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Soldier Saves Child, Loses Own Life; Racing Crew Rescue in the Pacific; Assad Ignores Syrian Peace Plan; V.P. Defends Hot-Mic Moment; Trayvon Martin Coverage; Teachers Who Cheat

Aired April 01, 2012 - 19:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. It's the top of the hour. I'm Don Lemon. Thank you for joining us.

We're going to begin tonight with the rescue of an international yacht racing team hundreds of miles off the California coast.

The crew is competing in the clipper around-the-world race. It's like the TV show "Survivor" except on the high seas. Everyday people, cab drivers, teachers, bankers, compete against other teams circling the globe. And they chronicle their journey, as this video shows.

Now in the final leg of the 40,000 mile race the Geraldton Western Australia hit a monster wave. It took out the stirring communications equipment and injured three of its crew, including these two members.

Now the Coast Guard has a cutter close enough to launch a helicopter. The yacht is about 400 miles off San Francisco but the weather is getting in the way here.

On the phone with me now is Petty Officer Caleb Critchfield from the U.S. Coast Guard. Sir, thank you for joining us; has the helicopter taken off yet?

PETTY OFFICER CALEB CRITCHFIELD, U.S. COAST GUARD (via telephone): No, the helicopter has not taken off yet we're -- according to our last report we're still waiting for the weather to clear enough to safety launch the helo.

LEMON: Any idea how long that might be, any indications on the weather?

CRITCHFIELD: No, the weather -- the weather we can't control it, we wish. We're working very hard to line ourselves up with the conditions and get the helo launched so we can medevac the injured boaters and get them to safety.

LEMON: Ok I just wondering if paying close attention to the forecast and maybe that might tell you something. But listen I want you to tell me about the extent of the injuries. I understand one of three people hurt, has some -- some serious injuries.

CRITCHFIELD: Yes according to our initial report three people were injured. Thanks to some modifying information, we were able to communicate with the boat. We found out that two of those people were not as seriously injured as we initially thought, but one of those people is still in serious condition, and our primary concern is to get out there, get a crewman on the boat to assess the situation and get everyone who needs immediate medical assistance off the boat and back to the mainland.

LEMON: Petty Officer Critchfield, how did you all locate the yacht?

CRITCHFIELD: We were contacted by United Kingdom Rescue Center. They contacted the Coast Guard and asked us to assist with -- with this case.

LEMON: And when you reach it, what happens from there?

CRITCHFIELD: We received the report and we -- the Coast Guard cutter "Bertha" (ph) was in the area and we redirected them to start heading toward the yacht. And they also had an embarked MH-60 Jay Hawk helicopter which is -- which is fully capable of airlifting all three injured crew members.

LEMON: Ok, so you know how many people were on board for sure?

CRITCHFIELD: According to our last report, 13 people are on board.

LEMON: 13 people and then can one helicopter get all those people? Or are you going to have to do --

(CROSSTALK)

CRITCHFIELD: One helicopter would not be able to airlift all 13. We're going to -- our primary concern's the injured individuals and we want to get them to safety and get them the medical attention that they need.

LEMON: Ok. Here is the interesting thing because this is from Australia. It's the Geraldton Western Australia, who is responsible? Who do -- who pays for this or is that not even a concern for you at this moment?

CRITCHFIELD: That's not even a concern. Our primary concern is getting these people to safety.

LEMON: All right. Petty Officer Caleb Critchfield from the U.S. Coast Guard; thank you very much. Good luck to you ok.

On to Syria now where the opposition says it can't hold on forever. So the U.S. is promising to nearly double its funding support. At a conference in Istanbul, Turkey today Secretary of State Hillary Clinton joined others in saying the Syrian people will not be left alone. She says sanctions are starting to work. But the government crackdown shows no signs of letting up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: Today the international community sent a clear and unified message that we will increase pressure on the Assad regime in Syria and assistance to the opposition.

Nearly a week has gone by since the regime pledged to implement Kofi Annan's plan. But rather than pulling back Assad's troops have launched new assaults rather than allowing access for humanitarian aid. They have tightened their siege. And rather than beginning a political transition the regime has crushed dozens of peaceful protests.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The protests and the fighting continue across Syria. President Bashar al Assad has said he will accept the peace plan adjusted by former U.S. Secretary General Kofi Annan.

From Beirut tonight, CNN's Ben Wedeman says talk is cheap.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the impact of Kofi Annan's joint United Nations/Arab League peace plan for Syria on the fighting -- nothing. Since the Syrian government accepted the plan last Tuesday, little has changed. The army of Bashar al Assad continues its crackdown on an opposition drastically outgunned and now on the defensive.

The Annan plan calls for government forces to stop using heavy weapons in population centers and begin to pull back military concentrations from urban areas. But this is how the spokesman for the Syrian foreign ministry Jihad Makdisi sees it.

JIHAD MAKDISI, SPOKESMAN FOR THE SYRIAN MINISTRY (through translator): Once there is stability and peace in any designated area and the civilians are back, the military will not stay on the ground and we are not waiting for Kofi Annan to tell us when to pick up and go.

WEDEMAN: The Homs neighborhood of Babam (ph) has experienced that peace and stability after a bruising 28-day siege. Its recapture may be a not so subtle hint as to how the regime plans to crush the uprising, which Makdisi says is coming to an end.

For their part opponents of the regime say they'll stop fighting if and when government forces pull back. Without an end to the violence, little else in Annan's plan can be implemented. Sunday, representatives of more than 60 countries are expected to participate in a meeting of the Friends of Syria group in Istanbul.

(on camera): Some of the so-called Friends of Syria like Saudi Arabia and Qatar seem to believe there is still a military option to resolve the crisis in Syria. Saturday, Saudi Foreign Minister Thursday Saud Al-Faisal said that arming the rebels is, in his words, "a duty"

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Beirut.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Ben, thank you very much. A woman who went to prison fighting for democracy is now Myanmar's newest symbol of freedom. Voters elected Aung San Suu Kyi to Parliament today. Well the result is still unofficial.

She won a Nobel Peace Prize for her decades-long fight for democracy. Her opposition party called today's victory momentous. Myanmar has lived under military rule for 50 years and the army still holds the balance of power.

Vice President Joe Biden is standing by his boss for that hot microphone moment this week. President Obama was overheard telling Russia's President that he'll have more flexibility on missile defense, quote, "after my election". The Vice President defended that statement today saying it should come as a surprise to nobody.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Look -- and by the way, I know a little about unguarded moments with microphones and -- but look, here's the -- the President just stated the obvious. The idea that in this election year we're going to be able to deal with an agreement with the Russians on further reducing our nuclear arsenals and the environment that we have in the United States Congress now is difficult. And what the President was doing is stating the obvious.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Ahead on CNN the Trayvon Martin case is shining a spotlight on so many issues including those of us who cover the news. Too much, too little, too late I'm going to talk about the media's role in this story with social critic Goldie Taylor. That is next.

Plus what happened and when on the night Trayvon Martin was killed. We'll put together a timeline to give you a minute by minute account.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Trayvon Martin's tragic death has exposed so many fault lines in American society. How we see ourselves, how we see each other, and how we in the news media cover sensitive stories like this one.

I want to talk about it with my friend Goldie Taylor. She is a social critic and managing editor of Goldie Taylor project -- goldietaylorproject.com. So Goldie, let's talk about the news media and the coverage here. It was off to a slow start. Remember, you and I were among the first to talk about it. Now it's as if it has moved into saturation.

GOLDIE TAYLOR, MANAGING EDITOR, GOLDIETAYLORPROJECT.COM: It has.

LEMON: What do you make of it?

TAYLOR: Well, you know, I was initially critical of all of our colleagues across the spectrum because we didn't chase this story; this story chased us. So sometimes we tend to get a bit myopic in our newsrooms and we sort of head down in crunching the biggest story. And this one was so tragically but important we missed initially. So social networks stood up and started to share this story across Twitter, across Facebook. Then people like you, me, Roland Martin and others got those tweets and moved the story forward. But now it has hit a stride where it is near saturation, and it seems to me that we have got to be -- and I'm a part of this -- we have got to be extraordinarily careful when we handle issues like this because this is a long overdue conversation that we've got to have. We've got to have it responsibly and we've got to encourage responsibility to our viewers.

LEMON: And just -- the interest and just by having it, please don't send me any more tweets about having this conversation, that I'm a racist or I'm a race baiter. This is a conversation that we all need to have, so relax.

TAYLOR: Absolutely.

LEMON: It gets -- it's so disgusting to see some of the things and some of the words that people use by bringing up -- one commentator -- I think it was Bill Maher who said jokingly that "I believe the new racism is a denial of racism," which -- the truth is often spoken in jest, right?

TAYLOR: Maybe he said it in a comedic way, but that is the automatic response. For some people who don't live day to day with either gender or religious or racial minority status or other things, you know, it is a bit easier, I think, not to take as much care about those issues. And so there is a sense that race gets talked about too much by some, and then there is a sense by others that is not talked about enough. For me it isn't talked about enough in a healthy way.

LEMON: I know. And it's interesting to hear people talk about race, and if they could see my family and my friends, your children --

TAYLOR: My children, my husband, my parents --

LEMON: Hello.

TAYLOR: We're like the United Nations in my house, but --

LEMON: Yes. And we have these conversations in mixed families among each other, which is we're all family in this in America together and we should be having these conversations.

You know what I find interesting, when we talk about race in these stories, this is the only place where some people -- I saw a story about a journalist who had been profiled and shared their experiences. They shouldn't do that because it takes away credibility.

This is the only subject matter where experience doesn't count.

TAYLOR: I think that you know, I have -- you know, I'm an opinion blogger. I'm an opinion writer so I'm not a journalist or reporter. And I tend to share my personal experience, put context around a story, especially those that I'm most passionate about.

But to say that working journalists don't have the right or platform to speak, you know, their own personal experience --

LEMON: Personal experience -- yes.

TAYLOR: -- from their own experiences and put a context around the story, I think that's really an unfortunate indictment to be made.

LEMON: When, I have friends, go hang out with Michael Holmes who works with our international unit because I want to hear stories from the war zone. I have not actively ever been in a war zone overseas -- his experience in those war zones.

I sit there and listen to him. Oh, my gosh, it's amazing. He comes on CNN and he shares those stories, right? And Ali with the financial, I talk with him about those. Christine, I'm interested. Dr. Sanjay Gupta or whatever. We talk about those things but the moment it comes to experiences when it race, they think you should not be sharing those experiences.

TAYLOR: Well, there used to be a day in traditional media -- you and I grew up with this -- when there was a one-way conversation and the man on the other side of the camera would deliver the news without emotion, without opinion, without sharing any of himself. And I say him because it was always a he -- sharing any of himself with a viewer.

Today the equation has changed and we've evolved and it's a two- way conversation. I'm going to have a conversation with you about you, I should be willing to talk a bit about me.

LEMON: Ok. Stand by. I want to talk to you about the politics of it and also this new, calmer -- it's not new -- these calmer heads -- the cooler heads that I want to (inaudible) in the wake of Toure in Piers Morgan. Don't answer that yet. We're back in a moment with Goldie.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Ok. We're talking about the Trayvon Martin case with Goldie Taylor, social critic, and managing editor of GoldieTaylorProject.com -- a lot of passion here. Can we talk about the vitriol? Let me -- and I just said that. I looked in the camera and I said please don't tweet any of that stuff because I'm getting -- it's disgusting to even look at my Twitter feeds sometimes.

Here's someone Steve Ono says, "Don Lemon, you are a racist. You are fixated on this one issue over and over. We want to hear the news. Not your personal agenda. Go work for BET."

TAYLOR: And that was the nice one.

LEMON: That was the nice one. He didn't call me the N word or a monkey.

TAYLOR: Well, I have been called the N word I think more collectively over these last 72 hours than I have in the whole of my life. It is amazing to me what people will say with the anonymity of a Twitter account and -- LEMON: And you weren't just called the N word. What happened?

TAYLOR: Well, there's more. Someone else -- I was checking my Twitters as I normally do and someone said, "I'll shoot you." And my response was, "You better be a quicker draw."

LEMON: Ok. Moving on.

It's ridiculous. And when I talked to Leonard Pitch yesterday, he said -- you were here -- and you said it hasn't It didn't create something new. It just sort of uncovered some of the things that were there.

We're going to get behind it tonight, like what is sparking so much -- because I have people who are really close to me who don't understand and are quite angry over it and who are on the -- you know, who believe that Zimmerman may not be guilty, what have you, and it's just really interesting to hear that.

Ok, politics. Politics. It doesn't take long for this to become political, does it?

Almost immediately. Almost immediately. You know, and it comes from, I think, some of the lack of response from some of the Republican leaders when they were initially asked about it. But then there took on this brand new stride of people on both sides, some who want to convict George Zimmerman before there is a trial, and then there are those who want to acquit him before a jury has heard and tested all of the evidence. So I think that's unfortunate.

But then, you know, everyday people, everyday voters, they've begun to take part in that and so there are new agendas arising. There is the anti-gun movement, there is the pro-gun movement. There are people who have -- want to, I guess, put down the "Stand Your Ground" law --

LEMON: Right.

TAYLOR: -- which I don't know where my position is on that, but there are a lot of other agendas in here other than what the issues of the day really are.

LEMON: And this particular case, because people bring up -- you know, when you talk about this story. But what about black on black? What about the people who say those are all legitimate stories, but that's a whole another show, as they say, and why would you bring that up for this incident? We're talking about this incident.

Now, if we want to -- we're going to do -- we're going to talk about Chicago --

TAYLOR: Absolutely.

LEMON: -- tonight in my 10:00 show. That is indeed an interesting story and one of merit, but it is not this story. So it's a deflection in some ways that I find going on when it comes to this. Why don't you talk about this? Why don't you talk about white who are killed by black people? Which is --

(CROSSTALK)

TAYLOR: To me, and I have talked about this because it's personal to me. My father and my brothers were murdered in separate incidents. Those crimes are unsolved. No one is looking for the people who murdered them, and likely, we understand from eyewitnesses, they were murdered by black men.

So this is a tragedy that has, you know, African-Americans have been living with for a very, very long time. And so while the Trayvon Martin story is a separate story, there is a joining together of how we value the lives of black men, how they value themselves, absolutely, and then how others see and value them. When you dehumanize someone else, whether they're of the same race or of a different one that gives you almost you license to kill them. And that's the most unfortunate part about all of this.

LEMON: And finally, here, let's talk about -- you know, you and Toure have been going back and forth on Twitter, we talked about Toure and Piers Morgan, which was again a distraction. It started off legitimately about as we have been talking about here.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: The coverage of this story and then --

TAYLOR: It was, it was a legitimate conversation about how we have chosen to cover this case in the interviewing of certain subjects, including the brother, Robert Zimmerman. But it evolved into something else. I think I said on Twitter this morning that when the story becomes about us and a testing of egos, we lose every time, and we lose sight of what's really important and that is the delivery of news and opinion to our audiences.

And I think that's what was most lost and I think Toure apologized for that over Twitter last night and again this morning.

LEMON: They're now conversations -- I don't know if you were clear on the air -- well, both you and Piers Morgan were quite clear that you said you both didn't think that they handled themselves in the best way. And I'm not going to criticize -- my role is not to criticize my colleague, Piers, who I have a lot of respect for. It was just -- it was interesting --

TAYLOR: Sure.

LEMON: -- people are talking about it. I'll put it there. I'll let you guys comment on it. But in our personal conversation, you defended Piers and I don't know if that came across on the air and you also defended Toure. So it wasn't that you were choosing sides.

TAYLOR: I did not choose sides. I thought that they both made -- if you cut through all the morass of, you know, sort of the fisticuffs, you found some valid points from both of them, but that stuff got lost, I think, at first viewing. I think that was what was the most unfortunate part about this and that we weren't focused on some of the more critical issues involved in this case.

Racial stereotyping, the plight of African-American men in this country and how they're viewed and how they're engaged. And I think that got lost.

LEMON: Well, the initial -- my initial impetus to do that was we were trying to figure out how to do "white privilege", which I had done earlier in the week on CNN, and then the other, "black rage", right? And I was like, Friday night watching, I was like, there it is.

TAYLOR: Here it is. Here it is in HD.

LEMON: In your living room.

TAYLOR: In your living room. Absolutely.

LEMON: Yes. Thank you, Goldie.

TAYLOR: Thanks for having me.

LEMON: I really appreciate it. We talk forever.

TAYLOR: We do.

LEMON: All right. Thanks a lot.

When you attend funeral, you expect to mourn the dead, and we'll tell you how a Florida service turned into a tragedy right after the break.

But first, a recent investigation of teachers and principals in Atlanta public schools uncovered one of the largest teaching scandals in U.S. history. But the pressure to raise student test scores wasn't confined to Georgia -- to just Georgia.

And as CNN contributor Steve Perry tells us the students have become the real casualties here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR: I'm appalled when teachers will cheat their students because that's what they're really doing. What they're saying is "I taught your child how to do something that they need to do. But I really didn't, so that I could save my own behind." Instead of saying, "Listen, I didn't do what I need to do. I'm going to work harder to get better and I'm going to own the fact that I did not perform."

I think that people are cheating because they believed that they're going to gain some sort of advantage. You wouldn't cheat if your kids were prepared.

People talk about the tests in a very bad way. But the content of most of the state standardised examination is pretty reasonable. The expectation that a child will be able to read, write and compute on level? That's being an educated person.

I don't think that we're putting too much of an emphasis on standardized examinations, though I don't love the fact that most of them occur in one month and the fact that you get to suspend education in order to take them.

Having a standardized test is an essential part of learning. We need to be able to determine that all children are learning something. If teachers are not held responsible for their children's learning, then we won't ever move forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: I want to check your headlines right now.

Thousands of people gathered in Miami to take part in a hometown rally for Florida teen, Trayvon Martin. The unarmed teenager was shot and killed more than a month ago in Sanford, Florida. Martin's parents were joined by civil rights leaders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SYBRINA FULTON, MOTHER OF TRAYVON MARTIN: We just want the public to know that he was a regular teenager, that he was respectable and he was loved by his family and his friends.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: They continue to ask for neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman to be arrested. Zimmerman says he shot the teen in self defense.

Another unarmed African-American teen was shot to death a week ago by police in Pasadena California. Police say officers fired on 19=year- old Kendrick McDade as he was reaching toward his waist band. A 911 caller had said that he had just been robbed by two men with guns when police came upon McDade. No weapon was found on McDade. Police learned later that the caller lied about the men having guns to get a faster response. The caller has been charged with involuntary manslaughter.

Police in Miami still don't know who shot into the crowd of mourners outside of a funeral home there. Two people have died and dozens were wounded Friday night. It happened at the wake for a young man who jumped to his death after being chased for trying to use a stolen credit card. According to "Miami Herald," someone touched his body in the casket at the funeral home. A police commander said gang members at the funeral home considered that a sign of disrespect, leading to that gunfire.

Next, how the sport of polo took two brothers from the streets of Philly and turned them into champions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean without the program of polo, I think I probably would have dropped out of school. I would definitely be a statistic of Philadelphia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A unique program is taking at-risk teens off some of the toughest streets in Philadelphia and turning them into polo champions at a nearby oasis. It's called Work to Ride and in addition to polo, it's leading to scholarships. Here's CNN's Sarah Hoye.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARAH HOYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's been a wild ride for a group of polo-playing teens from Philadelphia's inner city. That's right, polo, the close knit team to combed the title for the national interscholastic polo championship earlier this month for the second year in a row.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How you feeling, man?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Feeling great.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Feel good.

HOYE: The teen "Work to Ride" beat the California based El Dorado program 20-19 in a nail-biting shoot out in double over time during the finals held at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.

LEZLIE HINER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR "WORK TO RIDE": You couldn't have written a movie ending any better than what that was. I mean it was -

HOYE: The story of "Work to Ride" is indeed worthy of the silver screen, but it's less about polo and more about beating the odds.

Founded in 1994, the non-profit provides at-risk youth from Philly's toughest neighborhood a chance to play polo in exchange for cleaning out stalls and brushing down horses.

HINER: We don't have an arena to really practice in so our kids really only get to practice when we schedule games. Sometimes that's once a week, sometimes that's twice a week, sometimes we may not have a game for a couple of weeks. So really for them to be able to hone their skills, basically it's on an ad hoc basis.

HOYE: Last March, "Work to Ride" made history for being the first all-black high school team to win gold, competing in one of the most exclusive sports. This year the pressure was on again but Brandon Rease who joined "Work to Ride" while in middle school (INAUDIBLE) the school and nailed the winning (INAUDIBLE) shot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the goal!

BRANDON REASE, "WORK TO RIDE" PROGRAM": I guess it's great. I don't feel too much right now but it will hit me later on.

HOYE: The current team isn't all black. The roster includes Julius Smith, one of only two girls to play in the tournament.

KIMO HUDDLESTON, ELDORADO COACH: Somebody has got to win and somebody got to lose. I couldn't be any more proud of them for sure. They worked their butts off and played hard.

HOYE: For now it's time for "Work To Ride" to celebrate.

REASE: I feel awesome, you know, the team is happy. Every one is happy. We had a lot of supporters and that was great.

HOYE: "Work to Ride" is back in the heart of Philadelphia's Fairmont Park with their eyes on the next prize.

Sarah Hoye, CNN, Charlottesville, Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Very nice.

I want to you take a look at these cars from Google. It's new technology that even the blind can appreciate. We'll tell you why. That's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Gadgets that used to be in science fiction stories that are now in our houses, in our pockets and maybe soon in our garages. How about a car that does the driving for you? That's why I said blind people can appreciate, because the car actually drives for you, going to work, going on vacation or like in the movie "Minority Report," I just saw that movie, getting away from the bad guys.

Katie Linendoll, tech reporter, is here. Katie, I just saw that story and even the sounds from the iPhone and the iPad are in this movie. I think the movie was from 2001, which I found to be very interesting. Apple. OK. So -

KATIE LINENDOLL, TECH REPORTER: I know, Don, you just burned me because I've never seen "Minority Report." We've talked about this in the break. Throw me a bone here.

LEMON: Oh, yes. It's like the swipe and all. This was way before the iPhone and the iPad. I was like, hmm. So listen, honestly though, this week a blind man went through a fast-food drive-through and got his dry cleaning in a car that drove itself. That sounds amazing.

LINENDOLL: Yes. This is one of the most amazing stories of the tech week, so this particular project actually took place to celebrate a Google milestone. Google to date has actually successfully logged 200,000 miles from their self-driving cars. This project that you're seeing right here is undeniably the most epic in a mile and a half Steve Mahan, who is legally blind, he became the first none Google employee to take the hands on the wheel of a car that drives itself. And you're probably wondering, wow, is this legal? Totally legal. They worked in conjunction with the local police department. It was on a designated course, and understand that somebody was in the passenger seat at all times that could actually override the system should anything happen.

And I love that we're watching this video because you see that little thing on top of the car, and you're probably wondering, whoa, what kind of technologies are inside and outside the vehicle. The one on the top is actually a sensor. It looks at the car 360 degrees to spot anything within 200 feet on each side. There is also that video camera on the dash. That's going to look for traffic, that's going to look for traffic lights. It's going to look for pedestrians, joggers. Also, you punch in a route as soon as you get into the car, just like a GPS so it actually tells you where it's going, and then in the front and the back of the car, there's radar and sensors.

So yes, this car is fully equipped when we talk about technologies, but a blind man having the capability to not to rely on anybody else - he went to Taco Bell, he went to the cleaners - how cool is it that the future is already here?

LEMON: OK. So I know that there are cars - I know the Lexus can. I'm not sure about other cars that can actually parallel park for you, right? So that technology is available. But are there self-driving cars already on the road?

LINENDOLL: Yes, it's a good question. So most major manufacturers have been working on technology implementations to have semi autonomous to autonomous vehicles. GM actually noted that by the end of the decade they will probably hit retail. But let's take a snapshot of Google because they've been working on the self-driving car project since 2010. They actually have a fleet of Prisuses in California, and if you want to spot one of these self-driving cars, note that the best things to look for, that rotating thing on the rooftop that again is the sensor that look at the car 360, but also the red license plate is an indicator of a self-driving car.

And before you freak out, you're not going to see not anybody in the vehicle. Somebody has to be in the driver's seat at all times just in case of emergency if they need to override it. But Don, Nevada is the first state to approve self-driving cars. California likely next and a number of states will probably jump on pretty fast. The whole deal is to make cars more efficient, decrease crashes, and again in the instances like this with Steve, how awesome would it be if you had a setback to not to have to rely on anybody else. Pretty cool technology.

LEMON: You know what they say, Katie. The future is now. And boy, it certainly is. That is amazing. And so are you, Katie.

LINENDOLL: Yes.

LEMON: Thank you.

LINENDOLL: Thank you. LEMON: You know, we've been talking about the stories, our lead story tonight at 6:00, and discussing it a lot in the media. Now we're going to lay out the facts for you. The night Trayvon Martin died. So much has been said about it since the shooting happened more than a month ago. We're leaving the rhetoric behind, we're retracing the case for you from the very first 911 call after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: OK. Everyone, take your seats just for a few minutes and go with me on this. Watch this, because this is a story that no one can stop talking about, the shooting of Trayvon Martin. It seems like every day we learn about a new piece of the puzzle, and every day the outrage only seems to grow, and it can't be healthy for anyone if it boils over. But rather than allow the rhetoric to overshadow the facts of this case, we're going to step back and walk you through the night that Trayvon Martin was killed minute by minute.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON (voice-over): 7:11 p.m., February 26. A rainy night in Sanford, Florida. George Zimmerman called 911 to report a suspicious person in his neighborhood. That call would last four minutes.

GEORGE ZIMMERMAN: Hey, we've had some break-ins in our neighborhood and there's a real suspicious guy (INAUDIBLE). The best address I can give you is (INAUDIBLE). This guy looks like he's up to no good or he's on drugs or something. It's raining and he's just walking around looking about.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. And this guy, is he white, black or Hispanic?

ZIMMERMAN: He looks black.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you see what he was wearing?

ZIMMERMAN: Yes, a dark hoodie, like a gray hoodie and either jeans or sweat pants and white tennis shoes. He's here now. He's just staring.

LEMON: 7:12. Phone records show Trayvon Martin is on the phone with his girlfriend. 7:13, Zimmerman is giving the dispatcher directions when he says the subject took off.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you following him?

ZIMMERMAN: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. We don't need you to do that.

ZIMMERMAN: OK.

LEMON: 7:15. Zimmerman hangs up with 911.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. No problem. I'll let them know to call you when they're in the area. ZIMMERMAN: Thanks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're welcome.

LEMON: At the same time, at 7:15 p.m. Trayvon Martin's girlfriend tells ABC News she's still on the phone with him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He said this man was watching him. Trayvon said what you following me. Then the man said "what are you doing around here?" Then somebody pushed Trayvon cause the headset just fell.

LEMON: 7:16, the line goes dead. At about the same time, a neighbor's call to 911 reveals background screaming and then a gunshot.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you need police, fire or medical?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe both. I'm not sure. There's screaming outside.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. And is it a male or female?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It sounds like a male.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You don't know why?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know why. I think they're yelling help, but I don't know. Just send someone quick.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Does he look hurt to you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't see him. I don't want to go out there. I don't know what's going on.

They're sending.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So you think he's yelling help?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right. What is your -

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's gunshots.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You just heard gunshots?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How many?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just one.

LEMON: 7:17. Officer Timothy Smith, the first to arrive. And according to the partial police report, the officer says, "I was advised by the dispatch that the report of shots fired." And in the span of two minutes, Smith canvasses the scene, spots George Zimmerman wearing a red jacket and blue jeans, observes a black male wearing a gray hooded sweat shirt laying face down in the grass. He questions the man in the red jacket who admits to shooting the subject and still being armed. Secures a .9-millimeter gun and places the man in handcuffs. The officer observes man in handcuffs bleeding from the nose and the back of his head, according to the police report. All of these in about two minutes. The police report says a very tight time window according to senior law enforcement instructor Alex Manning.

ALEX MANNING, SR. INSTRUCTOR, STATE POLICE ACADEMY IN GEORGIA: You really want to know what happened in those couple of minutes. Were they still running? Was he walking around looking for Trayvon? Was Trayvon heading out of there? So in those two minutes you really don't know what exactly happened.

LEMON: 7:19. Two minutes after Smith, a second officer arrives, Ricardo Ayala, who observes Zimmerman already in Officer Smith's custody. Sometime between 7:19 and 7:30 Ayala says he tries to get a response from the subject on the ground. A sergeant arrives, checks a pulse. There is none. And both officers begin CPR. Another sergeant arrives and takes over chest compressions from Officer Ayala. The fire department arrives. Attempts to revive the subject.

And at 7:30, a paramedic pronounces the subject, Trayvon Martin, dead. Then the police report says Zimmerman is placed in the back of Officer Smith's patrol car and given first aid. But exactly when that happened is a matter of dispute. Criminal defense attorney Holly Hughes.

HOLLY HUGHES, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: We don't even know what time the EMTs arrived. If it took them five additional minutes to arrive, you're now down to five minutes for them to perform a complete medical examination on him. If he's in that bad of shape, they're not going to do something that takes five minutes. They're going to bandage him if he's got a gushing gash in the back of his head.

LEMON: The time stamp on this Sanford Police surveillance video shows Zimmerman and officers arriving at the station at 7:52. 35 minutes after the first officer arrived at the crime scene. The police station is a 15-minute drive away.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: I'm joined now be Alex Manning, a senior law enforcement instructor. Alex, we've heard from you in that report. So after hearing all of that, I'm going to ask you, do you see any discrepancies? What does this reveal to you?

MANNING: This reveals there was little, if any, medical attention given to George Zimmerman. If the paramedics were with Trayvon Martin until 7:30 when they pronounced him dead, according to my calculations I have taken about 14 to 15 minutes for them to get Zimmerman from the scene to the police station, I have them only attending to Mr. Zimmerman between 7:30, 7:38. About eight minutes to do an assessment, to treat him for any wounds. He wasn't injured that bad. LEMON: Wow. And as a law enforcement person, you are taking a stand and saying that you can't believe it's within that amount of time?

MANNING: I can't believe it. Unless I'm missing something. This is a partial report. But if I just look at what I have, eight minutes is the most time they spent treating Mr. Zimmerman.

LEMON: And then the police station is 15 minutes away.

MANNING: At least 15 minutes.

LEMON: Any problems with synchronicity, you think with the clocks? Maybe? You ever had that issue?

MANNING: Two, three minutes, maybe, at the max. Usually between the time in your patrol car videos, I'd like to see the time stamps on those, the cameras going in the back of the station and the CAD reports, maybe a minute or so. But we know for a fact 7:52, you do the different routes from the scene to the police station, it's probably between 12 and 14 minutes to get there no matter how you drive.

LEMON: And the cad report, explain what the cad report is that you're talking about. We saw a partial police report. Then there's a cad report which sort of lists what time everybody was dispatched and arrives.

MANNING: Right. It's a list. Every time the dispatcher relates something to the officer responding to the scene, he or she will log it into a computer aided dispatch machine. It keeps a running log of everything that's happening. Any time she sends remarks to the officers, it's in there.

LEMON: All right. Thank you, Alex. We appreciate that. Coming up, we're going to talk with our Holly Hughes about this. Much has been said. Was he profiled? Wasn't he profiled? What does his history tell you about it? Holly Hughes is here to weigh that and the legal consequences when we come right back.

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LEMON: All right. Far beyond the headlines, we look at the facts here. Just the facts. 911 calls made by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman over the past few years could have give us some valuable information. He had admitted to shooting unarmed Florida teen Trayvon Martin in self-defense.

Criminal defense attorney Holly Hughes is here. Holly, you know, this generated a big discussion in our newsroom, among our team. So the question is, there's no proof that there was - that there was racial profiling. That's what some say. Where's the proof? If you were trying to prove racial profiling, what would you do? How does that work?

HUGHES: I would do exactly what I do in court as a lawyer. Representing either side. I rely on evidence. I went back to 2005, pulled all the 911 calls and reviewed every single one of them that George Zimmerman made from 2005. We wanted to be relevant, Don. So I just have some statistics for you from 2010 and 2011. One time in 2011 George Zimmerman called 911 about a while male. One time. And that was only because a female said "I had a fight with this guy, would you call the police for me."

LEMON: OK.

HUGHES: He didn't go looking for that man himself, he let the police handle it.

LEMON: OK.

HUGHES: There was another call back in 2010 where it's listed as an anonymous male calling. But it's being attributed to George Zimmerman. So if we take that at face value he called one time in 2010 about a white male doing something that he thought was suspicious. And that involved an altercation with a female. So both times --

LEMON: 2010 and 2011?

HUGHES: Right. Once in 2010. Once in 2011. About white males. But both times, this is important to point out, involved actual something happening. There's a female saying this guy and I got into a fight. Again, this guy and I got into a fight. Interestingly enough when we turn to the times that he called on black males, that occurs five times between April of 2011 and February 2nd, which is the last call he makes about a black male prior to the shooting of Trayvon Martin. Five different times. And in each one of these reports, and let me be very clear, these reports come from the Sanford Police Department. This isn't something we generated here at CNN. These are legitimate C.A.D. reports, event reports that came from the police department.

And so in reading them over and processing the evidence, what I see is one in April of 2011. There is a seven to nine-year-old black male walking down the street and he's going toward the elementary school. He's on foot. But he's unsupervised. So he has called on him.

LEMON: 79-year-old. OK.

HUGHES: 79-year-old black male. Then on August 3rd of 2011 we have a black male who is just on foot in the neighborhood. OK? Eight-six, again, two black males again just on foot in the neighborhood. We go forward to October 1st. Two black males. Says they appear to be loitering.

LEMON: And then you have the other ones. Real quickly because we're running out of time here, this is an ethnically diverse neighborhood. So -

HUGHES: Right.

LEMON: If it's a mostly white neighborhood, what is a black person doing here. HUGHES: Exactly.

LEMON: This is not out of the ordinary.

HUGHES: It's very diverse. What we see is five calls on black males in the year 2000. Only one on a white male who's seen engaging in a crime. The five black male calls, nothing happening but walking in the neighborhood.

LEMON: So as a prosecutor just the facts, what would you deem from that?

HUGHES: I would say that that's racial profiling. That's based on the police reports from Sanford.

LEMON: Thank you.

HUGHES: Yes.

LEMON: Holly Hughes, appreciate it. Make sure you join us tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern here on CNN. Charles Blow from the "New York Times" joins me.

CNN PRESENTS: BULLYING SCARY GUY next.

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