we know with the grand jury first degree murder off the table as a result of the florida constitutionwhat do you believe is the likely process ahead or likely charges and again i preface this by saying with great concern, i don't want anyone to get ahead of themselves, but we know that he will be charged with something. >> we're hearing there will be charges brought. i would not expect murder to be charged. could be the most extreme charge that happens in these kind of scenarios is second degree murder, but i think if charges are brought more likely looking at manslaughter which is a second degree felony in florida, up to 15 years, and also charges including assault and battery with a deadly weapon that would logically be included. keep in mind there is a lot of -- a very big procedural difference in this kind of case than others in florida, and that is if they seek -- if he is charge and had if he then seeks to invoke immunity of stand your ground, there is a judicial determination which could shut down the prosecution entirely based on immunity. if a judge were to determine by a pre

i saw the governor of florida rick scott issue a statement that said i trust in the goodness of floridatice system to reach a conclusion in this case. is the implication here that if in fact he is charged say with manslaughter, in connection with the death of trayvon martin that zimmerman's supporters might react negatively in the sense of being angered by all of this and there could be protests from zimmerman's supporters and friends? is that what the concern might be? >> reporter: i think the greatest concern is that if -- if in any way zimmerman could be cleared of all charges, and that, of course, is a possibility that could be out there. emotions have been running high. no one is suggesting that there will be violence either way. the mayor certainly doesn't believe there will be violence. they've had many demonstrations and they've had thousands of people in this community and every one of those demonstrations has been peaceful and there has not been a single arrest and that confrontation was totally avoided. the only serious consequence, we should point out, is the sanford police

we enforce the laws of the state of florida. if that law becomes an affirmative defense, just like alibi, insanity, entrapment or many of the other affirmative defenses, we will handle it accordingly. [ inaudible question ] >> seminole county is absolutely the venue. when we are appointed as prosecutors, with he step into the prosecution role down in seminole county. right now, it is the court of jurisdiction. it is it's venue. did we think we would be able to try the case there? did we think we would be able to try it there? that's a determination that will be made closer to if and when we pick a jury. [ inaudible question ] >> you asked about my concerns. i will tell you. there has been an overwhelming amount of publicity in this case that we hope does not keep us from being able to pick a fair and impartial jury. both the state and the defense are entitled to a fair and impartial jury. we think a lot of facts got put out. that's the problem. when it comes out in front of the jury, they are not allowed to render a decision unti

we came to our conclusion based on the facts and florida's law. yes, sir. >> obviously maximum sentence of second-degree murder would be life in prison s. it your desire as the prosecutor of this case to see him go to life, mr. zimmerman. >> we don't make that determination at this time. we're committed to getting the case through the court system and then and if it goes to the judge, the tryer fact of the jury, once there is a decision, we would concern ourselves with the sentence. i'm sorry. go ahead [ question indiscernible ] >> reporter: have not personally been contacted. he may have retained new council in the past few hours. >> did he hurt themselves then? did he have anything to say? >> if he did, i wouldn't be able to comment on it. one of the specific things we can't discuss are the statements of the defendant charged with a crime. against -- again, it's a constitutional protection that you should all be happy law enforcement affords every person charged with a crime. yes, sir. i'm sorry. >> mr. zimmerman -- . >> i can will not tell you w

barricades are up outside the correctional facility in sanford, florida. police have been trying to could the peace in the city for some time while martin's supporters have been pressing for zimmerman's arrest. the reverend al sharpton is in d.c. today and is calling for peace in anticipation of the special prosecutor's press conference. zimmerman apparently needs a new defense team. the two attorneys representing him quit yesterday after they said zimmerman stonned talking to them. let's go now -- stopped talking to them. let's go now to the press conference down in florida. >> good evening, everyone. i am angela corey, the special prosecutor for the trayvon martin case. just moments ago we spoke by phone with sybrina fulton and tracy martin. it was less than three weeks ago that we told those sweet parents that we will get answers to all of their questions no matter where our quest for the truth led us and it is our search for justice for trayvon that has brought to us this moment. the team here with me has worked tirelessly looking for answers in trayvon

the lawyers. they can say he is not in florida but he is in the united states and that does not have to be true. it is possible he is in florida. i understand there are no concerns among the law enforcement about his location so they know where he is. how? they could be tracing the cell phone, but the matter of where he is i am told is not an issue. and then the matter of charges. and a couple of other things. judge, no murder one because you have to have a grand jury for murder one. murder two, manslaughter. that is you had a gun, you shot the gun and you intended to kill. manslaughter, you had a gun, and you intended to shoot it. >>judge napolitano: you were reckless or indifferent and didn't care. the government has to prove a different state of mind and the government would punish for a state of mind because murder two, the punishment is life in prison. manslaughter, the punishment is 15 years and in florida that is 11 years so it makes all difference what they charge him with, and some prosecutors will overlap, -- overcharge, for more than they can prove, hoping the jury can compromise. they

curtis is the whistleblower from florida so he's going to show how you can back in the. us if you have no boat you have no civil rights in two thousand i was working for yang enterprises which was a company in obio florida and there their chief lobbyist their corporate attorney and speaker of the house of florida was tom beating and he was sort of the discounter s. so he came in one day my one of my first introductions to him and he wanted us to build a boat looking software when the vote fraud system to be built he wanted a program that could flip the votes without anyone seeing it he wanted it to be able to be run and a touch screen machine in other words hidden buttons on the screen or something like that no keyboard no no guy in a black mask sitting across the street and poking things then just walk up and do something and he wanted the source code to be written in such a way that the manipulation was hidden even if you saw the source code is that possible it's not possible if it's there and someone takes time to look you can't hide it so i told him right up front tha

so what the hell does the florida department of transportation have to do with an investigation that they're doing at a georgia police department so the fact that a call from someone and off top would lead to shutting down the investigation in georgia you know i don't know if there's anything sinister there or not but it sure doesn't smell right six weeks after lemmy died tom feeney went golfing at st andrews in scotland he was the special guest super lobbyist jack avram off after let me turned up dead and things were not moving along very well i went ahead wrote a book to put it out there i had even published the book and i get this e-mail that it says something about like they know about the book you know don't be alone are you worried about. somebody taking your life if it's wrong you have to do the right thing no matter what a couple inches doing this to sell books making this these outrageous claims no longer outrageous most of it's already been proven well nonetheless i don't i think you found most of the group. when this story broke publicly did anybody did the media break down

she is a native of florida, and she graduated from the university of florida, which i represent. so i'm proud to have her as so-called constituent. she also graduates from stetson law school and was a prosecutor for almost 18 years. among her top priorities is strengthening penalties to stop pill mills in the sunshine state, which from our last hearing, madam chair on this issue was a prevalent problem in our state. and with her dedication and leadership against prescription drug abuse, florida went from having 98 of the top 100 dispensing physicians for oxycontin pills to having 13 dispensing physicians residing in florida. so frankly, her success in this effort results in recognition for the national association of drug diversion investigators, the florida police chiefs association, and from the florida board of medicine. so i want to welcome her, and i thank you, madam chair, for the opportunity to do so. >> thank you. and i just want to point out that there is a hearing going on in the health subcommittee with a cabinet secretary. so a lot of members are bouncing in and out.

the pack in motorcycle insurance. now, that's progressive. call or click today. floridailed against george zimmerman in the killing of trayvon martin. reverend al sharpton today echoed trayvon's parents who have repeat lid called for calm. >> it is imperative that we make it clear, this family denounced anything other than nonviolent and peaceful protests. we are not in the business of revenge. we're in business of justice. >> here, here. nbc's gary saunders is live forness san ford. the ap is reporting that an arrest is expected soon. have you heard anything about that? >> well i've spoken to sources within the florida department of law enforcement who were really quite calm in terms of describing the location of george zimmerman. there was quite a panic set off yesterday when his former attorneys indicated that he had left the state. they were no longer in contact indicating, including to theh trayvon martin family, that he might be some sort of flight risk on the run. but the florida department of law enforcement has, through its investigative methods, apparently bee

we enforce the laws of the state of florida. if that becomes an affirmative defense just like alibi insanity, any of the other defenses we will handle it accordingly. seminole county is the venue. we are appointed as prosecutors, we step into the prosecutor rolled down in seminole county. it is the court of jurisdiction and the venue. the question was, did we think we would be able to try the case there. that is a determination that will be made closer to if and when we pick a jury. >> [unintelligible] >> you asked about my concerns and i will tell you. there has been an overwhelming amount of publicity in this case that we hope will not impair us from picking a fair and impartial jury. we think a lot of facts or put out -- that is the problem. when i tell you it comes out in front of a jury, they are not allowed to render a decision until everything is in front of them. they are instructed that they cannot form a decision until they have heard everything. it is regrettable that somebody -- so many facts and details were released

and kenneth bell, the former judge of the florida supreme court justice. t live in the head that you guys live in, the pro gun thing, i don't get it, i don't get it, i don't get it. sometimes i think you want to get back to the saloon with what is his name? marshal dylan and trying to clean up -- i have to start with something really basic. stand your ground, okay, i guess the argument of if you're out on the streets and someone is really trying to kill you, you have the right to defend yourself, that's fine. but what is this gun fetish that you are -- why are you voting for all of this gun play, you have 900,000 people in florida with concealed weapon licenses, almost a million people walking around in florida today. you go into a movie theater, you have 20 guns in the movie theater with you. what's that about? >> well, the law is a as a result of the looting after the hurricanes in florida. >> oh, give me a break. the looting after the hurricanes. so in other words you put a sunset law on this and it only lasted through the hurricane. >> no. it's a good p

we prosecute based on the facts of any given case and the laws of the state of florida. en they appointed us to this case less than three weeks ago, i want you to know that these two fine prosecutors, despite all that is on their plate already, handling all of the homicides in the fourth judicial circuit and supervising the other young lawyers, they willingly took this case on and said they will lead this effort. we launched an intensive investigation building on all of the work that sanford police department and the state attorney's office in seminal county had already done. unless you have been a law enforcement officer or a prosecutor handling a difficult case, you cannot know what it's like to launch this type of investigation and come to the right conclusion. the supreme court has defined our role on numerous occasions that we're not only administerers of justice, butç seekers of truth. we prosecute on facts that the great and sovereign state of florida, and that's the way it will be in this case. when we took our oath of office in 2009, we pledged not only to look

under the law in florida, the former prosecutor us, you have a preliminary hearing where you can claimry. >> that's a problem, and in florida that's also iffy, my guess is you have an opportunity if you don't win at that stage, whether you're the defendant or the state, you'll have the opportunity to appeal to a higher level. i believe there is sufficient information and evidence that causes the prosecutor to wish to proceed. as indicated by the governor, just a moment ago, yes, these are all questions that ought to be put to jurors. no single judge should balk that by concluding without an exhaustive examination of the evidence any differently. >> i think mayor brown is right. no judge has the right to have a opinion for the jury. they are questions of fact and should only be considered by a jury. >> when do you lose your claim to the right of self-defense. you can have a battle of words. you can say something until a person takes a swing at you. at what point are you culpable for having begun the fight? not being the victim, but the aggressor. >> that's interesting,ç under common la

treyvon martin is the florida teenager shot and killed by a neighborhood watch volunteer, george zimmermanorney for george zimmerman says he no longer knows where george zimmerman is and can no longer represent him. >> attorneys say they have watched -- they have lost contact with george zimmerman. zimmerman says the shooting was self-defense and has not been charged. >> he has gone on his own. i am not sure what he's doing or who he is talking to. >> the legal team says they can tell longer handle him. >> what they find worrisome is that he reportedly reached out to the special prosecutor's office investigating the case. >> one thing we all tell our clients is not to talk to the prosecuting attorney. the parents of treyvon martin say their son was killed because he was black and have led a crusade calling for the rest of zimmerman. >> we do a lot of praying. we read our bible every night. we just keep pushing forward. we are fighting for treyvon. >> still in hiding after the shooting, zimmerman has established a web site asking for donations to his legal fund. he says his life has changed

we enforce the laws of the state of florida. and if that law becomes an affirmative defense just like alibi, insanity, entrapment, or any of the other affirmative defenses we'll handle it accordingly. >> you weren't sure about seminole county being the venue currently? >> no. seminole county is absolutely the venue. when we're appointed as prosecutors we step into the prosecution role down in seminole county. right now it is the court of jurisdiction. it is the venue. the question was, did we think we'd be able to try the case there or i thought, was that your question bob? >> yes. >> okay. did we think we'd be able to try it there? that is a determination that will be made closer to if and when we pick a jury. >> two more questions. >> perhaps based upon pretrial publicity, tell us your concerns about what you've heard and seen out there if you have and what effect would it have on a jury in seminole county or elsewhere? >> you asked about my concerns. i will tell you. there's been an overwhelming amount of publicity in this cas

we stop a lot of things because of the strong privacy laws in florida. so we're -- repealing it would open the door for things that might not necessarily get very far because of the protection in their constitution. so this will be happening in november. and another thing that will be happening in november, in montana is parental notification. now, this was a -- again, put in by the state legislature so we only have one citizen-driven initiative on the ballot now out of the three. montana last year, the state legislature passed a parental innovation bill and sent it to the governor, who is 100% pro choice. and they said, this is what we're going to do. if you veto this, we have passed something else that will throw a constitutional amendment on the ballot next year. so you either sign this or we fight at the ballot box. so he vetoed. and now we have parental notification in montana. so those are the three that are definitely going to be printed on the ballot. here's what we think is probably likely in november. i'm sure you've heard, personhood is back in

george zimmerman posted $150,000 bail and left the florida lock-up in the middle of the night.s crews grabbed these pictures of him leave and you identified man. they got into a white bmw and left for the secret location. zimmerman was granted bail by a judge but has to wear a tracking bracelet. >> i think there's still a lot of emotion around the case and we are worried some of those are still negative and that may play out against george. >> i didn't think that he would be able to get out until there was some kind of trial. >> they better not let him get out here. ain't no telling what might happen. >> zimmerman claims he shot 17-year-old trayvon martin in self-defense in february. his trial may not begin for over a year. >>> in a few hours prosecutors and defense lawyers set to present opening arguments in the john edwards trial. they will argue whether the former democratic presidential candidate violated campaign finance laws. he pleaded not guilty to six criminal counts related to one million dollars in secret payments for two wealthy donors during his 2008 campaign. he's

and in the state of florida, is this an individual that's been able to run a daycare? t is. >> reporter: but after the state gave brooks a license she had more arrests and restraining orders and her centers began to have problems. she's been fined multiple times for serious violations. infestations of rodents and roaches, repeated safety problems posing a danger to children, yet she was allowed to continue to operate. carrie hepner says that's how the system works. >> unless we have a child, unfortunately, who has been seriously harmed or even killed, it is not easy to suspend or revoke a license. >> reporter: but there's even more. who does brooks have on her payroll at her day care center? jocelyn blake who pleaded no contest to felony forgery. and latronda brooks, she pleaded no contest to felony intent to defraud. she's also been charged with felony grand theft. she's pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial. just a few years ago, linda brooks pleaded guilty to another felony, this time financial fraud. but there's no system in place for the court to report her arre

we found out today he is not in the state of florida. the lawyers say they don't think he will leave the country. they haven't met him. as we were telling roland martin we are concerned about this because how does this impact the prosecution going forward? if he is charged, is he going to face the charges or is he going to flee? >> am i hearing you correctly that you are hearing that he is not in florida? is that what you just said? >> we heard he is not in the state of florida. >> where are you getting that from? >> we picked that up from the press conference. they know where they are thinking but they are not sure. >> if he is out of the state of florida or if it is a danger that he is going to leave the country this would cause the prosecutor to move quickly. she has to go to court and get an arrest warrant and you want to grab him while he is grabable. this is an important that prosecutor would be looking at if he is available. >> remember he has not been arrested so it is not like he has to be in contact with authorities. he is not u

a live look from new york south of buffalo. >>> while you were sleeping george zimmerman level the florida jail, released around midnight. bill logan joins us live from sanford with the latest, good morning and from what we understand overnight, this was well orchestrated, george zimmerman wasn't crushed by the media, staging out the jail. >> reporter: i think this was done very purposefully so this happened after all of the weekend news cycle, news shows on sunday saying what is going to go on with george zimmerman, when will he be released. it came before all of the media got here this monday morning to begin the weekday news cycle. this is very well orchestrated. he was brought out quickly, in to a waiting car, after credentials of the media members that were on hands here, watching the situation, were checked to make sure they were on assignment and not freelancers looking to make trouble. >> bilks we were talking about the weekend news cycle, the attorney for tray john martin's family talked about the apology george zimmerman issued friday and the possibility of him being able to meet

. >> this powerful late-season nor'easter has already drenched and blanketed some areas from the florida keys up to new england. several areas remain under a flood watch. in the d.c. region, many people cannot believe how cold it is. >> this is crazy. i guess it is spring. anything goes. we have the sprinkler on last week and the kids were running through it. >> people like this rockville president went digging back in her closet for winter gear. >> in two weeks we're going to say -- do you remember how nice it was two weeks ago? yesterday, i pulled the wood from the back house and i started a fire. the >> of the saturated ground and heavy winds could pose a problem. montgomery county crews are keeping a close eye on large trees and power lines. this advertisement offering 20 cent per cent more is getting whipped around. >> again, the wind whipping around. helen, and is maryland snow -- how uncommon is mayor when the snow? it does not happen every year, but it happens. just to think, if it would have been a little colder today, we could be talking about 1 foot of snow this afternoon. liv

. >> marco rubio got behind romney but only after he won the florida primary. again this week asserted he is not interested in the number two job. >> romney is the best guy for the job, he will make the best president. >> paul ryan's enthusiastic endorsement and campaign appearance with romney in wisconsin, dubbed bromance. he is talk of being on the ticket, too. denials put him back to the list of possibilities. there are as many as 16 potential contenders on the long list. romney won't have to shorten it to the short list for a couple of months. doesn't have to make a pick until august, assuming he wins the nomination. >> bret: listening to your report, the cost to turn on the lights and pay the staff and the infrastructure for the obama campaign seemed high, pretty early. >> many, many million of dollars. they will raise billion dollars a year ago. they low balled that

the trayvon martin shooting has put a bright light on florida's stand your ground law. not it applies in this case or not. it's raising question about the law's origin, where it came from, in florida and two dozen other states that have similar laws to it. a "time" magazine report in 2008 said these right to defend yourself laws were sweeping the country and that was no coincidence. as our guest john nichols reports, a group called the american legislative exchange council used the florida law as a mod toll push stand your ground-type legislation across the country. as i've said, two dozen states have something like this. ben released a report that says a.l.e.c. is behind any anti-state voter laws. and we are also joined by the editor of the "nation" magazine who has written extensively about this alec law. gentlemen, i want you to listen to something right now, a variation of the stand your ground law in texas after the florida law paved the way. it was a linchpin for the man joe horn. let's listen to a portion of a scary 911 call from september 2007 in which he, mr. h

enter the florida bar.er an illegal immigrant passed the bar. the board didn't know if he could be accepted so they asked for the court's acceptance. illegal immigrants should they be allowed to practice law? here are some of your responses. tom tweeted no attorneys should not be violating the law while defending it. then we heard from paul von he tweeted us saying yes he should has he been a good citizen and will will he be productive citizen. he has proven himself. keep the e-mails and tweets coming along to us. time right now is 65 after the hour. dying to remember that dream you had last night? a simple vitamin could be the answer for you. tell you about a simple one coming up next. >> now for the word of the day all scrambled up. can you remember what it is? >> stick around for the answer. >> now, 58 after the top of the hour as we take a look at the good, the bad and the ugly. up first, the good. want you to remember the great dream you had last night. take a vitamin b6. preliminary studies say it wil

has the most? >> florida does have the most. rrd one of the leading thunderstorm capitals of the world. i know a lot about showers and thunderstorms but not so much about florida and their thunderstorm history but there are only a few countries in the world that get more thunderstorms than florida. i realize florida is not its own country. but you got to get into the tropical portions of africa like uganda and that part of the world where the tropical rain forests where they have more thunderstorm activity than florida. the reason why is somewhat complicated. don't have enough time to explain exactly why. this is a fascinating. this is a map of the lower 48 and this is the number of days of thunderstorms per year. you notice if you look carefully, the mid-atlantic, the washington area, we get between about 30 and 40 thunderstorm days per year. that is days where before a thunderstorm reported. you can see the farther south you get, you get down into the south, wisdom, you get up into the 60-day range and you get into florida and

to the south, spanish florida, the gulf of mexico, that would temporarily limit american growth. to the west there are native americans and there are spaniards, frenchmen. well, there would be an opportunity there for the future. now, when you talk about manifest destiny, one of the things that always comes up in this question about manifest destiny is that it was this preordained belief that americans were destined to expand from the east to the west and incorporate all those lands because americans were going to do with that land what was right. what no one ever really says is that the only reason manifest destiny would work is because you have powerless neighbors, powerless neighbors who can't prevent you from expanding. so when you look at this map as jefferson saw it, to the north, great britain was a powerful neighbor. to the west, native americans, not so powerful. in fact, you know, it's during jefferson's presidencies that zebulon pike writes a report -- remember what he calls that great area of the west? he calls it the great american desert. with that powerless neighbo

a 747 will carry the shuttle from the florida to the udvar hazy center near dulles. picture of final preps yesterday. this is a live picture here from florida. discovery expected to arrive in our area between 10:00 and is 11:00 this morning. they've just been waiting for sunrise. looks like it will happen soon. >> a very sad day for the people at the kennedy space center to watch their girl discovery go. sherry ly is live at gravelly point in arlington. >> reporter: good morning. this is a place where people will be gathering all across the washington region as the space shuttle discovery make its way here. it is getting ready for the final takeoff. discovery due to hit the washington area between 10:00 and 11:00. it will be piggybacking on top of a 747. that many had to be specially modified to carry the space shuttle discovery. a plane will fly about 100 miles ahead of it to make sure the path is clear for discovery as it heads here in washington. it will take a tour across the washington region through maryland, through virginia and you will also be able to see it

the state. to leave florida. o they're making sure that this technology works properly and also, can't be hacked from somebody in the outside who perhaps wants to find out where george zimmerman is going to go into what will effectively be hiding. >> and kerry, shelley zimmerman, george zimmerman's wife testified by phone. what did she say? >> george zimmerman's fally testified by phone. not only his wife but his father and mother. the reason they did that is because they have not shown their faces. while their identities are known, they wanted to protect some of their privacy. so they were sworn in and testified by phone. the primary things they were about were number one, his risk of flight and whether, if he ran, would they know that they are obligated to call the authorities. all said yes. and they were talking about whether he had a propensity for violence or not. he has been arrested before with battery on a police officer, as well as a restraining order against him. his family tells a different story of wha

as you pointed out, senator durbin, that the nation was shocked by the tragedy that took place in sanford, florida, the tragic death of the 17-year-old trayvon martin, a very avoidable death. and the question i think most people are asking, and we want justice in this case and we're pursuing that. we have the department of justice investigation and we all very much want to see that investigation carried out, not only to make sure that justice is carried forward as far as those responsible for his death, but also as to how the investigation itself was handled. but i think the question that needs to be answered is whether race played a role in trayvon martin being singled out by mr. zimmerman, and that, of course, would be racial profiling, an area that we all believe needs to be -- we need to get rid of that, as far as legitimacy of using racial profiling in law enforcement. in october of last year, i filed the end racial profiling act, and as you pointed out, carrying on from senator feingold's efforts on behalf of this legislation. i thank you for your leadership as co-sponsor. we have 12 members

we're not operating under the rules of evidence under the state of florida. you're trying to get me to litigate this case right now. as i've said many times, we're not going to litigate this case in the public media. this is going to be litigated if at all in the courts of the state of florida. >> actually you've been litigating the case. >> actually what? >> that's the point. you have been litigating a set of what you believe to be facts. you believe that george zimmerman didn't defy instructions from the 911 operator not to follow trayvon martin. you believe that he was set upon by trayvon martin, beaten so badly that he feared for his life, that he had to take out his gun and shoot trayvon martin, even though trayvon martin and the people acting for him say that what happened is, your client followed him against instructions from the 911 operator, and that maybe some altercation took place, but trayvon martin was unarmed and had been to a store to buy skittles, taking them back to his father's house. he had every right and expectation to get back to his fat