tracking information, photos that you've only shared with friends, they need to go to a judge, make their case, and get that warrant. >> reporter: so civil liberties groups concerned about the potential for abuse here. but the bottom line, if abusers are concerned about law enforcement, somehow getting ahold of their information on facebook, they probably shouldn't put any information online to begin with. dan simon, cnn, san francisco. >> if your choice did not win or you want to check out the runners up, i'll have links at facebook.com/suzannecnn. we continue now with randi kay. >> thank you very much. we want to start with a bizarre controversy. some are calling weiner-gate. congressman anthony weiner has hired an attorney to advise him on what to do next after a lewd photo of a man was sent from his twitter account to a college student in seattle. the photo showed a man from the waist down in his underwear with an apparent erection.

the photo and tweet were quickly deleted. representative weiner is denying he posted the photo, and says it was a prank by a hacker. we caught up with the congressman again today to get some more answers. but this is what he said. >> aren't you concerned someone is looking at your sensitive information? >> i'm going to return to working on the things i care about. i participated in the story a couple of days now, given comments on it. this is a distraction, and i'm not going to let it distract me. >> are the capitol police looking into it? >> put out a statement about that in the past couple days. put out a couple statements. i'm trying the best to -- i just spent a couple days cooperating, and you know, trying to help you do your job, but at a certain point i'm going get back to work, and i think we have reached that point today. >> this might go away if you answer some of the questions out there. >> i'm not going to answer. >> to answer part of that question for you, the capitol police and the fbi tell cnn they are not currently investigating the case. conservative blogger andrew brightbart got wind of the photo

and broke the story on biggovernment.com. he is joining us now. andrew, thanks for coming on the show to talk about this. congressman weiner says his account was hacked, that this was a prank. so i have to ask you, since you were first to break the news object your website, how did you find out about this? >> it was on friday evening, i live on the west coast, so sometime around 7:30 or 8:00 at night, i was checking my twitter account, and somebody sent me the retweet. i clicked on it, saw that it was coming from congressman weiner's account. we did as much research as we could. it was a verified account of congressman weiner. and we followed the story throughout the night, and where he decided to break the story at the point that congressman weiner announced on his twitter account that his facebook page had been hacked. the second that -- that a sitting congressman said that -- his social media had been

hacked, it was truly a story. and it's been a wild three days. >> and the source of this photo was a conservative blogger, as well, named dan wolf. do you have any idea how he got this photo, how he uncovered this photo? and did you know him before at all? >> i didn't know him before. he was the one that tweeted it. he sent it -- he forwarded it through twitter to many prominent people within the blog he is fear, including ariana huffington and "the huffington post." i happened to be at my kitchen island -- >> what is your understanding as to how he discovered it? >> well, we have that exclusive at biggovernment.com right now. but he has been monitoring rep weiner for quite some time now. because according to his theory, and i don't know him that well, he has been monitoring relationships that congressman weiner has been having with women, young women, who claimed

to have relationships with him. i'm not saying what type of relationships, but people that rep weiner follows. girls that are quite young. younger than the girl in question here. talk openly about rep weiner who he follows these girls. >> all right. those are definitely some -- those are some interesting allegations. we'll have to put those to the representative. he's not on the show now to ask him about that. but i do want to ask about the photo, because it was apparently sent to this 21-year-old, genette cordova. she issued a statement saying she never met the congressman, followed him on twitter, and jokingly referred to him as her, quote, boyfriend on a tweet. but take a look at this statement she gave to the "new york daily news." she says i do not have a clear understanding as to why i'm involved in this fiasco. she goes on to call all of this speculation and faulty allegations, saying my reputation has been called into question by those who lack the character to report the facts. now, yet a lot of conservatives like yourself, andrew, seem to

be implying a possible relationship between car dova and the congressman. >> well, actually, we never mentioned her name. we have made this about congressm congressman weiner the entire time. it was gawker, which is a liberal website, that named her. and she named gawker by name for outing her. salon's joan walsh, a left wing site, attacked us falsely for naming her. we have not made this about this woman whatsoever. this is about congressman weiner, who for over 72 hours allowed for people to believe that his website was hacked, which caused for this poor guy who discovered this thing to be accused of being a hacker, and he has gotten death threats. what has happened in the last 24 hours is that he's downgrading it to a prank. there's something fundamentally different between a prank and a hack. >> do you have any evidence to show that this wasn't a hack or a prank? >> a prank -- a prank is

innocuous. a hack is criminal and malign t malignant. we have called for an investigation to clear wolf's name, because for the last 72 hours, the supporters of congressman weiner have accused him online and many prominent ones, including "the daily cost" of having hacked him. >> so what if there wasn't a hack? i'm just asking you? is. >> well, why doesn't he want an investigation. he is saying it's a prank. what's a prank? how does he know the motivation? how does he know -- if -- prank implies he knows who the person is. and that it was done in a light-hearted, inknockous fashion. a hack means that a sitting congressman who has national security, issues, has been hacked by both facebook and twitter. there should be an investigation. and the democratic party was calling for a full-scale investigation into mark foley, when only text messages were

exchanged between somebody. this is much more serious. >> so you want the forensics tested. what do you think really happened here? >> i can't -- at this point, weiner has created more questions for himself. i want there to be a full-scale investigation into this. i want the fbi or the capitol police to investigate this. because for 72 hours, by saying that it was a hack, the left wing blog sphere went nuts, and accused people of having hacked his accounts. >> he has lawyers looking into it. >> i don't trust congressman -- i don't trust congressman wei r weiner's lawyers to exonerate wolf or other people out there who have been accused of hacking. >> i also want to ask you. i mean, you are a right wing blogger yourself, you're at the forefront of the shirley sherrod incident, when you published this edited version of her speech.

>> yeah, which -- which included -- >> wait. let me finish my question. why should we take your word on the case of the congressman? >> because the shirley sherrod case, i had the redempive arc in the video, and said her basic humanity is to help the white farmer. the media cut that story up to try and attack me. look at my 1,400 word original piece that said that the naacp was mentioned 17 times in that. shirley sherrod was mentioned four times in that. this was the last attempt to take me down, and it didn't work. >> all right. well, still certainly a lot of questions out there, surrounding this case. andrew, we do appreciate you coming on and talking about it. and letting us know the trail of the information as best we can at this point. and we'll continue to follow it. andrew, thank you. >> thank you. and for a better perspective on the legal side of this, let's bring in our senior legal analyst, jeffrey toobin. jeffrey, representative weiner is a public figure, and twitter

is a public forum. what protections, if any, does he have when it comes to a case like this? >> well, i'll tell you one protection he has, randi. he has me saying that what andrew brightbart was insinuating about him with young girls and stuff, is outrageous. and frankly, it's too bad that he got to say that stuff on cnn. look, this is a light-hearted story. this is a silly little thing that happened. it's not a big deal. and to have him convert it into some sort of sinister activity and conspiracies and left and right, look, everybody knows that on the internet, stuff happens. >> right. >> and something happened with anthony weiner's account. nothing to do with the left or the right. it's just like a silly thing that happened. >> and that's why we were quick to point out that he was making these very strong allegations on our air, and with the representative not here to defend himself, we're going to have to ask him about that. but, again, what protections does he have? >> well, i mean, look. of twitter is not a very secure

environment. twitter is -- you know, an example of social media, where people, you know, talk back and forth, and sometimes they do it in a light-hearted manner. but i think this case is a good illustration that you have to be careful, just like you have to be careful with anything on the internet. you know, wikipedia is a great thing. sometimes wikipedia is wrong. twitter is a great thing. sometimes the information is not reliable. and doesn't even come from the people it appears to come from. that's the lesson here. and i think, you know, buyer and reader beware. >> but wouldn't it be easier -- we know he has hired a lawyer. why not just go to capitol police and the fbi to investigate who hacked his account? i mean, from your perspective, as a lawyer, the right way to go here or should there be an investigation and we can just put this to rest? >> probably. but, you know, there's a famous expression. don't make a federal case out of it. that it strikes me as the appropriate reaction here. you know, no one was hurt. no one was injured. no one was horrified or shocked.

there was no obscenity here, there was no -- nothing malicious. i mean, sure, if this continues, or if something really sinister comes out, then perhaps it calls for an investigation. i mean, i think congressman weiner is handling this in the appropriate way. as far as i can tell. which is basically treating it as kind of a joke. he said that, you know, now he's -- now that he's got this problem with this computer, he's worried that his blender is going to attack him. although he's fairly confident that his toaster is on his side. i mean, i think that's the appropriate tone to take with this. and to turn it into something more than a mild prank, hack, whatever you want to call it, seems really excessive. >> so play it down, and let the others play it up, i guess. jeffrey toobin, appreciate your advice. >> i just don't think it's a big deal. >> all right. >> okay, randi. very good. >> thank you, jeffrey. hackers have been around as long as computers themselves. and as the world has gotten ever

more digitized, the prospects for mayhem or outright disaster have multiplied. it's a battle fought every day in cyberspace, but in the not too distant future, may be fought in the real world with real military hardware. mike lawrence joins us from the pentagon with more on this. chris, what's being contemplated, and why? >> reporter: the pentagon is in the final stages of putting together its sort of cyber security strategy, randi. it's going to be released probably in the next two or three weeks. and basically, taken as a whole, as a part of u.s. strategy, this is basically saying that if the united states is attacked through a cyber attack, it may be so damaging that it would cause the united states to respond with military force. in other words, computer attack in, military force going out. in other words, if there was a cyber attack that caused a nuclear reactor to melt down and kill hundreds of people, there's -- what this is saying

is, that's the same as if somebody blew up something outside and caused that same sort of damage at the reactor. or if it they shut down an electrical grid, which cut a pipeline, they would say, well, that's causing this same sort of damage as a naval blockade. they're creating the same thing they could do with a military attack, and basically saying the u.s. has the option to respond in kind. the u.s. policy now under the obama administration is at a military option on the table. randi? >> all right. chris lawrence for us at the pentagon. thank you. stay with us when our stream team takes aim at military responses to virtual invasions. can you really fight hackers with missiles? a former allied commander joins our panel at 2:50 eastern time, only right here on cnn. experts have been warning about a double dip in the housing market. does the latest evidence prove them right? we'll tell you all about it, next. cium of the leading yogurt.

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aspercreme breaks the grip, with maximum-strength medicine and no embarrassing odor. break the grip of pain with aspercreme. alison kosik joins us from the floor of the new york stock exchange. alison, is this the double dip that we have been fearing? >> reporter: randi, you talk to some analysts, and they will tell you yes. here's why. we all thought that prices for

homes hit bottom in 2009, but now they're even lower. take a look. this is a classic double dip. prices began plunging in 2007, we saw them rebound in 2009, 2010. but you know what, it didn't last. now we are beginning to see that second dip. keep in mind, part of the rebound you saw was artificial. it came from those first time home buyer tax credits. the market also was pressured by the cheap foreclosure properties that are really filling the market right now. and we're watching prices fall to levels we haven't seen since 2002. this is happening in big cities, major cities, like minneapolis, phoenix, chicago, portland. you know what, randi, it's every wrote and shows how widespread the problem is. >> and a lot of people, alison, wondering when will things get better? any idea on that? >> got to be honest. most americans are pessimistic. 54% of us don't think housing is going to recover until 2014 or even later. and if you listen to analysts, they're just as ominous. realtytrac analysts saying

housing recovery is a long way off. s&p analysts saying there is no relief in sight. randi? >> alison kosik with not very good news about the housing market. always a pleasure to see you though. so thank you. what are the three words that best describe your personality? next, in "your money," we're talking to a student who is starting to build an empire from this single question. don't go anywhere. this interview will be amazing. interesting. and awesome.

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smart, loving, determined. if you only had three words to describe yourself, what would they be? at only 18 years old, our next guest started the successful website, three words.me where visitors describe their friends' personalities in three words. in the first three weeks, it lanned a quarter million subscribers. it was eventually sold and two other web companies, highly profitable. and is now working on the tablet publishing application. mark joins us now. hi, mark. first, i'm sure you get this all of the time. what are the three words that you say best describe you? >> well, can we -- i can take it from my profile page. i think the three words that would describe me were awesome, smart and asian. >> oh, okay. well, those all fit as best i can tell. why do you think the simple question and answer website became so popular? >> i think it's just that people want to get a good idea of

themselves from another perspective. i mean, i myself was interested in finding out what people thought about me in three words. i think other people have that same kind of -- have that same kind of curiosity. >> yeah. and you've also created some other sites. tell me about those. >> well, i created some -- i had two other previous companies i sold. currently i'm working in new york city, so i moved from boston to new york city, and pretty much kind of dropped out of college. and so now i'm working at onswipe, a tablet publishing platform. >> so do you feel you don't need college, because your career is on its way already, it seems. >> yeah, definitely. >> well, you're just 18. tell me, what's your goal behind all of this, and what really drives you here? >> i think -- my goal is to, you know, do all of this business stuff. my main goal is to contribute with a positive kind of effect on the world at large. so my main goal is to do -- mission thing and then focus on

philanthro philanthropy, humanitarian action, social change, as well as scientific contribution. these kind of things i think will make a big impact that is larger than myself. and that's what drives me everyday. >> and so we're just looking at your plan there. so you want to be worth $10 billion, and then you're going to give a lot of that money away. >> exactly. i mean, that's the way i think i can make the biggest impact. >> all right. well, you are well on your way, mark bao at 18, and we appreciate you coming on. very interesting. >> thanks so much. >> thank you. rating the president. new numbers are mixed for the most part. our ed henry will be along in just a moment with the highs and lows. there he is. the man of the hour. we'll be right back.

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we are waiting the arrival of president obama. he is expected to announce his choice for commerce secretary, just moments from now. cnn's senior white house correspondent ed henry joins me at this time every day. ed, glad you're with us again today. so what do you know about this? who is in, who is out? >> well, john bryceson, a former utility executive out in california, also on the board of disney, as well as boeing. and somebody, early in his career, started one of the premier environmental groups, the natural resources defense counsel sill.

and so he is somebody that some of the left are going to appreciate. but as a recently retired business executive, somebody -- >> ed, let me interrupt you. because the president is just at the podium making the announcement. >> today i am pleased to announce that i will nominate john bryceson to be our nation's next commerce secretary. john is somebody who will bring to this job a wealth of experience in the public and in the private sectors. but in my mind, nothing has prepared him more for this demanding role. a role that requires delicate diplomacy, complex negotiations and careful management of folks with strong views. than being the father of four daughters. they are all here today, as is john's wife louise, and i'm sure john agrees that louise gets the credit for how wonderfully they have turned out. as commerce secretary, john is going to be an important part of my economic team, promoting american business, and american

products across the globe. by working with companies here at home and representing america's interests abroad, i'm confident that he's going to help us meet the goal of -- that i set of doubling our nation's exports. in this new role, john will be able to draw on decades of business experience across a range of industries. from his role on the boards of major companies like disney and boeing, to his leadership in the clean energy industry. that's the expertise that will help us create new jobs and make america more competitive in the global economy. of course, john will be building on the success of outgoing commerce secretary gary locke, who has tirelessly advanced america's economic leadership abroad, securing export deals that will mean hundreds of thousands of jobs here in america, including an agreement with china, where gary will now be serving as our next ambassador. and we couldn't be prouder of him and are confident he's going to be doing an outstanding job there. of course, in the years ahead, a

key to achieving our export goal will be promoting clean energy in america. that's how we'll reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and that's how we'll encourage new businesses and jobs to take route on our shores. john understands this better than virtually anybody. throughout a distinguished career in which he has led nonprofits, government agencies and large companies, he has been a fierce proponent of alternative energy. as a young man with a degree from a prestigious law school, john didn't follow his friends to a blue chip law firm. john took a chance on an idea he cared about and co founded the natural resources defense counsel sill, which grew into a powerful and important voice in protecting the safety of our air and water. it was then that john caught the eye of a young california governor named jerry brown. i'm not sure what happened to that guy. but -- but for john, it led to leadership positions in government, where he got a

fires-hand look at the real life impact of energy and environmental policies from water conservation to electricity production. later in the private sector, he rose to become the chairman and ceo of edison international, one of the nation's largest utility companies. john headed the company for almost 20 years, during which time he helped edison become a leader in solar and wind power, and innovative approaches to proving the profitability of clean energy. just before he retired from the company, he launched a plan to turn 65 million square feet of unused commercial rooftops into solar power situations. the largest array in the country. with enough electricity for more than 160,000 homes. today he advises companies around the world as a business leader who understands what it takes to innovate, to create jobs, and to persevere through tough times. and he continues to carry himself with the integrity and sense of responsibility that have guided him his entire life.

this experience and these qualities will serve our nation well, as john takes on yet another tough assignment in his career. so i want to thank gary again for his extraordinary service. he has done an outstanding job while at commerce, and john, i am grateful to you for your willingness to serve. i look forward to working with you, and i know that you will help us deliver the kinds of growth, prosperity and job creation here in america that we all want the. so thank you very much, both of you. >> thank you very much. thank you, everybody. >> all right. there you have it. the announcement. let's get back to ed henry in washington following this, along with us. ed, what will be bryson's first order of business? >> as a key member of the economic team, the president made the pledge he's going to double u.s. exports in the next five years, a tall order. he wants to do that in order to improve the jobs picture here in

the u.s. but first he's got to get this man confirmed by the u.s. senate. it's interesting. while the president was announcing that, senator mcconnell, mitch mcconnell, the republican leader in the senate, his office was putting out a statement, saying basically they've -- they're blocking a lot of nominations until the president moves forward on some of these trade deals that have been pending to boost u.s. exports. there's one with south korea that's been pending, there's one with columbia. and so bottom line is the president has been pushing for some of these trade deals, sort of in general. but specifically, has not worked enough in the estimation of the republican leaders on the hill to actually push them through congress. they still have to get through. so i think it's going to be a tall order, immediately, right out of the box for this new commerce secretary to get confirmed, first of all, and secondly to figure out how to navigate trade deals that have been stuck on the hill, some for a few years now. >> he has had his hands full. that's for sure. ed henry, thank you. next, another former international banking executive is accused of assaulting a hotel

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here are the latest developments and stories you may have missed. two iraqi citizens have been arrested and indicted in kentucky for helping the al qaeda and iraqin surgeon see. officials said one had repeatedly attacked u.s. troops with ieds. both suspected allegedly tried in recent months to provide weapons from the u.s. to the insurgency. the men were taken into custody in bowling green and were arraigned today in federal court in louisville.

sarah palin is stringing along the media on her bus tour this week, quite literally. palin snuck in and out of gettysburg today, and her staff is keeping most of the news media in the dark about her tour stops, resulting in a cat and mouse chase from one stop to the next. palin told reporters to expect the unexpected if she runs for the white house. a paid contributor for fox news, palin told fox she is challenging reporters to keep up the pace. congressman anthony weiner has hired an attorney to advise him after a lewd photo was sent to a college student in seattle. the photo showed the man from the waist down with a bulge in his underwear. the photo and tweet were deleted. he denied he posted the photo and says it was a prank by a hacker. we caught up with the congressman again today to get more answers, but this is what he said. >> at a certain point, you've got to get back to work. i understand the people want to keep talking about this. i'm focusing on the things i want to focus on.

i have got a few statements out there you can go and refer to. and if you want more and you want to keep following the story, you're certainly welcome to do it. i'm going to focus on the things that my constituents want me to. >> the capitol police and the fbi tell cnn they are not currently investigating the case. a former egyptian banking executive is in custody in new york after allegedly sexually assaulting a motel maid. mahmoud abdel salam omar is now the chairman of assault company. police say the 74-year-old assaulted the maid when she brought extra tissues to his room on his request. it allegedly happened at the pierre hotel in manhattan. this case comes just a couple weeks after former imf chief dominic strauss-kahn was accused of attacking a maid in his manhattan hotel room. former bosnian seesh strongman is on his way to the hage in the war crimes tribunal. he arrived just motion ago. earlier today, a judge approved his extradition from certain i can't and denied claims that the former general was too frail to

stand trial. he is accused orchestrating the killings of thousands of muslim men and boys during the bosnian war in 1995. he was found outside belgrade earlier this month after 15 years in hiding. last hour, the world health organization announced that cell phones can possibly cause cancer. it said cell phones are in the same hazard category as lead and ex augs and chloroform. until now, they said no adverse health effects had been established and the cell phone industry maintains there is no conclusive evidence of danger. americans depend on the federal food and drug administration to make sure their prescriptions are safe. we'll hear from two veteran journalists who say that trust may be misplaced. down the hill? man: all right. we were actually thinking, maybe... we're going to hike up here, so we'll catch up with you guys. [ indistinct talking and laughter ]

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now cnn in depth. medication nation. cnn is looking at the pharmaceutical industry this week as part of our investigation, chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta spoke with veteran journalist donald bartlett and james steel. they wrote about the food and drug administration in "vanity fair." >> this is a topic i'm very interested in, i've done some reporting on myself. i read your article in "vanity fair." americans take a lot of medications, 61% of adults take at least one pill. 25% of seniors take at least one medication. and these numbers are going up. just as a starting point, and we're going to get into this, but how much confidence should they have that their medications are safe? donald? >> that's a really good question. it's -- it's almost like a lottery. many of them are, and many -- and some of them are not. and the question is, for the person taking the pill, what are my odds.

>> and also, you have the situation that a pill that may be fine for one person isn't for another. and that's one of the great unknowns that hangs out there with almost all medications. >> i think people sort of generally understand the process. there's an fda, an organization that is supposed to oversee this. medications are supposed to be proven that they are safe. they're supposed to be proven they're effective. and even more effective than existing medications. what -- you know, let me start with you, donald. what doesn't seem to work here? >> well, you make a very good point. they're supposed to be better than the existing medications. sometimes, the trials are run on placebo, not the existing medications. so it's entirely possible for a drug to be approved as safe and effective, but it's not as safe and effective as one already on the market, which is much cheaper. there have been a lot of

high-profile stories lately, james. vandia was linked to heart problems, the fda put tighter and tighter restrictions since the first report in 2006. but as reporters, it seemed like it sort of trickled out. let me start here. did the fda move fast enough with regard to avandia? >> they did not move fast enough. and that's an excellent example to talk about. many reports of adverse reactions were coming from all over the world. and in fact, one of the things that actually stunned us when we were doing our research is that most of the major health regulatory bodies around the world were pulling avandia off the shelves long before we were. even the saudi arabian drug agency basically pulled it off the shelves way before the u.s. took this action. so it was clear to the rest of the world. and the information that was coming out about avandia was

compelling and very powerful. but once again, fda drug its feet on this and took forever to take this action. they just took this week. >> i don't know quite how to ask this, james, but is this just inefficiency or sinister at play here? why would the fda be moving so much more slowly than some of these other countries in terms of their regulation? >> i think one of the reasons is so much gets investeded in one of these drugs, and they don't -- the drug industry has tremendous influence with the fda. i think we probably all know that, recognize that. and it was a tremendous profit-maker for the company, which was manufacturing. and so there were tremendous influences to try to keep it on the market as long as possible. i think that's -- we don't see one particular example of where the fda should have acted. they just simply did not respond to overwhelming evidence that

began coming in everywhere else. but it's typical on many drugs. by no means was unusual with avandia. >> sanjay, just to play devil's advocate here for the fda, if you go back a few years, they were under enormous criticism for not approving drugs fast enough. and the news media in this case, our profession, really took after them, because basically accusing the agency of withholding life-saving medications from the public. and nothing could have been further from the truth. but the fda got burned during those years very badly. coming up, in the 3:00 p.m. eastern hour of "newsroom," brooke baldwin will have part two of the conversation, focusing on clinical trials overseas. and coming up right here, "nightmare of a revolution." reports that egyptian women were subjected to virginity tests, now confirmed. the shocking details, right after this break.

46 minutes past the hour. here's a check of our top stories. home prices were down just over 5% in the first quarter compared to a year ago, hitting their lowest level in nine years.

it was the third straight quarterly drop for the s&p case-shiller national home price index. one analyst says there is no relief in sight. an egyptian military general admits to cnn that the military forced women protesters to undergo virginity checks. he says 17 women rounded up during a march 9th protest were subjected to those tests. until now, the military had denied reports of this. one alleged victim says she was tied up, beat, shocked with a stun gun, and examined by a male doctor. today hamid karzai warned that any future nato air strikes that kill civilians will be considered attacks against the afghan people. according to officials, just three days ago, an air strike killed 14 civilians in southern afghanistan. despite a sluggish economy, americans continue to give president obama a thumb's up. his approval rating stands at 54%. with 45% saying they disapprove of the job he's doing, according to the latest cnn opinion research corporation survey.

however, his approval rating on every domestic issue listed in the poll is well below 50%. and in space, the crew of shuttle "endeavour" is preparing to return to earth tomorrow. the crew completed four space walks and maintenance upgrades as part of its final mission. the return from the international space station to the kennedy space center in florida will heart attack the end of "endeavor's" 19-year career. after the break, we'll tell you about a man who set out to help a friend in need of a prosthetic hand, and wound up creating what some call one of the most incredible inventions of the year. wait until you see this. keep it here. ♪

♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] with amazing innovation, driven by relentless competition, wireless puts the world at your command. ♪

welcome back. everyday on this show we do a segmentt called "the big i" and it is all big ideas and innovations and solutions to problems. in today's "big i" we want to talk to a man who created what "popular science magazine" calls one of the top inventions of the year. it is a prosthetic hand that can be as functional as a model that can cost half of the cost. he created for his friend who needed a hand, and yet this

simple innovative idea can end up helping many more. ken poulis helped to develop it with mark and he is the president of business development in edison. and ken, this is really kecool,o tell us more about what inspired mark to create it. >> well, we are thrilled to help mr. stark bring this to market. he was inspired by one of his friends who was born without a left hand and as well as part of his left arm. he was frustrated by the fact that his friend was constantly fumbling with hooks when he was outside of work or social settings that the hook was attracting a lot of attention that was unwanted at the time. so he decided to go into the basement to fix the problem the best way he knew how which was to build his friend a hand. >> and motioning there, you have a prop with you, so maybe you can show us or tell us how the invention works and how imcompares to others on the market? >> sure. so this is our first prototype

that mr. stark actually built in his basement. and what it is, it is a device that is five articulating product. so when you pull on the handle, five fingers articulate to allow you to graspp objects like balls, brooms, other devices that you cannot do with a hook. so what was quite interesting about this is that as mark developed it, he created some intellectual property around this hand, this mechanism in here, this pulley system allowing you to pull once and have the five digits articulating as you see right here on camera. >> so are there limits it to or can it do pretty much anything? >> well, it can do a lot of things. so, for example, you can pick up a water bottle as i said before and we have props that i can demonstrate that as we go here on camera. so, as you can see, the hand can articulate around this particular bottle here, and lift up a water bottle. a hook can't do that. it can grab a ball. for example. and i'm not as proficient as the

inventor's friend dave vaught who can actually catch a ball in the air with this particular device. it has -- >> when will it come to market? >> we expect it to be on the market between 12 and 18 months. right now, it shgs si, it is o create it in a more manufacture-ready product. this one is beat up, because dave vaught has been using it for a couple of years now. >> and what about the cost? will people afford this for those in need? >> that is the goal. right now in the market, you have a difference of the hooks on the market which average between $300 and $1,000 and then you have mi these myoelectric h with the surgery can be thousands off dollars. so we think this is between the hook and the mi yomyoelectric m

>> thank you so much for showing us. for more infor gamation go to cnn.com/ali. ordinary windshield wipers off the glass. so, did we build a slower car? or design wipers that could handle anything? what do you think? the cadillac cts-v, the world's fastest production sedan. we don't just make luxury cars, we make cadillacs

time now for a cnn political update, and some republicans may not be happy with their choices for 2012. cnn senior political editor mark

preston and deputy political director paul steinhauser joining me from washington. paul, let's start with you, and news of a push to draft a new republican presidential candidate. >> yeah, here is what is going on today and it is a sign, randi, that maybe the republicans are not so happy with the current field of candidates they have got. a group of half a dozen iowans and big players on the republican side and big donors for republican candidates are going to new jersey to meet with chris christie, the very outspoken governor of new jersey who is a rock star of republicans because of his push against the democrats in the state to cut the budget. well, they are trying to convince him to run. here is what he said to cnn's jessica yellin. you ain't getting me anywhere near that, and i'm not running for president. remain calm, all is well. and he said forget about it running for the hour, and mark, what do to republican voters think about this? >> well, randi n the political circles that we run in, they talk about chris christie as the candidate they would like to see jump into the race, but a new

cnn research corporation poll shows that may not be overwhelmingly great support, and take a quick look there. you can see that only 45% of the republicans want him to run for the republican nomination, while 45% do not want him to run. so, randi, while there tends to be some sup or the for a christie run, it is not overwhelming. randi? >> i want to ask you, mark, about this whole birther story, and it seems like it is not going to go away. will it ever? >> no, it won't go away as long as president obama is in office and thereafter. in fact, there is a new book out that is on "the new york times" best seller list that is by jerome coursey and it came in sixth on the best-seller list, and it is interesting, because the fact of the matter is that he is making the claim that barack obama is really not a u.s. citizen. so, even though a lot of people are reading it though, there are poll numbers that show that a

majority of americans think otherwise. paul? >> well, check it out, randi. with this cnn research corporation poll showed that 8 of 10 though that yes, the president was born in the united states and that is a jump from earlier in the year, but 17% still say, they don't think he was born in the u.s. or definitely or probably not. >> well, no matter how many times we think we have put it to bed, it is still out there. and i want to ask you about sarah palin who is out there on the bus tour and she won't tell any of us where she is except for her employer fox news, and what do you think about her probability to run? >> well, we have a political reporter following her, and she was going to gettysburg and liber liberty bell and independence hall, and she is right at the top of the polls. >> well, randi, around the

hoopla of the bus tour of sarah palin and going up the east coast and leaving the door open for a presidential run and it does not look to me that she is running for president, and perhaps looking for attention, and again, that is my personal attention, but the fact of the matter is if she is a serious candidate, she would publish the ked yule and allow the local republicans in states and counties to show up, but we are finding out about the stops moments before she has arrived. so it seems a little strange for me if she is seriously running for president that she would take this route to do so. >> all right. mark and paul, pleasure to see you guys. thank you. thank you, randi. and the next update from the best political team on television is an hour away. we start with a bizarre controversy this hour. some are calling it weiner-gate. congressman anthony weiner has hired an attorney to advise him what to do next after a lewd photo of man was sent from his twitter account to a college student in seattle. the photo showed a man from the waist down in underwear with an apparent erection.

the photo and tweet were erased, and now the capitol hill and fbi tell cnn they are not currently investigating the case. representative weiner is denying he posted the photo and says it is a prank by a hacker. we caught up to the congressman trying to get more answers. this is what he said. >> i spent a couple of days cooperating and trying to help you to do your job, but at a certain point i have to get back to work and we have reached that point today. >> the distraction might go away if you answered som of the questions. >> i'm not convinced of that. >> well, i talked to a conservative blogger andrew breitbart and our legal analyst jeffrey tu jeffrey toobin for some perspective. do you know how he got this photo and did you know him before? >> well, i didn't know him before. he was the one who tweeted it. he sent it, and forwarded it through twitter to many

prominent people within the blogosphere, and including arianna huffington and the "huffington post," and i happened to be there at my kitchen island, and i saw it and so -- >> what is your opinion in how he discovered that? >> well, we have an exclusive at government.com right now, but he has been monitorings, rep weiner, for quite some time now. >> i want to ask you about the photo, because it was sent to a 21-year-old woman jeanette cordova and she said that she had never met the congressman and simply followed him on twitter and jokingly referred to him as her boyfriend on a tweet. but look at the statement that she gave to the new york "daily news." quote, i don't have a clear understanding of is exactly how or why i'm involved in the fiasco and he goes on the call it speculation and faulty speculation and she says that my reputation has been called into question by those who lack the character to report the facts. now, andrew, you and others are

implying a relationship between cordova and the congressman? >> this is a congressman weiner who allowed for 72 hours to believe that his website was hacked which caused for this poor guy who discovered this thing to be accused of being a hacker, and he has gotten death threats. what has happened in the last 24 hours is that he is downgrading it to prank. there is something fundamentally different between a prank and a hack. a prank is a -- >> do you have any evidence to show it was not a hack or a prank? >> a prank is innocuous, and a hack is criminal and malignant. we have called for an investigation to clear wolf's name, because for the last 72 hours, the supporters of congressman weiner have accused him of online and many prominent ones, including the dailycause of having hacked him. so if in fact there was -- >> what if in fact there was not

a hack. i'm just asking you? >> well, he is saying he does not want an investigation and he says it is a prank, and what is the motivation. prank implies he knows who the person was, and it was done in a light hearted and innocuous fashion, but a hack means that a sitting congressman who has national security issues has been hacked by both facebook and twitter. there should be an investigation. >> twitter is not a very secure environment. twitter is, you know, an example of social media where people talk back and forth and sometimes they do it in a light hearted manner, but think that this case is a good illustration that you have to be careful, just like you have to be kargful wi -- careful with anything on the internet and wikileaks is great, but sometimes it is wrong, and sometimes things come from

people it did not come from, and that is the lesson here. i think that buyer and reader beware. >> but wouldn't it be easier and we know that he has hired a lawyer and why not just go to the capitol police and the fbi to investigate who hacked his account. from your perspective as an attorney, shouldn't there be an investigation and put it to rest? >> probably. but you know, there is a famous expression, don't make a federal case out of it. that strikes me has the appropriate response here. no one was injured or horrified or shocked. there was no obscenity here. there was no -- nothing malicious. i mean, sure, if this continues or if something really sinister comes out, then perhaps it calls for an investigation. i mean, i think that congressman weiner is handling this in the appropriate way. as far as i can tell, which is basically treating it as kind of a joke. >> democrats and weiner supporters questioned breitbart's reporting record and say it is an attempt by weiner's

political opponents to smear and undermine the congressman. all right. now i want to ask you a question and knowing the answer could save your life. we want you to pay attention here. what does your cell phone have in common with engine exhaust, chloroform and lead? the world health organization say they all possibly cause cancer. this is not another study, but the stark conclusion of many studies going back years and conducted all over the world. and cnn senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen joins was the 411 on this. all right. this is pretty scary. what should we make of it? >> i would use the word important and not scary. the world health organization comes out after reading every study done on cell phones and cancer to say that drcell phone and mobile devices are a possible carcinogen for humors and specifically talking about gliomas which is a kind of brain tumor and you are saying why isn't that scary, elizabeth? well, here is why it is not

scary. >> right. >> and here is why, because it is possible, but they have not definitely linked it. and it is not like the cell phone is toxic, but the kind of risks that we are talking about is a risk that builds up day after day after day and week after week after week and year after year. and one cell phone call is not going to give you cancer, but something that builds up. here is third reason it is not scary, and this it is right here. you know what this is? you see it? it is a little ear piece. cell phone can be problematic and when you hold it right up to your ear, because the brain is in there and on the other side of the cell phone and hold it as a distance and the radiation dissipates into the air, so you put this thing on and you can hold your cell phone at a distance and use it and use a bluetooth ear piece or speakerphone, but there is something that you can do and i'm always happy to say that, because a lot of times there is nothing you can do about some problems, but you can do something about this. >> good. so we should not be freaking out? >> we should not be freaking

out. absolutely, absolutely. >> what about kids? anymore dangerous to them? certainly, they have not been using it as much as you and i have. >> right. the concern about kids is two of-fold, one the brain cells and the cells in general are dividing and developing quickly so that the cells are more vulnerable to some kind of carcinogen and so there is a concern about children and risk. and you and i were not using cell phone as kids, because they did not exist. so the risk we have starting at age 30 or when we started to use them is not as great as someone who started to use them as someone age 6 or 7, 8. so the kid on the cell phone at age 7, and by the time they are 50, that is a lot of years of cell phone usage. so when you think that the younger you start, the more years of cell phone usage you have is the easiest way to do it. >> and when it is not in my ear, it is on my lap, so what does this mean for the cell phone industry? >> well, they have a response. i want to read it to you.

what they have to say partly is that this classification of a carcinogen does not mean that cell phone cause cancer, and the w.h.o. finding is based on limited evidence. that is true. this is not an absolute cell phones cause cancer. >> but it is interesting, because it has been studied for so long and this is coming together. >> and the first big group who has said, wait a minute, there might be a link to this, because every other group has said the jury is still out, and to say there might be a link is a big deal. >> so possibly play it safe. >> play it safe and use it in the earpiece because it is so easy. >> okay. elizabeth. well, phone calls are front and center in the session of the casey anthony murder trial. heart wrenching calls to the police from her grief-stricken mother who realized that her granddaughter was missing. casey anthony is charged with aggravated murder and other crimes in the disappearance of caylee in june of 2008 and never

seen alive again. her remains were found six months later. today in orlando, jurors heard three separate calls to 911 all from cindy anthony, casey's mother and caylee's grandmother and all from the same day, and at that point caylee had been missing for one month. >> my daughter finally admitted that the baby is missing. i need to find her. >> your daughter admitted that the baby is where? >> that the baby-sitter took her and that my daughter is looking for her and i told you that my daughter has been missing for a month, and i just found her today but i can't find my grand daughter, and she has admitted to me that she is trying to find her herself. there is something wrong. i found my daughter's car today and it smells like there has been a dead body in the damn car. >> what is her name? >> caylee, c-a-y-l-e-e, anthony. >> caylee anthony. >> is she white black or his pan snik. >> white.

>> how long has she been missing for? >> i have not seen her since the 7th of june. >> the baby-sitter cindy anthony referred to was was never found and a woman with the same name later sued for defamation. and today, the jurors heard a jailhouse phone call to a friend who sounded more broken up about caylee than her mother did. casey's is the second voice you are about to hear. >> casey, you have to tell me if you know anything about caylee. if anything happened to caylee, casey, i will die. do you understand, if anything happens to that baby. >> oh, my god. calling you guys is a huge waste. >> honey, i love you. you know i would not let anything happen to my daughter. if i knew where she was, this would not be going on. >> well, how come everybody is saying that you are lying? >> because nobody is [ bleep ] listening to anything i say. the media completely misconstrued everything that i said. the [ bleep ] detectives told

them [ bleep ], [ bleep ], and they got all of their information from me, and yet at the same time they are twisting stuff. they have already said they are going to pin this on me if they don't find caylee. they have already said that. >> the defense claims that caylee accidentally drowned in her parent's pool, and casey anthony could face the death penalty if convicted. well, first dominic strauss-kahn lost his job as the head of the international monetary fund and now he is fighting to stay out of prison. how he will defend himself against these charges next. let me tell you about a very important phone call i made. when i got my medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement insurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to 80% of your part b expenses.

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dominic strauss-kahn was forced to resign as head of the monetary fund shortly after the arrest and now he is facing felony charges, but he is assembling a power team to fight them. first, high powered lawyers and they include michael jackson and shawn p. diddy combs and other clients by benjamin brafman, and william tailor who was part of the dream team, but they are going to be representing dominic strauss-kahn. and a firm run by former cia officers describes itself as a strategic advisory company, and strauss-kahn has used the services before when he was campaigning to become the imf chief. guidepost solutions is a prominent investigative firm,

and we have judy smith who is a public relations consultant joining us from los angeles to talk about this. judy, you are not involved in advising dominic strauss-kahn, but if you were, what would be the most important piece of advice to him right now? >> well, i think that he's doing it. the most important piece of advice would really be to assemble this type of team that he has. he has a great attorney that is working for him. he's going to need a good group that would probably include a forensic expert based on the information that was released. he is also going to need someone that is very good, obviously, in crisis communication. someone that also knows the landscape i think that is important in france and also in the united states as well. because he has his reputation that he has to worry about in both states. >> but whatever happened to having good lawyers? i mean that used to be enough. we read off a whole list of names there, and why does he

need these other people? >> well, you know what, because really, it used to be enough, you are right, but now it is not. the landscape has changed. i mean, this case is a good example of a nexis between politics, the law and the media. he has to deal with all of those things across board, and he needs a good team to do that. >> the team has already triy ii question the credibility of the maid and the story, and how critical is that, do you think? >> it is critical, but there is a line that you have to be careful with which is that you can disagree on the facts of the case, but you don't want to be viewed as attacking the maid personally. and that's a big difference. because she is being viewed whether rightly or wrongly so to this day as a victim here. so, you don't want to look like that you are attacking the victim in this case. >> and we certainly know that other prominent figures have

been accused of sexual misconduct and sometimes admitted it, and they have s survived it so why is strauss-kahn in so much trouble? >> well, randi a line here. both in france and the united states, the public is used to and has really grown accustomed to politicians having extramarital affairs. there is is line here crossed with the allegations and charges which is sexual assault. so it involves criminal charges and to some degree, it involves a crime of violence, so that the line has been crossed here. there is a difference. >> all right. judy smith, appreciate your insight. thank you. >> thanks so much. >> a new twist two an old strategy for beating gas prices, and are you ready to be a slug? how it works after this. it has microparticles, enters the bloodstream faster and rushes relief to the site of pain. it's clinically proven to relieve pain twice as fast.

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you have heard of car pooling, but have you heard about slugging? it is car pooling with a very unique twist, and like car pooling, it aims to help you beat the gas prices. we have a report of becoming a slug and how it works. >> reporter: long lines to hop in a car with strangers. with gas prices -- >> ridiculous. >> outrageous. >> disappointing. >> reporter: more people are resorting to blind car pooling calling slugging. a way that commuters from northern virginia going to

washington catch a free ride with drivers looking to beat the rush. >> these are slugs. >> all slugs waiting to hop in cars. >> it started more than 30 years ago but david leblanc's website helped to organize this pseudosecret society listing where passengers can line up to find a ride. for the drivers especially with the gas prices so high, it is not really benefiting them or saving them any money to pick up the slugs? >> it is not saving them money, but it is saving them a lot of time. like i said, it probably saves me at least 20 to 30 minutes each way on the commute. >> that is because the virginia law requires the drivers to have at least three people in a vehicle to use carpool lanes to breeze by the stop and go traffic. >> we have added more and more slug lines as the gas prices have increased. those who don't consider slugging now consider it as option. >> reporter: it is picking up a passenger hitching a ride from virginia to the pentagon.

why did you decide to slug? it is inexpensive and gets me to where i need to go, and gas is really expensive nowadays. >> reporter: so otherwise, what options would you have to go to work? >> i would have to take a cab or commuter bus. >> reporter: and how much would that cost? >> with gas nowadays anywhere from $50 to $75 to fill up my tank and with the commuter bus it is $7 which is $14 for the whole day. >> reporter: these nondescript slug lines form for the evening commute going back to d.c. and the practice is catching on in dallas and san francisco. a commuting partnership to save time and money. this is a free ride. >> i know. you can't beat it. >> reporter: sandra endo, cnn, washington. just about 25 minutes past the hour and checking our top stories. this is a live picture from rotter dam, and former serbian

leader radovan mladic is going to be standing trial for war crimes in serbia. earlier a court rejected his appeal against extradition. and the supreme court has rejected charges against the self-described mastermind of the 9/11 attacks khalid sheikh mohammed against co-conspirators to allow prosecution at the guantanamo bay naval base. this comes after president obama's plans to prosecute him in federal court. and why all of the heat today and why all of the jelly fish popping up on florida beaches? stay with us. was an archer drawing his bow. ♪

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it's a better policy that gets you a better car. call... or visit one of our local offices today, and we'll provide the coverage you need at the right price. liberty mutual auto insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? welcome back. severe weather expert chad meyers is joining us now. we are talking about record heat in some places. >> laredo, texas, 107 degrees. and points now across the east coast, we are 15 to 20 degrees warmer than we should be at this time of year. now, that does not mean that we are the same in august and september and all of that, but we are really in a mat tern tpa is very hot. and even louisville up to 93. and looking at tampa and all of the temperatures up the east

coast to d.c. and chicago and st. louis and the potential for severe weather exists in part of the heat a little bit up into michigan today where most of the severe weather will be. it is all part of a high pressure trough over the east coast, and it is bringing wind on shore to florida. what do you think happens when things that don't have brains that float with the current -- >> they end up on florida's beaches. >> they end up on the east coast. this is what we are talking about. it was a stinging good time i guess. >> oh, yeah. >> in parts of florida and especially brevard county, and it suz bring your vinegar to the beach day. the onshore winds are bringing the mauve invaders. >> they are hard to look atment. >> and hard to step on. and be careful if you are out walking around and if you are surffing, put on the bottom of the farmer john for a while if you are out there. >> and 800 people were stung.

>> only a few transported to the hospital, but they are small, but if you get enough of them, it hurts. >> they itch and tingle and not good. we are going "off of the radar" and what have you got? >> something else coming into florida and should not be affected by the weather, because off that big word there, sunny. but when the shuttle is coming down tonight, it is moon-filled. i won't say mooney. but it will be moon-lit, but not sunny, but the shuttle coming down and two attempts at 2:35 and little after 4:00 a.m., and they should get it down on the first try, because the weather should be good, but they have to have weather good spots other places and not just there. >> not just florida. >> the criteria to get this thing on the ground is just like sending a rocket into space, and good weather here and the wind the right direction and no cross winds and clouds within -- you know, it goes on and on and on, and it looks like the criteria will be in good shape tonight. >> all right. ly i will take your word for it. thank you, chad.

word that women subjected to virginity tests in egypt. shocking details next. [ female announcer ] bug bites, poison ivy, and sunburn.

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the reports were horrifying. egyptian military forcing women to undergo virginity checks. the military has denied that women protesters arrested back in march had been subjected to the test until now. michael holmes joins us with much more on this really disturbing story.

>> eo it is horrible. the virginity tests and what they are is sexual assaults is what happened to these 17 women. this happened to a protest on march 9 which of course was after hosni mubarak had stepped down, but when the protesters were pushing for more reform saying that the pace of the changeover with the military running the country was too slow. and what happened for the first time, you saw the military actually target protesters, and you can see it there, and they went in and arrested, and they arrested hundreds actually, but there was a group of women that were taken into custody, and 17 of them, and amnesty international raised the allegation a few weeks after this protest said that they had been given electric shocks and beaten and strip searched and e threatened with prostitution charges, and given these virginity tests. at the time, one of the spokesmen for the army said, no, it would not happen. we wouldn't do that. but what has happened now is that we have spoken to a general who did confirm that yes, indeed these things happened.

the worst thing about this is that he is not sorry. this is not a whistle-blower, because they wanted to ensure that the women would not claim that later they were molested by soldiers. absolutely extraordinary. >> and with the military and mubarak out of power the military is running the country now, and what do you do because they are running the country and they did it. >> a couple of the women have spoken out and incredibly brave. you you have to put yourself in a position of this is a very, very conservative society, and it is not the most conservative in the middle east, but it is conservative, and one woman who spoke out about it, spoke out with her brother who was then taken into custody, and nobody knows what has happened to him at the moment. these are things that are going on in egypt that are worrying the protesters who are worried about the pace of reform. i want to talk about afghanistan, and president karzai warning nato, they will no longer tolerate air strikes, because they have killed civilians here. >> and this is a problem and you

and i have talked about this before, the damage done by civilian deaths. on this occasion karzai saying he won't tolerate air strikes that result in civilian casualty and he used the word not allowed. he said that nato-led forces are not allowed to launch attacks on afghan homes, and he said if they continued, he said the words we will be forced to take unilateral action in this regard. that follows an attack on a compound that killed 14 civilians. that at tack followed an attack on a military foot patrol in which a u.s. serviceman was killed. and the insurgents ran back into the compound. and the compound was targeted, but it turns out that the compound was full of civilians as well. it is just further shows the strained relationship between nato and karzai. he has spoken about it, and been bellicose about it, but this is more direct that his he has bee.

and nato has acknowledged it. >> and others have apologized, but it is not enough. general petraeus apologized. >> he says that every civilian killed damages what the u.s. is trying to do in afghanistan, a tland there are numbers of civilians killed by insurgents as well. most of thcivilians were killedy insurgents but quite a few by nato forces as well. >> and what about germany? >> don't eat the cucumbers. >> and this e. coli outbreak is due to cucumbers? >>tors appear it will be worse with 16 who have died already and hundreds in the hospitals ill indeed. and 39 people from sweden who ate cucumbers and other vegetables while in germany on a visit are back in sweden and

sick as well. >> they think it is coming from where? the cucumbers? >> well, the feeling is that they were coming from cucumbers grown organically and treated with manure in spain. the spanish are up in arms and saying there is no evidence and you cannot pinpoint that back to us, and no yet foolproof aim back to the farmers, and they are losing $200 million a week because of this, because of the lack of trade. this e. coli, too, this strain is nasty and causes intestinal hemorrhaging and not the common old e. coli and very nasty stuff. >> but it is at the point they think, but they are not positive. >> quite apart from the damage being done to people is economic damage, too. russia has banned all imports of all fruit and vegetables from europe for the time being, and spain is in big trouble and it becomes a european issue as well, but certainly, in terms of the human costs, hundreds and hundreds of people have been

struck down and 16 dead, and as i said, some of them are saying it could get worse. >> michael holmes, thank you. >> good to have you back. >> good to be back. and now to a lesson in courage. quick thinking and love. martha rivera alonis had one thought when she heard gunshots outside of her classroom in mexico. save the lives of her students. so in a calm voice she coaxed 15, 5 and 6-year-olds to the floor and led them in song assuring them that nothing is going to happen. you have to see this. [ speaking foreign language ] ♪

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carbon emissions last year worldwide were the highest in history. the international energy agency is calling its latest findings a quote serious setback, but what does this all mean? the implications to the environment and as a result to you and me are quite troubling and we are going to break it down for you today in the big breakdown. here is what the international energy agency found. emissions up 5% breaking the previous record set in 2008. and levels jumped to 30.6 giga tons and to realize how much that is, consider one giga ton is 1 billion tons and one car weighs one ton. the world is emitting what weighs a 30.6 billion cars in greenhouse gases, but the thing is that the u.n. set a 2 degree

goal in the talks last year in cancun which is to limit the increase in global temperatures to 2 degrees celsius, and greenhouse gas emissions have to rise less than that over the next ten years for the u.n.'s goal to be attainable, but what is the source? you can see here, take a look, yes, there it is. mostly from the use of coal and oil. and a lot of the greenhouse gases are coming from developing countries it turns out. about 40%. experts say it is a sign of economic growth, a 2457bd nd the case in china which emitted 6 tons and india which emitted 1.5 tons which brings me back to the u.n.'s goal to limit global warming to a 2 degree celsius increase. some scientists believe that the goal is way too optimistic and really unrealistic. they say that the world's infrastructure simply does not allow it, and believe a 4 degree increase is more feasible in this sen >> i but some scientists are warning that the effects to the ecosystem and many people will

be devastating. scientists say that if p the predictions hold, sea levels could rise two meters by the end of the century, and displacing 2% of the world's population. in the meantime, studies show rain forest in parts of central africa and central america will cease to exist. and now the rating of how the president is doing his job. it is a good news/bad news kind of thing. senior political editor mark preston joins us from washington. mark, what are the numbers? what are you seeing? >> well, randi, good news/bad news. looking at the macro number of what americans think about president obama and how he is handling his job. right now, 54% of americans in the new cnn opinion research poll say that president obama is doing a good job right now. only 45% disapprove of how he is handling his job, so that is a good macro number. and you know something, let's break the poll down a little bit and look at specifically the

issues. first of all, look at the foreign policy. let's look at those numbers right there, and on the issues of terrorism, afghanistan and iraq, president obama rates well over 50% as you can see on terrorism, 65%, and of course, this poll was taken right after osama bin laden was killed. so good numbers, but where he does not do so well is that he is upside down on the domestic issues. looking at those numbers on the issues of medicare, the economy and health care and the deficit and gas prices -- he is well below 50% in those numbers right there which is remarkable when you consider that president obama and democratic candidates in general seem to thrive on being good on domestic issues and just not necessarily on foreign policy issues, som president obama of course has some time to make up, try to turn the numbers around as he runs for a second term, but those numbers are very interesting especially when we hear the likes of sarah palin and mitt romney and tim pawlenty and newt gingrich and other

republicans running for president or say they are interested in running for president start criticizing the president. randi. >> and then senator obama and we certainly spent a lot of time covering his credentials when it came to foreign policy back when he was first running for president, so it is going to be interesting how that all plays out in this election in light of bin laden and everything else. >> yeah, no question. and we will leave it on this, randi, do you remember in the democratic presidential primary, there was that scathing ad from hillary clinton that said, would president obama be the person you would want to answer the phone at 3:00 a.m. >> yes, the 3:00 a.m. call. >> and if you look at the numbers right now, it looks like the americans don't mind president obama answering that phone call at 3:00 a.m. >> it is amazing to see the numbers. all right. mark preston, thank you. and your next update from the best political team on television is just an hour away. cyber war or conventional attacks? should the u.s. be battling hackers with live ammunition?

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i want to show you some new video from rotter dam where former serbian military leader

ratko mladic arrived to be tried for war crimes at the hague. he faces genocide charges over atrocities in the bosnian war and he had been on the run for 15 years. the international court rejected his extradition appeals. and now the response of attackers and hackers and treating cyber attackers as criminals off war, and that means bombs for bits so to speak, and so where are the threats coming from? here are a lis of the numbers. take a look. 12% of the traffic comes from russia followed by taiwan, and brazil and china and the united states. those are the latest numbers. now, to be clear, not all of those attacks are aimed at the u.s. russia and china exchange cyber

threats, and even a international grid fell victim to the attacks. we put a question to the stream team, should cyber attacks from other countries be considered acts of war. joining us is supreme ale lied commander wesley clark, and also from the national security blog the danger room, jeremy. and general, let me start with you, how long have you been working on this type of plan? >> well, snoiting new. it is new that it is being announced and part of a broader u.s. plan to improve cyber security. >> and know noah, what do you be that the message is coming from the policy or the announcement of this policy? >> well, the messages don't mess with us. it is treating the networks like we treat our ports or airport, and there are matters of vital national interest, but how you exactly would pull off this

retaliation and how you would know how to respond to are open questions. >> do you have doubts about it, that it can be handled? >> i don't know -- yeah, i do have doubts. look, you can tell slowly but surely who, which computer might have been behind a particular attack, but which person was sitting at that computer, that is very hard to tell. and very often, the pentagon is left with questions about was it a hacker, was it a criminal gang? was it someone hired by a government? or was it a government, itself, that launched a particular attack? so that the idea that we will then go bomb moscow in response to some virus or some worm is a matter that we have to take with extreme caution. >> yes. and general, do you think that the u.s. can pull this off? is it an actual plan for using this? i mean, for actually, taking action or more of a deterrent? >> well, it is not actually a plan, but it is a policy. it says it will be treated as an

attack, and that means that you can respond diplomatically, legally, and respond with cyber and you could respond with force. now, can we actually do this? well, first you enunciate the policy and bring together all of the technology required to do it. remember, that we are not limited in this only to cyber detective work. we have all of the other national sources of information that would be pulled together to support a policy like this. and you may not be able to determine instantly who was at the computer and why they were there, but over a period of time, and in using all of the source intelligence, yes, we can do this. it may be that the best response is not to use force, but what this policy will say is that an attack is an attack, and it could be met by force, and it is a matter first of deterrence. >> and do you get the sense, general, there is an urgency for this? we know that the pentagon, and their system was attacked not too long ago, and do you get a

sense of urgency here? >> i do. and i think that it is long overdue. we have known that the cyber vulnerabilities for years, and we have slowly ratcheted up our attention it to, but we haven't done so rapidly enough. and there are other nations who have strategic objectives that don't match ours that use cyber attacks and theft of data and other things to advance their own national security. when they come after our national security, and it is not just a matter of data collection, but it is a matter of interfering and critical national infrastructure, then, yes, it has to be viewed as an attack, and it is best to enunciate that up front so that there is no misunderstanding. >> noah, is enforcement like this going to leave the u.s. open to physical attacks from other nations who claim cyber attacks are coming from here? >> yes, it is ironic that this policy is being announced now. just the other day, the deputy defense secretary lin when asked if the u.s. was behind the worm

that hit the iranian nuclear facilitie facilities, he gave a nonanswer, but if the u.s. was behind that, according to the policy, we would open ourselves up to retribution, and that is something that we have to think carefully about. the general is right on that we should announce the policy that our networks should not be messed with, and the question is the way they are going to be messed with, with some big catastrophic attack, or attack on the network or slow attack of the intellectual property and the bank account numbers and money, and to me, that is what seems to be going on here and we need to pay attention to that sort of low, slow taking away of our money and property rather than the catastrophic hit. >> all right. interesting discussion. thank you, noah and general. appreciate your time. >> thank you. so, she won't tell us where she is going, but that has not stopped us from following her or trying to. we are on the trail, sort of, in my xyz next. i'm chef michael,

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>> time now for the xyz and she calls it the one-nation bus tour but others call it something else. i'm talking about sarah palin's cross country extravaganza and it has no schedule that we know of. palin is accused of telling the lame stream media as she tells us except for fox news who she works for and sarah palin says this is not about her or getting publicity but raising awarene