he is now speaking publicly for the first time since he was fired in an interview with our george howell reporter: what are the decisions that go into letting a person walk free? >> well, the main decision is do you have probable cause to charge that person? george zimmerman made that self-defense claim. and the evidence and the testimony we had corroborated the statement. for us to arrest him would have been unconstitutional. >> trayvon martin's family attorney joins me now along with david mattingly. you just heard the former police chief say it would have been unconstitutional to arrest zimmerman. when you hear that what is your reaction? >> i think the sanford police department's failure to arrest george zimmerman for shooting and killing trayvon martin was a complete miscarriage of justice. we are always going to have people in our society who behave in morally deviant ways. for our system to fail to arrest a self-confessed killer of an unarmed child is a complete unjustice. >> david, let me ask you about this. about a month after the shooting the case got transferred. george howell

images the defense wants to leave the jury with as they leave to make their decision today. >> george howell for us in sanford, florida. thank you, george. >> to san francisco. the latest in the deadly crash of asiana flight 214. it may take a year to figure out what caused the boeing 777 to land in the runway. the ntsb says it pilot's twice called for the landing to be aborted seconds before the crash. they expressed concern about the plane's speed. airport officials say they expect the wreckage to be removed by tomorrow. the runway at san francisco international will be reopened by sunday. people have been landing there for days snapping pictures as they land there. >>> a colorado highway reopened after a river of mud swept away cars, trapped dozens of drivers. this is near colorado springs. that is a river of mud. we showed you amazing pictures yesterday. a video journalist caught had his camera rolling. listen. >> oh, my god. [ bleep ] wow. [ bleep ]. >> remarkably, all the -- >> can you imagine having the presence of mind to film and how scared you must be? >> i'm watching the other car

george howell, thank you very much. george, thank you. martin savidge inside the courthouse. what do you know? martin is on the phone. >> reporter: well, it was the attorneys and everyone else that was called into the courtroom. it was a question of course from the jury. but the question is pretty significant and that is they want clarification, i guess a stronger definition of what exactly manslaughter means at least from a legal definition. and that probably means a lot. i mean, i don't want to jump to any suppositions at this point. but it would seem that the jury is now focused on that particular aspect. of course, we know inside the courtroom there were the attorneys for both sides and of course the prosecution and for the defense george zimmerman was there with his family. we do not see trayvon martin's parents there but we certainly saw their legal team was there. you know, much of that took place up at the bench with the discussion with the prosecution and defense attorneys talking to judge nelson. as you know, from being in that courtroom, don, when those conversatio

here is george howell. >> reporter: the first investigator to interview george zimmerman took the stand on day six of the trial, doris singleton explained the process. >> it was recorded on a, just a voice recorder that they give us. >> reporter: then prosecutors played the tape. the jury listened closely. >> there have been a few times where i have seen a suspicious person in the neighborhood. we call the police, the non-emergency line and these guys always get away. >> reporter: a key witness for the state, singleton said zimmerman agreed to be interviewed without a lawyer. zimmerman dropped his head to the table. >> did he evidence he was angry with trayvon martin? >> no. >> that he had hatred for him? >> no. >> spite or ill will? >> no. >> anything that would suggest to you some type of bad attitude toward trayvon martin? >> no. >> rather, he seemed to be affected by the fact he realized trayvon martin passed? >> he seemed affected by that. >> reporter: one day after the shooting and george zimmerman returned to this neighborhood with lead investigator chris serino to do a re-enactm

>> i am. >> george howell still there? not sure if you were in the courtroom at that particular point but i know you've been reporting on it. when this whole manslaughter thing came up you saw that the defense was incredulous. if you were inside the courtroom and watching what was the mood? did they appear to be taken off guard? sunny is believing this was -- they were being too cute by half. it was all theater. >> yeah. >> well, you know, initially people thought, people assumed it would be aggravated assault. turned out they weren't going to use aggravated assault in this case. they decided to use manslaughter. you will also remember that prosecutors suggested using third-degree felony murder in the case of child abuse. >> right. >> the defense attorneys when they heard that you'll remember don west said i can't believe you'd bring this into the case at this point. judge debra nelson decided that third-degree felony murder would not be added as a lesser offense here. they agreed on this charge of manslaughter and it seem

george howell has that part of the story. >> reporter: from the pulpit of the atlanta church where dr. martin luther king once preached -- >> the world profiled them. the world stigmatized them. the world said to them that they are a problem. >> reporter: the not guilty verdict in the trial of george zimmerman sent a resounding message at the home of trayvon martin. relatives expressed frustration. in a statement from the white house, president obama called the death of trayvon martin a tragedy. zimmerman supporters agree. >> it comes down to what is right and wrong. you know, it was a terrible thing. i guess mr. zimmerman did what he thought he had to. >> reporter: what is next for george zimmerman, no one knows. his attorneys say he will stay in hiding for his own safety. they are prepared for possible lawsuits. >> if someone believes it is appropriate to sue george zimmerman, we will seek and get immunity in a civil hearing. we will see how many civil lawsuits are spawned from this fiasco. >> reporter: more legal challenges could be in his future. they are asking them to pursue civ

here is george howell. >> reporter: one after another after another, defense witnesses hammered homeanswer when asked who was screaming on this 911 call. >> help! >> you think he's yelling help? >> yes. >> what is your -- >> do you know whose voice that is in the background screaming? >> yes, definitely. it's georgie. >> i thought it was george. >> when i heard the tape, my immediate reaction was he was screaming for help. >> whose voice is it? >> george zimmerman's voice. >> there's no doubt in my mind that was george zimmerman. i wish to god i didn't have that ability to understand that. >> it was john's temperature that made him. he bought his clothes for trial and taught him how to tie a knot. they drew on his experience as a medic who heard people scream for help to determine the voice on the 911 call was george zimmerman. that set the stage for tracy martin, trayvon martin's father. two investigators say martin told him no, the voice screaming was not his son. then they put martin on the stand. >> i didn't tell them that wasn't trayvon. i kind of pushed away from the table and

george howell reports. >> reporter: images of george zimmerman bloodied and beaten up.mportant visuals for his defense, trying to show that zimmerman's head had been slammed against the sidewalk, and he had to fire his gun to save his own life. that's not the way jacksonville-based medical examiner valerie rao sees it. >> are the injuries in the back of his head consistent with having been repeatedly slammed into a concrete surface? >> no. >> reporter: after examining dozens of pictures, rao testified the injuries are not life threatening, consistent with being punched once. during cross-examination, rao admitted when pressed by attorney mark o'mara he could have been hit multiple times. the jury also heard from a man who calls himself george zimmerman's best friend. mark osterman said zimmerman even gave him the play by play of what happened the night he shot and killed trayvon martin, enough detail for osterman to write a book. >> you recorded him saying he took a gun covering his nose. >> he did. >> what words did he outer? >> he said you're going to die. he used the

that i've only heard george's voice and it was a male voice, i would say it was his. >> reporter: george howellrd, florida. >> our thanks to george for that report. another big day in court today. >>> in newly sealed court documents, the aaron hernandez murder case revealed that one or two accomplices claims that hernandez admitted to fatally shooting odin lloyd. among the evidence seized from the home, surveillance video from after the murder that shows the former nfl star holding a gun. investigators say hernandez was argumentative when first questioned about lloyd's murder. they say he slammed his front door on police when told they were investigating a death. >>> some advice on how you can save money on your next trip to avoid all the added fees that team to be tam tacked on everything. car let mes. the rental places have to pay for the right to be there. they pass those rights to you. if you can rent a car at an off-location, it's cheaper. you got to plan for it, of course. it's a longer commute. also, you probably don't need that extra insurance coverage. odds are, your auto policy may al

straight out to george howell reporting gavel to gavel on the case. morning, george. >> what a morning, indeed. what we are talking about now, we saw tracy martin several times holding back tears. sybrina fulton, trayvon martin's mother, left the courtroom with attorney darryl parks, an attorney for the family. after dr. bao really started to get into graphic testimony about the bullet wound, about exactly how trayvon martin died. we know first of all he says the bullet went into the right side of his chest. there was an entry wound but no exit wound. dr. bao said he can give zero opinion on the position of trayvon martin during that struggle when the shot was fired, but he also indicated that martin was likely still alive for one to ten minutes after the bullet was shot. fired into his chest. that was really difficult, you could tell, for the family. >> very difficult, very powerful, very critical as well. george howell, stand by if you will. live with me in sanford, florida, has been watching from the beginning of the case as well, last year in febr

. >> george howell, one of our correspondents on top of this case in sanford, florida, george, was thate prosecution? >> reporter: potentially. and with regards to this case, let's talk about that, first. it could open the possibility of an appeal if there is a conviction. we're talking about discovery evidence that didn't go over to the defense, didn't get it on time, in a timely manner, it could happen with regards to the case. with regards to the prosecution, there's the possibility of jail time, that's not likely. it's more likely, john, it could be a fine or even a penalty, a censure, basically, on the attorney, certainly something no attorney would want. >> george howell. >> we heard from your investigators at the time, sereno and singleton, both testified about that investigative process. looking back at it, do you feel that they did their job to the letter? >> i believe they did. you know, the investigation through the trial, i think, it's revealed itself that the sanford police department was doing a proper investigation. and diligently trying to find the truth. and, you know,

george howell takes us into the courtroom for a look at the most recent testimony. >> the day starteda parade of witnesses from george zimmerman's past and the professors who taught him about criminal justice. >> you see george over here. >> how are you doing, george? >> to a representative from a virginia police department that rejected his application to be a police officer. >> mr. zimmerman had a problem with his credit. >> yes, sir. >> and that would be a reason why you wouldn't be accepted as a police officer? >> that's the reason why we did not consider him further based on that record, yes, sir. >> zimmerman's past could haunt him if jurors are swayed by the picture prosecutors are trying to paint a want to be cop that went too far and then less than forthcoming about how well he knew the law on national tv. >> prior to this night, this incident, had you even heard stand ground. >> no, sir. >> they told the court part of the course he talk covered the practical application of self-defense laws with a special focus on florida laws like stand your ground. and zimmerman aced the c

hours after a jury acquitted zimmerman we want to go back to sanford because that's where cnn's george howell it was so late, it came so late, and i was up and watched you and it was terrific. but tell our viewers who might have gone to bed, what was it like right when that verdict was handed down? >> candy, this is interesting. let's just start with what we see back there. an empty parking lot. that's amazing because it's been busy out here for several days. last night we saw a couple hundred protesters here. they all left peacefully. no problems here. you saw george zimmerman in the courtroom relieved after hearing that not guilty verdict. and at the news conference just after the verdict was read we saw prosecutors there. prosecutors saying that they still hold firm to the facts but they respect the verdict. we saw prosecutor john guy walk over to don west to try to shake his hand. don west refused to do so. and the defense team, they say it was sort of a david and goliath situation, candy. but in the end they say that they won. >> george howell. thank you so much. we will talk to you late

maybe george howell who has been covering this trial for us has a better sense. s like a hoodihoodie, looks the very famous hoodie. george, set the scene for us. >> basically what we understand now, we could hearing from vincent demaio. he is a well-regarded forensic pathologist and he will testify, basically, on his theory of what happened on february 26th, 2012, exactly how this shooting, how all of the events played out. keep in mind, though, he has been restricted in some ways, basically that he cannot testify that george zimmerman used justifiable force. he can't testify about justifiable force, but he will give an account based on the defense's theory, his theory, on how all of this plaid out. and rate now we're seeing some of that evidence. we've seen the hoodie in this courtroom, we've seen the gun that george zimmerman used in the courtroom, several other items of evidence. we could see those all return to the evidence as we hear this theory play out. >> so let's go into the courtroom and let's see what's going on right now. well, we just lost the audio f

george howell was in that courtroom. was there any information to portray what the jurors might have been thinking as they will get their instructions and probably start deliberating. >> reporter: fair to say they were paying close attention to everything brought in this courtroom. you have to consider that o'mara brought in charts and that video reenactment. he showed people in there, the people watching television, people in that courtroom showed th that the charts would explain what it would take the find a person guilty or not guilty. he went through the process of showing the reenactment giving the jurors zimmerman's account of what happened. that will be an image as they take back into the jury room. they took a lot of notes. you see them taking notes. they pay close attention to the props. they pay close attention. here is the other thing. he involved the jury. he involved everyone in the courtroom when he took that four minutes of silence and that's four minutes of silence between the last time rachel jenteal tal

cnn's george howell is in sanford, florida, outside the courthouse. d let the jury consider lesser charges. manslaughter, aggravated assault in addition to the second degree murder. the defense says that should not happen. they should consider only second degree murder or nothing else. >> wolf, absolutely. and for the next several hours, i would imagine, we could see some heated exchanges here. we will see both sides arguing, you know, over what this jury should be instructed when they get those instructions. also, keep this in mind. we'll expect to see the defense attorneys really focus on the wording. what is said to this jury. how is it said? that comes during the jury instruction discussion as well today. just the other day, wolf, a very interesting situation. we got to hear from george zimmerman and his choice about testifying and before the defense rested its case we saw the prosecution open its case that george zimmerman could have been underneath trayvon martin as the defense suggested alone. we saw them bring out a dummy to demonstrate that in

george howell of cnn looks at how the state of florida is trying to poke a whole punch of holes at the story george tells about the night he shot and killed trayvon martin. >> reporter: the day started with a parade of witnesses from george zimmerman's past, from the professors who taught him about criminal justice -- >> you see george over here? >> how are you doing, george? >> reporter: to a represent from a virginia police department that rejected his application to be a police officer. >> mr. zimmerman had a problem with his credit? >> yes, sir. >> and that would be a reason why you wouldn't be accepted as a police officer? >> that's the reason why we did not consider him further based on that record, yes, sir. >> reporter: zimmerman's past could haunt him if jurors are swayed by the picture prosecutors are trying to paint, a wannabe cop who went too far, then less than forthcoming about how well he knew the law on national tv. >> prior to this night, this incident, had you even heard stand your ground? >> no, sir. >> you'd never heard about it before? >> no. >> reporter: captain a

. >> george howell joins us now.he chief tell you whether or not he's watching the trial closely? >> reporter: he's watching every bit of this trial. he himself testified in this case. he says when you look at his then officers, what they said on the stand is coming out in court that they did their job to the letter. though unpopular at the time, lee says he upheld his oath. the difference here is that lee lost his job. >> one of the key pieces of evidence is that 911 audio where you hear someone screaming, calling out for help. lee didn't want that released, right? >> reporter: and he told me about that. he did not want that audio released. and here's the thing, when it was played for trayvon martin's family at city hall, with the mayor, with the city manager there, lee said that should have been done differently. it shouldn't have been played with the full group there. in fact, it should have been played individually for each person to hear it separately so they wouldn't be biased by other people around them. >> in

. >> i want to bring in now george howell who has been covering not only this trial but the story from the very beginning, and he's tracking the developments on this. george, could this be damaging to the prosecution? >> potentially, don. potentially. let's talk about it from the standpoint of the trial, the case itself, it could open the door, don, to an appeal if indeed the prosecution did not turn over evidence to the defense team as they should have in a timely manner, so that's a possibility if there's a conviction in this case. when it comes to the prosecutors themselves, you know, there's a possibility, there's a chance of jail time but it's not likely. it's more likely that it would be a fine or a penalty on the prosecutor, the attorney, whichever attorney's record, and that's something no attorney wants. but this basically goes back to that pretrial discovery violation that the defense raised the red flag about and what we understand as far as the i.t. director, he was put on paid administrative leave and he received his termination letters the day the jury started deliberatin

first to george howell who is reporting gavel to gavel on this case. he's also live with me in sanford, florida, on a very rainy and muggy morning. george, just get me up to speed on chris serino and why we had re-re-re-re-reexaminations of this very critical witness. >> ashleigh, absolutely. what a day, what a morning. let's talk about chris serino. right out of the gates bernie de la rionda objected to the idea of the defense attorney asking serino if he believed that george zimmerman was credible and truthful. you'll remember that serino said yes. but now the judge has told the jury to disregard that question and disregard that answer. so you see the judge there agreeing with the prosecution. and then when we talk about what we saw today, we really saw the prosecution going after this lead investigator, first of all, in many ways questioning his judgment. for instance, when it comes to the expletive terms that were used, for instance, in that 911 audio where zimmerman can be heard saying these expletives always get away. de la rionda asked serino if

our george howell is in sanford, florida. he's been covering this trial for us. if the federal prosecutors do, and still a big if, if they do decide to charge zimmerman with hate crimes if you will, they'll have to prove he acted out of what's called racial hatred. that's a pretty tough thing to prove. >> wolf, you are absolutely right on that. and we're getting this from the naacp president ben jealous. ben jealous has information, presumably from african-americans who have been in that neighborhood, who say in his words, who have been targeted by zimmerman. race may have been a factor. may have been involved in this particular case. so jealous said that he's reached out to eric holder, reached out to the department of justice and officials on that team to see if indeed they could move forward with more legal action. but again, you'll have to remember, mark o'mara made this point very clear. when it comes to self-defense in the state of florida, and that statute, there's a line about stand your ground that basically gives a person immunity. if you act in self-de

george howell, cnn, sanford, florida. >> thanks, george. down why this was the prosecution's best and perhaps final push towards making this a second degree murder case. credibility was on trial yesterday. straight a student. you heard george talking about how george zimmerman took a course, talked about stand your ground and he did very well. what does that mean? he knew what the law was. first of all, that means he was a liar. that would be the prosecution's point and told sean hannity, our friend at fox news, he didn't know about it. maybe it means he prepared for it and why his gun was loaded with a bullet in the chamber and what the prosecution will argue, this was not just an accident. what did the defense say? remember this, the same professor talked about george zimmerman getting an a said self-defense law only requires fear of harm was in your head. very interesting. that was a counter point. which one did the jury weigh more? we don't know. george zimmerman is going to say when trcayvon martin grabbed fo his gun, everything change

as george howell reports, friday brought family members to the stand - to try and explain a critical piece of evidence. a rare moment of emotion from george zimmerman in the courtroom, as this week's testimony could see more family on the stand to testify on his behalf. friday, zimmerman was visibly affected listening to his uncle explain when he heard those highly scrutinized screams for help, on a 911 audio tape. >>"i said, that is george! and i stood up, and i looked at the tv." also, zimmerman's mother >>"do you know who's voice that was screaming in the background? yes sir. and who's voice was that? my son george. and are you certain of that. because he's my son." it was a day of dueling testimonies between mothers. gladys zimmerman testified "after" sybrina fulton told the court what "she heard" before the fatal shot that killed her son. "ma'am, that screaming, that yelling in the background, do you recognize that? yes. and who do you recognize that to be? trayvon benjamin martin." martin's older brother - jahvaris fulton - also testified the screams were from his brother. but i

cnn's george howell is live in sanford, florida, with more on this. morning, george. >> reporter: kate, good morning. so we now know that this jury will hear about marijuana levels that were in trayvon martin's system. this, after a list of what seemed to be character witnesses who testified that it was george zimmerman screaming for help. the defense put trayvon martin's own father on the stand to help make that case. one after another after another, defense witnesses hammered home the same answer when asked who was screaming on this 911 call. >> so you think he's yelling help? >> yes. >> all right, what is your -- >> do you know whose voice that is in the background screaming? >> yes, definitely, it's giorgi. >> i thought it was george. >> when i heard the tape my immediate reaction was that's george screaming for help. >> whose voice is it? >> george zimmerman's voice. >> there's absolutely no doubt in my mind that it's george zimmerman. and i wish to god i did not have that ability to understand that. >> it was john donnelly's testimony that even

cnn's george howell is outside the courthouse this morning. good morning, george. >> reporter: good morning. so it was a very interesting day and now here we are on -- arguments, the final stage in the trial of george zimmerman for the fatal shooting of 17-year-old trayvon martin. >> a teenager is dead. he is dead through no fault of his own. he is dead because another man made assumptions. >> reporter: prosecutor bernie de la rionda went into great detail, pointing out inconsistencies in zimmerman's story. from the national television interview he did to the video re-enactment conducted with police. the prosecutor then picked apart zimmerman's account of what happened. >> why is he able to yell, if the defendant claims the victim was -- or is he lying about that? look at the gun, look at the size of this gun, how did the victim see that in the darkness? >> reporter: in closing, de la rionda even elicited a reaction from george zimmerman. >> unfortunately, the only photographs left of trayvon martin are those m.e. photographs. they've still got

. >> mark nejame and george howell standing by with us. the judge is taking a half hour recess to let the lawyers prepare a little more for the argument as whether or not lesser charges should be allowed to be considered by the jury in the george zimmerman murder trial. we'll have a lot more coverage, live coverage once they resume. other important news we're following, including an area south of colorado springs already devastated by fire and now dealing with a new and messy problem. mudslides. cars being swept away in a river of mud. this incredible video was shot in manitou springs. the driver of that car was not injured. one inch of water fell on charred lands. the mud left anything in its path covered and stuck. our meteorologist chad myers is joining us now. he's got more on what's going on. the images, the pictures pretty devastating, chad. >> yeah. this is what happens, wolf, when you get an area that has burned. that is what they have there in colorado. many, many millions of acres that have burned recently. when it rains on top o

george howell reporting live from sanford. joining me now with some perspective, sonny hostin is in sanford, florida and page pate and jason jackson. welcome to all of you. thanks for coming back. let's head back to sanford and check in with sonny about this video reenactment. prosecutors want that out. defense attorneys want it in. do you know what went down in court this morning in regards to that reenactment? >> i'm not so sure the prosecutors want to keep it out. we have limited information about what was going to happen this morning. there was supposed to be a mini hearing at about 8:30 this morning but the hearing was cancelled. the judge let everyone know that the lawyers had come to an agreement and there was no longer an issue about any of the video tape statements. i suspect that we will be hearing testimony and perhaps also seeing those video tape statements. we've all seen them but the jury has not. >> the first witness is about to take the stand. this is a doctor. he's testified as a defense voice analyst expert f

cnn's george howell is live in sanford, florida, this morning. eorge, good morning. >> reporter: chris, good morning. we hear more from chris serino and we'll likely hear more from george zimmerman telling his version of the events without having to open his mouth in court. the first investigator to interview george zimmerman took the stand on day six of the trial, dooris singleton explained the process. >> it was recorded on a voice recorder that they gave us. >> reporter: prosecutors played the tape, the jury listened closely. >> there's been a few times where i've seen a suspicious person in the neighborhood we call the police non-emergency line and these guys always get away. >> reporter: a key witness for the state, singleton told the jury zimmerman agreed to be interviewed without an attorney present. he didn't realize trayvon martin died from the shooting until she told him. she said zimmerman dropped his head to the table. >> did he have any evidence that he was angry with trayvon martin? >> no. >> that he had hatred for him. >> no. >> spi

george howell outside the courtroom. efense counsel is not there yet, but the prosecutors are. what do we know about the family? has the family showed up? >> chris, good morning. we expect to hear from the families. still unclear whether they showed up yet. we know this is a big day for the prosecution and we expect to hear from sabrina fulton that is the voice of her son screaming for help, we also know that wehead hear from the medical examiner in this case. the medical examiner who handled the autopsy of trayvon martin to talk about that wound, that fatal shot that killed him. the prosecution will rest their case and the defense attorney will lay out their case for the next several days calling witnesses in to explain george zimmerman's side of the story. >> all right, george, the table is set down there. let us know when it gets under way and we'll come back to you. thank for the reporting. >> absolutely. >>> big economic news. the june jobs report just out. you actually just had the phone to your ear. >> literally. >

meanwhile, george howell reports the defense rested without the jury hearing from the defendant. >> reporter: george zimmerman answered the question on everyone's mind. would he testify? >> have you made a decision as to whether or not you want to testify at this time. >> i object about his decision to testify. >> your objection is overruled. >> reporter: after a tense exchange between the judge and zimmerman's lawyers, he made his choice. >> after consulting with counsel, not to testify, your honor. >> reporter: there was proof in court, you can learn a lot from a dumby. both sides straddled a foam dummy. prosecuting attorney argued it would have been difficult to shoot at a 90 degree angle has trayvon martin been shot on top. >> would it be consistent if he was backing up and the defendant raised his gun and shot at 90 degrees. >> reporter: mark o'mara grabbed the dummy to make his arguments. >> is it consistent with someone doing this? >> reporter: george zimmerman's father returned to the stand. >> absolutely, it's my son george. >> is that an opinion you have through today? >> certainly

george howell, cnn, sanford, florida. >> dramatic pictures to show you from the detroit suburbs thisat is a house exploding and these neighbors heard it all happen. >> i heard a serious loud boom. loud. they said get out, get out, you have to go. >> it blew up. the house literally blew up and the back of it was down. then we seen the guy come out. his pants were blew off him. it was horrible. >> apparently he drove himself to the hospital. the explosion was caused by a natural gas leak. terrifying moments. >>> friday was a win on wall street. what will today bring? we will check your markets. the very first check of the markets on this very early, "early start." >>> ahh, look at that. looks like nighttime in new york city or at least very early morning. it is very early morning. >> thought it was the city that doesn't sleep. >> they are sort of napping at this hour. >> good morning on "early start." it is money time. poppy harlow is here with all the business news. >> no sleep for me, frankly, just got off a plane a few hours ago. a lot of interesting news as we open this week. a ver

george howell is outside the courthouse i

let's get to cnn's george howell in sanford, florida, for the very latest. eporter: chris, good morning. there's the new lesser charge that was added, manslaughter, so it comes down to defense attorney mark o'mara for the next three hours today he will be able to try to convince this jury that george zimmerman is not guilty of second-degree murder, that he's not guilty of manslaughter, and then the prosecution will have the last word in rebuttal. >> the attorneys will now present their final arguments. >> reporter: closing arguments the final stage in the trial against george zimmerman for the fatal shooting of 17-year-old trayvon martin. >> a teenager is dead. he is dead through no fault of his own. he is dead because another man made assumptions. >> reporter: prosecutor bernie de la rionda went into great detail pointing out inconsistencies in zimmerman's story from the national television interview he did to the video re-enactment conducted with police. the prosecution picked apart zimmerman's account of what happened. >> why is he able to yell if the defe

cnn's george howell is live in sanford, florida, with the latest. porter: kate, good morning. one important distinction, this is not the medical examiner who performed the autopsy on trayvon martin. instead it's a witness who was called on by the state to examine this question, given the injuries, the wounds we've seen on zimmerman's head, was he really in danger of being killed himself that night? images of george zimmerman bloodied and beaten up, important visuals for his defense, trying to show that zimmerman's head had been slammed against the sidewalk and we to fire his gun to save his own life. that's not the way jacksonville based medical examiner valerie rao sees it. >> are the injuries consistent with having been repeatedly slammed into a concrete service. >> reporter: no. >> reporter: rao testified the injuries were not life-threatening, consistent with being punched or hitting a concrete surface once but during cross-examination, rao admitted when pressed by attorney mark o'mara he could have been hit multiple tiles. the jury also heard fr

. >>> live to sanford, florida, george howell outside the courthouse and, george, we watched all morning. fireworks in the courtroom, the jury not there but defense attorney don west not only battling the prosecutor but also the judge numerous times. what were the issues? >> well, we're dealing with this hearing of the charging conference and the jury instructions, basically deciding exactly what george zimmerman could be charged with and what this jury will hear with regards to instructions from the judge about the rule of law, what to consider in this case. so here is the thing. you talk about the fireworks. there were definitely fireworks had it came to the basic instructions and the defense attorneys, how it is not unlawful to follow persons by car or foot. the judge said she is not going to include that. that's where we saw a bit of that testy exchange. provocation, any language about provocation when it comes to use of justifiable force, no language with regards to that. also, there is question about circumstantial evidence. we're still unclear about exactly how that is going to be

george, howell is a correspondent who got that unfortunate assignment in a very hot and muggy florida on rainy days and thunderous days. i'm going to get you to do your best to put into perspective this last witness. a best friend and what he had to say. >> reporter: when you talk about mark you're talking about the person who spent several hours with george zimmerman immediately after the shooting. you also get some insight into zimmerman's demeanor. you get insight into his wife's demeanor. he describes him as being stunned and somehow detached. i want you to listen to just a bit of what he said in court so you can hear for yourself. >> how was george presenting himself to you? >> detached. it's hard to describe. >> well is detached different from the way he normally is? >> vastly. >> when you see detached, what do you mean? >> i would say probably -- when you feel like you've -- it's hard to describe, sir. i would say he was probably in a position where he was not able to process. >> reporter: that is the night that osterman said zimmerman told him what happened that night. he made

george howell, cnn, stanford, florida. >> we want to go live to cairo where the egyptian president isng sworn in now. he's head of the egyptian constitutional court. the 67-year-old judge addressing the nation now. >> he became chief judge of the court two days ago. he went from judge to chief judge to president over the week long period. he's been serving for 30 years. he was close to the mubarak regime a little bit. now he will run the country. >> we'll be watching this this morning. >>> the judge in cleveland ruling castro is mentally competent to stand trial. he's charged with kidnapping and holding three women captive in the basement of his home. the 52-year-old is able to understand the charges and assist in his own defense. he denied the request to visit the 6-year-old daughter he fathered with one of the victims. >>> what was told the police. court filings show holmes talked to police and asked them a question before he hire add lawyer. they want to use that. defense says it should be barred. he had not been given his rights. >>> it is a big day for a special lady. ime not tal

george howell is with me.difficult that must be, let's not forget there was a 17-year-old boy behind that bullet wound in that sweatshirt and his parents are looking at every part of this. >> when you hear the testimony associated with what we're see. we're talki ining about a gunfi at close range. talking about how she did these distance examinations. the distance between the muzzle and the fabric. she said this was fired at close range, contact. the muzzle right on the fabric. >> think about this for a moment. demonstrate if you're wearing a bulky sweatshirt, if you're leaning forward does your shirt pouch out because i think where the defense wanted to go was did you measure the distance between the muzzle and the skin or the muzzle and the sweatshirt. >> she was clear to state it was between the muzzle and the fabric. >> and the fabric. which could play well into the defense. this is a prosecution witness. i thought maybe the more intense part of it and i want to play this moment in court for you was when

george howell, cnn, sanford, florida. >> an emotional day, for sure. >>> they have released him, but the new england patriots are distancing themselves from the tight end, aaron hernandez. if fans bought his shirt, they are offering a free exchange for another players jersey saturday and sunday. >> i know a lot of people doing that. >>> we are hearing from the toledo, ohio woman who survived the 20-foot plunge into a sinkhole in her car. a giant sinkhole swallowed her and her chevy malibu whole. >> as the car was falling, i kept calling on the name of jesus. i kept saying, jesus, jesus, jesus. >> she counted on her faith and guardian angels. her husband says he was worried about a pile-up on the busy street. authorities expect it was caused by a broken water main that weakened the street above. >> infrastructure can do that. >> pamela is going to be our guest, exclusively on "new day" later this morning. i'm curious if time slowed down when it happened, or sped up in an instant. you hear people say time plays tricks on you. >> what is the first thing you think of in the bottom of the

>> reporter: george howell, cnn, sanford, florida. >>> aaron hernandez has been a model inmate sincerest since orchestrating the execution style killing of odin lloyd. three other people are in custody as possible accomplices. his former team, new england patriots can turn in their jerseys for a new patriots jersey. >> i know a lot of families doing that. >>> police in florida in -- called 911 to say he was being followed by a man with a gun. they heard a series of shots. it's not clear what may have provoked the shooting. >>> coming up, student loan rates doubled. what it will cost students struggling with tuition to go college. >> a lot. >> a lot more. have a good night. here you go. you, too. i'm going to dream about that steak. i'm going to dream about that tiramisu. what a night, huh? but, um, can the test drive be over now? head back to the dealership? oh, yeah. [ male announcer ] it's practically yours. [ wife ] sorry. [ male announcer ] but we still need your signature. volkswagen sign then drive is back. and it's never been easier to get a passat. that's the power of german

cnn's george howell is in sanford.ell us what federal prosecutors are considering. >> good morning. we're talking about the department of justice. even heard from reverend jesse jackson saying that another investigation is necessary. now we're hearing from the naacp president who told cnn's candy crowley on "state of the union" that he's reaching out to top level staff. want you to listen to it. >> we're calling on them to do just that because when you look at his comments and when you look at comments made by young, black men that lived in that neighborhood about how they felt, especially targeted by him, there is reason to be concerned that race was a factor in why he targeted young trayvon. >> now, you heard in the set up there from defense attorney mark o'mara saying we will speak and get immunity. part of the stand your ground clause of self-defense. that statute here in the state of florida. he's basically saying if you come at him with a lawsuit, he will seek and get immunity through that particular clause. >> t

george howell is outside the courthouse in sanford, florida. it's been amazing trial. the last person the jurors heard from was the prosecutor. let's start off with him. this is someone who said that child had every right to be there on that street and then a strange man following him first by car then by foot. how did people respond? what do you make of the argument? >> reporter: it seemed to be in every case. it was an appeal to emotion. he asked what was in the heart of george zimmerman? what was in the heart of trayvon martin? he mentioned that child. was there fear in that child's heart. take a listen. >> was that child not in fear when he was running from that defendant? isn't that every child's worst nightmare to be followed on the way home in the dark by a stranger. isn't that every child's worse fear? that was trayvon martin's last emotion. >> reporter: in every angle and every case of his argument from what we heard it seemed to be an emotional appeal. it was more of an explanation from mark o'mara. it started as a legal lesson explaining what it takes to fin

i want to bring in george howell outside the courtroom. first of all, i want to reverse this.e most recently saw was the best friend. his testimony he describes zimmerman was wide eyed and detached. what do you think is the significance of the portrait that he played for the jurors? >> reporter: when you look at mr. osterman it's important for two different reasons. we're getting insight into those moments immediately after the shooting. we're hearing that george zimmerman seemed detached. his wife seemed upset about what happened. this is the same person who wrote the book defending your best friend, the most hated man in america. he wrote that book. he says george zimmerman told him point by point exactly what happened on february 26th, the night of that fatal shooting of trayvon martin. the story goes like that. he says that zimmerman reached for his phone to call 911. then he says that martin ambushed zimmerman and punched him in the face. zimmerman fell to the ground, trayvon martin on top and martin started throwing punches and also martin put one hand over his mouth, on