it's 11:00. that will do it for us. >> we hand it over to our colleague fredricka whitefield. >> does it seem like you are talking faster to end your hour. >> we have to get out of here. >> you all have a great morning. we have a lot to cover today. including this, a tragic accident at a six flags amusement park in texas. a woman riding a roller coaster

plummets to her death. we'll tell you what happened and how the park is responding now. and a day of protests across the u.s. rallies are about to kick off in more than 100 cities demanding justice for trayvon martin. and she kept presidents on their toes for nearly a half a century. legendary white house generalist helen thomas dies. we'll take a look at her life and legendary career. welcome to the cnn "newsroom." i'm fredricka whitfield. it's exactly one week since george zimmerman's acquittal, and reaction to the verdict has not waned. in living rooms and on streets, americans are joyvoicing their opinions loud and clear. even the president breaking his silence on the case. he gave a sprays statement at the white house yesterday. president obama didn't take sides on the verdict, but he called the decision a painful

one for many african-americans who deal with racial profiling all their lives, including him he says and it got personal. >> when trayvon martin was first shot, i said that this could have been my son. another way of saying that is trayvon martin could have been me. >> and we'll have more on the president's personal and unscripted comments later on this hour, but first the reaction to the zimmerman case on the streets now. our correspondents are covering major rallies happening today across the country. you see right on the map there. let's turn to nick valencia in miami. trayvon martin's father is at that rally or at least he was scheduled to. is he scheduled to speak as well? >> reporter: yeah, he spoke a little while ago and while he was at the podium, he teared up talking about his son saying that he's going to fight for the legacy of his son and also for the sons of all those here in attendance. we expected -- the organizers expected mosh 1,000 to show up.

if it's not that already, it's surely eclipsed that. joining me now is tracy martin, father of trayvon martin. when you look at the crowd and look around at how many people are showing up to support you and your son, how do you feel about it? >> it is overwhelming. it goes to show the love and the support that our families and friends have for us here in miami as well as across the country, and it sends a message to the nation that we're not going to sit back and let our children be killed and don't say anything about it. >> reporter: talking about the nation, we saw a knee-jerk reaction after the shooting at sandy hook for gun control. now we're seeing a reaction here. you know, this has been a hot button issue for race relations, now for the stand your ground law here. what is going to make this issue different? why is this going to be a sustained movement? >> i think the people are just tired of senseless violence, and the people really want the world to know that our children's lives matter just as much as their children's lives, and i

think that we can't change the stand your ground law, but we can definitely do something to make amendments to it. >> reporter: it's been a very tough year for your family. understandably so. a very tough year for your friends and family to watch you go through this. how are you doing? >> we're doing fine. we're standing on the shoulders of god, standing on all of our families, friends, and supporters, and this is what keeps us going, all of these people that are out here to support us, white, black, brown. there are a mixture of people. everybody is out here to support not only trayvon but their children as well. >> reporter: and you talked about fighting for their children as well. yesterday president barack obama spoke about your child and he made some very personal remarks about trayvon saying this could have been me 35 years ago. your family released a statement. i want to hear it from you about your reaction to the president's comments. >> well, our reaction was what the statement was, and, you know, it touched our heart that the president did say that, and

we admire the president for stepping up and doing that because, you know, it just sends a message to the world that, you know, this could have been anybody's child, and there are no exceptions to whose child it could have been, and we just have to try to -- we have to do something to corral the senseless violence. >> mr. martin, you have become a symbol of so much more since the verdict, since the shooting. how do you feel about that? >> since the shooting, you know, that's something that you can't never recover from obviously. time heals all wounds but this is something that i don't feel i can ever recover from. since the verdict we're moving forward now. we're trying to work with the trayvon martin foundation, and if people want to know more about the foundation they can go on trayvonmartinfoundation.org.

they can find out what the foundation is all about. our message is simple, to educate, mentorship, advocate against senseless violence and scholarships to the kids. >> reporter: so much can be said about this and about the shooting but at the end of the day a 17-year-old is dead no matter where your opinion lands on the issue or the case. tracy martin, thank you for joining us. fred, you heard it from tracy martin himself, very personal words. this crowd is very supportive of him. they all showed up here to see him and also to make sure that there is attention brought to the stand your ground law in florida. fred, we'll throw it back to you. >> nick valencia, thanks so much for bringing what was an unexpected private conversation there with tracy martin. appreciate that. in miami. alina cho now is in new york where trayvon martin's mother will be appearing at the rally with the reverend al sharpton among others. i understand sybrina full torn spo spoke ahead of the rally.

what did she say? >> she said she's been called to act. that she's sad but not so sad she's not going to try to move the ball forward in this case. fredricka, she is expected to speak at this rally which is due to start in less than an hour. the crowd is already starting to gather behind me, and you can certainly feel it in the air. about two dozen new york city police officers are also on hand. the one officer told me he did not expect to have any problems today. now, remember, this one here at 1 police plaza in new york city is just one of more than 100 across the country organized by the national action network which is led by the reverend al sharpton. as you mention, sharpton is expected to lead this rally today with the headliner being trayvon martin's mother. moveon.org is also partnered with the national action network and one site manager here at the rally told me that 10,000 people have rsvp'd for that protest alone.

sigh br sybrina fulton spoke on the reverend al sharpton's radio show. >> he had a drink and some candy. he had every right to be in that area. he had every right to walk through that community, to go back to the house where he came from. those are the things, those are the facts that we need to stand firm on because today it was my son, tomorrow it might be yours. >> reporter: one goal of the protesters here at today's rally will be to put pressure on the justice department to file a civil rights case against george zimmerman exactly one week after an all-woman florida jury, fredricka, acquitted george

zimmerman of murder exactly one week ago. >> alina cho in manhattan. thastz so much. now to the nation's capital where we find athena jones. organizers there are demanding the federal government prosecute george zimmerman on the civil rights violations that alina just spelled out, but what is the likelihood of that happening? >> reporter: good morning, fredricka. this is far from an open and shut case, as you know. some of the legal experts we talked to raise questions about whether the federal government is going to be able to bring civil rights charges. this investigation has been ongoing by the federal government since last year. they've been talking to witnesses down in florida. they've been talking to folks who know george zimmerman. they're going to have to find evidence that wasn't brought to and presented at the trial, the state trial in florida. so there is a high bar for bringing these kinds of charges and proving george zimmerman acted out of racial hatred or racial animus. i can tell you the folks gathering here today, this protest is set to get underin

just under an hour. people are starting to gather. members of congress, faith leaders have been invited to attend. organizers have stressed to us, this is not going to be an angry protest. people are upset by the verdict, but this is going to be about solidarity, showing solidarity to trayvon martin's family, and calling on the justice department to continue this investigation and bring charges if they can. they've been distributing this flyer online showing asking people bring hoodies, signs, iced tea, and skittles. one of the organizers i spoke to said it's going to be a very hot day but they want to show they can come out in hoodies and be peaceful. fredricka? >> athena jones, thank you so much in d.c. let's go to the west coast. dan simon is in los angeles. dan, one of the 100 cities that are likely to have protests or scheduled protests this weekend. what is the mood there? it's very early there right now, but is there already a turnout? >> reporter: well, just a handful of people at this point, fredricka, and organizers to be honest, they don't really know

how many people are going to show up. they are hopeful that they'll get maybe a few hundred protesters, but the key here in los angeles and this holds true for all the other cities is officials believe this will be a very peaceful demonstration. they've been working very closely with the los angeles police department in terms of closing some of the nearby roads, and they say this is going to be very peaceful. this is in front of the federal courthouse in los angeles. i'm told there will be a vigil and a handful of selected speakers, and there could be a couple of celebrities on hand as well. we're going to be monitoring things here in los angeles and we'll bring you live updates as things progress. fredricka? >> dan simon, thank you so much. keep us posted throughout the afternoon. tonight on cnn, i hear that explosive interview that has everyone talking. juror b-37 in her own words. anderson cooper's exclusive interview is tonight. we'll run it again at 8:00 eastern time. right after that you will see, again, a version at 9:00 p.m. of the piers morgan interview of

rachel jeantel, the prosecution star witness and the good friend of trayvon martin. on to texas now. a woman has died at six flags over texas after witnesses say she fell off a roller coaster. the theme park confirmed that she died while riding the texas giant last night. but they didn't give any other details. witnesses say they saw the woman fly out of that roller coaster as it went around a turn. people standing in line say they heard a man on the ride screaming, my mom fell off. the woman has not been identified. six flags says the roller coaster is closed while the investigation is under way. right now to sin city where powerful storm hit las vegas last night. a severe thunderstorm moved into the area causing flooding, downed trees, and damage to multiple houses and apartment buildings there. the storm was so powerful that the roof of the crowded -- this crowded bar as you see right there just kind of gave in.

taking place right there on the las vegas strip. and then this cell phone video was, by the way, shot by a local deejay and showing the water actually coming right in as people seemed to be remaining relatively calm. meantime, you have that big deluge, but it remains a very hot weekend once more, particularly in the northeast. let's check in with jen every de delgado. you have extremes on both ends. >> but it all can be explained and i will do that for you right now. it's still very hot out there across parts of the northeast as well as new england. some of the locations it feels like 106 degrees. that's why we have all these heat watches and warnings in place, and these are going to last through today because when you add in humidity, it just gets so dangerous out there when the temperatures are in the mid 90s. let's go to a live shot right now coming out of new york city, and, fredricka, it is a hot and hazy day there, and they are praying for cooler conditions, and the good news is it's

coming. but it's not coming until tomorrow. as you take you over to our graphic and we talked about some of the watches and warnings and the heat index near 105 for the high in some of the locations, right now, keep in mind, it's not even noon, it feels like 90 degrees in new york city and for atlantic city, 95, and then boston, 99. keep in mind some of these places up there, they don't even have air conditioning. of course, this is such a dangerous situation when you get temperatures so hot like that, but here is the relief in the form of a cold front. you can see the showers and thunderstorms developing right along that. that means for today we do have the threat for severe weather out there that extends from anywhere from ohio all the way up to areas including maine, and that means some of these storms could be producing some damaging winds as well as hail, but the temperatures are going to cool off. finally here is the good news. you can see for yourself for saturday and sunday and monday, those temperatures really drop down for parts of washington, d.c., and then for new york city, the temperature drops down to 84 on monday and that's just

below average. now, you mentioned the las vegas flooding. that's all tied in to monsoon season and that happens and starts to kick in towards the end of july and lasts all the way through september and it was record rainfall, but get this, only 0.22 inches. it doesn't sound like much but when it's dry like that, all the water rolls off and it was a pipe break as well. >> wow, and it really has nowhere to go. is there like a decent gutter system? some systems don't really have -- >> in vegas their -- in some cities they don't drain as well. and some of those cases do happen in vegas as well. >> take care. >> learn something new every day. >> that's what i like about you and everybody else around here. thanks so much. some sad news out of washington. long-time white house reporter helen thomas died today after a long illness according to sources. she was 92 years old. thomas had been front and center at the white house press conferences since jfk was in office up until her retirement just a couple years ago in 2010.

that came after controversial comments she made about jewish people. we'll have more on her life, including the barriers that she broke as a woman, in the next hour of the cnn "newsroom." so what's the country to do now after the zimmerman -- the george zimmerman verdict? president obama has some ideas, and he also gets personal about race in america. we'll hear what george w. bush's attorney general thinks about this case as well. and if london is going crazy now about that royal baby that's expected, what is it going to be like once that baby actually arrives? we'll go across the pond to london next for an update. arrives?

> a big part of the george zimmerman verdict discussion has been about stand your ground laws and how race may have played a factor. president obama took it a step further when he broke his silence in a rare unscripted speech at the white house. he said he, too, has been a victim of racial profiling and what happened to trayvon martin raises some questions that need to be answered. >> i just ask people to consider if trayvon martin was of age and armed, could he have stood his ground on that sidewalk? and do we actually think that he would have been justified in shooting mr. zimmerman who had followed him in a car because he felt threatened?

>> and just days earlier attorney general eric holder addressed the nation's oldest civil rights group telling the naacp that stand your ground laws need to be changed. >> separate and apart from the case that has drawn the nation's attention, it's time to question laws that senselessly expand the concept of self-defense and sow dangerous conflicts in the our neighborhood. >> alberto gonzalez, good to see you. >> good to be in atlanta. >> how closely have you been watching the george zimmerman trial? >> i think like most americans, i had a great deal of interest in it. being a lawyer, being a former attorney general obviously, it's a case that's captivated the nation and has received a lot of media coverage and since i pay attention to what's going on in the media, obviously i have followed the case. >> and how did the verdict sit with you? >> i think based on the evidence

as applied to the law, it made sense to me, and i think if you talk to many legal experts around the country, they will concur in that judgment. i understand that there's a great deal of dissatisfaction and angst about the decision, emotional response to it, but if you ask me, i believe justice under the law was achieved here. there are many people that don't believe that, and i understand that, and that's why we're having protests today, but i think president obama got it right when he spoke about this the first time, which is we are a nation of laws, and the jury has spoken, and that is exactly what happened here. >> the second time then when he spoke and he says, it is time for perhaps the justice department or for americans to re-evaluate the stand your ground law. he asked the question, you know, if trayvon martin had been of age and was armed, would he be able to stand his ground and then you have eric holder who says the law needs to be changed. do you concur with what the president and the attorney general have said? >> i'd like to see the

statistics about whether or not stand your ground laws in these various states actually encourage violence. i would like to see that. if the numbers bear that out, i think they should be shared with state legislatures around the country, and there should be a debate within these states as to whether or not this represents good policy. i don't blame the attorney general for coming out and speaking about this issue. he is, in fact, the chief law enforcement officer of this country, and i think he has an obligation to speak about law enforcement policy. so i have no problem with that, and in the end i understand that president obama coming out and speaking. he is the first african-american president in this country, and within the african-american community there's a great deal of dissatisfaction with this outcome, and i think it was appropriate for him to come out and speak about this, but as i look at the case, i don't view the case as one based on race. it was a case of, one, based upon the evidence being applied to the law. if people are unhappy with the outcome, perhaps what we ought to do is be looking at the law and changing the law of

self-defense. let me remind your viewers this was not a case about the stand your ground law. this was a case about the application of self-defense laws in the state of florida. >> but the president even underscored the message that there be in this case -- there became a link between racial profiling and the stand your ground law that inspired george zimmerman to get out of his car in the first place. >> well, what i would say with all due respect to the president, i don't think the president knows this case better than the prosecution, knows this case better than juror number 37, and they've all said this was not a case about race. >> do you agree with the strategy or were there elements of the strategy conveyed by the prosecution or even the defense that you were on board with? do you think both sides argued their cases as best they could? >> it's easy to be a monday morning quarterback. i'm not going to second guess the decisions by the prosecution team. i mean, they had access to all the evidence, some of the evidence that may not have been able to get in.

sitting here today, i'm not going to second guess it. i think they had to deal with a difficult set of facts, and they did the very best job they could. >> now without monday morning quarterbacking perhaps, you are engaged with the idea of whether this merits, this outcome, this verdict merits now a civil rights violation case that the justice department should be looking into. should it? >> i think it's appropriate to look into it. there are civil rights laws. the job of the department of justice is to enforce those laws and obviously this is a case, as i said earlier, has garnered a great deal of national attention. to be expected that the department of justice will look into this, but as many experts have said, i think there's a pretty high hurdle here, and -- >> what's missing in your view? >> well, the evidence that, in fact, these actions were based upon race, racial animus toward trayvon martin. we can all speculate about that, but is there evidence? because at the end of the day this is something that the department of justice will have

to prove in a court of law. standards of evidence that will have to be met, and so i don't know whether or not that standard can be met here. >> before i let you go, was there a message or a moment from the president's address that really did resonate with you or you think americans as a whole can learn from? >> well, about being profiled. i'm a hispanic. george zimmerman is a hispanic, and so we understand that there is still discrimination and profiling that occurs in this country, and i think it is appropriate to have a discussion about race. i think that is perfectly appropriate. but, again, i don't know whether or not this case should be connected to the racial profiling because, again, you've got the prosecution saying it wasn't about racial profiling, juror 37 saying it wasn't about racial profiling. again, i think it is appropriate for the president to falk abota race as a national dialogue. we've made significant progress but there's more that can be

done. >> judge alberto gonzalez, thank you for being here in atlanta today. >> okay. the conversation, of course, does continue right here in the "newsroom." next hour, the legal guys will be weighing in here on all of this and their thoughts on the stand your ground law. and overseas and i don't know, this is kind of -- has the ripple effect, the royal baby. there's such a buzz about it. we've been hear being it for quite a while. we'll go live to london to find out just how close we think the baby is to its arrival. and did you wave at saturn yesterday? up next, we'll explain nasa's long distance photo shoot. [ nurse ] i'm a hospice nurse. britta olsen is my patient. i spend long hours with her checking her heart rate, administering her medication, and just making her comfortable. one night britta told me about a tradition in denmark, "when a person dies," she said, "someone must open the window so the soul can depart." i smiled and squeezed her hand.

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oh, yes, we've been hearing it for a while now. the royal baby is due at any minute now. buckingham palace has never by the way really officially

released a due date. by the way, you're looking at live pictures outside the hospital where folks are coming from all over because they're hoping to hear the news perhaps when the duchess of cambridge actually delivers. so the media, a few fans, they've been camped out for days now. not just today. royal correspondent max foster is explaining for us just how it will all unfold potentially. >> reporter: kate is likely to go into labor in one of two places, bucklebury or at her home in kensington palace in london. if in bucklebury she could go by helicopter or by road by police escort or could carry on to her hospital of choice st. mary's in london. shortly after she arrives, the media will be informed by e-mail that she's gone in. but once the baby is actually born and who knows how long that will take, the queen, the royal

family, the middletons, and the prime minister will all be told. then a birth notice will be taken from the hospital and driven to buckingham palace. the notice will be placed here for the public to view on the forecourt of buckingham palace. this is where we'll discover the sex and weight of the child and possibly its name. the first glimpse of the royal heir will be here on the steps of the hospital. but as the world continues to wait for the new arrival, even britain's current monarch is growing impatient. >> do you want kate's baby to be a boy or girl. >> i don't think i mind. i would very much like it to arrive. i am going on holiday. >> reporter: the great kate wait continues. >> and max foster with us now at st. mary's hospital. so max, the duchess of cambridge, is she still just outside of london with her family about now? >> reporter: we're not clear on

that. there is all sort of speculation about where she is. all the indications are she's come to london actually so she'll only be five minutes away from here ready for the birth. i mean, the bit of news we've had today is christine hill, who advises women in pregnancy, has revealed she has been giving them sort of tutorials in the leadup. she's met kate a couple times, met william once. she says william is going to be pretty much hands on effectively. she told "the telegraph" he will do the right thing on the day. she was asked what advice she's given william. i tell the fathers that the girl she hitched up with has gone for now, she's frge jil and vulnerable and will be through pregnancy labor and the first few weeks. it's all going to be pretty tough but obviously so many other couples have been through this before. it's the first time for them. >> oh, my goodness. hopefully she's able, they as a couple, are able to kind of enjoy the moment. all this excitement. that could make them a little nervous and hopefully they're just nice and relaxed because,

you know, we don't want her nerves to be frayed. >> reporter: absolutely. that's one of the reasons why they think that she's been staying at her mom's away from us basically stressing her out. >> okay. well, good. we're all hoping and praying for a nice calm, safe delivery. all the best. i know you're going to keep us posted because you will know before anybody else does when that baby arrives. thanks so much, max. thanks so much. a horrific story. is unfolding in a houston neighborhood we wanted to share with you. after four men were found there locked up and starving. the investigation takes a very big step forward today and we have a live report next. ú

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there it is. oh, my god! i really can't believe it. that's awesome. good for you. ha ha! a very bizarre story to share with you. four men claim they were held captive, lured in, then locked up. they told police they were forced to hand over their disability and veterans check. now the homeowners grandson faces felony charges. ed lavandera is joining us from houston. what more do we know about this going on? >> reporter: well, good morning, fredricka. we learned this morning that walter jones has been charged with two felony criminal counts, one of injury to the elderly by act and another injury to the elderly by omission. two felony criminal charges for what was going on in the house that you see here behind me.

police say that when they arrived here friday morning, that there were four men inside their house being held against their will. now, what investigators are trying to unravel is what was behind all of this. according to police, these men say that the suspect had taken their government checks, whether it be social security checks or veterans benefits checks, it's not exactly clear at this point what kind of checks these were, but they were being taken from them, and authorities are trying to figure out what was done with that money. they're also trying to piece together just how long the men had been kept in this house. authorities say a converted garage is where they had been kept, and that the living conditions in there were very poor. in fact, neighbors also told us that when they saw the four men taken away from the house, three of them had to be taken to hospitals to be checked out, that they looked in terrible condition. police officers describe the conditions they found inside the home where these four men had been kept.

>> there were locks, they were apparently given scraps to eat, very little food was provided to them. they didn't have access to a restroom. so it was less than ideal living situations for them. >> reporter: so right now, fredricka, they're trying to figure out the time line of what was going on in here and police do tell us that they have investigators that are looking into group home living situations and boarding home situations to kind of figure out what was behind all of this. was this some sort of unregulated group home that shouldn't have been operating the way it was? clearly, it was on some level because the suspect, walter jones, the grandson of the woman who lives here in this house, has been charged with two felony criminal counts. >> all right, ed lavandera, thank you for keeping us posted from houston, texas. and remember the "costa concordia" cruise ship that sunk off the italian coast? people died. well, the trial has been under

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at the top of the hour 18 minutes from now, rallies will kick off across the country marking what organize identifieseidentifies e -- organizers call national justice for trayvon martin day. we'll take you live to various rallies at the top of the hour. and u.s. secretary of state john kerry says israel and the palestinians are a step closer to resuming peace talks. today israel said it would free a limited number of palestinian prisoners as a show of goodwill, but a senior palestinian official says there is much uncertainty about the talks. secretary kerry said representatives from both sides could meet in washington the next week or so. in rome five people have

been convicted of manslaughter in the deadly wreck of the "costa concordia" cruiseliner. 32 people died, if you recall, when the ship ran aground and turned on its side off the italian coast last year. tiger woods hasn't scored a major since the 2008 u.s. open. next up, we're heading to outer space. our meteorologist jennifer delgado has something really cool from saturn. >> that's right. a lot of people were waving at space yesterday and we'll talk more about that coming up shortly. i'm the next american success story. working for a company

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what's your policy? 44 years ago, can't believe it's been that long, astronauts neil armstrong and buzz aldrin made history. today marks the anniversary of the apollo 11 mission to the moon. earlier this year i actually had the chance to talk with buzz aldrin about what those historic first steps were like. >> the most important moment was to land and shut the engine off on the surface of the moon withomoon. without being able to do that we couldn't land again and again and again and we couldn't open the hatch and go outside. that was clearly the most

important. when i got down to the bottom of the ladder after a moment or two, i used the words magnificent desolation referring to the magnificence of the human species to go through all the technical advances of transportation and here we are walking on the moon that people have been gazing up to see for hundreds of years, thousands of years. >> i love talking to that buzz. you couldn't see it but he had a nice little pin which is like a footprint on the moon he wears on his lapel. very special. by the way, did you smile at saturn yesterday? that's exactly what nasa asked people to do as the spacecraft snapped pictures of earth from outer space. look at all those folks waving. a group of people gathered in new york city to participate in the long distance photo shoot. cnn meteorologist jennifer

delgado joining me live right now to tell us more about what this was really all about. >> when you see photos like that, you think of people waving at something coming in from outer space. they were actually waving at saturn. this is all part of nasa's cassini spacecraft launched back in 1997. it's on a mission to photograph, to breck it down for you, actually saturn. this is the cassini spacecraft and this is saturn. you can see the rings around this. with this mission now, what we're seeing are more details, more of the particles, and that apparently is something that's fascinating to a lot of people because, of course, when we dig deep into this and we see what's happening with the rings and they're so dusty with saturn, this provides a lot of information. of course, to give you a better idea, here is earth, and here is saturn. as we break it down for you, actually the cassini space station is actually roughly about another 10 million miles away from saturn. keep in mind right now we're

already 890 million miles away. so this project set off by nasa really is really exciting because it's the first time we're really being able to see closer to what saturn is all about and the particles and what the dusty rings mean. >> wow. so that is nasa's main goal then, to kind of further educate us. >> it's their main goal with the cassini project. >> how often does nasa i guess take pictures like this of earth from outer space? >> i think this happens periodically, this happens all the time we hear about these things. we see chad myers talking about this. this is just another spacecraft and this is another project that they're focusing on. >> neat stuff. all right, jennifer dell ga dga thanks for bringing that to us. out of this world. president obama is adding his voice to all the conversations people are having in the aftermath of the george zimmerman verdict. our legal guys, they'll be joining me next hour about this case. their predictions, they had some pretty keen predictions on the

outcome. so, all right, guys, avery, you first. what was the most surprising thing about this verdict or perhaps the aftermath? >> well, you know what? after all our discussion, fredricka, the big surprise is a heartwarming one. that is the leadership that came from the white house to bring america's majority in to thinking more clearly and thoughtfully about the suffering the americans' minority. a positive surprise and i think they'll be a lasting effect. >> richard, you called this one. didn't you? >> well, i called it about a year ago, i think, fred. also last saturday. in any event, the most surprising thing to me, victor blackwell, interview with martin luther king jr. iii. what is the foundation for the charges? he didn't know. and that's because there are no claims for civil rights.

hate crimes act or civil rights charges, again george zimmerman. none. absolutely none. >> and earlier in this hour i spoke with attorney general alberto gonzales who didn't see the elements were there nor a civil rights charge for the just it department to explore either. while he thinks the exploration should take place he doesn't necessarily believe that it is there, that the case there, but much more from you all late other than in the next hour. thanks so much. including talking about the whitey bulger case and all that's taking place in that surprising case. also involving the witnesses and whether some might be too afraid to testify now. explain why. and katherine jackson's testimony, again, her son michael's concert promoter, aeg. all that straight ahead, after this. vo: traveling you definitely end up meeting a lot more people but

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if you're a comic book fan,

you know that this is the weekend of all weekends. and the place to be is san diego, california, where thousands are gathering for the comic-con international convention, and that's refined a very brave tory donen right now. you've got to be brave, bold and kind of in to it to become one with comic-con. tory? >> reporter: fredricka, you have to be so brave. basically look at what's around me. comic-con change sewed much from basically in other words in a basement to now 150,000 people making the trek here. i have to tell you, over the past few days from walking around, you nover know what quarter to doing to see from hello kitty, to the joker, to whatever else is out there. ♪ >> reporter: more than 100,000 humans or otherwise -- >> roof, roof, roof. >> reporter: converge on this san diego convention center forefour days filled with

self-expression, with the potential of meeting their heroes and maybe even a tv star. >> it's coming to places like comic-con that make you realize the show's impact art a/k/a "game of thrones" somewhat of an icon here and we all want the inside scoop. when is winter coming? >> it's always coming and nevere arrives. >> reporter: the sights and sounds, heating up. >> there's a whole load of throne-shaped going around, which i'm desperate to go on. >> reporter: during the city's historic ghastly of districts, every street and every corner turns into a place where being a nerd or geek is cool. so no wonlder it's so much fun. it feels like this cinder sind good and everyone looks happy. dressing up as your favorite character. let's see yours. >> basically walkers. we don't talk. >> reporter: from the purists. >> value worth about $100,000.

>> reporter: comic-con. >> there you go. >> reporter: and fredricka, one thing to point out, just the commitment from some of the fan it's here. the lines behind me, they've been lining up since about 7:00 yesterday evening. what they want to do basically be the first to walk in to some of the panels. they're fun panels. one of them being wolverine. another "hunger games." there's a lot from in other words to hollywood, people who want to come and see their latest movies. it's changed a lot. >> whew. oh, my gosh. it really has evolved. it's huge now, too. tory, keep us posted throughout the day. i know the crowd continues to grow and grow and grow, and we're going to make another visit to san diego later on this afternoon. at the top of the hour, we're following the rallies across the u.s. thousands of people demanding justice for trayvon martin. demonstrations expected in more than 100 cities. all business purchases.

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hello again, everyone. i'm fredricka whitfield. welcome to the cnn news rheroom. the stories wee following, ralryes are kicking off demanding the government take legal action against george zimmerman. millions of americans are getting hit with extreme weather this weekend from a brutal heat wave, to intense flooding. we'll show you how people are coping. and new technology is letting schools gather a lot of

information about your children. we'll tell you why that's raising some red flags for some parents concerned about their kids' privacy. first up, demonstrations that are being held right now across the country in support of trayvon martin. our correspondents are covering this coast to coast. trayvon martin's father at the rally and you spoke with him one-on-one earlier. what did he say? >> reporter: a very emotional time at the microphone. teared about his son, talking about the legacy of his son saying he will fight until his death to make sure his son's memory is not forgotten and told those in attendance. hundreds and hundreds in attendance, we would also fight for their children. listen to what he had to say when i asked about the overwhelming support.

>> it was overwhelming. it just goes to show the love and support that our family and friends have for us here in miami as well as across the country. and it sends a message to the nation that -- we're not going to sit back and let our children be killed and don't say anything about it. >> reporter: and, fred, the message here in florida is a very clear one. they want an amendment to the stand your ground law. some people want that law to be completely wiped away. across the nation it is a two-pronged approach. they also want the department of justice to intervene in the george zimmerman case. they want to file civil rights charges, filed against george zimmerman. fred? >> nick valencia in miami, thank you. we go to new york where we find elena cho. trayvon martin's mother will be appearing at the rally. we also understand that she spoke earlier ahead of the rally. let's go to alina. >> reporter: fredricka, what a

surprise. just a couple of minutes ago, beyonce and jay-z arrived at this rally here at 1 police plaza in new york city. of course, sybrina fulton, the mother of trayvon martin, due to be the headliner. there are traditional headliners now, we are hearing both beyonce and jay-z will take to the podium and give remarks today. from what i can tell behind me, a couple of hundred people appear to be here at this rally today. of course, it is one of more than 100 across the city that is planned by the national action network led by the reverend al sharpton. we understand that sharpton and sybrina fulton along with her surviving son are on their way down to this rally rig now. due to arrive at any moment and, of course, we will bring you more on this as they come and take to the podium later today. fredricka? >> we'll check back with you. thanks so much, alina cho in new york. the nation's capital now

where we find athena jones. organizers there demanding the federal government prosecute george zimmerman on civil rights violations. that's the mantra across the country at many of these demonstrations, but are people talking about the likelihood of that happening there in washington? >> reporter: hi, fredricka. that's right. if you talk to legal experts, they say there's a very high bar for the federal government to bring civil rights charges in this case. they'd have to show that george zimmerman acted out of a sense of racial hatred or animus when he shot trayvon martin and they've been down there investigating. down there for more than a year. they've been interviewing witnesses, talking to folks who know george zimmerman. the bottom line, they would have to find evidence that was not found and presented in the state trial. it could be a high bar there, but nevertheless, you have all of these people gathered. a couple hundred are out here. if you remember an hour ago, what a difference an hour makes. is very, very hot. many people standing undered

shade of trees. in the mid-80s here. feel the like it's in the mid-90s. the speeches are about to begin. members of congress have been invited. faith leaders are expected to speak. one of the other goals of this rally today is to make people aware of, if they aren't already, the stand your ground laws. make sure they know what states they're in and work to repeal them, change them in the states where they exist. so many issues being discussed today at this event in d.c., fredricka. >> athena jones, thanks. keep us posted there from the nation's capital. go to the west coast. simon in los angeles. protests earlier this week turned violent. a lot more people who have converged behind you, compared to just an hour ago. what's the mood? what's the tone? >> reporter: it's very upbeat. stressing this is going to be a very peaceful raly. working very closely with the los angeles police department. just a moment ago they had a moment of silence. right now there are speakers at the podium. i want to introduce you to one person who came here today.

donna wade, a los angeles resident. donna, can you explain why you felt so strongly about being out here today? >> because as a community, we need to come together, and we need to support justice for trayvon. >> reporter: what's the message you want to send? >> that we need to do it in a peaceful manner, and that we need to be organized, and we need to make sure that we do follow through on what we're going to do so that justice happens for trayvon martin. >> reporter: thank you very much, donna. obviously, they chose the courthouse for a very good reason. because obviously, they want a federal case against george zimmerman, and if you come back to me, you can see this is what they're giving folks who come to the rally. people are getting t-shirts. we want justice. that, of course, is the main message here. kniss is goi this is going to be going on for the next hour or so and a few hundred protesters, and -- again, they're stressing that this is going to be a very peaceful demonstration, and we'll keep bringing you live updates as things get rolling

along here in los angeles. fredricka, back to you. >> thank you, dan simon there in los angeles. tonight on cnn, the explosive interview that a lot of people talking. juror b-37 in our own words. anderson cooper's exclusive interview tonight at 8:00 eastern time. at 9:00 eastern time, piers morgan interviews the good friend of trayvon martin. and on to texas. a woman has died at six flags over texas after witnesses say they fell off a roller coaster. that one right there. the theme park confirmed she died riding the text giant last night, but didn't give any other details. witnesses say they saw the woman fly out of the roller coaster as it went around a turn. people standing in line say they heard a man on the ride screaming, my mom fell off. the woman has not been identified. six flags says the roller coaster is closed while it investigates. now to las vegas where a

powerful storm swept through last night. the thunderstorm left streets flooded. toppled trees and damped rooftops. the storm was so powerful, that the roof of this crowded bar located on the las vegas strip almost collapsed. this cell phone video was shot by a local dj and shows water actually pouring in from the roof. temperatures meantime are expected to soar across the country this weekend, but for many parts of the u.s., there could be a little bit of "rerel in sight. joining us live from the weather center, folks love to hear there will be relief. where? >> looking at clocks, when is it going to happen? fredricka, it's coming later on tonight. once we get some of the storms moving through. right now looking at watches out there. the extreme heat wave continues across parts of the northeast as well as new england anden in locationses feeling like 106 degrees. it's 104. that's the heat index in boston.

what it meals like. then in for areas like atlantic city, 97. 94 new york. temperatures, of course, hot, and all that moisture out there making for dangerous conditions. in reports of people suffering from heat exhaustion. as we show you video coming in to us, people in new york city, they want a break from the heat. you see people walking through, even in their suits, trying to stay cool. you know what, fredricka? when it's so hot like this, you're not going to stay cool. just take it all off. >> yeah. roll up the sleeve es. >> do it in moderation. >> not doing a striptease. you know. shed some of the layers, people. >> shed the layers, wear light-colored clothing. back to the radar. fredricka, we are going to see relief. you see on the graphics here, our frontal system hitting areas across parts of the ohio right now. you can see bringing in a lot of lightning with it. that frontal system will bring a chance for some storms to become

strong today from ohio up to areas like new england. bringing hail as well as strong winds and then we'll start to see the relief, but we still have to deal with the storms that are going to arrive late in the afternoon and then here comes the reward for washington, d.c. today high of 95. 88 on sunday. and 86 on monday. and for boston, we do know it feels like 104 degrees. how about an actual temperature of 78 on monday? that's what i'm selling. take it. it looks good. right? >> it does look good. goodness, folks in boston, 98? whew. hot, yeah. doesn't help to keep the windows open. >> a lot of people don't have air conditioning. that's worse. >> the natural instinct. >> you go to the mall. go broke. >> spend money. >> yep. >> thanks, jennifer. maybe you, too, jennifer are excited about all that's taking place, or likely to take place in london.

catherine, the duchess of cage bridg cambridge and due at any time. forcing her to head to her parents' house and take advantage of their air conditioning. the media scrambled when two people they thought were will and kate showed up at the hospital. turns out a prank pulled by one of britain's tabloid newspapers. thousands are rallying around the country for the stand your ground laws, and the president of the united states also weighing in with very personal opinions why black boys are always having to look over their shoulders. '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. our commitment has never been stronger.

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geico. fifteen minutes could save you...well, you know. today across the country, and in fact, 100 american cities, it's beal called justice for trayvon day. ap number of demonstrations taking place one week after the verdict in the george zimmerman trial. and many among the crowds of those demonstracrat nstrations the government to look into civil rights violations. live pictures you just saw there in washington, d.c. and also live pictures of a gathering taking place in orlando, florida. and the president of the united states breaking his silence on the case. he gave a surprise statement at the white house yesterday. president obama didn't take sides on the verdict, but he called the decision a painful one for many african-americans who deal with racial profiling all the time. >> now, this sns to say that the

african-american community is the naive about the fact that african-american young men are disproportionately involved in the criminal justice system. that they're disproportionately both victims and perpetrators of violence. it's not to make excuses for that fact, and so the fact that sometimes that's unacknowledged adds to the frustration. >> joining me now, jason johnson. political science professor at a college in cleveland and analyst on hln. good to see you, jason. and wendy murphy, a former prosecutor and law professor in boston. good to see you as well, wendy. so, jason, i want to begin with you. the president said too often, you just heard it, too often black boys are disproportionately victims and perpetrators, he, too, before being a suspect, treated like a suspect.

whether in an elevator or a store. this is a situation that's gone on four years. is it all being interpreted differently, now that the president of the united states has addressed it in this way? >> i don't know ifs going to be interpreted differently but it adds a final voice. the president's one small statement after the verdict, it wasn't really strong enough, and you had jimmy carter talking, charles barkley talking. a lot of different people talking, but i think obama puts the book end on this discussion and moves the country forward, and it was a brave and candid barack obama that the black community certainly has not seen in the last several years. this wasn't eastern the obama that spoke at morehouse. i was impressed with his sign seer sincerity. >> as an attorney, you have taken notice or how often you have taken notice at the courthouse and jailhouse that that is the case, as the president puts it? disproportionately victims and perpetrators are that of black

men? hearing the president yesterday, did that change your thoughts? you know, crystallize your thoughts? in any way, on what you see in the criminal justice system? >> it's interesting. 's in my book on justice i write primarily about di disaproportionate in the legal system. some of the same problems, the structured inequality i write in high book and teach at my law school apply with equal force if not more so to the black community including in particular black men. i was in a prison recently visiting a client and virtually everybody i saw had black skin. i asked a guard. 340e69 of here for drugs and it's just a huge cyclical problem. that's not news. i loved that the president acknowledged the legitimatesy of kwhaf i right about in my book but said, look, i'm the government. he is the most powerful representative of the government in this country, and he was

essentially saying the government is unfair. the system is unfair. and, boy is that important to hear from someone like that. his leadership on this issue, having him say that, be self-critical in that way was huge and very a very important moment. >> and bond that thing, that, it, too, needs reform, and an example of that, said he didn't have all the answers, an xempl might be the just it department assists local law enforcement in training. is that where the training, is that where the assistance should best come from? is that -- a reasonable offer? >> i don't any that's enough. but i think it's a start. you know, barack obama said, you know, when he was a senator, when he was in illinois. he put out information on where racial profiles comes from and what's the impact, but the larger issue is this -- he needs to address structural inequalities in sentencing. he needs to address structural

inequalities in education. he needs to address structural inequalities in hires. it's interesting. one of the first bills barack obama signed quietly after becoming president was to close the gap between punishments between powder cocaine and crack cocaine. something sending significantly larger numbers of african-americans to jails for longer sentences for years. he need to do more than that. >> even the president isn't necessarily turning to congress, because he says, fighting about it is not going to get you anywhere, and asking for yet another program isn't necessarily the answer, too, but he did say that perhaps it is more reasonable to rely on the clergy. it is more -- more productive to rely on the business community. i mean, he essentially is saying, government is not necessarily the answer. wendy? >> yeah. well, i think he's right in a sense. the solutions come from all sorts of sources. institutional sources are particularly important, because

they frame how we think about things, and attitudes are part of the solution as well. you know, i think leadership is the most important thing he has to offer. leadership has been lacking on this issue. i, frankly did not see everything the president said as sufficient. i want to know, for example, why mypresident didn't speak out how the three young women enslaved in a basement in chains be in ohio for ten years, why didn't he think that was a civil rights issue to speak out? why didn't he say those girls could have been my daughters? one of the things he that to do next, we're never all going to come together on racism and the problem of racisms unless we see all civil rights violations as the same problem. >> jason? >> i really think that this was the one example where i think it's okay for a president to speak on a local issue. as a rule, as an american, i don't want the president invading every state issue, but

when you see that a large number of people in the country are unhappy with the system, it is the time for the president to speak as a moral leader and say, look, it's time for calm. it's time for concern, and i think a good thing he did. i don't think that he didn't care about the women in ariel castro's case in steubenville, but it's an issue people are concerned about now. >> not that i would be responding for the white house in any way, shape or form, there doesn't seem to be discord when you talk about child abuse, there is when you talk about issues of race. >> oh, yes, there is. oh, yes there is. it just doesn't get nearly enough air time. five children died. >> another segment we need to book another time and bring you back to educate you on that. >> yes, you should. >> thank you both. appreciate it. we are going to talk indeed more about the george zimmerman trial. will it have an impact on other cases in the future? our little guys are up next to talk more about that. dad. how did you get here?

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welcome back. it's being called a justice for trayvon day in about 100 american cities. now live pictures of a demonstration in that vain unfomding now in sanford, florida, where the george zimmerman/trayvon martin case began. they're in sanford, florida, one week now after the not guilty verdict in the george zimmerman trial. we'll keep close watch on all of the demonstrations taking place across the country and with the president yesterday imploring that as these rallies take place, any kind of violence would be a dishonor to trayvon martin. so all have been very peaceful, but, of course, very emotional for all of those involved. we'll take you to various cities across the country as they unfold. so let's talk more about, though, what's next after the george zimmerman case? the verdict. and the ongoing reaction. let's bring in our legal guys.

avery freeman, civil rights attorney and law professor from cleveland. richard herman, new york criminal defense attorney from las vegas. good to see you both. >> hey, fred. >> good to see you again. >> avery, you first. the outcome of this case. you know, is it highlighting a greater need for change in the way of instructions? you know, instructions given to jurors, changes in the overall stand your law ground or the makeup of the jury, or all of the above? >> you know, honestly, the jury instructions were confusing. and i think b-37 will appear with anderson cooper, made that very clear. yes, it's important to have clear instructions, and on makeup, composition of the jury, clearly, that's a process governed by, in this case, florida state law. but, you know, fredricka, no one has really talked about the federal law that applies here, and it's a law that's not even four years old. we talked about the cases, the

matthew sheppard case. murdered by he was gay, it triggered congress in passing a law in 2009. that's the law, it has nothing to do with florida criminal law, that authorizes the department of justice to do exactly what eric holder announced this week. it's something that has to be examined so that we can get closure and make progress in it. >> why is there a -- why is there not a universal -- there isn't a universal consensus that this constitutes what took place between trayvon martin and george zimmerman, constituted it being a hate crime. i just spoke with former attorney general alberto gonzales earlier and he said it doesn't necessarily have the cry tairea criteria you just mentioned? >> he doesn't know that. he agreed the department of

justice should look into it. saying the verdict was wrong has nothing to do with the federal case. i'm in agreement with the former attorney general that this case has to be looked into under federal law in order to get ultimate clocher to it. >> yes. richard, and the attorney general said, yes, we should look into it, but thus far, it doesn't appear that the civil -- civil justice -- really was a violation here. >> well, fred, i studied this trial, watched every day of this trial, and let me just say, there was no depravity element that was required to get the second-degree murder. you need in order to get a successful prosecution for a hate crime or a civil rights, federal civil rights violation. you have to have racial animus, racial motivation for the killing. this jury imfademphatically sai

did not exist. the only racial profiling, if we agree with racial genteel would words spoken by trayvon martin describing zimmerman. that was a racial profile, but here, nobody. not this jury, said that zimmerman racially profiled trayvon martin. you need have that t. and rabel profiling is not always verbalized. that there's a mind-set. >> right. >> you make your determination in your mind. it doesn't necessarily have to be verbalized, and that is why there are some who say, wait a minute. racial profiling, whether it happened or not, why is it being disputed here? >> fred, the government investigated this case for a year. they investigated for a year. they -- over 40 -- >> there is no federal case here. >> go ahead, richard first. >> the state case was a sham. any federal prosecution here, and i have to believe the president and attorney general holder know this full well, that

they are placating people right now politically. there is no basis for any federal charges against zimmerman, period. >> and avery? you disagree? >> to suggest that the president of the united states and the attorney general are out there placating, patronizing, condescending, by making these representations is really not fair. >> yes. >> this case deserves a complete federal investigation, and let the chips fall where they may. don't confuse the federal criminal case with what the department of justice should be doing, and i think they're doing the right thing here. >> hmm. okay. all right. we clearly are not done with this case and are going to -- revisit this conversation especially as the justice department potentially moves forward on investigating forward. this hour, we'll see new about 15 minutes to talk be emotional testimony kwcoming from michael

jackson's civil suit. check back soon. thank you. the people responsible for the cruise liner wreck that killed 32 people off the coast of italy, they now learned their fate. ♪ norfolk southern what's your function? ♪ ♪ hooking up the country helping business run ♪ ♪ trains! they haul everything, safely and on time. ♪ tracks! they connect the factories built along the lines. and that means jobs, lots of people, making lots and lots of things. let's get your business rolling now, everybody sing. ♪ norfolk southern what's your function? ♪ ♪ helping this big country move ahead as one ♪ ♪ norfolk southern how's that function? ♪ here at the hutchison household. but one dark stormy evening... there were two things i could tell: she needed a good meal and a good family. so we gave her what our other cats love, purina cat chow complete. it's the best because it has something for all of our cats! and after a couple of weeks she was healthy, happy,

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way across the country marking what organizers are calling a national justice for trayvon day. demonstrators are urging the federal government to prosecute george zimmerman for civil rights violations. the protests are being held in

100 cities. looking at pictures from miami and you also saw i think pictures from orlando, florida, as well. a houston man is facing charges now after investigators freed several men from deplorable conditions in his grandmother's house. investigators say the men told him walter jones lured them in with a promise's food and shelter, but then locked them up. and barely gave them food. the men also told officers they took their disabilities and veterans checks. three men held in the garage are now in stable condition at the hospital. on to rome. five peoplect wered of manslaughter in the deadly wreck of the costa concordia cruise liner. 32 people in all died when the ship ran aground and turned on its side off the italian coast last year. it is likely only two of the defendants will serve any time in prison. longtime white house reporter helen thomas died today at the age of 92.

sources say she passed away following a long illness. thomas' career ended in controversy, but before that, it was a string of stunning accomplishments. elizabeth coreadan has more on helen's life and legacy. >> my question is why did you really want to go to war? >> reporter: was the unofficial dean of the pressroom helen thomas, the longest serving white house correspondent ever. she gave every american president from john f. kennedy to barack obama a tait of his pointed questions. >> what is it that prevents your administration from talking to castro, the sandinistans. >> the widespread that you're waffles, can't make up your mind. >> why are we continuing to kill and die there. >> reporter: she started writing for her high school newspaper and spent more than 50 years with united press international working her way up from a reporter covering women's issues to white house bureau chief.

the first woman of any wire service to hold that job. in 1962, she helped convince president kennedy to threaten to boycott the dinners for white house correspondents if women were not allowed to attend. >> going toe to toe with stories from the men. when the scales fell from their eyes they finally realized it was okay to have women. >> reporter: in the 2000, thomas left upi to welcome a columnist to hearst. that that role, became a harsh creditic for the iraq war arguing journalists didn't do enough to question george w. bush's administration over a war she called illegal and immoral. >> i think that the reporters know in the aftermath of 9/11, they were afraid to challenge the government, were afraid to be seen as un-american, unpatriotic, and as a consequence, they really let the country down. >> reporter: a few years later her outspokenness cost her her job after she was asked about

israel in this interview. >> tell them to get the hell out of palestine. >> where should they go? >> go home. >> where's home jthts poland, germany. >> go back to poland and germany? >> and america, and everywhere else. >> reporter: the video went viral and sparked outrage in the jewish community and beyond. she abruptly retired and issue add written apology but stool by her remarks saying she wasn't criticizing jews but showing support for palestine. >> we had the right to ask questions, to help the poor people. the underprivileged. people who had no voice. and i wish reporters would have more responsibility in speaking for the oppressed. >> reporter: controversial to the end, helen thomas always kept true to herself. reporting for cnn.

your child's school knows just about everything about your kid. with new technology many districts are storing that information into a cloud. our lori siegal talks to one parent worried about her child's privacy now. >> this one for baseball. i used to play baseball. >> reporter: after-school activity, bow scouy scouts. favorite tv show, avatar, the last air bender. >> i really like this. i told my mom to make my hair like this. >> reporter: adhd, likely end up in a database his school starting using. >> beware. >> reporter: partnering with a nonprofit called endbloom, the

company stores all information about students in one place. from test scores, disabilities to learning styles. the goal, one-stop data shop to help personalize learning. >> school and districts collect a lot of data. the system is disconnected. as a result, the data is not usable. the difference between data and information. >> reporter: specifically when it comes to your son, what's your biggest concern? >> the number one dern concern is, who -- who is having access to this information? >> reporter: endbloom is using the cloud sow centralize all the data the school system has including financial information about students' families. some worry their digital footprint is too personal. what's at stake when it comes to that data collection? >> everything. my son's chances of getting into good schools. my son's chances of getting, maybe, into ivy league colleges. >> reporter: teachers say the data can be very helpful.

spurring innovation in the classroom. >> it can be really important parent portals of information about their kids. how much time they spend on a pbs individual grow learn some content area. >> reporter: a's recent town hall in new york stressing data collection tracking it. >> when it comes to our children -- hour dare they. >> reporter: embloom says it's trying to help districts become more efficient. >> managing information that's already there. >> reporter: some parents worry there's not enoutransparency an want more information. >> the problem is they're leaving parents and teachers and students out of the process. this is good. let's do this. but you've got to include us in the process. >> reporter: a bill in new york, pendsing works allow parents to opt out of having data.

karen said she would opt out. ♪ please don't take my sunshine away ♪ live from new york, lori, other companies using data in improving education as well? >> reporter: a ton of companies are doing this. a huge trend we're seeing in technology right nowthat education ate. a company called dream box learni learning. interesting. analyze how you solve a math problem. instead of saying, oh, you got this math problem right, your pen hesitated. probably an area you could work on better. look, you know it can be a little scary with this highly personalized data collection, but when it comes down to it a lot of these folks are really trying to help make the classrooms better. as you see, it looks like there needs to be a little more transparency. >> a lot of reluctance amongst parents. what about edit kaucators? do they like the programs are taking their place and teaching penmanship and other things, as

you said? >> reporter: i spoke to one teacher. one teacher said, it's a mix. all of the data coming in. i like to get to knows thee children and know who these children are by interak acting with them, not by what a digital footprint looks like. then there's the opposite side which is, you can maybe help a personalized learning curriculum for a child with learning disabilities. it goes both ways here and it's a heated debate, because when it comes to children, everything is very, very personal. >> right. all right. lori siegal. thanks so much. appreciate you bringing that to us. all right. let's go back to the courtroom. a juror in the whitey bulger trial is brought to tears during testimony about how the alleged boston mob boss strangled a young woman. it's just too much, and that was only one of the tough moments in this high-profile trial. we'll be right back with more. ♪

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a dramatic twist in the trial of whitey bulger. a potential witness found dead a day after he learned he was dropped from the prosecution's witness list. our legal guy, back in cleveland, and from las vegas. good to see you again. set the scene a bit here. stephen rakes body discovered on a roadside 20 miles northwest of boston. the d.a.'s office says the autopsy revealed no obvious signs of trauma, but police are still investigating. rakes claim head was forced to

give up his south boston liquor store so whitey bulger could turn it into a front for his mob gang. so with this suspicious dench of a potential witness, has that now shaken up the case, potentially scare off other potential witnesses, avery? >> wow. well, i'll tell you something. rakes really wanted to testify in this case and they find him dead this week. on top of that, the number two guy in the winterhouse gang headed up by bulger testified. that was stephen t rifl m"the r flemmi. and he talked about having to work with number one, with bulger, in strangling his girlfriend. on top of that, who's a rat to whom and which fbi was taking money? fredricka, you couldn't hire screenwriters to come up with this kind of a story. it is absolutely amazing, and wait for the cross-examination which will start on monday. >> oh, my. and then, richard, you have a situation where you've got

potential -- a witness leaving the stand. mouthing off saying a few things to bulge per's he's saying a few things in return, and then they go, you know, their own way after not seeing each other for many, many years. this is quite the soap opera in this courtroom. >> oh, fred, this is better than "the sopranos." avery, you were being antagonistic towards the rifleman, right, avery? >> yeah. exactly right. >> okay. anyway, fred, this case -- >> i'm going to duck. >> 19 murders here, fred, are coming out during the course of this trial. it's a massive rico trial. everyone's a rat. everyone's giving up everybody. even whitey bulger was a rat for a few years and then got the tip-off despite the government, they're going to press additional charges against him. so he went on the lam. hid for so long. they found him and now everybody is laying it on, because

everybody wants substantial assistan assistance, reduce their prison terms and are saying anything and everything about whitey bulger. >> interesting pleas. plea deals, or exchange deals offered here. >> cooperation. cooperation deals. >> cooperation. okay. >> there you go. >> let's talk about another case involving the wrongful death case against aeg. you've got the former pop star, michael jackson's mom, katherine jackson, taking to the stand, getting very emotional saying that she wants to know what really happened to her son. how impactful is the testimony of, you know, katherine jackson on the stand there? richard? >> yes, fred, it has to be gut wrenching. just like sybrina fulton and tracy martin, experiencing the loss of a son. she experienced the loss of her son. it's unnatural for a parent to have to bury a child. that's what's going on. they laid it on today. made them go through the beginning of the career of michael jackson, when he started singing. it's gut wrenching to hear this

as juror. at the end of the day, though, i don't know if her testimony makes or breaks the case. the issue is whether or not aeg negligently hired conrad murray. that's really the issue before the jury. but it was compelling testimony, fred. >> and given the case, avery, thus far is that being established? >> i think there's evidence that it jury's going to be able to consider it. it's not going to be thrown out in the middle of the case. let me tell you something. the jury has been there 12 weeks, fredricka, and the people that represent the estate are now trying to end their piece of it by -- by the -- by crescendoing the case and bringing in katherine jackson, and she's the simplethetic mother of michael jackson. what's very interesting is the judge even permitted a montage of the children and grandchildren with michael jackson singing in the background. i mean, ordinarily that's not evidence, but, remember, we're los angeles. so these sort of things get in,

and then we will start up the defense. the defense of this case, we're going hear from aeg has to say, but up to this point, katherine jackson was exactly the witness that should have ended this case. >> pulling at the heartstrings. avery, richard. >> for sure. >> thank you so much. >> good to see you. >> great seeing you, fred. >> all the best. of course, you can always catch the legal guys here every saturday. so committed about this time with their take on the most intriguing and fascinating legal cases of the day, the week, the year. you make it. whatever it is, they're here. we can count on them. thanks so much, guys. atlanta, and chicago, we're revving people up to take a lap around the legendary nascar race track with drivers from the coca-cola racing family. coca-coca family track walks give thousands of race fans the chance to get out, get moving, and have fun... all along the way. it's part of our goal to inspire more than three million people to rediscover the joy of being active this summer.

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much more ahead in the "cnn newsroom." next, live to rallies from around the country from los angeles to miami, reporters covering the protest of stand your ground laws and we'll hear

from trayvon martin's father. plus, what president obama revealed about his own life experiences and racial profiles, and later we'll go live to houston where police say four men including three senior citizens were held captive. how they survived this terrible ordeal.

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-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com hello, person. stop stories we're following in the "cnn newsroom." more action in the trayvon martin case. today how to thousands of amer demand action against george zimmerman. in houston, texas, a garage become as prison for several elderly people who say they've been held captive. disturbing allegations coming up next. and comic books one to life in san diego. thousands descend on the city for comic-con. first up, the demonstrations held right now across the country in support of trayvon martin. our correspondents are covering the rails from coast to coast now. alina cho in new york where there are a lot of recognizable faces. alina, i understand trayvon martin's mother also is there, and there have been many celebrities.