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Huge Lottery Winners; Gymnastics Coach Abuse; Katy Perry Slammed; Indianna Tornado; Trayvon Martin Rally; Religious Rights Issue for Amish; Presidential Primaries; "Bully" Producer Interviewed

Aired March 31, 2012 - 12:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thanks so much. All right. We all know by now you didn't win. Reynolds didn't win. Nor did I. But there are some happy winners out there. We're going to tell you more about them, about that Mega Millions jackpot. And it's 12 o'clock on the East Coast, 9:00 am out west.

Let's get straight to those winners, a $640 million mega jackpot. And so now we understand that the tickets, the winning tickets may be in three states, Maryland, Kansas and Illinois. The winning numbers are 2, 4, 23, 38, 46. And the Mega Ball, 23.

Our Athena Jones is in Baltimore County, because apparently at least one winning ticket may come from that very 7-Eleven, where you are right now. There must be quite the frenzy and excitement there, Athena.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there's been quite a lot of activity here this morning. We know that last night at about 7:15, the lucky winner came in and used that red machine behind me. It's a Quick Pick. They bought it -- he bought it -- this person bought a Quick Pick ticket, spending $1 for one line of numbers. Now they will take part in this huge jackpot.

I've just been handed new updated numbers from the Maryland Mega Millions lottery officials, saying the total, the overall total now is $656 million. So it's gone up from the 640. They are, of course, computing all the sales that happened into the evening last night, which means that each of these three winners will take home, before taxes, $2 18.6 million.

So it's a record jackpot. It's much, much bigger than that $390 million figure from 2007. So these are some really lucky people. We had a chance to speak with the Maryland lottery director about the kind of device they give to winners. Let's listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN MARTINO, DIRECTOR, MARYLAND LOTTERY: Our advice to the winner, to the extent we give any advice, is to get good advice. Hopefully they will reach out to trusted advocates for them both financially and legally. Then at an appropriate time come in and make a claim on the ticket.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: Now, of course it's only been a little over 12 hours since this person would have found out they won, the person locally. And that person hasn't come forward yet. And you know, according to Maryland law, people don't have to take part in any sort of publicity, around winning, unlike some other states. We may never find out who was the lucky winner here, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Yes, that might be the smartest strategy. Suddenly you get new friends and relatives that you didn't know you had. All right. So meantime the store benefits from this as well, right, the 7-Eleven is hoping to cash in for themselves?

JONES: That's right. They get a little piece of that luck as well. They're getting $100,000, the owner of the store will get here, just because they sold the ticket.

That's in addition to all the money they made just on ticket sales. They get five cents on every ticket dollar sold. We're told just now that the owner of this particular 7-Eleven is out of the country. But it'll great news for that person when they get back, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Athena Jones, thanks so much in Baltimore County, where it's believed at least one winning ticket sold right there at that 7-Eleven. All right. So again, the winning tickets have been sold in Maryland, Illinois and Kansas. But there are other smaller winnings still up for grabs. If you don't get -- if you got some but not all of the winning numbers. Let me know.

What would you do with your winnings? Tweet me @fwhitfield. I'll read some of your responses later on this hour.

Also happening right now in Sanford, Florida, an NAACP rally for slain teen Trayvon Martin. This is one of several events going on today. We expect demonstrators to hold a Justice for Trayvon Martin rally in D.C. in the next hour.

And Martin's childhood football team will hold a candlelight vigil in his honor in Miramar, Florida, at 6:00 pm Eastern. Again, these are pictures coming out of Sanford, Florida, where the numbers are quite significant there. People march to the Sanford police department. George Howell is at the rally there in Sanford.

And so, George, tell me what's going on. What's the real objective there today?

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Fredricka, the objective for the NAACP that's hosting this rally is two-fold. First of all, to see George Zimmerman arrested, and also the police chief, Bill Lee, who has temporarily stepped aside, to see him either fired or to resign from his post. You see thousands of people here, we'll ask photojournalist Jerry Simonson.

(Inaudible) around you see people wearing shirts, people wearing shirts, "I Am Trayvon Martin," and in fact, wearing this shirt that brought a lot of attention. (Inaudible). A lot of people out here. Many people passionate about what happened in this state. Also Rodney Hurst (ph), one of the people who come a long way, from Jacksonville. Correct?

RODNEY HURST (PH), RALLY PARTICIPANT: That's correct.

HOWELL: Talk to me about why you decided to drive here to Sanford today.

HURST (PH): (Inaudible) you know, and it could -- the situation that happened, it can happen in Jacksonville. It affects all of us, you know. So African-American males, (inaudible) so I had to come and show support.

HOWELL: And as far as the family, I know that a lot of people have been talking about coming together to support the family. What are your words to the family?

HURST (PH): If I could just say to the family that, you know, it affects us. We grieve like they grieve. I can't sit here and say I'm feeling what they are feeling but obviously we are grieving with the situation. This is not something new to (inaudible). You know, this is going on quite a bit in Florida, and other states, counties, whatever. We just want them to let them know we support them and we're here for them.

HOWELL: Mr. Hurst (ph), thank you.

HURST (PH): Thank you.

HOWELL: One of the thousands out here in Sanford for this rally hosted by the NAACP. Keep in mind George Zimmerman not charged with anything in this case. And we have heard from even some of his family members and friends, many people standing up for him. But again, this case now in the hands of state prosecutors to determine whether he will be charged in this case, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. George Howell, thanks so much, in Sanford. We'll check with you throughout the afternoon.

And you know there was a pretty significant town hall meeting on our air last night. Going to get a chance to see that again. Perhaps you missed it the first time. We're going to replay special town hall "Beyond Trayvon," hosted by Soledad O'Brien. That's at 2 o'clock Eastern today right here on CNN.

GOP presidential candidates are jockeying for support in Wisconsin ahead of Tuesday's primary. Rick Santorum is speaking at a faith and freedom coalition in southeastern Wisconsin this hour. It's a popular venue.

Front-runner Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich already have spoken there today. An NBC/Marist poll shows 40 percent of likely Wisconsin voters support Romney, followed by 33 percent for Santorum, 11 percent for Ron Paul and 8 percent for Newt Gingrich.

President Barack Obama delivers a message to middle class Americans in his weekly radio address.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The rising cost of everything from college tuition to groceries. You're the ones who deserve a break. So every member of Congress is going to go on record. And if they vote to keep giving tax breaks to people like me, tax breaks our country can't afford, then they are going to have to explain to you where that money comes from.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The president is pushing Congress to pass the so-called Buffett rule. The idea, which is named after billionaire Warren Buffett, would make people who earn more than a million dollars a year pay a higher share of their income in taxes than the middle class.

Overseas now in Syria, more fighting despite the U.S. envoy's demand for an immediate cease-fire. The Syrian military clashed with defectors in Damascus.

An opposition group says at least 29 people were killed. Fighting undermines the peace initiative brokered by Kofi Annan, the United Nations' and Arab League joint envoy to Syria. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad accepted the terms of the plan Tuesday, but the violence has not stopped.

All right. They are making some progress, officials in Colorado say those wildfires southwest of Denver are now 70 percent contained. More than 600 firefighters are trying to stop the flames from spreading.

As for investigators, they are trying to figure out why some people didn't get a reverse 9-1-1 call, warning them about the fire. The Jefferson County sheriff's office says that problem was probably caused by a software glitch.

It's a documentary about bullied children. And the producers want every child to see it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Punch me, strangle me, take things from me, sit on me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Give it to him hard.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's not safe on that bus.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've been on that bus.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Only thing, is the film went from an R rating to no rating at all. So who can watch it now and where?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. This is what's happening right now.

Many places across the country, there are rallies, continued rallies for Trayvon Martin, the 17-year old that was killed in Sanford, Florida. Right now a very sizable rally taking place, led by the NAACP in Sanford, Florida. Thousands of people, as can you see right here in these live images, made their way to the Sanford police department.

In large respect, we heard from our reporting from George Howell earlier, they are demanding the arrest of the shooter of Trayvon Martin, that by the name of George Zimmerman. Still no arrest. No movement coming from the police department as well in terms of offering any new information today about the investigation and where it stands.

We see a variation of points of view here, the live images out of Sanford, Florida, and the large number of people who have turned out to this NAACP rally.

We'll continue to keep tabs on it throughout the afternoon to give you continued updates.

All right. Meantime they are tough guys right now. But some wrestling stars know what it's like to be bullied, they say. World Wrestling Entertainment superstars are making the rounds now with anti-bullying messages. Some WWE superstars are telling personal stories of being bullied as a kid. This is part of an international effort to stop bullying. And that effort is called, "Be a Star."

Meantime the film, "Bully," an eye-opening documentary about the epidemic of bullying in schools opened this weekend unrated. Producers fought the R rating the Motion Picture Association gave it and decided to release the movie without a rating at all. In the movie, the filmmakers follow five kids, who are victims of bullying and show some of the horrors that they endure every day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How can I help you guys.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My voice is shaking. I'm very upset. I'm going to be honest. Like I'm upset enough I don't want him to ride the bus anymore.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get yourself (inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Move. Move.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If they are out of your care, they are in someone else's who is just as capable as you of keeping them safe and I don't feel like that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Aha.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've ridden 54. I've been on that route. I've been on a couple of them. They are just as good as gold.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: It is hard to watch. And the producers know that. Cynthia Lowen is a writer, producer of "Bully." Cynthia, good to see you. So you --

CYNTHIA LOWEN, PRODUCER/WRITER, "BULLY": Good morning, Fredricka. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: -- you and other producers, the director, I spoke with Lee Hirsch recently, all fought for a PG-13 rating so that more kids could see this movie. The Motion Picture Association felt pretty certain it needed to be R rating because, in large part, there were profanities laced throughout the film.

So when you lost that fight with the Motion Picture Association to drop that rating so that more people, more kids, particularly, would be able to see it, you decided to release it as unrated. Do you feel like this is a victory or a defeat?

LOWEN: I think this is a commitment to make sure that we do not participate in glossing over what 13 million American kids are experiencing in this country every year. We have -- the MPAA gave us an R rating for six uses of the F word.

Unfortunately, this is language that many kids in this country hear every time they get on their school bus, every time that they go to schools, in the halls of their schools, in their communities. And we felt like in a film that is really about honestly depicting the stories and the experiences of kids who are bullied that we are not able to do this unless we honestly tell that story.

Unfortunately this is language that is used as a weapon of bullying. And therefore we felt like we needed to make a commitment to keeping that language in the film and to making sure that we really don't look the other way.

WHITFIELD: So when I spoke with your director, Lee Hirsch, you know, a few weeks ago and asked him why not just kind of bleep out some of the language, you might not be compromising the message of the story by doing that, he said it would indeed minimize the experience of bullying.

But if you had done that, you would have reached a larger audience. So is this kind of the compromise that you felt you had to contend with? This really was the only route to go?

LOWEN: I think that we will reach a very, very broad audience. I think we're reaching kids, I think we're reaching educators. I think we're reaching parents. Nearly half a million people signed the petition on change.org, urging the MPAA to lower the rating on this film to PG-13. And those signatures were not just signatures, they were stories from many people who are saying, regardless of this rating, we want to see this film. We want to access this film. This is our story. We want our voices to be heard.

WHITFIELD: But then how and where will people see it? Because unrated films aren't necessarily shown in all theaters. They may be in a more limited capacity.

LOWEN: Absolutely. We have gotten great support from the AMC theaters that are going to be releasing this film. They are going to be -- they are going to be making it accessible to young people who come with or without their parents, as long as they have a form of permission. They have a release on their site, on the AMC site, so that kids can download it. They are going to be able to bring written notes.

So I think AMC has taken a really great stand along with us to say parents are aware of what the language is in this film, but they also know that there have been -- there's been a call from so many people across this country, saying that this film is something that kids really need to be able to see, whether or not they are able to attend the theater with their parents that day.

So I think that that's really an incredible stand that they are taking with us. The Carmike Theaters are also going to be screening this film. They will be treating it as an R. But parents will be able to bring their kids in to see it.

I think we're really seeing a lot of people engaging in the dialogue and saying how can we make this accessible? How can we provide guidance for our kids to see this film, but also make sure that it's something that they're able to access.

WHITFIELD: So those theaters have committed to it. Is it your hope or even the hope of other producers, directors, you know, filmmakers of this project that perhaps school districts or a number of schools will commit to showing these in their assemblies, right there on campus? Is that possible?

LOWEN: Absolutely. That was -- that was one of our biggest hopes with this film was that we would be able to get this film in front of educators, in front of administrators, in front of --

WHITFIELD: I guess is that still possible with --

LOWEN: -- in school settings.

WHITFIELD: With a no rating, is that still possible for you?

LOWEN: I think that, you know, Common Sense Media has given this film a PG-13 plus rating, it is the same rating that's been given to "Hunger Games." I think that we're really hoping teachers and administrators across the country will stand with us.

We had a screening last night with the United Federation of Teachers. And they all said we want this film in our classes. We want this film in our schools.

Every principal that we've shown this film to has said, I'm bringing this film to my school. I know that this film is something that needs to be shown to kids in middle and high school. And so I think we're asking everyone to really partner with us, and say we want to provide kids' guidance, but we want them to see it.

WHITFIELD: OK. Cynthia Lowen, one of the writers and producers of "Bully," thanks so much for your time. And perhaps we'll have another opportunity on a follow-up on that on what those school districts ultimately have to say. Thank you so much.

LOWEN: Thank you so much, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. There is no question that Tim Tebow is a hot commodity these days. So much so that two major shoemakers are even battling over the Jets quarterback. Our legal guys take a look at who will get sidelined in this lawsuit next, Nike or Reebok?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Our top stories right now, there are at least three winning tickets in last night's Mega Millions drawing. Lottery officials have confirmed that tickets were sold in Maryland, Illinois, and Kansas. According to Maryland lottery officials the lottery jackpot payout will be $656 million.

So we want to know, what would you do if you won that kind of money? You can tweet me @fwhitfield or visit my Facebook page @FredrickaWhitfieldCNN, and I'll read some of your comments a bit later in this hour.

All right. The Food and Drug Administration says it will not ban the use of BPA in food packaging. But they do plan to research more on its health effects. An environmental group wanted the compound banned. But the FDA says its ruling may change once more information is available on health risks, if any.

All right. Apple is being sued by an 83-year-old woman for a million dollars. Let's bring in our legal guys, Avery Friedman, a civil rights attorney and law professor in Cleveland. Good to see you.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Hi, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Richard Herman, a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor joining us from Las Vegas. Good to see you as well.

OK. Let's talk about this case of 83-year-old woman, Evelyn Paswall, who said she walked into a Long Island Apple store. And but before she actually got into the store, she walked into that kind of, glass facade that you see in so many Apple stores across the U.S. and around the world and then broke her nose.

And Avery, she's claiming this store was negligent. They should do more to offer more protections for its customers who come in. Does she have a point? FRIEDMAN: No. This is a -- I don't think so. I think the reasonable person walking into an all-glass door using reasonable amount of caution would probably not run into this. There are literally millions of people walking in and out.

And I'm sorry for Evelyn Paswall. She did not see the door obviously. I feel terrible she bonked her schnozz, and she conked her schnozz and I'm sorry it broke. But the fact is the test is reasonableness. Was it foreseeable? And I don't think any jury on earth, Fredricka, is ever going to determine that the design of the door is unreasonable. I just don't buy it.

WHITFIELD: Well, I mean, you keep saying reasonable. But Richard, everyone has walked into a glass door, a sliding glass door or something. And I think most could empathize. This never happened to you, Avery? Really? You never crashed into anything?

FRIEDMAN: Who me? Come on. I walk through screens and doors, sure, happens all the time.

WHITFIELD: OK. So because it does happen, I mean, Richard, doesn't the store, you know, knowing that hundreds of people come through all the time, don't they have to put something up to make sure that people see that this is glass? And doesn't Ms. Paswall have a point? You're shaking your head no.

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: They would love you on the jury. They would love you on that jury. Fred, listen, well --

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

HERMAN: Fred, if there was -- if there was a pattern of people banging their heads into the glass in the store, then, and only then, I think would Apple have a responsibility to put some sort of warning --

WHITFIELD: Because there's no precedent, really?

HERMAN: -- to advise.

(CROSSTALK)

HERMAN: Fred, listen. This is also in a very conservative jurisdiction in New York. I mean, a broken nose case at best may get $25,000. This jury is going to give her a doughnut. She's going to get bounced out of court. It's not happening. She's get nothing in this case --

FRIEDMAN: Sorry, Evelyn.

HERMAN: They're not going to be sympathetic to her.

FRIEDMAN: Yes, that can happen.

HERMAN: You have to look where you're walking. Otherwise you assume the risk. She's done. She's going to get nothing, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Gosh, you guys are tough. OK, well, maybe she's going to happy that you're not in the jury pool. OK. Well, let's move onto something else that is all the rage in the New York area.

Tim Tebow making his way to become a Jet. But, wait, there is a real scrap going on between Nike and Reebok now, Avery. This being one of the makers decided to go ahead and make some products with his name on before the other would become the official NFL, you know, I guess, merchandise producer. So what's at issue here? Nike is suing Reebok.

FRIEDMAN: Yes. Nike, as of today, takes over as the official shoemaker for the NFL. And in anticipation of losing the contract, what Reebok did, after the trade from Denver to New York, they grabbed Tim Tebow and they started cranking out Tebow stuff. Well, Nike claims, well, lookit, the deadline is today. That's not fair. It's unfair. It's violating certain intellectual property rights.

And therefore, we think we're entitled to relief. But actually what happened here, Fredricka, is that Tim Tebow's lawyers jumped in. Because on March 1st, Reebok lost all rights to Tebow's name. They went ahead and this past week a federal district judge granted a restraining order against Reebok from putting any more material out there and making any more marketing (inaudible).

WHITFIELD: So even though that production, Richard, took place before the handover? They wouldn't be able to sell that product?

HERMAN: (Inaudible) what happened was, Fred, you don't tug on Superman's cape. Nike has the contract now. Reebok had it for 10 years. And as Avery said, it expired on March 1st before the Tebow trade. In order to produce and manufacture merchandise with the Tebow name on it and everything, you need two intellectual property rights, you need one granted by the NFL and one granted by Tebow.

Reebok had neither. Nike had both. And because this is, you know, he's the newest thing in the world right now, Tebow coming to New York. People are going to flock to buy these first-run jerseys with Tebow's number and jersey with, you know, Jets and Tebow --

WHITFIELD: And what can they do with that merchandise now? Do they have to toss it?

HERMAN: There's going to be a forensic accounting done against Reebok. Reebok is going to get hit for enrichment.

FRIEDMAN: It'll settle.

HERMAN: They're going to hit for -- if might settle, but I have the complaint here, the Southern District of New York complaint. It's a dynamite complaint. And look, they -- Reebok hasn't responded yet, but I don't even know what their defense is going to be.

FRIEDMAN: It will settle.

WHITFIELD: Wow. OK, well, there's more to talk about, not about Reebok and Nike, but another case that I want to bring you back in about 20 minutes to talk about, that about Andrea Yates. Remember that name? She was the mother who drowned her five kids 10 years ago in Texas. Well now she's looking to get a little bit of freedom out of a mental hospital in order to go to church.

We're going to explore that with Avery and Richard.

And new surveillance video from a school bus overturned during that tornado outbreak last month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody stay together. Our group together. Right now. Go, go, go, go, go!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. How a school bus driver saved nearly a dozen kids from being tossed by a twister. That's next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE WOOD, FORMER U.S. MARINE: In the military, everyone is taught how to lead. They're taught how to follow and how to solve problems. We really pride ourselves on being ready and willing to go anywhere.

I started in the Marine Corps, deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. When I first saw the earthquake that hit Haiti, a lot of the images I felt like I had seen them before, driving through the streets of Fallujah or Afghanistan. I realized that I could actually help out.

So I went on Facebook. I said "I'm going to Haiti, who's in?" Seventy-two hours after that, we were on our way to Port-au-Prince.

So let's get our gauzes. Let's get our ChlorHex.

We got to work setting up a triage clinic.

I'm going to go through and I'm going to number the beds.

We realized veterans are really useful in these types of situations.

I'm Jake Wood, and I want to help veterans transition to civilian life and help others in need. Team Rubicon really started as a disaster relief organization and then we realized that we can help the veteran community as well. We bring these veterans together to be a part of a team once again. They are almost recharged.

When you get out, you kind of have that feeling of what are you really doing that's important in the world. Team Rubicon has just provided a great opportunity to just help people in need.

You need to pull your foot back as far as you can.

Most of the work that we do internationally is emergency medical triage clinics. We've gone to Chile, Sudan, Pakistan. Here at home we've been in Tuscaloosa, Joplin, doing debris clearing operations, search and rescue. We have about 1,400 volunteers and about 80 percent of them are military veterans. Helping other people is part of the healing process.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't thank you all enough.

WOOD: There's really no limit to what veterans can do. We have the ability to help and we want to serve. I think it's a win-win situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Other stories stories and making headlines. In California, former elite gymnasts describe horrific abuse alleging their coach physically and sexually assaulted them. They are speaking out now decades later hoping to keep Doug Boger from ever coaching again.

They describe cigarette burns, abusive training methods. Some say the physical abuse then led to sexual abuse. Boger hasn't responded to our request for comment. But, in an interview with Denver station, KCNC, he said the women are lying.

And one of the students injured in that school shooting in Chardon, Ohio is back in class. Seventeen-year-old Nick Walczak is excited about it. But he says day-to-day activities are still very difficult for him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK WALCZAK, SCHOOL SHOOTING SURVIVOR: It's hard because it's different. No one really realizes how hard it is just to slide onto a couch or a bed. I think about Russell, Demetrius and Danny. You know, it's weird they are gone, but, you know, I still pray for their families and I think about their families all the time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Seventeen-year-old T.J. Lane is accused of shooting and killing three students in February.

And Katy Perry slammed for her new video, "Part of Me." Feminist author and activist, Naomi Wolf says it is propaganda for the Marine Corps, and she's asking people to boycott it. She even suggests Perry was paid by the government for that video. Perry says she is only singing about female empowerment.

In Henryville, Indiana, a new video from the tornado outbreak a month ago showing a school bus driver saving a group of kids. I must warn you, though, what I'm about to show you just might be a bit disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: You're looking at surveillance video from inside a school bus being lifted by an EF4 tornado, nearly a dozen kids were on board, but the bus driver, Angel Perry (ph) got them to safety just minutes before the bus was hit. In the audio recordings from the surveillance, you can hear taking charge.

ANGEL PERRY, BUS DRIVER: Everybody stay together. All our group together right now. Go, go, go, go, go.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Perry outran the tornado quickly, rushing the kids out of the bus and then to safety.

And now take a look at a very sizable crowd right outside the Sanford police department.

WHITFIELD: The NAACP led this march in honor of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. The demonstrators are demanding The arrest of Trayvon Martin's shooter George Zimmerman. We're going to be following the story throughout the day. Our George Howell is there, however.

George, you're right there on the ground talking to people. What inspired them to come out on this day? So many marches taking place across the country, but why there in Sanford? What's their new demand today.

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Fredricka, a lot of people have been watching the story on the news, and today they decided to drive here to be part of this event, to be part of this rally. And I'll ask photojournalist, Jerry Simonson to pan over just a bit because you see all of these signs out here like this one, "It's Murder, let's call it like it is and treat it like such."

Also, a bag of skittles. You see people here with skittles as part of this Protest. I want to also come over to a few people I've been speaking with. Tell us your name, please.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is Robert Wright, Jr.

HOWELL: Robert, tell us, where did you come from driving in, and why are You here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I come in from South Florida, and I came to support the Martin family and also to support a movement that will hopefully end something like this from ever happening again.

HOWELL: Thank you, and I also wanted to ask you now, your name and where did you drive in from or come from?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sherry Wolf (ph) from Brooklyn, New York.

HOWELL: From Brooklyn. What do you think about what you see right now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's heartening that around this country there are thousands of people marching and protesting for a new movement, and that's what we need. We need to stop criminalizing black men in this country, and that's what's happening.

HOWELL: Thank you for your time. And also, I'd like to speak with you. Your name again please.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shirley Dean (ph).

HOWELL: Just quickly, why did you decide to come for this?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm here to support Trayvon Martin and his family and to try to put pressure on the city of Sanford to do the right thing and to give Trayvon and his family justice.

HOWELL: Thank you for your time.

That's what you're getting from here, a lot of people who want to See George Zimmerman arrested. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. George Howell, thanks so much in Sanford, Florida. We'll we'll check with you throughout the afternoon.

Meantime onto the race for the White House. Among the contenders, Rick Santorum speaking at Wisconsin's Faith and Freedom Coalition Forum this hour.

Earlier, Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney were speaking there. What the presidential candidates are saying and how this just might impact the election next.

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WHITFIELD: The GOP presidential candidates are stumping in Wisconsin with no one showing signs of dropping out of this race. Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich are at a Faith and Freedom meeting gearing up for Tuesday's primaries in Maryland, Wisconsin and D.C. Our Shannon Travis is in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Hope I said that right. Have I said that right?

SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN PRODUCER: You did. Hey, there. Well, it is called the Faith and Freedom Forum, so these candidates are talking about issues of concerns to Christian Evangelicals. Let me just note, Rick Santorum is speaking right now so I'm drawing from my inner voice, all right?

But, in terms of what he's talking about, one thing that I just heard him mention, I mean, keep in mind that these candidates are actively courting Christian voters here in Wisconsin. Rick Santorum just said a few moments ago, he sited a critic who said, you know what, someone said, it'll take an act of God for me to win this race. You know what, I believe in God. I mean, that's the kind of dialog you're hearing from these candidates at a forum like this. About 1,000 Christians and Evangelicals here, you know the primary's coming up on Tuesday.

One thing we that we didn't hear, though, earlier from Newt Gingrich and from Mitt Romney is them go after each other. We've heard a lot of that on the campaign trail, but a little bit less of that now. We know that my colleague, Rachel Streitfeld, has been reporting that Mitt Romney is actually pivoting to the general election, his speeches: aiming them more in terms of a general election mode.

And Newt Gingrich, and Newt Gingrich -- he is actually going after Mitt Romney a little bit less as I've been following him lately. Fred.

WHITFIELD: Well, I wonder if that's in large part, at least for Mitt Romney, he's getting a lot of, you know, heavy duty endorsements from big names within the Republican Party, and so that's rather boosting his confidence. But you do have to wonder, what is that doing to your Newt Gingrich and your Rick Santorum. They're not getting those kinds of endorsements.

SHANNON: That's right. They are not. They are losing out on the big ones. Three big ones that Mitt Romney just got: George H.W. Bush, the former president, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, and the very popular Congressman Paul Ryan from here. So yeah, there's a sense that Mitt Romney may have this thing wrapped up by a lot of his supporters. Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Very fascinating. Shannon Travis, thanks so much from Wisconsin. Appreciate that.

WHITFIELD: And of course, you want to join us every Sunday, 4:00 Eastern time for a special hour focusing on the 2012 presidential contenders. All right. Making the road rules friendly for Amish buggy drivers in Kentucky, a bill has been passed. But is it a religious victory or a traffic hazard? Our legal guys weigh in next.

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WHITFIELD: All right. In Kentucky, there's a battle over religious rights and public safety. The general assembly passed legislation to allow the Amish to use reflective tape instead of orange safety triangles on the back of their horse-drawn buggies. Our legal guys are back. Avery Friedman in Cleveland and Richard Herman in Las Vegas.

All right, gentlemen, one more time. So this, you know, is an issue of religious freedom versus traffic safety. But there was an alternative that everyone seemed to be happy with, Richard. The Amish said these safety triangles, you know, were -- they objected to. They just said that, you know, these were -- represent symbols of the Trinity, which they are not allowed to display.

So, what's the alternative? How are they going to be safe and at the same time, their religion respected.

HERMAN: I guess people are crashing into buggies there in Kentucky. But I don't know why the triangle just couldn't be made into a square. Wouldn't that be the simplest thing? In any event, it's now a silver reflective taping that they're putting on the back of these buggies so that cars -- on coming cars can see them and avoid crashing into these buggies.

I don't know, they're claiming -- you're right, Fred -- they're claiming the triangle represents the Trinity, and that violates their religion. Therefore, they were getting fined and they were going to prison for not paying the fines.

So the governor has to sign off on It. I don't know which way he's going to go, frankly. But, couldn't the triangle be a silver square? Come on.

WHITFIELD: So Avery, if in Kentucky this is taking place, what about places like Pennsylvania where there's a pretty significant Amish community. Might we see, you know, I guess Pennsylvania following Kentucky's lead, or is it the other way around.

FRIEDMAN: Well, I hope so. I'm intrigued with this, Fredricka. I mean, I'm very respectful of the Amish and the fact that that orange triangle, indeed, is the Trinity. It's unholy to display it. This is a wonderful compromise.

Governor Martin Bashir, by the way, in Kentucky, will sign the legislation. We're going to see it in Pennsylvania and other states. I think this is a wonderful balance between public safety and religious freedom, and I think it's a wonderful way of resolving a real crisis, there were not only people being arrested, there were people being killed because they wouldn't put the trinity -- they wouldn't put the triangle up, so a wonderful ending to the story, I think.

WHITFIELD: OK, very good. Let's move on to another case that's in Texas, 47-year-old Andrea Yates. Maybe people don't recall her name but might remember what happened back in 2001. She drowned her five children.

At the time, she called 911, and she -- her message was that she killed her children and that Satan asked her to do it. But now, she's in a mental institution after, you know, pleading insanity in that second trial, Avery. And she's in this state mental hospital, and now she says that she's found a congregation that will welcome her to leave campus, to go to church -- leave campus for about two hours, go to church. How will the court respond to this? What are they going to think about the idea of her leaving campus for a church visit?

FRIEDMAN: Well, you know, I have some very strong feelings about this. I covered the Andrea Yates trial and did commentary while it was going on back in 2001. She murdered five children based on religious beliefs, Fredricka. She murdered them. And so now she's arguing, I want to get other religious training, and somehow, I should be free to do that.

I mean, I would feel a lot better if someone were employing science in considering this. But it's in Texas, It's in South Texas. And believe it or not, I think they are going to let her out so she can go to church. And I think there's really something wrong with that, especially when they have not considered the science of the consequences. WHITFIELD: And so Richard, you have the last 20 seconds on this. What will the court entertain. What are the things that they will consider?

HERMAN: They are going to get letters from her doctors that say they think it's a good thing for therapy. Not guilty by reason of insanity. She killed those children. Only six years has gone by. It took Hinckley 19 years -- John Hinckley -- 19 years to be able to get out for a little bit. I don't think they are going to go for it in Texas. I'll be ashamed if they go for it in Texas.

FRIEDMAN: I hope Richard's right. I hope Richard's right.

HERMAN: This woman, you know, she's got to pay for it. I have people -- Fred -- I have people on Facebook saying that they think she's going to try to plea bargain her way into heaven. That's why she wants to go to Church. Satan told her to kill those kids, now she wants to go to church. Bad, bad, bad.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. All right. Our Richard Herman, Avery Friedman, thanks so much, gentlemen, great seeing you, as always, every weekend.

FRIEDMAN: Good to see you.

HERMAN: Fred, you said if you won that Lottery, you would be at work today?

WHITFIELD: Yes!

HERMAN: If it was me, I think that it would be legal guy from now on 'cause I don't know if I'd be here..

FRIEDMAN: Not me, I'd be right here.

WHITFIELD: Oh, you're kidding me. You don't just love this?

FRIEDMAN: I don't know. I don't know. I'm being real.

WHITFIELD: That's fine. Hey, I know you guys have not heard this name in a while, and it's made you unhappy, but there's a case closed. You know, Lindsay Lohan. Now her probation: over, done.

HERMAN: 'm thrilled. That's great.

WHITFIELD: It doesn't look like we're going to be talking about her anymore.

FRIEDMAN: Oh, we will. We will be, Fred.

HERMAN: I hope not.

WHITFIELD: Time will tell. We will be.

HERMAN: I hope not.

WHITFIELD: All right. FRIEDMAN: I got the whole segment then, Avery.

WHITFIELD: OK, you can handle it. All right. Avery, Richard, thanks so much.

All right. Let's take another view of what's going on in Sanford, Florida. We've been mentioning throughout the hour a huge number of people have turned out. And, you see right there the Reverend Al Sharpton from the NAACP leading this rally and march as the Sanford Police Department -- they are demanding the arrest of George Zimmerman. He's the man who admits to shooting 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. We'll continue to watch the rally throughout the afternoon.

Meantime, you may have caught it, and you want to see it again. Last night was a town hall meeting taking place right here on CNN or perhaps you missed it altogether. Well, you have an opportunity to see it today, 2:00 eastern time. What you can expect from this discussion, next.

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WHITFIELD: All right, now the latest in the Trayvon Martin case. You're looking at live pictures of the NAACP rally there in Sanford, Florida. Demonstrators are also holding a "Justice for Trayvon Martin" rally in D.C. today, and Martin's childhood football team will be holding a candlelight Vigil in his honor in Miramar, Florida, 6:00 p.m. Eastern today.

Last night, our Soledad O'Brien hosted special investigation called "Beyond Trayvon." It dealt with a wide range of issues surrounding the case, including racial profiling and the Stand Your Ground law. Miami's former police director said, neighborhood watch volunteers should not be armed.

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ROBERT PARKER, FORMER MIAMI DADE POLICE DIRECTOR: It is a thing that is really designed to be extra set of eyes and ears to law enforcement. And it's termed watch for a specific reason. It's not engage. It's not apprehend. It's not attempt to be a police officer. It is designed to watch and ultimately report to law enforcement.

Occasionally you will have a (sic) individual who, as described earlier through profile, may not be appropriately assigned as a crime watch person or a crime watch captain. I encourage and ask all crime watches in America, if you have this type of personnel in your individual -- in your watch group or organization, by all means, get rid of him.

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WHITFIELD: Zimmerman's friends and family members have come forward insisting he is not a racist. They say he was protecting his community, which was dealing with a rash of burglaries. And you can watch a replay of "Beyond Trayvon," 2:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN Today. WHITFIELD: All right. Three winners hit the Jackpot. Earlier, I asked you how would you spend the big bucks if you won. Your responses right after this.

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WHITFIELD: All right. So earlier, we asked you, what would you do if you won $656 Million. Here is what you had to say. Kelly says, "I would fix everything that needs repair in my house and cars, then share the rest with the family after a tiny little shopping spree."

And then, Becca from Baltimore said, buy my parents a house, move to New York City and then make my filmmaking dreams come true.

WHITFIELD: All right. Stay with CNN this afternoon. Coming up at 2:00 Eastern time, a special town-hall meeting, "BEYOND TRAYVON: RACE AND JUSTICE IN AMERICA."

Then at 3:00 Eastern, our financial consultant, Daria Dolan joins us with the five insurance policies you should not buy.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield, see you then. "your money" starts right now.