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Obama on Immigration; Arthur Gets Downgraded; More Evidence on Harris; Palestinian Prosecutor: Teen Burned Alive; Do Beliefs Influence Justices' Decisions?; Facebook Test Rankles Users
Aired July 05, 2014 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Next hour starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We believe in the sanctity of life. We will continue to believe in the sanctity of life and our message is very clear, there has to be a response.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How many times did he hit her?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've seen 11 on the video, he took more shots than that, I think it was around 15 shots.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Punching.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not just jabs, these are hooks. Lights- out punches, those aren't like taps.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All you've done is negative, all you have done is negative. I haven't heard it. I make people laugh.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, I'm Alison Kosik, in for Christie Paul.
BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell, 9:00 here on the East Coast. "Smerconish" is off today. This is "New Day Saturday."
KOSIK: And we begin with breaking news overnight - another flight carrying illegal immigrants from Texas has arrived in southern California. It's the second one this week. The passengers reportedly boarded three buses to a processing center in the San Ysidro District of San Diego.
BLACKWELL: Yes, not a lot of traffic in nearby Murietta where protesters forced the first fleet of bus to turn back, and they returned on the fourth of July.
The protesters there staking their ground in what's become an whirling immigration debate that reaches all the way to Washington.
KOSIK: Sunlen Serfaty joins us now from the White House. Sunlen, what's the latest?
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alison and Victor, we're ground zero this week in California for this immigration debate. 100 immigrants arrived on the flight last night, landing in San Diego. And when they were taken by bus, they specifically avoided this town in Murietta, California. Of course, as we watched all week, it's become heated in the exchanges.
Last night, protesters and counterprotesters again squared off at that border patrol facility. As we've seen, heated all week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shame on you, shame on you!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't hate you, I hate, you're a law-breaker.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SERFATY: Meanwhile here in Washington, of course, the political battle continues. Nearly 3,000 miles away from where those protests are taking place, at the White House yesterday, the president attended a naturalization ceremony for 25 new American citizens. And he again made a big pitch for immigration reform.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If we want to keep attracting the best and the brightest from beyond our shores, we're going to have to fix our immigration system, which is broken and pass common-sense immigration reform. We shouldn't be making it harder for the best and brightest to come here, creating jobs and growing the economy, we should be making it easier.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SERFATY: And Alison and Victor, the president said this sort of ceremony, one of his favorites he says of what he has to do at the White House, it is just one more problem that we see at the border, back to you.
BLACKWELL: The president is scheduled to be in Texas mid-week for a fundraiser. The governor there, Rick Perry, has invited the president to meet him at the border to see the situation there. Any response from the White House?
SERFATY: Well, the big question is - will President Obama make a side trip to the border while he's there for a fundraiser? The White House has not said one way or the other. But they did respond to questions about Rick Perry's invitation. They said that Republicans will be better served. They think focusing their attention on comprehensive immigration reform getting passed, rather than any sort of border invitations, it will be interesting to see, Victor and Alison, if there's a big political pressure on President Obama, if it manages to swell up this week and maybe he might not have an option to not go to the border. But we'll see later in the week when he visits Texas. BLACKWELL: Yes, we saw that Nancy Pelosi made a visit to a border station there. We'll see if the president makes a trip. Unlikely, but we'll see if it happens. Sunlen Serfaty, thank you so much.
All right. So Arthur, getting its second downgrade of the morning. I wonder if it even keeps its name now. Once a category 2 hurricane, it's now a post-tropical cyclone.
KOSIK: Yes but the storm can still pack a wallop for those in its path. Winds as high as 65 miles per hour, drenching rain, they've been the forecast for Maine and parts of eastern Canada.
BLACKWELL: Yes but along the eastern seaboard, things are getting back to normal. Residents are cleaning up the flooded streets, even getting back on track with their holiday plans.
KOSIK: And for many, that includes the beach. Alexandra Field is out at Jones Beach on New York's Long Island. Alexandra, are you seeing crowds starting to come out? Are they actually getting into the water?
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Alison, Victor, I don't know where you would rather be today, still early and it's still a little bit windy and a little bit chilly, but look at all these people who are just dying for a holiday beach day. You know so many people were concerned this week that Arthur was going to impact their travel plans, impact their summer getaways, not the case right now, obviously the storm has moved up the eastern seaboard, cleared way out of here.
Some people starting to sort of play out there in the water. Still really cold out there. But certainly people starting to enjoy it here's the issue though. The National Weather Service has been warning people up and down the coast that rip currents can be a problem, especially in the aftermath of a hurricane. We spoke to a lifeguard at Jones Beach earlier this morning. She said conditions at this beach are calm. But she talked to us about problems some swimmers could face today. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The rip currents that we deal with here at this beach and at other beaches actually around the United States are the number one leading cause for beachgoers' concern. Rip current, what they are is basically an over-abundance of water coming over our sand bars, the water has to go somewhere, so what happens is it rushes in towards the beach and then pulls out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FIELD: When rip currents are at play out here at Jones Beach, the lifeguards say they will do on average 17-20 water rescues in a day. Rip currents certainly the biggest factor contributing to water rescues out here. Jones Beach and at a lot of beaches. So Alison, Victor, it's definitely something that people should think about today as they get in the water, the storm has just cleared out here and we know that hurricanes can often leave those rip currents in their wake. BLACKWELL: 17 to 20 water rescues a day on that beach alone.
All right. Alexandra Field, thank you.
KOSIK: It certainly looks beautiful out there today though. Let's bring in meteorologist Karen Maginnis with the latest on Arthur. Good morning, Karen.
KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning. As we do take a look at what's happening with Arthur, it is post-tropical Arthur. Had been at one time a category 2 hurricane. When it slammed onshore, the central coast of North Carolina. But now it's raced very rapidly up the northeastern coast and this morning we've been affected by the storm system right around the cape area of Massachusetts.
Now it's not completely moved out. But take a look at this. No clearly-defined eye. No wrapped-around moisture. But we are looking at just kind of a broad area of low pressure where the remnants are impacting Nova Scotia, also into New Brunswick.
A lot of that moisture making its way into the gulf of St. Lawrence, we've got a little bit leftover activity coming up into northern New England. Gusty winds, pretty heavy downpours. But up and down the eastern seaboard, yes, part of the worry will be a little heavy surf, perhaps a rip current as well. But as we look at Maine, those winds are coming out of the west around 20 miles per hour. But in Halifax, coming up from the south at close to 60 miles per hour.
So still has some potential for some gusty winds, and a rough surf. But we look towards the midwestern United States and this is our other area of focus. As we go into the afternoon. Into the midwestern United States, pretty much along interstate 235, running across Iowa and into Nebraska, strong thunderstorms in some areas, Alison and Victor, we've seen three and four inches already.
BLACKWELL: Karen Maginnis, thank you so much.
So you've got to see this recording if you haven't seen it already - a driver in California captures a beating that is shocking to a lot of people on tape. Look, the police officer holds the woman down on the ground and just pummels her face over and over again. But the California Highway Patrol says this tape does not tell the whole story.
KOSIK: Plus Joan Rivers may be a comedienne, but she's not laughing now, hear what she said to our colleague, Fredricka Whitfield during an interview.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: Eleven minutes after the hour. Now there are a lot of questions this morning about an alarming beating that was caught on tape. We're going to show it to you. But we have to tell you, it's shocking. You can see a woman, she's being punched in the face over and over again by a California Highway Patrol officer. He's now on administrative duty. There is an investigation under way now. CNN's Sara Sidner is in Los Angeles with details. Sara.
SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor and Alison, the witness said that he was in very heavy traffic. Basically at a standstill when all this happened right in front of him.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIDNER (voice-over): Video from a California freeway shot by a driver stunned by what he was seeing unfold. A woman being punched over and over and over again by a California Highway patrolman.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You see it, you heard it. It was like thump, thump, thump and then you hear her head bouncing - bam, bam, on the concrete.
SIDNER (on camera): How many times did he hit her?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've seen 11 on the video, he took more shots than that I think it was around 15 shots to her head. And then -
SIDNER: Punching.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Punching, this is not just like jabs, these are hooks, those are lights-out punches, those aren't like taps.
SIDNER (voice-over): the highway report says the woman posed a danger to herself and other drivers because she was walking within traffic lanes at times. When she was asked to stop, she continued ignoring the officer's command and ultimately she becomes physically combative, it says.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The tape only shows a small part of what transpired. There were events that led up to this. Until all that's collected, and put into perspective, we aren't going to be able to make a determination.
SIDNER: The eye witness who goes by the name, David Diaz says he saw exactly what led up to it before he started recording.
DAVID DIAZ, WITNESS: When you see the video, the first thing you hear is me laughing. The reason why is because before we got the video started, they were playing like a ring around the rosy behind the red truck so it's a grown man and a grown woman running around the truck. It's kind of like a Benny Hill moment, right? She's avoiding him and he's trying to get, it's almost like when we laugh when someone runs on the field in a baseball game.
SIDNER: He says she did eventually start walking towards the officer and that is when the takedown began.
DIAZ: He grabs her and she kind of is like does the resisting in terms of like natural reaction. And then he then grabs her, throws her to the floor and then gets on top of her, which then you would think OK he's just going do wrap her up, call it a day, another day in Los Angeles. But no, this wasn't the case.
SIDNER: The CHP says the woman who carried no i.d., was taken to hospital for a physical and mental evaluation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The report indicated that the individual was not injured and the officer didn't notice any injuries on the individual.
SIDNER: Diaz has a hard time believing that after seeing and hearing this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She didn't put up restraint. She did what anyone would do when they're getting pounded, to go like this. Now they say she's restrained, it's an excuse. We're giving too many excuses, there's no more rationalizing this. We need to stop this. And that's why I posted this video.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to make a determination as to what transpired in this situation. And we will do the right thing.
SIDNER: The officer involved has been put on administrative duty while the case is investigated.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIDNER: Witness Diaz says he has not spoken with anyone from the California Highway Patrol and that if they call him, he will discuss what he saw with them. Alison, Victor?
BLACKWELL: Sara Sidner, thank you so much.
KOSIK: Every time I see that - it - doesn't get easy to see. It really is.
Listen to this, a sinkhole that opened up near Chicago swallowed up a woman and her son in their car.
BLACKWELL: They were delivering newspapers this week when their car tumbled into this giant sinkhole. But then it got worse. A truck drove right over them. Listen to this. You can hear the panic in the mother's voice in this 911 call.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, no! Another car.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What just happened.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know, another car just went.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Another car just got there and hit you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you an officer?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, you did run over me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my god. Oh, my god. Are you OK?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: It gives me goosebumps, the mother made it out OK, but her son suffered fractured ribs and cuts all over his body. He's expected to make a full recovery. Amazing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've got him. He's 11:30.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: So look at this. An incredible rescue of a stranded hiker here. This man got stuck high on a cliff in Washington state. The Snow homish county helicopter rescue team swooped in, literally swooped in.
KOSIK: The rescuer was lowered down by cable, attached a hiker to it and they both got back up to the chopper safely. The sheriffs office is saying that the hiker had called 911 for help. Their helicopter rescue team, by the way, is made up of volunteers, they really are true heroes.
BLACKWELL: And appreciated obviously this morning.
Who needs fourth of July fireworks when you've got Joan Rivers.
KOSIK: Oh, yes.
BLACKWELL: The comedian who lately has been censoring her own typically outrageous commentary recently officiated a same-sex wedding.
KOSIK: When a photographer pitched her a question, the response was typical Rivers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think that the country will see the first, the United States will see the first gay president or the first woman president?
JOAN RIVERS, COMEDIAN: We already have it with Obama, let's just calm down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Got it.
RIVERS: You know Michelle is a tranny.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sorry, she's a what?
RIVERS: A transgender. We all know that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my gosh.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: And just when you think she said it all, Joan Rivers goes and shocks us all over again.
BLACKWELL: Here she was promoting her new book when some PETA supporters asked her why she still wears fur, including fur on the cover of her book.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RIVERS: You're absolutely right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: Rivers didn't seem too pleased with the questions. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RIVERS: Oh, shut up, you don't know what the [ bleep ] you're talking about.
All the fur I wear has been killed over the years. And those furs would be lying in a cellar, they've gotten to go to the opera. That's number one. Number two, if you're wearing - I totally agree with you, there are also other issues. But I do agree. PETA is right, I also work very hard, I have four rescued animals.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Seems to be some discrepancies there.
KOSIK: Yes, I think so.
BLACKWELL: Anyway. Let's look at the next up. It continues to go on. Our colleague, Fredricka Whitfield, got to sit down recently with Joan Rivers.
KOSIK: And she asked her about the criticism she's been getting over the furs.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RIVERS: You know this whole interview is becoming a defensive interview.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: No.
RIVERS: Are you wearing leather shoes?
WHITFIELD: Yes.
RIVERS: Shut up. You know what I mean? I don't want to hear. You're wearing fur. You're wearing leather shoes.
WHITFIELD: I'm not an activist. RIVERS: You're eating chicken. You're eating meat. I don't want to
hear this nonsense. Come to me with a paper belt and I'll talk to you.
WHITFIELD: But you did hear it in some of those press conferences, people were upset. You're just saying no way.
RIVERS: You know, I'm going, I really am going. Because all you've done is negative. All you have done is negative.
WHITFIELD: No.
RIVERS: All you've done is negative.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: So that's a short part of a long interview that becomes even more - I wouldn't say it's adversarial, because Fred was just asking the question that's timely. We'll see what happens, you got to be sure to tune in this morning at 11:00 Eastern to see what Joan Rivers does next.
KOSIK: Fred's full interview will be airing today when she anchors the CNN "Newsroom" right here on CNN.
BLACKWELL: We've got these horrifying new details about the murder of a Palestinian teenager who was snatched off the street near his home.
KOSIK: His death has led to violent clashes in Jerusalem. Our own Ben Wedeman got caught in the middle of it. He's going to join us live, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KOSIK: According to warrants obtained by CNN, the father whose toddler died after being left in a hot car made comments to family members regarding a $27,000 life insurance policy that he had on his son.
BLACKWELL: The news comes after the hearing this week where prosecutors described Ross Harris as an unfaithful husband who was in financial trouble. They even alleged he spent his day sexting with half a dozen women, one of them 16 years old. She was just a girl. All that happening while his 22-month-old son, Cooper, was left to die in the back of his scorching SUV.
We've got HLN legal analyst, Joey Jackson, also a defense attorney. So Joey, let me come to you with this we've learned about these searches, some of them were jut clicks on ads, how people die, animals in hot cars. The videos, if that's put into the context by the defense of 400 other videos on a myriad of topics, do those become less potent?
JOEY JACKSON, HLN LEGAL ANALYST: No. Well let me just say this - good morning Victor, good morning Alison.
KOSIK: Good morning.
JACKSON: Victor, you were in that courtroom, you covered it. Did an outstanding job. You know firsthand what happened here. This is my take-away from that probable cause hearing - motive and malice. And you know, we went into that probable cause hearing thinking all right, they'll be able to establish maybe negligence. I came away with a whole lot more than that and remember the context here, Victor and Alison.
The context is just to establish to the judge that there's enough to detain the defendant so that he could go to trial, not to establish his guilt. So if we're hearing this now and who knows what they held back, and then they're continuing to investigate, what are we going to hear later? And if you look to the question of motive, we will always wondering how could a father ever do this. It must have been a mistake. No one would ever do this.
And then we hear all the revelations about the searches, about the sexting, about the marital problems, about the life insurance. So now you have motivation and then you may even have an upgrade. Because now it's not just negligence, negligence is the failure to perceive a risk. I'm not paying attention, so I'm negligent. But this goes to potentially the issue of malice. It goes to the issue of a heart that's depraved.
Who would do this? And so I think there's real trouble here, for the defense. And you know, who knows what comes tomorrow. But if they are, the prosecution, able to prove up half of the things that we learned about in that hearing that you covered, Victor, oh boy, the defense is in for a bumpy ride and he's in trouble and the wife, while she may potentially be in trouble, too.
KOSIK: Yes, speaking of that, I mean how much does the reaction of his wife, the strange reaction of Harris, how much does that play into this? In fact one witness says Harris was quote "trying to you know work himself up. That he mentioned fear of losing his job." But hey, your kid just died a horrible death and you're worried about losing your job? How much is that factored in?
JACKSON: You know, it's a great point, Alison. If you're thinking about it, right, you're a potential juror, right? You have to believe that a potential juror would be thinking about the same thing. But I'll say this, from a defense perspective, listen, everyone grieves differently. Everyone reacts differently, under anxiety, under stress.
Is there ever a proper way to act, Alison? But when you measure that against everything else that's happened here and you measure that, you speak to the issue of the wife against her reaction, she goes to pick up the child. What does she first say that is reported? Oh, the child's not here. My husband must have left him in the car. Is that really a reaction that we would expect and anticipate?
She goes to see her husband there at the precinct. What does she say to him? Did you say too much? So when you combine all of those questions, Alison, with her reaction, it just makes you wonder what else here is amiss. And again they're continuing to investigate so the question I come out of that hearing are two things - as it relates to him, will they elevate the charges to capital murder death penalty? As it relates to the wife? Will they embroil her in this, because she's embroiled herself. Was this a grand conspiracy, I don't know today, but we'll see what tomorrow brings.
BLACKWELL: Yes, just fewer than 90 days now, they've got to deliver the indictment coming up soon. We'll see what the charges are, HLN legal analyst Joey Jackson, good to have you.
JACKSON: Good to have you. Thanks, Victor, thanks, Alison.
BLACKWELL: A deadly fire swept through a group of Philadelphia row houses overnight. Tragic story here about four kids, we'll get to the latest on that.
Also a serious radio team. They've been cut in half.
KOSIK: After one of the shock jocks from the "Opie and Anthony Show" is fired all over some controversial tweets.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KOSIK: Bottom of the hour now. Welcome back. I'm Alison Kosik, in for Christie Paul.
BLACKWELL: And I'm Victor Blackwell.
Here are five things you need to know for your NEW DAY:
Up first, four children are dead after massive fire tore through a Philadelphia neighborhood early this morning. The victims were a 1- month-old baby boy, 4-year-old twin girls and a 4-year-old boy. They were all in the same house. Seven other houses also burned, as flames jumped from porch to porch. More than 40 people are displaced. This fire is under investigation.
KOSIK: Number two, police in Canada are now saying that a, quote, "violent" crime took place at the home of two grandparents who are believed kidnapped, along with their 5-year-old grandson. An Amber Alert has been in effect since last Monday. Police added that one of the victims may be in medical distress. But they're hopeful that they can all be found alive. Officials are searching for a green Ford F- 150 that was seen in the area.
Number two, U.S. marine's pregnant wife is missing. Nineteen-year-old Erin Corwin was last seen leaving Twentynine Palms Marine Base in California a week ago today. She was on her way to Joshua Tree National Park at the time. Her car has since been found, and deputies are not ruling out foul play. Her mother flew out to California to help her, to help in the search for her daughter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LORE HEAVILIN, MISSING WOMAN'S MOTHER: My gut was just tore up. Just tore up. You feel like you're walking in a nightmare. (END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Number four, Anthony Cumia, part of the popular radio show "Opie and Anthony" was fired for a racially charged rant on Twitter. After being allegedly attacked by an African-American woman in Times Square, he released a series of tweets, calling the woman among others, an animal, and ranted about violence in the black community. His tweets, some of the history, is apparently deleted overnight, but he promised to address the story online next week.
Number five now, hurricane Arthur weakened overnight, now a post- tropical cyclone. About 40,000 people in North Carolina lost power. Communities all up and down the east coast, they saw the winds whipping and lashing rains and flooded streets.
Let's go to meteorologist Karen Maginnis with more now.
So, just a post-tropical cyclone, what's that mean and who does it mean anything for?
KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: There are no leftover characteristics of a hurricane or tropical storm. But now, we're looking at just kind of a broad area of low pressure that's going to get caught up in another weather system that's sweeping through. But the rainfall has been the heaviest right across Maine with some gusty winds. But the effect for the rest of the afternoon and indeed the weekend will be across Nova Scotia, and also into New Brunswick, while for northern New England, we'll start to see it begin to taper off.
But there were numerous reports of some flooded streets and some damage due to the high winds in Massachusetts. But for the most part, this storm is good-bye and that's good news.
Back to you, guys.
BLACKWELL: That is good news. Thank you very much, Karen.
We're getting some new horrifying details this morning about the brutal killing of the Palestinian teenager in Jerusalem.
KOSIK: According to the Palestinian general prosecutor, the teen was burned alive. His abduction and death has led to violent clashes in Jerusalem and in the West Bank.
BLACKWELL: Let's go to CNN senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman in Jerusalem.
We got these new details about this teenager who was killed. What's the evidence that's been cited that he was burned alive, Ben?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is from the Palestinian public prosecutor, who apparently the Palestinians took part with Israelis in the forensic tests on the body of 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khdeir. According to reports, he had burns over 90 percent of his body, a severe blow to the right side of his head. But they found traces of smoke inside his lungs, which according to the Palestinian public prosecutor, is an indication that he was breathing while still alive. So it does appear that the cause of death was from burning, from a fire.
The precise details of which aren't altogether clear. But already rumors are circulating wildly in this part of Jerusalem, that his kidnappers forced him to drink petrol, gas, and then lit him on fire. Now that, those details are not in the report. They may be rumors, but it's an indication of the charge that severe and the possibility that as these details circulate, whether true or false, that emotions may be even further enflamed.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN (voice-over): Mourners carried the body of Mohammed Abu Khdeir home. He's been dubbed (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE), the "dawn martyr", murdered by unknown abductors early Wednesday morning. A killing Israeli police are still investigating. But is widely believed to have been revenge for the murder of three Israeli teenagers kidnapped last month.
Israeli police had blocked all entrance to the Palestinian neighborhood of Shuafat where Abu Khdeir lived, but that didn't stop thousands from attending the funeral.
Emotions here further inflamed by images captured by a Shuafat resident and broadcast on Palestinian television that appeared to show Israeli police beating and kicking a youth on the ground.
CNN has learned the youth is 15-year-old Tariq Abu Khdair, a U.S. citizen. The funeral was followed by more clashes, by nightfall Friday, more than 60 protesters and 13 policemen had been injured.
As well as this correspondent, who was hit in the forehead with a rubber bullet, a minor wound promptly treated by medics.
While Jerusalem smolders, Israel and Hamas in Gaza, continue to exchange missile strikes and air strikes. In April, the U.S.-led peace process collapsed. July, a far darker process is in full swing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN: Now, we're in Shuafat at the moment and for the first time in three days, it's relatively quiet. We saw some of the shops opening back up again. Some people trying to clear the roads, clean the roads. But oftentimes what happens is after the daily breaking of the Ramadan fast, clashes can resume -- Victor, Alison.
KOSIK: OK. Ben Wedeman, thank you.
The Hobby Lobby case, the Supreme Court hands down a landmark ruling on employer's right to refuse to provide contraceptive coverage.
BLACKWELL: Now the decision is sparking questions about whether the justices are doing their jobs based on law, or ideology.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLACKWELL: On Tuesday, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in the controversial Hobby Lobby case. The majority opinion ruled that the contraception provision in the president's health care reform violated the company's religious beliefs.
KOSIK: This means that Hobby Lobby's health insurance does not have to cover certain forms of birth control. Already, repercussions are being felt across the country. On Thursday the Supreme Court ruled that Wheaton, a Christian college, at least temporarily, does not have to comply with the contraception provision, either.
The court's three female justices have written a scathing dissent.
BLACKWELL: OK. So, there are now some questions about the justice' politics, spurred in part by liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's dissent. She called the decision radical and of startling breadth. Namely, a lot of people are asking, is the Supreme Court making major rulings based on law or ideology?
KOSIK: And joining us now is Eric Segall, law professor at Georgia State Law School, and author of the book "Supreme Myths: Why the Supreme Court is Not a Court and Its Justices Are Not Judges".
Thanks for joining us, Professor Segall.
So, let's start with the majority opinion. Let's put up a graphic. And look at this -- Justice Alito wrote the opinion and here are the justices who agreed with him, all male, all conservative, all appointed by Republican presidents and all Catholic. Here's the dissenting judges, the three women on the court and the one man all appointed by Democratic presidents.
So, is this is what decided the case? Is it gender, religion and politics of the court, instead of following the law?
ERIC SEGALL, PROFESSOR, GEORGIA STATE LAW SCHOOL: Good morning.
It's definitely not the law and it never has been the law at the Supreme Court. This is not a new phenomenon. I don't want to suggest the Roberts Court is any different than all the courts that have come before it. The Supreme Court justices have life tenure and their decisions are virtually unreviewable. So, it's only natural that they come to see the law through their own personal lenses, and it's not politics per se, it's just their values.
One easy way to see is this to compare justices Ginsburg and Scalia. They're friends. They go to the opera together. They are very skilled lawyers and brilliant judges.
But they disagree on virtually every issue of constitutional law that comes to the Supreme Court. It's not because of their differing perspective on law. It's because of their differing perspective on the world.
BLACKWELL: You know, this is something that I guess has gone on for some time. That people believe that once you get that robe and you take that famous photograph you're not going anywhere for the rest of your life, you can make these determinations based on whatever you choose. Everybody hopes of course it's the law.
Should there be, because these people will have this job for the rest of their lives, if they choose to keep it, should there be term limits? Is there a conversation that at least we should have?
SEGALL: Yes, my book comes out very strongly. As have many other law professors, both on the left and the right, this is not a partisan issue. A lot of other countries follow our Supreme Court's pattern of invalidating laws. None of them have life tenure. There is not a judge in the world in any democracy who sits on the highest court of their land and has life tenure.
The justices need their independence and we should give them that. Fixed terms, 18 years maybe, a salary for life. And then you wouldn't have such agonizing issues as I'm sure Justice Ginsburg has today.
KOSIK: I was just going to say, to your point that you first made, that this is nothing new, that they don't necessarily follow the law only. Why are we hearing about these other things that may go into their decision-making? Why are we hearing about it now with this case and so fervently?
SEGALL: If you had a time machine and went back, you would see the media of the day in the 1870s, in the 1930s and definitely the 1960s with the Warren Court saying exactly the same thing we're saying today. There are always a sizeable number of people -- law professors, journalists, political scientists -- who claim the Supreme Court's decisions are based on their personal values, not the law. It's not the first time we're hearing about it.
The America people, I have to say, like to have this myth, that is the title of my book, that the court follows the law. It follows their personal values. Now, there are some things they can't do. If they get too far ahead or behind of the America people, like on the New Deal. And then Roosevelt comes in and threatens to pack the court, then I think they have some issues.
But, generally speaking, and again, look at Scalia and Ginsburg, the difference is values, not law.
BLACKWELL: Let's talk about Justice Ginsburg, 81 years old, two-time cancer survivor. But if she doesn't leave the court in the next two years or so, during the Obama administration, she then possibly leaves her seat open for a Republican president to fill with their justice of choice. And we know that there have been justices in the recent past who have said I'm going to stay until there's a Democratic president.
How much does that play into the decision of these justices to stay on maybe too long?
SEGALL: I'm not going to give Justice Ginsburg advice, she's one of the great American people.
But here's the thing -- Justice Marshall couldn't hold on long enough. Thurgood Marshall, argued Brown versus Board. He was -- he was almost there to Clinton, but he couldn't make it. George Bush 1st got to name his replacement. That was Clarence Thomas.
If Marshall had hung on until Clinton, there would have been no Citizens United, there would be no Heller gun case, the affirmative action landscape of this country would be totally different.
So, if Justice Ginsburg asked me as a friend, what should I do? I would say the last thing you want is to have a republican president appoint your successor. Think about the difference between Thurgood Marshall, one of our great liberal justices, and Justice Clarence Thomas, one of our conservative justices.
BLACKWELL: It's been 5-4, one way or the other for a very long time.
SEGALL: Justice Marshall in the -- would have switched the vote in Citizens United.
BLACKWELL: Yes, wow. Eric Segall, good to have this conversation.
SEGALL: Thank you very much. Appreciate being here.
KOSIK: Here's a question for you -- did Facebook go too far?
BLACKWELL: We're just finding out about the mood-altering study from 2012, where the social media giant manipulated the counts.
KOSIK: And now, some are saying Facebook could be in a lot of trouble.
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BLACKWELL: Welcome back.
Now, you probably heard by now that Facebook manipulated those newsfeeds?
KOSIK: Shocker, right.
A controversial study of theirs basically grew out of the idea that people get depressed when they see pictures and videos of others living amazing lives -- you know, vacations, weddings, babies, all that kind of stuff.
BLACKWELL: So, Facebook altered the amount of positive or negative content that 700,000 users saw, and examined their subsequent emotions. And according to the lead researchers, Facebook post, they found -- excuse me -- the exact opposite to what was the conventional wisdom, seeing a certain kind of emotion, positive, encourages rather suppresses it.
KOSIK: Joining us to talk more about this, author Ben Mezrich. He wrote "Accidental Billionaires." The book inspired the hit Facebook film "The Social Network." He also just released a children's book "Bringing Down the Mouse."
BLACKWELL: We got Lauren Walsh here. She teaches at New York University.
Good to have both of you.
I'm going to start with Lauren.
Let's talk about these results. Do you agree with Facebook's findings? And really, how does Facebook social media for that matter, affect one's mood?
LAUREN WALSH, NYU, GALLATIN SCHOOL OF INDIVIDUALIZED STUDY: Good morning. Thanks for having me here.
You know, the findings -- sure, I think it makes sense that Facebook affects our moods. And you think about it you sit down, you look at a newsfeed, you see some positive news about a good friend. She just got a job promotion, she just had a baby, you're liable to feel happy in response, right?
I think the issue of you know, do users feel sad or things like envious or dissatisfied with their own lives comes up when they're looking at an endless stream of constructed, perfected, seemingly flawless or super-exciting, super-successful lives. It can make some users start to feel like why is my own life not quite as perfect in comparison.
KOSIK: Ben, in your book, you paint Zuckerberg as a bit of a calculating and ethically challenged entrepreneur. What do you think? Does this study fit with something you would expect from him? Or were you actually surprised by it?
BEN MEZRICH, AUTHOR, "ACCIDENTAL BILLIONAIRES": Oh, I'm not surprised. I mean we're all kind of lab rats in the big Facebook experiment. Facebook you know, it's all about taking all of the stuff we put on it, all of the news we put on it, and using it to make money, really. I mean I have nothing against Zuckerberg, I think he's an amazing genius. But Facebook isn't like a bulletin board, you don't have any privacy on it. It's all about taking the data you put on it and finding ways to monetize that.
So, I'm not surprised they're doing experiments on us in a way. I'm surprised that it was just for, you know, a study for universities, not a study to make more money.
BLACKWELL: Yes, how can they increase the bottom line.
Lauren, let me come at you about the emotion about this, because there are critics who say a depressed person could have been more depressed as a result of the study with the manipulation, how is this, this world of social media connected to self-worth? I know people who are hungry for "likes", and want all the follow-backs they can get.
WALSH: Yes, I've even heard the term like addiction, this desire or obsessive desire to get as many likes as possible. You know you post a picture of yourself where you think you look good, and sure, it feels really good when people agree with you, when you get a whole bunch of likes. You know, they validate your opinion and in a way they're validating you.
I guess the concern is, are we getting too dependant on that kind of validation? I had a student at NYU come to me once to say that she was genuinely and profoundly upset that she didn't get enough, or what she deemed to be enough happy birthday wishes on her Facebook page. She didn't feel acknowledged enough.
KOSIK: Wow. That's really amazing. Incredible to hear that we rely that much on Facebook for our self-worth. That's kind of scary.
Ben, you know what, you pointed out that Zuckerberg wants as many people on Facebook as possible. Do you think that this study was a big fat mistake, given the recent backlash?
MEZRICH: Well, I mean, I think the way that they handled it, the way they talk about it afterwards was a mistakes, I mean, I think there was a way to do things like this without making people feel like they're lab rats, you know? Looking at our data, trying to understand what we feel and what makes us happy and what -- isn't necessarily a bad thing. But doing it without telling anybody, doing these things in secrecy, it makes you feel like people are watching and I think that's an odd feeling.
And Facebook is supposed to be fun and it's supposed to be fun and it's supposed to be, you know, it's part of your social life, just something you do everybody and you don't want people to think that you're being stared at while you're doing that.
BLACKWELL: You know, parents I'm sure hearing this, this information about mood, manipulation, are wondering if they're teenagers, their children are more susceptible to having Facebook or someone else's innocent post alter their mood. Would it be erroneous to think that younger people are more susceptible to that manipulation?
WALSH: I do think that you now, millennials are more susceptible. They're at a more critical point in the development of their own identity, figuring out who they are, how they're going to define and present themselves to the world.
So, I think these pressures to be liked, or these pressures to be popular are -- weigh more heavily on them. And, of course, popular, it becomes a strange thing in the world of Facebook because you have all of these friends, but as we know, the concept of friend has changed in the world of Facebook.
A friend can be someone who you do know, but it can also be someone who exists very much at a remove from you. It might even be a total stranger. And yet I think there is this push to have as many friends as possible, especially kind of for younger teenage users.
KOSIK: All right. Ben Mezrich, Lauren Walsh, thanks so much for your time.
BLACKWELL: Great conversation this morning. Thank you both.
WALSH: Thank you. KOSIK: The differences with Facebook and being targeted for ads, you know, where you see, oh my gosh you see on your computer, the same thing pops up or --
BLACKWELL: Yes.
KOSIK: It's just Facebook is so personal. It's like a personal relationship.
BLACKWELL: It has a lot there. I mean, it has a lot of history there.
KOSIK: You know, so it's the 5th of July, just had the 4th. If I asked you, what's your favorite performance, your favorite celebrity performance of the "Star-Spangled Banner", a lot of us would guess and choose this one. Let's play it.
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KOSIK: I was just going to say it, Whitney Houston.
So, what is the secret to hitting those high notes? CNN caught up with a vice coach who has the answer.
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SERFATY (voice-over): It's a song that can soar. Or sink.
Enter Michael Dean -- on a mission to save singer's egos and our ears.
MICHAEL DEAN, MUSIC DEPARTMENT CHAIR, UCLA: The worst part is those performances are bad for everyone. They are bad for the singer and they are horrendous for the listeners.
SERFATY: Call it the how-not-to-butcher-the-national-anthem class. Scores of pop stars a list so exclusive it's kept secret have come to him to prep for their national anthem performances, and avoid the humiliation by not only learning the technique of the song but its meaning.
The song has its hazards, a sprawling vocal range of an octave and a half, setting up this crucial moment that, well -- usually crashes and burns, and the tricky lyrics written not in normal speech patterns but in poetry.
MARY ACEBEDO, TOURIST: Oh, say can you see by the star shining bright --
AUSTIN BUNLEP, TOURIST: And the rockets red -- red glare --
JOHN PRILLO, TOURIST: Oh, the ramparts we watched.
SERFATY: Dean says so many people forget the words because they don't understand them.
PRILLO: So gallantly streaming. DEAN: If it's just a lot of nonsense words, then the audience is
going to receive it as a lot of nonsense words. So, studying why this piece was originally written is very important for the singer to do.
SERFATY: Sadly, it seems these days the anticipation of a bad anthem is now the norm.
DEAN: A lot of people have told me when they listen to the national anthem and it goes reasonable well, the only feeling they feel is relief. They don't actually feel moved or changed or inspired. They're just relieved that it wasn't awful.
SERFATY: Cringe-worthy moments Dean is working one note at a time to avoid.
Sunlen, Serfaty, CNN, Washington.
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