their moms and dads and are generally more helpful and generous in real life as well. about half of the parents in the study say they belong to some of the same websites as their kids. thags that's it for me. i'll be back 5:00 p.m. eastern in the situation room. brooke baldwin picks it up from here. new today, trayvon martin's parents ask president obama to review the case against george zimmerman. but will it make a difference? i'm brooke baldwin. the news is now. as the extreme heat blankets america, thousands forced to leave things behind. a guy man adopts his partner all to avoid a steep inheritance tax. wait until you hear the story. plus, today is the day. whitey bulger's hitman takes the stand and faces the reputed mom boss. wow! >> and a mom and her 4-year-old daughter diagnosed with cancer

within days of one another. >> we're in a better position >> we're in a better position because we can all be together. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com here we go on this thursday. great to be with you. i'm brooke baldwin. top of the hour. i want to begin with the parents of trayvon martin. breaking their silence and calling for action. they have been understandably quiet since george zimmerman was acquitted of killing their son. but now they're opening up about saturday night's verdict. trayvon martin's mother, sybrina fulton, said that she was watching the news like i know millions of you did as well. and when she heard those two words, not guilty, she said she was both shocked and stunned. >> i was in a bit of shock. i thought surely that he would be found guilty of second-degree murder. manslaughter at the least. but i just knew that they would

see that this was a teenager just trying to get home. this was no burglar. this was somebody -- somebody's son that was trying to get home. >> you were stunned by the verdict? >> i was stunned. absolutely. i couldn't believe it. >> all week america has debated the verdict and the message it sends. especially to some african-americans who believe zimmerman racially profiled martin. the teen's mother says that sends, i'm quoting her, a terrible message. >> is this the intent for the justice system to have for victims? i mean, they're sending a terrible message to other little black and brown boys that you can't walk fast. you can't walk slow. so what do they do? how do you get home without people knowing or either assuming that you're doing something wrong? trayvon wasn't doing anything wrong. >> trayvon martin's parents are

speaking tonight to anderson cooper. set your dvr now. watch it live with the rest of us. 8:00 eastern. please do not miss that. the parents along with their lawyer say they want president obama, they want the administration to review this case. in part, they want to know if following an unarmed, 17-year-old is legal. the president as we know has sent a statement calling this a tragedy, calling for calm. and for everyone to respect the verdict. but has yet to speak publicly about that. meantime, i want to let you know a short time ago, there she is, the first lady in chicago today making this public appearance. speaking to students affected by violence. we listened to the whole thing. we listened to the q & a. she did not mention the verdict. at least not yet. so joining me now to discuss whether the president should even step in on this case, spark some kind of national dialogue, i have two gentlemen here. cnn political commentator and host of the ben ferguson show, ben ferguson. cnn political analyst, cornell

belcher. welcome. good to see both of you. cornell, let me begin with you. because we're listening to the first lady. here she is in chicago of all places. a place that knows violence all too well. were you surprised that michelle obama didn't mention anything about race, about this verdict, or is it even her place? >> yeah. you know, i think we have to understand what a difficult situation it is to be the first black president. because i think to a certain extent, you are asked to go above and beyond what other presidents have been asked. george bush could just be president. barack obama has to be president plus to a certain extent. and really i want you to understand the razors he walks. on one hand you have minorities saying the president doesn't do enough for minorities. he gets pressure there. on the other side, on the right, you have people saying the president does too much for minorities. we saw a campaign in 2012 where

group after group tried to say the president was yjust looking after african-americans and race baiting. the problem is if the president dives into this issue, it immediately becomes polarized and it could be more harmful quite frankly than helpful. >> ben, you're on the right. you've been watching all this. do you think it's the president's place -- let me push it one step further. if the president jumps into this fray how should he discuss race specifically? >> discussing race is one thing. discussing this specific case is something totally different. the president already injected himself into this case by saying if i had a son, he would look like trayvon martin. and that is not the job of the president. because the job of the president is an incredibly tough swrob. part of it is to realize the power and the influence you have. can he go around and should the president go around commenting on cases all across the country where people's lives are affected, people are killed, raped, murdered in this country. look at all the murders in his hometown of chicago.

more than 400 young african-americans have been killed in chicago since trayvon martin the night that happened. he has an obligation, a duty, as president to not put himself in these situations to comment on specific cases. because when you do, people in the justice system are going to react differently to these cases because the president may be showing that he has influence there. when you see the president do that, you're going to react to it. that's not fair to anyone in this country. >> we're talking about chicago. i have to ask, why isn't there -- we have seen absolute national outrage over what happened in sanford, florida. not just from last february, of course, but since saturday night. why is there not national outrage each and every day over what is happening every weekend in chicago? cornell? >> well, i think there's an opportunity here. i mean, i know a lot of us want to look at the legal system and say we want to look for the courts to answer this. truth of the matter is, all those people who are protesting and marching, vigils and

protests, we have to organize. we have to go out and organize. do a hoodie registration drive. actually take a page from my friend on the right, what the tea party did. take your protest and organize it, apply political pressure. if you don't like the stand your ground laws, there are state legislators, city council members. put pressure on them. challenge them in primaries. do what the tea party did. challenge them in primaries. you'd be surprised how many votes you need to actually win a state senate seat. >> what about prominent african-american leaders, folks who fought during civil rights, folks whose voices we hear today, ben ferguson, i read a tweet recently that was pretty squa scathing on what their role should be. >> there's some people that are involved in this case, i'll be blunt. because they see it as a political opportunity to interject themselves and become more popular with their own brand. this case -- >> give me an example. be specific. >> look at just the moments that we've had from nfl football

players saying that george zimmerman won't last a month -- or a year before the hood catches up to him. the wide receiver cruz. beyonce is helping expand her brand when she has a moment of silence. they probably weren't watching the case. and they're not respecting the law. but they see an opportunity here because of a tragedy and the fact everyone's covering it to then interject themselves without even probably paying attention to all the actual facts. because it's good for their brand. and it brings more people to their attention, to their audience. that, to me, is the biggest travesty of all. if beyonce's going to have a moment of silence, why isn't she involved with youth violence, gang violence, and all the youth that are getting killed in her hometown or chicago or atlanta or memphis or d.c. or anywhere else in the country? she's not. >> do you think that's fair, cornell? >> no, i think it's unfair. but i also think it puts a light on the problem with discussing these issues in our country. because the moment you do, it's

like -- the moment you touch it, it becomes problematic. here's the real cost of our inability to have a conversation, a real conversation about race. trayvon martin is dead because we've been kicking the race can down the road and have been unable to have a real conversation about race. and it's literally killing our kids all across america. trayvon is dead today because of our inability to have a real conversation about race. >> it's tough to have a conversation. it's tough to have the conversation. it's frustrating for me. i feel like we're round and round in circles. i have to end it here, gentlemen. thank you so much. ben ferguson and cornell belcher. i appreciate it. speaking of the president, we should tell you today he is singing the praise of his health care law. president obama using a white house speech to tout the affordable care act. here he points to a new york state report that finds insurance rates will drop next year. >> new competition, new choices, market forces are pushing costs down.

just yesterday state officials in new york announced that average premiums for consumers who buy insurance in their new marketplace will be at least 50% lower next year than they are today. >> the administration faces deadlines to put the law into place as republican lawmakers continue to try to repeal it. and now to the big board we go. take a look with me. where the dow, folks, is on the verge of a new record. earlier the dow hit a new high in realtime trading. you can see it's up in the green. up 80 points. a little less than two hours to go in the trading day. we'll continue to obviously watch the markets here to see if the dow closes above the record, 15,484. we'll see if that happens at 4:00. coming up next here, the trial of reputed mobster whitey bulger. a potential key witness found dead in massachusetts. police are investigating. we're going to go straight to the courthouse in two minutes. be right back.

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got to tell you about this bizarre twist today in the trial of reputed south boston mob boss

james white in bulger. steven rakes, an alleged extortion victim who've been wading decades to testify against f against folger has been found dead on the side of the road in massachusetts. susan candiotti is outside the courthouse where bulger is on trial. before we get to today's goings on and some of the colorful language uttered in court, tell me first, how was rakes found? >> reporter: he was found by a jogger. we're hearing this from authorities who tell us that a jogger passing by the street on wednesday, yesterday afternoon, in a town called lincoln, which is about 20 miles from here, and a good 20 miles or so from where steven rakes lived, saw the body there. now, authorities are telling us that there were no obvious signs of trauma. the medical examiner's office is conducting an autopsy. obviously the police, the district attorney's office and federal authorities well aware of this. everyone is looking into it to

figure out exactly what happened. but it is yet, obviously, another bizarre twist. could he have been a key potential witness here? the thing is this, brooke. just a couple of days ago on tuesday, prosecutors dropped him from their own witness list. friends who knew him said he really wanted to testify. also, there are people wondering, could he have committed suicide? those who know him say absolutely not. that's what they tell us. so was there a hit involved? no one knows. but, again, it's making us wonder and it's yet one more thing we're -- another colorful chapter in this trial to say the least. >> speaking of color, susan candiotti, i've been following your reporting. the tweets that have been coming out of this courtroom. as i understand it, as the jury was leaving, there was -- the former partner of whitey bulger mouthed a colorful phrase to whitey bulger. i know you can't say it on

television. i think it really speaks to sort of the tone in the courtroom. >> reporter: sure. of course, it's not the first time something like this happened. this key witness had just taken the stand. he wasn't on very long before they broke for the day. but as his testimony had ended, he was getting off the witness stand. and whitey bulger was seen to mouth an expletive to him. he mouthed an expletive to whitey bulger, excuse me. then bulger mouthed, really? or there was a back and forth there, just mouthing. that was the end of it. but it made everyone sit up and take notice. >> i bet. >> but then court ended for the t day. >> what a dramatic way to end. what an incredible trial to be following inside that courtroom. susan candiotti, we so appreciate you in boston for us. let me let you all know, coming up next hour, i will be talking with one of bulger's former gangsters about this man who was

found dead. so don't miss that. top of the next hour. meantime, coming up next, a heat wave across much of the country. in some places it is turning deadly. all of this as a wildfire is burning out of control in southern california. coming up next, i'll speak with one woman who lost her home last year. and is once again waiting on pins and needles to see if her home survives this one. next. la's known definitely for its traffic, congestion, for it's smog. but there are a lot of people that do ride the bus. and now that the busses are running on natural gas, they don't throw out as much pollution to the earth. so i feel good. i feel like i'm doing my part to help out the environment. when she was only fifteen hours first open hold. surgery... handing her over for surgery is the hardest thing i've...

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days of blistering heat are now taking its toll across the northeast, the midwest. i know you're feeling it. the misery has spread really as far west as the dakotas. in washington, d.c., the humidity makes it feel that much hotter. emily schmidt back at it again for us in the heat along the beautiful national mall. when we were talking yesterday, all i could think about, this is the perfect time for tourists in washington. here i see a bunch of people behind you, not fun. >> reporter: brooke, you know when you're in washington, it is really part of the landscape. people gather rain or shine to come here to talk to lawmakers about what they believe in. once the permits are issued and the plans are made, the weather

can't change it. that's what happened here. a group of people behind me here to talk about civil rights in china, human rights in china. they happen to have this scheduled during what is a heat wave in washington. feels like 100 degrees out here. they are still marching. same things happen when the tourists come to town. people have been planning for a long time. they come to see the sites. we met one woman today to come up with a plan to help her friends who'd come in from connecticut. they started out early to see the white house today. they decided to cool off in a fountain. one of the women told me when it's this hot a spur of the moment decision can really pay off. >> the more he splashed me, the funnier he thought it was. at first you want to say, don't flash. then, oh, flasplash. it feels so good. it was fun. it was good. >> reporter: there are some real headaches that come with this heat. we know on metro, the mass transit system here in washington, they're allowing people to carry water. usually they don't. because it is so hot they're making that concession. all we have learned amtrak said on the northeast corridor,

stretches all the way from union station in washington up to boston, they have put up some speed heat restrictions. they're telling people traveling, expect the trip is going to take 10 to 20 minutes longer. a sign of how things are slowing down in the extreme heat. >> for the folks that have to work outside, have no choice. emily schmidt, thank you very much. from the heat to the raging fire we go. this is forcing thousands of people from their homes in california. this is southwest of palm springs. this wildfire just blew up over the past 24 hours. casey wian is there in california. folks are struggling just to try to stay safe, try to protect their homes. what are you hearing from folks there, casey? >> reporter: well, people very concerned. you can see behind my left shoulder, brooke, this dense, dense, thick smoke. that was not there an hour ago. the winds have shifted a little bit. we're in the community of idlewild, under a mandatory

evacuation order right now affecting about 4,000 homes, about 6,000 people. so far firefighters have been able to prevent any significant damage from this fire which has been going on since monday. it only lost six homes and one commercial building. no loss of life. but they're very concerned right now because of the hot, dry conditions that are here. we're talking about temperatures of 99 degrees today. relative humidity only about 5% to 10%. so the winds aren't real high. but it's really, really dry. and there's a lot of fuel back there where they're fighting that fire. what are they doing to keep those homeowners safe? they've got 3,000 personnel fighting this fire, including 17 helicopters and a dozen fixed wing aircraft. those were just able to get up in the air within the last hour or so. they're hoping the winds stay calm so they can get this fire under control. right now only 15% contained, brooke. >> casey wian, thank you. coming up next, a same-sex

couple in pennsylvania decides to adopt. i'm telling you, this story is like nothing you've heard before. why one man decided to adopt his partner. that's next. hey linda!

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other side effects include dry mouth and constipation. nothing can reverse copd. spiriva helps me breathe better. does breathing with copd weigh you down? don't wait to ask your doctor about spiriva. okay. now to a story about love and taxes that could have ripple effects really across this country. it's similar to the lawsuit windsor versus the u.s. that is the landmark case which led to the supreme court to recently overturn the defense of marriage act. remember what was at the heart of that suit? the inheritance tax issue. edith windsor. she initially had to pay $638,000 after her wife died because the federal government didn't recognize their same-sex marriage. we now know she's getting the money back. now another same-sex couple is avoiding some inheritance tax

after one partner adopted the other. you heard me right. adopted the other. the men want to remain anonymous. here is cnn's sarah ganham. >> reporter: don't be fooled by the supreme court's decision to throw out the defense of marriage act. hundreds of thousands of guy couples still can't get the benefits of being married in their home state. john and gregory, a couple in pennsylvania, are among them. but they found a creative loophole. john, age 65, adopted gregory, age 73. >> we have a great house. nice property. and we've built that together and enjoy it together. >> state law in pennsylvania says that when one of them dies, the other would have to pay a steep 15% inheritance tax to be able to keep all of those things. they've been together 45 years and didn't think that was fair. >> to have to then pay

inheritance tax on something that is already really yours, somehow just doesn't pass the smell test. >> attorney marian rudebusch hit the books and came up with adoption. >> the judge said absolutely. there's no reason i shouldn't approve this. signed the adoption papers and looked at me and said congratulations, it's a boy. >> i've heard of sitwaugsuations on more than one occasion, sadly, when one part of the couple has died. they've been locked out of a home. >> reporter: ted martin is with equality pennsylvania. he understands exactly why gregory and john did it. >> a place like pennsylvania, still the only state in the northeast region still fires someone for being guy or evicted from their apartment or deny them a public accommodation. so in a lot of ways, you know, people have to be smart. >> reporter: for this couple it was a last resort. they didn't want to leave the state where they've lived their whole lives. but they don't believe they will live to see same-sex marriage

legalized in pennsylvania. >> it's sad we can't call it a marriage in the commonwealth of pennsylvania. but it is a really amazing relationship. >> now sarah gannon joins me to talk a little bit about this. i hear you. i'm getting the tweets. trust me, we'll talk about the legality in a minute. a lot are mentioning the "i" word, incest. are attorneys saying this is a trend for guy couples who do live in states where same-sex marriage isn't recognized? >> that's a great question. it's not for everyone and won't work in every state. the attorney who worked on this case says she's had other calls from same-sex couples who want to do the same thing in her state of pennsylvania, but in this case it only worked because one partner no longer had living parents. >> how did this whole thing start for this couple? >> it's interesting. they saw this happening like you mentioned to other same-sex couples where one would die and the other one was left almost with nothing after paying this tax. they simply thought, you know, we don't want this to happen to

us. they're getting up there in age. they were trying to look for a way around it. >> let me continue the conversation, sarah gannon, thank you so much. on to those legal questions, i promise. legal expert here, attorney, dana savalos is joining me. first question, can guy couples in those states that do not recognize same-sex marriage like pennsylvania in this case, you know, can they use adoption as an option? >> well, adoption of an adult is nothing new in the legal system. adults have been adopting -- adults have been adopts each other for a long time. and male and female adoptions as adults have gone on for a while for exactly this reason. the fact that now we're seeing same-sex couples doing it is really nothing that drastically new. the question is, is that what state are you living in? because the states have a very patchwork approach to this issue. most state statutes are as broad as saying -- many, i should say, are as broad as saying any adult

may adopt another. however, some courts have taken it upon themselves to apply public policy reasons for denying adult adoptions when involving same-sex partners or even heterosexual partners. and these grounds, new york, for example, has used public policy to deny these adoptions. even though there's no specific bar in the statute itself. so the state of the law, whether heterosexual or same sex, is absolutely a patchwork quilt at this time. >> so then what about incest? i mean, could -- could the parent, you know, who is adopting the other be arrested? >> great question, but you have to look at the history of incest. as much as we all instantly sort of abhor the concept, we have to look at the public policy that makes it illegal. at least half of the public policy for making insist, illegal, of course is the family relationship. but there's an additional reason. that is the safety, the

biological safety, the genetic safety of offspring. if you read -- that's not my idea. if you read the codes of pennsylvania, for example, it has that language in it. at least in the notes. so the issue is, in some states, the adopted child does not bear the same biological relationship for purposes of incest. in pennsylvania, however, the adoption of a child for purposes of incest makes them the biological child. as abhorrent as it is for us to think of it, the actual adoptive child does not have a biological relationship and is in terms of biology a stranger to that parent. however, in many states such as pennsylvania, it's still illegal. once you adopt that becomes your biological child for the purpose of incest. >> wow. danny cevallos, thank you. i know you're watching. send me a tweet @brookebcnn.

edward snowden holed up in a moscow airport. soon he could be leaving. coming up, i'm going to talk to former director of national intelligence, dennis blair. does he think the program snowden exposed should have been kept under wraps? don't miss this. back in two minutes. peach country. it's a fresh-over. we want you to eat some peaches and tell us what you think. they're really juicy. it must have just come from the farm. this right here is ideal for me. walmart works directly with growers to get you the best quality produce they've ever had. what would you do if i told you all this produce is from walmart? wow! is it really? (laughter) find fresh peaches and all your quality produce. backed by our 100% money back guarantee. walmart. ♪

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moscow's airport in the next couple of days. while russia considers his application for temporary asylum. meantime, there is a former republican senator who is reportedly thanking snowden and saying america has done a great wrong. former new hampshire senator gordon humphrey. he sent snowden an e-mail which the uk's guardian newspapers published. let me read part of it. quote, i believe you have done the right thing in exposing what i regard as massive violation of the united states constitution. well, right now in aspen, colorado, some of the most powerful and influential security experts are gathering to talk counterterrorism and national security. that includes former u.s. director of national intelligence under president obama, dennis blair. mr. blair, welcome. let me begin with -- >> glad to be here, brooke z. >> let me begin with edward snowden. if he stays in russia, as we've all heard he claims to have more secrets to potentially leak, how will president obama's relationship with vladimir putin

change? >> i think that so far the -- what president putin has said has been pretty sensible. that he does not approve of the -- those who, you know, violate their -- publicly violate their security clearances. and so i don't know. but president putin so far has seemed to not be trying to use this issue in order to -- in order to do something anti-american. >> so far that is what he said. we'll see if he changes his mind. meantime, speaking of some of these leaks, on capitol hill yesterday things got testy. there were lawmakers who were grilling intelligence officials on the nsa's surveillance programs. listen to this. >> think a program of this magnitude, gathering information involving a large number of people involved with telephone companies and so on, could be

indefinitely kept secret from the american people? >> well, we tried. >> i understand. >> there's laughter. but mr. blair, i want to pose the same question to you. do you think that the government really thought that this massive collection of phone records could be, to use his word, indefinitely kept secret from the american people? >> well, i think you need to go a little bit further back, brooke, as to what -- what does the job that the intelligence community has been given. that is to try to detect threats to americans of the kind that we saw at 9/11 and we see many other examples of. and try to identity those foreigners or misguided americans who -- who want to kill a lot of people, cause a lot of -- cause a lot of damage. that's got to be done within the constraints of our democratic tradition, which means it's got to be done under a law that is passed by the congress,

supervised by -- by courts, and that's basically what the intelligence community has been -- has been doing. so i would -- >> does that include monitoring americans? >> when a court -- when we can convince a judge that there is probable cause that an american poses a threat, is about to commit a crime that would hurt a lot of people, then intelligence community can monitor that person's overseas activities and within the united states, the fbi and other law enforcement agencies can also get permission to observe that person closely, including monitoring their communications, and those are the principles under which we operate. which are no different from the principles that law enforcement and intelligence agencies use for all of their other missions. >> you know, we heard from president obama a number of weeks ago. he was mentioning this when this whole story broke. he said that, you know, listen. it is a good thing to have a

debate about our own personal privacy. if you stand by how this could be a good thing in terms of monitoring, i presume, capturing, you know, terrorists, if, in fact, we need to take these steps and go to the court and get the necessary warrants. but had it not been for edward snowden, would we even be having this debate? >> i think we would have been eventually. i've long been an advocate of talking -- >> how would we -- forgive me for interrupting. how would we have this debate if americans had no idea this was going on? >> well, the -- i think the way you do it is with the leadership of the elected representative both in the executive and in the congressional branches. and we should be talking about it. and i would take a -- i would say that we should -- we the administration that i was a part

of a few years ago and members of congress should be talking about the principles of -- of what we are doing. now, you have to draw a line at specific operational details which can give assistance to enemies and the threats. but i think you can talk about things like collecting the information that is available on the business records of companies. so that if you have a suspicious phone number, you can find out who else that number has been talking to. and i think we should talk publicly about those things. >> i want to pivot as the former director of national intelligence, i have to ask about drones. we know, we all know the name anwr al awlaki. the drone strike that killed him also killed civilians. also killed his 16-year-old son. today if you flipped open "the new york times" in the op-ed section this boy's grandfather, nasur al awlaki, penned this. he writes in part, nearly two

years later i still have no answers. the united states government has refused to explain why abdulrahman was killed. my grandson was killed by his own government. the obama administration must be answer for its actions and be held accountable. mr. blair, how should the administration explain these civilian deaths? i know it's known as lit rcolla damage. how should the administration explain that by drones? >> i think you have to place collateral damage in context, brooke, with other -- other types of weapons that have been used. number one, i think you have to be very clear that there's a huge difference between this and between the indiscriminate and purposeful killing of as many innocent people as you can, which is what the groups that are threatening us do. for instance, anwr awlaki himself was the one who gave a bomb to a young nigerian named

abdulmutallab, told him get on an american airplane with as many people on it as you can. as soon as you are over american air space, pull this trigger and bring the plane down and kill as many of them as possible. so this is -- >> i'm not arguing whether it's right or wrong that we took out this terrorist, anwar al awlaki. i'm simply asking about the innocent lives like the 16-year-old. how does the administration explain that to america, to his grandfather? >> i think you explain to him that we tried every way we can to minimize damages. they are unavoidable. in this kind of a situation. and it's -- it's tragic that your grandson was killed. because obviously he had nothing to do with -- nothing to do with the acts that his father committed. but the strike against anwar

awlaki was justified. and it's unfortunate that he had his son with him at that time. >> i appreciate your time so much, sir. former national intelligence director under president obama, dennis blair. thank you. >> you're welcome. coming up, emmy nominations revealed today. we are already learning a big winner, not an actor, not an actress. find out what made broadcast history today after this break. ready? happy birthday! it's a painting easel! the tide's coming in! this is my favorite one. it's upside down. oh, sorry. (woman vo) it takes him places he's always wanted to go. that's why we bought a subaru. (announcer) love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. see, i knew testosterone could affect sex drive,

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some of the hottest stories in a flash. rapid fire. roll it. cnn has learned the navy and marines will start publishing their version of a sex offender list. but without the names. you see the list here. instead military websites will be showing the court martial results, acquittals, convictions, rank of a person and charges. part of the crackdown on military sex assaults. a milestone today in the court martial of bradley man ing. a military judge refused to throw out two charges against him including the most egregious, most serious. aiding the enemy. if manning is found guilty, he could face life in prison. manning's defense says he wanted to inform the public when he leaked classified documents to wikileaks. texas governor rick perry signed a controversial law today banning most abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy. the bill passed the texas state legislature last week after failing, remember, failed the

first time around. it is considered one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country. democratic state senator wendy davis stalled the bill last month with a dramatic 11-hour filibuster. netflix making a little history today with 14 emmy nominations. how about that? the online network's original series "house of cards" is nominated for best drama, best actor, and best actress. >> i didn't. i don't. i don't trust anyone. >> then how could you not see this coming? >> i never thought they were capable. >> about to start watching the series myself. dvd at home. "house of cards" faces breaking bad, mad men, downton abbey, game of thrones. take a look at this video. one of the better executed alley-oops. alley, alley, alley, alley, oop. seven people touch the ball.

a trampoline. a slide. ending in that major slam dunk. that is awesome. coming up next, pakistani schoolgirl malala yousafzai shot in the head by the taliban for speaking out about the rights of all kids to go to school. last week she spoke at the united nations. today, she is getting a letter from a very surprising group. the chevy malibu offers an impressive epa estimated 34 mpg highway... and during chevy's model year-end event 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. ohhh...great. [ male announcer ] the chevy model year-end event. the 13s are going fast, time to get yours. right now, get this great lease on a 2013 chevy malibu ls for around $169 a month.

she is the teenage girl who was shot in her head by the taliban for advocating women's

education. malala yousafzai. her recover-- speaking last weee united nations, malala gave an impassioned plea for worldwide childhood education and condemned any, quote, extremists afraid of pens and paper. those words didn't fall on deaf ears. adnan rashid, a senior commander in the taliban penned a deer malala letter in response to the speech and clarified to the 16-year-old girl why they wanted to kill her. so this letter was obtained by channel 4 news. here's just a portion of what was written in this letter. when you were attacked, it was shocking to me. i wished it would never have happened. taliban never attacked you because of going to school or you were education lover. taliban believed that you were intentionally writing against them and running a smearing campaign. the letter closes with this.

i advise you to come back home. adopt islamic and pushtoon culture. join any islamic madrassa near your home and study and learn the book of allah. malala and her family are currently living in london and are not likely to head home any time soon. coming up, the reputed trial. the trial of reputed boston mobster, i should say, whitey bulger. potential witness in that trial found dead on a road in massachusetts. we'll take you live to the courthouse. we'll speak live with one of bulger's former gangsters and a columnist who's been following this thing every single day from "the boston globe," next. vo: getting your car serviced at meineke, smart.

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boston red sox pitcher jon lester has had tough games in his career. those challenges were nothing compared to what he faced as a rookie seven years ago. our dr. sanjay gupta has the details in this week's "human factor." >> reporter: jon lester was a 22-year-old rookie pitcher for the boston red sox. when a trip to fenway park back in 2006 changed his life. >> i got in a car accident here driving to the field. >> reporter: the accident seemed to make some lingering back pain even worse. sending lest toer to the hospit. where doctors threw him a curve ball. >> you're sitting there one minute thinking in my case, i just have some back pain just need to get anti-inflammatories. maybe some rest or something like that. to you have cancer. >> reporter: lester was diagnosed with anti-plastic large cell lymphoma. a rare, fast spreading, yet

treatable form of blood cancer that affects the lymph nodes. by the end of the year ct scans showed the cancer was gone after six rounds of chemotherapy. soon after lester met with then red sock manager terry francona, eager to get back in the game. >> he sat me down. we're going to take this as slow as we possibly can. obviously that's the last thing i want to hear. >> reporter: in 2007, just a year after his cancer diagnosis, lester started and won game four of the world series. clinching the championship for the red sox. at first, lester was reluctant to talk about his cancer. >> at the time, you know, i just wanted to move on. wanted to be -- wanted to get back to doing what i loved to do and play baseball and not be the cancer patient anymore. >> reporter: but that changed in 2010. >> we had just had our first son. i can only imagine what it would be like for him to go through something like this. >> reporter: so lester helped launch nvrqt. or never quit.

in collaboration with the pediatric cancer research foundation. >> i fought and beat cancer. now it's time to fight for the kids. >> reporter: never quit raises awareness and money for pediatric cancer research. >> each ball represents a child diagnosed with cancer. over 125,000 in the last decade. children's cancer is a monster we all need to bring down. >> reporter: having beaten cancer himself, lester's mix now is to strike out cancer for children. dr. sanjay gupta, cnn, dr. sanjay gupta, cnn, reporting. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com an image getting a lot of attention. martin luther king jr. in a hoodie. you're about to hear from his niece who says shame on them. i'm brooke baldwin. the news is now. as the extreme heat blankets america, thousands forced to leave everything behind as flames erupt. were you surprised at his demeanor 72 hours before those

bombings. >> unbelievable. >> did the feds miss clues involving the boston bombing suspects? cnn speaks with one man who knew them. plus, today is the day. whitey bulger's hit man takes the stand and faces the reputed boston mob boss. and a mom and her 4-year-old daughter diagnosed with cancer within days of one another. >> we're in a great position because we all can be together. hour two. i'm brooke baldwin. thanks for sticking with me. got to begin with what's happening in boston today. this bizarre twist in reputed south boston mob boss. james "whitey" bulger. this potentially key witness named stephen rakes who claims bulger shook him down, this man has now been found dead on a

roadside in lincoln, massachusetts. at this point, we don't know how rakes died. there were no obvious signs of trauma on his body. this is according to the district attorney's office. but rakes had waited decades for the chance to testify against whitey bulger. news of his death comes on the exact same day that stephen "the rifleman" fleming took the stand coming face to face with his former partner, whitey bulger, for the first time in 20 years. i want to bring in boston globe columnist kevin collin who's been in the courtroom. co-authored a book on whitey bulger. covering the trial, tweeting every colorful moment. and there have been many colorful moments. also john "red" shea used to be a member of whitey bulger's winter hill gang. welcome to both of you. kevin, first to you. you've been in and out of this courtroom for every single bit of this. i want to get to this.

fleming mouthed a phrase i can't mention on television directly to whitey bulger. tell me about that and the tone in the courtroom. >> one thing, stevie flemmy speaks very fast. he came right out of the box. we only got ten minutes of flemmy. what he did say, brooke, that was very significant was that whitey bulger was an informant. when asked how do you know he was informant, he basically said, well, i was an informant, too. and we always met with john connolly, our handler. john connolly was enter deuintr me by whitey bulger. >> there were curse words being mouthed between flemmy and bulger. this wasn't the first time in the courtroom. >> i'll tell you, brooke. these guys from southie should have their mouths washed out with soap. they drop the "f" bombs.

it sounds more like a locker room than a courtroom in there. i think my impression of what happened today is that whitey was taken aside at a side bar. it wasn't done in a public courtroom. it was done probably after his outburst with kevin weeks a couple weeks ago. that was the second time he threw the "f" bomb around at a witness. i think he was cautioned one more of those and i'm going to hold you in contempt. because today he was just mouthing the words and stevie was mouthing it back. given this is 3:00 in the afternoon eastern standard time, i don't think i can say the word. >> we're not going to go there, my friend. red, let me go to you. back to stephen rakes who was found dead on a roadside, do you know him? do you know his family? >> yeah, i knew him in the family, sure. >> what do you know about his family? >> you know, obviously -- obviously it's a tragedy, what happened to this guy. my condolences go out to his

family. i mean, here's a guy that was allegedly -- i wasn't there -- shaken down for his liquor store, him and his family with his children present. that's basically it. they took his liquor store because they wanted to have it. and have -- make the money off of it. >> when we say shake down, red shea, what do we mean by that? >> going in and saying, hey, you got an ultimatum. you either take this or, you know, you know where you end up. >> why liquor stores? what was the role of liquor stores in mob boss culture? >> it was -- it was it shall we -- well, the liquor store was a base for them to clean and wash their money, of course. so they could say, hey, this is where i work. legitimate job and all that stuff, too, to go along with it. >> kevin, you've been following this each and every day. >> and they used it -- >> let me go to kevin quickly.

following this each and every day, what has been -- i mentioned you wrote the book. in just a couple words, what has it been like watching these people? >> well, i mean, it's sort of like history unfolding in front of us. and some of it we know, and some of it we don't. i just add one thing on steve rakes, stippo as we knew him. he was a good guy. when i last talked to him tuesday, he just -- i talked to him before he found out. but he found out on tuesday he was not going to testify. and he was very close to steve davis whose sister debbie was one of whitey's victims. steve davis told me that steve rakes was very upset tuesday night when he was going home. and when steve davis called him yesterday, he didn't call him back. stippo always called stevie davis back. stevie knew something was wrong. he told me he went by the house in quincy today. nobody was there. then we found out about an hour later that they had found

stippo's body yesterday in lincoln. >> kevin, let me ask you about stippo. if you were just on the phone with him on tuesday, we don't know yet how he died -- >> know. i saw him at the court. >> you saw him at the court. >> i saw him at the court on tuesday. >> you saw him at the court. what are you hearing as far as what might have happened? >> we don't know. we don't have a cause of death. now, the police said there was -- or the district attorney's office said there was no sign of obvious trauma. now, there's already been crazy conspiracy theories out there suggesting he was killed. there's no evidence to suggest that at all. but all we know is that steve showed up at court every day for this trial. i saw him every day. i talked to him at lunch actually on monday. he was talking about, he was -- i asked. i said, stevie, when are you up? he goes either -- he said late this week or next week. and he goes, i think i'm one of the last guys. meaning the prosecution witness. and then we found out today, i found out today from talking to steve davis that on tuesday

evening, steve rakes had found out he was not going to testify and that upset him greatly. because as you said, brooke, he's been waiting decades to tell his story. and kevin weeks, you know, gave a different story. he wanted to rebut that. >> so many people are telling their stories. red, you have such a story to tell. why not put you on the stand? >> well, first of all, i refuse to go on the stand. second of all, i would be a hostile witness, so to speak, if they did put me on the stand towards their informants. of course, towards whitey. no doubt about it. to both sides. but that said, let's get back to rakes. you know, here's a guy that was ready to go testify. who was a victim along with his family. was waiting many years as kevin said. and he never got the chance. and the reason why he never got the chance is because kevin weeks had a different story about the encounter that

happened. and he wanted to tell his story. he wanted to tell his story how it was true. and actually kevin was put on the hot seat for that. and he -- he was asked why he didn't -- twisted it. he said because they didn't like rakes. so, you know, i think this really caught up to this guy. it's a sad day for his family. >> kevin, final question to you. you know, listen. whitey bulger was on the lam for years and years. we come to find out he was living a couple walks from the beach in santa monica with his girlfriend. what's the sense just in the city of boston over this whole thing? >> well, i mean, i think it's a mixed bag. i think -- i've heard from people who are fascinated by it. i know that my -- the number of twitter followers i've had has more than tripled since i started covering the trial. yet i've heard from people who are sick of it, brooke. they're really tired of it. i actually wrote a column the other day talking about that it's sort of a joke that, you

know, they bring this guy in in a big cavalcade to and from the court every day. he's inconveniencing drivers. because they have to pull over and let his motorcade speed by. so, you know, i think some people are glad we're here at this sort of end. but there's a lot of people, yours truly included, that would like to look in the rear-view mirror at all this. >> kevin cullen, thank you so much for joining me at the courthouse there in boston. red shea, a pleasure. gentlemen, appreciate it. >> thank you. now to the parents of trayvon martin. breaking their silence. calling for action. they are opening up about saturday night's verdict. we have heard from trayvon martin's mother, sybrina fulton, this morning. she said she was watching the news just like millions of you did. and when she heard those two little words, not guilty, she said she was both shocked and stunned. >> i was in a bit of shock. i thought surely that he would

be found guilty of second degree murder. manslaughter at the least. but i just knew that they would see that this was a teenager just trying to get home. this was no burglar. this was somebody -- somebody's son that was trying to get home. >> you were stunned by the verdict? >> i was stunned. absolutely. i couldn't believe it. >> trayvon martin's parents are talking tonight to anderson cooper live 8:00 eastern. do not miss that sit-down interview. meantime, i want to tell you about this open letter that caught our eye. this is from civil rights icon martin luther king's niece, dr. aveda king. she says she's saddened -- have you seen this photo? she's saddened by this. of her uncle, dr. king, in a hoodie. this is being spread around online. so she wrote a letter called "judge by content of character, not skin color or a hoodie" to

the artist who created it. this is what she said. quote, i feel compelled to cry foul, shame on you to the media moguls and civil rights leaders who want to stir up a controversy where there is none. she goes on, i am not angered by the artistic expression. just plain hurt and saddened to see my message of my uncle, dr. martin luther king jr., reduced to a debate over an article of clothing. i am no way suggesting that hoodies are a bad thing. yet there are other ways to remember dr. king. perhaps most importantly, that way would be found in his sermons and letters. would martin luther king jr. as a teenager where a hoodie in the 21st century? i may not think so. who knows. would martin luther king jr. weep at the tragic loss and life and dream of trayvon martin and now deferred dream of george zimmerman? most likely. i want to bring in cnn chief political correspondent candy crowley just to talk a little bit about the president. because we know president obama has remained pretty quiet on the

zimmerman verdict beyond, you know, his paper statement calling this a strategy, calming on everyone to respect how the jury has spoken. i want you to listen to what press secretary jay carney, press spokesperson jay carney, said just a short time ago. >> so, you know, again, i don't know when he will next address these matters. in some regards it's up to people who interview him. but, you know, he is -- i mean, he hasn't shied away from these issues in the past and i'm sure he won't in the future. >> candy, do you think he will shy away from this? do you think he will tackle it? how would he tackle this? >> well, he could be asked about it. and there is that. there's a bit of an easy out here at this point by saying, listen, the justice department is looking into whether any federal civil rights charges can be brought. i think he will speak out about it.

this president is it sha-- as t first african-american president, obviously people look at him and say he should speak out. others say it's a little too granular for the president. he needs to not talk about the case, but perhaps about race in general. i suspect, obviously he may get asked about it. who knows what you say in a 30-second answer. or does he want to at some point do another speech on race. he's given -- he gave one during the campaign when there was so much about jeremiah wright, his pastor at the time. and he's given a couple since being in office. he hasn't shied away from that. but he's a deliberative guy. he does not do things quickly. particularly when they are such red hot topics of conversation as this one is. so i think, brooke, yeah. i wouldn't be surprised if he gave a speech. but i think that people will be disappointed if they are looking for him to side with one side or another in terms of this verdict. that's just not who he is. >> candy crowley, thank you very much. we'll see if and when he tackles

it and if it is in more than a 30-second sound bite. of course, watch candy "state of the union" sunday morning 9:00 a.m. eastern. coming up next, did the fed miss clues involving the boston bombing suspects? cnn speaks with one man who knew them. wait until you hear what he reveals. plus, this terrifying crash has put a 70-year-old in the hospital fighting for his life. that's ahead. could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. yep, everybody knows that. well, did you know some owls aren't that wise? don't forget i'm having brunch with meghan tomorrow. who? meghan, my coworker. who? seriously? you've met her like three times. who? (sighs) geico.

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saving time by booking an appointment online, even smarter. online scheduling. available now at meineke.com. anger still raging over rolling stone's decision to do this. it hits magazine stands tomorrow. dzhokhar tsarnaev. the surviving of the two boston bombing suspects. it looks like the plan backfired to some extent. at least five big retailers are refusing to sell it. the latest, walgreens, rite-aid, 7-eleven joining in the boycott. the magazine contends it is good journalism. cnn is learning about

tamerlan tsarnaev, dzhokhar's brother, and his connection to a triple murder that happened a year and a half earlier. a connection that really is still a mystery to this day. deborah feyerick sat down with one man, a boxing trainer, who knew three men connected with both crimes, including at the center of all of this, tamerlan tsarnaev. and what he told cnn might surprise you. >> reporter: with the terror attack on boston, three people in john allan's world were about to collide. all three are now dead. key among them is bombing suspect tamerlan tsarnaev seen working out at allan's gym days after the attack. >> were you surprised at his demeanor 72 hours before those bombs? >> unbelievable. just him entering the ring. i mean, you know, jumping over both legs, feet at his shoulder

height. clearing the ring. hopping in. jumping rope. like, yeah. like, he was on top of the world. >> reporter: allan trained both tsarnaev and another russian speaker, e er speaker. >> they were polar opposites as individuals. tamerlan was flashy and flamboyant. ibrahim was a bit more reserved, but he was hot headed. there were a few times that ibrahim and tamerlan prayed to mecca in the gym. which wasn't abnormal for ibrahin to do it. he did it from day one. it was abnormal for tamerlan. >> they were getting closer? >> it seems so. >> reporter: allan says they trained together in 2011. that same year tsarnaev's friend, brendan mess, who also trained at the gym was murdered in a near beheading along with two pals. sources cesar nye yves and todashev were involved in the

murders. do you believe that tamerlan and maybe ibrahim had anything to do with those triple murders? >> i know for a fact that, you know, tamerlan was probably if not daily, at least several times a week hanging out with brendan mess. at his house. at that house where he was >> reporter: allan says tamerlan's reaction was strange. almost dismissing his friend's murder. >> at first i just, you know, took it for nervous energy. you know, because tamerlan always was, you know, always put up a mask. a front. he always appeared in control. >> reporter: shortly after the murders todashev moved to florida. tamerlan went to dagestan where he reportedly became radicalized. allan says he gave fbi agents todashev's name. todashev was shot by an fbi agent after allegedly implicating himself in the murders. >> that's a bizarre story and situation. it's very hard to believe. >> deb feyerick there reporting.

todashev's autopsy report remains under lock and key. the fbi has asked the florida medical examiner not to release details, citing a, quote, active investigation. a cia agent arrested in central america. we'll take you live to the pentagon, next. ♪ [ male announcer ] wouldn't it be great if all devices had backup power? the chevrolet volt does. it's ingeniously designed to seamlessly switch from electricity to gas to extend your driving range. no wonder volt is america's best-selling plug-in. that's american ingenuity to find new roads. right now, get a 2013 chevrolet volt for around $269 per month.

a small plane crashed into two mobile homes in maryland today. take a look at it for yourself. you can see the aftermath. the pilot, a 70-year-old man, is listed in critical condition. no one else was hurt. this crash happened in maryland city, a suburb about 20 miles from the nation's capital. authorities evacuated the homes in the area as a precaution. that crash is being investigated. a cia chief has been arrested in panama on an international arrest warrant from italy. why? his role in the seizing of a suspected terrorist in italy that dates back to 2003. barbara starr joins me from the pentagon to explain. what's the story here, barbara? >> this, brooke, a case of international intrigue. ten years old. spanning several continents. now back in the headlines today. the man, robert felden lady.

we do not have a picture of him. he was the cia chief in milan, italy, ten years ago. very much part of secret operations. now the italians confirming he was arrested in panama. he is wanted back in italy. he was convicted in absentia for his role in what was said to be, several years ago, a cia covert operation to seize and arrest a muslim cleric off the streets of milan, send that man to egypt where the man says he was tortured, all for what is said to be the cleric's role in trying to recruit fighters for the wars in afghanistan and iraq. the man, robert selden lady, was suspected and convicted of being part of that operation, you know, back ten years ago. it was all very much something the cia participated in under cover with other intelligence services around the world. seizing and arresting suspected terrorists, sending them to

secret prisons in various locations around the world. so-called black prisons where they were interrogated and said by many to be tortured in those prisons. so he was convicted in italy. now ten years later, arrested, detained in panama. and it remains to be seen whether he turns up publicly and whether he will be sent back to italy under this conviction. brooke? >> barbara starr, thank you. a raging wildfire in california has now even more people fleeing from their homes. they're unsure if their homes will be there when they get back. we have a live report from the edge of the fire zone, next. "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."

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raging wildfire in california forcing thousands of people out of their homes. hot, dry temperatures not at all helping firefighters much. casey wian is live in california where i know we saw a lot of

smoke when we chatted last hour. casey, set the scene for me. how is the weather? >> reporter: well, weather's not too bad. winds are calm right now, brooke. look behind me. you can see fire trucks here. the idlewildfire department, they're staying behind to protect this town in case the firefighters out on the mountain don't have success in keeping the flames away from this community. you can look off to my left and see the thick smoke that is there. that has really grown over the morning. it was hardly any at all when we first arrived early this morning. now it's much thicker. wind is blowing smoke and a little bit of ash this way. i've got 23,000 acres that have been affected by this blaze. we've got 3,000 firefighters out there fighting it. the good thing as we mentioned, the winds are fairly calm. the difficulty that they're having right now is the heat and the humidity. 5% to 10% humidity. 99 defwree tegree temperature. that's really causing the fire to really accelerate. they have been able to get

helicopters and aircraft into the air, to drop retardant on to the burn areas and really slow the spread of it. still 15% contained only, though. we can look over here and see evidence of the evacuation orders in place for this community. businesses are closed. about 6,000 people away from their homes right now hoping that they will have homes to return to when it's time and safe to return, brooke. >> we all hope so. casey wian in idyllwild. thank you. from the fire to the heat. don't underestimate the power of a heat wave. you know extreme heat kills more people than hurricanes and tornadoes. and with the northeast and the midwest stuck in this grip of this heat wave, you can't really be too careful. it's just heartbreaking when you hear about this 11-month-old girl. she's died after being left inside a broiling suv about three hours. this is homewood, alabama. she was taken to a hospital yesterday and died there. the baby's body was apparently

registering 110 degrees. much hotter than it was outside. in a car. in kentucky, police say a 78-year-old man has been found dead in his car from heat exhaustion. back to boston we go. couple big developments today in the trial of reputed south boston mob boss james "whitey" bulger. a potential key witness by the name of stephen rakes who claimed bulger shook him down, took his liquor store to use as a base of operation, so he said, who couldn't wait to testify, it's been years he's been waiting for this day, has been found dead on a roadside in lincoln, massachusetts. now, news of rakes' death has broken on the very same day steven the rifleman flemmi took the witness stand, coming face to face with his former partner whitey bulger for the first time in almost 20 years. "boston globe" reporter shelley murphy is author of "whitey

bulger: america's most wanted gangster" co-authored with kevin cullen who we spoke with earlier. you tweeted this afternoon once the jury was ending about th this -- this colorful confrontation between flemmi and bulger. tell me about that. >> yeah. it was very -- the jury did not see this. they were on their way out of the courtroom. but flemmi, who's now 79 years old, was facing bulger for the first time in about 20 years. and the two of them glare at each other, flemmi stood there with his hands on his hips in the witness box. we heard him swear something i can't say on television. it sounded like bulger said something back to him. and we could hear, you know, flemmi saying, really? it looked like they wanted to go at it. there were a number of very big, burly marshals standing between the two of them. >> how does whitey bulger appear each and every day in court? how is he dressed? what's his demeanor like?

>> well, he's 83 years old now. he shows up every single day in jeans, wrangler jeans. every day he wears a different color shirt. usually a long sleeve shirt. he looks very meek and mild and unassuming. he looks like this little old guy sitting between his two lawyers who would never hurt anyone. then you -- he's been very careful not to look at too many of the witnesses. he sort of averts his eyes. he looks down. he takes notes. but there have been a couple of exceptions. one of them was another former, you know, associate, kevin weeks. they really went at it. whitey lost his notorious temper. started swearing. they swore back and forth. so there are a couple of witnesses who really seem to, you know, hit his buttons. >> what an incredible trial to be covering for you, who i know has covered this for years and years. we mentioned steven flemmi. i know he was in the box for all of ten minutes before everyone recessed until tomorrow. when we hear more from him, do you think it's possible that

flemmi could do whitey bulger in? >> well, he's a very critical witness. because, you know, whitey is charged with so many things. but the two things he most wants to refute is that he was an fbi informant and that he killed women. two of the 19 victims he's charged with killing are women. flemmi is a critical witness on both of those points. flemmi also was an fbi informant. he started to testify today that the two of them together would meet with this fbi agent. he's also the guy that says that he watched while bulger strangled two young women. >> what about, quickly, rakes who was the man who was found on the side of the road? what are you hearing about him about his death? >> we do not know. we know that there were no obvious signs of trauma. but beyond that, state police have not yet released any details. i believe they're waiting on an autopsy. he was a very physically fit man. he walked. he swam. people saying he had no obvious, you know, health issues. and so at this point it's a mystery.

we don't want to arouse undue fear here. we don't think whitey has much of a crew left out there on the street. but we just don't know. >> boston globe's" shelley murphy. thank you. we'll be reading your tweets as the days continue inside that courthouse. a record day on wall street. already today we are minutes away from the closing bell. how that could directly affect you and your money. up 67 points here. half an hour to go. that's next. we know it's your videoconference of the day. hi! hi, buddy! that's why the free wifi and hot breakfast are something to smile about. book a great getaway now and feel the hamptonality

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getting close to closing bell on wall street. about 20 minutes to go. it's been a day where the stock market has been hitting record highs. zayne asher is in new york. what's the number we're watching for at 4:00 straight up? >> right now we have been in record high territory all day today. the dow right now up about 69 points. althou although slightly below the session highs. dow rose as much as 119 points earlier. even with the pullback we are still likely to see a record kroes for the average. stocks certainly getting a boost today from earnings. united health care up nearly 7%, biggest gainer on the dow. the company rorpted better than expected earnings thanks to 3.2

million enrollment in its health insurance plan. ibm fom lowing along, gaining 2% after posting its earnings after the close last night. it's not just the dow. the s&p 500 is also touching a new all-time high today. the much broader measure of the market is what most of our retirement and mutual funds back. if you've looked at your investments lately, you are probably feeling a little bit richer. brooke? >> what about student loans? because i know, you know, young people's ears perk and parents as well. there's been this tentative deal that's been reached on student loans. what should people who are heading to school in the fall do or know? >> right. so, brooke, it is better late than never. this is a huge relief for anyone taking out new loans. remember that rates for subsidized stafford loans doubled to 6.8% on july 1st. lawmakers have sort of been scrambling to reach a deal before students return to campus in the fall. good news is that just last night a bipartisan group of senators reached a tentative agreement. it's not set in stone yet. some detames could, of course,

change. let me break it down for you. under the deal, student loan rates, subsidized stafford loans would be 3.86%. that's for undergrads. for grad students, about 5.4%. for parents it would be 6.4%. even though any movement in the rates would be tied to the market, there would be a cap on those movements. 8.25% for undergraduates. 9.5%, parents 10.5%. not all student loans. just new subsidized stafford loans. we're not sure when the senate will vote on this bill. students should, of course, talk to their student aid office about how this affects them. newest loan rates are retroactive. if you did take out loans after july 1st that means the newer rates will actually apply. good news all around. >> zain, thank you. i know that was a lot of information for viewers to take in. if you need to go through it with a fine toothed comb go to cnnmoney.com. thank you. this year's emmy nominations

had a big surprise. broadcast tv got snubbed for best drama category. not a single show from abc, cbs, nbc, fox, cw, got nominated for best drama. the nominees are downton abbey, breaking bad, mad men, game of thrones, homeland and house of cards. netflix made history today with 14 emmy nominations. "house of cards" also got nominations for best actor and best actress. >> i knew you shouldn't trust that women. >> i didn't. i don't. i don't trust anyone. >> then how could you not see this coming? >> i never thought they were capable. >> the emmys will air in september. he's back in the news. eliot spitzer. why is he drawing this kind of attention? we'll fill you in, next. hd

president obama ak sen shapts the positive when it comes to his affordable care act. he doesn't mepntion the roadblocks or delays. jake tapper, you're going to dive into that next hour. a little something else as well. eliot spitzer trying to get back in the public's good graces. tell me about that. >> mr. spitzer will be here. we'll ask him about his campaign and about the scandal that led to his resignation as governor. and then, of course, as you say, we're going to be taking a deep dive on obama care. president obama today holding a big rally with people who he

said will benefit from obama care. specifically there are all these rebates coming from insurance companies that according to the law, if you don't spend at least 80% of your premiums as an insurance company on health care, you have to give rebates. about $500 million is going back to consumers, back to companies. there are a lot of individuals, small business owners, concerned about the choice they have ahead of them. we'll be talking to one of them who says she's going to have to reduce the hours of her employees because she just cannot afford to pay for insurance for all of them. we'll be talking about that and, of course, the zimmerman trial and many, many other things in the news, brooke. >> jake tapper, thank you. good to see you. >> good to see you, brooke. >> see you at the top of the hour, jake tapper "the lead." meantime, he pleaded with the president to spare his son's life. that didn't happen. he's now written an op-ed "new york times" in the today entitled "the drone that killed my grandson." those details are just ahead. the first time i saw a sony 4k tv, it was like opening my eyes. it's four times the detail of hd.

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will overcome everything in my heart. >> he was a typical teen-ager. he had a mop of curly hair, a wide, goofy smile. earlier i spoke -- >> i tragic that your grandson

was killed because he had nothing to do with the exacts that that his father committed. it's unfortunate that he had his son with him at that time. the fact that he was killed in a separate drone strike from the one that killed his father anwar al al-awlaki. back in a moment.

texas governor rick perry signed a law today banning abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. it is considered one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the nation. wendy nation stalled the vote last month with a filibustefili. >> a military judge refused to throw out two charges against manning, including aiding the enemy. if found guilty, he could get life in prison. and now take a look at your hands, take a look at your wrist, maybe a little gold here, there, in your mouth, wherever you keep the gold, serious! you got a lot, may have gotten

your gold from outer space. stay with me the game-changing discovery started when researchers saw a strange glow in their telescopes. chad myers is here with a little space lesson on star, neutrons and gold. >> it may have come from a neutron collision of two great little sun stars out there. we thought it was a super knowia white dwarf, sma -- nova and all -- neutron stars as they spin around, they get smaller and smaller and smaller and then all of a sudden there's the gold as they explain. now, they're only about as big as manhattan when they hit each

other so this gold slung out into the universe. it's still only worth $13 an ounce and i wear stainless steel. >> are you kidding me? this isn't the real thing. >> you got gold plate. >> i love story. i appreciate that so much. and before we go, i wanted to share this with you. she is the teen-ager girl who was shot in her head by the taliban for advocating women's education. her recovery, her perseverance have made her an inspiration to millions but her fame has also caught the attention of the very group who tried to kill her. last week she gave an impassioned plea for worldwide childhood education and condemned any "extremists condemned to pen and paper." those words didn't fall on deaf ears. a senior commander in the taliban actually penned a "dear malala letter" and penned why

they wanted to kill her. here is a portion of what was written. "when you were attacked, it was shocking for me. i wished it would never have happened. taliban never attacked you because of going to school or you were education lover. taliban believed you were intentionally writing against them and were running a smearing campaign. i advise you to come back home, adopt islamic and pushtoon cult and study and learn the book of allah. thank you so much for joining me here. let's just go back to chad because we can. >> i want people to understand what this heat is doing to their

body and to their home. it's not cooling down at night anymore. we're down at 80 in the middle of the night so your house isn't cooling down at all. your heat index, when it gets above 105, lots of water and shade. please take care of your pets, they can't cool down here. take care of your pets. >> thanks for watching. "the lead" starts now. >> do the right thing, someone right said. is it the right thing for president obama to speak out about the george zimmerman verdict? i'm jake tapper. this is "the lead." the parents of trayvon martin speaking for the first time since george zimmerman was found not guilty of murdering their son. they issue a call for president obama to get directly involved. but what can he really do? all the anger and sadness being channelled in protests across the country this weekend but what then? and what could satisfy those who think george zimmerman got away