0 court proceedings is not unusual. in the rodney king incident, that occurred. in many other incidents, this has occurred. so i would encourage people not to be too fast, too quick to say, whether or not civil rights charges can be sustained but to allow this process to proceed in an orderly way. i think that's what the attorney general has committed to. >> can you stick around, mark, and join us because we're anxious to hear what the attorney general has to say. i'd be curious, i'd be very anxious to get your reaction as well. i don't know if you can, but if you can, we'd like you to stick around. >> we'll stay, wolf. i may have to step off and come back, but i'll stay. >> thanks very much. the former mayor of new orleans. the president of the national urban league. we'll get his immediate reaction to what eric holder has to say. growing pressure for federal charges against george zimmerman. we're awaiting the attorney general of the united states. eric holder is getting ready to weigh in on the not guilty verdict. and they lost their case but the prosecution still says george zimmerman is a liar and a murderer. plus, this case is sparking conversations about race in america. moms of black teenagers are taking extreme precautions right now to make sure their sons are aware of how people may perceive them. this is cnn's "newsroom." i'm wolf blitzer. the george zimmerman verdict is in but this case is far from closed. we're awaiting the attorney general of the united states, eric holder. he's here in washington, d.c. he's over at the washington convention center. he's going to be speaking at this convention. you are looking at live pictures. these are sorority sisters. it's the 100th anniversary of the delta sigma theta founded at howard university. they are get ready to introduce the attorney general. we're getting ready to hear what he has to say. it's a sensitive, sensitive moment. the not guilty verdict coming out saturday night. but passions are clearly intense on both sides, on both sides. in sanford, florida, today, pastors are reaching out to the community. they are asking people to stay calm. ♪ churches in sanford and across seminole county in florida will be open for community prayers every monday we are now told beginning at noon. let's talk a little bit more about what's going on in the george zimmerman verdict. possible civil rights charges that could be leveled against them. our chief white house correspondent jessica yellin is joining us along with our cnn legal analyst paul. we heard you ask the press secretary jay carney is f the president is facing real pressure to weigh in on the department of justice investigation into the civil rights aspects of a case potentially coming out against george zimmerman. tell our view bers the exchange you had with jay carney and what you are hearing. >> hi, wolf. the white house is maintaining that the president is keeping his hands off of the case at the department of justice, or i should say, the investigation at the department of justice into whether federal charges should be brought against george zimmerman. as you know, the white house is not by law supposed to interfere over there. but jay carney said the white house does not feel pressure. they are letting their facts decide what will happen. and he's letting the president's remarks stand for themselves. you really wouldn't elaborate on what we've already heard the president say which was in the past if he had a son, he would look like trayvon. and then go on to repeat what the president put out in a statement over the weekend saying this was a tragic loss for the nation. a tough time for the nation. but this is a nation of laws and a call for calm and peace. and also calls for an opportunity to look ahead to push for more tougher gun laws essentially. i think you'll hear a similar message when the attorney general speaks shortly. he's going to talk about the pain in the nation that the tragedy has elicited. that the nation must continue to be vigilant against violence and the department of justice shares the concerns of people in sanford and across the nation, but that it will be driven in this decision by facts and the law and by a concern with the truth. he will emphasize in his remarks, wolf, that the department of justice wants to see a dialogue come out of all of this and that communities continue to talk with one another. he says he will say we are resolved as you tor combat violence involving or directed at young people and to prevent future tragedies to deal with the underlying attitudes, mistaken beliefs and stereotypes that served as the basis for these incidents. in other words, don't expect him to come out and say one way or another whether he will bring a federal case, wolf. >> jessica, stand by. paul callan is with us, one of our legal analysts. the last thing the justice department needs right now is to come up with a civil rights charge against george zimmerman, go to court have a lengthy trial, if you will, once again, and lose. they are very nervous about that possibility, aren't they? >> well, yes. and they should be. i mean, obviously, this case, it touches a number of fault lines in american society. it touches race. it touches all kinds of big issues, stand your ground, gun control. all these issues are floating around in the zimmerman case. in the end, they would have to go into court and prove that racial hatred was the reason for the killing. now bear in mind, wolf, that the jury in florida apparently decided that zimmerman had the right to act in self-defense. so they couldn't even prove, you know, an assault or manslaughter case based on lack of self-defense. so to think you're going to be able to prove an additional element, racial hatred, and that there wasn't a person acting in self-defense, that's a steep hill to climb. and they are going to need some really solid new evidence in order to pursue that. so i kind of suspect this is just public relations sort of statement that's being made and in truth, justice does look into a lot of these situations. i'm sure they'll do a complete investigation but i don't know what they're going to come up with that state prosecutors and law enforcement officials didn't come up with before this very substantially investigated crime and trial. alleged crime and trial. >> based on your experience, though, high-profile case like this, a lot of pressure out there. petitions. people demonstrating. how much -- the outside pressure on the justice department, for example, the career prosecutors, the political appointees, the white house potentially which could weigh in even though the press secretary says the white house is staying out of this. this is strictly a decision that career prosecutors and investigators at the justice department, the u.s. attorneys will come up with. but, look, they all live in this environment where there's enormous political pressure. how significant could that be? >> it could be very significant. and i think, frank leash it's the reason the founding fathers when they were drafting the u.s. constitution said we're going to have local juries decide these cases. and they are going to decide the cases based on the evidence. we're not going to have a country based on petition -- guilt by petition or popular vote or press conference. and in the end, whether it's the justice department, when they put together a case here if they do or the local florida jury, you have to have evidence presented to six or 12 people that has to support a conviction. so i think you'll hear a lot of talk, and i think the public has to be reassured that this fairness in the system, that everything is being investigated and for african-americans in it and i think maybe -- i think a lot of whites in this country maybe don't get a sense that to african-americans, this is like one of their own children got shot down for no reason, for being in his own neighborhood and for being black and wearing a hoody that night. that's the perception. there's always been a hope that in race relations we've grown beyond that point. but when you try to look at social issues, wolf, like this through the prism of a trial, it's a very troubling thing because trials are decided by evidence and what evidence is available. and i'm not sure the evide in this case. >> paul callan helping us better appreciate the legal aspects of what's going on. paul, thanks very much. in the aftermath of the not guilty verdict, the prosecutors, they are speaking out. bernie de la rionda, the lead prosecutor in the case and his boss angela corey sat down with hln's vinnie politan. vinnie asked them a crucial question about the defendant and the victim. you have to hear what their answers were. >> one word to describe george zimmerman. >> murderer. >> george zimmerman. >> lucky. >> trayvon benjamin martin. >> i don't know there's one word that can describe -- a victim. >> trayvon benjamin martin. >> prey, p-r-e-y. >> you can see more on our sister network hln. the show 10:00 p.m. eastern, "hln after dark." we're also hearing from the defense in this trial. george zimmerman's lead attorney mark o'meara sat down with our chris cuomo. chris zeroed in on something a lot of people want to know. is george zimmerman sorry about what happened? listen to this. >> does he regret, though, picking out trayvon martin? he was wrong, right? this kid was not doing anything wrong. he belonged there. he had a right to the place and space where he was also. does he regret even singling him out that night. >> well, let's look at the circumstances as he was viewing them. he saw somebody who happened to be in the area where another person had just burglarized a home. yes, and it was a young black male. was that a focusing, a profiling? it was a suspicion. let's not also forget that trayvon martin was under the influence of some marijuana. it didn't come into trial but we're not bound by those facts now. we can't ignore the fact he had prior history of burglaries because he was found with the fruits of a burglary back several months before. so if we are going to look at the suspicions and the way he was acting, he was seemingly wandering around, having spent 45 or 50 minutes traveling less than a mile. so if you are going to look at what george zimmerman saw that night, it's all got to be taken in context. >> o'mara also says he was surprised that there was an outrage after the verdict because he had hoped that people would see the trial as fair. here's what else we're working on this hour. as we ark wait the attorney general of the united states. not guilty, those two words sparking conversations about race in america. moms of black males say there are different rules for their kids. we'll explain what's going on. also this -- asiana airlines saying it's going to sue a tv station over phony and racially offensive names. we have details. i'm only in my 60's... 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sorority, by the way, which was founded at howard university here in washington, d.c. as i said, 100 years ago. so you see these women here from all over the country. they've gathered in washington. they're now getting ready to hear the attorney general of the united states. we'll have live coverage. he's going to be speaking out on the verdict in the george zimmerman trial. as we await the attorney general, let's get to some other news. egypt's public prosecutors office is issuing seven new arrest warrants for the leaders of the muslim brotherhood. it comes as a top american diplomat visits cairo. the deputy secretary of state william burns is meet with egypt's interim president adly mansour. the visit takes place just hours after three people were killed and 17 more were wounded in egypt's north sinai province. suspected militants were using rocket-propelled grenades to attack a police car, but missed and hit the bus that the victims were on. all right. i'm told now that eric holder is getting a hug from alexis herman. old friends. he's going to be speaking out on what's going on. let's hear what he has to say. i'm sure he's going to thank the women of the delta sigma theta sorority first. >> good afternoon deltas. >> good afternoon! >> thank you secretary herman for those very kind words. and thank you all for such a warm welcome. it's a privilege to join all of you. president butler mcintyre, national social action co-chairs watkins, ladimore and boyd. and every member of your executive committee and the executive board in celebrating delta sigma theta's centennial year here in our nation's capital. and not far from where the sorority was founded. but as you heard, it's even greater privilege for me to say that i am the husband of a distinguished delta, dr. sharon malone. she made me say that. but thank you all for inviting me to take part in your 51st annual convention. as we come together to congratulate this year's award recipients, to reflect on a century of engagement and empowerment and to strengthen the robust traditions, scholarship and political action that has always defined this remarkable sisterhood. now, of course, as this celebration unfolds, we are -- felt by our nation surrounding the tragic unnecessary shooting death of trayvon martin in florida last year. and we are cognizant of the fact the state trial reached its conclusion over the weekend. as parents, as citizens -- against violence in communities across -- the deltas are deeply and -- the justice department shares your concern. i share your concern. it open ed -- >> independent of the legal determination that will be made, i believe that this is yet another opportunity for our nation -- >> unfortunately you can see we're having some issues, technical issues from the washington convention center. getting out the signal from the washington convention center. we're going to turn the tape. we're going to get you exactly what the attorney general has to say. the justice department did release, and i have it right here with me, the exact text of what he's saying. and if it's -- it looks like the line may have cleared up. let's go back. >> trayvon's parents have demonstrated throughout the last year and especially through the last few days. they suffered a pain that no parent should have to endure. and one that i as a father cannot begin to conceive. even as we embrace their example and hold them in our prayers, we must not forgo this opportunity to better understand one another and to make better this nation that we cherish. moreover, i want to assure you that the department will continue to act in a manner that is consistent with the facts and the law. we are committed to standing with the people of sanford, with the individuals and families affected by this incident, and with our state and local partners, local partners in order to alleviate tensions, to address community concerns and to promote healing. we are determined to meet division and confusion with understanding and compassion and also with truth. we are resolved, as you are, to combat violence involving or directed at young people to prevent future tragedies and to deal with the underlying attitudes, mistaken beliefs and stereotypes that serve as the basis for these two common incidents. and we will never stop working to ensure that in every case, in every circumstance, and in every community, justice must be done. this is a name we're proud to share with everyone in this room and with all who have contributed to the culture of excellence that has been this organization's hallmark for the last century. in the decades since delta sigma theta was founded in 1913 by 22 ambitious howard university students, this sorority has grown into the single largest organization of african-american women in the country comprised of more than 200 -- >> so the attorney general now praising the sorority sisters from the delta sigma theta sorority. congrtulations to all of those ladies here in washington. but substantively, you heard, we had a little technical problem. we're going to clean that up. but the bottom line, he says the justice department shares your concern. i share your concern. and as we first acknowledged last spring, we have opened an investigation into the matter. an investigation into the civil rights aspects of the george zimmerman shooting of trayvon martin. i want to assure you the attorney general says, i want to assure you the department will continue to act in a way that is consistent with the facts and the law. he did not say that they will -- they will be filing charges, but only that an investigation started a year ago it continues right now. gloria borger, our chief political analyst, jessica yellin, our chief white house correspondent. a very precise phrasing by the attorney general, even though we don't have a better clue whether or not charges will actually be filed. >> yeah, the attorney general clearly did not commit to any course of action, wolf. in fact, he said independent of the legal determination that will be made, i believe this tragedy provides yet another opportunity for the nation to speak honestly about these issues of race. and then he went on in that vain. it's very clear to me from speaking with sources that, look, this is a very high bar for the attorney general. this particular case. you have to prove that george zimmerman acted deliberately with the intent to break the law and that his motive was based on race or discrimination. and i think that is a very, very high bar. this is a legal matter, not just a political matter, and i think that's the vain in which the attorney general approached this today, wolf. >> are we, jessica, going to be hearing more from the president specifically