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NEW DAY

Opening Statements in Zimmerman Case; Patriots' Aaron Hernandez Under Investigation; Kool-Aid for a Cause; Movie News

Aired June 24, 2013 - 08:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Welcome back to NEW DAY, everybody. I'm Chris Cuomo.

BOLDUAN: I'm Kate Bolduan. It is Monday, June 24th. Lots coming up in this half hour.

From George Zimmerman's trial to Aaron Hernandez investigation, Nancy Grace is joining us to break down some of the biggest legal cases in the country right now. We've got much more to talk about, Nancy.

CUOMO: With the big gavel behind your head.

NANCY GRACE, HLN HOST: That's attached to the back of my head.

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: That's where that came from.

CUOMO: Justice. Always justice. John Berman is also here. He's going to show us what he found on the Internet. This is a good one, including a monkey that wasn't too happy about his owner getting a ticket. It's going to be a chargeable offense.

But first, a lot of news. Let's get to Michaela Pereira, looking very fetching today with the high hair.

PEREIRA: Fetching? High hair?

BOLDUAN: You know what they say about high hair.

GRACE: High hair, close to the Gods.

PEREIRA: Thank you, Nancy, he does not understand.

GRACE: Get it, Cuomo.

PEREIRA: Down over here, party over here.

All right, the five things you need to know for your NEW DAY. First, where is Edward Snowden, the computer contractor who exposed a top- secret U.S. surveillance program, trying to find a country to grant him political asylum. After staying in Hong Kong, he flew to Moscow on Sunday. It's unclear, though, if he's going to stay in Moscow, if he's at the airport there, or if he is, indeed, headed to Cuba. This morning, officials in Ecuador say he has asked them for asylum there.

At number two, this morning the U.S. Supreme Court expected to hand down decisions. Justices are set to release decisions on their final 11 cases including same-sex marriage, affirmative action, and the Voting Rights Act.

A landmark immigration bill expected to pass the Senate next week, but first a critical test vote is set for today on a border security deal.

Are doctors overprescribing addictive drugs? A Senate committee is hearing testimony today about a report that claimed 700 Medicare doctors have been unnecessarily prescribing drugs like Oxycodone to seniors.

And at number five, one of the first Apple computers ever built, named the Apple 1, is going on the auction block. It originally sold for about $700 way back in 1976. Guess what? It is expected to fetch a half million dollars.

For everything you need to know to get your NEW DAY started, go to newday.CNN.com. Nailed it.

CUOMO: Very nice.

BOLDUAN: Two big legal stories heating up this morning. Opening statements in the George Zimmerman trial begin shortly at 9:00 Eastern. And also authorities continue to investigate New England Patriots' tight end Aaron Hernandez in the death of an acquaintance, Odin Lloyd.

To take us through these big cases and much, much more, HLN's Nancy Grace, a star in our eyes and many people's eyes, joining us this morning. So I want to talk first about this Aaron Hernandez case. I mean, to me, I can only describe it as a really bizarre legal situation unfolding. He's not seeing -- not being named as a suspect and not been arrested, but they keep going back in to investigate.

GRACE: Can I give you a word of advice, since you didn't ask?

BOLDUAN: Yes.

GRACE: When you look out your kitchen window and you see the police picking through your trash, you got a problem, honey. And that's exactly where Hernandez is right now. Forget about that 14, that $40 million contract he signed from starting in '14. The problem here is he was the last person seen with the murder victim shot one time apparently in the back of the head about half a mile from Hernandez's home.

All right. Don't worry about Tebow getting re-signed. You might slide in as tight end. Forget about that. He's joining the Patriots. What he needs to worry about is the fact that there were 20 law enforcement officials in his yard, in his home. They came in with dogs that can only be a scent dog or cadaver dog. They've got dogs in his home; they went in his backyard. I'd like to point out that he had a two-story dog house. Even a mastiff would get lost in that thing. But he's last seen with the murder victim early on Monday morning. He was picked up on surveillance on a Boston street. They had issued warrants on the strip club "Desire" in Providence, which is about an hour away from Boston. The two were apparently clubbing there.

Let me tell you another thing, nothing ever good happens at a strip club, unless you're the owner, of course. So he's looking down the wrong end of the barrel.

CUOMO: He handed over -- his representatives handed over his cell phone to the police. They said it was badly damaged.

GRACE: Smashed?

CUOMO: Right.

GRACE: I like the way you said that. That's certainly putting perfume on the pig. "Badly damaged" like, oops, I dropped it in the sink. Oh no, it was smashed!

CUOMO: I tried to stick to the words that were actually used.

GRACE: Smashed.

CUOMO: That is the interpretation.

BOLDUAN: He's not been named a suspect; I'm going to be careful.

CUOMO: Not a probable cause that a crime was committed.

GRACE: Here's the problem with an immediate arrest -- then you get an indictment, then they can slap a speedy on the state which forces the state to try it within about 90 days to 120 days. They want to get their ducks in a row before they charge him.

Here's the bigger problem for him. Does the name Alexander Bradley ring a bell to anybody? He's a 32-year-old male out of the Florida area who is currently in a lawsuit with Hernandez. Why? Because they left a strip club and Bradley claims Hernandez shot him in the eye. Interesting it's not a criminal case. It's a civil lawsuit we dug up.

So, a similar transaction, people. That's the death knell to the defense.

CUOMO: This is a little bit of a rhetorical question.

GRACE: Oh lord. Let me fasten my seat belt.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: The police going to the house --

GRACE: Don't throw big words at me. CUOMO: I'm sorry. I think you can answer this a certain way. They go into the house, they say it looked like it had been scrubbed. That it wasn't just a clean house. They believe, right, they believe the allegation is that something was done. What do you make of it?

GRACE: I don't know that's rhetorical. I will ask the other ladies here. I get very suspicious when a man becomes a neatnik (ph). All right? I never forget Scott Peterson doing the lawn, cleaning the house. What? So, I know the defense lawyers will scream, "That's not evidence!" But the reality is, when suddenly he hires a professional cleaning service right after his buddy gets shot in the head half a mile away, yes, that's going to come in at trial if there ever is a trial.

CUOMO: All right, let me switch gears here for a second. When you look at the Zimmerman case we were talking about a little bit earlier, I had said I don't think Zimmerman is going to testify. The reason I believe that is that I think this is a very difficult fact pattern for the prosecution to deal with. I don't think he has to take the stand. Your thoughts?

GRACE: I think that, number one, I call Trayvon Martin case because in my mind, that is who is going to take center stage in this -- the boy, the boy. I mean, I've got a son. God willing he makes it to junior high school to get gunned down. OK, I'll just let that thought settle for a moment.

Will Zimmerman take the stand as an Arias in a self-defense case? Many believe the defendant must take the stand to make out self- defense. He may rely on the 911 call. Look what happened to Arias and her 18 days on the stand. It turned the jury against her.

CUOMO: Zimmerman could be a very similar case.

GRACE: Conventional wisdom, don't take the stand. Don't cross- examine him on everything he ever did wrong all the way back to grade school, if he stole some bubble gum.

CUOMO: They already have the interview he gave with the authorities the day after. So they have that to rely on. Why risk the jury feel him out and not like him?

GRACE: Should not cross-examine. Look, taught (ph) mom Casey Anthony did not take the stand and we saw what happened there, an acquittal. I would advise him, if I was a defense lawyer, which of course I never would be, not to take the stand.

BOLDUAN: All right, Nancy, we're not going to let you go yet.

GRACE: I don't want to go. I want all of you to leave. I'm just taking over here.

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: Apparently, you have the coffee, so, you have the power.

BOLDUAN: Exactly.

CUOMO: Power is in the mug.

BOLDUAN: Before we move on, though, we want to of course remind you to watch "NANCY GRACE" live on HLN weeknights, 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

CUOMO: All right, now this is my favorite part of the show, right? We do something called The Good Stuff. Every day we feature stories about some of the good news out there, stories, people doing the right thing. It's good.

In today's edition, Kool-Aid for a Cause. Eight-year-old Ohio boy Michael Diamond recently lost his grandmother to cancer. His family was having trouble paying for her funeral. He hears this. What does he do, 8 years old? He says, "I'm going to start a Kool-Aid stand. I'm going to start selling Kool-Aid, a buck a glass; 50 cents for half a glass."

You know, take a long time to make the $5,000 they need for the funeral, but that's when our affiliate WOIO got involved. They did a story. Needless to say, business picked up. Now Michaels' at more than $1,000 and counting.

And get this. Kraft Foods found out about the situation, who are they? They make Kool-Aid. Now they're trying to look at the situation; may donate as well. We encourage them to do that, to be a good corporate citizen.

We want to hear about the good stuff that's going on in your world. Let us know. Tweet us @chriscuomo and @KateBolduan, @MichaelaCNN. Facebook with #NewDay. I don't know the website, so I can't give it to you. But any of those ways, let's keep the good stuff going.

And beautiful thing for Michael. I hope they get the money, the Diamond family.

BOLDUAN: Isn't that amazing? We can learn so much from kids. I just don't know why we're just not listening sometimes.

GRACE: I'm going out for a glass of Kool-aid.

CUOMO: Kraft Foods should step up, right? Help them out.

PEREIRA: It's a reminder that our kids hear things and they pay attention to what's going on in the house. He sensed and heard from mom and dad that they were having a hard time with money. They hear stuff.

BOLDUAN: They can understand a lot more than we give them credit for.

CUOMO: The Kool-Aid pitcher bust through with the check.

BOLDUAN: Bust through with the big check.

PEREIRA: Here's to good stuff.

BOLDUAN: Thank you, Nancy.

GRACE: I'm going out for Kool-Aid.

CUOMO: Good. Nancy likes it, it's got to be good.

BOLDUAN: Coming up next on NEW DAY, plans are underway for an "Independence Day" sequel, but there's going to be a noticeable difference. Can the movie succeed without one of its biggest stars attached?

CUOMO: And a meteorologist wasn't happy when a spider made an unexpected on-air cameo. John Berman will show you what happened. What he found on the Internet.

BOLDUAN: Nancy Grace, fan or foe of spiders?

GRACE: Foe! Foe! Yes!

BOLDUAN: They're all evil.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: It's a point that kids hear things. And they pay attention to what's going on in the house. He sensed that you know and heard, mom and dad were having a hard time with money. They hear stuff.

BOLDUAN: They can understand a lot more than we give them credit for.

CUOMO: I got Kool-Aid picture bust through with the check.

BOLDUAN: Bust through with the big check.

GRACE: Great stuff, here is the good stuff.

BOLDUAN: Thank you, Nancy.

CUOMO: What do you think Nancy? Nancy likes --

GRACE: I'm going out for Kool-Aid.

CUOMO: Good. Nancy likes it, it has to be good.

BOLDUAN: Right now.

Exactly. Coming up next on NEW DAY plans are under way for an "Independence Day" sequel. But there's going to be a noticeable difference. Can the movie succeed without one of its biggest stars attached?

CUOMO: And a meteorologist -- another big word -- wasn't happy when a spider made an unexpected on-air cameo. John Berman will show you what happened. What he found on the Internets.

PEREIRA: Fan or foe of spiders.

GRACE: Fan or foe of what? GRACE: Foe. Foe, yes, foe. They're all evil. They're all evil.

PEREIRA: I feel that way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: Well, something positive. Welcome back to NEW DAY, everyone. It's time for the "Pop 4" with, of course, Nischelle Turner is here for us.

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: OK, guys so you know I call Monday -- Moanday.

PEREIRA: Yes.

TURNER: OK, I've got a couple things to moan about but a couple nuggets that you can take with you for your day.

CUOMO: Good.

BOLDUAN: All right, where are you starting?

TURNER: There's a phrase or two that no woman wants to hear. And like when is the baby due when you're not pregnant right.

PEREIRA: Yes.

TURNER: Well I'm starting this morning with a phrase that no actor wants to hear. And that is "You're too expensive." It's our number four story that's popping this morning, it's Will Smith's price tag, if you believe it.

According to the director for "Independence Day 2" the star of the '96 original will not be returning for the sequel. Why? Because he costs too much -- and this is what it gets me about this because he's too big a name -- when do you hear that in Hollywood, that someone is too famous?

BOLDUAN: I wish that problem on someone.

TURNER: Thank you.

PEREIRA: Too big of a name.

TURNER: Exactly.

PEREIRA: I love it.

TURNER: I don't know it's interesting, Chris Cuomo is like, yes well I hear that every day. I'm too big a name.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

TURNER: It's the third story that's popping this morning. I told you earlier, but I'm going to give it to you, again. Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, are they engaged? Rumors have been swirling lately that Kanye gave Kim a big old diamond after she birth to their daughter, North.

CUOMO: I thought they were planning a wedding, didn't we say that?

TURNER: Well --

PEREIRA: She maybe a push gift is what they're called.

TURNER: Well here's the thing, "People" magazine says not yet, they're not engaged -- not yet but it's in their future.

CUOMO: Did I imagine that?

TURNER: You did imagine that.

PEREIRA: You dreamt that.

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: You dreamt about that Kim and Kanye would get married.

PEREIRA: You do. I know you do.

CUOMO: I dream of Kanye --

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: That's when you know you're sleep deprived.

TURNER: Kanye West pops into that dream -- get up, wake up, quick.

All right our number two story this morning actor Jim Carrey he is speaking out against the sequel to "Kick-Ass". Now Carrey is going to star in the follow up to the really successful 2010 film but he came out against the picture on Twitter yesterday. He said in part, "I did Kick-Ass a month before Sandy Hook. Now, in all good conscience, I cannot support that level of violence."

There's a couple things at play here. Some people think maybe it's biting the hand that feeds you. Some people say, you know, it's just him evolving and taking a moral stand. I'm not really sure where I fall on this, but I do think that it's very interesting for somebody to come out against their own movie.

CUOMO: No it's good, it's good. Tell you why.

PEREIRA: I agree.

CUOMO: I'll take this side of it.

TURNER: OK.

CUOMO: Obviously you look at anything either, right? It's good and here's why. It all matters when we're dealing with that issue of violence and what the kids see in movies and what our culture adopts is OK. And then it's funny it's not violent matters it's part of the equation. I like the sense. TURNER: All right.

PEREIRA: I agree.

TURNER: I like it, too. I was throwing it out there and I love what you gave me back.

CUOMO: I dream of him, too.

PEREIRA: That's it. That might be a good dream. That might be a better dream.

TURNER: All right, let's get to our number one story his morning. It's good stuff. The monsters took it all this weekend the Pixar flick "Monsters U" was number one at the box office.

PEREIRA: I love these monsters.

CUOMO: Oh, they're so good.

TURNER: Followed by Brad Pitt zombie picture "World War Z" now it's usually not too good to come in second place, but it is for Brad Pitt in this case guys. Because he made $66 million off this movie biggest movie ever opening for him -- "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" was his biggest but now not.

BOLDUAN: I was with a five year old this weekend they are looking forward to that movie. Not the "Z" movie.

TURNER: Well "Monsters U" made $82 million.

BOLDUAN: A lot. Thank you Nischelle.

TURNER: All right guys.

BOLDUAN: And of course we want to hear your thoughts. Check us out on Twitter and Facebook or go to the Web site, newdayCNN.com. And let us know what you're thinking about.

CUOMO: Coming up next overcast with a 70 percent of spiders. Meteorologist freaks out and it's just one of the things John Berman learned on the Internets. Look at her. Yes, there really is a ten- pound spider next to you.

PEREIRA: Spider larger than your head.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: It is that time of the morning. John Berman is here to tell us what he learned on the Internets today.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I learned a lot. First of all, I learned there is an alternative universe -- an alternative universe where the San Antonio Spurs won the NBA title. Look at this video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: San Antonio Spurs the official champions here at NBAStore.com.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: That's what happened in my head.

BERMAN: So this is -- this is an ad that actually ran on NBA TV over the weekend for official NBA championship Spurs gear. It was obviously some kind of mistake or cruel joke on Spurs' fans. I just feel awful for those fans who now and will go out and buy their gear.

PEREIRA: It's collector's items.

BOLDUAN: Yes the Internet is talking all about that one.

The Internet also loving this next video of an angry monkey -- ladies and gentlemen, that was a cop during a routine traffic stop in Texas.

PEREIRA: It's a violent one.

BERMAN: You know he reaches into the car to get his signature there and he gets attacked by an angry monkey. This monkey was actually a trained carnival animal. The cop says he's prepared for all different type of situations. And interestingly enough -- he was not prepared for a monkey.

CUOMO: He grabbed a pen that he was getting.

BERMAN: The guy got bitten, but he's doing ok. He's not angry about it. And also the monkey's angry about it either.

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: Finally, finally, from Canada, the land of the strange.

BOLDUAN: Hey, now. I resent that line.

BERMAN: That was just for you. 1.5 million hits on YouTube for this video. This meteorologist just delivering the weather when she looks like she's getting attacked by a spider and she's freaked out.

CUOMO: But she's not getting attacked by a spider.

BOLDUAN: Seriously spiders are that big in Vancouver?

BERMAN: Look at this, again.

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: So, the deal is -- the deal is the spider was on, you know, the landscape camera looking over the bay and popped out behind her. I don't know how this weather stuff works. I've never been able to figure it out. I have no idea how the video works, but I assume she knows and I assume she knows --

CUOMO: She's disappearing into the lens.

BOLDUAN: She also studied at Hogwarts because she's going and disappearing.

BERMAN: She delivers the weather at Hogwarts.

BOLDUAN: Look, she's going -- like disappearing right there.

PEREIRA: You actually asked me if I knew her because I'm from Canada.

BERMAN: Well no, I mean she's from Canada and I figure there was some connection.

PEREIRA: There are Like 34 million people in Canada.

BERMAN: You only have 33.9 million of them.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: You have to own it and now whenever we talk about Canada, we have to say you people and then talk -- what is it with you? You all think you're famous.

BOLDUAN: Take that spider video with your morning coffee. That was gross.

CUOMO: And that's it for NEW DAY. Thank you so much for joining us.

"CNN NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello begins right now. Hey Carol.