half of the counts Dzhokhar Tsarnaev faces could result in the death penalty.

And country singer Randy Travis is in critical condition this morning after surgery to relieve pressure on his brain. He suffered a stroke that doctors say was a complication of congestive heart failure.

CUOMO: We wish him well. Yes prayers to Randy Travis.

And all right guys you know what it's time for?

BOLDUAN: What?

PEREIRA: What?

CUOMO: The NEW DAY award of the day award. Before we do it let us get to the couch. Ladies, please.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every day we're working to be an even better company and to keep our commitments. And we've made a big commitment to America. BP supports nearly 250 jobs here. Through all of our energy operations, we invest more in the U.S. than any other place in the world. In fact, we've invested over $55 billion here in the last five years, making BP America's largest energy investor. Our commitment has never been stronger.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Wow. It's just like Mr. Rogers. We've made it now to the couch. It's that time of the morning. Thank you very much. Hello, children.

John Berman is here with the NEW DAY award of the day award.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi and you know and a lot of time our time together is frivolous but today I bring something truly important. A dog riding a scooter.

PEREIRA: Yes.

BERMAN: I want you to meet Norman a 3-year-old French Sheepdog. Tomorrow in Georgia, Norman will try to set a new Guinness world record by being the fastest dog ever to ride a scooter 30 meters. He apparently picked this up just by watching kids. That's what the owner says. She's training to do it. Clearly Norman here has got a lot of skill. He's just pretty famous dog, actually. You may have seen Norman on any number of TV shows. There he is right there. You can see him on the "Late Show with David Letterman."

Norman actually posts a real-life resume on his Web site. An actually resume, on this resume he claims experience in bike riding and skateboarding also but also experience in other fields. He says he has experience as a news anchor. A news anchor and that's something you know we know a little bit about. So I wanted to see if there are any --

PEREIRA: Bring in Norman.

BERMAN: -- any other traits on his resume that will make him qualified to be a news anchor. He says he has a natural sheep herding instinct. You know what we like to lead, he says he's reliable. You can the facts, he says he can touch objects with his nose, sure we can all do that. But there's one thing on that list that seems a little odd to me.

BOLDUAN: Oh yes.

BERMAN: He says he has a stable temperament. Really? For a news anchor? Have you met any news anchors, Norman? We're stable like earthquakes are stable. So, Norman the multi-talented dog, we wish you all the luck in the world in your Guinness world record tomorrow, but the award we give you today is this the stick with the scooter, pal, award. We have enough anchors here already and don't you dare call us stable.

PEREIRA: You know what I actually can get you a photo of Norman wearing a suit and tie from the KTLN morning news in Los Angeles.

CUOMO: You know what -- you went to high school with him -- it's a guy in a dog suit.

BERMAN: They went to anchor school together.

BOLDUAN: Chris claims he sees a zipper.

PEREIRA: There is no zipper.

BERMAN: He sees the zipper and everything.

CUOMO: Norman just -- (inaudible). Because I have friends of yours who went to college with you.

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: I would like to say a very important point. So he's is going after the Guinness book world record.

BERMAN: Yes. Yes.

PEREIRA: Record right.

BOLDUAN: For 30 meters.

BERMAN: Yes.

BOLDUAN: Is there 29 meters winner?

BERMAN: That's an excellent question Guinness occasionally comes up with new records. If you go to the dog section of their page, they have a lot of dog-like records. We did not see one for riding a scooter 30 meters. So he may be the first and only first dog ever to attempt this -- or person , if you're Chris.

BOLDUAN: Still impressive.

CUOMO: Watch a news anchor on a scooter maybe we dub that one --

BOLDUAN: I bet you're a mean scooter.

BERMAN: I can go at least 31 meters in 30 seconds on a scooter.

(CROSSTALK)

PEREIRA: That dog, I mean, honestly, the neighbors I'm sure like, oh, the dog on the scooter, again.

BOLDUAN: Oh, Norman, every day, day and night.

BERMAN: Norman this. Norman that. Norman, Norman, Norman.

CUOMO: And Norman all time, you never see your husband.

BOLDUAN: All right. Enough with the dog suit. We'll be back right after this.

PEREIRA: Berman we love you.

CUOMO: Remember who said it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Everybody, thank you for being with us. That's it for NEW DAY today for Michaela, Kate and I. We're going to turn you over to CNN NEWSROOM with the one and only Wolf Blitzer. And that begins right now.

BOLDUAN: Double, triple duty today.

CUOMO: The team captain. Hi Wolf.

PEREIRA: That's right.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: You know sometimes you've got to work. This is a big -- a big trial in today what is the penultimate day, the closing arguments going to wrap up tomorrow and then it goes to the jury, we'll see what happens over the weekend. It's going to be --

BOLDUAN: Wolf uses any opportunity to say "penultimate". It's his favorite word.

CUOMO: "Penultimate". That's very good. Explain what it means to me -- we need help here.

BOLDUAN: Second to last.

CUOMO: Oh thank you very much. Because I didn't know. BOLDUAN: Thanks, Wolf.

WOLF: All right, guys. You're doing an excellent job. See you back here tomorrow. Thanks very much to all of you.

"CNN NEWSROOM" by the way, starts right now.

And to our viewers, good morning. I'm Wolf Blitzer. I'm in for Carol Costello. We want to welcome you to this special edition of "NEWSROOM".

We're watching the Zimmerman trial. A decisive argument under way this hour in this second degree murder trial: prosecutors want jurors to consider the option of manslaughter for George Zimmerman's killing of an unarmed teen. You see him live there in the courtroom. He has just come in and the argument are about to begin before the judge, Debra Nelson. You an see he's already wiping a little bit of sweat off his brow.

The defense team rejecting the idea of what is being called a compromised verdict, saying the jury should have only two options: a second degree murder conviction or total freedom for George Zimmerman. The judge's decision will begin a critical day as closing arguments are set to begin at 1:00 p.m. Eastern later today.

CNN's George Howell is in Sanford, Florida outside the courthouse. George, the judge is now going to hear arguments. The prosecution, they want the opportunity to go forward and let the jury consider lesser charges -- manslaughter, aggravated assault in addition to the second degree murder.

The defense says that should not happen. They should consider only second degree murder or nothing else.

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, absolutely. And for the next several hours, I would imagine, we could see some heated exchanges here. We will see both sides arguing, you know, over what this jury should be instructed when they get those instructions.

Also, keep this in mind. We'll expect to see the defense attorneys really focus on the wording. What is said to this jury? How is it said? That comes during the jury instruction discussion as well today.

Just the other day though, Wolf, it was a very interesting situation. We got to hear from George Zimmerman and his choice about testifying and before the defense rested its case we saw the prosecution in many ways, open the possibility that George Zimmerman could have been underneath Trayvon Martin as the defense has suggested along. We saw John Guy bring out a dummy to demonstrate that in an unconventional manner and we saw the defense attorney Mark O'Mara jump on that argument.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: George Zimmerman answered the question on everyone's mind. Would he testify?

DEBRA NELSON, PRESIDING JUDGE: Have you made a decision as to whether or not you want to testify in this case?

GEORGE ZIMMERMAN, ON TRIAL FOR DEATH OF TRAYVON MARTIN: No, not at this time.

DON WEST, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I object to the court inquiring of Mr. Zimmerman as to his decision about whether or not to testify.

NELSON: Your objection is overruled.

HOWELL: But after a tense exchange between Judge Debra Nelson and Zimmerman's lawyers, he made his choice.

ZIMMERMAN: After consulting with counsel not to testify, your honor.

HOWELL: There was also proof in court Wednesday you can learn a lot from a dummy. During one of the most surreal moments in court, both sides straddled a foam dummy in attempts to illustrate the conflicting arguments as to what happened the night Trayvon Martin was killed.