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Obama Reignites GOP Loan Feud; Zimmerman Reenacts Shooting For Police; Kids Ruthlessly Bully Bus Monitor; Jobs Growth Stalled; Rescue Under Way On Mt. Hood; Singer Silences Ticking Syndrome; Dad Who Killed Daughter's Rapist Cleared; Syrian Pilot Defects In Fighter Jet; Report: CIA Involved In Syria Arms Flow; Large Chemical Spill At Public Pool; Sandusky Case Goes To The Jury

Aired June 21, 2012 - 14:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: In the hand of a jury. Closing arguments wrapping up as the defense and prosecution made their cases today. The former Penn State coach faces 48 counts, including the rape of children. The verdict, it could come down quickly. We're monitoring that for you from Pennsylvania.

Meantime, politics. Fresh from taking on the GOP over immigration policy, moments ago President Obama really stepping up pressure here on Republicans to renew a low-interest student loan program before it expires the first of July.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We've been talking about it for a long time. If Congress does not get this done in a week, the average student with federal student loans will rack up an additional thousand dollars in debt over the coming year. If Congress fails to act, more than 7 million students will suddenly be hit with the equivalent of a $1,000 tax hike. And that's not something that you can afford right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Perhaps you remember the battle from last month when Senate Republicans blocked a bill to extend those low rates. Their sticking point, really, how do you pay for this? Here's what I'm talking about. If Congress does not act before that deadline, as we mentioned, the first of July, interest rates on new government student loans, they're going to double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent. The president just wrapped up his remarks at the White House. I want to bring in chief White House correspondent Jessica Yellin.

And, you know, Jessica, the president pretty jovial sort of today with some of those students that he was, you know, standing right in front of. But, obviously, this is very serious stuff for a lot of these young folks. What was really the crux of what the president said today?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Brooke. Yes, he always seems to enjoy himself when he's around college -- college age kids, yes. BALDWIN: He does.

YELLIN: He essentially called this a concocted political standoff and called on Congress to get it done. And you heard him tie the student loan issue into the larger message he has been driving since late last year, linking it to helping the middle class get ahead. The bottom line here is, there is a stalemate. Both sides are playing, you know, politics here. But everyone essentially believes that this is going to get resolved because this is such a popular issue.

Brooke.

BALDWIN: So we're hoping it gets resolved, whichever side you're on. But the sticking points with the Republicans, as we mentioned, is, how do you pay for this? How do you keep the loans, you know, at the rate that they're at? What is the president proposing?

YELLIN: Well, right now, Democrats are working on a plan that would essentially increase certain pension payments and that would help raise the money. Republicans had initially proposed something that would have touched the affordable care act, which outraged the White House. Now they're offering a number of other proposals that include increasing the amount of money that federal workers would pay into their own pension. So, bottom line, there's this back and forth going on about the payments.

As I say, in the end, it's expected that there will be an agreement. Republicans on The Hill are fuming because they say, you know, the White House isn't negotiating with them. One thing we all know, Brooke, is that when the White House and congressional Republicans sit down to talk about raising revenue, these days it doesn't go so well.

BALDWIN: Doesn't go so well, does it? It doesn't go so well.

Add to this the fact that last week, huge news, you're all over this, that the president, you know, moved, along with the Department of Homeland Security, moved to end the deportation of students brought to the United States through no fault of their own. You know, coming over as young, young, young people. Now he's talking again about student loans here. I'm sensing a theme, the youth vote.

YELLIN: Yes. Right. So, big picture, the Obama campaign has been expending a lot of effort targeting key groups of potential supporters. As you point out, Latinos, also African-Americans, women, and then young voters. You see that the president doesn't have the youth wave that he had last time. But assuming that this student loan legislation does pass and this gets extended, you could expect the president to say in the campaign, for example, that he put this student loan issue on the front burner and that was one way he stood up for young voters. And that could be a rallying cry to help get more of the youth vote out and energized and on that campaign trail.

Brooke.

BALDWIN: Jessica Yellin, thank you very much. One of the most sought-after groups here, in addition to the youth group, as Jessica was just laying out, is Latinos here in this country. Right now in Florida, specifically, there's this huge showdown over those voters. It's playing out right now at the country's largest Latino convention. It's the gathering of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials. NALEO is the acronym. President Obama, he'll be speaking there tomorrow. Just one week after, we mentioned, pledging to stop deportation efforts against some young illegal immigrants who were brought to this country as young children. But, today, Mitt Romney, in fact, just wrapped up his speech to this very same group. Let's just play a little bit of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will prioritize efforts that strengthen legal immigration and make it more transparent and easier. And I'm going to address the problem of illegal immigration in a civil and resolute manner. We may not always agree, but when I make a promise to you, I will keep it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I do want to show you some numbers here. This is the latest Gallup poll. Against President Obama, 66 percent support among Hispanic voters. You see the number there for Romney, getting just 24 percent of the vote. Again, the latest poll.

Huge show in store for you. Watch.

A little girl cries as a molester attacks her. Then her dad comes to the rescue and kills the man. Now he's off the hook. The prosecutor behind the decision tells me why.

Plus, as we get word Syria's leader won't quit, a new report says the CIA is operating secretly with the men looking to take Bashar al Assad down.

And Usher joins me live on his effort to give all kids a chance.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: "You are going to die tonight." Some of the last words that George Zimmerman claims he heard from Trayvon Martin right before he fatally shot the unarmed 17-year-old back on February 26th. These new details from a slew of never-before-seen, never-before-heard videos and audiotapes made that night and the day after. An inside look at police questioning Zimmerman. And even a visit back to the scene, where Zimmerman reenacts the entire struggle, how it happened, he says, in the spot in which it happened. And all this adds up to the most detailed account yet of Zimmerman's side of the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE ZIMMERMAN: When I got to right about here, he yelled from behind me, to the side of me. He said, yo, you got a problem? I said, hey, man, I don't have a problem. And he goes, no, now you have a problem. And he punched me in the nose. At that point, I fell down.

He ended up on top of me and he just kept punching my face and my head and I was screaming for help.

He put his hand on his nose -- on my nose. And the other hand on my mouth. And he said, "shut the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) up."

I didn't know what he was hitting -- it felt like he was hitting me with bricks.

Each time I felt like my head was going to explode more than the last.

He said, "you're going to doe tonight, mother (EXPLETIVE DELETED)."

He says, "you're going to die tonight."

"You're going to die tonight, mother (EXPLETIVE DELETED)."

And I felt his hand go down on my side. And I thought he was going for my firearm.

I grabbed my gun and, I don't know if he did at the same time.

When I grabbed it and I just grabbed my firearm, and I shot him.

I just shot him and then he falls off and he's like, all right, you got it. You got it.

I didn't think I hit him. He sat up and he said, oh, you got me. You got it. You got me. You got it. Something like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So that is just a sampling of what you, Martin Savidge, have been sort of sifting through these videotapes, audiotapes.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just some of it (ph).

BALDWIN: It is -- I mean, again, just -- you know, it is obviously one side of the story, but it's quite a side.

SAVIDGE: Yes, it is. I mean -- and you could say that I've probably been covering this story too long and too deeply, but I find it all fascinating because it's in the words of George Zimmerman.

BALDWIN: Yes.

SAVIDGE: The time frame ins (ph). We're talking about those interviews were conducted either within, in some cases, just a couple of hours. And the visuals that you see, the video, that's 24 hours, from the time of the shooting. And it's -- it is so fresh, it's so raw. And, most of all, it's George Zimmerman giving his own account. As you say, one side of the account.

Let's listen to this chunk, which is of his walk-through that he gives authorities the day after he admits to killing Trayvon Martin in the subdivision. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZIMMERMAN: When I got to -- I pass here. I looked. I didn't see anything again. And I was walking back to my truck. And then when I got to right about here, he yelled from behind me, to the side of me. He said, "yo, you got a problem?" And I turn around and I said, no, I don't have a problem, man. And --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where -- where was he at, about?

ZIMMERMAN: He was about there, but he was walking towards me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. So he was coming this direction here?

ZIMMERMAN: Yes, sir, I believe -- like I said, I was already past that, so I didn't see exactly where he came from. But he was about where you are.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

ZIMMERMAN: And I said, "no, I don't have a problem." And I went to go grab my cell phone from my -- I had left it in a different pocket. And I went -- I looked down at my pants pocket and he said, "you got a problem now?" And then he was here and he punched me in the face.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right here? This spot?

ZIMMERMAN: Right up around here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

ZIMMERMAN: To be honest --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's fine.

ZIMMERMAN: I don't remember exactly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's fine.

ZIMMERMAN: I stumbled. And I fell down, he pushed me down, some how he got on top of me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the grass or on the cement?

ZIMMERMAN: It was over -- more over towards here. I think I was trying to push him away from me and then he got on top of me somewhere around here. And that's when I started screaming for help. I started screaming, "help, help," as loud as I could. And that is when he grabbed -- oh, I tried to sit up, and that's when he grabbed me by the head and tried to slam my head down. And -- UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were you -- (INAUDIBLE) this way --

ZIMMERMAN: No, my body was on the grass. My head was on the cement.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. So you both were facing this way?

ZIMMERMAN: Yes, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

ZIMMERMAN: That's the best as I could feel through my jacket, was I felt like my body was on the grass and my head was on the cement. And he just kept slamming and slamming. And I just -- I kept yelling, "help, help, help," as loud as I could. He put his hand on his nose -- on my nose and his other hand on my mouth, and he said, "shut the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) up." And I tried squirming again, because all I could think about was, when he was hitting my head against it, it felt like my head was going to explode. And I thought I was going to lose consciousness. So I tried to squirm so that I could get -- because he -- he only had a small portion of my head on the concrete, so I tried to squirm off the concrete.

And when I did that, somebody here opened the door, and I said, "help me! Help me!" And they said, I'll call 911. I said, "no! Help me! I need help." And I don't know what they did, but that's when my jacket moved up and I had my firearm on my right side hip. My jacket moved up, and he saw it. I feel like he saw it. He looked at it and he said, "you're going to die tonight, mother (EXPLETIVE DELETED)." And he reached for it, but he reached -- like I felt his arm going down to my side, and I grabbed it, and I just grabbed my firearm and I shot him one time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Just a couple of points. As you and I have been talking as we've been watching this, so he's saying there was someone feet away from him as this was happening. Number two, the fact that this happened -- this was the day after the killing of Trayvon Martin. This is before police even knew -- had IDed Trayvon Martin.

SAVIDGE: Right.

BALDWIN: And you noticed, having looked through so many of these tapes, sort of an interesting change in evolution of how police were questioning George Zimmerman.

SAVIDGE: Right, included in this whole document and video release is the interrogation several days later, a follow-up to George Zimmerman. And by then the authorities had determined who Trayvon Martin was. A 17-year-old youth, he had no criminal record, wasn't a punk, wasn't a problem, and he belonged in that neighborhood. You know, there was -- this was a totally innocent kid who was dead and the authorities began to realize, wow.

And you could tell that their questioning, their approach to George Zimmerman in the follow-up questions was a lot tougher. And they started getting into the issues of profiling.

BALDWIN: Interesting.

SAVIDGE: They started getting into the issues of, you know, why were you going after him, why were you pursuing him, you know. And George Zimmerman's responses remain the same. But the attitude of police was, they realized, this was big.

BALDWIN: This was a big deal. Martin Savidge, thank you so much for sharing some of that with us.

Just a quick programming note for all of you that George Zimmerman's lawyer, Mark O'Mara, will be joining Erin Burnett on "Erin Burnett Out Front" tonight, 7:00 Eastern. So don't miss that interview.

It is the other video that has everyone's blood boiling today. This grandmother bullied on a school bus by kids! Not only are you about to hear from her, I'm about to speak live with the person behind the push to raise her some cash.

But first, when is the last time you made something? A sculpture, a dress, a rocket? You are about to meet a man whose mission is to make more makers. Dale Dougherty says all of us were born makers, but he has made it his own business to actually get us working. This is "The Next List."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DALE DOUGHERTY: One of the things that happens in making is that we are gaining some control over the world we live in. This world is awfully complex and it's hard sometimes to figure out what are the building blocks? You know, how do you get going? How do you get started? You can have impact today. You can do things today. And encourage yourself to participate, to build things, and make things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I have said this on this show before, I'll say it again, you couldn't pay me enough money to go back to the seventh grade, because middle school kids, they can be the meanest people on the planet. You don't believe me? You will after you see this video. Sixty-eight-year-old Karen Klein is a bus monitor in western New York state. I want you to watch as she does her best to ignore these little snots as they cruelly berate her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Karen, you're fat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're so fat -- you take up like the whole entire seat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, no. Oh, my God, your glasses are so foggy from your freakin' sweat you fat (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She probably (EXPLETIVE DELETED) eats deodorant because she can't afford real food.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are we doing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your mom, oh wait, she's dead. Kinda like you in a few years you old (EXPLETIVE DELETED). If I stabbed you in the stomach and (EXPLETIVE DELETED) my knife would go through you like butter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Horrible! Kids can be so cruel! Millions, now, have seen that video and express their sympathies for Klein. She tells NBC, this should be a wake-up call for parents about what their kids are really like.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAREN KLEIN, BULLED SCHOOL BUS MONITOR: I'm sure they don't act that way at home, but you never know what they're going to do when they're out of the house. They should have been taught to respect their elders, no matter who it is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: There could be consequences for these kids, by the way. Police say they know every one of them who was involved. They're looking into possible charges. But there is one bright spot from all of this. Check this out. A website was set up for donations for Klein. The take so far, $251,000 -- you see the number, $251,000. Max Sidorov is the one who actually set up this website.

And, Max, why did you care enough to get involved? I understand you see a little bit of yourself in Miss Klein.

MAX SIDOROV, SET UP WEBSITE FOR BULLIED BUS MONITOR: Yes, I've been affected by bullying a little bit when I was growing up. So as soon as I saw the video, it struck a chord with me. I felt almost heartbroken, that I had to do something about it. So the best decision that I could have done at that point was set up a fund-raiser to get her away from that environment and get her on a vacation somewhere.

BALDWIN: I want to ask about this vacation plan that you're helping her with. But first, you know, when you first saw this video, Max, yesterday morning, what was your visceral reaction to these kids?

SIDOROV: I felt not so much the negative, I felt really sad for Karen. And I felt I had to do something to support her in this time. So the vacation for her would be great. So I set up a fund-raiser and went from there.

BALDWIN: But why money for a vacation? Why financial support?

SIDOROV: I don't know. I -- the first idea came to mind was a vacation. I had no idea that I was going to raise anywhere near this amount. I thought maybe a few thousand. Maybe send her somewhere nice. But this is enough to let her retire. So maybe she can even retire with this money.

BALDWIN: I know you had thought, maybe we'll raise something like $5,000. And as we mentioned, you know, so many people have seen this video, so many people are going on this website and giving you, as we saw the number there, $251,000. And I'm sure that will go up. You, Max, you've been in touch with Karen. You've been in touch with Karen. How is she? What is she saying about this crazy online effort? All this outpouring of support for her.

SIDOROV: Well, her sister got in touch with me and I haven't actually spoken to Karen just yet. But, obviously, they were very surprised and very thankful this is starting and this whole issue is getting some light on. And maybe with this support, public support, more light can be shed on the bullying issue, and this is just amazing if we can do that.

BALDWIN: Final question. Do we know yet where she wants to go on vaca?

SIDOROV: She's still thinking. I told her to give it a good thought. She still has about 30 days to think about it. I think she'll come up with a great idea where she wants to go. So, a very good opportunity. Thanks, everyone, for supporting her.

BALDWIN: Max Sidorov, I thank you so much. Maybe Anderson can ask her, because Anderson Cooper is going to be talking with Karen Klein one on one tonight. Watch "AC 360." That interview happening at 8:00 Eastern.

A Florida teenager could get 15 years in prison for his role in setting another teen on fire. Matthew Bent was convicted of aggravated battery for encouraging two friends to attack 15-year-old Michael Brewer. One boy poured alcohol on brewer and another set him on fire with a cigarette lighter. Brewer saved himself by jumping in a swimming pool. He testified in Bent's trial.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL BREWER, BURN VICTIM: I just remember a cold liquid going down my back and I started walking and I started feeling burning. I started running towards the pool and then I jumped a fence and dove into a swimming pool. I felt like I was going to die.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The other two boys pleaded no contest to attacking Brewer and are in prison. Both testified in Matthew Bent's trial.

And as the Dow -- we've been looking at this number, so look at this -- down 221 points. Tanking, obviously, on some weak manufacturing reports here. CNN's Ali Velshi is saying an economic storm could be coming. So we've been crunching some numbers here. And there is one stat that really stands out. And, sorry, folks, it's not a good sign.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BALDWIN: Right around this time yesterday, we brought you this dismal prediction on the job situation from Fed chairman Ben Bernanke.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN BERNANKE, CHAIRMAN, FEDERAL RESERVE: Based on the projections for economic growth, participants foresee slower progress in reducing unemployment than any did in April. Committee participants' projections for the unemployment rate in the fourth quarter of this year have a central tendency of 8.0 to 8.2 percent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Translation -- Bernanke and his pals at the fed's board of governors have all poured over this data. They don't see unemployment dropping below 8 percent for the rest of the year. That is the best-case scenario, 8 percent, from the fed board of governors.

Now, we are at 8.2 percent right now, you know that. And we're talking about a jobs picture that has really flatlined. That's not a good situation.

Alison Kosik, I want to go to you here. And before we talk about some of these public sector jobs and these layoffs, what about this triple-digit loss right now on the Dow? What's going on?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Pick your poison. You know what, Brooke, as we watch the Dow drop 210 points, you know what? We got a lot of bad economic news today.

Our retail manufacturing index plunged, jobless claims are kind of treading water at a high level. Issues about Spain are really upping the ante as far as the selling goes here on Wall Street and of course, Greece and Europe continue to weigh on the markets -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: As we keep our eyes on the Dow, some other numbers we've been looking at. Something that really stands out to us is the fact that private firms, they are doing some hiring, but it's being offset by these continuing layoffs we've been seeing from private sector employees. I'm talking teachers and firefighters and police. Why is that? What's happening?

KOSIK: Yes, and you're right about that. What's happened is that the recession caused huge declines in the amount of money that state and local governments actually take in. Look what governments did.

They took in less tax revenue because people lost jobs, businesses closed, people lost their homes, which means everybody's not paying their taxes like they used to. So what that did is that led to budget shortfalls and less spending cuts.

And guess what, when you cut spending, the chances are the money is coming directly out of someone's pocket. Look at this, since 2009, the public sector has lost over 700,000 jobs. That's huge. So, clearly, the public sector, Brooke, continues to drag on the jobs recovery today.

BALDWIN: And, you know, in addition to that, we were looking at this other report today that basically says that states this year, they're looking at a combined budget shortfall of $100 billion, give or take, and these states, unlike the fed, are actually trying to close the budget gap. So what you're talking about then is more layoffs, right?

KOSIK: Exactly. Exactly and here's why. Because unlike the federal government, Brooke, states actually are legally obligated to close those budget gaps and guess what, cutting jobs, it happens to be one of the fastest ways to do that.

But state and local budget cuts, they've got a ripple effect. Think about it, private government contractors, if they lose business, they have to lay off workers as well.

Ironically, the other way to close the gaps is to increase revenue, meaning raise taxes, which is highly unpopular, or increase the number of taxpayers that is just hard to bank on.

So each time local governments play somebody off, they lose that person's income tax. So what you see are these governments pretty much getting caught in this vicious cycle -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Yes, it's a domino effect. Alison Kosik, thank you so much, New York Stock Exchange for us.

A young boy bullied because he suffered attacks, attacks that made him sort of jerk around and cough and maybe sometimes scream. But now he's a young man, a former "American Idol" finalist, and he's telling his story to none other than Dr. Sanjay Gupta. And Dr. Gupta's going to join me live with his story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We've got some news here and we're looking at some tape. This is just moments ago. This is Mt. Hood. This is Oregon and there is a rescue underway. So here's the deal.

This climber has fallen about 800 feet. If you know Mt. Hood, this is the hogs back area. This happened this morning. Clackamas County dispatchers got this 911 call right about 9:30 Oregon time here.

And they are saying that these rescue crews, and you see them here, they are slowly making their way up the mountain to try to help and find the climber. We still don't know whether this climber is a he or she. We don't know his or her condition.

But we do know, according to this affiliate in Portland, KATU, that the climber did, in fact, survive the fall and we also know that this rescue team was actually on the mountain at the time and have now, possibly, reached the climber.

So we're keeping a close eye on this and as soon as we hopefully get some good news for you, we'll pass that along.

Meantime, James Durbin wowed fans -- wowed fans during Season 10 of "American Idol." And you might not know, he actually suffers from Tourette's and Asperger's syndromes.

And in this week's "Human Factor," Durbin tells CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, how he saw his symptoms disappear.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You lost your father at a pretty young age?

JAMES DURBIN, "AMERICAN IDOL" FINALIST: Yes, I was about 9 years old. He got into drugs, he was an alcoholic.

GUPTA: Shortly after your father passed away, you were also diagnosed with Tourette's and Asperger's syndrome.

DURBIN: I had had different facial tics and made different sounds and stuff growing up.

GUPTA: It sounds like a really rough, awful childhood, frankly. I mean, losing a parent, being bullied, and now being diagnosed. What does a 10-year-old James do?

DURBIN: There were things that I thought about doing.

GUPTA: You thought about taking your life?

DURBIN: Yes. It definitely crossed my mind.

GUPTA: You did find another way out, so to speak, of that darkness. And what was it that caused that?

DURBIN: It was music. It was music and theatre.

GUPTA: So let's say you're in a very stressful situation. What happens to you?

DURBIN: A lot of like, violent head shaking and sometimes like yelling and squeaking and barking and coughing.

GUPTA: When you're on stage, and obviously, lots of cameras and there's nowhere to hide, so to speak, at that point, so what do you do then?

DURBIN: I feel in control. Like something's going on and I'm on stage, and you're down there, and I'm up here, I'm OK.

GUPTA: Interesting.

DURBIN: There's nothing wrong. I can stand here the whole interview --

GUPTA: Just the physical act of being in that -- I mean, you're on stage, you're performing --

DURBIN: Having to be social on stage with someone, even though you're just playing a role, you have to have chemistry. So that opened up a whole new world to me.

GUPTA: You recently got married to the mother of your child. Tell me about Heidi.

DURBIN: She had dreams and goals and aspirations and I just looked at myself and said, I got to change, and thank God for her because she really helped me through it.

GUPTA: Thanks so much, really. Enjoyed it. Thank you.

DURBIN: Absolutely.

GUPTA: Appreciate it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: So interesting, Dr. Gupta. Just seeing your reaction, on your face, as he's jumping up on that chair, and the fact that he sang, you know, by being on stage helps him manage his symptoms.

GUPTA: It's a little -- yes, it's a bit counterintuitive, and you know, tics are completely involuntary. I don't know if you would pay attention to this, Brooke, he would cough every now and then, it almost seemed like he was sick.

But in fact, it was a tic that he had, and certain movements of his head. I mean, he's just learned how to compensate with these types of things. But you're absolutely right, being in a high pressure, high anxiety, high excitement situation like being on stage, usually makes people worse, but he says it helps him.

BALDWIN: Why?

GUPTA: He says it's because of the focus that he also has. Stage is a place where he's forced to focus. He's competing in "American Idol." He's, you know, performing in front of audiences. The focus overcompensates for the anxiety that he experiences.

BALDWIN: Dr. Gupta, see you back here next hour.

GUPTA: I'll be here.

BALDWIN: Quick reminder, you'll be back next hour talking about this in depth investigation into assisted suicides, the new Dr. Death.

And always, we like to remind people, you can get all kinds of Sanjay Gupta over the weekend. Watch "SANJAY GUPTA MD.," Saturday afternoon at 4:30 Eastern and Sunday mornings, 7:30 Eastern Time.

It is a case many of you have been talking about, that Texas father who killed the man, with his own bare hands here, because this man molested his daughter. We're going to talk to a woman behind the decision not to charge the father. Is she right on this? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Today, I'm going to talk to the woman who handled that case that I know so many of you have been talking about, certainly we have on this show.

This young father from Texas who did probably what a lot of fathers would have done in this same situation. He rescued his little girl from a rapist by beating the man to death with his bare hands.

Just this week, a grand jury decided not to charge the father with any crime. Heather McMinn is the district attorney who presented this case to the grand jury.

And Heather, first, have you ever seen a case like this the before in your jurisdiction?

HEATHER MCMINN, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, LAVACA COUNTY, TEXAS: Not to this extreme. We've had cases of self-defense, but nothing this cut and dry.

BALDWIN: Was it clear to you -- and just like that, we lose her. So let's go to this.

As we get word, Syria's leader will not quit. A new report says the CIA is operating secretly with the men looking to take down Bashar Al-Assad.

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BALDWIN: Well, live TV can be kind of fun, can't it? So we do have Heather McMinn. She is back up for us in Texas again. She is the D.A. who presented this case to the grand jury involving this father who ultimately killed the man who he says was sexually assaulting his little girl.

Back to you, you were saying that you really had never seen any case quite to this extreme before in your tenure. Was it clear to you, Heather, that from the start that this was a case of justifiable homicide?

MCMINN: From the beginning, we thought that the case was justified, that the use of deadly force was justified, because the father caught him in the act of committing sexual assault.

But the Texas Rangers in the Lavaca County's Sheriff's Department wanted to make sure that a thorough investigation was done to make sure that that in fact was what was occurring at the time that the attack occurred.

BALDWIN: So then what evidence were you able to give the grand jury who ultimately ruled that this guy doesn't have to face any charges?

MCMINN: One of the things that was most showing to us and most telling was the 911 call that the father made. The father was very emotional and he was trying to get assistance for the man who just attacked his daughter.

That was something that we thought was very important in showing his emotion at the time. In addition to that, the family also tried to provide CPR and some life-saving measures to the perpetrator.

In addition, the little girl did sustain a lot of physical injuries that substantiated what the father and what witnesses had said that they'd seen.

BALDWIN: So it really was the 911 call, it sounds like, was that really sort of crucial piece of evidence. We're talking Texas specifically, but is this definition of justifiable homicide, Heather, is it unique to Texas?

I know people are watching in other states thinking, can parents elsewhere look at this decision here and expect to be vindicated if they ever, heaven forbid, find themselves in a similar situation.

MCMINN: Sure, I think each jurisdiction is different. In Texas, as in many states, you are allowed to use deadly force in order to stop a sexual assault.

It is not -- it wasn't because he sexually assaulted his daughter that he was attacked. It was because he was in the process of doing the sexual assault.

And the father was absolutely justified in using lethal force to stop that. And I think that, in many states, that it would be ruled justified under these exact circumstances.

BALDWIN: In Texas, it's a law, on the books. District Attorney Heather McMinn, thank you.

We have taken in some new video, savage fighting in Syria. And it's relevant to something we're about to talk a little bit more about today. Something we're hearing.

First, I want to play some of the video and then we'll fill you in on this report on arming the rebels in Syria. First, watch this.

So what you're looking at here, this is actually shot yesterday. This was Syria, and as we mentioned, it is truly savage fighting. These are Syrian rebels armed with automatic weapons and we see a man firing rocket-propelled grenades.

So here's the deal today. "The New York Times" is reporting that the CIA has began to play a role in the flow of arms to these rebels in Syria. It says a small team of agents are steering weapons across the Turkish border.

But here's the key part, "The Times" says that these weapons are not being provided by the U.S. government, they're being provided by someone else, and then the role of the CIA is to funnel tomorrows to the right people. We here at CNN, we're trying to confirm that report as I speak.

Meantime, a sign of possible cracks within the Assad regime. CNN's Arwa Damon is in Beirut to tell us about this the pretty tremendous defection -- Arwa.

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Most certainly was bold, Brooke, a fighter jet pilot defecting during a training mission earlier this morning.

He flew his fighter jet into Jordan and then asked to be allowed to conduct an emergency landing. He was allowed to do so. And then he asked and received political asylum from the Jordanian government.

This is, of course, just a single isolated incident at the state, but this particular fighter pilot was a colonel and could potentially be the resource of some pretty valuable information. Some insight into the exact size and capability of Assad's air force, and potentially, about what he intends or how he intends to use it against members of the opposition -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: And also, just speaking to the timing here, this defection, Arwa, it's interesting timing, because we know that just yesterday, U.S. Ambassador Robert Ford issued a warning of sorts, via Facebook, to the Syrian Armed Forces.

Let me just read some of that. Ford says, quote, "Members of the Syrian military should reconsider their support for a regime that is losing the battle."

He goes on, "do they want to expose themselves to criminal prosecution by supporting the barbaric actions of the Assad regime against the Syrian people?"

So, you know, clearly, the U.S. trying to stir things up, encourage defections, just as the one that you were just reporting on by this particular pilot. Is there any way, though, to really no how effective that might be?

DAMON: At this stage, no. And it's always been quite difficult to track exactly how many individuals have defected. The numbers of the Free Syrian Army, this rebel fighting force, do vary greatly.

But we are seeing defections by the day. We are seeing the Free Syrian Army growing in numbers, their attacks growing even bolder. They're going directly now and attacking Syrian military bases, at times causing devastating casualties.

They are becoming more sophisticated in their tactics as well, and we're really seeing this morphing into something of an insurgency against the Syrian regime at the stage.

Of course, as you were mentioning earlier, the great concern for the U.S. is exactly who are these individuals who are potentially fighting?

America wants to make certain that they are not members of extremist organizations like al Qaeda -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Arwa Damon, thank you.

Just into us here at CNN, we are getting word of a chemical spill at a public pool. That's just coming in. We're making calls and we're going to get some details on that for you.

Also, right this moment, a jury is deciding the fate of Jerry Sandusky. We are awaiting a verdict now. Folks, this is in the hands of the jury. Stay right here.

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BALDWIN: It's summertime, it's hot, kids want to head to the pool, but there's a bit of a problem right now. This particular public aquatic center here in Indianapolis. Take a look at this.

You're looking at firefighters and hazmat teams on the scene of this pool. Why, you ask? We now have learned there has been some kind of large chemical spill at the Garfield Park Aquatic Center. This is in Indianapolis.

Because of this, with we now know that 10 kids were headed to the hospital. Also one adult headed to the hospital. You see a couple of kids roaming around here.

We also are hearing according to our affiliate there that more kids could be en route to the hospital because of injuries suffered, because, as we have now learned, the cause of this, apparently, it was a pool cleaner, some sort of chemical pool cleaner that the kids got a hold of, and somehow it spilled, and now we have a bunch of kids in the hospital.

So this is what's happening right now in Indianapolis. You see all the flashing lights, huge, huge response there on the scene. As soon as we get more, we'll pass it along.

Now to Pennsylvania here, the fate of former football coach Jerry Sandusky now sitting with the jurors. Attorneys at Sandusky's child molestation trial wrapped up their closing arguments just last hour.

But before they began those arguments with, the judge made this surprise announcement. Three child molestation counts against the former Penn State assistant football coach have now been dropped. Keep in mind, he still faces 48 counts.