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Huge Explosions Rock Damascus; U.S. Plans To Arm Syrian Rebels; Putin Lays Claim to NFL Bling; Report: G20 Delegates Were Tracked; NSA: More Secret Than The CIA; More NSA Revelations; Jury Selection on Zimmerman Case

Aired June 16, 2013 - 19:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the NEWSROOM everyone, I'm Don Lemon.

We're going to start this hour with startling new information uncovered by Edward Snowden that may now implicate another intelligence agency.

Snowden of course is the former intelligence worker whose revelations embroiled the National Security Agency in the worst scandal in its history. Well the second agency is accused of spying on the private communications of foreign dignitaries.

And just minutes away we're going to go live to CNN's Nic Robertson he has the latest on this new and potentially damning revelations. So stay tuned.

But first let's get you up to speed on some of the days other stories that are making headlines right now.

A lot of explosions are rocking the Syrian capital tonight -- two bombs at the large military airport near Damascus. CNN's Fred Pleitgen in there. The latest from Fred in just a moment as well.

To Colorado now where fire fighters are making huge headway against the most destructive wildfire in state history. Crews say the Black Forest fire burning near Colorado Springs is 65 percent contained. Yet the progress comes amid considerable lost; 473 structures have been destroyed and two people killed.

Scattered storms tonight and tomorrow could dump more misery across parts of southern Missouri. The city of Springfield was hit hard yesterday dumping as much as 10 inches of rain in two hours. Roads were flooded, many cars left stranded, luckily no injuries were reported.

Violence rocked Omaha, Nebraska yesterday. Four shootings in less than three hours left three people dead and two critically injured. The shootings happened on the same day Omaha kicked off the College World Series. Police say one of the three people killed was one of the shooters.

Overseas in Iraq, at least 11 people were killed and 70 others wounded in a series of bombings today. This is Basra. A car bomb exploded there and then four other cities south of Baghdad. Most of the attacks occurred in Shiite areas.

Loud explosions are rocking the Syrian capital tonight two bombs took a large military airport near the capital of Damascus. And according to a spokesman for the Free Syrian Army, it's not immediately clear who's behind the blasts. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen is in Damascus and saw one of the explosions from his balcony.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It still feels like and sounds like there is some sort of fighting going on there. It's unclear whether it's the Syrian military that's using sort of semi-heavy weapons out there. It seems like there might be mortars or artillery or whether or not the rebels might have launched some sort of offensive on that military base. Certainly the reports that we're getting, is that explosion came from an attacks on the checkpoint near that military base or on the military base itself.

And you're right. I was standing on the balcony of the hotel that we're in here and all of a sudden, there was a white flash coming from that area. And then there's a gigantic explosion with a lot of fire and big plume of smoke and then that's when all this kicked off. But still -- it's become a little bit less than it was before.

We're still trying to get to the bottom of exactly what happened. There are sort of differing accounts. But certainly the area around that military base, (inaudible) military airport, is one that is of high security. There's a lot of checkpoints out there the road that leads past that base is very, very important to the Syrian government and is one that they try to control very tightly. So you'll find lots -- the united Islam where they know that it would be a target that the rebels would want to hit.

LEMON: So the Obama administration has suggested giving weapons to some Syrian rebels in retaliation for Syrian forces allegedly using chemical weapons. Our President has not detailed the increased military support but officials say the plan includes small arms, ammunitions and possibly anti-tank weapons.

How are people in Syria reacting? Well earlier our Frederik Pleitgen described the feelings and viewpoints within Syria about nations weighing in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: The mood here in Damascus is still one of defiance. Pro government supporters that we've been speaking to say that they are still standing by the government that if America wants to get involved in this war, let them come. But nevertheless of course they are very concerned and the government itself is concerned as well about the possible scale and scope of American intervention and they're waiting to see what moves the U.S. takes next.

Now one of the things that is bolstering the government here in Damascus is the fact that the Russians continue to say they are not convinced by the evidence of possible chemical weapons use on the battlefield and the Russians have said that any sort of weapons deliveries to the rebels would make a peace process very difficult. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Damascus.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right Fred, thank you very much.

Meantime, British Prime Minister David Cameron and Russia's President Vladimir Putin held a joint news conference on Syria today in London. They met ahead of tomorrow's G8 summit. Cameron and Putin have two totally different views on what's happening in Syria. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I believe that Assad is responsible for tearing his country apart. And that to end Syria's nightmare he has to go. The new evidence this week of how the regime is gassing its people makes that clearer than ever.

PRES. VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIA (through translator): The blood is on hands of both party or both of the parties. And there's always a question, who is to be blamed for that. Who's to blame? I believe you will not deny the fact that one hardly should back those who kills their enemies and eat their organs and all that is filmed and shot. Do you want to support these people? Do you want to supply arms to these people?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well Russia and Syria have a very strong alliance. Russia has been one of the leading weapons suppliers for President Assad's government.

LEMON: President Obama is heading to North Ireland for the G8 summit. The U.K. is hosting leaders from eight countries for the two-day annual summit. It's set to focus on economic matters like corporate taxes and tax evasions. But that agenda could be overshadowed by free trade talks and the civil war in Syria.

Russia's President says he is no thief. Vladimir Putin is hitting back at accusations that he swiped a Super Bowl ring, that's right, a Super Bowl ring belonging to the New England Patriots owner, Robert Kraft. The story is so bizarre that we couldn't make it up.

CNN's Alina Cho has the very latest now on the he said/he said showdown.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It was the theft heard round the world or was it? The real story is still a mystery. Did Russian President Vladimir Putin steal a Super Bowl ring from New England Patriots owner, Robert Kraft? Kraft says yes.

ROBERT KRAFT, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS OWNER: I'm tremendously humbled by this great honor. CHO: This is Kraft at an event in New York last week accepting the Carnegie Hall Medal of Excellence and bringing up a story which first surfaced in 2005. That's when Kraft met with Putin in St. Petersburg. Kraft says he showed Putin his shiny new $25,000 diamond encrusted Super Bowl ring engraved with his name on it when Putin said, according to Kraft at the gala. Quote, "He goes 'I can kill someone with this ring'. I put my hand out and he put it in his pocket and three KGB guys got around him and walked out."

So Putin swiped it? Not according to one aide who said he was a witness. In a statement to CNN, Putin's spokesman said, "I was there when it happened. So what Mr. Kraft is saying now is weird. I was standing 20 centimeters away from him and Mr. Putin and saw and heard how Mr. Kraft gave this ring as a gift."

According to the "New York Post" which first broke the story Kraft said that White House officials actually urged him to say it was a gift in the interest of U.S.-Soviet relations. And in a statement back then, Kraft said the same. A spokesman said the Kraft Group now adds "It's a humorous anecdotal story that Robert retells for laughs. He loves that his ring is at the Kremlin and as he stated back in 2005, he continues to have great respect for Russia and the leadership of President Putin." Which still doesn't answer the lingering question of whether the ring was a gift or a lift.

2005 was the Bush administration. And on Sunday, we caught up with former Vice President Dick Cheney.

DICK CHENEY, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't know anything about it. I just heard a brief blurb on it this morning.

CHO (on camera): As for the ring it is now on display at the Kremlin library. And while Kraft continues to dodge the question of which version of his story is true, was the ring a gift or did Putin take it, Putin held a news conference with U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron and while there were many questions about Syria, not a single one about the Super Bowl ring.

So the mystery continues.

Alina Cho, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right, Alina. Thank you very much.

The former intelligence worker who sparked that huge NSA scandal has now implicated another intelligence agency. We're going to go live to Hong Kong for the latest next.

And it is Father's Day and one man has written a "New York Times" article claiming that pot makes him a better dad. We're going to clear the smoke on this one.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: Ok. So let's talk about this Snowden guy and all this NSA stuff. Nobody knows -- well very few people knows -- know where he is, he does and probably very a handful of others. He could be in Hong Kong, he could be anywhere but most Americans have a strong opinion about what should happen to him.

Take a look at this. Snowden the face behind the leak, he is the one who took secret information he learned as a federal employee -- secrets about an under the radar government surveillance program and went to the media fully aware of the consequences.

Well here's a strong opinion part. "Time" magazine took a poll and found more than half of Americans believe that Snowden did the right thing, that's 54 percent and then 28 percent of people polled don't think he should be prosecuted at all.

As for the White House, though and what people think there the chief of staff says President Obama will speak on the issue in the coming days, nothing more specific than that.

So let's go back for a moment to the man who started this entire debate and discussion about government surveillance, personal privacy and national security, Edward Snowden of course.

We have new details this evening emerging right now and let me be clear this is being published only -- only by the U.K.'s "Guardian" newspaper. It is reporting that documents released by Edward Snowden showed that dignitaries and diplomats who attended a G-20 summit in London a few years ago were being secretly monitored.

Nic Robertson is our senior international correspondent he is in Hong Kong. So Nic it is a very serious revelation, I would imagine. But I would think that most people might not find this out of the ordinary. So what is the big revelation in all of this? What's the take away here?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think there are going to be several takeaways. One is the timing -- it seems to be timed to embarrass the British government. The G8 summit is getting underway right now. So it couldn't come at a worst time, absolutely couldn't.

And the other revelation will be some of the specific targeting, setting up a fake Internet cafe to trick delegates of this summit to use their computers so e-mail accounts can be hacked, so that their keystrokes can be learned on a computers, Blackberry hack. A bank of 45 people to monitor phone calls in real time of these delegates and this information to be fed to British ministers in real time so that they can make real time decisions during this summit about -- about how they deal with it and get the outcome they want.

But perhaps very embarrassing and again, this go -- this is one is going to be the take away revelations, that very careful monitoring of the Russian President and Dmitry Medvedev to the point of sort of knowing that the Russians have changed the way that they communicate. They were listening in on his phone conversations, targeting the Turkish finance minister, targeting the South Africa delegation.

So, perhaps no surprise but the details are going to be some of the takeaways here as well -- Don.

LEMON: Nic, another summit is starting -- the G-8 summit. Is this revelation going to change the flavor of that summit, do you think?

ROBERTSON: It's going to certainly sour it. And of course, we can expect these leaders to take it in their stride and not to get out front and comment on it. But you know, Ed Snowden started out, in all of this, with his stated intent of allowing the American people to realize how much monitoring there was of their phone calls and their Internet activity. He has moved on from that now.

This is, it seems, yes, a revelation about information that he has seen, that he can release to the world. But it's not about people, it's not about a moral debate here or debate over cyber -- people's own cyber security. This is now embarrassing government. This seems to have taken a completely different turn here -- Don.

LEMON: All right, Nic Robertson. Thank you. We appreciate that.

Want to get back now to this country, the U.S. government agency that once employed Edward Snowden is one of those mysterious groups that not many people know about, the NSA. It has a nickname inside the beltway, "No Such Agency". That means the less you know about what goes on there, the more they like it. Here's CNN's Chris Lawrence.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The NSA's basic mission is to collect and analyze electronic information. But who they are and how they do it is one of the country's biggest mysteries.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE (voice-over): CIA spies have their secrets. So do the men in Special Ops. But they can't compare to the National Security Agency.

JAMES BAMFORD, AUTHOR, "THE SHADOW AGENCY": The NSA is the most secretive agency in the country. It's far more secret than the CIA.

LAWRENCE: The NSA is headquartered in a highly secure section of Ft. Meade Army base in Maryland. And it's building a new surveillance center in the middle of a Utah desert. There, spread out over a million square feet of cables and computers, the NSA will capture everything from e-mails to Internet searches, phone calls and personal data.

BAMFORD: It's designed to hold an enormous amount of communications.

LAWRENCE: Author James Bamford estimates the center will be able to store enough data to equal 500 quintillion pages. For the record, that's a five with 20 zeros behind it.

And if you printed those pages, stacked them one on top of the other, it would be long enough to stretch all the way to the moon and back 66 million times.

A former official who spoke on background to CNN described the NSA as incredibly aggressive, but he says, "I can't emphasize how fanatical they are about Americans' privacy." There's a sign in the center of a room that reads "What constitutes a U.S. person?" And then lists a dozen points to consider.

GEN. KEITH ALEXANDER, DIRECTOR, NSA: I think it's absolutely important for people to understand we're not asking for content, we're asking for information about threats.

LAWRENCE: The NSA's 35,000 employees are an even mix of military and civilians. The former official says the troops are younger and give the agency its energy. The civilians, mostly mathematicians, provide, quote, "adult supervision" and tend to be more socially introverted.

The former official says an inside joke at NSA goes something like "How do you spot an extrovert at NSA? When he's talking to you, he looks down at your shoes instead of his own."

(on camera): The former official says it's not the CIA, where they're recruiting agents in coffee shops all over the world. He says the NSA is set up to be secretive. Its people rarely talk. They don't write books. And they have some protection that even other intelligence organizations don't have.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Chris Lawrence in Washington. Thank you, Chris.

Edward Snowden, the man who leaked secrets about the NSA's domestic surveillance programs once worked as a contractor for the agency.

Ok. So can pot make you a better parent? One dad says, yes, it does. We'll explain and he'll explain himself next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Ok. So there is this father who sparked a lot of talk over the use of medical marijuana. Of course, you know, it's Father's Day right now.

His name is Mark Wolfe. He's a father of three and a card-carrying medical cannabis patient. He wrote an op-ed piece in the "New York Times" hailing the benefits of marijuana to treat his pain. His piece elicited heavy criticism from several people including Jennifer Grellman.

Both Mark and Jennifer are joining us from San Francisco to talk about this. They're sitting next to each other peacefully. So maybe because there's no alcohol involved.

MARK WOLFE, CARD CARRYING MEDICAL CANNABIS PATIENT: Indeed.

JENNIFER GRELLMAN, ADOLESCENT AND FAMILY PSYCHOTHERAPIST: Yes, we are. LEMON: Also here, to add her thoughts on the topic is Dr. Devi, who is in New York. So welcome to everyone. Mark, why did you write -- why do you think it makes you a better parent?

WOLFE: Let's be clear. I don't think it necessarily makes me a better parent. For the record, I actually do not get high around my kids as a matter of practice at all. What I was trying to accomplish with that piece with the "New York Times" was to relate with some humor which hopefully came across to people the experience I had of what happened when I would come home, whereas I used to have a cocktail upon coming home and kind of check out and withdraw from my children. After I received this prescription for my back, I found myself suddenly much more present and enjoying the company of my children far more than I did when I was drinking.

And that triggered a whole bunch of thoughts in me, for example, what is alcohol doing to families? What about the people that come home and drink wine in front of their children and thereby are sending a very strong message to their kids that alcohol is ok because mommy and daddy do it? While those same people are judging or criticizing other parents who happen to be choosing cannabis or taking it with a doctor's prescription.

I'm just thinking that there's a big disconnect here because alcohol, I think hopefully we can all agree, is far more toxic, far more addictive, far more likely to generate violence, child abuse, family dysfunction than cannabis. So my question is why is cannabis being singled out?

LEMON: Jennifer.

WOLFE: Jump in.

LEMON: Jennifer, you don't seem to agree with that.

GRELLMAN: Frankly, parents that use marijuana have a much more strongly likelihood of having children that use marijuana at an earlier age. This is because of genetic predisposition as well as problems with the dependence and using marijuana in general what happens with children watching their parents model the behavior.

This might not be a problem. But what is going on with the adolescent brain when a child is using marijuana. Well frankly, the brain is much more dangerous for an adolescent to use marijuana than for an adult. Let's think about those kids for a minute and the neurological damage that actually goes on in the brain which means same --

LEMON: Can't the same be said about alcohol?

GRELLMAN: Certainly, it can. But I felt very strongly about responding to the cannabis point.

LEMON: Right.

GRELLMAN: And I think it's important not to segue away from it because also we're seeing drops in IQ from marijuana and changes in the hippocampus in those fibers, the density of the fibers that connected the hippocampus -- a 90 percent drop. That's huge.

So I guess my point is whether it's alcohol, whether it's marijuana, parents play a very important role. We work very hard in our nonprofit Being Adept to educate parents and kids about the dangers of using.

LEMON: Dr. Devi, you heard them both. She said it dropped an IQ. He says he's far more present. And the argument that she's making about it -- and I'm playing devil's advocate -- the argument she's making about marijuana, can't the same argument be made about alcohol? If you have a parent who uses alcohol, chances are you will use alcohol as a child. It's the same argument.

DR. DEVI NAMPIAPARAMPIL, NYU SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Well that might be true. But I think we're talking about two separate issues. We're really talking medical marijuana, whether it's safe or effective for people's health. That's a different issue than the legalization of marijuana for recreational use or social use which it sounds like that's more what Mr. Wolfe is using it for.

Some people look at if we approve marijuana for medical use that we're actually getting a victory on the path towards legalization. I personally am in favor of decriminalization of marijuana. I think the penalties are too harsh. But I think that's very different than saying that you're going to prescribe it at a specific dose or frequency or time period for people who have pain or other issues.

LEMON: I have to say, sitting here on television having this argument, it's like, quite honestly we don't even pitch stories about marijuana anymore. It feels like same sex marriage. It feels like you're having this argument in 1958, quite honestly. The train has left the station, when it comes to this.

And it feels like a lot of the arguments that people use about marijuana are the same arguments that were used about alcohol and it's just feels really old. Am I wrong with that -- in my assessment of this?

NAMPIAPARAMPIL: Well, like I said, I'm in favor of decriminalization, but I do think that it's different in this issue. If we look at --

LEMON: If you have something that is not regulated and there aren't enough studies, how can you make that judgment then?

NAMPIAPARAMPIL: That's the thing. I actually think we should do the studies. We should look at the states where it's already legal and maybe look at the patients who are taking it and maybe have a registry or a database and really conduct those studies and see who it actually helps because the effect on people who have cancer-related pain for example may be very different than the majority of people who have low back pain or headaches.

LEMON: And listen, I think that, you know, Mark, you bring up a very good point. No one is saying that you should be using alcohol or using marijuana around your kids. But I also hear mothers and a lot of people saying, my gosh, I have the kids today, this is going to be a three glass of wine, you know, day. I think that is just as harmful and just as wrong as Mark using, if he were to use marijuana around his kids.

GRELLMAN: Could I make a comment on this one?

LEMON: Yes. Go ahead.

(CROSSTALK)

GRELLMAN: The power of parents and their modeling, I think you're absolutely right. Whether you're modeling, you know, stress control through having a drink, through any substances, that's in turn what your kid is going to pick up on. So when we really try to tell kids, get involved in something you love to do -- meditate, yoga, exercise, all of these things to make us healthier -- if a parent is modeling using any substance, it's going to affect that child and how early their use begins and how they use it for stress control.

WOLFE: Unfortunately, I couldn't agree more so I don't know where the controversy is. But I will say that I think that -- can I continue?

LEMON: We're going to lose you guys because we're running out of satellite time. That's what I'm being told.

I would love to talk more but, you know what, we have to do it. Thank you very much Mark. Thank you Jennifer. And thank you Dr. Devi.

WOLFE: All right. Thank you.

GRELLMAN: Thank you so much.

NAMPIAPARAMPIL: Thank you.

LEMON: All right. To be continued.

He's accused of killing 19 people while heading up the British -- excuse me -- the Irish mob in Boston. Whitey Bulger -- already an incredible trial going on. Next, we'll hear from a former mobster who used to work with Bulger. You'll want to hear this so stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Half past the hour. A look at the headlines right now here on CNN.

It's a startling revelation and more secrets possibly leaked by the former NSA employee Edward Snowden. Britain's "Guardian" newspaper today said they have seen papers handed over by Snowden that says British intelligence agents listen to phone calls and read e-mails sent by world leaders during a G20 Summit for years.

Loud explosions are rocking the Syrian capital tonight. Two bombs struck a large military airport near Damascus. And according to the spokesman for the Free Syrian Army, the first explosion was at a checkpoint near the main door of the airport and the second was near an exterior wall. Witnesses say many ambulances took away the wounded. It's not immediately clear who is behind the blast.

Colorado firefighters believe they have turned the corner in battling the devastating Black Forest Fire. Fire crews now saying the blaze is 65 percent contained and only five days of five and has become the most destructive in Colorado history, destroying 473 structures and killing two people.

The Whitey Bulger murder trial. It sounds like a mobster movie, right. Bulger allegedly ran an Irish Boston gang linked to 19 murders and extorting drug dealers and bookies and loan sharks to pay rent or tribute to the gang. Well, Jack Nicholson played the character loosely based on Bulger in the 2006 movie "The Departed." Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I was your age, they would say we could become cops or criminals. Today, what I'm saying is this. When you're facing a loaded gun, what's the difference?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Earlier, I spoke with ex-mobster John "Red" Shea who used to work for Bulger. He said Bulger is the worst kind of rat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN "RED" SHEA, FORMER MOBSTER: It's his reputation but his ego, too. He has a large ego. And I'm sure he's not happy now that he's facing charges and being brought to justice and being known that he's a full- fledged informant for over 30 years. This guy started informing back in the days prior to him going to Alcatraz. He ratted on guys that he robbed banks with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, tomorrow, a self-described hit man is set to testify against Bulger in Boston. Stay tuned.

Tomorrow begins week two in the George Zimmerman murder trial, the neighborhood watch volunteer charged with second degree murder for killing Florida teen Trayvon Martin. 29 potential jurors who were individually questioned last week will likely be among the group called down to create the jury that decides Zimmerman's fate.

The judge has also decided that the six jurors and four alternates that are ultimately chosen will be sequestered. Let's bring in now criminal defense attorney Mark Nejame. He joins me from Orlando. Thank you, Mark. Good to see you.

Let's talk about the piece that you wrote for CNN.com that says jury selection is all about race. Why do you say that?

MARK NEJAME, CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYER: Well, I think it's significantly about race. I think that the race issue is that elephant sitting in the room that everybody knows is there but many have attempted to avoid. The fact is that because Zimmerman was initially not arrested it took some strength within the African-American community to bring this to light.

And once it did and once there were protests and petitions and media covering this, then in fact he ended up getting arrested because there was an assignment by the governor to a special prosecutor. I think this case is in large part for those who recognize the many injustices to the African-American community over the years, I think this case is somewhat symbolic.

I think the challenges though as facts are unfolding more and more, it may not be what many people thought it was at the beginning but many people attached to the issue very simply that this is symbolic about black teens being killed in America and police inaction from time-to- time. I'm not saying that there was or there wasn't in this particular case, that's a whole other discussion. But I think that the symbolism is there and it grew and mushroomed and now we're finding ourselves with this case and not necessarily the best set of facts though for a prosecution but nevertheless one that's proceeding.

LEMON: So Mark, I heard Howie Kurtz on his show, "Reliable Sources" say that if it hadn't been for, you know, the racial aspect of this, if it were two white people or two black people involved in this that it wouldn't be getting national attention. I've heard other people say that as well. Do you think that's true? Do believe that?

NEJAME: I do. I think that if you were to take any other case that happens on a daily basis throughout America, a death where there's two African-Americans or death where there's two whites, I think the reality is we don't ever hear about it. I can't think of one national story that's ever come to the public attention like this where it's been a same race situation.

Because of the fact that you have a Hispanic or white Hispanic, however one would classify Mr. Zimmerman and then you have Trayvon Martin, who's African-American, I think without question, particularly in Sanford, where there's history. I will tell you that I think that the police chief, Chief Lee, who resigned over this, I think that he was a very good man. But I think that the issue becomes some of the underlings and other people, did they give it the time and attention that it deserved and or did they simply say, "Oh, well, another black being shot" or did they look at the facts and say, "Look, we have one person who is deceased and a person who is talking with Zimmerman has given us a plausible explanation, we don't have any probable cause to arrest." So none of this is simple. I hate to sound cliche but it's not black or white.

LEMON: Yes. It's hard to believe - I think some people find it hard to believe that, you know, some of the jurors said they knew little about this case. I mean, is that believable to you? Most people you speak to on the street, Americans say, "Yes, I heard something about the case."

NEJAME: Yes. Most of the jurors, the potential jurors that have been spoken with, have indicated they have heard something. Some of them are almost completely oblivious to any of the facts. But I've been impressed by the intelligence of the jurors, you know, those who follow the news and watch crime stories and court stories and stay current with current affairs, we can considered to be somewhat unbelievable but there's a large segment of the population who just simply don't like to watch the blood and the gore and the crime that goes on and they simply tune themselves out to it and don't turn on TVs, one juror didn't even have a TV, if I remember correctly.

So, you know, it's strange to those of us who follow this and do this regularly. But there are many who don't simply follow it at all and they are intelligent in other ways. I'll tell you, again, to a jury, faster than most predicted. We've already gone through the first group of 100 and now we're on the second group of 100. I think we we're going to have a jury pretty much for the second round, actually the third round which will be probably by the end of Tuesday. I think we're going to have the 40 that they're going to go through and asking general questions to the (INAUDIBLE) at that point.

LEMON: Well, for those who haven't been paying attention, there will be a lot more paying attention to this as it unfolds. Thank you, Mark Nejame, we appreciate you.

NEJAME: My pleasure.

LEMON: Police ad protesters clashing in cities across Turkey. We got the latest and some video, you'll only see here on CNN. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Tensions between police and anti-government protesters don't seem to be dying down in Turkey. An i-reporter captured this video of protests in Istanbul.

Plus, a funeral procession turned into all-out chaos in Ankara. Thousands of supporters gathered to honor a protester killed two weeks ago. Police said they warned the supporters not to gather but they did anyway and Ian Lee shows us how that brought out the riot police.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): As you can see now, the police are engaging the protesters. They've warned them before that they would if they didn't clear out. Now, we have the police making good on a promise. We have multiple water cannons coming through. We have two over here and then one behind me the police are trying to use the water cannons to move them out.

Other riot police with the tear gas. Police are now firing tear gas toward the protesters. This is one of the first times we've actually seen the riot police actually engage the protesters. You can hear the protesters in the surrounding area now boo'ing the police. This is definitely an escalation of what we've seen earlier. Prime Minister Erdogan making good on his threat.

Water cannons over here, tear gas over there, protesters here are very serious about their message. It doesn't look like they're going to go home any time soon.

Ian Lee, CNN, Ankara, Turkey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right. Ian, thank you very much.

For many, a Pope's blessing is very special and cherished even. Some folks took their most cherished possessions for a special pope blessing next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: So something you don't see very often at the Vatican. Leather. Tens of thousands of Harley Davidson motorcycle owners from around the world descended on Rome for a four-day celebration of the 110th anniversary of the American manufacturer. Hundreds of bikes parked along the road leading to St. Peter's Square while the pontiff recited prayers. Harley Davidson Company gave Pope Francis two of its classic motorcycles to mark the brand's anniversary. Not sure though if he will wear the trademark leather vest. Very cool.

"Man of Steel" showing it's got the strength to top the box office this weekend. The latest Superman movie took in $125 million making it the best June opening of all time. It beat "Toy Story 3" which took in $110 million in June of 2010. "This is the End" was second at the box office, followed by "Now You See Me," "Fast and Furious" and "The Purge."

Have you seen "The Man of Steel" promotion? It's everywhere. All over the subway, all over the train stations, all over the street, video monitors. Did well though.

Coming up, life after "The Office," actor Rain Wilson tells me how he's spending his time now that his hit show is over.

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LEMON: Recognize this guy? That's Rainn Wilson. You know him from movies like "Juno," "Transformers" and most notably as the ego-maniac from NBC's "The Office." But unlike his character Rainn Wilson is committed to helping others when he's not acting or producing. You can find him in Haiti or other countries around the world promoting the Mona Foundation, an organization that works to support educational initiatives and improve the status of women and children in developing countries.

He joins us now from Los Angeles. Rainn, thank you for joining us.

RAINN WILSON, ACTOR: Thanks for having me, Don. How are you doing?

LEMON: I'm doing very well. It's hard to imagine being told that you can't read or being barred from learning how to write. But that's actually a reality in many countries around the world, especially for girls.

WILSON: That's true. You know, the United Nations recently did a study and they found that the most important population for education worldwide if you are going to target anyone for education, it's teen and preteen girls. LEMON: And you see it, Rainn. You see it when oftentimes, when someone hands you something. Like when people win a whole lot of money in the lottery, it doesn't stick. But if someone hands you an opportunity, then that tends to be long lasting. You tend to learn from that.

WILSON: Absolutely. It's teach a man how to fish.

LEMON: Right.

WILSON: And that's - we've seen that happen so many times. I mean, my wife and I go down to Haiti a lot. We do work with the Mona schools down there. We also teach various arts and leadership classes at some other non-profits down there. Sean Penn's charity which is really fantastic, the stuff he's doing. And another place called Center for the Arts Port-au-Prince. We do some work there. And you see how education, empowerment, leadership skills, it spreads out into the community. Like it spreads out - girls will take what they have learned in school, and they'll go back to their village or their hut or community or cul-de-sac and they'll spread that knowledge.

They'll teach it to their mom and to their aunt and to their cousin and their younger sisters. But I truly believe that the key to the success of transforming a culture or upraising a culture is - lies through the education of its women and girls.

LEMON: Thank you very much, Rainn Wilson. And to learn more about Rainn's foundation visit, www.monafoundation.org. Monafoundation.org.

And tonight, make sure you watch "Girl Rising." It's at 9:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

It's the last day of Bonnaroo. Couldn't make the star studded event? We've got you covered.

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WEIRD AL YANKOVIC, ACTOR: Hi, Don. Coming up a little later today, Bonnaroo. Woo!

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LEMON: The celebrities themselves will fill you in on what you missed.

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LEMON: I wanted to go but for those of you like me that couldn't go, producer Jason Morris and photographers Jerry Appleman (ph) and West Little bring us Bonnaroo.

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WEIRD AL YANKOVIC, PERFORMER: Hey, bonnaroo! Tennessee, baby.

90,000 people. All in desperate need of a shower, have come here in the middle of stinking nowhere to watch some of the greatest musical acts in the world. This is Bonnaroo! ANDY LANGER, "ESQUIRE" MAGAZINE/"TEXAS MONTHLY": People come out, live in some pretty crazy conditions. It is impossible to ignore here that for a couple of days, people give up the comforts of life, of real life, just sort of immerse themselves in this fairy tale that exists only in this little piece of Tennessee on a farm for a couple of days way into the night.

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JOHN OATES, SUPERJAM MUSICAL DIRECTOR: Bonnaroo has a great tradition of super jams.

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OATES: Of all of the different styles of music, I think it's been one of the hallmarks of the festival.

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JACK JOHNSON, BONNAROO HEADLINER: As far as all the music festivals in the world, this is my favorite one. It feels like art. Just as long as people really believe in what they are doing up on the stage, I think that's the kind of music you find here.

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ED HELMS, "THE OFFICE"/"THE HANGOVER": It's a pretty cool place. Obviously, we've got a ferris wheel. This is us right here. You are sitting - you're that little light right there.

It's absolutely bananas. It is a nonstop party, the likes of which the world has never known. And the caliber of artists they bring here from every genre is awesome.

YANKOVIC: I'll see you next year.

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LEMON: There you go. There is Bonnaroo.

I'm Don Lemon at the Time-Warner Center in New York. Have a good night.