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Jury Continues Deliberation in George Zimmerman Trial; Gas Prices Set to Rise; Restaurant Features Hugs by Owner; Memento Found in Debris of Super-Storm Sandy

Aired July 13, 2013 - 10:00   ET

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

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and welcome to CNN's continuing coverage on verdict watch here for George Zimmerman. You're looking at live pictures of the courthouse in Sanford, Florida. That's where the jury is trying to agree on George Zimmerman's fate. The jury has been deliberating just over four-and-a-half hours. So we'll be taking it to you.

This is our special coverage, of course. The Zimmerman trial, CNN has been following this from the beginning, officially on day two of verdict watch. Good morning to everybody. I'm Chris Cuomo.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. I'm Kate Bolduan. Thank you so much for starting your day with us. Welcome to our viewers all over the country.

CUOMO: They are hard at work. They started at 9:00 this morning. Last night they ended it at 6:00. Their task is obvious. They're trying to reach a verdict in a trial that's been followed by millions around the world. Remember, the jurors are trying to digest 14 days of testimony and arguments. Here are the possible outcomes.

BOLDUAN: Zimmerman -- number one, Zimmerman could be found guilty of second-degree murder. That's what he was charged with from the beginning. But he could also be convicted on a lesser charge of manslaughter. This was added later in the trial when they were starting to discuss what the jury would be instructed to consider, or, of course, he could be found not guilty of anything.

Now, if the jury cannot reach a unanimous decision, we are talking about a hung jury, and that means a mistrial will be declared. A lot of pressure on these jurors, these six women looking to figure what is the fate of George Zimmerman.

But let's go now to George Howell who is live outside the courthouse in Sanford, Florida, as you have been from the beginning, George. So we were talking about -- we're on verdict watch at the moment, but the jury to this point has really only made one request. That's the only thing we've heard from them since they've gone behind closed doors, which is they wanted a list of the exhibits that have been displayed throughout the trial. What more are we learning about what the jury is considering and what are you watching for this morning?

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, good morning. So the first thing when this jury came into the courtroom, we understand that they looked straight ahead. They did not look at George Zimmerman, did not look at the prosecutors or defense attorneys. They looked straight ahead at the judge, answered the questions directly, and then went right back into deliberations. Again, you know, we know this jury could take some time, could come down today this verdict. We're just going to have to watch and wait.

But, you know, their decision, it all comes down to this. I want to read this to you. It comes from the instructions that the judge gave to the jury. This line from the instructions very important "A person is justified in using deadly force if he reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself." That's his one way out of this to get away from the arm charge of manslaughter or second-degree murder.

BOLDUAN: Real quickly, George, for our viewers, we learned a lot about the jurors, as much as we can, throughout this process. Get us up to speed on what we know about the jury because they are where the focus is today.

HOWELL: Absolutely. A jury of six women, we know the alternates have all been dismissed, so we're talking about a jury of six women at this point that will make that decision.

Let me tell you a little bit about their professions. We know some information about that. One is a certified nursing assistant. One owns a construction company with a spouse. One is a former chiropractor, another a retired from real estate and a former financial services worker.

And we also have some information, Kate, about these jurors when it comes to weapons. One has a family member who owns firearms. One used to carry a concealed weapons permit. And another, her husband has a handgun, her son owns a rifle. So this jury is, you know, for some of these women are well-versed and understand what it means to own and carry a firearm. They also, you know, spent time listening to all the evidence in this case and they will apply their own knowledge, also the evidence, the facts they learned in this case to make a decision on George Zimmerman.

BOLDUAN: All right, George. We'll be coming back to you throughout the morning. Thanks so much. Keep an eye out for us.

The big question is no one knows, you can't get in the mind of the jurors, what really stuck with them, what witness had the biggest impact on them. No one will know until after we hear the verdict.

CUOMO: You look at everything through the eyes of who you are. Jurors are exactly that. What we know, what's unusual for people is that there are six jurors. But ha that is not unusual in Florida. If it's a non-death penalty case the jurors on the trials are six, so that makes sense. All female is unusual. But, remember, this was the process of debate between prosecutors and defense attorneys and this is who they agreed on collectively. This may be the most important thing, and we have talked about some of them have exposure to gun culture, but moms, OK? Over half of them are mothers, and that is very big for prosecutors here. They pushed on that from the beginning about who Trayvon Martin was, what he represented --

BOLDUAN: And you could sense it in the closing for sure.

CUOMO: Absolutely.

BOLDUAN: Playing on emotion. It's a strategy.

CUOMO: And dads can be parents, too, obviously by definition, but it is a distinguishing characteristic here. And the jury has a lot of information. That's why they asked for the exhibit list. I'm an attorney. That gives you a window into is they're going to do this methodically. They have 200 pieces of evidence of the exhibits. Shortly thereafter they adjourned for the night. And what that tells you is that they're going to take this very carefully. They have a lot to deal with here. They're going to be serious, and that's what we want to know.

Let's bring in our legal analyst now. We have a whole great team joining us right now. We have Sunny Hostin who is not just a legal analyst, she's a former prosecutor, and we have criminal defense attorney Mark Nejame. Thank you very much for both of you being here. We're talking about the exhibit list, and not unusual for them to ask for these kinds of things. But, Sunny, starting with you, when you hear that kind of request, when you see that they adjourned and they started to take themselves seriously and look for process, what is that a window into for you?

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It definitely is a window into the type of jury this is, but we already have an indication of the type of jury this is. I have been in the courtroom every single day, Chris. This jury is very methodical. They are taking notes copiously, furiously even with every single witness. And those notes are going to go back with them into the jury room.

So, you know, different juries have a different process. Some juries take a vote flat out when they first start, and then, of course, there are some jury that is go in there and say, Ok, we shouldn't take a vote until we have reviewed every piece of evidence, and that seems to be this type of jury. They asked for the inventory list. They've now started -- they've been deliberating over four hours, and so, you know, for those that were saying this is going to be a quick verdict, I never thought that because this jury is just not that type of jury.

BOLDUAN: And, Mark, one of the strategic decisions made towards the end of the trial for the defense was not having George Zimmerman take the stand, and he also said that he had made that decision as well though Mark O'Mara acknowledged George wanted to take the stand at one point. Do you think the jury is left wanting for the fact that they did not hear directly from George Zimmerman from the stand?

MARK NEJAME, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It's always a question as a defense attorney, although the jury is instructed don't pay attention to it, one does not have to give up their Fifth Amendment right. There's always that lingering issue that's above you that you wonder should you have the client take the stand? In this particular case, I think it's uniformly agreed upon by most analysts and definitely by me that it would have been a disaster for him to take the stand. He's already had enough inconsistencies with the various statements he made, and this is an excellent prosecution team, and I think it would have just been a dream for them to have gotten George Zimmerman on the stand.

And on top of it with this particular case, you have, which is so rare, a true, live reenactment by him driving law enforcement through the complex, and he was on "The Hannity Show." So they got a chance to see his personality from his best side and why take a chance of dirtying it up.

CUOMO: That's the key. One of the things we're ignoring is he kind of did testify. He gave this big inclusive interview with prosecutors the day after the event before he had been lawyered up. It was hours long at the crime scene. This is so unusual.

HOSTIN: And the prosecution, they can't then cross-examine that even though you're hearing directly from him. It's a great strategy for the defense.

CUOMO: It was a big gamble going in. The defense counsel in his closing to Mark's point said, he quoted John Adams, right? He was saying you don't want to deny us our personal liberties. He was trying to remind people that we don't have to testify here. The defense kind of had it both ways, Sunny. They said we're not going to put it on his stand because that's his right but they had the statement that the prosecution put into the case where Zimmerman got to tell his story without cross-examination. Not a bad deal for him. True enough?

HOSTIN: Not a bad deal for him, but let's remember Conrad Murray got the same deal. He never got on the witness stand, but his interview with detectives was played over and over again in the courtroom, and he was convicted.

I have got to tell you, you know, I think there were so many inconsistencies that were highlighted by the prosecution and the prosecution's closing rebuttal argument that were pretty stark and obvious that they were maybe more than inconsistencies and perhaps lies. That was the implication and inference the prosecution drew and I think that's a difficult hurdle for the defense to get over.

In fact in the defense closing argument, they didn't really go into it and address those inconsistencies. Mark O'Mara, who is a terrific attorney, basically said he said things a little differently, and then kind of moved on. I think that's pretty dangerous, because a jury like this that asks for the exhibit list, you best be sure that they're going to listen to all of these statements and probably compare and contrast them.

NEJAME: Could I bounce off of that a little bit? The situation that the defense was faced with is clearly that was the prosecution -- a big part of the prosecution's case, to lay each statement upon the next to show all the inconsistencies. I think the defense did not want to re-emphasize that with their closing argument, and they wanted to simply rely on Detective Serino, the lead investigator in this case, who said I saw no substantial discrepancies in the various statements. That's pretty powerful when you have the lead investigator on a homicide case saying, no, I think the defendant gave pretty consistent statements.

Do you take a risk of highlighting them when the prosecutor has already said that? Or do you say, look, the investigators said they were consistent?

BOLDUAN: We have much more to talk through as we continue to wait and watch the Sanford courthouse as the jury is deliberating. We'll be back with you both, Mark Nejame, Sunny Hostin, thank you so much. We'll talk with you in a bit.

Another story we are watching is NSA leaker Edward Snowden. He spoke out for first time since he's been holed up in a Russian airport. He said yesterday he does not regret leaking secret details about the NSA surveillance programs. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EDWARD SNOWDEN, NSA LEAKER: A little over one month ago I had a family, a home in paradise, and I lived in great comfort. I also had the capability to search for, seize, and read your communications, anyone's communications at any time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Snowden also accepted offers for asylum from countries including Venezuela and Bolivia, but he said that he can't get anywhere because of the threats from the United States. So he is now requesting temporary asylum in Russia. Elise Labott is live joining us from the State Department this morning. Elise, what are we learning about how the White House is responding to this latest volley?

ELISE LABOTT, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Kate, obviously, they don't want Edward Snowden talking out, but what they're really mad about is that the Russians helped facilitate this press conference in the transit area of the airport. What Russia said is it was neutral, that he was in transit and they couldn't do anything. Obviously these human rights activists he met with and these cameras couldn't have got in without full Russian acquiescence. And what the U.S. is really mad about is they say that they gave -- the Russians gave Edward Snowden is propaganda platform, and also officials are telling me they're treating him already as if he has asylum by giving him access to these human rights groups.

BOLDUAN: Thanks so much, Elise.

CUOMO: We're obviously here on verdict watch in the George Zimmerman trial. A lot of other news also. We'll be updating you as we go through the hours. The big question in that trial, though, is what's the jury going to do? We're all listening and waiting, and as soon as we get a verdict we'll give it to you. Coming up, a look at the possible outcomes and the lawyers who gave those close arguments, fundamental to the case, when we come back. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This isn't a complicated case. It's a common sense case. And it's not a case about self-defense. It's a case about self- denial, George Zimmerman.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK O'MARA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: So you will fill in the gaps when you're not supposed to. You will make the assumptions, some of which the state asked you to do, you will do that, because, you know what, it's natural. It is very natural. But not in a criminal courtroom, it is not only unnatural, it is inappropriate.

JOHN GUY, PROSECUTOR: There's only two people on this earth who know what really happened, and one of them can't testify, and the other one lied.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Now, the jury had a day to think about the prosecution's closing, then heard the defense and the prosecution's -- prosecution back-to-back yesterday, and then after getting their legal rule book, which as I will admit and everyone will admit very confusing, they then took the case and it's now in their hands, and they're about to hit hour five in their deliberations. And we are here ready, of course, for the moment that we do get a verdict.

CUOMO: One of the things that we do when we wait is analyze. Take a look at what the potentials are from what we know about the universe of facts. Let's bring in criminal defense attorney Page Pate and Florida state attorney Stacey Honowitz. We were just listening to the clip of the prosecutor there where he was saying only two people know what happened that night, one of them can't testify and the other one is a liar. What was not in the statement is, and I have proved to you we know what happened that night.

Stacey, let's start with that. The prosecutor here to me sounds a lot like a defense attorney, kind of spreading doubt about what Zimmerman said as opposed to making his own case. You tell me how did it play?

STACEY HONOWITZ, FLORIDA SUPERVISING PROSECUTOR: Well, listen, there were brilliant points made on both sides, but as a prosecutor you do want to stand up and say I have proven every element to you beyond to the exclusion of every reasonable doubt. And you did not hear that. You heard a lot play on emotion, which is also something that The prosecutor wants to do. They want to tug at the heartstrings. You have mothers on this panel, all women on this panel.

That's not to say that that's the reason you find the defendant guilty in a case. And I think it was something the defense needs to do in their side. I think they knew the prosecutor was going to play on emotions. They knew the prosecutor was going to try to get these women into their grasp and say, it could have been your son. That's exactly what they were trying to say.

And so I think the defense could have hammered that emotion and sympathy as in the jury instructions cannot play a role in your deliberations. I think that's something they missed on that they should have hammered on.

BOLDUAN: Just sticking with the closing arguments, there were two distinct approaches, not only in delivery but really kind of the themes they kept hitting on. You heard from the prosecutors. They kept talking about focusing on your common sense. Does this sound OK if you're just relying on common sense? But when you hear from Mark O'Mara and the defense, he focused on don't make assumptions. Follow the evidence and what you know that has been presented to you. Do you think these are two effective strategies? Do you think one plays better than the other in general?

PAGE PATE, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, in this case I think the defense used the strategy they had to use because in this case their best argument is that the state has not met their burden of proof. So if I'm Mr. O'Mara, I'm going to bring out the jury charges, bring out the chart that shows how much the state has to prove before you can find Mr. Zimmerman guilty. I'm going to take the approach he took.

Now, if I'm the prosecutor, I will take the opposite approach. I will say ignore the law for a second and do what's right. He didn't come out and say that, but that's what he's suggesting to the jury. This is an important event. You are asked to sit in judgment of Mr. Zimmerman, and you are the only people that can speak for Trayvon Martin.

CUOMO: If you had to speculate, which is exactly what you have to do right now, you know the record. We don't know how the jurors will weigh it. Do you believe there's a better chance if there's a conviction of it being second-degree murder or manslaughter, Stacey?

HONOWITZ: Well, in my opinion, quite honestly, I think they're going to be hung. I just don't think they're going to be able to make a decision. If I had to go the route, I would go the route of manslaughter. Murder two a difficult case to prove. They have to basically say he had ill will, he had spite, he profiled this person. So the bottom line is in my opinion, I think the decision will be very difficult. If you're asking me if it's murder two or manslaughter, I would go with manslaughter.

BOLDUAN: What do you think, real quick?

PATE: No way murder two and also I don't think it will be a hung jury. It's only a six-person jury. They've been fairly close. They have been sequestered. I think it will be not guilty across the board.

CUOMO: Often -- both of you are very experienced and you both know this, the reason Stacey is saying something that's a little more ambitious is usually when they can't come to a decision they go not guilty because it speaks to not having enough to go on. To be hung, somebody has to feel very convicted, excuse the pun, about their belief. BOLDUAN: And I wonder the difference in impact on each juror, that there is six, not 12, kind of the pressure of kind of group think, if you will. We'll talk about that in a little bit. You guys don't go anywhere. We've got a lot more coming up. We'll focus in on George Zimmerman's injuries that played a very big part in the trial and what they prove or don't prove, what they show, don't show. This is verdict watch for the Zimmerman trial. We're going to be watching it closely.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Here is the situation as we understand it. You're looking at live pictures of Sanford, Florida, there. The jury is working today 9:00 to 5:00. They're deliberating right now, and the job is obviously, to iron out a verdict for George Zimmerman. We are monitoring throughout the morning. We'll be doing an analysis of what is going on and what matters to this jury, and as soon as we get word of a verdict, we will bring it to you.

BOLDUAN: And of course throughout the trials there are grassy areas around the courthouse, and you're seeing there have been some demonstrators that have been coming throughout the trial, and, of course, as it's coming to the close, more people showing up. As everyone a hoping, the verdict will happen and nothing else will happen.

CUOMO: It's been light so far. There's more media than anyone else, and that's a good sign because we have to respect the system. But a lot of other news as well.

BOLDUAN: A lot of news. A big story continues to be out of San Francisco right now, where a third person has now died from her injuries in the crash of Asiana flight 214. She had been in critical condition for nearly a week at a Bay Area hospital. Now the investigation into last week's crash continues as the sad news is brought forward. For more on everything going on with the crash and the investigation, let's go to Stephanie Elam, who has been following this story so closely. Stephanie, I think the most important thing before we get to the investigation, what are we learn being this latest passenger who we now know has died?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, I can tell you we know that it is a young girl. We don't know her age or much more about that because her parents have asked that her name be withheld at this time. We just know she was one of the patients at San Francisco General Hospital, that she did pass on.

One other thing I want to let you know about is we do know now that in the response to the plane being on fire a week ago today, that a fire truck did hit one of the two 16-year-old girls that were confirmed dead on Saturday. What we don't know if she died because of that or because of the plane crash. Investigators are still looking into that, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Investigators, of course, still looking into the cause, if it was human error, mechanical error, a combination of the two. Have they given us any time line of when they think we will have a final answer of what they think caused this crash?

ELAM: Well, they're saying it could take about a year but they're making this a priority to figure out exactly what went wrong with this. One thing I should also mention, the reason why fire officials saying they didn't see the girl on the tarmac is because she was covered in foam which they were using to put out the fire. So that's one thing I want to clarify there, but it's going to take a while before we really know what happened, Kate.

BOLDUAN: It's such a tragic, tragic ending of that crash. But the investigation continues and we will continue to follow it. Stephanie Elam in San Francisco for us, thanks so much, Stephanie.

CUOMO: Just a few minutes before 10:30 eastern and we are on verdict watch in the George Zimmerman trial, his fate in the hands of the jury.

BOLDUAN: Coming up, a look at the lawyers' closing arguments. We'll examine the points they made and who may have made the best case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

O'MARA: Had Trayvon Martin been shot through the hip and survived, what do you think he would have been charged with? Aggravated battery two counts?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: You're looking right now at live pictures of the courthouse in Sanford, Florida. That's where the jury is trying to agree, trying to figure out what to do about this George Zimmerman trial and what to do with George Zimmerman's fate really.

CUOMO: Welcome to our special coverage of the trial. We're on day two of the verdict watch. I'm Chris Cuomo.

BOLDUAN: I'm Kate Bolduan. Thank you so much for starting your day with us. This trial has grabbed everyone's attention every step of the way, and closing arguments were no different.

CUOMO: That's right. The defense yesterday was visual and a little provocative. At one point Mark O'Mara took a big piece of cement, carried it laboriously, throws it across the courtroom, very dramatic, especially if the jurors weren't use to this kind of action. Why? He's trying to make the point that cement could be a weapon. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK O'MARA, DEFENSE LAWYER: That is not an unarmed teenager with nothing but Skittles trying to get home. This is an undeniable. This is significant injury.

BERNIE DE LA RIONDA, PROSECUTOR: The defense is going to parade the photographs of the injuries. I don't think I need to show you the one photo that counts, do I? The ME photo? Who suffered the most serious injury of all?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: We're joined once again by Page Pate and Stacey Onowicz. Page, let's start with you. Their closing arguments were fascinating in so many ways. Everyone is wondering whose argument was more effective. I'm talking about whose argument was more effective for the television viewing audience? So whose argument was the most effective for the jurors? What do you think will be the lasting impact, that lasting piece of argument, evidence, the emotion, any of it that's going to come from these closing arguments that will have an impact on the jurors? Which do you think?

PATE: That's a big question. Obviously it's an important question, but a lot of people don't recognize that lawyers usually do not expect to persuade jurors of their position in closing arguments. You hope by that time in the case that you already have a few jurors who support you, and what you're doing in closing arguments is giving your supporters good arguments to take back with them to the jury room to convince anyone who is on the other side. I think both sides laid out their respective arguments fairly well. I think the defense had to focus on the law, focus on the burden, and the state had to focus on emotion.

CUOMO: Stacey, when you're watching that, it's interesting. It wasn't too present in the case-in-chief in the main cases that were brought themselves about this cement. They talked about injuries but not cement. What did you think of this last-ditch effort by the defense to say, by the way, when you go back into a room, this was a weapon. Trayvon Martin was trying to kill George Zimmerman, and here was his weapon. What do you think about that strategically?

HONOWITZ: I disagree with one thing. I think cases can be won or lost in closing argument, and I think it's because you need to hammer home the points that maybe they have forgotten during a lengthy trial.

I think it was a nice piece of demonstrative evidence to show them this cement block. But I don't think it matched up, quite frankly, with the injuries that George Zimmerman suffered, and that's what the state was trying to argue. You can think this is a weapon. You can think he suffered severe injury. When you wipe the blood away and all is said and done, he didn't have to go to the hospital. He didn't have to have the cat scan. He didn't choose to get stitches. So do the injuries really match up with the weapon the defense is trying to show you was causing serious bodily injury? I think that's what the jurors have to think about, are the injuries significant. Then again, the jury instructions talk differently. It's what's in the mind of the defendant. Did he think he was suffering from serious bodily injury? It really can go either way.

CUOMO: One of the things on Stacey's point is in the jury instructions, one of the things put in the rule book for jurors is if you're being attacked with a weapon, with a weapon, it helps feed the analysis you need to protect your own life, something that didn't come up. Remember the dummy, the demonstration, they both used it? Early on the description of the injuries of Zimmerman's head was explained by someone grabbing his head and there were doctors saying how you could see someone had been grabbing his head and that was the defense approach.

Then when they used a dummy, they both grabbed the shoulders of the dummy. I wanted to bring that to you guys, Page and Stacey. During the demos both lawyers grabbed the dummy by the shoulders and said doing this. Here is O'Mara. Watch where he grabs. He's by the neck and shoulders, bang, bang, bang. That was different than what was discussed.

And a lot of ground fighters reached out to me during the trial saying I would never sit up straight on top of somebody like that. I would never grab him around the shoulders. I would be grabbing his head. So the question to you two is did you think it was at all interesting there seemed to be a little bit of a difference here, a little bit of a difference in analysis from what was said at trial to what was then put forward in the closing?

PATE: I certainly agree with you. I think the demonstration was not entirely consistent with the evidence. But I think the point was just to use the drama of the dummy and to captivate the jury. I don't think they were paying attention to exactly where the lawyers' hands were. I think they were fascinated by the idea they're watching what could have actually happened that evening.

BOLDUAN: And, Stacey, do you think -- go ahead.

HONOWITZ: I was going to say I agree with that. Using that kind of aid, certainly jurors love a visual. They're trying to imagine in their head. If a lawyer gets down and has a dummy beneath them, they can kind of get a visual. But they've been taking copious notes. That might be something they're back there debating about. That's not the evidence we heard or we heard from the stand yet the lawyer is doing something different. So all of these play a role in the deliberations.

BOLDUAN: All right, Page, Stacey, thanks so much. We'll be back with you throughout the coming hours. Again, to remind everyone, we're waiting and watching as the jury deliberates on the fate of George Zimmerman as this trial has wrapped up.

CUOMO: And we're talking about how the defense attorney, what decisions he made and why, and we're not talking about it blindly. Fortunately, CNN's Martin Savidge got a chance to sit down with George Zimmerman's attorney Mark O'Mara for a one-on-one interview. It lasted 50 minutes. He asked about what was going on in trial, but also about what this could mean. And one of the things they discussed was if George Zimmerman is exonerated, if he's acquitted, if this case ends favorably for him, what may happen. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do you think that George Zimmerman, your client, if he's acquitted, what kind of life will he have? O'MARA: Not a good one. I think he has to live mostly in hiding. He has to be able to protect himself from that periphery of that still believes that he's some racist murderer or acted in a bad way. And you don't know who they are. Now don't know that fare down the street or across the country. I think that he's probably concerned about living still in central Florida and never having a normal life.

SAVIDGE: His life will never be the same.

O'MARA: Never, ever.

SAVIDGE: Never like be able to go to work or have a regular job?

O'MARA: I don't know how he gets a job where he is out in public without having the fear of somebody finding out where he works.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Now, obviously, getting a little ahead of the situation. His big problem right now, George Zimmerman, is whether or not he can beat this case, whether he gets his freedom, and then what he has to do thereafter would be something he'll gladly face, I'm sure. Just so you understand, we asked the state of Florida and prosecutors if they would be able to speak with us this week. They declined, saying they would speak after the verdict. We also reached out to Trayvon Martin's family for taped interviews, but they're going to wait until after the verdict as well.

BOLDUAN: We asked the state of Florida and prosecutors if they would speak with us this week, they declined saying they would speak only after the verdict, and again, we reached out to the Martin family and they are going to be waiting for the verdict as well. You can see the full interview with mark O'Mara today at 2:00 eastern. You don't want to miss that. It's very, very interesting.

Again, we're on verdict watch in the George Zimmerman trial. The jury has been deliberating much more than five hours now, and we'll be looking back at the testimony and the closing arguments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Welcome back, everybody. Jurors in the George Zimmerman trial deliberating right now. We're waiting for the verdict like everybody else. We're going to keep following this story throughout the hour for you.

BOLDUAN: While we're waiting for that, let's take a look at some of the top stories. First off, NSA leaker Edward Snowden is speaking out in public for the first time since he left Hong Kong and went to Russia. Yesterday he met with human rights activists and lawyers in the Moscow airport and he gave a statement saying he doesn't regret what he did. Snowden also has accepted all the offers for asylum he's gotten, but he also said he can't get to those countries right now, so he's requesting temporary asylum in Russia.

CUOMO: Number two, chaos and turmoil in Egypt. Tens of thousands of people rally in Cairo in support am Mohamed Morsy, the democratically elected former Egyptian president. He was ousted by the Egyptian military earlier this month. You will remember the State Department now calling for Morsy's release. He's been held in detention since he was removed from power.

BOLDUAN: And the fatal train crash in France, rail stations across the country observed a moment of silence to honor the victims earlier today. At least six people were killed and 22 injured when a passenger train derailed south of Paris. The head of the railway says a mechanical failure caused that crash.

CUOMO: Number four, in Quebec, the death toll in that horrific train explosion rising. And 28 people confirmed dead, about 30 more still missing. The town near the main border devastated after the runaway train carrying crude oil jumped the tracks and exploded, the fire so intense rescue crews fear some of the victims may have been vaporized.

BOLDUAN: And in Texas the state Senate has passed its most restrictive abortion bill yet. Critics say it will shut down most abortion clinics in Texas. The bill originally failed because of the now famous filibuster by a Democratic state senator there. Republican Governor Rick Perry, he is expected to sign it into law. He's been a big supporter of that.

CUOMO: Take a look at the scene. Always an incredible sight, a huge dust storm, a wall of dust covering parts of the Phoenix area. It is called a haboob. Let's go to Alexandra Steele now for a look at how this happened.

ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hello, good morning to you guys. "Haboob" is Arabic for the word "wind" and we do see a lot of wind with this. And the pictures are incredible. It happened yesterday in phoenix. Phoenix though does see these on average about three a year between summer, between June and September.

So here is what happens. What you need first is a dusty terrain which we certainly have around Phoenix and Arizona. The second ingredient is a thunderstorm. Within a thunderstorm there are updrafts and there are downdrafts. The updraft happens, then the downdrafts happen, and the downdraft creates this gust front and the gust front is what kicks up all the dust. When you look at this, it's like a wall of dust. It can be pretty scary coming at you almost in slow motion. We saw that and they do happen in Phoenix. That's what's happening in the southwest.

A quick look at some other weather around the country. If you're watching from the eastern seaboard onward, you know it's been a flood of moisture. More moisture on the way, you can see here comes all this rain training up. We've got flash flood watches and warnings from the mid-Atlantic down to the southeast. Pacific northwest, sunny, beautiful for you. Here in the southwest, again, haboob not out of the question today. More moisture coming in because it is the monsoon season. Kate, Chris, to you.

BOLDUAN: Alexandra, thanks so much.

CUOMO: When we come back, gas prices, remember they went down around the Fourth of July. Bad news. They're going back up. We'll explain why next.

BOLDUAN: And it's being called a message from above. A grieving mother gets a message from her late daughter. How it showed up on a New York shoreline after super-storm Sandy.

CUOMO: First you see "The Human Factor." Dr. Sanjay Gupta has this week's offering.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Breakfast, lunch, and hugs.

TIM HARRIS, OWNER, TIM'S PLACE RESTAURANT: The hugs are free, no charge at all.

GUPTA: That's what's on the menu at Tim's Place restaurant in Albuquerque. This is Tim Harris. He's the owner. And he has Down syndrome.

TIM HARRIS: I do have Down syndrome. I do have a disability, but I have the ability to make thousands of friends. It feels awesome.

GUPTA: The atmosphere for customers is equally awesome. Walk in the door, get a hug -- only if you want one, of course. Serve that up with a side of green chili cheese grits, and you have a recipe for the world's friendliest restaurant.

JANE CUMBY, TIM'S PLACE PATRON: We come here for a therapeutic hug every weekend.

GUPTA: Tim's dad, Keith, wasn't always so sure about the idea.

KEITH HARRIS, TIM'S FATHER: At first I can say not even I really took him all that seriously, but we began to realize it might be a great, great way for Tim to have an independent life.

GUPTA: Keith helped his son start the business and then got out of his way.

TIM HARRIS: This is my signature dish.

GUPTA: The best part for dad is sitting back and watching the show as a customer.

KEITH HARRIS: Our world, our society I think in many ways has become so sterile that, you know, a restaurant experience is a transaction, and here it's an experience, a human experience. And that's the magic.

GUPTA: As for Tim --

TIM HARRIS: I do have a girlfriend now.

GUPTA: His favorite part is the hugs.

TIM HARRIS: I'm almost to 40,000 hugs. I am excited. GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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BOLDUAN: Taking a like look at pictures of the courthouse in Sanford, Florida. The jury is back in deliberations this morning. They are there for nearly five hours that they have been deliberating. It started yesterday. They took a break and now they're book in at 9:00 eastern this morning.

CUOMO: Just over five hours, there's no really rules about it. One thing is for sure, from early indications, they're taking this carefully, methodically. They were given over 25 pages of jury instructions. So this is a case when it doesn't scream out a particular fact pattern that could take a lot of time. So we'll be sitting here monitoring it for you. If there's any news, we will get it to you first.

But there is a lot of other news to talk about, namely gas prices. As you may remember, they went down around the Fourth of July, that was good. But it doesn't seem like the good times will keep on rolling. Christine Romans explains why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Brace yourself, drivers, for a rise in gas prices. Here is what's happening right now. Unrest in Egypt, even the perception of instability in the Middle East can raise oil prices, and that filters after about three weeks into gas prices.

You also have concerned about inventories because of refinery retooling in this country, also because in Libya and some other countries you have reduced output.

What does it mean for the price of gasoline? We have seen gas spike quickly this summer. And $3.55 is the average for unleaded. You can see that's lower than a year ago but it has been moving up quite quickly. And what it means, it means a lot of analysts think you could see 10 cents to 20 cents per gallon added, and that takes money right out of the economy. Every penny increase is $4 million a day out of consumers' pockets.

Let's talk about where prices have been. These are the records before the financial crisis, and then gas prices fell. You can see that over the past several years the peaks have come in the summer. What happens now? You're going to see gas prices increase, but many experts are saying hopefully by September those prices will come down as they have over the past several years.

Christine Romans, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: That's one of those things, I was talking with Christine about it, you might not get on a plane every day. You might not be in the market to buy a home, but it's gas prices that affect everyone.

CUOMO: It's true, and yet we're completely dominated about supply. Every time we hear about gas prices going up, you think there will be this reaction of people using less, driving less, and you rarely see it. We're so dependent on our cars that we have to find some other solution. That's why people get upset about the price of oil.

BOLDUAN: We are obviously following a lot of big stories. Here is one to lift your spirits, make you feel good this morning. Lots of debris washed up on the New York shore after super-storm Sandy, but recently one bottle showed up, a bottle showed up with a message to a grieving mother. Carolyn Guzman from our affiliate WCBS has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROLYN GUZMAN, WCBS REPORTER: On the shore where debris washed up after super-storm Sandy, the tide also washed in what some are calling a sign from above. Workers cleaning wreckage spotted something shiny.

GARRETT RIVERS, FEMA WORKER: It was a green bottle and I just happened to notice it and I picked it up and saw a message in it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The note was really fragile.

GUZMAN: On it, a quote and a Manhattan phone number. Workers dialed a number and a grateful Mimi Fery answered in tears, saying it was her daughter who threw the bottle into the great South Bay when she was 10 years old. Eight years later her only child died.

MIMI FERY, MOTHER: I think it was incredible to see the people that would bother to even pick up a bottle during Sandy and call me, so many steps that somebody else would not have done.

GUZMAN: Jodi put the message in the bottle 12 years ago just two miles away. The quote is from her favorite movie, "Be excellent to each other," "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure." She wrote "Be excellent to yourself, dude." Years later at age 18 she was killed. This photo taken from a day she fell from a cliff in Switzerland. The message in the bottle makes her mom smile.

FERY: Of course, because it's such an optimistic message. If you're kind and nice to yourself, then you're nice to others.

GUZMAN: Park workers returned the bottle to Ferry and on Saturday they will dedicate a memorial at the beach where the bottle washed up.

MARIA GUISTIZIA, DIRECTOR OF PATCHOGUE VILLAGE PARKS DEPARTMENT: It was like, mom, I'm OK and you can be OK.

FERY: It's incredible.

GUZMAN: "Be excellent to yourself, dude" now inscribed on a beach front plaque, a message from above or just something excellent.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CUOMO: Boy, that story was from our affiliate WCBS. You know, when people lose someone dear, especially a child, there's such a yearning to know they're OK, any way to contact them.

BOLDUAN: Any little bit. To give that little moment to that mother is a very sweet thing.

CUOMO: We'll leave you with that for now. That does it for this hour of CNN Newsroom. But our special coverage of the Zimmerman trial will continue. Of course we'll be back after a quick break. Live picture of Sanford, Florida. That's where we'll be.

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