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CNN NEWSROOM

NSA Leaker Charged With Espionage; Julian Assange Defends NSA Leaker; Some Testimony On 911 Calls Excluded; Food Network Drops Paula Deen; Thousands Evacuated After Alberta Flood; Negotiating A Soldier's Freedom; NFL Star May Be Tied To Murder Probe; Facebook Bug Exposes Contact Info; Deaf Toddler Hears First Words From Dad; Colonel Sanders Suit Up For Sale; Oreo Launches Summer Flavor; Airport Dining Goes Mobile; Louisiana Teen "Wrestles" Girl To Death; Jackson's Lack Of Sleep Amazed Expert; Pistol Packing Grandma

Aired June 22, 2013 - 11:59   ET

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


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A lot straight ahead including the heavy-duty charges that have now being filed against the man who leaked top secret information, and then fled to Hong Kong.

We have the latest on Edward Snowden and what another famous leaker is saying about him. And in just a few days, Paula Deen has gone from being a sweet-talking celebrity cook to admitting that she used the "N" word.

So, are her sponsors standing by her? We know already, the Food Network has dropped her, we'll tell you more in a moment.

And should U.S. officials negotiate with the Taliban to bring a soldier home even if it means giving in to their outrageous demands? All that straight ahead.

All right, first let's go to Florida where the judge now has -- all right, we're going to get to that in a moment.

Right now, the man who admitted to leaking top secret details about NSA surveillance programs has been charged with espionage. Those charges were just unsealed yesterday.

Dan Lothian joining me live now from Washington. So Dan, what more do we know about this espionage charge against Edward Snowden and where this takes the case?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, under the espionage act, Snowden is charged with illegally communicating national defense information and classified communications intelligence. In addition he's charged with theft of government property. Now this complaint was filed in U.S. district court in Alexandria,, Virginia, late last week it was sealed. But then unsealed yesterday and made public. At least one legal expert says the timing of all this, it will take some time for it to play out and it should be measured in months, not days.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN VLADECK, PROFESSOR OF LAW, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: You know, extradition is a politically fraught process and one where the diplomacy is as important if not more important than the law. So I think it's going to be a long time before we really start to get a sense of where this case will end up, if anywhere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LOTHIAN: Now, this case is very complicated because, for example, the U.S. and Hongkong do have an expedition agreement, but there are some exceptions for political offenses. So that could potentially be at play here. In addition to that, Hongkong is a territory, a Chinese territory. At some point Beijing could step in and block an expedition. So we know all of the steps that have to take place, but a lot of questions remain about how it will all play out in the end.

WHITFIELD: So Dan, now, also, we hear this morning from Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, he has comments supporting what Edward Snowden has to say. What kind of response is coming from Washington on that?

LOTHIAN: No response yet from Washington to the comments that he made. By the way, he was supposed to make a speech at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London where he's been hiding out for more than a year or so now. But we did get a look at the transcript of that speech delivered. He did defend Snowden saying in part, quote, "The charging of Edward Snowden is intended to intimidate any country that might be considering standing up for his rights. That tactic must not be allowed to work. The effort to find asylum for Edward Snowden must be intensified."

Now Assange also took a shot at President Obama suggesting that the president is a, quote, "traitor for broken promises" and for the administration's lack of transparency when it comes to these surveillance issues. Again, the White House had no direct comment to what he said.

But in general, the administration has pointed to great oversight, they say, from Congress, that lawmakers either briefed or have the ability to be briefed on these programs. Also the head of the NSA, Keith Alexander this week testified that these programs do have value, that he says that over time some 50 -- more than 50 terror plots have been stopped because of these programs -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Dan Lothian, thanks so much for keeping us posted at the White House.

All right, now let's go to Florida where a judge in the George Zimmerman case made a key ruling just hours ago. She says testimony from two experts who analyze voice screaming on the 911 calls cannot be used. George Howell joining me live now.

So George, this is a pretty significant ruling particularly for the prosecution. They wanted this analysis to be entered. They wanted the jurors to hear this. Why did the judge say no?

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, backing up, the prosecution wanted to show George Zimmerman as the aggressor in this case. This hurts their case very significantly. When you look at the situation, back on February 26th, several people called 911. There was one phone call that's been highly scrutinized where you hear someone screaming "help, help" in the background. Was that Trayvon Martin? Was it George Zimmerman? Both sides had their own experts explaining their opinions on that. Let's listen to the tape so you can hear exactly what we're talking about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: Does he look hurt to you?

UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: I can't see him. I don't want to go out there. I don't know what's going on. They're sending.

UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: So you think he is yelling help?

UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: All right -- what is your --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: So if you're on the defense side, you want to prove somehow that that's George Zimmerman screaming for his life, screaming for help. If you are on the prosecution side you are trying to prove that it was not George Zimmerman, in fact, that it was Trayvon Martin. So the prosecution, they had their own witnesses, two witnesses who had their own methodology of reaching conclusions.

Tom Owen had a method where he looped the tape, and he was able to rule out in his opinion, rule out that it was George Zimmerman. Also Dr. Alan Wright, they brought him up, and he was able to basically amplify the audio. From his opinion the high pitch of that voice was likely someone whose voice was still being developed, a younger person likely Trayvon Martin.

Earlier we spoke with Mark Nejame, the CNN legal analyst and he gave his opinion as to why this is such a big blow for the prosecution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK NEJAME, CNN LEGAL ANALYST (via telephone): Well, this is a devastating blow to the prosecution's case. It's already been a challenging case for them. The cornerstone of their case was that the voice that was herd on the 911 tape was, in fact, Trayvon Martin, because it would have suggest that he was the one being victimized and that George Zimmerman was the aggressor.

The state attempted to put in a couple of witnesses, a witness who would indicate that he could determine that it was, in fact, Trayvon Martin who was saying or screaming "help me, help me." The defense put on a stream of witnesses which indicated this is basically hocus pocus and had no scientific validity. The judge opined that they were correct.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HOWELL: So basically, you know, the defense wanted to show that there's no science that with this particular audio clip, there's no way to determine who is screaming. And with this ruling, they got it.

WHITFIELD: Interesting stuff. The judge is allowing witnesses to step forward as long as they know the defendant or Trayvon Martin's voice, that's what the judge also decided --

HOWELL: Witnesses can definitely come up, but no experts can testify for the prosecution on this.

WHITFIELD: All right, George Howell, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

HOWELL: Absolutely. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, Paula Deen, she is apologizing for using a racial epithet in the past, but it has already cost the celebrity cook her contract with the Food Network where she has three shows. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAULA DEEN, COOKING SHOW HOST: Your color of your skin, your religion, your sexual preference does not matter to me, but it's what in the heart -- what's in the heart, and my family and I try to leave by that. I am here to say I am so sorry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Deen and her brother are being sued for alleged sexual and racial harassment by a former manager at the restaurant. Our Nick Valencia is following the story. So Nick, tell us about this apology, are people buying it? This apology was rolled out in so many different fashions, wasn't it?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And a lot of people saw it, Fred, as being clumsy. First they released a highly produced video. Her camp didn't think it was authentic enough or not good enough. So they rolled out another video where she was self-produced this video that you're looking at now at the screen, she comes across as very -- trying to be very sincere and compassionate, begging for forgiveness.

She said she used this "n" word in the past in her life when she was describing a robbery attempt. She was at a bank and had a gun held to her head. She was telling the story to her husband. That's when she said she used the word. A lot of damaging things said for her, seemingly damaging things said by her in the deposition. But despite all the criticism, Fred, despite all the negative backlash she's received, there are still some people coming to her defense.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PASTOR GREGORY A. TYSON, SR., FIRST JERUSALEM MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH: People are going to jump on it and believe what they want to believe and they're going to add what they want to add. But one thing I can sit here today and look you in the face and tell you, that woman can't be a racist. She can't have a heart against black people with all that she's done and all that she continues to do, and that's why I'm here today with you, just to be a character witness for Ms. Paula Deen because she's a beautiful person, beautiful spirit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: The pastor goes on to say in that interview, there's no way she can be a racist because she's done so much for the young black community, young black boys and girls. She's done just so much for them in terms of charity work. She's already lost her job at the Food Network, Fred, not having her contract renewed. She has so many other sponsorships, cookware lines. We'll be looking close at that to see if she loses anything else -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, thank so much, Nick Valencia.

All right, parts of Calgary, Canada, still under water today. The city's downtown is one of the worst hit areas. Some shelters have already been filled to capacity. The flooding has killed at least two people in Alberta. About 85,000 have already been evacuated across the province.

A U.S. soldier has been a Taliban prisoner for now four years, hoping he will come home one day, but will the U.S. negotiate with terrorists?

Patriots' tight end Aaron Hernandez is not talking, but police are investigating the death of a man whose body was found less than a mile from his home. Our legal guys are on that case next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: U.S. negotiators may be faced with a very tough question soon. Can they arrange to bring a U.S. soldier home without negotiating with terrorists? Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl has been a Taliban prisoner for four years now, but the terror group is asking for a lot in exchange for releasing him. Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has more.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, the U.S. wants Bowe Bergdahl back, but the Taliban want something in return.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (voice-over): There may be fragile new hope for the release of Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl.

SGT. BOWE BERGDAHL: Release me, please. I'm begging you, bring me home, please. Bring me home.

STARR: Bergdahl is the only American soldier known to be in captivity held, it's believed, for the last four years by insurgents along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Now the U.S. and the Taliban are on the verge of a face-to-face meeting in Doha, Qatar, to talk about ending the Afghanistan war and Bergdahl is on the negotiating agenda. JENNIFER PSAKI, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESWOMAN: Certainly, the issue of Sergeant Bergdahl and the fact that he has been gone too long will be a part of the discussion.

STARR: The Taliban wants to swap Bergdahl for five detainees being held at Guantanamo Bay. Some observers ask should the U.S. negotiate with terrorists even if it's to bring an American home?

JAMES CARAFANO, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: We should never stop trying to get him back, but I don't think anybody wants to see their country sold down the river in a sense just to bring them back.

STARR: James Carafano, an analyst with the conservative Heritage Foundation says be careful about talking to the Taliban anything. They see victory in just getting the U.S. to sit down with them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: It's not clear what would happen next, but Bowe Bergdahl's parents are making another appeal for their son to be allowed to come home -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Barbara. Meanwhile, the U.S. soldier's parents are expected to appear at a rally in Idaho today. They have been pleading with the U.S. government to bring their son home.

A crucial ruling comes down in the last hour in the George Zimmerman murder trial. Our legal analysts call it a devastating blow to the prosecution. Our legal segment is next.

In Oregon, some residents have gone vigilante. They have turned their neighborhood into a Glock block.

A deaf boy hears his dad's voice for the very first time, his reaction so touching, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Two days before opening statements in George Zimmerman's murder trial, and a ruling today in the hearing concerning the 911 recording of a scream on the night of the murder of Trayvon Martin. Within the last hour and a half we received the judge's ruling on a crucial piece of evidence. Judge Debra Nelson will not allow prosecutors to admit expert testimony on the voice analysis. It's this moment, this cry for help that's at issue. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: Does he look hurt to you?

UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: I can't see him. I don't want to go out there. I don't know what's going on. They're sending.

UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: So you think he is yelling help?

UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: All right -- what is your --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Let's bring in Avery Friedman, a civil rights attorney and law professor joining us from Cleveland. Good to see you.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Hi, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Richard Herman, a criminal defense attorney and law professor joining us from New York for the first time in I don't know how many months. You're back home.

RICHARD HERMAN, CNN CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Back home, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, good to see both of you. So Richard, you know, the judge rules, quote, and I have the ruling right here saying that, "There were also some environmental variables that hinder the ability of the witnesses to effectively analyze the recordings. But the recording of the 911 call can still be played for the court, leaving this for the jury's interpretation. Is that what's going on here?

HERMAN: That's exactly what's going on. The judge saying you can play the recording. You can bring in witnesses who apparently will claim they know the voice of Trayvon Martin and Zimmerman and they can tell the jury they believe it's his voice, but they cannot bring in experts to testify to this jury that based on scientific principles, they have made a determination that the voice on the tape is either Trayvon Martin or Zimmerman, devastating blow to the prosecution's case.

WHITFIELD: Avery, to underscore that, the judge in this order saying this order does not prevent the parties from playing the tapes at trial or calling witnesses familiar with the voice of the defendant or Martin to testify regarding the identity of the person or persons making the screams. So that tells you that the prosecution or the defense may call who to testify once this 911 call is played?

FRIEDMAN: Remember, we have eight witnesses who have been already identified as witnesses for the trial. Now based on this -- what I think is a very courageous and intelligent ruling by Judge Nelson. We're going to have additional witness whose will say I recognize the voice. Whether or not a jury accepts it, rejects it, that will be up to them.

But the decision is important because so-called Dalberg decision, that is, expert testimony. She concludes that the forensic audio science is not developed enough, it's not competent. It's a correct ruling. So we'll see additional witnesses to the ones that are already identified on who that voice is the jury will make the decision.

WHITFIELD: Richard says it's a devastating blow to the prosecution. In your view, is it a blow to the prosecution?

FRIEDMAN: A law enforcement perspective, yes. This would have really helped immensely, in a case that's going to be very difficult to prosecute. They have to show beyond a reasonable doubt second degree murder, Fredricka. So losing that is an extraordinary loss for the prosecution.

HERMAN: The most critical person to testify who the scream was will be Zimmerman himself because he must testify in this self-defense case, Fred. So let's see who he says the scream is.

WHITFIELD: And then the fact that we've got a jury, all women jury, that's significant, too. It will be interesting to see how all these things come together.

HERMAN: Not one black person on the jury, Fred, not one.

FRIEDMAN: And the fact that it's all female, Fredricka, everybody is saying it's of different value. I think it's the individuals who will count.

WHITFIELD: Except I think one of the jurors is a black Hispanic, Richard.

HERMAN: OK. They all have familiarity with guns.

WHITFIELD: We're going to talk about another case. I want to show you this piece from Alina Cho. We're talking about another very important case involving New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez. Police are investigating the murder of his friend. The body was found just about a mile away from his home. Here now is Alina Cho.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is Aaron Hernandez, August 2012, in the glow of signing a 5-year contract extension with the New England Patriots worth as much as $40 million, nearly a half million per game.

AARON HERNANDEZ, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: All I can do is play my heart out for them, make the right decisions and live like a Patriot.

CHO: That was ten months ago. This is now. The 23-year-old Patriots tight end is trailed by the media wherever he goes, leaving his lawyer's office on Friday, coming home. An O.J. Simpson like helicopters chase on Thursday, followed by this exchange at the gas station.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you tell us anything you want to say? Can you tell us anything that happened on Monday night?

CHO: Investigators are looking for clues in the mysterious death of 27-year-old Odin Lloyd, whose body was found in the woods less than a mile from Hernandez's home about an hour outside Boston. Police are not calling Hernandez a suspect, but investigators have searched his home. Lloyd's sister confirms the two were friends and went to a Boston nightclub together Friday night. Olivia Thibou says there's an even deeper connection. Lloyd's girlfriend and Hernandez's fiancee are sisters. OLIVIA THIBOU, VICTIM'S SISTER: I like to know why. You know, he is a very great guy. What could have he possibly done to anger anybody.

CHO: Hernandez's attorney says neither he nor his client will have any comment at this time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, again, Aaron Hernandez has not been charged. He has not been named a suspect and he isn't talking, but there are still a lot of questions in this case. We learned yesterday that three search warrants have been issued, but the warrants were not made public so we don't know if they involve Hernandez's home or property or what.

So Avery, where is this going in your view? What sort of pieces are investigators trying to put together so that they can figure out who is responsible for the death of this man?

FRIEDMAN: Well, there's an enormous amount of smoke here, Fredicka, enormous. The reason I think it's captured media attention is that -- look at that video. You've got a white 4 x 4 with a football player being followed by helicopters. They've gotten into the house and they're looking at communications on hard drives, talking to other witnesses.

From a law enforcement perspective, we're right at the beginning of looking into this, seeing where this is going. Right now not enough evidence to charge. I will tell you that within this coming week we'll see some action one way or the other.

WHITFIELD: Richard, another legal matter that Hernandez may be involved in and this is connected to a man in Miami. What gives here?

HERMAN: The allegation that he beat the crap out of someone down there. Look, they're going to bring charges with that. Fred, in the instant case, they want to know about Hernandez's house because there's a determination made that the surveillance system was intentionally destroyed.

In addition to that, his cell phone was destroyed, and in addition to that, of course, he's not talking, which he should not be talking to anybody. But these coincidences -- in addition to that, they brought in a cleaning crew to scrub down his house. This is kind of interesting, and I think law enforcement want to know why all this took place right after his friend was murdered.

WHITFIELD: All right, Richard, Avery, very complicated case. He has not been charged, not even named a suspect, but his name and his image is swirling around this investigation. We'll see you again in about 20 minutes -- let's make it 15, 15 minutes to talk about a shocking revelation from the Michael Jackson trial. We knew he had sleep trouble, but wait until you hear the details coming out of that courtroom.

Also up next, a story that has captured so many hearts. My goodness, this 3-year-old boy hearing his father's voice for the first time, his reaction so touching, it just puts you right into -- we'll have much more on what the father said.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The U.S. government has now charged admitted NSA leaker Edward Snowden with espionage among other things. Snowden is in hiding and was last seen in Hongkong. He is facing three charges right now including theft of government property. The other two charges amount to espionage under the Federal Espionage Act.

The Food Network is dropping celebrity chef Paula Deen after she admitted using a racial slur. Deen has since apologized, but the network says they will not renew her contract when it expires at the end of this month. Deen was released -- has released a statement thanking the network for having her show for the last 11 years.

Devastating floods are hitting the city of Calgary, Canada. One of the worst-hit areas is the city's downtown. Around 75,000 people have already been evacuated and the city's shelters are quickly filling in. The flooding has been blamed for at least two deaths across the province of Alberta.

The contact information of 6 million Facebook users may have been exposed. Facebook's security team says it had a bug in its download your information tool. The tool lets users export all data from their profiles. People using this feature may have inadvertently downloaded the contact information for people they had some contact with. Facebook says it has repaired the bug.

All right, now to a story that has captured the hearts of so many people across the nation this week. A 3-year-old boy hears his father's voice for the very first time. The boy's priceless reaction is caught on tape. Here is Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It could be called a modern day miracle. Watch as this little boy hears his father's voice for the first time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Grayson. Talk to him, Daddy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Daddy loves you. Daddy loves you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, hear.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you hear daddy?

GUPTA: Before this moment, Grayson Clamp had never heard a sound. Grayson was born without the auditory nerves that carry sound from the inner ear to the brain. Initially he was fitted with a cochlear implant, but without nerves it was ineffective. That's when doctors at the University of north carolina School of Medicine gave him this.

It's an auditory brain stem implant. The device is typically used in adults whose nerves had been damaged and hadn't yet been approved for use in children. That changed thanks to an FDA-approved trial and Grayson became the first child in the country to undergo the procedure.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't really know exactly what it's like for him. We don't know exactly what he hears, if he hears everything we hear, some of what we hear.

GUPTA: Doctors are confident Grayson will eventually hear and speak like any other child. His parents say he's already made great progress, although they won't soon forget what that first moment was like.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Grayson. Talk to him, Daddy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Daddy loves you. Daddy loves you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, hear.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: I can't stop watching that video. It's so fun to see his expression as he hears his dad's voice for the first time. Let me show you something quickly because I think this is important. First of all, we're not talking specifically about a cochlear implant. That's something that's been around for some time, but rather something known as an auditory brain stem implant.

You saw the microphone that was sort of outside Grayson's ear. It takes sound. It distils it down. Typically what would happen is a nerve would take that and transmit to it the brain stem. It's that nerve that is gone in the case of Grayson. Instead, the doctor essentially put an implant that goes straight to where that sound should go.

It's called the cochlear nucleus. It's on the brain stem. You don't need to remember the names here. Essentially they're recreating part of the central nervous system so he can take that sound and actually hear. Now, the goal obviously is to see how much sense he can make of that sound. We know he's listening to music and will turn it up when he sees the radio or something like that.

The doctors are very optimistic that he'll be able to process that sound, understand it, turn in the language and start expressing himself in that way as well. That was the goal for them. So far it looks like it is working. Again, he's the first kid in the country to have an auditory brain stem implant. There are nine more children who have been approved for this. We'll keep an eye on it, Fred. Back to you.

WHITFIELD: That is incredible. Thanks so much, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Mission accomplished. What a sweet, sweet evolution of events there.

All right, airports aren't exactly known as the place to go for great food. In a minute I'll tell you how some airports around the country are trying to change that. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, it might look familiar to you, an iconic piece of Americana. The famous white suit and black string tie worn by Colonel Sanders himself, the founder of the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants, one of the suits worn by the colonel can be yours. It's up for auction this weekend along with an autographed portrait of Sanders. The whole package is expected to fetch at least 10,000 bucks.

The Oreo is another American food icon, so to speak. This summer we're seeing a whole new version, watermelon, yes, watermelon Oreo, my gosh. Does that look good? The cookie has already hit some stores and is only around for a limited time. This isn't the first time, however, Nabisco has experimented with a new flavor. There was the candy corn, birthday cake and even the gingerbread Oreo, and now watermelon topping it all just in time for the summer.

One of the trendiest new places for food is actually the airport. Holly Firfer explains how food trucks are serving up new options for passengers at a few of the country's airports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, sir. Have a good one.

HOLLY FIRFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): People waiting to pick up passengers at the Tampa airport won't go hungry.

MICHAEL BLASCO, TAMPA BAY FOOD TRUCK RALLY: We have trucks at the airport cell phone lot six days a week offering them a great food option with a local small business. It just works.

FIRFER: Food trucks are a new trend in airport dining. Tampa is not the only airport making space for those trucks. Just a right down I-4 a variety of food trucks are serving the Orlando International Airport. In Austin, Texas, you can get a taste of techs mechanics from the local twist of spice. Los Angeles plans to take this trend inside LAX. The L.A. gourmet street truck is under construction in Terminal Four.

CHRISTINE OSBORN, TAMPA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT: The food trucks have been really popular. It's really great. It's a customer service feature, gets people to try something new.

FIRFER: Most food trucks are limited to designated parking lots. So if you have another flight, make sure you enough time to get back through security.

GLENN NAGLE, FAT TORTILLAS SOUTHWEST GRILL: It's a great service for travelers. They're coming in and waiting, happy to come up, pick up something for themselves and the people flying in from out of town.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The food was great, it was really good. I start it up and that was it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, you can see more of our travel stories at cnn.com/travel.

All right, no real sleep for Michael Jackson for two months. That's just one of the revelations for this week's Jackson trial. Our legal guys will be back to talk about that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Shocking story out of Louisiana, a 13-year-old boy babysitting his 5-year-old stepsister decided to start practicing wrestling moves on the little girl and now she's dead. Nick Valencia has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I really don't know why. That's my question. I don't know why.

VALENCIA (voice-over): Shocked and stunned, the mother of a 5-year- old girl allegedly killed by her 13-year-old half brother, the boy, a reported fan of professional wrestling, that world of choreographed body slams, throwing elbows and choke holds. The mother left the teen to baby-sit. Authorities say the teen told them he used the child to practice those wrestling moves.

COL. JOHN FORTUNATO, JEFFERSON PARISH SHERIFF'S OFFICE: Slammed on the bed, slams over his knee, elbowed and things of that nature and pounded upon, suffered significant internal injuries and obviously succumbed to those injuries.

VALENCIA: The sheriff's office the boy told them he knew TV wrestling was fake and during the interview with his mother present appeared to take pride in what he was doing and showed no remorse. The World Wrestling Entertainment, a professional wrestling organization that televised its matches issued this statement.

"The facts of this case clearly point to a lack of parental supervision. It is illogical to conclude that the repeated brutal and ultimately fatal beating of a 5-year-old little girl could be confused with imitation of WWE action seen on TV."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The defendant is guilty of murder in the first degree as charged in the indictment.

VALENCIA: The case is reminiscent of that of Lionel Tate in 2001. The Florida teen was convicted of using wrestling moves that killed 6- year-old Tiffany Unick. Although his sentence was later voided because he wasn't mentally evaluated before the trial, at the time, 14-year-old Tate was the youngest person in the U.S. to be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Back in Louisiana, the 13-year-old, if convicted, would be younger. He's been charged with second degree murder. His mother will not be charged. Nick Valencia, CNN, Atlanta. (END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Just heartbreaking. Our legal guys are back now. Avery Friedman in Cleveland, Richard Herman in New York. So Avery, how might this case move forward. People are certainly drawing the parallels between the Florida case and this in Louisiana.

FRIEDMAN: Well, they should. This is a horrible, horrible case. You don't know what the defense is going to be. Maybe he's eating too many of those Oreos you were talking about earlier. I think in practical terms you have to show if you're prosecuting this case that this youngster was able -- was capable of formulating a sense of what's right and what's wrong.

It's incomprehensible that a young one would do something like this. So look for experts testifying in this case about the mental state and the mental condition of this young defendant because what other possible defense could he possibly have in a case like this? This is just awful.

WHITFIELD: So Richard, WWE has issued a statement saying that there was a lack of parental supervision. Is that the end of it for them since you heard the family member say he loved to watch WWE? You know, is this enough to kind of remove them from the picture, their statement?

HERMAN: They're not in the picture. They're completely out of this picture that and that may be an accurate statement. I don't know if this young boy has ever done this in the past, if he had a propensity to beat up his half sister, I don't know. This is so eerily similar to the Lionel Tate case. In that case the jury had no sympathy for the young man and convicted him. That's what's going to happen here if they go to trial. They must take some sort of mental impairment defense here, as Avery said. Experts will have to evaluate him and they'll have to make a plea deal. This case can't go to trial.

WHITFIELD: Next case, let's talk about Michael Jackson case against AEG. Apparently he went without sleep for 60 days. Could that be the case? A sleep expert testifying at the pop star's wrongful death trial says that may have happened. So if Jackson went that long without any REM sleep, vital to keep the brain and the body alive, he may be the first, at least according to the experts.

The experts saying he is basing his opinion on prior testimony that Jackson was given the drug Propofol for 60 days. Avery, our medical correspondent is telling us the effects of this lack of REM could be clumsiness, paranoia, anxiety, difficulty learning, some of the attributes that come with lack of sleep. How do both sides use this information in their arguments?

FRIEDMAN: Well, it's very powerful evidence because this Harvard professor who is a sleep deprivation expert talked about the lack of deep sleep, that is, rem. So it's the first step in the building blocks to establish that AEG Live knew that Conrad Murray was not treating him properly. Again, I think it's a bit of a larger question because recall AEG is saying, look, we didn't hire him. Michael Jackson hired him.

But without the plaintiff's putting that evidence on, you're not goings to understand, at least in part, what's going on. Ultimately that very important e-mail involving the president or CEO of AEG Live that we're paying this doctor, he'd better be taking care of Michael Jackson. That's where this fits in. It's part of building a case.

WHITFIELD: Richard, what does that have to do with whether one slept 10 days or didn't sleep ten days or 20 day, what does that have to do with what's at the core of this case, which is who was responsible, who hired this doctor knowing that he might be prescribing Michael Jackson something that is not typical.

HERMAN: Let's step back for a second, Fred. AEG did not know Conrad Murray from a hole in the wall. They never heard his name, didn't know him. The reason they know him is because Michael Jackson said this is my man, this is my doctor. I want him as part of the team, you need to pay him. That's number one.

Michael Jackson hired him, not AEG. Secondly, at this stage of Michael's life, he had not performed in some 20 years. He was about six feet tall, 125 pounds and addicted to narcotics and taking anesthesia for sleep deprivation and insomnia. How could he have possibly thought he was in any condition to go on a whirlwind tour, perform concerts for multiple millions of dollars? I don't know -- to put all the blame on AEG I think is wrong in this case.

WHITFIELD: All right, we've still got a long way to go in this case.

FRIEDMAN: A long way to go, that's right.

WHITFIELD: Lots of details to extrapolate.

HERMAN: Many miles to travel.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Avery and Richard, always making us smarter on these legal cases. The legal guys are here every Saturday at about this time giving us their take on the most intriguing legal cases of the day.

All right, a pistol-packing grandma from Oregon is organizing gun owners to protect their neighborhood. We'll introduce you to the woman behind the Glock block.

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ENRIQUE IGLESIAS, SINGER: I'm Enrique Iglesias. We need to make an impact on people in need. Love, Hope, Strength is our rock and roll cancer organization. They're getting people to register for bone marrow transplant. It's extremely easy. All it takes is one of these and one person. You get a swab and that's it. That's how you can save someone's life.

Part of the mission on this tour was we get different ages in our shows and different ethnic backgrounds. I thought a lot of people would sign up. I think it comes a point and you reach a certain age where you feel responsible.

You have a certain level of power. By power I mean you can communicate your fans, especially nowadays with Twitter, with Facebook, I feel like I can do something positive and it's a good thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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WHITFIELD: An Oregon grandmother got fed up with neighborhood crime and she's taking matters into her own hands. She's organized a community watch group. They pack their own heat and they're not afraid to use it. Michaela Pereira has the story.

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MICHAELA PEREIRA, ANCHOR, CNN'S "NEW DAY" (voice-over): Despite her name, 65-year-old grandmother Coy Tolonen is anything but.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I was a child they called me a pit bull.

PEREIRA: It's that spirit that she says helped her beat breast cancer and drove her to chase an alleged thief off her property.

COY TOLONEN, GLOCK BLOCK ORGANIZER: I was having a cup of coffee at my window there looking out, and I noticed this fellow --

PEREIRA: She saw a man steal a beloved statue that her husband had given her when her mother died, leaving only this broken plate behind.

TOLONEN: He didn't just come to the yard and steal a statue. He tried to get in my front door. That alarms me.

PEREIRA: That concern now igniting her into action. She's organizing a watch dog group near Milwaukee, Oregon calling it Glock Block. Their motto, we don't call 911. The group is posting flyers in their windows as a warning that they are armed.

TOLONEN: I think it's time to let these criminals know not to come into our neighborhood.

PEREIRA: Local police say they're wary of vigilante justice.

DEPUTY ROBERT WURPES, CLACKAMAS COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: Essentially you're bringing a firearm into a situation where maybe there wasn't one before. You can get disarmed. The weapon can get used against you.

PEREIRA: But she's prepared.

TOLONEN: We are a tight-knit neighborhood and we are armed and we won't tolerate this nonsense because if it doesn't stop, they're going to find someone at home.

(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: That was Michaela Pereira reporting. So Tolonen says she owns her own gun and is applying for a concealed handgun permit.

Stay with us. There's so much more ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM in the 1:00 Eastern hour. Forget "Star Wars," I'd speak with the man who should be called Skywalker. Tomorrow he plans to walk across the Grand Canyon on a tightrope.

In the 3:00 Eastern hour, the video game controller that some call disgusting and terrible, it's not for kids, but should adults have it as well?

At 4:00 Eastern, celebrity cook Paula Deen needs a new network. Her racial slurs have come back from the past to haunt her.

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