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New Day
Zimmerman Jury Returns This Morning; Snowden Asks for Asylum in Russia; Obama and Putin Discuss Intel Leaker; Confessed Boston Strangler Exhumed; Zimmerman Jurors Barred from Using Social Media; Alex Rodriguez Meets with Baseball Officials; World Awaits Royal Couple's Baby
Aired July 13, 2013 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK O'MARA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Skittles trying to get home.
JOHN GUY, PROSECUTOR: It's not a case about self-defense. It's a case about self-denial.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: The evidence is in. The arguments have been made. Now it is up to six women. What will be George Zimmerman's fate? We are in jury watch.
(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.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Holed up in a Moscow airport lounge for three weeks. He's not so comfortable anymore. Edward Snowden says he's ready for asylum but there's a problem, getting out of the airport.
HARLOW: Indeed.
And today could be the day that the royal baby makes his or her debut. We are live outside the hospital in London to await the grand entrance of the newest prince or princess.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Poppy Harlow.
BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to have you. 6:00 straight up on this Saturday. Welcome to your NEW DAY and welcome to you, Poppy Harlow.
HARLOW: Good to be with you here in Atlanta. You know, it's cooler here, a nice day, than it is up in New York City. I'm enjoying it.
BLACKWELL: Well, it's always a wonderful 72 degrees here in the studio.
HARLOW: Always.
BLACKWELL: Always.
HARLOW: Always in the studio.
BLACKWELL: But it's good to have you.
In Sanford, Florida, that's where we're starting this morning.
HARLOW: Yes. Yes, absolutely.
BLACKWELL: Sunrise still more than 30 minutes away or so but, of course, that's where we're starting. That's the big story.
HARLOW: It is the story. Three hours from now, six women will return to work. The job they've been at for three plus weeks. Their job, to decide the fate of George Zimmerman. Their choices, find him guilty of second degree murder or manslaughter or set him free. CNN's George Howell is outside the courthouse for us this morning.
Good morning, George.
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
So it was a very interesting day and now here we are on -
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL (voice-over): Arguments, the final stage in the trial against George Zimmerman for the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
BERNIE DE LA RIONDA, PROSECUTOR: A teenager is dead. He is dead through no fault of his own. He is dead because another man made assumptions.
HOWELL: Prosecutor Bernie De La Rionda went into great detail, pointing out inconsistencies in Zimmerman's story. From the national television interview he did, to the video re-enactment conducted with police. The prosecutor then picked apart Zimmerman's account of what happened.
DE LA RIONDA: Why is he able to yell if the defendant claims the victim was - how's he - how's he going to talk? Or is he lying about that? Look at the gun. Look at the size of this gun. How did the victim see that in the darkness?
HOWELL: In closing, De La Rionda even elicited a reaction from George Zimmerman.
DE LA RIONDA: Unfortunately, the only photographs left of Trayvon Martin are those M.E. photographs. I mean they've still got other photographs, and we saw some of them, the football in his younger days, but they can't take any more photos. And that's true because of the reactions of one person, the man before you, the defendant, George Zimmerman. The man who is guilty of second degree murder.
HOWELL: Before closing arguments even began -- DON WEST, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Just when I thought this case couldn't get any more bizarre, the state is seeking third degree murder based on child abuse?
HOWELL: Defense Attorney Don West didn't mince words during the hearing on the state's request to include a lesser charge of third degree felony murder as one of the options for jurors to consider. West called the state's strategy a trick.
WEST: This is outrageous. It's outrageous that the state would seek to do this at this time.
HOWELL: In the end, Judge Debra Nelson ruled against that option, but will allow jurors to consider manslaughter as a possible alternative to second degree murder.
George Howell, CNN, Sanford, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: And here we are now, the day that the verdict could come down, could happen today, could happen Monday, could even happen Sunday. It's very unclear exactly what will go down with this judge as she basically waits for this jury to come back from deliberations.
We heard from Prosecutor John Guy the other day. He made an emotional appeal to these jurors, telling them to look into the heart. Look into the heart of George Zimmerman. Look into the heart of Trayvon Martin. But specifically ask whether George Zimmerman wanted to shoot or just didn't want to shoot, if it was an accident. He suggested that it was.
And we also heard from Mark O'Mara. Mark O'Mara did sort of a legal lesson, if you will, explaining to jurors, first of all, what it takes to charge a person for a crime. Basically to find a person guilty or not guilty. Went through great explanation with that and then he showed several charts. And he showed that video reenactment of the scene from the account of George Zimmerman and also explained to jurors that, you know, they have to decide based on the facts, not on circumstantial evidence.
It will be very interesting to see what happens and when this happens, but, again, we are on verdict watch. It could come down today. It could come down tomorrow, possibly. But we're also waiting to see what happens Monday.
HARLOW: Yes, absolutely. The world is certainly, certainly watching this, as we all have been glued to the screens here. And we're going to be covering this inside and out all morning. Our thanks to George Howell.
All right, now I want to take you to Moscow, and the latest move by admitted NSA leaker Edward Snowden. He has been in the airport in Moscow for three weeks now, but now he wants to stay a little bit longer. A switch of course here. Our Phil Black is live in Moscow. He's been following this from the beginning. Phil, good morning to you or good afternoon to you. Tell us about Snowden's decision to ask for asylum from Russia. Why did - why did he change course here?
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Poppy, it looks like he's really run out of options so Snowden did something unexpected, he called a meeting of Russian-based human rights workers to the airport where he's been staying. And he opened this meeting with a statement. Now, this is the first time we've seen or heard from him since he arrived, as you mentioned, almost three weeks ago. Take a look.
(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, without any warrant of law, to search for, seize, and read your communications. Anyone's communications at any time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACK: So during that meeting Snowden announced his changes of plans. He now wants to stay in Russia, at least temporarily. He wants the Russian government to grant him asylum here. And that is because he believes it's very likely if he tries to travel to one of the Latin American countries, like Venezuela that has already offered to protect him, that the United States or its allies will intercept him. Now, Snowden has previously withdrawn an earlier application for asylum here in Russia and he did that because the Russian government set a condition. It said that he would have to stop all work that is aimed at harming the United States. Snowden now says he is ready, willing and promised to live up to that consideration.
Poppy.
HARLOW: And our thanks to Phil Black. Thank you, Phil, for that.
You know, it was also very interesting, Victor, because the White House came out with this statement yesterday. We know President Obama talked to President Putin and then the White House came out with this statement criticizing Russia for giving Snowden what they're called a propaganda platform. This is very, very political as we watch Snowden wait.
BLACKWELL: Yes, let's talk about that conversation between President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin. They talked, of course, about the Snowden affair.
HARLOW: Uh-huh. We get part of that story from our Jim Acosta.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Poppy and Victor, the White House confirms President Obama did talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone on Friday about NSA leaker Edward Snowden. Administration officials had little to say in a statement about the conversation between the two leaders, but earlier in the day White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, in what was some very tough language, took issue with the public meeting Snowden held with human rights officials at the airport where he's hiding out currently in Moscow. Carney accused the Russians of providing what he called a platform for propaganda. He also said that Snowden is by no means a human rights activist, noting the NSA leaker is facing felony charges back in the U.S.
No word on whether President Obama expressed any of that in his conversation with Vladimir Putin. But the White House says it remains hopeful that this matter will not damage U.S./Russian relations.
Poppy and Victor.
BLACKWELL: All right, Jim Acosta at the White House for us. Thank you.
HARLOW: Meantime, a lot of news out of Texas for you this morning. The Texas State Senate has just approved one of the strictest anti- abortion measures in the entire country. This bill bans abortions after 20 weeks. It requires clinics to perform abortions, meet the same standards as surgical clinics. That matters because that could mean that most of the abortion clinics in Texas don't meet that standard and could close. It has strong backing from Republican Governor Rick Perry. A version of this bill, you'll recall, died last month after an 11-hour filibuster by Senator Wendy Davis. In passing on Friday, Texas joins a handful of conservative states that have enacted similar laws.
BLACKWELL: A third person has now died as a result of the Asiana Airlines crash. A hospital official in San Francisco says a girl has died from her injuries. No other details about her were released, but police are now saying one of the other two teenagers who died right after the crash was hit by a fire truck responding to the scene. Now, the 16-year-old was on the ground. She was covered in foam when she was hit. It's not clear yet if she was dead already when the truck hit her.
HARLOW: And you remember this name and this face. Ariel Castro. He now faces nearly 1,000 charges for allegedly holding three young women hostage in his Cleveland home for almost a decade. This is a new indictment and it replaces the earlier one. That earlier one only covered the first four and a half years of captivity for those three young women. The new charges again include two counts of alleged murder because Castro allegedly beat one of the women so hard so that she would abort a pregnancy. He is scheduled to be arraigned once again on Wednesday. And if this goes to trial, that is set to begin August 5th.
Also, in money news, if you're watching the markets, you saw a big jump this week. Stock edged higher on Friday, sending both the Dow and the S&P 500 to an all-time high yesterday. Stocks started to shoot up midweek after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke reassured investors that the central bank's bond-buying program that is helping fuel this economy would not be ending anytime soon.
BLACKWELL: Malala Yousafzai is making the first public comments since her recovery. She's the Pakistani teenager who survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban. Well, she spoke at the U.N. on Friday about the need for children's education and why being targeted by the Taliban only made her stronger.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MALALA YOUSAFZAI, ACTIVIST: They thought that the bullet would silence us, but they failed. And although the silence came, thousands of voices, the terrorist thought that they would change my aims (ph) and stop my ambitions, but nothing changed in my life except this -- weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was born.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Teenager. Malala says the pink scarf she's wearing once belonged to the late Indian Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
HARLOW: She just amazes me. I mean listening to her. And she said at one point at the United Nations, she said, is this not about me. This is about every young boy and young girl.
BLACKWELL: She is proudly defiant.
HARLOW: Yes.
BLACKWELL: And initially what her call was, was for children to be educated. And that has just only been added to a list of other causes. So inspirational.
HARLOW: Amazing woman.
All right, well, coming up, Zimmerman Defense Attorney Mark O'Mara says his client would have never been arrested if it weren't for a smear campaign led by one man. We're going to tell you who he blames.
Also --
BLACKWELL: The man who claimed to be the "Boston strangler" exhumed. Soon we might know if Albert DeSalvo was a serial killer or a serial liar.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do we what?
CROWD: Justice!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When do we want it?
CROWD: Now!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do we want?
CROWD: Justice!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When do we want it? CROWD: Now!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: That is video of protests that you and I were both watching yesterday.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
HARLOW: Not huge protests. Maybe a few dozen people outside of the courthouse there in Sanford, Florida.
BLACKWELL: People are getting very passionate about this case from the very start and we're seeing that passion continue through the wait for the verdict.
HARLOW: Continue to play out. Uh-huh, absolutely. And from the very first words of the opening statements, attorneys on both sides of this case have stoked anger and have assigned blame.
BLACKWELL: Now, the latest comment to raise eyebrows comes from outside the courtroom. Listen to what Zimmerman Defense Attorney Mark O'Mara has said about the attorney representing the family of Trayvon Martin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do you think that George Zimmerman would have even been charged had Ben Crump not been pulled into this?
MARK O'MARA, GEORGE ZIMMERMAN'S ATTORNEY: No, Ben Crump, or someone like him, because had Ben Crump not gotten involved in the case, maybe for some good reasons to begin with, if he believed that there was something here that was being swept under the rug, then get on into it. I'm very OK with that. I -
SAVIDGE: But you didn't quite say it that way. You made it sound like it was Ben Crump, George Zimmerman would be free at this time and we would not be in a trial.
O'MARA: That's correct. I think that it was a made-up story for purposes that had nothing to do with George Zimmerman and that they victimized him. They complained about Trayvon Martin being victimized. George Zimmerman was victimized by a publicity campaign to smear him, to call him a racist when he wasn't and to call him a murderer when he wasn't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: And Ben Crump has been, for a lot of people, a lightning bolt in this case. There are a lot of people who agree with Mark O'Mara.
HARLOW: Yes.
BLACKWELL: There are some people who see Ben Crump as someone who has brought this story to the forefront, that without his charisma, without his help, it would not get the attention it has. O'Mara says, Zimmerman's life, on the other hand, is forever changed regardless of what the verdict is when the jury returns.
HARLOW: And he also says that the jury remains as much a mystery now to him as the day that those six women were seated.
I want to play more of Martin Savidge's interview with Mark O'Mara for you. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE: Let's talk about the makeup of the jury.
O'MARA: OK.
SAVIDGE: This is - you know, first of all, it's six people.
O'MARA: Yes.
SAVIDGE: It's six women.
O'MARA: Yes.
SAVIDGE: One person of color and five who are mothers, correct?
O'MARA: Yes. Interesting because, of course, the jury selection process is very intriguing to me. I enjoy the process.
SAVIDGE: Is that the jury you wanted?
O'MARA: Yes. In this way. When we were going through it, I was surprised that the state struck the first black male that they struck. I was surprised by that. Once they had done that, then they seemed to be moving down the path, just getting rid of a bunch of white women. And I think that's inappropriate. And I challenged them on that and the judge agreed with me that they were removing women, white women, because they were white women. So we ended up having two more on. So that sort of brought us up to four. And then we went further down the list.
So in my perfect jury, I would like to have more of a demographic switch. Maybe more males. But I'm very OK with the six people that we have now, for reasons that we talked about. I think they're very attentive and are listening.
SAVIDGE: Do you think that maybe a man might take the self-defense, hear that differently than say five women or six women, and five of whom are a mother?
O'MARA: Yes, it's so hard to say. I have been batting about zero in picking what jurors are going to do and how they're going to do it and what they're thinking. My greatest failing is I wish I could get inside a jury room just once.
But having said that, you know, I think the women are going to be very sensitized to the fact that a son has been lost. Trayvon Martin has been lost. That's going to be a sensitivity that they have. On the other hand, I think they're going to be very aware of what it's like to be in a situation where you might be being victimized and have to react to that. So it's -- I think that they're - I think they're a good panel.
SAVIDGE: They have been very attentive.
O'MARA: A lot of notes.
SAVIDGE: I can say that from seeing that myself.
O'MARA: Yes, very engaged. I mean they jump up when we walk towards them. That's interesting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: Also important to note the judge has ruled that the names of the jurors will not be released for some time.
We want to note that we asked the state of Florida, also prosecutors, if they would speak with us, they declined, saying that after a verdict is handed down, they will speak with our sister network, HLN.
We also reached out to the Martin family for taped interviews. They too said they are waiting until after the verdict.
We're going to have much more ahead on this and the other news of the day on NEW DAY right after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: Twenty-three minutes after the hour now.
The "Boston strangler" is back in the news this morning. The late Albert DeSalvo confessed to being the infamous serial killer but authorities could never link him to the crimes. He actually went to prison on unrelated rape charges.
HARLOW: But half a century of uncertainty, this could all change in a few days. Investigators think that they will finally find out if DeSalvo actually told the truth. Our Susan Candiotti has more.
Susan.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Victor and Poppy, good morning.
This is a case that may be solved not only because of scientific advances, but also (INAUDIBLE) perseverance by investigators. That's what ultimately led to a remarkable, chilling and creepy scene at a Boston area cemetery Friday when a bulldozer dug up the remains of the self-admitted "Boston strangler."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Albert DeSalvo confessed to being the notorious "Boston strangler," but police never proved it. Almost a half century later, investigators may have cracked the case.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A Suffolk superior court judge authorized the exhumation of DeSalvo's remains but confirmatory testing that we expect will prove DeSalvo's guilt once and for all.
CANDIOTTI: Guilt at least in the case of Mary Sullivan, believed to be the "Boston strangler's" final victim. The 19-year-old was raped and strangled. There were 10 other victims between 1962 and '64, terrorizing the Boston area, grabbing international headlines and the silver screen.
DeSalvo was sentenced to life for unrelated crimes and stabbed to death in prison. Thanks to new technology, authorities say they've matched DNA from one of the strangler's relatives to DNA preserved 49 years ago from the crime scene and victim Mary Sullivan.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): Plains clothed detectives secretly tailed a DeSalvo relative to get that DNA sample. A source tells CNN, when he threw away a plastic water bottle at a construction site, they grabbed it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a fair and a legal, an ethical method for collecting. We would have probably given them a lot of anxiety, perhaps, if we had approached them directly.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): In a statement, Albert DeSalvo's family said they're "outraged and offended," calling the cloak and dagger surveillance an "invasion of privacy." Victim Mary Sullivan's nephew, Casey Sherman, who has written a book on the case, praises police for not giving up.
CASEY SHERMAN, MARY SULLIVAN'S NEPHEW: I've lived with Mary's memory every day, my whole life, and I didn't know, nor did my mother know, that other people were living with her memory as well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The ability to provide closure to a family after 50 years is just a remarkable thing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI: Once DeSalvo's body is exhumed, DNA results are expected in days, likely solving a legendary murder mystery.
Poppy and Victor.
BLACKWELL: All right, Susan, thank you.
Social media on alert.
HARLOW: This is as we await a verdict in the George Zimmerman trial. We're going to tell you what is trending straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARLOW: Bottom of the hour now. Welcome back, everyone. It is 6:30 in the morning on the East Coast. I'm Poppy Harlow.
BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Pleasure to have you with us, here are five things you need to know this morning.
Number one, the White House is warning Russia against giving Edward Snowden, a, quote, "propaganda platform." Snowden leaked details of the NSA surveillance program and now he wants temporary asylum in Russia. That is, until he can get to Latin America. Snowden has been stuck at a Moscow airport for about three weeks now. His U.S. passport has been revoked. And Snowden made the announcement during a meeting with human rights activist at the airport.
HARLOW: Number two, a fatal train crash in France. Rail stations across the country just observed the moment of silence to honor the victims, at least six people were killed when a passenger train derailed south of Paris. Government officials say more victims could be found today. The head of the railway says that a mechanical failure is what caused the crash.
BLACKWELL: Three now, officials in Newtown, Connecticut, are trying to decide how to divvy up the $11.6 million donated after last year's school rampage. The shooting rampage there. Under a proposal laid out this week, families of the 20 children and six teachers killed would get almost $300,000 apiece. Two teachers who were shot and the families of 12 other students would also receive money. And the rest, almost $4 million, would be used to help the community cope with this tragedy.
HARLOW: Number four, Ariel Castro. You remember him and that face. He now faces nearly 1,000 charges for allegedly holding three young women hostage in his Cleveland home for almost a decade. The new indictment released - replaces an earlier indictment that covered only the first 4 1/2 years of that captivity. The new charges again include two counts of aggravated murder because Castro allegedly beat one of the women so that she would abort pregnancies. He is scheduled to be arraigned again on Wednesday, and if this goes to trial, that will begin August Fifth.
BLACKWELL: Five, the Texas state senate has approved one of the strictest anti-abortion measures in the country. This bill bans abortions after 20 weeks and requires clinics that perform abortions to meet the same standards as surgical centers, and that could force most of them to close. It's a strong backing from the Republican Governor Rick Perry. A version of the bill died last month after, and you probably remember this, 11-hour filibuster by Senator Wendy Davis.
HARLOW: Well, jurors in the George Zimmerman trial have been banned from any social media that could possibly mention the case whatsoever. And as you know, they have been given strict instructions every time they leave the courtroom from Judge Nelson.
BLACKWELL: Yeah, that's probably a wise move since supporters of Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin are putting their passions on display all over the Internet, all over social media. Nick Valencia is with us now. Nick, we can see in not just words, but also pictures how people are showing their allegiances on Facebook, Twitter and you can go down the list.
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, this thing has really taken hundreds of thousands of people weighing in with their reaction and right now, at least on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, those forums, it's overwhelming in support of Trayvon Martin. Of course, George Zimmerman, he does have his supporters, but trending right now this hour is the steam, the blackout for Trayvon Martin, and that's making your social media profile black in solidarity with Trayvon Martin. Making the actual profile picture black. Pop Daddy has done it, the Red Mogul, Gabriel Union, she is a singer, and Benjamin Crump, he is the attorney for the Trayvon Martin family, he's also weighed in his things and his support for those celebrities. I believe that we have a graphic showing Benjamin Crump thanking the celebrities and supporters of Trayvon Martin worldwide for the outpouring of love and support to the Martin family. God bless you. Another celebrity weighing in, is the outspoken NFL puncher Chris Kluwe. He weighs in by saying, if I ever need to kill someone I'm going to claim I stood my ground in Florida. Good thing I'm white.
Now, moving on from that, other people have been very outspoken as well in support of George Zimmerman, this is not just in support of Trayvon Martin. One of those Facebook pages, just from a resident in the United States saying, "when this trial first started I have not heard much about this case. But after watching it every day, I could not find him guilty of either murder two or manslaughter." This, of course, talking about George Zimmerman. "It's sad to see this has been turned into a race issue by T.M., Trayvon Martin supporters. I feel for his family, he brought it on himself." So, a lot of reaction both good and bad for George Zimmerman and for Trayvon Martin. Tweets are going to be coming in as we continue to monitor this potential verdict to happen today.
HARLOW: And this is the new one. I mean this has been all over social media since the beginning for a year now.
BLACKWELL: Yeah, and I think a lot of people learned about this initially back in February of last year from social media so I know that the passion has been fueled online.
HARLOW: Yeah.
BLACKWELL: And we'll see ...
VALENCIA: That's a good point.
BLACKWELL: Nick Valencia, thank you.
HARLOW: Thank, Nick.
BLACKWELL: We're talking Alex Rodriguez. He's back on sports radar this morning. And if you think this is the story about his rehab process, that hip injury, it is not. It is something new.
HARLOW: And royal watchers waiting, waiting, waiting for the impending birth of Will and Kate's baby. We're going to take you live to London. But first, the last seven days, the last seven days, what a week. We have seen a horrific fatal plane crash. Also the stunning conclusion of arguments in the George Zimmerman trial. Here's a look back at the week in pictures.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: 21 minutes till the top of the hour. Time now for sports. Alex Rodriguez is making more news off the field. Joe Carter is here. Joe, good morning.
JOE CARTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, good morning to you. Yeah, Alex Rodriguez met with baseball officials yesterday to talk about his alleged connection to Tony Bosch and the Biogenesis clinic in Miami. It's unknown how many questions were asked or what was answered, by according to the Associated Press, we do know that the meeting took place in Tampa, Florida where A-Rod has been rehabbing for the past few months. And of course, he's the biggest star among the 20 players named in this investigation. And he could be suspended for 100 games, if the commissioner believes he was given performance-enhancing drugs from this now closed clinic. And the suspension could be announced as early as next week, so I'm saying, Wednesday, Thursday. And, of course, Alex Rodriguez through this all has denied involvement with the clinic and with Tony Bosch.
You know, baseball fans will do just about anything for a foul ball, more proof at that last night of the Pirates game, watch this fan, he goes over the railing for the foul ball. Head over heels, but it seems it's all for one young fan. That's a gentleman, guys, look at this.
Over the railing and all for the little kid. Very nice.
You know, tickets for the Tennessee Titans went on sale yesterday. And most fans these days buy tickets online. You know, you don't have to wait online. It's easier. You can do it from the comfort of your couch. But not this fan, he was the only person camping out for tickets yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHANIE LANGSTON: Are you awake?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.
LANGSTON: Oh, good morning, hey, it's Stephanie Langston. I talked to you last year. You're always first in line here to get your Titans tickets. This year, you're the only one here, though?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got to get up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
CARTER: So, usually dozens of fans will camp out for tickets for days, guys. Now, of course, they buy them online as they said, but that loyal fan slept overnight and does not want to let go of that tradition. I don't know how I'd react if somebody woke me up after sleeping outside to TV camera and a live reporter. I don't know how ...
BLACKWELL: I would probably do the same thing.
(LAUGHTER)
BLACKWELL: And you know what? Is it me, or was that kid who received the ball, the guy dove onto the next level for, he was underwhelmed - like, yeah, I'll take it if you ...
CARTER: And you know what? He was a Mets fans. So that was even more of a nice gesture. Yeah, he was a Metz man.
BLACKWELL: All right, thank you, Neil, and that's kind of all nice.
CARTER: Thank you, Joe. You bet, guys.
HARLOW: All right, we're following moment by moment the baby watch. It's reaching a fever pitch in London as the world awaits the royal birth. You are so excited.
BLACKWELL: I am so excited.
HARLOW: You can't stop talking about it.
BLACKWELL: I cannot stop talking about the baby.
(LAUGHTER)
BLACKWELL: Hey when Kate and Will's child arrives she or he will be third in line to the British throne. British throne, what I should have said. We're live from England.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: Good morning. Good morning. A live look at London where it's already early afternoon. A live look right now at St. Mary's Hospital in London's Paddington District. This is where the next member of the royal family will be born. You see a couple of police officers out front. Security, of course, is gearing up for Kate and William's big day.
HARLOW: Now to Great Britain, we're there in London live. And the royal baby watch. Do you want pomp and circumstance?
BLACKWELL: Please, can I get the pomp and circumstance?
(LAUGHTER)
BLACKWELL: There'll be plenty of both when the third in line for the throne finally arrives. Erin McLaughlin has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The press pit outside the hospital is growing by the day. It's a sea of metal ladders for the world's media. Complete with funny little messages. Some of them clearly bored with the wait. All here for the arrival of the third in line to the throne. When the time comes there will be a clear first indication the baby is finally on the way. The palace will announce the Duchess of Cambridge has been admitted to hospital in the early stages of labor. Well, after that, we won't hear much more until the baby is actually born and some important people are notified. Including the prime minister, the Middletons and, of course, the queen. A birth notice will be written at the hospital signed by several medical staff that will include the baby's sex, birth weight and time of birth. The notice will be driven via police escort from the Lindo Wing of St. Mary's hospital to Buckingham Palace.
It will be brought inside Buckingham Palace before being displayed on an easel just over there, near the gates of the palace fore (ph) court.
The very same easel that was used to announce the birth of Prince William. And then two simultaneous, but separate gun salutes. 41-round salute in Green Park fired by the king's troupe and a 62-round salute at the Tower of London.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fire! Fire!
MCLAUGHLIN: Signaling to the country and the world that the future monarch has finally arrived.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fire! Fire!
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: That is allot. Erin McLaughlin joins us now live from outside of St. Mary's Hospital in London. So, Erin, how soon after the birth will we know, let's say, the baby's name?
MCLAUGHLIN: Hi, Victor, well, that depends entirely upon the duke and duchess of Cambridge. So, historically it has taken several days for the royal baby's name to be announced, for instance. Prince Charles and Diana took four days before announcing William's name. A lot of thought goes into the royal baby's name. And also, generally it gets the Queen's approval. That's not stopping the bookies from taking their bets, however. Alexandra currently the favorite if the baby is a girl. Alexandra is the queen's middle name. James the favorite if the baby is a boy. James, of course, is the name of Kate's brother. We'll just have to wait and see, Victor.
BLACKWELL: All right, Erin McLaughlin, thank you very much. I wonder if they just get time to look at the baby and say, eh, looks like a Francis, you know?
(LAUGHTER)
BLACKWELL: You know. No, they just have to choose one of those two names.
HARLOW: I'm - it's just a sort of the first time I've really paid a lot of attention to this, and I find it so funny that there are favorites on name. Who knows, let them pick whatever they want.
BLACKWELL: And you can bet online on so many things.
HARLOW: You can.
BLACKWELL: You can bet about Kate and baby - the Kate and baby - Kate and William's baby, will it be a boy, will it be a girl? You can bet on a lot of things.
HARLOW: One British bookmaker will give you about four to seven odds on a girl, five to four that the royal couple will welcome a son. You can also bet on the name, you heard some of the favorites there from Erin. Alexandra and Charlotte, also George and James among the favorites.
Katie Nicholl is live in London for us this morning. Hello, Katie, what is latest on the baby watch?
KATIE NICHOLL, ROYAL COMMENTATOR: Well, we don't believe that the duchess is in the hospital just yet. There's a few things that (inaudible) because, of course, today is the day that we were expecting. This was the due date. So, you know, we've still got some time to go. But William is still at a polo match tomorrow. Now, this could just be a smoke screen. But I've got a source at the match who says that he is due to be there. Of course, if anything happens, he can be helicoptered into London very quickly. He's got a helicopter on standby in the gardens of their Welsh home where he's been working so that he can be back very quickly. And if he needs to get back from a polo match, he can be in London as soon as possible. So, it shows two things, really - the families are getting on as per usual. In fact, on Thursday, Kate's family were at a concert over here in London at Buckingham Palace. And Kate was keen to go, but I thought she's drawn the line. I'm hoping that she's just got her feet up. She is resting. But it is imminent. It's going to be - possibly any hour of certainly any day now.
HARLOW: And hopefully, ignoring all of the press coverage, because given how crazy it is here in the United States, I can imagine what the press coverage is like there.
NICHOLL: Well it's wonderful over here in London at the moment. The sun is shining. And as you just heard from Erin, you know, there are - there's a huge presence down at the hospital. There has been since last weekend. There have been photographers staking out their places. Paying people to sit on mats, hold on to ladders to make sure they don't lose that prize spot because this picture of the couple coming down the steps with their newborn is going to be the most important picture we've seen in a very, very long time.
HARLOW: And this begs the question of businesses profiting off all of this. What are we seeing in terms of businesses benefiting from the impending royal birth? NICHOLL: Massively. I was looking through the paper this morning, the Royal Mint have got a special commemorance, a one-pound silver coin. Well, you've got to pay 60 pounds, if you want to get that one pound coin. Marx & Spencer's, one of the big stores over here, are shipping out a wine for a girl, a wine for a boy. I've seen crown-crested potties for children. Also, it's a baby memorabilia. So, the high street enjoying a boom, and you know what the nice thing about this couple is, they've said we welcome this. There's no snobbery about we'd like this, but we wouldn't like this. It's a free for all. People are manufacturing. We've come out of a recession, and we need a bit of a boost so the baby boom is good for us.
HARLOW: And to the really the only important thing here, how is Kate feeling. Is there any word on how she is doing? I know she was in the hospital months ago with severe morning sickness. Now, do we have any word on how she's faring?
NICHOLL: Well, I'm told that she's feeling very well. Very comfortable. Very content. I mean it's hot here. It really is, it's unusual that we have this sort of weather in the summer. You know how crazy the British weather is. But I do feel with Kate, because with just days to go, she's going to be feeling, you know, heavy. And I know about feelings like in the heat it's tough. So, hopefully, she's got her feet up. She's being looked after. She's doing some breathing exercises and techniques just to prepare her and to keep her calm. And hopefully, as the pain management during the birth. Because as we know, she's keen to have a natural birth so we all wish her the very, very best of luck.
HARLOW: Absolutely. Wishing her the best. Thank you so much for bringing us the latest from London, Katie Nicholl reporting for us. Thanks.
NICHOLL: Thank you.
BLACKWELL: It's going to be as Katie said, that first photograph when they come out with the baby, maybe it's a girl, so it will have a first little hat.
HARLOW: I still remember of Princess Diana coming out.
BLACKWELL: I remember that, too. In that blue dress.
Sunrise in Central Florida and what could be judgment day in the George Zimmerman murder trial.
HARLOW: Ahead next hour, we will take you straight to Sanford, Florida, where jurors return to work in just a couple of hours.
Also, Edward Snowden, surprise switch. The story ahead from Moscow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: It is official. Eliot Spitzer is making his way back to politics. HARLOW: The man once known as client number 9 now hoping the public can think of him as candidate number one in his run for New York City comptroller.
BLACKWELL: Yeah, but Jay Leno is not making that easy. Here's about last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO: You're a brilliant guy. You're someone I was amazed. You got the mob in New York. You're the guy that brought down Wall Street and the banks. How could you be this stupid?
(LAUGHTER)
ELIOT SPITZER: Yeah.
(CROSSTALK)
LENO: Come on - I don't say - no, I don't say that you'd be because it seemed like you were a guy -- you know, I kind of like, I enjoy politics. You were a guy that seemed to, every time they tried to get you.
SPITZER: Right.
LENO: Every time they tried to get you ...
(LAUGHTER)
LENO: You always seemed to ...
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
LENO: You seemed as the guy who crossed every "t" and dotted every "i".
SPITZER: Right.
LENO: How did you make this big a blunder?
SPITZER: Look, there is - when I used to speak about corporate governance. Back when I was, you know, the trade general and stuff. There was a phrase that I used, that was hubris is terminal. People who fall prey to hubris end up falling themselves. And that, I think, is something to which people in government are susceptible to. Those who feel that they are somehow increasingly important to power.
LENO: Yeah.
SPITZER: And this is something that I think infected me. And the fall from grace is incredibly painful. It is something from which you learn, and hopefully, you can then move on and contribute.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: So we've got to let people in on the funny moment.
HARLOW: Yeah.
BLACKWELL: Why Bill Hader, the guy who was there ...
(CROSSTALK)
HARLOW: At the beginning, next to him ...
BLACKWELL: ... slouching in his chair. Because he played, Bill Hader played Spitzer in some funny skits ...
HARLOW: ... on "SNL."
BLACKWELL: On SNL.
HARLOW: Yeah, very funny skits.
BLACKWELL: I don't know if Spitzer knew that. I'm sure at some point they talked about it.
HARLOW: I think he probably watched them.
BLACKWELL: I would hope he would know. But yeah, he made a serious point at the end.
HARLOW: Yes.
BLACKWELL: But - yea, so if you saw the guy slouching, it's because- yeah, I was the one making fun of him.
HARLOW: And you know what, he went on Leno, he knew what was coming.
BLACKWELL: That's true.
HARLOW: I mean he went on Leno. So. All right.
BLACKWELL: A typhoon hitting Taiwan has lost some steam. But it's hitting hard the island with some heavy rain more than a foot in some areas. The storm should - that storm, rather, should hit mainland China today.
HARLOW: And always an incredible sight, a huge dust storm covering parts of the Phoenix area. I want to take you now to Alexandra Steele who is in the severe weather center. Looking at what this is, and seriously, this is called a haboob, right?
ALEXANDRA STEELE, METEOROLOGIST: It's absolutely called a haboob. And a haboob actually is from the Arabic word for wind, and it's just all about the wind, and in Phoenix you will see the visuals. It's incredible, it's like a wall of dust. A haboob isn't really a dust storm. And I want to show you how it forms. And the Phoenix, they see about three a year during the summer months between June and September so it's not out of the question. Here it is. What you need. You need dusty terrain, check, we certainly have that around Phoenix. And then also you need thunderstorms. It can't happen without it. Within a thunderstorm there's uplift. But then within the thunderstorm, there's also a downdraft and that pushes and creates what's called the gust front. And this gust front kicks and kicks all that dust up creating that wall of dust. And that's what we saw. And really, the pictures were amazing, especially in slow motion.
All right, a little bit closer to home here on the eastern seaboard. There's moisture rain train which we've had for weeks. This inundation continues, so here from Atlanta, all the way up through Washington, and even into New York. Expect a lot of moisture, a lot of rain if you are out at the beaches as well. Southwest and the northwest, really pleasant and sunny. The biggest thing you'll notice in the northeast are the temperatures. Today, 77 in Boston, 80s to 86, but then tomorrow, we get into the 90s. And then guys, we get to 96 degrees in Washington by Wednesday. 95 in New York. So the temperatures really getting very hot this coming week in the Northeast.
BLACKWELL: It is the reason there's that cliche hotter than July.
(LAUGHTER)
BLACKWELL: and we are feeling it.
HARLOW: Absolutely. All right. Alexandra, thanks so much.
STEELE: Sure.
BLACKWELL: And thank you for starting your morning with us.
HARLOW: We've got much more ahead on the next hour of NEW DAY SATURDAY. That starts right now.
