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Trayvon Martin's Parents Speak Out; Market Opens Lower; Zoraida Sambolin's Road to Recovery; Making Up for Sins through Twitter?; Tiger in Contention at Open Championship

Aired July 19, 2013 - 09:30   ET

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

TRACY MARTIN, TRAYVON MARTIN'S DAD: It also goes back to what you - what you have to work with. And for me, in our case, we just feel as though that the state did all that they could do with what they had. Had it been investigated properly from the beginning, it'd have been more overwhelming evidence. Do the system work? It didn't work for us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Martin's parents are now deciding whether to file a civil lawsuit against George Zimmerman. So, let's focus on that for just a little bit. Paul Callan is a CNN legal analyst.

Welcome, Paul.

PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Nice to be here, Carol. Good to see you.

COSTELLO: Great to have you here.

So you represented the estate of Nicole Brown Simpson in a civil suit against O.J. Simpson and won. Would Trayvan Martin's family be as successful?

CALLAN: I think they'll have an uphill battle. You know, in the O.J. Simpson case, it was really a different situation. There was very clear evidence of O.J. Simpson's guilt and we, in the civil case, we were able to put together an even better case linking him to the killing of his wife and Ron Goldman and ultimately got a jury verdict of about $35 million in that case.

Now, why is that - why is this case different? This case is different, the Trayvon Martin case is different, because I don't see the evidence getting any better. And, you know, I thought Mr. Martin, listening to him make his statement, you know, he said the state did the best they could with what they had. Meaning, the evidence of what happened that night was never clear. And in a criminal case, at least, with beyond a reasonable doubt standard, if the evidence is not clear, you're not going to convict somebody and send them to prison for 30 years. And I, you know, frankly, it's not going to get much easier for them in a civil case.

COSTELLO: OK. So, let's talk about federal civil charges. The Department of Justice has now placed a hold on evidence. That means George Zimmerman cannot have his gun back just yet or anything else. Clearly Eric Holder is thinking of something.

CALLAN: Yes. And, of course, they're not looking, by the way, at -- the feds aren't looking at civil charges, they're looking at criminal charges being brought by the federal government. But even there, uphill battle.

Now, remember, Florida could have charged this as a hate crime. They opted not to because they didn't have the evidence. The judge instructed them not even to refer to the race issue and said you can talk about criminal profiling but not race profiling. So I don't know where the Justice Department will come up with that evidence of a hate crime to invoke criminal hate crime statutes, federal statutes, tough, tough case for the Justice Department. So I think they're going to look into it.

But, frankly, if they're looking at the same evidence that state prosecutors did, I think in the end you're not going to see a federal prosecution either. I think, sadly, for the family, for the Martin family, they're going to have to move on. I don't think they're going to find - I don't think they're ever going to find the satisfaction or the justice that they seek in the criminal or civil justice system.

COSTELLO: All right, Paul Callan, thanks so much for your insight. Always appreciate it.

CALLAN: Always nice being with you, Carol.

COSTELLO: Thanks, Paul.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Time is flying this morning. Already 36 minutes past the hour. The opening bell just rang a few minutes ago on Wall Street. And right now we're watching stocks move lower, losing a bit of steam after yesterday's record close for both the Dow and the S&P 500. Alison Kosik, as always, is watching things at the New York Stock Exchange.

Good morning.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you.

Yes, you are seeing investors hit the sell button today, but what a week it's been here on Wall Street. What a week of great, strong gains here. The Dow, the S&P 500 both coming off record closes on Thursday, touching levels during the session that we've never seen before. The Dow is up nine of the past 11 trading days now with 27 record closes so far this year.

Now, some disappointing earners from Google and Microsoft are pushing investors to sell today. The expectation is that you're going to see a big drag on the tech sector, especially because of Microsoft. Microsoft shares right now down 10 percent. So you're going to definitely see Microsoft as a Dow component drag the Dow right down with it.

Carol.

COSTELLO: OK. Alison Kosik, many thanks.

A personal journey shared by millions of American women. CNN's Zoraida Sambolin, her battle against breast cancer and the gut-wrenching decision to improve her odds. Wait until you see her. She looks fantastic.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: This morning we want to share some good news about one of our own here at CNN. Zoraida Sambolin will soon be returning to the morning anchor desk. Just last month she underwent a double mastectomy to remove both breasts. It was an agonizing decision that millions of American women face. Some, like Zoraida, have cancers growths. Others, like Angelina Jolie, opt for surgery because they're genetically predisposed to breast cancer. All are hoping the surgery is the best bet for a very healthy future. Zoraida has shared her journey in the hopes of helping other women. She joins us now live from Chicago.

And may I say, you look fantastic.

ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, thank you, Carol. I really feel fantastic as well. My prognosis is excellent. But it has been an incredible journey and we did document it every step of the way, including the surgery and as I was headed into surgery. So I want to share this with you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we pray for good reports.

SAMBOLIN (voice-over): My day start with a prayer.

Amen.

Doctors believe there is cancer in a duct in my left breast and that may not be all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We would have to go to plan b if one of those biopsies were positive.

SAMBOLIN: I'm joining a fast growing population of women removing both breasts because I am fearful of more cancer.

SAMBOLIN (on camera): And that's what I'm focused on, that I will feel confident at the end of all of this that the cancer is gone.

SAMBOLIN (voice-over): A lumpectomy and radiation have shown to be as effective.

SAMBOLIN (on camera): Can I just have a minute?

SAMBOLIN (voice-over): But I have two children and I'm afraid to risk the cancer coming back. This year, over 230,000 women were diagnosed with breast cancer. Nearly 40,000 women died. I don't want to be one of them.

SAMBOLIN (on camera): I'm hoping to hear, in an ideal world, you know, all the cancer is gone, lymph nodes are good, no cancer in the right breast. That, I guess, would be the most positive outcome I could have here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to head up.

SAMBOLIN (voice-over): The doctors will get a critical answer as I sleep. Has cancer escaped the duct and reached my lymph nodes, creating a dangerous pathway to my immune system?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get it out of the way and send it off.

SAMBOLIN: The operating room falls to silence. Doctors get the first results of the biopsy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Zoraida.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, go ahead.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The lymph nodes are two (ph) negative nodes.

SAMBOLIN: The lymph nodes are negative for cancer. A few moments later, more biopsy results.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is one lymph node (INAUDIBLE) negative for carcinoma, left basic (ph) biopsy which is benign breast tissue.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Thank you very much.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No problem.

SAMBOLIN: Both sides are negative. My family gets the news before I do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The lymph nodes on both sides, the left and the right, were OK. The fact that the lymph node was OK is good.

So far so good. Very welcome.

KENNY WILLIAMS, ZORAIDA'S FIANCE: I just got news that I'm going to have my wife with me for who knows how long. I mean but she's not going to die of breast cancer. That's not going to take her away.

NICHOLAS HARRIS (ph), ZORAIDA'S SON: I was actually - I went to take a deep breath because it was a huge sigh of relief and the fact that she was going to be OK.

SAMBOLIN: But with cancer, the news is never fully reassuring. The cancer wasn't confined to a left breast duct as doctors had assumed. It was invasive on the left side and an early carcinoma on the right. I acted before it appeared in my lymph nodes. And that made all the difference to me and my family.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAMBOLIN: I have to tell you, Carol, I just watched this piece a little while ago, I've been working on it, and every time I feel exactly the same way. It's hard to go back to the beginning and, you know, to see my family suffering, to see my little boy so scared. But the great news is that my prognosis is excellent. I'm healing really nicely. I had one minor setback, which was an infection that I caught. But, you know, they handled it aggressively and everything looks really good.

COSTELLO: I teared up, too. I'm just so - I don't know, I'm just so happy -- because I think that we've all been touched by cancer in our lives. You know, I lost my brother to cancer and just your story, you know, so far, is turning out so fantastically. I'm just so happy for you. I really am. Uh, OK.

SAMBOLIN: I really appreciate it, Carol. And the last thing I want to say, because I just -- can't ever not -- or share this story and not say thank you. Thank you to you for following this story and thank you to all of the women who have supported me through this journey. They have, they have given me so much hope. They've given me so much strength along the way. And I'm starting to pay it back. I'm starting to pay it forward. So I just -- it's a - it's a -- I'm filled with gratitude. Cancer is actually one of the biggest blessings I've ever had in my life, as crazy as that sounds, but it's helped me grow.

COSTELLO: Thank you for sharing your story. We appreciate it.

SAMBOLIN: Thank you.

COSTELLO: And got to take a break now. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Like a dream come true for guilty Catholics, follow Pope Francis on Twitter and you will be rewarded in the afterlife. Just look at this headline from "The Guardian" "Vatican Offers Time off Purgatory to followers of Pope Francis Tweets." The article goes on to describe indulgences you can win through social media. The only problem, it's not quite true. The reporting is based off of a Vatican document released during World Youth Day in Brazil. So was it just the Vatican's bad attempt to connect with the tech savvy teens or just about interpretation of church policy?

Joining me now to talk about it all is Father James Martin a Jesuit priest, he's also the author of the book "The Jesuit Guide to almost Everything". Good morning Father.

FATHER JAMES MARTIN, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, AMERICA MAGAZINE: Good morning how are you?

COSTELLO: I wish this were true because I just tweeted Pope Francis because -- because I don't want to go to purgatory. Just to explain for those who don't know exactly what purgatory is it's that nasty world between heaven and hell, right?

MARTIN: Yes I always tell people that we're probably not ready to get into heaven and so it's just a time of preparation and purification. And you're right this really got misinterpreted, this story unfortunately.

COSTELLO: But how great, if I can just send a tweet to Pope Francis and I will be forgiven for one of my many, many, many sins.

MARTIN: Well that would be great, if it were true. The Vatican was talking about World Youth Day and saying that people who follow it live through you know the Web and things like that could participate in some of the spiritual graces that the pilgrims there would receive.

So it was a way of kind of being inclusive but unfortunately you know someone got the idea that that just meant you had to click on Twitter and your sins were forgiven. So it was a little ridiculous actually.

COSTELLO: Ok so wait a minute, so if you follow through social media, World Youth Day and what Pope Francis says, you can be forgiven for some of your indulgences.

MARTIN: Well the idea is this, the idea is that the more you pray, obviously, the less time you'll have in purgatory and so pilgrimage is one way of participating in that prayer. And the Vatican was trying to include people you know the sick, the poor, people who might not be able to go to World Youth Day who would follow online. It wasn't just you know kind of clicking on Twitter. So that's where the story got a little messed up.

COSTELLO: It wasn't just you know send a tweet to Pope Francis and you can be forgiven.

MARTIN: That is correct. It was not that.

COSTELLO: But -- but still, the Pope is -- I mean to some it might seem the Pope is a little sneaky, because he says watch this entire thing and good things will happen.

(CROSSTALK)

MARTIN: Well I don't know the Pope --

COSTELLO: I mean what better way to build your Twitter following?

MARTIN: That's not what he was trying to do. I think he has plenty of Twitter followers. The idea is that you know for people who can't be there, you know if you have you know someone who is sick in bed and really wants to go to World Youth Day, he's saying if you can follow you know via like streaming a video or something like that, you can kind of pray along with us. That's the idea.

So they were trying to be inclusive, which is something that frankly people accuse the Vatican of not being enough so I think this is actually a very welcoming gesture. COSTELLO: Yes and you know full disclosure I am Catholic. And this Pope is so different from the last pope and so refreshing in many ways that this controversy was in itself kind of refreshing.

MARTIN: Yes well full disclosure, I'm Catholic, too. So we're in the same boat.

COSTELLO: Thank you, Father. Thank you, father Martin.

MARTIN: Thank you.

COSTELLO: I appreciate it.

MARTIN: My pleasure.

COSTELLO: There are bad shots and then there are costly shots. And ESPN is now stuck with the repair bill thanks to this unbelievable golf shot at the British Open. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Tiger Woods just finished his second round at the open championship in Scotland. Andy Scholes is here with "Bleacher Report" good morning.

ANDY SCHOLES, BLEACHER REPORT: Good morning Carol.

Tiger is looking to win his first major in more than five years this weekend and so far through two rounds of play at the open championship, he as in the hunt. Like he did yesterday, Tiger had another up-and-down round today. He had some birdies to go along with some bogeys. Tiger ended up finishing today just like he started at two under; he's three shots back of leaders Zach Johnson. Johnson tees off in about 10 minutes.

So here's something you rarely see while watching golf Thomas Bjorn hitting out of the rough on the first (inaudible) yesterday, and bam, his shot goes right into the camera, shattered the lens. And the broadcaster said the camera costs $80,000, luckily for ESPN they had a replacement lens on hand and the camera was able to continue the rafts (ph).

The number one story in the lineup section of BleacherReport.com today is about the buzz being back in Charlotte. Yesterday the NBA board of governors approved the Charlotte Bobcat's request to officially change their name back to the Hornets. The team will still be the Bobcats this season and then make the change for the 2014-2015 season.

Well the Arizona D-Back have a new mascot and you heard of him, his name is Luchador. He's a real wrestler dressed in black leather, bare-chested, carrying a bat. Luchador is unlike any other mascot in professional sports. He's fluent in Spanish and English. The Diamondbacks are giving away 20,000 Luchador masks at their game on July 27th.

Pretty interesting idea out of the ballpark -- Carol. COSTELLO: That's just -- I mean you compare him to like the oriole bird --

SCHOLES: I think he might scare some of the kids. I don't know.

COSTELLO: I think he would eat the oriole bird. No.

Andy thanks so much.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, bloodied and bruised.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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. It feels like I live inside a dog's mouth.

COSTELLO: Boy it's hot, want some relief? A dusting of snow in the mountains of Colorado.

And Detroit is broke.

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

DAVE BING, MAYOR, DETROIT, MICHIGAN: 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 of Queens" is shunned.