michael: it's one year since the killing of trayvon martin. at "the young turks" will stand our ground at keeping this story front and center. >> we don't expect trayvon to be the top story every day but he's definitely the top story in our life. michael: there is a guy in texas right now handing guns out giving guns away. houston, we have a problem. >> we are going to offer all residents that live within that area, if they can pass a background check and take our safety legal and tactical training course, four free shotguns. michael: ladies and gentlemen it's "the young turks." it's go time. ♪ theme ♪ >> shock of shocks! in his budget address today giving the state budget to the legislators and people of new jersey governor chris christie has said yes to obamacare. they're not going to fight it. here is the governor. >> it's simple. we're putting people first which is why after considerable discussion and research, i have decided to participate in medicaid expansion under the affordable care act. we have an opportunity to insure that even grea

trayvon martin respe, what have learned. one year ago today, two strangers meet. ic neighborhood watch volunteer patrolling with a gun. martin just 17 was killed. their families, of course, see things very differently. >> we just want to have the trial and let the jury decide and whatever decision comes out of that, we'll accept that. we may not like it, but we'll accept it. >> if your brother had not gone out with a gun that night, you must surely have said trayvon martin would still be alive. >> there is no telling what would have happened. we don't know if we would have been commemorating shortly the one year anniversary that george was another statistic, another person killed at the hands of his attacker. you can only slam someone's head violently into the concrete so many times. you can only break someone's nose and sit on them for so long while they're screaming for help for over a minute before that person has to take some kind of action. >> even one year later, we the public remain polarized along racial and political lines on who was victim that night. tra

today would have been trayvon martin's 18th birthday. i know that today, just as george's attorney expressed in court, trayvon martin's family has a very special burden to carry. i want them to know that that's not absent from our mind now, and it never has been, regardless of any circumstances that surrounded that night, february 26th. i know today is an especially trying time for all of them. so i want to start out tonight by saying that i also want to start out right away by letting the world know and america know that disparaging the memory of trayvon martin is in any way, shape or form is not acceptable. it is unnecessary and doesn't contribute in a positive way to the outcome in this case for justice and our family won't stand for it. but as for how i feel about court specifically, obviously, i would support mark's arguments that he made in court. i agree with him wholeheartedly. i'm a little disappointed by what happened. >> just to clarify, mark o'meara is the attorney for your brother, just to clarify that. >> correct, yes. and

it was one year ago today that trayvon martin was shot to death in florida. got into a confrontation with george zimmerman who claims he was attacked and shot martin in self-defense. martin's family claims the unarmed teen was racially profiled. last night his parents told cnn's piers morgan how they plan to mark today's anniversary. >> we will attend a candlelight ceremony here in new york. we've already done something in miami. we've done a peace walk to let teenagers know that they have a right to walk in peace. we also did a benefit dinner to help our foundation so that we can try to do some of the things that we need to do so that we can make sure that no other parents have to go through what we have gone through in the last year. >> there are so many unanswered questions in this case. good morning, martin. >> reporter: yeah, this case, the furor in that case died down in the past year. but there is still a way that it polarizes people when you talk to them. they're very surprised it has been one year. but when you speak to many, they say they support ge

joining me tonight, trayvon martin attorney jasmine rand. th us this evening. >> thank you for having me. >> what are trayvon's parents asking lawmakers to do? >> trayvon's parents are asking lawmakers to reexamine the stand-your-ground law. what is happening now is these laws have been enacted all over the nation, and it's leading to vigilante behavior. as the stand-your-ground law stands now, it acts as a sword and a shield. it acts as a sword because it allows somebody to be an initial aggressor, and it acts as a shield because it allows them to claim themselves under the cloak of victimhood after they begin a confrontation. >> so should george zimmerman be protected by the stand-your-ground law in this case? >> absolutely not. george zimmerman was the initial aggressor. he found trayvon martin. he pursued him. trayvon martin tried to escape from george zimmerman. and the evidence has been very clear from the beginning, ed. trayvon martin had a pack of skittles and george zimmerman had a 9 millimeter. that's all the evidence we need in the

explicitly mention trayvon martin's youth. some calling him a 17-year-old. a teenager. a young man. ave formed opinions based on the younger photos of martin, publicized early in the case, calling martin a boy, a kid, a child. and many of the people writing notes of support to george zimmerman seemed to be reacting to what they saw playing out right here in the streets of sanford, florida. nearly a quarter of the people supporting zimmerman objected to race being an issue in this case. some blame the media. others blamed leaders of the protests. some went even further, to suggest a conspiracy at work. or that zimmerman was himself a victim of racism. a few made comments offering a possible glimpse into a racial divide, and racially motivated resentment. >> so david, has zimmerman read these letters? >> he has seen some of them, but not very many. the people collecting them have shown him some of the more positive ones, some of the more uplifting and encouraging notes that were in there. he has not had a good look at the hate mail. >> now, talk to me about the hate mail. what surprise

that triggers a national outcry. >> we are trayvon martin, we are trayvon martin!justice department announces its own investigation to martin's death and sanford police. tensions rise with the release of 911 recordings, in them, some use zimmerman use a racial slur. analysis by cnn is inconclusive. march 2 2nd. sanford police chief steps down and rick scott appoints angela curry to lead a special investigation. the next day, president obama speaks publicly about the case for the first time. >> if i had a son, he would look like trayvon. >> reporter: march 4th, a group call the new black panther party offers a $10,000 reward for zimmerman's "capture." trayvon martin rallies held across the country demanding zimmerman's arrest. april 11th, zimmerman charged with second degree murder and turns himself in. bond set at $150,000 and three days later, he walks out of jail in the middle night of, only to return six weeks later when a judge revokes his bond after prosecutors say zimmerman and his wife lied about being poor at his bond hearing, failing to mention hundreds of

today everyone was remembering trayvon martin who was killed one year ago today. l says we love and miss you, trayvon. you will never be forgotten. felicia says i am wearing my hoodie today. and ebony says i've lost a son myself to violence, so i can empathize with how horrible his parents are feeling today. coming up later in the show, we'll talk to trayvon's parents about how they're coping one year later. we want to hear your thoughts too. please head over to facebook and search "politicsnation" and like us to join the conversation that keeps going long after the show ends. with america's favorite so. bring out chicken broccoli alfredo. or best-ever meatloaf. go to campbellskitchen.com for recipes, plus a valuable coupon. campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. did you know not all fiber is the same? citrucel is different- it's the only fiber for regularity that won't cause excess gas. it's gentle and clinically proven to help restore and maintain regularity. look for citrucel today. >>> these cuts are wrong. they're not smart. they're not fair. they're a sel

. >>> the killing of trayvon martin sparked an outrage across the country and how people are planning on honoring his life... >> it is a place for people to get away from the city life but big changes are on the way. we will have more on why it is sparking controversy. . >>> welcome back to the ktvu channel 2 morning news. right now 4:51, people in australia are preparing for the worst as a cyclone is moving towards the coast. people are getting out of the area, winds up to 70 miles per hour are already hitting the area. >>> it comes after a fire last night at their facility. firefighters say it was a challenge to get the residents out of the home since many were bedridden or in wheelchairs. all five were treated for smoke inhalation. >>> it has been a year since trayvon martin was shot and killed by zimmerman. he faces second-degree murder charges but maintains he shot the teen in self-defense. he is expected to stand trial in june. >>> people plan to wear hoodies and demand justice for trayvon martin. they will be holding the vigil tonight. >>> the baby was found dead in a field nea

. >>> remembering trayvon martin and the case that captured the attention of the nation.ime tae should fit in a little time cup. new single serve cafe collections from maxwell house now available for use in the keurig k-cup brewer. always good to the last drop. >>> our coverage continues of this massive nor'easter bearing down on the northeast. new jersey activating the emergency operations center. of course, we're going to keep you up to speed. the latest active results of our storm tracking throughout the day on msnbc. >>> on to a case now that has sparked so much outrage. nearly a year ago on tuesday a judge denied george zimmerman's request to delay his trial in the shooting death of trayvon martin. a bittersweet day for his family. he would have turned 18. supporters stood outside the courthouse and sang happy birthday. tomorrow, reverend al sharpton will join trayvon's parents for a peace walk in miami. with me now from florida is sabrina fulton and benjamin crump, the lawyer. we know that wednesday was your son's 18 tht hth birthday, the day that everyone had to be

it was our contention that the police department had violated the rights of trayvon martin. it was never about zimmerman in the beginning. it was how can the police say, we're going to decide zimmerman was innocent. i think mr. o'mara and others would do themselves well to understand that had the police proceeded the way the prosecutor has now proceeded, this may have never been a national issue. >> and reverend, you know, speaking a year later, sanford said it's made a lot of changes and working to fix what they refer to as long-standing distrust of the black community of the police department. we saw the police department, fire the chief at the time. a year later, we still wait on this case to make the way through the justice system but as far as the community, do you see any improvement at least as far as even of dialogue here or is it too soon? >> i think we are seeing dialogue. i think there's been some moves forward but that's why i raised the fact that it was not groups like action jackson network and naacp that brought race in it. when you have them not admitting the

one year after florida teen, trayvon martin was gunned down, the case that stirred a nation. good morning. spring may be less than four weeks away. right now, a huge swath of the country is taking a one-two punch with white-out conditions making travel impossible. they are warning snow weary residents not to underestimate the storm. >> this has a potential to be more severe than the last one and we don't have the margins we had last time. the ditches are full of snow. you can't pull it off as quick or easy. this could be more treacherous to travel in. >> jay gray has the latest from wichita, kansas. >> the attack was at time, relentless. >> some folks have 12 to 13 inches of snow. lots of eights, nines and tens. six-foot drifts in the texas panhandle. >> reporter: the national guard was called in. more than two inches of snow an hour pushed by hurricane forsz winds. >> i'm going step outside and let you see what it's like so far. >> reporter: white out conditions they described as a crippling, historic blizzard. the storm counts oklahoma with more than a foot of snow in sever

. >> on to trayvon martin. >> yes, i'm angry, but i have more love for that family in my heart.happens today is a reflection on trayvon martin's life. you better keep that in life. we have national voices, reverend reverend sharpton is on tv. we're getting things done. >> what's the process of getting your listeners involved? they come to hear some music and relationships and you're talking about serious stuff. >> our ratings are the highest when things like that happen. >> really? >> yeah. we can be talk about the sexiest thing in the world, but when you have mothers and their children and real men and their sons and daughters, dude, you're going to tap into something that gets the emotions rising out of everyone when you talk about the children. >> now, another one of the projects right now is concerning missing children. >> yeah. >> talk to me about that. >> what can be more devastating than that? i think of my own daughter and the young men that i'm mentoring. imagine your child missing. it's hard to imagine. until it happens to you, and we have had the parents talk about it

the man who shot trayvon martin. we've spoken about this case. i'm aware you're restricted from talking about some of the details obviously with an impending trial coming. tell me this, sir, how much is this in the end going to be about stand your ground? because i'm led to believe there is a process called immunity where you can apply for the stand your ground law to be applied, as it is in florida, and if it's successful, there may not even be a trial? >> that's correct. 2005, the legislature changed a couple of things. first they said if you act reasonably and in self-defense, then you can have an immunity hearing. a hearing before a judge to determine if in fact you acted in self-defense, you should not stand trial. you shouldn't even be prosecuted and even shouldn't be arrested. that was one of the changes. the other change that it made -- and this is the one that causes a lot of confusion -- is they added a provision to the statute that said -- and it's known as the stand your ground statute. they say if you are in a situation where you leg

joining me tonight, trayvon martin attorney jasmine rand. smine, good to have you with us this evening. >> thank you for having me. >> what are trayvon's parents asking lawmakers to do? >> trayvon's parents are asking lawmakers to reexamine the stand-your-ground law. what is happening now is these laws have been enacted all over

trayvon martin would have turned 18 years old today had he not been shot and killed by the neighborhood activist under highly disputed circumstances. ♪ happy birthday to trayvon >> reporter: members of the trayvon martin foundation gathered at the courthouse with song and prayers. upstairs the hearing is underway. as has bent case in the past, attorneys on both sides blaming the other side for delays. the defense wants a delay of six months. and it wants more discovery. trayvon martin and witness number 8, the girlfriend who claims he was being followed. the defense wants their twitter and facebook accounts as well as how her interview was conducted. martha: a lot of water under the bridge already in this one. over the past year trayvon martin's parents have become very active in the gun debate. >> reporter: they will not be here today. the attorney for the family says today should be a day of celebration being it's his birthday. but it's not a day of celebration for the parent. the mother has been very active, testifying in tallahassee trying to repeal certain element of the stand your

. >> an update on the case of trayvon martin. we will tell you what a judge decided in the last hour in connection with the suspect george zimmerman. >> and offering dozens of acres of land to the fbi for a new headquarters. >> it is valentine's day. this d.c. court house was a very busy place. coming up on abc 7 news. >> beautiful weather after and i see star. old-- an icy start. >> the judge in the george zimmerman case has rejected a move to move the case. zimmerman is expected to say that he killed trayvon martin because he was afraid the teenager was going to kill him. the judge has set the date of the hearing for april 22. >> they plan to jointly owned by metro and a developer could be home to a new fbi headquarters. metro voted to allow the developer to resign the rights to prince georges county. that makes it easier for the county to offer up the land to the federal government for potential use by the fbi. >> couples who want to see if you were out in force today. a great number of weddings performed today. just ahead. >>

trayvon martin had a pack of skittles and george zimmerman had a 9 millimeter. that's all the evidence we need in the world. >> is trayvon's death part of the big national gun debate? >> trayvon martin death, i feel like the shot that we heard on february 26th, 2012 was a shot that was heard around the world. and it sparked the international debit on gun violence, but when we heard the shots in aurora, when we heard the shots in newtown, when we heard the shot that killed jordan davis and most recently the shot that killed hadiya pendleton, those are the shots that caught the attention of president barack obama, who recently introduced some executive and legislative changes that he wants to see before the congress. >> is it going to be hard to get a conviction? >> i don't think that it's going to be hard to get a conviction. as i said, we have two very critical pieces of evidence. we have an unarmed teenager and a man who had a gun. trayvon martin ended up dead. i think that's going to be very clear to the jury. >> how emotional do you think this is going to be?

one gunshot and the life of 17- year-old trayvon martin. >> it seems like we have been going to this a long time. >> his death and family were soon at the heart of the debate of race relations. it reached the heart of the white hot -- the white house. one year ago neighborhood watch volunteer george zimmerman said he killed the team in self- defense. he was not charged. his attorney -- >> he was allowed to do exactly what he did. >> a national outcry followed. >> for us to advocate, it means a great deal. >> zimmerman went into hiding. his last tv appearance was last summer on fox news. >> is there anything you would have done differently? >> a number of vigils planned across the country this evening. trayvon martin's family asking people to wear hoodies. >> we should be wearing trench coats. >> a nasty day. the heavy rain never developed around here. the flood watch was dropped. later tonight, it will get warmer. tomorrow will be a beautiful day. upper 50's. back to reality by the end of the week. looking live from the rooftop camera, that is looking across the roosevelt bridge. a g

of just over half a percent this year alone. >>> now our fourth story "outfront," remembering trayvon martineds of people are gathered in new york city to remember the 17-year-old one year after he was shot and killed by a florida neighborhood watchman, george zimmerman. trayvon's parents attended the vigil at union square and observed a moment of silence just a few moments ago in memory of their son. george zimmerman says he shot trayvon martin in self-defense and zimmerman remains in florida, where david mattingly is tonight with the latest. david, you are obviously in sanford where this tragic incident happened a year ago today. what's happening there? >> reporter: erin, what we saw happening here tonight was very similar to what we saw in new york, very similar to what might be happening in other parts across the country tonight. people gathering to remember trayvon martin and what that moment meant to them. and here of course, hitting home in so many ways, not just geographically but here, that case exposed very open raw sentiment within the african community here in this city, that the

their attorney said they were absolutely overwell manied with grief since this is the birthday of trayvon martin. he would have been 18 years old today. this morning before the court began a group of supporters did at least mark the occasion. >> happy birthday to you trayvon. happy birthday to trayvon ♪. >> where it is normally always a joyous celebration for sabrina to go out and get cake and ice cream for her boys even though they were growing up, she still, every birthday would get cake and ice cream for them. >> reporter: and the george zimmerman defense team is extremely close at this point of running out of funding. more than $300,000 over the past ten months that have poured in via supporters around the nation, all in donations. they have burned through that, including about $60,000 in living expenses for george zimmerman and his wife. mark o'mara, his attorney, saying today that he will likely, if more donations come in very, very soon, have to ask the state for assistance which would mean florida taxpayers would end up helping to fund or entirely fund the defense of george zimmerman. an

take a listen. >> my main message is to the parents of trayvon martin. if i had a son, he would look like trayvon and i think they are right to expect that all of us as americans are going to take this with the seriousness that it deserves and we're going to get to the bottom of exactly what happen gld. >> tracy, are you concerned that the attention has died down and moved on to other situations, like the newtown massacre? >> well, as parents of a slain child, we never move on and we'll do our best to keep it in the media and to keep people's attention on it because certainly, even though trayvon is gone, he would definitely not be forgotten. and just to -- every day news breaks and we don't expect trayvon to be the top story every day in the media. but he's definitely the top story in our life. and we took a vow to make sure that his honor and his legacy won't be painted tainted by thi situation. >> the trial begins on june 10th. mr. crump, when we look at how it's played out in the media so far, i want to get your take on the stand your grand law. sybri