drop from the sky. 10,000 easter eggs fell from a helicopter. they were stuffed with candy and vouchers for prizes, including disney tickets and ipod touch and an xbox. that does it for me. thank you for joining "newsroom." cnn muse room continues right now with kyra phillips. good morning and hello. i'm kyra phillips. it is 11:00 on the east coast, 8:00 out west. a pretty busy hour ahead. let's get straight to the news. the two men accused of a deadly shooting rampage in tulsa, oklahoma, made their first appearance an hour ago. jake england and alvin watts are being held on more than $9 million bond. they are expected to be charged with murder and shooting with intent to kill. all victims are african-american. their neighborhoods, predominantly black. right now, police are trying to determine if the shootings were racially motivated. take a look at what england posted on his facebook page a

day before the shooting. apparently the second anniversary of his father's death, those blurred words, a racial slur. the police chief says, this may not be enough to add hate crime charges. more details on the shooting and suspects live from tulsa in just ten minutes. for singer, jennifer hudson, a painful 3 1/2 year wait for a trial is over. jury selection begins today in the trial of william balfour, the man charged with killing hudson's mother, brother, and 7-year-old nephew. it happened after hudson won an academy award and an grammy. she is the estranged husband of hudson's sister. he has denied the charges. he acted in a fit of rage because he believed his wife had a boyfriend. a live report in chicago in just 30 minutes. live pictures now from the white house. president obama hanging out on the south lawn. it is the annual white house easter egg roll. 30,000 people why all 50 states get tickets to come to the

party. when he gets back inside, the president is scheduled to sit down with brazil's president who is in town to talk about trade and energy issues. more troubling news from north krorea. a south korea intelligent report says work is being done in the northeastern part of the country where it staged two previous atomic tests. this comes as north korea presses ahead with plans to launch a rocket carrying a satellite as early as thursday. u.s. and its allies believe it is a cover for a long-range ballistic missile test and warned the launch could result in more severe international sanctions. in syria, reports of mass executions of civilians on the eve of a government promise to withdraw troops from cities across the country. opposition forces say at least 75 people have been killed today. human rights watch claims syrian

forces have executed more than 100 civilians during recent attacks. right now, a desperate search for more than 100 pakistani soldiers trapped in an avalanche in the him alay yas. we are talking about 70 feet of snow. rescuers have been searching with bulldozers and sniffer dogs. so far, no reports of anybody being found. newt gingrich admits that mitt romney is the likely republican presidential nominee. he also says, that doesn't mean he will get out of the race. >> nobody walks up to me and says, please drop out. they walk up and say, i am glad you are here, i am glad you are talking about big ideas. i hope you will continue to do this. please stick out all the way to the convention and help shape the platform. we will see what happens. governor romney is way ahead. he has not yet locked down enough delegates. until he does, he is not the nominee. >> gingrich also says if romney does clothes se it out, he will

whatever the party asks him to do with the race against president obama. a new masters champ, bubba. bubba watson needed this little tap-in to win at augusta. it was an emotional moment for the former university of georgia golfer. he won the tournament on the second hole of sudden death and let's admit, the green jacket was a perfect fit. now, for most golfers, this is the pinnacle of their careers and watson is not letting it go to his head. >> for me to come out here and win, it is awesome for a week and then get back to real life. i haven't changed a diaper yet so i will probably have to change a diaper pretty soon. >> he is referring to little caleb, the one-month-old boy he and his wife adopted just two weeks ago. >>. >> today, journalists and viewers around the world continue to list up the life and career of mike wallace, the long-time, 60 minutes correspondent passed away over the weekend at the ripe age of

93. in a statement, cbs says that wallace passed away peacefully saturday night. known for his bulldog style wasn't afraid to take on anyone. colleague, morely safer called him a one-man truth squad. >> he was fearless, really. he interviewed some pretty nasty guys in his long career. he was absolutely fearless. he would get to the very core of the story. >> now, lucky enough to know mike wallace personally. coming up later, i will share some of my favorite stories about him. protesters are converged in sanford, florida, once again. this is the scene this morning. the latest protest to call for george zimmerman's arrest for shooting trayvon martin to death. dozens of students that call themselves the dream defenders are marching to sanford police

station. all sides waiting to see if a special prosecutor will bring charges against zimmerman. a grand jury could take up the case as early as tomorrow. >> are you enjoying the warm weather? this march was officially the warmest march on record in the u.s.? a national oceanic and atmospheric report said the first three months of this year were the warmest first quarter since they started keeping records in 1895. the march tornado outbreak was almost the first billion dollar weather disaster of 2012. the first noaa report expected this hour. cuts coming to sony. according to the wall street journal, the electronics giant plans to slash about 10,000 jobs. after four straight years in the red, the new ceos main focus is to turn the company around and he will announce an restructuring plan on thursday. it will be sony's second major overhaul in four years. three african-americans gunned down in tulsa, oklahoma. police are looking into whether it was racially motivated.

two suspects in court today. the live report is next. first, you need to meet jerry kerr. this once wheelchair-bound man took his own experience and has mobilized hundreds of american heroes. jerry was paralyzed from the shoulders down after a diving accident in the late '90s. after surgery, he was able to stand for short periods of time, enter the segue. jerry was able to buy himself this two-wheeled wonder drastically changing his quality of life. he was so excited about his new found freedom that he turned his attention to a different group, amputees returning from war. now, with a steep $8,000 price tag, jerry knew segues wouldn't be part of the rehab plan. this former housing developer, recruited, raised funds and created segs4vets. for that, jerry kerr and segs 4

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two men accused of terrorizing tulsa, oklahoma, three people killed, two wounded, all of the alleged victims, black. the question now, motive. the suspects, 19-year-old jacob england and 33-year-old alvin watts, both expected to be charged with murder and shooting with intent to kill. they are being held on more than $9 million bond. right now, police are digging into their backgrounds. take a look at the map.

the neighborhoods, predominantly, african-american. pretty close to one another. the timing could be telling. a day before the shooting, england posts this on his facebook. the second anniversary of his dad's death. england says, quote, at the hands of f-ing, police say it is too early to define the shootings as hate crimes. the racial slur on england's facebook, pretty significant. what is the police chief actually saying about that and possible hate crime charges. >> reporter: well, kyra, the police chief admits that that is significant and that will be part of their investigation. that's just one of the things they look at when they try to make the determination as to whether or not a hate crime has been committed. they look at things like whether or not derogatory statements were made, threatening statements were made. they look at whether or not the victims are from a protected class. these are just some of the things they are going to be looked at. you have to remember, this

investigation came together so quickly and so fast because of all of the tips they received from the community. their investigation has flip-flopped. sometimes when you have an investigation, often times you have a target of a person of interest that you are looking at. gathering evidence and then you make the arrest. this happened so quickly. investigators are still in the process of putting together their case. that's why they are waiting to make this determination in terms of whether or not hate crimes, in fact, will be charged with these two suspects. kyra? >> the major and city council members are speaking out. what did they hear you? >> you have the mayor out here who is basically saying the community wants to come together and move forward. you have one of the city councilmen that i spoke to earlier today, jack hen dr sder. he was very vocal. he says he is feeling encouraged by the fact that two suspects are in custody. he is looking at hate crime charges to be filed as well. i want you to listen to what he had to say when i spoke to him

as well this morning. >> i think i know a hate crime when i see it. you have two white meaales that shoot at five black people and the other evidence of the online stuff and some of the things that were said leads me to believe that was totally a hate crime. >> reporter: kyra, just to reemphasize here, the police chief, chuck jordan, telling me this morning they are still in the process of analyzing the motivations of these suspects. ultimately, it will be up to the distract attorney to determine whether or not hate crime charges are filed. >> can you give us a little history, jason? tell us more about what you know about the victims, the neighborhoods. >> reporter: well, in terms of the victims, from what police are saying, they are random victims.

in terms of why they were targeted, of course, that is the ultimate question here. were they targeted because they were african-american? this is one of the things that police will be trying to look at in developing this particular case. one thing i want to make very clear in speaking to representatives, in speaking to the police, they want to pak sure all the ts are crossed and the is are dotted. they want to make sure that whatever case they put forward is the strongest case possible. kyra? >> when you think of the trayvon martin case and how communities have rallied and they have come forward and they have made race an ush u, are you seeing that at all there in the community? >> i can tell you this. this is a community like so many communities across this country that have had problems in the past, you know, between the african-american community, not trusting the police, problems

with racial tensions in the past. if you listen to what the mayor says and other people here in the community, including the city councilman, great strides have been made. you look at how many tips came forward, came through because of this particular case, the city councilman, mr. henderson, when i was talking to him earlier, he is african-american and extremely encouraged for all the tips that came ford for peopwar people all over the community. many people are looking to move forward and prosecuting the two suspects, making sure they have their day in court but also in some parts of the community, the african-american community community and possibly elsewhere, hoping that hate crime charges are filed as well. >> jason carroll, thanks so much. 43 days since trayvon martin was shot to death. dozens of protests, rallies and outcries from around the country. it could all come to a head tomorrow.

will the special prosecutor make a decision to charge or call a grand jury? martin savidge is live next. me? i've been paying in all these years... years washington's been talking at us, but they never really listen... listen...it's not just some line item on a budget; it's what i'll have to live on... i live on branson street, and i have something to say... [ male announcer ] aarp is bringing the conversation on medicare and social security out from behind closed doors in washington. because you've earned a say.

live pictures on a rally for trayvon martin. the dream defenders march from dayton beach ending today in san for. they are calling for zimmerman's arrest. a few dozen people are now camped outside the station there. later today, a student shall led rally will be held in orlando. right now, both sides are anxiously awaiting to see if charges will be brought against george zimmerman, neighborhood watchman that killed the teen. prosecutors are trying to see if there is enough evidence to charge him. a grand jury could take up this

case as early as tomorrow and martin savidge is in sanford. martin, before we talk about these rallies going on right there behind you. i have to ask, what's the likelihood that a grand jury will actually take up this case? >> we don't really know, kyra. the reason i say that is the woman who is the special prosecutor in charge of this case, angela curry, is and she has said by her own words that she does not normally use a grand jury in cases like this. in fact, she never has. whether it will go to a grand jury remains to be seen. she has always made up the decision on whether to charge someone or not on her own. those are the avenues she has. she can basically charge george zimmerman, clear george zimmerman or she could turn it over the way things are handled. we don't have to be waiting until tomorrow when this grand jury is seated. it is quite possible that i adecision could come at any time if the state attorney, the

special prosecutor, makes it on her own, kyra. >> tell me about the folks behind you there, marty. not as big as what we have seen across the country in the past weeks. tell us who are about these folks, what's going on, what their plan is for the day. >> not as big a crowd as we have seen. as you pointed out, these are the dream defenders, they came all wait from daytona beach, a 40-mile march that they made over 30 days. let me show you what they are doing right now. we will try to make our way through. part done us. excuse us. you can see right here, there are members of this group all wearing hoodies, which has become symbolic of protest. it looks like they are trying to get arrested. the police department here. it looks like they are trying to

get arrested. but the mr. is department here in sanford hasn't exactly cooperated. if anything, they have gone out of their way to proto make ecte. they have blocked off the streets and kept the traffic away to make sure nobody is harmed or injured as they protest. we have observers here in the blue and white. they are from the justice department. they are monitoring things as well. so far, no arrest, a very peaceful march. >> i am hoping that that will continue one way or another, whatever the decision us. you have to plan for the other side of it too. >> reporter: they have been planning for the other side of it, kyra. they have roechd out to other counties and other police departments in case they would need backup for any reason. >> marty, before i let you go, you broke up a little bit as you got close to the doors there. you were mentioning six individuals in hoodies there in front of the door. could you give me what you were

telling me there. >> reporter: we will shoot it from here so it doesn't break up. clearly, a group of about six people that are on the ground, blocking the doors at times, holding hands. they are trying to be an impediment to anybody that wants to come to the police station. that could lead to an arrest. so far, authorities have not gone along with that. they have stayed at a distance, kyra. >> martin savidge, thanks so much. preparing for summer travel season. the hotspots, the bargains, that's next. ♪[music plays] ♪[music plays] purina one beyond. food for your cat or dog.

when we got married. i had three kids. and she became the full time mother of three. it was soccer, and ballet, and cheerleading, and baseball. those years were crazy. so, as we go into this next phase, you know, a big part of it for us is that there isn't anything on the schedule. if you start thinking about that summer vacation, a lot of

us have, a little sun, a little surfer. vacation for a bargaining, felicia, do tell. >> despite rising fuel cost, a new a a a travel survey says this will be a busy travel season. the top five destinations are orlando, honolulu, rome, london and if fifth place, anaheim california. from fare compare.com, it says the airline industry has raised ticket prices three times this year and expects them to rise further as the vacation season swings into high gear, which is just about upon us. we are already mid-april practically. >> here is good news. top five vacation destinations, some here in the u.s., like orlando and anaheim. that's good for the economy and good for us. >> definitely. no question about it. if people are worried about higher gas prices this summer, it means you can start comparison shopping right about now. the rule is to start shopping about three months before your

departure date. if you want to travel in june, now is the time to start. they say you would actually get mid-range prices if you book too early. if your destination this summer, now is the time to start looking. prices will soon be increasing. kyra? >> what about shopping online? >> okay. write this down. tuesday, at 3:00 p.m., that's when fair compare says is the best time to shop. that's when prices are lowest, because sales get posted. most of those discounts get pulled on thursday. so don't wait until the weekend to buy your tickets. also, they say, if you are shopping for flights for two or more people, you can save up to $100 if you actually purchase separately. re reservation systems tend to bump up all travelers if limited. look at fairs for one person and then compare to a quote for the number that you are traveling with. jetblue had a deal on living social recently. so start to follow your favorite airlines on twitter for possible

promotion codes. social media can be a very valuable tool when it comes to saving money on summer travel. kyra? >> tuesday at 3:00 p.m. that's a good tip. >> tuesday at 3:00. >> appreciate it so much. it has been more than three years since the brew dutal kill of jennifer hudson's family. the alleged killer faces his day in court.

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for jennifer hudson, everything was going right, an academy award for her role in dream girls. a grammy for best r&b album. in 2008, the worst day of her young life. her mother, brother, and 7-year-old nephew were murdered. the alleged killer, william balfour, the estranged husband of hudson's sister, julia. prosecutors say that balfour acted in a fit of jealous rage. he denies all the charges. jury selection begins today in

chicago. ted rowlands is there. tell us more about balfour. the hudsons actually knew him quite well before he married julia hudson, right? >> reporter: he grew up in the neighborhood where the hudson family was in the south side of chicago. he had a tough life. he was abandoned by his mother at nine, in and out of trouble, did some prison time, came out of prison in his early 20s and ended up marrying julia hudson, apparently according to the family against the family's wishes. they broke up. he apparently according to the family and prosecutors threatened to kill julia hudson and her family. that's the biggest piece of evidence that prosecutors have, the threats that william balfour made. >> some are voicing concerns that he could walk, right? >> well, because there isn't a lot of physical evidence in this case. you would think with three fatalities, including a 7-year-old and a kidnapping, that there would be tons of physical evidence. william balfour is not tied

physically to the crime scene. that's the huge hurdle they have to get over. >> what is jennifer hudson saying about all this? is she saying anything right now? >> she hasn't talked a lot since this has happened. she has made a few public appearances talking about what she went through as a person. we do expect her to be in the courtroom every day. that will dramatically change the proceedings. this is going to be a huge weapon for prosecutor. no matter what the judge says, having a celebrity in the courtroom that is also a crime victim every day during what is expected to be a three to four-week trial will make an impact. prosecutors are anticipating that she will be there and may

take the witness stand. >> when is the trial expected to start? >> 23rd of this month. right now, they are going through the jury selection process. they have filled out a questionnaire last week. today, tomorrow, and wednesday, they will start plucking those jurors off, first letting the hardships go and then they will seek the jury likely on wednesday. that's what the judge is hoping. >> ted rowlands, thanks so much. following in the titanic's weight, a new ship taking the same path, hopefully not the exact same path. what's behind this bizarre tribute. it is next. works with your hair, targeting damage, restoring strength and resilience for up to 90% less breakage in just three washes. find peace with your hair. [ female announcer ] and discover strong, healthy hair with life. new nourish+ strengthen, from the nourish+ hair care collection. only from aveeno.

time for stories making news at street level. let's start with the latest on the chardon high school shooting. the suspect, t.j. lane, is expected in court for a procedural hearing. they should set a date to see if he is fit to stand trial. charged with six counts, three students were killed, two others wounded in that attack. charges were filed in juvenile court. the maximum sentence he could face is life in prison without parole. >> ford is recalling more than 140,000 focus cars. there is a potential problem with the passenger side windshield wiper motors in the 2012 models that could reduce visibility and increase the risk of a crash. no efforts or injuries have been reported so far related to that issue. owners will be notified.

five apartment buildings were destroyed after an f-18 fighter experienced a mechanical malfunction during takeoff and plunged to the ground. initial payments will begin at $2300 per person to cover immediate needs and the amount will increase for additional family members. let's head to philadelphia. two firefighters were killed battling ai five-alarm fire at a factory according to wpvi. the walls actually collapsed while they were inside. two others were trapped as well but they were rescued. let's head west to san francisco where a utility worker fell ten feet from a ladder and became trapped in this manhole. he had to be rescued last night. apparently, hit his head during the fall and wasn't able to crawl out on his own. they took about 30 minutes and they were able to pull him to safety. a seattle home becomes the target, the peep prank.

late friday night, a group of friends got together to place 900 peeps on another friend's front yard. after sticking every last peep on the lawn, the group left a sign saying, happy easter, from, of course, your peeps. this is the year in a row, by the way that they conducted their little peep prank. in the future, they hope to turn this fun tradition into a fund-raiser. tim tebow having some fun at an easter events in texas. the pastor tries to get the former florida gator to put on an lsu helmet. he became serious when he started talking about his faith. >> whatever happens in life, good or bad, whether you are the hero or the goat, whether you like it or not, you know that someone has a plan for your life and it is a special plan and you can trust that and you have hope in that, then you have peace in all decisions and everything that you do. it brings a lot of joy to your

life. >> tebow says he loves talking about his faith and wants to get others thinking about their fact as well. >> to england where a titanic ship set sail without the doom and gloom. passengers and relatives of those died on the titanic are taking the same route. critics say it is a bit of a bizarre tribute. during the 12-night cruz, they will eat meals from the original titanic menu and the balmoral crui cruise ship is expected to arrive next week end. the titanic sank 100 years ago after hitting an iceberg. let's end in california where an autopsy is being performed after the death of a modern artist. thomas kincaid died unexpectedly on friday. the family tributes his death to natural causes.

he was known as the painter of light, millions of his paintings and prints are in homes around the world. he spoke with larry king in 2006. my mother told me your talents yo are god's gift to you and what you do with it is your gift to god. >> thomas kincaid was only 54 years old. setting a in you strategy for democrats, president obama has two big names in mind that could help him win in november. we'll tell you why he is counting on bad guys to stop mitt romney. fair game next. when did john mccain clinch the republican nomination in 2008? tweet the answer to @kyra at cnn. i will give a shoutout to the first right answer.

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we don't just make luxury cars. we make cadillacs. to the trayvon martin case. what do you have? >> reporter: a statement from angela curry, the special prosecutor in this case. she is announcing she has decided not to use a grand jury in the trayvon martin shooting. she says this decision should

not be considered a factor in the final determination of the case. this is something we had talked about, that she had not in the past used a grand jury when considering cases of this nature. it appears she is now going to stay true to form. so she is saying it is not going to be a grand jury that hears this case if there is a determination of an arrest or no arrest. she apparently is saying that she as the special prosecutor will make that decision on her own. kyra? >> art, you have been working this story obviously for weeks. had your sources been telling you more than likely this was going to be the situation. if so, why? why not? >> reporter: they have been saying this splasas a matter of, for a number of reasons. she was selected because of the fact that she is considered by governor scott of florida to be very fair, very impartial and also very tough. as a resulted, it was felt she would make the hard decisions that needed to be made in this

case and see things as they needed to be seen as part of the investigation. she said, look, i previously have not used a grand jury. it is not her style. there have been others that said she simply doesn't like to use a grand jury. she believes she has a better understanding of the law than trying to explain it to a grand jury. it appears that's the way she is going to go now. it doesn't tell us if we are any closer to some sort of decision but it doz at least give us an indication if anyone was pinning their hopes on tomorrow and a grand jury, that would mean the decision is iminent. that is not the case now. >> anything happening behind you? are the protests kind of getting word of what's just been announced and they are responding and, then, number two, tell me where we go from here? >> reporter: well, the first, they are just hearing it out of my lips, because no one else has been reporting this. so this is their first indication. they still have a number of

members of this group that's protesting here that are blocking the doors, the entrance to the police department here. as a result, it appears that they are gathering around and giving some sort of statement. at the same time, though, the sanford police department has stayed away. they have not tried to interfere. there has been no altercation, no confrontation. instead, it appears they are going out of their way not to arrest anybody. they closed off the street in front of the police department here. there are also members from the department of justice, community services team, that are monitoring the circumstances as well. it has been very peaceful. people have been speaking, singing and praying and no arrests, kyra. >> first here on cnn, no grand jury in the trayvon martin case. marty, before i let you go, what happens now? >> reporter: that's a very good question. clearly, it the investigate by angela curry and her team of investigators will go on.

there are a number of things they were waiting for. they have been doing interviews, going door to door in the community where trayvon was shot. they have been talking to the witnesses. it is presumed at some point, they will talk to george zimmerman. we don't know when. that would probably be the last thing they would do. on top of that, there is probably forensic information and this could be one of the issues that determines a time frame. where does it get set? who is going to analyze it, how long to analyze it and how long to get the results back? toxicology reports from trayvon martin, all of this plays into the time frame. whether it means we are close or not, many have felt this was a significant week. this may change things. we simply don't know, kyra. stay tuned. >> stay tuned, indeed. marty, you are working your sources, which is why you were able to break that news. i know you have a number of people to talk to there on the ground. when you have more information, give us the sign. we will bring you up live once again, marty. thanks so much.

job loss and a brutal economy are the big issues for the majority of voters. why is a leading democrat saying republicans are rooting for bad times? >> what's really bothersome to me, candy, is that it almost seems like my republican colleagues in congress and mitt romney are rooting for economic failure. they have been hyper focused on one, barack obama's for really the last two years. >> fair game. let's turn to veteran democratic strategist, christine peloci. two questions, first, is she right? isn't that exactly what they need to hope for it if they want to beat president obama in november? >> i believe that chairman wasserman-schultz has a point

when she says they want to make barack obama a one-term president. they are trying to convince that he is not up to the task. they are not seeking collusions. what we need to do is to get republican cooperation to seek solutions for the american people. it is not too latereinvesting i america. >> gentry? >> well, of course, she's not right. the fact of the matter is that republicans have passed more than a dozen jobs bills in the house, they're stalled in the senate. the jobs bill the president signed into law last week was a collection of republican bills through the house. it took weeks to get them through the senate over union objections. democrats in the senate haven't had a budget for more than 1,000 days. republicans are working very hard to put this economy back on track. we will make barack obama a one-term president because he's not doing that job. >> let's talk national security. possibly a part of the president's strategy now. "the new york times" says the obama campaign will trot out heavy weights like madeleine

albright and general wesley clark to talk about the president's record and for the two names the president wants everyone to remember when it comes to national security, i'm sure you can guess exactly who i'm going to say, bin laden and gadhafi. good strategy? >> absolutely. in my book, i talk about the norad test. if they identify a threat, the first job of the president is to keep the american people safe. right now we know barack obama has passed that test, and he has done that, and he has brought osama bin laden to justice, but we don't know anything about mitt romney's national security experience. in fact, we don't know anything about his international experience except his international offshore tax havens. he has a job to do to convince the american people that he can keep us saech afe and do a bettb

than barack obama. >> gentry, do you agree? well, of course not. i think that's a silly thing to say. one week after president obama told the leader of russia, who is certainly no ally of ours and who is opposed to us with respect to north korea and iran and china, told the president of russia that if you could just get another term, that he would bend to the will of the russians and weaken -- >> he didn't say that. >> he did say that. >> he didn't say he was going to bend to the will of the russians. that's just not true, gentry. he still doesn't answer the question, how will mitt romney keep america safe? that's the question that has to be answered. >> mitt romney has far more experience running big complex organizations than president obama did, and, you know, president obama's only foreign policy successes have come by continuing anti-terror policies of president bush. his own defense secretary, former cia director leon panetta said we would not have gotten

bin laden if it were not for enhanced interrogation techniques. >> but it does not tell us mitt romney would keep me safe. the fact he's run a big company does not tell me he can run the military or keep america safe. that's the fundamental question you have to answer to voters is who will keep you safe? >> let me ask you about newt gingrich, waving a white flag, laying down his sword? take a listen. >> you have to be realistic. give the size of his organization, given the number of primaries he's won, he is far and away the most likely republican nominee, and if he does get to 1144 delegates, i'll support him. i'll do anything i can this fall to help him defeat obama because the primary goal of the entire republican party has to be to defeat barack obama. >> he says he knows romney is the guy. gentry, tell me the strategy here. >> well, you know, speaker gingrich has at least several million dollars in campaign debt, staying in the race, being an active candidate probably helps him get rid of some of

that. he's acknowledged the obvious biis mitt romney will be the republicans' nominee this fall. >> final thoughts, christine. >> well, the republicans have to resolve their fight between the martini party and the tea party. meanwhile, however that turns out, the president is going to be re-elected. >> the martini party. okay. that's a new one. i have a feeling everybody will jump on board that one. christine, gentry, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> thank you. straight ahead, he was a friend and a mentor. will make brady miss his favorite part of the day. ♪ [ upbeat ] [ barking ] [ whines ] that's why there's beneful playful life, made with energy-packed wholesome grains... and real beef and egg. to help you put more play in your day. beneful. play. it's good for you.

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. i want to i want to recap some breaking news we told you about moments ago. florida state attorney angela corey has decided not to use a grand jury in the trayvon martin shooting death investigation. a statement says that move shouldn't be considered as a factor in the final determination of whether charges will be filed in the case. our martin savidge is breaking the news to us from sanford. these are the dream offenders. they marched from daytona beach ending today in sanford, and now they're holding a rally in front of the sanford police station. they're calling for george zimmerman's arrest. there's about a few dozen people who are camped outside the station there, as you can see. later today we're also going to be following a student-led rally being held in orlando. once again, that news coming forward, that protest remaining calm. we're following everything

trayvon martin for you in the next hour. okay. before we wrap up our hour with all of you, i would love to take a moment to lift up news legend and friend mike wallace. i think by now all of you know what an amazing correspondent mike was, hard-hitting questions with world leaders, exposing corruption and getting exclusives that no one else could. he was no doubt one of a kind to our business. but there was also a personal side to mike wallace that i got to know through my mentor and his best friend, art buck walt. the political satirist who was one of mike wallace's closest friends. first of all, it's sort of ironic that mike passed away on easter weekend because his buddy buck became pretty famous for dressing up as the easter bunny for ethel kennedy's easter egg hunt. if you knew art, i can guarantee he was right there standing short and pudgy at the pearly

gates waiting for his long time best buddy right there in that bunny costume. now, mike and art's relationship wasn't always filled with laughter though. mike, art, and their other mutual best friend, the great writer bill stieren, all suffered from depression. again, here is how these three journalists took a very private pain and turned it into a positive mission. they dubbed themselves the blues brothers and they went on tour talking depression, the stigma, and how not to be ashamed. mike wallace also shared another passion with his buddies, poetry. he had a lot of favorite poets and i remember him telling me how much he respected robert. in honor of you the journalist, the mentor, and a pan who loved the written and spoken word, a little browning to send you on your way. but a man's reach should exceed his grasp or what's a heaven

for? thanks for watching, everyone. cnn "newsroom" continues now with suzanne malveaux. live from cnn headquarters in atlanta where it's 12:00 noon, 9:00 a.m. on the west coast. i'm suzanne malveaux and i want to get you up to speed for monday, april 9th. breaking news just minutes ago in the trayvon martin case. we have confirmation that special prosecutor angela corey is not using a grand jury in the case. martin savidge joins us from sanford, florida, to explain what this means. no grand jury. what does it tell us about the future of the case? >> reporter: well, we're not quite sure at this point. it could mean that the time that many people looked at which was tomorrow, the seating of the grand jury and the belief that very soon after we might get some sort of decision, now that may be thrown out the window. angela corey basically had three choices.

one was to charge george zimmerman, the other was to clear him and the third was to go and put it in the hands of a grabbed jury. she's ruled step three out of that process but she says just because is t won't be going to grand jury doesn't change the outcome of a potential decision. we've known all along she's a strong state attorney and that she told cnn herself that she generally in these cases has not used some proven ses like this. and so she is merely sticking to her word, suzanne. >> and, marty, can you give us a sense, has there been any reaction on the ground there? what's taking place behind you? >> reporter: this is a demonstration, it's a group called the dream defenders. we are all standing in front of the sanford police department and they've been here for a couple hours now. there are about six of them actually wearing hoodies that are sitting down in front of the main entrance to the police department blocking access.

it appears they were literally trying to challenge law enforcement to arrest them. that has not happened. in fact, law enforcement going out of its way to prevent any kind of arrest. they have closed off the street in front of the police department to make slure there' no problems with traffic. and they have closed the main police department. sending a notice out to the community that if you need to come to the police department, it is closed today as a result of this protest. it appears that the city is doing everything it can not to cause confrontation, not to trigger arrests, but to allow this demonstration to go forward peacefully, and that's the way it's been. >> i want you to hang on for a minute here. we are getting from our own roland martin here a family statement from trayvon martin's family attorney ben crump, telling him moments ago, we are hopeful that this announcement will be followed by another of an arrest. the family is trying to be patient and have faith in the system the best they can. we need to have an arrest. we just think they've got enough

evidence, and that is the family statement from the attorney, ben crump. do you have any sense there whether or not people find this as a move from the state attorney that will help or hurt bringing those charges forward, the chances of charges coming forward? >> reporter: i think people just don't know at this point, suzanne. it has greatly sort of changed the dynamic. there were a lot of people that felt this was a critical week. today they thought actually might have been a critical day. . there was a rumor going around, i know city officials had heard and it was on the street, that there could be a decision today. well, now we know through this statement it doesn't mean there cannot be a decision today but we know it's a decision not going to be made by a grand jury. it does seem to have impacted the time frame somewhat. people are starting to say maybe it could mean midweek. the reality is we really don't know and we wait to hear in some

way, shape, or form. the state's attorney's office had been very formal on this in that they don't say anything unless it comes in a release, and even at the end of their very brief release today, they said we're not saying anymore. until they have official information, they're not going to comment on this case. they were clearly upset by leaks previous from last week. >> thank you very much. want you to hold on. i want to bring in sunny hostin, legal analyst sunny hostin, to explain what this actually means, the fact that a grand jury is not weighing in on this decision to bring charges against george zimmerman. does it help, does it hurt his case? what do we make of this? >> i don't think we can make anything of it. i don't think we can read into it. i was very, very clear in my view that this wasn't going to a grand jury. i think we need to remember that the grand jury date of april 10th was chosen by the prior prosecutor, chosen by the prior state's attorney's office. angela corey made it very, very clear that in all her years of

prosecuting cases she makes her own charging decisions and that she hasn't used a grand jury to make that charging decision. and let me say this, suzanne, as a former prosecutor i typically made my own charging decisions, and it's an onerous, onerous burden that prosecutors have, but many, many seasoned prosecutors, i'm not going to say most, but many, many seasoned prosecutors use their judgment and make charging decisions. don't necessarily punt the ball to lay people, to a grand jury, and let them make the charging decisions. so i'm not at all surprised by this. i think it was the smart thing to do because so many people were still wedded to that april 10th date set by the former prosecutor. now angela corey is letting everyone know this is her case, this is her decision that she will make, and this is her investigation. so a very, very smart move by

the new prosecutor, by the special prosecutor to make sure that everyone knows that this is her decision, her case. >> and what do we know, sunny, about angela corey? what do we know about this special prosecutor? >> she is a seasoned prosecutor. she's been doing it for a very long time. she has been of late a bit of a controversial figure because she tried a very young person, i believe he was 12 years old, as an adult. that was a charging decision that she made in a homicide case. so she's come under fire recently, but i think what we can read into it again is this is an independent prosecutor. this is a prosecutor that takes her task very, very seriously and will make those decisions on her own without sort of being swayed by the court of public opinion or what other people think of her and her charging decisions. so i am, again, not surprised that we are now hearing directly from her office that no grand jury will be used in the

determination to be made in the trayvon martin case. >> and, sunny, the family statement from trayvon martin essentially saying they are trying to be patient and have faith in the system the best they can. how much more patience do they need here? when is this decision going to happen? do we know? >> you know, i don't think we know. i don't think we can say it's going to happen today. i don't think we should say it's going to happen this week. this is a complicated case because we're talking about justifiable homicide. we're talking about stand your ground. we're talking about a defendant who is -- not a defendant, but a person who is saying he was acting in self-defense, and we have some conflicting evidence from ear witnesses, a 911 call that may, you know, lead us to believe that perhaps it wasn't in self-defense. but when you have conflicting evidence in an investigation, you have to be all the more thorough, all the more careful, and so, again, this is an ongoing investigation.

i don't think we should guess as to when and if any charges are going to be brought. i would suspect in a case like this she's only been investigating it, i believe, since march 22nd. so it just hasn't been a long time. so i don't think we should hazard a guess as to when we should expect anything to happen. the martin family has been waiting since february 26th. the wait may be a bit longer. >> sunny hostin, thank you very much. appreciate it. two men accused of going on a deadly shooting spree in mostly black neighborhoods in tulsa, oklahoma, had their first court appearance this morning. jake england and alvin watts were ordered to be held on more than $9 million bond each. they're accused of killing three people and wounding two others last week. the fbi has joined the investigation to figure out if the shootings were racially motivated. a racial slur was posted on england's facebook page just a day before the shootings.

north korea is thumbing its nose at the world. any day now it could launch this rocket which would violate a u.n. resolution. much of the world sees this as a possible test for a long-range missile that would be capable of reaching the united states. now, south korea is warning that the north is trying to provoke an angry international response. it says the north plans to use that reaction as an excuse to go ahead with a third nuclear test. a team from the u.s. is helping with the rescue after a massive avalanche in the pakistan/indian border. 139 soldiers and civilians are trapped. rescuers are searching with bulldozers and sniffer dogs in the disaster zone in the kashmir region. crews are scrambling to free nine miners trapped in peru. they have been stuck in a copper mine since thursday. the government is asking local mining companies to help out. trying to get heavy equipment

and experts at the site. easter not over in washington until the eggs roll. today first family is expecting 30,000 people for the annual white house easter egg roll. it's a good time. this year's theme is lets go, let's play, let's move. as michelle obama's campaign to end childhood obesity in the united states. the fbi and local police are looking into weather a deadly shooting spree in several predominantly black areas in tulsa, oklahoma, were hate crimes. jason carroll who was inside the courthouse when the two suspects were arraigned. >> jake england and alvin watts had their first court appearance. they were not physically in the courtroom. they appeared via video conference from jail. they're both being held on more than $9 million bail each. they are charged with first-degree murder as well as shooting with the intent to kill. the question among many here in the african-american community in tulsa is whether or not they will be charged with a hate

crime. police at this point will be looking very closely at england's facebook page as part of their evidence. england never got over the death of his father. his father was killed two years ago, shot by an african-american man. on his facebook page england made reference to this. he used a racial slur. he also said get ready to have more funerals. so these are some of the things police will be looking for as they put together the case and trying to determine whether or not these suspects will be charged with a hate crime. in the eyes of one local city councilman, it is very clear to him. >> i think i know pretty much a hate crime when i see it. we have an individual, white male, going to a black -- predominantly black community, shoot at five black people, and with the other evidence of the online stuff and some of the things that were said, leads me

to believe that that was totally a hate crime. >> reporter: ultimately it will be up to the district attorney to determine whether or not hate crime charges are, indeed, filed against these two suspects. their next court appearance is set for april 16th. at that point they will be formally charged and they will enter a plea. jason carroll, cnn, tulsa, oklahoma. here is run down of some of the stories we are covering. north korea flexing its muscles. we'll get a close look at the rocket some fear could be a missile in disguise. when things are looking up, jobs report has the stock market reeling. and then just two guys. they buy the smallest town in the united states. your medicin? you ready? one, two, three. [ both ] ♪ emma, emma bo-bemma ♪ banana-fana-fo-femma ♪ fee-fi-fo-femma ♪ em-ma very good sweety, how do you feel? good.

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korean nuke. south korea says that the north is getting ready to conduct its third underground nuclear test. this comes as the reclusive nation prepares to launch a long-range rocket. that is going to happen time this week. north koreans have already moved the roshth into position. they insist it's just to put a satellite into orbit, but other countries fear it's actually a cover for testing a long-range missile. both require similar technology. want to bring in michael holmes, he's been to the korean demilitarized zone, actually crossed into north korea. michael, good to see you. >> the same old north korea in many ways where they're sort of testing the boundaries of international reaction to this sort of thing. they say they've been planning this for years. it actually is the 100th anniversary of the birth of the founder of communist north korea, and they say that this was planned as a celebration. they also say that they need the technology, and that this is just an innocent satellite.

now, as you point out, the u.s., south korea, and others worry that what they are actually doing is they're honing their testing for a ballistic missile which one day would be capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and would have the sort of capability to even reach the united states in the alaska region. this could go 4,000 miles if it all worked. they're saying no big deal, they brought the journalists in. it looks like a satellite, all the rest of it, but everyone is suspicious. >> and they can hide those things. we'll talk to stan about that as well, but one of the things, these guys, their own people are suffering. they are starving. they have been for years and years and years. finally they get a deal with the united states, we're going to provide food aid. could that be in jeopardy now? >> they had these talks in february. the food aid was suspended after they did other testing. here they are testing at a time when the resumption of food aid was being discussed. they ever already said if the u.s. won't help out with the

food aid, this sort of goes back on its agreement to resume the food aid. they say they will consider all their agreements on the nuclear and testing front to be null and void. well, people are saying they're already doing that anyway. china, of course, is still a friend, even though china has even expressed concern about these latest developments. so they do get food aid from china as well. you make a good point. their people are starving and yet they're spending millions of dollars on this and risking perhaps aid as well. one of the launch site spokesmen said if we don't develop our own technology, we will become slaves and it's all about sort of looking good in the rest of the world in developing their own stuff. >> this is very symbolic, significant for them symbolically but they also want to be more powerful. do we anticipate there will be an immediate response from japan or china or others in the region? >> the trajectory of this launch if and when it happens goes by a bunch of countries. japan, as you say, right down to the philippines. and those countries have said if

it strays into their territory, they're threading the needle with the trajectory. they say if it comes over their territory they will shoot it down. in terms of worldwide response, really what else can the world do? there are sanctions in place. and this would violate an existing u.n. resolution. so what else are you going to do? are you going to go to the security council and get another resolution? they really don't care. >> thumbing their nose at the world. >> pretty much. >> we'll see if they launch that rocket. >> i think they will. >> thank you. next hour we'll take you inside of north korea for a rare look inside the reclusive country and the rocket station just before launch time. and just as 401(k)s are starting to recover investors turning their nose up at the jobs report. all right, let's decide what to

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following a developing story here. the florida state attorney, angela corey, announced just moments ago that she would not seek a grand jury in determining whether or not charges would be filed against george zimmerman in the case of trayvon martin. i want to go to roland martin who is in new york who has been reporting on this. roland, you actually spoke to trayvon martin -- the family -- the attorney of the family who released a statement. what did he tell you? >> first of all ben crump said the family is patient and they have faith in the system and that they're hopeful will -- there will be an arrest. in talking with ben crump and some of the other attorneys, even some attorneys who are not involved in this case, they always felt that this should not

go to the grand jury. they did not want this potentially in the hands of 15 people w40 couho could decide y nay. they felt more comfortable with the special prosecutor making this decision, so they are very cautious but hopeful the special prosecutor by making this announcement of no grand jury is likely on the path of deciding what the charges are going to be to actually arrest george zimmerman. >> and do they have faith in this special prosecutor, in this attorney, the florida state attorney? >> in talking with the attorneys, they have far more faith in the special prosecutor. of course, remember, that was a meeting with governor rick scott, when he informed the family that he was putting this particular prosecutor on the case. what ben crump has told me pointblank, the family has absolute no faith in the sanford police department, and so they're hopeful the special prosecutor is going to be a lot more fair, will be more they arow, and when it comes to looking at all the evidence,

talking to potential witnesses, whether it's trayvon martin's girlfriend, whether it's some of these other witnesses that have come forward, and again they say that even right now that there's still probable cause to arrest george zimmerman, but there's no doubt the special prosecutor wants to make sure all things are in line before going that route. >> and you say that -- and they say as well that they are really trying to be patient in this case. roland, do you think they're starting to run out of patience here, that this has been a difficult process? >> well, from day one what the family has said is they felt zimmerman should be arrested and that's the justice they wanted. there have been people who have been wanting to escalate this, and they have been saying, no, we don't want that to happen. you have heard talk about civil disobedience. right now there are a group of students from florida a&m university who are in sanford, florida. they marched from daytona beach to sanford. they arrived there yesterday. they spoke before a hearing. so some of those students wanted to also create civil

disobedience, wanted to get arrested. what the family is saying, we don't want that. we want to give this system an opportunity to provide some sense of justice, and, again, a lot of people were putting the focus on this grand jury. one thing that crump said they were fearful of, that the special prosecutor wasn't beholden to the april 10th date. that potentially could have been pushed back. now with her saying i will ta take -- won't take it to the grand jury at all, the question is when will she step up? how much more time? certainly they want to see some type of action very soon. they believe he should be in jail or at least arrested right now. >> roland, quickly here, what does the family want for people to do now? i know we saw the protests earlier today. we are seeing the marches. we see this growing into a movement. are they saying essentially hang tight, be still, we're going to see that potentially justice is played out, is that what they're saying? >> no. in terms of the family, they

believe the public pressure is the reason why we're at this particular point. they said pointblank, the department of justice would not have launched the investigation without all of this. so certainly the vigils and the marches taking place across the country. they say don't lose sight of this. because what happens in these stories, we have seen it after two or three weeks, it sort of dissipates all the energy. they say these type of efforts as long as they are peaceful and nonviolent and still focused on the case at hand, they say those are good. they don't want anything else. no vigilante, no trying to go ourt and arrest zimmerman. they say keep it on nonviolence, keep the focus on justice. >> we are getting -- this is george zimmerman's attorney, hall uhrig, the response saying not surprised. don't know what her decision will be. courageous mop on her part.

again, not surprised, don't know what her decision will be, courageous move on her part. >> here is what ben jealous from the naacp says, we hope this means mr. zimmerman will finally be charged, arrested, ant brought to justice. there's never been a need for a grand jury. there's simply been a need for an arrest. that's what ben told me five minutes ago. >> thank you very much. appreciate it. as we get more news, we'll bring it. thank you. he's not getting out but newt gingrich is admitting his chances of winning the republican nomination are slim to none. so why is he sticking around? we'll ask our political panel. your options are going to be limited. ♪ if you want standard leather-trimmed seats, you're going to have even fewer. ♪ and if you want standard keyless access, then your choice is obvious. the lexus es. it's complete luxury in a class full of compromises.

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at the white house president obama has been talking trade and the economy with the president of brazil. she happens to be the country's first female president and another woman has joined the ranks of world leaders. malawi has its first female president. long time activist and former vice president joyce fonda took charge of her homeland on saturday. she told world lead eers more a more women rule. all right. twitter battle erupting over the weekend. on one side republican senator chuck grassley talking about the president's comments on the

supreme court hearings over health care. now, here is what he said. quote, american people not as stupid as this professor of constitutional law, referring to the president. david axelrod, who loves to tweet, he shot back. he asked grassley if a 6-year-old had hijacked his account and was sending out embarrassing tweets? here to talk about it democratic strategist kiki mclean and republican strategist anna navarro. so, wow, it's kind of surprising when you hear this type of language. do we think this is politics and that this is just going to play out over the campaign or does this say something about the lack of respect for the office of the president? >> well, i'm hoping that -- >> i think it says something about -- i think it says something about twitter. you know, grassley made a cheeky remark. twitter is one of these things that you have to be witty and say something in 140 characters,

and, you know, the obama campaign seems obsessed in what are very small, little details. they need to run on the record. this campaign on both sides needs to be about big issues. the big issues america is confronti confronting, the economic difficulties, the unemployment. it's time we leave mitt romney's dog alone, we leave twitter feeds alone. we stop this tweet for tat. >> do you think it's appropriate he called the president stupid? i know you're saying it's a small thick and it says something about twitter, but du think it says something about him as well? >> you know, i think, first, he didn't -- i think it's inappropriate for the word stupid to be used and i think it's inappropriate for axelrod to use the word foolish. we just have to be careful this doesn't turn into a playground food fight and that, instead, we focus on the big issues. >> so you think it wasn't

appropriate. kiki, do you think it says more about the fact -- this is unprecedented in the way that somebody who yelled "you lie" to the president in the chamber there in congress and now you have something like this. does it mean more or is ana right here, it's petty? >> i know ana is in a tough place. she's between a rock and a hard place, but, boy, senator grassley, a mature member of the united states senate, calling anyone names let alone the president of the united states, calling him stupid. that can't be tolerated, whether it's on the floor of the congress or through twitter. what i kept waiting for was some moment where somebody said actually it was a yuck staoung who was being inappropriate. which tells me a united states senator probably really said that and it's unacceptable under

any condition and david axelrod was exactly right to call him out on it. when ana talks about let's have conversations about the big issues. this was a conversation about big issues, about health care and the economy, and that's why lowering the standard to name calling let alone the president of the united states by a member of the united states senate sun acceptable. >> let's move on. newt gingrich making some news because he's not conceding the race to mitt romney yet but here is what he said on fox news sunday. >> you have to be realistic given the size of his organization, given the number of primaries he's won, he's far and away the most likely nomi e nominee. if he gets to 1144 i'll support him. the primary goal of the entire republican party has to be to defeat barack obama. >> so, ana, do you think staying in the race, does that help romney in some way or is it time for him to, you know, exit stage

left? >> well, you know, there's seven stages of grief. i think newt gingrich has gone through all of the stages of mourning and he's in the last stage which is acceptance. but, you know, there is not one stupid bone in newt gingrich's body and you can be sure there is logic to his madness. i suspect he's bargaining his conditions for getting out, i suspect he wants to be big time and prime time during the convention. it's also -- there's also probably a fund-raising component to this. if he can continue getting small donations, those are matchable and it will help him with his debt. i also think there's a benefit to mitt romney of newt gingrich staying in through the month of may when there are still some southern primaries and he can peel off some points off santorum. >> kiki, it's interesting, ana said logic to his madness. does that help obama in any way the longer he stays in. >> i think you can look at it a couple ways. the only person who really knows

what motivates newt gingrich is newt gingrich. let's not forget there were reports that newt gingrich actually met with mitt romney several weeks ago. what i heard in those comments was some messaging out of the romney campaign about the most important thing they have to do and probably some value to romney that he not allow any of the gingrich oxygen to go into the santorum campaign. so i think there's some value to mitt romney for him staying in, and i think the longer the primary fight goes on, it's obviously a help to some extent to president obama because he's out there talking about the big issues like he's talking this week about the buffett rule, and it makes it harder for mitt romney to get out of the process stories and into what his vision is because he hasn't really given us a lot of that yet. >> we're going to have to leave it there. ana, kiki, good to have you both here. we'll have you on again very soon. >> thank you. economy starting to heat up again but the outlook still pretty bleak for a lot of people looking for work.

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here is a rundown of some of the stories we're working. next, the test of a good economy is whether you can find a job. we'll show you how to bet the odds. and she is a music superstar who is about to stare down the man who allegedly killed three people in her family. and later afghans will be calling the shots during night raids on insurgents. here is something a lot of folks want to hear. employers, they're hiring again, but who is having the best luck finding jobs and what can you do to make yourself more marketable? are you even still looking? christine romans has got the answers. >> jobs, jobs, jobs, the private sector has been adding them now for 25 straight months. so who is getting hired? baby boomers for one. since the start of the great

recession, employment for americans age 55 and older is up by 3.9 million. things are looking better, too, for new college graduates. the national association of colleges and employers says starting salaries are up 4.5% from last year and more grads are expected to be hired this year than last year. >> i think the glass is half full for 2012. i think things are definitely a little better than in 2011. i would rather be looking for a job this year. >> here are a couple of things you can do to improve your chances of getting hired. don't sabotage those chances with an unsuitable social media profile. google yourself to see what's there. join professional sites like linked in and network offline, too. if you applied for a job months ago and haven't heard back, it's time to check in again. companies are hiring. most importantly, don't blame other people. work on yourself. >> if you can begin to source your talents and your skills, which i call -- it's a development issue in a world

where only the strong survive, it's not about weakness, it's about strength. focus on what you can do, not on what you can't do. >> and don't forget, your job market is a job market of one. the only job statistic that matters to you is whether or not you are employed. for smart is the new rich, i'm christine romans. jury selection begins today in the trial of a man accused of murdering three of jennifer hudson's family members. the singer, she is actually on the witness list. we're going to have a live report. in america, we believe in a future that is better than today. since 1894, ameriprise financial has been working hard for their clients' futures. never taking a bailout. helping generations achieve dreams. buy homes. put their kids through college. retire how they want to. ameriprise. the strength of america's largest financial planning company. the heart of 10,000 advisors working with you, one-to-one.

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singer/actress jennifer hudson was told her mother, darnell, and brother jason, were murdered, and her 7-year-old nephew julian, was missing. hudson returned to chicago where a frantic search was under way for julian and for the gunman. >> neighbors in the neighborhood did report hearing gunshots sometime earlier this morning about 8:00 this morning. >> reporter: three days later the little boy's body was found inside this abandoned suv. he died of a gunshot wound. a police investigation led to the arrest of 27-year-old william balfour. the hudson family new william balfour quite well. he grew up here in their neighborhood on the south side of chicago and ended up marrying jennifer hudson's older sister, julia. balfour, known as flex on the streets, has a long criminal history, an according to people who know the family the hudsons, including jennifer, didn't want julia to marry balfour. prosecutors say balfour killed his ex-wife's family members because he was jealous she was seeing another man.

the defense says there are no eyewitnesses and no fingerprints linking him to the murder scene, which has hudson's neighbor, michael jones, concerned that balfour could walk. >> in a murder, especially in the black community, is so easy to beat. >> reporter: 3 1/2 years later the hudson home in chicago is boarded up. jennifer hudson has said very little publicly about the murders, but she recently talked to piers morgan about her mother. >> my mother was a very wise and strong person, and i feel like she raised us well, and she prepared me well. and so that's what i live by. >> reporter: opening statements are scheduled to begin april 23rd. jennifer hudson, who is on the witness list, is expected to attend. ted rowlands joins us from chicago. so, ted, just so tragic there. the fact that jennifer hudson, she is a member of the witness list and she will be in the courtroom. what do we think that the impact

is going to be? do we think it's going to make a difference to the jury? >> reporter: well, i think so. anytime you have a victim family member in a courtroom, it makes a difference with the jury. prosecutors always want family members to come to court, and when that family member is a celebrity on the level of a jennifer hudson, i don't think anybody could argue it won't make a difference and it will help the prosecution's case. >> are they making any kind of special arrangements either for her arrival or is the judge giving -- the potential jurors any special instructions about how to deal with somebody who is a celebrity? >> reporter: all the potential jurors, there's a pool of 150, they were given a questionnaire last week and a lot of questions about jennifer hudson. once a jury is impanelled, the judge will tell them the fact that jennifer hudson is going to be in this courtroom or is a witness in this case, he'll ask

can you put that aside and not factor that in. that said, jurors are human beings, so there will be the human factor going on if she's in that courtroom, especially every single day. it will make a difference. >> and, ted, you covered the michael jackson trial where a similar thing played out. i think janet jackson was there. do they anticipate that there is going to be that kind of sway with the jurors there when you have somebody that high profile? >> reporter: yeah. during the conrad murray trial where jackson's family was there, janet jackson was there, katherine jackson. whenever anything came up of significance, whether it was evidence or something emotional, jurors would look at conrad murray, the defendant, but then they would always look over and see what janet jackson thought or the jackson family. it does make a difference because as a juror you're in a very small room, and you react to all of that. when you go back to deliberate, you know that that celebrity or

that family -- victim family member wants you to come back with a guilty verdict. it absolutely helps prosecutors in a case like this. >> all right. ted rowlands, thank you, ted. afghans taking a tighter grip on their own security.

u.s. and afghan have reached a deal on the controversial night raids by american troops. it gifves the afghans effective veto power over the raids. barbara starr joins us from the pentagon to explain more about how this will work. >> reporter: this was an agreement that has been in the works for some time. very controversial. what you have is afghan forces will now be in the lead on all of these controversial nighttime

raids, largely conducted by them and u.s. special forces. there will be an afghan review panel that will have to look at the proposed raid and give a thumbs up before u.s. and afghan forces can go into action. that's going to be controversial, of course, because a lot of times they don't have all the intelligence, they don't have all the information way ahead of time and they do these things very quickly on a very quick turnaround. what we don't know is the very point you raised. is this now for the first time going to give the afghan government essentially veto authority over u.s. military action in the war? not a lot of clear answers on all of it, but the agreement was signed over the weekend and it's being hailed at least here at the pentagon as a real step forward in cooperation with the afghans. >> barbara, set the scene for us here. why was this agreement so important? >> well, you know, for many years now even though afghan forces have been in the lead,

these night raids into private afghan homes and compounds, often in remote villages, are extremely controversial. in this very conservative culture these people understandably do not want troops busting into their homes in the middle of the night, potentially searching women and children and having them come outside and be subject to even any interaction with u.s. military forces. so it's the night raids that were the most controversial, and now at least it is set down that it will be afghan forces that mainly go in and do those. but the parameters still seem to be sorted out, suzanne. >> barbara, is this in part they're doing this agreement now because the relationship, the united states and afghan, is so tense right now on the heels of some of these incidents that took place, the soldier that shot the afghan civilians and so forth, the koran burnings? >> reporter: sure. i think that it added certainly impetus to it.

the discussion over an agreement had been in the works for some time and afghan president hamid karzai following all of these events that you have mentioned had made it very clear that stress and strain with the u.s. relationship was really reaching all-time high levels. so they at least wanted to get this done, get this off the list of controversial items to be dealt with while they're working on all these other investigations. but again, i think we need to be very clear that there's a lot of uncertainty on the ground how this will actually sort out for u.s. troops. suzanne? >> all right. barbara starr, thank you. last month was the warmest march on record. i loved it. we're going to break it down and pull out our crystal ball to see if there's going to be a really scorching summer. we'll see.

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a town of buford, wyoming, population one, has officially been sold to the highest bidder. two vietnamese businessmen are paying $900,000 for the town. representative for the buyers wouldn't say what they plan to do. so you have probably noticed it's a little warmer, right? you're not alone. according to new reports last month was the warmest march on ever in u.s. history since they have been measuring this, chad. wow. i loved it. it was fantastic, right? it was winter but it was like 80 degrees. >> right. it was a pattern that wouldn't

change. it was warm every day, maybe cold one or two and then back to warm again. did you watch the masters this weekend at all? the azaleas were gone and the masters -- the people at augusta they do everything they can to make those azaleas bloom right on the day of the masters. they couldn't say them. sometimes they ice them down, cover them up, depends if it's warm or cold. those azaleas were long gone. >> do we know why it happened, why it was so warm? >> it was a blocking pattern in the west. we don't have a reason. we can't say el nino or la nina, but we know the pattern was blocked for a very long time where it was cold in the west. in fact, it was colder than normal in washington, oregon, california, but warmer than normal in every state east of the rocky mountains. in some spots eight degrees per day warmer than it's ever been. >> wow. what does that mean for the summer? are we talking really, really hot? >> it doesn't mean a lot for the summer, but it does possibly mean that spring may be over.

severe weather season may be over sooner. the clash between the warm and the cold. there's not that much cold to clash with. it may even hurricane season starts sooner because the warm water in the gulf of mexico is already almost warm enough to make the first storm of the season. that typically doesn't happen into the 1st of june. those kind of things can happen. but if 80 degrees is what we get in march, i mean, it could be 110 across parts -- sure, it's possible. one things calm down -- there were record-breaking low temperatures across parts of the country, too, but that happened in alaska, and they didn't add in that alaska with the 48 contin contiguous states. 7,755 record high temperatures were set in manch alone. >> i understand there's snow, a lot of snow in alaska. >> lots. and 800 people died in europe because of the bitter cold. it was the ninth coldest winter