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CNN NEWSROOM

Fatal Accident on Racetrack; Almost Ceasefire in the Middle East; More Air Strikes In Iraq; Why Charles Mansion Fascinates Us, 45 Years Later; Pop Star Demi Lovato Empowers Today's Youth; Riders Stuck Atop Roller Coaster At Six Flags; Mother In Hot Car Death Says She's A Victim

Aired August 10, 2014 - 16:00   ET

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


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, again, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We start with A tragic accident in car racing. It has the sports world grieving and its brightest star under investigation. Here now is Alexandra Field.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is the race that has shock the sports and beyond. Thrill (ph) NASCAR driver Tony Stewart appears to cut off a fellow driver, Kevin Ward Jr. It happens on lap 14 of a 25- lap race on a dirt track in upstate New York. Ward forced toward the wall spins out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's racing. You get to the track, you jump on the track, you hope for the - expect the worst, hope for the best.

FIELD: Amateur video obtained by CNN shows what happened next. Ward gets out of his car pointing fingers, presumably frustrated by Stewart. A yellow flag on the course lets drivers know to slow down. Several cars pass Ward then Stewart's car hits him. The 20-year-old driver killed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is right now being investigated as an on track crash. I don't want to infer that there are criminal charges pending. I would only say that the investigation once completed we will sit down with the district attorney and review it but I want to make it very clear there are no criminal charges pending at this time. This is an ongoing investigation.

FIELD: Stewart, a three-time NASCAR champion was questioned last night. Today he planned to race in Watkins Glen, New York. A short time ago his race team announced he wouldn't.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just an unbelievable tragedy. Our hearts go out to obviously Kevin and his family. Thoughts and prayers. This is a very tough, very emotional time for everybody. His family, our family, Stewart Hoss, Tony Stewart, with that being said, we feel that as a group Tony will not drive today. FIELD: In a statement NASCAR says, "our thoughts and prayers go out to family, friends, and fellow competitors of Kevin Ward, Jr.. We support Tony Stewart's decision to miss today's race and we'll continue to respect the process and timeline of the local thoughts and will continue to monitor this situation moving forward." The sport mourning the loss of one of its own while many questions still remain about one of its most famous.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Alexandra Field is now covering this and at the racetrack today and on the phone with us, Alexandra, what are people saying there?

FIELD (on the phone): Well, Fred, we're here in Watkins Glen (INAUDIBLE) where there is a NASCAR race under way today. Certainly we can say the death of Kevin Ward heavily on the minds of all racing fans truly impacted this sport. Also, at the same time we're hearing for the first time from Kevin Ward Jr.'s family, they put out a statement to our CNN affiliate, WHAN, what they say is, "We appreciate the prayers and support we're receiving from the community but we need time to grieve and wrap our heads around all this."

And, frankly, Fred, I think investigators agree with that last point. They're still looking into what happened last night. A crash reconstruction is under way. The forensic investigation continues. They're looking to speak with more people who witnessed that crash and they want to see any video that was taken at the time of the crash. They've seen some video already but a lot of people are there probably with their phones out. They want to see any evidence that they can see.

Again, Fred, important to understand score the point that the sheriff at this time, there are no charges pending against Tony Stewart but, of course, this investigation is still very much under way. When the investigation is complete, as a matter of sorts, it will then be reviewed with the district attorney, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Alexandra Field, thank you so much, from Watkins Glen. So this young man, Kevin Ward Jr., just 20 years old, and there's certainly going to be ripple effect from what took place last night.

Let's bring in former NASCAR driver Geoff Bodine. So Geoff, there you are with us via Skype. So one has to wonder, if there's a way in which you can express kind of the culture of this dirt track racing, what would provoke, you know, a driver to get out of his vehicle on an active raceway even though caution flags have gone up and these cars are going slower, clearly there was some kind of altercation or we know there was contact between Tony Stewart's vehicle and Kevin - Kevin Ward's vehicle, but why would someone get out and get on the track in your view?

GEOFF BODINE, FORMER NASCAR DRIVER: Well, when you're in a competitive situation and someone in auto racing, somebody runs into you, causes an accident, you get pretty frustrated. I've done this myself. I think most every driver around the world would probably say they've done it at least once in their career.

You get out and you want to show your frustration, a displeasure to the driver that might have done this. So you get out of your car, you get next to the racetrack. As they go by, you shake your fist, you make gestures to show them you're not happy with what happened. Like I say, some people throw things. I used to throw my gloves at people. It didn't hurt anything but it just showed more displeasure.

And the thing about all that is it's been done that way since the beginning of racing, and race fans love that. They love to see the emotion of the driver. If it's in victory lane celebrating or if it's after an accident and he's not happy.

WHITFIELD: You're right. We see it in so many different kinds of racing. Maybe a driver throws a helmet or something like that. So you say the audience really does feel like they have gotten to know the driver. They want to see that kind of an emotional response. But now after something tragic like this, in what way do you think this incident will impact maybe not just dirt racing but racing as a whole?

BODINE: I agree with you. I hope what you just said happens. We should be smart enough as drivers to realize running onto a raceway or the racetrack as cars are going by at any speed, if it's 100 miles an hour or just 50, 40 miles an hour is dangerous thing and things can happen because it's happened to everyone.

A flat tire could cause a car to go out of control and go in a direction a driver wouldn't want it to. It could break. You just never know what might happen if you're standing on a racetrack as cars go by. So you shouldn't do that. So hopefully, you know, in life you always try to make something positive out of a negative. Very, very sad situation like this.

Hopefully the positive thing will be that from now on in any form of racing, drivers won't be allowed to run out on the track and gesture their unhappiness to a driver.

WHITFIELD: And, so, Geoff, what do you know about these two drivers? What has been your personal experience? I know Kevin Ward is very young, he's a 20-year-old driver. Tony Stewart has been around quite a bit. He's a three-time, you know, NASCAR champion. Is there a way in which you can describe your encounters with either one of those racers, what you know about them?

BODINE: Sure. I didn't know Kevin. I wish I had. I certainly know Tony Stewart and raced with him, against him, and I put Tony in the league of Mario Andretti (INAUDIBLE) and that's at the top of the list of drivers around the world. Tony has driven so many different kinds of cars, types of cars, on dirt, on asphalt, road courses, sporty cars, you name it. Tony has driven those cars and, won, been successful.

That's kind of like Mario and A.J. have done. Certainly Tony Stewart knows how to handle a race car. You know, I just believe somebody of that caliber, has the respect of other drivers and this is just a tragic circumstance accident to happen the other night. What he did today was admirable, not driving, letting someone else drive. And I just can't imagine how badly he feels right now.

And our prayers go out to the family like everyone's and to Tony. You know, I pray that both of these families and Tony have god in their life because the way you get through something this tragic is the faith of god. So hopefully that's the case with both parties.

WHITFIELD: All right. Geoff Bodine, we appreciate your time. Thank you so much.

BODINE: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: Moving on now to Iraq where fighters are trying to protect the northern region of Iraq Kurdistan from violent militants. Kurdish forces are fighting on the ground and from the air the U.S. dropped a new round of strikes today aimed at ISIS, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Because of the violence the U.S. State Department says it has relocated some staff from the embassy in Baghdad and the consulate in Erbil. Anna Coren is live for us right now in Erbil. So Anna, does it seem like ISIS is still making gains or are these strikes in any way destabilizing that group?

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fredericka, I think it's fair to say that these air strikes from the U.S. are really changing the situation here on the ground, at least for us here in Erbil and for Kurdistan. Because of those air strikes, Kurdish forces, the Peshmerga were able to reclaim ground two towns, some 20 miles from here that ISIS militants had taken several days ago.

So that, as you can imagine, huge boost to confidence and morale of the forces on the ground. We spoke to the chief of staff of the Kurdish president who said that they need these air strikes to continue. They have the personnel. They have the troops who are willing to fight these ISIS militants, but they need those air strikes to really help them make the progress that is being seen in the last 24 hours or so.

So definitely things here in Erbil seem to be more secure. Yes, you mentioned the State Department deciding to evacuate nonessential staff. That, we believe, is something that is pretty protocol in the current situation, the current climate. Things are fluid. It is volatile. So they're taking those precautions. But certainly from what we understand, there will still be staff at the consulate here in Erbil, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Anna Coren. Thank you so much, in Erbil.

All right. Less than an hour from now, a new mid East cease-fire is set to begin. We're live in Jerusalem and Gaza City with the latest and what it looks like, if these troops will hold.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In less than an hour a new Middle East cease-fire is set to take effect. Both Israel and the Palestinians say they accept a new truce brokered by Egypt. This is scheduled to begin at midnight, local time which is 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Both sides say they will use the time to provide humanitarian relief to residents of Gaza.

After the cease-fire was announced Israel also said, it would be returning to the peace talks being held in Egypt. So is there hope this cease-fire will hold?

CNN's Saima Mohsin is following developments from Jerusalem and Martin Savidge is in Gaza City. So Saima, let's begin with you. Previously, Israel had walked away from talks in Egypt saying it wouldn't negotiate while mortars and rockets were still being fired. So how precarious is this to the return to the negotiation?

SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was touch and go, Fredericka. Changing every hour, we really weren't sure what would happen if there wasn't a cease-fire at all. But now we're coming into the last hour. We hope fighting and a cease-fire is due to start at midnight local time, within the next hour. What we know is because the Israelis (INAUDIBLE) dismay among the Palestinian delegation, they were threatening to leave Cairo themselves.

And then the Egyptian foreign ministry confirmed to CNN that they have put forward a new proposal for a cease-fire to both sides that was finally confirmed just a couple of hours ago and now an Israeli delegation is on its way back to Cairo. The Palestinian delegation already there. They will hold indirect talks, they say, but let me tell you. It's not been easy.

And the last couple of hours as well, we've seen consecutive pounding of air strikes into Gaza. A flurry of rockets coming into Israel. We've seen this time and again just before previous cease-fires but we're hoping, hoping when the clock strikes midnight there will be a firm cease-fire in place for much needed humanitarian aid. Fredericka?

WHITFIELD: OK. And then Martin Savidge, let me bring you into the equation here too. Do Palestinians believe this go-round of cease- fire?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think they'll believe it when they see it, Fredericka. I think this is, by my count, cease-fire attempt number 10. Hopefully it will be measured lasting by days and not by a stopwatch because we have had some of these cease-fires that have been shattered, nearly minutes after they've begun. This once scheduled to go three days but the violence here leading up in the final hour has really kicked up a lot.

We had not one but two Israeli air strikes within just a couple hundred yards of the bureau and the blast was devastating. In fact, I think I'm a still a little gun-shy sitting up here on the ledge. Then last hour talking to you we had gunfire and we've also heard that there was an Israeli air strike right by our hotel that set a chemical plant on fire.

And then all around there have been explosions that have continued. As Saima just said, the rockets going out of Gaza have now gone on for some time. I'll just break it down by numbers. 39 rockets fired toward Israel. 40 air strikes have been in retaliation from Israel and then on top of that, there was, let's see here, eight people killed just today and an additional 10 bodies had been pulled from the rubble. So you can see why people here and I'm sure in Israel are certainly hoping that this cease-fire will take effect and last at midnight.

WHITFIELD: And Martin, we roll that tape again. You were sitting on that ledge or seemingly waiting for your next live shot when that explosion really kind of knocked you off your seat there. Just prior to that, had there been any warnings? I mean clearly you looked like you were very surprised. What had been kind of the climate just prior to that? Was it just so quiet that that really kind of came out of nowhere?

SAVIDGE: Well, there had been blasts all around us all day long and there still continues to be. I mean I can hear drones and I can hear jets overhead and you occasionally will hear the plume of an explosion. I think we had sort of been alerted earlier in the day. There had been a phone call to that home warning them. This is pretty much standard practice by the IDF.

But it had been hours later and there had been no strikes. So we thought it must not have been for real. That first blast the one that knocked me off the ledge is not a real serious blast. That's what they call a roof knock to let you know, hey, the next one will be for real and sure enough 7 1/2 minutes later, the next blast, far greater and if there had been glass in the windows -- thank goodness they were all been removed in the bureau here. Otherwise, we would have been just showered in shattered glass.

As it was, we still had a lot of debris that hit the building.

WHITFIELD: OK. Well, both of you, stay safe. Martin Savidge, Saima Mohsin. Thank you so much.

Back in the U.S., a St. Louis area community is coming together in grief and anger after police killed an unarmed team. Police say the young man was the aggressor but witnesses say just the opposite. We'll hear from both sides coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The U.S. military carried out a new series of air attacks today against ISIS targets in Iraq. And some 200,000 Yasidi Iraqis who had been trapped on Mount Sinjar were rescued and taken to the Syrian Iraqi border.

But will U.S. air strikes be enough to stabilize Iraq and will Iraq's government find a way to unify the country. On "State of the Union," CNN's chief political correspondent Candy Crowley asked that of President George W. Bush's former ambassador to Iraq and President Obama's former national security adviser.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZALMAY KHALIZAD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ, 2005-2007: The idea is a good one obviously. If you have a unified government led by someone who's competent and can bring all the Iraqis together, great.

CANDY CROWLEY, HOST "STATE OF THE UNION": What could be better.

KHALIZAD: But I think the chances of getting that and getting it immediately is not very good. Number one it is possible that Maliki might go but he could be replaced with someone who's not as competent in terms of bringing people together and not as competent as we would like in terms of leading Iraqis in a military effort. It will take him a while to put the cabinet together or taking a while to put the program together.

CROWLEY: This man - as we know. Maliki has been in there for some time. the U.S. is very unhappy with him. So what are we talking? Years?

KHALIZAD: Well, definitely months to put - not only select someone but he then puts a program together, he puts a cabinet together. He gets to know his job. So, you know -

CROWLEY: Lots of waiting.

KHALIZAD: It's not a magical solution that tomorrow it's the government and everything will start working.

CROWLEY: And if you can't get this magical solution, general, then what happens? Because we heard Senator McCain say we can't wait. These folks are on the marks. This is a direct threat to the homeland. Where are you in your thought about how much of a threat this is and whether waiting is dangerous?

GEN. JIM JONES (RET.), NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: I think time is not on their side. It certainly is They need to come up with a new prime minister very quickly and hopefully it should not be Maliki.

CROWLEY: But if they don't, is there an argument for -

JONES: The second thing is that new prime minister needs to reach out very quickly to the Kurds and the Sunnis and anyone else he needs to talk about how we're going to reconcile this country which the current prime minister has failed to do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Two perspectives on Iraq on the "State of the Union" today. Candy Crowley, thanks so much. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Bottom of the hour now. Welcome back. I'm Fredericka Whitfield. Here are the big stories crossing the CNN news desk right now.

U.S. secretary of state John Kerry is warning the Russians to not intervene in Ukraine. He told his Russian counterpart not to cross the border under the guise of humanitarian conveys or peace-keeping forces. He said the Russians need to work with international organizations to help the Ukrainian people. Russia still denies that it is supporting separatist forces in Ukraine.

A wildfire in Northern California grows and several communities are forced to evacuate. The 8,500 acres is only 30 percent contained. At least 11 people have been injured including several firefighters.

And a shocker at theaters this weekend. "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" was the most popular move taking in $65 million. It's nearly 20 million more than analysts expected. That's not enough to turn things around in Hollywood. Revenue is down, more than 16 percent from a year ago.

If you're up tonight, take a look at the sky. Another supermoon is on tap this evening. The supermoon is when the moon is at its closest point to the earth. It's 12 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than usual. If that's not enough, you can catch the Perseid meteor shower on Wednesday.

Tonight on CNN, go inside the lives of Charles Manson and his followers. Twenty five years after the murders that shocked the nation, Americans are still intrigued by the events that unfolded in August of 1969. Here now is CNN's Ted Rowlands.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): San Francisco, 1967, summer of love was at its peak. Free love, free drugs, dream living for hippies escaping the mainstream. But 32-year-old Charles Manson arrived with much darker ambitions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You get these kids, these children coming into Haight-Ashbury and here is someone Charlie Manson saying how much he loves them and he wants to take care of them. It was made to order for him and he took full advantage.

ROWLANDS: Manson's destructive course through the life was fixed from the start. He spoke to CNN from prison in 1987.

CHARLES MANSON: I spent the best part of my life in boys' schools, prisons, and reform schools because I had nobody.

ROWLANDS: He blamed his mother for his troubled youth. Kathleen Madox gave birth to Manson in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the age of 16 and went to prison when Charlie was 5 years old.

MANSON: She got out of my life early and let me scuffle for myself and then I became my own mother.

ROWLANDS: But author, Jeff Gwynn, says there's only one explanation for the life of Charles Manson.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Manson was born evil.

ROWLANDS: In 2013, Gwynn landed exclusive interviews with Manson's sister and cousin.

JEFF GWYNN, AUTHOR: He was taken in by loving relatives, grandmother, uncle, aunt, cousin Joann. He always had people who loved him. The problem was that Charlie himself was a rotten little kid from the word go.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Watch CNN spotlight, "Charles Manson" tonight at 7:30 Eastern and Pacific right here on CNN.

All right, you know, this next person as an actress, former judge on the X-Factor and award winning pop star, but did you know that Demi Lovato is impacting the world by empowering today's youth? She spoke with CNN's Chris Cuomo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY" (voice-over): Her shows usually sell out, but catching Demi Lovato in concert without buying a ticket is possible for students who love to volunteer.

DEMI LOVATO, SINGER: How are you doing?

CUOMO: They earn their way into these "We Day" events by helping communities on a local and global level.

LOVATO: I feel like it's this incredible movement of children and teenagers and young adults that are coming together.

CUOMO: Put on by the charity, Free The Children, we day spotlights those that who are making difference. The goal, to empower today's youth and to encourage them to make the world a better place. For Lovato, revealing her past may help others to take action.

LOVATO: When I was in school I was bullied myself and just because it happened to you, it doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you.

I want to be part of we day because I know that there's someone in this audience who's being bullied. I'm telling you this is an issue we can beat.

If we're able to start training younger and younger audiences to really make an impact, I think the world's going to be a totally different place.

Together we are changing the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. A pretty frightening and exciting moment at a Six Flags in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside the Washington, D.C., area. You're looking at what's called the "Joker Jinx" roller coaster.

And, yes, there are people on board. Those seats right there, about 24 people who are stuck on this ride, but you also see some folks who are walking on the track there.

Now, according to a statement coming from the Six Flags Park, it says that, quote, "The ride has sophisticated computerized safety system that can cause such a ride stoppage. While we're not sure yet what caused the stoppage, the ride performed as it is designed to."

So unclear why this ride stopped, but in midstream there are 24 people aboard this ride. We're told that they're all safe and they're all strapped in, but you can also see from these live pictures from our affiliate in the D.C. area, Six Flags is in Upper Marlboro, Maryland in Prince George's County, Maryland.

You can see that there appeared to be some rescue folks who are walking on the track and we don't know exactly what's taking place if everyone is OK. We are told they're all secure and safe, but we're going to continue to watch the developments there from these live pictures from WJLA in Prince George's County, Maryland, on that ride.

All right, back in Georgia now, remember that Georgia toddler who died in a hot car earlier this summer? The father is behind bars facing murder charges. Well now, we're hearing the first words from his wife, what she's saying next.

But first let's talk about Connecticut. It is the wealthiest state, but has one of the fastest growing income gaps in the country. This week's "CNN Hero" is battling despair on the streets of Hartford with help from some unlikely friends.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's tough. It's tough growing up here. It's so easy to take the wrong path. I was walking around with a lot on my shoulders at a young age. I didn't really care about life anymore. When I met Miss Kelly, everything changed.

PATRICIA KELLY: He was hurting. He needed a place to be himself. Our program provide as year-round urban oasis, seven days a week, 12 month as year, for children 5 to 19 years old. We use horses to create pride, esteem, and healing. The children take care of animals, take care of the farm.

When they get to a certain riding level, young men become mounted park rangers. When they put their cowboy hats on and go out on patrol, the myth of the urban male is changed instantly. When kids see other kids ride, they want to know how it's done. That's the hook.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't tell you where I would be without this program. It changed my life and has help med set goals for myself. I'm a part of something.

KELLY: When you teach a child how to ride a horse, they learn that they are the center of their environment. Once they make that connection, they can change what happens in school, at home, and the community. It's through their minds and through their hearts. They have abilities. They just have to unlock it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Justin Ross Harris is still in jail facing murder and child cruelty charges for leaving his toddler in a hot car, but for the first time we're hearing his wife's side of the story. Her attorney spoke with CNN's Victor Blackwell.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The death of my son is still unreal. I now live a tortured existence, the first words. He's pleaded not guilty to murder and child cruelty charges for the death of their 22-month-old son, Cooper. Cooper died in June after being left in this sweltering SUV for seven hours.

Both parents say it was an accident. However, in this victim impact questionnaire sent to Leanna Harris by the Cobb County district attorney and released by her attorney, Harris listed herself as the victim.

LAWRENCE ZIMMERMAN, LEANNA HARRIS' ATTORNEY: She's a victim of -- she's lost a child. She's a victim of public perception, thinking that she had something to do with it.

BLACKWELL: In a network exclusive interview, Lawrence Zimmerman says accusations that she plotted to kill her son that are based on her perceived lack of emotion had left Harris with no confidence in society.

ZIMMERMAN: Is she supposed to be publicly emotional? I mean, is that how people are supposed to react to tragedy in their life? I don't think there's a right way to react to tragedy.

BLACKWELL: And what about the testimony from Cobb County Detective Philip Stoddard during her husband's probable cause hearing.

DETECTIVE PHIL STODDARD, COBB COUNTY, GEORGIA POLICE: In front of several witnesses all of a sudden she states Ross must have left him in the car. He started to sit down and she goes three through and says did you say too much.

BLACKWELL: In a statement, Harris writes Ross was a wonderful father and loved Cooper with all of his heart. Because I know how he treasured that little boy for 22 months, I know he would never have allowed any harm to come to our son. I want you to know he was a loving father he was to Cooper.

And then there are those accusations Ross Harris was sending sexually explicit messages as Cooper suffered in the heat.

STODDARD: He was having up to six different conversations with different women. The most common term would be sexting. There are photos of his exposed penis, erect penis being sent.

BLACKWELL: Leanna Harris writes whatever issues that transpired between god and us for he will judge those moral sins.

ZIMMERMAN: Eventually there will be the right time and the right place for her to possibly speak publicly if that's what she wants to do but certainly not yet.

BLACKWELL (on camera): Is that something she wants to do? Does she want to speak out and say here's the truth?

ZIMMERMAN: I think anybody who's being cast in a false light or negative light maybe that's a better word would want to defend themselves because she is in the public eye this way, you know, it's hard for her to do that.

BLACKWELL: Why is it difficult? Why is it now the time? If the truth is the truth today, and it will be the truth during the trial or after trial, why not come out and tell the truth now?

ZIMMERMAN: Because she is not only dealing with the loss of her child, her husband and grieving and trying to get her life back in order, she's also concerned that the district attorney may also try to level a charge against her.

BLACKWELL: Does your client expect charges?

ZIMMERMAN: I think the district attorney's office is looking at her as a victim of crime since she lost her child that that's a sign they're not going to charge her.

BLACKWELL (voice-over): But in a statement to CNN, a Cobb County spokeswoman writes, "We are required by the Crime Victims Bill of Rights to send those forms to all victims or victim's next of kin and it's standard procedure in the Cobb County District Attorney's Office to do so.

Regardless of charges, Zimmerman says Leandra Harris is holding on to at least one long-term plan.

ZIMMERMAN: I know she wanted to have another child. I think anybody who loves children would want more children.

BLACKWELL: Victor Blackwell, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And grief and anger in a Saint Louis area community today after a teen was shot and killed by police. The police chief says Michael Brown assaulted an officer before he was shot to death yesterday, but witnesses say the killing was unprovoked and they say Brown was unarmed.

Grant Bisell, of our affiliate, KSDK in Saint Louis has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GRANT BISSELL, REPORTER, KSDR: Here in Ferguson it's been a very tense situation all day. Around 10:00 this morning police finally gave their side of the story until that point, we really only hopes that witnesses saw this shooting go down. Police claimed that Michael Brown assaulted a police officer.

The officer that eventually ended up shooting and killing him. They say there was a struggle inside the officer's vehicle. That Michael Brown was shot once by the officer. The officer then got out of the car and fired more shots, shooting and killing Michael Brown just a few steps away from his grandmother's apartment.

Now, there had been demonstrations all throughout the day yesterday. They continue outside the Ferguson Police Department. In fact, they were going on while the press conference was taking place this morning. The crowd actually stormed the police department where we were inside.

They were so loud you could almost hear them over the police chief speaking. There was a lot of anger from this community about what happened yesterday and the fact that there aren't a whole lot of answers being given at this point.

The police officer's side of the story is far different than that of the witnesses' side. This is a scenario that's probably going to play out for the next few weeks as we continue to learn more and more about this.

There are more demonstrations for tonight and tomorrow morning. They're calling for 10,000 people to come down here and call for justice. In Ferguson, Missouri, I'm Grants Bissell for CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And we continue to watch a situation in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C. You're looking at live pictures right now. Six Flags there and this roller coaster came to a stop on board about 24 people.

And you're seeing they were all holding umbrellas. They were distributed to them because it is very hot. They are telling how long it will take before that roller coaster gets underway. We'll have more on that story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Live pictures right now outside the Washington, D.C. area. This is ride at the Six Flags in Upper Marlboro, Maryland in Prince Georgia's County, Maryland. You see it is at a stop, on board, 24 people. But Six Flags officials are saying while they're attending to it, all the people on that ride, which is on the Joker Jinx roller coaster are safe.

They've all been handed umbrellas there because it's so hot, trying to keep them cool while technicians work on the ride. According to the Six Flags officials say there is a computerized mechanism involving this ride. When there's a problem on this ride, it comes to a stop.

So Six Flags is saying this ride did exactly what it was supposed to do, come to a safe stop there. We'll find out later exactly what has gone wrong here.

Also, in a little less than 5 minutes, a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas is expected to start. Both sides have agreed to a 72-hour truce. It begins at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, which is midnight in Gaza. We'll bring you the very latest at the top of the hour.

And golfers are back out on the course at the PGA Championship after a huge rain delay earlier today. It was pouring just a few hours ago in Louisville, Kentucky. You can see how soggy it was on the course, but guess what? The rain did clear up and players are back in a tense final round.

Shane O'Donoghue with CNN's "LIVING GOLF" is live for us in Louisville. So while the rain may have dissipated, the ground has got to be really nasty.

SHANE O'DONOGHUE, HOST, CNN'S "LIVING GOLF": It's very soft, Fredricka. But the sun is shining. It's poking its heads through the clouds. We do want to get this finished today. It certainly dramatic at the moment. Rory McIlroy taking that one shot lead into this final round. They get under way at 4:19 local time here in Kentucky.

He's now a co-leader because he dropped a shot on the third, a three pot on the Par 3. It means he is tied with two others on 12 under. Parker, from Australia and a certain Phil Mickelson tied for the lead, 44 years of age, five-time major winner, looking for his second PGA title and looking for his first victory since he won the Open championship last year.

WHITFIELD: He is amazing. There's just no stopping him it seems. I know it's not over yet, but impressive nonetheless.

DONOGHUE: It's a long way to go, a long way to go. We certainly hope Phil and Rickie Fowler who's two shots out of the lead and Rory McIlroy and all these great players can give us some fires here and we hope to get it done tonight.

WHITFIELD: OK. Shane O'Donoghue, keep us posted, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

All right, that's going to end for me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Thanks for being with me this afternoon. The next hour of the NEWSROOM begins right now with Jim Sciutto in Washington.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington. I want to welcome our international viewers as well. Two stories we're watching, both in the Middle East.

Here you see live looks at Jerusalem and Gaza. A cease-fire beginning right now this minute in Israel and Gaza. The question, will it hold? It is temporary but gives Hamas and Israel at least some time to find a more permanent end to this conflict.

And in Iraq, a battle that may just be beginning. The fight against ISIS fought from the air. Some military experts warn that American soldiers on the ground could be just a matter of time. First starting right now, Israel and Hamas both agree to stop shooting at each other for at least 72 hours, three days. It is a temporary peace deal brokered once again by Egypt to allow negotiators from both sides to come to the table again.