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Cop Faces Probe for Tsarnaev Photos; Dangerous Weather Across the Country; Wal-Mart's Living Wage Issue; Detroit Files for Bankruptcy; Trayvon's Parents Speak Out

Aired July 19, 2013 - 09:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Happy Friday. Have a great weekend.

NEWSROOM starts now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Happening now in the NEWSROOM bloodied and bruised.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that's the real face of terror.

COSTELLO: A far cry from "Rolling Stone's" cover boy shot but now the Boston cop who protested with his own photos has been relieved of his duties.

Plus --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's miserable. Feel like I live inside a dog's mouth.

COSTELLO: It's hot. Want some relief? A dusting of snow in the mountains of Colorado.

And Detroit is broke.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You call the police now, you wonder if they're coming.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As tough as this is, I really didn't want to go in this direction, but now that we are here, we have to make the best of it.

COSTELLO: Once the symbol of American ingenuity, Motown is now bankrupt.

Also she questioned Tom Cruise's relationship with bigwigs at the Church of Scientology. Now the queen of "King and Queen" is shunned.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're teaching your parishioners about morals and integrity. But then you have the audacity to tell them you have to betray your own integrity and you have to go with us or you're out, too.

COSTELLO: You're live in CNN NEWSROOM. (END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Good morning. Happy Friday to you. I'm Carol Costello. We begin this morning with dueling images of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. The man accused of the deadly bombing attack at the Boston marathon. This is how you'll see him on an upcoming cover of "Rolling Stone" magazine.

Doe-eyed and fresh faced and looking an awful lot like a pop star, but this is how one state police trooper wants you to remember him. Bloodied, weak and powerless as he surrendered to one of the largest manhunts in U.S. history.

Today that cop has been suspended for releasing these images. He said he just wanted to show the real Boston bomber.

CNN's Jason Carroll is in New York. He has more on the story.

Good morning, Jason.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you, Carol. You know, that police sergeant apparently felt somewhat conflicted about releasing the photos, but he also felt very strongly the "Rolling Stone" cover was an insult and hurtful to survivors. So this was his way of coping.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL (voice-over): These new photos showing a much different picture of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev captured by police. A bloodied face, his hands up, the laser from a sniper rifle trained on his forehead. A vastly different image from the one depicted in the controversial "Rolling Stone" cover.

Massachusetts State Police Sergeant Sean Murphy says he was so angry with "Rolling Stone's" cover he released these new photographs to "Boston" magazine. The police tactical photographer told the magazine, quote, "What 'rolling Stone' did was wrong. The guy is evil. This is the real Boston bomber, not someone fluffed and buffed for the cover of 'rolling Stone.'"

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that's the real face of terror. I agree with him 100 percent.

CARROLL: "Boston" magazine's editor told CNN Murphy thought the cover sent the wrong message.

JOHN WOLFSON, EDITOR, BOSTON MAGAZINE: I think he was genuinely worried about the impact on the families of the victims and I think he was also worried that certain impressionable people might be lured to replicate that by the kind of glamorous-looking photo on the "Rolling Stone" cover.

CARROLL: Tsarnaev's first public appearance since his arrest was in court last week. He pleaded not guilty to 30 federal charges, including four killings while images like these are already having an impact, some say the focus is all wrong.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think they should focus the attention on the brave people and the people that lost their lives, not at the monster who cost it all.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Well, Carol, apparently, Murphy did not want "Rolling Stone" to have the last say so he decided to release the police photos himself. A police spokesman said in a statement the release of the photos was not authorized by the Massachusetts State Police. Murphy was suspended for a day and faces a hearing next week to determine his status.

COSTELLO: Wow.

CARROLL: That investigation is ongoing.

COSTELLO: Well, I'm sure you'll continue to follow it. Jason Carroll, thanks so much.

We're going to get the pulse of the Boston community over this. For that we turn to Juliette Kayyem, a newspaper columnist for the "Boston Globe" and, of course, you're with us through the whole drama there, the traumatic drama.

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Yes.

COSTELLO: Through the Boston bombing during that terrible time. So I don't know how much of an impact is this making in the city of Boston?

KAYYEM: Well, I think it's a big deal only to the extent that everyone is being drawn into this debate. I mean, of course, the mayor and the governor I think said, reflected the sentiment, which is it's just offensive. It's -- you know, it's a sultry picture that sort of glorifies him and may give a message to people others who might want to make the cover of "Rolling Stone."

But I mean, for the most part, people are keeping their heads. I think we shouldn't get too worked up about this. "Rolling Stone" has every right to do what they did and people have every right to push back on what "Rolling Stone" has done and I think that the police officer just completely crossed the line.

I mean, we're a legal, civilized state and you don't release unauthorized pictures, especially when you're a police officer. And I think the State Police did the right thing by suspending him.

COSTELLO: Will this affect the case against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev?

KAYYEM: That's what we don't know right now. You know, obviously, there is evidence it's going to be disclosed in the case and we don't know where those pictures came from if they're his personal pictures, he just sort of violated rules about access to photos like that. If they were going to be used in the court case, he may have at least made an argument for the defense for what I would think would be a change of venue argument.

To say, look, this is a city that can't handle this trial. Everyone's worked up. We have police officers releasing evidence. And so that's where this may actually unfold is in the court case. We just don't know if the pictures were going to be utilized by the prosecution for whatever case they were going to make.

So this is more than an administrative issue. This is more than an emotional issue. And I do think that the police officer is a police officer. He has to follow the law. We don't care what his personal emotions are and that's what makes, you know, us a civilized state and Bostonians are keeping their head about this.

COSTELLO: All right. Juliette Kayyem, interesting stuff. Juliette Kayyem of the "Boston Globe," thanks so much for joining us this morning.

KAYYEM: Thank you.

COSTELLO: We're following dangerous and deadly weather that's plaguing the nation from California to Boston. In the West, thousands of people now on the run, evacuating from a roaring wildfire that's burned more than 35 square miles. Now investigators say the fire was started by humans.

Out east, the scorching heat wave has claimed another life. Today people will suffer through 110 degree heat in some cities. Relief, though, could soon be on the way in the form of a violent storm system.

We have team coverage for you this morning. CNN's Casey Wian is near the epicenter of the wildfires in California and meteorologist Indra Petersons is in New York.

So Indra, let's start with you. Give us a break.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. I cannot even explain to you, Carol, the difference between just today and yesterday. And that's hard to believe we're in our sixth day of this heat wave and this morning temperatures already felt like 91 degrees and that was literally before the sun had even come up. And unfortunately, we're going from advisories to warnings and I'm not sure people can really handle any more of this heat.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETERSON (voice-over): Today marks the sixth day of a dangerous heat wave across the country.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Miserable. Feels like I live inside a dog's mouth.

PETERSONS: It's one of the most widespread waves this season. Forty- seven out of 50 states have seen temperatures top 90 degrees.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Unbearable. PETERSONS: Three people have died in the sweltering heat. States with high humidity have had temps reached what feels like triple digits.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm getting tired, exhausted.

PETERSONS: In Massachusetts the relentless heat could force a nuclear power station to shut down. They're worried that the water will get too warm to cool the safety systems.

The temperatures around New York City's JFK Airport have hit 100 degrees, a new record. Three New York City firefighters have been treated for heat exhaustion.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't work less. You know, we don't work slower.

PETERSONS: In Pennsylvania, the heat has forced Amtrak to slap speed restrictions on trains. Officials worry the heat could actually expand the train tracks.

Coconut water, you know, the towel, you know, just trying to beat the heat.

PETERSONS: Out west, 157 airline passengers roasted under the Arizona a sun. A mechanical delay left them stranded for two hours on the tarmac.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was probably around 100 degrees. It was like being in a hot car.

PETERSONS: The heat wave has forced many to find a new and creative way to cool off. Like this new ice bar in New York City that boasts bone chilling temperatures of 23 degrees.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is perfect in this room. When it's 103 outside.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cheers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PETERSONS: I've got to find that ice bar. Yes, we're talking about extreme heat advisories today switching into extreme heat warnings. That means the danger is higher. And it's elevated. We're talking about feels-like temperatures from 105 now feeling like 110.

Not as many people. We're not seeing a stretch of cars in the Dakotas but today we are talking about major cities Boston, Philadelphia, D.C., New York feeling like 105 to 110. Even Cincinnati and places as far as Detroit. We are going to be seeing some relief on the way. It's going to come in the way of a cold front.

So yes, we're going to cool off, but we're still going to be talking about rain and 85-degree temperatures. The danger is lessen. But the danger actually changes. We're going to see that danger shift from high heat to severe thunderstorms. So along that cold front first anywhere from Chicago all the way up to Detroit today and then we're going to be talking about in the northeast by Saturday. So really a lot of still heavy weather headed our way -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Wow. Who would have ever thought that 85 degrees could sound cool, but it does.

(LAUGHTER)

PETERSONS: Yes. I'm with you.

COSTELLO: Indra, thank you.

Want to take you now to Idyllwild, California, where a raging wildfire is forcing 6,000 people to leave their homes behind.

Casey Wian is there.

Good morning, Casey.

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. You know, you can't see it, but we just felt it. A few minutes ago a few rain drops and that is the biggest friend to firefighters right now. Yesterday that blaze, where you could see the smoke over that ridge. The humidity in this area was between 5 and 10 percent and that was allowing that fire to burn out of control. Now the humidity level between 25 and 60 percent. So, clearly, a big break for firefighters.

What they're trying to do is make sure that the fire does not cross that ridge. They've got 19 helicopters, 10 fixed wing aircraft who've been dropping retardant on those flames overnight. They want to make sure it doesn't cross that ridge because if it does, this town of Idyllwild is in a lot of danger.

Still under a mandatory evacuation here in Idyllwild 4,000 residents of this town, most of them have gone. The one cafe owner has stayed behind to service the firefighters. Here's what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Until the fire is out, you never know. Anything can happen. So it's just until they give us a call that it's completely out, then give me a couple of days after that then I won't worry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIAN: The big worry, though, for firefighters is that this weather system that is expected to come in this weekend, which could provide more humidity and help them could also provide some lightning and some higher winds and, of course, those are two big dangers for this fire, which has now spread to 25,000 acres containment still at 15 percent -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Casey Wian reporting live from Idyllwild, California, this morning. Thank you. Twelve minutes past the hour time to check our top stories. A crowd of more than 100 people erupted into violence on the streets of San Bernardino, California. It happened last night, but no one is quite sure why these people rioted. CNN affiliate KABC reports rocks and bottles went flying. Police and ordinary people were attacked and store and car windows smashed. According to the "L.A. Times" at least six people were arrested.

A Texas man arrested for pulling out a pistol with a bullet in the chamber near the White House. Happened on Tuesday. Police say 31- year-old Christopher Wade Briggs of San Antonio had 171 more rounds in his backpack. Briggs reportedly said he was, quote, "only going to fire off a couple of shots." President Obama was at the White House at the time.

Tomorrow marks one year since the gunman killed 12 people in a theater in Aurora, Colorado. Advocates on both sides of the gun debate plan to mark the anniversary with dueling rallies at the same park. Today the group Mayors against Illegal Guns plans to read aloud the names of the shooting victims in the meantime rocky mountain gun owners will rally for gun rights.

A battle is brewing between Wal-Mart and Washington D.C.'s city council with 1800 potential jobs caught in the middle. The city council wants the retail giant to pay a living wage of nearly $13 an hour and Wal-Mart says no, it's crying foul. And says plans for six new stores in the area are in limbo.

Alison Kosik is following the story from New York Stock Exchange.

Tell us more.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: OK, Carol. So actually D.C. mayor Vincent Gray is actually trying to decide whether or not to veto this new bill, that as you said, requires big retailers to pay employees' living wages. So what this essentially does is it requires the big retailers like Wal-Mart to pay its workers at least $12.50 an hour. That's way above the $8.25 minimum wage that's currently in place at the capital. .

Now here's the problem and you alluded to it. Wal-Mart had been already planned on opening six new stores there which would add 1800 jobs there which are so sorely needed. The unemployment rate in D.C. is 8.3 percent. Well, guess what, now Wal-Mart is saying it's going to put the brakes on, three of those saying it would just be too expensive because of this bill now in place -- Carol.

COSTELLO: So -- so the mayor may veto it even though -- didn't he say he was for this before?

KOSIK: Well, you know, believe it or not. A lot of -- a lot of those on the council are really against this, against this measure. You have to also look at Wal-Mart's side. There is another side to this. You know, Wal-Mart believes it's being picked on unfairly singled out because of its size and it says two of its main competitors in the area, Safeway and Giant, which are huge employers in the area are exempt from that law but that's because both of those companies, they have unions to negotiate wages. Wal-Mart is not unionized.

Now the retailers says the only way to pay these types of wages would be to raise prices, which it says would hurt lower income customers. Wal-Mart also says it could open up a can of worms that if D.C. can dictate what Wal-Mart pays its workers why couldn't other cities do the same and it's not just -- you know, some are saying, you know, why not just change D.C.'s minimum wage as a whole instead of cherry- picking companies -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Interesting. So, the fight goes on. I know you'll continue to follow it.

Alison Kosik, reporting live from the New York Stock Exchange.

Just ahead in THE NEWSROOM: once the fourth largest city in America, now, Detroit becomes the largest city to file for bankruptcy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Eighteen minutes past the hour. Time to check some top stories.

The federal judge says developers of the World Trade Center cannot -- cannot in the judge's words -- double dip with a lawsuit tied to the 9/11 attacks. Developers had sued aviation companies, including United and American Airlines, claiming their negligence resulted in the terrorist strikes. The judge said the developers had all -- had all -- I'm sorry. The judge said the developers have already gotten insurance money.

To California, where the mom of the King of Pop is slated to take center stage in her son's wrongful death trial. Katherine Jackson expected to be one of the last witnesses before her lawyers rest their case. The jury earlier this week saw video deposition given by Jackson's daughter, Paris.

The Jacksons claim concert promoter AEG Live played a role in the singer's death.

Supposed to be business as usual today in Detroit, but that's going to be very difficult, as the Motor City began the long path of bankruptcy. Detroit just became the largest city in United States history to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection. Simply put: Detroit's broke. It's busted, about $18 billion in debt.

Remember just weeks before the election, President Obama was touting Detroit's resurgence after the auto bailout?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We refused to let Detroit go bankrupt. I'd bet on American workers and American ingenuity. And three years later, that bet is paying off in a big way.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: Oh, but it wasn't just the president. Even the Super Bowl was betting on Detroit's comeback.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINT EASTWOOD, ACTOR: We're all scared because this isn't a game. The people of Detroit know a little something about this. They almost lost everything. But we all pulled together. Now, Motor City is fighting again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: This makes me kind of sad.

Poppy Harlow is in Detroit this morning.

I guess no one is really a surprised by this, but seems like they were fighting so hard.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: They were and they are, Carol.

I mean, look, this is a city of tough people that persevere against a lot of odds. You know, I will say that many people were saying that it's not a question if Detroit files for bankruptcy, it's a question of when.

Some people here this morning, though, told me they are shocked. This is not about industry coming back to Detroit, or rebuilding the automakers. This is about decades and decades of mismanagement.

This is about a population decline in a city since, frankly, the 1950s, it has been in decline and this is what happened. A divisive decision that came down late yesterday and frankly the question now is, will this help or hurt the people in this city?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW (voice-over): Detroit's downfall has been decades in the making.

GOV. RICK SNYDER (R), MICHIGAN: This is not any recent development. This has been going on far too long and isn't it time to say, enough is enough?

HARLOW: A dwindling population, the decline of the automakers and political corruption are just some of Detroit's woes. Now, as it files for bankruptcy, Detroit's workers are bracing for what could happen to their pensions and health care.

REPORTER: Will this affect pensions?

GRAHAM BEAL, DIRECTOR & CEO DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS: Based on what we know, anything's possible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We paid a percentage of our wages every year into that. So it's not something that's being given to us. It's our money.

HARLOW: More than $18 billion in debt, Michigan's governor called bankruptcy the only choice.

SNYDER: Detroit is broke from a financial point of view. And more importantly, the citizens deserve better services.

HARLOW: Those services have taken a significant hit.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You call the police now, you wonder if they're coming.

HARLOW: Detroit's emergency manager who took control of the city in March insists bankruptcy will not change the day-to-day here.

KEVYN ORR, DETROIT EMERGENCY MANAGER: Services will remain open. Paychecks will be made. Bills will be paid. Nothing changes from the standpoint of the ordinary citizen's perspective.

HARLOW: Detroit's mayor didn't have a say in the decision but urged understanding.

DAVE BING, MAYOR OF DETROIT: As tough as this is, I really didn't want to go in this direction. But now that we are here, we have to make the best of it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: And what hangs in the balance, Carol, is the future of about 30,000 current and retired city workers. They're the ones whose pension is in question, whose health care is in question.

What is going to happen? That's going to be determined by negotiations, by a federal bankruptcy judge. This could take years.

A firefighter, a retired firefighter here told me, you know, it's a mess, he said, we are -- we're prepared to fight for what we're owed. We're not asking for a penny more, we're asking for what we're owed.

And that's going to be big question. Who's going to get paid back and who is going to see that they're owed cut? Some cut has to come from somewhere.

COSTELLO: You're not kidding because we're out of money. I mean, what choice does Detroit have?

HARLOW: Right.

COSTELLO: A question for you -- back in the day, remember, New York City was on the verge of bankruptcy. And the federal government bailed it out.

HARLOW: Right.

COSTELLO: What about Detroit? HARLOW: Yes. So, that's such an interesting question. I just asked a pensioner here, a guy who worked at the library for 32 years, who has very upset by this, actually sued trying to block this.

I said, do you think the federal government should have stepped in? The federal bailout like we saw, frankly, in New York in '78? He said, no, that's not what I'm asking for. This is a local issue.

But there were rumblings about a potential bailout. We're going to have a press conference here with the governor and emergency manager here at 10:00 a.m. So, you can bet we will ask them about that. Were there ongoing negotiations with the White House, with lawmakers in Washington?

As far as we know the White House put out a statement saying they're closely monitoring this. Press Secretary Jay Carney was asked about this last week and he made it clear the president has been monitoring it, but, frankly, they're not stepping in.

COSTELLO: Yes, I think that there will be many taxpayers in America who would be angry about that.

HARLOW: Yes.

COSTELLO: Poppy Harlow from Detroit, we'll get back to you in just a half hour. Thank you so much.

And coming up, as you heard Poppy say, in the next half hour, the Michigan Governor Rick Scott, Rick Snyder, I'm sorry, that's Florida's governor, and Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr will talk about the bankruptcy filing. Bring that news conference to you live at 10:00 a.m. Eastern, just a half hour from now.

Trayvon Martin's father tries to explain the acquittal of George Zimmerman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRACY MARTIN, TRAVYON MARTIN'S FATHER: I think that they just took into account what George Zimmerman said was the truth. Trayvon wasn't here to tell his story.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: After the break, much more from Trayvon Martin's parents and whether they'll sue Zimmerman in their son's death.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Florida "Stand Your Ground" law may also play big in any civil lawsuit filed by Trayvon Martin's family. Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Fulton sat down with Anderson Cooper and said the justice system didn't work for us.

Martin's parents opted not to be in the courtroom when the verdict was read. They thought they would not be able to control their emotions, whichever way the jury decided. But they were in the courtroom every other day for their son.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: To be in the courtroom with the man who killed your son, did he ever say anything to you or look at you, or was there ever any kind of eye contact exchanged?

MARTIN: Never. We refrained from even looking his way. We didn't want our emotions to run high. Because we knew that our son's legacy was lying -- is lying in our hands. We are the face of Trayvon.

COOPER: Did it -- did it come as just a complete shock?

SYBRINA FULTON, TRAYVON MARTIN'S MOTHER: It came as a complete shock for me. And the reason I say that is because I just look at people as people. And I thought for sure that the jury looked at Trayvon as an average teenager that was minding his own business, that wasn't committing any crime. That was coming home from the store. And were feet away from where he was going.

And I just believe that they realize that. But, when I heard the verdict, I cannot understand the disconnect in that maybe they didn't see Trayvon as their son. They didn't see Trayvon as a teenager. They didn't see Trayvon as just a human being that was minding his own business.

COOPER: Do you believe the system works? I mean, you had this horrific experience and you've seen the justice system up close. Do you believe it works?

MARTIN: Well, we have faith in the system. But it also goes back to what you have to work with.