i think they're going to show that reenactment cartoon and i'm looking forward to tomorrow to see some really good lawyering. >> thank you so much. i now turn you over to wolf blitzer in "the situation." we will see you tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. eastern, 1:00 p.m. pacific here on cnn. jake, thanks very much. the prosecution pleads with jurors to hold george zimmerman accountable for killing trayvon martin. our analysts listened to every word and they are standing by live. plus fireworks in the courtroom before the judge ruled on whether the jury could consider lesser charges against zimmerman. you're going to see the tension. we'll talk about that pivotal decision. and a year after -- a year and a half after trayvon martin's death, the focus returns to the teen-ager, with skittles wearing a hoodie. is this trial ending on the same themes that prompted a national discussion about race in america? i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room."

the prosecution wrapped up its case against george zimmerman by portraying him as a frustrated, angry, wanna-be cop who profiled trayvon martin as a criminal making false assumptions that proved deadly. the lead prosecutor, bernie de la rionda told the six women on the jury that zimmerman's claim that he shot the unarmed teen-ager in self-defense is a lie. he spent more than two hours delivering the state's closing argument, outlining the case for second degree murder and the lesser charge potentially of manslaughter. the judge debra nelson agreed the manslaughter charge but denied the request to add a third degree felony murder charge. listen to the powerful beginning of bernie de la rionda's

remarks. >> a teen-ager is dead. he is dead through no fault of his own. he is dead because another man made assumptions. that man assumed certain things. he is dead not just because the man made those assumptions, because he acted upon those assumptions. and unfortunately, unfortunately because his assumptions were wrong, trayvon benjamin martin no longer walks on this earth. the defendant in this case, george zimmerman, acted upon those assumptions. and because of that, a young

man, a 17-year-old man, a barely 17-year-old man, i think he was three weeks past his birthday, is dead. unfortunately this is one of the last photos that will ever be taken of trayvon martin. and that is true because of the actions of one individual, the man before you, the defendant george zimmerman. >> the jury saw that photo. we can't show you that photo. let's bring in jeffrey toobin, martin savidge and former federal prosecutor sunny hostin.

jeffrey, i thought he delivered a very powerful closing argument. what did you think? >> i thought he did a good job. i think he bet very heavily, especially in the second half of his summation in that zimmerman's own words, that his various descriptions of the events of that night will convict him. the contradictions. he spent an enormous amount of time going over zimmerman's own words. i think in part that was effective. i also thought he neglected a lot of the other evidence. and i expect you'll hear more from the defense on that subject tomorrow but this was, i thought, a very competent closing argument and the jury has enough before it to convict him of either second degree murder or manslaughter. >> and now that the judge, sunny, allowed that potential manslaughter charge to be considered by the jury, there's less of a hurdle, less of an obstacle to get a conviction as

far as man lawyer is concerned as opposed to second degree murder. that was extremely important for the state. >> oh, no question about it. i mean, the jury's going to have several choices in front of it. and, you know, i echo jeff. i thought it was a very good, solid closing argument. remember, this is just part one. part two is coming. john guy is going to rebut whatever the defense puts forth because of course the burden is on the prosecution. and i think that the state did a really, really good job about framing the narrative in the way the state needs to. the state needs to talk about who started this, who started the ball in motion. who made the assumption that trayvon martin was some sort of criminal. who profiled, who targeted, who chased? let's remember that the jury is going to be instructed to remember common sense, to think

as people, as mothers, as citizens. how would you feel if someone were chasing you and you weren't doing anything wrong? the person that kills you in that kind of scenario, shouldn't he or she be held responsible? and i really think that that narrative is what could get the prosecution a second degree murder conviction here. >> jose baez is joining us as well, the well known criminal defense attorney, represented casey anthony and also chris serino, the lead investigator in this shooting. i'm interested to get your bottom line on how the prosecutor did in this closing argument? >> i don't share sunny's view, unfortunately, which is not very common. actually, i think it could have been presented a little bit more

effective. you have each and every statement of george zimmerman of where the contradictions as opposed to showing them where they were. that would have been more effect of than inserting sarcastic statement after sarcastic statement. if i had one word to define this entire closing argument it, would have been sarcasm. i don't think that's the way you persuade or win over jurors. >> martin savidge, you've been covering this from the very, very beginning. he was waving his arms, he was very passionate, very lively in that two-hour presentation, going over the inconsistencies when george zimmerman was out there giving interviews, tv interviews. what did you make of that? >> well, i thought he was

effective in his presentation. remember you had john guy begin with the opening statement with that string of blue language that, shocking profanity. this time you have bernie de la rionda starting in a very somber tone. it's almost look he is overseeing a jeweulogy and beginning with the quiet cadence and powerful language. but he progresses. he becomes like that creature who gets wrapped up with the fire and the delivery. i thought he was strong in that, maybe at times a little too strong. i looked at the jurors. they are watching pretty much impasseively. you don't see people nodding their heads or seeming to agree or anything like that. the note taking nowhere near as persistent but then again, this is not evidence. this is the state summing up its case. occasionally and especially when you started to see the playbacks of some of the things that george zimmerman said on audio

or video, they started taking a few notes there. they are trying to take it in. if you're trying -- and mark o'mara was very upset with the schedule that, the prosecution gets to have this big opening and then the jury gets excused and they get to go home and sleep on it and it gets in their head. >> here's bernie de la rionda in his final statement that show as little different tone than the clip we played earlier. >> i ask to you come back with a verdict that speaks the truth, a verdict that is just. you heard from many people in this case and i've summarized

some of them. there's a lot more actually that you heard. we know you paid close attention throughout all these proceedings. some of the people you heard from were the parents of both the victim and the defendant. unfortunately the only photographs left of trayvon martin are those m.e. photographs. i mean, they still got other photographs and you saw some of them, the football whin his you are days but they can't take any more photos. and that's true because of the actions of one person, the defendant, george zimmerman, the man who is guilty of second degree murder. >> george zimmerman shaking his head. what did you think of that last little maneuver, pointing his finger directly at george zimmerman? >> you know, the first line of

scott toro's famous book in "presumed innocent oup "is you must always point. it is sort of the classic gesture of the prosecutor. it's a very aggressive thing to point at someone and prosecutors always point. that's very good, it's very standard. it's very -- it's also done all the time so i don't think it's exceptional. but, you know, i think it's very competent like this entire summation. >> but it's exceptional for this jury because this jury hasn't, you know, been empanelled as a jury. this is the first time they see that. and jeff is right. this is something that prosecutors are trained to do, it's something i did with each and every closing argument and the reason behind it, wolf, is that if you are asking six women or 12 men and women to convict someone of second degree murder and seasoned them to prison, you have to show the jury that you

are confident that this is the person that did it. you can't be afraid to point and lay blame and place responsibility and that's why it's so effective. you are in a sense giving the jury permission to find the defendant culpable and i think it's a very effective tool that's been done for decades by prosecutors. >> wolf, they issue that finger the first day of prosecutor school. >> it's a technique that's well known, i guess. as soon as i saw that finger pointing directly at george zimmerman, i said i think i've seen that before. the prosecutor goes to the floor with a dummy. once again it was just withone the pieces of evidence used in today's dramatic closing.

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[ male announcer ] the all-new 2014 lexus is. this is your move. in the prosecution's closing argument we heard repeated claims that george zimmerman exaggerated and flat out lied when he told police he shot trayvon martin in self-defense. the prosecutor, bernie de la rionda zeroed in on specific points, showing zimmerman the video of the reenactment zimmerman did for police and disputing his claim that he got out of his truck to check the street sign. >> did you catch him in one lie

right there? he originally told the police over and over before and after the interview he didn't know the name of the street. and when they kind of let him talk, he gives the name right there. it common sen it's common sense. there's only three streets and he's lived there four years. why does he have to lie about that? he does not want to have to admit he's following that oun sent young boy. >> let's bring back our panel. martin, this notion that he was repeatedly lying, what did you make of that? >> well, these would be called inconsistencies by the defense. one of the aspects that is really unique to this particular case is that george zimmerman has made so many recorded statements. a number of them of course were police interviews, others were the reenactment that he did but then he also went on television. so they, meaning the prosecution, have used those

over and over. so each time they played it, they've highlighted where the story might have changed subtley. the prosecution would say he must be lie. the defense would say be in gets their story told the same each time. it was time after time shown over what was a period over two hours versus nine days in the original presentation of the state's case. >> jose, how effective was that? >> well, i think it was to a limited extent. >> what? >> you know, the way the entire presentation was laid out, i just think it was flawed. and if you have the situation where you have all of these inconsistencies and you have all these statements, you already know what you're working with. and here's the problem with the way it was presented. now bernie's an excellent lawyer

and a very experienced lawyer, but why not show them if he's off by just a little or if that jury remembers things just a little bit differently, it's going to work against him and they may disregard the entire -- the arrest of his inconsistencies. >> i think it's a fair point, sunny. i'm anxious to get your sense. a lot of people have noticed in the case of the prosecutor in his closing arguments, he kept raising questions, basically saying to the jury, you decide. he has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the guilt of george zimmerman. usually it's the defense that tries to raise questions about beyond a reasonable doubt. did you notice that repeated theme he was saying he would say something, raise a question, say to the jury "you decide." >> that was very effective and it was intentional. it's a theme that i've used often in trial. he was letting the jury know that they decide what the facts are that they believe.

they decide what -- their memory controls. because you got to understand that tomorrow the defense is going to put on this cartoon reenactment of what they believe happened. and so of pushing that narrative, pushing that -- those facts down the jurors' throats. so this prosecutor wants to let them know, listen, i'm not trying to push any facts on you. these are the interconstituecon ladies, you decide. i've used it and it very effective. it may seem like it was meandering and may seem like it wasn't as linear as it could have been but it was intention an. and i think that folksy style that bernie has is effective. >> why not say it that way? you laid it out perfectly. why couldn't he have? >> jeffrey, you want to get your thought also. we bleeped it out and other television networks didn't bleep out all of the f-bombs or

whatever, the "n" word that was used. the viewers watching it live. he didn't shy away from at all. how effective was that? >> that's the evidence in the case and he used it. i think jurors are grown ups. i think they know that people use swear words. i don't think people are terribly shocked by it in this day and age. i also think rhetorical questions can sometimes be very effective ways of arguing. certainly he was doing a lot of that today. the problem i've always had with the prosecution in this case is they haven't clearly answered the question of what happened, in what order, who did what when. yes, you can point out that george zimmerman told things slightly differently but what's your version, prosecutors?

where did he walk, what did he do when? and i think that's a big problem. if you are trying to prove what happened, you got to show what happened. >> martin, do you want to weigh in on that point? >> well, i think you're exactly right. we've seen an evolution, and maybe that's being kind, as to what the prosecution has said. and the introduction of the dummy actually is an interesting way that we watched it. initially it was said that it was george zimmerman on top and was the aggressor. it seemed with the introduction of the dummy, it was used yesterday, it was used today, that now, no, the story is now different. it appears that it was trayvon martin who was on top but there is a reason that he may have been pulling away and that is because he saw the gun and was now trying to get away from a man who was armed and shot the teen-ager. so this story and the way it has

evolved i think does raise some questions of what exactly happened here? are you adapting the prosecution to fit the case as it moves or is there one solid story line from front to back? >> this is the second day in a row the prosecutors had trayvon martin on top. earlier they said george zimmerman was on top. i'm going to play that clip of what bernie de la rondia reacted. stay with us. you're in "the situation room." you're getting a great deal on our remaining 2013 models, but they're going fast. what are you doing? moving in. before someone else does.

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>> so how does he manage to get out and get a perfect shot to

the heart of a 17-year-old man? >> all right, jose, what did you think of that argument that bernie de la rionda made before the jury? >> well, i liked the way they made that presentation today. i didn't think too much of it yesterday when they used it with a defense witness. you never do a demonstration with an adverse witness, ala christopher darden with the glove. so i think that today's presentation was much, much better using the dummy. and i like it. it a visual aide. y -- aid. you have to engage the jury, especially with a closing argument that's over two hours. and let's not forget, it was after lunch, too. >> you know, sunny, that the defense will argue tomorrow that for days the prosecutor was saying it was george zimmerman on top, trayvon martin on the bottom. all of a sudden the last two days the prosecution has come around to the version that the

defense had. how are they going to handle that? you know that's coming up tomorrow in the closing argument from the defense. >> i may be the only one on the planet, as i have often been during this trial that believes this, but i don't think that the prosecution conceded by any means that trayvon martin was on top. in fact, you heard the prosecution say today that there were two witnesses that described george zimmerman on top. they also pointed out that george zimmerman had grass stains and wetness on the front of his shoes, which is consistent with being on top of someone else in the wet grass. what they did was provide a alternate theory two what the defense witnesses were saying. so if you're saying that george zimmerman was on the bottom, is it possible that this is what happened? just giving the jury an alternate possibility that is favorable to the prosecution. so to suggest that somehow

they've changed their theory or that they've abandoned their theory i just don't think is accurate. it's something the prosecutors or government does all the time, they give you alternative scenarios to consider when you go into the jury room. >> jeffrey, hold on a second. jose, go ahead. >> you see, first of all, john guy actually mentioned it during his opening statement that somebody saw trayvon on top. so it wasn't something that they just made up. however, throughout the presentation of their case, it seemed like they went away from it and now they're coming back to it at closing. i don't know if that's effective or not. i think you keep your points and you keep hammering them home. i don't like this alternative theory stuff. i don't think it works. >> especially at summation. i mean, it one thing to keep your options open in opening, but this is the end of the case. this is the key moment in the whole exchange. this is when trayvon martin is

shot. what is the prosecution theory? maybe he was on top? maybe he was on bottom? that's a pretty big deal. and the idea that at this late date the prosecution is giving alternative theories, i just think that's -- that's a big problem. i think they have to commit to something and argue it, not give the defense -- give the jury choices to make. >> all right, guys, there's another important aspect of what was going on, maybe the most important, namely the reaction of the six members of the jury. the prosecution has noted more than once that george zimmerman -- that during this trial that trayvon martin isn't alive to tell his side of the story. and during his closing argument the prosecutor, bernie de la rionda spoke for trayvon martin showing the skittles and the drink that the teen-ager, the 17-year-old, bought at a convenience store saying the unarmed team wasn't doing anything illegal. so how did those moments play with this all-female jury?

sunny, you were inside and i know martin, i think you were inside for part of it. let me go to martin first. what do you think? unfortunately we lost martin. i'll let sunny weigh in. >> you know, i thought that it was very powerful for this jury. there's one woman in the back, a blond woman. she has i believe two children, 11 and 13 if i recall correctly. she's one of the women that takes a lot of notes. she was really engaged today, not taking notes initially but so very engaged, so much so that she even put sort of her hand over her mouth and nodded yes at one point. now, i'm not a body language expert but diobserve thi did ob jose and i were talking about that. and the one gentleman on the jury, an alternate, he, too, learned forward and put his hand over his mouth and sort of was drinking it in.

so this jury in my view, they were really with bernie and considering the argument he was making for second degree murder. >> i think it was effective in that they were humanizing the 17-year-old, he had just gone to the convenience store, got himself some skittles, got himself a drink and was going back to his dad's. he was making him look just like a teen-ager who was in effect profiled as a potential criminal by george zimmerman. go ahead, jose. >> no, i agree. i think it was very effective, especially when he was describing the night of his death. i would have liked to have seen him draw it out a little bit more as to the effect on trayvon martin. he said he'll never walk this earth. those were his exact words. i would have liked to have heard he'll never graduate from high school, he'll never meet the woman of his dreams, he'll never have children, he'll never be able to hold his child, unloike

mr. zimmerman and his his decision that brought us here. taking something from the be a instruct and giving the jurors an example of a real life scenario. i think he could have done a little bit more but at the same time i like the way he presented that. >> well, john guy, he'll have at least another hour tomorrow after the defense delivers its closing argument. and maybe they're watching you right now, jose. maybe they'll come up with those lines during the closing argument. jeffrey, hold on for a moment. we're going to continue our conversation. we're taking a close look at one of the most controversial parts of the prosecution's closing arguments, the insinuations of racial profiling. to be an even better company - and to keep our commitments. and we've made a big commitment to america. bp supports nearly 250,000 jobs here. through all of our energy operations, we invest more in the u.s. than any other place in the world. in fact, we've invested over $55 billion here in the last five years - making bp america's largest energy investor.

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we're heard the lead prosecutor accuse george zimmerman of profiling trayvon martin but in his closing argument today didn't actually refer to racial profiling. listen to this. >> he profiled him as a criminal. he assumed certain things, that trayvon martin was up to no

good, and that is what led to his death. you know, this wasn't at 2:00 in the morning or partying somewhere. not that this would in any way minimizing it. he was just doing a normal every day thing. he went to the store, got something, got some skittles and some tea or drink and was just walking back. it was raining. he was wearing a hoodie. last i heard, that's not against the law. but in this man's eyes he was up to no good. he presumed something that was not true. >> that assumption, that presumption, jeffrey, i think that's going to resonate with the six members of the jury. >> just to go back, there is why this case drew national attention in the first place. because all of us asked the question what kind of country do we live in where a 17-year-old african-american can't go to buy

skittles and a drink, walk home to watch the nba all-star game without getting killed. i mean, tease what this case has always been about. and now of course it's become a lot more complicated with the claim of self-defense, but i did think particularly the opening part of the summation where he asked that question, what did trayvon martin do wrong here? that's the most effective and that's the most stirring, upsetting part of this case. >> i think it's going to resonate with those women, jose. what do you think? >> i agree. i think he did an effective job in that part of the presentation. he -- you know, bernie needs to grab their emotions and hold it. and i think certainly at that point, i don't know anyone who wouldn't be grabbed by that. >> and that's why, sunny, i believe, and you tell me if you agree, that this judge's decision to allow manslaughter to be also considered a lesser charge than second degree murder

gives those members of the jury, if they want to convict him, don't want to necessarily convict him of murder and life in prison but they do want to punish him in some way, they think manslaughter might be the way to go. they don't know what the sentencing guidelines are for manslaughter, the judge is not going to tell him but it would give them potentially what they could see as a compromise. >> i think so. i think jeff said it so well. that is what really is at the core of this case, why can't a 17-year-old african-american boy, go to the 7-eleven, buy a watermellon drink and skittles and get back home safely without being profiled without being lumped -- you know, targeted as a criminal. i think that all the mothers on the jury are going to think shouldn't the person that made these wrong assumptions be found responsible? because george zimmerman is the one that set this ball in motion. i just can't imagine that when

they get back into the jury room, wolf, and they put their common sense hat on and their mother hat on they're not going to go there. maybe they won't find this ill will, spite, hatred, though i think there is evidence of that quite frankly. but i can't imagine they won't find him culpable of something. >> as far as that manslaughter lesser charge as opposed to second degree murder, jeffrey, how significant is that decision by the judge to allow the jurors to consider the lesser charge? >> it's enormous because the jury can think to itself, oh, well, we're not going all the way but we're compromising, we're just finding him guilty of manslaughter. now, as we've been discussing over the last few days, under florida law, he could get an enormously long sentence, decades in prison for manslaughter. so if the jury convicts of manslaughter, that will be a went for the prosecution, there's no doubt about it.

>> but the jury won't know about the sentencing guideline guidel. >> correct. >> the jury won't know that because there was a gun involved, that it can affect the decision. stand by, we're going to continue our conversation. the fireworks that the jury didn't see. you will see some of those fireworks. the judge and one of zimmerman's attorneys got into a real battle today. will it affect the final outcome? stand by. ♪ [ male announcer ] fight pepperoni heartburn and pepperoni breath fast with tums freshers. concentrated relief that goes to work in seconds and freshens breath. tums freshers. ♪ tum...tum...tum...tum... tums! ♪ fast heartburn relief and minty fresh breath. [ slap! ] [ male announcer ] your favorite foods fighting you?

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the start of the closing arguments today, there were serious fireworks in the courtroom after prosecutors threw a curveball at george zimmerman's defense team. they asked the judge to allow the jury to consider lesser charges in addition to the second degree murder charge. one of the lesser charges, a third degree felony murder, prompted the defense lawyer, don west, to accuse the prosecution

of playing dirty tricks. listen to his angry response and then his clash with the judge, debra nelson. >> oh, my god, just when i thought this case couldn't get any more bizarre. the state is seeking third degree murder based on child abuse? is the court going to give this any serious contention or consideration? because if so, we have a lot of talking to do. we can start with mr. mantei dumped all of this on us sometime around 7:30 this morning. there was an e-mail "oh, by the way, believe changed our lesser included request from aggravated assault to third degree murder based on child abuse" and ten or 15 cases that obviously he has spent hours, if not days, if not

more than a year plotting for this moment when he can spring it on us and the court. >> the state is seeking this instruction as part of a larger scream, another trick that the state is seeking -- >> i don't want to hear the word "trick" anymore in regard to these arguments anymore. >> criminal statutes are pretty precise, designed to put people on notice what's illegal and what isn't. so if it's illegal to follow somebody to tell the police where they're going, there better be a law against it, otherwise you can't say it's illegal -- >> you all are repeating your argument. i've heard the argument from both sides. i'm not giving that instruction. >> we submit that's an integral part of our defense and the court is in error by not instructing properly on this area of the law -- >> i understand and you have -- you continually disagree with this court every time i make a ruling. i have provided you on three

occasions with the court's professional conduct in the courtroom and included in that is do not continue to argue with the court after we've rudled. if i have made a mistake in this case, you will appeal. if there is a conviction, it will get appealed to ahigher court and they can review it to determine whether or not i've made a mistake. this is my ruling on this issue. you are free to communicate that to the jury in your closing argument. i am not instructing them on that. moving on to the -- >> i'm not -- >> moving on to the -- >> i'm not disagreeing. >> she's a tough judge. she decided not to include the felony charge but did agree to include manslaughter. jeffrey, she is impressive. whether you agree or disagree, she handles that defense attorney very, very sternly. >> maybe it's because i'm from new york, none of this shocks me

very much. trials are rough and tumble and lawyers push as hard as they can and judges sometimes have to shut them up and they say, hey, this is why we have appeals courts. i don't think it was anything particularly unusual. i do think it's worth noting that judge nelson made the right call on both of these issues. it was outrageous for the prosecution to try to bring a child abuse charge at this late date and she wouldn't allow that. and she wouldn't allow the defense instruction that he was seeking there either. so, you know, i think this is all par for the course, they're tired, they're frustrated, they're working hard. but this is not a big deal and it won't have any impact on the outcome. >> earlier, jose, the prosecution withdrew its request for aggravated assault beyond manslaughter or second degree murder. they just pulled that back and the judge didn't even have to make a decision on that. what did you think of her decisions? >> i think her decisions were dead on. now, as it relates to the

aggravated assault, they couldn't get that because the case law is clear on that that they can't ask for that because of the fact that trayvon martin is dead and it wasn't an assault per se. it's more of a battery issue. now, i think her rulings were dead on. it's -- it's very common what prosecutors do with lesser includeds. and it's somewhat unfair to the defense when you have a situation where the case is over, you're done trying your case and you've gone with a theory of defense strategically because these are the charges that you're facing and to try and come through the back door with another charge, it's never -- it's not -- it's not fundamentally fair. >> i want to point out, sunny, also that the jurors were not in the courtroom during that angry exchange between the judge and the defense attorney. so they don't have a clue. they don't see that kind of stuff. so presumably it's not going to have any impact on them. >> that's right, they don't see

it. jose and i were talking about this also. she's being pretty nice to him. i've had judges realm me, reall rip into me just because i'm doing my job. new york judges and d.c. judges clearly aren't as nice. to suggest that somehow the prosecution just whipped this out on them, maybe the prosecution was being clever. it was a stretch, but it didn't just come out >> yes, but the third-degree felony has a lot of enumerated felonies. >> sure. >> to pull child abuse out of there, it's like pulling a needle out of a haystack.

>> you have to look for it. >> well, because trayvon martin was 17, under 18, he was a minor. minor, as a result, child abuse could come into play. the judge, obviously, rejected that argument. stand by. we're about to shift gears. we're going to look ahead right now. what about george zimmerman's defenders? what do they need to tell the jury? tomorrow, mark o'mara will give the defense's final argument. joint pain and s >> third-degree murder based on child abuse? lishing even littles can become major victories. i'm phil mickelson, pro golfer. when i was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis, my rheumatologist prescribed enbrel for my pain and stiffness, and to help stop joint damage. [ male announcer ] enbrel may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, nervous system and blood disorders, and allergic reactions have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. you should not start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections,

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...and we inspected his brakes for free. -free is good. -free is very good. [ male announcer ] now get 50% off brake pads and shoes at meineke. george zimmerman's defense team will deliver its closing arguments tomorrow, and you can bet there is some tweaking going on tonight to respond to the points that the prosecution made today. let's talk about what we can expect, jeffrey, sunny and jose are still with us. jeffrey, i think this is going to be critical tomorrow for mark o'mara to come up with a strategy to rebut what we just heard. >> absolutely. and let me just give you one point that i'm sure you're going to hear a lot. self-defense is a defense to both murder and manslaughter, that if you believe that this was self-defense, it gets him off completely, because the defense here is going to be very worried about a compromise verdict, so you're going to hear a lot of stress that

manslaughter is not a legitimate compromise in the view of the defense. >> jose? >> yes, i agree. that's a great point jeffrey's raising at this point, because i think they need to also spend a lot of time on the jury instructions. now, bernie didn't spend a great deal of time on the lesser includeds and on the jury instructions, and that's going to have to be mark o'mara's focus tomorrow, both charges. you don't ignore one and think that the jury's just going to do what you expect them to do. so, he's going to have to hammer on reasonable doubt and the instructions that are going to be provided. and there's nothing better than arguing what the judge is going to tell them. >> go ahead, sunny. >> yeah, i mean, i think they've got to change the narrative, because today was wrong assumptions, you know, initial aggressor. this would have never happened had he not profiled. this has to be about, well, it's not illegal to follow someone, it's not illegal to be a neighborhood watch person.

and even if you follow someone, you can't use this type of force against that person. and they've got to change the narrative. and i suspect that's what we're going to see. we're going to see all about the fact that trayvon martin somehow was the aggressor. >> shouldn't they have just, sunny, quickly, have done manslaughter, the prosecution to begin with, as opposed to starting with second-degree murder? >> i don't think so. i mean, initially, i did think that. i thought why not just go for manslaughter? and i think you and i talked about this last year when the case started. but after hearing all of the evidence and the expletives that were used and the history behind all the burglaries in the homes, i think there's enough evidence to support second-degree murder and ill will, hatred and spite. it's there for the jury. >> all right, guys, don't go too far away. there's more to discuss. also when we come back, digging up a dead man in hopes of finding evidence in a half-century-old crime spree. stay with us for that. and if you're just joining us, don't go away. we're going to recap the most dramatic points of today's

closing arguments in the zimmerman case by the prosecutor. ♪ >> asked police where he had the gun and it wasn't right here front. ♪ ♪ (vo) purina cat chow. 50 years of feeding great relationships.

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trying to clear up a half-century-old mystery and mary snow is monitoring that and top stories in "the situation room." what's the latest? >> modern science finally may settle the question of whether albert desalvo really was the boston strangler. he confessed while in prison for other crimes but went to his grave without ever being prosecuted for the murders of 11 women in the early 1960s. today, a district attorney announced desalvo's body will be exhumed in hopes new forensic testing will link him to some of the victims. mortgage rates have climbed to their highest level in two years, hitting 4.51% for a 30-year loan. that's more than a full point higher than in early may. couple that with the rise in home prices over the last year, and people buying today can expect monthly payments to be about 25% higher than if they bought a year ago. and wall street's back in record-high territory. both the dow jones industrials and the s&p 500 closed above the records they set in may, a big

reason investors turned bullish, the latest remarks from federal reserve chairman ben bernanke, who's promising the fed will remain "highly accommodative" on stimulating the economy. wolf? >> mary, thank you. happening now, dramatic closing arguments. the prosecution makes its final case against george zimmerman. the deadliest train disaster in recent memory. we have an exclusive interview with the head of the railroad facing anger and outrage. plus, a former governor attempts a comeback from the prostitution scandal that toppled him, but time may be eliot spitzer's biggest obstacle. i'm wolf blitzer, and we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. you're in "the situation room." we begin this hour with george zimmerman's murder trial. it's almost in the hands of the jury. the prosecution made its closing argument today. the defense begins its closing

argument tomorrow morning. jury deliberations are expected to get under way tomorrow afternoon. let's go straight to sanford, florida. cnn's martin savidge was there watching every moment of what was going on. martin, for viewers who may just be tuning in, tell us what happened. >> reporter: well, first you have to understand that, of course, the prosecution's closing argument is divided into two sections. section number one is what was delivered today by the experienced prosecutor. that's bernie de la rionda. and essentially, what he did was he started off by saying, of course, that a teenager is dead, but dead because of a man who made assumptions and acted on those assumptions, and that man is george zimmerman. and he says that george zimmerman assumed that the teenager was up to no good, and then he launched into over a two-hour explanation, basically reiterating what has been the state's case from the beginning here. and one of the techniques he used is one that worked in the

courtroom during the outline of that case, which was to reiterate, george zimmerman in his own words and how the story changed. listen to this. [ inaudible ] >> did it not occur to you? >> i, no, i said i don't have a problem and i started backing away from him. >> but that's why you were following him, right? [ inaudible ] >> i was scared -- >> scared to tell -- [ inaudible ] you were afraid to tell him that? >> yes, ma'am. >> i mean, i'm not trying to put you on the spot. >> again, now, when they're pressing him on that issue, oh, he's backing away, inconsistent with what he said earlier, then he's scared of him. he's scared of this person that he's following all over in the darkness out there. but of course, he doesn't have his gun out, nor does he feel a need to, but he's scared of him. can't have it both ways. >> de la rionda did that over and over again, and each time he

found one of those inconsistencies, he didn't call it an inconsistency. he said, see that again? that's where zimmerman lied. wolf? >> tomorrow morning, mark o'mara, the defense attorney, martin, will deliver his close argument. then as you point out, the prosecution will have one more chance to get the final word. they'll deliver a rebuttal, if you will. and then what, the judge reads the instructions to the jury and then the jury begins deliberations. they're going to sit through the weekend. if they reach a decision over the weekend, saturday or sunday, will they come out and will we know then, or will they wait until monday? >> reporter: no, we anticipate that the moment they reach a decision, there will be an announcement. of course, there would be certain hours during the weekend in which they would continue to sort of actively deliberate, but some people think that we may have a decision before we really get to the weekend. in other words, that you could finish everything up by say midafternoon tomorrow, and then maybe in a couple of hours, that jury could be ready to render a verdict.

>> well, that would be surprising, given how long this has gone on, but you never know with a jury. it wouldn't be the first time that would happen. martin savidge, thanks for all your help. let's bring back our legal experts right now, our cnn legal analyst, sunny hostin, our senior legal analyst, jeffrey toobin, and criminal defense attorney paige pate. let me ask you, jeffrey, how stunned would you be if the jury reaches a decision in a few hours? >> not that stunned. remember, this is a sequester jury. they can't go home. this judge has been very aware that these people have been taken away from their homes, and i obviously don't know them personally, but i am sure they want to get this thing over with. so, i do think a relatively quick verdict is more likely than not. >> you think -- which direction do you think they would more likely than not go? >> oh, come on. now you're into my terrible record of predictions. i certainly think a murder

charge conviction seems unlikely to me, but i do think a conviction for manslaughter seems entirely possible. >> paige, what do you think? how quickly do you think this jury -- we don't know, we haven't seen mark o'mara's, you know, summation, if you will, tomorrow, his closing argument. i assume he's an excellent lawyer, it will be very strong. then the prosecution will have one final chance for the last word. my only sense is this jury could deliberate for a few days, but that's just my sense. >> well, i think you're right. even if it is a fairly easy decision for the jury, they realize that trayvon martin is dead. they realize that his mother, his father and people that support him are there in that courtroom. i do not think that this jury is going to want anyone to feel that they rushed to a decision. i think they're going to take their time. and even if they're close to a consensus, we're not going to see a fast verdict. i think they'll have too much respect for the families to do that. >> yeah. sunny, what about you? >> yeah, i agree with page. i just, i can't imagine that it's going to be a quick

deliberation just because, really, you know, this is a close case. they've got -- and there's a lot of evidence. i mean, they have to review each and every statement that george zimmerman gave. that in and of itself is going to take i think a couple of hours. then they have to talk about it. they've got to get through murder 2, and they've got to get through manslaughter. they've got to get through self-defense. so, i don't -- i don't think it's going to be quick. i think we're talking maybe a couple days. >> yeah, that's my sense. but sunny, as far as sentencing is concerned, once the jury reaches a verdict, obviously, if george zimmerman is acquitted, he walks, he's a free man. but if he is found guilty either of manslaughter or second-degree murder, it will then be strictly up to the judge, debra nelson, to decide how long this guy's going to spend in jail. >> that's right, and i mean, he has a lot of exposure. if he gets convicted of second-degree murder, you're talking about a 25-year

mandatory minimum here, all the way up to life. and in florida, my understanding is that you don't get credit for time served. so, we're talking about a strong -- or not credit for time served, but you don't get any time off, so you're talking about a hard 25 years. manslaughter, you know, up to 30 years. my understanding is that, you know, he sort of falls in the level of 10 to 13 years, but he could get up to 30 years, and i've done some research on this judge and every single person that i've spoken to, everything that i've read, she's a pretty stiff sentencer. so, even if he gets convicted of manslaughter, he's looking at a significant amount of time. >> the prosecutor, page, spent a lot of time trying to paint george zimmerman as the aggressor. we've got a little clip. let me play this. >> why does this defendant get out of the car and he thinks that trayvon martin is a threat to him? why? why? because he's got a gun! he's got the equalizer! he's going to take care of it! he's a wanna be cop.

>> now, page that was a pretty effective statement, a pretty powerful statement, if you will. >> it absolutely was. i think at this point, the state realizes that their best argument is to go back to the emotions of the incident and have the jury focus again on the fact that we have a dead teenager and that george zimmerman caused his death and that there's no question about that. you know, in closing arguments, you're really not trying to persuade an individual juror anymore. many of them have already made up their mind. what you're doing, though, is you're giving those jurors that you think are with you some arguments to take back with them to the jury room so that they can try to convince others of the emotion of your case, the strength of your case, and hopefully, bring back the verdict that you want. >> and jeffrey, listen to this other clip from the prosecutor painting trayvon martin simply as a 17-year-old kid who wanted to get some skittles and some iced tea. listen to this. >> trayvon martin, he was

staying, he was there legally. he hadn't broken in or sneaked in or trespassed. he was there legally. he went to the 7-eleven store earlier that evening. he bought what? what did he buy? what was his crime? he bought skittles and some kind of watermelon or iced tea or whatever it's called. that was his crime. >> what did you think about that, jeffrey? >> that takes us back to why this case drew so much attention. remember, when this story broke, the miami heat all took a photograph of themselves all wearing hoodies. the idea that wearing a hoodie was somehow a threatening act that could get you killed is something that really resonated in a terrible way with a lot of americans, black and white, and that's some of the emotion that came through in this closing argument today. >> and sunny, you were in the

courtroom. you saw those six ladies in the jury react. what was their reaction when statements by the prosecutor like those were made? >> they were riveted. i mean, during the trial, wolf, they were taking a lot of notes, and i thought that we would see a lot of that, you know, taking a lot of notes without much expression. this was different. i mean, they certainly were looking at the powerpoint and looking directly at the prosecutor and showing what i believe was some emotion, you know, sort of putting these pieces together in their minds. you've got to think, like jeff said, i mean, this case really does sort of tug, i think, at the heartstrings in the sense that how is it possible that you could be an everyday citizen running what is an everyday, common type of errand and walking home and get killed for no reason? i think that the jury really,

really was considering what the prosecution was saying. >> that's why that manslaughter charge that the jury will also consider now as opposed to second-degree murder potentially could be so significant. all right, guys, don't go away. we'll have much more on the zimmerman trial coming up later this hour. we're also following other important news, including a railroad executive who faces the outrage of a small town decimated by a fiery train disaster. he's speaking exclusively to cnn. plus, the latest on the crash of the asiana flight 214 and a closer look at the surprising background of the woman who was leading the federal investigation. members of the american postal worker's union handle more than 165 billion letters and packages a year. that's about 34 million pounds of mail every day. ever wonder what this costs you as a taxpayer?

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we'll get back to the zimmerman trial shortly, but now to a cnn exclusive. there's grief, there's fury in a small quebec town devastated by that horrific runaway train explosion. survivors are mourning the dozens of dead and they've been venting their anger at the railway chief. and now he is responding. cnn's anna corenin is on the scene for us in quebic. >> reporter: wolf, the president of the company that owns the freight train that leveled the heart of lac-megantic, claiming the lives of up to 50 people is without doubt the most despised person in quebec. well, today he spoke exclusively to cnn to tell his side of the story. >> just to clarify, are you saying it's the engineer's fault? >> reporter: with emotions raw and tempered frayed, railroad president ed burkhart faced the

grief-stricken community of lac-megantic, unprepared for the seething anger that was about to be leveled against him. >> it was designed to try to get a healing process under way and it didn't work. >> reporter: describing the press conference as a failure, the boss of the company that owns the runaway train that wiped out the heart of this little town, claiming the lives of up to 50 people sat down with cnn for an exclusive interview. >> people misunderstood me. maybe i didn't present my case very well. >> reporter: the 74-year-old from chicago has been in the rail business for more than 50 years and says he's never witnessed a disaster on this scale. >> we talked about that i had no empathy or no sympathy, and in fact, i have plenty. >> reporter: the company initially believed there was evidence of tampering, but bu burkhardt now says it appears the train's engineer didn't apply enough air and hand brakes. >> no question, there's a brake failure on the train.

the train rolled away. itself, it? no sugar-coating that. >> reporter: as the engineer becomes the key focus of this investigation, it's one of the worst rail disasters in recent history. authorities here in quebec are analyzing these nine tankers that were originally part of the runaway train. they're paying particular attention to the braking systems and tracks, trying to figure out how the freight train and its 73 cars of crude oil managed to roll away, derail and explode, annihilating the town center. >> well, we're shocked and devastated with what has occurred, the loss of life, the loss of property is incredible. >> reporter: interestingly, mr. burkhardt wasn't given access to the site, nor was he granted a meeting with the mayor or the red cross. now, he says that he and his company will continue to assist police, but he will not return to lac-megantic until he is welcome. wolf. >> anna coren in credible yek for us. what a story that is.

thank you. meanwhile, a new image of the debris and new details of the crash of the asiana airlines flight 214. the ntsb says the first internal call among the pilots about aborting the landing came three seconds before the crash and a second call was made 1 1/2 seconds before impact. also, questions about a mysterious bright light in the eyes of the pilot. south korean media began asking about it yesterday. here's what the chair of the national transportation safety board, deborah hersman, said about it. >> the pilot stated he saw a bright source of light. neither of the other two pilots identified the source of light. it was not discussed on the cvr. the pilot that saw the light stated that he did not believe that it affected his vision and he was able to see the cockpit instruments. >> cvr is the cockpit voice

recorder. cnn's rene marsh is here with a closer look at this woman, deborah hersman. she's been getting a lot of attention and we asked you to look at her and tell us a little bit about her. >> you've seen her. she's been all over national tv as a result of the crash investigation, but if you're not part of the aviation or transportation circle, you may not know that much about deborah hersman. for starters, people who know her call her debbie, but formally, she goes by deborah. and in case you wondered about the title, well, she uses chairman, not chairwoman. deborah hersman is the face of the investigation into the crash of asiana flight 214. >> we're not reaching any conclusions. we're gathering factual information. >> reporter: she is a triathlete, a wife and mother of three. hersman has also competed in races like the warrior dash. its website bills it as a 5k mud run complete with obstacle course designed to test your strength and stamina. and friends who watch her criss-cross the country leading

ntsb crash team investigators say she's an expert multitasker. >> my guess is that when she gets that call, she's already prepared two or three days of meals, plus she has a very supportive husband. >> reporter: she doesn't have a pilot's license, yet she leads the independent federal agency responsible for complex investigations to determine probable cause in aviation and other transportation accidents. the daughter of a former air force pilot, she does have prior experience with transportation issues. former west virginia governor and congressman bob wise gave the then virginia tech college student an internship and later hired her as a congressional aide from 1992 to '99. then she served as the senior adviser to the u.s. senate committee on commerce, science and transportation before joining the ntsb in 2004. five years later, president obama appointed her chairman. >> if i could ask you to raise

your hand to be acknowledged and to identify yourself and your outlet, that would make this a lot easier. yes, sir. >> she's very firm and competent and respectful but very firm. >> reporter: she's been on the scene of more than 20 major transportation accidents, including the last commercial plane crash in the u.s., colgan air near buffalo, new york, but she hasn't avoided criticism. the airline pilots union sounded the alarm, saying the ntsb was releasing too much information too soon about the asiana 214 crash. a firm believer in transparency, hersman continues to provide information to the public. and a family member tells cnn family time is very important to hersman. they get together for family dinners once a month, and she also enjoys scrapbooking with a group of close friends. as far as her career goes, hersman's term as chairman expires next month, but she can be renominated. and wolf, as far as the white house goes, they seem to be

pretty pleased with the job she's doing. >> yeah, she does an excellent job. what i liked about her this week, she came under criticism, as you point out, from the pilots' union. she did not back down. she said the american public has a right to know what we know and we're not going to hold back on these decisions. >> and actually, what she ended up doing was being live on cnn the next day, so continuing to release that information. >> miguel marquez to set the record straight. thank you very much. coming up, the prosecution wraps up its murder case against george zimmerman, so how will his lawyers respond? tomorrow morning, we're having much more conversation, analysis, reporting on this, coming up. i turned 65 last week. the math of retirement is different today. money has to last longer. i don't want to pour over pie charts all day. i want to travel, and i want the income to do it. ishares incomes etfs. low cost and diversified. find out why nine out of ten large professional investors choose ishares for their etfs. ishares by blackrock. call 1-800-ishares for a prospectus, which includes

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happening now, the prosecution calls on jurors to find george zimmerman guilty of murder, saying he profiled trayvon martin. so, how will the defense respond tomorrow morning? a massacre or self-defense? cnn examines video of the blooding shooting in cairo which left dozens dead. you will see the evidence. and five years after a prostitution scandal seemingly ended his political career, the former new york governor, eliot

spitzer, is racing the clock in a comeback bid. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." closing defense arguments tomorrow and jury deliberations expected to begin in the early afternoon in the george zimmerman murder trial. today, the prosecution's closing argument at times very, very passionate, dramatic, even sarcastic. let's bring back our experts. cnn legal analyst sunny hostin and jeffrey toobin along with criminal defense attorney page pate. let me play a little clip. bernie de la rionda's closing argument. it began with a very, very powerful, simple statement. >> a teenager is dead. he is dead through no fault of his own. he is dead because another man

made assumptions. that man assumed certain things. he is dead not just because the man made those assumptions, because he acted upon those assumptions. and unfortunately, unfortunately, because his assumptions were wrong, trayvon benjamin martin no longer walks on this earth. >> arguably, jeffrey, that was the most powerful moment in that more than two-hour presentation. >> yeah, it brought the occasion back to what it's all about, is trayvon martin's dead and georgism kblaern killgeorge i zimmerman killed him and that's the fact that begins this case. now, the whole case comes down to what was in zimmerman's head when he did this? was he acting out of malice, out of anger, out of hatred, out of

recklessness, or was he acting out of self-defense? that's the only issue in this case, and now the jury's, almost now, tomorrow is going to have to start figuring it out. >> page, you're a criminal defense attorney. how do you respond to that simple but powerful statement tomorrow morning? >> well, you don't confront it directly. i mean, obviously, emotion is not on your side if you're zimmerman's attorneys. you have to back up, leave the theatrics outside the courtroom and focus on the law, because it's not just the facts of the evidence in this case, it's that evidence evaluated through the law. and i think in this case, the law favors the defense. so, you lay out, what does the state have to prove, and have they done so? because they have the burden, and you remind the jury of that over and over again, and you walk through those jury charges that took so long to deal with today. you walk the jury through those charges so they will know what they have to do and how they're supposed to evaluate the evidence. >> because the responsibility,

the burden of proof, sunny, as you know, is on the prosecution. they have to convince the jury beyond a reasonable doubt that he murdered, he murdered this teenager. he was not acting in legitimate self-defense. >> i think that's right, and it's a very heavy burden. i've shouldered it. jeff has shouldered it as well. but i've got to tell you, i think that what was so powerful about the state's closing argument is that it was a common sense type of argument, something that resonates, generally, with juries. the focus is now not on self-defense but on what happened, which is, you know, who started this? how did this confrontation begin? how did the ball get rolling? and i can't imagine that that sort of common sense approach doesn't work with a jury like this, especially a jury of women, a jury with five out of six of them being mothers, aren't going to leave their common sense at the door, and i

think that they're going to want to find george zimmerman culpable when the other person when this began wasn't doing anything illegal or unlawful. i think that's resonated with everyone in the country, and i can't imagine that that's going to be lost on the jury. >> here's another clip from bernie de la rionda's closing argument earlier today, a little different. watch this. >> i asked you to come back with a verdict that speaks the truth, a verdict that is just. you heard from many people in this case, and i've summarized some of them. there's a lot more, actually, that you've heard. we know you've paid close attention throughout all these proceedings. some of the people you heard from were the parents of both the victim and the defendant.

unfortunately, the only photographs left of trayvon martin are those m.e. photographs. i mean, they've still got other photographs, and you saw some of them, football in his younger days, but they can't take any more photos. and that's true because of the actions of one person, the man before you, the defendant, george zimmerman, the man who is guilty of second-degree murder. thank you. >> i couldn't help thinking as we had those shots of george zimmerman. page, let me go to you first. i couldn't help but think, in his mind, is he rethinking, did he make the right decision, listening to his defense attorneys, to mark o'mara, for example, who said you're not going to go on the witness stand, don't testify yourself. i got the impression watching his body, you know, i wish i could have had a chance to speak one more time to those women on the jury and speak directly to them from my heart. but go ahead, please.

>> you know, i don't know if that's true. i mean, george zimmerman strikes me as the type of person who may very well not have been comfortable up there on the stand being cross-examined by these lawyers. i think he was concerned about that and rightly so. and here's the biggest challenge for the defense. you hear a statement like that by the prosecutor, you have the jurors wanting to blame someone for this kid's death, and there's the possibility now with the manslaughter charge that they can reach a compromise. these six folks can say, look, i don't think the state has proven murder, but gosh, trayvon martin's dead. this man did it. and i am not so sure he was justified in doing it. and we're people, too. you know, the jury knows that the world is watching this. and for them to come back with something, some type of a conviction and send george zimmerman away, or at least make him responsible, is certainly a possibility here. they don't know the potential punishment for manslaughter, and that's what the prosecution likes. >> that's why, jeffrey that was such a huge decision by the judge to let the jury consider

that lesser charge of manslaughter if these six women on the jury want, want to come up with some sort of compromise. your final thought. >> and that's what you're going to hear a lot about from the defense tomorrow, that self-defense is a defense to both murder and manslaughter, and mark o'mara is certainly going to address that issue of compromise, and he's going to say don't compromise. a manslaughter conviction he knows is almost, almost as bad for george zimmerman in terms of time in prison as a murder conviction is. >> jeffrey, page, sunny, we're going to have a lot more on this on cnn, obviously, not only tonight but tomorrow. a big day tomorrow when the defense delivers its final argument, but the prosecution has a chance to get the last word, and then the judge will instruct the jury on what to do. we'll have extensive, live coverage, obviously, here on cnn. other news we're following, including a former governor attempting a comeback from a prostitution scandal. eliot spitzer.

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it took a big bipartisan compromise to get an immigration bill through the senate, but the gop-controlled house of representatives is in no rush at all to go along. our chief national correspondent, john king, is here to explain. >> wolf, the sense of urgency with a degree of anxiety among republicans when it comes to immigration depends largely on how you map it. what do i mean by that? take a look. here's the presidential race in 2012, and in some ways, nationally, this is a no-brainer. look at the states where the latino vote matters, the swing states of presidential politics, latino population growing -- nevada, colorado and new mexico, florida, just to name four. i could name more. all blue, all carried by

president obama, because he won re-election, all part of this national dynamic that is so troubling to republicans in presidential politics. 71% of latinos for the president, only 27% for mitt romney. that an improvement even over the president's big win among latinos in 2008. so, from a national perspective, a big problem for republicans, which is why many say let's get this over with, let's get a bill to the president's desk, even if we have to give up and give him a path to citizenship. but you ever hear a politician say all politics are national? no, they say all politics are local, and when you look at it from that perspective, the immigration debate gets very different. look. there's a lot more red america than blue america. these are the house districts, the counties across america, including all the house districts. mitt romney carried more house districts than the president did, and the republicans kept their majority. that's the fascinating dynamic now. there are only 17 house republicans, only 17 who go home to districts the president carried in the last election. most house republicans go home to safe, conservative and largely white districts. so, they don't think they have to listen to the president or

even listen to their fellow republican like marco rubio in the senate when it comes to immigration. so, this is a very different perspective. let's take iowa, for example. the president won it, sure, but among the most vocal house voices on immigration, the conservative tea party favorite, congressman steve king. he says it's amnesty to give a path to citizenship. his district, 92% white, 5% latino. it's been a safe position for him in the past. he thinks it's more than a safe position for him now. one more example. let's come to pennsylvania. again, the president won it big. it's a huge blue state in presidential politics, blue because the democrats win in the big urban areas like pittsburgh and around the philadelphia suburbs and the like, but much of the state is red, including the district of congressman lou barletta. he says it's amnesty to give a path to citizenship. 89% whites in his district, only 5% latino. so, when you take this from the all politics is local perspective and you look at it this way, not this way, this way, republicans have a national problem. this way, a lot of these conservatives in the house, they think they're on safe ground, which is why increasingly,

there's pessimism that you will get a bill through the house in any final compromise that the president can sign, wolf. >> john king, thanks very much. good explanation. was it self-defense or was it a massacre? cnn takes a closer look at the evidence of a really bloody confrontation that left dozens of people dead. "i'm part of an american success story," "that starts with one of the world's most advanced distribution systems," "and one of the most efficient trucking networks," "with safe, experienced drivers." "we work directly with manufacturers," "eliminating costly markups," "and buy directly from local farmers in every region of the country." "when you see our low prices, remember the wheels turning behind the scenes, delivering for millions of americans, everyday. "dedication: that's the real walmart"

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adt. always there. so, the images we're about to show you are quite graphic. now, they're from monday's bloody incident in cairo between supporters of the ousted egyptian president, mohamed morsi, and egyptian security forces. the egyptian government puts the death toll at more than 50. morsi supporters insist twice as many people were killed. and the incident reflects raised tensions across egypt. cnn decided to look into what happened, and it was difficult, because people who took videos of that event have a vested interest, but our correspondent carefully looked at those videos and obtained another giving real insight into how the violence unfolded. here's cnn's karl penhar.

>> reporter: these images shot by cnn show the bloody aftermath of monday's shootings close to the army's republican guard compound. the health ministry says 51 civilians and 2 members of the armed forces were shot dead. in the last two days, both the military and morsi supporters provided edited videos to cnn, making the case the other side was responsible. these were provided by supporters of deposed president mohamed morsi. an egyptian soldier repeatedly takes aim from between other soldiers carrying riot shields. the slow-motion video shows him firing through barbed wire. in this edited clip, demonstrators chant "god is great." in another portion without audio, this soldier fires three shots. in each case, independent

military experts consulted by cnn say the soldiers appear to be firing live ammunition, not blanks. here, uniformed soldiers fire from rooftops near where crowds are gathered. the morsi supporters say the videos are evidence of what they call a massacre by the egyptian armed forces. the national salvation front, the main political coalition that backed the july 3rd military coup, has called for judicial inquiry into the shootings, but it insists the muslim brotherhood, morsi's power base, instigated events. >> at this time, i felt that there was intentional incitement by the muslim brotherhood to create a major massacre, a major scandal in front of the world in which they display blood in order to convince the outside world that there is a new dictatorship. >> reporter: the military provided cnn with these edited

videos to make its case the military was attacked first. this video taken from an army helicopter captures images of men tossing gasoline bombs off a high-rise. this grainy frame shows a man with what the army says is a pistol. we do not see him fire it. images taken from ground level show a pro-morsi protester cocking what the army says is a sawed-off shotgun. the video does not show him firing it. other video shows the muzzle flash of a gun being fired. "i challenge the army to a public debate in front of the whole world, but there's no need. the blood spilled on the streets paints a complete picture that speaks for itself," this muslim brotherhood leader says. despite repeated requests, neither side has given cnn the original, raw footage. only edited material, sometimes without audio, sometimes slow

motion with audio. in an off-camera briefing, army spokesman colonel ahmed ali alleged 15 gunmen on motorcycles fired on the heavily fortified guard headquarters. but the earliest video clip the army offered was this gun camera image from 4:01 a.m. monday morning. tear gas clouds are seen down the street. multiple pro-morsi eyewitnesses told cnn the army opened fire while many of them were performing predawn prayers. the army adamantly denies that and says the shooting started later. this video was recorded by a man who lives in an apartment building half a block from the guard headquarters. the photographer said he is not affiliated to either side and he declined to speak on camera for fear of reprisals. but he told cnn the camera time code showed he started recording at 3:26 a.m. in all, he provided 28 minutes of video to cnn. the first of five prayers were

scheduled for 3:20 a.m., according to the islamic calendar for cairo. if the camera was accurately calibrated, it would mean in clashes began in the middle of prayer time. about one minute into the video shot from the apartment block, about 3:27 a.m., sustained gunfire can be heard. the photographer says the shooting was in front of the republican guardmong the small supporters, with the military firmly in control of egyptian politics it is not clear how far the judicial inquiry will clarify what happened. but what neither side is arguing the massive casually, with

civilians. >> the be obama administration plans to go ahead with police for fighter jets, the latest focuses on it, a great cover, we'll talk about it in a -- radio obviously the aid we giegt

it keeps our influence strong. >> they announced 12 billion in a aid. that billion that they announced, clearly important. >> i can't obviously speak for the white house, but i assume that people like the fact that other arab countries are supporting the potential for reform and democratic reforms in egypt, and the idea that they're supporting their brother, is a good thing. >> the world's best protesters,

the street rules, excellent, excellent stuff, up next. five years after a sex scandal put an end to his career, the former governor, eliot spitzer is racing the clock with a comeback. i asked my husband to pay our bill, and he forgot. you have the it card and it's your first time missing a payment, so there's no late fee. really? yep! so is your husband off the hook? no. he went out for milk last week and came back with a puppy. hold it. hold it. hold it. at discover, we treat you like you'd treat you. get the it card with late payment forgiveness.

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a prostitution scandal seemingly put an end to his political career, but the former new york governor, eliot spitzer is now trying to make a major comeback. here is cnn's mary snow. >> reporter: his bid seeking political redemption came as a shock, but eliot spitzer may be gaining traction. it has been five years since the prostitution scandal forced him out as new york's governor. >> the remorse i feel. >> reporter: now, he wants to be the city's budget chief as controller. with it comes plenty of punch lines. >> what i have been running for is comptroller. >> eliot spitzer, creating jobs by the hour. >> reporter: but eliot spitzer may have the last laugh. a poll puts him roughly ten

points ahead of his potential democratic rival. he wants name recognition in a race that has attracted little attention until now. as he told cnn's christine romans, he is counting on forgiveness. >> i think the public has a forgiving nature and it has come through a little bit in this poll. >> reporter: does that poll surprise you? >> a little bit, but not really, because if you're in politics or government you need to be able to sense the public's emotional reaction to him. >> reporter: but not everyone is doling out second chances. he has been denounced by some women's groups who say he should be disqualified. but it is not clear if he will even qualify as a candidate. eliot spitzer has been scrambling to collect nearly 4,000 ballot signatures in just days. just his entry into the race, though, has made a mark. he is sharing the spotlight in new york with anthony weiner,

now running for mayor of new york. he resigned after sending nude pictures of himself to women. a recent poll shows weiner in the lead. it is likened to a reality store. >> it is an unbelievable story, in a sense it is election's psychotherapy. these are redemption elections. and it really does sort of cast this in a light of the twilight zone, et cetera. >> reporter: and while the tension is only growing, "the tonight show" says that spitzer will be a guest on friday. but the deadline is coming soon for signatures on the ballot. candidates in new york usually get two or three times the amount needed as signatures are often contested. wolf? all right, thank you, mary, up next, a terrorist with an unlikely hobby. cause as you get older you start breaking down.

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this is my computer? this is your computer. let's go on the internet. let's go. click it? yes. ok. i cursor in between the r and the e.

when i say dot, i want you to just push the period. she's going to love me all over again now. that's it! jamaica here you come! here we go. all right. good job. thank you. thank you. i did it. by myself. feel smarter. issue . >> competition, cnn has an exclusive. >> reporter: the terrorist mastermind puts his mind to building a better vacuum cleaner? >> he is going to suck his way out of the prison.

>> reporter: mohammed, waging jihad against dust balls and dog hair in an exclusive story, the associated press reports that while in a cia prison in romania about ten years ago, mohammed asked for permission to design a vacuum clean er, and cia officials said yes, that these activities were good for the prisoners. a former cia official explained it to the ap by saying we didn't want them to go nuts. >> you can only talk to them so long zuduring the day, and then what do you do then? it is like occupying a child. you want to build a vacuum sweeper? go. >> reporter: it is not quite as weird as it sounds, mohammed did have a mechanical engineering degree from north carolina. the terrorist says that the vacuum cleaner became a target for mockery, the cia wouldn't release or confirm the existence of the vacuum cleaner blood

pressure his lawyer said i know it sound s difficult, confirmin the vacuum cleaner or swiffer, for a better hand towel, they exposed the u.s. citizens to grave danger. so no sketches like the one in havana, when a vacuum salesman turned spy passes off the designs to his superiors. of course, the cia would have to make sure that mohammed didn't create a sort of diabolical device, a weapon right out of the movie "space balls". >> commence operation, vaccu-suck. >> reporter: but why a vacuum cleaner? considering how he looked when captured maybe mohammed would

have been better off engineering grooming devices. and try this. the hair cutting device you attack to the vacuum. if there is one thing that mohammed doesn't need it is more hair on the shoulders. >> that is it for me, erin burnett "out front" starts now. up front next, the prosecution makes closing arguments in the george zimmerman trial. so will it convince a jury to convict him? the huge question, we're in the final moments. plus, the judge making a final ruling, meaning that zimmerman could go to jail for years without being convicted of murder. and a moment by moment description of a crash landing, what really happened second by second. plus the latest on a town devastated by a train derailment. authorities say some of