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NEW DAY

Mother of Teen Imprisoned for Facebook Comment Speaks Out; Royal Baby Watch: What Will the Baby Look Like?; Dennis Rodman for a Nobel Peace Prize?; George Zimmerman Trial Continues

Aired July 3, 2013 - 08:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to NEW DAY, everyone. It is Wednesday, July 3rd. Just about 8:30 in the East. I'm Kate Bolduan.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Chris Cuomo joined us always by our news anchor, Michaela Pereira. And you've got the five things you need to know.

PEREIRA: Yes. We reduce a down to a low boil phrase here ready as you go out the door. Let's take a look.

First up right now, a hearing on the admissibility of evidence in the George Zimmerman trial. Among the issues, whether to include Zimmerman's interest in criminal justice and his rejected application to become a cop.

Time could be running out for Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi. The military has given Morsi until 11 o'clock eastern time to announce the plan of share power, a proposal Moris has rejected.

A new (INAUDIBLE) in the search for NSA leaker, Edward Snowden. The Bolivian president's plane was forced to land in Austria after rumors swirled that Snowden was onboard. It turns out he was not.

Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are the two favorites as the man's quarterfinals get underway at Wimbledon for that first time. Since 1926, neither the men's nor the women's defending champs are left.

Champion eaters, Joey Chestnut and Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas weigh in today for Nathan's Fourth of July hot dog eating contest in Coney Island. This will mark Michael Bloomberg's final way in as New York City mayor.

You know, we're always updating the five things to know so you always will know them. So go to newdayCNN.com.

CUOMO: No Kobayashi this year.

PEREIRA: I know, which is a shock, because he's, you know -

BOLDUAN: I thought there was a little fight over that.

CUOMO: Oh, he'd be a big deal. BOLDUAN: Yes, he is a big deal.

CUOMO: Skinny guy, eat a lot of hot dogs.

PEREIRA: I wonder where he puts it all.

BOLDUAN: I know, you can only wish. I know. That's what I'm saying. There's controversy. Where do you put the hot dogs.

All right, a story we've been following for you and we want to bring you an update on a glimmer of hope for a Texas teen jailed for something he wrote on Facebook. Justin Carter, you see a picture of him there, his attorneys tell CNN that a July 16th bond hearing has been set.

We introduced you to the 19-year-old Tuesday. He is behind bars since February after he posted about shooting up a school. He says it was just a joke, a distasteful joke. But prosecutors are calling it a terroristic threat. We're going to talk to his mother in just a moment.

But, first, let's get to CNN's Miguel Marquez with more on this story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMES CARTER, FATHER: I just want my kid back. He's my best friend. And I miss him so much.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jack Carter devastated his teenaged son behind bars for months facing up to ten years in prison.

JAMES CARTER: I just want to tell Justin that we love him and that everybody's here for him and that everything's going to be OK. We're going to -- this is going to be righted.

MARQUEZ: Carter is now getting help, a new legal team taking the case for free. We spoke to attorney Donald Flanary just after meeting his client for the first time.

DONALD FLANARY, ATTORNEY: He's distraught. He's confused. He's sad. You know, this is somebody who has never been to jail before.

MARQUEZ: Justin Carter arrested in February, charged with making a terroristic threat, a felony. The alleged threat says his father came after Justin played the online "League of Legends."

In a post-game Facebook conversation, the person he was chatting with called him F'd up in the head. Carter responded, "I'm F'd up in the head all right I think I'm going to shoot up a kindergarten and watch the blood of the innocent rain down and eat the beating heart of one of them."?

FLANARY: They need to look at the context of what's put online, if they would have, I think they would have seen that it was sarcastic.

MARQUEZ: Jack Carter says Justin was offered a plea deal that would have put him in prison for eight years.

Real consequences for comments made in the virtual world.

Miguel Marquez, CNN, New Braunfels, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: All right, Miguel, thank you so much.

I want to speak more on this with Justin Carter's mother, Jennifer Carter, who's joining us from Orlando, Florida, this morning. Jennifer, I know this is a very, very difficult time for you and your family. So first off, thank you for taking the time off to speak with me this morning.

JENNIFER CARTER, JUSTIN CARTER'S MOM: Thank you for having me, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Now, tell me, what was the last that you heard from your son? What did he tell you?

JENNIFER CARTER: The last time I heard from my son was the Sunday night before his last hearing and he was very depressed and feeling hopeless. The attorney that he had at the time had told him that nothing mattered that was being done on his behalf by his father and I, that he was going to serve time in prison and he needed to adjust to that reality. So, he was very upset and hopeless.

BOLDUAN: And it must be -- you must feel that same sense of hopelessness as well. Justin's father told us that Justin's really not handling jail very well.

JENNIFER CARTER: No, my -- you know, I think most people could understand that if you're not familiar with jail or any of that kind of world, that being thrown into it would be shocking and difficult to adjust to. And so that's where he's at right now. He just doesn't know how to get along in that world and so it's been rough on him. It's been hard.

BOLDUAN: So what has your son told you about this Facebook posting? Clearly, I'm sure something that he very much regrets now. But has he explained to you, Jennifer, why he would post, why he would say something like that?

JENNIFER CARTER: Well, the thing to understand is that my son does have a dark sense of humor, but I think a lot of people, a lot of teenagers especially, can have that kind of sense of humor. He was just -- he thought being sarcastic after someone had said he was crazy in the head and he was comparing himself to someone who was actually crazy. In a sarcastic tone, he thought. Yes, he does regret saying it now. But he has consistently stood by the fact that he was just joking. He had no intent of harming anyone.

BOLDUAN: Did you ever think, even if it was in the poorest taste of a joke, that your son would be in jail still?

JENNIFER CARTER: No. When this first happened, we were very confident that once he was investigated and there wasn't any other evidence found that he had any kind of plan or that he intended to do anything serious, that he would be released. And it's only when it's continued to go on and on and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight that we started the petition on Change.org and then started talking to people that wanted to write stories about him.

BOLDUAN: Now, the prosecutors didn't have a comment when we reached out to them regarding Justin's situation. But have you gotten any explanation for just this? I mean, people hear the story and they say, I could be put in jail for telling a joke online even if it is not even close to being remotely funny. Have they given you any explanation why, if it really is a joke, why he is still in jail?

JENNIFER CARTER: No, they haven't. We don't know, honestly. We haven't understood why he's been held so long and we certainly haven't understood why they continue the prosecution when the only real evidence they have is just the comment and that's all.

BOLDUAN: Do you see any -- do you have any idea how this is going to end?

JENNIFER CARTER: Well, my hope is that he would be either released or his charges could be dropped down. You know, before we started talking about this and started the petition, we were -- nothing was happening. And now we've been lucky enough to be contacted by an attorney willing to take his case. So for us, this is a very big deal and we feel so grateful that all the attention has made this happen.

BOLDUAN: Yes, a life-changing experience for you, as well as definitely your son. We will be following up on this on this. Jennifer Carter, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me this morning. Really appreciate it.

JENNIFER CARTER: Thank you, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Thank you. Chris?

CUOMO: Well, that is a tough situation any way you cut it, Kate, it really is.

All right, we've had some hard stories today. So you know what it is time for? "The Good Stuff." Aaron Collins, just 30 years old when he died, and he left behind a last wish. Quote, "Leave an awesome tip." And not just a tip, $500 worth of tip.

You see, Aaron was a big tipper and so it fell to Aaron's brother, Seth, to carry out the wish and he did so, tipping waitress Sarah Ward in Lexington, Kentucky. Great, right? Well, he didn't stop there. Seth knew Aaron's legacy should be even greater, so he posted this video of the tip to the web.

The power of good stuff kicked in. Video went viral -- 1.3 million views in just ten days. The cause went viral as well. In the year since that first tip, Seth has collected $60,000 in donations. He just dispensed his 54th tip in Indianapolis to unsuspecting server Beth Foster. Take a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BETH FOSTER, TIPPED $500 ACCOFRDING TO MAN'S LAST WISH: It could not have come at a better time in my life.

REPORTER: Why's that?

FOSTER: I'm a teacher just looking for a job and it's kind of hard right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: A teacher looking for a job. Living Aaron's legacy. And now Seth is going even further. He's got plans to visit all 50 states, give out $500 tips until the money is gone. That is, if it ever does run out.

Go to newdayCNN.com. Learn more. Isn't there Aaron's good stuff in all of us?

BOLDUAN: Man, I needed good stuff right then. That was good. That was really good.

CUOMO: It gets you, it gets you, but it gets you in a good way. We want to hear about the good stuff going on in your life and your communities. Follow me on Twitter, @KateBolduan, @MichaelaCNN. Go to Facebook, use the hashtag #newday. Let us know so we can keep telling you about the good stuff.

BOLDUAN: Yes, absolutely right. That's good stuff.

Coming up next still on NEW DAY, happening right now, George Zimmerman is back in court. His lawyers arguing a key point in front of the judge. We're going to break it down.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: All right, welcome back to NEW DAY, everyone. The royal baby watch is on. It's been on and it's continuing on. Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, is expected to give birth any day now -- no pressure, you poor thing. As the world waits, many are trying to guess what the future King or Queen of England will look like.

Elizabeth Cohen went to London to find out. You're a magician. W hat did you find out?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CCORRESPONDENT: What I found out is that the royal family in many ways is like any family. You know how when Mom's pregnant, everyone's like, is he going to look like Uncle Bob, Aunt Susie, have Grandma's nose? You know, that kind of thing. And so people are doing the same thing with this baby, but there really is some science behind what traits the baby might get from each parent.

So, let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN (voice-over): He was an adorable little boy. She, a beautiful little girl. But what will William and Catherine's royal baby look like?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It'll be a good-looking child, I presume.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think everyone's hoping the baby's not going to have his ears.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hope it takes after her, because she is so beautiful.

COHEN: It seemed fittingly British to discuss the genetic fate of the future King or Queen of England over high tea with geneticist Anand Saggar.

Let's start with the baby's hair. Light like Dad, dark like Mom, or red like Uncle Harry?

DR. ANAND SAGGAR, GENETICIST: That's two over five times two over three, times a quarter, which is approximately, if my math is correct, 6 percent.

COHEN (on camera): So about a 6 percent chance that they'll have a redhead.

SAGGAR: So if you're going to put some money on it, you might want to think about that.

COHEN (voice-over): He says the baby's hair will likely be on the darker side since dark genes are dominant. Then there's the eyes.

(on camera): She's so green and so blue.

SAGGAR: It would be unusual, less likely that the child will have pure blue eyes.

COHEN: Like Daddy.

SAGGAR: Exactly.

COHEN (voice-over): He says most likely the baby's eyes will be more towards the green side like Catherine's, since green is dominant.

And as for height -

(on camera): They are both tall people.

SAGGAR: And that's one of the characteristics of them both (ph), they're tall.

COHEN (voice-over): Geneticists tell us a new prince could grow as tall as 6'7". A new princess as tall as 6'2". Of course, science can't predict everything.

SAGGAR: That's the fun of having babies. You don't know what you're going to get.

COHEN (on camera): It's just a big question mark, right?

SAGGAR: I think it's part of the surprise.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN (on camera): Now, this is the first time that a royal has married a commoner since the 17th Century and our geneticist tells us that this infusion of commoner genes is good. That gene pool's a little too small. It's good to get some new genes there.

BOLDUAN: No politics involved there, just genetics.

COHEN: Right, it's just a fact.

Now, we were so curious about what this baby might look that we asked our colleagues at Turner Studios to come up with some pictures. We gave them information from our geneticist and they used composite software. Look, this is what they think the prince or the princess could look like based on smushing their two faces together.

We think he looks like Ryan Seacrest.

(CROSSTALK)

COHEN: Justin Bieber, that too.

CUOMO: Avril Lavigne.

BOLDUAN: Yes, that's true.

COHEN: I think so, a little bit.

(CROSSTALK)

PEREIRA: Either way, looking pretty good.

CUOMO: That's reality.

PEREIRA: The hair, the shape of the face.

BOLDUAN: We're talking about smooshing two faces together, you think we're dealing in reality?

CUOMO: Avril Lavigne was strong.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Healthy is what matters most. Healthy baby.

BOLDUAN: And with that infusion of new genes.

On that, Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much, Elizabeth.

Coming up next on NEW DAY, Dennis Rodman wants a Nobel Peace Prize. Talk about dealing in reality, and he says he deserves it for going to North Korea. Well, we have a different award for him coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: I never completely figured out what happened to Rodman. Remember back in the day with the Pistons? He was like the man who didn't have a tat on him, he was a rebounding machine.

BOLDUAN: You know what he wants now, a Nobel Peace Prize. What?

CUOMO: Right, with that jacket alone.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Welcome back. You know his theme music. John Berman. Here to give us his NEW DAY award of the day award.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I didn't know my theme music. That's extraordinary.

All right, let me start here with our second runner up. Let me show you a guy who does some amazing things with some paper towels.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Paper towels.

BERMAN: Watch, again.

BOLDUAN: What? Do that, again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roll of paper towels. Paper towels.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: In a roll.

BERMAN: OK, that's very impressive, but he did not win. Nor did the next thing I'm about to show you here. This next thing I'm about to show you also very impressive. This is a guy who sings ad jingles. I mean like every single ad jingle ever. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Juicy fruit, I'm going to move you, I love make it now with the best part of is there is but that's part of waking up --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: He sings like every ad ever made in about a minute and a half right there it's very, very impressive. Both these guys impressive, but neither are the winners today. Because the winner is simply is too easy to talk about. It's Dennis Rodman all right.

So remember when Mr. Rodman went to North Korea and met with new leader there Kim Jong Un and calls him a good friend.

PEREIRA: Good friend because he's his man.

BERMAN: Well now, Rodman tells "Sports Illustrated" "If I don't finish in the top three for the next Nobel Peace Prize, something is seriously wrong."

Really, Mother Theresa, Albert Schweitzer and Dennis Rodman, all right. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt just for a second here. Let's -- let's compare Rodman with other peace prize winners. Rodman does have five championship rings. Aung San Suu Kyi, none. Rodman average 13 points a game, the Dalai Lama, none. All right, Rodman has at least a half dozen piercings, Henry Kissinger, none. I'm going with none there.

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: On the other hand, Rodman's visit to North Korea did preface a nuclear standoff of sorts has done really nothing to help free American Kenneth Dave (ph) this is a serious who is in prison there.

And now Rodman says he wants a vacation with Kim Jong-Un and his family. It's crazy right. But besides all that, I think he's probably ineligible for the Nobel Peace Prize for one reason and one reason only. And it's our award today let's call it the First Rule of Fight Club Award. What is the First Rule of Fight Club?

PEREIRA: You don't talk about it.

CUOMO: There is no fight club.

BOLDUAN: No fight club.

BERMAN: You don't talk about fight club. You don't talk about winning the Nobel Peace Prize if you want to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

CUOMO: It's like being Pope. You say you want to be a pope. It's over.

BERMAN: It's the first rule of fight club.

BOLDUAN: I think humility is required.

CUOMO: Exactly.

BOLDUAN: That's the reason.

BERMAN: That is why Dennis Rodman cannot win the Nobel Peace Prize.

PEREIRA: You don't have anything else thinking that that might support your backup.

BERMAN: I'm going with that.

CUOMO: JB likes this one today. Look at his face. He's happy with himself about this.

BOLDUAN: I love this one. With that, I'm a happy woman.

Coming up, still ahead, the George Zimmerman trial is under way right now. What you can expect today when you come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: "Fast & Furious 6".

PEREIRA: That's a "you" movie. That's not a "me" movie. I want Sandra Bullock.

BOLDUAN: Do you all know what happened in the first five?

CUOMO: We're negotiating what movie to go see today. It's an odd lifestyle when the day's over at 9:00 a.m.

BOLDUAN: What are you doing today everyone? I have an idea what you can do. You can stick around and watch more CNN.

CUOMO: That would be a great idea. That's what we do in my household. That's it for NEW DAY everybody. That's what we do when we finish the shows here. I felt --

PEREIRA: You button up now.

CUOMO: That's it. It's the end of NEW DAY but CNN continues. "NEWSROOM" Carol Costello right now.

BOLDUAN: We kind of gang up on him, don't we, here?

CUOMO: Very good to see you. Save me.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I will. I'll save you, Chris. Have a great day, guys. Thanks so much.

"NEWSROOM" starts now.

Breaking right now: Zimmerman's past, front and center.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK O'MARA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I think that if they stop bringing what was in George's background then it really brings in what Trayvon Martin brings to the table.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: A key decision from the court expected in just minutes.

Also, does Zimmerman's story add up?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE ZIMMERMAN, ON TRIAL FOR DEATH OF TRAYVON MARTIN: Felt like my body was on the grass and my head was on the cement. He just kept slamming and slamming.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: But is that true?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERNIE DE LA RIONDA, PROSECUTOR: How would you classify the injuries?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They were not life threatening. They did not require any sutures to be applied. I was not able to look at them after they were cleaned. They were covered by band aid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The testimony igniting a firestorm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY GRACE, HLN HOST: A band aid. Frank Taaffe, all he needed was a band aid? Did I just hear a medical doctor say that?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Crucial, must-see testimony just moments away. "NEWSROOM" starts now.

Good morning. Thank you so much for being with me. I'm Carol Costello. We're beginning "NEWSROOM" a few minutes early today, of course, because we want to bring you live testimony from key witnesses in the George Zimmerman murder trial.

There's even a slight chance the prosecution could wrap up its case today. Among those set to take the stand -- we'll get into that in a minute -- but those who took the stand yesterday Zimmerman's best friend and a 20-year veteran of law enforcement.

Mark Osterman visited hours at the police station hours after Zimmerman shot the unarmed teenager, Trayvon Martin. Osterman described his pal's appearance and the first visit by Zimmerman's wife, Shellie.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

O'MARA: What was his state of mind when you finally saw him at 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning?

MARK OSTERMAN, FRIEND OF GEORGE ZIMMERMAN: Stunned. He attempted to immediately reassure Shellie who broke down again once she saw him. Once they got out of the elevator she went into hysterics. Kind of a break down, maybe not hysterics but went into a sobbing breakdown. And he immediately tried to reassure her he was okay. He was more occupied with her than anything else. But he had a stunned look on his face.

O'MARA: When you say stunned, tell us -- OSTERMAN: Wide eyed. Just kind of, kind of a little bit detached, perhaps from maybe not realizing he had just gone through a traumatic event.

Kind of just hard to describe. Very, very difficult to describe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: We'll go live to the courtroom when things begin to heat up again. And we have a team of reporters and analysts to break down all of today's testimony. But let's begin as usual with CNN's George Howell. He's outside the courthouse in Sanford, Florida. Morning, George.

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, good morning.

Let's go right into the courtroom right now where you can see we are in the middle of a hearing where prosecutor Rich Manti (ph) is pushing to have certain evidence as admitted into this court regarding George Zimmerman's school records. Again, they are talking about several different items. First of all a ride-along that he did at one point -- information about that; also his school transcript and an application to Prince William County Police Department where he wanted to become a police officer, but it was a rejection letter. They want that admitted.

They are also talking about several documents: homework assignments that he did and applications that he filled out. Basically to show that he was interested in law enforcement and that he had some knowledge in criminal justice. That he was interested in the criminal justice system.

You will remember that Zimmerman did a televised national interview where he said that he did not know about the stand your ground law here in the state of Florida.